The (Mis)adventures of Nava: Book Oneby NavanastraChaptersChapter 2: The Big Scary Forest (Slight re-edit)Chapter 3: First Confrontation Chapter 4: Path to FreedomChapter 5: Town FallChapter 6: Pony version of ScrubsChapter 8: I don't like heightsChapter 9: CloudsdaleChapter 10: Start of a new day in Cloudsdale Chapter 11: "Eine Stadtrundfahrt" is how they say in german Chapter 12: Start of the Timeline (Re-edit)Chapter 13: The Silver Wing (slight re-edit)Chapter 14: MAGIC!!!Chapter 15: Thestral Involvement (slight re-edit)Chapter 16: Narrow Escape...for nowChapter 17: Under Siege by Fuzzy-Eared PoniesChapter 18: Home free...almostChapter 19: Training Montage for Old and NewChapter 20: Calm Before The StormChapter 21: Back to Ponyville Chapter 22: The Plot Thickens...For Better Or WorseChapter 23: Magic 101Chapter 24: The Discoveries Never End (Part 1) Chapter 25: The Discoveries Never End (part 2)Chapter 26: The Discoveries Never End (Final) (slight- re-edit)Chapter 27: Hitting a Wall Chapter 1: The worst wake up call EVERChapter 7: Town fall Pink and White edition (slight re-edit)Chapter 2: The Big Scary Forest (Slight re-edit)Chapter 2: The Big Scary Forest /Chapter 2: The Big Scary Forest/ Edited by: WrittenWord333 “No….no please no…get away from me….please, NOOOOOO!!!” My eyes flew open as I returned to the waking world, breathing heavily as my body was shaking and covered in sweat. It took me a few moments to calm myself from the vivid nightmare I just escaped from. The dream was horrid to say the least. I had nightmares before prior to this but not as realistic as this one. I could still feel the chills of… of those massive red eyes staring down on me from above, coming closer and closer towards me as I desperately tried to get away from them, running deeper and deeper into the abyss that surrounds me, engulfing me. The echo of deep sadistic laughter and the sound of whispering voices were still ringing through my ears somewhat and I was still breathing heavily. “What…what was that? What kind of a nightmare was it?” I gave a heavy sigh. At least it was over, sure I was still very much on edge from the experience but at least it was over and I was back in the conscious world. Looking around me pretty much confirmed my suspicions that I am in fact still very much at the same spot I was when I passed out, still in the same gloomy, dark and curiously cartoony looking forest I found myself in the first time around. I lift one of my arms and surprise, surprise I still had a hoof instead of a hand, completely destroying any ideas I had that my previous experience was nothing more than a lucid dream or hallucination. I was a real pony, in the world of equestria. It was then when another worrying though struck me as I sat there looking at new transformed body. “How long am I going to be stuck here?” THAT was a really good question, how long am I going to be staying here? Is there ever going to be a chance for me to get back home? Will I ever see my family again, my old home, my old life? Will I be stuck here for the rest of my days never to see or even get a chance to say goodbye to my family or tell them that I was alright? Fear and worry began to well up inside my heart as all these depressing thoughts dominated my mind. A few tears escaped my eyes as I closed them, simply laying there on the ground and letting the gravity of my situation slowly sink in. “Why me…why not someone else…I mean…yes, sure I drew a lot of art and read a lot of fan made stuff but I never…ever liked watching the damn show itself…so why me when there are so many more people more suitable for this kind of stuff than me…I never even was one of those dedicated fans who desperately wanted to get a chance to visit this place. So why the FUCK ME??!!” I ranted in my mind in both anger and frustration as a few more tears escaped my eyelids. Thankfully though I eventually managed to calm myself down after letting all of my sorrow, fear, anger and frustration out and I began to carefully sit myself upright as I felt water dripping down along my back. I never really never noticed it at the time, simply because my mind and emotions were too busy with wrapping my fragile sanity around the impossibility of my situation to realize that my head was actually dipped halfway into the water when I lost consciousness, luckily with my face above the water otherwise I might have never woken up at all. Another thing I quickly took note of is how much more relaxed and calm my new body felt, no more pain, no soreness and no more stiff joints like it had been when I had first woken up. It was really strange but still an inviting feeling nonetheless. Which simply meant painful dragging and grinding along the forest floor were now a thing of the past. Which only left me with one more problem to tackle. “How do you walk as a quadruped?” Was my thought as I simply sat there looking at my four new behooved limbs. I simply shrugged, no pain no gain. If I ever want to get out of here alive and maybe find my way towards civilization or at least shelter I simply have to accept the fact that I am probably going to fall onto my face a lot while trying to do so. I rolled over myself onto my stomach with a bit of a grunt to give myself the best possible position to use all of my limbs to lift myself up on all fours. With a bit of a hard start I eventually managed to push myself up using my front legs first to lift my upper body from the ground, followed up by my hind legs until I was standing secure on all fours for the first time. Though a bit shaky at first. What really surprised me yet again was how initially easy it was to get myself up on all fours. It felt…natural to me, which is weird knowing that I have been bipedal my whole life. I began to smile at my small achievement and was about to really take my first few steps in this world when I abruptly lost my footing (or hoofing if you want to be specific) and slammed head first onto the ground. “Why am I not surprised? Stupid quadruped body.” I mumbled into the dirt. I slowly got myself back up with an annoyed growl and dusted myself off, checking if my glasses were still intact. To my relief they were. It was then when something in the corner of my eye caught my attention. My eyes went wide at what I saw. There laying right under the rock where I originally woke up upon where two items I immediately recognize as one of my own. My old yellow and red colored scarf and my old fedora. Seeing these two item I used to have back at my old world here was baffling to me. Well sure having my glasses at my side here was all fantastic and wonderful and such, but how two more of my other procession made it here as well was both confusing and surprising to me to say the least. I mean ,yay having more of my own stuff here as well is great and all (at least I don’t have to wander around this world completely naked) but the fact that I somehow managed to miss them entirely the first time around was bit off-putting. But then again I guess I was too busy with other things at the time so I really shouldn’t be surprised. Carefully making myself over to them and this time making sure that I don’t tangle myself on my own legs, I grabbed both my old scarf and fedora with my mouth and place them both to their respected places with one of my hooves. With everything done and taken care of I began to look around, sighing to myself when I saw nothing but more and more forest, rock, bushes and vines with no clear path at sight. “Where to go? Where to go? That is the question. I mean…I have read enough fanfics made by others to understand that I might be in the middle of the Everfree forest. But where do I go now?” “Wait…if I am in the Everfree forest…than means…? Yup got to move and make sure nothing with sharp teeth and glowing eyes can find me” I picked a direction and began to move, making sure to keep my surrounding in check to spot any movement or any other suspicious activity. “This is going to be a long…long night.” ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. Somewhere else deep in the same forest. “Just admit it already, Cloud, you got us lost didn’t you?” “Well…uhm…hehe…maybe…maybe not…ok, fine we're lost.” I answered my sister in utter defeat as I sunk my head low in self disappointment. “Ugh, all of this wouldn’t be so bad if our wings weren’t broken during our last weather assignment which, I would like to remind you, was your fault.” “Hey it’s not MY fault that Thunderlane pushed up that cloud in front of me and was blocking my view. How would I know that you were right below me?” “Well you would if you would LISTEN during the briefings in stead of doodling on your desk, then you would know that I was assigned to moving the clouds from below and you were explicitly told NOT slam into me at full speed.” “Well that’s because…” “ANNNND it was also YOUR clever idea to chase a little fox today into the Everfree forest after having stolen an apple from your grocery bag you bought today at the market.” I shut up. To be honest, running into the Everfree for just an apple really wasn’t one of my brightest ideas ever. “OK, FINE, FINE!…I bucked up...happy?” “Kind of, but not really. We still have this, oh I don’t know, serious problem of being lost in perhaps the most dangerous forest in all of Equestria.” “Only half as dangerous when you’re on your period.” I muttered. “What was that?!” “Nothing, nothing don’t worry.” Ugh…being stuck in a dangerous forest sucks balls, but being stuck in a dangerous forest with a nagging sister is even worse. Not to mention that her constant nagging might attract…unwanted followers, especially at night. I should probably tell her to keep her complaining down a notch because we are in the Everfree but know how much i have been...well...bucking up lately to an even retarded level (i sadly have to admit) She most likely won't listen to me and just keep nagging. Me and Flitter began to shiver as a cold breeze began to blow past us from above reminding me that traveling a forest, really any forest for that matter, at night is usually a bad idea for most ponies, and judging by the look my sister was giving she probably thought so too. We are already in a nice wide clearing so a campfire would now be a good idea, that and I am FREEZING. “Hey it's dark and cold anyway Flitter, let’s make camp for the night. Running around these woods in pitch darkness won’t get us back home anytime soon. What do you think?” “Yeah sure…why not I’m tired anyway.” “Do you still remember how to make fire the old fashion way?” “Of course I do…again unlike you I actually paid attention to our scout leaders back during our fillyscout days.” “Yeah, yeah always having to pull out the old ‘I never learn or listen’ card” “I have to…you might actually learn something.” She answered me with a grin. I simply stick my tongue out to her as both me and Flitter went about trying to find some good dry wood and timber to make our campfire. Man not being able to fly really sucks dicks and getting stared down by a bunch of yellow glowing eyes behind some bushes is annoying as well…wait yellow eyes? I froze when I realized that we were being watched. I slowly turned myself back towards my sister who was busy sticking her head under a bush. “Ohm…sis?” “Yes what is it?” “We…uhm…might have a problem.” “Ugh…what now.” She responded as she popped her head back out to look at me with an annoyed sigh which quickly morphed into an expression of fear when she saw what I saw in front of me. “Uh…I think we should run.” “Oh you think?” Right after that one of these creatures suddenly revealed itself as it slowly moved its way into the moonlight above us. It was a large Timberwolves followed soon by the rest of its pack as they all suddenly emerged from behind the trees and bushes, slowly approaching us from multiple directions snarling and growling and looking mighty hungry for some pray as there stench began filling the air around us. My heart pumping rapidly in my chest as fear and dread filled my mind and body as we realized that we were surrounded. Both me and my sis slowly backing away as these predators slowly moved closer and closer to us, forming a semi-circle round me and flitter. Than a loud ominous sounding howl suddenly erupted from behind the shadows and then basically all Tartarus broke lose as one of the Timberwolves suddenly burst forth and started charging directly towards us. “RUN” Was all I could get out before me and Flitter galloped it out of here. All this trouble for a stolen apple, me and my stupid antics. ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. “I swear…sometimes it feels these trees are actually watching me…and those creepy claw shaped branches are not helping.” I thought in worry as I continued my trek through these woods. A few hours have passed since I started my trek and I swear in person the everfree forest looks FAR more creepier and intimidating than in the show. These old looking trees, those distant growls, howls and other animal (or monster) noises and these long dark shadows and constant fog are all things that make the hair on my back stand on the edge. Oh and it obviously doesn’t not help that it’s in the middle of the night as well, making the already poor visibility within this ridiculously overgrown jungle even worse. During that time I tried my best to occupy my mind with other important things that I will have to solve as soon as I get out of this bloody forest. Like the idea in how I am going to present myself to the locals when I unavoidably come across them. Im mean for starters I am a freaking Alicorn (for reason unknown) and the few little things I know about Alicorn is they are supposedly be some of the most powerful beings in this world, at least in terms of magic. How am I supposed to present myself knowing that my race is basically regarded as almost demi-gods? Short answer I don’t. Letting the populace know that there is suddenly ANOTHER Alicorn running lose that no one knew of would most certainly attract all kinds of unwanted attention, especially from the two rulers. Oh god no, I do not look forwards in having to deal with these two or any secret villain who might get an interested in me as well. In other words I need to keep my true race a secret, maybe finding a way how to hide my wings and come off as a simple looking unicorn, simple because for two reasons. One I know for a fact that I am never really going to use my wings anyway simply because I am afraid of heights and two because I am afraid off bloody heights. But anyway I guess I can focus on that problem on a future date but for now let’s just get back to the present. The problem in being inside this mind freaking forest. At least now I understand why these ponies avoid these woods like the plague, especially with the knowledge that monsters inhabit these parts of the lands as well. A though that really keeps me on the edge as I constantly have to look around to make sure nothing is following me. I swear I have seen a pair of glowing red eyes behind some bushes just a an hour ago…or it could also be my scary imagination, who knows. The point is this place is freaking scary. I have never been more paranoid in my whole life than i am right now walking through these woods...or is it trotting now? The sooner I can get out of here the better, for me and my sanity. Because I swear I am starting to see things in the corner of my vision. “Why the hell did I though that venturing out was even a good idea, I should have just stay put in my spot and at least waited for morning to arrive. The small pond I woke up at was nicely covered and secluded from almost all side...so why?” I whispered as I continue to look around franticly. It’s really at this point where being a Bat-pony would really be more beneficial than being an alicorn at least then I could see more than just 50 meters in front of me and finally debunk the notion if I am really seeing things or not. *Rustle “What…?” *Rustle rustle “I…I hear rustle’s…oh shit…something was following me…I knew it” My body froze as the rustle’s sounds were slowly getting louder and louder. My heart rate increased and I began to sweat as a feeling of dread I have never felt before began to well up inside of me. The rustling became louder and louder. I desperately wanted to run desperately wanted to get away from this place as quickly as possible but I felt it was already too late, whatever it was it is moving faster towards me than I could ever outrun it, especially how frozen in fear I am at the moment. “This is it…I knew my luck would run out sooner or later.” I thought to myself as steeled myself and waited for my assailant to show itself. The rustle’s were coming closer and by the sound of it where coming from one of the bushes in front of me. What will it be? A bear? A wolf?A Cocatrice? A MANTCORE? *squeak …or a Rabbit… Yup a Rabbit, I’m getting scared by a rabbit… Thank god though it’s just a Rabbit. I sighted in utter relief as I watched the Rabbit quickly run past me and slip off into another bush to my right. I quickly calmed my breathing and chuckled nervously as I wiped the sweat from my forehead. “Man…see what this place can do to your mind, and I really thought that it might have been a…” “Heeeeeeelp!!!” I tensed up again. “What…what was that? Did I really heard a…” “Somepony help us!!” “Yup I did…I really did.” I slowly began to panic again. Something or more likely someone was here in the forest with me, and judging by the sound not far away either. Which means whatever was…making them shout for help was pretty close by as well. “Oh god what should I do what should I do?” I frantically asked myself in my head. “Should…should I really go an try to help these…these peoples…err i mean ponies? I mean…shit I am somewhat of a coward and running head first in into danger is one of the last things I ever want to do.” “Somepony…anypony please help us!!!” “Wait there is more than one?” At this point I really had to make a choice, should I actually go and follow these sounds, or should I just ignore them and leave them to their faith, because what the hell am I supposed to do? I don’t know anything about stuff like this because I never had the misfortune to find myself in such situations. I don’t know how to fight. “Heeeeeeelp!!” Then again…what kind of a person would I be if I let my fear cost the life of not one but two individuals? Screw it I have to do it, I might actually be the only person nearby than could actually help them. I have to forget about my fears for once and do what is right. Hopefully without getting myself killed. With that new found determination I quickly made my way over to the source of the sound crashing through bushes, dodging and jumping past trees and avoiding other obstacles. “Oh I hope I know what I am doing.” I thought to myself in worry as I galloped as fast as my four legs could. Chapter 3: First Confrontation Chapter 3: First Confrontation /Chapter 3: Confrontation/ Edited by: Chrome Masquerade “Ahhh…stupid vine, almost tripped on it. I have no time to lose. I need to be quick if I want to be of any possible help.” I thought to myself as I continued to rapidly make my way over to the calls of distress. My body was covered in sweat as I could hear my heart pumping into my ears from this mad dash. My muscles began to burn, but I didn’t care. For some reason I was just filled with dread and a feeling of urgency even though I had no idea what I would encounter once there. My body was already covered in small cuts and bruises from strafing by small spikes and sharp branches as I ran. But just as with my untrained muscles I ignored the pain and simply continued on my mad dash. “Please… anypony? Can anypony hear us? We need HELP!!!” The sounds were getting louder and clearer as I rapidly came closer and closer to its source. What eventually really started to worry me were the loud barks, growls, and sounds of claws scratching on wood, telling me right clearly that I was running directly into danger as well. But again despite my fears I simply continued to press on, jumping over one a fallen tree trunk before I finally came within visual range of the source of the noise. What I saw made my eyes go wide. “Are… are those… wolves made of wood?” I whispered as I managed to keep myself momentarily hidden behind a large tree as I observed the scene in front of me. Despite the deep darkness that dominated the rest of the forest, here everything was far brighter and clearer to see, thanks to the relative openness of this clearing and the large full moon above us. Though that was not what dominated my attention. What did eventually made me do a double take was the fact that these… wooden Canines were slowly circling a large dead tree that was leaning dangerously over a cliff! Though, it was what was on top of the tree which made my eyes go even wider. On the tree's top branches, holding on for dear life where two Ponies, two Pegasus ponies to be precise. Heavily beaten and injured, trying their best to keep themselves away from the prying claws of these predators as they tried to climb up the tree. “Flitter… I… I am so sorry that I got yourself into this mess…this is all my fault… me and my stupid antics and daredevilry… if only if I had listened to you more…” “It’s… it’s ok Cloud… that’s… what I am here for… i'm… i'm your sister and as sisters we… we stick together. I made a promise to mom and dad to look after you… and I have been keeping that promise ever since… and I will continue doing so for the rest of our days… if this is… the day… where we both have to go down… at least we go down together… sis.” “Flitter, I… I… SIS LOOK OUT!!!” My heart almost stopped as I was forced to watch from behind my hiding spot as one of these monsters managed to climb close enough to scratch one of these ponies with its claws, leaving a large gash on her flank as she screamed in pure pain and fighting herself to not lose her grip. It was then that under the combined weight of these two ponies and the monsters trying to climb it that the entire root system of the tree began to fail as it slowly ripped itself out from the ground and quickly toppled over, directly over the large drop behind it. I just couldn’t watch, I just couldn’t do anything because I felt too afraid to even move from my position. I came here to help them but in the end all I simple did was watch in utter horror and fear letting these monsters toy around with them and eventually letting them fall to their death simply because I am too much of a coward to do anything. I’m so pathetic… “FLITTER!!” “CLOUDCHASER!!” Than my eyes suddenly open as something deep within my being suddenly awakened. All of my fear suddenly drained away as a new fire began to ignite inside my heart, a fire I had never ever felt before in my life. It felt… empowering, inspiring… encouraging. A feeling of power and will I have never felt before. It was… it was… unbelievable. My wings suddenly opened for the first time, and without even feeling or thinking about it I began galloped out into the open. With anger, determination and courage burning within my eyes. I kicked, punched and charged through every single one of these creatures who dared to stand in my way, sending them flying and crashing into the ground, trees, or rocks around us as they yelp and howl in pain from my action. One by one they meet the ends of my horn or hoof as I soon came face to face with their leader. He was large, really, really large in comparison to his other kin, with large scars covering its wood-like body to display his strength and power to all who dared to oppose him. It let out an ear shattering roar as it charged at me, its eyes displaying a lust for blood as its massive size and strong legs dug deep into the ground as it ran towards me. I simply continued my own charge, feeling rather unimpressed by my opponent’s size and viciousness. Time seemed to slow down as we continued to charge at one another, neither one of us showing any sign of intimidation or backing down. Even though my body was working practically on overdrive, my mind, though was surprisingly calm as I stared into the glowing red eyes of my opponent. I simply let my instincts take over as I began to jump high into the air with my wings still fully extended, just barely missing this monster's massive jaws as it was about to strike me down, gliding over its massive head and using it as a boost to clear the rest of the monster’s body by kicking its skull with my hind legs forcing its head to hit the dirt below it as my wings, at that point, took over. I easily cleared the rest of the way as time slowly began to resume its normal state as I dove over the cliff and immediately took chase after the two still falling Pegasi below. The wind rushed past me at high speeds as I dived bombed my way to them. The cries and looks of fear in their eyes and voices were obvious as they flailed around desperately in the air in the hopes of a miracle. A miracle that is diving faster towards them than they realized. As soon as I reached them I began to grab them one by one with my forelegs, grabbing them around their waists and holding them close to and in front of me. I immediately began to angle myself horizontally to keep them safe on top of me and wrapped my wings around them as well for extra protection as my back was facing the rapidly approaching ground below us. I simply closed my eyes and held on tight as we continued to fall along the cliff walls. A small but happy smile formed on my lips just few moments before my body hit the rock hard ground. Before I know it, a loud crash and a shot of unimaginable pain rocked my entire body as the entire world went black. ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. Light was the only thing greeting my vision as soon as I opened my eyes. The first obvious thought that went through my mind was “Am I dead?” but that got somewhat debunked when my vision slowly adjusted itself to the bright rays and all I was able to see was a clear cloudless blue sky and the bright shine of the sun above me. I groaned as I slowly began to sit up and felt rather surprised how easy it was for me. For some reason I expected it to be a bit harder than that. Another thing that really surprised me was how…familiar my body felt, nothing like the new pony body I have now. I look down onto myself and was shocked to find out that I had my normal legs and feet again, same for my hands and arms as I moved them in front of me. Thank god I have some pants and a shirt on as well otherwise it would have been a bit awkward, though I wonder where my shoes are. “How…since when did I turn human again?” “Well, since you came here, obviously.” “What… who said that?” I thought to myself in surprise after I heard that. I began to look around me, trying to find the owner of that voice but all I saw was a never ending expanse of clear blue skies and an endless field of clouds filling the horizon. Oh yeah… did I already mention that was sitting on clouds? A never ending expanse of clouds going as far as I could possibly make out? Huh…I guess I really must be dead than. This at least explains why I can sit on an otherwise non solid objects and find myself in a place looking like this. “Nah, you're cool man. You’re not dead, don’t worry.” The same voice suddenly replied scaring the ever living crap out of me. “How…how does it know what I was thinking?” I thought to myself again as I started to try and pinpoint the source of that voice again only to once again finding nothing but the same emptiness and stillness of clouds and blue clear sky. “No dude, behind you. I am behind you.” I immediately held still after the voice said that, and despite my better judgment and, simply out of curiosity, I did as the voice instructed me and turned my head and upper body around so that I could see what was behind me. I couldn’t believe my eyes at what presented itself in front of me when I did. “Hey there. I know it’s a bit awkward seeing yourself in front of you… Well, your other self, that is.” Saying I was speechless was an understatement. I was stunned to see my own self standing there behind me with an awkward smile on its face, my pony face. “Uhhhh…” Was all I got out as I continued to look completely dumbstruck. “… Ok, I either must be dreaming… or I am really dead.” “No, trust me you’re not dead, though you might be right with the whole dreaming thing.” My pony self-answered with a smile, making me raise an eyebrow in suspicion. “Ok… then tell me… where am I and who the heck are you?” My pony self snickered to himself after I asked that, shaking his head a bit before addressing me with his smile again. “I am you. Duh. Well, you're more courageous side, to be precise. Also you are currently in your own subconscious, if that information helps you.” I simply stared at him. “Sub-conscious?? My sub-conscious is a representation of something that most peoples would imagine heaven would look like?” I asked while scratching my head. He simply shrugged again. “Again, I don’t know way it looks like this, but hey, you got to admit that it looks very pretty and peaceful. I kind of like it to be honest.” He answered with another smile. I simply continued to scratch my head after that, before remembering something else he said earlier. “Also, a more courageous side of me? Are you shitting me, I’m not very courageous at all since I prefer to stay away from danger. Also why would my more braver side be represented by a pony?” I asked him accusingly while crossing my arms, this time fully facing him. I watch my other self think for a while before simply shrugging and looking back at me while rubbing the back of his head with one of his hooves. “Beats me, to be honest. Also, prefer to stay away from danger? Then please do tell how you managed to perform that little stunt you did just a few moments ago, hmmm?” My pony self-answered with a smug smile at the end, which confused the heck out of me. “What??!! What are you talking about?” He simply chuckled. “Don’t worry, you’re going to find out soon enough. You're about to wake up anyway.” He answered still keeping his smile. “Wake up… but I don’t feel….” “Oh yeah, I just forgot” He interrupted as he took his hat off and held it out in front of him. I simply looked at him confused as he began to turn the hat upside down with his hooves. “Remember that you can take your possessions from your world into your current one and back with this Fedora, basically like one of those magic hat thingies that those old-school magicians use. But you should already know that because it was your idea when you made me.” He explained to me with a smile as he demonstrated it by sticking his hoof into it and then suddenly pulling out my smartphone to show it to me. I again simply stared at him dumbfounded before he quickly tossed my phone back into the hat and placed it back onto his head. “Well, anyway It’s time to wake up.” “No, wait! I still need to know…” “Wake up.” “WAKE UP!!!” ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………... “Hey sis… I think he’s waking up.” “Really? Oh, thank the Celestia for that… with that impact he took earlier I thought he would never wake up.” I hear two voices say as consciousness slowly returned to me. The very first thing I felt, though, was pain. Lots and lots of pain. Not as widespread as the first time, but this time more concentrated into one area. My Back. My bloody back. “Ohhhh ffffffffuck… why do I always… have to wake as if I just fell from a hundred story building or something.” I groaned as my eyes were slowly starting to open up. “Uhm, actually… you fell down a very large cliff to be precise… with us. Th… thank you, by the way, for saving our lives like that… by almost… sacrificing yours.” one voice said awkwardly “Yeah… thanks a lot mister. That was really epic of you. I mean, I haven’t seen or heard of anypony being able to survive such a fall -and impact- before… you really are a hero. For the two of us, at least.” I heard the other voice reply as I was still in the wake up process while ignoring the pain in my back. “Wha… what? Who are you two? And also what are you two talking abo-” I stopped before I could even finish my sentence as everything suddenly came back to me; the encounter, the monsters, the fall, everything. My eyes immediately shot open as I attempted to quickly get up, but got stopped as a sudden spike of pain assaulted and I was forced back onto the ground with a heavy hiss escaping my teeth. “No, no… be careful! Please don’t move so erratically. You’re still injured and you need to take it slowly.” I heard as a set of hooves gently pressed me back down onto the ground. “Yeah. it’s actually quite a miracle that nothing else got injured as well. Aside from a few cuts and bruises on your back. Any other pony would have shattered their spines completely if they had been in your hooves.” I heard the other voice comment as I was still grinding my teeth from the pain. I sighed after the pain slowly began to subside. I eventually felt calm enough to open my eyes again and the first sight that greeted me were nothing but a blurry, unrecognizable mess of figures and colors, making me rub my eyes and slightly groan in annoyance. “Ugh… where are my glasses?” “Your glasses? Oh you mean these. Just a sec.” I heard the first voice reply as I continue to massage my eyeballs. “Here” “Th… thanks, but… Could you maybe do it for me? It’s difficult to place them back onto my nose with… hooves. ” I asked, a tad sheepishly. “Oh, ok.” She replied as I felt a pair of hooves gently placing my glasses back onto the bridge of my snout where they belong. I sighed in relief as my vision was finally restored. I was about to thank the individual who gave back my glasses, until I realized who it was standing right in front of me. “I know these two… I’ve seen these two characters before back home in both fan art and tumblr sites… background characters I would guess?” and I guess I was right with that thought seeing them right in front and personal. “It’s just too bad that I can’t remember what they were called. Jeez, what were their names again?” I thought to myself as I curiously watched the light violet colored fur and white colored, spiky maned mare in front of me. Another mare suddenly came up from behind her looking almost the same in terms of coat color, only even lighter and with a long bluish-green mane with a pink bow on top. Again, just couldn’t remember her name as I continued to curiously observe both of them. Suddenly a thought struck me. “Wait… do… do they know? I mean both a horn and wings should be easy to spot. Especially mine, as they seem to be bigger than your average Unicorn and Pegasus…CRAP!!” I thought to myself. I began to internally panic as the realization hits home. I slowly began to back away from them nervously, minding my back. The two of them showed looks of confusion and concern towards me as i continued to slowly crawl backwards and eventually hit a wall behind me. It was only then when I realized that we were actually inside a cave with the only exit being right behind them. Man, what the heck is wrong with my perception lately, constantly never noticing such obvious stuff. Also with them standing right in front of the only exit this meant that I was basically trapped as well. Shit! “Oh, what… what’s wrong? Was it something i said?” The white haired one asked as her face showed genuine concern. “No… just… just no. You two already know what I am don’t you?” “Know? Know what? What are you talking about?” She replied with confusion as she began to look back at her sister for possible answers. Only for her to realize something, staring directly at me with wide eyes, shock, surprise, and disbelief etched on her expression. Shit… she knows… actually, wait a minute… “Oh, sis what are you…?” “Cl… Cloud Chaser. Take… take another look. Like a REALLY good look and tell me what you see.” The one wearing a pink bow answered. The one with Spiky white hair did so as she, too, took another look at me. At first she continued to look confused, until a look of realization sprung up and she too was looking at me with shock and disbelief written on her face. Wa… wait a minute… did I just sell myself out by acting strange and claiming that they know? Helping them essentially realize what I truly am? FUUUUUUCK, what a bloody idiot I am. SHIT. “Uh… oh, no it’s… it’s not what it looks like…I…I’m just an average…looking Pegasus to be honest. That horn you see on top of me…it’s just glued on… it's fake. I place it there to… pull a prank on someone…y es a prank hehe.” I desperately tried to lie while smiling sheepishly at the end. Obviously though, they weren’t buying it as the white haired one slowly started to approach me. Curiosity replacing her previous shocked expression. The moment she was in arm’s length she began to tap my horn roughly with the tip of her hoof making me feel really tense and really awkward at the same time. “Hmmm. Looks and feels real to me.” She commented to herself. I watched her tap my horn a few more times until the pony in back suddenly began to shout at her, making both of us flinch in surprise. “Clou… Cloudchaser… what the BUCK ARE YOU DOING???!!!! STOP THAT! THIS PONY HERE MIGHT BE A PRINCE FOR ALL WE KNOW!!!” She shouted in panic. That accusation immediately sent alarm bells through my mind as the last thing I wanted them to thing was that I was some kind of royalty or monarch. “WHAT!! NO Nonononononono I am not a prince…far from it. I am just a normal everyday guy who tries to find his place in the world, that’s all, just like everyone else.” I quickly corrected in a panicked voice while looking at her. “See? He said he is not royal so it’s cool.” The one dubbed Cloudchaser replied casually while smiling. Wait… is she for REAL? Just a few moments ago she looked just as shocked and surprised as her sister and now all of the sudden she is totally cool with it? Is she secretly retarded, or is she really just so incredibly chill with the idea that there is an unknown Alicorn just sitting right in front of her? Maybe my worries from earlier were just fabrications of my imagination and it might actually be ok for these ponies to accept me for what I am, but then again the looks and reactions of her sister completely destroyed these ideas and made me even more determined to keep my true looks hidden from everyone and everything as best as I possibly could. The last things I want to cause while being stuck here is either a mass panic or mass riot, two things I am very allergic to, so to speak. I was quickly drawn back into reality as I began to hear both of than start to argue and bicker. Mostly revolving about me and my appearance and how irresponsible Cloudchaser was and how bossy her sister is. At this point I really had to say something before things started to get out of hand -or hoof, as the case may be-. Mostly for my sake, since I know that I am far from being out of the woods yet -No pun intended,- because I can tell from looking past the cave exit that I am still in the Everfree, which I don’t like. I nervously tried to get their attention back to me to perhaps defuse this situation…just a little bit, if not completely. “Um… Excuse me?” I tried to call out from my position but as expected was meant with no response as they continued arguing. I sighed. Only one last thing to do then. “WOULD YOU TWO STOP BICKERING FOR ONE MINUTE??!!” I shouted, which thankfully did the trick. They both flinched at my sudden… assertiveness as they both turned to look at me with surprised looks on their faces. I cleared my throat. “So… sorry for shouting but I desperately wanted to say something before things would go too far.” I started. “For starters, even though I look…somewhat unique from the outside I can easily assure you that beyond that there is absolutely nothing special or different about me in comparison to everyone else. I am just an average dude who likes to lives his life normally and tried to avoid trouble and danger wherever he goes.” “Heck, that’s another thing. I don’t even know to use my horn or wings. So there. You can stop your arguing because there is nothing to argue about.” I finished my explanation with a sight as I took my Fedora off to rub my head a bit. An awkward silence dominated the small cave we were in as neither me nor the two mares in front of me dared to say anything else after my earlier sudden outburst. I shook my head sadly and sighed, placing my Fedora back onto my noggin and attempted to stand up back on all fours. Only to be brutally reminded again of my back as I almost fell back down. This, though, managed to spark a reaction from one of the two sisters as the one with the bow quickly rushed over me to support me with her body before I could fall. “I already told you that you need to take it slowly, the injury on your back is still fresh, so please, lay back down before you make it even worse.” She pleaded with concern leaking from her voice. I simply smiled weakly at her for her concern as I tried my best to ignore the pain. “It's… quite alright. Really, trust me when I say I’ve had FAR worse pains than this.” I replied with a weak chuckle to try and ease her concern a bit. Though my attempts to calm her down quickly vanished as I saw the still fresh looking four-claw gash on her flank that one of those monsters gave her as my own concern for her quickly rose. “But, wait… what about you? You’re seriously injured as well.” I asked while pointing at her wound with one of my hooves. She followed my gaze and sighted as she realized what I was pointing out too. “Well… yeah, but out here I really can’t do anything about it other than making sure it stays clean.” She explained with a sad look as her ears drooped. “But don’t worry, I can manage…I hope.” She added, looking at the ground. I knew for a fact that this wound could easily get infected if not closed or treated soon, especially out here. It was then when the memory of the dream about talking to my pony self within my subconscious mind suddenly re-emerged. “What did he mention about my Hat again? Something about being able to pull out stuff from my world over to this world, like a magician's hat?” I thought to myself as I tried to reply my memory of that one particular experience of my dream. Thinking back onto the time when I drew and designed my OC’s character I did gave him an ability that enabled him to pull out and store all of his personal possessions from his home over to him and vice versa giving him almost endless storage capacity wherever he went. Well, at least stuff that was able to fit through his hat as it didn’t work for anything else that was bigger, for obvious reasons. Knowing this, I looked over to my support. “Could you maybe give me a little bit more space? I… uh… need to try something out, if you don’t mind?” I asked while looking at the ground feeling a bit unsure. The mare in front of me simply stared at me in confusion before simply nodding and carefully retreating herself from me while keeping a careful eye on me. I took this opportunity of personal space to move my Fedora from my head and onto my hoof in an upside-down position giving me a full-on view of the inner part of my headdress. At first glance it looked like how I imaged it would, empty and completely normal. Even so, I could somehow feel that all of the normality that my Fedora enforced was nothing more than just a clever illusion to fool anyone who didn’t know otherwise. I simply shrugged and began to place my bets as I carefully sat myself down onto my rump and slowly lowered my other hoof down into the interior of my Fedora. I took a glance over to the bow wearing mare for just a second as my hoof mysteriously went deeper and deeper into my hut as I unknowingly began to feel something attach itself onto my hoof as I quickly looked back. Surprise and shock dominated my mind after I saw how deep I managed to lower my hoof into my hut, with half of my foreleg completely disappearing from view I slowly began to retract my foreleg back out and was even more surprised to see that two full rolls of clean, unused bandages were suddenly visible resting on top of my hoof. Both mares also looked rather shocked at this display as they both stared at my hat and then back at the bandages I just pulled out. Seemingly out of nowhere from their perspective, which isn’t really farfetched especially from my point of view and experience. I simply shrugged to myself as I looked over to the bow wearing mare in front of me holding out the bandages in front of her. At this point I decided to myself to just accept everything that is nonsensical and reality breaking from now on. I am, after all, stuck in a world where magic and mythical creatures exist, so trying to add my real world logic into this would lead nowhere besides a trip into a mental hospital. A place I am not planning on visiting anytime soon. “Here you can use these to cover up your wound and not risk infection. Please take them.” I said as calmly as I possibly could. She, of course looked confused as hell as her gaze switches to me, to the bandages and back to me in a real comical way. Eventually, though, she seemed to get a grip on herself again as she gazed back on me with a questionable look on her muzzle. “Oh… ok? But… but how did you just…?” “Nope, sorry. No more questions. Just simply roll with it and accept it as fact. Easy peasy.” I quickly interrupted her while crossing my forelegs. “Oh. ok then. Thank you.” She simply replied, while still looking somewhat confused, and took the bandages by grabbing them with one of her wings that wasn’t bandaged up like the other one. Huh, how did I miss that? Seriously, my perception is all over the place lately. Hopefully that fixes itself soon, otherwise I am going to have some serious problems later on. “Well, uh… Cloud, could you, maybe, help me wrap this around my left flank? It’s a bit difficult doing it all alone.” She called out towards her sister. Her sister simply nodded as she trotted over to her sibling to help her properly cover up her wound. I took the time while these two were busy to think about my situation and my next course of action. My back obviously still stings from the…supposedly epic rescue event that I achieved. To be completely honest here my memory of that one particular event is somewhat hazy, to say the least. The only thing I could remember were emotions. Raw, uncontrolled emotions and feelings. Weird, I know, but more worrying than weird. I mean what does this tell me? Will this happen more often? Will I be able to control it, or even better, prevent it from happening again? ‘Cause the idea of me doing things without me fully knowing it or controlling it is an idea that would make many feel worried. Does this have to do with the fact that I am a wing spanning horn wielding pony? Maybe…maybe not. Crap, this is so confusing, and just earlier I had decided to just go with the flow and accept things as they are and no longer question them. One thing is for sure… if I am going to survive in a world such as this I am going to need people -or, uh, ponies- that I can trust. But how can I find those who won’t either fear me, hate me, or just cell me out? “Uh... hey there?” I was pulled out of my reverie as a voice suddenly called out for me. I looked up and was greeted with the sheepish look of the bow wearing mare in front of me with her sister right next to her. “Thanks for the bandages, and again thank you for saving us from falling to our deaths. Without you my sister and I would not be here at all. And… and I also want to apologies how both of us acted in front of you.” She announced as she and her sister gave me the most sincere smile I have ever seen. I nodded, giving them a small smile of my own while rubbing the back of my head. “It… it’s nothing, really. I just did what any other decent individual would have done.” I replied, looking at the ground sheepishly. I was taken completely by surprise as two sets of forelegs began to wrap themselves around my body, encasing me in the warmth of both these mares’ bodies. I blushed as I realized what was happening. Nonetheless, I accepted it, as it wasn’t really often that you get hugged by two warm and fuzzy ponies, Though, I have a feeling that this is going to become much more common in the future. Something I need to keep an eye out for if I want to make sure ponies don’t get suspicious regarding my wings. They eventually broke off giving me back my personal space and sat themselves around me as I was still blushing a bit from the sudden body contact I had just received. Both of them giggled at my reaction, which really didn’t help at all, but it was still nice to know that these two were starting to relax themselves and not panic, worry, or be surprised and shocked at me. The one with the bow broke the silence. “Oh yeah, I just forgot, we never even introduced ourselves to you did we?” “Well my name is Flitter.” She introduced herself before gesturing over to her sister. “And this here is my sister Cloudchaser, but I guess you already know that simply because I have already called her by her name multiple times since you woke up.” She finished by scratching the back of her neck sheepishly. Cloudchaser in turn smiled at me as she was about to ask me something. “What can we call you by the way?” She asked as both Flitter and her smiled at me. I was about to give her my name before I managed to stop myself as a thought entered me. What name am I going to give them? Am I going to give them my real name or my pony name? I guess giving my real name or my pony name to them wouldn’t really matter that much, but what about any other pony I am might come across in the near future? I know for a fact that human names are weird and almost alien for these ponies so giving them my real name would just unintentionally give me even more unwanted attention in the future than I might already get for just being around them. So I guess using my real name would eventually end up to be more of a problem to me than I am prepared for. My OC’s name it is. “Nava, just call me Nava.” I finally replied with a smile. Chapter 4: Path to Freedom Chapter 4: Path to Freedom Edited by: Chrome Masquerade Sleeping in a cave on a hard, ice-cold surface was really not the most comfortable experience I ever had, especially regarding my still aching back. After the first rays of sunlight penetrated the entrance of the small cave that the two mares and I used as an overnight shelter, me and Flitter and Cloud Chaser decided to immediately head out to use the provided daylight to scout the woods in hopes of finding a way out of this naturally made maze of a forest. With no breakfast, mind you. Cloud Chaser, though, was kind enough to offer herself as my support to lean on as my back was still feeling very sore, which also affected my walking. I was rather wobbly on my hind legs. Having some companions to travel with made things so much easier to bear, especially boredom as the two mares and I would occasionally engage ourselves into small talks of various different topics, asking questions and getting to know each other that much better. After a few minutes of silence I was about to retreat myself back into my own thoughts, when Cloud Chaser -still beside me- began to ask me something again. “Sooo… is it really true that you have no idea how to fly, or how to use that horn of yours?” She asked looking at me. “Yup, pretty much.” I simply answered while I was still looking at the ground. “Then how did you managed to rescue us the way you did when you don’t know how to use those wings of yours?” She countered making me lift my head and letting out a sight. “I already told you, I really have no idea how I accomplished that. I’m telling you the 100% truth when I said that I have no idea how to fly.” I answered with a bit of a sad look. I could also have told them that I am scared of heights as well but I guess I didn’t have to if they wouldn’t ask me about it. “Hey, guys look! A road! The main road that goes through the Everfree Forest! Finally, we can get out of this bucking place and get back home!” Flitter suddenly shouted up ahead, getting our attention in an instant. “REALLY? Oh, Sweet I can’t wait to finally get something in my mouth and get all this gunk out of my fur and mane.” Cloud Chaser called back happily, a sense of happiness that I shared with her. Finally a way out of this place, I was starting to get the idea that we’d never find out way back to civilization. “Well, hurry up you two! If we hurry we could reach Ponyville before sundown. Come on!” Flitter shouted back excitedly before dashing off onto the distant road like a little girl. Cloud Chaser giggled at her sister’s sudden change of character. “Don’t worry, while my sister is going all filly like we can take it nice and slow. No need to rush at this point.” Cloud Chaser said with a smile as she wrapped a friendly wing around me. I gave her a kind smile in return as we continued to leisurely trot our way toward the road ahead of us. The idea of finally seeing Ponyville for real was intriguing. If there wasn’t the problem of my appearance. That reminded me. At what point in the timeline is all of this? Again, I don’t know much about the show’s timeline, simply because, again, I never really watched it. But it could still be important to know when I arrived, so that I don’t accidentally screw anything up, and I have read QUITE enough fanfiction to know that that’s usually is the case with situations just like mine. Also, I probably have to deal with the Pink One as well at some point in my life here. An encounter -just like with the Princesses- I’d like to avoid at all cost... but would probably fail knowing the reputation the Pink One has. “Hey, you still there, buddy?” Cloud Chaser suddenly nudged me. “You kind of zoned out there, for a moment. Is everything ok?” Cloud Chaser asked, with a bit concern in her tone. I simply shook my head. “No, nothing. Really, don’t worry. I guess I’m just hungry that’s all.” I half lied to her simply because I was pretty hungry. Since I had awakened in this pony filled world I had not a single bite to eat, or even to drink. Actually, now that I mentioned food and drinks, I am really feeling the hunger and thirst right now as my stomach suddenly made itself known for the first time. Man so this is how feeling really hungry feels like. Cloud Chaser giggled at the sound of my stomach suddenly voicing his concerns, making feel a bit embarrassed about it. Though that quickly changed when Cloud Chaser’s belly also voiced its own opinion as it was her turn to look slightly red in the cheeks at how much louder hers growled in comparison to mine. Which made me chuckle before both of our bellies growled together, making us both laugh out. “(Hehehehe) I guess we're both pretty hungry, then. But don’t worry. As soon as we reach Ponyville I’m going to head over to the market and buy all three of us something to eat and drink. What do you think?” she asked as we finally reached the dirt road ourselves. “Sounds nice, but is it really ok for you to dish out extra money because of me? I could, maybe, do something for you in return to pay that off.” I asked her with worried look as freeloading off of someone isn’t something i feel ok with. She simply giggled at me as she pulled me even closer to her, making me blush a bit in the process. “Dude… you’ve already done FAR more than most ponies possibly could! If you ask me, it is WE who owe you a lot. I would happily spend some extra bits just for you so you don’t have to go to sleep on an empty stomach again.” She answered me with another very sincere smile. “Oh… well… thank you then. I really appreciate it.” I answered back, smiling at her shyly. The rest of the trip was mostly met with silence as the two of us simply enjoyed the serenity of walking through a forest along a dirt road. Yeah, weird, I know. Especially since this forest is practically spelled with the words danger and death. “Oh, thank Celestia! Finally, the light at the end of the tunnel. Come on. I will just carry you so we can get out of here faster.” Cloud Chaser suddenly shouted excitedly into my ear, making me flinch from the volume. I let out a yelp of surprise as I was suddenly (and somewhat roughly) picked up by the surprisingly strong mare beside me (Or maybe I am just very light, who knows) and draped over her back at a somewhat awkward angle; My hind legs dangling from one end and my head off of the other. What the heck just happened? This is so freakin’ random. “Wa… wait a minute, why did you…?” I tried to ask before my sentence got lost inside my throat and instead found myself hanging on as the forest scene in front of me began to zoom by. All I could do at this point was hold on by wrapping my both my forelegs around her neck and hope that I didn’t have to eat dirt along the way. If it didn’t look and felt awkward before, it definitely did now! A grown Stallion dangling off of an overly excited galloping mare, trying to keep himself from falling off while crying out in the winds for her to stop. Yup...brilliant, dignity and pride out the window, not that i had any to begin with since i woke up here. “Cloud Chaser- what the hell- please stop and- put me back down- this is really unnecessary-y-y-y! WHY THE HECK ARE YOU DOING THI-I-I-S??!!” I complained in a high pitched panic tone as I slowly started to feel dizzy. She, of course, completely ignored me and continued her mad dash towards freedom…with me on the verge of falling off and losing my stomach juices, if I had any. “Ah finally out of this damn forest, and hello-o-o-o freedom!” The mare holding me shouted as she skidded to a halt, right after we passed the clearing. Ahh, sweet, sweet sunlight and clear open skies. Too bad I can’t FUCKING enjoy them ALL at the moment. I began to slowly slide off of her in a rather…comedic fashion as I groaned. “Oh… why… why, oh why does everything here have to be so difficult for me?” I groaned as I simply laid flat on my stomach. Who knew that you can easily lose your hunger by just getting a pony ride? Brilliant. Absolutely brilliant. “Cloud Chaser, what the buck did you do?” I heard Flitter ask in an unamused tone. “Nothing, really, I simply placed him on my back and galloped over here.” Cloud Chaser casually answered. I wanted to retort on that, but sadly I wasn’t in the best of moods to do so. Again who knew that an empty stomach can feel sick? The more you know. “Cloud Chaser, I swear, sometimes it feels like I have to look after a little filly.” A pair of hooves began to move closer towards me as I continued to moan into the dirt. “I am so sorry for my sister’s antics, Nava. Do you need help getting back up?” I heard Flitter ask as a hoof suddenly appeared in front of my vision. “Yeah… I think so.” I replied as I slowly grabbed her hoof with my own. With a grunt -and some shakiness- I managed to get myself back up on all fours. I gave away a small hiss as a small stab of pain erupted from my back, reminding me again of the injury I supposedly have back there. To be honest, I have yet to see it. “Oh your back, I completely neglected that. How does your back feel anyway? Still as painful as before?” She asked me with concern. “Well, surprisingly no… no it’s not as painful as it was yesterday… which is really weird to be honest.” I answered as I looked at her with a bit of surprise in how much the pain and soreness has subsided since yesterday. “Wait…I also wanted to ask. How DID my back look anyway, after…that one particular event happened? Was it an open wound, or was it a…” “No…besides some obvious bruises and dirt there was surprisingly nothing too serious-looking other than that, maybe, a few cuts here and there then some rather badly ruffled feathers on your wings. Which I preened this morning while you were still asleep.” Flitter answered causing me to raise an eyebrow. “Wait…seriously, just that? Nothing more?” I asked in disbelief. “Yeah, really. Both me and Sis here were quite surprised as well after we carried you to the cave and took a much closer look at your back afterwards.” Cloud Chaser responded as she came up beside her sister. I simply looked at both of them in utter disbelief. No serious injuries after a fall like that besides ruffled feathers and some cuts on my back? That… that’s just… how… You know what, screw it. I already made the decision to not try to make sense of this world and its rules. Just roll with it and learn from it, besides I should really be more happy that I am still generally intact after that incident and not question its probability. Magic Nava…its bloody magic. I shook my head. “Well, anyway… all impossibilities aside, where exactly are we?” I asked as I began to look around a bit. Flitter smiles. “Well we are on the outskirts of the Everfree just two or three kilometers away from Ponyville.” Flitter answered as she pointed with her hoof in a general direction. I followed it and, to my surprise, she was right. Just below the hill in a vast, open, green valley lay the famous town of Ponyville itself. Well, famous regarding the cartoon show. All the buildings, the style, the size were pretty accurate in comparison to what I saw on the internet. Even the large town hall was visible from here, also including the large apple farm of in the distance -the name of which I just couldn’t remember at the moment. Again, never watched the show itself. I blame the internet for the knowledge and interest I developed later on. What immediately ruined the amazing scenery of wide open fields, hills and chain of mountains of into the horizon was the sight of Canterlot off into the distance. A sight which, again, reminded me of the problem in keeping myself as anonymous from those two as I possibly could, and the rest of ponykind, for that matter. “Well anyway, come on let's go. We need to get some proper medical aid in Ponyville hospital and then get something to eat afterwards. Not to mention checking back at the local weather service office.” Flitter announced as she slowly trotted off into the direction of the town with Cloud Chaser again offering her assistance to me. But before she could get even far I called her out. “WAIT! I… I can’t go down with you guys. I mean, look at me. Wouldn’t my presence cause some sort of confusion, suspicion or even outright panic within the locals?” I explained while gesturing to myself with a hoof, making her stop and look at me in thought. “We… well, I don’t know, to be honest. But I guess you might be right judging by how I reacted to you at the beginning. Minus my sister here, who sometimes just doesn’t give a feather what’s happening around her.” Flitter answered while giving her sister a deadpan look. “HEY! You’re making me sound like an idiot again.” Cloud Chaser retorted. “I never implied that.” “Girls… please focus. I can’t go into town looking like THIS! We need to find a way to hide my true appearance.” I quickly interrupted before another argument between these two could start. Flitter tapped her chin in thought for a while before she looked like she had an idea. “Wait… how about covering your wings with bandages? You can pretend that you have suffered some kind of back injury (which is actually kind of true) or whatever and make yourself look like an ordinary unicorn.” She suggested. “A unicorn with an abnormally long horn.” Cloud Chaser suddenly added which made both of us switch our gaze up to my horn in realization. That could easily be turned into a dirty sex joke. “Well… true, but there’s nothing we can do about that. But I think it should be alright. I have heard of some unicorns who did possess abnormally long horns compared to other unicorns around their family, so I guess it’s not an impossibility, but more of a rarity.” She commented while looking thoughtfully up into the air. I sighted. “Well, I guess that’s it, then. Wrap myself up in cloth and pretend to be a unicorn.” I said as I grabbed my Fedora off my head and began to rummage through the interior until I felt and grabbed onto another large stack of Bandage rolls out of my hat. I remembered that I had a shelf full of medical supplies back home, including large stacks of bandages that I never used, which...shouldn’t be hard to imagine why to be honest. Both of their reactions were predictable, to say the least. “What?” I asked looking between the two. “No… nothing. All right, hold still while me and Cloud here wrap those bandages around you.” Flitter responded with a confused shake of her head. It took a while, but eventually my midsection was completely wrapped up, hiding my central torso and -more importantly- my wings from any outside viewers. “There. All done, no trace of wings in sight. How does it feel? Is it too tight?” Flitter asked after she looked over their hoofiwork. It does look somewhat ridiculous, I have to admit, but it least it serves its purpose. Better this than nothing, I guess. But I do have to eventually think of much better way in hiding my wings in the future because the whole “I’m injured around my chest and back” gag won’t work its magic forever, ponies will eventually get suspicious as time goes on. I could, one day, use actual magic to do the trick, but that was simply a plan for another day. First I needed to learn how to use actual magic before I could even get there. Getting back to the present, I simply shook my head letting her know that everything felt fine before Flitter, Cloud Chaser and I finally made our way down to Ponyville together. Well, here we go, meeting the land and these locals face to face for the first time. Let’s see how long I can last before I make things awkward again. Chapter 5: Town Fall Chapter 5: Town Fall Edited by: Chrome Masquerade “So… you guys don’t actually live in Ponyville?” I ask as we were trotting along the road toward the edge of town. “No, we don’t. We are living in Dorm rooms provided to us by the local weather office while we’re working here. Cloud and I actually live up in Cloudsdale.” Flitter answered. I nod as the three of us continued our uneventful journey to the local doctor house on the edge of town. A few ponies we passed by on the road give us some curious glances or stares but other than that, nothing of note. More and more ponies passed by as we came closer and closer towards the outskirts of the town, again some simply staring while some even started to gawk at my otherworldly long horn which immediately made me feel nervous as we passed them. “Hopefully this doesn’t fail at the first day.” I muttered. “Nah, don’t worry I think you’ll be fine. Just act like everypony else and you will fit right in.” Cloud Chaser tried to reassure me. I sighed. “It’s not really that easy, I’m awkward in public, in case you didn’t notice.” I answered as I was looking down to avoid the passing ponies’ gazes. I got -once again- pulled close to her making me blush. “Ah, don’t worry about that; that’s what we're here for.” She answered with a smile. I was about to reply when a weird whistling sound suddenly assaulted my eardrums accompanied by screaming that quickly grew alarmingly louder and louder with every passing second. I began to look around. “Wait a minute, Cloud… do you... do you hear anyth-” I tried to ask the mare beside before something hit me squarely. Really, really hard. All I could feel after that was pain and a mouth full of dirt as I came to a stop face down after I assume a few meters of tumbling and sliding backwards along the ground. Well, welcome to Ponyville I guess. What a great fucking start. “Oh hey dude, thanks for breaking my fall there. Who knows what could have happened if you didn’t!” A girly but otherwise scratchy voice suddenly announced on top of me. I simply groan in response. Yeah, no problem at all. WHO KNOWS what would have happened if you have crashed into another pony instead of me. They would probably have much more colorful words to say if that was the case. If THIS is the way random ponies greet someone for being new to the town then I don’t even want to imagine how a…certain pink catastrophe would be welcoming me. “Ca’ y’ pleeff ge’ offa me?” I mumbled with my face still in the dirt, Which tastes like how you imagine it would. Like freakin dirt. “Um… what?” She asked, confused, making me feel even more annoyed on top of already feeling quite uncomfortable. I immediately removed my face from the dirt and spat out the dirt in my mouth with disgust before replying again. “GET OFF OF MY BACK!!!” I shouted. “Oh! Right. Sorry there, dude.” She replied as I finally felt the weight being lifted off of my re-injured back. Oh, sweet relief. Also how the heck was I the only one getting hit and ragdolled around while Cloud Chaser did not, despite the fact she was basically holding? I shakily stood back up to all fours with a groan as my back once again feeling as if is was trampled over by a herd of rampaging horses, which might not be a too far fetch of an idea when you think about it. I dusted myself off a bit and re-adjusted my hat and glasses before turning around to see the pony I had the displeasure of getting physically acquainted with before I even know her… and oh my god I know who this pony is! “Oh hey, Rainbow. Doing stunts again?” Cloud Chaser casually asked as if nothing happened, unlike her sister who quickly rushed over to me to offer her support and concern. I really do not understand the logic between these two, sometimes it’s Flitter who shows more support and concern than her sister, then a few moments later it’s completely reversed. Some might say it's some sibling thing or whatever, but honestly I don’t get it. Then again, I’ve only known these two for like one and a half days so I can’t be too cynical, now can I? I gave Flitter a reassuring and thankful smile but eventually switched my attention back towards the blue rainbow maned mare standing in front of me. Oh, boy if all the bronies could see me now! You can take your silly cartoon, fanfics and fanart, shove them up your asses and go kick yourself in a corner because I am standing in front of one of the main cast of the bloody show…and I honestly feel nothing. Because A: I was never a dedicated or hardcore brony like a lot of others I know from the internet. And B: Because she crashed into me and re-ignited my back pain. Bloody brilliant. “Well yeah I was, but as you can tell… I did some… minor miscalculations.” RD answered to Cloud while rubbing the back of her head sheepishly before realizing something. “But wait a min… where the hay did the two of you disappear to? You two were missing for like almost 2 days and look absolutely awful as well. WAIT… did this stallion here cause all of this?” RD continued before turning angrily at me with an accusing tone under her voice making me flinch. SERIOUSLY, GIRL!? If I was somehow responsible for getting these two into this poor state, like beating them up or raping them or whatever, then why the FUCK would THESE two travel alongside or stay anywhere close to the pony responsible for their injuries? Use some common sense here, you blue twat! Normally I would feel somewhat intimidated by such an angry glare but with the presence of such narrow minded accusations I couldn’t help but go all RANT mode inside my head as I morphed my facial express into an “Are you for real?” kind of look. Oh god, I just realized, I am going to have a field day in this horse talking wonderland. Since this world is based off a cartoon from my world, cartoons usually have a tendency to lack any common sense from time to time no matter what that cartoon is, and MLP is obviously no exception. If this carries on even to here then I am going to have a fun time ripping some of these illogical moments to bloody pieces in my mind. YES in my mind because I don’t want to make myself look like an ass or anything like that. Besides the ones that do actually matter and can make stuff allot easier to approach in the future. Oh yeah, I still have to prevent RD -judging by the look she was still giving me- from trying to break me, don’t I? I was about to finally say something in regards of her accusation until Cloud Chaser beat me to it. “Wait, Rainbow, it’s really not what you think.” Cloud announced in front of her. “He’s actually the reason why the two of us are still alive at the first place. We were attacked by a pack of Timberwolves while we got ourselves lost in the Everfree Forest before HE eventually saved us from them when we were cornered.” Cloud quickly continued in one breath, which thankfully did the trick of easing the mare’s mood before eventually looking shocked instead. “Wait…you two went into the Everfree and got lost and attacked by Timberwolves? WHAT THE BUCK were you two even doing in there knowing that you two couldn’t even fly at the moment?” Dash demanded, wide eyed. Cloud Chaser chuckled nervously as she looked over to her sister for some possible support on this. Flitter simply sighted before stepping up herself. “Well…Cloud here had one of her…moments again when she thought chasing a thieving fox that stole some of her groceries into the Everfree was a good idea. Moments similar to yours sometimes if I am right.” Flitter casually explained with a deadpan expression aimed at her sibling. RD simply shook her head at that story before realization quickly sank into her. “He…Hey wait a minute.” She protested, which in turn made both of the sisters giggle at her reaction. She simply grumbled in annoyance before her gaze finally rested back on me, which honestly made me feel a bit nervous. “So…this guy here saved you two from a pack of vicious Timberwolves? How exactly?” She question which in turn made both of the sisters stop their giggling. Cloud Chaser again was the first one to respond. “Well…uhm…he…” Cloud Chaser started. RD to switch her gaze back to her which gave me the chance to visually tell her with my arms and facial expression to tell her that SHE can NOT tell her the one hundred percent truth for obvious reason as my nervousness soar up to new heights at this first serious confrontation. Almost to panic levels. Oh dear god please, please don’t screw this up cloud please. Cloud Chaser simply looked back at Rainbow Dash as she was rubbing the back of her neck. “He…uh saved us with his amazing unicorn magic. Yeah, you should have seen it, it was absolutely incredible. I had never seen a pony use such devastating spells like that before, pushing these nasty Timberwolves around as if they were bucking ragdolls or something! It really was awesome, right Flitter?” Cloud Chaser lied while looking over to her sister for confirmation. “Um… yes, right! it really was incredible.” Flitter answered with a forced smile making me want to burry my head back into the dirt. Oh god, why the bloody fuck did you have to make me look and sound so epic with magic in front of her? Now she’s going to build up some sort of expectation of me and I am sure such news is not going to stay anonymous forever, she is obviously going to tell someone and that someone is going to tell another someone and soon enough the whole bloody town will know about my “feats” and think I am this world version of Gandalf the White or something!! What the ass, my goal was to DIVERT as much attention from me as much as possible, not bring it in! Absolutely fucking brilliant, mate! Oh and one more obvious thing here…I still can’t use magic. So why the heck would you come up with such a cover up involving magic when I can’t use magic. What am I supposed to do when someone asks me to use my magic? But then again I can’t really be too hypocritical about this now can I, she obviously was in pressure trying to come up with a believable lie about my rescue act and with my cover up wings and simple unicorn looks magic was the quickest and easiest answer to make. All self-ranting thoughts aside, it seems as though this luckily managed to do the trick with Rainbow Dash swallowing the lie pill without even gagging on it. She began to look over to me with a small smile on her face after she gave an impressed whistle. “Wow, dude. If that is true then you definitely got my respect for that, For having the balls to go into the Everfree, stand up against a pack of Timberwolves alone and saving two of my friends from them all in the same day? I guess that makes you pretty awesome and ok in my books. Not as awesome as me of course.” RD commented as she slowly came over to me. “Oh and by the way, my name is Rainbow Dash. Fastest flyer in all of Equestria and future member of the wonderbolts.” RD boasted, puffing out her chest. “You can call me Rainbow, or Dash, or both.” “Who might you be?” She quickly asked as she flapped her wings to hover. “I’m Nava…just Nava. Nice to meet you, Rainbow Dash.” I casually answered while extending my hoof at her. “Strange name, but cool.” She answered shaking my hoof with a friendly smile. “Oh, and sorry for wrongly accusing you dude… I… I have the tendency to do that sometimes, immediately judging ponies without even knowing them. My bad.” She continued sheepishly while rubbing the back of her neck. Well, ok… that sounds legit. I simply nodded and gave her a small smile to tell her that everything was A-OK. She happily accepted it with a smile of her own before turning herself around to look at her friends. “I would guess you guys were heading to the hospital to get those injures checked up? Is it ok if I tag along? I have nothing else to do anyway at the moment.” RD asked as she hovered over them. “Sure, why not I guess.” Flitter replied. At this point it really didn’t take long for us to reach the local hospital in question. A White colored, three storey, medieval/European style building with a light blue double door entrance on front. Again, quite accurate to all the screenshots and art I saw in my world. Before Flitter could open the door, I stopped her. “Wait…can I…. Could I maybe wait outside while you two get yourself checked up? Because…” I look over at Rainbow Dash behind me. “Because… hospitals make me feel wary.” I explained to her while moving my eyes to point at RD behind me. “Oh… sure, why not. It’s probably going to take a while anyway. Plus waiting inside could get kind of boring.” Flitter responded. I nodded and gave a small smile as thanks before both Flitter and Cloud entered leaving me and RD standing outside alone. I sighed as I moved over to a free wall and sat down with my back leaning against it. I was about to close my eyes and fully relax myself for the first time since arriving in this candy colored candy land before I heard someone sitting down right next to me. To my surprise it was no one but Rainbow Dash herself sitting to my left. In a lot of fics I read, RD seems to be a bit wary towards newcomers, but I guess with me it’s somewhat of a different story because I saved some of her friends from getting there fuses blown out… and I guess that being a normal looking pony and not some strange hairless monkey from another dimension helps too, I guess. I looked over at the town that lay in front of me and simply observed all the ponies I could see bustling through the day while a gentle wind began blowing around us. I still can’t believe the fact that I am here in Equestria. Again, of all the massive fans I know back home that would have loved to end up in a place like this.... and I for some reason got sent here instead. Why… why, though? That really is the question that is bugging me since I got here, and most importantly, why as my OC? Why as an alicorn of all races? Couldn’t I have turned into a much less… problematic race instead? Like a Unicorn or a Pegasus? Something that would make my stay here much easier to swallow and NOT have to constantly hide or lie to protect myself from any suspicious eyes? “I already want to go home.” I whispered completely forgetting for a moment that RD was sitting beside me. “What was that?” She asked while looking at me. I flinch in surprise before lowering my head to look at the dirt below me. “Nothing…nothing” I quietly answered. “OK… you seem a bit down there, Nava. Is something on your mind?” She asked with a concerned tone, to my utter surprise. Rainbow feeling worried for a stranger she has no info off and just meant like 10 minutes ago? Now that feels even more out of character for her than usual. Or maybe it’s just me not knowing her well. I think I will go for latter, since I DO know almost nothing about her. I sighed before raising my head and looking at her. “Well, yes, kind of. But… it really is my problem, and my problem alone. I don’t think you will be able to help me with it to begin with.” I answered. She simply gave me a nod before looking back at the direction of the town in front of us. I do have to admit, in combination with the lush and vibrant landscape around it, this town does look peaceful and cozy. A place I definitely don’t have a problem staying in… if things didn’t seem so problematic. “So uh… where are you from, Nava?” Dash suddenly asked, stopping my train of thought. I shook my head. Oh shit, I knew this question was bound to come up at some point. Got to think of something, something believable and not shady. Wait… I got something. Oh, this is such a long shot but it’s really the only idea I have right now. The longer I delay the more suspicious it will be so I have to trust in luck and hope my answer does not backfire. “I’m from… Germaneigh.” I answered as casually as I possible could without looking to nervous. “Germaneigh? Really? I have heard of that place but I never met a pony from there. I guess there is first for everything huh?” Rainbow answered, chuckling quietly. I let out a heavy mental sigh of relief, knowing that my gamble luckily paid off for once. Huh. Good thing that the speculated idea that Equestria also has pony versions of existing countries from my world are actually true. Thank god for that. This will make explaining things a lot easier for me in the future. “Hey, can you maybe give me an example of your native language…not that I am super interested or anything… just curious just all?” Rainbow dash asked while rubbing her head. “Uh... sure.” I replied as I thought about something I could say to her in German. “Bist du wirklich ein akrobat Flieger?” “What does that mean?” she asked me curiously, cocking her head to one side. “I asked if you are really a stunt flyer.” I replied looking at her. “Yup. I am. Training every day to perfect my techniques for the day when I finally join the Wonderbolts.” She answered proudly. I gave off a small smile at that. That is really the Rainbow Dash I am more familiar with. Though, that quickly reminded me of a thought I had for a while. What point in the timeline did I end up at? I know that this question is somewhat irrelevant, but I think it would still be somewhat useful to know at what point in time I have landed in so that I can prepare better for the events that might or might not happen in the future. Should I risk asking? I mean, here is Rainbow Dash, one of the main characters and Element Bearers. This is my chance to finally answer this question once and for all, and maybe formulate an idea on how to proceed. But I need to be careful with the question I ask and not make myself look weird. But what to ask? Wait… I think I know what. Just hope I can get lucky like the first time. “Say…do you know a pony named Twilight Sparkle?” I ask again trying to look and sound as casual as possible. “Twilight who? Sounds like a unicorn name if you ask me. But no, I don’t think so… Why?” She answered looking confused at my question as she sat there scratching her head. “Well, I was just wondering if you knew her that’s all. Just… just forget it.” I replied while rubbing my left forearm. “Well… ok? Weird.” So her not knowing who Twilight Sparkle is can only mean that this currently takes place even before the first season. Good to know, I guess. But then again, that raises another question, how far back am I, from the time I am now to the point where Celly basically kicks her out? But I guess that really isn’t important now is it? At that point, the two of us simply began to talk to kill some time, asking the similar questions i asked the two Pegasus sisters, with a few jokes here and there, general thoughts on things and ideas and eventually asking me about my completely covered midsection in which I lied to her about having back and chest injuries there, which made her feel even more guilty. She even asked me what certain words are from her language to mine. Like Geil (Awesome), Wolke (Cloud) Blitz (Lighting) Adler (Eagle) to name a few. She even went so far as asking me if I could teach her some German at some time. I mean what? OK, she did say the reason why is so she can confuse and troll ponies with it, which I can kind of understand. That got me thinking though. Just because I am here in Equestria doesn’t mean that everything has to predictably follow the exact formula of the show, right? I mean, this here is its own separate world, with its own rules and events right? It doesn’t need to be as scripted or predictable as the bloody show. Because this is not a show, this is its own world where things can happen just as randomly and as unpredictably as in mine. That’s just real life. So I guess the same logic can be implied here as well, just add magic into the mix I guess. Our conversation and messing around continued a while longer and before we even knew it, it was already sunset forcing the two of us to finally stop. “Geez it’s already THAT late? How the hay did that happen?” Rainbow Dash announced, surprised. “Yeah… time can really fly when you’re engaged in a fun conversation.” I added to her statement. Rainbow Dash nods in agreement. “Yeah, it does. Man, I never thought that a pony like me would ever waste so much time just talking with a pony she has fun with.” Rainbow dash announced happily before flinching and realizing what she just said. I flinched as well. “Uh… hehe… well, yeah… I guess I had a lot of… well, fun hanging out with you. Who knew?” RD sheepishly said while rubbing her forelegs together. “Well… I am glad that I… made you enjoy yourself and not get bored with me or something.” I replied awkwardly also trying to avoid looking at each other. An awkward silence dominated the space between us for a few moments with only the sound of the wind being present. Surprisingly it was RD who eventually broke the awkward silence. “Ahh, screw it, yes I had allot of fun getting to know you Nava. Like really…I don’t know why but you look and seem a lot more interesting than I first thought. It was really nice getting to know you, Nava.” Dash announced sincerely as she gave me a smile. I lifted my head and smiled back. “Well, it was really fun getting to know you as well Rainbow Dash. Maybe we can hang out again some time?” I replied kindly. Truth be told I really did had a lot of fun getting to know her, this was easily one of the most interesting, engaging and funniest conversations I ever had with ANYONE. With Rainbow Dash of all ponies. Getting to know her by JUST talking. Crazy right? But at least now I know why so many bronies back in my world like her so much.. Rainbow nods at my offer. “Yeah, we totally should hang out more, maybe next time I will be able to show you some of my tricks and stunts as well.” She replied. I smiled back as usual and automatically bumped her hoof with mine. The two of us began to smile and chuckle after that. We both eventually stopped as Dash stood back up on all fours as she stretched her fore and hind legs. “Well, Nava, it was fun, but it’s late now and I really need to get back home before Celestia raises the moon.” She continued. “Geez, all I did for the last few hours was sit on my flank and I still feel utterly exhausted.” She said with a yawn as she made ready to take off. I stood up myself stretching my still aching back. It gave off a large painful crack which made me groan and grit my teeth in pain for a few seconds until the pain slowly subsided to a point where my back felt completely normal again to my utter surprise. Wait what? How? Why? You know what I don’t care it’s just nice that everything about me finally feels normal now for once and not sour stiff or painful. “You’re ok there, Nava?” Dash asked, looking over her shoulder concernedly. I shook my head. “No, no it's fine really, just needed to pop some joints that’s all. I feel a lot better now, to be honest.” I answered giving her a reassuring smile. She nods before extending her wings and getting ready to take off. “Well anyway, see you tomorrow…maybe when I have time. Anyway, I am off. Bye” She says before finally taking off. Huh…I somehow managed to earn Rainbow Dash's trust and friendship despite only knowing her since a little earlier this day. Kind of neat actually. I thought to myself as I watched her fly off and quickly disappear into the distance. But then, something hit me. “OH SHIT! I COMPLETELY FORGOT!!!” I shouted in realization. “FLITTER! CLOUD CHASER! HOW THE BLOODY FUCK COULD I HAVE FORGOTTEN!!!” I shouted in panic. I immediately bolted into the hospital, slamming into the main entrance. Though far less gracefully as I would have liked as I quickly found myself kissing the hard cold floor of the lobby room. “Look at that funny stallion mommy.” I heard a filly giggle as I lay flat on the floor. Again, welcome to Ponyville folks. “Ugh, note to self, don’t bust through doors, or at least do it without tripping on yourself.” I groaned, feeling really dumb. To amuse the filly i said “I’ll be here ‘til thursday. Try the apples!” “Oh! Would you, maybe, need some assistance there, sir?” I heard a mare call out. Probably one of the nurses in this place. “No, I’m fine. Don’t worry, just clumsy ol’ me that’s all.” I replied as I slowly got myself back on all fours. A small blush formed on my cheeks as I embarrassedly made my way over to the nurse’s counter on the other side of the room while avoiding the stares of the adults and giggles of the little foals. But I also had the feeling it had something to do with the bandages as well. Which does look a bit ridiculous. “Oh, excuse me miss.” I began “Do you know any… ponies with the name Flitter and Cloud Chaser passing by here?” I asked the nurse after having reached her desk. “Cloud Chaser and Flit…? OH… OH dear Celestia! How could I have forgotten?!” The Nurse in front of me started panicking, making me feel confused. “You’re Nava aren’t you? I was supposed to go out and tell you that both Miss Flitter and Cloud Chaser are going to be staying here for the night and that they were waiting in their rooms for you. Horse Apples, I was too busy with other patients earlier and completely forgot about it.” The white mare in front of me suddenly stated. “Uh… what?” “Oh I am so, so sorry sir. I swear I was caught up with my work and completely forgot, but don’t worry I will escort you to their room, if you would please follow me.” The nurse announced as she stood up from her desk and trotted down a corridor mentioning me to follow her. I simply shrugged as I silently followed her down the hallway. “Oh and by the way. My name is Nurse Redheart, if you are wondering, or if you need any help in the future with those bandages of yours.” She says as we rounded a corner. Nurse Redheart? Huh…no wonder she looked familiar. I simply gave a nod as we silently passed by a few other nurses and doctors running around the halls. Redheart eventually lead me to a marine blue colored door at the end of the corridor with a plate on top reading Room 23 as she turned to face me. “Alright, this is the room which Miss Flitter and Cloud Chaser are occupying today, and again I am so very sorry for not having told you this sooner Mister Nava. Have a nice evening.” Nurse Redheart announced with an apologetic look before excusing herself and trotting off back to her station. “Oh, and thank you by the way.” I called out to her, to which she responded by waving a hoof back at me before rounding a corner. I gave off a sigh as I turned my attention back to the door. I slowly lifted my hoof and gently tapped a few knocks on it and patiently waiting for anyone to response on the other side. “Yes who is it?” I heard the muffled sound of Flitter from the other side of the door. “Oh um it’s… me, Nava.” I called back. “Oh, nice. Come in then.” I heard her response. I slowly opened the door, thankful that these use handles and not door knobs and was greeted with… and I quickly closed the door again as my face flushed red. Did… did I just see… what I think I saw? “What…why did he…” “I think it’s because he saw your private areas with your legs spread like that and hanging from a support harness. I told you to cover that up with your blanket as well. But you decided it felt more comfortable this way.” I heard the muffled sound of Cloud Chaser say as I am still in the process of getting my blush under control. “O… oh.” “Ok, Nava. It’s all good now. You can come in again.” Cloud Chaser called out. I readjusted myself and opened the door, slowly muttering a thanks speech that I am greeted with just the smiling face of Cloud to my right and a very embarrassed looking Flitter on my left, this time completely covered by her blanket. I entered the room and closed the door behind me and stood there somewhat awkwardly while I tried to think of something to tell Flitter that would ease the embarrassment we both felt. “Oh and by the way, remember when I said that I was going to get us some food for the three of us in the market today? Well I guess we can forget about that since the hospital already provided that for us. We even ordered something for you. It’s in the small fridge there in the corner.” Cloud Chaser explained. It’s when she mentioned the word food that a coin suddenly fell in my head. I was still as hungry as I could possibly be and I completely ignore and forgot that thanks to the events and experienced that happened today. But now that she mentioned it, my previous hunger returned with full force as my stomach began shouting at me to finally stop fucking around and to finally shove something down my throat so he can stop being idle all the time and get back to work. Food, food, food, FOOD FOOOOOOOOOD! I NEED SOME DAMN FOOOOOOD!!! All previous thoughts and emotions quickly dissipated as one deep primal desire took over and all I could think and hear in my head was nothing more than a four letter word. With the grace and patience of a half-starved predator I immediately rushed myself over to the small hospital fridge that Cloud had pointed out and began rummaging it for anything that was eatable, and thank GOD there was. An apple, a banana, a large sandwich and heck even a cooked fish were occupying the space of the small fridge. Not for long, though as I began to viciously devour each and every one of them without even bothering to take them out of the small ice box. “Geez, Nava if I knew you were this hungry I would have told the staff just bring two portions instead of just one.” I hear Cloud comment as I continued to destroy the food. Fuck table manners I’m HUNGRY. But as soon as my blissful joy of finally eating something started it also ended just as quickly leaving nothing behind, beside a banana peel, a fishbone and an empty plate behind. “No more food, food.” I whimpered looking down at the empty fridge with sad expression. “Water?” Cloud Chaser offered pushing a water bottle towards me on her night table. I quickly grabbed it with both of my front hooves and bit off the cap on it before sucking down all of its content in one go. I gave of a heavy sigh and placed the empty bottle back onto the table before collapsing flat onto the floor, letting the satisfaction of having a full stomach take me. The only thing that broke this peace was Cloud Chaser’s familiar giggle as she poked her head over the edge of her bed. “Seems like somepony is satisfied. Or do you want me to order you more?” She asked with a smile. I shook my head. “Nah, I’m good. Thanks, by the way, for the food. I really needed it.” I thanked her. “By the way. Why were you guys assigned to this room? Were the injuries even more severe or did I miss something regarding that?” I asked while slowly standing back up. “Also why is Flitter’s… leg hanging like that as if her leg is broken or something?” I continued while scratching my head. This quickly took Flitter’s attention as she visibly blushed again and turned her gaze to look at me. “Well… it’s… it’s because when it was… my turn to be looked at, Doctor Horse found out that -beside all of my wounds and bruises- I also had a small bone crack on my left leg. Which, according to him, got larger while we were making our way over here. How I didn’t feel That is a mystery to me. But he suggested that my hind leg should stay like this while we are staying here for the night so that the healing magic can do it's work more quickly.” Flitter explained as her blush slowly subsided. It was then when Cloud Chaser took over the rest. “And as for the reason on why we are here is to keep an eye on the two of us for one night to make absolutely sure that everything is and stays OK.” Cloud Chaser added making me again scratch my head a bit. “Makes sense… I guess.” I answered. “But it’s still good to know that the two of you are good. Did a nurse replace the bandages on your flank by any chance?” I continued while looking over at Flitter on the other side of the room. Fitter nod. “Yeah, the doc also said that my wounds are void of any possible infections or disease.” She explained happily which in turn made me happy to know as well. “I’m glad to hear that.” I say with a smile as I trot over to the closest window. “Huh… night already.” I muttered. I could hear one of the Girls behind me give a loud yawn as I continued to observe the beautiful star-filled night outside the window. Man, even the night skies here look unbelievable. By unbelievable I mean on how many there are and how bright there are as well. Again, only something you can expect in a cartoon, and the moon… well if I wasn’t convinced that this here might be pre-season one timeline before, I was definitely convinced then, seeing that the bright white moon still had the image of Nightmare Moon’s head on it. But, then again, I am still curious to know exactly how far back in time I really am, here? How long until a certain purple unicorn makes her way over here, which in turn jump starts everything that has happened in the cartoon show? Only time can tell I guess. “Hey, Nava. How about we all hit the hay and call it a day?” I heard Cloud Chaser call from behind, which again interrupted my inner musing. I turned my head from the window to look at her. “I guess you're right with that. I’m exhausted after everything today. Hitting the snoozers doesn’t sound like a bad idea.” I answered with a yawn. It was then, though, when something hit me. ”Wait a minute… where I am supposed to sleep?” I asked after realizing this problem. That though caused Cloud to giggle again, which caused me to raise an eyebrow. “Well you can come and sleep with me, of course. There is enough space in these hospital beds for two, anyway, plus it would be cruel to have you sleep on the cold, hard hospital floor now would it?” Cloud Chaser suggested kindly. I looked at her in shock. “WHAT!!!” I shouted while blushing. “But… but we… can’t, I mean… we are not…” I rambled. Cloud rolled her eyes. “Oh please, just shut up and get over here, you. If you can face a pack of Timberwolves all by yourself, I doubt going to bed with a weak, defenseless, vulnerable, sexy mare wouldn’t be too much of a problem.” She said in a seductive tone at the end while giving me the all so dreaded bedroom eyes that every brave man fears. I was sweating bullets at this point as I stood there in utter shock on just how far south this suddenly went. My wings, still tight against my side, were straining against the bandages, for some reason. “I… I think I’d rather…” I started before I got interrupted by the giggling form of Cloud. “Geez, Dude. I was just messing with you. Calm down before something on you gets hard or something.” She said in between giggles. “But seriously, it’s ok Nava. Just climb aboard on my right here and we can finally call it a day.” She eventually said after her giggling had stopped. I sighted in relief and quickly calmed down after what she said, but still felt somewhat stupid for believing that she might already have developed an interest in me, despite the fact that we’ve only known one another for about 2 days. Or maybe she has. Shaking my head on that particular thought, I simply decided to accept her invitation and made my way over to the right side of her bed. I again looked at her for any confirmation that it was ok in which she nods and moved over to her left to give me enough space for me to lie down onto the bed with her. I honestly don’t know why I feel so nervous sharing a bed with her when I know that there is no funny business involved with it. I thought to myself as I tried my best to suppress the nervousness inside me as I removed my glasses and hat and placing them onto a nearby table before laying back down. The feeling of the soft mattress against my back and the sensation of my head resting on a big fluffy pillow made me sigh in utter bliss. It really felt like an eternity since I last had the pleasure of laying on an actual bed which may or may not be true judging on how hazy my memory is. But all of that really didn’t matter since I was just happy to finally lay down after such a long and extraordinary day. “Comfortable?” I heard Cloud’s voice ask as close my eyes and relaxed myself. “I take that as a yes.” She continued with a small giggles as I heard someone press off the light switch which immediately cloaked the room in its darkness. “Alright *Yawn* goodnight then everypony.” Was the last thing I heard before sleep finally took me. Chapter 6: Pony version of Scrubs /Chapter 6: Pony version of Scrubs/ Edited by: Chrome Masquerade “Hey, wake up. Hey, guys. The doctor is here. Wake up you two. WAKE UP!” “Please, just 5 more minutes.” I mumbled while trying to get myself back to sleep. “Yeah… what he said.” I heard someone mumble right next to my ear. Wait… right next to my ear? Nah, I must be still half dreaming or something. Though, the large pillow I have pressed against my side strangely feels a lot… fuzzier than i imagined. Maybe that’s just how Hospital pillows are in Equestria? To give their patient more comfort while they stay here. Again I wouldn’t know. Also I don’t care because I just want to get myself back to sleep. “Seriously, guys. Wake up. The doctor and the nurse have been waiting patiently for over 5 minutes for you lovebirds to get up. You two can cuddle later after the doctor is done.” I heard the same irritating voice say. I groaned in annoyance as my sleepiness was slowly slipping away from me the more I heard this voice talk to me. Even my side pillow seemed to be irritated by it as it gently began to steer against my side as it let out an annoyed whimper. Yeah you said it pillow, some peoples just don’t seem to understand that…. Wait…moving fuzzy pillow that whimpers? I thought to myself quietly as my eyes abruptly opened. “Ugh… can you please also be quiet and stop moving around so much? I am trying to sleep here you plot hole.” I heard MY side pillow say as it began to move and shift again, rubbing itself against me as I felt… something move itself along my chest. I immediately knew what was going on as my memory from last night resurfaced and a slow look to my left side confirmed it as well. My cheeks immediately went red as I saw the sleeping form of Cloudchaser pressed against me with her snout dangerously close to mine. I did the only logical thing an awkward person like me who never had a girl THIS CLOSE in his entire life would do in a situation like this. Scream like a fucking pussy. “YAHHHHHHHHH!!!” “AHHHHHH WHAT THE BUCKING BUUUUUUCK!!!” “WHY ARE YOU RUBBING AGAINST ME?” “I DON’T KNOW, WHY IS YOUR MUZZLE SO CLOSE TO MINE?” “I DON’T KNOW WHY ARE YOU…” I began as her words clicked. After realizing that both of us quickly scrambled away from one another with bright red blushes adorning our faces as we looked away. I could hear a bunch of giggling and chuckling in the background as I was trying my best to get my blood away from my face. Ugh… can’t I ever get a normal wakeup call for once? Or is this going to be my new norm from now on? I thought to myself as a white figure suddenly moved itself in front of my view. Looking up, I could tell that it was none other than the nurse I met yesterday. Nurse Redheart I presume. “Well, good morning there Mister Nava. Sorry for having to wake you and your marefriend up so rudely, but it’s because the Doctor here needs to check up on both miss Flitter and miss Cloud Chaser over there before giving them the hooves up to leave.” Nurse Redheart explained with sad smile when something quickly registered. “Wha…wha what? No she is NOT my girl… I mean marefriend at all. She... she’s just a friend.” I stuttered quickly as my face went full red once more. “Oh… that must be hard to hear for Miss Cloud Chaser over there, denying right in front of her that you two are together.“ Redheart responded with a disapproving look while shaking her head at me. My brain basically broke down at that point as I felt beyond embarrassed at this stage. Luckily though, Cloud -laying beside me- came to the rescue. “Wha…what? No…nononononono, he… he’s right we’re just friends. I simply offered him to sleep with me last night because I didn’t want him to sleep on alone on the cold hard floor.” I heard her quickly respond which made me sigh in relief internally. “Well, one of you could have simply asked some of the staff about that and they would have easily pushed another bed into this room for him to sleep on. There is enough space for a third bed here.” The nurse replied, looking at both of us. Both of us immediately felt dumb after she brought that up. Making us go red once more in embarrassment for not having thought of that ourselves until someone coughed in the background. “Well, that’s all well and good now. But I seriously still have a job to do here, so if we could please move this silliness aside for a moment so that I can get done with this check-up? That would be just dandy.” I heard the doctor say in the background. I quickly got control over myself again as I removed the covers and climbed out of bed… or more like fell off of it as one of my hooves somehow got stuck on the bed sheet. I moaned in discomfort as my face hits the floor first. “I’m ok…I’m alright.” I say as I immediately got back up. Both the nurse and the doctor at the door shaking their heads at my antics. I simply rubbed my head while smiling sheepishly at them until I realized that everything was still blurry for me. “Oh yeah, my glasses.” I thought aloud as I quickly grabbed them from the small table beside me and put them back on. How did I suddenly learn to grab stuff with my hoof? Also why is Flitter over there looking at me so weirdly? Is there something on my face? “Anyway, let’s have a look, then.” I heard the doctor say as he first went over to Flitter with a clipboard floating next to him. Oh yeah…magic, that's a thing here...forgot about it for a second there. I simply grabbed my hat and made my way over to a corner as I watched both the doctor and nurse do their stuff. I watched the unicorn perform his magic on Flitter’s injured legs before telling her that her injuries were ok and that her leg is mostly good to go, as long as she doesn’t put too much stress on it for a few more days. Cloud Chaser’s check-up was much more straightforward, simply looking over the cuts and bruises before giving her the OK sign as well. I was about to lose myself in my thoughts once more until I got interrupted by the doctor. “Well how about you sir. Do you want me to check up on your injuries as well?” The doctor asked while pointing as the bandages on my midsection. I quickly shook my head. “No thanks, I already had gotten myself looked at just a few days ago by another doctor. No need for it.” I replied a bit nervously while not looking and sounding too suspicious. “Well, alright then. By the way, I told your two companions that they are free to go today. Have a nice day.” The doctor responded as he quickly excused himself from the room with the nurse following him before closing the door. I sighed in relief after they were gone as I returned my attention to the two mares in front of me, with Flitter still giving me this strange look. I raised an eyebrow at her. “Why are you looking at me like that Flitter?” I asked totally confused. “Nava, I… I could have sworn that you didn’t have a cutie mark yesterday. But… but now you do all of a sudden.” She pointed out with her hoof. “Wait… what?” I asked, totally confused at her sudden statement. “Actually… yeah, sis is right. You suddenly have a cutie mark on your flank, there.” Cloud Chaser also pointed out as she looked at me in surprise. “Wait… seriously?” I asked before quickly looking behind me, and wouldn’t you know it, they were right. Right there on my flank -which I could have sworn was mostly blank since I arrived here- was a cutie mark, same for the other side after I checked there as well. “Ok, seriously, WHAT?” I asked out loud while still staring at it. “Well, look at the bright side. At least nopony can call you a blank flank.” I heard Cloud comment as I continued to stare at my butt in disbelief. How the heck did I suddenly got a butt tattoo? Most intriguing of all is that it’s MY cutie mark, the cutie mark I drew when I made this OC. It’s a very simple looking cutie mark, a simple rolled up piece of paper with a pencil drawing on it and with one of my wings spread fully behind it. Again, I promised myself that I wouldn’t ask anymore questions regarding the laws of this world, but this still managed to really bug the crap out of me. How it is possible for me to just randomly get a cutie mark overnight without even knowing about it? But then again the same can be asked in how I suddenly find myself in Equestria as my old OC. Where is my sense of priority? I simply shook my head to get all of those thoughts out of my focus point. “Well…guess I’ve got a cutie mark now… I guess.” I commented while scratching my head. “Well, that’s neat, if you ask me. Though one question still remains, though.” Cloud Chaser wondered as she climbed out of her bed. “What?” “What it represents.” Flitter answered this time as she removed her no-longer-broken leg from its straps. I rubbed my face with my hoof as I thought about it. “I know what it means, but… should I really tell them outright or pretend I don’t know?” I thought as I looked back at my rump. I guess it really doesn’t matter now, does it, my mark really doesn’t mean anything outlandish in term of its meaning so I guess I can just flat out tell them what it means. I can’t keep hiding the truth forever, especially not from these two who are as far as I know the only friends I have in this world that I can also trust, and trust comes with telling the truth all and foremost. “It… it represents that I am good at sketching and the wing behind it represents the freedom and unlimited nature of my imagination.” I explained to them truthfully with a sheepish grin. For a moment there was silence before it was broken by one of the mares. “Wait… if your cutie mark just randomly appeared last night without any of us realizing it... how come you already know what the meaning of your cutie mark is?” Flitter questions as carefully got out of her bed. That was a really good question of her. Thankfully I got that covered as well. “Well…” I started “It’s because I always was good at that, been expressing my ideas and imagination on a piece of paper since I was little and when I first saw my mark I simply made the conclusion that this had to be its meaning. Judging by the way it looks.” I explained while showing them my mark. Cloud Chaser scratched her head while looking confused. “So wait…if that is the case then why did it appear just now… and not much earlier when you were still a colt?” she asked as she took a closer look at my rump, which made me blush a bit. “I honestly don’t know.” Which was half the truth to be honest. On one hand I only arrived in this world like 2 days ago, which automatically explains everything but on the other it still simply appeared out of nowhere with no rhyme or reason whatsoever. Another question I can add to the growing list. The more time that passes here, the deeper the mystery becomes and the more confused I get. My logical human mind can only take so much. “Hmmm. Well, anyway it doesn’t matter, does it? I mean, you have one and that’s what counts. But if what you were saying is true then you’ve got to show us some of those drawing skills you have.” Cloud Chaser announced with a smile before moving closer and whispering something into my ear. “Also, can you draw my sister looking like a slut?” “Wait, what?” I responded in shock. “Huh? What was that?” Flitter queried “Nothing sis…nothing.” Cloud Chaser replied, smirking I feel awkward again. “Well, anyway let’s get out and get ourselves some breakfast. Also, I hate hospital food.” Cloudchaser announced happily before whispering something in my ear again before going through the door. “But seriously I would love to see her drawn like a slut.” I simply raised my eyebrow at her as she exited the room with a giggle. I turned my head back towards Flitter who was making her way to the door as well.. or more like slightly limping to it with a bit of a pained expression on her face. “Hey…are you ok? I can support you if you want.” I offered to her. Flitter shook her head as she stopped in front of me. “No it’s ok. The pain primarily comes from the healing spell the doctor has used to help heal my leg much faster. It’ll just be for a short while and after that I will be ok. But thanks for the offer nonetheless.” She answered with a thankful smile. I nodded and was about to head out of this room together with Flitter when I noticed her losing her footing and caught her with the right side of my body before she could fall. “Maybe you do need some help after all.” I looked at her. She simply smiled sheepishly while rubbing the back of her head. “Yeah I guess I do. Thanks for catching me by the way.” She thank with a smile which I returned. “Hey, you two lovebirds get your flanks moving. I’m hungry!” Cloud Chaser shouted from the other side of the hallway, causing both of us to groan in sync. We both looked at one another realizing what the two of us had done before chuckling together and making our way out of this hospital and directly into the town. Chapter 8: I don't like heights Chapter 8: I don’t like heights Edited by: Chrome Masquerade Ugh, last night’s “Welcome to Ponyville” party was… interesting to say the least. It certainly wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be, but it didn’t exactly go perfectly either. Pinkie Pie did held true to her promise and claims when she suddenly showed up to the already set up party with a humongous cake on a large food cart behind her, and placing it on a somewhat small and creaky looking table. Let’s just say that putting such a huge thing on such a small and worn out looking table isn’t the best nor safest idea. Especially when foals are nearby and accidentally bump into one of its legs. The result was… predictable. Even more so when I was standing in front of it at the time to gauge at the massive sugar bomb of a cake only to have it slowly become bigger and bigger until it was too late. Needless to say that my first ever welcome party in this world started with me being covered in a whole year’s worth of diabetes and let me tell you, cake frosting sticks horribly on fur, especially in fabric such as my hat and scarf. It’s even worse trying to wash that stuff out. But it was tasty, at least, so there’s that. I still somewhat smell like chocolate and vanilla despite having bathed both yesterday and this morning. But beyond that one little incident the party was…surprisingly fun to be honest. Pinkie immediately managed to whip up a much more… manageable replacement for the cake… in… record time of course. Which still has me stunned thinking about it. The majority of the town was there, to my surprise, including a lot of ponies I actually recognize from back home. Rarity and Rainbow Dash were there, as promised, and even Applejack was there, to my surprise. Though, to be honest, the introduction between the two of us was rather short. The only ones from the Mane 6 that were not there were Twilight (for obvious reasons) and Fluttershy (for… also obvious reasons). Overall, the party was, again, surprisingly fun, I got the chance to socialize a bit more and the food, of course, was unbelievable. Big props to Pinkie’s amazing baking skills. Though, I have to be careful with that if I don’t want to ever plan making a return trip to the local hospital. But thankfully I got that event out of the way and now I was just waiting -again- for the two sisters to finally get- “Helloooo, Equestria to Nava, are you there man?” Oh. Right. Rainbow Dash is here as well. I shook my head. “S-sorry Rainbow I was just… spaced out again.” I say awkwardly. “Again? Jeez, dude! Sometimes I wonder if you are still on the same plane as ours. Spacing out so much like that can’t be healthy.” RD chided playfully beside me. I simply chuckle. “Well… yeah, it’s just that I have a lot of thoughts running through my mind. Sometimes I just like to sit down and think for a while.” Rainbow Dash shook her head. ”Well anyway, as you already know, today is the day where I finally take the spot of Ponyville’s weather captain… which is both neat and… sucky to be honest.” RD explained with a groan at the end. “Why is that?” I asked while looking at her. “Well, for one thing the income will be better but... that also means I am going to be even more busy than before which means less free time and less practicing my stunts.” She answered with a disappointed look. I placed my hoof onto her shoulder to comfort her. “Hey, it’s really not that bad, is it? You’re probably only going to be busy during the major seasons, and besides, the fastest flyer in all of Equestria should be able to clear up a bunch of clouds faster than they can come. Think of it as training as well, the faster you can clear or move them the better.” I explained to her with a smile, which thankfully did the trick in lifting her spirits. “You're right. I can do it. Faster than anypony ever has.” She announced proudly and with determination. I chuckled. Now *that** is the Rainbow Dash I know.* “Ok, we're done! We are ready to go!” Flitter suddenly announced as she and her sister came back with saddle-bags strapped onto their backs. Rainbow Dash and I got up from out sitting position to join them as the four of us made it onto the platform where the hot air balloon was waiting for them. I felt particularly sad about it, because it meant saying goodbye to the first ever friends I made on this rock. But it also meant that I was going to be on my own from then on, a thought that never fully registered until right then. But then again, I can’t just freeload off those two forever, that would just be way too selfi- “Well Nava are you coming or not?” Flitter suddenly asked as she was about to enter the basket. “What?” I asked totally confused. She gave me the same confused look before shaking her head. “Well, are you going to enter basket or not? Our pilot can’t wait for us forever. He has a schedule to keep.” “Wai… wait, am I supposed to come with you guys?” I asked, surprised. Flitter raised an eyebrow at that. “Well, duh… I mean do you have a place to stay here?” she asked me as if it was the most obvious thing ever. I simply shook my head as Cloud Chaser made her way back over to me. “Well then, come with us to Cloudsdale. Our home has some spare bedrooms that have been empty for a very long time. Too long, in fact. You can have one of them and live with us. Come on, it’ll be fun. I promise.” Cloudchaser offered with a smile. I was surprised even more. “But… But… why would you two offer me your home to stay in? You two already did and paid so much for me, I don’t want to invade your home as well as a freeloader that would be just…” I began before I got stop by Flitter as she trotted over to us. She sighed. “Nava, don’t worry. It’s ok. Think it as us repaying you for saving our lives. I don’t know about you, but to me somepony’s life is worth more than all the Bits and gold in Equestria combined. So there will never be a limit to how much we owe you.” Flitter explained with a truthful smile and tone behind her every word. I began to feel really emotional after hearing her say that as I did my best to keep the tears in me. This was easily one of the friendliest offers anyone has ever given to me. These two literally offered space in their own home for me to stay and live in. Becoming part of their lives, essentially. I felt a wing wrapping itself around my back as I sat there still feeling unsure about it. I lifted my head to see that it was Cloud Chaser sitting beside me giving me an encouraging smile. “Hey, don’t you dare go all sad and emotional on us now. As my sister said it’s totally ok. We would happily share our home with you, unless you prefer sleeping in the streets alone with no name to yourself.” Cloud explained before killing the mood at the end by spelling out the reality of my situation. Well done for killing the mood there, Cloud, real smooth. It was then RD’s time to step in. “Wait a min… He is a unicorn right. So how the heck is he supposed to live up in Cloudsdale if he isn’t a Pegasus?” RD asked looking rather confused. “Cloudwalking spell.” All three of us automatically answered in unison. “Oh… forgot about that.” Dash answered. “Well anyway, just come with us, ok? No need to feel as if you are taking advantage of us. It really is our pleasure.” Flitter said as she gave me an encouraging smile of her own before turning back towards the Gondola. “Yeah, Nava. Let's go. Before Steam tool over there starts complaining about us taking too long.” Cloud Chaser added before she followed her sister. A voice came from the balloon. “Hey! What’s taking you girls so long?” “See?” Cloud Chaser said, smiling sweetly before trotting back. I sighed in defeat and looked over to Rainbow Dash for any form of comment, in which she nodded her head at the two sisters’ invitation to join them. I nodded back and made my way over to them. “Well, as much as I don’t enjoy the idea to weasel myself into their lives I guess I just have to accept their generosity. And to be honest they do have a point. I have nowhere else to go or to stay.” I thought to myself as I entered the hot air balloon’s basket. “Alright, we're off. Next stop: Cloudsdale.” The stallion named Steam tool announced as he pulled a lever which caused a small geyser of flame to erupt from the burner above us. It wasn’t long before the entire thing began to slowly rise into the air. Flitter and Cloudchaser began to wave and shout goodbye to Rainbow Dash below as Ponyville slowly started to distance itself from us as we rose higher and higher. I would have loved to say my goodbyes as well, but my fear for heights prevented me from even looking over the edge of the gondola as I simply sat down in my own little corner. I just hope we don’t have to go up too high to reach Cloudsdale, otherwise both the trip and my stay in that floating cloud city is going to be a nerve wracking one. I thought to myself as I tried my best to ignore the fact that the Gondola was swinging slightly in the wind. I might actually regret the idea of posing as a unicorn instead of a Pegasus. “Come on, Nava, just a little peek isn’t going to hurt you. Besides, you will have to get used to it eventually, especially if you’re going to live with us.” Cloud Chaser teased, being her fifth attempt already to try and make me look over the edge. But I held firm. “I already said NO. I am not going to look down and see how high up we really are. It’s already bad enough that this stupid thing is swaying in the wind, so I really don’t need the extra information.” I complained back. I already feel bad enough in my stomach thanks to the constant swaying of the Gondola in the winds and I don’t want the added bonus of pissing myself too, thank you very much. It was then when our pilot finally decided to step in as well. “If you are so afraid towards heights, then way are you going to Cloudsdale?” The unicorn stud asked making me almost gag as a heavy wind caused the Gondola to sway again. Because these two live up there and I have no other choice that’s why. I thought, again trying to not make myself look or sound like an ass by saying it out loud. “Just leave him alone you two. You can already see that he feels very uncomfortable about it. So stop teasing him.” Flitter stepped to the rescue once again, making them shut up. “Thank God for Flitter and her ability to…” I began to think before getting interrupted by her. “BUUUUT Cloudchaser is right about the fact that you have to get used to it one way or another if you are going to live with us.” Flitter quickly added. I groaned in annoyance as I knew that they were right. I stood back up. “FINE… I am going to take a peek if it makes all three of you happy.” I shouted as I wobbly turned myself around to look over the edge of the box. And… we are pretty high. Very high. DANGEROUSLY high. STOMACH TURNING HEIGHT AND OH MY GOD WHY THE HELL DID I AGREE TO THIS?! My heart rate quickly skyrocketed as I realized just how high we actually were, making me collapse back onto the floor of the Gondola as I tried my best to keep my breathing under control. Until I started to realize that separating me and the vast expanse of space below me was nothing more than a thin wicker floor preventing me from falling to my utter demise. Making my situation feel even worse than it already was. Panic mode engaged. Please make sure that your breathing and heart rate are as irregular and wild as physically possible, please contact your local service operator for further info. Why am I here again? Can I please get back down? I think I am going to throw up. At this point the world around me slowly started to numb from existence as I curled myself up into a ball trying my best to keep my panicked mind under control and failing miserably as I started to slowly hyperventilate. The only thing that semi worked on me was my hearing, but really. who cares about hearing when you’re on the verge of breaking down. “I… I think he’s broken.” “I think he is having an internal panic attack. I told you two to leave him alone.” “HEY, you where the last one pushing him about it.” “Well, I had no idea he would react like THAT.” “Well what are we going to do now Flitter? We can’t leave him like this.” “Hmmm… I have an idea.” “Really what is it?” “Try kissing him.” “…. WHAT?!” “Well, on his cheek, not his lips, stupid. Calm down, Cloud.” “Yeah, but… still…” “I know how Virgins like him work. Trust me. The shock of getting randomly kissed out of nowhere by a mare should be enough to break him out of his… well, broken state.” “But… but… ” “Oh just do it.” “… Fine… but you owe me for this.” *KISS* Everything suddenly snapped back to reality when a strange but otherwise soft sensation suddenly assaulted my right cheek. It was too quick to notice but it still registered despite the jumbled mess my mind was at the moment. My eyes quickly shot open when the memory of the previous conversation I heard earlier finally registered as I slowly lifted my head. The first thing I saw was Cloud Chaser’s face being really close to mine, with a faint blush visible on both of her cheeks. “Did… did you just…?” I stuttered, wide eyed, as my own cheeks quickly went red as well after realizing what she had just done. We both recoiled from one another as our faces turned even redder. Cloud Chaser’s wings suddenly sprung out as she tried her best to explain this embarrassing situation. “IT… it-it-it WAS HER IDEA, I SWEAR! SHE MADE ME DO IT!!” Cloud Chaser stuttered accusing her sister with a hoof. “THEN WH-WHY DID YOU DO IT?” I shouted back as my wings started to uncomfortably twitch under the bandages. “BECAUSE SHE THOUGHT IT WOULD BE THE BEST WAY TO SNAP YOU OUT!!!” “SNAP ME OUT? THEN WHY DIDN’T YOU JUST SLAP ME INSTEAD?!” “I-I-I DON’T… DON’T KNOW… I-I JUST THOUGHT THAT…”She tried to explain but failed as she simply began to turn around to hide her flustered face from me. An awkward silence followed afterwards, with only the sound of two snickering ponies filling it. “It’s not funny you two.” I muttered trying to get my own blush under control as I sat there. “Yes, it is!” they said, laughing even harder. Is this really going to be the norm for me, from now on? Awkward embarrassing moment after awkward embarrassing moment? Heck, I even almost jumped off this stupid thing because of my panic attack. And now, I’m starting to feel sick again. Oh would you stop swaying already? you're not helping me out here, wind. From that moment on the rest of the flight was pretty much uneventful, both me and Cloud sitting in our respective corners while Flitter and our pilot simply kept to themselves as our journey continued. Welcome to Equestria Nava, this is pretty much your new life now. Absolutely fantastic. Chapter 9: Cloudsdale Chapter 9: Cloudsdale Edited by: Chrome Masquerade “Cloudsdale Ahoy, everypony!” Our pilot shouted and getting everybody’s attention. Except mine, because I was still feeling sick. Seriously, this is the last time I ever set foot -or hoof- onto a hot air balloon ever again! At least that is what I would love to believe and hold true to, but unless I never want to leave Cloudsdale and travel someplace else I will have no other choice but to take another ride. Unless I learn flying, which is never going to happen, or at least not anytime soon… for obvious reasons. Why did I agree to do this again? Oh right, I’m homeless in this world. Also, what about my horn? Since I got here it hasn’t done or said a single “word” of action at all, just being a normal horn the entire time, sometimes even acting as nothing less than a nuisance with low-end doorways. But I guess it’s more of the low door frames’ fault rather than my horn, even more so when most other doors were just fine. But still, I need to add “learn magic” to my to do list if I ever want to survive or be accepted in this world's society, especially since I chose to pose as a normal unicorn rather than a Pegasus for again obvious reasons. Man, I use that phase a lot lately, don’t I? Anyway, back to the outside world. The confines of my mind are great and all, but the real world is still vastly more interesting, though also a bit troubling at times, especially in a world like this. “Alright, we are about to touch down, hope you got your cloudwalking spell going for you there buddy because you are going to need it in this city.” Steam tool announced as he began to pull a lever which made a hissing sound coming from above us. Probably some valve to let out some of the hot air in the balloon. I have to say this particular hot air balloon seems to be a bit more mechanical than most traditional hot air balloons I know of. I wonder if he made it. He is a unicorn and he does look like some kind of mechanic as well, with those safety goggles strapped above his horn. “Hey, Nava, I know that you are afraid of heights and all but I would still recommend that you get up from your little self-made corner and take a look at Cloudsdale from up here while you still can. I promise you, you won’t get a much better view angle to see the whole city than like this. So get up and at least take a peek before you regret it.” Flitter suddenly suggested while looking over to where I presume Cloudsdale is. I sighed. “Well might as well. If I am going to live up here I might as well view it as a whole.“ I thought to myself as I slowly got myself back on all fours. I immediately was stunned. All of my worries and fears quickly dissipated as i first laid eyes on a scene that seemed to come right out a Fantasy epic. “Is this how Olympia would look like in my world if it was real, but with the size of a city instead? Because this looks unbelievable.” I thought to myself in awe as I unblinkingly stared at the scene in front of me. The city was HUGE. Much larger and more proud looking than I remember ever seeing it on art or any screenshot i saw in the internet. It was multi tiered as well, with each layer sprouting more -and even larger- buildings than the other, with the very top one occupied by what I can only describe as a structure with a distant resemblance to the Acropolis of Athens resting on a huge platform overlooking the entire city. The whole city had a classical Greek style architecture vibe going on, with some renaissance style buildings mixed in between. The only obvious difference that these architect types have is that almost everything here was made completely out of clouds instead of anything physical. CLOUDS. Something that will be considered impossible back home. Besides having different elevated levels, the whole city was also divided into islands, which I would guess are considered as their way of separating districts from one another with long, beautifully crafted bridges connecting them. Also made of clouds, of course. And in between these different levels and districts were a large number of rainbow colored waterfalls pouring down into the vast open air space below until slowly dissipating into nothing. Which is strange, to be honest. But one of the most impressive things -and also intimidating ones- was the sheer number of Pegasi flying around the air space of the city. Forget Ponyville! This here was truly a proper city, 20 times the size and a very visible number of citizens to back it up. This was the seat of the Pegasus race in Equestria and it is very evident here. “Impressive isn’t it? Only being beat by Manehattan in terms of size and Canterlot in terms of style. Beyond those two, Cloudsdale is the most impressive and largest city in all of Equestria.” Flitter commented as she, too, seemed to be in awe despite this being her home. I could only agree to that with a nod as I continued to survey the city below. “There are many reasons a Pegasus can be proud to be a Pegasus and Cloudsdale is one of those reasons.” Cloud Chaser added as she stood on my left. “Was this city built only by Pegasi?” I asked while turning my gaze to her. “Yes, it was.” Flitter instead answered to my right. “But if you are really interested in the history of Cloudsdale, then a library would be a much better source than either of us.“ she quickly added with a sheepish smile. I nodded as our Pilot slowly descended us onto a small platform right at the edge of the city with a bunch of larger platforms scattered about, with a few Airships occupying them that were basically just large boats with a big balloon tied on above them (basically like Blimps). Basically, this world version of an airport, so to speak. “Well, here we are, Welcome to Cloudsdale, everypony.” Our pilot announced as the Gondola gently touched down onto the platform. “Alright! Home sweet home. I can’t wait to finally sleep in my own bed again. Those basic ones they had back in Ponyville are nothing compared a good cloud bed.” Flitter happily announced as she threw on her saddle-bag and stepped off. “Hey… thanks for the lift back home there, Steam tool. Appreciate it, dude.” Cloud Chaser awkwardly said as she followed her sister with her own saddle-bag. She probably still feels a bit embarrassed about earlier. Who can blame her? I still feel so myself...somewhat. I only forgot about it because I was too busy being in awe of the city. But now it’s back, because I thought about it… no comment. “Uh, Nava? It’s time to disembark now you know?” Flitter called out as both her and cloud were waiting in front of me. I began to switch my gaze to the cloud-made ground, to them and back to the ground as a sudden feeling of uncertainty enveloped me. This is a cloud. A gas of water vapor created when the sun heats up a body of water. Basically steam. A non-solid material that has more air in it than water, and air just like evaporated water is not solid at all. At this point my normal real world understanding of physics and nature once again kicked in telling me that leaving the solid safely of the Gondola wooden form and trying to even set foot out onto this white foggy mist was a bad idea. Images of me just falling through and plummeting down towards my certain death were flashing through my mind as I nervously stared at the cloudy texture below me. Don’t judge me. I have every reason to be nervous as all hell about this, since this here is literally my first time ever setting foot -or, in my case, hoof- onto an otherwise non-solid material. Combine that with my fear of heights and you got yourself a recipe for a big fat “NOPE” case. “Uh dude? Anytime now. I know that you are scared and all, it always is that way for first timers to come here in Cloudsdale as non Pegasi. But could you please hurry up? I still need to fly over to Canterlot for my second passengers of the day. So please be quick.” Steam tool behind me announced which added a lot of unnecessary pressure to my already really nervous feeling self. “Come on, Nava. you will be fine, trust me. If anything does happen to you me and Cloud will catch you way faster than you can fall.” Flitter tried to reassure me, which didn’t really help much, because she used the word “fall” in her sentence. Again I tried, but I couldn’t. It was then when Cloud Chaser trotted back towards me and whispering something into my ear. “Dude, don’t worry, you are part Pegasus as an Alicorn, as far as I know. Which means walking on clouds will be just as natural to you as it is to us. If Princess Celestia can do it without the need of a cloud walking spell when she visited the Cloudsdale Colosseum from last years wonderbolt race then so can you.” She explained to me before giving me an encouraging smile and stepping off to the side to give me space. I sighed, knowing full well that she was right. I mentally prepared myself, breathing in and out gently to calm my mind and lower my fears before I would... AHH fuck it, no balls no glory. And with that I simply leapt off from the solid safety of the Gondola and directly onto the cloud textured floor in front of me. A lot of expectations went through my mind right after I made my daring jump into the unknown, but none of them were even close to the result I actually got when I landed rear first onto the cloudy floor below me. Like actually landing on it. What was that surprising result, you ask? Pain. A sudden jolt of pain as the previously thought soft-looking cloud actually turned out to be just as hard and solid as a slab of concrete. Welcome to Cloudsdale everyone. Welcome to Cloudsdale. A single tear ran down my eye as I whimpered to myself in pain. ……………………………………………………………………………………… “Could you two please stop snickering? I already feel uncomfortable enough on my rear and don’t need you two to add insult to injury. Also ponies are watching again.” I muttered as we strolled through the busy streets of Cloudsdale. “But… but it was so funny! You should have seen your face when you realized just how solid the cloud beneath you actually was. Oh, mare, that really made my day.” Cloud Chaser commented between snickers which eventually turned into a full blown laugh as she was forced to support herself against the side of a wall. I groaned in annoyance as ponies once again began to stare at the sudden commotion. “Is this really going to happen every time whenever I visit or enter a new location in this world? Why does everything here have to be so awkward? It never was like this in my world, EVER!” I thought to myself as I found the ground surprisingly interesting. “Hey, come on there, it really wasn’t that bad. At least it was just the three of us who saw it. So chill.” Flitter tried to reassure me while trying not to laugh herself. Yeah, Flitter it really doesn’t work well if you are visibly trying to restrain yourself from rolling around on the floor like your sister. I simply gave her a deadpan look. “Just get it out of your system Flitter. The sooner the better.” I suggested to her with a blank stare. And after that she did just that as she too took on her sister’s example and began to laugh her flank off while mine was still hurting. Both physically and emotionally. Seriously, though, who would have thought that clouds could be just as solid as concrete bricks? I at least thought that there would have some sort bouncy softness to them like a mattress, or at least feel pleasant, like a rug, but not as hard as rock. The more time I spend here, the more I learn…in the most wrong and embarrassing ways possible. Making myself look like a complete idiot instead of being a philosophically and logic bound thinker. This world is going to be the death of me. After a while, though, the laughing stopped as these two finally calmed down. “So-sorry for that Nava. You were right though about just getting it out first. But I am all better now, so don’t worry.” Flitter said in between breaths as she picked herself back up. Followed by her sister who was still snickering. “But seriously dude, why the hay did you jump off like that? You could have just placed a hoof to test the solidness of ground first and not just full on jump on it butt first.” Cloud comments which made me facehoof at my stupidity. “I was under a lot of pressure ok? Jeez. Can't a guy just make a mistake?” I muttered while rubbing my forehead. Cloud simply continued to snicker while Flitter simply shook her head before the three of us continued to move on. Trying to get the embarrassing situation out of the way (which is hard with a still sore flank) I simply continued to survey my surroundings as we trotted along. Again, just as predicted the streets were full of ponies, most of them Pegasi for very obvious reasons, but the most obvious difference was just how many there are, especially in comparison to Ponyville. The buildings themselves, though made of clouds, were a lot larger as well. Streets were broader, shops were more numerous and busy. All in all this place does feel like a proper city, not like a simple humble town like Ponyville. This place was busy as all heck, even the air space above looked busy. I even managed to spot a construction site off in the distance. By construction I mean Pegasi workers pushing large sums of clouds over to it, breaking pieces off of it and placing them all to their respective places while molding everything into shape with some sets of tools. So that’s how they build here. “Hey…where exactly do you two live in this city?” I asked as we turned into a smaller, less crowded street. “Well, we live on the east side of town, where a lot of more residential buildings are. We are currently in a commercial district of the city, right after that we’ll have to cross a Bridge to get to the White Cloud district which is the place we live in.” Flitter explained as we once again reached another small alley. “Commercial District, huh? No wonder there are so many shops and ponies running around the streets.” I thought to myself as we passed by a small candy shop to our right. Than it came back to. This Cloudsdale here is much, much larger than the Cloudsdale I remember from back home. In both the show and in art I saw in the internet, Cloudsdale was always depicted more of a large town or small city but never in the same size and scale as this. Again, proving my point that THIS here is not like the show. This is a real living breathing world with its own events and history. Just because something happened in a certain way in the show doesn’t mean that this world has to follow that event to the letter. Again this is much like the real world I am from where anything can happen. A realization that I need to remember in the future, because I have a feeling that it could change everything for better or for worse. But hopefully for the better. Man, I should really focus more on what I am doing now and not constantly retreat into my mind while moving. I might walk into something or even lose the two sisters in this sea of ponies if I’m not careful. That would be a disaster. Rainbow Dash might have been right about the idea of my constant phasing out not being too healthy. But I’d rather not tell her that or her ego would go through the roof. “Alright, there’s the bridge that leads us to the White Cloud district. You see it?” Flitter asked while pointing her hoof at something at the end of the road. I followed her gaze, and she was right. Right there at the very end of a large main road was indeed a bridge spanning from this island district over to another. “So we cross that and we will be in a more residential heavy part of the city?” I asked, trying to learn more about this alternative version of Cloudsdale. Flitter nods. “Yes, and the best part for you. Far less ponies on the streets as well.” She answered with a small giggle at the end. I simply rolled my eyes at her as we continued our trek through the streets. Being a bridge in a cloud city connecting various islands to one another meant that right under them was basically a whole lot of nothing other than the distant, distant earth below, which meant I was basically forced to keep my eyes forward as the three of used it to cross over to the other side. Thankfully, though, the bridge itself was very wide, so it really wasn’t that much of an issue for me. The Houses in the White Cloud district where far more humble and smaller than the rows on rows of never-ending buildings that dominated the previous one. Perfectly made just for the sake of living in them similar to the houses I saw in Ponyville only made out of clouds instead of wood and thatch. And also true to her word there were far less ponies running around the streets as well. Something I find rather nice, to be honest. “Hey, Cloud and Flitter. Back from Ponyville already?” Some random dark blue Pegasus mare with a yellow mane greeted us from above as we were about to climb up a set of stairs. “Oh. Hey, Rain coat. Yeah, we got sent back early this time. Thanks to an accident we had during our job.” Flitter replied while showing the newcomer her bandaged left wing. The blue mare landed in front of us with a shocked expression. “Oh my gosh! what happened?” Flitter simply pointed a hoof over to her sister which made Cloud glare at her and the mare giggle in realization. “Oh, I see, so everything went pretty normal than I would guess.” Rain coat commented with another giggle. I simply stood there, patiently waiting as these three mares began to quack amongst themselves about various things that I guess only close friends or colleagues can talk about. Despite all of that, I immediately noticed that during their little chat both Flitter and Cloud hadn’t mentioned anything about the whole Everfree Forest incident to her. I personally don’t know why, but I guess one of the reasons might be because of me. We did agree to one another to keep my identity a secret to everyone, so I guess keeping me out of the conversation by not mentioning anything about the incident might be a good choice. Though, not for long as the mare eventually asked them about my presence. “By the way, Flitter, who is this stallion walking with you? I have never seen him before.” She began looking at me with a curious expression before it was replaced by a sly smile. “Is he like yours -or Cloud’s- new coltfriend? My, my, if so then I have to say that this time the two of you really managed to reel in a super cute one. What is his name anyway?” She quickly added making both Flitter and Cloud stare at her in shock. I simply facehoofed. “Ugh…not this again…I am way too tired to even give a respond to that. I already had a really long day as it is.” I thought as Flitter quickly tried to explain herself. “No, no he is neither my, or Cloud Chaser here’s, coltfriend. He is just a friend we met when we were in Ponyville. Simple as that.” Flitter tried to explain. Though, looking at Rain Coat’s expression, she obviously wasn’t buying it. Flitter simply sighed. “Ok look, can we please talk about this more during another day? We are tired and we would love to finally get back home to call it a day.” Flitter added.” Look, the sun is setting anyway.” she tried to reason. The mare simply shook her head while smiling. “Well, whatever, it is getting late anyway. But I would still like to be properly introduced to him next time, alright?” She said before taking off. “Well, alright. See you tomorrow then, Rain!” Flitter shouted back as the mare quickly disappeared. “Who was that?” I finally asked after she was gone. “A friend and work colleague. Both me and Cloud knew her since flight school.” Flitter answered before her sister stepped in. “Basically most of our lives.” Cloud Chaser added curtly, nodding. I nodded as I followed them up the wide stairs that would lead us onto a higher elevation of the district. As we did I quickly noticed the weird silence Cloud Chaser had around her. Besides the time when we arrived here and the moments when she and her sister laughed at my stupidity from earlier she really hasn’t done or said a whole lot since our trip through the streets. Which is weird, to be honest because normally she was really be the more active and talkative one of these two, but now she seems very quiet and distant instead. Maybe I can ask her. “Uh… hey, Cloud? What’s wrong? You have been pretty quiet this entire time which since I have known you is not like you at all. In fact it’s normally my thing to be all quiet.” I asked with a small chuckle at the end before looking back at her with concern. “Is something wrong?” I finally ask. She simply sighed as she continued to watch the ground. “It’s nothing, really. I just have been… thinking a lot.”She answered. “Something that you have allot of experience with I would guess.” she chided playfully while giving me a small smile at the end. I gave her a nod and a small smile of my own as I decided to drop the subject then and there. If she doesn’t feel like sharing her problems or concerns than I won’t push her. I respect her privacy and decision to speak up for her own. It wasn’t long before we finally reached the top and were greeted with somewhat larger homes than the ones I mostly saw before. Not necessary in terms of height but more in length. I could tell that these were large family houses, or for ponies who have just a little bit more coin in their purses. Or saddlebags, i guess. I was actually pretty surprised to discover that one of them was actually Flitters and Cloud Chasers home as we soon stopped in front one of them. “Well here we are. Home sweet home.” Flitter announced as she stepped onto the front porch. I was really stunned. “Wait a minute. You two live in one of these? Alone? Why do you two need this much space alone?” I asked as I continued to survey the rather large home for just two ponies. Cloud Chaser giggled as she stood beside her sister. “Well, to be honest this was our parents’ house, the same house where we grew up in and eventually inherited 4 years ago. “ Cloud answered for me. I nodded as I quickly followed to stand at the front door with them. Than something clicked. “Wait…you said inherited it from your parents 4 years ago right? I began, slowly regretting my decision to ask in the first place but continued, as there was no turning back now. “Did… did something happen to them?” I finished with a worried tone. My worries were quickly proven right when both of their expressions quickly fell as they both looked at each other with sad and pained look. I was about to apologize when Flitter quickly unlocked the door and stepped inside the house, followed by her sister leaving me standing all alone outside. At this point I felt absolutely terrible for accidentally asking about a touchy or taboo subject and feared that I might have immediately destroyed any form of friendship and trust I have built up with them. Stupid…why the hell did you even try to ask when the answer was basically already there when she mentioned the word “Inherit”. Since I came here I have done nothing but make myself look like an idiot, coward, loser, and now as a big fat asshole as well. Great work Nava, Great work. I think I should better leave now before I accidentally make things even worse. I was about to turn around and leave when Flitter’s voice stopped me. “Hey are you coming in or not? Cloudsdale can get mighty cold when the sun goes down.” Flitter said as she stood there at the doorway looking at me. A part of me immediately felt relieved to know that I hadn’t destroyed our companionship by accident, but another part of me still felt worried, if their previous reaction was anything to go by. I nodded as she stepped out of the way to give me entry into their home. I carefully stepped into their house and was immediately greeted with the sight of a very large and beautifully furnished living room. It had two large couches at the center with a small wooden table in between them. Wooden and glass shelves, book shelves, and smaller tables with knick-knacks or small house plants on them lined the walls with in the room. Overall the living room looked pretty cozy. to say the least. Though the one thing that did surprise me even more was the fact that the walls of the room were blue instead of the same cloudy white I expected. How they color clouds, I have no idea. But I guess I can ask about that at a later date. Beyond the main room was a kitchen that was semi-connected with the living room with only a single wall with a doorway separating from the dining room to its right which was also semi-connected with the living room with only a counter marking its border. The dining room had a long table that could comfortably fit six ponies around it, and a very large window with a sliding door behind it that probably went around back. And lastly, but not leastly, a corridor going from left to right from the main room, probably leading to bedrooms, bathrooms and other rooms of the house. I whistled, being very impressed with the layout and the interior of this home. Whoever their parents where probably had a lot of spare bits in their pockets because all of this must have cost a small fortune! “Well, what do you think?” Flitter asked, gesturing to the whole house in general with her hoof. I looked at her. “Wow, girls! Your home looks very impressive. Again I imaged something… well, smaller. No offence, by the way.” “It’s ok, none taken.” She answered with a giggle. “But to be honest we get that a lot. Most ponies do like to think that we live in a nice quiet little home instead of in a house as big as this. So you’re not the first one to assume that.” Flitter quickly added before diverting her attention back to Cloud Chaser, who was spread out in one of the couches. “Hey, Cloud? Could you maybe take our saddlebags to our rooms while I go give Nava here a tour of our home?” Flitter asked her sister. Cloud Chaser groaned. “Why don’t you do it? You’re the one still standing and I feel way too tired to move at the moment.” She complained as she rolled herself to the other side. “Ugh. Fine, I will take our bags to our rooms then.” Flitter replied while trotting over to Cloud and grabbing her bag with her mouth. “Hey, Nava? Could you please close the door behind you for me while I go store our stuff? After that you can make yourself comfortable and wait for me, ok?” Flitter somehow managed to say clearly with a full mouth. I gave her a nod and she quickly disappeared around the right hallway, leaving me and her sister alone in the room. I did as I was asked and gently shut the main door behind me. I was about to make my way towards the couch opposite to Cloud when something suddenly caught my interest in the corner of my eye. It was a set of framed photos hanging from the wall to my right that I honestly didn’t notice before. Probably because this one bookshelf was standing in my way from where I previously stood, but whatever. Curiosity took a hold of me as I slowly started to approach the photos. At first glance I could tell that those were family photos of both Cloud Chaser and Flitter when they were fillies. But beside those there were also pictures of them together with two other ponies I haven’t seen before. A white coated and red maned Pegasus stallion and a White coated dark blue maned mare. “I would guess that these two must be Flitter and Cloud Chaser’s parents.” I thought to myself as I continued to observe the photos. One of them especially caught my eye though. It was a simple family picture with all four of them together. The two sisters in the middle with both of their parents on either side of them, smiling happily as if everything was perfect for them. Though the one thing that somehow bothered me about this picture was just how much older both Cloud and Flitter looked in this one, probably in their late teens if their looks and height were anything to go by. “How old is this pic exactly?” I thought as I continued to observe it. “That’s us and our parents, in case you’re wondering.” Flitter’s voice suddenly came up from behind and scaring the shit out of me. “JEEZ GIRL! Please don’t sneak up on me like that! I don’t cope very well with surprises of that nature.” I pleaded while trying to contain my racing heart. Flitter giggled. “Sorry, didn’t know you were so engrossed with our family photos like that, otherwise I might have been just a little bit more careful.” She said as she quickly joined me. As we continued to observe the photos in silence a question suddenly popped back up in my mind again, but I felt very hesitant to actually ask it because i was afraid of the reaction it would bring out in her, especially judging what happened just a few moments ago. Flitter, on the other hand, seemed to notice my nervousness as she simply answered my question before I could even ask it myself. “This particular photo with all four of us together was taken 4 years ago, just a few week before we lost… both of our parents.” Flitter began as sadness dripped from her voice, her ears drooping expressively. I turned my head to look at her, both shocked and surprised at the same time. “So this is why talking or asking about their parents is such a touchy subject for them.” I thought to myself as I realized what I had done earlier. I placed a hoof over to her shoulder to comfort her as the sense of guilt I felt previously returned at full force. “I… I am sorry Flitter. Sorry for your loss and sorry for being so... insensitive earlier. If I had known… I would have never even asked in the first place. I… I am so sorry.” I apologized trying to somehow fix my earlier mistake. To my utter confusion Flitter began to sadly mutter something under her breath as I tried to comfort her. “Take care of your Sister, Flitter, while we are gone.” was what she muttered to herself which both confused and worried me greatly for her. “Flitter? Are… are you ok?” I asked hoping that she would answer. Luckily she did, as she eventually raised her head to look at me. The sadness in her expression still visible, which really didn’t help my own worries. “I… I'm ok, it’s just, well… memories.” She replied while trying to force a smile for me. Which obviously didn’t work that well. “Flitter, again… I am sorry from earlier I just…” I tried to explain before flitter cut me off. “No really, it's fine, Nava, really. You didn’t know, that’s all.” She reassured me before continuing. “It’s just…it’s just because me and Cloud loved our parents so much. We loved them greatly and in return they loved us just as much, even more so at times. So you can easily guess that losing them so early and so suddenly was extremely scary for the both of us.” Flitter explained as she lowered her head again. “Especially for my sister.” She muttered. I once again placed my hoof on her back to comfort her while trying to think of what would change this obviously sad subject for her. “What… was the job of your parents, anyway, to afford a place like this?” I asked trying to change the subject until I realized the error I just made again. “Uhm no… wait, I mean…” I tried to correct myself awkwardly, but stopped as Flitter looked back at me. “They were both members of the Royal couriers. A position that is only reserved to the most trusted and well talented Pegasi of the kingdom.” She explained before continuing. “But before that, or at least before they met one another, they had different occupations that eventually led them to become Royal Couriers.” She explained seemingly also trying her best to divert the subject, to my surprise. I simply decided to help her along with that since that is what I wanted to do myself anyways. “Which were?” I asked. “Our father, Crimson Wing used to be part of the guard while our Mother Cloud Heart used to be a member of the Wonderbolts in her youth.” Flitter answered. That quickly made me think. “Their father, a member of the Guard and their mother a member of the Wonderbolts? No wonder Cloud and Flitter live in a home as big as this with so much expensive looking stuff in it. Plus this whole “Royal courier” thing also probably opened up a lot of extra possibilities as well, with the way Flitter explained it.” I thought to myself as I began to look around the room once more. It was then that another question hit me. “Wait, why was you father named Crimson Wing? To me it translates to Blood Wing as far as I know. But in the picture his has a snow white coat.” I question. Flitter for the first time since scaring me actually started to smile a bit to my relief before answering. “Well again…you really are not the first to have ever asked that question.” She started with a smile before continuing.” But to cut a long story short, he was given that name by his parents because of his rarity. You see, just like with unicorns in how rare it is for one to be born with a much longer horn than the usual, it is also very rare for a Pegasus to be born with completely different colored wing feathers in comparison to the color of their coats.” She finished. “So in other words, your father’s wings were actually red instead of white like the rest of his body?” I ask back in which she nods. I sighed, feeling relieved that at least everything seems to be back to normal again for the both of us. After a while of awkward silence in between us with only the sound of a ticking clock somewhere in the room to accompany us. It was Flitter who eventually broke the silence as she trotted over toward the right corridor before speaking up. “Well…anyway, let me just show you your room so that we can call it a night.” Flitter suggested as she stood there waiting for me to follow her. I nodded as I did so, following her into the right corridor which had a couple of doors on both sides and a large window at the end of it. We both eventually stopped at a navy blue door at the very end of the corridor. Flitter looked at me with a somewhat sheepish smile while rubbing the back of her neck. “This here is going to be your room, Nava, sorry if it looks somewhat empty and lifeless inside. This room used to be the guest room, before me and Cloud eventually stored most of what was there down in the basement after we inherited this house. Besides a bed and a night table there is really nothing of interest in it.” She explained looking a bit embarrassed at the end. I gave her a smile. “That’s quite alright. Really, you offering a room with a bed is already quite awesome enough on its own.” I answered honestly. Flitter shook her head. “Nonsense! If you are going to live here with us then you might as well sleep with the same comfort as any other pony. Next thing tomorrow me and Cloud are going to get everything back from the basement so that you can have a proper room.” Flitter offered before pressing down the handle and opening the door. I quickly followed her as she stepped in and turned on the lights (which to be honest i have no idea how their work here.) and true to her word, all that was inside this otherwise spacious room was a normal sized cloud bed at the left corner of the room with a nightstand next to it. The walls were white just how you would expect from a house made of clouds with only the ceiling having a navy blue color, a larger window was located right next to the bed and the nightstand completely curtain free with a view directly aimed at the rest of the city itself. Basically saying I got the room with the best view in the house. The many lights of the city easily visible from here, with the added bonus of a clear starry night to boot. “Well, as I said, this room is still pretty empty, but it should be good enough to sleep here for one night.” Flitter commented with a small echo bouncing off the walls. As it’s typical for empty rooms to do. I again smiled at her. “Thank you for giving me my own room Flitter, this really is one of the kindest things anyone has ever done for me. I… I am honestly speechless.” I thanked her as I fought the urge to let lose a few tears of happiness. And succeeding. Yeah, manly honor intact, even though I already lost it multiples times before getting here. Flitter smiled. “Think nothing of it. As I already said, many times a pony’s life is worth more than all the Bits in Equestria combined. Just wait here for a moment while I go grab the bedsheet, a blanket and a pillow for you.” Flitter responded before excusing herself out the room. I sighed as i trotted over to the window. The night sky was just as beautiful as it had always been since I first arrived in this world only now with the added bonus of having lights up in front of me as well. The large Acropolis like Citadel at the center being beautifully illuminated by blue and white lights, giving it a very mysterious, but also imposing look to it. The one thing that still constantly reminded me that I was currently in a pre-season 1 time frame was the image of a pony’s head on the surface of the moon, but if anything I know so far is true will soon change which eventually will jump start the events I am familiar with. Or so I think. Again, this is not the show. This is a real world where anything can happen. Which already has been proven time and time again that this seems to be the case. The possibilities are endless, and if I for some reason find out that I am unable to ever return home… a thought I currently still don’t want to entertain, then at least this world is going to offer me pretty much endless possibilities of new beginnings. Especially knowing that I have time in my favor… being an alicorn and all, but I let the ideas and concepts of eternal youth worry me for another time, simply because… I have other problems to focus on first. Plus, it's way too early as well. I only have been in this world for 4 days. “Alright, here is your stuff.” Flitter’s voice suddenly echoed in the room and derailed me and my thoughts once more. I turned from the window and saw that she was already making my bed for me, putting in the bedsheet and placing the pillow and blanket on top of it. “There. All nice and ready for a pony to sleep on.” Flitter announced with a smile after she was done. I trotted over to her to test out the bed with my hoof and smiled as both the cloudy mattress and fabric felt incredibly soft and nice to the touch. They even had the nice clean smell to them as well. A scent I always enjoyed for some reason, even back in my world. “Thank you, Flitter. This is really nice.” I thank her with a smile, which she happily returned. “You’re quite welcome.” She responded happily before giving a quick look towards the window. “I suggest we continue everything in the morning, it’s already pretty late and I feel pretty exhausted as well.” She added while giving a yawn. I mimicked her, as yawns are known to be contagious before I realized something. “Wait… what about Cloud Chaser in the living room?” I asked remembering her. Flitter giggled. “Oh she will be fine where she is, in fact I already covered her up in a blanket before trotting back here. She sometimes likes to sleep on the couch, mostly because she has the tendency to fall asleep on them before getting up.” She explained to me with another giggle. I chuckled as another yawn escaped my lips. “Well, I guess we just hit the hay then.” I suggested which flitter quickly agree on. “Right, it is super late anyway. Oh and by the way. The bathroom is right next to your room in case you need to use it. Anyway, goodnight, Nava.” Flitter said before quickly excusing herself out the room with a wave. “Goodnight Flitter.” I called after her as she gently closed the door behind her. “Man she is right, I feel totally exhausted. Better get into bed before my body just gives out.” I thought as I quickly crawled into bed. I removed both my glasses and my hat and placed them on the nightstand next to me. I removed my scarf as well for the first time and simply laid it on the bed right next to me before laying my head down onto the soft pillow and closing my eyes. “Oh, yes, forgot the lights.” I muttered as I quickly got back up to turn off the lights. A thought occurring to me, I looked up at the lights and clapped twice. Nothing. “Worth a try.” I said, before going over to turn the lights off manually and crawled back to bed afterward. “Well… I have a feeling that this is the beginning of a new wacky adventure for me in the land of magic and rainbows.” I thought as I covered myself in my blanket and closed my eyes. Sleep didn’t take long to grab me as my exhaustion and the softness of my new bed made it an easy feat. Tomorrow will be the start of a new adventure for the better or the worse. Chapter 10: Start of a new day in Cloudsdale Chapter 10: Start of a new day in Cloudsdale /Chapter 10: Start of a new day in Cloudsdale/ Edited by: Chrome Masquerade “Why does the sun have to be so bright?” I muttered as the stupid disk of light interrupted perhaps the best goodnight sleep I had since arriving in this world. Great I finally get a good, dreamless, relaxing sleep for the first time and don’t get the chance to fully capitalize on it because my windows don’t have any curtains. Or I could blame a certain “Princess” for it. Yeah let’s go with the last one. Let’s try and be original here. But do not panic, peoples, because I know of a very super-secret technique that has been passed down from generation to generation to combat the all known evil that is the sun during lazy morning moments. Just roll yourself to the side and get that stupid light out of your face. But now all it does is warm up the back of my neck, which really isn’t that comfortable either. “Ugh. Leave me alone, you glorified gas ball. Let me sleep in.” I muttered as I completely cover myself with my blanket to escape the rays. Ah much better. Hopefully now I can get some more sleep and not get bothered by more irritating… *CRASH* “RISE AND SHIIIIIIIIINE EVERYYYYYPONYYYYYYY!! IT’S THE DAWN OF A NEW DAY, FILLIES, SO GET YOUR FLANKS UP AND ENJOY THE SUNSHIIIIIIIIIIIINE!!” An incredible loud voice sang/shouted which caused me to literally jump out of bed and crash down onto the floor all tangled up in my blanket. “Cloud, I SWEAR sometimes you are literally acting like a filly. I told you to leave him alone.” I heard the familiar voice of Flitter chided. “Aww, come on sis. Can’t a mare like me have some fun from time to time? I mean we have a new roommate now so why not capitalize on it by annoying him and not you.” I heard Cloud protest which made Flitter role her eyes on that last part. “If you mean fun by disturbing ponies while they are trying to sleep then no, no you can’t have fun.” Flitter replied sounding quite annoyed. “Hmph. You were always the egghead of the two of us.” Cloud countered annoyed as well. At this point I really had enough, mostly because I realized that I somehow managed to tangle myself up even more while trying to get out. It even started to hurt a little as one of my legs was bent in a very unnatural position. “Could you two please help me out of this thing first before having one of your typical sibling fights?” I pleaded to them while still trying to get out. “Oh… oh, yeah. Just hold still there for a moment.” Flitter replied as watched her trot over to me. The process of getting me untangled was… unique. Never would I have thought in my life that a blanket -well, a large blanket- could be turned into such a death trap. Well, to be honest, half of it was my fault. I might be able to walk fine with hooves but trying to use them in the same way I would do with my hands was still somewhat difficult. So in a way, I actually succeeded in making my trap even worse as I obviously had problems with properly pushing and pulling myself to freedom. Hooves are not really useful for getting yourself untangled let me tell you And now here is Flitter, pulling in places that just seem to make things even worse… if that was even possible. “No, wait! Don’t pull it that way! AHHH! My leg is still attached to that.” “Well, sorry, but your thrashing isn’t exactly making things easy, you know.” “Well ok, I will hold still then. But please try to…. Erk… erk… no, wait! Stop, you're choking me now. Ugh…” “Oh dear! sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry.” How the hell can a blanket possess such an amazing grip on itself? This is ridiculous. What is this blanket made of to have such strong frictional grip? Under all of this madness I could hear Cloud laughing in the background which just added to the overall frustration both of us felt. “CLOUD CHASER WOULD YOU GET YOUR FLANK OVER HERE AND HELP? THIS IS YOUR FAULT TO BEGIN WITH ANYWAY!!” Both me and Flitter shouted, causing Cloud to immediately recoil and shut her mouth. “Jeez, guys! Calm down! Fine, I’m going to stop and help out.” She replied in defeat. Good morning Nava. Best nap I had for a while and this is how the day starts. Absolutely brilliant. With the help of Cloud, getting me out of my fabric prison went quicker than I thought. Soon I was free as I quickly sat up to rub my legs and stretch my limbs. “Well…?” Flitter began while looking over at her sister. “Well what?” She asked confused. Flitter fought the urge to facehoof. “Oh, for Celestia sake, at least apologize to him will you. This was all your fault in the first place.” Flitter scolded. Cloud chaser sighed before looking at me. “Well sorry there Nava. By sorry I mean, “Sorry for eating your breakfast”,because sis made pancakes today.” Cloud chaser announced with a giddy attitude as she quickly ran out of the room. Leaving me completely confused and Flitter irritated. “Cloud Chaser, seriously.” She muttered while rubbing her forehead. I simply scratched my head in confusion as the two of us spent a few moments sitting in silence before Flitter broke it “Oh, Nava? No offense but… I think you smell a little bit today, for some reason.” Flitter announced while looking at me. “Wait, really?” I asked before starting to sniff myself, and to my surprise she was somewhat right. I did had a small smell on me strangely enough, despite the fact I just took a shower yesterday morning to get rid of the still present reminder of the… incident that happened to me in Pinkies party. To be honest I still smelled a bit of chocolate and vanilla even after my double shower, so I guess some tiny leftovers of Pinkie’s frosting were still stuck to my fur somehow and probably have now gone old which could be causing the smell. That or I sweated a lot last night who knows. With that new info, I knew how to start the day today. “Hey, uh… can I use the shower?” I asked. “Well of course. The Bathroom and shower is right next door to yours. Also, don’t worry about Cloud Chaser’s threat. I’ll make sure she won’t eat ALL of the pancakes while you are busy getting clean.” Flitter answered with a smile at the end as she got back up. “Sweet. Thanks. Also it gives me the perfect excuse to finally get these stupid bandages off of me. I can seriously feel just how numb my wings feel right now.” I commented while getting up as well. “Just give me a shout if you need help with that.” Flitter suggested as she walked out of the room. I quickly fallowed. “Alright, this is the bathroom.” Flitter said while pointing at a dark blue door right next to mine. “Just call me if you need any help, alright?” She finished kindly while trotting off towards the kitchen. I quickly opened the door and was greeted with a typical white-tiled bathroom. YES I said tiles. Again no idea how this all works knowing that the whole house is made out of clouds but I guess the same answer that seem to explain everything in this world might be magic. Magic seems to be the best and quickest explanation in this world, or at least I assume so. At least it makes things easier for me to understand as well. Beyond the tiles themselves the bathroom looked pretty generic, except for the toilet to my left which looked exactly the same as all the other toilets I came across so far in this world. A normal looking toilet with the same shape and the same looks as the one I remember from back home, only situated much, much lower for obvious pony reasons. Right next to the pony toilet was a basic sink with a double faucet, a medical closet and a mirror above it and to my front on the other end of the room was none other than a large bathtub and a small window on top of the wall. Again, overall a very generic looking bathroom. I trotted inside towards the mirror and began to observe myself on it and surprise, surprise it’s the same light orange colored and black maned pony that has been greeting me every since i got here. “Has it really been already 5 days since I arrived in this crazy world?” I ask myself in the reflection. I sighed. Thoughts about home returning to me, my friends, my family, my world, my humanity. But all of this grieving isn’t going to get me anywhere I know that. One part of me already knows that I might be stuck in this world forever but another part of me still hopes that my other half was wrong and that there might be still a small whisper of a chance for me to return to where I belong. One thing was immediately obvious to me, though. The longer I stayed here, the more time passes back home as well, which means it wouldn’t be too long before I would be simply filed as missing and/or dead which also means that trying to return at that point would slowly become more and more pointless as there won’t be anything left anymore for me to return to. Another question I have no answer to is how is time passing between our worlds? Is it the same? Is one second over here the same second over there? Or is it different? Is one day here one week over there or vice versa? Is one day over there one year over here, or is one day over here a 100 years over there? I’m rambling. The fact is, I just don’t know and it's thoughts like these that both confused and scared me at the same time. Because if that was the case, then returning now would be utterly pointless at this point. I might as well just stay here and try to make the best of it. There has to be a reason why I was sent here as an alicorn, but that is just yet another mystery I have no answer to. How was I sent here, when was I sent here and why? I once again sighed in defeat. Having thoughts like that wasn’t going to get me answers or results anytime soon. I should just focus on the now and again try to figure things out over time when the opportunity presents itself. Besides I still smell. With this new focus set in mind I began to try and get those bandages off me with both my hooves and teeth. The results were…not surprising at all as I didn’t get very far with my own attempts. I grumble in annoyance. “Darn hooves. I really need to somehow get my horn operational, because this is starting to get REALLY old.” I muttered while still trying to get the bandages off of me. My wings were feeling really numb for having been trapped for so long. “I need some help… as usual.” I muttered while trotting back to the door and opening it. “Flitter can you please come help me?” I shouted through the corridor. “No Cloud, you can’t have them all, I better not see the entire stack gone when I come back, Cloud.” I hear Flitter say from around the corner before appearing on the other end of the corridor. “You called?” She asked as she got closer. I nod while pointing at the problem at hand. She gives me a nod in return as she quickly helped me remove the bandages on my midsection. As soon as they were gone my wings quickly sprang into action… quite literally as one of them hit Flitter square on the face and knocking her onto her flank. I immediately panicked. “SHIT! I am so, so sorry, I swear it wasn’t me. My wings just went…” I tried to explain before Flitter stopped me, putting a hoof to my mouth. “It’s ok. Don’t worry, wings have a tendency to do that, if kept bound for so long. I had a similar reaction on mine when I first broke my right wing back when I was a filly.” Flitter explained as she got back up. I sighed in relief knowing that. “Well, anyway, thanks for the help there Flits. Appreciate it.” I thanked her before I realized what I just called her. I immediately blushed as a result. “Uhhh… I mean...” I stuttered, embarrassed. Flitter simple giggles at my reaction before silencing me by placing her hoof onto my muzzle again. “Flits, huh? Only been here for a short time and already coming up with nicknames eh?” She said with another giggle. “I kind of like Flits, better than being called egghead or killjoy by my sister.” She added with a smile gracing her muzzle. I smiled sheepishly, still feeling somewhat embarrassed. “Well, I guess I just leave you to your shower, then. Again, call me if you need any more help, ok?” She suggested kindly once more as she turned around to leave. I was about to jump into the bathtub when I noticed the lack of a shower faucet. “Ohm Flitter? Where is the… well, faucet for the shower?” I called out again before Flitter could fully leave the room. She immediately stepped back in with a confused look on her face. “What do you mean?” She asked, tilting her head slightly. I simply pointed a hoof at what I meant before an invisible light bulb began to light up insider the mare. “Oh, I see what the problem is.” She began. “Well, for starters Cloud homes don’t need a shower faucet for their shower, they use the cloud-made ceiling above it to make it rain onto them when taking a shower.” Flitter explain. I scratched my head at that info, to which Flitter quickly catches onto as she sighed. “Here, let me just show you.” She suggested as began to climb and stand on the edge of the bathtub with her hind legs and supporting herself with one hoof on the wall. “Just tap it like this.” She said while demonstration it by giving the cloud texture like ceiling a small love tap with her free hoof. To my surprise it quickly began to rain right into the bathtub below it. Before I could say anything in surprise Flitter quickly tapped it again which made it stop before hopping back down next to me. “There you got it?” She asked while looking at me. I nod before a problem came up. “Well…yes I do but, I still can’t fly high enough to even reach the ceiling by myself, let alone stand balancing on a slippery surface on just my hind legs, so how am I going to tap it?” I asked while giving my now free exposed winds a few twitches. “Oh…totally forgot about that.” Flitter casually responded while looking at me. “Well I guess I can just turn it on for you, and turn it off again after you are done.” She suggested before climbing back up to tab the cloud above the Bathtub again, causing it to pour down on it once again. “There now you can get that stench off of you.” She said while hopping back down. I smiled at her. “Thanks, I…I am sorry for being so… well, helpless all of the time.” I said with a sad expression at the end. Flitter simply shook her head while placing a hoof on my shoulder.”It’s weird, I have to admit, but it’s also fine as well. I like helping out those I like. Plus it also gives me the perfect training opportunity for when I eventually become a mother.” Flitter explained happily. “Well, I guess, but… wait a minute-” I tried to say until I realized what she meant at end. Flitter simple giggled before turning around to take her leave. “Just take your shower already before I have to WASH you too.” she said with a playful smirk before disappearing around the corner. I simply stood there blushing, before entering the bathtub and letting it drench my furred body. I don’t know what it is, but showering as a pony just seems to feel so much more relaxing than doing it as a human. I could just stand here for hours, but I can’t do that, sadly, if Cloud Chaser’s threat has any weight to it. Bloody mare. But to be honest I do enjoy her childish personality, kind of like me when i feel all giddy. Better keep that to myself, though. “Damn it, Cloud! I told you not to eat all of them!” I heard Flitter shout despite the sound of rushing water surrounding me. I simply chuckled and shook my head at these two as I simply continued to let the warm water take me away for a while. Wait… what is it with this world and pancakes all of the time? Same with all the fanfics I have read. Why not waffles for a change? I blame Americans for this cliché. On another note… I forgot to ask for a towel as well. Shit. ……………………………………………………………………………………… “You’re not my mom.” “Well, I might as well be, because I am the one taking care most of the chores in the house -including cooking- for YOU because you’re too lazy to do it yourself. Now stop complaining and sit there and DO NOT touch any more of the pancakes again, or Celestia help me….” Flitter ranted on as Cloud Chaser simply huffed while looking away, pouting just like a child would do. I simply kept silent, not doing anything or voicing my opinions and simply keeping to myself. Mostly because Flitter was forced to help me dry because apparently trying to dry your wings with a towel does create some… uh… Details, details. Forget it. At least now I know that wings are in fact very sensitive. Again, insert penis joke here. Lucky Earth Ponies. They don’t have to put up with the crap of having OTHER sensitive areas around their bodies as well. Which would technically make me, an alicorn, a living PARTY machine. Makes one wonder what Celestia and Luna do in their spare time. As if things couldn’t get any worse. Did i REALLY just say that? “Alright here are yours Nava.” Flitter announced, interrupting my internal monologue as she turned off the stove and carried over a plate of freshly made pancakes to the table and set it before me.. “Thank you. These smell great.” I thanked her while inhaling the scent of them. Flitter smiled as she went back to her chair and took a few hot discs herself. “Well, I try, but better hurry up before Cloud over there decides to have more.” She replied with a sideways glare at the end. Cloud Chaser simply rolled her eyes in response. The two of us began to dig in enjoying our breakfast in silence. I do have to admit that her pancakes do taste amazing, even more so with added decorations like chocolate and Strawberry syrup. “Man, I really need to be careful when it comes to food here in Equestria, otherwise I am going to lose my teeth from all the sugar, or worse.” I thought to myself as I hummed in delight from the taste. Or maybe it’s a pony thing and I can eat as much sugar as I want. I mean, look at Pinkie. “So… what do you guys have planned today?” I asked after clearing my mouth of food first. Flitter began to hum in thought before answering. “Well, I was thinking that maybe today me and Cloud are going to visit the local hospital to get our wings checked up and hopefully get the bandages removed as well.” Flitter answered before stuffing her face again. Cloud groaned in response which made both of us look at her. “Do we really have to do it today? We just came back home yesterday, plus I wanted to give Nava here a tour through the city.” She complained while sounding disappointed. Flitter sighed after a few moments of thinking. “Well, fine, I guess. Giving Nava a tour does sound much more interesting than going to the hospital again. But I would still love to regain the ability to fly again too, you know? That’s what Pegasi do best.” “Well, we could maybe do that during the tour?” Cloud suggested. Flitter shook her head. “Nah, that would be too hectic in the end and you know how the hospitals are in this city.” “Oh… yeah, now I remember why I don’t want to go in the first place.” Cloud commented making Flitter chuckle to herself. I again just sat there on my chair, fiddling with my hooves while I waited for these two to agree on something for today. Overall I am completely indifferent on what we do today, since sitting around in this house all day while there is a whole new world just waiting to be explored is completely out of the question. Plus I don’t want to feel like more of a freeloader than I already am. This also got me thinking. I could maybe even get a job. That way I won’t be just living off these two’s budget and I got something to do. I need to remember that for a future conversation with these two, because it’s a bit too early for that, especially since I don’t know this city too well and the jobs it offers to newcomers. “Hey… hey Nava. HEY!” Flitter suddenly shout, bringing me back to the real world. I shook my head to clear my thoughts. “Wha? What is it? Did I miss something?” Flitter simply raised her eyebrow. “Weren’t you listening? I asked if you were ok with us giving you a tour around the city today.” She asked while supporting her head with one of her hooves. It took me a while to think on her question before I simply answered her with a confirming nod. “Great! Cloud, you go get ready first while I go at the dishes. In the meantime you can just make yourself comfortable, Nava, while we get ready.” Flitter announced. Cloud Chaser nodded and quickly ran off to the other end of the house where probably their private bathroom was, leaving me and Flitter alone in the dining room. I watched Flitter start collecting the plates and cups and balancing them all onto her back and carefully trot to the kitchen next to us. I called to her before she could get there. “Hey Flitter, do you need any help with those dishes of yours?” I asked while getting up from my chair. Flitter turned herself around to look at me. “No not really, I can do all the dishes on my own, it’s ok. But thanks for the offer anyway.” She replied with a smile. I shook my head while trotting towards her. “No, it’s not fine. Please, if I am going to live here with the two of you then I at least want to make myself useful around here.” “No really it's Fine Nava I can…” She tried to counter before I stopped her. “Please let me help, I want to earn my right living here and not just hang around like a sloth, and please keep the whole “we owe you because you saved our lives” out of this, I feel really dirty for sucking you two dry because of it. I really want to help.” I explained to her truthfully and with determination behind my every word. Flitter simply stood there for a while in surprise, before she shook her head and looked back at me with a small smile on her muzzle. “Well… I guess there might be no harm in you actually helping out here. In fact it might be quite welcome, knowing that Cloud never really lifts a hoof when it comes to chores.” She replied with a small giggle at the end. Cloud’s voice came from down the hallway. “I heard that!” I chuckled, making Cloud remind me of your typical rebellious teenager type you often see in cartoons or sitcoms. Or just Rainbow Dash. “Anyway, try not to make too much of a mess then, or we might never leave the house today.” She added with another giggle as she led the way into the kitchen with me following behind her. “Don’t worry, I’m not that clumsy.” I replied. “Will see.” She challenged while placing the dishes into the sink. “Actually I might be, since I now have hooves instead of hands. Hope this goes well for the first time.” I thought myself as I positioned myself next to her. “Good thing that these are not my mother’s plates.” I heard Flitter mutter to herself as I almost managed to drop one of them. I smiled sheepishly at that as I continued to try to not make more work than I am already worth. Though, in my opinion, i might have missed that window. I thought. Chapter 11: "Eine Stadtrundfahrt" is how they say in german Chapter 11: "Eine Stadtrundfahrt" is how they say in german /Chapter 11: “Eine Stadtrundfahrt” is how they say in German/ Edited by: Chrome Masquerade Well, it is proven, even in this world. Women take forever to get ready for something. Well, at least Flitter does. Cloud Chaser, on the other hand, just did her shower, came out all wet, went to her room to dry herself off and came out with both her fur and mane still all messy and simply sat down onto the couch with me. Now all we needed to do was wait for Flitter to finish up in the bathroom. I was planning to take the opportunity to retreat into my mind as I would often do, but got beaten to it by my companion next to me. “So, you only managed to break one plate during your first time doing the dishes?” Cloud asked with a giggle before it turned into an awkward chuckle at the end. “Well, to be honest, the last time I did the dishes I somehow managed to drop 3 of them.” She admitted while rubbing her neck. I chuckled at that, making her smile and chuckle as well. Cloud Chaser was the first one to stop as she looked back at me. “You know… it’s actually kind of nice to have another pony living here with us.” She admitted while looking at her front hooves. I was genuinely surprised to hear that from her, but before I could even ask any questions on it she continued. “I mean, me and sis have each other all the time, sure, but… it still gets kind of lonely sometimes, living in this house, just the two of us… especially in the same place where we… last saw our parents.” Cloud explained as a sad expression quickly showed itself on her face. I quickly reached a hoof over to comfort her. She lifted her head and gave me a sad smile. “Again, this might sound strange for you, but… we have been living all alone here for 4 long years. It really feels good to have another pony here in the house other than just us. It makes this place feel…well… more alive, you could say.” Cloud Chaser explained before she continued. “Me and sis wanted to move out of our parents’ house and buy a new one somewhere else in town with all the money our parents left behind for us, but in the end we couldn’t because of all the fond memories we had in this place.” She finished before sighing and looking back down onto her hoof. “But also in memory of them.” She added, muttering. This actually explained a lot to me. I knew that these two offered me their home as a thanks for saving their lives at the beginning, but at the same time I still felt rather confused and troubled with the idea that they would just offer a random stranger -despite the fact that he saved their lives- their very own home to stay in. But now I kind of understood it more. They were just lonely. Wanting for some extra fun and company in their lives, which was all taken away from them when their parents had so abruptly left them alone on this world. I fully understood it now, and somehow they saw me as the right pony that could fill this void in their hearts. They hoped that I could make living just that little bit more colorful for them, and in all honestly feel completely honored and touched, knowing that now. I immediately moved my entire foreleg across her back and embraced her in a semi-hug which she gladly accepted. She eventually lifted her head and gave me a thankful smile, which I happily returned to lighten the mood again. “Thanks.“ I finally said, which quickly confused her. “Thanks for what?” She asked, tilting her head a bit. “For giving me this chance.” I simply answered with a smile, which she quickly caught on to. “Well, we’re just as thankful to you as you are to us, to be honest.” Cloud Chaser admitted with a chuckle before pushing herself away from me. “Well, ok, enough of this mushy stuff. This is really not the time to be all emotional.” she got up and brushed herself off. “And besides my sister is much better in that category then me anyway.” She quickly added which made me roll my eyes. Cloud Chaser. Always ready to kill the mood. I guess you can call that mood-BLOCK. Yeah, terrible joke. But again, this got me thinking. If any of this is true, then I should at least try to get myself sorted out so that I wouldn’t be a constant drag to them, such as I was. I guess learning magic can now move up to the top of the “To do list” as I obviously can’t do anything with these hooves besides walk with them, and I refuse to use my mouth for that kind of thing because that would just be degrading, especially for a former human. Plus I have no idea if these things are clean or not. I already got my answer to that with Pinkie Pie’s hoof… which was disgusting. Another reason to learn magic as quickly as I possibly could was obviously to not stick out too much as a unicorn that can’t even levitate things. That would just be a disaster when somebody asked me to do something magic-related. Rainbow Dash comes to mind at that. Ugh what is Flitter taking so long? is she taking a shit in there as well? Wait… how do toilets in cloud homes even work exactly? I have an idea which is…unfortunate for anyone who happens to be right under Cloudsdale. Which at least explains why this city never ever floats even close to any cities or settlements. I began to make an uncomfortable expression as these ideas about Cloudsdale toilets floated around in my head which made Cloud Chaser next to me raise an eyebrow in confusion. “i suppose i could ask later.” I thought to myself, mentally shaking off that train of thought. Before she could question me, the door to the private bathroom finally opened revealing a well-groomed -and, to my surprise, good smelling- Flitter. Yes… I said good smelling, even from that distance. I never thought about it, but I guess pony noses are much more sensitive than human ones. Which I should have expected. Flitter trotted over to us with a very pleased look on her face and sat down on the couch opposite from us while still brushing her mane a bit with a brush that was hidden under one of her wings earlier. Cloud was the first one to start. ”Jeez, sis! Took you long enough. What did you do in there, clop in the shower?” She casually said while leaning back against the couch. That immediately froze any thoughts or activities from both me and Flitter as we both turned our heads to her in shock as Flitter began to blush a bit. That blush though turned into a fierce glare as she composed herself. “Buck you, I was actually trying to dry my mane, groom it and place my mane bow on it as I usually do, which obviously takes a while, especially when you are forced to do it alone.” Flitter explained while pointing her brush at her. “Also, how the buck could you casually say that when there is another pony in the room with us?” She quickly added in an obvious angry tone. Cloud simply smirked. “Because it’s fun watching your reaction.” She said while sticking her tongue out at her playfully which only made Flitter’s glare deepen. I was just shocked to hear her say that and even more so hearing Flitter say the pony equivalent of “Fuck you” to her sister. Is this how these two behave all them time?Or is it just now because I am with them? Or is it just typical Cloud here trying to embarrass her sister in front of me, if that is the case then why though? This is awkward again. Flitter eventually sighed heavily as she tried to ignore her sister. “Well whatever, let Cloud here act like a little foal if she wants. Can we just get out of the house and take a stroll through the city?“ Flitter suggested semi-annoyed as she got up from her seat. “Yes! Finally.” Cloud announced in triumph as she also got up to join her sister. I simply remained seated as a very important thought entered my mind. “WAIT… what about my wings?” I asked while turning around the couch to look at them. Both Flitter and cloud stopped as realization began to hit both of them. “Oh buck! Yes, I totally forgot about that.You don’t have those bandages anymore.” Flitter commented while looking thoughtful. Cloud piped up. “Why don’t you just give him a jacket or something else for him to wear to cover up those silvery wings of his?” She suggested. Flitter nodded at that. ”Good idea. I even know the perfect jacket for the job.” Flitter announced as she moved past her sister, but not before giving her a hard slap on the face with her tail. “HEY! WHAT THE BUCK WAS THAT FOR?!” Cloud shouted while rubbing her slowly turning red cheek. “For that little clopping joke you made.” Flitter casually answered with a sideways glare. “That sounded rather painful, to be honest. I had no idea that pony tails could be used that way.” I thought as Flitter disappeared around the corner. “Well… I guess I did go a bit too far back there.” I heard Cloud mutter behind me. While Flitter was searching, i looked over to Cloud and asked, “Hey, Cloud? This may seem odd, but I’ve been meaning to get this off my chest: how do the toilets here work?” She lifted her head briefly and said “Ah.” before continuing. “It’s pretty simple, see? The clouds here leach the remaining nutrients from your feces before breaking them into their individual elements. Like hydrogen, oxygen…. Stuff clouds use anyway.” “Oh. Thanks.” i said, relieved to get that out of the way. “No prob.” Cloud replied. She smiled. After a while, Flitter returned with a light black jacket on her back. She stopped right in front of me as she fully presented the jacked by laying it on the table. Before i got a closer look I thought that it was leather, but after closer inspection it I learned that I was just fabric. Thank god though, since the idea of ponies possessing something made of animal skin is somewhat weird, knowing full well that they are typically herbivores. Besides that, the jacket looked very generic, having two pockets on either side of the chest area, long sleeves, and a wide open collar similar styled like the once you find on tuxedo’s, or school uniforms which was the only unique design on it. It also was pretty long, which is way Flitter probably thought that it must be perfect for hiding my wing “This jacket used to be our father’s. It’s a bit oversized for you, simple because our father was a bit taller than the average Pegasus, but beyond that it should still fit you nicely.” Flitter explained while gesturing to the jacket. “Heck even I think that you are just a bit taller than the average stallion as well. Probably because you’re an Alicorn. They tend to be larger than the other races.” Flitter quickly added. A thought quickly emerged after she said that as i looked back at the jacket. "Wait...if it is your fathers. Than why doesn't it has any openings for his wings on it? I asked after having noticed the lack of wing holes on it. Flitter giggle before answering the question. "That's actually a good observation there." She responded before continuing. "The reason why is because is when dad requested this jacket from a local tailor/ old friend from Fillydelphia, he somehow managed to forget the wing openings for it after he packaged and send it to our dad. At first our father was completely confused after he open the package and saw the lack of wing openings on his new hoof made jacket. He was about to send it back to his friends with a complained on it but eventually decided against it and decided to use his new jacket as a winter jacket for...well cold winters to also keep his wings warm. He did always did had the most sensitive of wings from all 4 of us." She finished her tale. I gave her a nod at that info as I scooped up the jacket with both of my hooves to have a feel for its texture. As I predicted the Jacket was made out of some natural fabric, either wool or cotton I can’t really tell. It was pretty thick too, perfect for cold days. I mean that’s what jackets are for anyway to keep the wearer warm. Another feature that this jacket has was a small stitched in image of a Sword pointing down with two red wings on either side on the left chest pocket and on the right shoulder. Must be the cutie mark of their father. I started to try put on the jacket myself, which I found surprisingly easy thanks to the astonishingly nimble legs I have as a pony. Seriously, the first time I found out just how similarly nibble my legs were in comparison to humans was pretty shocking. Especially knowing how the forearms of horses normally move. But then again I am in a different world and these ponies and are nothing, and I mean NOTHING like the equines I know from back home. These equines might as well be humans in pony bodies. I stood up after I managed to drape over the jacket to present myself properly in front of the girls to judge my look. “Well?” I asked as I looked between them. Well, at least this jacket isn’t tight on my wings like how the bandages were. In fact if feels comfortable. Also, yay more clothing. To be honest despite the fact that i have fur now I still very much enjoy the thought of wearing SOMETHING instead of running around all butt naked. Even though my butt, now as a pony, is likely always going to BE naked, but it's the thought that counts i guess. Flitter began to move closer before pointing something out. “You should probably also zip it up, and fix the collar around you. Here let me.” Flitter suggested as she started to zip the jacket shut and fixing the collar. She stepped back to observer her handiwork… or hoofy-work and smiles as she gave me a nod of approval. Cloud Chaser whistled. “Hey, there, Nava! Looking good! That jacket really fits your look, I have to say.” She commented while looking me over before continuing. “Now if you weren’t a mare magnet before you are definitely one now. Young mares that you are going to pass by are just going to drool at your look, dude. You lucky stud you.” Cloud added with a smirk. I chuckled nervously. “Heh heh… thanks?” Not exactly what I need to be honest…but if this is really the only jacket you guys have then what choice do I have? Cloud simply shook her head at me as she chuckled. “You’re strange sometimes, you know that? Most stallions I know would LOVE to be in your position. But then again, you are shy and awkward.” She commented before Flitter moved towards the front door. “Well, who isn’t a little weird?” i said “True that!” Cloud replied, laughing “Well, anyway you can keep the jacket from now on, if you want. We certainly have no use for it. But i would imagine that dad would have loved to see his favorite being put to good use rather than just collecting dust and fuzz in a closet.” Flitter said. “But now that we have that problem out of the way, let’s just go. There are some few places I would really like to show you, Nava. So let’s hurry up while the day is still young.” Flitter announced as she unlocked the door and opened it. “Yeah, come on. And don’t you worry about the mares, Nava, I will protect you from them.” Cloud said with chuckle and a wink. I simply sighed as I followed the two mares out of the house. I just hope this isn’t going to be any worse than back in Ponyville, especially now that there are…. way more ponies here than there. Fun. ……………………………………………………………………………………… Well, this trip went much better than I expected. For about two hours me and the two girls have been strolling through the city streets, going from location to location, showing me all the interesting places and tourist attractions the city has to offer. This city also seems to have a street alley full of… places where you can buy mares for a healthy sum of coin. Who knew that a world like this has strip clubs and hookers as well? The more I learn about this world the more mature it gets. Kids show my ass. My Little Pony belongs to [adult swim], not the freaking Hub or whatever cartoon channel exist out there. Besides places like those, we also visited long shopping streets, went to the memorial park of Pegasi war heroes from the past (Again didn’t know they had those) and even visited the famous weather factory of Cloudsdale, the largest in Equestria and the place where both Flitter and Cloud actually work when they are not sent off somewhere else instead. But now we were just chilling in a local café, resting our hooves on a nice table in front of the shop and enjoying a nice glass of cold ice tea under the shadow of a large parasol. Flitter and Cloud began chatting with Rain Coat after we managed to bump into her again at this Café (Convenient, I know) while I simply took this opportunity to look around. Ponies, ponies and more ponies was what I saw, some giving me glances because of my horn, i would guess while most of them simply ignored me, except for a few mares in the café who were waving and giggling at me. I’m I really that attractive looking for a pony? Besides that, I really didn’t care what was going through the minds of these mares as long as they kept their distance from me. Again I am FAR away from being interested in any romantic relationships whatsoever. Plus I wouldn’t know what to say to them anyway, I have no experience with dating or girls to begin with. Yeah, I know. What a loser right? A Young adult who has never dated or had a girlfriend in his life. Brilliant don’t you think? I sighed and I took my glass of iced tea again to finish off whatever was left of it. Or I was going to until a large, thundering crack made me jump out of my chair and dump the rest of my ice tea all over me. Same for most of the guest here as well, though less dramatic, and less… wet. “Ha ha ha ha ha! Oh, man! you should have seen your reaction there! Haaa ha ha ha ha ha!!! That was AWESOME.” A very scratchy sounding voice laughed above me while I laid on the ground. I groaned and tried to look upwards to try and pinpoint the source of the laughter. At first I was confused seeing nothing but a small low flying cloud above me until said cloud suddenly spawned the head AND face of a well know rainbow maned blue Pegasus smiling down at me. “Hey there Nava, how is Cloudsdale working for you?” RD greeted me with a grin. I again groaned, trying to grab my hat that was lying beside me. “Oh, hey there, Dash… didn’t know I would meet you here in Cloudsdale with such a… loud greeting. What brings you here anyway?” I greeted back with a blank tone as I sat myself upright. Dash was about to respond when a waiter from the café suddenly came up to her. “Miss would you kindly STOP scaring our guests with that small thunder cloud of yours? If nothing else I would suggest that you either leave or I will call the guards if you continue causing more trouble around here.” The stallion waiter announced, which was accompanied by a lot of agreements by the guests as well. RD dropped her head as she jumped off her cloud, sheepishly apologizing to both the waiter and the guests. Luckily for her the waiter accepted her apology as he turned around and went back into the café to continue his job. “The youth nowadays.” I heard him mutter as he disappeared back from where he came. I looked over to Dash who was rubbing the back of her neck with a sheepish smile on her muzzle. “Not really the best of entrances huh?” She asked. Voices resounded from the patrons, “Gee! You THINK?!” I stood up and shook my head at her question.” Nope…nope it wasn’t. It would have been a bit better if I was the only one around…though I would prefer that you don’t scare me like that again.” I commented. “Also I have iced tea stuck in my fur and… jacket.” I added while looking down at my drenched chest. “Well yeah… sorry about that.” Dash apologized sheepishly. I simply shook my head and eventually gave her a small smile to lift her spirits while holding out my hoof to her for a hoof bump. She quickly took it as she began to smile as well. “So, what brings you here to Cloudsdale anyway dash?” I asked after the brohoof. “Not much really, besides having to bring some papers over to the central weather office of Equestria to confirm that I am too enlisted as the captain of Ponyville’s weather team and what not.” she answered. I nodded. “So wait, you didn’t start right away to be the new weather captain?” I ask. Dash simply shook her head. “Nope, there is a lot of paperwork involved first before I can fully take that position. A lot of boooooring paperwork.” She confirmed with bored tone. I again simply nodded until Cloud Chaser’s voice suddenly came up. “Flirting with Dash now, are we Nava?” Cloud Chaser teased with a smug smile. I groaned at that while Rainbow simply raised an eyebrow at Cloud Chaser as she giggled. “Are you going to EVER stop doing that?” I asked annoyed. “Nope.” She simply responded with a grin, making me facehoof. “You seem to have quite the life with these two.” RD commented. “You could say that.” I answered casually. Cloud Chaser simply chuckled as she suddenly pulled me close to her “Oh, don’t be like that. Sure I can be annoying sometimes, but it’s all in good fun. We all like you, especially me.” Cloud comment with a playful smirk at the end. I again blushed from the sudden body contact and suggestive comment, especially now that a whole city full of ponies can see and hear that too. Bloody Cloud, seems to be her mission to make me feel as awkward or embarrassed as possible. Or both. Seriously one day she is going to be the death of me. “Pffff…Virgins.” Dashi commented which Cloud Chaser could only agree on with a nod which only made my situation just that much less pleasant as I simply hung my head in shame at this point. Flitter again came to the rescue. “What are you two doing now?” She asked as she trotted up to us, with Rain Coat in tow. “Nothing much, just talking with RD here.” Cloud Chaser answered. Flitter simply looked at my defeated look before looking back at her sister flatly. “Uh huh. Sure.” She responded with a deadpan look. “Anyway, I’m just here to say that me and Rain Coat are going to do something important, which means I can’t continue with the tour with you Nava. I am sorry.” Flitter explained while giving me a sorry look. I raised my head a bit to look at her. “Oh well… that’s fine Flitter, really. If it is something important then go for it.” I answered her sincerely while giving her a sad smile. She smile as well before turning towards her sister. “Keep an eye on him Cloud and DO NOT do anything stupid while I am gone.” Flitter said with a stern look. Cloud simply rolled her eyes. “Yeah, yeah. I know. Stop branding me as an idiot. I am childish, yes, I will admit that freely, but NOT an idiot Flitter” Cloud retorted. At this point I realized that she was still holding me, as she accidentally shouted into my ear, which made me cringe. I wanted to move or say something but I knew for a fact that I shouldn’t get in between two arguing siblings, especially when it’s none of my business. So I just have to keep myself sandwiched between these two… because why the heck not. Flitter sighed. “Alright, alright. Fine… I know you’re not an idiot, Cloud. But… but please don’t drag Nava over here into something that he doesn’t want to be dragged into.” She finally said. “Yes, yes, I know. I won’t, I promise sis.” Cloud replied. “Also sorry for yelling at you too.” She quickly added as she lowered her ears in sadness. “It’s ok sis, I am sorry too for always branding you as a moron. It’s just… it’s just that you get me irritated so easily sometimes because of your antics… and I just get so mad. Again, I am sorry too. I suppose we’re both at fault sometimes.” Flitter apologized while she lowered her head as well. The other 3 of us, Me, Dash, and Rain Coat simply stood there in silence as this was taking place. It was sweet, but also awkward as all hell. Especially for me because I was literally in the center of it. But I could also feel the emotion of these two and also kind of understood it. They might be sisters but they are also two completely different ponies as well, with their own ways of doing things, their own personality their own thoughts and feelings. So a disagreement between these two is pretty obvious and common. Especially with siblings having such a strong contrast like them. It’s beautiful to know that despite their many, many disagreements and differences they are still sticking it through, thick and thin. That’s sibling love for you right there. “Uh… Cloud? You are still… holding me.” I finally point out while also trying to break the silence. “Huh? Oh yeah, right… sorry there.” Cloud responded sheepishly before finally letting me go. “Well, anyway, me and Rain have to go somewhere now. Stay safe you two. I guess I see you two back home, then?” Flitter suddenly announced as she and Rain quickly turned around and left. I watched as those two slowly disappeared into the crowd, leaving me, Flitter, and Dash still standing in front of the Café. “Do you two do this a lot?” Dash finally asked while rubbing the back of her neck. “Not really, just occasionally. But overall we are mostly good with one another.” Cloud Chaser answered while still looking at the direction her sister disappeared to. A question formed in my head after that. “Wait… what exactly are Flitter and Rain doing exactly? What were the three of you talking about earlier?” I ask curiously after I regained my composure. Cloud simply snorted. “Well, it’s nothing UBERLY important if that is what you are thinking. As good as I know these two they are probably just going to go do some mare stuff, if you catch my drift. Same goes with the conversation we had earlier with a bit of weather factory stuff sprinkled in between.” Cloud answered while shaking her head at that. I scratched my chin. “Ok, but how come you didn’t join her as well then?” I ask. Cloud Chaser simply gave me a “Are you serious?” kind of look which pretty much did the job of remedying my curiosity. “Right…tomcolt.” I muttered to myself which cloud seemed too noticed. She raised an eyebrow at that.” Tomcolt? Why in Equestria would you think I’m a tomcolt? I might not act like you typical mare but I am also no tomcolt…I…I am just not interesting in all this filly stuff like most others.” She answered before looking away from me. Odd? “In fact if you want a tomcolt we got one right here with us.” She quickly added while smirking over at RD. “Excuse me? I not that much of a tomcolt either, I might act and behave like one but I am not completely clotish and you know it.” RD protested with a flat look. “Ah yes…I remember now, I remember having seen you once secretly playing around with makeup in the mares bathroom back in our highschool years.” Cloud said with a grin on her face. Dash’s expression went wide at an instant as a faint blush formed on cheeks. “I… Have no idea what you are talking about.” She casually tried to answer, which only made Cloud giggle and me suspicious. All information I didn’t really need… but still interesting to know. “Well, anyway what now?” RD asked trying to switch the subject. “Continue with the tour?” I suggested, shrugging. Cloud Chaser looked thoughtful for a moment before an invisible light bulb seemed to go up inside the mare's head. “Oh! I know where we could go, since Flitter isn’t here anymore.” Cloud announced with a smile, a smile that somehow creeps me out a bit since I already have a somewhat good understanding on what is going on inside this mare’s mind. “Uh…what is it then?” I carefully asked. RD nodded, also feeling interested in what Cloud had to offer. “Hey, is it ok if I tag along with you two?” She asked. “I’ve got nothing better to do now anyway, since all of my paperwork crap is done.” she added Cloud smiled and nodded. “Sure why not? The more the merrier.” She responded. “Just follow me, then. it's actually quite a ways away, we could just FLY but one of the THREE of us doesn’t have any wings so we have to take the long way then.” She added with an emphasis on me as she started to trot off. I quickly began to follow her, not because I wanted to, but mostly because I didn’t want to be left alone in a city I had no knowledge about traversing. “Hey wait! Cloud… wait!” I called out galloping towards her, with Rainbow Dash just lazily hovering next to me. ……………………………………………………………………………………… “Hair” “Hare” “Book” “Buch” “Sunglasses” “Sonnenbrille” “Hmm… how about… Tits.” “Oh… uh… Titten” “Can you say this in Germane? ‘Hey Applejack? You are the slowest runner in all of Ponyville.’” “Uh… ok. Hey Applejack? Du bist die langsamste Läuferin in ganz Ponyville” I translated for her as we continued our trek through the busy streets. Dash began to rub her head after that as she tried to say what I said… and failing horribly in the pronunciation. “Hey, can you just write that down for me? I got to memorize that and get the pronunciation down, right?” She asked while looking at me. “Uh… sure, why not? But I don’t carry a pen or paper with me, sadly.” I respond. “You mean pencil and paper?” She question in which I nod my head. Note to self, Equestrians only use pencils and quills. “Is that really Germane, what you were speaking there?” Cloud suddenly asked as she’s up on front while looking over her shoulder. “Yeah, it is.” I confirmed with a nod. “So many weird sounding languages in the world.” I heard Cloud mutter as she looked back in front. “Even more true in my world where almost every country speaks its own language.” I thought to myself as the three of ours rounded a corner. “Oh hey look! Cloudsdale Colosseum is right there in the distance.” RD suddenly announced while pointing her hoof in a general direction. I followed her gaze, and wouldn’t you know it, she was right. Right behind the roofs of some long warehouse looking structures to our right where the upper structures of what I could only describe as a cloud-made version of the colosseum in Rome, only complete and not a ruin, of course. I again feel myself fascinated with the idea that all of it was basically made out of clouds and clouds alone. Maybe not so much of the interior if Cloud and Flitter’s home was anything to go by but still very impressive nonetheless. Heck, I’m still very much impressed that I can walk and stand on these bloody things. These are all just clouds, CLOUDS. “Hey Nava watch out or you are going to-” RD began before something hard and solid suddenly impacted the side of my face. I groaned in pain as I was forced to fall down onto my flank after the impact. The laughter of both Cloud and Dash filling my ears as I sat there rubbing the aching part of supposedly handsome looking pony face. “Hahahahah, see I told you, I told you that spacing out like that is eventually going to get you hurt. Oh Celestia that was hilarious.” RD comment in between laughs. “What the heck did I hit anyway?” I thought to myself as I began to look back ahead of me. My face shifted to a deadpan expression as I spotted a black colored Victorian style street lamp with a small dent on the middle. Oh…. “That was… dumb of me.” I commented to no one in particular as the laughter of both RD and Cloud still echoed around me. “Yes… yes it was.” Cloud commented as her laughter calmed down to just a few chuckles. I should really stop spacing out while walking, or at least stop first before doing so. “Anyway… need a hoof?” Cloud ask as she held out her hoof for me. I nod as I reached out and grabbed her hoof with my own while still rubbing my sour face. “At least nobody here has notice this, everybody seems to just mind there owns business.” I thought as I was pulled back up on all fours. “Hey, you're quite hilarious there Navi. Perhaps I should come give you a visit more often for some good laughs.” RD commented with a grin. I just rolled my eyes at her annoyedly before I realized the nickname she just gave me. I raised my eyebrows while she simply smirked. I was about to ask her when Cloud suddenly yanked me from the side. “Come on, we’re just burning daylight standing here.” Cloud announced as she quickly grabbed and dragged me by my leg. RD simply shook her head as she followed the two of us. ……………………………………………………………………………………… “Alright... here it is.” Cloud Chaser announced after a full 30 minutes of more walking. I looked to where she was pointing and was immediately greeted with a large Greek temple-like building with large columns surrounding the outside of the structure, one area seeming to be under some renovating as well because of the scaffolding and workers running around on it. At first I thought that this was indeed some kind of religious building until Cloud flat out told me what this actually is. “This is Cloudsdale’s largest public library. I do sometimes come here just to see if they are new books or even comics about “Path to the Stars” or “Star conquests” when sis isn’t around.” Cloud Chaser explain. I looked at her surprised. “Wait… but I thought that you…” I began before Cloud continued. “Yes, yes I know, highly unusual for a character like myself to actually like sci-fi stuff especially when I call my sister an egghead sometimes.” Cloud quickly explained before she continued. “This is actually why I said earlier that we can finally go to a certain place with my sister gone and busy. If she knew that I am actually a huge sci-fi nerd and somewhat of a history buff too, she would never let me live it down, and we can’t have that now can we?” She finished. “Now you know a little secret of mine, DON’T tell this my sister though.” She said while getting close to my face at the end with a serious look in her eye. I nodded, letting her know that I wouldn’t tell Flitter anything. She nodded as well before giving me my personal space back and turning back to RD who was still with us. “Sorry if it’s nothing exciting for you though, Dash. “ Cloud said sheepishly to the mare behind us. She simply shrugged.” Ehh… it's fine. The one good thing about libraries is that they are like the perfect place for you to sleep in because they are so nicely quiet. Plus they got these nice comfy couches as well.” Dash responded casually. I scratched my head at that as a thought entered me. “So wait… Rainbow here already knew about your secret?” I asked while turning to Cloud. “Yup… in fact she is the only other one who knew.” She admitted before Dash jumped in. “Yeah… it’s the leverage I have to prevent her from telling everypony about the little thing I did in high school.” Dashi added before giving me a serious look. “By the way… tell anypony about that and I will break your flank.” She threatened which I only felt happy to oblige by nodding at her. She nodded back as she relaxes. I sighed in relief before turning back to Cloud Chaser. “So, we are going to spend some time in a library, then? I kind of like that. Less hectic and more calm.” I announced which made Cloud only chuckle. “I bet it is.” She said before leading the way. I rolled my eyes as Dash and I followed her up the stairs and into the main entrance of the library. My eyes immediately went wide at the scene in front of me. “Holy crap… These bookshelves reach up all the way to the ceiling full of books, and the ceiling must be like 3 stories high or something.” I commented out loud as I looked around the main hall of the library. “Shhhhh… not so loud! Ponies are trying to read in here.” A mare behind a counter to our left shushed while looking rather annoyed. “Oops! Sorry.” I apologized rather loudly which gave me another, louder shush from said mare. “Ok I’ll just shut up then.” I thought as I simply held my tongue. “So, this is how the great library of Alexandria might have looked.” I thought as I observed the upper levels of the book cases, being filled with old looking scrolls rather than books. Me and the two mares made our way over to the green Pegasus mare behind the counter as I noticed a few Pegasi flying about the interior of the library, taking or reorganizing books or scrolls. “Hello excuse me miss but… is the latest issue of “Path to stars” out?” Cloud asked the mare kindly. The green mare in front of us looked thoughtful for a moment. “Well, let me go check. I’m sure I have some info on that...” She responded as she ducked down under the counter. I heard some shuffling and the sound or crunched paper before the mare quickly resurfaced with a large list. The mare smiled before looking back at Cloud. “Well it seems like you’re in luck, the new issues just arrived yesterday. You can find them all in section P-A2.” The mare explained while pointing her hoof in a general direction. Cloud leapt in the air, pumping a hoof in triumph. “YESSSSSS!!! Thank you miss.” She thanked the mare before heading off into the pointed direction. REALLY fast. So wait… I am sure that a library of this size probably has some books about basic magic and equestrian history as well. This might actually be the chance I need to get myself up to snuff regarding my magic problem. Plus learning some history might not be a bad idea either, since I have loved history in certain degrees back in my world. I approached the librarian before me. “Uh… excuse me miss but,,, where are the sections about magic and history?” I asked politely and quietly. She again looked thoughtful for a few moments before she looked back at me. ”Section M-B1 has everything magic related while section H-D1 has everything regarding history. You can find reading tables and couches in the center or lining the walls of the library.” She answered out while pointing out the directions with her hoof. “Thank you, miss.” I thanked her before trotting off myself into the directions she pointed at. RD hovered up next to me as I made my way over to section M-B1. “Hey, Dude I am going to crash onto one of those couches over there if you need me.” She announced while looking down at me. I looked up at her and nod.” Sure no problem dash, I will be mostly digging my muzzle into some books anyway, so you don’t need to worry about me disturbing you sleep.” I responded with a smile. She smiled back and nods before flying off into the other end of the library. I sighed as I looked over the overwhelming selection of books that surrounded me. Ranging from basic unicorn spells to highly advanced combat magic to difficult summoning and conjurations. All categorized in alphabet and age. With some of the older tomes on the very top of the shelves. “Well, obviously start with the basics. Let’s just hope I can read and understand this stuff.” I thought to myself as I began to pull a book out with my hoof and carried it over to a nearby table and chair to sit and read. Let the reading montage begin… oh wait, I also need to get a book about history as well. Well, great. I already forgot what section it is in. Back to the counter than. ……………………………………………………………………………………… “Cloudsdale used to be a large military fortress in ancient days? Never knew that. At least that explains the citadel at the center of the city, then.” I muttered to myself as I read the history section of this city. Cloudsdale actually has a lot of blood on its name according to these books. Back in the ancient past when Equestria was still very new and vulnerable it acted as a last stand defense point for the young Kingdom, guarding the entrance of a wide and stormy mountain pass and preventing raiders from the north or other invaders from sweeping across the lands. One particular battle even nearly caused the defeat and collapse of the young Kingdome when the more powerful Gryphon Empire at the time was expanding its borders and wanted to also annex the young Equestria into its empire as well. The smaller and weaker Equestrian armies had suffered defeats after defeats during the war, forcing the reminding forces to retreat farther and father, eventually to the city fortress of old Cloudsdale for a last desperate stand against the Gryphon Empire. A battle that was simply known as “The Siege of Cloudsdale.” The Battle, according to these records, was fierce. A constant bombardment that lasted for weeks. The city was heavily damaged and beaten and its defenders were exhausted and their supplies were quickly running dry. They were at the brink of finally losing the siege when suddenly a relief army led by Commander Hurricane -one of Equestria's founders- finally arrived at the scene and managed to relieve the siege of the city. A bloody battle took place afterwards as bodies from both sides began to pile themselves onto the grounds of the mountain passage below. Eventually the day was won for the Equestrian side but still, the loses they had suffered were staggering. 35.000 of the previous 50.000 equestrians lay dead. Same for the Gryphons, 79.000 of the 100.000 Imperials lay dead as well, with the added loss of over 40 destroyed catapults, ballistas and the destruction of 10 airships as well. It was a very costly victory for Equestria for sure, and a crushing defeat for the old empire at the time which eventually lead into its collapse a few centuries later simply because of the populace losing its trust and belief in their leaders and military which lead to tensions and instability within the empire. Not to mention outside pressures, as well as the resources of maintaining its armies were quickly running dry. Basically this world’s version of the collapse of the Roman Empire. I shook my head at all this information. Who knew that Equestria's history has so many similarities to earth history as well? A lot of wars, famines and even epidemics. Suffice it to say, Equestria’s first years were nothing to look back to, it was plagued with problems and outside threats. Only with the later introduction of Starswirl the Bearded and the two royal sisters was Equestria able to stabilize and become the nation that it is today. I closed the book and put it to the side. I massaged my forehead with my hoof to ease my mind from all this information. “How long have I been reading here, maybe 3 hours?” I thought to myself as I began to look around for a clock. None were there, obviously, but my inner clock still somewhat told me that it had to be around 3 hours at least. “Man this Library is really big. The ones I visited a few times were just these small shop-sized places, so this here is really the largest book warehouse I ever visited.” I muttered to myself as I watched ponies around me, collecting and returning books to their shelves or trotting around the desk, chairs, and sofas. “Spend a whole hour just trying to understand what these magic books are talking about and in the end I just ended up even more confused with the whole concept of magic than before I started.” I muttered again somewhat annoyed while glaring at the few books I picked associated with magic. Who knew that learning actual magic can be this confusing? Or maybe it’s because I originated from a magicless world and species. I will never look at these open world RPG’s or Harry Potter movies the same way again. I sighed, feeling mentally drained for the day. “Wonder if I can take some of these books with me.” I wondered out loud as I eyed them all in front of me. “Hey there, Nava. Done with your reading?” Cloud Chaser’s voice suddenly came up from behind. I turned my head and greet her with a tired smile. “Well yes… kind of… I feel mentally exhausted now.” I replied while still rubbing my head. “How about you? What have you been up to?” I asked, looking at her curiously. Cloud simply smiled before showing me a book she was holding on one of her wings. “I was reading this.” She replied while showing the book to me. “It’s the next chapter of Path to the Stars I have been waiting for over 2 months for. Though, sadly, the next issue of Star conquests is still not out yet.” Cloud explained. I observed the book she was holding. It was a clear blue book with an image on the front that I can only describe as something similar to a Star Wars movie poster, with characters’ faces and spaceships in front of space back ground with a large Saturn like planet on it. I read the title out loud. “Path to the Stars: Cryet’s return.” Cloud nodded before placing the book back under her wing. “Well, still have a lot to read through. But anyway, I think it’s time for us to head back home before sis kills me for being late or something.” She announced. “Wait… where is Dash, anyway?” She quickly asked after realizing it. I had a look of realization as well as I completely forgot about Dash since I started reading. “Well… no idea really, she said something about making herself comfortable on one of the couches around here to doze off for a while. No idea where exactly she went after we split.” I answered while scratching my head. “Oh, I see.” Cloud basically answered while rubbing her chin. “Well then, we better look for her than if she is still in here. Don’t want her waking up in a locked up library, even though it would be hilarious.” She suggested as she began to trot off. “Hey wait for me!” I called out while clumsily grabbing the books with my hooves and trying to balance them on my back. “You can borrow those if you want. I can use my membership card for them.” Cloud suggested after I managed to catch up with her. “Well, to be honest I was about to ask something similar to that, but you already answered that for me. Thanks, by the way.” I said with a smile. “Don’t mention it.” She replied happily before we managed to spot the rainbow mare. “Really. Don’t.” she added. “Well, that was easy.” I comment as we made our way to Rainbow’s sleeping form on one of the couches lining the library walls. Both me and Cloud began to snicker at the mares silly position of laying on her back, completely sprawled out with her tongue hanging out of her mouth. A soft snoring sound coming from her as her wings were twitching from time to time. I don’t know why, but I just found this position and image of Rainbow Dash extremely funny, probably because of her tough exterior character, and here she is sleeping like a derp. Cloud began to poke me on the side to get my attention and moved her muzzle close to my ears to whisper something. “Alright, who is going to wake her up? Me or you?” She asked with an obvious amusement in her tone. I simply shrugged. ”Don’t know, but I think you do it because she is still much closer to you than me.” I whispered back. “Well… true, I’ll do it, then.” She replied before looking back at the sleeping mare in front of us. Cloud Chaser looked thoughtful for a few moments before a wicked grin began to spread across her muzzle. “Oh, this is going to get her going.” She whispered with an evil grin before she turned herself around and presented her rear towards the sleeping Pegasus. Before I was even able to question her motives she quickly began to move the tip of her tail above RD’s noise and tickled it. Cloud began to snicker quietly to herself as RD began to stir and groaned in her sleep, scrunching up her nose in hopes to get rid of whatever was attacking it. With little success, of course. Again I was extremely questioning about her idea, but decided to just keep myself quiet on the matter. At least she is not going to be furious at me when she wakes up. Dash’s groining and stirring increased as Cloud continued her assaults with her tail. “Uh, Cloud? I don’t think that-” I began before RD suddenly began to swat at whatever was assaulting her nose and accidentally hitting Clouds flank instead. Cloud immediately yelped in surprised –loudly- which was finally enough to wake Dash up from her slumber. The first sight that greeted the blue Pegasus was a front row seat of Clouds… cheeks… as cloud was busy blushing from the sudden spank she got on her ass. The reaction on Dashi’s face was instant, her eyes went wide as her cheeks quickly took on a bright red hue as she continued to stare up at what I could only imagine as Cloud’s full moon glory. A thought that made me blush a bit as well. An awkward silence dominated the area around us before RD was the first one to break it. “AAAAAAHHHHHHH WHAT THE BUCK CLOUD!!!” She shouted in panic as she tried to scramble away, only for her to fall of the couch with an audible thud echoing through the halls of the library. Cloud also began to scramble away, only for her legs to get tangled up on one another as she fell down flank first onto the library floor with another echoing thud ringing through large walls of the building. “SHHHHHHHHHH!! Be QUIET over there, this is a library not a stadium!” The librarian suddenly shush-outed harshly to our left, since her desk was pretty close to where we were. “Sorry.” Both RD and Cloud muttered in unison making me facehoof at these two. “Well…at least life won’t be so boring anymore with Cloud around here.” I thought to myself afterwards. Both mares eventually got back up on all fours while trying to compose themselves. Personally I still can’t believe that actually happened. That was really, really dumb especially for Cloud, and I guess RD can only agree to that by the glare she was giving her. “CLOUD!” “Shhhhh.” “Cloud… what the actual buck was that?” She whispered harshly. Cloud smiled sheepishly while trying to get her blush under control. “Well, it… it was supposed to be something very funny… but went far south instead very quickly. But I guess… in the end it was just dumb.” She explained as her ears dropped down. Both me and RD could only agree to that as we both nod on her self-accusation. “It was very dumb.” I say “Super dumb.” RD said. “And somewhat dirty.” She quickly added which really didn’t help Clouds flustered look. She simply shook her head. “Look I did something dumb, I will admit that.” She began. “But I think it’s just better we just forget about it and go home, it’s getting late anyway and I do not look forward strolling around the streets at night.” She tried to suggest while getting back up. I could only agree on that. “What about the books?” I asked remembering them. “Simply, we just take them over to the front counter and ask if we could borrow them for a while with the membership card I have. Than we are good to go.” Cloud explained before leading the way. Me and RD followed her and did exactly as she suggested, we borrowed the books we had with us and quickly made our way to the exit. I was actually surprised to see that the sky was already semi-orange in hue, telling me that it was already dusk. “How long did we really spend in there?” I question myself mentally. “Well ,I guess this is it, then. Time for me to fly back home before it fully gets dark.” Dashi announced while flexing her wings a bit. I turned my head to her. ”Well it was nice seeing you again too, Dash. Was still interesting despite the fact that nothing much happened.” I say, purposely avoiding the incident from earlier. Dashi smiles. “Yeah, it was nice while it lasted, still didn’t manage to show you some of my tricks, though, as I promised. Oh well, I guess there is always a next time.” Dashi replies before taking off into the air. “Well, goodbye you two.” She shouts before quickly zooming away. “BYE DASH!” I shouted back while waving at her goodbye leaving me and Cloud Chaser standing alone in front of the large library. “Well…that’s that I guess. Come on, let’s get back home and see what Flitter has dragged back home this time.” Cloud Chaser suggested before trotting off. I quickly followed her as the street lamps around us slowly turned on one by one. Shit… I forgot, now I have to try and keep these books balanced on my back for the entire trip. Ugh, I really need some saddle-bags of my own in the future. With that finally behind, all of the books I had on my back suddenly decided to fall off just to prove my point about the need of some bags of my own in the future. I groaned in annoyance as I turned around and bent over to pick them all back up with my mouth without dropping them. One thought coming to my mind as I struggled to place them all back onto my back without them falling off again. Damn it! Chapter 12: Start of the Timeline (Re-edit) /Chapter 12: Start of the Timeline Edited by: Chrome Masquerade Midnight Gear “(Sigh) Really Nava, I would have imaged that after your first time experience flying in a Balloon that you would take it much easier than the last time.” Flitter sighted while looking down on me. I simply crossed my forelegs. “Well for starters, I wasn’t prepared to take yet ANOTHER ride so freaking soon. Also, just because I already took a ride previously doesn’t mean that I am suddenly NOT scared of heights anymore…IN FACT judging from my previous experience it just made me EVEN more wary flying on one of these unstable things than ever BEFORE!!!” I protested. “So just leave me be, ok.” I quickly added, feeling highly annoyed at the situation I found myself in. Our pilot, Steam Tool, looked down at me with furrowed eyebrows. “Seriously dude, if you are so afraid of high places then why did you even travel up to Cloudsdale in the first place?” I simply ignored him as I continued to sit silently in my little corner feeling more annoyed than worried that I was back inside this stupid Hot Air Balloon thing. Steam Tool simply sighed as he went back to piloting the thing through the air. I always knew that the summer sun celebration was going to happen, but I never imagined that both me and the two sisters would attend it as well. Well, to be honest, when you worked your ass off to prepare before hand and even break your wings while doing so, then you might as well go to make all of the work and trouble worth it. Plus I can’t stay all alone at their home while they go off to Ponyville, that would be just… no… just no. The rest of the week was… refreshingly normal, especially comparing it to all the previous days before them. Cloud and Flitter eventually managed to get their wings checked and fixed up, which was great for the both of them simply because that enables them to finally do what Pegasi do best. I remember how particularly happy Cloud was during that day. She flew all across the district and sending the neighbors complaining about it to Flitter. Silly mare. Besides that little incident that (for a change) had nothing to do with me, the rest of the week was pretty normal, and honestly boring if I may say so. Flitter did well to fulfill her promise in redecorating my room with all the things that a livable bedroom needs. A Closet, table, desk, shelves, and even a poster for the wall, and even rugs for the floor have become part of my new room. I helped, of course, moving all of the stuff from the basement over to the main floor and to the room, but I was stunned to see just how well she and Cloud managed to decorate and furnished the room for me. I was extremely grateful to say the least. Besides that, nothing else happened. Just me trying to learn to tap into my magic with the help of the books I borrowed from the library a few days back. Suffice to say I was not going anywhere with it, to my utter frustration at the time. No matter what I did, no matter how much I tried to follow the book’s instructions to the letter, I just couldn’t do it. My magic was just untappable, at least on my own. And unsurprisingly both Flitter and Cloud were no help at all because of their Pegasi heritage. But now I am here, again inside the damn gondola of the balloon, huddled up in my little corner feeling both sick and annoyed and on my way back to Ponyville for the Summer Sun Celebration. Which means I have to witness the return of Nightmare Moon in person and probably Celestia as well. Something I was planning to avoid as long as possible. That also made me realize. Today is the day where Twilight gets kicked out of her comfort zone and send to clichéville for things that will eventually jump start everything I know. This idea got me thinking. Since that I basically know what will happen in the future, what will I do about this knowledge? Should I tell them or act on the events still to come or am I going to sit by and watch things play out? Because for one I am not afraid of diverting the timeline for better… or for worse. Which means if I do choose to intervene I have to be careful with how i do it, so that I don’t make things even worse than they might already are. Should I inform both Flitter and Cloud about the events that MIGHT take place or not? At that moment the gondola once again started to swing, which disrupted my train of thought as I was forced to keep myself steady in my sitting position. Cloud chaser noticed this as she leans her head towards me with a shit eating grin. “Having fun there Nava?” She asked amusedly. I simply gave her a deadpan stare. “What do you think?” I asked back with a flat tone. She snorted at that. ”Gee, don’t shower me with your overexcitement there Nava. Calm down before you fall off or something.” She responded with another grin which made me glare at her. Flitter once again stepped in. “Cloud, leave him alone. You know very well he doesn’t feel very comfortable with it.” Flitter said while hitting her sister on the head. Cloud Chaser winched as he rubbed her head. “Fine, fine, jeez. Don’t have to hit me so hard for it.” She complained. Cloud Chaser, to my surprise sat herself down next to me after that and looked at me. I was a bit confused for sure. I was going to ask her before she beat me to it. “Hey… uh… sorry for making fun about you being scared of heights, dude. I really was just teasing a bit that’s all.” She apologized with a sheepish grin before she leaned in close to whisper something into my ears. “We have to fix that though, one way or another. For one those private Balloon rides are not cheap and two those big wings of yours need to be put to good use as well. What’s the point in having wings when you don’t fly with them?” She quickly added. I didn’t want to believe her, but in a way… she was...kinda right. I am an alicorn, so learning how to fly was another thing I needed to do besides magic, and who knows, maybe having the ability to fly might one day even save my life or something. Especially when living in a city that constantly hovers over 2000 meters above the surface. “Plus it could perhaps remedy my fear of heights in the future… just maybe. I wonder if RD can help me teach how to fly.” I thought to myself. RD for two good reasons. One: I don’t really trust Cloud to teach me properly judging from her character and the way she constantly teases me. Two: Because Flitter has already once told me that she was a pretty poor teacher anyway. Plus if i decide to ask RD to teach me how to fly i need to eventually spill the beans to her as well. I just hope that she can understand and keep the secret if i do. “In terms of finding a magic teacher? Well, Twilight of course, if possible. Though I would have to be *really** careful around her when hiding my identity. She is by far the nosiest pony I know and if she realizes that something is off…. well, she will never leave me alone.* Plus, she kisses Princess Celestia’s ass like no other, so if she *ever** finds out that I am infact an alicorn she is going to freak out, and report me to her mentor for sure no matter how much I plea or try to reason with her. Especially this early version of twilight.* A sudden poke to my shoulder brought me back to reality as I shook my head. Cloud giggled beside me. “Spacing out again, aren’t we?” She asked knowingly. I rubbed my head to try and get the last few thoughts out of my mind. “Well, yeah… as usual.” i said. “On the bright side, it gives me something else to think about.” i added, optimistically Cloud simply shook her head, smiling, before our pilot began to announce something. “Ponyville in sight, everypony. Just a few minutes before touchdown.” He announced. Both Cloud and I stood up to take a look over the edge of the Gondola, and true to his word the small town is just below. “Quiet the strong contrast between this town and Cloudsdale.” I thought to myself the Balloon slowly began to decent. “Well let’s see if the timeline still holds true even in this reality. Oh wait…I think it does. That thing there in the distance looks suspiciously like a royal carriage pulled by two guard pegasi.” I thought as the balloon finally touched down. Let's see how my second time in ponyville is going to turn out? Hopefully less awkward and stressful. …………………………………………………………………………………… “So, what now?” Cloud ask after we disembarked the Hot air Balloon. “You know what, we are supposed to help with the final preparations before the princess arrives.” Flitter answered. Cloud began to groan in response. “Ugh… why the hay are they making us work during holidays?” She said with her head dropped. “I mean, look! A lot seems to be already done, what in Tartarus would they need us for, anyway?” Cloud complained while gesturing with her hoof. I followed her hoof and, true to that, the entire town was already busy preparing everything, from Earth Ponies sweeping the streets, to Unicorns hanging up flags and banners all over the roofs with their magics, to Pegasi pushing clouds away and what not. “Hey, guys! I see that you three made it.” Another voice suddenly shouted from above us. We all turned our heads upwards and to our surprise it was none other than Rainbow Dash herself who was hovering overhead. She eventually flew down and landed right in front of us. “Hey there.” She greeted with a smile. “Hey Dash.” All three of us greeted her in unison, followed by the two mares chuckling while Dash simply raised her eyebrow. After that it was Flitter to speak. “Anyway, me and Cloud have to get going then. We have to help with clearing the skies and hanging up flags and banners over the streets.” Flitter announced which again made Cloud groan in annoyance. “Come on, Cloud, lets go before our boss back in Cloudsdale rips our manes out when he hears from the rest of our colleagues that we were present during the preparations. And DIDN’T help.” Flitter added as she trotted of. “Fine, fine. See you two later, I guess.” Cloud said in a defeated tone as she followed her sister leaving me and Dash alone. “So, uh… what now?” I finally ask while looking at Dash. She took a while to ponder on my question before looking back at me. ”We could go to Sugarcube Corner, maybe see if pinkie has anything good on the counters.” Dash suggested. “What about those tricks you always wanted to show me?” I questioned her while rubbing my head. She simply shook her head. “I’d love to, but today is a holiday which basically means I can be lazy. Plus, I need to reserve my strength later for the party tonight. I'm going to finally beat AJ in a drinking contest. So again, sorry but not today.” Dashi explained while rubbing her neck awkwardly. “Oh… too bad, then. But I understand.” I replied while giving her smile. “Well, that was to be expected, honestly. This certain info was never mentioned in the show as far as I know, but i at least can understand her reasoning in not wanting to work during specials days, I can still fondly remember feeling disappointing when i still had to go to school despite being a national day back where i used to live. I was or still am pretty lazy myself.” I thought afterwards. Dash accepted my reply before she eventually trotted off and beckoned me to follow her with a hoof. I did so and soon the both of us were trotting along the streets of Ponyville. The obvious difference that Ponyville had, in comparison to the first time I was here, were the decorations. Everyone here was busy preparing, even the little ones seem to be helping, as I both saw Ruby and Tootsie helping out their moms. Or at least I think it’s their moms. The fandom back then was never really that clear on who their parents were, but I can at least see the connection between Ruby and Berry Punch, somewhat. “So… why aren’t you helping out Flitter and Cloud? I thought that you are ponyville's weather captain now. Shouldn’t you be up there with them?” I asked her after having spotted a pair of pegasi pushing clouds away above us. Dash looked at me as we continued along. “For the same reason I already told you, and besides, who likes to work on a holiday anyway?” She responded with a big grin at the end. I simply shook my head at her as we continued our way to Sugarcube Corner. “Well, besides that I also wanted to…” Dash began before she accidentally collided with another pony when the two of us rounded a corner. I was simple forced to stop and watch on as these two ponies tumbled about on the ground. A small purple colored lizard creature stood opposite from me, also confused and surprised at the sudden event. At first I didn’t recognize the purple lizard in front of me, but then it hit me. “Wait... is that Spike?” I thought to myself as I stared at him. Indeed, it was none other than Spike, the little dragon assistant/little brother/son of Twilight Sparkle, which only means that the pony Dash crashed into was- “What the hay, girl? Watch where you’re going.” Dash said which immediately brought me back from my thoughts. “Well, I am sorry, but it seems you weren’t paying much attention either.” The second pony replied as she slowly got back up and all fours. “Well whatever. I guess we’re both at fault then.” Dash replied also getting back up. Yup, that’s Twilight Sparkle, right here in front of me, with Spike behind her. Again, if only bronies could see me now they would probably cry out from jealousy...even more so when they realize that the first human who ended up in equestria before them isn’t really a brony and doesn’t give a dam. It was than when Spike finally noticed me as well as he stared at me as well, I simply stared back at him as the two of us keep silent while the two mares spoke to one another. “Wait…are you… Rainbow Dash by any chance?” Twilight asked while eying Dash curiously. This seemed to remedy RD’s annoyance as she started to took on proud stance. “The one and only. Fastest flyer in all of Equestria, at your service.” She boasted while puffing her chest out. Twilight simply gave her a blank look. “Right… anyway you were supposed to help clear the sky of clouds, yet I still see some of them and you not doing anything.” She accused while pointing a hoof up at the sky. Dash simply raised an eyebrow. “And who are you to tell ME what I should and should not do?” She countered with an annoyed tone. Twi sighed before answering. “Somepony told me that she was going to be brash.” I heard her mutter which luckily Dash didn’t. ”I am Twilight Sparkle and I was personally send by her highness, Princess Celestia herself to oversee the preparations for the celebration, and to make sure that everything will be perfect before her arrival.” She eventually explained. Dash simply snorted at that before looking at me for any comments or ideas. I simply shrugged at her and she sighed before opening her wings. “Fine, fine, Miss Princess Pet, I will clear the clouds for you, then.” Dash said as she took off to hover over us. “Watch and learn, meine Dame.” Dash said, using a little of the impromptu language lessons i gave her, “I will clear these clouds for you in ten. Seconds. Flat.” Twilight looked kind of dubious. “Prove it.” She dared, narrowing her eyes. Dash zoomed off up into the sky faster than I have ever seen her do. “That’s good, now that she… wait… Princess Pet? meine Dame?” Twi responded after realizing the nicknames which made Spike chuckle behind his claws. Twilight glared at him, which made Spike immediately stop and whistle innocently while looking off the side. “Hey, what about the other pony that was with her?” Spike pointed out, probably trying to switch Twi’s attention to me. Twilight took the bait as her attention switched to me for the first time. I simply smiled awkwardly at her which caused her to raise a curious eyebrow at me. “Greetings.”I simply greeted. “Hello there, mister…?” She began. “Nava… just Nava.” I answered for her. “Nava… what an odd name, not particularly pony-like at all.” She said while eyeing me curiously. My smile quickly faltered after she said that. “Gee, Twi. Great first impression there, judging a random stranger's name. Is this how you greet every new person you meet?” I thought as she continued to stare at me, mostly at my horn, as her curiosity quickly turned into shock. I quickly started to feel nervous but before she could even ask or do something (knowing her) that she might quickly regret, Dash came back swooping down looking all proud and accomplished. “See, what did I tell you? Ten. Seconds. Flat. Not a single cloud in the sky anymore.” She boasted as she landed back right beside me. Thankfully that quickly broke Twilight’s attention on me as her gaze switched back at my companion beside me. “Wait… seriously?” She ask skeptical before looking up, followed by Spike. “Hey she totally did it. Just moments ago there were clouds, Twi. She really must be than the fastest Pegasus in all of Ponyville.” Spike commented before looking back at the Pegasus in awe. “All of Equestria, not just Ponyville.” Dash corrected which made the drake nod. “Well, okay, I have to admit, that was impressive.” Twilight commented as she looked back at us. “But if you had the ability to clear the clouds so quickly, then... why didn’t you do that before?” She quickly ask. RD simply shrugged at that. “Just too lazy to work on a holiday. That’s all.” She casually responded which made the unicorn facehoof. “Anyway, thanks for finally doing your job then, I guess… now if you excuse me I have other places to inspect as well.” Twilight announced. “Come on, Spike.” She added. “Ok, Twi.” He simply responded as he hopped onto her back. Me and RD watched as these two slowly disappeared around a corner we just came from. Dashi sighted. “Well, that was something new. Also, was that really a dragon that was with her? How the hay did she got her hooves on that little guy?” She questioned to no one in particular. “Probably from an egg.” I casually answered which was true. Well this definitely went a lot differently from the way it did back in the show, I can remember that much. If my present alone can so drastically change things already on their own, then I guess there’s no point in me worrying about altering the timeline anymore. I might have already done so with my present alone. “Wait a minute… isn’t she the Twilight Sparkle pony you ask me about a week ago?” Dashi asked as she looked at me curiously. I simply shrugged. “Well… no… no, it wasn’t her. the Twilight I was talking about was different pony.” I lied and semi-not, for one good reason. I have no idea how i can explain to her how i know her and why. Also i wasn’t really lying in the first place as well, because this EARLY twilight is somewhat foreign to me too. “Well… ok, I guess it doesn’t matter then. “ Dash shrugged, to my relief. “Anyway Sugarcube Corner, yes?” She announced before again leading the way again. I followed her, letting my mind wander off again as we made our way to the Pink One’s sugar dungeon. ………………………………………………………………………………………… “Hey Pinkie? You there?” Dash called out as she entered Sugarcube Corner. Seriously though, when I first saw this shop with my own eyes I was sure as hell that it was literally a gingerbread house by how vivid and real all those candy canes and chocolate chips on the roof looked like. Imagine the disappointment I felt when I found out that these decoration where just that… decorations, vivid but not real. A part of my childlike imagination and fascination died right then and there. But luckily only a really small part. I quickly followed her inside and was immediately greeted with a pink mare zipping all around the shop faster than my eyes could track her. In and out of the kitchen, up and down the stairs and vise versa. A very confused Mr. and Mrs. Cake standing on the sidelines as pinkie continuously zips past them. I simply shook my head already being long familiar with pinkie's antics while Dash simply stood there imitating the Cakes’ fish like expressions. “Wha… what the… what the hay is Pinkie doing?” Dash asked out loud, completely confused on Pinkie’s behavior. “That’s… honestly what we’d like to know as well. We just came back to the bakery a few moments ago and found her like this when we arrived.“ Mr. Cake explained after having shaken himself out of his confusion. It was then when pinkie finally stopped in midair right in front of the four of us while holding a large box full of party huts in her hoofs. “Wait, don’t you guys know? THERE IS A NEW PONY IN TOWN AND I AM GOING TO THROW HER A WELCOME PARTY OF COURSE!!” Pinkie announced excitedly with the biggest grin on her face I have ever seen on a physical being. Something that just send shivers down my spine as it reminds me of a certain… creepypasta fanfic I read. The less said about that the better. “Wait… new pony? What new pony…wait you mean misses purple butt me and Nava here just ran into today?” Dash asked while somehow not noticing the physics breaking stunt her friend was accomplishing. Pinkie gasped. “You know her?” She asked in an overdramatic way. Dash shook her head. “Nope. No idea who she is, besides being the Princess’s personal pony pet according to her. We just bumped into her on our way here.” Dash answered. Pinkie gasped again, somehow louder and more dramatic than the first one. Seriously what is up with her? Also, does the universe just sometimes forget that she even exists? She is still just hovering in the air with that box in her hooves. “She is the personal pony pet of the princess herself? I didn’t knew that ponies could be pets, let alone to the princess herself. THAT CHANGES EVERYTHING!” Pinkie declares dramatically (again) before her mood quickly switched back to her cheerful old self faster than I could blink. Wait…what? “That means I have to re-spell the front banner-” “You don’t need to do that, Pinks. Just add her name to it instead.” Dash suggested. “I… don’t think she’d take well to actually being called that.” she added “Oh. Okay, That changes things even more. Still, oooooh! So much work to do, yet so exciting as well! Sorry, can't chat right now gotta ‘dash’ and get the preparations done.“ Pinkie explained, winking before zipping off again to the kitchen. “Well... that happened. Also, interesting to see what Pinkie was actually doing after gasping and dashing off from Twilight right after they met for the first time.” I thought to myself as the others were still trying understand things. RD was the first one to recover from the nonsense as she slowly massaged her head with a hoof. “Just remember Dash, it’s just Pinkie being Pinkie.” She muttered to herself before she remembered something. “Oh, wait. Horseapples, we wanted to buy something here before she disappeared again.” Dash announced in realization. It was Ms. Cake who finally stepped in. “Oh, that’s no problem at all, sweetie. We can simply take your orders, since we are back.” She suggested kindly before she placed herself behind the counter. Mr. Cake simply excused himself as he disappeared into the kitchen as well, probably to check on Pinkie. Me and Dash made our way over to the counter before she turned to me after having a good look at the sugar coated goods there were on display. “So… what do you want?” She ask me. I gave her a surprised look. “Wait… you’re going to get something for me as well?” I asked. Dash simply chuckled while shaking her head at me. “Well, of course. I can’t just get something for myself and leave you out. That would just be unfair.” She answered with a smile. “Really? Well… thank you then, Dash.” I replied smiling back. “Don’t mention it. I never leave those i care about hangin’.” She replied as I took a look at the things that were on display. There were cakes, cupcakes, cookies and donuts of varying styles and flavors to choose from, all of them looking absolutely delicious and over-coated in sugar, to be sure. “Hmm… Cakes are too big, even the smaller ones they have for sale, so those are out. Cupcakes are a big no no as well, thanks to a certain… fic I once read. I am not really in mood for cookies so I guess the only choice left for me are those over-glazed donuts.” I thought as I finally made my choice. “I think I would have some donuts, then.” I said while pointing them. “How many and what flavor, dear? We have many more than just one.” Mrs. Cake asked kindly. I simply shrugged. “For how many, I think I’ll just let her decide since she is buying.” I replied while looking at her.” For the flavor, I guess it doesn’t matter, just surprise me.” I added while smiling back at Ms. Cake kindly. She nods before switching her attention to Dash. RD pondered for a while before replying. “I guess I just take 5 cupcakes, same with the donuts for my friend here.” She replied. “Also, just like him just surprise me with the flavor, I can’t really choose.” She added. Ms. Cake nods as she started acting on our orders. Me and Dash went to a nearby table to the side of the shop and sat yourself down with Ms. Cake soon coming over with our orders as Dash payed her for it. The two of us began to eat our orders while sometimes engaging in small talk about stuff that has been recently happening to the both of us. Just in general getting to know us better while sneaking in a few jokes here and there. “I wonder now how the evening is going to go down now, with the inevitable return of Nightmare Moon tonight.” I thought to myself as looked out the window to watch the slowly setting sun off in the distance. Well only one way to found out than. ………………………………………………………………………………………… “Nava! Hey Nava, over here!” Cloudchaser called out from the crowd. I sighed in relief as I quickly made my way over to her while carefully snaking my way through the sea of ponies around me. “I hate large crowds, I really do.” I thought to myself while almost bumping into a pony’s flank. That would have been awkward, especially when bonbon herself was literally just standing right behind her. I hate large crowds for two good reasons, One: you can’t really move through them without ever bumping or stepping on someone unless you are really careful, which can even lead to trouble or misunderstanding if you accidentally do so. Plus they are hot and smelly as well, when it’s in an enclosed space. Two: they can get you lost or separated from whoever you happened to be with. Which pretty much happened to me as I almost lost both Cloud and Flitter after we got the central plaza where the reveal of the princess (or more specifically Nightmare Moon) will take place. Too bad these ponies don’t know that, but I can’t just also run around and shout that nightmare moon has returned and kidnapped the princess, that would just put me in a bad light with these equines and give me unneeded negative attention, at best. Plus Cloud and Flitter will think I am crazy, too. “Now where the heck did Dash fly off to after our time in Sugarcube Corner?” I ask myself as I reached the two pegasi sisters. I greeted them with a tired smile. “Please, don’t run off so fast next time, you two know that I can’t run so fast or for that long.” Cloud chaser simply grinned. “Well, it’s not our fault that you are such a lazy flank when it comes to galloping. You should seriously workout more though. Could also become really helpful when trying to impress the mares.” She said with a smirk and a wink at the end. I simply shook my head. “No thanks, it’s already uncomfortable enough as it is I don’t need to have it worse.” Cloudchaser simply chuckle as the three of us began to face the podium in the front of us where the princess herself should supposedly reveal herself. I say supposedly because I know the truth, which was confirmed when I noticed that Nightmare Moon’s image was missing from the full moon above us. Off in the distance I can see a somewhat distracted twilight on the front of the crowd with RD and the rest of the main 6 (seeing Fluttershy for the first time) standing further behind her. “Oh, this is so exciting! I never had the chance to see the princess this up close!” Flitter announced, all giddy, making Cloud roll her eyes. “Look who’s childish now.” Cloud commented with a smirk. I simply kept to myself at this point just anticipating the event I know for sure will cause mass confusion and panic afterwards. And the worst part? I will be right in the middle of it. There are ponies literally all around me, anticipating the big entrance of their beloved oversized and incredibly slender sun princess. Again, too bad they don’t know what I am aware of. All I can do at this point as just watch from the sidelines and hope I won’t get trampled to death later when “Herd Instinct” kicks in. “Now I wish that I *did** learn how to fly.”* I thought to myself as the announcer pony finally came out from behind the curtains. Here we go, I am going to get a full first person view of the show’s first villain. I should be scared or nervous about knowing this but for some strange reason I was calm and collected. Was it maybe because I already knew how everything is going to turn out? Maybe… but… I had a feeling that there was more to it than that. It was like… like… “Welcome everypony to this year’s Summer Sun Celebration!! This year her highness Princess Celestia has chosen our lovely town of Ponyville as this year's location the celebrations and grace all of us with her presence!!” The front announcer shouted, which caused many ponies to stomp their hooves and cheer in excitement. I simply kept still and silent as my eyes were firmly glued to the podium and the curtain behind it. “Let’s all give a big welcome and thank you to the ruler of Equestria herself…HER HIGHNESS PRINCESS CELESTIA!!!” The announcer shouted which caused the curtains to open and everybody to go wild. Same for both Cloud and Flitter as they cheered and stomped their hooves in sync with everybody else. But as soon as the cheering started it quickly died down as well, as no princess revealed itself behind the curtains. I again simply keep silent as the seconds ticked by. They ticked… and they ticked… and they ticked. Soon a full minute had passed and everybody was still silent. Looks and whispers of confusion quickly dominated the crowed as nobody had any idea on what was going on . But I did. My ears began to swivel back and forth as a sound suddenly penetrated my ears. I am not sure if any of these ponies heard it, but I could have sworn that I heard someone crying… crying and pleading for help in a really desperate and soul crushing tone. “What the… It’s… it’s like a distant echo. It seems like nobody here can hear it, for some reason, which is strange because I can hear it very well… it… it sounds like a little girl crying. Why I am the only one who can hear it?” I thought to myself in confusion as I tried to locate the source. “The…echo seems to be coming from…” I continued to wonder until suddenly from behind the darkness of the podium a figure slowly emerged into the open. Everybody around me gasped as the figure revealed itself, and as I predicted it wasn’t their beloved sun princess that everybody was hoping to see. “Nightmare Moon.” I heard Twilight shout in the distance. “Wait… the echo… comes from her?” I thought again is I continued to snake my way to the front of the crowd. The black mare on the podium began to look around the sea of ponies around her, before snorting and holding her head high. “What? Am I not royalty enough to be cheered on? 1000 years of banishment on the moon and this is how MY subjects greet me, with confusion and fear?” She announced. For some reason I have the feeling that I need to get closer, not because of her but the echo that keeps assaulting my ears. I need to get closer to hear it’s plees more clearly and hopefully find out from who they are. “Where is Princess Celestia, Nightmare Moon? What have you done with her?” Twilight asked while moving forward towards her. Nightmare Moon simply chuckled. “Ah, so at least somepony remembers me. And don’t worry about her, my little pony, because you will never see your beloved sun princess ever ag….” She announced before suddenly stopping herself as her gaze finally fall upon me for the first time. I stopped right in front of her and looked up at her from the podium she was standing on. The world around us seems to drown out as we stare at one another, the panicked whispers of all the ponies, the continued accusations of Twilight, all of it seemed to slowly fade away as I was solely focused on the mare in front of me. “Please… stop… please stop… somepony… please help me…” I finally heard the echo though barly. It definitely seems to come directly from her. I can hear it. For some strange reason I felt calm, no fear, no worries, no nervousness like how I would normally fell in situations like these. Especially in front of an individual I know could just end me with one single thought. I just glared up to her, never moving or saying anything to her as she did the same, though her expression was more out of curiously and surprise. “Who… who are you?” She slowly asked. “You are… you are not like all the other ponies around here… you… you're different.” She continued while I simply kept silent. My glare intensified when she first spoke, replacing my previous clam demeanor with a hint of anger towards her. “That voice… that little echo… this little girl is suffering inside her… she is doing it… she is causing her the pain she is feeling… how dare she tortures such a sweet helpless girl?” Were some of the many different thoughts running through my mind, those ones being the most prominent. I don’t know what is was, how, when, where, why, but something inside me was once again awakening. Some form of… force. Something I had never felt before yet also completely different from the one I experienced the day before I came to this world. It screamed at me, begging for me to notice it… but before I could… it suddenly disappeared again. Whatever that force was, it felt…. strong, powerful, empowering even. What was it though? Whatever it was, it was too brief for me to fully notice at the time. Though Nightmare did, as her expression quickly morphed into shock and eventually in realization as well. “That… that aura… I have felt something like this before… only… only when i was with… Tia?” She stuttered to herself in slow realization before her expression quickly morphed into one of rage as pointing an accusing hoof at me in anger. “How could this BE? YOU ARE NOTHING BUT A UNICORN! EVEN WITH HAVING A SUCH A LONG HORN, SUCH IMMENSE LEVELS OF POWER ARE ONLY LIMITED TO-” She started to shout in rage before she suddenly stopped as an expression of realization came back at her. The world around us slowly faded back into existence as the panicked screams and shouts of ponies suddenly assaulted my ears. I quickly shook my head to clear all these unknown feeling and thoughts out of me. I began to look around in surprise, surprise that the crowd that was here just a moment ago was being scattered, ponies all running away and screaming in panic. Well, there’s panic, and then there’s... complete chaos. I mean, seriously, at least when a group of humans panic and run away they generally run away in the same direction before eventually splitting up, but these ponies just seemed to love running all over the place and even in circles with no rhyme or reason. I mean I get it, panic doesn’t need to look good or make sense because… well, they are panicking. But this is just comical on how they try to all run away screaming. A tap on my shoulder quickly brought me back as I noticed that it was Flitter. “What the HAY where you DOING just walking up to… to that mad mare?! Come on! We need to go!” She said in panic, with Cloud behind her looking not too well off herself. I simply raised an eyebrow at her. “Go where, exactly?” I ask. “...... Good point.” She said in realization before Cloud stepped in. “More so… because the stupid bitch is gone now, see?” Cloud pointed towards the podium. True to her words, NM was gone, the podium completely void of anypony. “…wait did I just use the term anypony?” “Well…” Flitter began. “Still, anyplace is better than just standing around here. Who knows if she will suddenly come back?” Flitter explained before quickly trotting off. “Let’s just go back to the weather office before stuff gets even more out of hoof around here and I do not want to meet that nightmarish pony face to face again.” She quickly added. Cloud Chaser nodded to that as she quickly followed her sister, leaving me standing. A thought quickly entered my mind as both Cloud and Flits looked back at me. “What the HAY are you still standing there for Nava?! Come on! We’ve got to go!” Flitter urged while beckoning me with a hoof to follow her. I simply shook my head. “I need to quickly check on something. You two just go ahead, I will be back to the office as soon as possible, ok?” I announce before quickly running off. “What the… hey! NO, NAVA! COME BACK! WAIT!!” I heard both Cloud and Flits call out as I galloped towards the place I needed to check out. The Golden Oaks Library. ………………………………………………………………………………………… “Where was it again...” I muttered to myself as I tried to find the big old tree house that should normally NOT too hard to miss. “Where, where, where!? Oh. Right here.” I say after I finally spotted my destination as I rounded a corner. I slow my gallop into a gentle trot as I made my way over to the closest window of the Golden Oaks. From the lights coming out of them it seem that the main 6 are there as well, probably discussing and doing the same thing as they did in the cartoon and standing right next to the window pretty much confirmed my guesses, as I could faintly hear the muffled voices of all the girls speaking. I have no idea why I had the urge to come here in the first place. Maybe curiosity regarding the accuracy this world to the show? I don’t know, what I do know is that I am here now, pressed against the wall next to a half-open window and eavesdropping on them. “Maybe I can even risk a little peek and….” I muttered before someone tapped me on my shoulder. I turned my head to see a panting Flitter and Cloud right next to me. I just stared at them surprised, not having expected them to be here with me as well. “What…what the… I thought you two went to the weather office?” I whispered trying to keep low from the mares on the underside of the wall. Flitter simply glared at me while still panting. “Are you crazy? We are not going to just leave you behind while a previously believed foal’s tale is running rampant around the area.” Flitter whispered back with a stern look. “Plus, just running off like that without telling us where you’re going is not cool dude.” Cloud added joining her sister’s side. I simply dropped my head. “Yeah… I know. I am sorry for just running off like that. I will be more... specific next time.” I promised. Flitter simply smiled. ”It’s ok. We were just worried, that’s all.” She admitted while rubbing my shoulder. “Though… why did you specifically run over here? As far as I know this …well, treehouse used to be empty, for a couple of years now, as far I heard. Is somepony living in there now?” She quickly added while looking at the half open window above us. I nod my head as I stood up to my hind legs and supported myself on the trunk to peer over the window above us. “What are you doing?” Cloud whispered as she looked at me with a raised eyebrow. “Checking on something.” I casually whispered as I peered into the interior of the library. I watched in silence as the six mares (Dash included) began to gather around a book, probably regarding the Elements of Harmony, when all of the sudden i felt something. A presence, a presence i have felt before. I froze up as I felt i somehow recognized it. The same echoing whispers I heard earlier returning to my ears as a feeling of dread quickly envoloped me. But… but that can only mean… With that realization in my head I immediately jumped back on all fours as I followed my senses, a sudden sense of both urgency and anger driving me forward as I ran around the outside of the library. This is not normal...something...something is off about it...i just know it. Cloud and Flits were confused at first at my sudden change of character but quickly followed me as well, around the corner of the tree. I immediately stopped dead on my tracks as I spotted what my senses were guiding me to. The dark, shadowy entity of Nightmare Moon hovering above one of the windows probably doing the same thing I was doing just a few moments ago. But for some reason...i knew that it was more than just that...far more. I could once again feel an unknown force welling up inside me of the sight of her. Again, the same aura I felt earlier when I first stared up at her. I don’t know how or why I felt particular angry at her. It’s as if another me was controlling me from the inside or something, giving me this drive, these thoughts and feelings. The only thing I knew at that point was that I could hear the cries for help clearly again, fueling my anger and inner strength at the same time. The entity above me finally seemed to notice me as well as it quickly turned around and flew off into the night sky. “NO WAIT… STOOOP!” I called out as I tried to immediately give chase to it, but was quickly stopped on my tracks as a door suddenly slammed directly onto my face. I fell onto my flank with an audible *oof!* as five mares quickly began to gallop out of it, followed by RD, as she was the only one who noticed me at the end. “What the… Nava? What the hay are you doing here?” She asked as she hovered above me. “It’s currently too dangerous to stay outside. Don’t you know that Nightmare Moon herself is back and has kidnapped the princess? Equestria might suffer an eternal night if she is not stopped!” Dash quickly explained as I slowly got back to all fours while rubbing my sore snout. “Yeah I know… that is why I wanted to…” I tried to explain before Applejack’s voice cut me short. “Hey Dashie! What are you doing over there? Hurry up! We need you as well to help find the elements.” AJ called out, which made RD look in her direction. “YES, I AM COMING!” RD responded before switching her gaze back at me. “Sorry there, Nava, but I gotta fly, need to save the whole world and all from a mad-mare with serious issues… I’ll fill you all in when I get back. If I come back.” RD explained, muttering that last part under her breath before she flew off, following her friends in the direction of, I would guess, the Everfree Forest. I shook my head again to get rid of all those unknown feelings and thoughts. Cloud and Flitter came up to me from behind with worried expressions etched on their faces as they looked at me. Flitter again was the first to voice her troubles. “Hey, are you alright Nava? You seemed… different back there.” She asked, worried. “Yeah, dude. Did Nightmare Moon do something to you when you two were staring at one another?” Cloud added, eying me worriedly. I sighed. “It’s ok, I am fine and no Nightmare hasn’t done anything to me, so don’t worry about that.” I answered tiredly while shaking my head a bit. Thought i hope she didn’t because all actions i have been subconsciously doing we're definitely not something i would naturally do Cloud looked skeptic. “Are you sure? Again, as my sister said you had a completely different feel on you for a few moments. Are you really sure you’re ok, there?” She asked while placing a hoof on my shoulder. I simply gave her a smile in hopes of easing their worries a little. It seemed to work somewhat, as both of them started to relax just a little bit, but still kept a somewhat worried and watchful eye on me. “Do you think RD and the gang are going to be ok?” Flitter eventually asked while looking on at the direction these six disappeared to. I simply nodded. “I am sure they will, don’t ask me how, but I can feel it. They will be ok, so don’t worry.” I replied calmly to ease her fears. I know that these six will be alright because of the show. But then again this is not the show and it seems that my mere presence alone has already managed to change things, even if they were just minor to begin with. Which honestly makes me worried as well, regarding the possibility of a different outcome entirely. But again only time can tell that now. I yawned. “Well… I guess that there is nothing else for the 3 of us to do than to just hope and see what will happen.” I announced as a sudden wave of sleepiness struck me. “Let’s just head over to where ever we are supposed to stay and hope that tomorrow the sun will raise.” I suggested with another yawn. “I guess… you might be right on that. All we can do now is wait, and I am feeling pretty exhausted as well. What a day.” Flitter agreed as she adopted a tired look as well before cloud had adopted a look realization. “Wait… Nava, why didn’t you just go with them? I mean keeping a secret or not, you are an Alicorn, one of the most powerful beings in Equestria, which is currently in great peril by yet another alicorn. So why didn’t you just go with them? They could really need somepony like you now.” Cloud suddenly asked as she looked at me. I look back at her. “Because even as an Alicorn I can’t do anything. No flight, no magic and no real courage, remember?” I simply replied. “Well, besides some instincts that I can’t control.” I quickly added with a worried tone. Both Flitter and Cloud simply stared at me in confusion at the last part. I simply sighed before turning around and trotting back from where we came. “What is going on with me? These thoughts, these feelings, as if something inside me as trying to wake up. I just… lost control of myself...again. What is going on with my new body? And why?” I thought to myself in great worry as both Cloud and Flitter called out for me again, asking me to wait up as they quickly followed me. “So many more questions and things to worry about, like the reasons why I had this urgency to come over here in the first place. Did I somehow sense that Nightmare was also going to be here? Did I feel it? If so, then what would have happened if I didn’t? I know for a fact that something similar happened as well in the cartoon, that the shadowy form of Nightmare Moon spied on the 6 girls when they were trying to figure out the location of the elements. In the show it just left on its own, but here, in this scenario, I just had the urgent feeling that I had to be there. Was Nightmare planning to actually do something horrible? If so, did I somehow manage to foil that by just being there? Did I unintentionally protect the girls from her? I really don’t know. all these instincts are just too unknown to me. Is this what being an alicorn feels like?” I again shook my head to get rid of all of these ideas and worries as Flitter and Cloud quickly joined me, though they kept silent despite their worried looks for me. They could tell that I wasn’t really in the mood for talking at the moment. “Last thing I need today is to accidentally run into another pole or even a building to finish up the day. I am too puzzled and too exhausted for that now.” ………………………………………………………………………………………. (hours later) Deep within the Everfree Forest in a place long forgotten a huge amount of magic was suddenly released to the world, a magical rainbow coloured light erupted from the abandoned castle, breaking Nightmare's spell of eternal night and giving way to a new dawn as the sun finally rose from its near eternal slumber. A certain group of six mares were to thank for this, the return of Princess Luna and much more quite soon. Chapter 13: The Silver Wing (slight re-edit)Chapter 13: The Silver Wing /Chapter 13: The Silver Wing/ Edited by: Chrome Masquerade Proofread by: Midnight Gear “What…where am I?” I wondered as I looked around. Nothing but an empty, endless, black void greeted me all around I turned my head too. No source of light, no other soul, just…nothing. Though my body was perfectly visible (for some reason). And looking down on myself I quickly recognize my pony body instead of my human one, though I seem to be missing my new jacket that Flitter gave me as I can feel my wings hanging freely on my sides. “Am I dreaming again?” I wondered out loud, my voice echoing within the space of the void. “Hello?” I called out again, the echo carrying my voice into the darkness. “Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello…” “Echo. Echo. Echo. Echo. Echo…" “Sounds like standing inside a large underground cave, though this dream is quite the opposite of the one I had over a week ago.” I muttered to myself as I continued to look around me. I eventually decided to trot a bit, the clip-clopping of my hooves echoing off into the distance of nothingness. “This is strange. If this is really a dream, then what does it mean? Why am I in an endless black void instead of something more… visible?” I thought to myself as I continued my ENDLESS journey into the dark. Well, not really nothing; there is an obvious floor under my hooves, which is something. Though, just like everything else around me, it’s black and perfectly merged with the rest that surrounds me. I was slowly starting to get nervous. Dream or not this vast emptiness is unnerving, especially so when you are all by yourself. “Hello?” I tried to call out again. But, unsurprisingly, I was met with no answer. Now I was really starting to get nervous, even more so when the air around me suddenly got colder all of a sudden,as if someone had turned on the AC or something of that ilk. Well at least there's another SOMETHING again. I immediately stopped in my tracks as a sound suddenly made itself known to me. A second set of hoof steps, though much heavier and much more further carrying echo's than mine. I slowly began to panic, whatever it was, it definitely sounded bigger than me! And judging how it was gradually getting louder and louder it was obvious that it was quickly moving towards me. I wanted to run away as the memory of some of my previous nightmares resurfaced. The dreams where I constantly got chased down by a pair of menacing red eyes as I ran. In fact this place looks and feels very similar to the one with the hidden monster constantly chasing me. Only without the sounds of heavy stomping and constant whispers and laughter in my ears. With that realization in mind I was once again preparing myself for a mad dash back to where I came from (Wherever that was) but before I could even move a leg a silhouette suddenly began to emerge from the depth of the void, which quickly formed into shadow like apparition before finally stepping into the open. My eyes immediately went wide in both shock and horror at the sight of the being that was standing in front of me. “Nigh- Nightmare Moon?” I stuttered in disbelief. Indeed, it was her, I don’t know how and why she was here despite the fact knowing that she got blasted into oblivion 2 days back by the elements. But there is one thing I do know, she was absolutely livid. Her glare staring deep into my being, filled with unimaginable hatred and anger. If looks could kill I would have dropped dead long before she even emerged from the shadows. The seconds ticked by as the two of us simply stared at one another, or more liked glared for her. “YOU!” She finally spoke with a lot of venom in her voice. “THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!” She continued while taking a step closer to me, on instinct I took a step back sweating bullets at this point. “YOU RUINED EVERYTHING! MY VENGEANCE, MY PLANS. EVERYTHING!” She continued to accuse me as her pupils slowly became smaller and smaller from rage. “I DO NOT KNOW HOW YOU, ANOTHER ALICORN CAME TO BE BUT IT REALLY DOESN’T MATTER BECAUSE YOU BLOCKED ME OF MOST IF MY EXISTING MAGIC WITH YOURS, NOT JUST ONCE, BUT TWICE!” She raged on as she slowly moved closer and closer to me and me backing up. Her teeth snarling at me with every break she took from speaking. “How is this even possible…how is she even here? I thought that the elements would have destroyed her, or at least contained her somewhere. What the hell happened?” I thought to myself as I continued to try and keep my distance from her. Though, that didn’t seem to work very well, as her much larger form and legs allowed her the close the distance faster than I could back up. Plus, I was also unable to retreat any faster at the current moment as well, as my overwhelming fear and Nightmare's murderous look prevented me from retreating any faster. Let alone dare to take my eyes off of her. I was really just forced to slowly back away from her and stare at her soul-piercing gaze and hear her teeth-crushing snarl. “ALL BUT MY PASSIVE MAGIC IN THE END REMAINED WITH ME BECAUSE OF YOU! I WOULD HAVE KILLED THOSE 6 LITTLE PONY INSECTS WHO DARED TRIED TO STOP ME IF IT WASN’T FOR YOU SHOWING UP AND BLOCKING WHAT LITTLE MAGIC I HAD LEFT WITH ME, YOU CAUSED ME TO FALL INTO THE HOOVES OF THOSE ACCURSED ELEMENTS ONCE MORE AND TEAR ME AWAY FROM MY HOST'S BODY AND ALMOST INTO OBLIVION!” Nightmare continued to rant on as her anger and hatred slowly grew to beyond unnatural levels. “Wait… so… that’s what I felt? This unknown force or energy inside me that night. I was subconsciously blocking her active magic with my more passive one?” I thought to myself after she pointed that out before another thought struck me. “So wait… that means that I was right… that all those feelings and instincts I felt were all aimed at protecting the girls. I was actually guarding the girls and helping them succeed by simply being there. But… how?” I thought again before the worst possible thing happened. My flank suddenly bumped onto an invisible wall, which stopped me dead in my tracks. “WHAT THE-? HOW CAN THERE SUDDENLY BE A WALL BEHIND ME?THERE IS NOTHING BUT ENDLESS DARKNESS BEHIND ME JUST LIKE WITH EVERYTHING ELSE AROUND ME! SO HOW THE HELL CAN THERE BE A WALL NOW WHEN I LEAST NEED IT?” I thought to myself in utter panic as I realized the situation I was in. I was trapped. The crazy mare in front of me slowly continued to close the gap between me and her, never letting her glare and snarl go from her features. She suddenly began to chuckle in a very dark and creepy manner as an evil grin formed on her dark muzzle. This can’t be good at all. “But I guess none of that matters, because you will not escape from me. Today your existence will end, alicorn or not.” She explained before continuing. “In fact that would easily be a very welcome bonus, as I am in need of a new, much more powerful body. Once I have rid myself of you I will take your body fully as my own and plan my bloody vengeance on these pesky ponies and their princesses.” Nightmare announced as her snarl quickly returned. To my utter horror, she slowly started to charge up her horn with some dark, twisted magic, as both red and black tendrils and lightning bolts danced around it. Her expression once again was filled with overwhelming hatred and the unstoppable will to kill me. With myself being trapped and with no way to defend myself I simply accepted my fate, I covered myself with my forelegs and closed my eyes as I awaited my inevitable demise. This is it. I am going to be killed in my own nightmares. Since I ever woke up in this fucking world everything seems to be just hell-bent on making everything difficult for me. Again, why me? Fuck you bronies and your stupid fantasies of wanting to go to this place. I got sent to it as an alicorn who can’t do shit and now I am going to be killed for it. I awaited my doom for what felt like an eternity, but as the seconds ticked by a sudden scream of pain and agony suddenly assaulted my ears. At first I thought it was me before quickly realizing that it was rather Nightmare herself, judging by the voice and the lack of my own pain. Out of curiosity and simply because there was nothing else for me to do than cower, I slowly uncovered my face and opened my eyes, only to be greeted by a slowly burning Nightmare Moon in front of me as she screamed in pain. A strange beam of white light enveloped the dark mare, which seemed to be the source of her suffering. With my eyes, I quickly followed said beam to it’s origin and was utterly surprised to see that it was coming from another alicorn standing next to me, or more specifically... ME. To say that I was shocked and dumbstruck would be an understatement. “Hey, you ok there? Seems to be I came just in time didn’t I?” My other-self announced while giving me a sideways glance as he continued to fire the beam from his horn onto the dark mare in front of him. It was the way his horn glowed that really interested me. I know how unicorn/alicorn horns glow, thanks to the show, and having watched actual unicorns do their magic as well, having an active looking aura around them whenever they used it. His horn on the other hand did not shine in an aura-like glow like you would see on others, rather the entire horn was just shining in this whitish bright light with only the spiral indentations of the horn being visible. But that was quickly overshadowed by the fact that I was still just staring at another me shooting a beam of pure light at Nightmare Moon, which really confuses and somewhat scared the crap out of me. “I… I… I…” I stuttered as a response which made my other self-smirk at me. “Really, dude? I would imagine that you would at least remember me.” He replied with a chuckle. I shook my head afterwards as continued to stare at him completely floored out of my mind. “Wait… are you… the same guy who appeared when I was in that endless cloud-sea dream?” I finally asked. “Pretty much.” He simply replied before the screaming finally ceased as Nightmare finally disappeared in an almost blinding flash of light leaving nothing but smoke in its wake. “Wait… how can I notice smoke in a space that is primarily just black?” My other self finally cut off the… magic? From his horn as he fully faced me with relief on his face. “Well that was that. Nightmare Moon won’t bother us anymore.” He announced while wiping his brow. I quickly looked between him, to Nightmare's remains then, back to him and back again as a million questions raced through my head. One thought quickly took dominance over them all as I moved my eyes back towards the smoking remains of the Nightmare. “What… what did you do to her?” I ask my doppelganger, which in turn causes him to look from the remains of the mare and then back to me. “Well…” He began while rubbing his head. “I simply banished her forever from our subconscious so you don’t need to worry about her ever again.” He explained. “So let’s just leave it at that.” He quickly added while smiling awkwardly at me. “O… kay?” I replied suspiciously, before a thought quickly entered me once again. “Wait…is this…my subconscious again?” I finally asked him. He simply nods before responding. ”Yup it is. You’re dreaming again, in case you hadn’t noticed.” He replies with a genuine smile for the first time. “So I was right about this being a dream then.” I thought to myself while looking around once more before something else entered my head again… or should I say our? “Wait… if this is my subconscious, then why does it look so…dark and empty instead of the bright and vibrant heaven-like scene I had last time?” I asked while looking back at him. “Well, you can thank HER for that.” He replied while giving a sideways glance over at the spot that previously occupied the mare in question. “She somehow managed to enter herself into your mind in hopes of getting a new host after having been forcefully ejected from her previous one.” He explained before his tone suddenly got bitter. “She was trying to erase everything, destroy what makes you you. Before I stopped her, that is.” He finished while glaring at the smoky remains. A horrifying chill quickly went through my spine after I heard that,only just now realizing just how dangerous my situation really was. Until he came along. I looked back at him. “Thanks.” “Huh? What?” He asked while looking back at me confused. I smiled before rephrasing. “Thanks for saving me back there.” I thanked him. “If It wasn’t for you… well… I probably wouldn’t be here to thank you in the first place.” I quickly added happily. My other part simply smiled and chuckled. “No problem at all, that’s what I am here for anyway. After all, this is my body too.” He replied in a friendly manner. It was then when a question suddenly popped up. “Wait… who exactly are you, anyway? You did say in our first encounter that you were my more… well courageous side of me… but I know that there is more to it than just that.” I ask while eying him. “So who are you then, for real?” I quickly added which made his smile grow even further. “Ah, so you finally want to know, then?” He asked with a chuckle before continuing. “That’s simple. I AM actually your magic aura that resides inside you, I am, in fact the source of both your new alicorn magic and instincts as well.” He answered happily while taking a prideful pose himself, similar to how Dashie does it. I looked at him completely surprised out of my wits after he dropped that, thought after a while it also made sense somehow when you think about it a little more. Strangely enough. “Well, at least that explains how he managed to defeat Nightmare Moon so easily.” I thought to myself before shaking myself free from this sudden and unexpected information. “So, wait…. magic is sapient, then?” I asked after realizing the idea that I was now basically speaking to my own magic aura. He quickly looked back at me while rubbing his chin thoughtfully. “Well technically no, it really depends on the source and what kind of magic it is, to be honest.” He explained before smiling back at me. “Alicorn magic is actually one of them because they're so incredibly powerful and have large reserves of it, though it is mostly tied in with the consciousness of its owner, which means that I basically get my sapient… ness from your own mind, which is also why I share such an identical look of you in the first place, because that is just how your own mind imagines me fully.” He quickly added happily before proving his point by spinning himself around to show me exactly how identical to me he was. All of that information was a little bit too much for me to digest, as I simply rubbed my head. “Well at least that explains that.” I thought while trying to ease my racing mind from all this new info I was given. “Well, anyway… our time here is almost over, I’m afraid. I can sense that you are going to wake up soon.” my magic self suddenly announced which quickly snapped me out from my thoughts. “Wait! I need to know something first.” I tried to say as I slowly felt my surroundings breaking apart. “How am I supposed to access my magic… or, well, technically you?” I desperately tried to ask as everything around me was blurring out fast. My other self simply smiled at me before replying. “Don’t worry about that, it will all happen in due time. So don’t rush yourself to much.” He called out before even his form slowly started to fade away. “By the way, just call me Silver Wing. You’ll get the reference. Plus the next time we meet i will have fixed your subconscious world too.” Was the last thing I heard before everything around me went quiet. ………………………………………………………………………………………… Deep within the depths of Tartarus the same being smiled wickedly as his plans were slowly coming back together having just watched the whole Nightmare situation himself. The dark being shifted a little as the chains around it collided into each other with loud clattering sound echoing all around. “It seems that his magic is slowly starting to make itself active for the first time...perfect” It commented to itself. “Time for you to start causing some chaos...and more importantly a distraction, my little puppet.” It announced as it gathered out the last scraps of it's power and mentally willed them off to it's target, to do its master's bidding. Its destination: the night skies of Cloudsdale. Chapter 14: MAGIC!!! /Chapter 14: MAGIC!!!/ Edited by: Chrome Masquerade Proofread by: Midnight Gear “Ugh… it’s been a while since I woke up with a headache.” I muttered while rubbing my head. Really, it had been a while. Usually headaches like those a result of not getting enough sleep or having done some serious mental work the day prior. But since I had or did neither of those, waking up with a small pain in my brain was a bit weird. Memories of my dream quickly flooded my consciousness as I continued to simply lay there with my eyes still firmly closed. “Silver Wing, huh… how does he know the original name of the OC that I am now walking around as? Did he maybe get that from my memories?” I thought to myself as I slowly opened my eyes. “Possibly. I mean, if he gets his sentience thanks to my own consciousness, then it’s not too far-fetched to believe that he has some access to my memories as well. Or, heck, even all of them. I just hope that he stays away from some of my… darker or more private ones.” I muttered as the first rays of the morning sun greeted my vision, including my nightstand lazily hovering next to me in the air. “Wait what?” I quickly did a double take to make sure that I wasn’t seeing things and after realizing that i wasn’t, I simply gaped at the small table that was just lazily floating right next to me. In fact a lot of things in my room where just hovering in the air when I took a much better look around. The large closet, the shelves, the writing desk on the opposite side of my room, the big chest that was placed right in front of my bed and EVEN my bed itself! The bed that I was laying on was hovering in the air as well with me still on it! Everything that was not screwed on or nailed onto the walls and floor was hovering around my room without any rhyme or reason to it. Including my hat and glasses. I was absolutely stumped at this scene, which turned into full on panic when I somehow started to slowly float off the bed as well, while still wrapped around my blanket, obviously. “What the? Why is everything floating? Why the HELL AM I FLOATING NOW AS WELL?” I shouted in confusion and fear while I started to flail my limbs around and unintentionally threw the blanket off of me. Instead of it just falling down onto the ground, like I expected it to, it simply began to gently float beside me. This was the last straw, to my already panicked mind. “OH GOD! DON’T TELL ME THIS HOUSE IS SUDDENLY HAUNTED!” I stated in panic while still trying to get control of my trajectory by using my wings as well. Suffice to say, it didn’t work as I lazily bounced off of the ceiling of my room, head first of course. “Ow… bloody ceiling.” It was than when the door to my room was flung open as both Cloud and Flitter came crawling into the room along the walls. An image of both mares in spiderman costumes flashed through my head, despite this confusing and rather frightening situation. Which honestly was a welcome thought as it eased some of my panic. A little bit. The sisters began to stare at me wide eyed the moment they entered (or basically crawled into) the room, an expression which quickly set my panic levels back to normal… if that is even a thing. “I knew it.” Flitter began in shock. “I knew that… that this had something to do with you Nava. What the HAY is your magic DOING?!” She accused as she, just like the rest of the room, simply levitated in place. I tilted my head in confusion. I was going to retort to her accusation when all of a sudden, out of convenience, the small table stand mirror that usually sat on my nightstand came lazily floating right in front of my face, giving me a nice front view of the panicked state that my face was in. Though it was not my own face that immediately made my eyes go even wider. In fact it was what was proudly towering above my forehead that quickly took my full--on attention. My horn was sparking and glowing with light and electricity. In fact it was glowing much like Silver Wing’s horn in my dream. Simply radiating this ominous, whitish glow along its length with only the spiral indentations on it somewhat visible. “Well, at least I now know where my headache is coming from.” I thought to myself in utter shock as I simply observed the small sparks of electricity silently dancing around my ever glowing head spear. Until reality kicked me back in the face, that is. I visibly began to panic AGAIN for like...the 10th (must be a new world record) time this day as the mirror continually resumed its lazy journey across the room. “AHHH!!! WHAT THE… WHY… HOW… WHY IS MY HORN GLOWING?! I shouted as I started to gently spin clockwise onto my side. “THAT’S EXACTLY WHAT WE’D LIKE TO KNOW AS WELL!!” Flitter shouted back as she tried to keep herself steady by grabbing the door. “CAN'T YOU JUST TURN IT OFF?!” Cloud quickly added, by which point I was upside down. I looked over to her as I continued to spin. “I WOULD IF I KNEW HOW!” I quickly replied as my ears suddenly picked up something with caused me to pause. “Are those...screams i hear?” I wondered as my ears swiveled back and forth on their own, despite my current situation, and judging from the direction of the sounds it seems to be coming from right outside. I quickly tried to flail my arms again to steady myself and immediately grabbed a hold onto the curtains next to me me when i had the chance and took peek outside the window to see what was going on. What I saw made my blood run cold as the true severity of this situation quickly turned its ugly face at me. The entire city, not just the room, not just this house, not just even this district that we were living in, no, the ENTIRE CITY was suffering from the same effects of my magic as me and the two sisters, as ponies and other objects all across the city were ALL slowly being lifted up into the air. Ponies screamed in panic as they tried to flap their wings or even flail their limbs in hopes of regaining control, with little success as it seems. Heck, even larger things like anchored airships or large cargo carriages off in the distance were also just lazily floating along the air within the anti-gravity field as well, with the ponies and the cargo on them soon doing the same, as some of them desperately tried to hold onto something. Nearby foals, of course, found this sudden turn of physics quite amusing as they happily laughed and looked like where telling their parents that they were “flying” while their parents desperately tried to reach them. “This is bad… really, really bad.” I thought to myself before noticing that Cloud somehow had managed to make her way over to the window too and had the same stunned expression that I was holding. “Fli… F-F-Flitter, w-we… might have a m-m-m-much bigger issue on our hooves than we originally thought!” She stammered. Flitter quickly joined the two of us (again, somehow) and gasped at the scene presented to her. The three of us simply floated there in shocked silence with only the screams of panicked ponies outside filling our ears. It was Flitter again who eventually broke the silence in the room. “Nava you’ve GOT to get control over YOUR magic before a real catastrophe can happen.” She demanded while looking at me desperately. Cloud Chaser deadpanned “We may have missed that window already, sis” I looked up at Flitter with the same desperate expression. “I already told you, I don’t. Know. How. I have no idea how i’m doing it or how to control it.” “Well, you gotta try SOMETHING! this is YOUR horn doing this.” She repeated as she also started to seriously panic as well. At this point I was not only losing my shit but also getting frustrated with the fact that I had absolutely no control of my magic. Why and How could wait for later. Right then, I needed to somehow get this under control before someone… or somepony got hurt. Argh! If only those stupid books I read did more than just confuse the living hell out of me! Also the very first time my horn actually does something and its first act is to cause chaos and mayhem to everything around me. Bloody BRILLIANT!!! At this point I simply threw caution out the window as I desperately tried to get my horn to stop, from hitting it with a hoof to banging it against the wall or any other hard enough object to just try and force my horn to shut up. All I got as an answer was pain, pain, pain, and more pain and even electrocutions as my own horn somehow managed to zap me when I tried to pull on it, which eventually forced me to hoist the white flag in exhaustion. That and I was just making my headache EVEN worse as my horn started to glow even brighter than it did before. Which immediately made things even worse as everything, including us, got launched upwards onto the ceiling with surprising force… me head first of course, as if i didn’t had enough of a headache already. “THIS ISN’T WORKING!!! “ Flitter shouted as she tried to push herself off the ceiling only for find out that she was somehow stuck on it. “Oh you THINK?!” I replied while rubbing my massively aching head. “Ahhh! Please...make it stop! This is getting worse and worse.” I groaned as the pain in my head was slowly starting to get unbearable. Screams of more and more ponies could be heard coming from outside as things were, no doubt, getting worse for them as well. A quick glanced out the window immediately confirming my fears as the ponies in the city, including everything else that was already in the air were also launched higher up from the city grounds before (thankfully) stopping again at a certain point. Again, my fear and state of panic rose to new heights as things where really started to get out of control, same for Flitter who seemed to share the same thoughts as me. Or thoughts we would share if my HEAD WASN’T TRYING TO SPLIT ITSELF OPEN!!! “Why… the… hell… is… it… hurting… so… much?! Please… make… it… stooooop!!!” I tried to think, but the pain at this point was gradually starting to be way too much, even for something simply as that. At this point all I could do now was clutch my head with my hooves in a hopeless attempt to somehow ease the hammering pain i felt in my head. Sweat started to roll down my forehead as I ground my teeth from the sheer pain, my heart was thumping hard against my chest which really only added to my suffering as i could feel every heartbeat in my head as well. “AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!” “Flitter we got to do something… anything. We need to somehow shut off his magic before it kills him… or anypony else.” “Well WHAT, GENIUS? WHAT ARE WE SUPPOSED TO DO? We are NOT unicorns!” “Hmmm… Oh, wait! I GOT IT.” “Huh… got what, Cloud?” “Just give me a minute… in the meantime, try to make sure that Nava doesn’t explode or something.” “Explo… CLOUD, THIS IS NOT THE TIME!!” “I KNOW! I AM BEING SERIOUS. Just give me a while, I need to crawl myself to the bathroom.” “CLOUD! THIS IS NOT THE TIME TO TAKE A PISS!” “I’M NOT. JUST WAIT! I WILL BE BACK.” “Oh, dear Celestia… it's situations like these where I wish that I was born as a unicorn rather than a Pegasus. Magic is so out of my fields of knowledge or expertise.” “Please… make… it… stop! Ugh.” I whimpered as the sparks on my horn finally became large enough to be audible. “Just… just hold one, Nava… I don’t know what my sister has planned…but whatever it is, it will help. It will finally stop all of this, including your pain… I hope.” I heard the wishy washy voice of Flitter speak as a pair of hoof started to gently hold me. Only barely, as my sense of touched is being drowned out by the sheer pain i'm feeling in my head. Even my sense of hearing was slowly losing its effectiveness as my perception of my surroundings slowly dies down. I wasn’t even sure if I was still clutching my head with my hoofs or not, that particular sensation long lost within my conscious mind, as the only sensation I could fell within my own body was pain. Momentarily spiking even with every electric spark coming out of my horn which almost brought me to the point of just passing out with every time it happened. The only real thing that kept me from just blacking out was the rational fear that I might never wake up again if I did, so despite my suffering I held firm…just barely. “Come on, come on… where is Cloud?” I heard the impatient and desperate voice of Flitter say as I felt a pair of hooves gently holding me and stroking my back. God bless her for it .She might also be the other reason why I am refusing to give up.” “I’m back. Sorry it took a while, crawling along the walls and ceiling isn’t exactly easy with a bucket in your mouth.” “A bucket? Wait, you went to the toilet to get a BUCKET FULL OF WATER? HOW IN TARTARUS IS THAT GOING TO HELP HIM?!” “Just… JUST TRUST ME ON THIS OK? I know what I am doing.” “Stand aside.” I heard Cloud shout before i felt myself quickly released from Flitter’s grasp. The next thing I can recall was that a sudden FREEZING cold suddenly assaulted my body. I felt myself crash into a nearby wall by the force while at the same time the pain in my head quickly subsided (to my utter relief), though that got quickly replaced by yet another jolt of pain coming directly from my flank as I fell back onto the floor. Same with everything else in the room, by the sound of crashing and falling furniture and grunting mares hitting the floor of the room. I immediately opened my eyes as I quickly began to shudder from the freezing cold water I just received… or I think it was water. Yeah, I think it definitely is water judging by my completely drenched coat and mane. But better to feel cold than overwhelming pain, in my opinion. Looking around again for the first time since waking up I could see that the entire room was a complete mess. Everything that previously was neatly occupying the space of the room was now scattered all over the floor, including the large closet that thankfully landed nowhere near the two mares who were still laying on the floor and rubbing their sore flanks and backs. That though immediately reminded me of the rest of the city and all the citizens that got launched unwillingly up into the air as well. I quickly scrambled back to my haunches, fully ignoring the cold and pain on my body and flank, and peered out the window,fully expecting the worst. Imagine the relief I felt when I saw that every single pony around the city that were previously floating around in the air had managed to quickly recover themselves after my magic stopped, as every single pony, including the foals with their parents, were all now hovering in the air with their own wing power or gently flying back down onto the safety on the streets below, much to the disappointment of the foals. Thought the same thing can not be said about the rest of the city by the looks of it, as the streets and roofs were littered with the falling debris of everything else. One of the airships having even crashed directly onto a construction site, though thankfully the ship was empty and so was the area. “Thank goodness that everything still worked out well, somehow.” I muttered before turning myself back around to face the two mares with me in the room as they were sitting back up themselves. “Wait… how… how the hay did you know a bucket of cold water would work?” Flitter asked while eyeing her sister curiously. Cloud simply shrugged.” Was just a hunch. Plus it kind of also worked with that one unicorn stud you used to date during high school as well, when you two were making sweet, sweet loving to one another in the mares locker rooms as he was having a magic surge during his climax by the looks of it. Remember that one?” Cloud answered with a cheeky grin at the end which immediately made Flitter flustered. Me a bit as well, with the way she phrased it, and the images that suddenly entered my mind as well. “Didn’t really need to know that. Plus this isn’t really the time either. Leave it to Cloud to constantly break the mood, either for better or for worse.” “Oh… yeah… I remember. That one where you suddenly walked in… and… saw that.” Flitter stuttered while looking down at the floor, completely embarrassed at the memory. I was somewhat surprised by this to be honest. Normally I would expect her to be shouting at her sister at this point (Or ME at least!) and not just simply sink down. I guess that this must have been one hell of an awkward experience and memory for her. Or she could still be somewhat on edge from earlier, regarding me giving gravity the middle finger. Or both. Probably both. Cloud simply nodded. “Yup… that was definitely… awkward. Needed to also cool down the poor guy before his DICK could overheat.” She responded with a double wink to finish of her tease which made Flitter groan as she buried her face in her hoof. “Oh, just SHUT it Cloud. It wasn’t funny back then and it still isn’t funny right now. So just stop.” Flitter protested with a glare. “It’s from over heeeere~” Cloud sing-songed As these two once again were discussing memories of their past, (somehow once again ignoring everything else around them...bless them for that) I was internally reflecting on the chaos I had unintentionally caused with my magic. Suffice to say, I was feeling both guilty and scared at the same time, guilty for what I had caused and scared of the fact that I had absolutely no control over it and that it nearly got me killed as well, if the massive pain in my brain was any indication. I so desperately wanted to blame Silver for this tremendous disaster, since HE is supposedly the very source of my magic powers… but… at the same time, I have a feeling that he had absolutely nothing to do with it and probably suffered just as much from this experience as I have. Still need to confront him about this the next time when i have the chance. I hang my head in utter shame as both the fear and guilt finally got the better of me. “Sorry…” I whimpered, which quickly got the attention of both of them. “What?” they said in unison as they halted their arguing. “I am so, so sorry. This was all my fault.” I repeated as tears started to roll down my cheeks which seemed to catch both mares completely by surprise. “No… Nava is wasn’t your-” Flitter started, but I quickly interrupted her as I glared angrily at her. “OF COURSE IT’S MY FAULT! IT WAS MY MAGIC WASN'T IT?” I began as tears of anger and guilt poured down my cheeks. “IT CAME FROM ME, AND WORST OF ALL I HAD ABSOLUTELY NO CONTROL OVER IT! I COULDN’T DO ANYTHING! I WAS USELESS!!” I ranted on, in between sobs. ”I NEARLY GOT A WHOLE CITY'S WORTH OF PONIES HURT OR EVEN WORSE BECAUSE OF MY USELESSNESS! BECAUSE OF MY STUPID MAGIC THAT I HAD NO CONTROL OVER!!! HOW THE HELL CAN YOU SAY THAT IT WASN’T MY FAULT!?!?!” I shouted before slumping back into myself as I began to cry. I felt terrible. How could something like this just happen? Was it Nightmare Moon’s doing? If so, how and when? I thought that Silver banished her permanently from my mind, so how could she possibly still have an influence on me? Did she maybe plant this before, right after she got defeated and kicked out? I don’t know… plus at the same time it just doesn’t matter because for one it already happened and I was surely going to get in HUGE trouble for it, getting kick out of town, locked up, hunted or WORSE.. “First time ever using my magic and I nearly caused a city wide disaster with it. This is so stupid and unfair. why the hell was I even turned into an Alicorn in the first place? Why not a simple Unicorn or a Pegasus? Or even better, why the hell was I even sent to equestria at ALL?! What is the point? What is my reason to be here? And why can’t I remember anything beyond that point?! Why? Why!? WHY!?” I ranted on in my mind as I continued to cry about my experience and situations I was in when all of a sudden something warm and fuzzy enveloped my trembling form. When I looked up I saw that it were Flitter and Cloud, both embracing me tightly as they both bore pure expression of sympathy and sadness for me. That show of pure sympathy and care was what finally broke the little resistance I had left in me as I allowed all of my feelings to get loose, crying freely against Cloud’s chest as both she and Flitter started to gently stroke my head and back to help me along, with Cloud even humming soft melody gently into my ear. A great surprise for sure, especially coming from a pony like HER. But at least it did the job of calming me down as my tears slowly started die down. That melody though… could it be some kind of lullaby? It’s so… calming and… relaxing. We three simply stayed like this together for a few more minutes, embracing one another on the floor before the two sisters finally broke off. I wiped any remnant tears off my eyes and finally lifted my head and again was genuinely surprised to see that both mares also had tears staining their cheeks as well. Both Cloud and Flitter gave me sad but again, sympathetic smiles. Flits was the first one to break the sad silence. “Feeling any better now?” She asked genuinely while wiping a few tears away herself. I nodded giving her a sad smile before I felt Cloud place a hoof on my shoulder. “Always remember dude, we are here for you. I know that it might be a bit early to say that but…” Cloud began as she looked over to her sisters for some form of confirmation, Flitter nods before both of them looked back at me with warm genuine smiles before Cloud continued. ”…We have accepted you already, as part as our lives and family, and as family we always stick together and support each other as much we can, no matter what. That includes you as well, Nava. So never EVER forget… that you are not alone in this. That you have ponies ready to help you and ready to stand by your side whenever hardship comes to haunt you.” She finished as i stared at both of them in utter disbelief. I just hope emotional but at the same time serious her speech was. I was utterly touched as a new set of tears quickly swelled up within my eyes, not tears of fear and guilt, but tears of happiness. “Th-thanks... you two. This? You have no idea… how much this means for me… really.” I replied as I tried my best to keep my tears to a minimum this time. “Think nothing of it.” Flitter replied with a warm smile and even a nuzzle, which immediately made me blush. Flitter and Cloud simply giggled at my reaction, to which I surprisingly joined as a chuckle escaped my lips as well, which turned into a full on fit of laughter between the three of us, which was a welcome change after everything that had happened today so far. My own laughter, though, soon died down as the memories of what happened today took center stage once more as I looked back down into my hooves. “Hey, Nava? What’s wrong?” Flitter asked after realizing my sudden switch of mood. I looked back up to answer her. “Again, I am so, so sorry for everything that has happened today.” I began before looking back down as I sighed. ”I am probably a real ha-hoofful for the two of you.” I said in a sad tone. Cloud simply giggled at that, to my complete surprise, as I looked at her. “To be honest, not really. In fact…” She paused dramatically before continuing. ”Your presence has made our life much more… well, interesting I think is the right term.” She finished before Flitter took over the rest. “Yes... having an awkward, shy, but still very kind and friendly Alicorn around is actually quite the interesting and, I dare say, pretty adventurous experience. Our lives were pretty normal and formulaic until you came along. So… no. No you are not a hoofful. Maybe a little bit difficult at times. but overall you make life so much interesting for us by just being you.” Flitter explained. I again began to smile after hearing that, removing any signs of seconds thoughts from me. “Again, thank you for… sticking through with me… you two have been nothing but loyal, kind and supportive since the day we met. There’s probably no better pair of ponies that anybody could possibly ask for than you two.” I replied happily as any negative feelings I had quickly and permanently disappeared from me. Both Flitter and Cloud nodded as they both finally got back up on all fours. I was about to get up myself when Cloud suddenly presented something to me. “Need your Hat and glasses? They were actually lying just behind me after we all landed back onto the floor.” She offered. I nodded as I took both items from her and gave her a thankful smile after placing them all to their respected places. “Well…” Flitter began with a sigh. ”Looks like we have A LOT of cleaning up to do now. This is going to be fun.” She announced with a groan as she looked around the room. I quickly joined the two as I did the same, though with a smile on my face as I thought about the obvious close bond me and the two mares somehow managed to forge between us after such a short amount of time. “I don't know why it took me this long and an almost disastrous… well, disaster to see that… but better late than never, i guess. “ “Well… it might be a lot of work, but I am sure the three of us can pull it off, no problem.” I announced while looking at between them. Flitter nodded as she smiled back. “You’re right. If we put our hooves together, all of this and the rest of the house will be fixed in no time.” She agreed as Cloud joined in as well. “Well, than what are we waiting for, then? You two do the work while I supervise.” Cloud announced with a grin which made flitter and I roll our eyes. “Cloud Chaser!” Both me and Flitter shouted in unison, which in the end just made all three of us chuckle. “Just kidding! I’ll help too.” Cloud said, and we three did a hoof-bump “Well… let’s get to work, then.” Flitter announced as she positioned herself in front of the larger closet. Cloud and I got the hint as we both positioned ourselves right next to her before digging our hooves under the closet before lifting and eventually pushing it back into place. “I am 100% positive that what happened today will certainly get noticed by the government, AKA the princesses themselves.” I thought to myself after pushing my bed back the where it belongs. “Though, I think that I still have some time to figure out what to do until then, since Canterlot is somewhat far away from Cloudsdale right now. For now I should really focus more on cleaning their -well, our- home, I guess. And we’ll worry about that stuff when it comes up.” I mentally noted as the last pieces of furniture were now, once again, in their proper places. Flitter wiped her forehead as she looked around the now clean room. “Wow! this took surprisingly less time than I imagined. You were right, Nava! With the three of us working together this is going to be quicker than Cloud can fall asleep on the couch.” She commented which made Cloud roll her eyes and me chuckle on that last remark. “Again… let’s just hope that I don’t get found out about this anytime soon, because I am sure that then I would be marked as dangerous, which…would be a disaster, not just for me but for these two as well, and I can’t let that happen. Better JUST me than dragging these mares along with me.” I thought to myself once more as the three of us quickly moved to another part of the house to continue with the cleanup process. “I’ve got to discuss this problem with them later. Also that reminds me… what lullaby was Cloud humming?" Chapter 15: Thestral Involvement (slight re-edit)Chapter 15: Thestral Involvement Chapter 15: Thestral Involvement Edited by: Chrome Masquerade Proofread by: Midnight Gear “Two days ago, a strange and abrupt magical anomaly almost caused a city-wide disaster in Cloudsdale.” I read the reports out loud. “Though thankfully no casualties have been filed besides a few bumps and bruises from local investigators and a lot of property damage. Though the populace was still in a panic even after the magical field has dissipated… AHH screw this! Such small pickings are the jobs for the Garden statues of the day guard and NOT the night guard.” I huffed in annoyance as I simply threw the report files into a bin beside my desk. “Pff… ponies nowadays, panicking at every little thing. Back in the old days Equestrians were much more hard-shelled and magic anomalies were FAR more disastrous than just lifting a bunch of crap into the air for a few minutes. Bloody ponies now a days don't even know how seriously good they have it now compared to back than.” I muttered as I leaned back on my chair and rested my hind legs onto the desk. “More ridiculous is the fact that such an anti-gravity anomaly happened in perhaps the BEST possible city it could occur. Some ponies, or should I say, Pegasi, *still** refuse to leave their homes in fear of getting lifted back into the air against their will! PEGASI!!!”* I ranted mentally. “But seriously now; back during the time of the old kingdom, ponies -or Equestrians in general- were a force to be reckoned with… more or less thanks to us Thestrals who taught those ponies how to fight in the first place. Home of some of the finest legions and armies the world had ever seen. Proud and strong, always ready for a fight. But since Princess Luna’s banishment her sister, princess sun-butt has transformed a pervious professional military and magic imbued powerhouse into a nation full of scared little sheep who immediately start running away from any form of trouble and seeking the help of their shepherd A.K.A Princess Sunny Days for protection and advice. Also bad for her, since she now has ALLOT more responsibilities and work on her shoulders. How is she still sane after a 1000 years of doing that? But I can kind of understand why she made the change in the first place. Having her diplomatic skills secured a pretty long-lasting good relationship with all the other nations and races and wanting to prevent showing her little ponies the horrors and hardships of war...and the past of equestria in general. And, to be fair, there a lot of other problems that cropped up, she did deal with them directly, without mercy. But still, this action has resulted in making Equestrians soft and vulnerable, turning warriors into carriage pullers and namby-pambies! The worst example of that being the sorry excuse of a royal guard, who act more as palace decoration than actually guarding something. Hardships make ponies -or whatever species- strong, it teaches them how to survive, how to take care of themselves and also has the potential to forge companionships stronger than any “Magic of Friendship” can do. One of the reasons why I eventually followed Luna into her campaigns and eventually became her dedicated and loyal captain. And most importantly Blood sisters in battle. If only these ponies here would know the truth of the cruelty and hardships the rest of the world has to suffer through outside their little kingdom paradise. Then, they would understand that the world is vastly more black and white than they like to believe. I wouldn’t be surprised to one day see Canterlot completely fall in the next invasion because the guards being unable to even pick up a spear properly, let alone swing it! A 1000 years ago the night guard disbanded and eventually returned, and this is the Equestria we are returning TO? This is really just spitting in the faces of the Thestral Guard. We are warriors, not riot control.” I muttered angrily as I remembered the shock I felt when I bore witness to the sorry-ass pacifistic state Equestria has turned into. Makes me even wonder why the night guard was even re-enlisted in the first place. We are trained and bred for combat, not sitting on our flanks and pretending to look pretty. Oh yeah, because of mistress Luna, the silly mare. I am very glad that she has finally returned from her 1000 year exile and that the darkness inside her has finally been banished for good. But… it’s still such a shame that such a skilled and talented war-maiden is forced to return to a nation she will most likely no longer recognize. Which also means I won’t be able to join her in any glorious campaigns and battles anytime soon. More’s the pity. I sighed as I remembered the glory days of old, and the warrior bond the Princesses shared in the past. Also remembering our lady’s orders, as she had mentioned to us today; She wished to go and investigate the anomaly herself, simply because there was no other pony more knowledgeable with magic anomaly than her. But instead, she chose me to do so, at her sister’s urging, for a similar reason. “Huh… most ponies would think it’s weird that a simple Thestral knows more about magic than most unicorns. If only they knew.” I chuckled to myself. “Well, might as well get this task over with.” I muttered a bit annoyed as I finally got up from my seat and made my way over to the door to leave my office. The guard stationed in front of my door immediately saluted me as I went through, though i ignored him. I made my way across the long corridor that would lead out into the training grounds and barracks of the Night Guard. Again, every Night Guard saluted as I casually strode by them. I quickly reached the outside of the main training grounds as I saw a dozen of my guardsponies sharpening their skills and tricks in the ways of war and the traditional martials arts of our race and homeland. “Good, at least they do spend their free time training with one another, I wouldn’t expect any less of my fellow warriors.” I thought proudly as I finally reached my destination on the other side of the grounds. The local armory and workshop of the night guard. The two Thestrals stationed in front of it stood straight and saluted as well. I was about to knock on the door when a sudden explosion from inside stopped me from doing so. Both me and the two guards raised our eyebrows at that before all three of us sighed, already used to this and the pony responsible for them. “Ugh… it’s too early for this, I just hope that he hasn’t torn another hole through the wall or I am going to tear his flank hole wide open.” I muttered as I began knocking on the door. I waited patiently for a few moments before the door finally unlocked and opened from the other side, revealing a lot of smoke (which forced me to cover my muzzle) and a small young Thestral stud behind it… coughing heavily and covered in soot. “What in the God's name are YOU DOING?” I angrily asked out of reflex. The young stallion in front of me immediately stopped his coughing as he tensed up in fear in front of me. “Oh… um… h-hi ca-captain…Glade...I, um… it's…it’s not what it lo-looks like… I swear. I… I was ju-just working on… on new…” The dark gray coated and navy blue maned stud in front of me stuttered before I abruptly stopped him by shoving a hoof into his mouth. “Mister Midnight Gear I am currently NOT interested in whatever invention or contraption you are tinkering around with at the moment.” I say before removing my hoof from his mouth. “I came here to ask IF my lance is ready and fixed up, and if the new enchanted crystals are inserted as well.” I continued while looking at Gear. Gear immediately began to shuffle nervously in place after I said that while looking at the ground. “Well…” He began nervously. “I only… ma-managed to… fi-finish up the… repairs so fa-far… but…not the… crystal parts.” He stuttered while smiling awkwardly at me. I really wanted to get angry at him for probably just taking up most of the time tinkering around with all his other machines rather than doing what was asked of him, but I just couldn’t. For one, despite his failures and inventions sometimes causing holes through the walls, he was still a genius and an irreplaceable asset to the guard, always providing for the equipment and coming up with really useful and inventive ideas that would give us the edge in a pinch. He is one of the reason why the newly re-formed Night Guard is vastly better equipped than the Day Guard (secretly, of course). The other reason why I can’t be really mad at the guy is, well, Gear is the shyest most socially awkward pony I have ever seen, which means it’s very easy for someone to make him cry, though it’s also very easy to make him beyond pissed off and dodging earth-eating swords and magical laser cannon fire when somepony makes fun of his inventions. “I made that mistake once. Who knew that such an awkward little wimp can become berserk so quickly.” I thought, remembering our first time meeting back at our home county. I sighed. “Fine… I guess I can go out again without my trusty lance by my side. But it better be done when I come back.” I announced before turning around and trotting away “Wa… wait captain.” I suddenly heard Gear call out which forced me to stop and look at him. “What is it now, Gear?” I asked impatiently as the shy stallion approached me. “Where… uh… exactly are you going captain?” He asked while looking off the side a bit. “Cloudsdale, to investigate something under Lulu’s wishes.” I casually reply. The little stud’s demeanor suddenly changed from shy to excited with a flick of a switch, which really took me by surprise, to say the least. I was about to question his sudden switch of motivation as he beat me to it. “Oh, you mean you are going to investigate the magical incident that happened in Cloudsdale? If so then I’ve got the perfect device to test out.” He announced gleefully, in full unbroken sentences, which was rare for him. “What device?” I questioned, skeptical. “This one.” he announced, while holding out his empty hoof at me. I simply raised an eyebrow at that as I stared at his empty hoof. “Gear… all I see is an empty hoof.” I pointed out with a flat look. He simply looked surprised before chuckling nervously. “Oh… yeah. Uh... I-I will be… back, captain… give me a minute.” he stuttered before dashing off back into his shop. I waited patiently for the little stallion to return with whatever invention or contraption he pulled out of his plot this time, while again thinking back to the report I read. “Investigators theorized that the source of this anomaly might be from Nightmare Moon herself, remnant magic of her “Eternal Night curse” that might be the cause of this unnatural magical phenomenon.” I re-capped the text of the report in my head, which again made me simply shake my head at how naïve some ponies are nowadays. “Huh… some investigators these are. That is NOT how the Elements work. When they cleanse something they freaking cleanse something, which means that whatever magic was at work is completely neutralized. Look at what happened to Discord's chaos when he was defeated by them.” I again mentally argued as I slowly turned my head over to the direction Cloudsdale is in. “No… it’s really not that at all. There is something more to it, I can already sense it from here.” I muttered before a set of hooves stepped up and broke me loose of my muddling. “Th-this is… what I wa-was talking about… ca-captain.” Gear again stuttered as he came back holding something this time. “…And what is it?” I asked curiously after noticing the small watch (or compass) shaped thing with a large blue crystal in the middle. “It’s a physical magic tracking device that can pinpoint any form of magic in a designated vicinity.” He explained, again talking coherently. He usually does talk normally when explaining his inventions or science of whatever. I raised a curious eyebrow at this. Sure this… compass-like thing of his could easily be useful for anyone who has no natural magic-tracking senses. IF IT WORKS. But again, this idea of his is somewhat useless to ME because magic tracking and sensing has basically become second nature for me for all these centuries. “But still… if this thing actually works the way I imagine, it could be highly useful for anypony without that skill, especially for my men here, when it comes down hunting unicorn fugitives.” I mentally noted as I rubbed my chin in thought. “Let me guess… you want to tag along with me so you can take your new toy out for a spin?” I ask with a flat stare. “Well… yes, if… if you don’t mind… cap-captain?” He shyly asked while looking at his hooves. I began to think on it for a while before giving off a sigh. “Fine… you can come along, as long as you follow two rules. Keep up. Shut up.” I answered before switching my gaze over to a pony to my left. “Hey, sergeant Shadow Blade. You’re in charge while I am out and about. Keep the men busy while I am gone!” I shouted, to which the pony in question saluted. “Don’t worry, ma’am. I will keep this place tight and working in your absence. Good luck on your investigation captain.” He replied before going back to his task in drilling the new recruits into shape. “Alright, quickly pack whatever stuff you need Gear, because we are leaving in 5 minutes.” I ordered before turning around and trotting off. “Wa-wait… we… we are not going to… ta-take a chariot to Cloudsdale?” He suddenly asked before I could even get far. I stopped again to look behind my shoulder with a smirk. “Nope. we are going to fly the old fashioned way. You could actually use some exercise too, my little Gear. All that “locking yourself up in your shop” is neither good for your your wings or your stench. Plus I prefer flying on my own power anyway. Besides, chariots are way too noticeable, even at night.” I answered. I smirked and chuckled to myself when I heard a pathetic little whine coming from him as I finally made my way back into the main building. “Not really the task I was hoping for, but at least it’s something that will keep me busy for a while.” I thought to myself as I trotted down the same old corridor that leads to the captain’s office. “Let’s see what pony I get the chance to bring back home this time. Hope the poor thing can at least put up some sort of resistance against me, otherwise it will be way too easy… and a waste of my time. The hunt... is on. ………………………………………………………………………………………. Night time…the perfect environment for creatures of the dark, creatures such as myself. Arriving at Cloudsdale at night was perfect, not only have you the freedom to fly all across the city without anypony screaming at the sight of a night hunter like me, but it also means I can keep low from all the Pegasus guards roaming and flying across, on and above the dimly lit streets. My night sensitive eyes scanned the layout of the city as I stood above the roof of a tower. I can still remember the days when Cloudsdale was more of a fortress than a city. The current look and layout not foreign to me, but still somewhat…. different too, especially since I spent most of my time since Luna’s banishment back in my home country far in the north from here. “Quite impressive how things can change in a thousand years.” I thought to myself as I continued to scan the city. I closed my eyes in calm and collected concentration as I let my ears and other senses do their thing. Listening to every noise, smelling every smell and sensing the invisible magic winds gust by my coat ever so gently, in hopes of getting a clue on where to look and where to start. I continued to stand there, in my element, when all of a sudden a noise -a lot of noise- quickly broke me from my concentrated state. “So-sorry… sorry. I-I accidentally dropped… the thing… and knocked ove-” Gear behind me started to apologize as more distracting noise came from behind. “What was the second rule?” i said, irritated. “So-sorry again.” I began to grumble in annoyance. “Why did I agree to bring this this sorry excuse for a Thestral again?” I thought as I could hear even more ruckus from behind me. “Why don’t you just make yourself useful and use that little device of yours, if you are going to make so much noise anyway?” I asked while looking back at him. “Do…do I have to do it… now? Can’t we just… take a rest?” Gear behind me complained while rubbing his obviously looking sore wings. I scoffed, but didn’t correct him again. “Well, it’s not MY problem that you are so heavily out of shape. Now, seriously, make yourself at least useful or I’ll throw you off the edge of the city.” I announced glaring at him. Gear thankfully took the hint as he frantically started to get his magic detecting device working, only for him to start juggling it in between his hoof while trying to get a hold of it in panic. I simply facehoofed and shook my head before he eventually managed to hold it up on one hoof while activating it with the other. “Well, about damn time.” I muttered as the crystal on it suddenly began to glow. It started to gently hover above its compass like case as it began to spin around. “J-just give it some time… to… get sorted… out.” Gear nervously said with a sheepish smile as the crystal was still going crazy. Eventually, though it finally started to slow, then stopped as it pointed its long sharp point at a random direction behind where I stood. I followed the crystal’s direction only to find out that it was pointing at a large part of the city itself, probably on the other side from where we stood. “There.” Gear announced while looking at his device. “The crystal… seems to be…pointing at the… cloud district of the city. That area is mostly… residential… as far as I’ve heard and seen on m-maps.” Gear announced as he looked off towards the other end of the city. I smirked before turning my head back to gear. “Very nice there, Midnight Gear. I am impressed.” I credited. “Once again you delivered and didn’t just make something that explodes or tears holes through walls.” I added. Gear began to smile at that as his eyes began to glow in the dark a bit. “Th-thanks cap-captain. I think” I nodded before switching my gaze back at the target ahead. “Well, let’s go and follow your device, then.” I announced as I spread my wings. “And for the love of the gods, be more stealthy or I am going to lock you out of your shop for a month.” I added as I took to the air. “Wha-What? No!” He replied as I heard him take off as well. “So help me, I will. But only AFTER you finished up my lance. I feel naked without it.” And with that the two of us silently flew above the empty night skies of Cloudsdale and made sure to stay away from any street and air patrols as we passed them. “For some odd reason I have this strange feeling that it won’t go as smoothly and quickly as i plan it out to be. I don’t know if i should feel good or indifferent about it.” I thought to myself as we continued our way towards the clouds district of the city. “Yup, now I am actually starting to sense something as well… and it’s… it's… By the gods.” ………………………………………………………………………………………… In a large house family house in the middle of the cloudy district, a set of three ponies were happily sleeping in their beds as the night passed by. One of them was an alicorn stallion who was happily snoring away in his bed, as his horn suddenly started to faintly glow, illuminating its room in its soft glow before quickly dissipating again. The alicorn in question began to turn in his bed as his horn cut off its magical glow. Silence and darkness quickly returned to the room, with only the glow of the full moon above shining through the curtains. “Gotcha.” Chapter 16: Narrow Escape...for now Chapter 16: Narrow Escape… For Now Edited by: Chrome Masquerade Proofread by: Midnight Gear and Rhawkas I opened my eyes and all that greeted me again was nothing but darkness. I sighed. “Ugh… didn’t Silver already fix my subconscious mind? Well… then again, I have no idea how hard or easy it is in the first place, so I can’t really complain too much.” I muttered as I looked around. “Silver? Silver Wing? Hello? Silver?” I called out, my voice echoing around the void. “Over here, dude. I gotta show you something,” I heard him call out from within the shadows. I started to look around but was met with nothing but more blackness surrounding me, seeing no clue nor any shape of Silver around me. I began to grumble a bit in annoyance as my search turned out to be fruitless. “That, and how am I really going to spot anything in this place anyway?” “Where are you? I can’t see anything here besides… well… nothing.” I called out again and received the same echoing result. Which, to be honest, was starting to sound a bit by creepy now. “Huh? Oh, uh… forgot about that. Here, let me just create a doorway for you then.” I heard him reply when out of nowhere, a bright white light shone in front of me and assaulted my vision. I was forced to cover my eyes as the sudden change in brightness was painful to look at. Thankfully, my eyes quickly adjusted, which gave me the freedom to open them and lower my forelegs from in front of them. What I saw immediately afterwards was a single doorway-shaped passage in the middle of the void, although the light coming out from it was still too bright to even see what was actually on the other side of it. At first I was a bit hesitant, as I usually am, but eventually I just shrugged as I made my way over to it. “It’s my mind after all, so what could possibly happen?” I was again, forced to shield myself from the extreme light levels as I got closer and closer to it, making sure to not trip or fall over myself as one of my four legs were busy shielding me from it. “Jeez, what the heck did he create in there? The freaking sun?” I wondered as I finally crossed the boundary and to whatever mental reality that my magic doppelganger had created. Though the first thing that swiftly greeted me afterwards was a sudden breeze of wind which somewhat took my by surprise, especially since before all i was capable of feeling, even before nightmare moon was just the solid ground under my hoof and nothing else besides that. “Hey there, glad you could make it. Been working on this here for a while… but it’s sadly not yet completed.” I heard Silver say as my eyes were still firmly shut. “What… what did you do?” I asked curiously. I heard my other self-chuckle. “Just open your eyes and see for yourself, dude.” He replied. I did just that after a few more moments of letting my eyes re-adjust themselves before fully opening them, and what I saw when I finally did was absolutely stunning to say the least. “Pretty neat huh? Took a while too. But I think I did a pretty good job regardless. What do you think?” Silver asked as I was still too busy gawking at the world around me. Row upon row of endless wheat (among other things) fields were all around me, stretching as far as the eye can see and beyond the horizon. In the middle of it all was a single grassy hill overlooking the flat lands with a large single oak tree towering proudly on top of it…basically like an island surrounded by a sea of gold. I heard Silver chuckle again beside me. “So, I guess you like it then.” He announced, which made me turn my head to him for the first time. “Silver… this looks… how did you build this?” I asked, utterly baffled as i looked at him. The first thing i remarked after doing so was that he was leaning against the larger oak tree in a very… pony-like position, lying on his side smiling before he answered. “Well, with the help of some of your memories and some magic, it wasn’t really that hard… or long.” He explained before continuing, “Plus, I choose this scene over the previous one because I think this one looks far more relaxing and peaceful than the other one… and more down to earth as well, if you want to get funny.” he added as he looked back off into the distance, looking over the sea of golden wheat around us. I just shrugged as I did the same and started to relax, feeling the gentle winds blowing through my fur in sync with the swaying motion of the crops around us. The added sunset in the sky and the peaceful rustle of the leaves in the wind really made this one of the most relaxing and peaceful places I had ever been to. “Also, he was right, this does feel a lot closer to Earth than the other one.” Though one question rapidly popped up into my mind as I instantly looked back at Silver. “Wait… you said that this place wasn’t finished yet, right? What exactly is missing here, anyway? It looks finished to me.” I said before looking back off into the distance. “Well…” Silver began. “The mountains are missing on the horizon… so are the hills… that’s it really.” He answered a bit sheepishly, which made me look back at him with a raised eyebrow. “Really? That’s it?” I asked, to which he nodded. I simply shook my head before I made my way to the base of the tree myself and sat myself down beside Silver. I leaned my back against its large trunk and closed my eyes to enjoy the peace and the relaxing breeze. “Man, I hope all of my dreams can be like this.” I thought as I let myself go in the relaxing experience. A few moments ticked by between us with nothing more than the gently blowing breeze accompanying us in this peaceful moment. Though that was quickly broken when Silver suddenly began to tap my shoulder rapidly, breaking my relaxing immersion… so to speak. And from the way he was tapping it, I had a feeling that it wasn’t anything good to begin with. I opened my eyes and turned my head to look at him, and wouldn’t you know it, I was right with my suspicions, as I saw an expression of worry and slight panic etched on his features. “Silver, what seems to be…?” I began before being interrupted as he began to speak while staring at me. “Something is tracking my magic… or specifically, YOUR magic.” He hastily stated as his expression morphed from worry too serious in an instant. “Wha-what do you mean?” I asked confusedly. Though the question seemed to have been completely missed or ignored as he suddenly stood up before continuing. “You’ve got to wake up now, Nava! Don’t worry though, I will take care of the rest afterwards.” He simply announced, which confused me even further. I also got back up as I stared at him. “Wait, wait, wait… hold on a sec.” I began as I slowly started to worry. “What the heck are you talking about? What is tracking my magic and why the heck do you need ME to wake up as well?” I quickly asked once more, which thankfully reached Silver’s attention this time. “I don’t know yet, but I do know it’s tracking us.” He replied before an expression of shock quickly replaced his previous seriousness, which only made me worry even more. He immediately began lighting up his horn, which took me completely by surprise. “No time to explain. As I said, I will do the rest, so don’t worry. But you need to wake up first for it to work.” He announced promptly as my whole body was suddenly enveloped in a white glow. “Wait… what are you…” I started before being interrupted by Silver again. “I will explain everything to you at another time. Right now you have to hide and be quiet after you wake up. Just trust me on this, ok?” He stated once more before my whole vision rapidly began to turn white as the world around me swiftly faded away into nothingness. ……………………………………………………………………………………… I immediately shot up from my bed after Silver forcefully tore me away from my own sleep, breathing heavily from the experience and sweating slightly from my forehead as if I had just suffered from a horrible nightmare. Though it wasn’t the only thing coming from my forehead as I quickly noticed a slight glow coming from above my vision. “My horn is glowing? Why is my horn glo…?” I began to think before I remembered what happened the last time when I woke up with a glowing horn. I immediately began to panic, though before I could say anything, scream, jump out of the bed, or do anything too drastic, my horn began to gently dim back down before before darkening completely, leaving the previously softly illuminated room back in its original dark state. “Huh?” was all I thought as suddenly felt beyond confused by this sudden change of events. ……………………………………………………………………………………… “I can feel the breezy sensation of magic moving along the ley lines getting stronger, which can only mean that we are finally getting closer to the… wait… WHAT?” I immediately stopped in mid flight as something strange and highly improbable just occurred. The magic I had been sensing and following since coming here to Cloudsdale was gone. JUST GONE! OUT OF NOWHERE! JUST… JUST… BUCKING GONE! “What… this… this is IMPOSSIBLE!” I shouted in utter disbelief, disregarding stealth as I immediately began to land on a wide street below me. Midnight, who had been behind me the entire time, also quickly landed. He was looking worried and somewhat scared from my sudden outburst as he kept his distance from me. Which was good, because at that point I was so confused that I was also on the verge of blowing a fuse. “GEAR!” I called out while glaring at the Thestral behind me. “CHECK ON YOUR DEVICE AND SEE IF IT CAN STILL PICK UP THE MAGIC WE HAVE BEEN TRACKING THIS ENTIRE TIME!” I ordered, which caused the stallion behind me to flinch but nonetheless do what I asked him to, as he promptly began to look at his device. An expression first of confusion, followed by disbelief rapidly went through his features as he began to tap on the device with his hoof. “Well?” I asked impatiently, which made him flinch again. “What is it? Spit it out!” “Um…” He began nervously as he carefully lifted his head to look at me. “The… the signal… is… is gone, ca- captain. There is… no more magic… around this area… that it can detect. It’s… just gone.” Gear stuttered, which really didn’t help my rising anger at the moment. “WHAT?! Do you mean it CAN'T DETECT ANYTHING?” I asked again as my patience was swiftly running thin, which wasn’t lost on the stallion in front of me as his legs began to tremble in fear. “I-I mean… it… it’s just… completely gone, captain. As… as if… somepony flicked… the off switch… or something.” He replied as he slowly backed himself onto a wall. This information finally broke the fuse. “WHAT!? THAT’S IMPOSSIBLE! NO LEVEL OF ANY KIND OF MAGIC BESIDES PERCEPTION MAGIC CAN JUST BE THERE AND THEN COMPLETELY DISAPPEAR IN THE NEXT MOMENT AS IF IT WASN’T EVEN THERE IN THE FIRST PLACE! AND I KNOW FOR A FACT THAT IT WASN’T PERCEPTION MAGIC, BECAUSE I HAVE BASICALLY SEEN, FELT, AND BEEN EXPOSED TO EVERY TYPE AND FORM OF MAGIC IN EXISTENCE! THE FACT THAT THIS ONE COULD JUST DISAPPEA--” I shouted in pure anger before a thought suddenly hit me. “Wait… this… this magic I felt, it… it was… nothing I have ever felt or sensed before, now that I… think about it. It was neither control nor emotional magic, and it was neither perception nor harmonic magic. If it was none of those, then… then what was it?.” I wondered as the realization hit me. “What… kind of magic--if it even was magic--was that?” I muttered as all the anger inside of me quickly vanished, leaving only complete and utter confusion behind it. I was at a loss for words or thoughts at that moment. In all my centuries of having been exposed to all kinds of magic that have ever existed or was documented before in the past, there was nothing even remotely similar to the one I was chasing today. Its pattern and sensations were nothing I have ever felt before. They were…beyond foreign to me. Rather, they were totally alien, if I want to be completely honest. Whatever that force was… magic or not, not only was it completely unknown… but also gone as well. Which would make finding it again nearly impossible, unless it's ever going to show itself again. “But I am NOT giving up. No, I will be *DAMNED** if I give up! If it’s something completely new or alien, I WILL learn more about it. I WILL find its source or its owner and tear it apart if that’s what it takes for me to learn more about it.”* This is the first time I’ve ever lost a trail and I will not let that stand. This has become FAR more than just a simple fetch mission. This was now something personal… very personal. “Gear?” “Ye-yes… captain?” I turned my head to look over my shoulder. ”We are going to fly back to Canterlot, get reinforcements, and come back.” I announced in a serious tone and look, which made Gear behind me shift uncomfortably in place. “Bu-but captain… is… is that… really necessary?” He asked nervously, to which I turned around and nodded as my anger was slowly returning. “YES, it is! I want this district surrounded and locked up by guards and everypony living in it to be questioned. NO ‘BUTS’, NO ‘WHYS’!” I replied as I took back to the air, just in time as well, as in the distance I could see a group of pegasi guards trotting down the street, probably to investigate the shouting they heard earlier. Seeing them approach, I mentally scolded myself. “So much for being stealthy. I really need to get my outbursts under control in the future, unless I want to look like a complete amateur and get myself seen when I obviously don't want to be. Then again, I also prefer an open fight just as much as a silent one.” “Hey… w-wait for me, captain!” I heard Gear call out as we immediately began to race back towards Canterlot as fast as my wings could carry me. “I WILL get to the bottom of this, even if I have to lock up all of Cloudsdale for it. I don’t care whether the princesses like it or not. This does NOT sit well with me, and I want answers ASAP.” “I am definitely going to get to the bottom of this, one way or another, or so help me.” Chapter 17: Under Siege by Fuzzy-Eared PoniesChapter 17: Under Siege by Fuzzy-Eared Ponies Edited by: Chrome Masquerade Proofread by: Soul Fire, Midnight Gear “Well… last night was a pretty… interesting one, I suppose. Though what it lead to was me having to wake up in the middle of the night… which really screwed with my body (my NEW body, no less!) for some reason. Because now, I feel like crap and not well rested at all.” I thought as finally woke up with a yawn. I sat myself up and began rubbing my eyes with a hoof before looking over to the tiny clock next to me. “7:34 am… pretty normal wake-up time for me, even in this new body of mine.” I muttered as I started to gently roll myself off the bed. I got onto all fours as I grabbed my glasses. I decided to just leave my hat and scarf alone for today as I wasn’t really in a mood to go outside anyway, regarding the fact that I was still feeling somewhat tired thanks to last night. You would imagine that being in a new body would have eliminated the problem of still feeling off if you somehow don’t sleep through the night on one go, but nope that seems to be not the case at all, as the previous annoying problem I had back in my world still persist in this world as well…somehow. I opened the door of my room and stepped outside… or more like dragged myself out the right corridor of this home and casually made my way to the bathroom. After having done my morning ritual I began to wash my face in front of the sink and dried myself with a towel that was hanging nearby. With all of that done I simply began to stare at the reflection in front of me as i usually do almost every morning now, observing my new features as usual as i still somewhat have problems fully believing the fact that I am a pony now while also mentally recapping everything that happened last night. “Something was tracking my magic, according to Silver, and after he so forcefully woke me up he told me that he would take care of everything else.” I mentally recited as the memory of what happened last night fully returned. What exactly was tracking me to begin with? Was it a pony, a dragon, a gryphon? Or even some sort of villain, maybe Discord or something else? Though to be honest Discord couldn’t possibly be the suspect here, since it’s still waaay too early for him to be freed. I mean, Nightmare Moon was only 6 days ago now, so it really can’t be. “If it wasn’t Discord then who could it possibly have been?” I muttered to myself. “Well at least whatever Silver did seems to have worked, I wasn’t kidnapped and am still here and breathing.” I thought to myself as I moved away from the mirror and made my way over to the kitchen. One of the reasons (I guess) that I didn’t get much sleep last night was probably because I felt too worried and paranoid to even fall asleep in the first place. I think it took me like, 2 hours and a half to finally fall to the sensation of sleep automatically. “Stupid Silver, stupid magic and stupid Alicorn senses. All of those just seem to producing more and more problems in state of fixing them, and yet still not a centimeter closer to finding answers and finding a way back home as well.” I thought as I spotted Flitter cooking in the kitchen, as she usually does. She spotted me and greeted me with a friendly smile. “Good morning, Nava! How was your night?” She asked cheerfully before going back to cooking. I sighed as I sat myself on a chair that was near her. “Not… really good.” I basically answered. “Really? What happened?” She asked while she was still focused on her cooking. I sighed again while resting my head on my left hoof and rubbing my forehead with the other. “Magic related, that’s all I can say.” I simply replied with a yawn. That though quickly made Flitter stop whatever she was occupied with and looked at me with both a shocked and worrisome expressions. “Se-seriously? Me and Cloud haven’t felt anything unusual last night. Were you ok? What happened?” She asked all concerned. Again, God bless her habit of worrying and caring for others, especially those she seems to hold dear, which I have somehow (thankfully) become part of. Though one mental debate still existed. “Should I tell her the truth, or should I not?” I mentally mulled. I shook my head. “You know what, No, I SHOULD tell her the truth because building trust with one another comes by telling each other the truth first. Besides, hiding mayor things like those from them won’t be beneficial for neither of us and will just make things even more problematic in the end then needed.” I decided mentally before fully facing her to tell her everything that happened last night. From the manifestation of my magic being a sapient individual named Silver to my supposedly close encounter with… something or someone who was tracking my magic last night. At the end of it I sighed as I went back on resting my head onto the counter while Flitter looked somewhat lost and thoughtful after my explanation. Seriously, though, I was more prepared to have her look at me funny for stating that my magic was sapient within my mind and that I was able to converse with my magic self whenever I sleep, not to look thoughtful as if she were actually believing and buying my story. But then again I am an Alicorn, who can’t fly or use magic AND who just recently suffered from a magical surge that caused city wide disaster...well a disaster in ponies terms at least. I mean heck, even for ME anything seems to be possible at this point, if I somehow managed to magically give birth to a changeling or gryphon then… well, so be it, I guess. Again, I am currently the physical embodiment of magic as an alicorn pony here, so really, what else could possible surprise me at this point? Magic is a force that is still not fully understood,not even close, even to this day, according to all the books I have read so far. So really, when it comes to magic everything seems to be possible here, and that thought alone is actually worrisome and concerning, to be honest, because that just means that more unexpected surprises are just going be the norm from now on and judging by the last surprise I had to go through regarding magic in general, then yes. Yes I have every reason to feel worried about this. “Well…” Flitter began before the sound of the main door opening assaulted our ears. We both turned ourselves around and were a bit surprised to see none other than Cloud entering the living room. “Cloud… what the? I thought you went to work this morning? Why did you come back?” Flitter asked, confused, which was somewhat mimicked by me since I learned of their work schedule a few days back. Cloud simply trotted over to us before dropping her saddlebags onto the floor besides the counter. “Well the reason why is because of the weirdest thing I have seen in years.” She replied with a sigh as she sat herself down on a chair. “What do you mean?” Flitter asked again. “Well…” She began as she rubbed her hind legs together. “The entire neighborhood is surrounded and patrolled by a bunch of gray, bat winged, sharped toothed, and predatory-eyed ponies in armor.” She explained which made both me and her sister raise an eyebrow at that. “Oh, and also according to them, nopony is currently allowed to enter or exit the district and are instructed to stay indoors. Which is why I came back in the first place… .not that I was intimidated by these sharp toothed ponies or anything.” She also added which made Flitter look at her even more suspiciously while I began to think on her explanation. “Bat winged, sharp toothed and predatory-eyed ponies? I know those. I think the show described them as simple bat ponies, or Thestrals in other sources.” I thought to myself as a realization promptly entered me. “Wait… is it possible that it was one of THEM that Silver was talking about last night? It has to be, otherwise why the heck would they be here blocking off an entire section of the city like that? The section where I happen to live in.” “Well this than just got a whole lot more serious than I originally expected. I always knew that the government was going to show up to investigate the magical phenomenon that I created sooner or later, but I always thought that it was going to be the more golden clad day guards and not the night guards that would investigate this. Also, it’s in the middle of the day as well which just makes it ironic.” I finished my musing. This really had gotten a lot worse than I originally imagined, even more so because i have a strange feeling that these guys are going to be vastly more serious than there golden clad counterparts. If Cloud Chaser’s story is right then I basically have an entire legion of Thestrals breathing down my neck, ready to bite it! This is a serious, serious issue now! What exactly is going to happen if they DO find me? To be honest I don’t know, but what I DO know is that I will ’100%’ be presented to the princess, and she’ll see that there is an UNKNOWN alicorn running loose in her kingdom, and then at that point all bets are off, because again I have absolutely no idea how my fate is going to go. It could go all rosy as far as the show itself is concerned, but it has been already proven time and time again that THIS is NOT the show, this is a real world with its own real events and possibilities that are surprisingly similar to that of mine. Which honestly makes me even more wary and determined to stay away from them. Never really liked those two in the show and I am sure that I won’t like them here either. WHY? I have my reasons, simple as that. I shook my head. Getting all panicky on this isn’t really going to help anyone, especially me. Plus, doing so will most likely just get me caught even faster, so I need to approach this calmly and think this through. The obvious first hand on solution would be to simply stay in the house and keep my jacket on indoors at all times. Beyond that… well, I am not yet sure. Again need to discuss this with the two sisters when I can, IF Cloud’s report is true or not, because as far as I heard from Flitter before, she does have the tendency in the past to sometimes make out some really bizarre and silly stories just to skip over her responsibilities. Something I actually believe after having known her for this long. “It’s true, I swear… I am not trying to skip work this time.” I heard Cloud reply as I faded back into reality. I shook my head again, as I watched these two argue once again in front of me. “Yeah sure. Sharp toothed ponies my flank. That has to be the most ridiculous cover story I have heard from you so far.” Flitter replied with a glare. Cloud Chaser at this point seemed to get pretty frustrated as she threw up her arms and started to whine. “ARRRGH, NO! for the LAST time I am NOT making it up! In fact, I can prove it too. Just… just look out the front window in our living room and tell me if I am still lying or not. There was actually a patrol of six trotting up our street when I came in, and I bet that they are still there as well, since I also saw them knocking on doors and questioning ponies.” Cloud announced as she quickly got up from her chair and made her way over to the living room herself, beckoning the two of us to follow her. We did so as and followed her towards the large front window of the living room. Cloud immediately began to carefully look past the curtain before flinching back and turning back around to face the two of us. “They are actually just across the street now. Be careful or they might think suspiciously of us and knock on our door next.” Cloud whispered before she stepped away from the window. Flitter sighted. “This better be true or I am NOT going to cook dinner for you for a week.” She replied in a deadpan manner as she moved towards the window and slowly parted the curtains aside. I quietly followed her as I peered out the small slit with her. My eyes rapidly went wide at what I saw. Cloudchaser was right all along! Outside, just across the street in front of our neighbors’ house were 6 bat ponies, two mares and four stallions all clad in the familiar looking night guard armor that I am familiar with, which also quickly meant that my previous theories were correct and I was in deep trouble right now. Both me and Flitter slowly retreated from the window in complete silence as she carefully moved the curtains back together. She turned over to Cloud as she began to rub the back of her neck. “Well…I guess I owe you than an apology, Cloud. You weren’t lying after all. “She apologized while pawning the ground awkwardly. “Apology accepted.” Cloud replied smugly and turning up her nose, which only made me shake my head at her milking it. After a while of silence Flitter spoke up again. “Well… what are we going to do now?” She asked as she looked up between me and Cloud. Cloud shrugged. “Don’t know, but I do have a feeling that all of this might have something to do with our stud over here.” She suggested as both she and Flitter suddenly gave me their full attention. I started to uncomfortably fidget a bit in their gaze and thought of something to say. Though that got quickly dashed out as a knock on the door quickly made all three of us jump in surprise. “This is Sergeant Hawk of the night guard. Please open this door. We have a few questions to ask.” A deep and rough sounding voice announced from the other side, making all three of us go stiff and quiet. “Shit… they’re already here. What am I going to do? They are definitely going to be interested in me, presumably being the only “Unicorn” in a city full of Pegasi.” I thought to myself in panic which was mirrored by both sisters as well as they looked at me. “Crap… what now?” Cloud whispered as the knocking continued at the door. “Hello? Canterlot night guard here. Cooperate and open this door. We are just here to ask a few basic questions, so there is nothing for you to worry about.” the same muffled voice announced again which really didn’t help the pressure all three of us were now exposed too. Out of the blue Flitter suddenly grabbed me by the hoof and started quietly dragging me away from the door and around the corner left corner of the house. “What are you doing?” I whispered as we stopped in front of a set of stairs that I had long since learned lead down into a basement. She hushed me before she moved close to me to whisper something into my ear. “You are just going to stay here and stay quiet, obviously. If they ever asked for a house search you are going to quickly sneak into the basement and lock it with this.” She explained as she suddenly pulled out a small key from her mane with her left wing. The fact that she was hiding a small key in her mane was already raising questions, but those were quickly drowned out by another set of knocks from the door and bringing me back to the seriousness of our situation. I looked at her with a questionable look. “Wa-wait…you two are going to stand up to me? Against your government and possibly risk everything if it backfires?” I whispered in slight disbelief. I knew these two cared for me a lot, but never would I have thought that they would go as far as lying to a bunch of armed guards who could very easily arrest them and drag them away on the spot if they suspected anything fishy of them. Flitter simply nodded as she promptly handed (or, rather, hoofed) me the key before she casually trotted back around the corner. “I’m coming I’m coming.” She called out as she disappeared back into the living room. I heard her open the door and converse with the guards who were standing on the other side. “Sorry for the long wait, I was in the washroom.” Flitter lied to them in a surprisingly calm and normal tone which I honestly didn’t expect of her. I began to swivel my ears in the direction of the conversation while trying to keep quiet as instructed, clutching the key in between my hoof and hoped that Flitter had a plan if things would go South. Thanks to my now really good pony ears (or Alicorn ears, I have yet to know) I was still able to listen to the conversation. “Well, what about your sibling over there?” I heard the guard pony asked. “Let’s hear how Cloud handles the pressure. Hope she can think of a believable backup story.” I thought nervously as I mentally crossed my fingers (hooves) for her. I could hear Cloud trot up before answering the guard in a nervous sounding voice which immediately set off alarm bells in my head as she spoke. “Well…I so…sorry but…I was just kind of scared to… open it when I… first saw you guys through the window. I am sorry for the… delay as well.” Cloud explained to my surprise, especially with how well her stuttering nervous tone helped her explanation as well. Of all this time I have come to know Cloudchaser as a pony, acting as a coward was really one of the last things I imagine she would ever do, and she just did it for ME, to cover me up in exchange for some of her pride, which she sometimes like to put on a pedestal. Or she actually was intimidated by them, who knows, but at least it did the job… or I like to believe it did the job, since I was still waiting for the guardspony’s reply, which by the way were some of the longest few seconds of my upturned life, as I was greeted with utter silence after Cloud’s explanation. I tensed up when the guard finally replied. “Well, don’t worry miss. It’s actually not the first time ponies were too scared to even cooperate with us. We Thestrals are… quite intimidating looking for you Equestrians. So no surprise or disrespect there.” The guard finally answered which made me sigh internally in relief. “Thank god these ponies are literally scared of almost everything.” I thought to myself as the exchange continued between the three. The guard asking questions regarding the incident and if they knew anything about it or had any clues on its source or owner. And with both Flitter and Cloud (mostly Flitter) telling him lies about not knowing anything and even coming up some possible ideas (which were also lies) of what it could have been and so on. After a short while though the conversation finally drew to a close as both Flitter and the guard finally did their final remarks. “Well, again, sorry for the intrusion miss Flitter, we are just very concerned for the safety of Equestria’s citizens, which is why we are conducting these actions. We can promise that normal day to day activities will resume soon once we have make sure that Cloudsdale is safe from any future disturbances. Have a nice day.” The guard say before I heard a set of hoofsteps moving away and the front door closing. I could hear both Flitter and Cloud sigh in relief as I carefully dared to peek my head around the corner to see if the coast was really clear or not. Thankfully it was, as I finally let go of a breath that I could swear I wasn’t holding as I made my way back into the living room. “Well that was somewhat nerve-racking.” Flitter commented while rubbing her forehead. I couldn’t have agreed more. Cloud nodded as she seemed to be on the edge still. “Yay! I didn’t know that you were such a good liar, sis. That’s normally my job.” Cloud added with a small chuckle at the end. “Yeah, I am pretty surprised as well. But I think you still hold that title pretty well with that wonderful performance you did in looking and acting all scared of him and such.” Flitter praised back which made Cloud’s chuckle turn into a more awkward one. “Yeah… that was… totally acting back there. Let’s go with that. Heh heh…” She replied sheepishly while rubbing the back of her neck and looking away. Flitter and I simply chuckled which turned Cloud’s cheeks red as she looked off and huffed from the embarrassment. “Thanks for…well standing up for me like that. You… you have just been… amazing to me since we met and… I just can’t thank you two enough for it.” I sincerely said as I smiled at them. Flitter smiled back. “Hey no problem, that’s what we are here for anyway. We wouldn’t have done it if we didn’t know that you are a good pony deep down, which you are.” She explained while placing a hoof onto my shoulder before continuing. “Whatever you did wasn’t really your fault, and was in fact completely out of your control and understanding, and I just couldn’t stand by and watch you get punished for something you weren’t really responsible for, so I decided to do something.” Flitter finished sincerely which made my smile go even wider than it already was. “Again… thank you.” I replied again. “No problem at all, that’s what friends are for.” She replied as she removed herself from my shoulder. It was than when Cloud stepped in and sniffing the air as if something was up or something. “Hey… uh, sis? Did... did you leave something on in the kitchen? Because… I can definitely smell something that shouldn’t be here.” Cloud commented. Flitter quickly went to panic mode as a stroke of realization suddenly hit her. “OH MY GOSH!! THE MILK RICE I WAS COOKING EARLIER!! I TOTALLY FORGOT!” She shouted before watching her zip back into the kitchen. I simply stood there as a sudden tap on my shoulder caused me to turn my head and saw that it was Cloud standing next to me smiling. “Hey, as Flitter said, we got your back. Even when I have to shed some of my dignity for it, you’re totally worth it in my opinion.” Cloud announced as she playfully knocked me on my shoulder. I smiled at her. “Thanks, that was really great of you as well. I am slowly sinking more and more in debt to you two, considering how many times and ways you just make my time here a lot easier to wade through.” I admitted while rubbing my shoulder. “Don’t worry yourself about that. As my sister already said, it’s what friends are for.” She responded with a wink before trotting off into the kitchen herself. I simply shook my head, ignoring the little wink she did as I too decided to head back into the kitchen to witness the mess that poor Flitter probably had to deal with now as a thought suddenly hit me. "Wait…I just remembered. What the heck was that lullaby again that Cloud hummed for me a few days back?" I thought as I entered the kitchen. “Darn it. Flitter, you burned breakfast.” Cloud announced which made me shake my head in amusement at the deadpan look Flitter was giving her for that. “Still...i am still very much surrounded by an army of fluffy eared ponies who want me… well, want me in chains, at least. I am still in very deep shit as we speak. Well… something like this was bound to happened anyway. Fucking OP Alicorn magic. ……………………………………………………………………………………… “Well… let’s see if I can crash at Flitter and Cloud’s place tonight, could save me allot of bits for a hotel if I can.” I muttered to myself as I trotted along the streets. Today I was forced to yet again take another trip to the central weather office, but this time having to attend some boring-ass meeting with all the other weather captains from all across Equestria, talking about stuff that we already knew anyway, and by the looks of it I wasn’t the only pony there thinking that. “What a waste of bucking time. Time I could have used for training, sleeping, or, dare i say, do my actual bucking job.” I thought, annoyed. “But hey at least it’s all done now and I can just finally…” I halted as I rounded a corner. “What the…?” I said completely stumped at the scene presented in front of me. There was a large crowd of ponies in front of me, arguing and standing in a semi circling around something in front of them, by the looks of it. I trotted closer to them as I noticed some very strange looking ponies standing above the roofs of some buildings looking down at me with surprisingly unnerving-looking cat like eyes, watching my every move as I slowly got closer to the crowd. “What do you mean the Cloud District is currently closed?” I heard a pony shout as I arrived at the back. I tried to stretch my neck to see what the heck was going on,but being a mare also does have its disadvantages, as bitterly as I feel having to admit it. One of which is being obviously shorter compared to stallions which really didn’t help with the fact that almost everypony standing at the back with me was indeed a stallion. I would just easily fly over them as I usually do, but a really deep feeling told me that if I ever tried that stunt with those weird… predatory ponies above me I would have a serious problem on my hooves. So I just decided to listen on, and hope that doing so would give me all the information I need to understand what the hay seems to be the problem here. “I am sorry sir, but individuals that are not residents of the Cloud district are prohibited from entering this part of the city while investigations are still underway.” I heard a deep and muscular voice reply which was met with somepony’s groan, probably the same guy who complained earlier. “But I have to! My cousin lives in there and i have to talk to him about-” I heard the same stallion argue back before he was quickly cut off by the guard (I would say). “Sir I already told you that non-residentials are NOT allowed to enter the cloud district until investigations have finished. Now I would suggest all of you ponies leave this check point at once before I have my fellow Thestrals DRAG you off instead!” I heard him repeat himself this time in a very annoyed and slightly angry tone which basically took everypony including me by surprise. “Geez, what the hay is suddenly up with this guy.” After that the crowd quickly dissipated, leaving only me standing in the middle of the road with the guard pony now fully visible in front of me who was guarding the bridge. I simply smiled nervously at him and his two buddies as their eyes finally fell upon me as well. Their leader (the one who was the talking earlier i would guess) was even looking quite annoyed at me. I hate to admit it, but these guys were intimidating, FAR more so than the normal golden armored guards that I have mostly seen. Probably has something to do with the fact that they all look predatory. Catlike eyes, long sharp fangs, leathery wings instead of normal feathered ones and overall a very dark tone and theme to them. I also could have sworn that one of them, for a second, was actually eying me hungrily, not in a naughty perverted kind of way but ACTUALLY seeing me as prey. Which really didn’t help my enthusiasm at all. “I suggest you leave just like all the other ponies. As I said nobody crosses these checkpoints unless they are….” The lead guy began before he was stopped by one of his goons as he started to whisper something into his puffy ears. Seriously, you would think that something so fluffy looking would make somepony look adorable or even downright ridiculous. But these guys simply shatter that with everything else that is basically going on with them. Again these are some of the strangest ponies -if they are even ponies- I have ever seen. Never in my life have I seen ponies that seem to perfectly mimic the look of vamponies so closely. In fact… now that I think about it they might actually BE VAMPONIES! At least that explains the predatory look and feel around them. But then again, if they are, how the hay can they even stay out in the middle of the day anyway? Don’t they naturally (or at least according to folklore) burn at the first touch of sunlight? I honestly don’t know and I honestly couldn’t even care less at the moment. Because I was surrounded by them with one of them seeming to stare directly into my soul as if I was its next meal…the snarls and low growls don’t help either. I shook my head, standing proud and making myself look as tough looking as possible by spreading my wings and puffing out my chest. Though that action quickly gave me an even harder more serious glare from all the other… bat-ponies on the roofs which quickly melted any confidence I might have gather just a few seconds ago. Only internally, I might add, as I was still trying to look somewhat strong from the outside regardless. It was then when the silent conversation between these two shadow guys finally ended as the lead guy again looked at me. “Are you by any chance Rainbow Dash, the newly so called element of Loyalty and one of the defeaters of Nightmare Moon?” He demanded while still eyeing me more calmly. Again… normally I would be boasting, just like I have been doing to anypony who asked the same question or called me out to be one of the new Elements of Harmony themselves. But these guys here were making it very hard for me to even stay optimistic about myself for a second in the way they seem to be eyeing me carefully, that and the fact that again one of them looked ready to pounce me at any moment, one of them even holding a hoof in front of him presumably to stop him if he ever tried. “Ye-yeah?” I casually answered and to my utter surprise (and slight relief) was meant with a nod from him as he lazily stepped to the side. “You can enter if you want.” He casually announced before he glared at me again. “BUT that doesn’t mean that you won’t be arrested if you are ever caught doing anything that might be viewed as disturbance or disruptions to our operations. So keep your hooves to yourself.” He added strongly before his features quickly softened again and gave me a hoof sign that I could cross the bridge. I was a bit hesitant for a moment but eventually nodded as I carefully trotted past him and his two wing-ponies to cross the bridge. Once I entered the district on the other side I was immediately greeted with even MORE of these night guard goons. Left and right patrolling and flying over the streets, in groups or just simply standing somewhere with spears, shields and other equipment that looked far more maintained and serious compared to their guard counterparts. They might even look ready for war, now that I think about it. “Jeez, is there some kind of upcoming war that I am not aware of? Or is it already over and they have now occupied a large chunk of the city now?” I continued my trot through the streets, ignoring and moving past a few patrols here and there while getting a few stares from them in the process before I finally reached the place I was planning to go since the beginning. Cloud Chaser and Flitter’s oversized home. Surprisingly though, there weren’t any guards on the street that the two Pegasus sisters occupied, which was a nice change of look and… feel, since I was finally away from all the suspicious stares I had been getting before getting here. “Maybe they know what the buck is going on here.” I muttered as I trotted up the front porch and began knocking on the door. ……………………………………………………………………………………… “Ugh… getting yourself clean with fur on your body is much harder than it seems, especially when a certain Pegasus splashes me with a mug of hot and sticky chocolate milk.” I thought to myself as the hot shower did its job in calming my nerves on everything that has been happening lately to me. I mean seriously, first my magic goes all apeshit, nearly causes a city wide Armageddon and nearly busting my head open in the process, than unsurprisingly the government shows up starts blockading the entire west part of the city in search of me, and now Cloudchaser somehow managed to spill my coat with sugary and very sticky chocolate and almost getting some of that onto my hat as well. By the way, did I even mention that it was bloody hot as well? The Hat is the only thing (besides my scarf and glasses) I have to remember my home with and the life I have permanently or hopefully momentarily lost since coming here. I will be crushed to see it get ruined or, even worse, lost. Plus, if its magical properties are to go by as well, I would be losing far more than just a hat. Again, a lot of things I would be DAMNED to lose at this point. “The hot chocolate still stings under my fur… Jeez that stuff was hot. How they hell was Cloud going to drink that, anyway?” I thought out loud as I poked the belly and… crotch area where it all landed, still looking somewhat red and feeling quite sore. “Thank God it missed my… well, you know.” The shower, though, did a very good job in numbing the pain while also relaxing my still chaotic mind and nerves. I personally have always liked showers, I would always stay in them far longer than it was necessary to just enjoy the warmth and relaxing feeling of it. Sure I would always waste a lot of water by doing so, but hey, it’s my thing, I guess. Plus, who can really deny the fact that taking a hot nice shower after a long and stressful day (or in my case…a few days in a row, in which I guess can be a good justification in staying in the shower just a few minutes longer than needed.) can feel like a true godsend, Another thing that still surprises me every freaking time is just how easy and natural it felt in cleaning myself with hooves. Using them to squeeze shampoo onto my noggin and wash my mane with them, to using liquid soap and rubbing it all over my furry body and how flexible both my forelegs -and by extension front hooves- generally were. Sure, I can’t properly grab something with them the same way I could with hands, but still, in terms of movement and flexibility, they seem to be almost on par with human arms and knuckles. After a few more minutes of cleaning up and simply relishing in the bliss of the warm water I stepped out of the shower, turning it off in the same way Flitter once showed me. “Huh. Got pretty good at it really quickly I have to say.” I dried myself up with a pre-prepared towel before exiting the bathroom. Both my fur, mane and tail were still all messy, but I really didn’t care about details like those, especially since brushing yourself alone without magic or someone’s aid was difficult and awkward as all heck, even more so when you consider the fact that certain… areas need to be brushed as well, like the flanks and the tail. Which turned out to be a real awkward blush fest for both Flitter and I during the first time she had to help me with that. Cloud, of course found that amusing every step of the way. Well, until she had to do it herself after Flitter simply called her over. Though, for some reason, when she was brushing me instead of her sister, I always secretly caught her staring at my flank when she thought nobody was looking. Did she… maybe develop some sort of interest in me? Well… only time can tell, I guess. Shrugging at these thoughts I made my way over to the living room while still drying my mane with a free hoof. “Hey, uh… Flitter? Could you maybe help me again with-” I announced before stopping in my tracks as I entered the living room, being greeted by a certain pony I was not expecting at all. “R-rainbow Dash?” I asked surprised as I spotted the mare sitting on a couch with both Cloud and Flitter. “Oh hey, Nava! How are you? I am here because of….” RD began before her eyes immediately went wide as her gaze fell upon me. I looked at her a bit confused at first before a realization suddenly hit me. I am completely naked, no hat, no scarf and most importantly no jacket. I was completely exposed in front of either the last or first pony I ever wanted to get myself exposed in front of! “Shit shit shit shit shit!!!” Was the only thought running through my brain as I simply stood there, the relaxation I got from the shower completely gone and out of the window at this point as I desperately tried to come up with some kind of good or, hell, ANY excuse for me having wings… and ultimately failing at it. “Uh… Hi Dash.” I greeted with a very awkward smile and waved of my hoof which unfortunately broke her out from her shocked state. “Dude… you have BUCKING WINGS??!!” “Well… the problems have just been doubled.” Chapter 18: Home free...almost Chapter 18: Home free… almost Edited by: Chrome Masquerade Proofread by: Rhawkas Well, this has to easily be the WORST day of my life, or more specifically, the worst WEEK of my life. First, my Magic creates chaos and almost splits my head in two while doing so. Second, an entire Thestral army gets dispatched to search for me and bite me in the ass with their razor sharp fangs, and third, I left myself to get exposed in front of Rainbow Dash, perhaps the worst possible moment where I can get myself exposed in. In the middle of a pony hunt where I am currently playing as the prey! “Note to self, always make sure to fully dry yourself off before exiting the bathroom and bring some clothes with you to change into afterwards.” But all of that is really irrelevant for now, as I still have the more immediate problem of explaining myself to perhaps one of the loudest ponies in the show, right behind Pinkie of course, with the irony being that it is much easier (at least to my knowledge) to force Pinkie Pie to keep a secret in comparison to Rainbow Dash. “I just hope RD can take it a little bit easier compared to Cloud and Flitter’s first reactions... Actually, come to think of it, they DID take it a lot easier than I originally expected. Great… that just makes this whole RD situation even more problematic.” I thought to myself as Dash was still looking at me as if I had just grown a second head… or a pair of wings, as the case may be. Flitter and Cloud were having their own reactions to this as well, but obviously not as extreme as Dashie’s, with Cloud simply shaking her head while Flitter’s expression was simply buried under a set of hooves. This is by far one of the biggest fuckups I’ve ever made, period, and all I did to achieve it was simply getting out of the shower. BRILLIANT! Just makes me wonder how far I can go when I am actually trying… Actually, let’s not. “Uh…Dash… I… I can explain…” I began as I dropped the towel. “Dude… how long?” Dashi responded while staring at me dumbstruck. “You mean the wings?” “Yeah… the freaking wings.” she deadpanned, rolling her eyes. “Well, um…” I began while shifting a bit awkwardly in place. “Since the… very beginning to be honest.” I replied while smiling sheepishly at her. She simply shook her head, probably trying to get herself out of her dumbstruck state before glaring back at me, a look that was really not making things easier, I might add. “So, you are telling me you have been an alicorn this entire time, similar to the princesses themselves?” She asked while still seeming somewhat in disbelief. “Um… well… kind of, but at the same time… not really.” I replied simply, which wasn’t really a complete lie as I was only an alicorn since the very beginning of my time on this world. RD, in comparison, just stared at me, utterly confused by my answer. After a moment, an idea seemed to have suddenly struck her, as she stood up with wide eyes. “Wait a min… it was you wasn’t it?” She accused as she got closer to me. “What do you mean?” I asked nervously as she was just inches away from my face. “The magical incident here in Cloudsdale.” She answered before continuing. “I read all about it in a newspaper that a strange and unknown magical phenomenon occurred here two days back. It was you, wasn’t it?” She asked again, this time with a more serious look and tone. I looked at her, my eyes wide as I started to sweat. To be honest, I was very much surprised to see that RD had somehow made that connection so quickly. I mean, it’s not really that difficult if you suddenly find out that one of your friends is actually an alicorn and just so happens to live right in the area where this phenomenon supposedly occurred. Just put two and two together and you’ve got a pretty good case on the table. But the fact that RD of all ponies managed to get it done so freaking quickly after being completely dumbstruck just a few moments ago is really something. Or am I just being a bit of a jerk and not giving her enough credit for her own intelligence? She has already proven to me before that she is not 100% similar to the Rainbow Dash I know from the show. She is actually quite smart and does think more, at times, before she says or acts on anything. Not as painfully brash or do I dare say… retarded as the Rainbow Dash I have seen and read of on both the internet and in fanfics. What am I even doing here? I have a real serious situation on my hands (or hooves, as the case may be now) and I once again let my own mind wander off into other places. I never learn, do I? I shake my head just as I always do to get my unfocused mind back into the game as I was still being stared down by a not-very-pleased-looking Rainbow Dash. Both Flitter and Cloud were about to step in but got quickly halted by Dash holding out a hoof in front of them, never breaking eye contact with me. “No. I want to hear it from HIM.” She coldly stated, which took both the mares and myself by complete surprise. I don’t know where this sudden switch of focus in her came from, but what I do know is that there is no path around this, judging by the stern glare she’s giving me. I inhaled and exhaled quietly to calm myself, to collect my thoughts and prepare myself for a talk I already knew would have come up at some point no matter what. Though to be honest, I never ever imagined that it would be this soon or in this kind of situation while blowing my cover so quickly in the most stupid way possible. “Yes… yes, it was me.” I finally admitted while trying to avoid her gaze. “But… But I was an accident, I swear. I… I didn’t do it on purpose. I didn’t even have any control at the time, for that matter. You… you can ask Flitter and Cloud to confirm this. They were with me when it happened.” I added in fear of getting her angry and possibly getting my ass handed to me for admitting it. Though, to my surprise, I wasn’t receiving any scolding or hitting from her. What I got instead was simple silence. Though what happened next was what really caused me to flinch back bit as all that greeted me was a neutral looking Dash. “Why?” “Huh?” I asked, confused at this sudden question. “Why didn’t you tell me anything?” She questioned, this time a bit softer and calmer. “About what?” “About everything. The fact that you were an alicorn all along, for example.” She asked once more, a question I honestly wasn’t expecting to hear from her. I was seriously expecting a lot of things after she gave me that serious glare earlier, but simply asking me why I haven’t been fully honest with her definitely wasn’t one of them, and somewhat out of character for her too, when compared to the one I know from my world’s stories. Yes, I know at this point I am just hammering it in, but again I have to say it. This is nothing like the show, or at the very least, under the surface it isn’t. Which, to be honest, makes me both cautious and intrigued at the same time, if that combination makes any sense. “What… what do you mean by that?” I asked again, still completely confused, a look that shared by both sisters behind her as well. “I… honestly don’t know.” RD quietly replied as she, for the first time, avoided my gaze to look at the floor. I was going to reply to that before RD beat me to it by looking back to me. “But still… why the BUCK didn’t you told me from the beginning, Nava?” Was her quick question, though this time I felt a bit more calmer and collected and better prepared to properly answer her. “It never came up. And also because I was afraid of how you would react, that’s why.” I answered her truthfully, which in turn made her look surprised for a change. “Why the hay would you be afraid of my reaction in the first place?” She asked while tilting her head in confusion. I sighed. “I honestly don’t know either. Paranoia, perhaps. It was just… too hard to say.” I admitted before simply rubbing my forehead with a hoof in dejection, feeling truly horrible. To be fair, now that I think back at it, I honestly had no legit reasons on hiding my true appearance for THAT long from her. Sure, during the very start the reasons were pretty understandable, with me having just arrived into this world all lost and confused, and without any concept or sense of guidance, and was still mostly intimidated and suspicious of a lot of things. I mean, I still am, to some degree, but not in the same level I was at the very beginning. Plus I knew of how hostile and suspicious RD can get in both the show and fics I read, especially early RD, long before I even came to this place. But I quickly learned that this world and the show I knew of back home have very distinct differences to one another, heck some of these differences are even mimicking what MY world had going on in the past if any of the history books I read here are anywhere near accurate. I snapped back into reality when a hoof suddenly landed on my shoulder. I looked up and saw that it was RD, and to my surprise she actually looked somewhat concerned for me. Not very noticeably, but I could still tell. “Hey, don’t worry. I mean, you have wings, so what? I don’t think having wings is going to suddenly make you into a different pony. In fact, knowing that one of my friends is actually an alicorn is, to be honest, really, really, cool, now that I think about it.” She explained while looking thoughtful the end before looking back at me with a smile. “Oh, and don’t worry, I won’t tell this to anypony, if that’s what you want, dude.” She quickly added. I was again taken aback by this, but eventually smiled thankfully at her, knowing that despite this outcome and the fact that I deceived her that she was still loyal to me. “Well she IS the element of Loyalty after all.” “Thank you, Dash… and again, I’m sorry for not having trusted you sooner.” I say, which in turn made nod in approval. “Nah, it's totally fine. You had your reasons for it. You're still cool in my books, Nava. Still the same awkward little dork I came to know.” She replied, which in turn made me roll my eyes playfully at the last statement. RD eventually removed her hoof from my shoulder before trotting back onto the couch and letting herself fall back onto it with a sigh, followed by me and the two sisters afterwards. “Well, one problem down and a REALLY big one to go.” I commented, which in turn caused RD to perk up again. “Oh yeah… forgot that you basically have an entire army breathing down your neck. Jeez, that’s really some serious heat you managed to attract onto yourself there.” She commented, which in turn made Cloud Chaser straighten up with a small grin on her face. “Well, I guess that means that somepony has finally trumped you when it comes to ATTRACTING HEAT to themselves.” Cloud Chaser announced with a sly smile, a comment which I quickly understood, as I simply shook my head followed by Flitter facehoofing and RD staring at her with a glare. “Oh shut up you, at least I had one or two coltfriends compared to your zero back then.” RD retorted, which in turn caused Cloud to shut up for now and both me and Flitter to chuckle. Not missing a beat, Flitter said, “You want some ice for that burn, sis?” earning a glare. “Oh, Cloud. Always there to drop a few unnecessary but still sometimes welcoming or funny comments to lighten the mood a bit. Also, I forgot my glasses.” “Hey uh… Nava? Do you still need some help with you mane and fur?” Flitter suddenly asked beside me. “Oh yeah… I am still somewhat of a wet fluffy mess aren’t I? Completely forgot.” I thought as I simply gave her a short nod. “Alright let me just go get the brush than.” Flitter announced before she got up to do just that, leaving me, Dash and Cloud alone in the room. “So… Nava, about your horn and magic?” RD suddenly asked. “Yeah… what about them?” I replied as I looked at her blurry form. “I am just wondering at this point. Do you even know how to control your magic in the first place? Or is there more that you haven’t told me yet?” She questioned. “Well… crap. Might as well tell her everything then, even the ones I know will greatly amuse her, I guess.” “I wonder how she will react when I tell her that I can't actually fly at all…” ……………………………………………………………………………………… “So what you are telling me, Sergeant, is that you haven’t found ANYTHING today?!” I shouted while slamming my hoof down hard on a poor, unfortunate desk. I looked down on it and was not surprised at all to see a deep imprint and very large cracks protruding off of it in all directions. I simply scuffed at it angrily before looking back at the Thestral in front of me. “Still need to remember to replace this table. since it’s not mine. Same for the large warehouse that I so forcefully occupied as a temporary base of operations here.” But that thought could wait as I had vastly more pressing matters to worry about… or more annoying matters, to be more precise, as something rarely gets anywhere near “pressing” to me. The Thestral Sergeant began to shift a little bit under my harsh gaze but still managed to do what I ask of him. “Well, as I said, ma’am, our search parties have currently found nothing and haven’t managed to gather anything useful regarding the possible source or culprit of the Cloudsdale incident. Even the residents themselves, after questioning them, weren’t able to offer any useful information so far. Most of them actually did just run away or hide from our parties and firmly locked the doors of their home. A pretty natural and expected reaction from… a prey species.” My sergeant explained staying as professional and disciplined as expected even as my rising anger was becoming more and more evident to him. “So basically we are still in the same spot in which we started?” I asked while gritting my teeth. The Thestral in front of me simply nodded, which finally broke the camel’s back for me as I immediately slammed my hoof again onto the already damaged desk, completely breaking it in two with the sheer force of my hit. With most of my anger now out, I immediately went back towards my Sergeant who seems to have not moved or even flinched from my sudden outburst. “Good. That’s what I have trained all of my fellow guard’s to do. Show no fear even when I am the source of it.” Where does all of this frustration and anger comes from? Well, for starters, just an hour ago a royal messenger arrived with a letter from both princesses, having learned of my extreme methods of conducting this investigation and have demanded that I withdraw my forces at once. To be honest, I personally couldn’t care less what Sunbutt thinks of my methods and to some degree with Lulu as well, especially regarding my track record of NEVER EVER having lost a trail before and having absolutely no interest of ever adding even ONE to the list. But, a promise of mutual respect I made with Lulu still forces me to honor her wishes, so in turn I am basically forced to disengage the operation before it could even last for a whole freaking DAY. “Much to the joy of the local populace, I am sure. I was originally also planning to have them actively search every single house one by one, but that would have been pushing it.” This situation is really the source of my anger, since it now basically forces me to just suck it up and live with my broken track record. ... Or do I? An idea quickly popped into my head. Just because I am prohibited from using an army to find or capture whatever we are looking for doesn’t mean I can’t just have a much smaller task force keeping an eye on this part of Cloudsdale anonymously. Now that I actually think about it, I should probably have done that from the very beginning and not let my usual anger get the better of my logical thinking. But hey, whatever. Scaring these little ponies was still an interesting distraction from our boredom, which I am sure a lot of my fellow Thestrals could easily agree on. With that idea in mind I went back to facing my Sergeant, much calmer and collected, to his relief, as I can tell by looking at his features. “Call off the platoons. We are closing this operation and returning to Canterlot.” I ordered, which was met with a quick salute to the chest. “Right away, Captain.” He replied before he quickly turned around to carry out my orders. “Oh, and please tell Sergeant Thera to report to me with her squad before I leave. I’ve got a special assignment for her.” I quickly added, to which he nodded before fully exiting the room and leaving me to my own devices. “I will find the source of that… strange force, and not even the princesses themselves will be able to stop me from doing so. They can try, though, if they want.” I thought to myself while looking out a window behind what used to be a desk beside me. “Ah, yes… still need to replace that quickly before I leave too. Midnight Gear better have my Lance ready and done when I get back or I WILL lock him out of his workshop and throw the key somewhere far away where he can’t find it.” ……………………………………………………………………………………… Well, this reaction was expected. Right now Rainbow Dash is looking at me as if I had just told her that I have a twin brother that looks 100% identical to me, which to be honest is actually somewhat true because of Silver Wing. But anyway, it doesn’t matter at the moment, or it normally would, but the relaxing sensation of someone brushing you is just feels so nerve-melting… in a good way, obviously. Now I understand why horses--or in this case ponies--like to be brushed, it really is immensely relaxing. Makes you also wonder how belly rubs and scratching behind the ears feel, but at this point I am just getting ahead of myself. I still have Rainbow Dash to worry about, not to mention an army of carnivorous ponies (or omnivores, more sensibly) patrolling around outside. I blinked to get my head back in the game as RD too seems to be regaining her own control again as she began to shake her head. “Dude… you can’t FLY?” RD repeated a second time. I nodded, which made RD facehoof. “I have absolutely no idea if I should be laughing at this or crying… I just… seriously, Nava, how the HAY can you not fly? You have perfectly good and BIG-looking wings, so how can it be that after all your life you have NOT ever capitalized on them?” Dash asked again once more in both frustration and disbelief. “That’s because I have acrophobia.” At the head tilt I received, I rephrased myself. “I am afraid of heights, ok? That’s why I haven’t bothered all this time to ever learn how to fly. Because me and high places have never seen eye to eye.” I finally admitted with a slight frustrated groan despite the pleasant brushing I was getting from Flitter. Did I also mentioned that I was practically laying belly down on her lap? If it wasn’t for that fact that I was telling RD all of my weaknesses and feeling somewhat frustrated on her constant overreactions I would be feeling a bit more awkward now especially with RD watching me getting groomed by a mare. A grown stallion getting groomed by a mare on her lap… to be honest, I never really bothered in making myself look MANLY anyway… partially because I am a stallion now. Yeah, really bad joke. There is the ”are you freaking kidding me?” look again from Dash, something that she has been using frequently since I accidentally revealed myself to her. She blinked a few times before, for the first time ever, she actually started to fall off the couch laughing as if there was no tomorrow, which might be true for me if any of these guards might happened to be just outside. I know for a fact that these bat-ponies have vastly better ears compared to regular ponies and it would be no surprise if one of them hears this… sudden laughter despite the fact that most ponies are fearful and on the edge around here is going to raise some suspicions among them, which will no doubt lead to further investigations. Though thankfully Flitter--once AGAIN--took the hint before I could voice my own concerns myself. “Dash, not so loud! Or you are going to attract unwanted attention.” She harshly whispered, though I am not sure why she whispered it rather than saying it normally, just like how she and all of us have been talking this entire time. Probably a force of habit. Thankfully though, that did the trick as Dash slowly started to calm down. After a few more chuckles she finally had the strength to get back up as she was still giggling to herself while doing so. “Dude… you… you're hilarious. A pony… with wings… that is afraid of heights! Oh, mare! This is… too good to be true.” She said in between chuckles as she eventually climbed back onto the couch beside Cloud. I simply grumble a bit while rubbing my forehead before looking back at her. “What do you mean by THAT? Fluttershy is the same way, so what makes ME so much more fun to laugh at?” I countered, which was met with a smirk from Dash. “Well, yeah, but the BIG difference here is that she is a mare with a very… complicated past. You… you’re a full grown stallion who ‘as far as I know’ doesn’t have that.” She explained while still holding that grin of hers. “That actually does make sense, to be honest.” Cloud suddenly added, which was quite unnecessary if you ask me. Flitter, as usual, was the only adult in the room as she got in between things once more. “You two, stop it. It’s actually not that rare to meet Pegasi who are or used to be scared of heights themselves. Look at Spitfire, for example. Before she even made the cut to join the Wonderbolts herself she was actually quite nervous whenever she was in the air. Obvious signs of having some fear of heights.” Flitter explained, which the three of us were taken completely by surprise by. Dash was the first to recover from that. “Wait… wait, wait, wait… Spitfire… the captain of the WONDERBOLTS used to be afraid of heights herself? Where the HAY did you got this information from?” Dash asked in disbelief, which was somewhat mimicked by Cloud’s own expression as well. “Well, I read it on an interview article in the Equestrian Weekly magazines.” Flitter answered with a shrug as she was finally done with my coat. I finally got off of her and sat up straight for the first time in the last 15 minutes and stretched myself a little bit to get some of the numbness out of my legs as the topic continued between them. “Seriously? I have never read that.” Cloud chaser commented. “That’s because you hardly read the Equestrian Weekly magazine at all, same for Dash, since she hardly does any reading herself anyway.” Flitter answered which immediately causes Dash to protest. “Hey, I read stuff! Just not the usual stuff like news and gossip magazines and such, I’m not stupid.” RD argued, which in turn made Flitter smirk. “Your grades say otherwise.” Flitter again countered, which in turn made RD frown and cross her hooves as she leaned back. “That has nothing to do with smarts. I just found most of this stuff unnecessary. I know for a fact that I won’t use any of that crap anyway, especially with the goal I had set for myself back then. That is why I actually had pretty good scores in math, science and physics compared to anything else.” She explained, which immediately made me perk up in shock. “Dash actually being pretty good in math, science and physics? Ok, now I am 100% certain that this world is NOT the same as the show! But to be honest, it kind of makes sense for a mare like her, whose goal is to join the Wonderbolts and become an aerial racer and stunt flyer. Those two are very math and physics heavy if you want to do well. The science, though, I’m not so sure.” I thought to myself. Never will I question Dash’s supposed intelligence ever again. At least THIS Dash, that is. “Oh yeah… forgot about those… never mind what I said. Sorry Rainbow.” Flitter admitted, which made Dash nod and smirk victoriously. “Quite amazing in how I seem to get very interesting information without even asking for it.” Though, since I was quite happy that all four of us were having a pretty normal conversation and momentarily forgetting about the dire situation that is still present just outside our door, I still feel the need that IT needs to be brought back up to the surface before we accidentally get careless again. “Uhm… guys there is still the whole ‘army looking for me’ problem just outside our home, so…” I began, which seemed to bring realization back into everyone before I could fully finish my sentence. “Oh, right. You’re still in a very deep hole here.” RD said while scratching the back of her head. The room got very quiet afterwards, with none of us seeming to have any ideas to add. To be honest, what else could be added anyway? It’s not like we four are capable of taking on a whole army… well, maybe I can if I knew how to control my powers, but that would seriously be the worst plan I could possibly execute. For one, it would definitely put me onto the wanted list, which means I would either live the rest of my days on the run or leave Equestria forever, if I can even be safe outside the borders, that is. Plus, afterwards, I would have no other place to go. Worst of all though, I would also be putting both Cloud and Flitter at risk as well, which is something I would never be able to forgive myself for, especially after everything that they have given me. Again, if the only way that all of this could finally meet its end is with me surrendering myself to whoever wants my tail, then I guess I will do it. Mostly just for both Flitter and Cloud’s sakes. And who knows? Maybe my judgment would be tame and I might have been paranoid over nothing this entire time. A distinct possibility. Nope. I have a gut feeling that I would be in a LOT of trouble when they know I exist, so hiding in this house and waiting until this storm passes sounds like a better idea. Yeah, let's go with that. “Well, I could maybe just roam around a bit, unsuspiciously of course and try and get some info or pattern on what, where, and when their patrols are. Then I can escort Nava somewhere where we can sneak out of the district and crash a bit in one of the hotels here in the city until it all blows over, or maybe even go straight for Ponyville for better safety.” RD suddenly suggested which made us all perk up at her. Cloud Chaser was the first to speak up. “That… could work… but it’s also pretty risky. I mean, what if you two suddenly get caught?” Cloud asked, concerned, a question that I was also asking myself after having heard Dash’s idea. Dash simply smirked. “They won’t, I don’t care how many of these guys there are, how good they are in combat or whatever weapons they might be carrying around. In fact, all that crap on them must be pretty heavy which means their speed would be drastically lower compared to a normal Pegasus. Heck, even if they would suddenly ditch all that stuff and pursue us they are still going to be dealing with the FASTEST flyer in all of Equestria.” Dash explained while crossing her hind legs and forelegs while looking smug. “All Nava needs to do is hold on tight and I will do the rest, it's actually not the first time I carried a pony while zipping around in the air, so it’s no biggie.” She quickly added. All three of us simply stared at her, and to be honest I was still feeling very unsure of her plan. “Cloud is right, there is just too much risk involved in this particular plan even IF RD’s abilities are true. There is just one tiny little flaw in this plan of hers. If we do get spotted then they will know exactly who to look for later IF we make it out of the city. Posters of my face will be present all over the land and then my days of living freely will be over. I either just turn myself in or somehow reach the border.” i thought. I was about to speak up when I noticed that during my spacing out RD had gotten off of the couch and was making her way to the front door. “Well, I am going to have a look around then. You three just sit tight and don’t make too much noise.” She announced before opening the door and stepping out. ”No! WAIT! DASH!” I called out as I stood up but before I could even reach the halfway point the door closed, leaving me and the two sisters alone in the living room. “Nava, why did you panic like that? Is something wrong?” Flitter asked as she trotted over beside me with a worried look, followed by Cloud who flanked me from the other side. I looked between them. “Well it’s just that-” I began before the front door suddenly opened again. All three of us tensed up as we thought the worst, but sighed when it was just Rainbow Dash again, stepping back inside looking quite… surprised? “Hey, Dash? Uh… why did you came back so quickly?” Cloud asked, a question both Flitter and I had on our minds as well. RD looked between the three of us before answering. “The Bat-ponies are leaving.” She simply answered, sounding and looking very surprised. We instantly mimicked her expression. “What? What do you mean by that?” I asked. “It means that the streets are empty and that they seem to be flying back to Canterlot, if the direction of their takeoff is anything to go by. Large groups of these guys are taking off as we speak. Take a look outside and see for yourself.” Dash explained before opening the door and beckoning us to come outside. Cloud and Flitter both went, as for myself, I decided to just use the windows instead for safety reasons. I gently moved the curtains to the side and, wouldn’t you know it, Dash was right. From my position I could clearly see squads upon squads of Thestral guards taking off and flying east, where Canterlot presumably is. I was in a slight state of disbelief, but was also relieved as I watched them all take off one by one and swiftly disappear over the rooftops of neighboring buildings. Is this it? Did I somehow get lucky once more? Or was this somehow Silver’s doing again and I just didn’t notice? “Nava, you lucky bastard.” I heard Rainbow Dash comment from outside as we all continued to just stand there and watch the unexpected departure of the Thestral army. “Lucky bastard indeed.” Chapter 19: Training Montage for Old and New /Chapter Chapter 19: Training Montage for Old and New/ Edited by: Chrome Masquerade Proofread by: Midnight Gear “Are you sure that I should be learning how to fly… this soon?” I asked nervously while scraping the dirt below me with my hoof. “THIS SOON? What the… you’re already a full grown stallion I would say it’s about high bucking time that you get these wings some air.” Dash retorted, though she wasn’t really aware of the fact that I really only had my wings for like just over 3 weeks or so. It has already been a couple of days since the whole “Getting swarmed by Thestrals” incident back in Cloudsdale which, according to Flitter, is now the second most engrossing paper story of the year followed right after the Cloudsdale magic disaster that happened before it, and knowing that I was basically responsible for both of them... It did NOT made me feel very proud about that “presumably” legendary achievement. After that though, Rainbow Dash had declared that she was going to make me “learn how to fly and get rid of that fear of heights” her personal mission which is WHY me, Dash, and even the two Pegasus sisters are now on an open grassy meadow just a few kilometers away and below Cloudsdale. How did we get down here you may ask? Well, let’s just say that it involved a blindfold, a strong mare who didn’t take no for an answer and A LOT of screaming and almost losing my breakfast. Saying that I was quite upset in the end afterwards was an understatement, it took Dash a whole 30 minutes to get me to even look at her. Surprisingly though it was Cloud this time who eventually helped me to calm down before I finally agreed on the idea that today was going to be my first ever lesson in becoming a bird. Which then leads us to the here and now, my annoyance quickly getting replaced with nervousness as I just realized what I have just gotten myself into. Though to be honest, the look Dash was giving me told me that my options were…pretty much nonexistent. She was going to teach me how to fly even if it was going to cost her sanity… which might actually have some levity to it. She began to carefully circle around me as I casually stood there, probably observing my wings and muscles on my back where my wings are obviously attached too. She even went so far as to grabbing one of my wings and pulling on them a bit, which was rather uncomfortable, to be honest. She started to hum to herself in thought before trotting back in front. “Oh, mare. We are going to have a lot of work to do.” She muttered to herself before looking back at me with a bit of a sigh. “Ok… let’s just start with the basics.” She announced as she opened her wings. “Let’s first try with a simple flapping exercise. Just flap your wings up and down normally, that way we can get some blood pumping into those muscles and warm them up for the more complicated exercises later.” She quickly explained as she casually began to flap her wings up and down to demonstrate. I nod as I tried to unhook my wings (I like to call it) in order to mimic Dash’s instructions. The problem, though, was that I had never really fully extended my wings before on my own, the only instances being accidents or when I simply relaxed my supposed wing muscles to let them fall onto the ground lazily but never in a way in how you un-flare them and then keeping them there, just like how you would easily do with an arm or a leg. All I really managed to achieve where some really awkward and uneven looking wing positions while just lazily twitching them up and down afterwards. I could heard Dash groan as she facehoof accompanied by some barely stifled snickering from behind. I began to feel really, really embarrassed after I saw the absolute comical and pathetic position my wings where in, the stifled laughter behind me not helping at all with the lack of self-confidence I was suffering from the sight. Dash eventually trotted back towards me not looking very pleased before she harshly pulled on my right wing which almost caused me fall over. Did I also mention that it was pretty painful as well? “Like this; you need to extend your wings like THIS, not just have them awkwardly dangle off from the side and then lazily move them up and down.” RD lectured while rapidly forcing my wing up and down with the same hoof she grabbed it with, again almost causing me to fall over and cry out in discomfort. “I swear, if this is somehow a joke, then let me tell it’s NOT freaking funny at all. Stop beating around the bush and take this seriously, Nava.” She harshly added before finally letting go of my wing with a glare. I glared right back at her after the shakiness in my head as subsided. “I AM taking this seriously, I have never really used my wings before EVER, so excuse me if seem a bit slow and stiff to you.” I retorted my tone firmly carrying the annoyance I was feeling. The two of us continued to glare at each other for a while before RD finally sighed. “Listen, I am just trying to help you get over your fear of heights and teach you how to fly. I mean, just look at these wings.” She explained as she gestured towards my wings with a hoof. “They are huge for a pony your size and look amazing with those silvery shining feathers in the middle… though not as amazing as mine of course, but still those things are MADE for flying and I will not -repeat- WILL NOT stand idly by and watch a being MADE to fly stay grounded for the rest of its life… or eternity… because, well… you’re an Alicorn. BUT you get the point!” RD explained glaring determinedly at me at the end of her speech. I quietly stared at her, not really sure if I should feel thankful or alarmed by her announcement. “Well, at least this actually looks and feels more like the rainbow Dash I know.” I thought to myself as I watched RD return to her original spot in front of me. “Now let’s try again, but this time do as I am doing and don’t you even THINK of slacking off in front of me. Now just repeat what I am doing.” Dash instructed as she once again began to flap her wings up and down before gesturing me with a hoof to do the same. I nod as I tried my best to mimic her movements with my own despite my lack of accurate motor control I have on my wing joints and muscles. At first it was difficult as expected but I soon found myself slowly getting the hang of how to move those wings in sync as my flapping became more and more accurate with every flap. I was slowly starting to feel a bit giddy before RD broke it by yelling at me like a sports coach I never had in my school days… and would have preferred to keep it that way as well. “FASTER! FLAP THEM FASTER! I WANT TO SEE SOME SWEAT TRICKLING DOWN YOUR FACE WHEN THIS IS DONE!” Dash shouted, which in turn automatically made me flap my wings faster in turn. “GOSH DARN IT. FASTER! MY FRIEND FLUTTERSHY CAN FLAP HER WINGS FASTER THAN YOU, SO SPEED UP, STUD!” RD commanded even louder which shocked me into flapping my wings as fast as I was physically capable of without ripping them off my back. I closed my eyes and clenched my teeth hard as I flapped my wings like I have never flapped them before (mostly because I haven’t). Sweat began to build up around my back and forehead as I could feel my wing muscles burning from the rapid stimulation I was given them. “Uh… Nava? You can slow down now. Uh, Nava? Hey!” I heard Dash call out through the rapid torrents of winds I was kicking up around me. Though I kept going, somehow, probably to prove something or whatever, as I even managed to increase my speed just a little bit more causing the noise of flapping wings and rushing winds to intensify around me. I was actually causing a small vortex around me. “NAVA! *cough *cough. Would you… would you STOP!? THAT’S ENOUGH!!!” I heard Dash yell within the noise, which finally forced me to slow myself down before eventually stopping completely with my wings feeling very sore and hanging lazily of my sides. For my part i was panting from exhaustion, with my tongue hanging out. I finally opened my eyes and was immediately greeted with a thick cloud of dust surrounded me, causing me to spit it out, retracting my tongue. The dust eventually subsided, revealing a somewhat brownish looking RD in front of me with a deadpanned look on her. I began to smile sheepishly after I noticed that both Flitter and Cloud had suffered the same fate. “Oops… Sorry?” Was all I managed to get out as I rubbed the back of my head awkwardly as RD’s gaze was still fixed on me. “Ugh… this is going to be a loooong day.” I heard Dash mutter under a hoof before looking back up at me with a very unpleased glare on her features. “Keep it up, buster and I am going to throw you into that lake over there.” She threatened with a neutral looking glare while pointing a hoof at said lake just a few meters behind her. That made me chuckle nervously which only caused her glare to intensify, which caused me to shut up, lowering my head and ears in defeat. “Yup… today is going to be a loooong day indeed.” ……………………………………………………………………………………… “Well at least it’s nice to finally have Acheron back, my trusty blood lance.” I thought to myself with a big sense of satisfaction as I held the ancient blood weapon out in front of me. This weapon is even older than me, herited from my father when he died gloriously in battle for the Equestrians 1000 years ago. Do I still feel sad about it? Yes. Do I still feel disheartened by the loss of my father? Somewhat. Will I ever admit it to anyone? Heck. No. I smiled at the ancient and powerful weapon in my hoof as I began to feel its crimson colored blade, tracing it down along it’s markings with a hoof just like you would trace it down along a lover before getting serious. Blood weapons or blood magic in general as far as i know are banned here in Equestria, but back at home it’s openly practiced and even studied to serious degrees, one of the reason being that blood magic and Thestral history pretty much going hoof to hoof. Though the making of blood magic imbued weapons such as mine have sadly been lost over the centuries, making items such as these a really rare sight to behold. Which just makes me even prouder to have one in my possessions. Acheron itself is what is known as a Sanguinem Mundi, a blood blade weapon. When transferred to a new owner it loses its power, but it takes on the strength of the first monster that one slays with it. I had felled an Elder Hydra with it, so you can just imagine... Shaking my head I immediately decided to end my musing and finally get back to work, i.e. paper work and stuff. Seriously, you do one freaking thing and what comes after is a mountain sized heap of paperwork and most of them are about reports, files and complains about angry or frightened ponies back from wherever. Cloudsdale in particular, this time, both regarding the magical incident itself AND my actions to respond to it. Did I already mention that I am a War Mare and not a bloody secretary?! I was about to start my long and torturous journey to filing these accursed papers when all of the sudden the front door to my office opened up. I was ready to scathe the interloper with some harsh words before I quickly noticed who exactly it was who had the courage to enter my office completely announced. “Greetings, Lulu.” I casually greeted her with a flat look. “Well yes. Greetings to you too, Glade, it has been a while hasn’t it?” The dark blue Alicorn monarch greeted. I crocked an eyebrow at that. “You mean us meeting? We already had our reunion right after you returned from your exile, dear Luna.” I questioned before looking back at the paper in front of me. I could hear her move up closer as I lifted my head back up again to look at her. “Not quite.” She responded with a shake of her head before continuing. “What we meant is that it has been a while since you overestimated a situation again.” She finally explained. I sighed, knowing full well at what she was implying. I hate to admit it, but sometimes I have a knack of overkilling things just because I sometimes let my own emotions get the better of my rational judgment. Luna, though, seemed to notice this, as a knowing smirk arose from her lips in an almost friendly gesture to taunt me a bit. I smirked back which finally broke up the awkwardness that dominated the room previously as both of us finally began to relax at each others presence. “You should really learn how to control your emotions a bit more, there, dear Glade, otherwise they might one day send you into some trouble.” Luna announced which in turn just made me huff at her before another smirk quickly graced my lips. “Funny… coming from someone like YOU.” I answered which quickly caused Luna’s smile to falter as she looked off to the side full of guilt and depression. My own smirk quickly dropped as i realized my mistake and sighted. “Sorry for that… didn’t mean to bring THAT to the table so very soon. We all have our demons. I was never good with talking anyway, being more of a mare of action rather than words.” I apologized sincerely, which thankfully lifted Lulu’s spirits a bit as she gave me a sad smile in return. “That is quite alright. We… have long learned from our errors and it is still a very welcome feeling to finally be back home and cured from the curse that has haunted us for so long. Though…” She explained before looking off the side again. ”Equestria seems to have changed a lot during our absence, and we are afraid that adapting to the new modern age might be… a daunting task indeed.” She finished as sadness again quickly entered her features once more. “Though…” She began again. “We are still happy to at least see that after 1000 years that you, dear Glade, haven’t changed much at all during that time. A quite welcome sight indeed when everything seems so… alienating around us. Still the same hot blooded mare I came to know.” Luna finally added this time with a true genuine smile on her muzzle for the first time as she looked down at me and winked. I chuckled as I finally let my paperwork drop for a while to give my old friend my full attention. “It’s also really nice to see that you haven’t changed much either, Luna. Still talking to yourself in third person like a complete mad girl.” I said with a chuckle which was mimicked by Lulu as well. “Well we… I mean… I know what you mean, It was actually one of the very first things we… I found out about my sister. That using the royal we has long gone out of fashion. Died out. Not a huge problem to overcome, but still… it’s going to take time to get used to.” Luna explained while rubbing the back of her head sheepishly. “Let me guess… you came here to have me teach you about modern speech and keep you up to date with whatever has changed during your absence?” I questioned knowingly, which was quickly confirmed by the Alicorn monarch nodding. “Our dear sister… I mean… My sister is still too busy on getting me up to date with the latest changes and evolutions on society, so I was forced to turn to the only other pony I knew well who might be able to guide me in this task. I would have also loved to ask the aid in one of our subjects, but, well… you already know the situation.” Luna explained, to which I simply shook my head at her last statement, knowing full well what she meant. “Well… whatever gives me a good excuse to NOT do all of this busywork here anyway. Sure, I guess I would enjoy acting as your personal tutor for a change… which is kind of funny, if you think about it. ME tutoring YOU, of all ponies.” I say as I finally got up from my desk to trot over to the front door. “Yes, I am quite aware of the irony of this situation myself.” Luna chuckled as she followed me out the door and out onto the hallways. “Though, I also came over to discuss about your… colourful method back in Cloudsdale and after having spotted it… Your blood weapon as well, dear Glade.” Luna quickly added which in turn made me just groan in response. “Don’t worry, Lulu. We can talk ALL about it privately back in the barracks archives once we get there.” I replied. “She better not ask for me to store my precious lance away somewhere so ponies can’t accidentally see it, or I might have to hit her in the head with it. Nothing separates me and the only item I have to remember my father by.” Chapter 20: Calm Before The Storm Chapter 20: The Calm Before the Storm Edited By: Chrome Masquerade Proofread By: Midnight Gear, and Rhawkas “ARGH! What the HAY am I MISSING!?” A very mare-like, darkly colored Thestral shouted in frustration. The young Thestral inventor and tinkerer named Midnight Gear had been trying desperately since Glade had given her blood lance to him (for crystal replacements) to try and study it, and he had hoped to perhaps unlock the secret of imbuing physical weapons with blood magic. This factor was actually the main reason why Gear had taken so damn long in returning his captain's Blood Weapon; In order to study it more closely in hopes of finally getting the answers, he needed to rediscover the fine process required to create one of the most deadly weapons/enchanted items in existence. Though, he would never tell Captain Glade that his long delays on fixing up her lance were because he was very carefully placing it under a multitude of magnifying glasses and other physical and magical examining tools in order to unlock its secrets. That would be a really bad idea. Glade would, without a doubt, have his head or tan his hide AT LEAST (and possibly both), and Gear knew that this was something he was determined to avoid at all costs. From self-experience, and whenever he blew up a wall or caused fires. It wasn't his fault that some misplaced spare parts almost destroyed his lab. Not… entirely, anyway. But now was not the time to reminisce about his past mistakes. He should be worrying about the consequences of causing more trouble for the Captain as she was already extremely frustrated. “All of my years of researching back in the national libraries and archives in both Pelepolos and Kazzas (the twin capitals of the Thestral homeland) and ALSO finally getting my hooves on an ACTUAL Blood Weapon and despite that I still barely returned with any meaningful results. This is ridiculous!!!” The fact that even having an actual Blood Weapon to study and still failing to unravel its secrets was the largest source of his frustration. Gear sighed as he performed some common breathing exercises to calm his fraying nerves. “A calm mind has much better chances of finding results and hidden information.” he reminded himself. “I might have missed something.” he thought as he immediately went back to look over the numerous notes he took during his studies and examinations. The small lamp on his workshop table produced enough light for him to clearly read the information recorded on them. Gear’s eyes continued to scan the information in front of him, moving from page to page, reading them up, down, left, right and sideways to make absolutely sure that he hadn’t missed anything that might still give him enough clues to help him move further down in finally cracking the Blood Weapon's code. The more he read and skimmed over the notes, the more his frustration slowly started to return until he finally had enough as he let out another loud cry and violently slammed his hooves on the table, knocking some notes and other things to the floor. “ARGH! THIS IS RIDICULOUS! EVERY FREAKING TIME I SKIM OVER THESE NOTES I ALWAYS HIT THE SAME ROADBLOCK AT THE END!” Midnight Gear shouted as he frantically began to pace around his workshop full of strange machines, both scientific and magical, and sometimes even a combination of both. “Material, material, material, every time I come to the end of my notes, I always come to the frustrating mystery of what material, what metal had been used to make these weapons in the first place. Just like the secret of infusing blood magic into them, the specific metal used to make these weapons--and how this metal was forged or made--has also been lost over the last thousand years. IT MAKES THIS SITUATION BEYOND MADDENING!” Gear continued his rant as he stomped a hoof into the stone floor. “GODS DAMN BUCK-BLASTED IDIOT WHO BURNED, LOST, OR EVEN STOLE THIS INFORMATION!” He shouted once more as he punched a nearby wall in frustration. “Hey, brainiac! Could you keep it down in there? The Captain is making her way over here, so I suggest that you keep it down before she hears you making another ruckus in there.” He heard the muffled voice of a Thestral say on the other side of his workshop's entrance, no doubt one of the guards/guinea pigs assigned to stand near his door. “Wa-wait… the Captain is coming… so soon?” Gear squeaked as his frustration quickly gave way to panic. “Crap! I was supposed to make more models of the hoof-sized thaumic detectors and present them to her.” He thought as he raced over to another table on the other side of his room where a white dirty blanket was covering several flat, round, compass-like objects. He quickly removed the blanket off the table revealing a large number of magic detectors carefully laid on it, twenty in total. The fact that there were only twenty caused the poor young stallion to panic even more, as he was originally ordered to make at least thirty of them. Unfortunately however, he got sidetracked once again in order to continue with his research on Blood Weapons and their creation, which was one of his main projects and goals in life. “She’s going to be mad. She's sooo going to be pissed at me again for not doing the job I’m paid to do!” Gear said in a panicked voice to himself as he quickly began to move the cover back over them. Gear is frightened by a lot of things, justified and not, but if he ever had to pick which thing, creature, situation, or pony he is the most afraid of, it would be, without a doubt, Captain Glade herself. He would rather pick an angry dragon over her any day of the week… especially knowing that she has slain one before back in Nassgardiath with her weapon before returning to Equestria… he should know… he was there. The former Kazzasian military commander had an aura of pure intimidation around her despite her… well, he had to admit, despite her muscular and perfectly toned body and beauty. Gear immediately began to blush at these thoughts before his daydreaming was swiftly interrupted by a series of knocks coming from the workshop's main door. Panic quickly entered his mind once more, as he swiftly rushed to the door to open it. He would have preferred to hide under a table in the hope that the knocking would finally go away but he knew a waiting Glade was a very unhappy Glade. Another mistake he was determined to never repeat. EVER. “He-hello Ca-Captain Glade… I uhm… uh…” Gear nervously greeted after opening his door before a lump in his throat stop him from saying anything more. The Night Guard Captain in front of him wore a disinterested expression as he looked up at her, making him even more nervous than he was before, knowing full well that this was just the calm before the storm that usually accompanied her disinterested moods. Glade simply stared down at him before she started. “Are the new magic detectors I ordered ready?” She asked immediately, straight to the point, which in turn made Gear’s heart rate increase even more. The poor stallion began to shudder a bit as he braced himself for the possible backlash he was going to receive when he told her the news. “Well… you see… Ca-Captain… I have, uh…” “Let me guess, you didn’t manage to finish all of them as I requested, have you?” Glade quickly cut in, a very displeased look on her face as she spoke. “Well uh… no.” Gear reluctantly answered in fear. From the corner of his eye (despite his situations) Gear could see that the guard on his right was rolling his eyes upon this revelation before once again looking forward to ignore the exchange and mind his own business. Gear quickly closed his eyes and braced himself for the awaiting shouting that was soon going to assault his ears. Imagine the confusion he felt when all he got was just a tired sigh. He hesitantly opened his eyes to see to his complete surprise a not-pissed-off, but a rather annoyed-looking Glade instead. To say that he was confused was an understatement. He was about to mentally debate with himself if this might be the real Glade or not before the Captain in front of him stopped him. “How many?” “Huh?” “I said, how many have you made so far?” Glade asked again, surprisingly calm and collected, which felt almost alien to the young inventor, considering the fact of just how long he's known her. Gear began to awkwardly shift around in place as he looked back at her. “Well I… only made… twenty so far. I… I was busy again… with other things… so… PLEASEDON’THURTME.” The young Thestral answered before fearfully shielding himself with his front legs as Glade simply stood there. “Ugh… I would have never imagined that teaching Luna about proper speech, modern magic and social development would be such a drag… not to mention the criticism she constantly kept bringing about my weapon and blood magic in general.” Glade muttered as she massaged her head tiredly with a hoof. “I don’t have the energy for this. Just show me the models you did manage to complete before I collapse or something.” Glade ordered, which caused the stallion in question to look up at her again in confusion before registering her orders as he frantically began to move from the entrance. “Su-sure right… r-right this way, C-Captain.” He stuttered as he gestured for the war veteran to enter. Both Thestrals made their way past many drawings, schematics and assorted machinery before they finally reached the table holding the items in question. “Here they are.” Gear announced as he carefully removed the blanket covering them. Glade trotted up beside the timid Thestral to inspect the collection of compass-like devices neatly spread out across the table. All of them shimmering and glittering in the dim light provided by the simple oil lanterns around the room, showing anyone just how fresh and untouched they really are. “Do they all work just as well as the prototype?” Glade ask while never breaking her observation of them. Gear gulped nervously before replying. “We-well ye-yes… yes, they do work, Ca-Captain. I-I have tested them all… pe-personally before… laying them all out on this ta-table.” Gear answered while moving awkwardly a bit next to the Captain. Glade nodded. ”Well, twenty are better than nothing. Good work, I guess.” This surprised Gear even more, but Glade went on. “Did you calibrate them to especially look for the unknown magic signature we were hunting back in Cloudsdale?” She asked, to which Gear quickly nodded. “ “Especially… that, but they will also… detect other magical si-signatures, in case the one we...we seek has been masked with another.” he said “Good, but I am still expecting the other ten to be done as well in two days, otherwise I am going to skin your hide.” Glade added, which made Gear gulp. “Ye-yes, of course, Ca-Captain… I will get to work r-right away.” Gear responded before quickly dashing to another corner of his shop, probably to work on the other ten detectors to avoid his captain’s wrath. Glade yawned before making her way back to the exit. “If anyone needs me, I will be in my quarters resting.” Pausing, she adds, “On second thought, please tell them not to disturb me if unless they want to have a hoof up their plot.” “Next time I am going to order one of my stallions to entertain Luna instead of me. What a long day.” The Captain thinks as she slowly makes her way to her Captain’s quarters within the night guard barracks. ……………………………………………………………………………………… “I *huff* am so *huff* beat. *huff* Need to *huff* lay down.” I say out loud in between breaths as I simply collapse on my stomach, mostly because my whole back and wings are sore from all the exercises I did today and I don’t want to risk hurting them by laying on my back instead. “Hey, you held yourself pretty good today for a couch potato. You didn’t slack off as much as I had imagined you would, and you actually pushed yourself pretty hard. Nice work. You definitely deserve a rest there, buddy.” RD commented as she came up in front of me with a grin. I grinned back tiredly as I looked up at her. “Well, it’s because I didn’t feel like getting wet today.” I commented back in between pants which made Dash only chuckle at my response. “That way of thinking is kind of pointless when you are already covered in sweat. I would say you still need to take a dip into that lake if you don’t want to smell like garbage later.” RD commented back with a smirk. “Yeah I guess I have to… plus it’s kind of warm today anyway, or maybe it’s just me.” I chuckled as I steadily got myself back up to sit on my rump, my wings still dangling lazily at my sides and still hurting. “Hey, guys! Over here! I brought food and drinks if you two want some.” I heard Flitter call out from the side and RD and I turned our heads to look at her. Right there under the shade of a lone standing tree in the middle of the large meadow were both Cloud and Flitter, sitting on what I could guess is a picnic blanket with a saddlebag and a basket sitting besides them. I was a bit confused by this, mainly because of the fact that I never remembered them ever taking a basket or a saddlebag with them when we first departed (or got kidnapped, in my case) from Cloudsdale. I was instantly removed from my thoughts as RD tapped me on the shoulder before making her way over to the two. I quickly stood back up on all fours as I followed her. “RD and I DID focus ourselves on just the training the entire time. It could be possible that Cloud and Flitter might have slipped off back to Cloudsdale during that and come back with all this stuff without RD or I noticing. But I can still ask just to be sure.” I thought to myself as we made it to the two pegasisters. “How was the training, you two?” Flitter asked while looking at us with a smile. “Yeah, did Nava continue to complain or did he finally stallion up and push himself without collapsing every five minutes?” Cloudchaser joked which caused Flitter to hit her lightly on the shoulder as she began to snicker. I was about so say something to that before RD butted in. “Actually, he did pretty well for himself. I was actually surprised.” Dash answered while sending a smile in my direction, which I returned in thanks. “Hey, that’s awesome! It’s nice to know that soon you are going to be soaring through the skies with us, Nava. Trust me, flying freely through the air for the first time is an experience you will never, EVER forget.” Cloud commented after her snickers from her previous joke died down, which was met with a happy nod by Flitter. “Well…” I began as I rubbed my head with a sheepish smile. “it sounds nice and all, but I am still far from ever flying as freely and casually as you guys, especially with my fear of heights still very much active and whatnot.” I admitted, which was swiftly met with a pat on my shoulder. “One step at a time, dude. And don’t worry; with me as your teacher you will never have to take another boring hot air balloon ride ever again.” Flitter reassured me, smiling, with a small chuckle at the end. I returned her smile as we made ourselves comfortable on the picnic blanket as Flitter began to pull stuff out from the large basket beside her. “By the way. How did you two have all of this stuff? I certainly didn’t remember any of it being brought with us when you three… abducted me.” I asked as Flitter began to spread some food and drinks out onto the blanket while Cloud helped her with it. “And also, how did you fit all of that in there?” I added “Well… one, you two were so very focused and engrossed in your wing exercises that we took the opportunity to quickly fly back home to get some food and other things so that we could have our lunch here together on the fields.” Flitter answered happily in which I nod. “And also, the basket is bigger than it might seem.” she added. I decided not to touch that one. “Well, could you maybe just give me something to drink then? I feel completely dehydrated after having done nothing but wing exercises the entire morning.” I requested while wiping some sweat that had collected on my forehead. “Yeah, could you toss me a bottle too? Today is actually pretty hot.” Dash announced. “Yeah, it is, isn’t it?” Flitter replied as she tossed both me and Dash a pair of water bottles, with RD catching hers expertly in her hoof while I was just thankful that I caught it on my chest rather than my face--as I originally feared I would. “Oops… sorry about that.” Flitter apologized with a sheepish grin. “Nah, its cool, I am somewhat of a terrible catch anyway. Plus you only hit my chest and not my head.” I assured her kindly as I carefully took off the bottle cup using my teeth before taking a long and refreshing gulp from it. From then on the lunch/picnic went on without any hiccups. Flitter, with the help of Cloud, placed sandwiches, a bowl of salad and packed slices of fruits in between us.We started to casually converse with one another as we peacefully ate. The shade of the tree above us and the gentle winds blowing through the lands in accompaniment to some very cold drinks were a blessing in the warm weather, especially for me as the winds help me to cool off my sweat-covered body. Afterwards, when our hunger and thirst had been satisfied, the four of us decided to simply relax for a while as we all sat or laid ourselves down on our respective corners and enjoyed the peace and scenery around us. This once again gave me the perfect time to reflect on everything that has happened to me so far since I arrived in this world. “So much has happened in such a small timespan it’s almost comical. Before, I was living a very normal and completely mundane life and then just out of the blue everything gets turned upside down, shoved sideways and thrown out the window with one crazy and completely unexpected event after another. From simple and boring, to chaotic and downright ridiculous. Was it all a change for the better? I honestly don’t know. Do I miss my old, formulaic life that was easy and simple? Probably, somewhat. Okay, maybe I don’t know either, especially judging by the fact that everything I have ever done and pursued back in my old life was for nothing, even though I really haven’t accomplished or done anything there to begin….” My train of thought paused when a realization suddenly struck me. It was true… I really didn’t accomplish ANYTHING back in my old life. I was lazy in school, so my grades were passable at best, but I had dreams and goals that I wanted to follow... but after years of doing so I heart-crushingly gave up on them because I realized that for some reason I couldn’t do it. I didn’t really have friends, or at the very least, only had a select few in the span of my entire life because I was more of a loner than a social type. Plus they didn’t last very long anyway, and half of them turned out more of a brand of annoyance because they spent more time making fun of me than actually being my friends! That eventually made me into the loner that I became. I was, or still am, a coward and afraid of change or things I don’t understand. And to top it all off, I even had mental issues as well. Besides having--or more precisely having HAD--good loving parents and a wide, supportive family, there really wasn’t a whole lot about me that screams good, or even, dare I say, GREAT. Which only makes me feel even more depressed about myself and the situation that I’m in now, knowing that I may never see my family again, and am likely presumed to be dead by them, or more precisely just mysteriously vanished. There probably wouldn’t be a body to find anyway, which only adds to the grief of what my parents must be feeling right now. “The longer I stay here in this world, the smaller and smaller my chances--and also the reasons--of returning back home seem to become. Really, what is there to return to? Not only that, but the bonds I’m already forging in this world as well, I can’t just leave all of this behind and bugger off. In my short time here I have already become really close with both Cloudchaser and Flitter, both accepting me as part of their family very quickly and hoping to use ME to fill the void that the death of their parents had created. I can’t possibly do that to them, leave them alone the same way their parents tragically had, especially with everything that they’ve done for me so far and…” With that, it just becomes this vicious cycle of wanting to return home and wanting to stay here for their sake and also for a chance for a fresh new start. Despite the fact that I normally am afraid of change and prefer things to stay formulaic and simple. Of course, this is all dependent on if I even CAN return home. If not, then obviously deciding would be easy, but then at the same time I will be met with the fact that I really can never see my family again, my old home, or my old simple life, despite the fact of how unaccomplished it was. I began to stare off into the distance, my ears resting against my head and my shoulders going slack as all these worrying and depressing thoughts entered my mind. “Hey, dude, are you ok? You look… kind of depressed there.” I heard Dash say as I felt a hoof being placed on my shoulder. I sighed, breaking my gaze from the meadow in front of me to look at her. She genuinely had a concerned look on her and by turning my head further I could tell that even Flitter and Cloud had curious looks as well, before looking back up front. I shook my head. “No… to be honest I don’t feel ok at all.” I admitted with another sad sigh as I lowered my head to look at my forelegs. “Want to talk about it, maybe?” Dashie suggested. “No… I’d rather not. But thanks for the concern, though.” I replied. “I don’t know how they will react if I ever tell them that I am actually from another world and another species altogether." I thought to myself as I looked back up to stare at the landscape around me. RD sighed. “Well alright, suit yourself. I obviously can’t force you if you don’t want to.” She replied as she removed her hoof from my shoulder. I could feel and hear shuffling coming from behind me, thanks to the blanket I was sitting on. From the corner of my eye I could see a light, teal-colored mane, letting me know that it was Flitter sitting down next to me as I felt another hoof placing itself just between my wings on my back, which made me flinch a bit from the sensation. “We all have problems, or things that make us sad or depressed. So you aren’t alone.” Flitter tried to reassure me while also giving me a smile. “I know.” I replied again with a sight. ”Again, thanks to trying, but… it’s something I have to deal with myself.” I added. “I understand, as Dash said, we can’t force you if you don't feel comfortable.” Flitter added, while giving my back a few gentle rubs - which actually did felt pretty good for my still sore muscles back there as my wings began to twitch a bit from the sensation. “Thanks, I wish I could tell, but… well… as you said, we all have our own problems to deal with.” I say with a small chuckle as I was slowly starting to feel better with all the voiced support and concern I was getting. Flitter simply smiled at this and RD happily nodded at my response. I smiled back at them, again thanking them for their support with the matter even though I never really asked for it. “Let’s just relax for the rest of the day, shall we? It’s way too hot today for further practicing anyway.” Dashie suggested as she eventually moved back to her previous spot, same for Flitter, who quickly moved back beside her sister to lay down. I followed their example as I turned around to lay myself down as well for a while, thought when I did I could have sworn that Cloud was looking a bit depressed off to the side before laying down and facing the tree. “Huh… what is going on with her all of a sudden?” I thought as I laid myself flat onto my belly (because my wings are still killing me) to simply relax for the day and try to not let my mind wander off again to my previously rekindled problems. “Hey, wait! I just got an idea!” RD suddenly announced right after I was about to close my eyes. We all lifted our heads to look at her while she sat up with a grin on her face before fixing her gaze towards me with the same smile. “As far as I know, you don’t have much control or understanding of your magic right?” Dash asked, to which I sat back up to be in eye level with her. “Well, uh... yeah. I actually have no control over my magic or know how to use it at all, it more has a mind of its own… kind of.” I replied while memories of the whole Cloudsdale incident came flashing back, making me shudder a bit. Dash nods as an all-knowing grin spread across her features. “Well, it’s because I might be friends with a certain pony that might be in a position to help you with you magic problem.” She explained to me, which immediately made me dread the idea that she was about to propose. “Oh god… it’s Twilight isn’t it? The very last pony besides the Princesses I want to meet right now.” I simply nod, signaling her to keep going. “Her name is Twilight Sparkle. The same mare you and I bumped into during the Summer Sun Celebration and the same mare I followed to defeat Nightmare Moon.” She announced, which immediately confirmed my fears. “Not only is she the Princess's personal student, but she is also the Element of Magic herself. So she would easily be the best pony you could ask in the topic of magic. She knows like... everything about it.” Dashie quickly added. “That is the problem, she is Celestia’s personal student and the nosiest pony from the show. She will immediately know that something about me is… unique by just looking at me and then she is going to go and lick Celestia’s hooves by telling her about it.” “Hey, yeah! That’s a great idea.” Flitter suddenly butted in. “I have heard about a lot of her--and the rest of you by extension--accomplishments against Nightmare Moon in the papers. If she really is the Element of Magic than she can certainly help Nava with his magic problem. What do you think, Nava?” She added before looking at me. At this point I was internally torn by the offer these two have suggested to me. “For one, Dash might be right. Twilight (besides the Princess, but that is a no-no) might be the only pony that could help me get my magic under control and also teach me how to use it. But if I do accept her help, I have to act very carefully in order for her not to get too suspicious of me. She WILL get suspicious, I just know it, I mean just look at my horn for example it's already almost over twice the size of a normal unicorn's horn and its sharper and pointer, almost like a spear in a sense. Which only leads me to the most prominent problem I have with her being selected as my personal teacher. Her curiosity and connection to the Princess. The other problem would be how to tell her the reason of why a full grown “unicorn” stallion doesn’t have control over his own magic. I need to somehow come up with a believable backstory to make it seem less strange, otherwise my ass is grass. What about Spike? I know for a fact that he would most likely not be at home with her every single time, but still, for a baby dragon he is also quite nifty in the noggin and quite observant as well. He was, after all, hatched and raised by Twilight. But then again, if I can somehow convince Twilight and Spike to not tell the Princess, then I can get yet another important pony to vouch for me when the day of Celestia’s finding out about me will come. The more that I can befriend, the less complicated things will be, and it will also eventually give me more freedom and options as well. I think I might give it a try. “No guts no glory” is how they always say it. Actually, wait a minute, why am I debating this? Shouldn’t they already know the risk that comes with it as well? Twilight doesn’t know that she is going to be teaching an alicorn how to become a demi-god.” I shook my head to throttle down my thought process a little bit to focus on them again. “Wait, wait… wait. Hold on a second. You girls seem to be missing a very important key detail here.” I announced as I turned my head to look at all three of them. “Really? What would that be?” Dash asked while tilting her head a little bit. I just casually pointing a hoof at my wings in which her eyes immediately widened in realizations. “Oooh yeah… that could cause some issues.” She commented while rubbing her head. “Well, why don’t you just keep wearing the jacket that my sister gave you? It does seem to do a pretty good job in keeping your wings hidden and bound.” Cloud put in, which was bit of a surprise, considering how quiet she was up until now. Dash shook her head. “No. That alone won’t work.” She answered before continuing. “From what I’ve come to know about Twilight, she is a really nosy and observant pony, and an egghead as well. And kind of has OCD when it comes to her schedules and studies.” She added while looking me over. “Then who else is going to teach Nava how to control his magic, then?” Flitter asked as she also looked me over. “I honestly don’t know, but at the same time we can still give it a try, I mean, if she does find out, I will be there to help him explain things to her… though I worry that might not be enough.” RD explained with a small whisper at the end that honestly made me re-think my previous decision again. But then again, it needs to happen somehow and someday if I ever want to prevent a second Cloudsdale incident from ever happening again. I need to fix my magic or at least learn how to control it… or learn how to control Silver Wing. Sorry Silver. “I’ll do it.” “Wait, what? Seriously?” Dash asked, surprised, which was mimicked by both Pegasi sisters as well. I nod. “Yes, you might be right about Twilight. I need to fix my lack of magic control at some point if I want to prevent another disaster from striking again just because I am still very much immature when it comes to my horn. The sooner I can get this sorted out the better, in my opinion.” I explain with a bit of determination in my tone. “But what if Twilight catches on to you?” Flitter asked, concerned. “I will just take care of that, then.” Dash suddenly announced as she stood up. “How?” Flitter asked, which made all of us look at Dash for the response. “I don’t know, to be honest.” RD casually answered with a shrug which made me facehoof. “I guess I will just have to go with him whenever they are going to have their magic lessons or whatever, and besides, it could also be interesting watching in how you make a mess of Twilight’s library with that horn of yours while she gets a tantrum because of that.” She quickly added with a small smirk at the end. I groaned. “The last part was really unnecessary, you do know that.” I say with a deadpan stare aimed at her. “I know, that’s why I said it. Duh.” She said as if it that the most obvious thing ever. I sighed, but decided to otherwise say nothing else about it. Though another question quickly entered my mind as I did so. A question I am sure even the two sisters are wondering right now. “What about housing? I would imagine that I will have to stay in Ponyville for a while because of my… lack of flying. Where am I going to stay while I have Twilight as my teacher and all?” I asked, which was quickly accompanied by a nod from Flitter and a… awkward side glance from Cloud. Rainbow Dash began to tap her chin as she contemplated her response. “Well, you could stay in my place if you want. I was originally going to offer Twilight’s library, but for the sake of safety we can’t have that. Another option could be AJ’s farm, they also have plenty of room there as well. Plus the Apples are honest ponies and won’t bother you too much besides probably hiring you to work on the farm so you don’t have to worry about your secret there too much.” RD listed her possibilities in front of us as she continued to look thoughtful. Those offers could work, Dash’s place would be no problem since I know for a fact that she lives in a cloud MANSION and not a simple house, plus my ability to walk on cloud naturally works as well, and the Apple’s farm house could also work for the same reasons RD just mentioned. I personally don’t mind having to work if I am going to temporary stay there for a while. That could easily be a good excuse to exercise and get myself into shape a bit more. I gave RD a nod on her ideas. “That could easily work.” I responded which was answered with a nod from RD as well. “Well then, I guess you can than just stay down here while we make our trip back to Ponyville later…on hoof of course. It’s not that far away from where we are at the moment we can easily get there before nightfall.” Dash explained while giving her wings a few test flaps and looking off at the direction where Ponyville is. “Cloud and I can go get your stuff from back home if you want while we also pack all of this up and take it up with us.” Flitter suggested as she and her sister got up from their position. “I guess so. I do feel naked without my scarf and my hat. “ I commented while thinking of the ONLY clothes that I have. “Oh and could you also get the jacket as well?” I asked as I realized the other missing and very important item. “I was actually going to bring that up. But yeah, no problem we can quickly get your stuff while you two just wait here for a bit.” Flitter answered with a nod. “Ugh. Waiting… not one of my favorite pastimes, I tell you.” Dashie commented with a groan. Flitter simply rolled her eyes. “Oh stop your complaining, Dash, just do what you always do when you’ve got nothing better to do: take a nap. Also could you all step off from the picnic blanket? I need to pack that up as well?” Flitter said, which made Dash roll her eyes as we all stepped off of said blanket so Flitter could fold it up. “You take the saddlebags, I’ll take the basket, ok Cloud?” Flitter asked as she took the basket handle in her mouth. “Yeah, yeah, hold on a moment.” Cloud responded with a bit of an annoyed tone which was somewhat strange but also not uncharacteristic of her. “Cloud has been… a bit off today since I went all depressed earlier, even more so when Dash made the suggestion of me staying in Ponyville for a while.” I thought to myself as I watched both Cloud and Flitter take off in the direction of Cloudsdale off in the distance. I simply shrugged as I trotted over towards the tree and sat myself against it. Dash followed me soon after as she sat herself down right next to me, sharing the shade of the tree with me as she eventually started to doze off a bit. The only sounds surrounding us were the rustling noise of leaves above us as another gentle breeze passed through us and out into the open fields. “Going back to Ponyville so soon huh? Why do I have this aching feeling that returning to Ponyville now is going to end up as a bad idea and for some unknown reason it’s not Twilight related at all?” Chapter 21: Back to Ponyville Chapter 21: Back to Ponyville Chapter 21: Back to Ponyville Edited by: Chrome Masquerade Proofread by: Midnight Gear PanzerBrony Metallicom Darkwip “Thanks for letting him stay here for a while, AJ.” Dash thanked the orange farm pony while she gave a nod of approval. “No problem Dash, a friend o’ yers is a friend o’ mine.” she then turned to me. “But, of course, that will mean that y’all will have t’ work at the farm from time to time as well to earn you keep here, friend.” Applejack explained. I nod. “No problem for me, really. Honestly I could probably use the exercise.” I replied with a smile. “True, true.” AJ replied with a nod as she seemed to observe my hind legs. “Well, anyway. I gotta go. See you in the morning Nava.” Dash announced as she gave her wings a few test flaps. “Sure thing. See you tomorrow as well, RD!” I told her back, to which she gave me a nod before taking off. AJ and I watched her for a while as she quickly disappeared into the night sky. AJ’s attention swiftly turned back to me after Dash had left our line of sight. “Well then, no point in standing here in the dark. C’mon, let me show you our home and the room where y’ can stay.” AJ suggested before leading the way and gesturing me with a hoof to follow. I did so. As the two of us made our way to the family farm house in the middle of the orchard, taking this moment to mentally reflect back on all the events that had happened today so far. After Flitter and Cloud had returned from Cloudsdale with all my stuff, they had decided to not go with Dash and me back to Ponyville simply because they had to go back to work the next day. Which was a bit of a shame, really, but they also promised to come visit me in Ponyville whenever they had free time in their hands. Hooves. Whatever. That in the end simply left just me and Dash to return to Ponyville via hooves and even managed to get there long before it was dawn. The first obvious choice was for me to stay at RD’s place, but that got scrapped when it was clear very, very quickly that my lack of flight could become a major problem. That and we both agreed that having her constantly carry me up and down would be both incredibly burdensome for her and very awkward and embarrassing for me. Which eventually lead to AJ’s place, where I am now following the orange mare through her family orchard to their home. “There it is, our home and our barn right next to it. Can ya see it?” AJ announced while gesturing at the direction she was looking at with a hoof. I followed her gaze, and to nobody's surprise I did manage to see the Apple Family’s farmhouse in the distance. I gave her a nod. “Yes, I can see it. Quite the cozy looking home you and your family have there. It looks very lovely.” I replied kindly which made her chuckle at my choice of words. “Well, thanks fer thinkin’ so. Most city folks actually don’t think so when they ever first lay eyes on our residence. Yer already alright in my book just for sayin’ that.” AJ replied with another chuckle. I just smiled before Applejack suddenly leaned in to whisper something in my ear. “By the way, if my little sister Apple Bloom ever gives ya too much trouble during your stay, just tell me. I’ll just send her off to keep her busy, or have her do chores.” Applejack whispered, which in turn made me chuckle a bit. “Don’t worry about It, AJ, I am somewhat good with kids. But I will keep that in mind regardless.” I responded, which made her nod before we finally reached the open area in which both the house and the farm are located. Once again, it was yet another picture-perfect image compared to the show, though a more realistic version, of course. AJ and I stepped onto the front porch before she went ahead and opened the door, gesturing for me to get in first as she held it open. “Gentlecolts first.” she said. I gave her a thankful smile and nod as I entered her home. Again, the interior was another picture-perfect illustration, though my thoughts were quickly stopped from making comparisons any further as AJ stepped into the house as well before closing the door. “WE GOT A VISITOR EVERYPONY! COME ON OUT AND GIVE HIM A WARM APPLE WELCOME!” AJ suddenly shouted with a lot of enthusiasm in her tone. The very first pony to show up after her announcement was an old looking mare, emerging from what looked to be the kitchen on the other side of the room. She had a green coat and snow white mane and tail, both of which were braided into buns. I immediately recognized her as the old Apple Family member Granny Smith herself. She slowly made her way over to us before greeting me with a warm and welcome smile that, only a grandmother could give. “Well hello there, young’un, I see that AJ finally brought a stallion over. Was actually about time, if you ask me. A mare only stays fertile for s’long before her years are finally past her. So what is your coltfriend’s name, Applejack?” Granny Smith announced which, cause both of me and AJ to look at her in both surprise and utter shock at the sheer boldness of her claims. Both me and AJ immediately started to frantically attempt to salvage whatever was left of this seriously awkward situation as we both started to tell her at the same time that we were not together, dating or even considering the activity that the old mare in front of us had proposed. Our mix and match words quickly got silenced when old Granny Smith began to chuckle. “Calm down ya two, I was just joking. Even an old mare like me deserves to poke fun at my little granddaughter some of the time.” Granny Smith announced with another chuckle at the end, a revelation that really didn’t help our situation as both AJ and I simply looking off to the side with embarrassed blushes on our cheeks. “Did somepony say we have visitors?” A very young voice suddenly perked up before a small yellow filly with a red mane quickly poked her head around the corner above a set stairs on the second floor. “Applebloom, aren’t ya supposed to be in bed?” Applejack questioned while giving the filly a deadpan look. The filly rolled her eyes at that before answering. “Well I was until somepony shouted and woke me up.” She countered which made AJ’s gaze soften. “Oh yeah… right.” AJ commented while rubbing the back of her head. I simply shook my head and smiled. This could possibly be a family where boredom in their lives would be something of a rarity. “Anyway, I am sure our guest here is mighty hungry. I would be rude not to offer a new guest anything drink or t’ eat. Would you maybe like some pie and some apple cider young’un?” Granny Smith suddenly offered with a kind smile, which I returned with sincerity, as I can already tell that I am going to really like her company. That and she does kind of remind me of my own grandmother, who had long since passed away, sadly. “That would be very kind of you, miss Granny Smith, but I don’t want to be rude in immediately asking for food and emptying your fridge on my first day.” I replied with a shy smile which was immediately countered by Granny Smith waving a foreleg dejectedly. “Nonsense, dear. We Apples take hospitality very serious-like. Our home is yer home, so please come, follow me t’ the kitchen so’s I can give ya two some of my homemade apple pie and family cider.” Granny Smith countered, in a friendly tone before trotting of back to the kitchen where she came from. “Also, just call me Granny or Granny Smith. None o’ that miss stuff.” I was about to object once more when my own stomach decided to betray me on the thought of sweet apples waiting for him. I mentally scolded my belly as AJ began to snicker beside me. She tapped me on the shoulder, which made me lift my head to look at her. “Come on. Granny Smith’s pies are some o’ the best -if not THE BEST- in all of Equestria. I promise ya will just love ‘em.” AJ suggested before heading over to the kitchen herself and motioning for me to follow her. I shrugged before following her to the kitchen. The kitchen itself was very simple. You had your basic looking country kitchen on the right side, while most of the left side was occupied by a large single dining table with a couple of chairs and a few wooden cupboards and paintings alongside the walls. There was even a beautiful looking 19th Century style clock hanging on the far end on the room. Again, a very simple but cozy looking setup with a 19th Century vibe to it. I’ll spare you the long details, but overall the late night dinner went off without a hitch. Applebloom was quickly sent back to bed after she came down to see and meet the new stranger (A.K.A me), while i, with the other two Apples simple ate and drank our fair amount of apple pie and cider. I decided to skip the cider simply because I don’t drink any alcohol, which i told them. both Applejack and Granny Smith, thankfully, were more than happy to bring up some of the non-alcoholic variety, which i gladly accepted. The apple pie was good as it was, though. I mean sweet heaven up above this was by far THE BEST and SWEETEST apple pie I have ever tasted in my entire life. The sweet juicy taste of freshly picked apples mixed in with a hint of cinnamon was just to die for. Again, i needed to remind myself not to go TOO crazy on all the sweets in this place. no matter how hard it would be to resist otherwise I might have to book a doctor’s appointment very soon or go to the dentist to get my teeth pulled out. Again, I have no idea how pony metabolism (or alicorn metabolism to be precise) actually works in this world when it comes to sweets or just overall food in general. But unless I can find some definite answers to these questions I am going to stick with my human knowledge of eating and drinking. Overall, beside the pie and cider, the rest of the late night dinner was pretty quick and straightforward, with Applejack simply introducing me to her elder while also explaining the situation I was in at the moment. Granny Smith, as expected, had absolutely no troubles with the idea of me temporarily living with them, and even went so far as personally offering that I could stay in their home as long as I wanted to, if I reconsidered the idea of taking her strong and independent granddaughter out on a date, the little old joker. Besides that, she was happy to announce that their home would be my home as long I was willing to help out at the farm from time to time, which I, of course had zero problems with. With all of that out of the way, AJ, myself and Granny Smith promptly excused ourselves for the night. Granny tiredly stumbled her way to her room, which was right next to the living room behind the main stairway, while AJ and I climbed up to the first floor. We passed a couple of doors until we eventually made it to the one on the right side of the corridor (who was also the very last door of it) with a large window at the end of it. “Alright, Nava, this’ll be yer room while ya stay here.” AJ announced before looking back down the corridor where we just came from. “And that very last door at th’ other end o’ the hall is the bathroom, in case you need it in th’ middle o’ the night.” AJ added while pointing a hoof at the very back end of the hall where indeed another door was. “But please make sure to always politely knock before opening it, alright? Nopony wants somepony to just suddenly waltz in while you’re takin’ a shower or committing to nature’s urges, if’n ya take my meanin’.” AJ quickly added while looking back at me. I gave a quick nod to that before my focus went back to the door as AJ opened it. After a soft *click* sound and a sudden flash of light that immediately illuminated the previously pitch-black interior, I was immediately greeted with a very well furnished and quite cozy-looking bedroom. It basically had everything my room had back in Cloudsdale, only with more knick-knacks and the constantly seen 19th century vibe to it. And also the floors and walls weren’t made of cloud. As i followed Applejack in, I decided to have a more in depth look around the room. The walls were covered in green-striped wallpaper (Actually, at a closer glance, that was paint, it just REALLY looked like wallpaper) while the floor retained its wooden look with a single large circular rug in the middle of it. A single large window was on the other side of the room right next to a simple-looking bed with sky blue curtains covering it. Again, overall this room looked, and felt very cozy and welcoming. A very nice place to stay in for a couple of days, or weeks, for sure. “Well, what d’ya think so far?” AJ suddenly asked, which forced me to end my thoughts and observations to look at her. I gave her a smile before replying. ”This room looks amazing. Really warm and cozy looking. I love it. Thanks again for allowing me to stay here for a while, AJ. It really is something.” I responded sincerely, which in turn made her smile grow. “Oh, it's nothin’. Don’t worry about it, sugarcube. As I said, a friend o’ Rainbow Dash’s is a friend o’ mine. Plus it would have been just plain rude of me to not offer you a stay at the farm knowing full well that you don’t have any other place to stay while being here in Ponyville.” AJ responded. “Anyway, don’t let me hold ya up too much longer, it’s already gettin’ late and I’m sure ya probably have a long day ahead of ya, just as I do. So goodnight, and see ya in the morning.” AJ quickly added before quickly excusing herself from the room and giving a final “goodnight!”, as she closed the door for me. With all that out of the way, I sighed, giving off a small yawn as exhaustion had finally kicked in, right on cue. Taking off my hat, scarf and glasses then placing everything on the small nightstand right next to the bed while keeping on my jacket (for obvious safety reasons) I climbed myself into my borrowed bed. “Crap, first got to turn off the lights, though.” I muttered as I quickly got back up. On impulse, i clapped my hooves twice. Nothing. “Worth a try.” i sighed as i went to hit the light switch right next to the door before swiftly crawling back into bed. “Well, here we go Nava. Tomorrow will be the start of me learning magic and possibly getting myself found out by perhaps the second last individual I want to get found out by.” I thought to myself as I simply laid on my back while staring up at white painted ceiling. I yawned. “Let that be future Nava’s problem and not mine. Let’s just try to get some sleep before I kill it with all my mental worrying and musing. I’ll definitely need my full strength in the morning if I am going to be spending it with the purple OCD mare.” I mentally told myself as sleepiness was finally taking its full toll on me as I slowly closed my eyes to drift off. It didn’t take long for the gentle and peaceful embrace of sleep, to finally take me off back to dreamland, or Silver land to be honest. ……………………………………………………………………………………… “Are you sure you don’t need any help with your apple bucking AJ? I am sure that 4 ha- I mean, eight hooves are better than four.” I tried to reason while watching her do the job she is known for doing on her family farm. It was more of an excuse, really, to postpone my meeting with Twilight as much as I possibly could. I do not know how and why it works the way it does, but you're confidence always automatically wavers at the very last second, when in the days prior to this I was all about the idea of going to meet Twilight and getting my magic fixed up or something. Kind of like agreeing on going with the operation your doctor recommended you take and then having second thoughts on it the day it's scheduled to take place, because that is exactly how I felt today. “Nope, not today. Me and Big Mac got it covered. Perhaps tomorrow when we hafta harvest a ton o’ apples fer a buyer all the way back in Manehattan. Havin’ some extra hooves helping us with that would be a huge load offa our flanks. So you just go ahead with Dash over there to whatever place you two are planning to go.” AJ answered before kicking yet another tree and watching the shiny red goodness rained down into pre-placed baskets below them. I was about to say something, when Dash suddenly tapped me on the side impatiently while giving me a slight annoyed look as well. “Come on, dude. stop beating around in the bushes already and let’s go. Why the hay do you suddenly feel so nervous anyway? We are just going to Twilight's.” Dash questioned while giving me a curious look. I was about to answer her as well before it was AJ turned to interrupted me. “You two’re going to Twi’s place? Why the hay would ya two go there anyway?” AJ asked curiously as she moved herself to another tree next to her. “Oh, just personal reasons. Nothing special.” RD answered quickly, which probably carried a completely different meaning, as AJ’s expression suddenly turned into a dangerous looking smirk. “Oh, ah see what th’ problem is now.” AJ responded while grinning at me. “Good luck on ya though. It’s actually pretty hard to get her off her books and studies and what not unless there is some sort of crisis or problem in town, even with your good looks and what not. But still, good luck though.” AJ responded while keeping her grin. I immediately began to blush as the misunderstanding of Rainbow’s answer hit home. “WHAT? NO! IT’S… IT'S NOT LIKE THAT AT ALL! WE WERE JUST PLANNING TO- ugh, never mind, let’s just go I guess.” I responded in panic before simple sighting in defeat, while keeping my head low. “There we go, that’s the spirit.” Dash announced happily, which only made me grumble. “Well, have a nice day then, you two and please keep out of trouble.” AJ announced before looking over at RD with a sudden serious look. “No, seriously. Please keep outta trouble. I know how you work and operate sometimes.” She swiftly added before bucking yet another tree with the same previous results. “Yeah, yeah I know. Whatevs.” Dash replied while rolling her eyes before leading the way out from the orchard. I quickly followed her after just waving my final goodbye to AJ. We eventually made it to the front fenced gate of the orchard and started trotting down the road to Ponyville. After I made sure that me and Dash were alone and out of earshot from the orange farm pony, I immediately decided to confront her about the strangely worded answer she gave AJ. “What the heck was that weird answer of yours back there? it obviously carried a wrong message and now AJ thinks that I have a crush on Twilight.” I questioned while glaring at the blue Pegasus mare beside me. She simply scuffed some dirt before punching me on the shoulder playfully with a smirk. “Hey, at least it’s better than just telling her straight the truth now isn’t it?” She explained before her smirk quickly grew. “Besides, if you could somehow get her to really, really like you then explaining yourself in front of her about your alicornhood might be a bit easier than it is now. You should give it a try. You already got the good looks to back it up anyways.” She added with a sly smile which in turn was greeted with me giving her a deadpan look instead. “For that matter, there’ every possibility that Applejack might know, that Dash wasn’t telling the truth back there.” i thought. “No, I am not seducing an OCD mare.” I replied. Plus I am still not ready to accept the idea of another species relationship, yet, despite the fact that I am currently a pony too. RD simply chuckled at that before the two of us continued the rest of our trek down the hill in silence. We very soon crossed a small bridge going across a brook connecting the town proper with the rest outside world. It’s actually quite surprising how a supposedly quiet little town in the countryside can have so much buzz and activity happening on its street during midday. Ponies were walking all around town, going places, talking to other ponies and just going on with their day to day life. Not as busy and full as Cloudsdale, of course, but still you can very much feel the life when walking through these dirt roads. Which was even more true when we passed by the local marketplace which really was more like a hornet's nest of ponies and activity. I even managed to spot Rarity somewhere in the distance talking to a random pony I have never seen before. But that isn’t really my issue at the moment, though I do have to say that it feels nice to be ignored now, for a change, unlike the first time I was here. Most we passed by where just too busy with their own stuff to ever truly pay me or even Dash any attention. I think I noticed one or two of them looking our way, but all they did was giving me friendly waves and smiles, which I politely returned. The biggest bonus, though, was the serious lack of pink as I was far from being in the mood for more of her shenanigans. Again, it didn’t take that long for us to finally reach the iconic golden oak’s library as Dash and I approached the front door. “Wait… I got an idea.” Dashie suddenly announced, while looking at me with a smile. “Which is?” I relied while curiously raising my eyebrow at her. “Let’s greet her in Germane.” She quickly offered with a grin. I took me a few moments to think on her offer before I nodded and gave her a smile as a reply. She nods back before getting ready to knock on the door before she suddenly stopped herself as she looked back at me with a bit of worry etched on her features. “Are you sure you are going to be ok with this?” She questioned. “Once Twi opens this door and sees you for the first time there will be no turning back at that point.” She added, which in turn made again think about my decision and the obvious risk it was going to have. I started to feel nervous again and having second doubts on my plans, but I quickly shook them all out of my mind as I gave RD a nod to answer her. “I’m already standing at the front door of Twilight’s home anyway. Might as well go through with this and hope for the best.” I thought to myself as RD started to knock on the door a couple of times before standing back. “Spike, could you maybe get that door for me?” We heard a muffled voice say, undoubtedly Twilight judging by the femininity of that voice. “I can’t Twi, I am currently busy with the dishes.” We heard another voice shout back, no doubt Spike, for obvious reasons. “I wonder what she might be doing that would keep her so busy as not to open the door herself?” I whispered to Dash as the little exchange behind the door continued on. “Probably sticking her muzzle in a book as usual. I did once told you that she is a real studying buff.” RD whispered back before we heard a muffled groan coming from the other side of the door. “Fine, fine. I will get it then.” We heard Twilight moan out as we heard a set of clip clopping hooves moving closer to the front door. I quickly stepped to the side a bit so that Twilight wasn’t able to see me right away when the door suddenly opened and reviling the purple bookish unicorn herself. “Guten tag, Twilight! Wie gehts wie stehts?” Rainbow dash greeted which immediately caused the unicorn to pause and look at her sideways, confused. “…what?” I simply heard her reply which was basically my cue to step in and add my two cents as well. “Genau wie geht es den so twilight altes haus, wie läuft den so seit du in ponyville eingezogen bist?” I added with a smile after I revealed myself by stepping to stand next to Dash. Twilight at this point just had a completely dumbfounded look with her head slightly tilted to the side as her mouth hang wide open. “…HUH?” Was her only reaction after a few seconds of just standing there which finally caused us to laugh out loud at her expense. She eventually shook her head as our laughter continued, glaring at the both of us before we eventually calmed down. “Oh man you should have seen your face, Twi.” RD chuckled while still trying to catch her breath. “I have never, ever seen a pony look so lost and confused before in my life. Oh, mare. Priceless.” RD added as she finally managed to get control of herself with a few more breaths. “Well, at least it’s good to know that somepony is having a carefree day.” Twilight commented with a deadpan look which immediately made me stop and think on why she looked somewhat stressed out today. “She must probably be doing some sort of study again and probably getting frustrated when she wasn’t getting the answers she was looking for.” I thought to myself as I moved my head a bit to the side to have a sneak peek behind Twilight, and wouldn’t you know it I was right as the main library room was nothing but a mess of papers and books laying on the floors. Twilight's gaze suddenly landed on me when I did that, which quickly forced me to retreat my head back while looking off the side awkwardly as I felt a sudden sense of nervousness wash over me. “Uhm… Rainbow Dash, who is this stallion with you?” She asked while eye me curiously. “He is a friend of mine, and actually the main reason why I am here, before you start asking.” Dash replied while stepping close to me. “Also, you already met him before.” She quickly added which suddenly caused Twilight to sport a look of realization before her gaze swiftly fell back on me. “Hey, yeah! I remember you.” Twilight announced. “You were with Rainbow Dash during the Summer Sun Celebration when we bumped into each other.” She swiftly added before her gaze suddenly rose, most definitely focused on my horn, which was confirmed when her eyes suddenly went wide. “Dear Celestia, how is it possible for a unicorn to have such a long horn?” Twilight suddenly shouted out which caused me to flinch away a bit. “A simple ‘hi’ would have done fine as well, Twilight.” RD complained as she too was affected by her friend’s sudden outburst. “Quickly, come inside.” Twilight suddenly blurted out before we suddenly found ourselves getting gripped by Twilight’s magic before being forcefully pulled into the library as the door behind us closed. The magic on us was quickly released as the two of us fell flat onto our flanks. I groaned in discomfort as I picked myself up to rub my sore flank. RD did the same as a highly annoyed look was present. “Twilight, what the HAY was that for?” She questioned, with a glare aimed at the unicorn. Twilight simply ignored the blue Pegasus as her gaze was still very much fixed on me. More specifically, my horn. Suddenly I regret my decision in going to Twilight in the first place. I really should have stayed in AJ’s instead. “For a unicorn to have such a long and sharp looking horn should be impossible, even with the sometimes rare natural occurrence with some unicorns being born with longer horns.” Twilight commented to herself as she began to circle me a bit like a hungry shark. “Curious Twilight is worst Twilight.” I thought to myself as she continued in her disregard for personal space, with her even starting to poke my horn with her hoof which was really uncomfortable. Now I know why she had no friends prior to her arrival in Ponyville, when Twilight is like this she is absolutely horrible in the social category. I was really starting to feel nervous and uncomfortable at this point which was luckily noticed by RD as she came up to break the tension. “TWILIGHT THIS IS HORRIBLE!” RD suddenly shouted which immediately caused the both of us to flinch but thankfully that also meant that Twilight’s attention was finally diverted away from me and instead focused on the rainbow mare behind her. “What is it, Rainbow Dash? Did something suddenly happen? What is wrong?” Twilight asked with an alarmed look. “Oh this is just so incredibly horrible, I can’t believe it.” Dash continued on dramatically while holding her head with her hoofs in a very distressed looking manner which only caused Twilight to almost panic even more. “What, what is it Rainbow? WHAT EXACTLY IS SO HORRIBLE?” Twilight shouted in the end in panic. “That my friend is acting like a complete CUNT RIGHT NOW!” RD suddenly announced as her fake distress suddenly changed into a glare aimed at the now shocked unicorn in front of her. Most probably from the harsh swear word RD used on her, which I honestly didn’t expect either. “Wha…what?” Twilight stumbled back. Dash, still glaring at her, continued. “We originally came here to ask YOU for help with a problem, my friend over here has, but instead of just simply saying ‘hello’ or ‘what is your name’ you start treating him more like as a source of your endless research rather than as a pony.” Dashie ranted on as she slowly advanced at the now timid looking unicorn. I was honestly shocked and surprised at Dash’s hostility as well, but decided to just keep my mouth shut as I knew from a fact that a pissed off Rainbow Dash is a Rainbow Dash you’d rather not want to stay in the way of, at least according to the show and fanfics back home. Element of Loyalty and all that i guess. Spike at some point must have noticed the sudden commotions within the main room as well as he stood there at the kitchen entrance with an interesting looking pink apron on him. Just like me he was wise enough to just keep out of the way as he slowly retreated back into the kitchen to continue to do whatever he was doing before. My focus swiftly went back to the two mares in front of me as Dash was still slowly advancing towards Twilight while she was fearfully backing off before her flank eventually made contact with the opposite bookshelves behind her and trapping herself for the blue Pegasus in front of her. RD stopped in front of her as their snouts were just millimeters away from touching one another as she continued on with her rant. “ALSO, didn’t the princess personally instruct you to study the social effects of friendship? Wouldn’t a new pony entering your home be the perfect opportunity to actually learn more about friendship by-oh I don’t know- being friendly to him and not start questioning the length of his horn -despite the fact of how kinky that may sound to some-. Also this place reeks. Have you ever left you home or even took a shower today? Because I know you definitely need it. Spending all of your time barricading yourself inside your home is the COMPLETE OPPOSITE of what you are supposed to be doing according to the princess. So stop doing whatever nerdy stuff you are doing, get out there and start hanging out with ponies especially with me and the rest of the girls since it already has been DAYS since we last ever saw mane or tail from you.” RD finally finished her rant before she took a few steps back, panting slightly, to give the now shocked unicorn her personal space back. I was beyond shocked as well, not just because of RD’s behavior, but also at how much sense and how many good points she made during her rant. You know what, I like MY Rainbow Dash WAY more than the original. She is vastly more observant and more intelligently towards her actions than the Rainbow Dash from the cartoon show. Twilight eventually relaxed and sighed as she sat down on her haunches. Her ears were splayed back as she looked down onto the floor in shame. “I’m sorry.” Twilight began before lifting her head and looking at both me, dash and the cluster fuck of a room before sighing again. “You’re right. I did behave poorly and neglected anypony for the last couple of days for the sake of more research which was not friendship related at all.” She continued before looking back at me. “Also sorry for.. .getting all up close and personal and treating you more like a thing rather than a pony. Sometimes my own curiosity can really get the better of me and the way I look and present myself to anypony, especially new ponies.” Twilight apologized while giving a genuine look of guilt towards me. I simply gave her a smile to show that there were no hard feelings which thankfully seemed to work as she eventually gave me a sad smile in return before quickly switching her attention back to Rainbow who was still standing at the same spot. “You are also right about me spending too much time bunkered up in here and not spending enough time with you and the girls. I will try to make a personal mental note to fix that so we can all “hang out” some more, as you always like to say it.” Twilight announced to RD with another sorry look which she accepted as she finally gave off a smile of her own before rubbing the back of her neck. “Nah, its cool Twi. We all have things that keep us busy, I guess… I just went somewhat overboard back there with my yelling. I guess I was just incredibly annoyed by getting forcefully pulled in and dropped onto my ass without warning and then-. Well, the point is that I am sorry for yelling at you back there.” Rainbow Dash offered while looking off to the side with a sheepish smile. “It’s ok. I guess I deserved it somewhat, and was a good wake up call for me to not keep myself locked up all the time.” Twilight replied with a smile. “So we’re good then.” RD answered, to which Twilight replied with a nod. RD trotted over to Twilight to help her back up on all fours before the two mares shared a quick hug together and chuckled. I smiled at this scene. Personally witnessing just how strong their friendship has already grown with one another was cheesy but also kind of heartwarming as well. I wanted to say something in between all of this but rather decided against it so these two could have their little private moment together. When suddenly an interesting realization quickly entered my head which I only managed to notice now since the tension has been lifted. “Is it just me or does Twilight also somewhat have a different feel to her?” I thought to myself which didn’t really go far as I noticed Twilight herself trotting up to me with her usual dorky smile that everybody knows and loves. She cleared her throat. “Well anyway, my name is Twilight Sparkle. I am Ponyville’s librarian. Who might you be?” Twilight introduced herself while reaching a hoof out. I meet her hoof with mine as I gave it a friendly shake while introducing myself as well. “Well uhm it’s nice to meet you Twilight Sparkle. My name is Nava… just Nava.” I introduced myself, a bit awkwardly, though, because… well, new pony and none other than princess follower herself, which she seemed to notice as she giggled a bit to herself as we let go from one another. “Again, sorry for my completely uncalled for behavior earlier. Really, I feel quite ashamed just because of it.” Twilight commented while scuffing the ground with a hoof awkwardly. I again just shook my head and gave her a smile, which eventually made her smile as well, pretty much defusing whatever tension was left. “So uh… about the reason why you two are here in the first place?” Twilight suddenly started, getting straight to the point, by the look of it. “Well, here we go.” I thought to myself as I mentally prepared myself for what was to come. Why? Because at this point I have mentally decided to just get clean and truthful with her. I don’t know why this is the decision I came up with, but I have decided to just throw caution out the window and hope for the best, again. Will this bite me in the ass? Probably, but at the same time I am slowly starting to get tired of all this secrecy and lying. That and I know for a fact that she will eventually find out one way or another, so let’s just get it out of the way now and save myself a lot of headaches later on. “Let’s see how this goes then.” ……………………………………………………………………………………… “Well here we are, the quiet little country town of Ponyville. Don’t know why the captain felt it necessary to send ME out here in state of one of her fellow guards I would seriously rather in my shop then have to go to a town...full of strangers." Gear thought to himself nervously as he exited the train. Once again the captain has kicked her out of his comfort zone to do something other than sit in his shop all day to quot ‘get rid of his ridiculous introvert problem’ that he has. “These Equestrian trains are so slow, weak and weirdly colorful, just like the makers. Ugh, I am so tempted to talk to the train conductor and ask him to make SERIOUS upgrades on these slow primitive things, it’s almost comical in just how far behind these ponies are in terms of actual advancements compared to the outside world. But...i guess that is the price you have to pay for a 1000 year of harmony and peace and whatnot. Which is nice but...it also caused stagnation in both magical and technological research” Gear mentally mused as he made sure that the brown cloak he was wearing was perfectly covering his form. Seriously, the first thing ponies do when seeing an actual Thestral… -or anything else that is not pony in general- is to slowly back away or run into the closest building and barricade themselves in. For a predatory species like Thestrals he can understand since it is just natural for prey to run away from anything that has sharp eyes and sharp teeth. But she even once heard tales of Zebras and Minotaurs getting the same treatment half the time, which even someone as shy and secluded like him finds it ridiculous. Gear shook his head. “No time in self meddling, time to actually get some progress done so i can get out of here and back to my sweet, sweet dark and little workshop.” Gear thought to himself as he reached into his saddle-bags to pull out one of his own inventions that he was given prior to her departure. His Magic detector, in layman's terms. The needle and the crystals gave away a soft glow when he held it up to him, telling him that it was working perfectly before placing it back into the bag before refocusing his gaze back at the bustling town in front of him. “Need to find a hotel or an inn to stay in as well while I am forced to stay here for a while, so i can hide in and continue my work in peace. If this town is even large enough to hold such establishments that is.” Gear once again mentally noted as he made his way off the ramp in the train station and trotted his way into the town. The needle on the magic detector giving of soft twitches as if it was detecting something. Chapter 22: The Plot Thickens...For Better Or Worse Chapter 22: The plot thickens…for better or worse Edited by: Chrome Masquerade Proofread by: Midnight Gear “Okay, just follow the needle and I’ll find this new source of magic and be able to work in relative peace, or perhaps I should move to Ponyville, it seems much less distracting than Canterlot,” As Midnight Gear was walking along the main path in Ponyville, he did not notice a certain pink mare look at him and rush off elsewhere, perhaps to prepare a welcome party, nor did he notice the split-second confusion of the townsponies. “Hmm... I could improve the design and internal mechanisms a bit and add a few more diverse options of magical signatures, although I couldn’t possibly add Harmonic Magic as an option, studying let alone wielding that sort of magic would be an impressive feat and this town has all six of the bearers of the elements and the Tree of Harmony nearby.” While shaking his head, Gear said bemusedly “These townsponies hardly realize how lucky they truly are.” “LOOK OUT!” shouted a young tomboy-ish voice. Looking ahead, Gear managed to avoid the oncoming orange filly on a scooter and stop her with a sweep of his wing due to his guard reflexes. “D... do be more c... caref... ful with that sc... scooter of yours,” Gear said. While looking at her scooter he continued. “Perhaps you sh... should think of installing b... brakes in it.” “Nah, I kinda like the rush it gives me when I can’t stop and go super-fast, mister.” replied the orange filly. “We... well then, be more careful and try not to c... crash into other p... ponies,” Midnight advised while continuing on his way to find the source of the unique magical signature he was tracking. “Where was I? Ah! This magical signature is quite unique if it has never been studied or even recorded before. This makes it much harder to track. But, while unique, this works against it in terms of hiding, due to the fact that it is one of a kind and easy to follow and trace once you know what you’re looking for.” As Gear looked up, he noticed he was standing in front of a library named ‘The Golden Oaks Library’. Excitement coursed through him as he began thinking, “Aha! I’ve found it! Now I shall prove all of them wrong and perhaps be able to study this new form of magic.” Instantly, he rushed in and shouted... ……………………………………………………………………………………… “Well…” I began as I tried my best to formulate the right words I wanted to say. “Well, here goes nothing then, I guess. Fingers… or in my case, hooves crossed and let’s hope for the best.” I thought to myself as Twilight gave me her full attention while Dash in the background gave me an encouraging look, despite looking somewhat worried herself. “Ok, Twilight… the truth is that-” I began but didn’t really get too far with my long and probably broken explanation, for all of the sudden the main front door of the library busted open with a loud crash which caused us all of jump in fright. “HA! SO IT'S YOU!!! I KNEW THAT MY INVENTION WASN’T LYING TO ME, AND PROVING THAT IT WORKS AS WELL. HA! I SHOWED THOSE NEIGHSAYERS!” A young male voice suddenly shouted, which only added to both of our shock and surprise at this unexpected event. Rainbow Dash was the first to react as she immediately took to the air and dive bombed directly towards the intruder at the doorway. “No, wait! I was actually just-” was all that the young stallion could nervously sputter out before he suddenly found himself tackled by a rather speedy rainbow colored mare and back out of the library. A long sliding sound, followed by a loud crash echoed from the outside as both Twi and I were still stunned. We both eventually shook our heads and looked to one another before the two of us dashed out of the library and after the two as the sound of struggling was audible. What I saw the moment we made it outside the library and out onto the roads was… honestly something I expected. Dash was standing above the brown hooded stallion, pinning the poor guy down expertly while the victim in question was trying desperately to get the mare off him. Very unsuccessfully, I might add. A crowd quickly began to form as these two still continued to struggle alone against the wall of a house opposite the library. Twilight and I got closer to the scuffle as the two of them began to argue with one another… or more like pleading for the stallion. “Please get o… off of me! I… I was just trying to… follow and… determine the source… of an unknown magical signature!” The timid sounding stallion tried to explain as his struggling slowly began to die out. Dash, on the other hand simply snorted as she glared down at the cloaked stud while making sure that he stayed pinned under her forelegs. “Yeah sure. Cut the horseapples and stop struggling before I am tempted to knock you out instead. I know what you are. You’re one of those sharp-toothed bat-ponies that occupied Cloudsdale a while back.” Dash accused before using one of her wings to remove the hood from the stallion's head and revealing him fully for the whole town to see. What I saw left me surprised, to say the least. "A Thestral? What is a lone Thestral doing here?" I thought to myself as I kept my distance from it by standing behind Twilight and the rest of the crowd. Dash, on the other hand (hoof), continued her glare after she realized that her assumption was right. “Twilight.” She suddenly called out while keeping her gaze fixed on the fearful Thestral under her. “Go take and hold him with your magic and bring him back into the library and into the basement.” She commanded with a type of tone I have never heard or seen before of her, which again was highly surprising. And more than a bit frightening. “Wait… what? Why?” Twilight questioned confused. “Don’t ask questions. Just DO IT!” Dash demanded with a shout at the end, which caused Twilight to flinch a bit. “Alright, alright. Fine. Just… just step out of the way when I have him.” Twilight submitted before her horn quickly began to glow in a soft purple hue, which was mimicked on the Thestral’s body. Dash immediately stepped away, allowing Twilight to lift the Thestral stallion off the ground and over and between her and Dash. Whispers started to circulate from the now dozens of bystanders who surrounded us as Twilight began to gently levitate the stock still Thestral back toward her library. We, of course, followed her, with RD hovering right behind the now obviously nervous looking stud suspended in Twi’s field to keep a close on him by my guess. “Uhm…what are you three going to do with me?” The timid Thestral questioned as Twilight ducked him through the door. “Interrogate you. Duh. What do you think?” Dash responded as she landed back onto the ground to fallow Twilight through the main door. I stopped right before entering the library as I began to look back behind me, seeing the crowd previously there slowly disperse. I looked down at my hooves as I started to think on this new situation we were (or more like I was) stuck in. “Can I ever get a break from all of this? Just this once? I could mentally say more to this, but I don’t want to tempt fate by even thinking about it.” I thought to myself as I again started to look around me some more. To be honest, I really shouldn’t be that surprised that stuff just immediately started to go crazy once more, out of nowhere. This has pretty much been my whole new life since I get here. And yes, I am calling this my new life because… what else am I going to call it? New world, new body, new challenges that I may or may not conquer at all, pretty much new life material in my mind, even more so if I am going to stay here, or would be forced to stay here. I shook my head. “So much for my plan of just flat out telling Twilight the truth. Now with this new event having crashed itself through the window -or in this case door- I guess it would now be a bad time to be telling her.” I again thought to myself as I could hear some ruckus from the inside. “HEY Nava! Are you coming too or what? Better come back inside in case more of these Bat-pony hybrids are still lurking around town.” I heard Dash call out from within the library which immediately stopped my thoughts. “Well… I guess this situation could also be a blessing in disguise, because I still have this nagging feeling in my head that telling Twi about my… alicorn-hood would have possibly backfired on me.” I mentally mused as I made my way back inside of Twilight's messy library to see what both these mares will do to the Thestral. ……………………………………………………………………………………… “Being all alone at home with nothing else to do is the worst.” I muttered as I simply laid flat on the couch. With Flitter having gone off to work while I unexpectedly got a day off thanks to some really outstanding work from one of our co-workers the other day I am now basically trapped in this house for a whole day with nothing better to do than just lay flat on my stomach and occasionally swish my tail back and forth. I know it has only been a day since Nava had temporarily moved to Ponyville in hopes in getting that frantic horn of his fixed up, but it’s already enough to make this place feel so lifeless and empty without him around. Which is actually kind of strange, given that he hadn’t really been living that long with us to begin with, but yet again he just seems so interesting and mysterious on his own. I mean seriously, what pony could ever say that they are friends with, or even lived together with a freaking alicorn! Though, that’s not the main thing that makes him so interesting and even somewhat fun to be around. It’s mostly because of his introvert type personally. The fact that he is basically has the powers of a demigod while also being a complete dork and honestly, kind of a pussy is… kind of cute in my opinion. I immediately blushed when that particular realization hit me before I shook my head to get these ideas out of my mind quickly. “Though to be honest, I guess I can admit to myself that he is rather cute, since I am alone.” I whispered to myself as my tail continued to swish back and forth. I sighed as I laid myself down onto my crossed fore hoofs while letting my tail do its own thing back there. “He might have only been with us for a couple of weeks, but he has already made our normally mundane lives so much more interesting than it had been these last few years.” I thought to myself as I started to close my eyes while remembering father and mother. I began to softly hum the lullaby that our father used to sing for us when we were just little foals. Whenever I feel sad and lonely I usually start to hum it automatically, either openly or in my head if I don’t want ponies to hear me hum it. I hummed it all the way to the end and repeated it a couple of times to try to pass the time, though for some reason it didn’t help me as much this time as it normally does, as I was still feeling rather lonely and bored. I sighed again as I rolled myself onto my back before opening my eyes to stare at the white ceiling above me, my thoughts once again wandering back to Nava. “I wonder what Nava might be doing right about now? Did he already talk to Twilight and manage to convince her to help him with his magic problem without getting himself found out by her?” I wondered as I moved my forelegs under my head to support it better. “You know, we did agree that we can come over there to visit him whenever we want, but I would seriously take almost half a day to just fly there myself, plus I can’t just leave without sis; she would be pissed if I did that.” I thought to myself some more. I know this seems a bit too soon and also somewhat ridiculous to want to visit him, even though it has only been a whole day, basically, since he “moved out” of our home, but this place really doesn’t feel the same anymore without him being around. Plus I also don’t have anything to tease around anymore as well. My sister had stopped playing along with my antics over a year ago so she obviously won’t be an option in that subject. I moved my eyes to the clock on the far side of the wall I was facing to check the time. “Still three more hours before sis comes back from her shift at the weather factory. Damn, time really crawls by when you are all alone with nothing else to do or talk to.” I muttered before rolling myself back onto my belly. My tail once again swayed back and forth almost on its own as I started to once again think about the timid alicorn again. Seriously, though. Why the hay can’t get him out of my mind lately, since we were forced to leave him with Dashie to move over to Ponyville? My mind just has the tendency to randomly move to him. I know that he feels very interesting and also a bit mysterious, since neither me or sis really know much about him, but he can’t possibly be that interesting for my mind to continuously wander to him… at least to me… right? I started to groan as I buried my face into the fabric of the couch. “Ahhh… I can’t take this laying around alone and doing nothing anymore. And also why is my tail actively moving back and forth on its own? I am not on heat, it’s not that time of the year yet…or at least I don’t... think... so.” I groaned out into the sofa before lifting my head back up to glare at my self-conscious tail. “Stop!” I commented out loud, which thankfully did the trick as my tail quickly fell limp onto my flank. I smiled a bit to myself at this as I laid my head back down onto my forelegs, or at least that is what I was planning to do when both my mind and tail had, once again, different ideas. Nava back in the forefront and my tail beginning to casually wave back and forth again. “You know what, I might as well just go see what we have sitting around in the fridge and get my mind some well needed rest of all this wondering. Plus it’s long past lunch time as well, and I haven’t eating anything yet.” I muttered to myself as I pushed myself off the couch with a bit of a grunt. As if on cue, my stomach immediately began to voice its concerns when I mentioned ‘past lunch’, which only solidified my decision even more to quickly grab some cold grub from the fridge, maybe even snatch something that actually belongs to Flitter and eat that instead just to piss her off and then just retreat myself back to my room to doze off a bit. Maybe even pulling out my special box from under my bed to at least have SOMETHING to do while waiting around in the house. That, and it IS a perfect time to open it up now, since I am all alone in the first place. I actually felt myself get a bit excited at those thoughts as i casually made my way over to the kitchen to get myself something to nibble on before following on my plans to just relax for the rest of the day. “Maybe I can convince Flitter later to -hopefully- travel to Ponyville together tomorrow and to see how Nava is doing there?” ……………………………………………………………………………………… “Alright buddy. Speak or I am going to start shouting into your so-called sensitive ears loud enough to make them ring.” Dash threatened as she shone a really bright table light right at the terrified and expertly bound Thestral trapped on an old wooden chair. Who knew that Dash could do an impression of a cliché 1960’s style interrogator? All that was missing is a trench coat and a fedora and the image would be completed. Actually, I could just give her mine and it'd be close enough. “Please, I have already told the truth! I wasn’t part of the whole Cloudsdale occupation incident. I was actually in my workshop at the barracks, doing my own thing, I didn’t even hear about it until right after it was already over!” The timid looking Thestral replied, as sweat was slowly dripping down from his forehead, clearly visible thanks to the glare of the table light shined directly at his panicked looking expression. Actually, now that I had a better look at him, he does have a face somewhat similar to mine, having a muzzle that looks so much more likened to a mare’s than a stallion’s. Kind of weird, though, when you think about it. Mostly because the reason I have a much smaller and more slender looking muzzle compared to most stallions is probably because I was a European in origin before coming here. We do tend to have much narrower and pointier noses compared to others. But it could also be just because of me because… well I designed him this way myself. I rubbed my head as Twilight suddenly stepped up with a bit of a frown on her face. “Rainbow Dash, I think you are taking this just a bit too far now. Even if he was part of the whole Cloudsdale incident I heard (and read) about. These Bat-ponies are actually the primary members of the newly reformed night guard after Princess Luna’s return… or at least that is what Princess Celestia has told me in one of her letters.” Twilight explained as she stepped up to stand right next to the chair-bound captive. Dash scoffed at this before switching her gaze to her. “You wouldn’t understand Twi. You weren’t IN Cloudsdale at the time like I was. Some of them were even looking at me funny as if I was food. These guys mean business so I am NOT taking chances with this one either.” Dash retorted which made the Thestral in front of him suddenly light up in realization. I am not talking about the lamp, though. “Well, one of those might have been Ivan or Sigurd. They were always some of the more…extreme ones so to speak. Especially since they used to be Thestral Berserkers before joining the guard.” The Thestral explained, suddenly not looking or sounding so scared anymore and in more of a lecture mode. How such a sudden switch can work I don’t know, but at least it meant that the poor guy has some momentary rest from all the stress he found himself under. “Wait a minute...“ Twilight began as the explanation of what the Thestral said registered to her. “They allowed a brutal, literally bloodthirsty pony to join the Equestrian Night Guard?” She questioned in shock and slight concern, which caused the stud in question to look awkwardly to the side. “I don’t know, I… I am not part of the… whole recruitment program, or know how It even functions… in the first place. I am just an inventor and actually got forcefully drafted because of it.” The Thestral explained, suddenly being back to his normal timid self again. That thought immediately got Twilight's attention as her previous concerns suddenly got replaced by a glimmer in her eyes after he mentioned ‘inventor’. “Wait…did you say that you are actually an inventor? Like an actual one with all the magic and science behind it?” The Thestral simply nodded, or as much as his ropes even round his forehead allow him too. “Well… yes. But… why do you ask?” He asked as his interest was slightly piqued as well. “Well, it’s because I am a researcher myself, an expert in the subject of magic and Princess Celestia's personal student.” She explained with a smile, a revelation that quickly replaced the Thestral’s fear with overall curiosity and even slight excitement. “You research the fields of magic as well? Oh this is so interesting! It’s pretty rare these days to find someone with the same fields of study as mine.” He commented as a sparkle swiftly developed in his slit-pupiled eyes. “Wait, hold on a second. Aren’t we getting a bit sidetracked here?” Dash questioned, slightly dumbfounded by this sudden switch of focus. To be honest I actually found this cartoonish turnaround a bit amusing. “When two smarties find one another then the world around them might as well be nonexistent.” “Hold on, Rainbow Dash. This pony might actually have knowledge never seen before here in Equestria. Just think about the possibilities!” Twilight replied with a little squeak of excitement at the end. Dash, of course, was not impressed at all. “Are you serious?” she began, while giving her friend a strange look. “This guy is one of those bat-pony freaks that occupied the Cloud District back in Cloudsdale and almost caused a mass panic. You can’t possibly take this stud for granted?” She tried to argue before I stepped in and placed my hoof onto her shoulder to get her attention. “Leave her. In fact, as far as I can tell, these two will keep one another busy for quite a while. I mean, look and listen to them, two nerds in one room.” I whispered to her while pointing a hoof at them which RD followed. “I wouldn’t be surprised if these two just keep talking nonstop about science and magic for the whole week.” I quickly added, or at least so I thought because Equestria sometimes operates with cartoon-like physics and logic. “Yeah… I guess you might be right.” RD eventually sighed as the other two cranked the science talk to eleven. I nodded before looking at those two. “Kind of funny, actually, how both of them look really excited now, even with the timid stallion still bound to the chair.” I chuckled, which made RD smile a bit as well. “Well, two eggheads go well together, I guess.” She said with a smile before looking back at me. “But wait… what about the… you know?” RD asked, the meaning of it quickly registering in me. I scratched the back of my head. “Well… to be honest I kind of prefer it like this.” I began before looking at her. “To be honest I still don’t really trust her with keeping my whole alicorn thing a secret. Kind of a blessing in disguise when this Thestral barged in earlier, shouting that he had found me. With these two now too occupied with one another’s magic and science knowledge, they will eventually forget about me. Probably.” I whispered to her while the two eggheads still keep on talking about stuff I honestly don’t understand. Dash rubbed the back of her neck. “Well, I can actually see your logic here.” She answered. “But still... what about you getting that horn of yours fixed? If not Twilight, then who?” She asked as I turned myself around to trot back up the stairs and out of the basement. “Well, do you maybe know any other unicorn who might be able to help while NOT being connected to the princess herself?” I asked while looking back as RD followed me out from the cold and dark basement below. RD rubbed her chin as we were back in the main room of the library. “I have to think about it.” She answered before both of us were greeted by Spike coming from the stairs leading up to the second floor. “Hey you two. What the heck was all that ruckus earlier?” Spike said while chewing on some gems and holding what I can guess is a comic book in one claw “Power Ponies. Yup. It’s a comic.” “Nothing much, just Dash here having tackled a Bat-pony out of the library before bringing him back inside trapped within Twilight's magic to tie him up on a chair in your basement for a cliché 1960’s interrogation process that didn’t last long.” I explain to him casually which caused the small drake to look at me funny and overall confused as well. “Oh, Twi and that stud are now talking about Science and magic down there, which is why we are up here to leave them to their own devices.” I quickly added while gazing up the ceiling a bit. “…huh?” was Spike’s only response as he somehow looked even more lost than he already was. “Yeah it is kind of… ridiculous when you think about it.” RD butted in before looking at the still-confused drake standing at the foot of the stairs. “Can you maybe keep an eye on Twi and our new… “special guest”?” she actually growled a bit when she said that. “I still don’t trust this guy. He might be timid and somewhat of a pushover, but I still have this nagging feeling that this guy might be trouble in the future.” Dash added, which helped the drake to shake off the goldfish expression. Spike shook his head. “Well… yeah, sure. It isn’t like I have much else to do right now anyway.” He replied while finishing the gem he was nibbling on. “Spike? Spike, you still up there? Can you maybe bring us two glasses of water?” Twilight suddenly shouted from the basement. Spike groaned at this before placing his comic on a nearby table before moving over to the kitchen. “Well I don’t have much of a choice in watching them now, do I?” He questioned rhetorically before disappearing somewhere into the kitchen. Both Dash and I shrugged before making our way out of the library after calling goodbye to Spike. “So…” I began as the afternoon sun shone down onto my fur. “What now? I still need a unicorn to teach me ze magiks.” I question with a mimic of Photo Finish at the end. Dash was about to reply before a sudden but also recognizable voice suddenly called out to us. “Oh greetings, Rainbow Dash and…. handsome-stallion-I-still-haven’t-gotten-the-chance-to-get-to-know. What are you two doing in front Twilight’s place?” A white alabaster unicorn mare questioned from the other side of the street while carrying shopping bags in her magic. “Oh, hey Rarity.” Both of us greeted her back in unison as she made her way over to us with the shopping bags floating beside her. Dash nudged me. “Jinx! You owe me a cider.” before laughing. ……………………………………………………………………………………… “I. Am going. TO KILL HIM.” Glade announced after having read the report from one of her Thestral spies that kept an eye on Midnight Gear, written that he was easily captured after so very unprofessionally barging into the home of one of the element bearers. “I specifically told him to not do anything stupid. You had ONE JOB, Gear! ONE!” Chapter 23: Magic 101 Chapter 23: Magic 101 Edited by: Chrome Masquerade Proofread by: Midnight Gear Would you like some sugar for your tea, darling?” Rarity asked while looking at me with a smile. I nodded. “Sure, that would be nice, I do like my tea a bit sweet.” I replied, to which Rarity nodded before adding a few sugar cubes to it with her magic. After having met Rarity just outside of the Golden Oaks Library, Dash and I had quickly informed her about our current situation, what had happened today with the Thestral and whatnot. She of course invited Dash and me (well, mostly me, because I still think she wants a shot at me) to her place where we can talk more about it comfortably and privately. I do have to say, seeing and stepping into Carousel Boutique for the first time was nothing special, to be honest. I mean, it looks just as the show back in my world depicted it, which really wasn’t a big surprise. What was surprising, though, was the mess Rarity's home actually was when we entered. All kinds of tailoring supplies like fabric, needles, rolls of thread and whatnot, were scattered all over the place as if a tiny tornado had passed through the boutique. Rarity, of course, was shocked to see her beloved home/work space in such a state before muttering something about never letting Sweetie Belle use her stuff unsupervised ever again, and to make her clean up the mess when she came back home later. After the initial shock and Rarity's muttering was over, she invited us into her home. While not minding the very obvious mess the entrance to the room was. Dash quickly excused herself on one of the couches, with both me and Rares (yes, I have already given her a nickname) being ok with it, before Rarity kindly offered for me to take a seat on a nearby unoccupied couch with a small coffee table in front, while she went off to the kitchen to make some tea for the both of us. Which leads us to here and now, Dash once again dozing off on a piece of furniture that is not hers and with me and Rarity having afternoon tea with a set of biscuits on a plate (cookies, for people who live on the other side of the Atlantic). “So…” Rarity began, after having taken a sip of her tea. “You came to Twilight seeking her help for your magic, but got interrupted by a bat-pony stallion crashing into her library soon after and having in the end decided that Twilight might not have been a good idea after all and you want me to help with that instead?” Rarity asked while raising a curious eyebrow as she levitated the cup back down gently. I simply nodded while trying my best to hold the cup with both of my hooves without dropping it. An action which again caused Rarity to look at me curiously, mainly my horn and the fact that I wasn’t using it. She shook her head before addressing me again with the same raised eyebrow. “Well, I would love to help your… apparent lack of magic for some reason, but why not Twilight directly?” She questioned, tilting her head a bit. “I mean, she IS the Element of Magic AND the personal protégé of Princess Celestia herself. Surely she would be able to perform a much better job in the magic department than I could ever do.” Rarity quickly added while quickly looking me over. I sighed. “Well, once again, here goes nothing I guess. Let’s hope she doesn’t freak out too much or tell anybody about me being an unknown male Alicorn.” I thought to myself as I mentally braced myself for something I knew I had to do if I wanted Rarity to fully understand me. “Miss Rarity-” I began before quickly being interrupted. “Just call me Rarity, please. All my friends do that. Adding the Miss part to my name makes me sound old, darling.” She suggested with a smile. In response, I nodded. I sighed again. “Rarity, before we can go any further… there is something I need to show you first.” I nervously announced, something that the mare in question seemed to have picked up as she quickly started to look at me in worry. “Show me something? Might it be something serious?” She questioned with a hint of worry in her tone, to which I simply nodded. “In a manner of speaking. For starters…” I began as I nervously started to slowly remove the black flight jacket on me. Rarity, of course, blushed a bit at the sudden action I made in simply removing my jacket right in front of her. That blush, though, was quickly replaced with a look of utter confusion and shock as she laid eyes on my now half-extended wings after I laid the jacket next to me, on the couch. I just sat there, my true race fully shown to her while nervously awaiting her response and rubbing my forelegs together. Rarity, on the other hand, (or hoof, in her case) was doing the best goldfish expression I had ever seen. Opening and closing her mouth, probably trying to say something as her eyes kept darting from my wings, to my horn, to my face and vice-versa. You could cut the tension with a knife, not only that, but I was feeling more and more nervous as the seconds ticked by. Almost to the point where I started regretting my decision, though it was obviously be far too late to change that at that point. “Uh… uhm… o-ok?” Rarity finally replied shakily, obviously still trying to process the information and not really helping with my unease at the situation. “A good thing, at least, that I hadn’t removed my jacket while she was taking a sip of her tea. Wait… why am I thinking this, anyway?” “Well Rarity, you see-” I began before Rarity interrupted me with a question I should have seen coming. “You… you don’t happen to be a… prince… do you?” She asked, to which I quickly shook my head while holding out my hooves out. “N-no, no, no, no, NO. I am NOT royalty in the slightest. I am not a prince, just an average quirky guy who tries to get by, nothing more.” I quickly corrected. Rarity sighed while looking somewhat disappointed (I can imagine a few reasons why), before she looked back at me with a still somewhat disbelieving look on her features. “Well then, if that is the case...” She began before looking back at my wings. “I am still somewhat… shocked that, there is actually somehow another Alicorn, similar to the princesses just casually trotting around in Ponyville. Not to mention a stallion as well.” Rarity commented before looking down at her half-emptied tea cup in front of her. “Well, that’s not all…” I began sheepishly while rubbing my hooves together nervously. “Do you know about the whole Cloudsdale incident?” I asked while looking back at her. She nodded, while gazing back at me. I nervously rubbed the back of my head before replying. “Well… that was actually kind of my fault back there, I was the source of that unknown magical phenomenon as journalists and investigators dubbed it.” I admitted which immediately caused Rarity to look at me shocked for a second time in a row, before her face quickly dropped into realization. “I I believe I have started to put the pieces together now.” She announced while rubbing her chin. My ears perked up at that, as my wings twitched a bit. “Wait… you are?” I asked, to which she looked back at me again. “Well, yes… I think.” She said, sounding and looking somewhat unsure of herself. “Whatever must have happened to you, back then most likely has something to do with the fact that you have no idea how to use or even control your magic.” She continued, while looking up in thought. “Which is why you are back here in Ponyville, to seek help from somepony that could maybe help you with that problem, teach you the use of magic and control, to hopefully prevent such an incident from ever happening again, and since you are… well, an Alicorn -which is still somewhat shocking to me, by the way-, your claim of being the cause of such a phenomenon does sound a lot more possible now as well, which makes it an even better reason to try to find a solution as soon as possible.” She finally finished her analysis, which, in all honesty, left me stumped. It was my turn to have my jaw drop. “She figured it all out like that on her own, and also being 100% on the mark as well?” I thought to myself with my jaw slightly hanging from my mouth. “Well, then again, she always has been depicted as a rather clever and very observant individual. Plus, now that I think about it more, it actually isn’t that hard to just put two and two together after my given explanation, so really I shouldn’t be too surprised at all.” I continued to think as I promptly closed mouth before shaking my head. “That… that is actually a pretty dead-on analysis there.” I admitted, as another question seemed to enter Rares’ mind. “Well, ok, that at least explains that. But still, why didn’t you approach Twilight regarding this issue? As I said, she is far more skilled and more knowledgeable on the subject of magic than I.” Rarity questioned again while tilting her head once more. “That’s because I am actually in hiding, trying to keep my Alicorn identity a secret in fear of ponies getting the wrong idea, wanting to use or even capture me, and also not knowing what even the two princesses will do to me if they suddenly found out that an unknown Alicorn is running around free in their kingdom. Especially knowing… or at least making the assumption that I was the cause of the whole Cloudsdale incident in the first place, which will obviously then put me in a bad light with them and everybody else will probably see me as a danger as well.” I explained to her in one go, looking down at my hooves before continuing. “And since Twilight is Princess Celestia’s personal protégé, I can’t really trust her to not tell her about me, which I honestly do not want… or at least not until I can clear my name somewhat and at least show everyone that I am not a possible threat at all.” As I finished my explanation with a deep breath. Rarity seemed to look at me with understanding as she levitated her cup of tea back to her mouth, to finish of its contents, before placing it back on the plate. “Well…to be honest, Twilight can be a bit of a tattletale when it comes to stuff like that, and if anything you just said is really true, then I would say that it really was in your best interest to avoid her for now.” Rarity admitted when she suddenly gave me a small smile for the first time since I revealed myself to her. “But you know what? Even if my knowledge of magic might not be as... plentiful as Twilight's, it still is enough that might be able to help you nonetheless. If something is missing, I could still just trot over to Golden Oaks Library and borrow some of her books regarding magic on your behalf. I might actually learn something myself, in the process.” Rarity finally announced, with a genuine smile, this time. I smiled back, feeling internally relieved that I somehow managed to bring another pony to understand and even trust me. For something besides my looks and my obviously out of control powers. Though, one problem still remained. I was about to ask her about it until she stopped me once more after, I presume, sensing what I was going to say. “Don’t worry darling. If you really want to keep you identity a secret I will promise you to not tell a soul about it. You have my word as a lady. If you want, I’ll even Pinkie Promise.” She assured me, kindly. Which again made me feel happy, as the very last burden was finally off of my chest and mind. I managed to get Rarity on my side and to also help me finally get some of my magic fixed and under control. “Thanks again, for understanding and for agreeing to help me Rarity. This really means a lot to me.” I thanked her genuinely. She, again, simply smiled while shaking her head a bit. “It’s nothing at all, darling, I am the Element of Generosity after all. And besides, if your stories are true (add to that the fact that you really are an actual Alicorn), then helping you would honestly be in the best interests for everypony, not just you and your friends.” She paused, then added, “I may not know much about Alicorns in general but what I do know is that their magic is quite powerful and can be downright devastating, if not used properly.” She explained, a truth I can only agree upon, if my own experiences and Silver's personal account were anything to go by. “If I don’t want to dig myself into a deeper hole than I already am, then getting some control of my powers is my top priority. And, who knows? Maybe I will be able to learn how to temporarily get my human form back, or even learn of a way to return home… if there is still time, that is. After all what would be the point in wanting to return back to Earth when, possibly, a 100 years might have somehow passed over there. I might as well stay here, then.” I thought “Anyway… would you like some more tea while we continue to discuss our plans in getting your magic under control? In fact, we can just casually get to know one another while doing so as well. I actually feel quite interested about the concept that a full-grown stallion like you hasn’t learned anything about magic prior to this, despite being very powerful. It’s a little ironic, if you ask me.” Rarity offered while levitating the teapot over her cup to refill her empty cup before looking at me to await my response. I stared down at my half empty cup before looking back at her and giving her a nod. “Sure, more tea would be nice, I actually enjoy the tea you have here.” I responded before a question suddenly came to mind regarding the drink itself. “What type of tea is it, anyway?” I asked as Rarity levitated the pot over to my cup and refilled it with its hot and relaxing content. “It’s actually Jasmine, dear. A personal favorite of mine, to be honest.” She responded, before putting the teapot back down and levitating her own cup again to take a sip from it and humming in delight. “It helps me relax after a hard day (or night)’s work.” “Jasmine, huh? No wonder this tea tasted so familiar to me.” I thought to myself as I did the same, trying to get a hold of the cup with both of my hooves to take sip from its hot and steaming content. Now knowing what its flavor actually was, I hummed in delight as the sweet taste of hot Jasmine tickled my taste buds. Helping me to relax and calm down fully after everything that has happened. “Do you want to start, or should I? Or should we have a naturally evolving conversation and just go along as it develops?” Rarity questioned which immediately made me pause. “Oh… shit. Well… time for crafty storytelling, I guess.” I thought to myself, as I simply gave her a nod. RD’s soft snoring being the only sound besides our talking with in the still disorganized room. Telling her about myself and my family and whatnot, while leaving out the ‘other world’ and ‘human’ part out of course. ……………………………………………………………………………………… “Well, I have already told you about all the magic I have studied, learned and am currently researching at the moment.” Twilight announced happily before refocusing her gaze back at the Thestral, now known to her as Midnight Gear, a local researcher and inventor of his homeland and the Night Guard he currently worked for. As she focused on the pony in front of her, she noticed a peculiarity. His right eye was glowing slightly and the iris was spinning in a clockwise direction. She also saw that the electric blue of his iris was a combination of the two separately spinning disks of metal, blue and a slightly darker shade of blue respectively, one above the other. “I don't mean to be rude, but... what the hay is with your right eye!?” Twilight exclaimed. “Hmm? Oh! That. I didn't think you'd notice, (not many do) but my right eye is actually artificial” Midnight explained. “What!? I thought that was impossible! The sheer complexity and delicacy of an eye is what makes it impossible to replicate!” Twilight said in her shock. “Well, Equestria is actually pretty far behind in terms of technological advancement, compared to the rest of the world. While you are still using science and magic separately, like steam engines and spells, the rest of the world, especially in Kazzas and Pelepolos, (Kazzas being the one further ahead, with it being far more accessible to scholars, researchers and inventors) are combining magic and science to make things like my eye, enhanced fuel and Mana Engines alike. Best examples would be our airships but without proper illustrations or schematics i cant really show much of it.” Gear told Twilight. “Wow! That is amazing! I don't mean to pry, but... how did you lose your eye? And what is this combination of science and magic called?” Twilight asked. “It’s called MagiTech, and ironically, I lost my eye when I was improving the design of the artificial eye. Like making new spells and alchemy, MagiTech... isn't always safe.” Midnight said. “Wow! I guess it's good that you succeeded then. But, I mean… to be honest, it’s still rather strange to know that that sort of stuff is possible by combining science and magic. A non-Unicorn like you and many others may study magic but... isn't it kind of useless when you can’t even cast any of the magic you are studying about? No offense, though.” Twilight quickly added. Gear simply shook his head, having been long freed from his earlier restraints by Twilight, as the two had spent most the afternoon talking about magic and technology. Mostly Twilight, as she had done most of the talking and explanation of her understanding of magic and what she had been researching lately, which left Gear very intrigued. “None taken, really. The type of magic I have been studying really doesn’t need any horn or similar materials to use or even cast.” Midnight explained as he took a sip of his glass of water. His usual shyness and timid nature were gone, in favor of talking to someone who shared his love for science and research in general. “I am actually researching and studying the nature of Blood Magic and the creation of Blood Weapons and Armour in general.” Midnight explained to her, which caused the mare in question to almost choke and spit out the water she was drinking in unison with him, in a very comical fashion. She coughed and gagged before looking at Gear with wide eyes. “Wait, can you- (*cough*) can you repeat that?” She asked, which in turn caused Gear to slowly revert to his timid nature once more. “Uhm… I-I said that I am st-studying… Blood Magic an-and Blood Weapons.” He stuttered while twirling the small glass nervously in his hooves. Twilight on the other hoof continued to just stare, before her brain finally process the answer she was given. “BLOOD MAGIC! YOU STUDY BLOOD MAGIC AND WEAPONS!? THE LONG FORGOTTEN ART MOST PONIES ONLY CONSIDER A MYTH NOWADAYS!?” Twilight shouted with more than a hint of excitement in her tone. Gear simply nodded his head slowly, which immediately caused stars to appear in Twilight's eyes as she leap in excitement. “You’ve got to tell me EVERYTHING!” Twilight said, several quills and rolls of parchment floating from her storage room. Midnight Gear smiled enthusiastically, “Sure! Why not!” “So, MagiTech has quite the history- Chapter 24: The Discoveries Never End (Part 1) Chapter 24: The Discoveries Never End (Part 1) Chapter 24: The Discoveries Never End (Part 1) Edited by: Chrome Masquerade Proofread by: Midnight Gear I immediately jolted awake as I opened my eyes. “What the? What was that feeling I felt in my dream?” I thought to myself as I simply stared up at the darkened ceiling above me. By the light level -or rather, the lack thereof- around the room I was looking around it was obviously still in the middle of the night, and looking to a small alarm on my bedside table immediately confirms that. “2 AM. Why the hell am I suddenly jolted awake at two in the morning?” I muttered to myself as I slowly pushed myself up into a sitting position. I was quite comfortable, sleeping in one of the Apple family’s guest rooms that they so generously offered me while temporarily staying here in Ponyville for a while. As I sat there on my bed in the middle of a darkened bedroom with the light of the full moon being the only source of proper illumination through a half-drawn window I began to remember and recollect all of the events that had happened yesterday. Or more like failed to happen yesterday, to be more honest. By failed I mean ‘failed to get Twilight as my possible teacher on how to control and call upon my magic without causing a natural -or unnatural- disaster around me whenever my horn suddenly decides to act as a light bulb. That idea, of course, got immediately crashed when a timid sounding Thestral suddenly came “crashing” in and claiming that he had found the source of something. Most likely me, if I want to be real here. That thought didn’t really end up as upsetting as I imagined that it probably would be, because, to be honest with myself, despite having made my final decision in approaching the bookworm mare fully regarding my problem and my true look and identity myself, I was still somewhat cautious with this plan, like some sort of inner instinct telling me that I was secretly making a wrong move and setting myself up for something that I wouldn’t be able to escape like I miraculously had with the Thestral occupation of the Clouds District back in Cloudsdale. So overall, what it truly ended up happening was more of a small blessing in disguise than anything else, which I felt really happy and relieved for once that realization came to me. “Who knew that dumb luck could strike twice in a row in almost identical situations?” I thought to myself as I then remembered promptly meeting Rarity after that, which -after a fashion- fixed the problem of having to find another unicorn to teach me about magical control. The rest of the day spent with Rares was surprisingly pleasant. Not only did I somehow manage to get her on my side and overall convince her to keep my identity a secret, but I also managed to gain not just a teacher for my problems but a possible close friend as well. That, or she still wants to have a shot at me for being, quote unquote, “One of the most dashing looking stallions I have ever seen.” I personally don’t mind being incredibly handsome -or at least in pony standards- but such positive attention isn’t really helping me with my situation and desire to stay anonymous from the rest of the world. Besides that the rest of the evening with Rarity was ‘again’ surprisingly smooth, simple and I dare say 100% civil as well. She IS a lady with class, after all. You could easily confuse her with a noble if you didn’t already know her true background and origins. With all of that out of the way, it was pretty much just her telling me that we could start my lesson tomorrow after first helping the Apple family with their harvest early in the morning. We said our goodbyes -after having roused RD up from her ‘occupation’ of one of Rarity’s couches- and headed our separate ways. RD kindly walked with me all the way back to the edge of town before heading our separate ways as well, having told me that she actually had weather duties tomorrow before flying home herself. I made the rest of my way back towards Sweet Apple Acres myself afterwards. After a hearty dinner made by Applejack and a quick goodnight from all of us, it was then time to hit the hay and call it a day. Which now leads us to the here and now, waking up from a dreamless sleep after a sudden jolt of what I can only describe as electricity coursing through my nerves. “Strange. I wonder if it was just one of my new…” I whispered before the same sensation suddenly resurfaced, which forced me to pause and go stiff from the experience. It was also then when my horn suddenly lit up again, not as bright as the last few times, but just bright enough for me to see and to give the room a gentle glow to it. I was once again confused and slightly terrified by this, thanks to my pretty much nonexistent understanding of magic and my new body in general. I suddenly found myself sensing something. It was somewhat similar to the sensation I felt during Nightmare Moon's return, but this time it felt much more calm and pure than the dark and chaotic feeling I got when I was close to her. Yes, I am just going to call these feelings as I am obviously still very blind to all of these new senses I know have. I was once again very confused, but also slightly intrigued this time as I slowly started to shift and turn on my bed. As I did so I quickly managed to note that the intensity of this feeling was slowly growing or dropping down whenever I moved my gaze…or more specifically my horn to different direction with in the room, with the half shut window to my left being the strongest source of this… feeling. “What the… heck?” Was all I could mutter as this realization swiftly struck home. With my own curiosity once again getting the better of me, I carefully crawled my way out of bed and onto the wooden and rugged floor beneath me as my made my way over to the window. Moving the curtains away with my hoof I was swiftly greeted with a view of the outside world at night, but more interestingly I was greeted with a direct line of sight with the very edges of the Everfree forest. Not only that, but whatever sensation and source I was feeling got gradually stronger when I moved towards the window, which my logical mind immediately interpreted that whatever I was feeling or sensing must be coming from the direction I was looking in at the moment, I.E., the Everfree forest. I frowned as the realization kicked in. “The Everfree forest… really? But then again, It does makes sense when you think about it. The Everfree is the most unnatural location in all of Equestria… well, unnatural by pony standards, that is.” I thought to myself as I continued to stare off at the distant tree line. “This feeling is probably not going to go away until I march myself into the forest at night and follow whatever seems to be calling me, is it?” I questioned to myself mentally, as indeed the sensation was slowly starting to get stronger and stronger the longer I just stood there. I eventually sighed, as there really doesn’t seems to be another option for this. I do have a bit of a trust towards my new instincts, since now all they have managed to do was good, in my opinion. I know that normally I would think of myself as being suicidal for making such a decision, but then again I am an alicorn now, even in the face of great danger my own alicon instincts seem to automatically kick in and do stuff for me, even though I might not remember much of it later on. “Hope Silver knows what he seems to be doing with my magic.” I again thought to myself as I finally moved myself away from the window. I quickly grabbed all of my stuff such as my glasses, hat, scarf and my jacket as well, as I am sure that the nighttime air would be chilly outside. With myself prepped and clothed for the occasion, I carefully and silently opened the door to my borrowed bedroom before tiptoeing (or more like tip hoofing) my way through the corridor, past the other bedrooms and eventually down the stairs. “I hope this decision isn’t going to bite me in the ass for the first time.” I again thought to myself, slowly starting to feel nervous about it as I trotted passed the living room before opening the front door and trotting out to the cool and fresh air of the night. ……………………………………………………………………………………… “Good thing that my horn always glows whenever something seems to be up.” I thought to myself as I carefully followed a small dirt path. I managed to thanks to the soft light that my horn was casting all around me. Funny, despite knowing that this here is an extremely dangerous forest, -especially at night- I am not feeling a lot of paranoia or fear, as I had been the last time I was here. Which was also the first time. Another thing that was both calming and very eerie at the same time was just how… quiet the Everfree seemed to be. Beside the occasional owl or howl of some distant wolf, there was nothing else in the forest that I could identify as immediate threatening. Carefully stepping over some large rocks and holes and jumping over a large spiky vine laid right across the small path I was travelling on, I was making my way deeper and deeper into the Everfree. At some point I even managed to spot a small hut-like structure built into a twisted looking tree, on my left. Most likely Zecora’s hut, if my memory serves me correctly about its location and overall look. I personally would have loved to trot over there, maybe meet her and even go as far as maybe asked for her help, but my instincts alone where once again forcing me against this idea as I simply continued on. It didn’t take long, though, for me to eventually reach a small river and clearing on the end of my path. The ground around the river was pretty boggy, but not to an extent where you would sink down and get stuck in it. It’s a good thing that I have hooves now and don’t wear shoes anymore, otherwise they would be ruined at this point. “Great… now how the heck can I get across this? Whatever I am following is obviously on the other side of this river and I don’t want to push my luck too far in just openly standing here in… well, the open and risk something with sharp teeth spotting me. I know for a fact that water is always an animal magnet for both herbivores and carnivores alike… especially the latter.” I thought to myself, as I began to scan the edges of the river for any good or shallow enough spot to cross over it. “Nothing. Great. If I could actually use my wings other than just to create gusts of winds, with them I would not be stuck here now. Flying, or at least gliding, would really come in handy right about now.” I muttered to myself as I slowly started to trot along the shore of the river, following the stream. “If only I could remember how I did it the first time around.” I continued on as blurry memories of my rescue and first encounter of the two pegas-sisters came to mind. I might still very be wary of heights, but I couldn’t really deny the versatility and practicality of being able to fly. This situation now being the perfect example. Being able to fly means no more problems when it comes crossing rivers or large gorges. I sighed. “Thinking and theorizing on how different things would be when being able to fly isn’t going to get me anywhere.” I argued with myself as I simply sat myself down on a solid and dry spot along the river to simply stare up into the star-filled night up above. “I can understand why some peoples might find something like this beautiful. For me, though, things like these make me more or less feel indifferent, especially since I was more of a house cat type of guy before having mysteriously ended up here.” I thought to myself as I continued to stare up, despite the glare from my own horn making it somewhat pointless. “I could just try to swim over?” I wondered out loud as my gaze once again fell on the flowing river in front of me and finding its water to be relatively calm compared to most rivers I have seen. I was about to act on these ideas and possible ruin both the jacket and the scarf when out of the corner of my eye I spotted something slowly floating down the river. “Wait…is that a tree trunk?” I wondered aloud, as I watched it slowly make its way towards me. Just when I somehow couldn’t imagine that I’d get even more dumb luck after the one yesterday, I just somehow managed to get yet another break as the tree trunk managed to get itself perfectly vertical, stuck on some large rocks further down on the stream, a very short distance from where I am currently. I simple stared at it for a few more seconds in awe at my current track of good fortune, before I shook my head. “Well… thank you… faith? I guess?” I commented aloud, with a sheepish grin on my muzzle, before eventually shrugging and carefully making my way and stepping onto the one of the rocks the trunk had managed to wedge itself on. It was a bit shaky and slippery, but thanks to the fact that I was a quadruped with the luxury of wings extended for extra balance, it meant that inching my way across the -thankfully calm- river wasn’t as problematic as I imagined it to be from the start. With a final hop I made it across to the other side with a satisfied smile on my face as I gave the helpful tree trunk a thankful nod before continuing on my cheerful way. Well as cheerful as a dark and gloomy forest at night could somewhat be, until noticed something at the corner of my eye again and immediately frowned when I turned my head to look at it. Further down the river, now perfectly visible from this position and angle towards the curve of the river further down, was none other than a small -but yet actually there- bridge. “I could have just as easily crossed the river via a bridge that was just a little bit further downstream?” I whined to myself as I gave the large bushes and trees that previously obstructed my path earlier on the other side of the river with an annoyed glare. “Well, at the same time I can’t really complain too much, now. I still made it across regardless, so I should just get going and not linger on this any further.” I muttered as I shook my head before following my instincts once more. “At least now I know where the term ‘dumb luck’ comes from.” Travelling further and deeper into the forest was still as surprisingly uneventful as the other half has been, though this time with the occasional shadow dancing around the edges of my vision as the darkness around these areas was almost unnatural. The light on my horn was really not giving much comfort in that regard. But I pressed on, not just to finally get this over with, but to also get out of this creepy darkness and hopefully somewhere less unnerving. I think I even saw a few glowing eyes off into the distance behind some creepy looking trees. My vigilance, though, was soon rewarded as I spotted another break from the dense jungle-like forest and quickly found myself in a HUGE clearing. A clearing which I immediately recognized as my eyes went wide. “The castle ruins.” I muttered as I looked on into the distance at the gloomy -but still impressive looking- ruins. Once again this here was as authentic looking as it was in the show, complete with a dark and wide gorge surrounding the ruins, with only a very suicida- looking bridge acting as its only access point to the flat plateau on the other side. Unless you are a flyer, -once again, another perfect example of the advantages of flying- which I am not. I sighed and groaned in the end as I gave the castle and the gorge a more critical look as a sudden -but ultimately useless- comparison came to mind. “This place strangely reminds me of the classic Castlevania games, just add some lightning strikes and bats in the background and it's perfect.” I thought to myself instead of saying that out loud, to not tempt fate. I don’t feel like having to fight a pony version of Dracula. Shaking my head, I quickly moved on, making my way towards the rickety hanging bridge. I looked down in between it's somewhat wide-spaced boards and shivered a bit in discomfort as I saw the looong drop underneath it. My acrophobia once again kicked in as I quickly back peddled from the edge. Or that is what I wanted to do, but my horn actually had other ideas, as it suddenly got brighter. That idea being pulled onto the bridged just as filly Rarity in that one of those few episodes I actually watched from the show. And let me tell you, it looks and feels allot more terrifying that the episode made it out to be. Especially when there is dark and seemingly endless looking abyss involved. “What the… STOP! NO, STOP! STUPID HORN, I DON’T WANNA GO OVER THIS INDIANA JONES STYLE BRIDGE! SILVER IF THIS IS YOU, STOP IT!!!” I shouted in utter panic as I was forcefully pulled onto the bridge. I began to flail my limbs before quickly grabbing onto one of the posts that connected and kept the bridge suspended on either sides. Or at least I tried, before I undershot and got simply dragged alone onto the bridge, to my absolute horror. A bridge that looks more unstable than my home world’s political system over a black endless looking abyss. My acrophobia is having a field day. “NO STOP, SILVER, PLEASE MAKE IT STOP! CAN YOU HEAR ME? SILVER?” I tried to call out once more as the force pulling on me was slowly straining my neck. That and I was on the brink of... leaking after I so horribly made the mistake of looking down at my dragging hind legs and basically eeped in the same way Fluttershy would. Good thing I was alone, I guess. I once again tried to hold on onto something, quickly grabbing a hold onto the ropes acting as guardrails on either side on with both of my forelegs. The problem with this idea was that hooves don’t really have a really good grip on ropes to begin with. The other problem was that the magic pull on my horn was ever so slightly increasing the closer I got to whatever my horn was pulling me to, which meant even less chance of keeping my already negligible grip on the ropes even further. Which only left my teeth then, which I used as I forcefully -and very hard- bit onto support ropes to my right in hope that this would finally bring this second instance of magical insanity to an end. The first being the Cloudsdale incident, of course. At first it worked, though that realization didn’t survive that long as my horn just straight up started to pull even harder… and then the rope I was holding onto broke, most likely because of the force of my bite and the constant pulling via my horn. “I should have stayed in bed.” Was all I was able to say before the entire thing simply capsizes to the right, with me now falling into the awaiting blackness of the abyss with a silent scream and allot of mental scolding to Silver. My dumb luck streak had to end somewhere, ironically it was done by my own magic…again. Magic, you are a real bitch. I would have been better off as an earth pony instead. ……………………………………………………………………………………… “Hey…hey Nava, you’re ok?” I heard a very familiar voice say within the darkness. A very, very familiar voice in fact. “What the…where…what?” I groggily said out as I slowly opened my eyes and was first greeted with an image of a very blurry light brown and black blob. “Hey, you’re finally up. I have never seen you enter the subconscious dream realm of your mind in such a way. I mean… you literally dropped from the sky and I was immediately worried when you hit the ground hard and didn’t get back up immediately.” The same voice commented again as my vision was slowly clearing up and I was looking up at the familiar face of me… or rather, Silver, since he no longer wore either the hat or the glasses for the sake of less confusion. I immediately shot forward and punched him, landing squarely on his face with my hoof. He stumbled back and fell on his flank with a daze as the right side of his face was pulsing red from where I hit him. He quickly shook his dazed mind off as he hissed in pain after he tried to touch the sore spot where I punched him before glaring at me with in both surprise and anger. “DUDE…what the heck was that for?” Silver demanded in which I quickly stood up on all fours while snarling at him. “Don’t be stupid. You know EXACTLY what this is for SILVER!” I answered as I loomed over him, glaring daggers at him. “You and your stupid magic. I thought you were supposed to help me not drag me out from my bed, force me to walk into a dangerous forest at night and then literally pull me over a very unstable bridge, which eventually collapsed and caused me to fall into a dark gorge!” I shouted at him, my muzzle was inching closer to his, while he was still busy rubbing the sore spot. He looked at me confused, which only enraged me even further. I was about to hit the bastard of a double again before he stopped me by holding a hoof out. “Wait, wait… what… what do you mean?” he asked, but before I could respond he continued. “I… I know what you are talking about the whole… sensation you have been fallowing… because I felt it too, but I swear that I have nothing to do with it other than the time when I felt your fear and simply helped -or tried to help- you cross whatever you were afraid to step onto.” He explained to me, while looking up at me with a bit of panic in his eyes. “Wait a minute… you said something about falling off of something, right?” He asked while looking at me, confused. I nodded while still glaring down at him, my anger slightly lessened thanks to his somewhat useful explanation. “Well yes, you dragged me off onto a rickety, old hanging bridge - even though you know full well that I am acrophobic!” I shot back, my anger slightly rising again, which seemed to register in Silver. “Hey, hey… I had no idea that the bridge was faulty, ok? I just sensed fear from you and I thought that maybe giving you a little push would help you cross it. If I would have known that it was in a poor state I would have never attempted that stunt in the first place.” He explained to me in haste while again holding his hooves out in front of him. “I swear I didn’t know, ok? I might not have told you yet, but my influence on the outside world is pretty limited. I can only get bits and pieces of it at a time. Mostly from you, or personally sensing magic fields or anomalies around you or close to you.” He continued to explain as my anger once again lowered. “Remember, if you die, I will cease to exist as well. I could never place you in harm’s way on purpose, not just for your sake but mine as well.” He finally finished, which had the immediate effect of draining all of my anger toward him completely. My expression softened and I sighed before stepping off of him and giving him space to get back up on his own. He promptly did so as he continued to rub his sore face from where I hit him, making me feel somewhat awkward and also somewhat guilty as well. “Well… sorry for, well… hitting you back there. I guess I was a bit too quick to judge.” I apologized as I looked to the grassy covered ground with my ears dropping to the sides. Silver simply shook his head before giving me a small smile. “Nah, it’s fine, really. In fact I actually might have deserved it nonetheless for blindly pulling you into danger in the first place. I should have really been more focused with your own surroundings and situations first before I even considered jumping in. I was being narrow minded as well.” He confessed with a sorry tone and look in his eyes as he looked off to the side with the same dopey looking ears. An awkward silence dominated the space between us afterward with neither of us saying or daring to look at one another faces. Only the gently sound of the wind and rustling of leaves being the only silence breakers. This is the same landscape of endless fields of golden wheat as it had always been since I first saw it, though this time much more detailed and complete, as it had been previously, with now visible mountains and hills off into the horizon, and even with some very vivid and complex looking clouds up in the sky instead just a sea of endless blue. Silver really does put a lot of work into his own realm of existence. It really shows by just looking around it. “Again, I am sorry.” I repeated myself after a while as I looked back at him, still looking and feeling somewhat guilty from my uncalled for outburst. Silver again shook his head before looking back at me as well, with a sad smile on his muzzle. “Nah it's fine. We're both at fault here.” He simply answered. I was about to say more when Silver stopped me by raising a hoof as his ears sudden shot up in ‘standby’ mode. “We can maybe talk more about this the next we see each other.” He casually announced, which caused me to tilt my head at him questioningly as I raised an eyebrow. “Why?” I simply questioned. “Well, it’s because you’re in the middle of waking up again, that’s why.” He quickly answered before giving me a genuine smile. “And don’t worry, I won’t do anything to you this time. Let’s NOT repeat that almost fatal mistake. But… well I can still give you light of course, you are in a very dark place, from what I can tell and sense around you.” He quickly added. “Oh… well… ok then. I guess this will be ‘until next time’ then.” I answered while scratching the back of my neck as i could slowly feel the very distinct tell-tale sign of getting myself pulled back into the conscious world. Silver nodded while waving a hoof at me in ‘goodbye’ and ‘see you later’ gestures. “You just be careful out there in the real world, alright? And stay away from anymore drops or ledges this time.” He stated jokingly, to which I simply rolled my eyes as the world around me started to fade from existence. “Yeah, yeah, I know. You really don’t need to remind me of that.” I simply replied for the final time before the world around me completely disappeared in a white flash. “Always has to get the last word, if he can.” Silver said, shaking his head. Chapter 25: The Discoveries Never End (part 2)Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.Chapter 26: The Discoveries Never End (Final) (slight- re-edit)Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.Chapter 27: Hitting a Wall Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.Chapter 1: The worst wake up call EVER//The (Mis)adventures of Nava// /Chapter 1: Worst wake up call EVER/ Story by: Navanastra Edited by: WrittenWorld333 “Oh, my, god, why do I feel sooo sore?” Waking up is one thing…waking up feeling like as if an elephant has been using you as his personal sitting cushion all night long is another, and let me tell you it feels horrible…like really horrible. I generally have no idea how it feels to have a hangover simply because…well I don’t drink but I guess this is somewhat close to it…I guess. Yup close enough because now I also have a pounding headache to go with it. Bloody fantastic. Is there anything else on my body that doesn’t feel like it’s about to die…anything...please? The other thing I quickly noticed besides my body killing itself with pain was how unfamiliar all of this felt. For once I could tell that I was NOT laying on my nice soft comfy mattress I came to recognize whenever waking up, instead what greeted me is the simple feeling of laying yourself down on something that would explain why, oh why my body feels as rugged and stiff as a plank of old used wood. I was laying on a rock, a cold hard rock. Why? How? When? I really don’t know, in fact I don’t know anything besides what happened the day before. Which really is strange and worrying since I never had the displeasure of experiencing memory loss in such a way. Am I really sure I didn’t just suddenly decided to go out, buy a bottle of funny juice and drown myself with it just for the heck of it? Nooo…no of course not, one I don’t have money and two I really never liked the taste of alcohol to begin with. Besides wine…which I am positive we don’t have in the house simple because we only get some during special occasions like Christmas or New Year and stuff like that. WHAT THE HELL AM I EVEN DOING!!?? I have much more important problems to think of than liquor. Where the heck am I and what the heck happened. For once I can tell beyond the stiffness and pain that I am NOT in my room judging by the sound and smell around me. I can hear leaves rustling in the wind, owls hoooing, wolves howling and everything around me smells like nature. If…that’s even how you’re supposed to evaluate nature. I don’t know, it kind of smells like how grass starts to smell after a rainy day so I guess I can say it smells like nature. I’m losing track of the severity of my situation again aren’t I? Well that’s just great, I can’t even focus on a single topic without derailing myself with all this extra nonsense my mind is known for, it would definitely be easier IF MY BODY WASN’T AS STIFF AS A BOARD AND WOULDN’T FEEL LIKE IT WAS ON THE VERGE OF DYING, THIS IS BY FAR THE WORST WAKE UP CALL I EVER HAD IN MY ENTIRE LIFE, PLEASE SOMEONE HELP ME!!!! Speaking of waking up…why haven’t I opened my eyes yet? Oh…right…my eyelids feel as if they are made of lead…great. Everything about my body feels like as if it has just been through alot by the way it hurts and how...unfamiliar it feels as well…actually…wait a minute. I…I do feel different…like really different…did I suddenly grow extra limbs all of the sudden and why the heck can’t I feel my hands or fingers. For that matter WHY CAN'T I FEEL MY FEET, WHERE ARE MY CLOTHES? “I NEED to open my eyes NOW…I need to see where I am and what happened to me” Who knew that opening your eyes would ever become so slow and tedious that it almost felt it wasn’t worth the effort, but with a bit of grunt I finally managed to get my eyeballs out of their covers and into the light of the outside world, and the very first thing that greeted me was nothing but a blurry dark mess of dark colors in almost unrecognizable shapes and sizes. Though it was not the only image that greeted me. There was…something else, something much clearer and much closer and more obvious than the rest, something that was right at the very bottom of my peripheral vision. “I need my glasses…where the heck are my glasses?” Moving my head and neck was almost a torture on its own, I don’t want to sound like a broken record but just like the rest of my body they were sore and stiff and moving them hurt like ass. With a heavy grunt I managed to move my head to the left in hopes to find what I was looking for, it also doesn’t help the fact that I was dragging my head right across the hard rough surface of the rock I was laying against which just made this even less enjoyable than it already was. Only to eventually find out that my glasses were not there at all. Great all the effort wasted for nothing. “Uhhhh…why couldn’t I have woken up on a field of grass in state or even better MY BED!!!” At this point I felt really annoyed, if I ever want to find out where the heck I was, what the heck happened to me and why I needed to find my glasses because without them I was almost as blind as a freaking bat. Greeting my teeth in discomfort as I slowly turned my head all the way to my right I began to quickly note on how long my hair felt like. I mean shit it’s all over my eyes as well, moving across my vision while turning my head. And…and did I just saw red hair? Did I really just saw a red spot on my normal natural black hair? For once I know that my hair is normally much shorter than it feels right now and second I never EVER have used any hair dye in my life because the idea of putting anything on my hair that wasn’t shampoo was cringey though for me…unless…this is not dye at all. This was slowly becoming more and more surreal with every passing second which is somewhat pointless since the pain I felt all over my body was certainly the real deal. No amount of hallucination, dreaming or drugs can emulate the pain I am feeling now. After a slow and gruesome trek of turning my head fully back to the right I eventually sighed in utter relief for the first time since I awoke to see the blurry outlines of my beloved and trusty glasses just laying lazily beside my head. With as much effort as I could muster and gritted teeth I began to turn my whole body around in an effort to fully face the right so that I have a much easier time grabbing them. Every muscle and joints in my arm were screaming at me as I slowly moved them towards my glasses in an attempt to seize them, only to end up halting my efforts when a new and frightening sight entered my already bad vision. “What the….is…is that my arm? Where…where is my hand…WHERE IS MY BLOODY HAND?” Ok, fuck this. I need to grab my glasses ASAP and see exactly what the MOTHERFUCKING fuck is going on here. Well if I wasn’t all panicky than I am definitely all panicky now as I desperately try to grab a hold onto my glasses with those handless stubs I have now without breaking it, easier said than done when you have no hands and when your arms are shaking more violently than they would during a typical Japanese earthquake. Against all impossibilities and the fact that all of my erratic movements were just wonderful for my already aching body, I finally managed to, by some miracle, place my glasses right there where they belong finally allowing me to fully see the world around me as sharp and crisp as a 4k TV. The first thing I saw after slipping my glasses back over my eyes was obviously my surroundings. I could finally see that my earlier suspicions were indeed spot on as nothing but a dark, gloomy and overgrown forest graced my now crisp and clear vision with just a few light sources penetrating the thick canopy above. What really was even more confusing and also a bit frightening is how…unreal everything looked…everything around me despite being dark and foggy where just so…unrealistically vibrant in colors. Something you would usually only see in cartoons or comics. Another thing that automatically sets alarm bells off in my head where how familiar this all looked to me. I could have sworn that I have seen this art style before somewhere but I just cannot put my finger on it…if I still had fingers that is. That last thought though immediately snapped me back to severity of my situation as my thought quickly went back towards my handless arms that I just discovered. With great fear and dread I slowly began to move my arms upwards towards my field of vision so that I can finally have a good sharp look at them. My heart immediately sank down into my knees at the realization that greeted me. Not only where my hands completely gone but my whole arms looked different and strange as well. I…I had hooves…hooves covered in what I can only tell was in some kind of really pale brown looking fur, in fact my whole arm was covered in fur from its tip all the way up to my shoulders. Fur I swear I didn’t have just a few days ago let alone hooves in places where my hands should be. I really started to panic now as I continued to stare blankly into my handless, fur covered arms, sweating and breathing heavily through my mouth as my heart was pounding rapidly against my chest. Millions upon millions of thoughts raced through my mind trying to formulate some sort of explanation, some sort of logic in how this was scientifically possible. I needed more…I needed to know more, just to be sure. I needed to know more to make sure that this wasn’t just some sick joke or hallucination. Completely ignoring my body's protests I began for forcefully sit myself upright, keeping myself steady with my now not so normal looking arms as I started to inspect myself much closer. What I saw immediately send shivers of shock through my spine as my eyes went wide in disbelief. I was no longer human. The body I was born with, the body in which I grew up with, the body that I came to see in a mirror every day when going to take a shower was now completely gone. It had been replaced by an unrecognizable alien body that was covered in the same colored fur as my arms. My legs were no longer human legs but more like hind legs of that of a quadruped, ending in the same hoof covered in fur as my now so called arms. A long black silky tail tipped in crimson was visible from under me, and by looking and feeling around my back I even spotted what I could only guess where a pair of wings extending themselves right behind my shoulders, which pretty much solved the mystery I had earlier about the sensation of suddenly having extra limbs. All of this realization combined and it was a miracle that I was still conscious and not about to just faint from shock. “Ok…ok calm down…hyperventilating is not going to get you anywhere or solve your issues…just…just calm down…everything will be just fine and dandy.” It was then during my attempts to calm myself down when a thought suddenly entered the chaos that was my current mind. A snap of realization as one particular memory suddenly surfaced. A Really crazy and impossible idea but I still needed to be 100% sure before I can confirm this idea I had in my head, but for that I needed to see my face first. Observing my surrounding in hope to find something, anything that could help me give me a much better look of myself I managed to spot a small pond just a few meters away from me from where I was sitting. “That’s convenient…at least that explains why this place would smell like wet grass.” My mind was set, I needed to somehow get over there without killing myself as my body was still on the verge of shutting down on how sore and stiff it felt. “Time to roll down the rock I suppose…this is going to suck I know it.” With a heavy sight and a heavy grunt I slowly laid myself back down onto the rocky surface in an attempt to carefully roll myself of this somewhat large rock I was resting on. With a small yelp I managed to not so gracefully roll myself of the edge only to land onto the equally rough surface of the forest floor below, head first and with a heavy grunt of pain at the end. “For the love of…fuck…why does this has to be so difficult, first I get removed from my home, than I get transformed into…into this thing I am now with no memories and recollections of how, when, why, and now I get to enjoy the pain of hitting my head onto the ground and tasting forest floor dirt…why me, WHY?” Pulling my head out from the ground and spitting out the dirt in my mouth with disgust I eventually started to crawl myself over towards the small pond by digging my…front hooves into the dirt and dragging myself forwards with great difficulty. “Come one…just a…few…more…I swear…this better…be…worth…the effort…ohh my muscles…” I eventually made it with a heavy sigh of relieve as I simply laid there for a few more moments to catch my breath and rest my aching arms and legs. After a while I began to steel myself for what was to come, this was it, I would finally have a good front view look on what has become of me. I closed my eyes as I pushed myself over the edges of the water. I let out a calming breath as I prepared myself. I opened my eyes and time stopped. What I saw in front of me was…unbelievable, despite that something deep within my mind suddenly clicked as i continued to stare at my own reflection. What stared back at me was not the face of a person but the face of what could only described as a pony. A PONY at least that explains what I have been seeing under my vision this entire time...the…the edges of a snout…my snout. Other features i could easily see was the long horn sticking out of my now long black hair with the right side of my bangs colored in red rather than jet black like the rest of my hair. Thankfully though the only feature that still stayed the same to my old self in comparison to everything else where my dark brown eyes. I remember now where I have seen all of this before…I remembered now what all of this is. The art style…the colors…my…new…form…. I immediately knew who I was and what I was and I just couldn’t believe it. This realization was the final straw for me as I could no longer keep myself from fainting. I quickly lost my strength as the world around me started to fade away. Blackness filled my vision and I felt no more. It was rather a relief, actually. Chapter 7: Town fall Pink and White edition (slight re-edit)Chapter 7: Town fall Pink and White edition Chapter 7: Town fall: Pink and White edition Edited by: Chrome Masquerade (Please read the Authors note at the end of the chapter regarding some of your concerns, or do it now and save yourself some time.) I swear, every young looking mare I came across either quickly looked away awkwardly or giggled and winked at me whenever I noticed that they were staring at me. Seriously, what is up with that? Am I really that attractive looking for ponies that it’s worth staring at me the moment I pass by them? It became so bad that I started to hide myself behind my two companions in order to conceal myself. Which, of course, was amusing to the two mares beside me. Especially for Cloud Chaser, as she began to constantly tease me, asking me how many kids I probably will have in the future. Saying that I felt embarrassed at that would be an understatement. But thankfully her more mature sister came to the rescue and convinced her to stop it with stern glare. God bless that mare… until she eventually joined the bandwagon herself and started making fun in how I am supposedly a mare magnet. Bloody mares and their need to breed. You would think that me looking somewhat ridiculous with all those thick bandages covering my entire midsection would score me some minus points in terms of being flirted with, but NOOOO, it almost seems as if they weren’t there at all, for them. I might be a pony from the outside but I am still very much human inside, and the idea of romancing one of these technicolour equines is still a massive no-no in my book. And besides, I want to find a way back home anyway, so it wouldn’t be a very logical idea to begin with. But whatever, as long as they don’t start invading my personal space and RAPE me in the middle of the street, I am fine with whatever goes through their equine minds. Breakfast, on the other hand, was a very interesting experience to say the least. It was the first time I ever ate something that would normally be considered disgusting to any normal human. Hay fries, daisy sandwich and a basic flower and grass salad were on the menu and I have to admit, it wasn’t as bad as I imagined it would be. Actually kind of delicious, to be honest. But I know for a fact that this was just my new equine tastebuds speaking to me, if I was eating that stuff while still being human I guarantee I would have choked on it. Another interesting event that made my day was the very town itself. Trotting through the town of “the most cliché name ever” was an experience on its own. The medieval style wooden houses, the ponies, the atmosphere and the overall nature are true to the cartoon show. I even managed to bump into some recognizable background characters, like Bon Bon and Lyra, or Berry punch and Minuette. And I even spotted Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon running around in the distance doing god knows what. Overall, I have to admit, despite the fact that I never was such a huge fan of the show itself this was still a very exciting experience. I mean, how many times does a guy discover that a cartoon actually exists as a real, living and breathing world? I still cannot fully accept the fact that I am here despite the fact that I am actually here. That sounded broken. But anyway… where are we going again? “Um… Cloud Chaser? Can you please tell me again where we are going?” I asked Cloud beside me as we casually trotted along the streets of Ponyville. Cloud Chaser gave me a look of surprise. “Wow dude you can talk? I could have sworn that you weren’t even there anymore, with how silent you were for the last 10 minutes” She exclaimed. I rolled my eyes. “Well you know why, also I do like to think from time to time and enjoy the scenery as well.” She began to snicker, which cause alarm to go off in my head the moment she did. “Thinking and enjoying the scenery?” She began to grin at me.” And here I thought you felt uncomfortable with all these mares trying to flirt with you. I guess even a shy, awkward stallion like yourself still has his needs.” She chuckled. I almost tripped and fell out of shock after she said that as I looked at her with wide eyes and faint blush crossing my cheeks. “Wha… what? NO. That’s NOT what I meant at all.” I stuttered. Cloud simply giggled at that she turned her head back at front. “Yeah, keep telling yourself that Casanova.” She responded with a sly grin. I simply groaned in annoyance as I massaged my forehead with a hoof. “Alright, we are here.” Flitter suddenly announced as the three of us stopped in front of a building with a large sign in shape of a cloud in front of it. “Ponyville weather office?” I read out loud. “Yup. This is it. The local weather management office.” Flitter explained. “This is the weather station we have been sent to from Cloudsdale in order to work with the local weather team.” She finished. I scratched my head. “Working for what?” Flitter looked at me in mild surprise. “To get everything ready for the Summer Sun Celebration next week which is going to be hosted here in Ponyville. Didn’t you hear?” I casually shook my head. She facehoofed. “Seriously, do you live under a rock or something?” “Maybe.” I casually responded again making her groan. “Wait a minute, didn’t Rainbow Dash earlier say that you are from Germaneigh?” Cloud Chaser asked while looking at me. “Well still even if he is from Germaneigh, word should still have travelled over there as well that the princess has picked Ponyville as the next location for the longest day of the year.” Flitter argued before I could even say anything. “Well, why don’t you ask HIM, then.” All of a sudden all eyes were on me as both mares stared at me. I my tail began to twitch a bit. “I don’t see what the big deal is of me knowing or not knowing about the Summer Sun Celebration. I just don’t, ok, but now I do.” I replied. Flitter sigh. “Well anyway, Cloud Chaser and I have to go inside and talk with the weather captain about something. Can you maybe just wait here for a while? I promise it won’t take long.” She explained. I gave her a simple nod and watched them disappearing through the front door, leaving me standing all alone outside in the middle of the street. I sighed. Leaving me out again, alone. Not being able to go with them was annoying (mostly because i am not comfortable being left alone in this world...yet), sure, but at least it gave me the opportunity to think again while observing my surroundings a little bit more. I sat myself down against the wall of the weather office and did just that. Ponies constantly passed by me, going about their daily routines, pulling carts, carrying shopping bags around or simply engaged one another in small talk as I began to think again. “Summer Sun Celebration, Summer Sun Celebration… where have I heard that before…” It was than when the penny fell down onto the floor as a thought struck me. The Summer Sun Celebration? That means that in just one week twilight would arrive to Ponyville, which will mark the beginning of the timeline of the show and the coming of Nightmare Moon. With that realization in mind I began to mentally worry a bit as I had no idea how this would even turn out. Sure I know for a fact that, in the show, Twilight and her gang of rainbows defeat Nightmare Moon and prevent her from turning Equestria into a dark frozen version of Fallout. But this is not the show. This is a real world where the randomness of events and chances are just as real as in my world. Everything can happen. Literally anything if Rainbow Dash’s slightly different character was to go by… or maybe it’s just me. I do seem to get a more positive response to mares, so it could be that… oh. oh… ok. Speaking of which, I have this strange feeling that I am being watched right now… a feeling which honestly creeps me the heck out but… nobody here seems to be paying any attention to me whatsoever. I began to look around, trying to find anything or anyone that might look suspicious. All I saw where the same thatch roofed houses and ponies running around. But I guess I just being silly and paranoid for no reason. I mean really why would anyone… “HI THERE!” “AHHH! WHAT THE!?” And with that I fell onto my back with an audible thud, groaning as my wings started to twitch within their covers from the shock, adding to my discomfort. After a while I looked, but was only greeted with a pair of baby blue eyes and a pink furry face close to my muzzle. Really, really close to my muzzle. “What are you doing down at the ground there silly? It’s not the annual “Laying yourself on the ground” day, is it? Oh, gosh! that means I still have to throw a party for that with lots of streamers and balloons and cake and music and cake did I already say cake? I think I did. Ooh this is going to be so much fun! Everypony laying on the ground while drinking and eating cake and candy and cupcakes and music and cake, let’s not forget about the cake, cake is very important to every…” “PINKIE PIE!” I shouted in irritation trying to stop her high pitch rambling before it would blow out my eardrums. It thankfully worked as she looked at me with a shocked expression for some reason. “Wait…why would she be looking so…” Then it hit me. My eyes went wide in shock as I quickly covered my mouth with my hoof. I can’t believe it, I…. I called her by her name even though we never ever met one another… THIS IS A DISASTER!!! I am so going to get found out now. First her, then the town and next the princesses. All because I couldn’t… “How do you know my name without me knowing yours?” She began to gasp. “Wait… that means you're new here in town aren’t you?” She announced with a big creepy smile which made me remember a creepypasta I once read about her. I shudder at that. I knew for a fact that I was going to run into cotton candy over here at some point in time but I never imagined it would be this early, and this close, like so close that she is literally standing right on top of me with her muzzle dangerously close to mine. If this wasn’t Pinkie Pie it would be a hell of a lot more awkward. What am I talking about? IT’S ALREADY A HELLA AWKWARD! PINKIE PIE. ON TOP OF ME. IN A REALLY SUGGESTIVE MANNER. Heck, ponies even began to stare at us, some of them giving us funny looks, some of them smiling and giggling. Some of them even shouted that we should go get a room. Can this day get anymore awkward and embarrassing? Saying that I felt flustered is an understatement. I was trying so hard to not embarrass myself. So... freaking… hard. And the fact that I could smell her cotton candy scent didn’t help well. If she was any lower than she already is, then it… it would… never mind. I began to gulp. “Um… Pinkie? Could you please… maybe…” I started as she slowly started to look me over, even so far as down onto my crotch which caused my heart rate to skyrocket. She whistle. “Hey I have to admit, you’re a real cutie there. No wonder all of my friends have been talking about you lately, primarily the mares, not so much the stallions, though. Kind of funny don’t you think?” She explained with a giggle, which made me groan. “O.. ok, please… could you just get…” “Hold that thought.” Pinkie said while shoving a hoof into my mouth. Which by the way…is FREAKING DISGUSTING. What has she been stepping on? It taste like…I don’t even want to know what I am tasting right now. “Where was…I?” She said while tapping her chin. “Oh right, you’re the new pony aren’t you. I am Pinkie Pie, but I guess you already knew that. What’s yours?” She asked again giving me a huge smile. “Hmmfff fffmmmff.” I gaged with the hoof still in my mouth. “Oh! Oopsies! Completely forgot.” Pinkie says as she finally removed her dirty hoof from my mouth. Spitting out the horrid taste out of my mouth in disgust I answered her. “Na..Nava My name is just… Nava.” I answered in between coughs. Her attitude quickly changed after that as she flashed her trademark Pinkie Pie smile once more while taking one of my forelegs and shaking it viciously to the point where I was sure I was going to lose it. “Well, nice to meet you, Nava. I hope that we can be friends. Oh, that reminds me.” She responded happily while still trying to rip my arm out. She is getting close though. “Wha-a-at” I tried to ask knowing full well what she was going to offer me. “A Welcome to Ponyville party of course! Where you will meet everypony in Ponyville and make lots and lots of friends. Who doesn’t like to make friends?” She announced with great glee as she finally let go of my arm and began bouncing up and down. Still on top of me, I have to add. “Oh this is going to be so exciting it’s been awhile since we had a new pony here in Ponyville. We are going to have cake, balloons, punch, streamers, cupcakes, music, clowns… wait, clowns? No, clowns are bad, I don’t trust clowns. BUT WE ARE GOING TO HAVE CAKE, A BIG BIIIIIG CAKE!” Pinkie ramble on. At that point I just couldn’t bother myself to listen to her anymore as I was way too worried about her landing her hoofs on me, with how quickly she was bouncing up and down on top of me. “How in heaven's name did I get myself in this situation?” I asked myself in my mind. “Pinkie Pie, would you please get off of him and leave that poor stallion alone?” Another voice suddenly came up, which caused Pinkie to freeze… in the air. Seems legit. “Oh, hi there, Rarity, Did you know we have a new pony in town?” “Well, no I didn’t, but now I know, seeing as how you are molesting this poor stallion.” The mystery pony said as she slowly came into my view. Oh, god why did she have to use the word molest in front of all these ponies, now they are staring even more than before, and- oh. Neat. It’s Rarity. “Also, he looks injured as well, so would you please be a lady and get off him.” She added as she gave pinkie a stern look. “Okey dokey lokie!” Pinkie replies as gravity finally remembered to bring her back down. She finally jumped off of me and gave me enough space to get back up. “I am so, so sorry there for my friend’s behavior, I hope she didn’t do anything ratio… oh, my.” Rarity apologized before having a good look at me as I picked my fedora up from the ground. I stared back at her confused as I place my hat back on my head. “My, my, what a handsome looking stallion. I must say, you really don’t see a lot of those here in Ponyville. Most stallion like yourself have either joined the guard or simply live in Canterlot.” Rarity announced while flipping her mane in a very dramatic manner. I simply raised an eyebrow. “Uh… thanks? By the way, thank you for helping me back there.” I smiled at her. She kindly returned it. “Oh, think of nothing of it, darling. It’s what do, being a help to the community and all.” She answered proudly. “Are you single, by any chance?” She quickly added while batting her eyelashes at me. “What?” I recoiled in shock. Don’t tell me, her too! Of all the ponies that would… actually, thinking back to it, from what I know of her it totally makes sense for her to ask such a question. Rarity and her look out for a good stallion. Smooth Rarity. So smooth. It was at this point where I noticed that most of the ponies who have been staring at us the entire time have long since moved on, making this situation a lot easier for me to swallow, though I still felt somewhat nervous nonetheless. I gulped nervously. “Uh… no, sorry mam but… I am not interested.” I replied as casually as possible without looking too much like an awkward pussy. Thankfully Rarity seemed to get the message immediately as she gave of a disappointed sigh. “Well, it was worth a try, though I am still open if you ever change your mind.” She answered which made me sigh as well in thanks. In my head mind you. “Oh dear HEAVENS how rude of me!” She suddenly started dramatically. “How could I even ask a stallion out on a date without even introducing myself first?” She said in a dramatic pose. “My name is Rarity, Ponyville's number 1 (slash only) fashionista and tailor.” She pointed at herself. “Who may I have the honor of make my acquaintance today?” She asked while looking back at me. “My Name is Nava, miss. Just Nava. And it’s nice to make your acquaintance as well, Miss Rarity.” I replied politely which made her smile. “Good looking and civil at the same time. A truly rare breed nowadays.” “Well, I don’t know about that to be honest.” i replied Rarity simply giggled at that. “Well, anyway, what exactly brings you here to ponyvi…?” She tried to ask before she shrieked as Pinkie took her spot. “It brings him here so I can throw him a “Welcome to Ponyville party” Right, right, right?” Pinkie asked all hyper. I again recoil at her sudden appearance as she started to bounce around me, bringing with it another crowd of onlookers that I honestly don’t need. “Pinkie, would you please stop behaving like a little filly for once. You almost got my coat dirty.” Rarity protested with a glare as she got back up. “Oh. Sorry there Rares, but I am just so excited to finally prepare another “Welcome to Ponyville” party so soon. Oh that reminds me, I gotta prepare!” Pinkie announced before dashing off faster than physically possible. “No, wait!” I try to call out. “Ugh.” Yup. That’s Pinkie Pie for you, just as sugary, hyper and physics-breaking as in the show. God have mercy on my sanity. “Hey, what’s with all the commotion out here?” I hear the familiar voice of Cloud Chaser ask. I turned my head. “Oh hey girls, done with anything that needed to be done?” I asked as both her and Flitter approached me. Flitter nodded. “Yup, pretty much. Had to report to the weather captain about what happened. It also turns out that Rainbow Dash is going to replace him as captain tomorrow. Something I honestly did find surprising to be honest.” “Also, we are free to return home back to Cloudsdale as well, tomorrow morning. A whole week earlier than scheduled because of our injuries and still broken wings and what not.” Cloud Chaser continued. I smiled at them. “Oh, that’s cool. By the way do you guys know Rarity by any chance?” I asked gesturing towards her with a hoof. Flitter nods “Yup, we do. She’s the only fashion designer we know here in Ponyville, so it’s really hard not to know her in these parts.” Rarity smiled at his as she flipped her mane again. “Well, I do have a big name imprinted on my products and specialties.” she put in. “Anyway, we have nothing better to do for the rest of the day. Do any of you know what we could do now?” Cloud Chaser asked as she gazed between us. “Well… I kind of… got invi-told into Pinkie Pie's welcome party… or something… so I guess we can do that later this day if you two don’t have other plans.” I suggested while rubbing the back of my head. Cloud Chaser was the first to respond to that. “You were invited to one of Pinkie Pie’s parties? Aww yeah! Her parties are the best! Of course we are going to go there.” I Sighed while looking down at the ground. “Hey, what’s wrong, Nava?” Flitter asked as she placed a hoof on my shoulder. I shook my head. “Nothing much. It's… it’s just… I’m not a big fan of parties simply because I’m not very social to begin with.” I explained while looking at her. “Ah, don’t worry too much about it darling. Pinkie’s parties are really some of the best I have seen. I’m sure you will still have a good time, regardless.” Rarity assured me with an encouraging smile. I looked back and nodded. “Yeah, I guess.” All four of us began to smile and chuckle after that before Cloud Chaser once again stepped in. “Anyway, I am hungry again, should we go get lunch before going to the party later this afternoon?” Cloud asked, looking between me and Flitter. Flitter nodded. “Yeah, sure, why not? I’m buying this time, I guess.“ “Sweet!” Rarity spoke up. “Well, in that case I will be off, still have to pick up Sweetie from school later. Have a nice day you three and it was nice meeting you, Nava. See you in the party I hope.” “Yeah, see you, Miss Rarity. Nice having met you as well.” I called back. And with that, Rarity and the three of us finally went our separate ways. I am really not ready for a full blown party. I just got here like three days ago. ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………... Within the deepest depths of Tartarus two red eyes emerge from the darkness, letting out a razor sharp smile as it watched the young new alicorn through the eyes of a bird passing bird. The creature began to chuckle manically to himself as the connection got cut out, his new work for vengeance to this accursed realm was now slowly piecing itself together.
Chapter 2: The Big Scary Forest (Slight re-edit)Chapter 2: The Big Scary Forest /Chapter 2: The Big Scary Forest/ Edited by: WrittenWord333 “No….no please no…get away from me….please, NOOOOOO!!!” My eyes flew open as I returned to the waking world, breathing heavily as my body was shaking and covered in sweat. It took me a few moments to calm myself from the vivid nightmare I just escaped from. The dream was horrid to say the least. I had nightmares before prior to this but not as realistic as this one. I could still feel the chills of… of those massive red eyes staring down on me from above, coming closer and closer towards me as I desperately tried to get away from them, running deeper and deeper into the abyss that surrounds me, engulfing me. The echo of deep sadistic laughter and the sound of whispering voices were still ringing through my ears somewhat and I was still breathing heavily. “What…what was that? What kind of a nightmare was it?” I gave a heavy sigh. At least it was over, sure I was still very much on edge from the experience but at least it was over and I was back in the conscious world. Looking around me pretty much confirmed my suspicions that I am in fact still very much at the same spot I was when I passed out, still in the same gloomy, dark and curiously cartoony looking forest I found myself in the first time around. I lift one of my arms and surprise, surprise I still had a hoof instead of a hand, completely destroying any ideas I had that my previous experience was nothing more than a lucid dream or hallucination. I was a real pony, in the world of equestria. It was then when another worrying though struck me as I sat there looking at new transformed body. “How long am I going to be stuck here?” THAT was a really good question, how long am I going to be staying here? Is there ever going to be a chance for me to get back home? Will I ever see my family again, my old home, my old life? Will I be stuck here for the rest of my days never to see or even get a chance to say goodbye to my family or tell them that I was alright? Fear and worry began to well up inside my heart as all these depressing thoughts dominated my mind. A few tears escaped my eyes as I closed them, simply laying there on the ground and letting the gravity of my situation slowly sink in. “Why me…why not someone else…I mean…yes, sure I drew a lot of art and read a lot of fan made stuff but I never…ever liked watching the damn show itself…so why me when there are so many more people more suitable for this kind of stuff than me…I never even was one of those dedicated fans who desperately wanted to get a chance to visit this place. So why the FUCK ME??!!” I ranted in my mind in both anger and frustration as a few more tears escaped my eyelids. Thankfully though I eventually managed to calm myself down after letting all of my sorrow, fear, anger and frustration out and I began to carefully sit myself upright as I felt water dripping down along my back. I never really never noticed it at the time, simply because my mind and emotions were too busy with wrapping my fragile sanity around the impossibility of my situation to realize that my head was actually dipped halfway into the water when I lost consciousness, luckily with my face above the water otherwise I might have never woken up at all. Another thing I quickly took note of is how much more relaxed and calm my new body felt, no more pain, no soreness and no more stiff joints like it had been when I had first woken up. It was really strange but still an inviting feeling nonetheless. Which simply meant painful dragging and grinding along the forest floor were now a thing of the past. Which only left me with one more problem to tackle. “How do you walk as a quadruped?” Was my thought as I simply sat there looking at my four new behooved limbs. I simply shrugged, no pain no gain. If I ever want to get out of here alive and maybe find my way towards civilization or at least shelter I simply have to accept the fact that I am probably going to fall onto my face a lot while trying to do so. I rolled over myself onto my stomach with a bit of a grunt to give myself the best possible position to use all of my limbs to lift myself up on all fours. With a bit of a hard start I eventually managed to push myself up using my front legs first to lift my upper body from the ground, followed up by my hind legs until I was standing secure on all fours for the first time. Though a bit shaky at first. What really surprised me yet again was how initially easy it was to get myself up on all fours. It felt…natural to me, which is weird knowing that I have been bipedal my whole life. I began to smile at my small achievement and was about to really take my first few steps in this world when I abruptly lost my footing (or hoofing if you want to be specific) and slammed head first onto the ground. “Why am I not surprised? Stupid quadruped body.” I mumbled into the dirt. I slowly got myself back up with an annoyed growl and dusted myself off, checking if my glasses were still intact. To my relief they were. It was then when something in the corner of my eye caught my attention. My eyes went wide at what I saw. There laying right under the rock where I originally woke up upon where two items I immediately recognize as one of my own. My old yellow and red colored scarf and my old fedora. Seeing these two item I used to have back at my old world here was baffling to me. Well sure having my glasses at my side here was all fantastic and wonderful and such, but how two more of my other procession made it here as well was both confusing and surprising to me to say the least. I mean ,yay having more of my own stuff here as well is great and all (at least I don’t have to wander around this world completely naked) but the fact that I somehow managed to miss them entirely the first time around was bit off-putting. But then again I guess I was too busy with other things at the time so I really shouldn’t be surprised. Carefully making myself over to them and this time making sure that I don’t tangle myself on my own legs, I grabbed both my old scarf and fedora with my mouth and place them both to their respected places with one of my hooves. With everything done and taken care of I began to look around, sighing to myself when I saw nothing but more and more forest, rock, bushes and vines with no clear path at sight. “Where to go? Where to go? That is the question. I mean…I have read enough fanfics made by others to understand that I might be in the middle of the Everfree forest. But where do I go now?” “Wait…if I am in the Everfree forest…than means…? Yup got to move and make sure nothing with sharp teeth and glowing eyes can find me” I picked a direction and began to move, making sure to keep my surrounding in check to spot any movement or any other suspicious activity. “This is going to be a long…long night.” ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. Somewhere else deep in the same forest. “Just admit it already, Cloud, you got us lost didn’t you?” “Well…uhm…hehe…maybe…maybe not…ok, fine we're lost.” I answered my sister in utter defeat as I sunk my head low in self disappointment. “Ugh, all of this wouldn’t be so bad if our wings weren’t broken during our last weather assignment which, I would like to remind you, was your fault.” “Hey it’s not MY fault that Thunderlane pushed up that cloud in front of me and was blocking my view. How would I know that you were right below me?” “Well you would if you would LISTEN during the briefings in stead of doodling on your desk, then you would know that I was assigned to moving the clouds from below and you were explicitly told NOT slam into me at full speed.” “Well that’s because…” “ANNNND it was also YOUR clever idea to chase a little fox today into the Everfree forest after having stolen an apple from your grocery bag you bought today at the market.” I shut up. To be honest, running into the Everfree for just an apple really wasn’t one of my brightest ideas ever. “OK, FINE, FINE!…I bucked up...happy?” “Kind of, but not really. We still have this, oh I don’t know, serious problem of being lost in perhaps the most dangerous forest in all of Equestria.” “Only half as dangerous when you’re on your period.” I muttered. “What was that?!” “Nothing, nothing don’t worry.” Ugh…being stuck in a dangerous forest sucks balls, but being stuck in a dangerous forest with a nagging sister is even worse. Not to mention that her constant nagging might attract…unwanted followers, especially at night. I should probably tell her to keep her complaining down a notch because we are in the Everfree but know how much i have been...well...bucking up lately to an even retarded level (i sadly have to admit) She most likely won't listen to me and just keep nagging. Me and Flitter began to shiver as a cold breeze began to blow past us from above reminding me that traveling a forest, really any forest for that matter, at night is usually a bad idea for most ponies, and judging by the look my sister was giving she probably thought so too. We are already in a nice wide clearing so a campfire would now be a good idea, that and I am FREEZING. “Hey it's dark and cold anyway Flitter, let’s make camp for the night. Running around these woods in pitch darkness won’t get us back home anytime soon. What do you think?” “Yeah sure…why not I’m tired anyway.” “Do you still remember how to make fire the old fashion way?” “Of course I do…again unlike you I actually paid attention to our scout leaders back during our fillyscout days.” “Yeah, yeah always having to pull out the old ‘I never learn or listen’ card” “I have to…you might actually learn something.” She answered me with a grin. I simply stick my tongue out to her as both me and Flitter went about trying to find some good dry wood and timber to make our campfire. Man not being able to fly really sucks dicks and getting stared down by a bunch of yellow glowing eyes behind some bushes is annoying as well…wait yellow eyes? I froze when I realized that we were being watched. I slowly turned myself back towards my sister who was busy sticking her head under a bush. “Ohm…sis?” “Yes what is it?” “We…uhm…might have a problem.” “Ugh…what now.” She responded as she popped her head back out to look at me with an annoyed sigh which quickly morphed into an expression of fear when she saw what I saw in front of me. “Uh…I think we should run.” “Oh you think?” Right after that one of these creatures suddenly revealed itself as it slowly moved its way into the moonlight above us. It was a large Timberwolves followed soon by the rest of its pack as they all suddenly emerged from behind the trees and bushes, slowly approaching us from multiple directions snarling and growling and looking mighty hungry for some pray as there stench began filling the air around us. My heart pumping rapidly in my chest as fear and dread filled my mind and body as we realized that we were surrounded. Both me and my sis slowly backing away as these predators slowly moved closer and closer to us, forming a semi-circle round me and flitter. Than a loud ominous sounding howl suddenly erupted from behind the shadows and then basically all Tartarus broke lose as one of the Timberwolves suddenly burst forth and started charging directly towards us. “RUN” Was all I could get out before me and Flitter galloped it out of here. All this trouble for a stolen apple, me and my stupid antics. ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. “I swear…sometimes it feels these trees are actually watching me…and those creepy claw shaped branches are not helping.” I thought in worry as I continued my trek through these woods. A few hours have passed since I started my trek and I swear in person the everfree forest looks FAR more creepier and intimidating than in the show. These old looking trees, those distant growls, howls and other animal (or monster) noises and these long dark shadows and constant fog are all things that make the hair on my back stand on the edge. Oh and it obviously doesn’t not help that it’s in the middle of the night as well, making the already poor visibility within this ridiculously overgrown jungle even worse. During that time I tried my best to occupy my mind with other important things that I will have to solve as soon as I get out of this bloody forest. Like the idea in how I am going to present myself to the locals when I unavoidably come across them. Im mean for starters I am a freaking Alicorn (for reason unknown) and the few little things I know about Alicorn is they are supposedly be some of the most powerful beings in this world, at least in terms of magic. How am I supposed to present myself knowing that my race is basically regarded as almost demi-gods? Short answer I don’t. Letting the populace know that there is suddenly ANOTHER Alicorn running lose that no one knew of would most certainly attract all kinds of unwanted attention, especially from the two rulers. Oh god no, I do not look forwards in having to deal with these two or any secret villain who might get an interested in me as well. In other words I need to keep my true race a secret, maybe finding a way how to hide my wings and come off as a simple looking unicorn, simple because for two reasons. One I know for a fact that I am never really going to use my wings anyway simply because I am afraid of heights and two because I am afraid off bloody heights. But anyway I guess I can focus on that problem on a future date but for now let’s just get back to the present. The problem in being inside this mind freaking forest. At least now I understand why these ponies avoid these woods like the plague, especially with the knowledge that monsters inhabit these parts of the lands as well. A though that really keeps me on the edge as I constantly have to look around to make sure nothing is following me. I swear I have seen a pair of glowing red eyes behind some bushes just a an hour ago…or it could also be my scary imagination, who knows. The point is this place is freaking scary. I have never been more paranoid in my whole life than i am right now walking through these woods...or is it trotting now? The sooner I can get out of here the better, for me and my sanity. Because I swear I am starting to see things in the corner of my vision. “Why the hell did I though that venturing out was even a good idea, I should have just stay put in my spot and at least waited for morning to arrive. The small pond I woke up at was nicely covered and secluded from almost all side...so why?” I whispered as I continue to look around franticly. It’s really at this point where being a Bat-pony would really be more beneficial than being an alicorn at least then I could see more than just 50 meters in front of me and finally debunk the notion if I am really seeing things or not. *Rustle “What…?” *Rustle rustle “I…I hear rustle’s…oh shit…something was following me…I knew it” My body froze as the rustle’s sounds were slowly getting louder and louder. My heart rate increased and I began to sweat as a feeling of dread I have never felt before began to well up inside of me. The rustling became louder and louder. I desperately wanted to run desperately wanted to get away from this place as quickly as possible but I felt it was already too late, whatever it was it is moving faster towards me than I could ever outrun it, especially how frozen in fear I am at the moment. “This is it…I knew my luck would run out sooner or later.” I thought to myself as steeled myself and waited for my assailant to show itself. The rustle’s were coming closer and by the sound of it where coming from one of the bushes in front of me. What will it be? A bear? A wolf?A Cocatrice? A MANTCORE? *squeak …or a Rabbit… Yup a Rabbit, I’m getting scared by a rabbit… Thank god though it’s just a Rabbit. I sighted in utter relief as I watched the Rabbit quickly run past me and slip off into another bush to my right. I quickly calmed my breathing and chuckled nervously as I wiped the sweat from my forehead. “Man…see what this place can do to your mind, and I really thought that it might have been a…” “Heeeeeeelp!!!” I tensed up again. “What…what was that? Did I really heard a…” “Somepony help us!!” “Yup I did…I really did.” I slowly began to panic again. Something or more likely someone was here in the forest with me, and judging by the sound not far away either. Which means whatever was…making them shout for help was pretty close by as well. “Oh god what should I do what should I do?” I frantically asked myself in my head. “Should…should I really go an try to help these…these peoples…err i mean ponies? I mean…shit I am somewhat of a coward and running head first in into danger is one of the last things I ever want to do.” “Somepony…anypony please help us!!!” “Wait there is more than one?” At this point I really had to make a choice, should I actually go and follow these sounds, or should I just ignore them and leave them to their faith, because what the hell am I supposed to do? I don’t know anything about stuff like this because I never had the misfortune to find myself in such situations. I don’t know how to fight. “Heeeeeeelp!!” Then again…what kind of a person would I be if I let my fear cost the life of not one but two individuals? Screw it I have to do it, I might actually be the only person nearby than could actually help them. I have to forget about my fears for once and do what is right. Hopefully without getting myself killed. With that new found determination I quickly made my way over to the source of the sound crashing through bushes, dodging and jumping past trees and avoiding other obstacles. “Oh I hope I know what I am doing.” I thought to myself in worry as I galloped as fast as my four legs could.
Chapter 3: First Confrontation Chapter 3: First Confrontation /Chapter 3: Confrontation/ Edited by: Chrome Masquerade “Ahhh…stupid vine, almost tripped on it. I have no time to lose. I need to be quick if I want to be of any possible help.” I thought to myself as I continued to rapidly make my way over to the calls of distress. My body was covered in sweat as I could hear my heart pumping into my ears from this mad dash. My muscles began to burn, but I didn’t care. For some reason I was just filled with dread and a feeling of urgency even though I had no idea what I would encounter once there. My body was already covered in small cuts and bruises from strafing by small spikes and sharp branches as I ran. But just as with my untrained muscles I ignored the pain and simply continued on my mad dash. “Please… anypony? Can anypony hear us? We need HELP!!!” The sounds were getting louder and clearer as I rapidly came closer and closer to its source. What eventually really started to worry me were the loud barks, growls, and sounds of claws scratching on wood, telling me right clearly that I was running directly into danger as well. But again despite my fears I simply continued to press on, jumping over one a fallen tree trunk before I finally came within visual range of the source of the noise. What I saw made my eyes go wide. “Are… are those… wolves made of wood?” I whispered as I managed to keep myself momentarily hidden behind a large tree as I observed the scene in front of me. Despite the deep darkness that dominated the rest of the forest, here everything was far brighter and clearer to see, thanks to the relative openness of this clearing and the large full moon above us. Though that was not what dominated my attention. What did eventually made me do a double take was the fact that these… wooden Canines were slowly circling a large dead tree that was leaning dangerously over a cliff! Though, it was what was on top of the tree which made my eyes go even wider. On the tree's top branches, holding on for dear life where two Ponies, two Pegasus ponies to be precise. Heavily beaten and injured, trying their best to keep themselves away from the prying claws of these predators as they tried to climb up the tree. “Flitter… I… I am so sorry that I got yourself into this mess…this is all my fault… me and my stupid antics and daredevilry… if only if I had listened to you more…” “It’s… it’s ok Cloud… that’s… what I am here for… i'm… i'm your sister and as sisters we… we stick together. I made a promise to mom and dad to look after you… and I have been keeping that promise ever since… and I will continue doing so for the rest of our days… if this is… the day… where we both have to go down… at least we go down together… sis.” “Flitter, I… I… SIS LOOK OUT!!!” My heart almost stopped as I was forced to watch from behind my hiding spot as one of these monsters managed to climb close enough to scratch one of these ponies with its claws, leaving a large gash on her flank as she screamed in pure pain and fighting herself to not lose her grip. It was then that under the combined weight of these two ponies and the monsters trying to climb it that the entire root system of the tree began to fail as it slowly ripped itself out from the ground and quickly toppled over, directly over the large drop behind it. I just couldn’t watch, I just couldn’t do anything because I felt too afraid to even move from my position. I came here to help them but in the end all I simple did was watch in utter horror and fear letting these monsters toy around with them and eventually letting them fall to their death simply because I am too much of a coward to do anything. I’m so pathetic… “FLITTER!!” “CLOUDCHASER!!” Than my eyes suddenly open as something deep within my being suddenly awakened. All of my fear suddenly drained away as a new fire began to ignite inside my heart, a fire I had never ever felt before in my life. It felt… empowering, inspiring… encouraging. A feeling of power and will I have never felt before. It was… it was… unbelievable. My wings suddenly opened for the first time, and without even feeling or thinking about it I began galloped out into the open. With anger, determination and courage burning within my eyes. I kicked, punched and charged through every single one of these creatures who dared to stand in my way, sending them flying and crashing into the ground, trees, or rocks around us as they yelp and howl in pain from my action. One by one they meet the ends of my horn or hoof as I soon came face to face with their leader. He was large, really, really large in comparison to his other kin, with large scars covering its wood-like body to display his strength and power to all who dared to oppose him. It let out an ear shattering roar as it charged at me, its eyes displaying a lust for blood as its massive size and strong legs dug deep into the ground as it ran towards me. I simply continued my own charge, feeling rather unimpressed by my opponent’s size and viciousness. Time seemed to slow down as we continued to charge at one another, neither one of us showing any sign of intimidation or backing down. Even though my body was working practically on overdrive, my mind, though was surprisingly calm as I stared into the glowing red eyes of my opponent. I simply let my instincts take over as I began to jump high into the air with my wings still fully extended, just barely missing this monster's massive jaws as it was about to strike me down, gliding over its massive head and using it as a boost to clear the rest of the monster’s body by kicking its skull with my hind legs forcing its head to hit the dirt below it as my wings, at that point, took over. I easily cleared the rest of the way as time slowly began to resume its normal state as I dove over the cliff and immediately took chase after the two still falling Pegasi below. The wind rushed past me at high speeds as I dived bombed my way to them. The cries and looks of fear in their eyes and voices were obvious as they flailed around desperately in the air in the hopes of a miracle. A miracle that is diving faster towards them than they realized. As soon as I reached them I began to grab them one by one with my forelegs, grabbing them around their waists and holding them close to and in front of me. I immediately began to angle myself horizontally to keep them safe on top of me and wrapped my wings around them as well for extra protection as my back was facing the rapidly approaching ground below us. I simply closed my eyes and held on tight as we continued to fall along the cliff walls. A small but happy smile formed on my lips just few moments before my body hit the rock hard ground. Before I know it, a loud crash and a shot of unimaginable pain rocked my entire body as the entire world went black. ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. Light was the only thing greeting my vision as soon as I opened my eyes. The first obvious thought that went through my mind was “Am I dead?” but that got somewhat debunked when my vision slowly adjusted itself to the bright rays and all I was able to see was a clear cloudless blue sky and the bright shine of the sun above me. I groaned as I slowly began to sit up and felt rather surprised how easy it was for me. For some reason I expected it to be a bit harder than that. Another thing that really surprised me was how…familiar my body felt, nothing like the new pony body I have now. I look down onto myself and was shocked to find out that I had my normal legs and feet again, same for my hands and arms as I moved them in front of me. Thank god I have some pants and a shirt on as well otherwise it would have been a bit awkward, though I wonder where my shoes are. “How…since when did I turn human again?” “Well, since you came here, obviously.” “What… who said that?” I thought to myself in surprise after I heard that. I began to look around me, trying to find the owner of that voice but all I saw was a never ending expanse of clear blue skies and an endless field of clouds filling the horizon. Oh yeah… did I already mention that was sitting on clouds? A never ending expanse of clouds going as far as I could possibly make out? Huh…I guess I really must be dead than. This at least explains why I can sit on an otherwise non solid objects and find myself in a place looking like this. “Nah, you're cool man. You’re not dead, don’t worry.” The same voice suddenly replied scaring the ever living crap out of me. “How…how does it know what I was thinking?” I thought to myself again as I started to try and pinpoint the source of that voice again only to once again finding nothing but the same emptiness and stillness of clouds and blue clear sky. “No dude, behind you. I am behind you.” I immediately held still after the voice said that, and despite my better judgment and, simply out of curiosity, I did as the voice instructed me and turned my head and upper body around so that I could see what was behind me. I couldn’t believe my eyes at what presented itself in front of me when I did. “Hey there. I know it’s a bit awkward seeing yourself in front of you… Well, your other self, that is.” Saying I was speechless was an understatement. I was stunned to see my own self standing there behind me with an awkward smile on its face, my pony face. “Uhhhh…” Was all I got out as I continued to look completely dumbstruck. “… Ok, I either must be dreaming… or I am really dead.” “No, trust me you’re not dead, though you might be right with the whole dreaming thing.” My pony self-answered with a smile, making me raise an eyebrow in suspicion. “Ok… then tell me… where am I and who the heck are you?” My pony self snickered to himself after I asked that, shaking his head a bit before addressing me with his smile again. “I am you. Duh. Well, you're more courageous side, to be precise. Also you are currently in your own subconscious, if that information helps you.” I simply stared at him. “Sub-conscious?? My sub-conscious is a representation of something that most peoples would imagine heaven would look like?” I asked while scratching my head. He simply shrugged again. “Again, I don’t know way it looks like this, but hey, you got to admit that it looks very pretty and peaceful. I kind of like it to be honest.” He answered with another smile. I simply continued to scratch my head after that, before remembering something else he said earlier. “Also, a more courageous side of me? Are you shitting me, I’m not very courageous at all since I prefer to stay away from danger. Also why would my more braver side be represented by a pony?” I asked him accusingly while crossing my arms, this time fully facing him. I watch my other self think for a while before simply shrugging and looking back at me while rubbing the back of his head with one of his hooves. “Beats me, to be honest. Also, prefer to stay away from danger? Then please do tell how you managed to perform that little stunt you did just a few moments ago, hmmm?” My pony self-answered with a smug smile at the end, which confused the heck out of me. “What??!! What are you talking about?” He simply chuckled. “Don’t worry, you’re going to find out soon enough. You're about to wake up anyway.” He answered still keeping his smile. “Wake up… but I don’t feel….” “Oh yeah, I just forgot” He interrupted as he took his hat off and held it out in front of him. I simply looked at him confused as he began to turn the hat upside down with his hooves. “Remember that you can take your possessions from your world into your current one and back with this Fedora, basically like one of those magic hat thingies that those old-school magicians use. But you should already know that because it was your idea when you made me.” He explained to me with a smile as he demonstrated it by sticking his hoof into it and then suddenly pulling out my smartphone to show it to me. I again simply stared at him dumbfounded before he quickly tossed my phone back into the hat and placed it back onto his head. “Well, anyway It’s time to wake up.” “No, wait! I still need to know…” “Wake up.” “WAKE UP!!!” ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………... “Hey sis… I think he’s waking up.” “Really? Oh, thank the Celestia for that… with that impact he took earlier I thought he would never wake up.” I hear two voices say as consciousness slowly returned to me. The very first thing I felt, though, was pain. Lots and lots of pain. Not as widespread as the first time, but this time more concentrated into one area. My Back. My bloody back. “Ohhhh ffffffffuck… why do I always… have to wake as if I just fell from a hundred story building or something.” I groaned as my eyes were slowly starting to open up. “Uhm, actually… you fell down a very large cliff to be precise… with us. Th… thank you, by the way, for saving our lives like that… by almost… sacrificing yours.” one voice said awkwardly “Yeah… thanks a lot mister. That was really epic of you. I mean, I haven’t seen or heard of anypony being able to survive such a fall -and impact- before… you really are a hero. For the two of us, at least.” I heard the other voice reply as I was still in the wake up process while ignoring the pain in my back. “Wha… what? Who are you two? And also what are you two talking abo-” I stopped before I could even finish my sentence as everything suddenly came back to me; the encounter, the monsters, the fall, everything. My eyes immediately shot open as I attempted to quickly get up, but got stopped as a sudden spike of pain assaulted and I was forced back onto the ground with a heavy hiss escaping my teeth. “No, no… be careful! Please don’t move so erratically. You’re still injured and you need to take it slowly.” I heard as a set of hooves gently pressed me back down onto the ground. “Yeah. it’s actually quite a miracle that nothing else got injured as well. Aside from a few cuts and bruises on your back. Any other pony would have shattered their spines completely if they had been in your hooves.” I heard the other voice comment as I was still grinding my teeth from the pain. I sighed after the pain slowly began to subside. I eventually felt calm enough to open my eyes again and the first sight that greeted me were nothing but a blurry, unrecognizable mess of figures and colors, making me rub my eyes and slightly groan in annoyance. “Ugh… where are my glasses?” “Your glasses? Oh you mean these. Just a sec.” I heard the first voice reply as I continue to massage my eyeballs. “Here” “Th… thanks, but… Could you maybe do it for me? It’s difficult to place them back onto my nose with… hooves. ” I asked, a tad sheepishly. “Oh, ok.” She replied as I felt a pair of hooves gently placing my glasses back onto the bridge of my snout where they belong. I sighed in relief as my vision was finally restored. I was about to thank the individual who gave back my glasses, until I realized who it was standing right in front of me. “I know these two… I’ve seen these two characters before back home in both fan art and tumblr sites… background characters I would guess?” and I guess I was right with that thought seeing them right in front and personal. “It’s just too bad that I can’t remember what they were called. Jeez, what were their names again?” I thought to myself as I curiously watched the light violet colored fur and white colored, spiky maned mare in front of me. Another mare suddenly came up from behind her looking almost the same in terms of coat color, only even lighter and with a long bluish-green mane with a pink bow on top. Again, just couldn’t remember her name as I continued to curiously observe both of them. Suddenly a thought struck me. “Wait… do… do they know? I mean both a horn and wings should be easy to spot. Especially mine, as they seem to be bigger than your average Unicorn and Pegasus…CRAP!!” I thought to myself. I began to internally panic as the realization hits home. I slowly began to back away from them nervously, minding my back. The two of them showed looks of confusion and concern towards me as i continued to slowly crawl backwards and eventually hit a wall behind me. It was only then when I realized that we were actually inside a cave with the only exit being right behind them. Man, what the heck is wrong with my perception lately, constantly never noticing such obvious stuff. Also with them standing right in front of the only exit this meant that I was basically trapped as well. Shit! “Oh, what… what’s wrong? Was it something i said?” The white haired one asked as her face showed genuine concern. “No… just… just no. You two already know what I am don’t you?” “Know? Know what? What are you talking about?” She replied with confusion as she began to look back at her sister for possible answers. Only for her to realize something, staring directly at me with wide eyes, shock, surprise, and disbelief etched on her expression. Shit… she knows… actually, wait a minute… “Oh, sis what are you…?” “Cl… Cloud Chaser. Take… take another look. Like a REALLY good look and tell me what you see.” The one wearing a pink bow answered. The one with Spiky white hair did so as she, too, took another look at me. At first she continued to look confused, until a look of realization sprung up and she too was looking at me with shock and disbelief written on her face. Wa… wait a minute… did I just sell myself out by acting strange and claiming that they know? Helping them essentially realize what I truly am? FUUUUUUCK, what a bloody idiot I am. SHIT. “Uh… oh, no it’s… it’s not what it looks like…I…I’m just an average…looking Pegasus to be honest. That horn you see on top of me…it’s just glued on… it's fake. I place it there to… pull a prank on someone…y es a prank hehe.” I desperately tried to lie while smiling sheepishly at the end. Obviously though, they weren’t buying it as the white haired one slowly started to approach me. Curiosity replacing her previous shocked expression. The moment she was in arm’s length she began to tap my horn roughly with the tip of her hoof making me feel really tense and really awkward at the same time. “Hmmm. Looks and feels real to me.” She commented to herself. I watched her tap my horn a few more times until the pony in back suddenly began to shout at her, making both of us flinch in surprise. “Clou… Cloudchaser… what the BUCK ARE YOU DOING???!!!! STOP THAT! THIS PONY HERE MIGHT BE A PRINCE FOR ALL WE KNOW!!!” She shouted in panic. That accusation immediately sent alarm bells through my mind as the last thing I wanted them to thing was that I was some kind of royalty or monarch. “WHAT!! NO Nonononononono I am not a prince…far from it. I am just a normal everyday guy who tries to find his place in the world, that’s all, just like everyone else.” I quickly corrected in a panicked voice while looking at her. “See? He said he is not royal so it’s cool.” The one dubbed Cloudchaser replied casually while smiling. Wait… is she for REAL? Just a few moments ago she looked just as shocked and surprised as her sister and now all of the sudden she is totally cool with it? Is she secretly retarded, or is she really just so incredibly chill with the idea that there is an unknown Alicorn just sitting right in front of her? Maybe my worries from earlier were just fabrications of my imagination and it might actually be ok for these ponies to accept me for what I am, but then again the looks and reactions of her sister completely destroyed these ideas and made me even more determined to keep my true looks hidden from everyone and everything as best as I possibly could. The last things I want to cause while being stuck here is either a mass panic or mass riot, two things I am very allergic to, so to speak. I was quickly drawn back into reality as I began to hear both of than start to argue and bicker. Mostly revolving about me and my appearance and how irresponsible Cloudchaser was and how bossy her sister is. At this point I really had to say something before things started to get out of hand -or hoof, as the case may be-. Mostly for my sake, since I know that I am far from being out of the woods yet -No pun intended,- because I can tell from looking past the cave exit that I am still in the Everfree, which I don’t like. I nervously tried to get their attention back to me to perhaps defuse this situation…just a little bit, if not completely. “Um… Excuse me?” I tried to call out from my position but as expected was meant with no response as they continued arguing. I sighed. Only one last thing to do then. “WOULD YOU TWO STOP BICKERING FOR ONE MINUTE??!!” I shouted, which thankfully did the trick. They both flinched at my sudden… assertiveness as they both turned to look at me with surprised looks on their faces. I cleared my throat. “So… sorry for shouting but I desperately wanted to say something before things would go too far.” I started. “For starters, even though I look…somewhat unique from the outside I can easily assure you that beyond that there is absolutely nothing special or different about me in comparison to everyone else. I am just an average dude who likes to lives his life normally and tried to avoid trouble and danger wherever he goes.” “Heck, that’s another thing. I don’t even know to use my horn or wings. So there. You can stop your arguing because there is nothing to argue about.” I finished my explanation with a sight as I took my Fedora off to rub my head a bit. An awkward silence dominated the small cave we were in as neither me nor the two mares in front of me dared to say anything else after my earlier sudden outburst. I shook my head sadly and sighed, placing my Fedora back onto my noggin and attempted to stand up back on all fours. Only to be brutally reminded again of my back as I almost fell back down. This, though, managed to spark a reaction from one of the two sisters as the one with the bow quickly rushed over me to support me with her body before I could fall. “I already told you that you need to take it slowly, the injury on your back is still fresh, so please, lay back down before you make it even worse.” She pleaded with concern leaking from her voice. I simply smiled weakly at her for her concern as I tried my best to ignore the pain. “It's… quite alright. Really, trust me when I say I’ve had FAR worse pains than this.” I replied with a weak chuckle to try and ease her concern a bit. Though my attempts to calm her down quickly vanished as I saw the still fresh looking four-claw gash on her flank that one of those monsters gave her as my own concern for her quickly rose. “But, wait… what about you? You’re seriously injured as well.” I asked while pointing at her wound with one of my hooves. She followed my gaze and sighted as she realized what I was pointing out too. “Well… yeah, but out here I really can’t do anything about it other than making sure it stays clean.” She explained with a sad look as her ears drooped. “But don’t worry, I can manage…I hope.” She added, looking at the ground. I knew for a fact that this wound could easily get infected if not closed or treated soon, especially out here. It was then when the memory of the dream about talking to my pony self within my subconscious mind suddenly re-emerged. “What did he mention about my Hat again? Something about being able to pull out stuff from my world over to this world, like a magician's hat?” I thought to myself as I tried to reply my memory of that one particular experience of my dream. Thinking back onto the time when I drew and designed my OC’s character I did gave him an ability that enabled him to pull out and store all of his personal possessions from his home over to him and vice versa giving him almost endless storage capacity wherever he went. Well, at least stuff that was able to fit through his hat as it didn’t work for anything else that was bigger, for obvious reasons. Knowing this, I looked over to my support. “Could you maybe give me a little bit more space? I… uh… need to try something out, if you don’t mind?” I asked while looking at the ground feeling a bit unsure. The mare in front of me simply stared at me in confusion before simply nodding and carefully retreating herself from me while keeping a careful eye on me. I took this opportunity of personal space to move my Fedora from my head and onto my hoof in an upside-down position giving me a full-on view of the inner part of my headdress. At first glance it looked like how I imaged it would, empty and completely normal. Even so, I could somehow feel that all of the normality that my Fedora enforced was nothing more than just a clever illusion to fool anyone who didn’t know otherwise. I simply shrugged and began to place my bets as I carefully sat myself down onto my rump and slowly lowered my other hoof down into the interior of my Fedora. I took a glance over to the bow wearing mare for just a second as my hoof mysteriously went deeper and deeper into my hut as I unknowingly began to feel something attach itself onto my hoof as I quickly looked back. Surprise and shock dominated my mind after I saw how deep I managed to lower my hoof into my hut, with half of my foreleg completely disappearing from view I slowly began to retract my foreleg back out and was even more surprised to see that two full rolls of clean, unused bandages were suddenly visible resting on top of my hoof. Both mares also looked rather shocked at this display as they both stared at my hat and then back at the bandages I just pulled out. Seemingly out of nowhere from their perspective, which isn’t really farfetched especially from my point of view and experience. I simply shrugged to myself as I looked over to the bow wearing mare in front of me holding out the bandages in front of her. At this point I decided to myself to just accept everything that is nonsensical and reality breaking from now on. I am, after all, stuck in a world where magic and mythical creatures exist, so trying to add my real world logic into this would lead nowhere besides a trip into a mental hospital. A place I am not planning on visiting anytime soon. “Here you can use these to cover up your wound and not risk infection. Please take them.” I said as calmly as I possibly could. She, of course looked confused as hell as her gaze switches to me, to the bandages and back to me in a real comical way. Eventually, though, she seemed to get a grip on herself again as she gazed back on me with a questionable look on her muzzle. “Oh… ok? But… but how did you just…?” “Nope, sorry. No more questions. Just simply roll with it and accept it as fact. Easy peasy.” I quickly interrupted her while crossing my forelegs. “Oh. ok then. Thank you.” She simply replied, while still looking somewhat confused, and took the bandages by grabbing them with one of her wings that wasn’t bandaged up like the other one. Huh, how did I miss that? Seriously, my perception is all over the place lately. Hopefully that fixes itself soon, otherwise I am going to have some serious problems later on. “Well, uh… Cloud, could you, maybe, help me wrap this around my left flank? It’s a bit difficult doing it all alone.” She called out towards her sister. Her sister simply nodded as she trotted over to her sibling to help her properly cover up her wound. I took the time while these two were busy to think about my situation and my next course of action. My back obviously still stings from the…supposedly epic rescue event that I achieved. To be completely honest here my memory of that one particular event is somewhat hazy, to say the least. The only thing I could remember were emotions. Raw, uncontrolled emotions and feelings. Weird, I know, but more worrying than weird. I mean what does this tell me? Will this happen more often? Will I be able to control it, or even better, prevent it from happening again? ‘Cause the idea of me doing things without me fully knowing it or controlling it is an idea that would make many feel worried. Does this have to do with the fact that I am a wing spanning horn wielding pony? Maybe…maybe not. Crap, this is so confusing, and just earlier I had decided to just go with the flow and accept things as they are and no longer question them. One thing is for sure… if I am going to survive in a world such as this I am going to need people -or, uh, ponies- that I can trust. But how can I find those who won’t either fear me, hate me, or just cell me out? “Uh... hey there?” I was pulled out of my reverie as a voice suddenly called out for me. I looked up and was greeted with the sheepish look of the bow wearing mare in front of me with her sister right next to her. “Thanks for the bandages, and again thank you for saving us from falling to our deaths. Without you my sister and I would not be here at all. And… and I also want to apologies how both of us acted in front of you.” She announced as she and her sister gave me the most sincere smile I have ever seen. I nodded, giving them a small smile of my own while rubbing the back of my head. “It… it’s nothing, really. I just did what any other decent individual would have done.” I replied, looking at the ground sheepishly. I was taken completely by surprise as two sets of forelegs began to wrap themselves around my body, encasing me in the warmth of both these mares’ bodies. I blushed as I realized what was happening. Nonetheless, I accepted it, as it wasn’t really often that you get hugged by two warm and fuzzy ponies, Though, I have a feeling that this is going to become much more common in the future. Something I need to keep an eye out for if I want to make sure ponies don’t get suspicious regarding my wings. They eventually broke off giving me back my personal space and sat themselves around me as I was still blushing a bit from the sudden body contact I had just received. Both of them giggled at my reaction, which really didn’t help at all, but it was still nice to know that these two were starting to relax themselves and not panic, worry, or be surprised and shocked at me. The one with the bow broke the silence. “Oh yeah, I just forgot, we never even introduced ourselves to you did we?” “Well my name is Flitter.” She introduced herself before gesturing over to her sister. “And this here is my sister Cloudchaser, but I guess you already know that simply because I have already called her by her name multiple times since you woke up.” She finished by scratching the back of her neck sheepishly. Cloudchaser in turn smiled at me as she was about to ask me something. “What can we call you by the way?” She asked as both Flitter and her smiled at me. I was about to give her my name before I managed to stop myself as a thought entered me. What name am I going to give them? Am I going to give them my real name or my pony name? I guess giving my real name or my pony name to them wouldn’t really matter that much, but what about any other pony I am might come across in the near future? I know for a fact that human names are weird and almost alien for these ponies so giving them my real name would just unintentionally give me even more unwanted attention in the future than I might already get for just being around them. So I guess using my real name would eventually end up to be more of a problem to me than I am prepared for. My OC’s name it is. “Nava, just call me Nava.” I finally replied with a smile.
Chapter 4: Path to Freedom Chapter 4: Path to Freedom Edited by: Chrome Masquerade Sleeping in a cave on a hard, ice-cold surface was really not the most comfortable experience I ever had, especially regarding my still aching back. After the first rays of sunlight penetrated the entrance of the small cave that the two mares and I used as an overnight shelter, me and Flitter and Cloud Chaser decided to immediately head out to use the provided daylight to scout the woods in hopes of finding a way out of this naturally made maze of a forest. With no breakfast, mind you. Cloud Chaser, though, was kind enough to offer herself as my support to lean on as my back was still feeling very sore, which also affected my walking. I was rather wobbly on my hind legs. Having some companions to travel with made things so much easier to bear, especially boredom as the two mares and I would occasionally engage ourselves into small talks of various different topics, asking questions and getting to know each other that much better. After a few minutes of silence I was about to retreat myself back into my own thoughts, when Cloud Chaser -still beside me- began to ask me something again. “Sooo… is it really true that you have no idea how to fly, or how to use that horn of yours?” She asked looking at me. “Yup, pretty much.” I simply answered while I was still looking at the ground. “Then how did you managed to rescue us the way you did when you don’t know how to use those wings of yours?” She countered making me lift my head and letting out a sight. “I already told you, I really have no idea how I accomplished that. I’m telling you the 100% truth when I said that I have no idea how to fly.” I answered with a bit of a sad look. I could also have told them that I am scared of heights as well but I guess I didn’t have to if they wouldn’t ask me about it. “Hey, guys look! A road! The main road that goes through the Everfree Forest! Finally, we can get out of this bucking place and get back home!” Flitter suddenly shouted up ahead, getting our attention in an instant. “REALLY? Oh, Sweet I can’t wait to finally get something in my mouth and get all this gunk out of my fur and mane.” Cloud Chaser called back happily, a sense of happiness that I shared with her. Finally a way out of this place, I was starting to get the idea that we’d never find out way back to civilization. “Well, hurry up you two! If we hurry we could reach Ponyville before sundown. Come on!” Flitter shouted back excitedly before dashing off onto the distant road like a little girl. Cloud Chaser giggled at her sister’s sudden change of character. “Don’t worry, while my sister is going all filly like we can take it nice and slow. No need to rush at this point.” Cloud Chaser said with a smile as she wrapped a friendly wing around me. I gave her a kind smile in return as we continued to leisurely trot our way toward the road ahead of us. The idea of finally seeing Ponyville for real was intriguing. If there wasn’t the problem of my appearance. That reminded me. At what point in the timeline is all of this? Again, I don’t know much about the show’s timeline, simply because, again, I never really watched it. But it could still be important to know when I arrived, so that I don’t accidentally screw anything up, and I have read QUITE enough fanfiction to know that that’s usually is the case with situations just like mine. Also, I probably have to deal with the Pink One as well at some point in my life here. An encounter -just like with the Princesses- I’d like to avoid at all cost... but would probably fail knowing the reputation the Pink One has. “Hey, you still there, buddy?” Cloud Chaser suddenly nudged me. “You kind of zoned out there, for a moment. Is everything ok?” Cloud Chaser asked, with a bit concern in her tone. I simply shook my head. “No, nothing. Really, don’t worry. I guess I’m just hungry that’s all.” I half lied to her simply because I was pretty hungry. Since I had awakened in this pony filled world I had not a single bite to eat, or even to drink. Actually, now that I mentioned food and drinks, I am really feeling the hunger and thirst right now as my stomach suddenly made itself known for the first time. Man so this is how feeling really hungry feels like. Cloud Chaser giggled at the sound of my stomach suddenly voicing his concerns, making feel a bit embarrassed about it. Though that quickly changed when Cloud Chaser’s belly also voiced its own opinion as it was her turn to look slightly red in the cheeks at how much louder hers growled in comparison to mine. Which made me chuckle before both of our bellies growled together, making us both laugh out. “(Hehehehe) I guess we're both pretty hungry, then. But don’t worry. As soon as we reach Ponyville I’m going to head over to the market and buy all three of us something to eat and drink. What do you think?” she asked as we finally reached the dirt road ourselves. “Sounds nice, but is it really ok for you to dish out extra money because of me? I could, maybe, do something for you in return to pay that off.” I asked her with worried look as freeloading off of someone isn’t something i feel ok with. She simply giggled at me as she pulled me even closer to her, making me blush a bit in the process. “Dude… you’ve already done FAR more than most ponies possibly could! If you ask me, it is WE who owe you a lot. I would happily spend some extra bits just for you so you don’t have to go to sleep on an empty stomach again.” She answered me with another very sincere smile. “Oh… well… thank you then. I really appreciate it.” I answered back, smiling at her shyly. The rest of the trip was mostly met with silence as the two of us simply enjoyed the serenity of walking through a forest along a dirt road. Yeah, weird, I know. Especially since this forest is practically spelled with the words danger and death. “Oh, thank Celestia! Finally, the light at the end of the tunnel. Come on. I will just carry you so we can get out of here faster.” Cloud Chaser suddenly shouted excitedly into my ear, making me flinch from the volume. I let out a yelp of surprise as I was suddenly (and somewhat roughly) picked up by the surprisingly strong mare beside me (Or maybe I am just very light, who knows) and draped over her back at a somewhat awkward angle; My hind legs dangling from one end and my head off of the other. What the heck just happened? This is so freakin’ random. “Wa… wait a minute, why did you…?” I tried to ask before my sentence got lost inside my throat and instead found myself hanging on as the forest scene in front of me began to zoom by. All I could do at this point was hold on by wrapping my both my forelegs around her neck and hope that I didn’t have to eat dirt along the way. If it didn’t look and felt awkward before, it definitely did now! A grown Stallion dangling off of an overly excited galloping mare, trying to keep himself from falling off while crying out in the winds for her to stop. Yup...brilliant, dignity and pride out the window, not that i had any to begin with since i woke up here. “Cloud Chaser- what the hell- please stop and- put me back down- this is really unnecessary-y-y-y! WHY THE HECK ARE YOU DOING THI-I-I-S??!!” I complained in a high pitched panic tone as I slowly started to feel dizzy. She, of course, completely ignored me and continued her mad dash towards freedom…with me on the verge of falling off and losing my stomach juices, if I had any. “Ah finally out of this damn forest, and hello-o-o-o freedom!” The mare holding me shouted as she skidded to a halt, right after we passed the clearing. Ahh, sweet, sweet sunlight and clear open skies. Too bad I can’t FUCKING enjoy them ALL at the moment. I began to slowly slide off of her in a rather…comedic fashion as I groaned. “Oh… why… why, oh why does everything here have to be so difficult for me?” I groaned as I simply laid flat on my stomach. Who knew that you can easily lose your hunger by just getting a pony ride? Brilliant. Absolutely brilliant. “Cloud Chaser, what the buck did you do?” I heard Flitter ask in an unamused tone. “Nothing, really, I simply placed him on my back and galloped over here.” Cloud Chaser casually answered. I wanted to retort on that, but sadly I wasn’t in the best of moods to do so. Again who knew that an empty stomach can feel sick? The more you know. “Cloud Chaser, I swear, sometimes it feels like I have to look after a little filly.” A pair of hooves began to move closer towards me as I continued to moan into the dirt. “I am so sorry for my sister’s antics, Nava. Do you need help getting back up?” I heard Flitter ask as a hoof suddenly appeared in front of my vision. “Yeah… I think so.” I replied as I slowly grabbed her hoof with my own. With a grunt -and some shakiness- I managed to get myself back up on all fours. I gave away a small hiss as a small stab of pain erupted from my back, reminding me again of the injury I supposedly have back there. To be honest, I have yet to see it. “Oh your back, I completely neglected that. How does your back feel anyway? Still as painful as before?” She asked me with concern. “Well, surprisingly no… no it’s not as painful as it was yesterday… which is really weird to be honest.” I answered as I looked at her with a bit of surprise in how much the pain and soreness has subsided since yesterday. “Wait…I also wanted to ask. How DID my back look anyway, after…that one particular event happened? Was it an open wound, or was it a…” “No…besides some obvious bruises and dirt there was surprisingly nothing too serious-looking other than that, maybe, a few cuts here and there then some rather badly ruffled feathers on your wings. Which I preened this morning while you were still asleep.” Flitter answered causing me to raise an eyebrow. “Wait…seriously, just that? Nothing more?” I asked in disbelief. “Yeah, really. Both me and Sis here were quite surprised as well after we carried you to the cave and took a much closer look at your back afterwards.” Cloud Chaser responded as she came up beside her sister. I simply looked at both of them in utter disbelief. No serious injuries after a fall like that besides ruffled feathers and some cuts on my back? That… that’s just… how… You know what, screw it. I already made the decision to not try to make sense of this world and its rules. Just roll with it and learn from it, besides I should really be more happy that I am still generally intact after that incident and not question its probability. Magic Nava…its bloody magic. I shook my head. “Well, anyway… all impossibilities aside, where exactly are we?” I asked as I began to look around a bit. Flitter smiles. “Well we are on the outskirts of the Everfree just two or three kilometers away from Ponyville.” Flitter answered as she pointed with her hoof in a general direction. I followed it and, to my surprise, she was right. Just below the hill in a vast, open, green valley lay the famous town of Ponyville itself. Well, famous regarding the cartoon show. All the buildings, the style, the size were pretty accurate in comparison to what I saw on the internet. Even the large town hall was visible from here, also including the large apple farm of in the distance -the name of which I just couldn’t remember at the moment. Again, never watched the show itself. I blame the internet for the knowledge and interest I developed later on. What immediately ruined the amazing scenery of wide open fields, hills and chain of mountains of into the horizon was the sight of Canterlot off into the distance. A sight which, again, reminded me of the problem in keeping myself as anonymous from those two as I possibly could, and the rest of ponykind, for that matter. “Well anyway, come on let's go. We need to get some proper medical aid in Ponyville hospital and then get something to eat afterwards. Not to mention checking back at the local weather service office.” Flitter announced as she slowly trotted off into the direction of the town with Cloud Chaser again offering her assistance to me. But before she could get even far I called her out. “WAIT! I… I can’t go down with you guys. I mean, look at me. Wouldn’t my presence cause some sort of confusion, suspicion or even outright panic within the locals?” I explained while gesturing to myself with a hoof, making her stop and look at me in thought. “We… well, I don’t know, to be honest. But I guess you might be right judging by how I reacted to you at the beginning. Minus my sister here, who sometimes just doesn’t give a feather what’s happening around her.” Flitter answered while giving her sister a deadpan look. “HEY! You’re making me sound like an idiot again.” Cloud Chaser retorted. “I never implied that.” “Girls… please focus. I can’t go into town looking like THIS! We need to find a way to hide my true appearance.” I quickly interrupted before another argument between these two could start. Flitter tapped her chin in thought for a while before she looked like she had an idea. “Wait… how about covering your wings with bandages? You can pretend that you have suffered some kind of back injury (which is actually kind of true) or whatever and make yourself look like an ordinary unicorn.” She suggested. “A unicorn with an abnormally long horn.” Cloud Chaser suddenly added which made both of us switch our gaze up to my horn in realization. That could easily be turned into a dirty sex joke. “Well… true, but there’s nothing we can do about that. But I think it should be alright. I have heard of some unicorns who did possess abnormally long horns compared to other unicorns around their family, so I guess it’s not an impossibility, but more of a rarity.” She commented while looking thoughtfully up into the air. I sighted. “Well, I guess that’s it, then. Wrap myself up in cloth and pretend to be a unicorn.” I said as I grabbed my Fedora off my head and began to rummage through the interior until I felt and grabbed onto another large stack of Bandage rolls out of my hat. I remembered that I had a shelf full of medical supplies back home, including large stacks of bandages that I never used, which...shouldn’t be hard to imagine why to be honest. Both of their reactions were predictable, to say the least. “What?” I asked looking between the two. “No… nothing. All right, hold still while me and Cloud here wrap those bandages around you.” Flitter responded with a confused shake of her head. It took a while, but eventually my midsection was completely wrapped up, hiding my central torso and -more importantly- my wings from any outside viewers. “There. All done, no trace of wings in sight. How does it feel? Is it too tight?” Flitter asked after she looked over their hoofiwork. It does look somewhat ridiculous, I have to admit, but it least it serves its purpose. Better this than nothing, I guess. But I do have to eventually think of much better way in hiding my wings in the future because the whole “I’m injured around my chest and back” gag won’t work its magic forever, ponies will eventually get suspicious as time goes on. I could, one day, use actual magic to do the trick, but that was simply a plan for another day. First I needed to learn how to use actual magic before I could even get there. Getting back to the present, I simply shook my head letting her know that everything felt fine before Flitter, Cloud Chaser and I finally made our way down to Ponyville together. Well, here we go, meeting the land and these locals face to face for the first time. Let’s see how long I can last before I make things awkward again.
Chapter 5: Town Fall Chapter 5: Town Fall Edited by: Chrome Masquerade “So… you guys don’t actually live in Ponyville?” I ask as we were trotting along the road toward the edge of town. “No, we don’t. We are living in Dorm rooms provided to us by the local weather office while we’re working here. Cloud and I actually live up in Cloudsdale.” Flitter answered. I nod as the three of us continued our uneventful journey to the local doctor house on the edge of town. A few ponies we passed by on the road give us some curious glances or stares but other than that, nothing of note. More and more ponies passed by as we came closer and closer towards the outskirts of the town, again some simply staring while some even started to gawk at my otherworldly long horn which immediately made me feel nervous as we passed them. “Hopefully this doesn’t fail at the first day.” I muttered. “Nah, don’t worry I think you’ll be fine. Just act like everypony else and you will fit right in.” Cloud Chaser tried to reassure me. I sighed. “It’s not really that easy, I’m awkward in public, in case you didn’t notice.” I answered as I was looking down to avoid the passing ponies’ gazes. I got -once again- pulled close to her making me blush. “Ah, don’t worry about that; that’s what we're here for.” She answered with a smile. I was about to reply when a weird whistling sound suddenly assaulted my eardrums accompanied by screaming that quickly grew alarmingly louder and louder with every passing second. I began to look around. “Wait a minute, Cloud… do you... do you hear anyth-” I tried to ask the mare beside before something hit me squarely. Really, really hard. All I could feel after that was pain and a mouth full of dirt as I came to a stop face down after I assume a few meters of tumbling and sliding backwards along the ground. Well, welcome to Ponyville I guess. What a great fucking start. “Oh hey dude, thanks for breaking my fall there. Who knows what could have happened if you didn’t!” A girly but otherwise scratchy voice suddenly announced on top of me. I simply groan in response. Yeah, no problem at all. WHO KNOWS what would have happened if you have crashed into another pony instead of me. They would probably have much more colorful words to say if that was the case. If THIS is the way random ponies greet someone for being new to the town then I don’t even want to imagine how a…certain pink catastrophe would be welcoming me. “Ca’ y’ pleeff ge’ offa me?” I mumbled with my face still in the dirt, Which tastes like how you imagine it would. Like freakin dirt. “Um… what?” She asked, confused, making me feel even more annoyed on top of already feeling quite uncomfortable. I immediately removed my face from the dirt and spat out the dirt in my mouth with disgust before replying again. “GET OFF OF MY BACK!!!” I shouted. “Oh! Right. Sorry there, dude.” She replied as I finally felt the weight being lifted off of my re-injured back. Oh, sweet relief. Also how the heck was I the only one getting hit and ragdolled around while Cloud Chaser did not, despite the fact she was basically holding? I shakily stood back up to all fours with a groan as my back once again feeling as if is was trampled over by a herd of rampaging horses, which might not be a too far fetch of an idea when you think about it. I dusted myself off a bit and re-adjusted my hat and glasses before turning around to see the pony I had the displeasure of getting physically acquainted with before I even know her… and oh my god I know who this pony is! “Oh hey, Rainbow. Doing stunts again?” Cloud Chaser casually asked as if nothing happened, unlike her sister who quickly rushed over to me to offer her support and concern. I really do not understand the logic between these two, sometimes it’s Flitter who shows more support and concern than her sister, then a few moments later it’s completely reversed. Some might say it's some sibling thing or whatever, but honestly I don’t get it. Then again, I’ve only known these two for like one and a half days so I can’t be too cynical, now can I? I gave Flitter a reassuring and thankful smile but eventually switched my attention back towards the blue rainbow maned mare standing in front of me. Oh, boy if all the bronies could see me now! You can take your silly cartoon, fanfics and fanart, shove them up your asses and go kick yourself in a corner because I am standing in front of one of the main cast of the bloody show…and I honestly feel nothing. Because A: I was never a dedicated or hardcore brony like a lot of others I know from the internet. And B: Because she crashed into me and re-ignited my back pain. Bloody brilliant. “Well yeah I was, but as you can tell… I did some… minor miscalculations.” RD answered to Cloud while rubbing the back of her head sheepishly before realizing something. “But wait a min… where the hay did the two of you disappear to? You two were missing for like almost 2 days and look absolutely awful as well. WAIT… did this stallion here cause all of this?” RD continued before turning angrily at me with an accusing tone under her voice making me flinch. SERIOUSLY, GIRL!? If I was somehow responsible for getting these two into this poor state, like beating them up or raping them or whatever, then why the FUCK would THESE two travel alongside or stay anywhere close to the pony responsible for their injuries? Use some common sense here, you blue twat! Normally I would feel somewhat intimidated by such an angry glare but with the presence of such narrow minded accusations I couldn’t help but go all RANT mode inside my head as I morphed my facial express into an “Are you for real?” kind of look. Oh god, I just realized, I am going to have a field day in this horse talking wonderland. Since this world is based off a cartoon from my world, cartoons usually have a tendency to lack any common sense from time to time no matter what that cartoon is, and MLP is obviously no exception. If this carries on even to here then I am going to have a fun time ripping some of these illogical moments to bloody pieces in my mind. YES in my mind because I don’t want to make myself look like an ass or anything like that. Besides the ones that do actually matter and can make stuff allot easier to approach in the future. Oh yeah, I still have to prevent RD -judging by the look she was still giving me- from trying to break me, don’t I? I was about to finally say something in regards of her accusation until Cloud Chaser beat me to it. “Wait, Rainbow, it’s really not what you think.” Cloud announced in front of her. “He’s actually the reason why the two of us are still alive at the first place. We were attacked by a pack of Timberwolves while we got ourselves lost in the Everfree Forest before HE eventually saved us from them when we were cornered.” Cloud quickly continued in one breath, which thankfully did the trick of easing the mare’s mood before eventually looking shocked instead. “Wait…you two went into the Everfree and got lost and attacked by Timberwolves? WHAT THE BUCK were you two even doing in there knowing that you two couldn’t even fly at the moment?” Dash demanded, wide eyed. Cloud Chaser chuckled nervously as she looked over to her sister for some possible support on this. Flitter simply sighted before stepping up herself. “Well…Cloud here had one of her…moments again when she thought chasing a thieving fox that stole some of her groceries into the Everfree was a good idea. Moments similar to yours sometimes if I am right.” Flitter casually explained with a deadpan expression aimed at her sibling. RD simply shook her head at that story before realization quickly sank into her. “He…Hey wait a minute.” She protested, which in turn made both of the sisters giggle at her reaction. She simply grumbled in annoyance before her gaze finally rested back on me, which honestly made me feel a bit nervous. “So…this guy here saved you two from a pack of vicious Timberwolves? How exactly?” She question which in turn made both of the sisters stop their giggling. Cloud Chaser again was the first one to respond. “Well…uhm…he…” Cloud Chaser started. RD to switch her gaze back to her which gave me the chance to visually tell her with my arms and facial expression to tell her that SHE can NOT tell her the one hundred percent truth for obvious reason as my nervousness soar up to new heights at this first serious confrontation. Almost to panic levels. Oh dear god please, please don’t screw this up cloud please. Cloud Chaser simply looked back at Rainbow Dash as she was rubbing the back of her neck. “He…uh saved us with his amazing unicorn magic. Yeah, you should have seen it, it was absolutely incredible. I had never seen a pony use such devastating spells like that before, pushing these nasty Timberwolves around as if they were bucking ragdolls or something! It really was awesome, right Flitter?” Cloud Chaser lied while looking over to her sister for confirmation. “Um… yes, right! it really was incredible.” Flitter answered with a forced smile making me want to burry my head back into the dirt. Oh god, why the bloody fuck did you have to make me look and sound so epic with magic in front of her? Now she’s going to build up some sort of expectation of me and I am sure such news is not going to stay anonymous forever, she is obviously going to tell someone and that someone is going to tell another someone and soon enough the whole bloody town will know about my “feats” and think I am this world version of Gandalf the White or something!! What the ass, my goal was to DIVERT as much attention from me as much as possible, not bring it in! Absolutely fucking brilliant, mate! Oh and one more obvious thing here…I still can’t use magic. So why the heck would you come up with such a cover up involving magic when I can’t use magic. What am I supposed to do when someone asks me to use my magic? But then again I can’t really be too hypocritical about this now can I, she obviously was in pressure trying to come up with a believable lie about my rescue act and with my cover up wings and simple unicorn looks magic was the quickest and easiest answer to make. All self-ranting thoughts aside, it seems as though this luckily managed to do the trick with Rainbow Dash swallowing the lie pill without even gagging on it. She began to look over to me with a small smile on her face after she gave an impressed whistle. “Wow, dude. If that is true then you definitely got my respect for that, For having the balls to go into the Everfree, stand up against a pack of Timberwolves alone and saving two of my friends from them all in the same day? I guess that makes you pretty awesome and ok in my books. Not as awesome as me of course.” RD commented as she slowly came over to me. “Oh and by the way, my name is Rainbow Dash. Fastest flyer in all of Equestria and future member of the wonderbolts.” RD boasted, puffing out her chest. “You can call me Rainbow, or Dash, or both.” “Who might you be?” She quickly asked as she flapped her wings to hover. “I’m Nava…just Nava. Nice to meet you, Rainbow Dash.” I casually answered while extending my hoof at her. “Strange name, but cool.” She answered shaking my hoof with a friendly smile. “Oh, and sorry for wrongly accusing you dude… I… I have the tendency to do that sometimes, immediately judging ponies without even knowing them. My bad.” She continued sheepishly while rubbing the back of her neck. Well, ok… that sounds legit. I simply nodded and gave her a small smile to tell her that everything was A-OK. She happily accepted it with a smile of her own before turning herself around to look at her friends. “I would guess you guys were heading to the hospital to get those injures checked up? Is it ok if I tag along? I have nothing else to do anyway at the moment.” RD asked as she hovered over them. “Sure, why not I guess.” Flitter replied. At this point it really didn’t take long for us to reach the local hospital in question. A White colored, three storey, medieval/European style building with a light blue double door entrance on front. Again, quite accurate to all the screenshots and art I saw in my world. Before Flitter could open the door, I stopped her. “Wait…can I…. Could I maybe wait outside while you two get yourself checked up? Because…” I look over at Rainbow Dash behind me. “Because… hospitals make me feel wary.” I explained to her while moving my eyes to point at RD behind me. “Oh… sure, why not. It’s probably going to take a while anyway. Plus waiting inside could get kind of boring.” Flitter responded. I nodded and gave a small smile as thanks before both Flitter and Cloud entered leaving me and RD standing outside alone. I sighed as I moved over to a free wall and sat down with my back leaning against it. I was about to close my eyes and fully relax myself for the first time since arriving in this candy colored candy land before I heard someone sitting down right next to me. To my surprise it was no one but Rainbow Dash herself sitting to my left. In a lot of fics I read, RD seems to be a bit wary towards newcomers, but I guess with me it’s somewhat of a different story because I saved some of her friends from getting there fuses blown out… and I guess that being a normal looking pony and not some strange hairless monkey from another dimension helps too, I guess. I looked over at the town that lay in front of me and simply observed all the ponies I could see bustling through the day while a gentle wind began blowing around us. I still can’t believe the fact that I am here in Equestria. Again, of all the massive fans I know back home that would have loved to end up in a place like this.... and I for some reason got sent here instead. Why… why, though? That really is the question that is bugging me since I got here, and most importantly, why as my OC? Why as an alicorn of all races? Couldn’t I have turned into a much less… problematic race instead? Like a Unicorn or a Pegasus? Something that would make my stay here much easier to swallow and NOT have to constantly hide or lie to protect myself from any suspicious eyes? “I already want to go home.” I whispered completely forgetting for a moment that RD was sitting beside me. “What was that?” She asked while looking at me. I flinch in surprise before lowering my head to look at the dirt below me. “Nothing…nothing” I quietly answered. “OK… you seem a bit down there, Nava. Is something on your mind?” She asked with a concerned tone, to my utter surprise. Rainbow feeling worried for a stranger she has no info off and just meant like 10 minutes ago? Now that feels even more out of character for her than usual. Or maybe it’s just me not knowing her well. I think I will go for latter, since I DO know almost nothing about her. I sighed before raising my head and looking at her. “Well, yes, kind of. But… it really is my problem, and my problem alone. I don’t think you will be able to help me with it to begin with.” I answered. She simply gave me a nod before looking back at the direction of the town in front of us. I do have to admit, in combination with the lush and vibrant landscape around it, this town does look peaceful and cozy. A place I definitely don’t have a problem staying in… if things didn’t seem so problematic. “So uh… where are you from, Nava?” Dash suddenly asked, stopping my train of thought. I shook my head. Oh shit, I knew this question was bound to come up at some point. Got to think of something, something believable and not shady. Wait… I got something. Oh, this is such a long shot but it’s really the only idea I have right now. The longer I delay the more suspicious it will be so I have to trust in luck and hope my answer does not backfire. “I’m from… Germaneigh.” I answered as casually as I possible could without looking to nervous. “Germaneigh? Really? I have heard of that place but I never met a pony from there. I guess there is first for everything huh?” Rainbow answered, chuckling quietly. I let out a heavy mental sigh of relief, knowing that my gamble luckily paid off for once. Huh. Good thing that the speculated idea that Equestria also has pony versions of existing countries from my world are actually true. Thank god for that. This will make explaining things a lot easier for me in the future. “Hey, can you maybe give me an example of your native language…not that I am super interested or anything… just curious just all?” Rainbow dash asked while rubbing her head. “Uh... sure.” I replied as I thought about something I could say to her in German. “Bist du wirklich ein akrobat Flieger?” “What does that mean?” she asked me curiously, cocking her head to one side. “I asked if you are really a stunt flyer.” I replied looking at her. “Yup. I am. Training every day to perfect my techniques for the day when I finally join the Wonderbolts.” She answered proudly. I gave off a small smile at that. That is really the Rainbow Dash I am more familiar with. Though, that quickly reminded me of a thought I had for a while. What point in the timeline did I end up at? I know that this question is somewhat irrelevant, but I think it would still be somewhat useful to know at what point in time I have landed in so that I can prepare better for the events that might or might not happen in the future. Should I risk asking? I mean, here is Rainbow Dash, one of the main characters and Element Bearers. This is my chance to finally answer this question once and for all, and maybe formulate an idea on how to proceed. But I need to be careful with the question I ask and not make myself look weird. But what to ask? Wait… I think I know what. Just hope I can get lucky like the first time. “Say…do you know a pony named Twilight Sparkle?” I ask again trying to look and sound as casual as possible. “Twilight who? Sounds like a unicorn name if you ask me. But no, I don’t think so… Why?” She answered looking confused at my question as she sat there scratching her head. “Well, I was just wondering if you knew her that’s all. Just… just forget it.” I replied while rubbing my left forearm. “Well… ok? Weird.” So her not knowing who Twilight Sparkle is can only mean that this currently takes place even before the first season. Good to know, I guess. But then again, that raises another question, how far back am I, from the time I am now to the point where Celly basically kicks her out? But I guess that really isn’t important now is it? At that point, the two of us simply began to talk to kill some time, asking the similar questions i asked the two Pegasus sisters, with a few jokes here and there, general thoughts on things and ideas and eventually asking me about my completely covered midsection in which I lied to her about having back and chest injuries there, which made her feel even more guilty. She even asked me what certain words are from her language to mine. Like Geil (Awesome), Wolke (Cloud) Blitz (Lighting) Adler (Eagle) to name a few. She even went so far as asking me if I could teach her some German at some time. I mean what? OK, she did say the reason why is so she can confuse and troll ponies with it, which I can kind of understand. That got me thinking though. Just because I am here in Equestria doesn’t mean that everything has to predictably follow the exact formula of the show, right? I mean, this here is its own separate world, with its own rules and events right? It doesn’t need to be as scripted or predictable as the bloody show. Because this is not a show, this is its own world where things can happen just as randomly and as unpredictably as in mine. That’s just real life. So I guess the same logic can be implied here as well, just add magic into the mix I guess. Our conversation and messing around continued a while longer and before we even knew it, it was already sunset forcing the two of us to finally stop. “Geez it’s already THAT late? How the hay did that happen?” Rainbow Dash announced, surprised. “Yeah… time can really fly when you’re engaged in a fun conversation.” I added to her statement. Rainbow Dash nods in agreement. “Yeah, it does. Man, I never thought that a pony like me would ever waste so much time just talking with a pony she has fun with.” Rainbow dash announced happily before flinching and realizing what she just said. I flinched as well. “Uh… hehe… well, yeah… I guess I had a lot of… well, fun hanging out with you. Who knew?” RD sheepishly said while rubbing her forelegs together. “Well… I am glad that I… made you enjoy yourself and not get bored with me or something.” I replied awkwardly also trying to avoid looking at each other. An awkward silence dominated the space between us for a few moments with only the sound of the wind being present. Surprisingly it was RD who eventually broke the awkward silence. “Ahh, screw it, yes I had allot of fun getting to know you Nava. Like really…I don’t know why but you look and seem a lot more interesting than I first thought. It was really nice getting to know you, Nava.” Dash announced sincerely as she gave me a smile. I lifted my head and smiled back. “Well, it was really fun getting to know you as well Rainbow Dash. Maybe we can hang out again some time?” I replied kindly. Truth be told I really did had a lot of fun getting to know her, this was easily one of the most interesting, engaging and funniest conversations I ever had with ANYONE. With Rainbow Dash of all ponies. Getting to know her by JUST talking. Crazy right? But at least now I know why so many bronies back in my world like her so much.. Rainbow nods at my offer. “Yeah, we totally should hang out more, maybe next time I will be able to show you some of my tricks and stunts as well.” She replied. I smiled back as usual and automatically bumped her hoof with mine. The two of us began to smile and chuckle after that. We both eventually stopped as Dash stood back up on all fours as she stretched her fore and hind legs. “Well, Nava, it was fun, but it’s late now and I really need to get back home before Celestia raises the moon.” She continued. “Geez, all I did for the last few hours was sit on my flank and I still feel utterly exhausted.” She said with a yawn as she made ready to take off. I stood up myself stretching my still aching back. It gave off a large painful crack which made me groan and grit my teeth in pain for a few seconds until the pain slowly subsided to a point where my back felt completely normal again to my utter surprise. Wait what? How? Why? You know what I don’t care it’s just nice that everything about me finally feels normal now for once and not sour stiff or painful. “You’re ok there, Nava?” Dash asked, looking over her shoulder concernedly. I shook my head. “No, no it's fine really, just needed to pop some joints that’s all. I feel a lot better now, to be honest.” I answered giving her a reassuring smile. She nods before extending her wings and getting ready to take off. “Well anyway, see you tomorrow…maybe when I have time. Anyway, I am off. Bye” She says before finally taking off. Huh…I somehow managed to earn Rainbow Dash's trust and friendship despite only knowing her since a little earlier this day. Kind of neat actually. I thought to myself as I watched her fly off and quickly disappear into the distance. But then, something hit me. “OH SHIT! I COMPLETELY FORGOT!!!” I shouted in realization. “FLITTER! CLOUD CHASER! HOW THE BLOODY FUCK COULD I HAVE FORGOTTEN!!!” I shouted in panic. I immediately bolted into the hospital, slamming into the main entrance. Though far less gracefully as I would have liked as I quickly found myself kissing the hard cold floor of the lobby room. “Look at that funny stallion mommy.” I heard a filly giggle as I lay flat on the floor. Again, welcome to Ponyville folks. “Ugh, note to self, don’t bust through doors, or at least do it without tripping on yourself.” I groaned, feeling really dumb. To amuse the filly i said “I’ll be here ‘til thursday. Try the apples!” “Oh! Would you, maybe, need some assistance there, sir?” I heard a mare call out. Probably one of the nurses in this place. “No, I’m fine. Don’t worry, just clumsy ol’ me that’s all.” I replied as I slowly got myself back on all fours. A small blush formed on my cheeks as I embarrassedly made my way over to the nurse’s counter on the other side of the room while avoiding the stares of the adults and giggles of the little foals. But I also had the feeling it had something to do with the bandages as well. Which does look a bit ridiculous. “Oh, excuse me miss.” I began “Do you know any… ponies with the name Flitter and Cloud Chaser passing by here?” I asked the nurse after having reached her desk. “Cloud Chaser and Flit…? OH… OH dear Celestia! How could I have forgotten?!” The Nurse in front of me started panicking, making me feel confused. “You’re Nava aren’t you? I was supposed to go out and tell you that both Miss Flitter and Cloud Chaser are going to be staying here for the night and that they were waiting in their rooms for you. Horse Apples, I was too busy with other patients earlier and completely forgot about it.” The white mare in front of me suddenly stated. “Uh… what?” “Oh I am so, so sorry sir. I swear I was caught up with my work and completely forgot, but don’t worry I will escort you to their room, if you would please follow me.” The nurse announced as she stood up from her desk and trotted down a corridor mentioning me to follow her. I simply shrugged as I silently followed her down the hallway. “Oh and by the way. My name is Nurse Redheart, if you are wondering, or if you need any help in the future with those bandages of yours.” She says as we rounded a corner. Nurse Redheart? Huh…no wonder she looked familiar. I simply gave a nod as we silently passed by a few other nurses and doctors running around the halls. Redheart eventually lead me to a marine blue colored door at the end of the corridor with a plate on top reading Room 23 as she turned to face me. “Alright, this is the room which Miss Flitter and Cloud Chaser are occupying today, and again I am so very sorry for not having told you this sooner Mister Nava. Have a nice evening.” Nurse Redheart announced with an apologetic look before excusing herself and trotting off back to her station. “Oh, and thank you by the way.” I called out to her, to which she responded by waving a hoof back at me before rounding a corner. I gave off a sigh as I turned my attention back to the door. I slowly lifted my hoof and gently tapped a few knocks on it and patiently waiting for anyone to response on the other side. “Yes who is it?” I heard the muffled sound of Flitter from the other side of the door. “Oh um it’s… me, Nava.” I called back. “Oh, nice. Come in then.” I heard her response. I slowly opened the door, thankful that these use handles and not door knobs and was greeted with… and I quickly closed the door again as my face flushed red. Did… did I just see… what I think I saw? “What…why did he…” “I think it’s because he saw your private areas with your legs spread like that and hanging from a support harness. I told you to cover that up with your blanket as well. But you decided it felt more comfortable this way.” I heard the muffled sound of Cloud Chaser say as I am still in the process of getting my blush under control. “O… oh.” “Ok, Nava. It’s all good now. You can come in again.” Cloud Chaser called out. I readjusted myself and opened the door, slowly muttering a thanks speech that I am greeted with just the smiling face of Cloud to my right and a very embarrassed looking Flitter on my left, this time completely covered by her blanket. I entered the room and closed the door behind me and stood there somewhat awkwardly while I tried to think of something to tell Flitter that would ease the embarrassment we both felt. “Oh and by the way, remember when I said that I was going to get us some food for the three of us in the market today? Well I guess we can forget about that since the hospital already provided that for us. We even ordered something for you. It’s in the small fridge there in the corner.” Cloud Chaser explained. It’s when she mentioned the word food that a coin suddenly fell in my head. I was still as hungry as I could possibly be and I completely ignore and forgot that thanks to the events and experienced that happened today. But now that she mentioned it, my previous hunger returned with full force as my stomach began shouting at me to finally stop fucking around and to finally shove something down my throat so he can stop being idle all the time and get back to work. Food, food, food, FOOD FOOOOOOOOOD! I NEED SOME DAMN FOOOOOOD!!! All previous thoughts and emotions quickly dissipated as one deep primal desire took over and all I could think and hear in my head was nothing more than a four letter word. With the grace and patience of a half-starved predator I immediately rushed myself over to the small hospital fridge that Cloud had pointed out and began rummaging it for anything that was eatable, and thank GOD there was. An apple, a banana, a large sandwich and heck even a cooked fish were occupying the space of the small fridge. Not for long, though as I began to viciously devour each and every one of them without even bothering to take them out of the small ice box. “Geez, Nava if I knew you were this hungry I would have told the staff just bring two portions instead of just one.” I hear Cloud comment as I continued to destroy the food. Fuck table manners I’m HUNGRY. But as soon as my blissful joy of finally eating something started it also ended just as quickly leaving nothing behind, beside a banana peel, a fishbone and an empty plate behind. “No more food, food.” I whimpered looking down at the empty fridge with sad expression. “Water?” Cloud Chaser offered pushing a water bottle towards me on her night table. I quickly grabbed it with both of my front hooves and bit off the cap on it before sucking down all of its content in one go. I gave of a heavy sigh and placed the empty bottle back onto the table before collapsing flat onto the floor, letting the satisfaction of having a full stomach take me. The only thing that broke this peace was Cloud Chaser’s familiar giggle as she poked her head over the edge of her bed. “Seems like somepony is satisfied. Or do you want me to order you more?” She asked with a smile. I shook my head. “Nah, I’m good. Thanks, by the way, for the food. I really needed it.” I thanked her. “By the way. Why were you guys assigned to this room? Were the injuries even more severe or did I miss something regarding that?” I asked while slowly standing back up. “Also why is Flitter’s… leg hanging like that as if her leg is broken or something?” I continued while scratching my head. This quickly took Flitter’s attention as she visibly blushed again and turned her gaze to look at me. “Well… it’s… it’s because when it was… my turn to be looked at, Doctor Horse found out that -beside all of my wounds and bruises- I also had a small bone crack on my left leg. Which, according to him, got larger while we were making our way over here. How I didn’t feel That is a mystery to me. But he suggested that my hind leg should stay like this while we are staying here for the night so that the healing magic can do it's work more quickly.” Flitter explained as her blush slowly subsided. It was then when Cloud Chaser took over the rest. “And as for the reason on why we are here is to keep an eye on the two of us for one night to make absolutely sure that everything is and stays OK.” Cloud Chaser added making me again scratch my head a bit. “Makes sense… I guess.” I answered. “But it’s still good to know that the two of you are good. Did a nurse replace the bandages on your flank by any chance?” I continued while looking over at Flitter on the other side of the room. Fitter nod. “Yeah, the doc also said that my wounds are void of any possible infections or disease.” She explained happily which in turn made me happy to know as well. “I’m glad to hear that.” I say with a smile as I trot over to the closest window. “Huh… night already.” I muttered. I could hear one of the Girls behind me give a loud yawn as I continued to observe the beautiful star-filled night outside the window. Man, even the night skies here look unbelievable. By unbelievable I mean on how many there are and how bright there are as well. Again, only something you can expect in a cartoon, and the moon… well if I wasn’t convinced that this here might be pre-season one timeline before, I was definitely convinced then, seeing that the bright white moon still had the image of Nightmare Moon’s head on it. But, then again, I am still curious to know exactly how far back in time I really am, here? How long until a certain purple unicorn makes her way over here, which in turn jump starts everything that has happened in the cartoon show? Only time can tell I guess. “Hey, Nava. How about we all hit the hay and call it a day?” I heard Cloud Chaser call from behind, which again interrupted my inner musing. I turned my head from the window to look at her. “I guess you're right with that. I’m exhausted after everything today. Hitting the snoozers doesn’t sound like a bad idea.” I answered with a yawn. It was then, though, when something hit me. ”Wait a minute… where I am supposed to sleep?” I asked after realizing this problem. That though caused Cloud to giggle again, which caused me to raise an eyebrow. “Well you can come and sleep with me, of course. There is enough space in these hospital beds for two, anyway, plus it would be cruel to have you sleep on the cold, hard hospital floor now would it?” Cloud Chaser suggested kindly. I looked at her in shock. “WHAT!!!” I shouted while blushing. “But… but we… can’t, I mean… we are not…” I rambled. Cloud rolled her eyes. “Oh please, just shut up and get over here, you. If you can face a pack of Timberwolves all by yourself, I doubt going to bed with a weak, defenseless, vulnerable, sexy mare wouldn’t be too much of a problem.” She said in a seductive tone at the end while giving me the all so dreaded bedroom eyes that every brave man fears. I was sweating bullets at this point as I stood there in utter shock on just how far south this suddenly went. My wings, still tight against my side, were straining against the bandages, for some reason. “I… I think I’d rather…” I started before I got interrupted by the giggling form of Cloud. “Geez, Dude. I was just messing with you. Calm down before something on you gets hard or something.” She said in between giggles. “But seriously, it’s ok Nava. Just climb aboard on my right here and we can finally call it a day.” She eventually said after her giggling had stopped. I sighted in relief and quickly calmed down after what she said, but still felt somewhat stupid for believing that she might already have developed an interest in me, despite the fact that we’ve only known one another for about 2 days. Or maybe she has. Shaking my head on that particular thought, I simply decided to accept her invitation and made my way over to the right side of her bed. I again looked at her for any confirmation that it was ok in which she nods and moved over to her left to give me enough space for me to lie down onto the bed with her. I honestly don’t know why I feel so nervous sharing a bed with her when I know that there is no funny business involved with it. I thought to myself as I tried my best to suppress the nervousness inside me as I removed my glasses and hat and placing them onto a nearby table before laying back down. The feeling of the soft mattress against my back and the sensation of my head resting on a big fluffy pillow made me sigh in utter bliss. It really felt like an eternity since I last had the pleasure of laying on an actual bed which may or may not be true judging on how hazy my memory is. But all of that really didn’t matter since I was just happy to finally lay down after such a long and extraordinary day. “Comfortable?” I heard Cloud’s voice ask as close my eyes and relaxed myself. “I take that as a yes.” She continued with a small giggles as I heard someone press off the light switch which immediately cloaked the room in its darkness. “Alright *Yawn* goodnight then everypony.” Was the last thing I heard before sleep finally took me.
Chapter 6: Pony version of Scrubs /Chapter 6: Pony version of Scrubs/ Edited by: Chrome Masquerade “Hey, wake up. Hey, guys. The doctor is here. Wake up you two. WAKE UP!” “Please, just 5 more minutes.” I mumbled while trying to get myself back to sleep. “Yeah… what he said.” I heard someone mumble right next to my ear. Wait… right next to my ear? Nah, I must be still half dreaming or something. Though, the large pillow I have pressed against my side strangely feels a lot… fuzzier than i imagined. Maybe that’s just how Hospital pillows are in Equestria? To give their patient more comfort while they stay here. Again I wouldn’t know. Also I don’t care because I just want to get myself back to sleep. “Seriously, guys. Wake up. The doctor and the nurse have been waiting patiently for over 5 minutes for you lovebirds to get up. You two can cuddle later after the doctor is done.” I heard the same irritating voice say. I groaned in annoyance as my sleepiness was slowly slipping away from me the more I heard this voice talk to me. Even my side pillow seemed to be irritated by it as it gently began to steer against my side as it let out an annoyed whimper. Yeah you said it pillow, some peoples just don’t seem to understand that…. Wait…moving fuzzy pillow that whimpers? I thought to myself quietly as my eyes abruptly opened. “Ugh… can you please also be quiet and stop moving around so much? I am trying to sleep here you plot hole.” I heard MY side pillow say as it began to move and shift again, rubbing itself against me as I felt… something move itself along my chest. I immediately knew what was going on as my memory from last night resurfaced and a slow look to my left side confirmed it as well. My cheeks immediately went red as I saw the sleeping form of Cloudchaser pressed against me with her snout dangerously close to mine. I did the only logical thing an awkward person like me who never had a girl THIS CLOSE in his entire life would do in a situation like this. Scream like a fucking pussy. “YAHHHHHHHHH!!!” “AHHHHHH WHAT THE BUCKING BUUUUUUCK!!!” “WHY ARE YOU RUBBING AGAINST ME?” “I DON’T KNOW, WHY IS YOUR MUZZLE SO CLOSE TO MINE?” “I DON’T KNOW WHY ARE YOU…” I began as her words clicked. After realizing that both of us quickly scrambled away from one another with bright red blushes adorning our faces as we looked away. I could hear a bunch of giggling and chuckling in the background as I was trying my best to get my blood away from my face. Ugh… can’t I ever get a normal wakeup call for once? Or is this going to be my new norm from now on? I thought to myself as a white figure suddenly moved itself in front of my view. Looking up, I could tell that it was none other than the nurse I met yesterday. Nurse Redheart I presume. “Well, good morning there Mister Nava. Sorry for having to wake you and your marefriend up so rudely, but it’s because the Doctor here needs to check up on both miss Flitter and miss Cloud Chaser over there before giving them the hooves up to leave.” Nurse Redheart explained with sad smile when something quickly registered. “Wha…wha what? No she is NOT my girl… I mean marefriend at all. She... she’s just a friend.” I stuttered quickly as my face went full red once more. “Oh… that must be hard to hear for Miss Cloud Chaser over there, denying right in front of her that you two are together.“ Redheart responded with a disapproving look while shaking her head at me. My brain basically broke down at that point as I felt beyond embarrassed at this stage. Luckily though, Cloud -laying beside me- came to the rescue. “Wha…what? No…nononononono, he… he’s right we’re just friends. I simply offered him to sleep with me last night because I didn’t want him to sleep on alone on the cold hard floor.” I heard her quickly respond which made me sigh in relief internally. “Well, one of you could have simply asked some of the staff about that and they would have easily pushed another bed into this room for him to sleep on. There is enough space for a third bed here.” The nurse replied, looking at both of us. Both of us immediately felt dumb after she brought that up. Making us go red once more in embarrassment for not having thought of that ourselves until someone coughed in the background. “Well, that’s all well and good now. But I seriously still have a job to do here, so if we could please move this silliness aside for a moment so that I can get done with this check-up? That would be just dandy.” I heard the doctor say in the background. I quickly got control over myself again as I removed the covers and climbed out of bed… or more like fell off of it as one of my hooves somehow got stuck on the bed sheet. I moaned in discomfort as my face hits the floor first. “I’m ok…I’m alright.” I say as I immediately got back up. Both the nurse and the doctor at the door shaking their heads at my antics. I simply rubbed my head while smiling sheepishly at them until I realized that everything was still blurry for me. “Oh yeah, my glasses.” I thought aloud as I quickly grabbed them from the small table beside me and put them back on. How did I suddenly learn to grab stuff with my hoof? Also why is Flitter over there looking at me so weirdly? Is there something on my face? “Anyway, let’s have a look, then.” I heard the doctor say as he first went over to Flitter with a clipboard floating next to him. Oh yeah…magic, that's a thing here...forgot about it for a second there. I simply grabbed my hat and made my way over to a corner as I watched both the doctor and nurse do their stuff. I watched the unicorn perform his magic on Flitter’s injured legs before telling her that her injuries were ok and that her leg is mostly good to go, as long as she doesn’t put too much stress on it for a few more days. Cloud Chaser’s check-up was much more straightforward, simply looking over the cuts and bruises before giving her the OK sign as well. I was about to lose myself in my thoughts once more until I got interrupted by the doctor. “Well how about you sir. Do you want me to check up on your injuries as well?” The doctor asked while pointing as the bandages on my midsection. I quickly shook my head. “No thanks, I already had gotten myself looked at just a few days ago by another doctor. No need for it.” I replied a bit nervously while not looking and sounding too suspicious. “Well, alright then. By the way, I told your two companions that they are free to go today. Have a nice day.” The doctor responded as he quickly excused himself from the room with the nurse following him before closing the door. I sighed in relief after they were gone as I returned my attention to the two mares in front of me, with Flitter still giving me this strange look. I raised an eyebrow at her. “Why are you looking at me like that Flitter?” I asked totally confused. “Nava, I… I could have sworn that you didn’t have a cutie mark yesterday. But… but now you do all of a sudden.” She pointed out with her hoof. “Wait… what?” I asked, totally confused at her sudden statement. “Actually… yeah, sis is right. You suddenly have a cutie mark on your flank, there.” Cloud Chaser also pointed out as she looked at me in surprise. “Wait… seriously?” I asked before quickly looking behind me, and wouldn’t you know it, they were right. Right there on my flank -which I could have sworn was mostly blank since I arrived here- was a cutie mark, same for the other side after I checked there as well. “Ok, seriously, WHAT?” I asked out loud while still staring at it. “Well, look at the bright side. At least nopony can call you a blank flank.” I heard Cloud comment as I continued to stare at my butt in disbelief. How the heck did I suddenly got a butt tattoo? Most intriguing of all is that it’s MY cutie mark, the cutie mark I drew when I made this OC. It’s a very simple looking cutie mark, a simple rolled up piece of paper with a pencil drawing on it and with one of my wings spread fully behind it. Again, I promised myself that I wouldn’t ask anymore questions regarding the laws of this world, but this still managed to really bug the crap out of me. How it is possible for me to just randomly get a cutie mark overnight without even knowing about it? But then again the same can be asked in how I suddenly find myself in Equestria as my old OC. Where is my sense of priority? I simply shook my head to get all of those thoughts out of my focus point. “Well…guess I’ve got a cutie mark now… I guess.” I commented while scratching my head. “Well, that’s neat, if you ask me. Though one question still remains, though.” Cloud Chaser wondered as she climbed out of her bed. “What?” “What it represents.” Flitter answered this time as she removed her no-longer-broken leg from its straps. I rubbed my face with my hoof as I thought about it. “I know what it means, but… should I really tell them outright or pretend I don’t know?” I thought as I looked back at my rump. I guess it really doesn’t matter now, does it, my mark really doesn’t mean anything outlandish in term of its meaning so I guess I can just flat out tell them what it means. I can’t keep hiding the truth forever, especially not from these two who are as far as I know the only friends I have in this world that I can also trust, and trust comes with telling the truth all and foremost. “It… it represents that I am good at sketching and the wing behind it represents the freedom and unlimited nature of my imagination.” I explained to them truthfully with a sheepish grin. For a moment there was silence before it was broken by one of the mares. “Wait… if your cutie mark just randomly appeared last night without any of us realizing it... how come you already know what the meaning of your cutie mark is?” Flitter questions as carefully got out of her bed. That was a really good question of her. Thankfully I got that covered as well. “Well…” I started “It’s because I always was good at that, been expressing my ideas and imagination on a piece of paper since I was little and when I first saw my mark I simply made the conclusion that this had to be its meaning. Judging by the way it looks.” I explained while showing them my mark. Cloud Chaser scratched her head while looking confused. “So wait…if that is the case then why did it appear just now… and not much earlier when you were still a colt?” she asked as she took a closer look at my rump, which made me blush a bit. “I honestly don’t know.” Which was half the truth to be honest. On one hand I only arrived in this world like 2 days ago, which automatically explains everything but on the other it still simply appeared out of nowhere with no rhyme or reason whatsoever. Another question I can add to the growing list. The more time that passes here, the deeper the mystery becomes and the more confused I get. My logical human mind can only take so much. “Hmmm. Well, anyway it doesn’t matter, does it? I mean, you have one and that’s what counts. But if what you were saying is true then you’ve got to show us some of those drawing skills you have.” Cloud Chaser announced with a smile before moving closer and whispering something into my ear. “Also, can you draw my sister looking like a slut?” “Wait, what?” I responded in shock. “Huh? What was that?” Flitter queried “Nothing sis…nothing.” Cloud Chaser replied, smirking I feel awkward again. “Well, anyway let’s get out and get ourselves some breakfast. Also, I hate hospital food.” Cloudchaser announced happily before whispering something in my ear again before going through the door. “But seriously I would love to see her drawn like a slut.” I simply raised my eyebrow at her as she exited the room with a giggle. I turned my head back towards Flitter who was making her way to the door as well.. or more like slightly limping to it with a bit of a pained expression on her face. “Hey…are you ok? I can support you if you want.” I offered to her. Flitter shook her head as she stopped in front of me. “No it’s ok. The pain primarily comes from the healing spell the doctor has used to help heal my leg much faster. It’ll just be for a short while and after that I will be ok. But thanks for the offer nonetheless.” She answered with a thankful smile. I nodded and was about to head out of this room together with Flitter when I noticed her losing her footing and caught her with the right side of my body before she could fall. “Maybe you do need some help after all.” I looked at her. She simply smiled sheepishly while rubbing the back of her head. “Yeah I guess I do. Thanks for catching me by the way.” She thank with a smile which I returned. “Hey, you two lovebirds get your flanks moving. I’m hungry!” Cloud Chaser shouted from the other side of the hallway, causing both of us to groan in sync. We both looked at one another realizing what the two of us had done before chuckling together and making our way out of this hospital and directly into the town.
Chapter 8: I don't like heights Chapter 8: I don’t like heights Edited by: Chrome Masquerade Ugh, last night’s “Welcome to Ponyville” party was… interesting to say the least. It certainly wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be, but it didn’t exactly go perfectly either. Pinkie Pie did held true to her promise and claims when she suddenly showed up to the already set up party with a humongous cake on a large food cart behind her, and placing it on a somewhat small and creaky looking table. Let’s just say that putting such a huge thing on such a small and worn out looking table isn’t the best nor safest idea. Especially when foals are nearby and accidentally bump into one of its legs. The result was… predictable. Even more so when I was standing in front of it at the time to gauge at the massive sugar bomb of a cake only to have it slowly become bigger and bigger until it was too late. Needless to say that my first ever welcome party in this world started with me being covered in a whole year’s worth of diabetes and let me tell you, cake frosting sticks horribly on fur, especially in fabric such as my hat and scarf. It’s even worse trying to wash that stuff out. But it was tasty, at least, so there’s that. I still somewhat smell like chocolate and vanilla despite having bathed both yesterday and this morning. But beyond that one little incident the party was…surprisingly fun to be honest. Pinkie immediately managed to whip up a much more… manageable replacement for the cake… in… record time of course. Which still has me stunned thinking about it. The majority of the town was there, to my surprise, including a lot of ponies I actually recognize from back home. Rarity and Rainbow Dash were there, as promised, and even Applejack was there, to my surprise. Though, to be honest, the introduction between the two of us was rather short. The only ones from the Mane 6 that were not there were Twilight (for obvious reasons) and Fluttershy (for… also obvious reasons). Overall, the party was, again, surprisingly fun, I got the chance to socialize a bit more and the food, of course, was unbelievable. Big props to Pinkie’s amazing baking skills. Though, I have to be careful with that if I don’t want to ever plan making a return trip to the local hospital. But thankfully I got that event out of the way and now I was just waiting -again- for the two sisters to finally get- “Helloooo, Equestria to Nava, are you there man?” Oh. Right. Rainbow Dash is here as well. I shook my head. “S-sorry Rainbow I was just… spaced out again.” I say awkwardly. “Again? Jeez, dude! Sometimes I wonder if you are still on the same plane as ours. Spacing out so much like that can’t be healthy.” RD chided playfully beside me. I simply chuckle. “Well… yeah, it’s just that I have a lot of thoughts running through my mind. Sometimes I just like to sit down and think for a while.” Rainbow Dash shook her head. ”Well anyway, as you already know, today is the day where I finally take the spot of Ponyville’s weather captain… which is both neat and… sucky to be honest.” RD explained with a groan at the end. “Why is that?” I asked while looking at her. “Well, for one thing the income will be better but... that also means I am going to be even more busy than before which means less free time and less practicing my stunts.” She answered with a disappointed look. I placed my hoof onto her shoulder to comfort her. “Hey, it’s really not that bad, is it? You’re probably only going to be busy during the major seasons, and besides, the fastest flyer in all of Equestria should be able to clear up a bunch of clouds faster than they can come. Think of it as training as well, the faster you can clear or move them the better.” I explained to her with a smile, which thankfully did the trick in lifting her spirits. “You're right. I can do it. Faster than anypony ever has.” She announced proudly and with determination. I chuckled. Now *that** is the Rainbow Dash I know.* “Ok, we're done! We are ready to go!” Flitter suddenly announced as she and her sister came back with saddle-bags strapped onto their backs. Rainbow Dash and I got up from out sitting position to join them as the four of us made it onto the platform where the hot air balloon was waiting for them. I felt particularly sad about it, because it meant saying goodbye to the first ever friends I made on this rock. But it also meant that I was going to be on my own from then on, a thought that never fully registered until right then. But then again, I can’t just freeload off those two forever, that would just be way too selfi- “Well Nava are you coming or not?” Flitter suddenly asked as she was about to enter the basket. “What?” I asked totally confused. She gave me the same confused look before shaking her head. “Well, are you going to enter basket or not? Our pilot can’t wait for us forever. He has a schedule to keep.” “Wai… wait, am I supposed to come with you guys?” I asked, surprised. Flitter raised an eyebrow at that. “Well, duh… I mean do you have a place to stay here?” she asked me as if it was the most obvious thing ever. I simply shook my head as Cloud Chaser made her way back over to me. “Well then, come with us to Cloudsdale. Our home has some spare bedrooms that have been empty for a very long time. Too long, in fact. You can have one of them and live with us. Come on, it’ll be fun. I promise.” Cloudchaser offered with a smile. I was surprised even more. “But… But… why would you two offer me your home to stay in? You two already did and paid so much for me, I don’t want to invade your home as well as a freeloader that would be just…” I began before I got stop by Flitter as she trotted over to us. She sighed. “Nava, don’t worry. It’s ok. Think it as us repaying you for saving our lives. I don’t know about you, but to me somepony’s life is worth more than all the Bits and gold in Equestria combined. So there will never be a limit to how much we owe you.” Flitter explained with a truthful smile and tone behind her every word. I began to feel really emotional after hearing her say that as I did my best to keep the tears in me. This was easily one of the friendliest offers anyone has ever given to me. These two literally offered space in their own home for me to stay and live in. Becoming part of their lives, essentially. I felt a wing wrapping itself around my back as I sat there still feeling unsure about it. I lifted my head to see that it was Cloud Chaser sitting beside me giving me an encouraging smile. “Hey, don’t you dare go all sad and emotional on us now. As my sister said it’s totally ok. We would happily share our home with you, unless you prefer sleeping in the streets alone with no name to yourself.” Cloud explained before killing the mood at the end by spelling out the reality of my situation. Well done for killing the mood there, Cloud, real smooth. It was then RD’s time to step in. “Wait a min… He is a unicorn right. So how the heck is he supposed to live up in Cloudsdale if he isn’t a Pegasus?” RD asked looking rather confused. “Cloudwalking spell.” All three of us automatically answered in unison. “Oh… forgot about that.” Dash answered. “Well anyway, just come with us, ok? No need to feel as if you are taking advantage of us. It really is our pleasure.” Flitter said as she gave me an encouraging smile of her own before turning back towards the Gondola. “Yeah, Nava. Let's go. Before Steam tool over there starts complaining about us taking too long.” Cloud Chaser added before she followed her sister. A voice came from the balloon. “Hey! What’s taking you girls so long?” “See?” Cloud Chaser said, smiling sweetly before trotting back. I sighed in defeat and looked over to Rainbow Dash for any form of comment, in which she nodded her head at the two sisters’ invitation to join them. I nodded back and made my way over to them. “Well, as much as I don’t enjoy the idea to weasel myself into their lives I guess I just have to accept their generosity. And to be honest they do have a point. I have nowhere else to go or to stay.” I thought to myself as I entered the hot air balloon’s basket. “Alright, we're off. Next stop: Cloudsdale.” The stallion named Steam tool announced as he pulled a lever which caused a small geyser of flame to erupt from the burner above us. It wasn’t long before the entire thing began to slowly rise into the air. Flitter and Cloudchaser began to wave and shout goodbye to Rainbow Dash below as Ponyville slowly started to distance itself from us as we rose higher and higher. I would have loved to say my goodbyes as well, but my fear for heights prevented me from even looking over the edge of the gondola as I simply sat down in my own little corner. I just hope we don’t have to go up too high to reach Cloudsdale, otherwise both the trip and my stay in that floating cloud city is going to be a nerve wracking one. I thought to myself as I tried my best to ignore the fact that the Gondola was swinging slightly in the wind. I might actually regret the idea of posing as a unicorn instead of a Pegasus. “Come on, Nava, just a little peek isn’t going to hurt you. Besides, you will have to get used to it eventually, especially if you’re going to live with us.” Cloud Chaser teased, being her fifth attempt already to try and make me look over the edge. But I held firm. “I already said NO. I am not going to look down and see how high up we really are. It’s already bad enough that this stupid thing is swaying in the wind, so I really don’t need the extra information.” I complained back. I already feel bad enough in my stomach thanks to the constant swaying of the Gondola in the winds and I don’t want the added bonus of pissing myself too, thank you very much. It was then when our pilot finally decided to step in as well. “If you are so afraid towards heights, then way are you going to Cloudsdale?” The unicorn stud asked making me almost gag as a heavy wind caused the Gondola to sway again. Because these two live up there and I have no other choice that’s why. I thought, again trying to not make myself look or sound like an ass by saying it out loud. “Just leave him alone you two. You can already see that he feels very uncomfortable about it. So stop teasing him.” Flitter stepped to the rescue once again, making them shut up. “Thank God for Flitter and her ability to…” I began to think before getting interrupted by her. “BUUUUT Cloudchaser is right about the fact that you have to get used to it one way or another if you are going to live with us.” Flitter quickly added. I groaned in annoyance as I knew that they were right. I stood back up. “FINE… I am going to take a peek if it makes all three of you happy.” I shouted as I wobbly turned myself around to look over the edge of the box. And… we are pretty high. Very high. DANGEROUSLY high. STOMACH TURNING HEIGHT AND OH MY GOD WHY THE HELL DID I AGREE TO THIS?! My heart rate quickly skyrocketed as I realized just how high we actually were, making me collapse back onto the floor of the Gondola as I tried my best to keep my breathing under control. Until I started to realize that separating me and the vast expanse of space below me was nothing more than a thin wicker floor preventing me from falling to my utter demise. Making my situation feel even worse than it already was. Panic mode engaged. Please make sure that your breathing and heart rate are as irregular and wild as physically possible, please contact your local service operator for further info. Why am I here again? Can I please get back down? I think I am going to throw up. At this point the world around me slowly started to numb from existence as I curled myself up into a ball trying my best to keep my panicked mind under control and failing miserably as I started to slowly hyperventilate. The only thing that semi worked on me was my hearing, but really. who cares about hearing when you’re on the verge of breaking down. “I… I think he’s broken.” “I think he is having an internal panic attack. I told you two to leave him alone.” “HEY, you where the last one pushing him about it.” “Well, I had no idea he would react like THAT.” “Well what are we going to do now Flitter? We can’t leave him like this.” “Hmmm… I have an idea.” “Really what is it?” “Try kissing him.” “…. WHAT?!” “Well, on his cheek, not his lips, stupid. Calm down, Cloud.” “Yeah, but… still…” “I know how Virgins like him work. Trust me. The shock of getting randomly kissed out of nowhere by a mare should be enough to break him out of his… well, broken state.” “But… but… ” “Oh just do it.” “… Fine… but you owe me for this.” *KISS* Everything suddenly snapped back to reality when a strange but otherwise soft sensation suddenly assaulted my right cheek. It was too quick to notice but it still registered despite the jumbled mess my mind was at the moment. My eyes quickly shot open when the memory of the previous conversation I heard earlier finally registered as I slowly lifted my head. The first thing I saw was Cloud Chaser’s face being really close to mine, with a faint blush visible on both of her cheeks. “Did… did you just…?” I stuttered, wide eyed, as my own cheeks quickly went red as well after realizing what she had just done. We both recoiled from one another as our faces turned even redder. Cloud Chaser’s wings suddenly sprung out as she tried her best to explain this embarrassing situation. “IT… it-it-it WAS HER IDEA, I SWEAR! SHE MADE ME DO IT!!” Cloud Chaser stuttered accusing her sister with a hoof. “THEN WH-WHY DID YOU DO IT?” I shouted back as my wings started to uncomfortably twitch under the bandages. “BECAUSE SHE THOUGHT IT WOULD BE THE BEST WAY TO SNAP YOU OUT!!!” “SNAP ME OUT? THEN WHY DIDN’T YOU JUST SLAP ME INSTEAD?!” “I-I-I DON’T… DON’T KNOW… I-I JUST THOUGHT THAT…”She tried to explain but failed as she simply began to turn around to hide her flustered face from me. An awkward silence followed afterwards, with only the sound of two snickering ponies filling it. “It’s not funny you two.” I muttered trying to get my own blush under control as I sat there. “Yes, it is!” they said, laughing even harder. Is this really going to be the norm for me, from now on? Awkward embarrassing moment after awkward embarrassing moment? Heck, I even almost jumped off this stupid thing because of my panic attack. And now, I’m starting to feel sick again. Oh would you stop swaying already? you're not helping me out here, wind. From that moment on the rest of the flight was pretty much uneventful, both me and Cloud sitting in our respective corners while Flitter and our pilot simply kept to themselves as our journey continued. Welcome to Equestria Nava, this is pretty much your new life now. Absolutely fantastic.
Chapter 9: Cloudsdale Chapter 9: Cloudsdale Edited by: Chrome Masquerade “Cloudsdale Ahoy, everypony!” Our pilot shouted and getting everybody’s attention. Except mine, because I was still feeling sick. Seriously, this is the last time I ever set foot -or hoof- onto a hot air balloon ever again! At least that is what I would love to believe and hold true to, but unless I never want to leave Cloudsdale and travel someplace else I will have no other choice but to take another ride. Unless I learn flying, which is never going to happen, or at least not anytime soon… for obvious reasons. Why did I agree to do this again? Oh right, I’m homeless in this world. Also, what about my horn? Since I got here it hasn’t done or said a single “word” of action at all, just being a normal horn the entire time, sometimes even acting as nothing less than a nuisance with low-end doorways. But I guess it’s more of the low door frames’ fault rather than my horn, even more so when most other doors were just fine. But still, I need to add “learn magic” to my to do list if I ever want to survive or be accepted in this world's society, especially since I chose to pose as a normal unicorn rather than a Pegasus for again obvious reasons. Man, I use that phase a lot lately, don’t I? Anyway, back to the outside world. The confines of my mind are great and all, but the real world is still vastly more interesting, though also a bit troubling at times, especially in a world like this. “Alright, we are about to touch down, hope you got your cloudwalking spell going for you there buddy because you are going to need it in this city.” Steam tool announced as he began to pull a lever which made a hissing sound coming from above us. Probably some valve to let out some of the hot air in the balloon. I have to say this particular hot air balloon seems to be a bit more mechanical than most traditional hot air balloons I know of. I wonder if he made it. He is a unicorn and he does look like some kind of mechanic as well, with those safety goggles strapped above his horn. “Hey, Nava, I know that you are afraid of heights and all but I would still recommend that you get up from your little self-made corner and take a look at Cloudsdale from up here while you still can. I promise you, you won’t get a much better view angle to see the whole city than like this. So get up and at least take a peek before you regret it.” Flitter suddenly suggested while looking over to where I presume Cloudsdale is. I sighed. “Well might as well. If I am going to live up here I might as well view it as a whole.“ I thought to myself as I slowly got myself back on all fours. I immediately was stunned. All of my worries and fears quickly dissipated as i first laid eyes on a scene that seemed to come right out a Fantasy epic. “Is this how Olympia would look like in my world if it was real, but with the size of a city instead? Because this looks unbelievable.” I thought to myself in awe as I unblinkingly stared at the scene in front of me. The city was HUGE. Much larger and more proud looking than I remember ever seeing it on art or any screenshot i saw in the internet. It was multi tiered as well, with each layer sprouting more -and even larger- buildings than the other, with the very top one occupied by what I can only describe as a structure with a distant resemblance to the Acropolis of Athens resting on a huge platform overlooking the entire city. The whole city had a classical Greek style architecture vibe going on, with some renaissance style buildings mixed in between. The only obvious difference that these architect types have is that almost everything here was made completely out of clouds instead of anything physical. CLOUDS. Something that will be considered impossible back home. Besides having different elevated levels, the whole city was also divided into islands, which I would guess are considered as their way of separating districts from one another with long, beautifully crafted bridges connecting them. Also made of clouds, of course. And in between these different levels and districts were a large number of rainbow colored waterfalls pouring down into the vast open air space below until slowly dissipating into nothing. Which is strange, to be honest. But one of the most impressive things -and also intimidating ones- was the sheer number of Pegasi flying around the air space of the city. Forget Ponyville! This here was truly a proper city, 20 times the size and a very visible number of citizens to back it up. This was the seat of the Pegasus race in Equestria and it is very evident here. “Impressive isn’t it? Only being beat by Manehattan in terms of size and Canterlot in terms of style. Beyond those two, Cloudsdale is the most impressive and largest city in all of Equestria.” Flitter commented as she, too, seemed to be in awe despite this being her home. I could only agree to that with a nod as I continued to survey the city below. “There are many reasons a Pegasus can be proud to be a Pegasus and Cloudsdale is one of those reasons.” Cloud Chaser added as she stood on my left. “Was this city built only by Pegasi?” I asked while turning my gaze to her. “Yes, it was.” Flitter instead answered to my right. “But if you are really interested in the history of Cloudsdale, then a library would be a much better source than either of us.“ she quickly added with a sheepish smile. I nodded as our Pilot slowly descended us onto a small platform right at the edge of the city with a bunch of larger platforms scattered about, with a few Airships occupying them that were basically just large boats with a big balloon tied on above them (basically like Blimps). Basically, this world version of an airport, so to speak. “Well, here we are, Welcome to Cloudsdale, everypony.” Our pilot announced as the Gondola gently touched down onto the platform. “Alright! Home sweet home. I can’t wait to finally sleep in my own bed again. Those basic ones they had back in Ponyville are nothing compared a good cloud bed.” Flitter happily announced as she threw on her saddle-bag and stepped off. “Hey… thanks for the lift back home there, Steam tool. Appreciate it, dude.” Cloud Chaser awkwardly said as she followed her sister with her own saddle-bag. She probably still feels a bit embarrassed about earlier. Who can blame her? I still feel so myself...somewhat. I only forgot about it because I was too busy being in awe of the city. But now it’s back, because I thought about it… no comment. “Uh, Nava? It’s time to disembark now you know?” Flitter called out as both her and cloud were waiting in front of me. I began to switch my gaze to the cloud-made ground, to them and back to the ground as a sudden feeling of uncertainty enveloped me. This is a cloud. A gas of water vapor created when the sun heats up a body of water. Basically steam. A non-solid material that has more air in it than water, and air just like evaporated water is not solid at all. At this point my normal real world understanding of physics and nature once again kicked in telling me that leaving the solid safely of the Gondola wooden form and trying to even set foot out onto this white foggy mist was a bad idea. Images of me just falling through and plummeting down towards my certain death were flashing through my mind as I nervously stared at the cloudy texture below me. Don’t judge me. I have every reason to be nervous as all hell about this, since this here is literally my first time ever setting foot -or, in my case, hoof- onto an otherwise non-solid material. Combine that with my fear of heights and you got yourself a recipe for a big fat “NOPE” case. “Uh dude? Anytime now. I know that you are scared and all, it always is that way for first timers to come here in Cloudsdale as non Pegasi. But could you please hurry up? I still need to fly over to Canterlot for my second passengers of the day. So please be quick.” Steam tool behind me announced which added a lot of unnecessary pressure to my already really nervous feeling self. “Come on, Nava. you will be fine, trust me. If anything does happen to you me and Cloud will catch you way faster than you can fall.” Flitter tried to reassure me, which didn’t really help much, because she used the word “fall” in her sentence. Again I tried, but I couldn’t. It was then when Cloud Chaser trotted back towards me and whispering something into my ear. “Dude, don’t worry, you are part Pegasus as an Alicorn, as far as I know. Which means walking on clouds will be just as natural to you as it is to us. If Princess Celestia can do it without the need of a cloud walking spell when she visited the Cloudsdale Colosseum from last years wonderbolt race then so can you.” She explained to me before giving me an encouraging smile and stepping off to the side to give me space. I sighed, knowing full well that she was right. I mentally prepared myself, breathing in and out gently to calm my mind and lower my fears before I would... AHH fuck it, no balls no glory. And with that I simply leapt off from the solid safety of the Gondola and directly onto the cloud textured floor in front of me. A lot of expectations went through my mind right after I made my daring jump into the unknown, but none of them were even close to the result I actually got when I landed rear first onto the cloudy floor below me. Like actually landing on it. What was that surprising result, you ask? Pain. A sudden jolt of pain as the previously thought soft-looking cloud actually turned out to be just as hard and solid as a slab of concrete. Welcome to Cloudsdale everyone. Welcome to Cloudsdale. A single tear ran down my eye as I whimpered to myself in pain. ……………………………………………………………………………………… “Could you two please stop snickering? I already feel uncomfortable enough on my rear and don’t need you two to add insult to injury. Also ponies are watching again.” I muttered as we strolled through the busy streets of Cloudsdale. “But… but it was so funny! You should have seen your face when you realized just how solid the cloud beneath you actually was. Oh, mare, that really made my day.” Cloud Chaser commented between snickers which eventually turned into a full blown laugh as she was forced to support herself against the side of a wall. I groaned in annoyance as ponies once again began to stare at the sudden commotion. “Is this really going to happen every time whenever I visit or enter a new location in this world? Why does everything here have to be so awkward? It never was like this in my world, EVER!” I thought to myself as I found the ground surprisingly interesting. “Hey, come on there, it really wasn’t that bad. At least it was just the three of us who saw it. So chill.” Flitter tried to reassure me while trying not to laugh herself. Yeah, Flitter it really doesn’t work well if you are visibly trying to restrain yourself from rolling around on the floor like your sister. I simply gave her a deadpan look. “Just get it out of your system Flitter. The sooner the better.” I suggested to her with a blank stare. And after that she did just that as she too took on her sister’s example and began to laugh her flank off while mine was still hurting. Both physically and emotionally. Seriously, though, who would have thought that clouds could be just as solid as concrete bricks? I at least thought that there would have some sort bouncy softness to them like a mattress, or at least feel pleasant, like a rug, but not as hard as rock. The more time I spend here, the more I learn…in the most wrong and embarrassing ways possible. Making myself look like a complete idiot instead of being a philosophically and logic bound thinker. This world is going to be the death of me. After a while, though, the laughing stopped as these two finally calmed down. “So-sorry for that Nava. You were right though about just getting it out first. But I am all better now, so don’t worry.” Flitter said in between breaths as she picked herself back up. Followed by her sister who was still snickering. “But seriously dude, why the hay did you jump off like that? You could have just placed a hoof to test the solidness of ground first and not just full on jump on it butt first.” Cloud comments which made me facehoof at my stupidity. “I was under a lot of pressure ok? Jeez. Can't a guy just make a mistake?” I muttered while rubbing my forehead. Cloud simply continued to snicker while Flitter simply shook her head before the three of us continued to move on. Trying to get the embarrassing situation out of the way (which is hard with a still sore flank) I simply continued to survey my surroundings as we trotted along. Again, just as predicted the streets were full of ponies, most of them Pegasi for very obvious reasons, but the most obvious difference was just how many there are, especially in comparison to Ponyville. The buildings themselves, though made of clouds, were a lot larger as well. Streets were broader, shops were more numerous and busy. All in all this place does feel like a proper city, not like a simple humble town like Ponyville. This place was busy as all heck, even the air space above looked busy. I even managed to spot a construction site off in the distance. By construction I mean Pegasi workers pushing large sums of clouds over to it, breaking pieces off of it and placing them all to their respective places while molding everything into shape with some sets of tools. So that’s how they build here. “Hey…where exactly do you two live in this city?” I asked as we turned into a smaller, less crowded street. “Well, we live on the east side of town, where a lot of more residential buildings are. We are currently in a commercial district of the city, right after that we’ll have to cross a Bridge to get to the White Cloud district which is the place we live in.” Flitter explained as we once again reached another small alley. “Commercial District, huh? No wonder there are so many shops and ponies running around the streets.” I thought to myself as we passed by a small candy shop to our right. Than it came back to. This Cloudsdale here is much, much larger than the Cloudsdale I remember from back home. In both the show and in art I saw in the internet, Cloudsdale was always depicted more of a large town or small city but never in the same size and scale as this. Again, proving my point that THIS here is not like the show. This is a real living breathing world with its own events and history. Just because something happened in a certain way in the show doesn’t mean that this world has to follow that event to the letter. Again this is much like the real world I am from where anything can happen. A realization that I need to remember in the future, because I have a feeling that it could change everything for better or for worse. But hopefully for the better. Man, I should really focus more on what I am doing now and not constantly retreat into my mind while moving. I might walk into something or even lose the two sisters in this sea of ponies if I’m not careful. That would be a disaster. Rainbow Dash might have been right about the idea of my constant phasing out not being too healthy. But I’d rather not tell her that or her ego would go through the roof. “Alright, there’s the bridge that leads us to the White Cloud district. You see it?” Flitter asked while pointing her hoof at something at the end of the road. I followed her gaze, and she was right. Right there at the very end of a large main road was indeed a bridge spanning from this island district over to another. “So we cross that and we will be in a more residential heavy part of the city?” I asked, trying to learn more about this alternative version of Cloudsdale. Flitter nods. “Yes, and the best part for you. Far less ponies on the streets as well.” She answered with a small giggle at the end. I simply rolled my eyes at her as we continued our trek through the streets. Being a bridge in a cloud city connecting various islands to one another meant that right under them was basically a whole lot of nothing other than the distant, distant earth below, which meant I was basically forced to keep my eyes forward as the three of used it to cross over to the other side. Thankfully, though, the bridge itself was very wide, so it really wasn’t that much of an issue for me. The Houses in the White Cloud district where far more humble and smaller than the rows on rows of never-ending buildings that dominated the previous one. Perfectly made just for the sake of living in them similar to the houses I saw in Ponyville only made out of clouds instead of wood and thatch. And also true to her word there were far less ponies running around the streets as well. Something I find rather nice, to be honest. “Hey, Cloud and Flitter. Back from Ponyville already?” Some random dark blue Pegasus mare with a yellow mane greeted us from above as we were about to climb up a set of stairs. “Oh. Hey, Rain coat. Yeah, we got sent back early this time. Thanks to an accident we had during our job.” Flitter replied while showing the newcomer her bandaged left wing. The blue mare landed in front of us with a shocked expression. “Oh my gosh! what happened?” Flitter simply pointed a hoof over to her sister which made Cloud glare at her and the mare giggle in realization. “Oh, I see, so everything went pretty normal than I would guess.” Rain coat commented with another giggle. I simply stood there, patiently waiting as these three mares began to quack amongst themselves about various things that I guess only close friends or colleagues can talk about. Despite all of that, I immediately noticed that during their little chat both Flitter and Cloud hadn’t mentioned anything about the whole Everfree Forest incident to her. I personally don’t know why, but I guess one of the reasons might be because of me. We did agree to one another to keep my identity a secret to everyone, so I guess keeping me out of the conversation by not mentioning anything about the incident might be a good choice. Though, not for long as the mare eventually asked them about my presence. “By the way, Flitter, who is this stallion walking with you? I have never seen him before.” She began looking at me with a curious expression before it was replaced by a sly smile. “Is he like yours -or Cloud’s- new coltfriend? My, my, if so then I have to say that this time the two of you really managed to reel in a super cute one. What is his name anyway?” She quickly added making both Flitter and Cloud stare at her in shock. I simply facehoofed. “Ugh…not this again…I am way too tired to even give a respond to that. I already had a really long day as it is.” I thought as Flitter quickly tried to explain herself. “No, no he is neither my, or Cloud Chaser here’s, coltfriend. He is just a friend we met when we were in Ponyville. Simple as that.” Flitter tried to explain. Though, looking at Rain Coat’s expression, she obviously wasn’t buying it. Flitter simply sighed. “Ok look, can we please talk about this more during another day? We are tired and we would love to finally get back home to call it a day.” Flitter added.” Look, the sun is setting anyway.” she tried to reason. The mare simply shook her head while smiling. “Well, whatever, it is getting late anyway. But I would still like to be properly introduced to him next time, alright?” She said before taking off. “Well, alright. See you tomorrow then, Rain!” Flitter shouted back as the mare quickly disappeared. “Who was that?” I finally asked after she was gone. “A friend and work colleague. Both me and Cloud knew her since flight school.” Flitter answered before her sister stepped in. “Basically most of our lives.” Cloud Chaser added curtly, nodding. I nodded as I followed them up the wide stairs that would lead us onto a higher elevation of the district. As we did I quickly noticed the weird silence Cloud Chaser had around her. Besides the time when we arrived here and the moments when she and her sister laughed at my stupidity from earlier she really hasn’t done or said a whole lot since our trip through the streets. Which is weird, to be honest because normally she was really be the more active and talkative one of these two, but now she seems very quiet and distant instead. Maybe I can ask her. “Uh… hey, Cloud? What’s wrong? You have been pretty quiet this entire time which since I have known you is not like you at all. In fact it’s normally my thing to be all quiet.” I asked with a small chuckle at the end before looking back at her with concern. “Is something wrong?” I finally ask. She simply sighed as she continued to watch the ground. “It’s nothing, really. I just have been… thinking a lot.”She answered. “Something that you have allot of experience with I would guess.” she chided playfully while giving me a small smile at the end. I gave her a nod and a small smile of my own as I decided to drop the subject then and there. If she doesn’t feel like sharing her problems or concerns than I won’t push her. I respect her privacy and decision to speak up for her own. It wasn’t long before we finally reached the top and were greeted with somewhat larger homes than the ones I mostly saw before. Not necessary in terms of height but more in length. I could tell that these were large family houses, or for ponies who have just a little bit more coin in their purses. Or saddlebags, i guess. I was actually pretty surprised to discover that one of them was actually Flitters and Cloud Chasers home as we soon stopped in front one of them. “Well here we are. Home sweet home.” Flitter announced as she stepped onto the front porch. I was really stunned. “Wait a minute. You two live in one of these? Alone? Why do you two need this much space alone?” I asked as I continued to survey the rather large home for just two ponies. Cloud Chaser giggled as she stood beside her sister. “Well, to be honest this was our parents’ house, the same house where we grew up in and eventually inherited 4 years ago. “ Cloud answered for me. I nodded as I quickly followed to stand at the front door with them. Than something clicked. “Wait…you said inherited it from your parents 4 years ago right? I began, slowly regretting my decision to ask in the first place but continued, as there was no turning back now. “Did… did something happen to them?” I finished with a worried tone. My worries were quickly proven right when both of their expressions quickly fell as they both looked at each other with sad and pained look. I was about to apologize when Flitter quickly unlocked the door and stepped inside the house, followed by her sister leaving me standing all alone outside. At this point I felt absolutely terrible for accidentally asking about a touchy or taboo subject and feared that I might have immediately destroyed any form of friendship and trust I have built up with them. Stupid…why the hell did you even try to ask when the answer was basically already there when she mentioned the word “Inherit”. Since I came here I have done nothing but make myself look like an idiot, coward, loser, and now as a big fat asshole as well. Great work Nava, Great work. I think I should better leave now before I accidentally make things even worse. I was about to turn around and leave when Flitter’s voice stopped me. “Hey are you coming in or not? Cloudsdale can get mighty cold when the sun goes down.” Flitter said as she stood there at the doorway looking at me. A part of me immediately felt relieved to know that I hadn’t destroyed our companionship by accident, but another part of me still felt worried, if their previous reaction was anything to go by. I nodded as she stepped out of the way to give me entry into their home. I carefully stepped into their house and was immediately greeted with the sight of a very large and beautifully furnished living room. It had two large couches at the center with a small wooden table in between them. Wooden and glass shelves, book shelves, and smaller tables with knick-knacks or small house plants on them lined the walls with in the room. Overall the living room looked pretty cozy. to say the least. Though the one thing that did surprise me even more was the fact that the walls of the room were blue instead of the same cloudy white I expected. How they color clouds, I have no idea. But I guess I can ask about that at a later date. Beyond the main room was a kitchen that was semi-connected with the living room with only a single wall with a doorway separating from the dining room to its right which was also semi-connected with the living room with only a counter marking its border. The dining room had a long table that could comfortably fit six ponies around it, and a very large window with a sliding door behind it that probably went around back. And lastly, but not leastly, a corridor going from left to right from the main room, probably leading to bedrooms, bathrooms and other rooms of the house. I whistled, being very impressed with the layout and the interior of this home. Whoever their parents where probably had a lot of spare bits in their pockets because all of this must have cost a small fortune! “Well, what do you think?” Flitter asked, gesturing to the whole house in general with her hoof. I looked at her. “Wow, girls! Your home looks very impressive. Again I imaged something… well, smaller. No offence, by the way.” “It’s ok, none taken.” She answered with a giggle. “But to be honest we get that a lot. Most ponies do like to think that we live in a nice quiet little home instead of in a house as big as this. So you’re not the first one to assume that.” Flitter quickly added before diverting her attention back to Cloud Chaser, who was spread out in one of the couches. “Hey, Cloud? Could you maybe take our saddlebags to our rooms while I go give Nava here a tour of our home?” Flitter asked her sister. Cloud Chaser groaned. “Why don’t you do it? You’re the one still standing and I feel way too tired to move at the moment.” She complained as she rolled herself to the other side. “Ugh. Fine, I will take our bags to our rooms then.” Flitter replied while trotting over to Cloud and grabbing her bag with her mouth. “Hey, Nava? Could you please close the door behind you for me while I go store our stuff? After that you can make yourself comfortable and wait for me, ok?” Flitter somehow managed to say clearly with a full mouth. I gave her a nod and she quickly disappeared around the right hallway, leaving me and her sister alone in the room. I did as I was asked and gently shut the main door behind me. I was about to make my way towards the couch opposite to Cloud when something suddenly caught my interest in the corner of my eye. It was a set of framed photos hanging from the wall to my right that I honestly didn’t notice before. Probably because this one bookshelf was standing in my way from where I previously stood, but whatever. Curiosity took a hold of me as I slowly started to approach the photos. At first glance I could tell that those were family photos of both Cloud Chaser and Flitter when they were fillies. But beside those there were also pictures of them together with two other ponies I haven’t seen before. A white coated and red maned Pegasus stallion and a White coated dark blue maned mare. “I would guess that these two must be Flitter and Cloud Chaser’s parents.” I thought to myself as I continued to observe the photos. One of them especially caught my eye though. It was a simple family picture with all four of them together. The two sisters in the middle with both of their parents on either side of them, smiling happily as if everything was perfect for them. Though the one thing that somehow bothered me about this picture was just how much older both Cloud and Flitter looked in this one, probably in their late teens if their looks and height were anything to go by. “How old is this pic exactly?” I thought as I continued to observe it. “That’s us and our parents, in case you’re wondering.” Flitter’s voice suddenly came up from behind and scaring the shit out of me. “JEEZ GIRL! Please don’t sneak up on me like that! I don’t cope very well with surprises of that nature.” I pleaded while trying to contain my racing heart. Flitter giggled. “Sorry, didn’t know you were so engrossed with our family photos like that, otherwise I might have been just a little bit more careful.” She said as she quickly joined me. As we continued to observe the photos in silence a question suddenly popped back up in my mind again, but I felt very hesitant to actually ask it because i was afraid of the reaction it would bring out in her, especially judging what happened just a few moments ago. Flitter, on the other hand, seemed to notice my nervousness as she simply answered my question before I could even ask it myself. “This particular photo with all four of us together was taken 4 years ago, just a few week before we lost… both of our parents.” Flitter began as sadness dripped from her voice, her ears drooping expressively. I turned my head to look at her, both shocked and surprised at the same time. “So this is why talking or asking about their parents is such a touchy subject for them.” I thought to myself as I realized what I had done earlier. I placed a hoof over to her shoulder to comfort her as the sense of guilt I felt previously returned at full force. “I… I am sorry Flitter. Sorry for your loss and sorry for being so... insensitive earlier. If I had known… I would have never even asked in the first place. I… I am so sorry.” I apologized trying to somehow fix my earlier mistake. To my utter confusion Flitter began to sadly mutter something under her breath as I tried to comfort her. “Take care of your Sister, Flitter, while we are gone.” was what she muttered to herself which both confused and worried me greatly for her. “Flitter? Are… are you ok?” I asked hoping that she would answer. Luckily she did, as she eventually raised her head to look at me. The sadness in her expression still visible, which really didn’t help my own worries. “I… I'm ok, it’s just, well… memories.” She replied while trying to force a smile for me. Which obviously didn’t work that well. “Flitter, again… I am sorry from earlier I just…” I tried to explain before flitter cut me off. “No really, it's fine, Nava, really. You didn’t know, that’s all.” She reassured me before continuing. “It’s just…it’s just because me and Cloud loved our parents so much. We loved them greatly and in return they loved us just as much, even more so at times. So you can easily guess that losing them so early and so suddenly was extremely scary for the both of us.” Flitter explained as she lowered her head again. “Especially for my sister.” She muttered. I once again placed my hoof on her back to comfort her while trying to think of what would change this obviously sad subject for her. “What… was the job of your parents, anyway, to afford a place like this?” I asked trying to change the subject until I realized the error I just made again. “Uhm no… wait, I mean…” I tried to correct myself awkwardly, but stopped as Flitter looked back at me. “They were both members of the Royal couriers. A position that is only reserved to the most trusted and well talented Pegasi of the kingdom.” She explained before continuing. “But before that, or at least before they met one another, they had different occupations that eventually led them to become Royal Couriers.” She explained seemingly also trying her best to divert the subject, to my surprise. I simply decided to help her along with that since that is what I wanted to do myself anyways. “Which were?” I asked. “Our father, Crimson Wing used to be part of the guard while our Mother Cloud Heart used to be a member of the Wonderbolts in her youth.” Flitter answered. That quickly made me think. “Their father, a member of the Guard and their mother a member of the Wonderbolts? No wonder Cloud and Flitter live in a home as big as this with so much expensive looking stuff in it. Plus this whole “Royal courier” thing also probably opened up a lot of extra possibilities as well, with the way Flitter explained it.” I thought to myself as I began to look around the room once more. It was then that another question hit me. “Wait, why was you father named Crimson Wing? To me it translates to Blood Wing as far as I know. But in the picture his has a snow white coat.” I question. Flitter for the first time since scaring me actually started to smile a bit to my relief before answering. “Well again…you really are not the first to have ever asked that question.” She started with a smile before continuing.” But to cut a long story short, he was given that name by his parents because of his rarity. You see, just like with unicorns in how rare it is for one to be born with a much longer horn than the usual, it is also very rare for a Pegasus to be born with completely different colored wing feathers in comparison to the color of their coats.” She finished. “So in other words, your father’s wings were actually red instead of white like the rest of his body?” I ask back in which she nods. I sighed, feeling relieved that at least everything seems to be back to normal again for the both of us. After a while of awkward silence in between us with only the sound of a ticking clock somewhere in the room to accompany us. It was Flitter who eventually broke the silence as she trotted over toward the right corridor before speaking up. “Well…anyway, let me just show you your room so that we can call it a night.” Flitter suggested as she stood there waiting for me to follow her. I nodded as I did so, following her into the right corridor which had a couple of doors on both sides and a large window at the end of it. We both eventually stopped at a navy blue door at the very end of the corridor. Flitter looked at me with a somewhat sheepish smile while rubbing the back of her neck. “This here is going to be your room, Nava, sorry if it looks somewhat empty and lifeless inside. This room used to be the guest room, before me and Cloud eventually stored most of what was there down in the basement after we inherited this house. Besides a bed and a night table there is really nothing of interest in it.” She explained looking a bit embarrassed at the end. I gave her a smile. “That’s quite alright. Really, you offering a room with a bed is already quite awesome enough on its own.” I answered honestly. Flitter shook her head. “Nonsense! If you are going to live here with us then you might as well sleep with the same comfort as any other pony. Next thing tomorrow me and Cloud are going to get everything back from the basement so that you can have a proper room.” Flitter offered before pressing down the handle and opening the door. I quickly followed her as she stepped in and turned on the lights (which to be honest i have no idea how their work here.) and true to her word, all that was inside this otherwise spacious room was a normal sized cloud bed at the left corner of the room with a nightstand next to it. The walls were white just how you would expect from a house made of clouds with only the ceiling having a navy blue color, a larger window was located right next to the bed and the nightstand completely curtain free with a view directly aimed at the rest of the city itself. Basically saying I got the room with the best view in the house. The many lights of the city easily visible from here, with the added bonus of a clear starry night to boot. “Well, as I said, this room is still pretty empty, but it should be good enough to sleep here for one night.” Flitter commented with a small echo bouncing off the walls. As it’s typical for empty rooms to do. I again smiled at her. “Thank you for giving me my own room Flitter, this really is one of the kindest things anyone has ever done for me. I… I am honestly speechless.” I thanked her as I fought the urge to let lose a few tears of happiness. And succeeding. Yeah, manly honor intact, even though I already lost it multiples times before getting here. Flitter smiled. “Think nothing of it. As I already said, many times a pony’s life is worth more than all the Bits in Equestria combined. Just wait here for a moment while I go grab the bedsheet, a blanket and a pillow for you.” Flitter responded before excusing herself out the room. I sighed as i trotted over to the window. The night sky was just as beautiful as it had always been since I first arrived in this world only now with the added bonus of having lights up in front of me as well. The large Acropolis like Citadel at the center being beautifully illuminated by blue and white lights, giving it a very mysterious, but also imposing look to it. The one thing that still constantly reminded me that I was currently in a pre-season 1 time frame was the image of a pony’s head on the surface of the moon, but if anything I know so far is true will soon change which eventually will jump start the events I am familiar with. Or so I think. Again, this is not the show. This is a real world where anything can happen. Which already has been proven time and time again that this seems to be the case. The possibilities are endless, and if I for some reason find out that I am unable to ever return home… a thought I currently still don’t want to entertain, then at least this world is going to offer me pretty much endless possibilities of new beginnings. Especially knowing that I have time in my favor… being an alicorn and all, but I let the ideas and concepts of eternal youth worry me for another time, simply because… I have other problems to focus on first. Plus, it's way too early as well. I only have been in this world for 4 days. “Alright, here is your stuff.” Flitter’s voice suddenly echoed in the room and derailed me and my thoughts once more. I turned from the window and saw that she was already making my bed for me, putting in the bedsheet and placing the pillow and blanket on top of it. “There. All nice and ready for a pony to sleep on.” Flitter announced with a smile after she was done. I trotted over to her to test out the bed with my hoof and smiled as both the cloudy mattress and fabric felt incredibly soft and nice to the touch. They even had the nice clean smell to them as well. A scent I always enjoyed for some reason, even back in my world. “Thank you, Flitter. This is really nice.” I thank her with a smile, which she happily returned. “You’re quite welcome.” She responded happily before giving a quick look towards the window. “I suggest we continue everything in the morning, it’s already pretty late and I feel pretty exhausted as well.” She added while giving a yawn. I mimicked her, as yawns are known to be contagious before I realized something. “Wait… what about Cloud Chaser in the living room?” I asked remembering her. Flitter giggled. “Oh she will be fine where she is, in fact I already covered her up in a blanket before trotting back here. She sometimes likes to sleep on the couch, mostly because she has the tendency to fall asleep on them before getting up.” She explained to me with another giggle. I chuckled as another yawn escaped my lips. “Well, I guess we just hit the hay then.” I suggested which flitter quickly agree on. “Right, it is super late anyway. Oh and by the way. The bathroom is right next to your room in case you need to use it. Anyway, goodnight, Nava.” Flitter said before quickly excusing herself out the room with a wave. “Goodnight Flitter.” I called after her as she gently closed the door behind her. “Man she is right, I feel totally exhausted. Better get into bed before my body just gives out.” I thought as I quickly crawled into bed. I removed both my glasses and my hat and placed them on the nightstand next to me. I removed my scarf as well for the first time and simply laid it on the bed right next to me before laying my head down onto the soft pillow and closing my eyes. “Oh, yes, forgot the lights.” I muttered as I quickly got back up to turn off the lights. A thought occurring to me, I looked up at the lights and clapped twice. Nothing. “Worth a try.” I said, before going over to turn the lights off manually and crawled back to bed afterward. “Well… I have a feeling that this is the beginning of a new wacky adventure for me in the land of magic and rainbows.” I thought as I covered myself in my blanket and closed my eyes. Sleep didn’t take long to grab me as my exhaustion and the softness of my new bed made it an easy feat. Tomorrow will be the start of a new adventure for the better or the worse.
Chapter 10: Start of a new day in Cloudsdale Chapter 10: Start of a new day in Cloudsdale /Chapter 10: Start of a new day in Cloudsdale/ Edited by: Chrome Masquerade “Why does the sun have to be so bright?” I muttered as the stupid disk of light interrupted perhaps the best goodnight sleep I had since arriving in this world. Great I finally get a good, dreamless, relaxing sleep for the first time and don’t get the chance to fully capitalize on it because my windows don’t have any curtains. Or I could blame a certain “Princess” for it. Yeah let’s go with the last one. Let’s try and be original here. But do not panic, peoples, because I know of a very super-secret technique that has been passed down from generation to generation to combat the all known evil that is the sun during lazy morning moments. Just roll yourself to the side and get that stupid light out of your face. But now all it does is warm up the back of my neck, which really isn’t that comfortable either. “Ugh. Leave me alone, you glorified gas ball. Let me sleep in.” I muttered as I completely cover myself with my blanket to escape the rays. Ah much better. Hopefully now I can get some more sleep and not get bothered by more irritating… *CRASH* “RISE AND SHIIIIIIIIINE EVERYYYYYPONYYYYYYY!! IT’S THE DAWN OF A NEW DAY, FILLIES, SO GET YOUR FLANKS UP AND ENJOY THE SUNSHIIIIIIIIIIIINE!!” An incredible loud voice sang/shouted which caused me to literally jump out of bed and crash down onto the floor all tangled up in my blanket. “Cloud, I SWEAR sometimes you are literally acting like a filly. I told you to leave him alone.” I heard the familiar voice of Flitter chided. “Aww, come on sis. Can’t a mare like me have some fun from time to time? I mean we have a new roommate now so why not capitalize on it by annoying him and not you.” I heard Cloud protest which made Flitter role her eyes on that last part. “If you mean fun by disturbing ponies while they are trying to sleep then no, no you can’t have fun.” Flitter replied sounding quite annoyed. “Hmph. You were always the egghead of the two of us.” Cloud countered annoyed as well. At this point I really had enough, mostly because I realized that I somehow managed to tangle myself up even more while trying to get out. It even started to hurt a little as one of my legs was bent in a very unnatural position. “Could you two please help me out of this thing first before having one of your typical sibling fights?” I pleaded to them while still trying to get out. “Oh… oh, yeah. Just hold still there for a moment.” Flitter replied as watched her trot over to me. The process of getting me untangled was… unique. Never would I have thought in my life that a blanket -well, a large blanket- could be turned into such a death trap. Well, to be honest, half of it was my fault. I might be able to walk fine with hooves but trying to use them in the same way I would do with my hands was still somewhat difficult. So in a way, I actually succeeded in making my trap even worse as I obviously had problems with properly pushing and pulling myself to freedom. Hooves are not really useful for getting yourself untangled let me tell you And now here is Flitter, pulling in places that just seem to make things even worse… if that was even possible. “No, wait! Don’t pull it that way! AHHH! My leg is still attached to that.” “Well, sorry, but your thrashing isn’t exactly making things easy, you know.” “Well ok, I will hold still then. But please try to…. Erk… erk… no, wait! Stop, you're choking me now. Ugh…” “Oh dear! sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry.” How the hell can a blanket possess such an amazing grip on itself? This is ridiculous. What is this blanket made of to have such strong frictional grip? Under all of this madness I could hear Cloud laughing in the background which just added to the overall frustration both of us felt. “CLOUD CHASER WOULD YOU GET YOUR FLANK OVER HERE AND HELP? THIS IS YOUR FAULT TO BEGIN WITH ANYWAY!!” Both me and Flitter shouted, causing Cloud to immediately recoil and shut her mouth. “Jeez, guys! Calm down! Fine, I’m going to stop and help out.” She replied in defeat. Good morning Nava. Best nap I had for a while and this is how the day starts. Absolutely brilliant. With the help of Cloud, getting me out of my fabric prison went quicker than I thought. Soon I was free as I quickly sat up to rub my legs and stretch my limbs. “Well…?” Flitter began while looking over at her sister. “Well what?” She asked confused. Flitter fought the urge to facehoof. “Oh, for Celestia sake, at least apologize to him will you. This was all your fault in the first place.” Flitter scolded. Cloud chaser sighed before looking at me. “Well sorry there Nava. By sorry I mean, “Sorry for eating your breakfast”,because sis made pancakes today.” Cloud chaser announced with a giddy attitude as she quickly ran out of the room. Leaving me completely confused and Flitter irritated. “Cloud Chaser, seriously.” She muttered while rubbing her forehead. I simply scratched my head in confusion as the two of us spent a few moments sitting in silence before Flitter broke it “Oh, Nava? No offense but… I think you smell a little bit today, for some reason.” Flitter announced while looking at me. “Wait, really?” I asked before starting to sniff myself, and to my surprise she was somewhat right. I did had a small smell on me strangely enough, despite the fact I just took a shower yesterday morning to get rid of the still present reminder of the… incident that happened to me in Pinkies party. To be honest I still smelled a bit of chocolate and vanilla even after my double shower, so I guess some tiny leftovers of Pinkie’s frosting were still stuck to my fur somehow and probably have now gone old which could be causing the smell. That or I sweated a lot last night who knows. With that new info, I knew how to start the day today. “Hey, uh… can I use the shower?” I asked. “Well of course. The Bathroom and shower is right next door to yours. Also, don’t worry about Cloud Chaser’s threat. I’ll make sure she won’t eat ALL of the pancakes while you are busy getting clean.” Flitter answered with a smile at the end as she got back up. “Sweet. Thanks. Also it gives me the perfect excuse to finally get these stupid bandages off of me. I can seriously feel just how numb my wings feel right now.” I commented while getting up as well. “Just give me a shout if you need help with that.” Flitter suggested as she walked out of the room. I quickly fallowed. “Alright, this is the bathroom.” Flitter said while pointing at a dark blue door right next to mine. “Just call me if you need any help, alright?” She finished kindly while trotting off towards the kitchen. I quickly opened the door and was greeted with a typical white-tiled bathroom. YES I said tiles. Again no idea how this all works knowing that the whole house is made out of clouds but I guess the same answer that seem to explain everything in this world might be magic. Magic seems to be the best and quickest explanation in this world, or at least I assume so. At least it makes things easier for me to understand as well. Beyond the tiles themselves the bathroom looked pretty generic, except for the toilet to my left which looked exactly the same as all the other toilets I came across so far in this world. A normal looking toilet with the same shape and the same looks as the one I remember from back home, only situated much, much lower for obvious pony reasons. Right next to the pony toilet was a basic sink with a double faucet, a medical closet and a mirror above it and to my front on the other end of the room was none other than a large bathtub and a small window on top of the wall. Again, overall a very generic looking bathroom. I trotted inside towards the mirror and began to observe myself on it and surprise, surprise it’s the same light orange colored and black maned pony that has been greeting me every since i got here. “Has it really been already 5 days since I arrived in this crazy world?” I ask myself in the reflection. I sighed. Thoughts about home returning to me, my friends, my family, my world, my humanity. But all of this grieving isn’t going to get me anywhere I know that. One part of me already knows that I might be stuck in this world forever but another part of me still hopes that my other half was wrong and that there might be still a small whisper of a chance for me to return to where I belong. One thing was immediately obvious to me, though. The longer I stayed here, the more time passes back home as well, which means it wouldn’t be too long before I would be simply filed as missing and/or dead which also means that trying to return at that point would slowly become more and more pointless as there won’t be anything left anymore for me to return to. Another question I have no answer to is how is time passing between our worlds? Is it the same? Is one second over here the same second over there? Or is it different? Is one day here one week over there or vice versa? Is one day over there one year over here, or is one day over here a 100 years over there? I’m rambling. The fact is, I just don’t know and it's thoughts like these that both confused and scared me at the same time. Because if that was the case, then returning now would be utterly pointless at this point. I might as well just stay here and try to make the best of it. There has to be a reason why I was sent here as an alicorn, but that is just yet another mystery I have no answer to. How was I sent here, when was I sent here and why? I once again sighed in defeat. Having thoughts like that wasn’t going to get me answers or results anytime soon. I should just focus on the now and again try to figure things out over time when the opportunity presents itself. Besides I still smell. With this new focus set in mind I began to try and get those bandages off me with both my hooves and teeth. The results were…not surprising at all as I didn’t get very far with my own attempts. I grumble in annoyance. “Darn hooves. I really need to somehow get my horn operational, because this is starting to get REALLY old.” I muttered while still trying to get the bandages off of me. My wings were feeling really numb for having been trapped for so long. “I need some help… as usual.” I muttered while trotting back to the door and opening it. “Flitter can you please come help me?” I shouted through the corridor. “No Cloud, you can’t have them all, I better not see the entire stack gone when I come back, Cloud.” I hear Flitter say from around the corner before appearing on the other end of the corridor. “You called?” She asked as she got closer. I nod while pointing at the problem at hand. She gives me a nod in return as she quickly helped me remove the bandages on my midsection. As soon as they were gone my wings quickly sprang into action… quite literally as one of them hit Flitter square on the face and knocking her onto her flank. I immediately panicked. “SHIT! I am so, so sorry, I swear it wasn’t me. My wings just went…” I tried to explain before Flitter stopped me, putting a hoof to my mouth. “It’s ok. Don’t worry, wings have a tendency to do that, if kept bound for so long. I had a similar reaction on mine when I first broke my right wing back when I was a filly.” Flitter explained as she got back up. I sighed in relief knowing that. “Well, anyway, thanks for the help there Flits. Appreciate it.” I thanked her before I realized what I just called her. I immediately blushed as a result. “Uhhh… I mean...” I stuttered, embarrassed. Flitter simple giggles at my reaction before silencing me by placing her hoof onto my muzzle again. “Flits, huh? Only been here for a short time and already coming up with nicknames eh?” She said with another giggle. “I kind of like Flits, better than being called egghead or killjoy by my sister.” She added with a smile gracing her muzzle. I smiled sheepishly, still feeling somewhat embarrassed. “Well, I guess I just leave you to your shower, then. Again, call me if you need any more help, ok?” She suggested kindly once more as she turned around to leave. I was about to jump into the bathtub when I noticed the lack of a shower faucet. “Ohm Flitter? Where is the… well, faucet for the shower?” I called out again before Flitter could fully leave the room. She immediately stepped back in with a confused look on her face. “What do you mean?” She asked, tilting her head slightly. I simply pointed a hoof at what I meant before an invisible light bulb began to light up insider the mare. “Oh, I see what the problem is.” She began. “Well, for starters Cloud homes don’t need a shower faucet for their shower, they use the cloud-made ceiling above it to make it rain onto them when taking a shower.” Flitter explain. I scratched my head at that info, to which Flitter quickly catches onto as she sighed. “Here, let me just show you.” She suggested as began to climb and stand on the edge of the bathtub with her hind legs and supporting herself with one hoof on the wall. “Just tap it like this.” She said while demonstration it by giving the cloud texture like ceiling a small love tap with her free hoof. To my surprise it quickly began to rain right into the bathtub below it. Before I could say anything in surprise Flitter quickly tapped it again which made it stop before hopping back down next to me. “There you got it?” She asked while looking at me. I nod before a problem came up. “Well…yes I do but, I still can’t fly high enough to even reach the ceiling by myself, let alone stand balancing on a slippery surface on just my hind legs, so how am I going to tap it?” I asked while giving my now free exposed winds a few twitches. “Oh…totally forgot about that.” Flitter casually responded while looking at me. “Well I guess I can just turn it on for you, and turn it off again after you are done.” She suggested before climbing back up to tab the cloud above the Bathtub again, causing it to pour down on it once again. “There now you can get that stench off of you.” She said while hopping back down. I smiled at her. “Thanks, I…I am sorry for being so… well, helpless all of the time.” I said with a sad expression at the end. Flitter simply shook her head while placing a hoof on my shoulder.”It’s weird, I have to admit, but it’s also fine as well. I like helping out those I like. Plus it also gives me the perfect training opportunity for when I eventually become a mother.” Flitter explained happily. “Well, I guess, but… wait a minute-” I tried to say until I realized what she meant at end. Flitter simple giggled before turning around to take her leave. “Just take your shower already before I have to WASH you too.” she said with a playful smirk before disappearing around the corner. I simply stood there blushing, before entering the bathtub and letting it drench my furred body. I don’t know what it is, but showering as a pony just seems to feel so much more relaxing than doing it as a human. I could just stand here for hours, but I can’t do that, sadly, if Cloud Chaser’s threat has any weight to it. Bloody mare. But to be honest I do enjoy her childish personality, kind of like me when i feel all giddy. Better keep that to myself, though. “Damn it, Cloud! I told you not to eat all of them!” I heard Flitter shout despite the sound of rushing water surrounding me. I simply chuckled and shook my head at these two as I simply continued to let the warm water take me away for a while. Wait… what is it with this world and pancakes all of the time? Same with all the fanfics I have read. Why not waffles for a change? I blame Americans for this cliché. On another note… I forgot to ask for a towel as well. Shit. ……………………………………………………………………………………… “You’re not my mom.” “Well, I might as well be, because I am the one taking care most of the chores in the house -including cooking- for YOU because you’re too lazy to do it yourself. Now stop complaining and sit there and DO NOT touch any more of the pancakes again, or Celestia help me….” Flitter ranted on as Cloud Chaser simply huffed while looking away, pouting just like a child would do. I simply kept silent, not doing anything or voicing my opinions and simply keeping to myself. Mostly because Flitter was forced to help me dry because apparently trying to dry your wings with a towel does create some… uh… Details, details. Forget it. At least now I know that wings are in fact very sensitive. Again, insert penis joke here. Lucky Earth Ponies. They don’t have to put up with the crap of having OTHER sensitive areas around their bodies as well. Which would technically make me, an alicorn, a living PARTY machine. Makes one wonder what Celestia and Luna do in their spare time. As if things couldn’t get any worse. Did i REALLY just say that? “Alright here are yours Nava.” Flitter announced, interrupting my internal monologue as she turned off the stove and carried over a plate of freshly made pancakes to the table and set it before me.. “Thank you. These smell great.” I thanked her while inhaling the scent of them. Flitter smiled as she went back to her chair and took a few hot discs herself. “Well, I try, but better hurry up before Cloud over there decides to have more.” She replied with a sideways glare at the end. Cloud Chaser simply rolled her eyes in response. The two of us began to dig in enjoying our breakfast in silence. I do have to admit that her pancakes do taste amazing, even more so with added decorations like chocolate and Strawberry syrup. “Man, I really need to be careful when it comes to food here in Equestria, otherwise I am going to lose my teeth from all the sugar, or worse.” I thought to myself as I hummed in delight from the taste. Or maybe it’s a pony thing and I can eat as much sugar as I want. I mean, look at Pinkie. “So… what do you guys have planned today?” I asked after clearing my mouth of food first. Flitter began to hum in thought before answering. “Well, I was thinking that maybe today me and Cloud are going to visit the local hospital to get our wings checked up and hopefully get the bandages removed as well.” Flitter answered before stuffing her face again. Cloud groaned in response which made both of us look at her. “Do we really have to do it today? We just came back home yesterday, plus I wanted to give Nava here a tour through the city.” She complained while sounding disappointed. Flitter sighed after a few moments of thinking. “Well, fine, I guess. Giving Nava a tour does sound much more interesting than going to the hospital again. But I would still love to regain the ability to fly again too, you know? That’s what Pegasi do best.” “Well, we could maybe do that during the tour?” Cloud suggested. Flitter shook her head. “Nah, that would be too hectic in the end and you know how the hospitals are in this city.” “Oh… yeah, now I remember why I don’t want to go in the first place.” Cloud commented making Flitter chuckle to herself. I again just sat there on my chair, fiddling with my hooves while I waited for these two to agree on something for today. Overall I am completely indifferent on what we do today, since sitting around in this house all day while there is a whole new world just waiting to be explored is completely out of the question. Plus I don’t want to feel like more of a freeloader than I already am. This also got me thinking. I could maybe even get a job. That way I won’t be just living off these two’s budget and I got something to do. I need to remember that for a future conversation with these two, because it’s a bit too early for that, especially since I don’t know this city too well and the jobs it offers to newcomers. “Hey… hey Nava. HEY!” Flitter suddenly shout, bringing me back to the real world. I shook my head to clear my thoughts. “Wha? What is it? Did I miss something?” Flitter simply raised her eyebrow. “Weren’t you listening? I asked if you were ok with us giving you a tour around the city today.” She asked while supporting her head with one of her hooves. It took me a while to think on her question before I simply answered her with a confirming nod. “Great! Cloud, you go get ready first while I go at the dishes. In the meantime you can just make yourself comfortable, Nava, while we get ready.” Flitter announced. Cloud Chaser nodded and quickly ran off to the other end of the house where probably their private bathroom was, leaving me and Flitter alone in the dining room. I watched Flitter start collecting the plates and cups and balancing them all onto her back and carefully trot to the kitchen next to us. I called to her before she could get there. “Hey Flitter, do you need any help with those dishes of yours?” I asked while getting up from my chair. Flitter turned herself around to look at me. “No not really, I can do all the dishes on my own, it’s ok. But thanks for the offer anyway.” She replied with a smile. I shook my head while trotting towards her. “No, it’s not fine. Please, if I am going to live here with the two of you then I at least want to make myself useful around here.” “No really it's Fine Nava I can…” She tried to counter before I stopped her. “Please let me help, I want to earn my right living here and not just hang around like a sloth, and please keep the whole “we owe you because you saved our lives” out of this, I feel really dirty for sucking you two dry because of it. I really want to help.” I explained to her truthfully and with determination behind my every word. Flitter simply stood there for a while in surprise, before she shook her head and looked back at me with a small smile on her muzzle. “Well… I guess there might be no harm in you actually helping out here. In fact it might be quite welcome, knowing that Cloud never really lifts a hoof when it comes to chores.” She replied with a small giggle at the end. Cloud’s voice came from down the hallway. “I heard that!” I chuckled, making Cloud remind me of your typical rebellious teenager type you often see in cartoons or sitcoms. Or just Rainbow Dash. “Anyway, try not to make too much of a mess then, or we might never leave the house today.” She added with another giggle as she led the way into the kitchen with me following behind her. “Don’t worry, I’m not that clumsy.” I replied. “Will see.” She challenged while placing the dishes into the sink. “Actually I might be, since I now have hooves instead of hands. Hope this goes well for the first time.” I thought myself as I positioned myself next to her. “Good thing that these are not my mother’s plates.” I heard Flitter mutter to herself as I almost managed to drop one of them. I smiled sheepishly at that as I continued to try to not make more work than I am already worth. Though, in my opinion, i might have missed that window. I thought.
Chapter 11: "Eine Stadtrundfahrt" is how they say in german Chapter 11: "Eine Stadtrundfahrt" is how they say in german /Chapter 11: “Eine Stadtrundfahrt” is how they say in German/ Edited by: Chrome Masquerade Well, it is proven, even in this world. Women take forever to get ready for something. Well, at least Flitter does. Cloud Chaser, on the other hand, just did her shower, came out all wet, went to her room to dry herself off and came out with both her fur and mane still all messy and simply sat down onto the couch with me. Now all we needed to do was wait for Flitter to finish up in the bathroom. I was planning to take the opportunity to retreat into my mind as I would often do, but got beaten to it by my companion next to me. “So, you only managed to break one plate during your first time doing the dishes?” Cloud asked with a giggle before it turned into an awkward chuckle at the end. “Well, to be honest, the last time I did the dishes I somehow managed to drop 3 of them.” She admitted while rubbing her neck. I chuckled at that, making her smile and chuckle as well. Cloud Chaser was the first one to stop as she looked back at me. “You know… it’s actually kind of nice to have another pony living here with us.” She admitted while looking at her front hooves. I was genuinely surprised to hear that from her, but before I could even ask any questions on it she continued. “I mean, me and sis have each other all the time, sure, but… it still gets kind of lonely sometimes, living in this house, just the two of us… especially in the same place where we… last saw our parents.” Cloud explained as a sad expression quickly showed itself on her face. I quickly reached a hoof over to comfort her. She lifted her head and gave me a sad smile. “Again, this might sound strange for you, but… we have been living all alone here for 4 long years. It really feels good to have another pony here in the house other than just us. It makes this place feel…well… more alive, you could say.” Cloud Chaser explained before she continued. “Me and sis wanted to move out of our parents’ house and buy a new one somewhere else in town with all the money our parents left behind for us, but in the end we couldn’t because of all the fond memories we had in this place.” She finished before sighing and looking back down onto her hoof. “But also in memory of them.” She added, muttering. This actually explained a lot to me. I knew that these two offered me their home as a thanks for saving their lives at the beginning, but at the same time I still felt rather confused and troubled with the idea that they would just offer a random stranger -despite the fact that he saved their lives- their very own home to stay in. But now I kind of understood it more. They were just lonely. Wanting for some extra fun and company in their lives, which was all taken away from them when their parents had so abruptly left them alone on this world. I fully understood it now, and somehow they saw me as the right pony that could fill this void in their hearts. They hoped that I could make living just that little bit more colorful for them, and in all honestly feel completely honored and touched, knowing that now. I immediately moved my entire foreleg across her back and embraced her in a semi-hug which she gladly accepted. She eventually lifted her head and gave me a thankful smile, which I happily returned to lighten the mood again. “Thanks.“ I finally said, which quickly confused her. “Thanks for what?” She asked, tilting her head a bit. “For giving me this chance.” I simply answered with a smile, which she quickly caught on to. “Well, we’re just as thankful to you as you are to us, to be honest.” Cloud Chaser admitted with a chuckle before pushing herself away from me. “Well, ok, enough of this mushy stuff. This is really not the time to be all emotional.” she got up and brushed herself off. “And besides my sister is much better in that category then me anyway.” She quickly added which made me roll my eyes. Cloud Chaser. Always ready to kill the mood. I guess you can call that mood-BLOCK. Yeah, terrible joke. But again, this got me thinking. If any of this is true, then I should at least try to get myself sorted out so that I wouldn’t be a constant drag to them, such as I was. I guess learning magic can now move up to the top of the “To do list” as I obviously can’t do anything with these hooves besides walk with them, and I refuse to use my mouth for that kind of thing because that would just be degrading, especially for a former human. Plus I have no idea if these things are clean or not. I already got my answer to that with Pinkie Pie’s hoof… which was disgusting. Another reason to learn magic as quickly as I possibly could was obviously to not stick out too much as a unicorn that can’t even levitate things. That would just be a disaster when somebody asked me to do something magic-related. Rainbow Dash comes to mind at that. Ugh what is Flitter taking so long? is she taking a shit in there as well? Wait… how do toilets in cloud homes even work exactly? I have an idea which is…unfortunate for anyone who happens to be right under Cloudsdale. Which at least explains why this city never ever floats even close to any cities or settlements. I began to make an uncomfortable expression as these ideas about Cloudsdale toilets floated around in my head which made Cloud Chaser next to me raise an eyebrow in confusion. “i suppose i could ask later.” I thought to myself, mentally shaking off that train of thought. Before she could question me, the door to the private bathroom finally opened revealing a well-groomed -and, to my surprise, good smelling- Flitter. Yes… I said good smelling, even from that distance. I never thought about it, but I guess pony noses are much more sensitive than human ones. Which I should have expected. Flitter trotted over to us with a very pleased look on her face and sat down on the couch opposite from us while still brushing her mane a bit with a brush that was hidden under one of her wings earlier. Cloud was the first one to start. ”Jeez, sis! Took you long enough. What did you do in there, clop in the shower?” She casually said while leaning back against the couch. That immediately froze any thoughts or activities from both me and Flitter as we both turned our heads to her in shock as Flitter began to blush a bit. That blush though turned into a fierce glare as she composed herself. “Buck you, I was actually trying to dry my mane, groom it and place my mane bow on it as I usually do, which obviously takes a while, especially when you are forced to do it alone.” Flitter explained while pointing her brush at her. “Also, how the buck could you casually say that when there is another pony in the room with us?” She quickly added in an obvious angry tone. Cloud simply smirked. “Because it’s fun watching your reaction.” She said while sticking her tongue out at her playfully which only made Flitter’s glare deepen. I was just shocked to hear her say that and even more so hearing Flitter say the pony equivalent of “Fuck you” to her sister. Is this how these two behave all them time?Or is it just now because I am with them? Or is it just typical Cloud here trying to embarrass her sister in front of me, if that is the case then why though? This is awkward again. Flitter eventually sighed heavily as she tried to ignore her sister. “Well whatever, let Cloud here act like a little foal if she wants. Can we just get out of the house and take a stroll through the city?“ Flitter suggested semi-annoyed as she got up from her seat. “Yes! Finally.” Cloud announced in triumph as she also got up to join her sister. I simply remained seated as a very important thought entered my mind. “WAIT… what about my wings?” I asked while turning around the couch to look at them. Both Flitter and cloud stopped as realization began to hit both of them. “Oh buck! Yes, I totally forgot about that.You don’t have those bandages anymore.” Flitter commented while looking thoughtful. Cloud piped up. “Why don’t you just give him a jacket or something else for him to wear to cover up those silvery wings of his?” She suggested. Flitter nodded at that. ”Good idea. I even know the perfect jacket for the job.” Flitter announced as she moved past her sister, but not before giving her a hard slap on the face with her tail. “HEY! WHAT THE BUCK WAS THAT FOR?!” Cloud shouted while rubbing her slowly turning red cheek. “For that little clopping joke you made.” Flitter casually answered with a sideways glare. “That sounded rather painful, to be honest. I had no idea that pony tails could be used that way.” I thought as Flitter disappeared around the corner. “Well… I guess I did go a bit too far back there.” I heard Cloud mutter behind me. While Flitter was searching, i looked over to Cloud and asked, “Hey, Cloud? This may seem odd, but I’ve been meaning to get this off my chest: how do the toilets here work?” She lifted her head briefly and said “Ah.” before continuing. “It’s pretty simple, see? The clouds here leach the remaining nutrients from your feces before breaking them into their individual elements. Like hydrogen, oxygen…. Stuff clouds use anyway.” “Oh. Thanks.” i said, relieved to get that out of the way. “No prob.” Cloud replied. She smiled. After a while, Flitter returned with a light black jacket on her back. She stopped right in front of me as she fully presented the jacked by laying it on the table. Before i got a closer look I thought that it was leather, but after closer inspection it I learned that I was just fabric. Thank god though, since the idea of ponies possessing something made of animal skin is somewhat weird, knowing full well that they are typically herbivores. Besides that, the jacket looked very generic, having two pockets on either side of the chest area, long sleeves, and a wide open collar similar styled like the once you find on tuxedo’s, or school uniforms which was the only unique design on it. It also was pretty long, which is way Flitter probably thought that it must be perfect for hiding my wing “This jacket used to be our father’s. It’s a bit oversized for you, simple because our father was a bit taller than the average Pegasus, but beyond that it should still fit you nicely.” Flitter explained while gesturing to the jacket. “Heck even I think that you are just a bit taller than the average stallion as well. Probably because you’re an Alicorn. They tend to be larger than the other races.” Flitter quickly added. A thought quickly emerged after she said that as i looked back at the jacket. "Wait...if it is your fathers. Than why doesn't it has any openings for his wings on it? I asked after having noticed the lack of wing holes on it. Flitter giggle before answering the question. "That's actually a good observation there." She responded before continuing. "The reason why is because is when dad requested this jacket from a local tailor/ old friend from Fillydelphia, he somehow managed to forget the wing openings for it after he packaged and send it to our dad. At first our father was completely confused after he open the package and saw the lack of wing openings on his new hoof made jacket. He was about to send it back to his friends with a complained on it but eventually decided against it and decided to use his new jacket as a winter jacket for...well cold winters to also keep his wings warm. He did always did had the most sensitive of wings from all 4 of us." She finished her tale. I gave her a nod at that info as I scooped up the jacket with both of my hooves to have a feel for its texture. As I predicted the Jacket was made out of some natural fabric, either wool or cotton I can’t really tell. It was pretty thick too, perfect for cold days. I mean that’s what jackets are for anyway to keep the wearer warm. Another feature that this jacket has was a small stitched in image of a Sword pointing down with two red wings on either side on the left chest pocket and on the right shoulder. Must be the cutie mark of their father. I started to try put on the jacket myself, which I found surprisingly easy thanks to the astonishingly nimble legs I have as a pony. Seriously, the first time I found out just how similarly nibble my legs were in comparison to humans was pretty shocking. Especially knowing how the forearms of horses normally move. But then again I am in a different world and these ponies and are nothing, and I mean NOTHING like the equines I know from back home. These equines might as well be humans in pony bodies. I stood up after I managed to drape over the jacket to present myself properly in front of the girls to judge my look. “Well?” I asked as I looked between them. Well, at least this jacket isn’t tight on my wings like how the bandages were. In fact if feels comfortable. Also, yay more clothing. To be honest despite the fact that i have fur now I still very much enjoy the thought of wearing SOMETHING instead of running around all butt naked. Even though my butt, now as a pony, is likely always going to BE naked, but it's the thought that counts i guess. Flitter began to move closer before pointing something out. “You should probably also zip it up, and fix the collar around you. Here let me.” Flitter suggested as she started to zip the jacket shut and fixing the collar. She stepped back to observer her handiwork… or hoofy-work and smiles as she gave me a nod of approval. Cloud Chaser whistled. “Hey, there, Nava! Looking good! That jacket really fits your look, I have to say.” She commented while looking me over before continuing. “Now if you weren’t a mare magnet before you are definitely one now. Young mares that you are going to pass by are just going to drool at your look, dude. You lucky stud you.” Cloud added with a smirk. I chuckled nervously. “Heh heh… thanks?” Not exactly what I need to be honest…but if this is really the only jacket you guys have then what choice do I have? Cloud simply shook her head at me as she chuckled. “You’re strange sometimes, you know that? Most stallions I know would LOVE to be in your position. But then again, you are shy and awkward.” She commented before Flitter moved towards the front door. “Well, who isn’t a little weird?” i said “True that!” Cloud replied, laughing “Well, anyway you can keep the jacket from now on, if you want. We certainly have no use for it. But i would imagine that dad would have loved to see his favorite being put to good use rather than just collecting dust and fuzz in a closet.” Flitter said. “But now that we have that problem out of the way, let’s just go. There are some few places I would really like to show you, Nava. So let’s hurry up while the day is still young.” Flitter announced as she unlocked the door and opened it. “Yeah, come on. And don’t you worry about the mares, Nava, I will protect you from them.” Cloud said with chuckle and a wink. I simply sighed as I followed the two mares out of the house. I just hope this isn’t going to be any worse than back in Ponyville, especially now that there are…. way more ponies here than there. Fun. ……………………………………………………………………………………… Well, this trip went much better than I expected. For about two hours me and the two girls have been strolling through the city streets, going from location to location, showing me all the interesting places and tourist attractions the city has to offer. This city also seems to have a street alley full of… places where you can buy mares for a healthy sum of coin. Who knew that a world like this has strip clubs and hookers as well? The more I learn about this world the more mature it gets. Kids show my ass. My Little Pony belongs to [adult swim], not the freaking Hub or whatever cartoon channel exist out there. Besides places like those, we also visited long shopping streets, went to the memorial park of Pegasi war heroes from the past (Again didn’t know they had those) and even visited the famous weather factory of Cloudsdale, the largest in Equestria and the place where both Flitter and Cloud actually work when they are not sent off somewhere else instead. But now we were just chilling in a local café, resting our hooves on a nice table in front of the shop and enjoying a nice glass of cold ice tea under the shadow of a large parasol. Flitter and Cloud began chatting with Rain Coat after we managed to bump into her again at this Café (Convenient, I know) while I simply took this opportunity to look around. Ponies, ponies and more ponies was what I saw, some giving me glances because of my horn, i would guess while most of them simply ignored me, except for a few mares in the café who were waving and giggling at me. I’m I really that attractive looking for a pony? Besides that, I really didn’t care what was going through the minds of these mares as long as they kept their distance from me. Again I am FAR away from being interested in any romantic relationships whatsoever. Plus I wouldn’t know what to say to them anyway, I have no experience with dating or girls to begin with. Yeah, I know. What a loser right? A Young adult who has never dated or had a girlfriend in his life. Brilliant don’t you think? I sighed and I took my glass of iced tea again to finish off whatever was left of it. Or I was going to until a large, thundering crack made me jump out of my chair and dump the rest of my ice tea all over me. Same for most of the guest here as well, though less dramatic, and less… wet. “Ha ha ha ha ha! Oh, man! you should have seen your reaction there! Haaa ha ha ha ha ha!!! That was AWESOME.” A very scratchy sounding voice laughed above me while I laid on the ground. I groaned and tried to look upwards to try and pinpoint the source of the laughter. At first I was confused seeing nothing but a small low flying cloud above me until said cloud suddenly spawned the head AND face of a well know rainbow maned blue Pegasus smiling down at me. “Hey there Nava, how is Cloudsdale working for you?” RD greeted me with a grin. I again groaned, trying to grab my hat that was lying beside me. “Oh, hey there, Dash… didn’t know I would meet you here in Cloudsdale with such a… loud greeting. What brings you here anyway?” I greeted back with a blank tone as I sat myself upright. Dash was about to respond when a waiter from the café suddenly came up to her. “Miss would you kindly STOP scaring our guests with that small thunder cloud of yours? If nothing else I would suggest that you either leave or I will call the guards if you continue causing more trouble around here.” The stallion waiter announced, which was accompanied by a lot of agreements by the guests as well. RD dropped her head as she jumped off her cloud, sheepishly apologizing to both the waiter and the guests. Luckily for her the waiter accepted her apology as he turned around and went back into the café to continue his job. “The youth nowadays.” I heard him mutter as he disappeared back from where he came. I looked over to Dash who was rubbing the back of her neck with a sheepish smile on her muzzle. “Not really the best of entrances huh?” She asked. Voices resounded from the patrons, “Gee! You THINK?!” I stood up and shook my head at her question.” Nope…nope it wasn’t. It would have been a bit better if I was the only one around…though I would prefer that you don’t scare me like that again.” I commented. “Also I have iced tea stuck in my fur and… jacket.” I added while looking down at my drenched chest. “Well yeah… sorry about that.” Dash apologized sheepishly. I simply shook my head and eventually gave her a small smile to lift her spirits while holding out my hoof to her for a hoof bump. She quickly took it as she began to smile as well. “So, what brings you here to Cloudsdale anyway dash?” I asked after the brohoof. “Not much really, besides having to bring some papers over to the central weather office of Equestria to confirm that I am too enlisted as the captain of Ponyville’s weather team and what not.” she answered. I nodded. “So wait, you didn’t start right away to be the new weather captain?” I ask. Dash simply shook her head. “Nope, there is a lot of paperwork involved first before I can fully take that position. A lot of boooooring paperwork.” She confirmed with bored tone. I again simply nodded until Cloud Chaser’s voice suddenly came up. “Flirting with Dash now, are we Nava?” Cloud Chaser teased with a smug smile. I groaned at that while Rainbow simply raised an eyebrow at Cloud Chaser as she giggled. “Are you going to EVER stop doing that?” I asked annoyed. “Nope.” She simply responded with a grin, making me facehoof. “You seem to have quite the life with these two.” RD commented. “You could say that.” I answered casually. Cloud Chaser simply chuckled as she suddenly pulled me close to her “Oh, don’t be like that. Sure I can be annoying sometimes, but it’s all in good fun. We all like you, especially me.” Cloud comment with a playful smirk at the end. I again blushed from the sudden body contact and suggestive comment, especially now that a whole city full of ponies can see and hear that too. Bloody Cloud, seems to be her mission to make me feel as awkward or embarrassed as possible. Or both. Seriously one day she is going to be the death of me. “Pffff…Virgins.” Dashi commented which Cloud Chaser could only agree on with a nod which only made my situation just that much less pleasant as I simply hung my head in shame at this point. Flitter again came to the rescue. “What are you two doing now?” She asked as she trotted up to us, with Rain Coat in tow. “Nothing much, just talking with RD here.” Cloud Chaser answered. Flitter simply looked at my defeated look before looking back at her sister flatly. “Uh huh. Sure.” She responded with a deadpan look. “Anyway, I’m just here to say that me and Rain Coat are going to do something important, which means I can’t continue with the tour with you Nava. I am sorry.” Flitter explained while giving me a sorry look. I raised my head a bit to look at her. “Oh well… that’s fine Flitter, really. If it is something important then go for it.” I answered her sincerely while giving her a sad smile. She smile as well before turning towards her sister. “Keep an eye on him Cloud and DO NOT do anything stupid while I am gone.” Flitter said with a stern look. Cloud simply rolled her eyes. “Yeah, yeah. I know. Stop branding me as an idiot. I am childish, yes, I will admit that freely, but NOT an idiot Flitter” Cloud retorted. At this point I realized that she was still holding me, as she accidentally shouted into my ear, which made me cringe. I wanted to move or say something but I knew for a fact that I shouldn’t get in between two arguing siblings, especially when it’s none of my business. So I just have to keep myself sandwiched between these two… because why the heck not. Flitter sighed. “Alright, alright. Fine… I know you’re not an idiot, Cloud. But… but please don’t drag Nava over here into something that he doesn’t want to be dragged into.” She finally said. “Yes, yes, I know. I won’t, I promise sis.” Cloud replied. “Also sorry for yelling at you too.” She quickly added as she lowered her ears in sadness. “It’s ok sis, I am sorry too for always branding you as a moron. It’s just… it’s just that you get me irritated so easily sometimes because of your antics… and I just get so mad. Again, I am sorry too. I suppose we’re both at fault sometimes.” Flitter apologized while she lowered her head as well. The other 3 of us, Me, Dash, and Rain Coat simply stood there in silence as this was taking place. It was sweet, but also awkward as all hell. Especially for me because I was literally in the center of it. But I could also feel the emotion of these two and also kind of understood it. They might be sisters but they are also two completely different ponies as well, with their own ways of doing things, their own personality their own thoughts and feelings. So a disagreement between these two is pretty obvious and common. Especially with siblings having such a strong contrast like them. It’s beautiful to know that despite their many, many disagreements and differences they are still sticking it through, thick and thin. That’s sibling love for you right there. “Uh… Cloud? You are still… holding me.” I finally point out while also trying to break the silence. “Huh? Oh yeah, right… sorry there.” Cloud responded sheepishly before finally letting me go. “Well, anyway, me and Rain have to go somewhere now. Stay safe you two. I guess I see you two back home, then?” Flitter suddenly announced as she and Rain quickly turned around and left. I watched as those two slowly disappeared into the crowd, leaving me, Flitter, and Dash still standing in front of the Café. “Do you two do this a lot?” Dash finally asked while rubbing the back of her neck. “Not really, just occasionally. But overall we are mostly good with one another.” Cloud Chaser answered while still looking at the direction her sister disappeared to. A question formed in my head after that. “Wait… what exactly are Flitter and Rain doing exactly? What were the three of you talking about earlier?” I ask curiously after I regained my composure. Cloud simply snorted. “Well, it’s nothing UBERLY important if that is what you are thinking. As good as I know these two they are probably just going to go do some mare stuff, if you catch my drift. Same goes with the conversation we had earlier with a bit of weather factory stuff sprinkled in between.” Cloud answered while shaking her head at that. I scratched my chin. “Ok, but how come you didn’t join her as well then?” I ask. Cloud Chaser simply gave me a “Are you serious?” kind of look which pretty much did the job of remedying my curiosity. “Right…tomcolt.” I muttered to myself which cloud seemed too noticed. She raised an eyebrow at that.” Tomcolt? Why in Equestria would you think I’m a tomcolt? I might not act like you typical mare but I am also no tomcolt…I…I am just not interesting in all this filly stuff like most others.” She answered before looking away from me. Odd? “In fact if you want a tomcolt we got one right here with us.” She quickly added while smirking over at RD. “Excuse me? I not that much of a tomcolt either, I might act and behave like one but I am not completely clotish and you know it.” RD protested with a flat look. “Ah yes…I remember now, I remember having seen you once secretly playing around with makeup in the mares bathroom back in our highschool years.” Cloud said with a grin on her face. Dash’s expression went wide at an instant as a faint blush formed on cheeks. “I… Have no idea what you are talking about.” She casually tried to answer, which only made Cloud giggle and me suspicious. All information I didn’t really need… but still interesting to know. “Well, anyway what now?” RD asked trying to switch the subject. “Continue with the tour?” I suggested, shrugging. Cloud Chaser looked thoughtful for a moment before an invisible light bulb seemed to go up inside the mare's head. “Oh! I know where we could go, since Flitter isn’t here anymore.” Cloud announced with a smile, a smile that somehow creeps me out a bit since I already have a somewhat good understanding on what is going on inside this mare’s mind. “Uh…what is it then?” I carefully asked. RD nodded, also feeling interested in what Cloud had to offer. “Hey, is it ok if I tag along with you two?” She asked. “I’ve got nothing better to do now anyway, since all of my paperwork crap is done.” she added Cloud smiled and nodded. “Sure why not? The more the merrier.” She responded. “Just follow me, then. it's actually quite a ways away, we could just FLY but one of the THREE of us doesn’t have any wings so we have to take the long way then.” She added with an emphasis on me as she started to trot off. I quickly began to follow her, not because I wanted to, but mostly because I didn’t want to be left alone in a city I had no knowledge about traversing. “Hey wait! Cloud… wait!” I called out galloping towards her, with Rainbow Dash just lazily hovering next to me. ……………………………………………………………………………………… “Hair” “Hare” “Book” “Buch” “Sunglasses” “Sonnenbrille” “Hmm… how about… Tits.” “Oh… uh… Titten” “Can you say this in Germane? ‘Hey Applejack? You are the slowest runner in all of Ponyville.’” “Uh… ok. Hey Applejack? Du bist die langsamste Läuferin in ganz Ponyville” I translated for her as we continued our trek through the busy streets. Dash began to rub her head after that as she tried to say what I said… and failing horribly in the pronunciation. “Hey, can you just write that down for me? I got to memorize that and get the pronunciation down, right?” She asked while looking at me. “Uh… sure, why not? But I don’t carry a pen or paper with me, sadly.” I respond. “You mean pencil and paper?” She question in which I nod my head. Note to self, Equestrians only use pencils and quills. “Is that really Germane, what you were speaking there?” Cloud suddenly asked as she’s up on front while looking over her shoulder. “Yeah, it is.” I confirmed with a nod. “So many weird sounding languages in the world.” I heard Cloud mutter as she looked back in front. “Even more true in my world where almost every country speaks its own language.” I thought to myself as the three of ours rounded a corner. “Oh hey look! Cloudsdale Colosseum is right there in the distance.” RD suddenly announced while pointing her hoof in a general direction. I followed her gaze, and wouldn’t you know it, she was right. Right behind the roofs of some long warehouse looking structures to our right where the upper structures of what I could only describe as a cloud-made version of the colosseum in Rome, only complete and not a ruin, of course. I again feel myself fascinated with the idea that all of it was basically made out of clouds and clouds alone. Maybe not so much of the interior if Cloud and Flitter’s home was anything to go by but still very impressive nonetheless. Heck, I’m still very much impressed that I can walk and stand on these bloody things. These are all just clouds, CLOUDS. “Hey Nava watch out or you are going to-” RD began before something hard and solid suddenly impacted the side of my face. I groaned in pain as I was forced to fall down onto my flank after the impact. The laughter of both Cloud and Dash filling my ears as I sat there rubbing the aching part of supposedly handsome looking pony face. “Hahahahah, see I told you, I told you that spacing out like that is eventually going to get you hurt. Oh Celestia that was hilarious.” RD comment in between laughs. “What the heck did I hit anyway?” I thought to myself as I began to look back ahead of me. My face shifted to a deadpan expression as I spotted a black colored Victorian style street lamp with a small dent on the middle. Oh…. “That was… dumb of me.” I commented to no one in particular as the laughter of both RD and Cloud still echoed around me. “Yes… yes it was.” Cloud commented as her laughter calmed down to just a few chuckles. I should really stop spacing out while walking, or at least stop first before doing so. “Anyway… need a hoof?” Cloud ask as she held out her hoof for me. I nod as I reached out and grabbed her hoof with my own while still rubbing my sour face. “At least nobody here has notice this, everybody seems to just mind there owns business.” I thought as I was pulled back up on all fours. “Hey, you're quite hilarious there Navi. Perhaps I should come give you a visit more often for some good laughs.” RD commented with a grin. I just rolled my eyes at her annoyedly before I realized the nickname she just gave me. I raised my eyebrows while she simply smirked. I was about to ask her when Cloud suddenly yanked me from the side. “Come on, we’re just burning daylight standing here.” Cloud announced as she quickly grabbed and dragged me by my leg. RD simply shook her head as she followed the two of us. ……………………………………………………………………………………… “Alright... here it is.” Cloud Chaser announced after a full 30 minutes of more walking. I looked to where she was pointing and was immediately greeted with a large Greek temple-like building with large columns surrounding the outside of the structure, one area seeming to be under some renovating as well because of the scaffolding and workers running around on it. At first I thought that this was indeed some kind of religious building until Cloud flat out told me what this actually is. “This is Cloudsdale’s largest public library. I do sometimes come here just to see if they are new books or even comics about “Path to the Stars” or “Star conquests” when sis isn’t around.” Cloud Chaser explain. I looked at her surprised. “Wait… but I thought that you…” I began before Cloud continued. “Yes, yes I know, highly unusual for a character like myself to actually like sci-fi stuff especially when I call my sister an egghead sometimes.” Cloud quickly explained before she continued. “This is actually why I said earlier that we can finally go to a certain place with my sister gone and busy. If she knew that I am actually a huge sci-fi nerd and somewhat of a history buff too, she would never let me live it down, and we can’t have that now can we?” She finished. “Now you know a little secret of mine, DON’T tell this my sister though.” She said while getting close to my face at the end with a serious look in her eye. I nodded, letting her know that I wouldn’t tell Flitter anything. She nodded as well before giving me my personal space back and turning back to RD who was still with us. “Sorry if it’s nothing exciting for you though, Dash. “ Cloud said sheepishly to the mare behind us. She simply shrugged.” Ehh… it's fine. The one good thing about libraries is that they are like the perfect place for you to sleep in because they are so nicely quiet. Plus they got these nice comfy couches as well.” Dash responded casually. I scratched my head at that as a thought entered me. “So wait… Rainbow here already knew about your secret?” I asked while turning to Cloud. “Yup… in fact she is the only other one who knew.” She admitted before Dash jumped in. “Yeah… it’s the leverage I have to prevent her from telling everypony about the little thing I did in high school.” Dashi added before giving me a serious look. “By the way… tell anypony about that and I will break your flank.” She threatened which I only felt happy to oblige by nodding at her. She nodded back as she relaxes. I sighed in relief before turning back to Cloud Chaser. “So, we are going to spend some time in a library, then? I kind of like that. Less hectic and more calm.” I announced which made Cloud only chuckle. “I bet it is.” She said before leading the way. I rolled my eyes as Dash and I followed her up the stairs and into the main entrance of the library. My eyes immediately went wide at the scene in front of me. “Holy crap… These bookshelves reach up all the way to the ceiling full of books, and the ceiling must be like 3 stories high or something.” I commented out loud as I looked around the main hall of the library. “Shhhhh… not so loud! Ponies are trying to read in here.” A mare behind a counter to our left shushed while looking rather annoyed. “Oops! Sorry.” I apologized rather loudly which gave me another, louder shush from said mare. “Ok I’ll just shut up then.” I thought as I simply held my tongue. “So, this is how the great library of Alexandria might have looked.” I thought as I observed the upper levels of the book cases, being filled with old looking scrolls rather than books. Me and the two mares made our way over to the green Pegasus mare behind the counter as I noticed a few Pegasi flying about the interior of the library, taking or reorganizing books or scrolls. “Hello excuse me miss but… is the latest issue of “Path to stars” out?” Cloud asked the mare kindly. The green mare in front of us looked thoughtful for a moment. “Well, let me go check. I’m sure I have some info on that...” She responded as she ducked down under the counter. I heard some shuffling and the sound or crunched paper before the mare quickly resurfaced with a large list. The mare smiled before looking back at Cloud. “Well it seems like you’re in luck, the new issues just arrived yesterday. You can find them all in section P-A2.” The mare explained while pointing her hoof in a general direction. Cloud leapt in the air, pumping a hoof in triumph. “YESSSSSS!!! Thank you miss.” She thanked the mare before heading off into the pointed direction. REALLY fast. So wait… I am sure that a library of this size probably has some books about basic magic and equestrian history as well. This might actually be the chance I need to get myself up to snuff regarding my magic problem. Plus learning some history might not be a bad idea either, since I have loved history in certain degrees back in my world. I approached the librarian before me. “Uh… excuse me miss but,,, where are the sections about magic and history?” I asked politely and quietly. She again looked thoughtful for a few moments before she looked back at me. ”Section M-B1 has everything magic related while section H-D1 has everything regarding history. You can find reading tables and couches in the center or lining the walls of the library.” She answered out while pointing out the directions with her hoof. “Thank you, miss.” I thanked her before trotting off myself into the directions she pointed at. RD hovered up next to me as I made my way over to section M-B1. “Hey, Dude I am going to crash onto one of those couches over there if you need me.” She announced while looking down at me. I looked up at her and nod.” Sure no problem dash, I will be mostly digging my muzzle into some books anyway, so you don’t need to worry about me disturbing you sleep.” I responded with a smile. She smiled back and nods before flying off into the other end of the library. I sighed as I looked over the overwhelming selection of books that surrounded me. Ranging from basic unicorn spells to highly advanced combat magic to difficult summoning and conjurations. All categorized in alphabet and age. With some of the older tomes on the very top of the shelves. “Well, obviously start with the basics. Let’s just hope I can read and understand this stuff.” I thought to myself as I began to pull a book out with my hoof and carried it over to a nearby table and chair to sit and read. Let the reading montage begin… oh wait, I also need to get a book about history as well. Well, great. I already forgot what section it is in. Back to the counter than. ……………………………………………………………………………………… “Cloudsdale used to be a large military fortress in ancient days? Never knew that. At least that explains the citadel at the center of the city, then.” I muttered to myself as I read the history section of this city. Cloudsdale actually has a lot of blood on its name according to these books. Back in the ancient past when Equestria was still very new and vulnerable it acted as a last stand defense point for the young Kingdom, guarding the entrance of a wide and stormy mountain pass and preventing raiders from the north or other invaders from sweeping across the lands. One particular battle even nearly caused the defeat and collapse of the young Kingdome when the more powerful Gryphon Empire at the time was expanding its borders and wanted to also annex the young Equestria into its empire as well. The smaller and weaker Equestrian armies had suffered defeats after defeats during the war, forcing the reminding forces to retreat farther and father, eventually to the city fortress of old Cloudsdale for a last desperate stand against the Gryphon Empire. A battle that was simply known as “The Siege of Cloudsdale.” The Battle, according to these records, was fierce. A constant bombardment that lasted for weeks. The city was heavily damaged and beaten and its defenders were exhausted and their supplies were quickly running dry. They were at the brink of finally losing the siege when suddenly a relief army led by Commander Hurricane -one of Equestria's founders- finally arrived at the scene and managed to relieve the siege of the city. A bloody battle took place afterwards as bodies from both sides began to pile themselves onto the grounds of the mountain passage below. Eventually the day was won for the Equestrian side but still, the loses they had suffered were staggering. 35.000 of the previous 50.000 equestrians lay dead. Same for the Gryphons, 79.000 of the 100.000 Imperials lay dead as well, with the added loss of over 40 destroyed catapults, ballistas and the destruction of 10 airships as well. It was a very costly victory for Equestria for sure, and a crushing defeat for the old empire at the time which eventually lead into its collapse a few centuries later simply because of the populace losing its trust and belief in their leaders and military which lead to tensions and instability within the empire. Not to mention outside pressures, as well as the resources of maintaining its armies were quickly running dry. Basically this world’s version of the collapse of the Roman Empire. I shook my head at all this information. Who knew that Equestria's history has so many similarities to earth history as well? A lot of wars, famines and even epidemics. Suffice it to say, Equestria’s first years were nothing to look back to, it was plagued with problems and outside threats. Only with the later introduction of Starswirl the Bearded and the two royal sisters was Equestria able to stabilize and become the nation that it is today. I closed the book and put it to the side. I massaged my forehead with my hoof to ease my mind from all this information. “How long have I been reading here, maybe 3 hours?” I thought to myself as I began to look around for a clock. None were there, obviously, but my inner clock still somewhat told me that it had to be around 3 hours at least. “Man this Library is really big. The ones I visited a few times were just these small shop-sized places, so this here is really the largest book warehouse I ever visited.” I muttered to myself as I watched ponies around me, collecting and returning books to their shelves or trotting around the desk, chairs, and sofas. “Spend a whole hour just trying to understand what these magic books are talking about and in the end I just ended up even more confused with the whole concept of magic than before I started.” I muttered again somewhat annoyed while glaring at the few books I picked associated with magic. Who knew that learning actual magic can be this confusing? Or maybe it’s because I originated from a magicless world and species. I will never look at these open world RPG’s or Harry Potter movies the same way again. I sighed, feeling mentally drained for the day. “Wonder if I can take some of these books with me.” I wondered out loud as I eyed them all in front of me. “Hey there, Nava. Done with your reading?” Cloud Chaser’s voice suddenly came up from behind. I turned my head and greet her with a tired smile. “Well yes… kind of… I feel mentally exhausted now.” I replied while still rubbing my head. “How about you? What have you been up to?” I asked, looking at her curiously. Cloud simply smiled before showing me a book she was holding on one of her wings. “I was reading this.” She replied while showing the book to me. “It’s the next chapter of Path to the Stars I have been waiting for over 2 months for. Though, sadly, the next issue of Star conquests is still not out yet.” Cloud explained. I observed the book she was holding. It was a clear blue book with an image on the front that I can only describe as something similar to a Star Wars movie poster, with characters’ faces and spaceships in front of space back ground with a large Saturn like planet on it. I read the title out loud. “Path to the Stars: Cryet’s return.” Cloud nodded before placing the book back under her wing. “Well, still have a lot to read through. But anyway, I think it’s time for us to head back home before sis kills me for being late or something.” She announced. “Wait… where is Dash, anyway?” She quickly asked after realizing it. I had a look of realization as well as I completely forgot about Dash since I started reading. “Well… no idea really, she said something about making herself comfortable on one of the couches around here to doze off for a while. No idea where exactly she went after we split.” I answered while scratching my head. “Oh, I see.” Cloud basically answered while rubbing her chin. “Well then, we better look for her than if she is still in here. Don’t want her waking up in a locked up library, even though it would be hilarious.” She suggested as she began to trot off. “Hey wait for me!” I called out while clumsily grabbing the books with my hooves and trying to balance them on my back. “You can borrow those if you want. I can use my membership card for them.” Cloud suggested after I managed to catch up with her. “Well, to be honest I was about to ask something similar to that, but you already answered that for me. Thanks, by the way.” I said with a smile. “Don’t mention it.” She replied happily before we managed to spot the rainbow mare. “Really. Don’t.” she added. “Well, that was easy.” I comment as we made our way to Rainbow’s sleeping form on one of the couches lining the library walls. Both me and Cloud began to snicker at the mares silly position of laying on her back, completely sprawled out with her tongue hanging out of her mouth. A soft snoring sound coming from her as her wings were twitching from time to time. I don’t know why, but I just found this position and image of Rainbow Dash extremely funny, probably because of her tough exterior character, and here she is sleeping like a derp. Cloud began to poke me on the side to get my attention and moved her muzzle close to my ears to whisper something. “Alright, who is going to wake her up? Me or you?” She asked with an obvious amusement in her tone. I simply shrugged. ”Don’t know, but I think you do it because she is still much closer to you than me.” I whispered back. “Well… true, I’ll do it, then.” She replied before looking back at the sleeping mare in front of us. Cloud Chaser looked thoughtful for a few moments before a wicked grin began to spread across her muzzle. “Oh, this is going to get her going.” She whispered with an evil grin before she turned herself around and presented her rear towards the sleeping Pegasus. Before I was even able to question her motives she quickly began to move the tip of her tail above RD’s noise and tickled it. Cloud began to snicker quietly to herself as RD began to stir and groaned in her sleep, scrunching up her nose in hopes to get rid of whatever was attacking it. With little success, of course. Again I was extremely questioning about her idea, but decided to just keep myself quiet on the matter. At least she is not going to be furious at me when she wakes up. Dash’s groining and stirring increased as Cloud continued her assaults with her tail. “Uh, Cloud? I don’t think that-” I began before RD suddenly began to swat at whatever was assaulting her nose and accidentally hitting Clouds flank instead. Cloud immediately yelped in surprised –loudly- which was finally enough to wake Dash up from her slumber. The first sight that greeted the blue Pegasus was a front row seat of Clouds… cheeks… as cloud was busy blushing from the sudden spank she got on her ass. The reaction on Dashi’s face was instant, her eyes went wide as her cheeks quickly took on a bright red hue as she continued to stare up at what I could only imagine as Cloud’s full moon glory. A thought that made me blush a bit as well. An awkward silence dominated the area around us before RD was the first one to break it. “AAAAAAHHHHHHH WHAT THE BUCK CLOUD!!!” She shouted in panic as she tried to scramble away, only for her to fall of the couch with an audible thud echoing through the halls of the library. Cloud also began to scramble away, only for her legs to get tangled up on one another as she fell down flank first onto the library floor with another echoing thud ringing through large walls of the building. “SHHHHHHHHHH!! Be QUIET over there, this is a library not a stadium!” The librarian suddenly shush-outed harshly to our left, since her desk was pretty close to where we were. “Sorry.” Both RD and Cloud muttered in unison making me facehoof at these two. “Well…at least life won’t be so boring anymore with Cloud around here.” I thought to myself afterwards. Both mares eventually got back up on all fours while trying to compose themselves. Personally I still can’t believe that actually happened. That was really, really dumb especially for Cloud, and I guess RD can only agree to that by the glare she was giving her. “CLOUD!” “Shhhhh.” “Cloud… what the actual buck was that?” She whispered harshly. Cloud smiled sheepishly while trying to get her blush under control. “Well, it… it was supposed to be something very funny… but went far south instead very quickly. But I guess… in the end it was just dumb.” She explained as her ears dropped down. Both me and RD could only agree to that as we both nod on her self-accusation. “It was very dumb.” I say “Super dumb.” RD said. “And somewhat dirty.” She quickly added which really didn’t help Clouds flustered look. She simply shook her head. “Look I did something dumb, I will admit that.” She began. “But I think it’s just better we just forget about it and go home, it’s getting late anyway and I do not look forward strolling around the streets at night.” She tried to suggest while getting back up. I could only agree on that. “What about the books?” I asked remembering them. “Simply, we just take them over to the front counter and ask if we could borrow them for a while with the membership card I have. Than we are good to go.” Cloud explained before leading the way. Me and RD followed her and did exactly as she suggested, we borrowed the books we had with us and quickly made our way to the exit. I was actually surprised to see that the sky was already semi-orange in hue, telling me that it was already dusk. “How long did we really spend in there?” I question myself mentally. “Well ,I guess this is it, then. Time for me to fly back home before it fully gets dark.” Dashi announced while flexing her wings a bit. I turned my head to her. ”Well it was nice seeing you again too, Dash. Was still interesting despite the fact that nothing much happened.” I say, purposely avoiding the incident from earlier. Dashi smiles. “Yeah, it was nice while it lasted, still didn’t manage to show you some of my tricks, though, as I promised. Oh well, I guess there is always a next time.” Dashi replies before taking off into the air. “Well, goodbye you two.” She shouts before quickly zooming away. “BYE DASH!” I shouted back while waving at her goodbye leaving me and Cloud Chaser standing alone in front of the large library. “Well…that’s that I guess. Come on, let’s get back home and see what Flitter has dragged back home this time.” Cloud Chaser suggested before trotting off. I quickly followed her as the street lamps around us slowly turned on one by one. Shit… I forgot, now I have to try and keep these books balanced on my back for the entire trip. Ugh, I really need some saddle-bags of my own in the future. With that finally behind, all of the books I had on my back suddenly decided to fall off just to prove my point about the need of some bags of my own in the future. I groaned in annoyance as I turned around and bent over to pick them all back up with my mouth without dropping them. One thought coming to my mind as I struggled to place them all back onto my back without them falling off again. Damn it!
Chapter 12: Start of the Timeline (Re-edit) /Chapter 12: Start of the Timeline Edited by: Chrome Masquerade Midnight Gear “(Sigh) Really Nava, I would have imaged that after your first time experience flying in a Balloon that you would take it much easier than the last time.” Flitter sighted while looking down on me. I simply crossed my forelegs. “Well for starters, I wasn’t prepared to take yet ANOTHER ride so freaking soon. Also, just because I already took a ride previously doesn’t mean that I am suddenly NOT scared of heights anymore…IN FACT judging from my previous experience it just made me EVEN more wary flying on one of these unstable things than ever BEFORE!!!” I protested. “So just leave me be, ok.” I quickly added, feeling highly annoyed at the situation I found myself in. Our pilot, Steam Tool, looked down at me with furrowed eyebrows. “Seriously dude, if you are so afraid of high places then why did you even travel up to Cloudsdale in the first place?” I simply ignored him as I continued to sit silently in my little corner feeling more annoyed than worried that I was back inside this stupid Hot Air Balloon thing. Steam Tool simply sighed as he went back to piloting the thing through the air. I always knew that the summer sun celebration was going to happen, but I never imagined that both me and the two sisters would attend it as well. Well, to be honest, when you worked your ass off to prepare before hand and even break your wings while doing so, then you might as well go to make all of the work and trouble worth it. Plus I can’t stay all alone at their home while they go off to Ponyville, that would be just… no… just no. The rest of the week was… refreshingly normal, especially comparing it to all the previous days before them. Cloud and Flitter eventually managed to get their wings checked and fixed up, which was great for the both of them simply because that enables them to finally do what Pegasi do best. I remember how particularly happy Cloud was during that day. She flew all across the district and sending the neighbors complaining about it to Flitter. Silly mare. Besides that little incident that (for a change) had nothing to do with me, the rest of the week was pretty normal, and honestly boring if I may say so. Flitter did well to fulfill her promise in redecorating my room with all the things that a livable bedroom needs. A Closet, table, desk, shelves, and even a poster for the wall, and even rugs for the floor have become part of my new room. I helped, of course, moving all of the stuff from the basement over to the main floor and to the room, but I was stunned to see just how well she and Cloud managed to decorate and furnished the room for me. I was extremely grateful to say the least. Besides that, nothing else happened. Just me trying to learn to tap into my magic with the help of the books I borrowed from the library a few days back. Suffice to say I was not going anywhere with it, to my utter frustration at the time. No matter what I did, no matter how much I tried to follow the book’s instructions to the letter, I just couldn’t do it. My magic was just untappable, at least on my own. And unsurprisingly both Flitter and Cloud were no help at all because of their Pegasi heritage. But now I am here, again inside the damn gondola of the balloon, huddled up in my little corner feeling both sick and annoyed and on my way back to Ponyville for the Summer Sun Celebration. Which means I have to witness the return of Nightmare Moon in person and probably Celestia as well. Something I was planning to avoid as long as possible. That also made me realize. Today is the day where Twilight gets kicked out of her comfort zone and send to clichéville for things that will eventually jump start everything I know. This idea got me thinking. Since that I basically know what will happen in the future, what will I do about this knowledge? Should I tell them or act on the events still to come or am I going to sit by and watch things play out? Because for one I am not afraid of diverting the timeline for better… or for worse. Which means if I do choose to intervene I have to be careful with how i do it, so that I don’t make things even worse than they might already are. Should I inform both Flitter and Cloud about the events that MIGHT take place or not? At that moment the gondola once again started to swing, which disrupted my train of thought as I was forced to keep myself steady in my sitting position. Cloud chaser noticed this as she leans her head towards me with a shit eating grin. “Having fun there Nava?” She asked amusedly. I simply gave her a deadpan stare. “What do you think?” I asked back with a flat tone. She snorted at that. ”Gee, don’t shower me with your overexcitement there Nava. Calm down before you fall off or something.” She responded with another grin which made me glare at her. Flitter once again stepped in. “Cloud, leave him alone. You know very well he doesn’t feel very comfortable with it.” Flitter said while hitting her sister on the head. Cloud Chaser winched as he rubbed her head. “Fine, fine, jeez. Don’t have to hit me so hard for it.” She complained. Cloud Chaser, to my surprise sat herself down next to me after that and looked at me. I was a bit confused for sure. I was going to ask her before she beat me to it. “Hey… uh… sorry for making fun about you being scared of heights, dude. I really was just teasing a bit that’s all.” She apologized with a sheepish grin before she leaned in close to whisper something into my ears. “We have to fix that though, one way or another. For one those private Balloon rides are not cheap and two those big wings of yours need to be put to good use as well. What’s the point in having wings when you don’t fly with them?” She quickly added. I didn’t want to believe her, but in a way… she was...kinda right. I am an alicorn, so learning how to fly was another thing I needed to do besides magic, and who knows, maybe having the ability to fly might one day even save my life or something. Especially when living in a city that constantly hovers over 2000 meters above the surface. “Plus it could perhaps remedy my fear of heights in the future… just maybe. I wonder if RD can help me teach how to fly.” I thought to myself. RD for two good reasons. One: I don’t really trust Cloud to teach me properly judging from her character and the way she constantly teases me. Two: Because Flitter has already once told me that she was a pretty poor teacher anyway. Plus if i decide to ask RD to teach me how to fly i need to eventually spill the beans to her as well. I just hope that she can understand and keep the secret if i do. “In terms of finding a magic teacher? Well, Twilight of course, if possible. Though I would have to be *really** careful around her when hiding my identity. She is by far the nosiest pony I know and if she realizes that something is off…. well, she will never leave me alone.* Plus, she kisses Princess Celestia’s ass like no other, so if she *ever** finds out that I am infact an alicorn she is going to freak out, and report me to her mentor for sure no matter how much I plea or try to reason with her. Especially this early version of twilight.* A sudden poke to my shoulder brought me back to reality as I shook my head. Cloud giggled beside me. “Spacing out again, aren’t we?” She asked knowingly. I rubbed my head to try and get the last few thoughts out of my mind. “Well, yeah… as usual.” i said. “On the bright side, it gives me something else to think about.” i added, optimistically Cloud simply shook her head, smiling, before our pilot began to announce something. “Ponyville in sight, everypony. Just a few minutes before touchdown.” He announced. Both Cloud and I stood up to take a look over the edge of the Gondola, and true to his word the small town is just below. “Quiet the strong contrast between this town and Cloudsdale.” I thought to myself the Balloon slowly began to decent. “Well let’s see if the timeline still holds true even in this reality. Oh wait…I think it does. That thing there in the distance looks suspiciously like a royal carriage pulled by two guard pegasi.” I thought as the balloon finally touched down. Let's see how my second time in ponyville is going to turn out? Hopefully less awkward and stressful. …………………………………………………………………………………… “So, what now?” Cloud ask after we disembarked the Hot air Balloon. “You know what, we are supposed to help with the final preparations before the princess arrives.” Flitter answered. Cloud began to groan in response. “Ugh… why the hay are they making us work during holidays?” She said with her head dropped. “I mean, look! A lot seems to be already done, what in Tartarus would they need us for, anyway?” Cloud complained while gesturing with her hoof. I followed her hoof and, true to that, the entire town was already busy preparing everything, from Earth Ponies sweeping the streets, to Unicorns hanging up flags and banners all over the roofs with their magics, to Pegasi pushing clouds away and what not. “Hey, guys! I see that you three made it.” Another voice suddenly shouted from above us. We all turned our heads upwards and to our surprise it was none other than Rainbow Dash herself who was hovering overhead. She eventually flew down and landed right in front of us. “Hey there.” She greeted with a smile. “Hey Dash.” All three of us greeted her in unison, followed by the two mares chuckling while Dash simply raised her eyebrow. After that it was Flitter to speak. “Anyway, me and Cloud have to get going then. We have to help with clearing the skies and hanging up flags and banners over the streets.” Flitter announced which again made Cloud groan in annoyance. “Come on, Cloud, lets go before our boss back in Cloudsdale rips our manes out when he hears from the rest of our colleagues that we were present during the preparations. And DIDN’T help.” Flitter added as she trotted of. “Fine, fine. See you two later, I guess.” Cloud said in a defeated tone as she followed her sister leaving me and Dash alone. “So, uh… what now?” I finally ask while looking at Dash. She took a while to ponder on my question before looking back at me. ”We could go to Sugarcube Corner, maybe see if pinkie has anything good on the counters.” Dash suggested. “What about those tricks you always wanted to show me?” I questioned her while rubbing my head. She simply shook her head. “I’d love to, but today is a holiday which basically means I can be lazy. Plus, I need to reserve my strength later for the party tonight. I'm going to finally beat AJ in a drinking contest. So again, sorry but not today.” Dashi explained while rubbing her neck awkwardly. “Oh… too bad, then. But I understand.” I replied while giving her smile. “Well, that was to be expected, honestly. This certain info was never mentioned in the show as far as I know, but i at least can understand her reasoning in not wanting to work during specials days, I can still fondly remember feeling disappointing when i still had to go to school despite being a national day back where i used to live. I was or still am pretty lazy myself.” I thought afterwards. Dash accepted my reply before she eventually trotted off and beckoned me to follow her with a hoof. I did so and soon the both of us were trotting along the streets of Ponyville. The obvious difference that Ponyville had, in comparison to the first time I was here, were the decorations. Everyone here was busy preparing, even the little ones seem to be helping, as I both saw Ruby and Tootsie helping out their moms. Or at least I think it’s their moms. The fandom back then was never really that clear on who their parents were, but I can at least see the connection between Ruby and Berry Punch, somewhat. “So… why aren’t you helping out Flitter and Cloud? I thought that you are ponyville's weather captain now. Shouldn’t you be up there with them?” I asked her after having spotted a pair of pegasi pushing clouds away above us. Dash looked at me as we continued along. “For the same reason I already told you, and besides, who likes to work on a holiday anyway?” She responded with a big grin at the end. I simply shook my head at her as we continued our way to Sugarcube Corner. “Well, besides that I also wanted to…” Dash began before she accidentally collided with another pony when the two of us rounded a corner. I was simple forced to stop and watch on as these two ponies tumbled about on the ground. A small purple colored lizard creature stood opposite from me, also confused and surprised at the sudden event. At first I didn’t recognize the purple lizard in front of me, but then it hit me. “Wait... is that Spike?” I thought to myself as I stared at him. Indeed, it was none other than Spike, the little dragon assistant/little brother/son of Twilight Sparkle, which only means that the pony Dash crashed into was- “What the hay, girl? Watch where you’re going.” Dash said which immediately brought me back from my thoughts. “Well, I am sorry, but it seems you weren’t paying much attention either.” The second pony replied as she slowly got back up and all fours. “Well whatever. I guess we’re both at fault then.” Dash replied also getting back up. Yup, that’s Twilight Sparkle, right here in front of me, with Spike behind her. Again, if only bronies could see me now they would probably cry out from jealousy...even more so when they realize that the first human who ended up in equestria before them isn’t really a brony and doesn’t give a dam. It was than when Spike finally noticed me as well as he stared at me as well, I simply stared back at him as the two of us keep silent while the two mares spoke to one another. “Wait…are you… Rainbow Dash by any chance?” Twilight asked while eying Dash curiously. This seemed to remedy RD’s annoyance as she started to took on proud stance. “The one and only. Fastest flyer in all of Equestria, at your service.” She boasted while puffing her chest out. Twilight simply gave her a blank look. “Right… anyway you were supposed to help clear the sky of clouds, yet I still see some of them and you not doing anything.” She accused while pointing a hoof up at the sky. Dash simply raised an eyebrow. “And who are you to tell ME what I should and should not do?” She countered with an annoyed tone. Twi sighed before answering. “Somepony told me that she was going to be brash.” I heard her mutter which luckily Dash didn’t. ”I am Twilight Sparkle and I was personally send by her highness, Princess Celestia herself to oversee the preparations for the celebration, and to make sure that everything will be perfect before her arrival.” She eventually explained. Dash simply snorted at that before looking at me for any comments or ideas. I simply shrugged at her and she sighed before opening her wings. “Fine, fine, Miss Princess Pet, I will clear the clouds for you, then.” Dash said as she took off to hover over us. “Watch and learn, meine Dame.” Dash said, using a little of the impromptu language lessons i gave her, “I will clear these clouds for you in ten. Seconds. Flat.” Twilight looked kind of dubious. “Prove it.” She dared, narrowing her eyes. Dash zoomed off up into the sky faster than I have ever seen her do. “That’s good, now that she… wait… Princess Pet? meine Dame?” Twi responded after realizing the nicknames which made Spike chuckle behind his claws. Twilight glared at him, which made Spike immediately stop and whistle innocently while looking off the side. “Hey, what about the other pony that was with her?” Spike pointed out, probably trying to switch Twi’s attention to me. Twilight took the bait as her attention switched to me for the first time. I simply smiled awkwardly at her which caused her to raise a curious eyebrow at me. “Greetings.”I simply greeted. “Hello there, mister…?” She began. “Nava… just Nava.” I answered for her. “Nava… what an odd name, not particularly pony-like at all.” She said while eyeing me curiously. My smile quickly faltered after she said that. “Gee, Twi. Great first impression there, judging a random stranger's name. Is this how you greet every new person you meet?” I thought as she continued to stare at me, mostly at my horn, as her curiosity quickly turned into shock. I quickly started to feel nervous but before she could even ask or do something (knowing her) that she might quickly regret, Dash came back swooping down looking all proud and accomplished. “See, what did I tell you? Ten. Seconds. Flat. Not a single cloud in the sky anymore.” She boasted as she landed back right beside me. Thankfully that quickly broke Twilight’s attention on me as her gaze switched back at my companion beside me. “Wait… seriously?” She ask skeptical before looking up, followed by Spike. “Hey she totally did it. Just moments ago there were clouds, Twi. She really must be than the fastest Pegasus in all of Ponyville.” Spike commented before looking back at the Pegasus in awe. “All of Equestria, not just Ponyville.” Dash corrected which made the drake nod. “Well, okay, I have to admit, that was impressive.” Twilight commented as she looked back at us. “But if you had the ability to clear the clouds so quickly, then... why didn’t you do that before?” She quickly ask. RD simply shrugged at that. “Just too lazy to work on a holiday. That’s all.” She casually responded which made the unicorn facehoof. “Anyway, thanks for finally doing your job then, I guess… now if you excuse me I have other places to inspect as well.” Twilight announced. “Come on, Spike.” She added. “Ok, Twi.” He simply responded as he hopped onto her back. Me and RD watched as these two slowly disappeared around a corner we just came from. Dashi sighted. “Well, that was something new. Also, was that really a dragon that was with her? How the hay did she got her hooves on that little guy?” She questioned to no one in particular. “Probably from an egg.” I casually answered which was true. Well this definitely went a lot differently from the way it did back in the show, I can remember that much. If my present alone can so drastically change things already on their own, then I guess there’s no point in me worrying about altering the timeline anymore. I might have already done so with my present alone. “Wait a minute… isn’t she the Twilight Sparkle pony you ask me about a week ago?” Dashi asked as she looked at me curiously. I simply shrugged. “Well… no… no, it wasn’t her. the Twilight I was talking about was different pony.” I lied and semi-not, for one good reason. I have no idea how i can explain to her how i know her and why. Also i wasn’t really lying in the first place as well, because this EARLY twilight is somewhat foreign to me too. “Well… ok, I guess it doesn’t matter then. “ Dash shrugged, to my relief. “Anyway Sugarcube Corner, yes?” She announced before again leading the way again. I followed her, letting my mind wander off again as we made our way to the Pink One’s sugar dungeon. ………………………………………………………………………………………… “Hey Pinkie? You there?” Dash called out as she entered Sugarcube Corner. Seriously though, when I first saw this shop with my own eyes I was sure as hell that it was literally a gingerbread house by how vivid and real all those candy canes and chocolate chips on the roof looked like. Imagine the disappointment I felt when I found out that these decoration where just that… decorations, vivid but not real. A part of my childlike imagination and fascination died right then and there. But luckily only a really small part. I quickly followed her inside and was immediately greeted with a pink mare zipping all around the shop faster than my eyes could track her. In and out of the kitchen, up and down the stairs and vise versa. A very confused Mr. and Mrs. Cake standing on the sidelines as pinkie continuously zips past them. I simply shook my head already being long familiar with pinkie's antics while Dash simply stood there imitating the Cakes’ fish like expressions. “Wha… what the… what the hay is Pinkie doing?” Dash asked out loud, completely confused on Pinkie’s behavior. “That’s… honestly what we’d like to know as well. We just came back to the bakery a few moments ago and found her like this when we arrived.“ Mr. Cake explained after having shaken himself out of his confusion. It was then when pinkie finally stopped in midair right in front of the four of us while holding a large box full of party huts in her hoofs. “Wait, don’t you guys know? THERE IS A NEW PONY IN TOWN AND I AM GOING TO THROW HER A WELCOME PARTY OF COURSE!!” Pinkie announced excitedly with the biggest grin on her face I have ever seen on a physical being. Something that just send shivers down my spine as it reminds me of a certain… creepypasta fanfic I read. The less said about that the better. “Wait… new pony? What new pony…wait you mean misses purple butt me and Nava here just ran into today?” Dash asked while somehow not noticing the physics breaking stunt her friend was accomplishing. Pinkie gasped. “You know her?” She asked in an overdramatic way. Dash shook her head. “Nope. No idea who she is, besides being the Princess’s personal pony pet according to her. We just bumped into her on our way here.” Dash answered. Pinkie gasped again, somehow louder and more dramatic than the first one. Seriously what is up with her? Also, does the universe just sometimes forget that she even exists? She is still just hovering in the air with that box in her hooves. “She is the personal pony pet of the princess herself? I didn’t knew that ponies could be pets, let alone to the princess herself. THAT CHANGES EVERYTHING!” Pinkie declares dramatically (again) before her mood quickly switched back to her cheerful old self faster than I could blink. Wait…what? “That means I have to re-spell the front banner-” “You don’t need to do that, Pinks. Just add her name to it instead.” Dash suggested. “I… don’t think she’d take well to actually being called that.” she added “Oh. Okay, That changes things even more. Still, oooooh! So much work to do, yet so exciting as well! Sorry, can't chat right now gotta ‘dash’ and get the preparations done.“ Pinkie explained, winking before zipping off again to the kitchen. “Well... that happened. Also, interesting to see what Pinkie was actually doing after gasping and dashing off from Twilight right after they met for the first time.” I thought to myself as the others were still trying understand things. RD was the first one to recover from the nonsense as she slowly massaged her head with a hoof. “Just remember Dash, it’s just Pinkie being Pinkie.” She muttered to herself before she remembered something. “Oh, wait. Horseapples, we wanted to buy something here before she disappeared again.” Dash announced in realization. It was Ms. Cake who finally stepped in. “Oh, that’s no problem at all, sweetie. We can simply take your orders, since we are back.” She suggested kindly before she placed herself behind the counter. Mr. Cake simply excused himself as he disappeared into the kitchen as well, probably to check on Pinkie. Me and Dash made our way over to the counter before she turned to me after having a good look at the sugar coated goods there were on display. “So… what do you want?” She ask me. I gave her a surprised look. “Wait… you’re going to get something for me as well?” I asked. Dash simply chuckled while shaking her head at me. “Well, of course. I can’t just get something for myself and leave you out. That would just be unfair.” She answered with a smile. “Really? Well… thank you then, Dash.” I replied smiling back. “Don’t mention it. I never leave those i care about hangin’.” She replied as I took a look at the things that were on display. There were cakes, cupcakes, cookies and donuts of varying styles and flavors to choose from, all of them looking absolutely delicious and over-coated in sugar, to be sure. “Hmm… Cakes are too big, even the smaller ones they have for sale, so those are out. Cupcakes are a big no no as well, thanks to a certain… fic I once read. I am not really in mood for cookies so I guess the only choice left for me are those over-glazed donuts.” I thought as I finally made my choice. “I think I would have some donuts, then.” I said while pointing them. “How many and what flavor, dear? We have many more than just one.” Mrs. Cake asked kindly. I simply shrugged. “For how many, I think I’ll just let her decide since she is buying.” I replied while looking at her.” For the flavor, I guess it doesn’t matter, just surprise me.” I added while smiling back at Ms. Cake kindly. She nods before switching her attention to Dash. RD pondered for a while before replying. “I guess I just take 5 cupcakes, same with the donuts for my friend here.” She replied. “Also, just like him just surprise me with the flavor, I can’t really choose.” She added. Ms. Cake nods as she started acting on our orders. Me and Dash went to a nearby table to the side of the shop and sat yourself down with Ms. Cake soon coming over with our orders as Dash payed her for it. The two of us began to eat our orders while sometimes engaging in small talk about stuff that has been recently happening to the both of us. Just in general getting to know us better while sneaking in a few jokes here and there. “I wonder now how the evening is going to go down now, with the inevitable return of Nightmare Moon tonight.” I thought to myself as looked out the window to watch the slowly setting sun off in the distance. Well only one way to found out than. ………………………………………………………………………………………… “Nava! Hey Nava, over here!” Cloudchaser called out from the crowd. I sighed in relief as I quickly made my way over to her while carefully snaking my way through the sea of ponies around me. “I hate large crowds, I really do.” I thought to myself while almost bumping into a pony’s flank. That would have been awkward, especially when bonbon herself was literally just standing right behind her. I hate large crowds for two good reasons, One: you can’t really move through them without ever bumping or stepping on someone unless you are really careful, which can even lead to trouble or misunderstanding if you accidentally do so. Plus they are hot and smelly as well, when it’s in an enclosed space. Two: they can get you lost or separated from whoever you happened to be with. Which pretty much happened to me as I almost lost both Cloud and Flitter after we got the central plaza where the reveal of the princess (or more specifically Nightmare Moon) will take place. Too bad these ponies don’t know that, but I can’t just also run around and shout that nightmare moon has returned and kidnapped the princess, that would just put me in a bad light with these equines and give me unneeded negative attention, at best. Plus Cloud and Flitter will think I am crazy, too. “Now where the heck did Dash fly off to after our time in Sugarcube Corner?” I ask myself as I reached the two pegasi sisters. I greeted them with a tired smile. “Please, don’t run off so fast next time, you two know that I can’t run so fast or for that long.” Cloud chaser simply grinned. “Well, it’s not our fault that you are such a lazy flank when it comes to galloping. You should seriously workout more though. Could also become really helpful when trying to impress the mares.” She said with a smirk and a wink at the end. I simply shook my head. “No thanks, it’s already uncomfortable enough as it is I don’t need to have it worse.” Cloudchaser simply chuckle as the three of us began to face the podium in the front of us where the princess herself should supposedly reveal herself. I say supposedly because I know the truth, which was confirmed when I noticed that Nightmare Moon’s image was missing from the full moon above us. Off in the distance I can see a somewhat distracted twilight on the front of the crowd with RD and the rest of the main 6 (seeing Fluttershy for the first time) standing further behind her. “Oh, this is so exciting! I never had the chance to see the princess this up close!” Flitter announced, all giddy, making Cloud roll her eyes. “Look who’s childish now.” Cloud commented with a smirk. I simply kept to myself at this point just anticipating the event I know for sure will cause mass confusion and panic afterwards. And the worst part? I will be right in the middle of it. There are ponies literally all around me, anticipating the big entrance of their beloved oversized and incredibly slender sun princess. Again, too bad they don’t know what I am aware of. All I can do at this point as just watch from the sidelines and hope I won’t get trampled to death later when “Herd Instinct” kicks in. “Now I wish that I *did** learn how to fly.”* I thought to myself as the announcer pony finally came out from behind the curtains. Here we go, I am going to get a full first person view of the show’s first villain. I should be scared or nervous about knowing this but for some strange reason I was calm and collected. Was it maybe because I already knew how everything is going to turn out? Maybe… but… I had a feeling that there was more to it than that. It was like… like… “Welcome everypony to this year’s Summer Sun Celebration!! This year her highness Princess Celestia has chosen our lovely town of Ponyville as this year's location the celebrations and grace all of us with her presence!!” The front announcer shouted, which caused many ponies to stomp their hooves and cheer in excitement. I simply kept still and silent as my eyes were firmly glued to the podium and the curtain behind it. “Let’s all give a big welcome and thank you to the ruler of Equestria herself…HER HIGHNESS PRINCESS CELESTIA!!!” The announcer shouted which caused the curtains to open and everybody to go wild. Same for both Cloud and Flitter as they cheered and stomped their hooves in sync with everybody else. But as soon as the cheering started it quickly died down as well, as no princess revealed itself behind the curtains. I again simply keep silent as the seconds ticked by. They ticked… and they ticked… and they ticked. Soon a full minute had passed and everybody was still silent. Looks and whispers of confusion quickly dominated the crowed as nobody had any idea on what was going on . But I did. My ears began to swivel back and forth as a sound suddenly penetrated my ears. I am not sure if any of these ponies heard it, but I could have sworn that I heard someone crying… crying and pleading for help in a really desperate and soul crushing tone. “What the… It’s… it’s like a distant echo. It seems like nobody here can hear it, for some reason, which is strange because I can hear it very well… it… it sounds like a little girl crying. Why I am the only one who can hear it?” I thought to myself in confusion as I tried to locate the source. “The…echo seems to be coming from…” I continued to wonder until suddenly from behind the darkness of the podium a figure slowly emerged into the open. Everybody around me gasped as the figure revealed itself, and as I predicted it wasn’t their beloved sun princess that everybody was hoping to see. “Nightmare Moon.” I heard Twilight shout in the distance. “Wait… the echo… comes from her?” I thought again is I continued to snake my way to the front of the crowd. The black mare on the podium began to look around the sea of ponies around her, before snorting and holding her head high. “What? Am I not royalty enough to be cheered on? 1000 years of banishment on the moon and this is how MY subjects greet me, with confusion and fear?” She announced. For some reason I have the feeling that I need to get closer, not because of her but the echo that keeps assaulting my ears. I need to get closer to hear it’s plees more clearly and hopefully find out from who they are. “Where is Princess Celestia, Nightmare Moon? What have you done with her?” Twilight asked while moving forward towards her. Nightmare Moon simply chuckled. “Ah, so at least somepony remembers me. And don’t worry about her, my little pony, because you will never see your beloved sun princess ever ag….” She announced before suddenly stopping herself as her gaze finally fall upon me for the first time. I stopped right in front of her and looked up at her from the podium she was standing on. The world around us seems to drown out as we stare at one another, the panicked whispers of all the ponies, the continued accusations of Twilight, all of it seemed to slowly fade away as I was solely focused on the mare in front of me. “Please… stop… please stop… somepony… please help me…” I finally heard the echo though barly. It definitely seems to come directly from her. I can hear it. For some strange reason I felt calm, no fear, no worries, no nervousness like how I would normally fell in situations like these. Especially in front of an individual I know could just end me with one single thought. I just glared up to her, never moving or saying anything to her as she did the same, though her expression was more out of curiously and surprise. “Who… who are you?” She slowly asked. “You are… you are not like all the other ponies around here… you… you're different.” She continued while I simply kept silent. My glare intensified when she first spoke, replacing my previous clam demeanor with a hint of anger towards her. “That voice… that little echo… this little girl is suffering inside her… she is doing it… she is causing her the pain she is feeling… how dare she tortures such a sweet helpless girl?” Were some of the many different thoughts running through my mind, those ones being the most prominent. I don’t know what is was, how, when, where, why, but something inside me was once again awakening. Some form of… force. Something I had never felt before yet also completely different from the one I experienced the day before I came to this world. It screamed at me, begging for me to notice it… but before I could… it suddenly disappeared again. Whatever that force was, it felt…. strong, powerful, empowering even. What was it though? Whatever it was, it was too brief for me to fully notice at the time. Though Nightmare did, as her expression quickly morphed into shock and eventually in realization as well. “That… that aura… I have felt something like this before… only… only when i was with… Tia?” She stuttered to herself in slow realization before her expression quickly morphed into one of rage as pointing an accusing hoof at me in anger. “How could this BE? YOU ARE NOTHING BUT A UNICORN! EVEN WITH HAVING A SUCH A LONG HORN, SUCH IMMENSE LEVELS OF POWER ARE ONLY LIMITED TO-” She started to shout in rage before she suddenly stopped as an expression of realization came back at her. The world around us slowly faded back into existence as the panicked screams and shouts of ponies suddenly assaulted my ears. I quickly shook my head to clear all these unknown feeling and thoughts out of me. I began to look around in surprise, surprise that the crowd that was here just a moment ago was being scattered, ponies all running away and screaming in panic. Well, there’s panic, and then there’s... complete chaos. I mean, seriously, at least when a group of humans panic and run away they generally run away in the same direction before eventually splitting up, but these ponies just seemed to love running all over the place and even in circles with no rhyme or reason. I mean I get it, panic doesn’t need to look good or make sense because… well, they are panicking. But this is just comical on how they try to all run away screaming. A tap on my shoulder quickly brought me back as I noticed that it was Flitter. “What the HAY where you DOING just walking up to… to that mad mare?! Come on! We need to go!” She said in panic, with Cloud behind her looking not too well off herself. I simply raised an eyebrow at her. “Go where, exactly?” I ask. “...... Good point.” She said in realization before Cloud stepped in. “More so… because the stupid bitch is gone now, see?” Cloud pointed towards the podium. True to her words, NM was gone, the podium completely void of anypony. “…wait did I just use the term anypony?” “Well…” Flitter began. “Still, anyplace is better than just standing around here. Who knows if she will suddenly come back?” Flitter explained before quickly trotting off. “Let’s just go back to the weather office before stuff gets even more out of hoof around here and I do not want to meet that nightmarish pony face to face again.” She quickly added. Cloud Chaser nodded to that as she quickly followed her sister, leaving me standing. A thought quickly entered my mind as both Cloud and Flits looked back at me. “What the HAY are you still standing there for Nava?! Come on! We’ve got to go!” Flitter urged while beckoning me with a hoof to follow her. I simply shook my head. “I need to quickly check on something. You two just go ahead, I will be back to the office as soon as possible, ok?” I announce before quickly running off. “What the… hey! NO, NAVA! COME BACK! WAIT!!” I heard both Cloud and Flits call out as I galloped towards the place I needed to check out. The Golden Oaks Library. ………………………………………………………………………………………… “Where was it again...” I muttered to myself as I tried to find the big old tree house that should normally NOT too hard to miss. “Where, where, where!? Oh. Right here.” I say after I finally spotted my destination as I rounded a corner. I slow my gallop into a gentle trot as I made my way over to the closest window of the Golden Oaks. From the lights coming out of them it seem that the main 6 are there as well, probably discussing and doing the same thing as they did in the cartoon and standing right next to the window pretty much confirmed my guesses, as I could faintly hear the muffled voices of all the girls speaking. I have no idea why I had the urge to come here in the first place. Maybe curiosity regarding the accuracy this world to the show? I don’t know, what I do know is that I am here now, pressed against the wall next to a half-open window and eavesdropping on them. “Maybe I can even risk a little peek and….” I muttered before someone tapped me on my shoulder. I turned my head to see a panting Flitter and Cloud right next to me. I just stared at them surprised, not having expected them to be here with me as well. “What…what the… I thought you two went to the weather office?” I whispered trying to keep low from the mares on the underside of the wall. Flitter simply glared at me while still panting. “Are you crazy? We are not going to just leave you behind while a previously believed foal’s tale is running rampant around the area.” Flitter whispered back with a stern look. “Plus, just running off like that without telling us where you’re going is not cool dude.” Cloud added joining her sister’s side. I simply dropped my head. “Yeah… I know. I am sorry for just running off like that. I will be more... specific next time.” I promised. Flitter simply smiled. ”It’s ok. We were just worried, that’s all.” She admitted while rubbing my shoulder. “Though… why did you specifically run over here? As far as I know this …well, treehouse used to be empty, for a couple of years now, as far I heard. Is somepony living in there now?” She quickly added while looking at the half open window above us. I nod my head as I stood up to my hind legs and supported myself on the trunk to peer over the window above us. “What are you doing?” Cloud whispered as she looked at me with a raised eyebrow. “Checking on something.” I casually whispered as I peered into the interior of the library. I watched in silence as the six mares (Dash included) began to gather around a book, probably regarding the Elements of Harmony, when all of the sudden i felt something. A presence, a presence i have felt before. I froze up as I felt i somehow recognized it. The same echoing whispers I heard earlier returning to my ears as a feeling of dread quickly envoloped me. But… but that can only mean… With that realization in my head I immediately jumped back on all fours as I followed my senses, a sudden sense of both urgency and anger driving me forward as I ran around the outside of the library. This is not normal...something...something is off about it...i just know it. Cloud and Flits were confused at first at my sudden change of character but quickly followed me as well, around the corner of the tree. I immediately stopped dead on my tracks as I spotted what my senses were guiding me to. The dark, shadowy entity of Nightmare Moon hovering above one of the windows probably doing the same thing I was doing just a few moments ago. But for some reason...i knew that it was more than just that...far more. I could once again feel an unknown force welling up inside me of the sight of her. Again, the same aura I felt earlier when I first stared up at her. I don’t know how or why I felt particular angry at her. It’s as if another me was controlling me from the inside or something, giving me this drive, these thoughts and feelings. The only thing I knew at that point was that I could hear the cries for help clearly again, fueling my anger and inner strength at the same time. The entity above me finally seemed to notice me as well as it quickly turned around and flew off into the night sky. “NO WAIT… STOOOP!” I called out as I tried to immediately give chase to it, but was quickly stopped on my tracks as a door suddenly slammed directly onto my face. I fell onto my flank with an audible *oof!* as five mares quickly began to gallop out of it, followed by RD, as she was the only one who noticed me at the end. “What the… Nava? What the hay are you doing here?” She asked as she hovered above me. “It’s currently too dangerous to stay outside. Don’t you know that Nightmare Moon herself is back and has kidnapped the princess? Equestria might suffer an eternal night if she is not stopped!” Dash quickly explained as I slowly got back to all fours while rubbing my sore snout. “Yeah I know… that is why I wanted to…” I tried to explain before Applejack’s voice cut me short. “Hey Dashie! What are you doing over there? Hurry up! We need you as well to help find the elements.” AJ called out, which made RD look in her direction. “YES, I AM COMING!” RD responded before switching her gaze back at me. “Sorry there, Nava, but I gotta fly, need to save the whole world and all from a mad-mare with serious issues… I’ll fill you all in when I get back. If I come back.” RD explained, muttering that last part under her breath before she flew off, following her friends in the direction of, I would guess, the Everfree Forest. I shook my head again to get rid of all those unknown feelings and thoughts. Cloud and Flitter came up to me from behind with worried expressions etched on their faces as they looked at me. Flitter again was the first to voice her troubles. “Hey, are you alright Nava? You seemed… different back there.” She asked, worried. “Yeah, dude. Did Nightmare Moon do something to you when you two were staring at one another?” Cloud added, eying me worriedly. I sighed. “It’s ok, I am fine and no Nightmare hasn’t done anything to me, so don’t worry about that.” I answered tiredly while shaking my head a bit. Thought i hope she didn’t because all actions i have been subconsciously doing we're definitely not something i would naturally do Cloud looked skeptic. “Are you sure? Again, as my sister said you had a completely different feel on you for a few moments. Are you really sure you’re ok, there?” She asked while placing a hoof on my shoulder. I simply gave her a smile in hopes of easing their worries a little. It seemed to work somewhat, as both of them started to relax just a little bit, but still kept a somewhat worried and watchful eye on me. “Do you think RD and the gang are going to be ok?” Flitter eventually asked while looking on at the direction these six disappeared to. I simply nodded. “I am sure they will, don’t ask me how, but I can feel it. They will be ok, so don’t worry.” I replied calmly to ease her fears. I know that these six will be alright because of the show. But then again this is not the show and it seems that my mere presence alone has already managed to change things, even if they were just minor to begin with. Which honestly makes me worried as well, regarding the possibility of a different outcome entirely. But again only time can tell that now. I yawned. “Well… I guess that there is nothing else for the 3 of us to do than to just hope and see what will happen.” I announced as a sudden wave of sleepiness struck me. “Let’s just head over to where ever we are supposed to stay and hope that tomorrow the sun will raise.” I suggested with another yawn. “I guess… you might be right on that. All we can do now is wait, and I am feeling pretty exhausted as well. What a day.” Flitter agreed as she adopted a tired look as well before cloud had adopted a look realization. “Wait… Nava, why didn’t you just go with them? I mean keeping a secret or not, you are an Alicorn, one of the most powerful beings in Equestria, which is currently in great peril by yet another alicorn. So why didn’t you just go with them? They could really need somepony like you now.” Cloud suddenly asked as she looked at me. I look back at her. “Because even as an Alicorn I can’t do anything. No flight, no magic and no real courage, remember?” I simply replied. “Well, besides some instincts that I can’t control.” I quickly added with a worried tone. Both Flitter and Cloud simply stared at me in confusion at the last part. I simply sighed before turning around and trotting back from where we came. “What is going on with me? These thoughts, these feelings, as if something inside me as trying to wake up. I just… lost control of myself...again. What is going on with my new body? And why?” I thought to myself in great worry as both Cloud and Flitter called out for me again, asking me to wait up as they quickly followed me. “So many more questions and things to worry about, like the reasons why I had this urgency to come over here in the first place. Did I somehow sense that Nightmare was also going to be here? Did I feel it? If so, then what would have happened if I didn’t? I know for a fact that something similar happened as well in the cartoon, that the shadowy form of Nightmare Moon spied on the 6 girls when they were trying to figure out the location of the elements. In the show it just left on its own, but here, in this scenario, I just had the urgent feeling that I had to be there. Was Nightmare planning to actually do something horrible? If so, did I somehow manage to foil that by just being there? Did I unintentionally protect the girls from her? I really don’t know. all these instincts are just too unknown to me. Is this what being an alicorn feels like?” I again shook my head to get rid of all of these ideas and worries as Flitter and Cloud quickly joined me, though they kept silent despite their worried looks for me. They could tell that I wasn’t really in the mood for talking at the moment. “Last thing I need today is to accidentally run into another pole or even a building to finish up the day. I am too puzzled and too exhausted for that now.” ………………………………………………………………………………………. (hours later) Deep within the Everfree Forest in a place long forgotten a huge amount of magic was suddenly released to the world, a magical rainbow coloured light erupted from the abandoned castle, breaking Nightmare's spell of eternal night and giving way to a new dawn as the sun finally rose from its near eternal slumber. A certain group of six mares were to thank for this, the return of Princess Luna and much more quite soon.
Chapter 13: The Silver Wing (slight re-edit)Chapter 13: The Silver Wing /Chapter 13: The Silver Wing/ Edited by: Chrome Masquerade Proofread by: Midnight Gear “What…where am I?” I wondered as I looked around. Nothing but an empty, endless, black void greeted me all around I turned my head too. No source of light, no other soul, just…nothing. Though my body was perfectly visible (for some reason). And looking down on myself I quickly recognize my pony body instead of my human one, though I seem to be missing my new jacket that Flitter gave me as I can feel my wings hanging freely on my sides. “Am I dreaming again?” I wondered out loud, my voice echoing within the space of the void. “Hello?” I called out again, the echo carrying my voice into the darkness. “Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello…” “Echo. Echo. Echo. Echo. Echo…" “Sounds like standing inside a large underground cave, though this dream is quite the opposite of the one I had over a week ago.” I muttered to myself as I continued to look around me. I eventually decided to trot a bit, the clip-clopping of my hooves echoing off into the distance of nothingness. “This is strange. If this is really a dream, then what does it mean? Why am I in an endless black void instead of something more… visible?” I thought to myself as I continued my ENDLESS journey into the dark. Well, not really nothing; there is an obvious floor under my hooves, which is something. Though, just like everything else around me, it’s black and perfectly merged with the rest that surrounds me. I was slowly starting to get nervous. Dream or not this vast emptiness is unnerving, especially so when you are all by yourself. “Hello?” I tried to call out again. But, unsurprisingly, I was met with no answer. Now I was really starting to get nervous, even more so when the air around me suddenly got colder all of a sudden,as if someone had turned on the AC or something of that ilk. Well at least there's another SOMETHING again. I immediately stopped in my tracks as a sound suddenly made itself known to me. A second set of hoof steps, though much heavier and much more further carrying echo's than mine. I slowly began to panic, whatever it was, it definitely sounded bigger than me! And judging how it was gradually getting louder and louder it was obvious that it was quickly moving towards me. I wanted to run away as the memory of some of my previous nightmares resurfaced. The dreams where I constantly got chased down by a pair of menacing red eyes as I ran. In fact this place looks and feels very similar to the one with the hidden monster constantly chasing me. Only without the sounds of heavy stomping and constant whispers and laughter in my ears. With that realization in mind I was once again preparing myself for a mad dash back to where I came from (Wherever that was) but before I could even move a leg a silhouette suddenly began to emerge from the depth of the void, which quickly formed into shadow like apparition before finally stepping into the open. My eyes immediately went wide in both shock and horror at the sight of the being that was standing in front of me. “Nigh- Nightmare Moon?” I stuttered in disbelief. Indeed, it was her, I don’t know how and why she was here despite the fact knowing that she got blasted into oblivion 2 days back by the elements. But there is one thing I do know, she was absolutely livid. Her glare staring deep into my being, filled with unimaginable hatred and anger. If looks could kill I would have dropped dead long before she even emerged from the shadows. The seconds ticked by as the two of us simply stared at one another, or more liked glared for her. “YOU!” She finally spoke with a lot of venom in her voice. “THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!” She continued while taking a step closer to me, on instinct I took a step back sweating bullets at this point. “YOU RUINED EVERYTHING! MY VENGEANCE, MY PLANS. EVERYTHING!” She continued to accuse me as her pupils slowly became smaller and smaller from rage. “I DO NOT KNOW HOW YOU, ANOTHER ALICORN CAME TO BE BUT IT REALLY DOESN’T MATTER BECAUSE YOU BLOCKED ME OF MOST IF MY EXISTING MAGIC WITH YOURS, NOT JUST ONCE, BUT TWICE!” She raged on as she slowly moved closer and closer to me and me backing up. Her teeth snarling at me with every break she took from speaking. “How is this even possible…how is she even here? I thought that the elements would have destroyed her, or at least contained her somewhere. What the hell happened?” I thought to myself as I continued to try and keep my distance from her. Though, that didn’t seem to work very well, as her much larger form and legs allowed her the close the distance faster than I could back up. Plus, I was also unable to retreat any faster at the current moment as well, as my overwhelming fear and Nightmare's murderous look prevented me from retreating any faster. Let alone dare to take my eyes off of her. I was really just forced to slowly back away from her and stare at her soul-piercing gaze and hear her teeth-crushing snarl. “ALL BUT MY PASSIVE MAGIC IN THE END REMAINED WITH ME BECAUSE OF YOU! I WOULD HAVE KILLED THOSE 6 LITTLE PONY INSECTS WHO DARED TRIED TO STOP ME IF IT WASN’T FOR YOU SHOWING UP AND BLOCKING WHAT LITTLE MAGIC I HAD LEFT WITH ME, YOU CAUSED ME TO FALL INTO THE HOOVES OF THOSE ACCURSED ELEMENTS ONCE MORE AND TEAR ME AWAY FROM MY HOST'S BODY AND ALMOST INTO OBLIVION!” Nightmare continued to rant on as her anger and hatred slowly grew to beyond unnatural levels. “Wait… so… that’s what I felt? This unknown force or energy inside me that night. I was subconsciously blocking her active magic with my more passive one?” I thought to myself after she pointed that out before another thought struck me. “So wait… that means that I was right… that all those feelings and instincts I felt were all aimed at protecting the girls. I was actually guarding the girls and helping them succeed by simply being there. But… how?” I thought again before the worst possible thing happened. My flank suddenly bumped onto an invisible wall, which stopped me dead in my tracks. “WHAT THE-? HOW CAN THERE SUDDENLY BE A WALL BEHIND ME?THERE IS NOTHING BUT ENDLESS DARKNESS BEHIND ME JUST LIKE WITH EVERYTHING ELSE AROUND ME! SO HOW THE HELL CAN THERE BE A WALL NOW WHEN I LEAST NEED IT?” I thought to myself in utter panic as I realized the situation I was in. I was trapped. The crazy mare in front of me slowly continued to close the gap between me and her, never letting her glare and snarl go from her features. She suddenly began to chuckle in a very dark and creepy manner as an evil grin formed on her dark muzzle. This can’t be good at all. “But I guess none of that matters, because you will not escape from me. Today your existence will end, alicorn or not.” She explained before continuing. “In fact that would easily be a very welcome bonus, as I am in need of a new, much more powerful body. Once I have rid myself of you I will take your body fully as my own and plan my bloody vengeance on these pesky ponies and their princesses.” Nightmare announced as her snarl quickly returned. To my utter horror, she slowly started to charge up her horn with some dark, twisted magic, as both red and black tendrils and lightning bolts danced around it. Her expression once again was filled with overwhelming hatred and the unstoppable will to kill me. With myself being trapped and with no way to defend myself I simply accepted my fate, I covered myself with my forelegs and closed my eyes as I awaited my inevitable demise. This is it. I am going to be killed in my own nightmares. Since I ever woke up in this fucking world everything seems to be just hell-bent on making everything difficult for me. Again, why me? Fuck you bronies and your stupid fantasies of wanting to go to this place. I got sent to it as an alicorn who can’t do shit and now I am going to be killed for it. I awaited my doom for what felt like an eternity, but as the seconds ticked by a sudden scream of pain and agony suddenly assaulted my ears. At first I thought it was me before quickly realizing that it was rather Nightmare herself, judging by the voice and the lack of my own pain. Out of curiosity and simply because there was nothing else for me to do than cower, I slowly uncovered my face and opened my eyes, only to be greeted by a slowly burning Nightmare Moon in front of me as she screamed in pain. A strange beam of white light enveloped the dark mare, which seemed to be the source of her suffering. With my eyes, I quickly followed said beam to it’s origin and was utterly surprised to see that it was coming from another alicorn standing next to me, or more specifically... ME. To say that I was shocked and dumbstruck would be an understatement. “Hey, you ok there? Seems to be I came just in time didn’t I?” My other-self announced while giving me a sideways glance as he continued to fire the beam from his horn onto the dark mare in front of him. It was the way his horn glowed that really interested me. I know how unicorn/alicorn horns glow, thanks to the show, and having watched actual unicorns do their magic as well, having an active looking aura around them whenever they used it. His horn on the other hand did not shine in an aura-like glow like you would see on others, rather the entire horn was just shining in this whitish bright light with only the spiral indentations of the horn being visible. But that was quickly overshadowed by the fact that I was still just staring at another me shooting a beam of pure light at Nightmare Moon, which really confuses and somewhat scared the crap out of me. “I… I… I…” I stuttered as a response which made my other self-smirk at me. “Really, dude? I would imagine that you would at least remember me.” He replied with a chuckle. I shook my head afterwards as continued to stare at him completely floored out of my mind. “Wait… are you… the same guy who appeared when I was in that endless cloud-sea dream?” I finally asked. “Pretty much.” He simply replied before the screaming finally ceased as Nightmare finally disappeared in an almost blinding flash of light leaving nothing but smoke in its wake. “Wait… how can I notice smoke in a space that is primarily just black?” My other self finally cut off the… magic? From his horn as he fully faced me with relief on his face. “Well that was that. Nightmare Moon won’t bother us anymore.” He announced while wiping his brow. I quickly looked between him, to Nightmare's remains then, back to him and back again as a million questions raced through my head. One thought quickly took dominance over them all as I moved my eyes back towards the smoking remains of the Nightmare. “What… what did you do to her?” I ask my doppelganger, which in turn causes him to look from the remains of the mare and then back to me. “Well…” He began while rubbing his head. “I simply banished her forever from our subconscious so you don’t need to worry about her ever again.” He explained. “So let’s just leave it at that.” He quickly added while smiling awkwardly at me. “O… kay?” I replied suspiciously, before a thought quickly entered me once again. “Wait…is this…my subconscious again?” I finally asked him. He simply nods before responding. ”Yup it is. You’re dreaming again, in case you hadn’t noticed.” He replies with a genuine smile for the first time. “So I was right about this being a dream then.” I thought to myself while looking around once more before something else entered my head again… or should I say our? “Wait… if this is my subconscious, then why does it look so…dark and empty instead of the bright and vibrant heaven-like scene I had last time?” I asked while looking back at him. “Well, you can thank HER for that.” He replied while giving a sideways glance over at the spot that previously occupied the mare in question. “She somehow managed to enter herself into your mind in hopes of getting a new host after having been forcefully ejected from her previous one.” He explained before his tone suddenly got bitter. “She was trying to erase everything, destroy what makes you you. Before I stopped her, that is.” He finished while glaring at the smoky remains. A horrifying chill quickly went through my spine after I heard that,only just now realizing just how dangerous my situation really was. Until he came along. I looked back at him. “Thanks.” “Huh? What?” He asked while looking back at me confused. I smiled before rephrasing. “Thanks for saving me back there.” I thanked him. “If It wasn’t for you… well… I probably wouldn’t be here to thank you in the first place.” I quickly added happily. My other part simply smiled and chuckled. “No problem at all, that’s what I am here for anyway. After all, this is my body too.” He replied in a friendly manner. It was then when a question suddenly popped up. “Wait… who exactly are you, anyway? You did say in our first encounter that you were my more… well courageous side of me… but I know that there is more to it than just that.” I ask while eying him. “So who are you then, for real?” I quickly added which made his smile grow even further. “Ah, so you finally want to know, then?” He asked with a chuckle before continuing. “That’s simple. I AM actually your magic aura that resides inside you, I am, in fact the source of both your new alicorn magic and instincts as well.” He answered happily while taking a prideful pose himself, similar to how Dashie does it. I looked at him completely surprised out of my wits after he dropped that, thought after a while it also made sense somehow when you think about it a little more. Strangely enough. “Well, at least that explains how he managed to defeat Nightmare Moon so easily.” I thought to myself before shaking myself free from this sudden and unexpected information. “So, wait…. magic is sapient, then?” I asked after realizing the idea that I was now basically speaking to my own magic aura. He quickly looked back at me while rubbing his chin thoughtfully. “Well technically no, it really depends on the source and what kind of magic it is, to be honest.” He explained before smiling back at me. “Alicorn magic is actually one of them because they're so incredibly powerful and have large reserves of it, though it is mostly tied in with the consciousness of its owner, which means that I basically get my sapient… ness from your own mind, which is also why I share such an identical look of you in the first place, because that is just how your own mind imagines me fully.” He quickly added happily before proving his point by spinning himself around to show me exactly how identical to me he was. All of that information was a little bit too much for me to digest, as I simply rubbed my head. “Well at least that explains that.” I thought while trying to ease my racing mind from all this new info I was given. “Well, anyway… our time here is almost over, I’m afraid. I can sense that you are going to wake up soon.” my magic self suddenly announced which quickly snapped me out from my thoughts. “Wait! I need to know something first.” I tried to say as I slowly felt my surroundings breaking apart. “How am I supposed to access my magic… or, well, technically you?” I desperately tried to ask as everything around me was blurring out fast. My other self simply smiled at me before replying. “Don’t worry about that, it will all happen in due time. So don’t rush yourself to much.” He called out before even his form slowly started to fade away. “By the way, just call me Silver Wing. You’ll get the reference. Plus the next time we meet i will have fixed your subconscious world too.” Was the last thing I heard before everything around me went quiet. ………………………………………………………………………………………… Deep within the depths of Tartarus the same being smiled wickedly as his plans were slowly coming back together having just watched the whole Nightmare situation himself. The dark being shifted a little as the chains around it collided into each other with loud clattering sound echoing all around. “It seems that his magic is slowly starting to make itself active for the first time...perfect” It commented to itself. “Time for you to start causing some chaos...and more importantly a distraction, my little puppet.” It announced as it gathered out the last scraps of it's power and mentally willed them off to it's target, to do its master's bidding. Its destination: the night skies of Cloudsdale.
Chapter 14: MAGIC!!! /Chapter 14: MAGIC!!!/ Edited by: Chrome Masquerade Proofread by: Midnight Gear “Ugh… it’s been a while since I woke up with a headache.” I muttered while rubbing my head. Really, it had been a while. Usually headaches like those a result of not getting enough sleep or having done some serious mental work the day prior. But since I had or did neither of those, waking up with a small pain in my brain was a bit weird. Memories of my dream quickly flooded my consciousness as I continued to simply lay there with my eyes still firmly closed. “Silver Wing, huh… how does he know the original name of the OC that I am now walking around as? Did he maybe get that from my memories?” I thought to myself as I slowly opened my eyes. “Possibly. I mean, if he gets his sentience thanks to my own consciousness, then it’s not too far-fetched to believe that he has some access to my memories as well. Or, heck, even all of them. I just hope that he stays away from some of my… darker or more private ones.” I muttered as the first rays of the morning sun greeted my vision, including my nightstand lazily hovering next to me in the air. “Wait what?” I quickly did a double take to make sure that I wasn’t seeing things and after realizing that i wasn’t, I simply gaped at the small table that was just lazily floating right next to me. In fact a lot of things in my room where just hovering in the air when I took a much better look around. The large closet, the shelves, the writing desk on the opposite side of my room, the big chest that was placed right in front of my bed and EVEN my bed itself! The bed that I was laying on was hovering in the air as well with me still on it! Everything that was not screwed on or nailed onto the walls and floor was hovering around my room without any rhyme or reason to it. Including my hat and glasses. I was absolutely stumped at this scene, which turned into full on panic when I somehow started to slowly float off the bed as well, while still wrapped around my blanket, obviously. “What the? Why is everything floating? Why the HELL AM I FLOATING NOW AS WELL?” I shouted in confusion and fear while I started to flail my limbs around and unintentionally threw the blanket off of me. Instead of it just falling down onto the ground, like I expected it to, it simply began to gently float beside me. This was the last straw, to my already panicked mind. “OH GOD! DON’T TELL ME THIS HOUSE IS SUDDENLY HAUNTED!” I stated in panic while still trying to get control of my trajectory by using my wings as well. Suffice to say, it didn’t work as I lazily bounced off of the ceiling of my room, head first of course. “Ow… bloody ceiling.” It was than when the door to my room was flung open as both Cloud and Flitter came crawling into the room along the walls. An image of both mares in spiderman costumes flashed through my head, despite this confusing and rather frightening situation. Which honestly was a welcome thought as it eased some of my panic. A little bit. The sisters began to stare at me wide eyed the moment they entered (or basically crawled into) the room, an expression which quickly set my panic levels back to normal… if that is even a thing. “I knew it.” Flitter began in shock. “I knew that… that this had something to do with you Nava. What the HAY is your magic DOING?!” She accused as she, just like the rest of the room, simply levitated in place. I tilted my head in confusion. I was going to retort to her accusation when all of a sudden, out of convenience, the small table stand mirror that usually sat on my nightstand came lazily floating right in front of my face, giving me a nice front view of the panicked state that my face was in. Though it was not my own face that immediately made my eyes go even wider. In fact it was what was proudly towering above my forehead that quickly took my full--on attention. My horn was sparking and glowing with light and electricity. In fact it was glowing much like Silver Wing’s horn in my dream. Simply radiating this ominous, whitish glow along its length with only the spiral indentations on it somewhat visible. “Well, at least I now know where my headache is coming from.” I thought to myself in utter shock as I simply observed the small sparks of electricity silently dancing around my ever glowing head spear. Until reality kicked me back in the face, that is. I visibly began to panic AGAIN for like...the 10th (must be a new world record) time this day as the mirror continually resumed its lazy journey across the room. “AHHH!!! WHAT THE… WHY… HOW… WHY IS MY HORN GLOWING?! I shouted as I started to gently spin clockwise onto my side. “THAT’S EXACTLY WHAT WE’D LIKE TO KNOW AS WELL!!” Flitter shouted back as she tried to keep herself steady by grabbing the door. “CAN'T YOU JUST TURN IT OFF?!” Cloud quickly added, by which point I was upside down. I looked over to her as I continued to spin. “I WOULD IF I KNEW HOW!” I quickly replied as my ears suddenly picked up something with caused me to pause. “Are those...screams i hear?” I wondered as my ears swiveled back and forth on their own, despite my current situation, and judging from the direction of the sounds it seems to be coming from right outside. I quickly tried to flail my arms again to steady myself and immediately grabbed a hold onto the curtains next to me me when i had the chance and took peek outside the window to see what was going on. What I saw made my blood run cold as the true severity of this situation quickly turned its ugly face at me. The entire city, not just the room, not just this house, not just even this district that we were living in, no, the ENTIRE CITY was suffering from the same effects of my magic as me and the two sisters, as ponies and other objects all across the city were ALL slowly being lifted up into the air. Ponies screamed in panic as they tried to flap their wings or even flail their limbs in hopes of regaining control, with little success as it seems. Heck, even larger things like anchored airships or large cargo carriages off in the distance were also just lazily floating along the air within the anti-gravity field as well, with the ponies and the cargo on them soon doing the same, as some of them desperately tried to hold onto something. Nearby foals, of course, found this sudden turn of physics quite amusing as they happily laughed and looked like where telling their parents that they were “flying” while their parents desperately tried to reach them. “This is bad… really, really bad.” I thought to myself before noticing that Cloud somehow had managed to make her way over to the window too and had the same stunned expression that I was holding. “Fli… F-F-Flitter, w-we… might have a m-m-m-much bigger issue on our hooves than we originally thought!” She stammered. Flitter quickly joined the two of us (again, somehow) and gasped at the scene presented to her. The three of us simply floated there in shocked silence with only the screams of panicked ponies outside filling our ears. It was Flitter again who eventually broke the silence in the room. “Nava you’ve GOT to get control over YOUR magic before a real catastrophe can happen.” She demanded while looking at me desperately. Cloud Chaser deadpanned “We may have missed that window already, sis” I looked up at Flitter with the same desperate expression. “I already told you, I don’t. Know. How. I have no idea how i’m doing it or how to control it.” “Well, you gotta try SOMETHING! this is YOUR horn doing this.” She repeated as she also started to seriously panic as well. At this point I was not only losing my shit but also getting frustrated with the fact that I had absolutely no control of my magic. Why and How could wait for later. Right then, I needed to somehow get this under control before someone… or somepony got hurt. Argh! If only those stupid books I read did more than just confuse the living hell out of me! Also the very first time my horn actually does something and its first act is to cause chaos and mayhem to everything around me. Bloody BRILLIANT!!! At this point I simply threw caution out the window as I desperately tried to get my horn to stop, from hitting it with a hoof to banging it against the wall or any other hard enough object to just try and force my horn to shut up. All I got as an answer was pain, pain, pain, and more pain and even electrocutions as my own horn somehow managed to zap me when I tried to pull on it, which eventually forced me to hoist the white flag in exhaustion. That and I was just making my headache EVEN worse as my horn started to glow even brighter than it did before. Which immediately made things even worse as everything, including us, got launched upwards onto the ceiling with surprising force… me head first of course, as if i didn’t had enough of a headache already. “THIS ISN’T WORKING!!! “ Flitter shouted as she tried to push herself off the ceiling only for find out that she was somehow stuck on it. “Oh you THINK?!” I replied while rubbing my massively aching head. “Ahhh! Please...make it stop! This is getting worse and worse.” I groaned as the pain in my head was slowly starting to get unbearable. Screams of more and more ponies could be heard coming from outside as things were, no doubt, getting worse for them as well. A quick glanced out the window immediately confirming my fears as the ponies in the city, including everything else that was already in the air were also launched higher up from the city grounds before (thankfully) stopping again at a certain point. Again, my fear and state of panic rose to new heights as things where really started to get out of control, same for Flitter who seemed to share the same thoughts as me. Or thoughts we would share if my HEAD WASN’T TRYING TO SPLIT ITSELF OPEN!!! “Why… the… hell… is… it… hurting… so… much?! Please… make… it… stooooop!!!” I tried to think, but the pain at this point was gradually starting to be way too much, even for something simply as that. At this point all I could do now was clutch my head with my hooves in a hopeless attempt to somehow ease the hammering pain i felt in my head. Sweat started to roll down my forehead as I ground my teeth from the sheer pain, my heart was thumping hard against my chest which really only added to my suffering as i could feel every heartbeat in my head as well. “AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!” “Flitter we got to do something… anything. We need to somehow shut off his magic before it kills him… or anypony else.” “Well WHAT, GENIUS? WHAT ARE WE SUPPOSED TO DO? We are NOT unicorns!” “Hmmm… Oh, wait! I GOT IT.” “Huh… got what, Cloud?” “Just give me a minute… in the meantime, try to make sure that Nava doesn’t explode or something.” “Explo… CLOUD, THIS IS NOT THE TIME!!” “I KNOW! I AM BEING SERIOUS. Just give me a while, I need to crawl myself to the bathroom.” “CLOUD! THIS IS NOT THE TIME TO TAKE A PISS!” “I’M NOT. JUST WAIT! I WILL BE BACK.” “Oh, dear Celestia… it's situations like these where I wish that I was born as a unicorn rather than a Pegasus. Magic is so out of my fields of knowledge or expertise.” “Please… make… it… stop! Ugh.” I whimpered as the sparks on my horn finally became large enough to be audible. “Just… just hold one, Nava… I don’t know what my sister has planned…but whatever it is, it will help. It will finally stop all of this, including your pain… I hope.” I heard the wishy washy voice of Flitter speak as a pair of hoof started to gently hold me. Only barely, as my sense of touched is being drowned out by the sheer pain i'm feeling in my head. Even my sense of hearing was slowly losing its effectiveness as my perception of my surroundings slowly dies down. I wasn’t even sure if I was still clutching my head with my hoofs or not, that particular sensation long lost within my conscious mind, as the only sensation I could fell within my own body was pain. Momentarily spiking even with every electric spark coming out of my horn which almost brought me to the point of just passing out with every time it happened. The only real thing that kept me from just blacking out was the rational fear that I might never wake up again if I did, so despite my suffering I held firm…just barely. “Come on, come on… where is Cloud?” I heard the impatient and desperate voice of Flitter say as I felt a pair of hooves gently holding me and stroking my back. God bless her for it .She might also be the other reason why I am refusing to give up.” “I’m back. Sorry it took a while, crawling along the walls and ceiling isn’t exactly easy with a bucket in your mouth.” “A bucket? Wait, you went to the toilet to get a BUCKET FULL OF WATER? HOW IN TARTARUS IS THAT GOING TO HELP HIM?!” “Just… JUST TRUST ME ON THIS OK? I know what I am doing.” “Stand aside.” I heard Cloud shout before i felt myself quickly released from Flitter’s grasp. The next thing I can recall was that a sudden FREEZING cold suddenly assaulted my body. I felt myself crash into a nearby wall by the force while at the same time the pain in my head quickly subsided (to my utter relief), though that got quickly replaced by yet another jolt of pain coming directly from my flank as I fell back onto the floor. Same with everything else in the room, by the sound of crashing and falling furniture and grunting mares hitting the floor of the room. I immediately opened my eyes as I quickly began to shudder from the freezing cold water I just received… or I think it was water. Yeah, I think it definitely is water judging by my completely drenched coat and mane. But better to feel cold than overwhelming pain, in my opinion. Looking around again for the first time since waking up I could see that the entire room was a complete mess. Everything that previously was neatly occupying the space of the room was now scattered all over the floor, including the large closet that thankfully landed nowhere near the two mares who were still laying on the floor and rubbing their sore flanks and backs. That though immediately reminded me of the rest of the city and all the citizens that got launched unwillingly up into the air as well. I quickly scrambled back to my haunches, fully ignoring the cold and pain on my body and flank, and peered out the window,fully expecting the worst. Imagine the relief I felt when I saw that every single pony around the city that were previously floating around in the air had managed to quickly recover themselves after my magic stopped, as every single pony, including the foals with their parents, were all now hovering in the air with their own wing power or gently flying back down onto the safety on the streets below, much to the disappointment of the foals. Thought the same thing can not be said about the rest of the city by the looks of it, as the streets and roofs were littered with the falling debris of everything else. One of the airships having even crashed directly onto a construction site, though thankfully the ship was empty and so was the area. “Thank goodness that everything still worked out well, somehow.” I muttered before turning myself back around to face the two mares with me in the room as they were sitting back up themselves. “Wait… how… how the hay did you know a bucket of cold water would work?” Flitter asked while eyeing her sister curiously. Cloud simply shrugged.” Was just a hunch. Plus it kind of also worked with that one unicorn stud you used to date during high school as well, when you two were making sweet, sweet loving to one another in the mares locker rooms as he was having a magic surge during his climax by the looks of it. Remember that one?” Cloud answered with a cheeky grin at the end which immediately made Flitter flustered. Me a bit as well, with the way she phrased it, and the images that suddenly entered my mind as well. “Didn’t really need to know that. Plus this isn’t really the time either. Leave it to Cloud to constantly break the mood, either for better or for worse.” “Oh… yeah… I remember. That one where you suddenly walked in… and… saw that.” Flitter stuttered while looking down at the floor, completely embarrassed at the memory. I was somewhat surprised by this to be honest. Normally I would expect her to be shouting at her sister at this point (Or ME at least!) and not just simply sink down. I guess that this must have been one hell of an awkward experience and memory for her. Or she could still be somewhat on edge from earlier, regarding me giving gravity the middle finger. Or both. Probably both. Cloud simply nodded. “Yup… that was definitely… awkward. Needed to also cool down the poor guy before his DICK could overheat.” She responded with a double wink to finish of her tease which made Flitter groan as she buried her face in her hoof. “Oh, just SHUT it Cloud. It wasn’t funny back then and it still isn’t funny right now. So just stop.” Flitter protested with a glare. “It’s from over heeeere~” Cloud sing-songed As these two once again were discussing memories of their past, (somehow once again ignoring everything else around them...bless them for that) I was internally reflecting on the chaos I had unintentionally caused with my magic. Suffice to say, I was feeling both guilty and scared at the same time, guilty for what I had caused and scared of the fact that I had absolutely no control over it and that it nearly got me killed as well, if the massive pain in my brain was any indication. I so desperately wanted to blame Silver for this tremendous disaster, since HE is supposedly the very source of my magic powers… but… at the same time, I have a feeling that he had absolutely nothing to do with it and probably suffered just as much from this experience as I have. Still need to confront him about this the next time when i have the chance. I hang my head in utter shame as both the fear and guilt finally got the better of me. “Sorry…” I whimpered, which quickly got the attention of both of them. “What?” they said in unison as they halted their arguing. “I am so, so sorry. This was all my fault.” I repeated as tears started to roll down my cheeks which seemed to catch both mares completely by surprise. “No… Nava is wasn’t your-” Flitter started, but I quickly interrupted her as I glared angrily at her. “OF COURSE IT’S MY FAULT! IT WAS MY MAGIC WASN'T IT?” I began as tears of anger and guilt poured down my cheeks. “IT CAME FROM ME, AND WORST OF ALL I HAD ABSOLUTELY NO CONTROL OVER IT! I COULDN’T DO ANYTHING! I WAS USELESS!!” I ranted on, in between sobs. ”I NEARLY GOT A WHOLE CITY'S WORTH OF PONIES HURT OR EVEN WORSE BECAUSE OF MY USELESSNESS! BECAUSE OF MY STUPID MAGIC THAT I HAD NO CONTROL OVER!!! HOW THE HELL CAN YOU SAY THAT IT WASN’T MY FAULT!?!?!” I shouted before slumping back into myself as I began to cry. I felt terrible. How could something like this just happen? Was it Nightmare Moon’s doing? If so, how and when? I thought that Silver banished her permanently from my mind, so how could she possibly still have an influence on me? Did she maybe plant this before, right after she got defeated and kicked out? I don’t know… plus at the same time it just doesn’t matter because for one it already happened and I was surely going to get in HUGE trouble for it, getting kick out of town, locked up, hunted or WORSE.. “First time ever using my magic and I nearly caused a city wide disaster with it. This is so stupid and unfair. why the hell was I even turned into an Alicorn in the first place? Why not a simple Unicorn or a Pegasus? Or even better, why the hell was I even sent to equestria at ALL?! What is the point? What is my reason to be here? And why can’t I remember anything beyond that point?! Why? Why!? WHY!?” I ranted on in my mind as I continued to cry about my experience and situations I was in when all of a sudden something warm and fuzzy enveloped my trembling form. When I looked up I saw that it were Flitter and Cloud, both embracing me tightly as they both bore pure expression of sympathy and sadness for me. That show of pure sympathy and care was what finally broke the little resistance I had left in me as I allowed all of my feelings to get loose, crying freely against Cloud’s chest as both she and Flitter started to gently stroke my head and back to help me along, with Cloud even humming soft melody gently into my ear. A great surprise for sure, especially coming from a pony like HER. But at least it did the job of calming me down as my tears slowly started die down. That melody though… could it be some kind of lullaby? It’s so… calming and… relaxing. We three simply stayed like this together for a few more minutes, embracing one another on the floor before the two sisters finally broke off. I wiped any remnant tears off my eyes and finally lifted my head and again was genuinely surprised to see that both mares also had tears staining their cheeks as well. Both Cloud and Flitter gave me sad but again, sympathetic smiles. Flits was the first one to break the sad silence. “Feeling any better now?” She asked genuinely while wiping a few tears away herself. I nodded giving her a sad smile before I felt Cloud place a hoof on my shoulder. “Always remember dude, we are here for you. I know that it might be a bit early to say that but…” Cloud began as she looked over to her sisters for some form of confirmation, Flitter nods before both of them looked back at me with warm genuine smiles before Cloud continued. ”…We have accepted you already, as part as our lives and family, and as family we always stick together and support each other as much we can, no matter what. That includes you as well, Nava. So never EVER forget… that you are not alone in this. That you have ponies ready to help you and ready to stand by your side whenever hardship comes to haunt you.” She finished as i stared at both of them in utter disbelief. I just hope emotional but at the same time serious her speech was. I was utterly touched as a new set of tears quickly swelled up within my eyes, not tears of fear and guilt, but tears of happiness. “Th-thanks... you two. This? You have no idea… how much this means for me… really.” I replied as I tried my best to keep my tears to a minimum this time. “Think nothing of it.” Flitter replied with a warm smile and even a nuzzle, which immediately made me blush. Flitter and Cloud simply giggled at my reaction, to which I surprisingly joined as a chuckle escaped my lips as well, which turned into a full on fit of laughter between the three of us, which was a welcome change after everything that had happened today so far. My own laughter, though, soon died down as the memories of what happened today took center stage once more as I looked back down into my hooves. “Hey, Nava? What’s wrong?” Flitter asked after realizing my sudden switch of mood. I looked back up to answer her. “Again, I am so, so sorry for everything that has happened today.” I began before looking back down as I sighed. ”I am probably a real ha-hoofful for the two of you.” I said in a sad tone. Cloud simply giggled at that, to my complete surprise, as I looked at her. “To be honest, not really. In fact…” She paused dramatically before continuing. ”Your presence has made our life much more… well, interesting I think is the right term.” She finished before Flitter took over the rest. “Yes... having an awkward, shy, but still very kind and friendly Alicorn around is actually quite the interesting and, I dare say, pretty adventurous experience. Our lives were pretty normal and formulaic until you came along. So… no. No you are not a hoofful. Maybe a little bit difficult at times. but overall you make life so much interesting for us by just being you.” Flitter explained. I again began to smile after hearing that, removing any signs of seconds thoughts from me. “Again, thank you for… sticking through with me… you two have been nothing but loyal, kind and supportive since the day we met. There’s probably no better pair of ponies that anybody could possibly ask for than you two.” I replied happily as any negative feelings I had quickly and permanently disappeared from me. Both Flitter and Cloud nodded as they both finally got back up on all fours. I was about to get up myself when Cloud suddenly presented something to me. “Need your Hat and glasses? They were actually lying just behind me after we all landed back onto the floor.” She offered. I nodded as I took both items from her and gave her a thankful smile after placing them all to their respected places. “Well…” Flitter began with a sigh. ”Looks like we have A LOT of cleaning up to do now. This is going to be fun.” She announced with a groan as she looked around the room. I quickly joined the two as I did the same, though with a smile on my face as I thought about the obvious close bond me and the two mares somehow managed to forge between us after such a short amount of time. “I don't know why it took me this long and an almost disastrous… well, disaster to see that… but better late than never, i guess. “ “Well… it might be a lot of work, but I am sure the three of us can pull it off, no problem.” I announced while looking at between them. Flitter nodded as she smiled back. “You’re right. If we put our hooves together, all of this and the rest of the house will be fixed in no time.” She agreed as Cloud joined in as well. “Well, than what are we waiting for, then? You two do the work while I supervise.” Cloud announced with a grin which made flitter and I roll our eyes. “Cloud Chaser!” Both me and Flitter shouted in unison, which in the end just made all three of us chuckle. “Just kidding! I’ll help too.” Cloud said, and we three did a hoof-bump “Well… let’s get to work, then.” Flitter announced as she positioned herself in front of the larger closet. Cloud and I got the hint as we both positioned ourselves right next to her before digging our hooves under the closet before lifting and eventually pushing it back into place. “I am 100% positive that what happened today will certainly get noticed by the government, AKA the princesses themselves.” I thought to myself after pushing my bed back the where it belongs. “Though, I think that I still have some time to figure out what to do until then, since Canterlot is somewhat far away from Cloudsdale right now. For now I should really focus more on cleaning their -well, our- home, I guess. And we’ll worry about that stuff when it comes up.” I mentally noted as the last pieces of furniture were now, once again, in their proper places. Flitter wiped her forehead as she looked around the now clean room. “Wow! this took surprisingly less time than I imagined. You were right, Nava! With the three of us working together this is going to be quicker than Cloud can fall asleep on the couch.” She commented which made Cloud roll her eyes and me chuckle on that last remark. “Again… let’s just hope that I don’t get found out about this anytime soon, because I am sure that then I would be marked as dangerous, which…would be a disaster, not just for me but for these two as well, and I can’t let that happen. Better JUST me than dragging these mares along with me.” I thought to myself once more as the three of us quickly moved to another part of the house to continue with the cleanup process. “I’ve got to discuss this problem with them later. Also that reminds me… what lullaby was Cloud humming?"
Chapter 15: Thestral Involvement (slight re-edit)Chapter 15: Thestral Involvement Chapter 15: Thestral Involvement Edited by: Chrome Masquerade Proofread by: Midnight Gear “Two days ago, a strange and abrupt magical anomaly almost caused a city-wide disaster in Cloudsdale.” I read the reports out loud. “Though thankfully no casualties have been filed besides a few bumps and bruises from local investigators and a lot of property damage. Though the populace was still in a panic even after the magical field has dissipated… AHH screw this! Such small pickings are the jobs for the Garden statues of the day guard and NOT the night guard.” I huffed in annoyance as I simply threw the report files into a bin beside my desk. “Pff… ponies nowadays, panicking at every little thing. Back in the old days Equestrians were much more hard-shelled and magic anomalies were FAR more disastrous than just lifting a bunch of crap into the air for a few minutes. Bloody ponies now a days don't even know how seriously good they have it now compared to back than.” I muttered as I leaned back on my chair and rested my hind legs onto the desk. “More ridiculous is the fact that such an anti-gravity anomaly happened in perhaps the BEST possible city it could occur. Some ponies, or should I say, Pegasi, *still** refuse to leave their homes in fear of getting lifted back into the air against their will! PEGASI!!!”* I ranted mentally. “But seriously now; back during the time of the old kingdom, ponies -or Equestrians in general- were a force to be reckoned with… more or less thanks to us Thestrals who taught those ponies how to fight in the first place. Home of some of the finest legions and armies the world had ever seen. Proud and strong, always ready for a fight. But since Princess Luna’s banishment her sister, princess sun-butt has transformed a pervious professional military and magic imbued powerhouse into a nation full of scared little sheep who immediately start running away from any form of trouble and seeking the help of their shepherd A.K.A Princess Sunny Days for protection and advice. Also bad for her, since she now has ALLOT more responsibilities and work on her shoulders. How is she still sane after a 1000 years of doing that? But I can kind of understand why she made the change in the first place. Having her diplomatic skills secured a pretty long-lasting good relationship with all the other nations and races and wanting to prevent showing her little ponies the horrors and hardships of war...and the past of equestria in general. And, to be fair, there a lot of other problems that cropped up, she did deal with them directly, without mercy. But still, this action has resulted in making Equestrians soft and vulnerable, turning warriors into carriage pullers and namby-pambies! The worst example of that being the sorry excuse of a royal guard, who act more as palace decoration than actually guarding something. Hardships make ponies -or whatever species- strong, it teaches them how to survive, how to take care of themselves and also has the potential to forge companionships stronger than any “Magic of Friendship” can do. One of the reasons why I eventually followed Luna into her campaigns and eventually became her dedicated and loyal captain. And most importantly Blood sisters in battle. If only these ponies here would know the truth of the cruelty and hardships the rest of the world has to suffer through outside their little kingdom paradise. Then, they would understand that the world is vastly more black and white than they like to believe. I wouldn’t be surprised to one day see Canterlot completely fall in the next invasion because the guards being unable to even pick up a spear properly, let alone swing it! A 1000 years ago the night guard disbanded and eventually returned, and this is the Equestria we are returning TO? This is really just spitting in the faces of the Thestral Guard. We are warriors, not riot control.” I muttered angrily as I remembered the shock I felt when I bore witness to the sorry-ass pacifistic state Equestria has turned into. Makes me even wonder why the night guard was even re-enlisted in the first place. We are trained and bred for combat, not sitting on our flanks and pretending to look pretty. Oh yeah, because of mistress Luna, the silly mare. I am very glad that she has finally returned from her 1000 year exile and that the darkness inside her has finally been banished for good. But… it’s still such a shame that such a skilled and talented war-maiden is forced to return to a nation she will most likely no longer recognize. Which also means I won’t be able to join her in any glorious campaigns and battles anytime soon. More’s the pity. I sighed as I remembered the glory days of old, and the warrior bond the Princesses shared in the past. Also remembering our lady’s orders, as she had mentioned to us today; She wished to go and investigate the anomaly herself, simply because there was no other pony more knowledgeable with magic anomaly than her. But instead, she chose me to do so, at her sister’s urging, for a similar reason. “Huh… most ponies would think it’s weird that a simple Thestral knows more about magic than most unicorns. If only they knew.” I chuckled to myself. “Well, might as well get this task over with.” I muttered a bit annoyed as I finally got up from my seat and made my way over to the door to leave my office. The guard stationed in front of my door immediately saluted me as I went through, though i ignored him. I made my way across the long corridor that would lead out into the training grounds and barracks of the Night Guard. Again, every Night Guard saluted as I casually strode by them. I quickly reached the outside of the main training grounds as I saw a dozen of my guardsponies sharpening their skills and tricks in the ways of war and the traditional martials arts of our race and homeland. “Good, at least they do spend their free time training with one another, I wouldn’t expect any less of my fellow warriors.” I thought proudly as I finally reached my destination on the other side of the grounds. The local armory and workshop of the night guard. The two Thestrals stationed in front of it stood straight and saluted as well. I was about to knock on the door when a sudden explosion from inside stopped me from doing so. Both me and the two guards raised our eyebrows at that before all three of us sighed, already used to this and the pony responsible for them. “Ugh… it’s too early for this, I just hope that he hasn’t torn another hole through the wall or I am going to tear his flank hole wide open.” I muttered as I began knocking on the door. I waited patiently for a few moments before the door finally unlocked and opened from the other side, revealing a lot of smoke (which forced me to cover my muzzle) and a small young Thestral stud behind it… coughing heavily and covered in soot. “What in the God's name are YOU DOING?” I angrily asked out of reflex. The young stallion in front of me immediately stopped his coughing as he tensed up in fear in front of me. “Oh… um… h-hi ca-captain…Glade...I, um… it's…it’s not what it lo-looks like… I swear. I… I was ju-just working on… on new…” The dark gray coated and navy blue maned stud in front of me stuttered before I abruptly stopped him by shoving a hoof into his mouth. “Mister Midnight Gear I am currently NOT interested in whatever invention or contraption you are tinkering around with at the moment.” I say before removing my hoof from his mouth. “I came here to ask IF my lance is ready and fixed up, and if the new enchanted crystals are inserted as well.” I continued while looking at Gear. Gear immediately began to shuffle nervously in place after I said that while looking at the ground. “Well…” He began nervously. “I only… ma-managed to… fi-finish up the… repairs so fa-far… but…not the… crystal parts.” He stuttered while smiling awkwardly at me. I really wanted to get angry at him for probably just taking up most of the time tinkering around with all his other machines rather than doing what was asked of him, but I just couldn’t. For one, despite his failures and inventions sometimes causing holes through the walls, he was still a genius and an irreplaceable asset to the guard, always providing for the equipment and coming up with really useful and inventive ideas that would give us the edge in a pinch. He is one of the reason why the newly re-formed Night Guard is vastly better equipped than the Day Guard (secretly, of course). The other reason why I can’t be really mad at the guy is, well, Gear is the shyest most socially awkward pony I have ever seen, which means it’s very easy for someone to make him cry, though it’s also very easy to make him beyond pissed off and dodging earth-eating swords and magical laser cannon fire when somepony makes fun of his inventions. “I made that mistake once. Who knew that such an awkward little wimp can become berserk so quickly.” I thought, remembering our first time meeting back at our home county. I sighed. “Fine… I guess I can go out again without my trusty lance by my side. But it better be done when I come back.” I announced before turning around and trotting away “Wa… wait captain.” I suddenly heard Gear call out which forced me to stop and look at him. “What is it now, Gear?” I asked impatiently as the shy stallion approached me. “Where… uh… exactly are you going captain?” He asked while looking off the side a bit. “Cloudsdale, to investigate something under Lulu’s wishes.” I casually reply. The little stud’s demeanor suddenly changed from shy to excited with a flick of a switch, which really took me by surprise, to say the least. I was about to question his sudden switch of motivation as he beat me to it. “Oh, you mean you are going to investigate the magical incident that happened in Cloudsdale? If so then I’ve got the perfect device to test out.” He announced gleefully, in full unbroken sentences, which was rare for him. “What device?” I questioned, skeptical. “This one.” he announced, while holding out his empty hoof at me. I simply raised an eyebrow at that as I stared at his empty hoof. “Gear… all I see is an empty hoof.” I pointed out with a flat look. He simply looked surprised before chuckling nervously. “Oh… yeah. Uh... I-I will be… back, captain… give me a minute.” he stuttered before dashing off back into his shop. I waited patiently for the little stallion to return with whatever invention or contraption he pulled out of his plot this time, while again thinking back to the report I read. “Investigators theorized that the source of this anomaly might be from Nightmare Moon herself, remnant magic of her “Eternal Night curse” that might be the cause of this unnatural magical phenomenon.” I re-capped the text of the report in my head, which again made me simply shake my head at how naïve some ponies are nowadays. “Huh… some investigators these are. That is NOT how the Elements work. When they cleanse something they freaking cleanse something, which means that whatever magic was at work is completely neutralized. Look at what happened to Discord's chaos when he was defeated by them.” I again mentally argued as I slowly turned my head over to the direction Cloudsdale is in. “No… it’s really not that at all. There is something more to it, I can already sense it from here.” I muttered before a set of hooves stepped up and broke me loose of my muddling. “Th-this is… what I wa-was talking about… ca-captain.” Gear again stuttered as he came back holding something this time. “…And what is it?” I asked curiously after noticing the small watch (or compass) shaped thing with a large blue crystal in the middle. “It’s a physical magic tracking device that can pinpoint any form of magic in a designated vicinity.” He explained, again talking coherently. He usually does talk normally when explaining his inventions or science of whatever. I raised a curious eyebrow at this. Sure this… compass-like thing of his could easily be useful for anyone who has no natural magic-tracking senses. IF IT WORKS. But again, this idea of his is somewhat useless to ME because magic tracking and sensing has basically become second nature for me for all these centuries. “But still… if this thing actually works the way I imagine, it could be highly useful for anypony without that skill, especially for my men here, when it comes down hunting unicorn fugitives.” I mentally noted as I rubbed my chin in thought. “Let me guess… you want to tag along with me so you can take your new toy out for a spin?” I ask with a flat stare. “Well… yes, if… if you don’t mind… cap-captain?” He shyly asked while looking at his hooves. I began to think on it for a while before giving off a sigh. “Fine… you can come along, as long as you follow two rules. Keep up. Shut up.” I answered before switching my gaze over to a pony to my left. “Hey, sergeant Shadow Blade. You’re in charge while I am out and about. Keep the men busy while I am gone!” I shouted, to which the pony in question saluted. “Don’t worry, ma’am. I will keep this place tight and working in your absence. Good luck on your investigation captain.” He replied before going back to his task in drilling the new recruits into shape. “Alright, quickly pack whatever stuff you need Gear, because we are leaving in 5 minutes.” I ordered before turning around and trotting off. “Wa-wait… we… we are not going to… ta-take a chariot to Cloudsdale?” He suddenly asked before I could even get far. I stopped again to look behind my shoulder with a smirk. “Nope. we are going to fly the old fashioned way. You could actually use some exercise too, my little Gear. All that “locking yourself up in your shop” is neither good for your your wings or your stench. Plus I prefer flying on my own power anyway. Besides, chariots are way too noticeable, even at night.” I answered. I smirked and chuckled to myself when I heard a pathetic little whine coming from him as I finally made my way back into the main building. “Not really the task I was hoping for, but at least it’s something that will keep me busy for a while.” I thought to myself as I trotted down the same old corridor that leads to the captain’s office. “Let’s see what pony I get the chance to bring back home this time. Hope the poor thing can at least put up some sort of resistance against me, otherwise it will be way too easy… and a waste of my time. The hunt... is on. ………………………………………………………………………………………. Night time…the perfect environment for creatures of the dark, creatures such as myself. Arriving at Cloudsdale at night was perfect, not only have you the freedom to fly all across the city without anypony screaming at the sight of a night hunter like me, but it also means I can keep low from all the Pegasus guards roaming and flying across, on and above the dimly lit streets. My night sensitive eyes scanned the layout of the city as I stood above the roof of a tower. I can still remember the days when Cloudsdale was more of a fortress than a city. The current look and layout not foreign to me, but still somewhat…. different too, especially since I spent most of my time since Luna’s banishment back in my home country far in the north from here. “Quite impressive how things can change in a thousand years.” I thought to myself as I continued to scan the city. I closed my eyes in calm and collected concentration as I let my ears and other senses do their thing. Listening to every noise, smelling every smell and sensing the invisible magic winds gust by my coat ever so gently, in hopes of getting a clue on where to look and where to start. I continued to stand there, in my element, when all of a sudden a noise -a lot of noise- quickly broke me from my concentrated state. “So-sorry… sorry. I-I accidentally dropped… the thing… and knocked ove-” Gear behind me started to apologize as more distracting noise came from behind. “What was the second rule?” i said, irritated. “So-sorry again.” I began to grumble in annoyance. “Why did I agree to bring this this sorry excuse for a Thestral again?” I thought as I could hear even more ruckus from behind me. “Why don’t you just make yourself useful and use that little device of yours, if you are going to make so much noise anyway?” I asked while looking back at him. “Do…do I have to do it… now? Can’t we just… take a rest?” Gear behind me complained while rubbing his obviously looking sore wings. I scoffed, but didn’t correct him again. “Well, it’s not MY problem that you are so heavily out of shape. Now, seriously, make yourself at least useful or I’ll throw you off the edge of the city.” I announced glaring at him. Gear thankfully took the hint as he frantically started to get his magic detecting device working, only for him to start juggling it in between his hoof while trying to get a hold of it in panic. I simply facehoofed and shook my head before he eventually managed to hold it up on one hoof while activating it with the other. “Well, about damn time.” I muttered as the crystal on it suddenly began to glow. It started to gently hover above its compass like case as it began to spin around. “J-just give it some time… to… get sorted… out.” Gear nervously said with a sheepish smile as the crystal was still going crazy. Eventually, though it finally started to slow, then stopped as it pointed its long sharp point at a random direction behind where I stood. I followed the crystal’s direction only to find out that it was pointing at a large part of the city itself, probably on the other side from where we stood. “There.” Gear announced while looking at his device. “The crystal… seems to be…pointing at the… cloud district of the city. That area is mostly… residential… as far as I’ve heard and seen on m-maps.” Gear announced as he looked off towards the other end of the city. I smirked before turning my head back to gear. “Very nice there, Midnight Gear. I am impressed.” I credited. “Once again you delivered and didn’t just make something that explodes or tears holes through walls.” I added. Gear began to smile at that as his eyes began to glow in the dark a bit. “Th-thanks cap-captain. I think” I nodded before switching my gaze back at the target ahead. “Well, let’s go and follow your device, then.” I announced as I spread my wings. “And for the love of the gods, be more stealthy or I am going to lock you out of your shop for a month.” I added as I took to the air. “Wha-What? No!” He replied as I heard him take off as well. “So help me, I will. But only AFTER you finished up my lance. I feel naked without it.” And with that the two of us silently flew above the empty night skies of Cloudsdale and made sure to stay away from any street and air patrols as we passed them. “For some odd reason I have this strange feeling that it won’t go as smoothly and quickly as i plan it out to be. I don’t know if i should feel good or indifferent about it.” I thought to myself as we continued our way towards the clouds district of the city. “Yup, now I am actually starting to sense something as well… and it’s… it's… By the gods.” ………………………………………………………………………………………… In a large house family house in the middle of the cloudy district, a set of three ponies were happily sleeping in their beds as the night passed by. One of them was an alicorn stallion who was happily snoring away in his bed, as his horn suddenly started to faintly glow, illuminating its room in its soft glow before quickly dissipating again. The alicorn in question began to turn in his bed as his horn cut off its magical glow. Silence and darkness quickly returned to the room, with only the glow of the full moon above shining through the curtains. “Gotcha.”
Chapter 16: Narrow Escape...for now Chapter 16: Narrow Escape… For Now Edited by: Chrome Masquerade Proofread by: Midnight Gear and Rhawkas I opened my eyes and all that greeted me again was nothing but darkness. I sighed. “Ugh… didn’t Silver already fix my subconscious mind? Well… then again, I have no idea how hard or easy it is in the first place, so I can’t really complain too much.” I muttered as I looked around. “Silver? Silver Wing? Hello? Silver?” I called out, my voice echoing around the void. “Over here, dude. I gotta show you something,” I heard him call out from within the shadows. I started to look around but was met with nothing but more blackness surrounding me, seeing no clue nor any shape of Silver around me. I began to grumble a bit in annoyance as my search turned out to be fruitless. “That, and how am I really going to spot anything in this place anyway?” “Where are you? I can’t see anything here besides… well… nothing.” I called out again and received the same echoing result. Which, to be honest, was starting to sound a bit by creepy now. “Huh? Oh, uh… forgot about that. Here, let me just create a doorway for you then.” I heard him reply when out of nowhere, a bright white light shone in front of me and assaulted my vision. I was forced to cover my eyes as the sudden change in brightness was painful to look at. Thankfully, my eyes quickly adjusted, which gave me the freedom to open them and lower my forelegs from in front of them. What I saw immediately afterwards was a single doorway-shaped passage in the middle of the void, although the light coming out from it was still too bright to even see what was actually on the other side of it. At first I was a bit hesitant, as I usually am, but eventually I just shrugged as I made my way over to it. “It’s my mind after all, so what could possibly happen?” I was again, forced to shield myself from the extreme light levels as I got closer and closer to it, making sure to not trip or fall over myself as one of my four legs were busy shielding me from it. “Jeez, what the heck did he create in there? The freaking sun?” I wondered as I finally crossed the boundary and to whatever mental reality that my magic doppelganger had created. Though the first thing that swiftly greeted me afterwards was a sudden breeze of wind which somewhat took my by surprise, especially since before all i was capable of feeling, even before nightmare moon was just the solid ground under my hoof and nothing else besides that. “Hey there, glad you could make it. Been working on this here for a while… but it’s sadly not yet completed.” I heard Silver say as my eyes were still firmly shut. “What… what did you do?” I asked curiously. I heard my other self-chuckle. “Just open your eyes and see for yourself, dude.” He replied. I did just that after a few more moments of letting my eyes re-adjust themselves before fully opening them, and what I saw when I finally did was absolutely stunning to say the least. “Pretty neat huh? Took a while too. But I think I did a pretty good job regardless. What do you think?” Silver asked as I was still too busy gawking at the world around me. Row upon row of endless wheat (among other things) fields were all around me, stretching as far as the eye can see and beyond the horizon. In the middle of it all was a single grassy hill overlooking the flat lands with a large single oak tree towering proudly on top of it…basically like an island surrounded by a sea of gold. I heard Silver chuckle again beside me. “So, I guess you like it then.” He announced, which made me turn my head to him for the first time. “Silver… this looks… how did you build this?” I asked, utterly baffled as i looked at him. The first thing i remarked after doing so was that he was leaning against the larger oak tree in a very… pony-like position, lying on his side smiling before he answered. “Well, with the help of some of your memories and some magic, it wasn’t really that hard… or long.” He explained before continuing, “Plus, I choose this scene over the previous one because I think this one looks far more relaxing and peaceful than the other one… and more down to earth as well, if you want to get funny.” he added as he looked back off into the distance, looking over the sea of golden wheat around us. I just shrugged as I did the same and started to relax, feeling the gentle winds blowing through my fur in sync with the swaying motion of the crops around us. The added sunset in the sky and the peaceful rustle of the leaves in the wind really made this one of the most relaxing and peaceful places I had ever been to. “Also, he was right, this does feel a lot closer to Earth than the other one.” Though one question rapidly popped up into my mind as I instantly looked back at Silver. “Wait… you said that this place wasn’t finished yet, right? What exactly is missing here, anyway? It looks finished to me.” I said before looking back off into the distance. “Well…” Silver began. “The mountains are missing on the horizon… so are the hills… that’s it really.” He answered a bit sheepishly, which made me look back at him with a raised eyebrow. “Really? That’s it?” I asked, to which he nodded. I simply shook my head before I made my way to the base of the tree myself and sat myself down beside Silver. I leaned my back against its large trunk and closed my eyes to enjoy the peace and the relaxing breeze. “Man, I hope all of my dreams can be like this.” I thought as I let myself go in the relaxing experience. A few moments ticked by between us with nothing more than the gently blowing breeze accompanying us in this peaceful moment. Though that was quickly broken when Silver suddenly began to tap my shoulder rapidly, breaking my relaxing immersion… so to speak. And from the way he was tapping it, I had a feeling that it wasn’t anything good to begin with. I opened my eyes and turned my head to look at him, and wouldn’t you know it, I was right with my suspicions, as I saw an expression of worry and slight panic etched on his features. “Silver, what seems to be…?” I began before being interrupted as he began to speak while staring at me. “Something is tracking my magic… or specifically, YOUR magic.” He hastily stated as his expression morphed from worry too serious in an instant. “Wha-what do you mean?” I asked confusedly. Though the question seemed to have been completely missed or ignored as he suddenly stood up before continuing. “You’ve got to wake up now, Nava! Don’t worry though, I will take care of the rest afterwards.” He simply announced, which confused me even further. I also got back up as I stared at him. “Wait, wait, wait… hold on a sec.” I began as I slowly started to worry. “What the heck are you talking about? What is tracking my magic and why the heck do you need ME to wake up as well?” I quickly asked once more, which thankfully reached Silver’s attention this time. “I don’t know yet, but I do know it’s tracking us.” He replied before an expression of shock quickly replaced his previous seriousness, which only made me worry even more. He immediately began lighting up his horn, which took me completely by surprise. “No time to explain. As I said, I will do the rest, so don’t worry. But you need to wake up first for it to work.” He announced promptly as my whole body was suddenly enveloped in a white glow. “Wait… what are you…” I started before being interrupted by Silver again. “I will explain everything to you at another time. Right now you have to hide and be quiet after you wake up. Just trust me on this, ok?” He stated once more before my whole vision rapidly began to turn white as the world around me swiftly faded away into nothingness. ……………………………………………………………………………………… I immediately shot up from my bed after Silver forcefully tore me away from my own sleep, breathing heavily from the experience and sweating slightly from my forehead as if I had just suffered from a horrible nightmare. Though it wasn’t the only thing coming from my forehead as I quickly noticed a slight glow coming from above my vision. “My horn is glowing? Why is my horn glo…?” I began to think before I remembered what happened the last time when I woke up with a glowing horn. I immediately began to panic, though before I could say anything, scream, jump out of the bed, or do anything too drastic, my horn began to gently dim back down before before darkening completely, leaving the previously softly illuminated room back in its original dark state. “Huh?” was all I thought as suddenly felt beyond confused by this sudden change of events. ……………………………………………………………………………………… “I can feel the breezy sensation of magic moving along the ley lines getting stronger, which can only mean that we are finally getting closer to the… wait… WHAT?” I immediately stopped in mid flight as something strange and highly improbable just occurred. The magic I had been sensing and following since coming here to Cloudsdale was gone. JUST GONE! OUT OF NOWHERE! JUST… JUST… BUCKING GONE! “What… this… this is IMPOSSIBLE!” I shouted in utter disbelief, disregarding stealth as I immediately began to land on a wide street below me. Midnight, who had been behind me the entire time, also quickly landed. He was looking worried and somewhat scared from my sudden outburst as he kept his distance from me. Which was good, because at that point I was so confused that I was also on the verge of blowing a fuse. “GEAR!” I called out while glaring at the Thestral behind me. “CHECK ON YOUR DEVICE AND SEE IF IT CAN STILL PICK UP THE MAGIC WE HAVE BEEN TRACKING THIS ENTIRE TIME!” I ordered, which caused the stallion behind me to flinch but nonetheless do what I asked him to, as he promptly began to look at his device. An expression first of confusion, followed by disbelief rapidly went through his features as he began to tap on the device with his hoof. “Well?” I asked impatiently, which made him flinch again. “What is it? Spit it out!” “Um…” He began nervously as he carefully lifted his head to look at me. “The… the signal… is… is gone, ca- captain. There is… no more magic… around this area… that it can detect. It’s… just gone.” Gear stuttered, which really didn’t help my rising anger at the moment. “WHAT?! Do you mean it CAN'T DETECT ANYTHING?” I asked again as my patience was swiftly running thin, which wasn’t lost on the stallion in front of me as his legs began to tremble in fear. “I-I mean… it… it’s just… completely gone, captain. As… as if… somepony flicked… the off switch… or something.” He replied as he slowly backed himself onto a wall. This information finally broke the fuse. “WHAT!? THAT’S IMPOSSIBLE! NO LEVEL OF ANY KIND OF MAGIC BESIDES PERCEPTION MAGIC CAN JUST BE THERE AND THEN COMPLETELY DISAPPEAR IN THE NEXT MOMENT AS IF IT WASN’T EVEN THERE IN THE FIRST PLACE! AND I KNOW FOR A FACT THAT IT WASN’T PERCEPTION MAGIC, BECAUSE I HAVE BASICALLY SEEN, FELT, AND BEEN EXPOSED TO EVERY TYPE AND FORM OF MAGIC IN EXISTENCE! THE FACT THAT THIS ONE COULD JUST DISAPPEA--” I shouted in pure anger before a thought suddenly hit me. “Wait… this… this magic I felt, it… it was… nothing I have ever felt or sensed before, now that I… think about it. It was neither control nor emotional magic, and it was neither perception nor harmonic magic. If it was none of those, then… then what was it?.” I wondered as the realization hit me. “What… kind of magic--if it even was magic--was that?” I muttered as all the anger inside of me quickly vanished, leaving only complete and utter confusion behind it. I was at a loss for words or thoughts at that moment. In all my centuries of having been exposed to all kinds of magic that have ever existed or was documented before in the past, there was nothing even remotely similar to the one I was chasing today. Its pattern and sensations were nothing I have ever felt before. They were…beyond foreign to me. Rather, they were totally alien, if I want to be completely honest. Whatever that force was… magic or not, not only was it completely unknown… but also gone as well. Which would make finding it again nearly impossible, unless it's ever going to show itself again. “But I am NOT giving up. No, I will be *DAMNED** if I give up! If it’s something completely new or alien, I WILL learn more about it. I WILL find its source or its owner and tear it apart if that’s what it takes for me to learn more about it.”* This is the first time I’ve ever lost a trail and I will not let that stand. This has become FAR more than just a simple fetch mission. This was now something personal… very personal. “Gear?” “Ye-yes… captain?” I turned my head to look over my shoulder. ”We are going to fly back to Canterlot, get reinforcements, and come back.” I announced in a serious tone and look, which made Gear behind me shift uncomfortably in place. “Bu-but captain… is… is that… really necessary?” He asked nervously, to which I turned around and nodded as my anger was slowly returning. “YES, it is! I want this district surrounded and locked up by guards and everypony living in it to be questioned. NO ‘BUTS’, NO ‘WHYS’!” I replied as I took back to the air, just in time as well, as in the distance I could see a group of pegasi guards trotting down the street, probably to investigate the shouting they heard earlier. Seeing them approach, I mentally scolded myself. “So much for being stealthy. I really need to get my outbursts under control in the future, unless I want to look like a complete amateur and get myself seen when I obviously don't want to be. Then again, I also prefer an open fight just as much as a silent one.” “Hey… w-wait for me, captain!” I heard Gear call out as we immediately began to race back towards Canterlot as fast as my wings could carry me. “I WILL get to the bottom of this, even if I have to lock up all of Cloudsdale for it. I don’t care whether the princesses like it or not. This does NOT sit well with me, and I want answers ASAP.” “I am definitely going to get to the bottom of this, one way or another, or so help me.”
Chapter 17: Under Siege by Fuzzy-Eared PoniesChapter 17: Under Siege by Fuzzy-Eared Ponies Edited by: Chrome Masquerade Proofread by: Soul Fire, Midnight Gear “Well… last night was a pretty… interesting one, I suppose. Though what it lead to was me having to wake up in the middle of the night… which really screwed with my body (my NEW body, no less!) for some reason. Because now, I feel like crap and not well rested at all.” I thought as finally woke up with a yawn. I sat myself up and began rubbing my eyes with a hoof before looking over to the tiny clock next to me. “7:34 am… pretty normal wake-up time for me, even in this new body of mine.” I muttered as I started to gently roll myself off the bed. I got onto all fours as I grabbed my glasses. I decided to just leave my hat and scarf alone for today as I wasn’t really in a mood to go outside anyway, regarding the fact that I was still feeling somewhat tired thanks to last night. You would imagine that being in a new body would have eliminated the problem of still feeling off if you somehow don’t sleep through the night on one go, but nope that seems to be not the case at all, as the previous annoying problem I had back in my world still persist in this world as well…somehow. I opened the door of my room and stepped outside… or more like dragged myself out the right corridor of this home and casually made my way to the bathroom. After having done my morning ritual I began to wash my face in front of the sink and dried myself with a towel that was hanging nearby. With all of that done I simply began to stare at the reflection in front of me as i usually do almost every morning now, observing my new features as usual as i still somewhat have problems fully believing the fact that I am a pony now while also mentally recapping everything that happened last night. “Something was tracking my magic, according to Silver, and after he so forcefully woke me up he told me that he would take care of everything else.” I mentally recited as the memory of what happened last night fully returned. What exactly was tracking me to begin with? Was it a pony, a dragon, a gryphon? Or even some sort of villain, maybe Discord or something else? Though to be honest Discord couldn’t possibly be the suspect here, since it’s still waaay too early for him to be freed. I mean, Nightmare Moon was only 6 days ago now, so it really can’t be. “If it wasn’t Discord then who could it possibly have been?” I muttered to myself. “Well at least whatever Silver did seems to have worked, I wasn’t kidnapped and am still here and breathing.” I thought to myself as I moved away from the mirror and made my way over to the kitchen. One of the reasons (I guess) that I didn’t get much sleep last night was probably because I felt too worried and paranoid to even fall asleep in the first place. I think it took me like, 2 hours and a half to finally fall to the sensation of sleep automatically. “Stupid Silver, stupid magic and stupid Alicorn senses. All of those just seem to producing more and more problems in state of fixing them, and yet still not a centimeter closer to finding answers and finding a way back home as well.” I thought as I spotted Flitter cooking in the kitchen, as she usually does. She spotted me and greeted me with a friendly smile. “Good morning, Nava! How was your night?” She asked cheerfully before going back to cooking. I sighed as I sat myself on a chair that was near her. “Not… really good.” I basically answered. “Really? What happened?” She asked while she was still focused on her cooking. I sighed again while resting my head on my left hoof and rubbing my forehead with the other. “Magic related, that’s all I can say.” I simply replied with a yawn. That though quickly made Flitter stop whatever she was occupied with and looked at me with both a shocked and worrisome expressions. “Se-seriously? Me and Cloud haven’t felt anything unusual last night. Were you ok? What happened?” She asked all concerned. Again, God bless her habit of worrying and caring for others, especially those she seems to hold dear, which I have somehow (thankfully) become part of. Though one mental debate still existed. “Should I tell her the truth, or should I not?” I mentally mulled. I shook my head. “You know what, No, I SHOULD tell her the truth because building trust with one another comes by telling each other the truth first. Besides, hiding mayor things like those from them won’t be beneficial for neither of us and will just make things even more problematic in the end then needed.” I decided mentally before fully facing her to tell her everything that happened last night. From the manifestation of my magic being a sapient individual named Silver to my supposedly close encounter with… something or someone who was tracking my magic last night. At the end of it I sighed as I went back on resting my head onto the counter while Flitter looked somewhat lost and thoughtful after my explanation. Seriously, though, I was more prepared to have her look at me funny for stating that my magic was sapient within my mind and that I was able to converse with my magic self whenever I sleep, not to look thoughtful as if she were actually believing and buying my story. But then again I am an Alicorn, who can’t fly or use magic AND who just recently suffered from a magical surge that caused city wide disaster...well a disaster in ponies terms at least. I mean heck, even for ME anything seems to be possible at this point, if I somehow managed to magically give birth to a changeling or gryphon then… well, so be it, I guess. Again, I am currently the physical embodiment of magic as an alicorn pony here, so really, what else could possible surprise me at this point? Magic is a force that is still not fully understood,not even close, even to this day, according to all the books I have read so far. So really, when it comes to magic everything seems to be possible here, and that thought alone is actually worrisome and concerning, to be honest, because that just means that more unexpected surprises are just going be the norm from now on and judging by the last surprise I had to go through regarding magic in general, then yes. Yes I have every reason to feel worried about this. “Well…” Flitter began before the sound of the main door opening assaulted our ears. We both turned ourselves around and were a bit surprised to see none other than Cloud entering the living room. “Cloud… what the? I thought you went to work this morning? Why did you come back?” Flitter asked, confused, which was somewhat mimicked by me since I learned of their work schedule a few days back. Cloud simply trotted over to us before dropping her saddlebags onto the floor besides the counter. “Well the reason why is because of the weirdest thing I have seen in years.” She replied with a sigh as she sat herself down on a chair. “What do you mean?” Flitter asked again. “Well…” She began as she rubbed her hind legs together. “The entire neighborhood is surrounded and patrolled by a bunch of gray, bat winged, sharped toothed, and predatory-eyed ponies in armor.” She explained which made both me and her sister raise an eyebrow at that. “Oh, and also according to them, nopony is currently allowed to enter or exit the district and are instructed to stay indoors. Which is why I came back in the first place… .not that I was intimidated by these sharp toothed ponies or anything.” She also added which made Flitter look at her even more suspiciously while I began to think on her explanation. “Bat winged, sharp toothed and predatory-eyed ponies? I know those. I think the show described them as simple bat ponies, or Thestrals in other sources.” I thought to myself as a realization promptly entered me. “Wait… is it possible that it was one of THEM that Silver was talking about last night? It has to be, otherwise why the heck would they be here blocking off an entire section of the city like that? The section where I happen to live in.” “Well this than just got a whole lot more serious than I originally expected. I always knew that the government was going to show up to investigate the magical phenomenon that I created sooner or later, but I always thought that it was going to be the more golden clad day guards and not the night guards that would investigate this. Also, it’s in the middle of the day as well which just makes it ironic.” I finished my musing. This really had gotten a lot worse than I originally imagined, even more so because i have a strange feeling that these guys are going to be vastly more serious than there golden clad counterparts. If Cloud Chaser’s story is right then I basically have an entire legion of Thestrals breathing down my neck, ready to bite it! This is a serious, serious issue now! What exactly is going to happen if they DO find me? To be honest I don’t know, but what I DO know is that I will ’100%’ be presented to the princess, and she’ll see that there is an UNKNOWN alicorn running loose in her kingdom, and then at that point all bets are off, because again I have absolutely no idea how my fate is going to go. It could go all rosy as far as the show itself is concerned, but it has been already proven time and time again that THIS is NOT the show, this is a real world with its own real events and possibilities that are surprisingly similar to that of mine. Which honestly makes me even more wary and determined to stay away from them. Never really liked those two in the show and I am sure that I won’t like them here either. WHY? I have my reasons, simple as that. I shook my head. Getting all panicky on this isn’t really going to help anyone, especially me. Plus, doing so will most likely just get me caught even faster, so I need to approach this calmly and think this through. The obvious first hand on solution would be to simply stay in the house and keep my jacket on indoors at all times. Beyond that… well, I am not yet sure. Again need to discuss this with the two sisters when I can, IF Cloud’s report is true or not, because as far as I heard from Flitter before, she does have the tendency in the past to sometimes make out some really bizarre and silly stories just to skip over her responsibilities. Something I actually believe after having known her for this long. “It’s true, I swear… I am not trying to skip work this time.” I heard Cloud reply as I faded back into reality. I shook my head again, as I watched these two argue once again in front of me. “Yeah sure. Sharp toothed ponies my flank. That has to be the most ridiculous cover story I have heard from you so far.” Flitter replied with a glare. Cloud Chaser at this point seemed to get pretty frustrated as she threw up her arms and started to whine. “ARRRGH, NO! for the LAST time I am NOT making it up! In fact, I can prove it too. Just… just look out the front window in our living room and tell me if I am still lying or not. There was actually a patrol of six trotting up our street when I came in, and I bet that they are still there as well, since I also saw them knocking on doors and questioning ponies.” Cloud announced as she quickly got up from her chair and made her way over to the living room herself, beckoning the two of us to follow her. We did so as and followed her towards the large front window of the living room. Cloud immediately began to carefully look past the curtain before flinching back and turning back around to face the two of us. “They are actually just across the street now. Be careful or they might think suspiciously of us and knock on our door next.” Cloud whispered before she stepped away from the window. Flitter sighted. “This better be true or I am NOT going to cook dinner for you for a week.” She replied in a deadpan manner as she moved towards the window and slowly parted the curtains aside. I quietly followed her as I peered out the small slit with her. My eyes rapidly went wide at what I saw. Cloudchaser was right all along! Outside, just across the street in front of our neighbors’ house were 6 bat ponies, two mares and four stallions all clad in the familiar looking night guard armor that I am familiar with, which also quickly meant that my previous theories were correct and I was in deep trouble right now. Both me and Flitter slowly retreated from the window in complete silence as she carefully moved the curtains back together. She turned over to Cloud as she began to rub the back of her neck. “Well…I guess I owe you than an apology, Cloud. You weren’t lying after all. “She apologized while pawning the ground awkwardly. “Apology accepted.” Cloud replied smugly and turning up her nose, which only made me shake my head at her milking it. After a while of silence Flitter spoke up again. “Well… what are we going to do now?” She asked as she looked up between me and Cloud. Cloud shrugged. “Don’t know, but I do have a feeling that all of this might have something to do with our stud over here.” She suggested as both she and Flitter suddenly gave me their full attention. I started to uncomfortably fidget a bit in their gaze and thought of something to say. Though that got quickly dashed out as a knock on the door quickly made all three of us jump in surprise. “This is Sergeant Hawk of the night guard. Please open this door. We have a few questions to ask.” A deep and rough sounding voice announced from the other side, making all three of us go stiff and quiet. “Shit… they’re already here. What am I going to do? They are definitely going to be interested in me, presumably being the only “Unicorn” in a city full of Pegasi.” I thought to myself in panic which was mirrored by both sisters as well as they looked at me. “Crap… what now?” Cloud whispered as the knocking continued at the door. “Hello? Canterlot night guard here. Cooperate and open this door. We are just here to ask a few basic questions, so there is nothing for you to worry about.” the same muffled voice announced again which really didn’t help the pressure all three of us were now exposed too. Out of the blue Flitter suddenly grabbed me by the hoof and started quietly dragging me away from the door and around the corner left corner of the house. “What are you doing?” I whispered as we stopped in front of a set of stairs that I had long since learned lead down into a basement. She hushed me before she moved close to me to whisper something into my ear. “You are just going to stay here and stay quiet, obviously. If they ever asked for a house search you are going to quickly sneak into the basement and lock it with this.” She explained as she suddenly pulled out a small key from her mane with her left wing. The fact that she was hiding a small key in her mane was already raising questions, but those were quickly drowned out by another set of knocks from the door and bringing me back to the seriousness of our situation. I looked at her with a questionable look. “Wa-wait…you two are going to stand up to me? Against your government and possibly risk everything if it backfires?” I whispered in slight disbelief. I knew these two cared for me a lot, but never would I have thought that they would go as far as lying to a bunch of armed guards who could very easily arrest them and drag them away on the spot if they suspected anything fishy of them. Flitter simply nodded as she promptly handed (or, rather, hoofed) me the key before she casually trotted back around the corner. “I’m coming I’m coming.” She called out as she disappeared back into the living room. I heard her open the door and converse with the guards who were standing on the other side. “Sorry for the long wait, I was in the washroom.” Flitter lied to them in a surprisingly calm and normal tone which I honestly didn’t expect of her. I began to swivel my ears in the direction of the conversation while trying to keep quiet as instructed, clutching the key in between my hoof and hoped that Flitter had a plan if things would go South. Thanks to my now really good pony ears (or Alicorn ears, I have yet to know) I was still able to listen to the conversation. “Well, what about your sibling over there?” I heard the guard pony asked. “Let’s hear how Cloud handles the pressure. Hope she can think of a believable backup story.” I thought nervously as I mentally crossed my fingers (hooves) for her. I could hear Cloud trot up before answering the guard in a nervous sounding voice which immediately set off alarm bells in my head as she spoke. “Well…I so…sorry but…I was just kind of scared to… open it when I… first saw you guys through the window. I am sorry for the… delay as well.” Cloud explained to my surprise, especially with how well her stuttering nervous tone helped her explanation as well. Of all this time I have come to know Cloudchaser as a pony, acting as a coward was really one of the last things I imagine she would ever do, and she just did it for ME, to cover me up in exchange for some of her pride, which she sometimes like to put on a pedestal. Or she actually was intimidated by them, who knows, but at least it did the job… or I like to believe it did the job, since I was still waiting for the guardspony’s reply, which by the way were some of the longest few seconds of my upturned life, as I was greeted with utter silence after Cloud’s explanation. I tensed up when the guard finally replied. “Well, don’t worry miss. It’s actually not the first time ponies were too scared to even cooperate with us. We Thestrals are… quite intimidating looking for you Equestrians. So no surprise or disrespect there.” The guard finally answered which made me sigh internally in relief. “Thank god these ponies are literally scared of almost everything.” I thought to myself as the exchange continued between the three. The guard asking questions regarding the incident and if they knew anything about it or had any clues on its source or owner. And with both Flitter and Cloud (mostly Flitter) telling him lies about not knowing anything and even coming up some possible ideas (which were also lies) of what it could have been and so on. After a short while though the conversation finally drew to a close as both Flitter and the guard finally did their final remarks. “Well, again, sorry for the intrusion miss Flitter, we are just very concerned for the safety of Equestria’s citizens, which is why we are conducting these actions. We can promise that normal day to day activities will resume soon once we have make sure that Cloudsdale is safe from any future disturbances. Have a nice day.” The guard say before I heard a set of hoofsteps moving away and the front door closing. I could hear both Flitter and Cloud sigh in relief as I carefully dared to peek my head around the corner to see if the coast was really clear or not. Thankfully it was, as I finally let go of a breath that I could swear I wasn’t holding as I made my way back into the living room. “Well that was somewhat nerve-racking.” Flitter commented while rubbing her forehead. I couldn’t have agreed more. Cloud nodded as she seemed to be on the edge still. “Yay! I didn’t know that you were such a good liar, sis. That’s normally my job.” Cloud added with a small chuckle at the end. “Yeah, I am pretty surprised as well. But I think you still hold that title pretty well with that wonderful performance you did in looking and acting all scared of him and such.” Flitter praised back which made Cloud’s chuckle turn into a more awkward one. “Yeah… that was… totally acting back there. Let’s go with that. Heh heh…” She replied sheepishly while rubbing the back of her neck and looking away. Flitter and I simply chuckled which turned Cloud’s cheeks red as she looked off and huffed from the embarrassment. “Thanks for…well standing up for me like that. You… you have just been… amazing to me since we met and… I just can’t thank you two enough for it.” I sincerely said as I smiled at them. Flitter smiled back. “Hey no problem, that’s what we are here for anyway. We wouldn’t have done it if we didn’t know that you are a good pony deep down, which you are.” She explained while placing a hoof onto my shoulder before continuing. “Whatever you did wasn’t really your fault, and was in fact completely out of your control and understanding, and I just couldn’t stand by and watch you get punished for something you weren’t really responsible for, so I decided to do something.” Flitter finished sincerely which made my smile go even wider than it already was. “Again… thank you.” I replied again. “No problem at all, that’s what friends are for.” She replied as she removed herself from my shoulder. It was than when Cloud stepped in and sniffing the air as if something was up or something. “Hey… uh, sis? Did... did you leave something on in the kitchen? Because… I can definitely smell something that shouldn’t be here.” Cloud commented. Flitter quickly went to panic mode as a stroke of realization suddenly hit her. “OH MY GOSH!! THE MILK RICE I WAS COOKING EARLIER!! I TOTALLY FORGOT!” She shouted before watching her zip back into the kitchen. I simply stood there as a sudden tap on my shoulder caused me to turn my head and saw that it was Cloud standing next to me smiling. “Hey, as Flitter said, we got your back. Even when I have to shed some of my dignity for it, you’re totally worth it in my opinion.” Cloud announced as she playfully knocked me on my shoulder. I smiled at her. “Thanks, that was really great of you as well. I am slowly sinking more and more in debt to you two, considering how many times and ways you just make my time here a lot easier to wade through.” I admitted while rubbing my shoulder. “Don’t worry yourself about that. As my sister already said, it’s what friends are for.” She responded with a wink before trotting off into the kitchen herself. I simply shook my head, ignoring the little wink she did as I too decided to head back into the kitchen to witness the mess that poor Flitter probably had to deal with now as a thought suddenly hit me. "Wait…I just remembered. What the heck was that lullaby again that Cloud hummed for me a few days back?" I thought as I entered the kitchen. “Darn it. Flitter, you burned breakfast.” Cloud announced which made me shake my head in amusement at the deadpan look Flitter was giving her for that. “Still...i am still very much surrounded by an army of fluffy eared ponies who want me… well, want me in chains, at least. I am still in very deep shit as we speak. Well… something like this was bound to happened anyway. Fucking OP Alicorn magic. ……………………………………………………………………………………… “Well… let’s see if I can crash at Flitter and Cloud’s place tonight, could save me allot of bits for a hotel if I can.” I muttered to myself as I trotted along the streets. Today I was forced to yet again take another trip to the central weather office, but this time having to attend some boring-ass meeting with all the other weather captains from all across Equestria, talking about stuff that we already knew anyway, and by the looks of it I wasn’t the only pony there thinking that. “What a waste of bucking time. Time I could have used for training, sleeping, or, dare i say, do my actual bucking job.” I thought, annoyed. “But hey at least it’s all done now and I can just finally…” I halted as I rounded a corner. “What the…?” I said completely stumped at the scene presented in front of me. There was a large crowd of ponies in front of me, arguing and standing in a semi circling around something in front of them, by the looks of it. I trotted closer to them as I noticed some very strange looking ponies standing above the roofs of some buildings looking down at me with surprisingly unnerving-looking cat like eyes, watching my every move as I slowly got closer to the crowd. “What do you mean the Cloud District is currently closed?” I heard a pony shout as I arrived at the back. I tried to stretch my neck to see what the heck was going on,but being a mare also does have its disadvantages, as bitterly as I feel having to admit it. One of which is being obviously shorter compared to stallions which really didn’t help with the fact that almost everypony standing at the back with me was indeed a stallion. I would just easily fly over them as I usually do, but a really deep feeling told me that if I ever tried that stunt with those weird… predatory ponies above me I would have a serious problem on my hooves. So I just decided to listen on, and hope that doing so would give me all the information I need to understand what the hay seems to be the problem here. “I am sorry sir, but individuals that are not residents of the Cloud district are prohibited from entering this part of the city while investigations are still underway.” I heard a deep and muscular voice reply which was met with somepony’s groan, probably the same guy who complained earlier. “But I have to! My cousin lives in there and i have to talk to him about-” I heard the same stallion argue back before he was quickly cut off by the guard (I would say). “Sir I already told you that non-residentials are NOT allowed to enter the cloud district until investigations have finished. Now I would suggest all of you ponies leave this check point at once before I have my fellow Thestrals DRAG you off instead!” I heard him repeat himself this time in a very annoyed and slightly angry tone which basically took everypony including me by surprise. “Geez, what the hay is suddenly up with this guy.” After that the crowd quickly dissipated, leaving only me standing in the middle of the road with the guard pony now fully visible in front of me who was guarding the bridge. I simply smiled nervously at him and his two buddies as their eyes finally fell upon me as well. Their leader (the one who was the talking earlier i would guess) was even looking quite annoyed at me. I hate to admit it, but these guys were intimidating, FAR more so than the normal golden armored guards that I have mostly seen. Probably has something to do with the fact that they all look predatory. Catlike eyes, long sharp fangs, leathery wings instead of normal feathered ones and overall a very dark tone and theme to them. I also could have sworn that one of them, for a second, was actually eying me hungrily, not in a naughty perverted kind of way but ACTUALLY seeing me as prey. Which really didn’t help my enthusiasm at all. “I suggest you leave just like all the other ponies. As I said nobody crosses these checkpoints unless they are….” The lead guy began before he was stopped by one of his goons as he started to whisper something into his puffy ears. Seriously, you would think that something so fluffy looking would make somepony look adorable or even downright ridiculous. But these guys simply shatter that with everything else that is basically going on with them. Again these are some of the strangest ponies -if they are even ponies- I have ever seen. Never in my life have I seen ponies that seem to perfectly mimic the look of vamponies so closely. In fact… now that I think about it they might actually BE VAMPONIES! At least that explains the predatory look and feel around them. But then again, if they are, how the hay can they even stay out in the middle of the day anyway? Don’t they naturally (or at least according to folklore) burn at the first touch of sunlight? I honestly don’t know and I honestly couldn’t even care less at the moment. Because I was surrounded by them with one of them seeming to stare directly into my soul as if I was its next meal…the snarls and low growls don’t help either. I shook my head, standing proud and making myself look as tough looking as possible by spreading my wings and puffing out my chest. Though that action quickly gave me an even harder more serious glare from all the other… bat-ponies on the roofs which quickly melted any confidence I might have gather just a few seconds ago. Only internally, I might add, as I was still trying to look somewhat strong from the outside regardless. It was then when the silent conversation between these two shadow guys finally ended as the lead guy again looked at me. “Are you by any chance Rainbow Dash, the newly so called element of Loyalty and one of the defeaters of Nightmare Moon?” He demanded while still eyeing me more calmly. Again… normally I would be boasting, just like I have been doing to anypony who asked the same question or called me out to be one of the new Elements of Harmony themselves. But these guys here were making it very hard for me to even stay optimistic about myself for a second in the way they seem to be eyeing me carefully, that and the fact that again one of them looked ready to pounce me at any moment, one of them even holding a hoof in front of him presumably to stop him if he ever tried. “Ye-yeah?” I casually answered and to my utter surprise (and slight relief) was meant with a nod from him as he lazily stepped to the side. “You can enter if you want.” He casually announced before he glared at me again. “BUT that doesn’t mean that you won’t be arrested if you are ever caught doing anything that might be viewed as disturbance or disruptions to our operations. So keep your hooves to yourself.” He added strongly before his features quickly softened again and gave me a hoof sign that I could cross the bridge. I was a bit hesitant for a moment but eventually nodded as I carefully trotted past him and his two wing-ponies to cross the bridge. Once I entered the district on the other side I was immediately greeted with even MORE of these night guard goons. Left and right patrolling and flying over the streets, in groups or just simply standing somewhere with spears, shields and other equipment that looked far more maintained and serious compared to their guard counterparts. They might even look ready for war, now that I think about it. “Jeez, is there some kind of upcoming war that I am not aware of? Or is it already over and they have now occupied a large chunk of the city now?” I continued my trot through the streets, ignoring and moving past a few patrols here and there while getting a few stares from them in the process before I finally reached the place I was planning to go since the beginning. Cloud Chaser and Flitter’s oversized home. Surprisingly though, there weren’t any guards on the street that the two Pegasus sisters occupied, which was a nice change of look and… feel, since I was finally away from all the suspicious stares I had been getting before getting here. “Maybe they know what the buck is going on here.” I muttered as I trotted up the front porch and began knocking on the door. ……………………………………………………………………………………… “Ugh… getting yourself clean with fur on your body is much harder than it seems, especially when a certain Pegasus splashes me with a mug of hot and sticky chocolate milk.” I thought to myself as the hot shower did its job in calming my nerves on everything that has been happening lately to me. I mean seriously, first my magic goes all apeshit, nearly causes a city wide Armageddon and nearly busting my head open in the process, than unsurprisingly the government shows up starts blockading the entire west part of the city in search of me, and now Cloudchaser somehow managed to spill my coat with sugary and very sticky chocolate and almost getting some of that onto my hat as well. By the way, did I even mention that it was bloody hot as well? The Hat is the only thing (besides my scarf and glasses) I have to remember my home with and the life I have permanently or hopefully momentarily lost since coming here. I will be crushed to see it get ruined or, even worse, lost. Plus, if its magical properties are to go by as well, I would be losing far more than just a hat. Again, a lot of things I would be DAMNED to lose at this point. “The hot chocolate still stings under my fur… Jeez that stuff was hot. How they hell was Cloud going to drink that, anyway?” I thought out loud as I poked the belly and… crotch area where it all landed, still looking somewhat red and feeling quite sore. “Thank God it missed my… well, you know.” The shower, though, did a very good job in numbing the pain while also relaxing my still chaotic mind and nerves. I personally have always liked showers, I would always stay in them far longer than it was necessary to just enjoy the warmth and relaxing feeling of it. Sure I would always waste a lot of water by doing so, but hey, it’s my thing, I guess. Plus, who can really deny the fact that taking a hot nice shower after a long and stressful day (or in my case…a few days in a row, in which I guess can be a good justification in staying in the shower just a few minutes longer than needed.) can feel like a true godsend, Another thing that still surprises me every freaking time is just how easy and natural it felt in cleaning myself with hooves. Using them to squeeze shampoo onto my noggin and wash my mane with them, to using liquid soap and rubbing it all over my furry body and how flexible both my forelegs -and by extension front hooves- generally were. Sure, I can’t properly grab something with them the same way I could with hands, but still, in terms of movement and flexibility, they seem to be almost on par with human arms and knuckles. After a few more minutes of cleaning up and simply relishing in the bliss of the warm water I stepped out of the shower, turning it off in the same way Flitter once showed me. “Huh. Got pretty good at it really quickly I have to say.” I dried myself up with a pre-prepared towel before exiting the bathroom. Both my fur, mane and tail were still all messy, but I really didn’t care about details like those, especially since brushing yourself alone without magic or someone’s aid was difficult and awkward as all heck, even more so when you consider the fact that certain… areas need to be brushed as well, like the flanks and the tail. Which turned out to be a real awkward blush fest for both Flitter and I during the first time she had to help me with that. Cloud, of course found that amusing every step of the way. Well, until she had to do it herself after Flitter simply called her over. Though, for some reason, when she was brushing me instead of her sister, I always secretly caught her staring at my flank when she thought nobody was looking. Did she… maybe develop some sort of interest in me? Well… only time can tell, I guess. Shrugging at these thoughts I made my way over to the living room while still drying my mane with a free hoof. “Hey, uh… Flitter? Could you maybe help me again with-” I announced before stopping in my tracks as I entered the living room, being greeted by a certain pony I was not expecting at all. “R-rainbow Dash?” I asked surprised as I spotted the mare sitting on a couch with both Cloud and Flitter. “Oh hey, Nava! How are you? I am here because of….” RD began before her eyes immediately went wide as her gaze fell upon me. I looked at her a bit confused at first before a realization suddenly hit me. I am completely naked, no hat, no scarf and most importantly no jacket. I was completely exposed in front of either the last or first pony I ever wanted to get myself exposed in front of! “Shit shit shit shit shit!!!” Was the only thought running through my brain as I simply stood there, the relaxation I got from the shower completely gone and out of the window at this point as I desperately tried to come up with some kind of good or, hell, ANY excuse for me having wings… and ultimately failing at it. “Uh… Hi Dash.” I greeted with a very awkward smile and waved of my hoof which unfortunately broke her out from her shocked state. “Dude… you have BUCKING WINGS??!!” “Well… the problems have just been doubled.”
Chapter 18: Home free...almost Chapter 18: Home free… almost Edited by: Chrome Masquerade Proofread by: Rhawkas Well, this has to easily be the WORST day of my life, or more specifically, the worst WEEK of my life. First, my Magic creates chaos and almost splits my head in two while doing so. Second, an entire Thestral army gets dispatched to search for me and bite me in the ass with their razor sharp fangs, and third, I left myself to get exposed in front of Rainbow Dash, perhaps the worst possible moment where I can get myself exposed in. In the middle of a pony hunt where I am currently playing as the prey! “Note to self, always make sure to fully dry yourself off before exiting the bathroom and bring some clothes with you to change into afterwards.” But all of that is really irrelevant for now, as I still have the more immediate problem of explaining myself to perhaps one of the loudest ponies in the show, right behind Pinkie of course, with the irony being that it is much easier (at least to my knowledge) to force Pinkie Pie to keep a secret in comparison to Rainbow Dash. “I just hope RD can take it a little bit easier compared to Cloud and Flitter’s first reactions... Actually, come to think of it, they DID take it a lot easier than I originally expected. Great… that just makes this whole RD situation even more problematic.” I thought to myself as Dash was still looking at me as if I had just grown a second head… or a pair of wings, as the case may be. Flitter and Cloud were having their own reactions to this as well, but obviously not as extreme as Dashie’s, with Cloud simply shaking her head while Flitter’s expression was simply buried under a set of hooves. This is by far one of the biggest fuckups I’ve ever made, period, and all I did to achieve it was simply getting out of the shower. BRILLIANT! Just makes me wonder how far I can go when I am actually trying… Actually, let’s not. “Uh…Dash… I… I can explain…” I began as I dropped the towel. “Dude… how long?” Dashi responded while staring at me dumbstruck. “You mean the wings?” “Yeah… the freaking wings.” she deadpanned, rolling her eyes. “Well, um…” I began while shifting a bit awkwardly in place. “Since the… very beginning to be honest.” I replied while smiling sheepishly at her. She simply shook her head, probably trying to get herself out of her dumbstruck state before glaring back at me, a look that was really not making things easier, I might add. “So, you are telling me you have been an alicorn this entire time, similar to the princesses themselves?” She asked while still seeming somewhat in disbelief. “Um… well… kind of, but at the same time… not really.” I replied simply, which wasn’t really a complete lie as I was only an alicorn since the very beginning of my time on this world. RD, in comparison, just stared at me, utterly confused by my answer. After a moment, an idea seemed to have suddenly struck her, as she stood up with wide eyes. “Wait a min… it was you wasn’t it?” She accused as she got closer to me. “What do you mean?” I asked nervously as she was just inches away from my face. “The magical incident here in Cloudsdale.” She answered before continuing. “I read all about it in a newspaper that a strange and unknown magical phenomenon occurred here two days back. It was you, wasn’t it?” She asked again, this time with a more serious look and tone. I looked at her, my eyes wide as I started to sweat. To be honest, I was very much surprised to see that RD had somehow made that connection so quickly. I mean, it’s not really that difficult if you suddenly find out that one of your friends is actually an alicorn and just so happens to live right in the area where this phenomenon supposedly occurred. Just put two and two together and you’ve got a pretty good case on the table. But the fact that RD of all ponies managed to get it done so freaking quickly after being completely dumbstruck just a few moments ago is really something. Or am I just being a bit of a jerk and not giving her enough credit for her own intelligence? She has already proven to me before that she is not 100% similar to the Rainbow Dash I know from the show. She is actually quite smart and does think more, at times, before she says or acts on anything. Not as painfully brash or do I dare say… retarded as the Rainbow Dash I have seen and read of on both the internet and in fanfics. What am I even doing here? I have a real serious situation on my hands (or hooves, as the case may be now) and I once again let my own mind wander off into other places. I never learn, do I? I shake my head just as I always do to get my unfocused mind back into the game as I was still being stared down by a not-very-pleased-looking Rainbow Dash. Both Flitter and Cloud were about to step in but got quickly halted by Dash holding out a hoof in front of them, never breaking eye contact with me. “No. I want to hear it from HIM.” She coldly stated, which took both the mares and myself by complete surprise. I don’t know where this sudden switch of focus in her came from, but what I do know is that there is no path around this, judging by the stern glare she’s giving me. I inhaled and exhaled quietly to calm myself, to collect my thoughts and prepare myself for a talk I already knew would have come up at some point no matter what. Though to be honest, I never ever imagined that it would be this soon or in this kind of situation while blowing my cover so quickly in the most stupid way possible. “Yes… yes, it was me.” I finally admitted while trying to avoid her gaze. “But… But I was an accident, I swear. I… I didn’t do it on purpose. I didn’t even have any control at the time, for that matter. You… you can ask Flitter and Cloud to confirm this. They were with me when it happened.” I added in fear of getting her angry and possibly getting my ass handed to me for admitting it. Though, to my surprise, I wasn’t receiving any scolding or hitting from her. What I got instead was simple silence. Though what happened next was what really caused me to flinch back bit as all that greeted me was a neutral looking Dash. “Why?” “Huh?” I asked, confused at this sudden question. “Why didn’t you tell me anything?” She questioned, this time a bit softer and calmer. “About what?” “About everything. The fact that you were an alicorn all along, for example.” She asked once more, a question I honestly wasn’t expecting to hear from her. I was seriously expecting a lot of things after she gave me that serious glare earlier, but simply asking me why I haven’t been fully honest with her definitely wasn’t one of them, and somewhat out of character for her too, when compared to the one I know from my world’s stories. Yes, I know at this point I am just hammering it in, but again I have to say it. This is nothing like the show, or at the very least, under the surface it isn’t. Which, to be honest, makes me both cautious and intrigued at the same time, if that combination makes any sense. “What… what do you mean by that?” I asked again, still completely confused, a look that shared by both sisters behind her as well. “I… honestly don’t know.” RD quietly replied as she, for the first time, avoided my gaze to look at the floor. I was going to reply to that before RD beat me to it by looking back to me. “But still… why the BUCK didn’t you told me from the beginning, Nava?” Was her quick question, though this time I felt a bit more calmer and collected and better prepared to properly answer her. “It never came up. And also because I was afraid of how you would react, that’s why.” I answered her truthfully, which in turn made her look surprised for a change. “Why the hay would you be afraid of my reaction in the first place?” She asked while tilting her head in confusion. I sighed. “I honestly don’t know either. Paranoia, perhaps. It was just… too hard to say.” I admitted before simply rubbing my forehead with a hoof in dejection, feeling truly horrible. To be fair, now that I think back at it, I honestly had no legit reasons on hiding my true appearance for THAT long from her. Sure, during the very start the reasons were pretty understandable, with me having just arrived into this world all lost and confused, and without any concept or sense of guidance, and was still mostly intimidated and suspicious of a lot of things. I mean, I still am, to some degree, but not in the same level I was at the very beginning. Plus I knew of how hostile and suspicious RD can get in both the show and fics I read, especially early RD, long before I even came to this place. But I quickly learned that this world and the show I knew of back home have very distinct differences to one another, heck some of these differences are even mimicking what MY world had going on in the past if any of the history books I read here are anywhere near accurate. I snapped back into reality when a hoof suddenly landed on my shoulder. I looked up and saw that it was RD, and to my surprise she actually looked somewhat concerned for me. Not very noticeably, but I could still tell. “Hey, don’t worry. I mean, you have wings, so what? I don’t think having wings is going to suddenly make you into a different pony. In fact, knowing that one of my friends is actually an alicorn is, to be honest, really, really, cool, now that I think about it.” She explained while looking thoughtful the end before looking back at me with a smile. “Oh, and don’t worry, I won’t tell this to anypony, if that’s what you want, dude.” She quickly added. I was again taken aback by this, but eventually smiled thankfully at her, knowing that despite this outcome and the fact that I deceived her that she was still loyal to me. “Well she IS the element of Loyalty after all.” “Thank you, Dash… and again, I’m sorry for not having trusted you sooner.” I say, which in turn made nod in approval. “Nah, it's totally fine. You had your reasons for it. You're still cool in my books, Nava. Still the same awkward little dork I came to know.” She replied, which in turn made me roll my eyes playfully at the last statement. RD eventually removed her hoof from my shoulder before trotting back onto the couch and letting herself fall back onto it with a sigh, followed by me and the two sisters afterwards. “Well, one problem down and a REALLY big one to go.” I commented, which in turn caused RD to perk up again. “Oh yeah… forgot that you basically have an entire army breathing down your neck. Jeez, that’s really some serious heat you managed to attract onto yourself there.” She commented, which in turn made Cloud Chaser straighten up with a small grin on her face. “Well, I guess that means that somepony has finally trumped you when it comes to ATTRACTING HEAT to themselves.” Cloud Chaser announced with a sly smile, a comment which I quickly understood, as I simply shook my head followed by Flitter facehoofing and RD staring at her with a glare. “Oh shut up you, at least I had one or two coltfriends compared to your zero back then.” RD retorted, which in turn caused Cloud to shut up for now and both me and Flitter to chuckle. Not missing a beat, Flitter said, “You want some ice for that burn, sis?” earning a glare. “Oh, Cloud. Always there to drop a few unnecessary but still sometimes welcoming or funny comments to lighten the mood a bit. Also, I forgot my glasses.” “Hey uh… Nava? Do you still need some help with you mane and fur?” Flitter suddenly asked beside me. “Oh yeah… I am still somewhat of a wet fluffy mess aren’t I? Completely forgot.” I thought as I simply gave her a short nod. “Alright let me just go get the brush than.” Flitter announced before she got up to do just that, leaving me, Dash and Cloud alone in the room. “So… Nava, about your horn and magic?” RD suddenly asked. “Yeah… what about them?” I replied as I looked at her blurry form. “I am just wondering at this point. Do you even know how to control your magic in the first place? Or is there more that you haven’t told me yet?” She questioned. “Well… crap. Might as well tell her everything then, even the ones I know will greatly amuse her, I guess.” “I wonder how she will react when I tell her that I can't actually fly at all…” ……………………………………………………………………………………… “So what you are telling me, Sergeant, is that you haven’t found ANYTHING today?!” I shouted while slamming my hoof down hard on a poor, unfortunate desk. I looked down on it and was not surprised at all to see a deep imprint and very large cracks protruding off of it in all directions. I simply scuffed at it angrily before looking back at the Thestral in front of me. “Still need to remember to replace this table. since it’s not mine. Same for the large warehouse that I so forcefully occupied as a temporary base of operations here.” But that thought could wait as I had vastly more pressing matters to worry about… or more annoying matters, to be more precise, as something rarely gets anywhere near “pressing” to me. The Thestral Sergeant began to shift a little bit under my harsh gaze but still managed to do what I ask of him. “Well, as I said, ma’am, our search parties have currently found nothing and haven’t managed to gather anything useful regarding the possible source or culprit of the Cloudsdale incident. Even the residents themselves, after questioning them, weren’t able to offer any useful information so far. Most of them actually did just run away or hide from our parties and firmly locked the doors of their home. A pretty natural and expected reaction from… a prey species.” My sergeant explained staying as professional and disciplined as expected even as my rising anger was becoming more and more evident to him. “So basically we are still in the same spot in which we started?” I asked while gritting my teeth. The Thestral in front of me simply nodded, which finally broke the camel’s back for me as I immediately slammed my hoof again onto the already damaged desk, completely breaking it in two with the sheer force of my hit. With most of my anger now out, I immediately went back towards my Sergeant who seems to have not moved or even flinched from my sudden outburst. “Good. That’s what I have trained all of my fellow guard’s to do. Show no fear even when I am the source of it.” Where does all of this frustration and anger comes from? Well, for starters, just an hour ago a royal messenger arrived with a letter from both princesses, having learned of my extreme methods of conducting this investigation and have demanded that I withdraw my forces at once. To be honest, I personally couldn’t care less what Sunbutt thinks of my methods and to some degree with Lulu as well, especially regarding my track record of NEVER EVER having lost a trail before and having absolutely no interest of ever adding even ONE to the list. But, a promise of mutual respect I made with Lulu still forces me to honor her wishes, so in turn I am basically forced to disengage the operation before it could even last for a whole freaking DAY. “Much to the joy of the local populace, I am sure. I was originally also planning to have them actively search every single house one by one, but that would have been pushing it.” This situation is really the source of my anger, since it now basically forces me to just suck it up and live with my broken track record. ... Or do I? An idea quickly popped into my head. Just because I am prohibited from using an army to find or capture whatever we are looking for doesn’t mean I can’t just have a much smaller task force keeping an eye on this part of Cloudsdale anonymously. Now that I actually think about it, I should probably have done that from the very beginning and not let my usual anger get the better of my logical thinking. But hey, whatever. Scaring these little ponies was still an interesting distraction from our boredom, which I am sure a lot of my fellow Thestrals could easily agree on. With that idea in mind I went back to facing my Sergeant, much calmer and collected, to his relief, as I can tell by looking at his features. “Call off the platoons. We are closing this operation and returning to Canterlot.” I ordered, which was met with a quick salute to the chest. “Right away, Captain.” He replied before he quickly turned around to carry out my orders. “Oh, and please tell Sergeant Thera to report to me with her squad before I leave. I’ve got a special assignment for her.” I quickly added, to which he nodded before fully exiting the room and leaving me to my own devices. “I will find the source of that… strange force, and not even the princesses themselves will be able to stop me from doing so. They can try, though, if they want.” I thought to myself while looking out a window behind what used to be a desk beside me. “Ah, yes… still need to replace that quickly before I leave too. Midnight Gear better have my Lance ready and done when I get back or I WILL lock him out of his workshop and throw the key somewhere far away where he can’t find it.” ……………………………………………………………………………………… Well, this reaction was expected. Right now Rainbow Dash is looking at me as if I had just told her that I have a twin brother that looks 100% identical to me, which to be honest is actually somewhat true because of Silver Wing. But anyway, it doesn’t matter at the moment, or it normally would, but the relaxing sensation of someone brushing you is just feels so nerve-melting… in a good way, obviously. Now I understand why horses--or in this case ponies--like to be brushed, it really is immensely relaxing. Makes you also wonder how belly rubs and scratching behind the ears feel, but at this point I am just getting ahead of myself. I still have Rainbow Dash to worry about, not to mention an army of carnivorous ponies (or omnivores, more sensibly) patrolling around outside. I blinked to get my head back in the game as RD too seems to be regaining her own control again as she began to shake her head. “Dude… you can’t FLY?” RD repeated a second time. I nodded, which made RD facehoof. “I have absolutely no idea if I should be laughing at this or crying… I just… seriously, Nava, how the HAY can you not fly? You have perfectly good and BIG-looking wings, so how can it be that after all your life you have NOT ever capitalized on them?” Dash asked again once more in both frustration and disbelief. “That’s because I have acrophobia.” At the head tilt I received, I rephrased myself. “I am afraid of heights, ok? That’s why I haven’t bothered all this time to ever learn how to fly. Because me and high places have never seen eye to eye.” I finally admitted with a slight frustrated groan despite the pleasant brushing I was getting from Flitter. Did I also mentioned that I was practically laying belly down on her lap? If it wasn’t for that fact that I was telling RD all of my weaknesses and feeling somewhat frustrated on her constant overreactions I would be feeling a bit more awkward now especially with RD watching me getting groomed by a mare. A grown stallion getting groomed by a mare on her lap… to be honest, I never really bothered in making myself look MANLY anyway… partially because I am a stallion now. Yeah, really bad joke. There is the ”are you freaking kidding me?” look again from Dash, something that she has been using frequently since I accidentally revealed myself to her. She blinked a few times before, for the first time ever, she actually started to fall off the couch laughing as if there was no tomorrow, which might be true for me if any of these guards might happened to be just outside. I know for a fact that these bat-ponies have vastly better ears compared to regular ponies and it would be no surprise if one of them hears this… sudden laughter despite the fact that most ponies are fearful and on the edge around here is going to raise some suspicions among them, which will no doubt lead to further investigations. Though thankfully Flitter--once AGAIN--took the hint before I could voice my own concerns myself. “Dash, not so loud! Or you are going to attract unwanted attention.” She harshly whispered, though I am not sure why she whispered it rather than saying it normally, just like how she and all of us have been talking this entire time. Probably a force of habit. Thankfully though, that did the trick as Dash slowly started to calm down. After a few more chuckles she finally had the strength to get back up as she was still giggling to herself while doing so. “Dude… you… you're hilarious. A pony… with wings… that is afraid of heights! Oh, mare! This is… too good to be true.” She said in between chuckles as she eventually climbed back onto the couch beside Cloud. I simply grumble a bit while rubbing my forehead before looking back at her. “What do you mean by THAT? Fluttershy is the same way, so what makes ME so much more fun to laugh at?” I countered, which was met with a smirk from Dash. “Well, yeah, but the BIG difference here is that she is a mare with a very… complicated past. You… you’re a full grown stallion who ‘as far as I know’ doesn’t have that.” She explained while still holding that grin of hers. “That actually does make sense, to be honest.” Cloud suddenly added, which was quite unnecessary if you ask me. Flitter, as usual, was the only adult in the room as she got in between things once more. “You two, stop it. It’s actually not that rare to meet Pegasi who are or used to be scared of heights themselves. Look at Spitfire, for example. Before she even made the cut to join the Wonderbolts herself she was actually quite nervous whenever she was in the air. Obvious signs of having some fear of heights.” Flitter explained, which the three of us were taken completely by surprise by. Dash was the first to recover from that. “Wait… wait, wait, wait… Spitfire… the captain of the WONDERBOLTS used to be afraid of heights herself? Where the HAY did you got this information from?” Dash asked in disbelief, which was somewhat mimicked by Cloud’s own expression as well. “Well, I read it on an interview article in the Equestrian Weekly magazines.” Flitter answered with a shrug as she was finally done with my coat. I finally got off of her and sat up straight for the first time in the last 15 minutes and stretched myself a little bit to get some of the numbness out of my legs as the topic continued between them. “Seriously? I have never read that.” Cloud chaser commented. “That’s because you hardly read the Equestrian Weekly magazine at all, same for Dash, since she hardly does any reading herself anyway.” Flitter answered which immediately causes Dash to protest. “Hey, I read stuff! Just not the usual stuff like news and gossip magazines and such, I’m not stupid.” RD argued, which in turn made Flitter smirk. “Your grades say otherwise.” Flitter again countered, which in turn made RD frown and cross her hooves as she leaned back. “That has nothing to do with smarts. I just found most of this stuff unnecessary. I know for a fact that I won’t use any of that crap anyway, especially with the goal I had set for myself back then. That is why I actually had pretty good scores in math, science and physics compared to anything else.” She explained, which immediately made me perk up in shock. “Dash actually being pretty good in math, science and physics? Ok, now I am 100% certain that this world is NOT the same as the show! But to be honest, it kind of makes sense for a mare like her, whose goal is to join the Wonderbolts and become an aerial racer and stunt flyer. Those two are very math and physics heavy if you want to do well. The science, though, I’m not so sure.” I thought to myself. Never will I question Dash’s supposed intelligence ever again. At least THIS Dash, that is. “Oh yeah… forgot about those… never mind what I said. Sorry Rainbow.” Flitter admitted, which made Dash nod and smirk victoriously. “Quite amazing in how I seem to get very interesting information without even asking for it.” Though, since I was quite happy that all four of us were having a pretty normal conversation and momentarily forgetting about the dire situation that is still present just outside our door, I still feel the need that IT needs to be brought back up to the surface before we accidentally get careless again. “Uhm… guys there is still the whole ‘army looking for me’ problem just outside our home, so…” I began, which seemed to bring realization back into everyone before I could fully finish my sentence. “Oh, right. You’re still in a very deep hole here.” RD said while scratching the back of her head. The room got very quiet afterwards, with none of us seeming to have any ideas to add. To be honest, what else could be added anyway? It’s not like we four are capable of taking on a whole army… well, maybe I can if I knew how to control my powers, but that would seriously be the worst plan I could possibly execute. For one, it would definitely put me onto the wanted list, which means I would either live the rest of my days on the run or leave Equestria forever, if I can even be safe outside the borders, that is. Plus, afterwards, I would have no other place to go. Worst of all though, I would also be putting both Cloud and Flitter at risk as well, which is something I would never be able to forgive myself for, especially after everything that they have given me. Again, if the only way that all of this could finally meet its end is with me surrendering myself to whoever wants my tail, then I guess I will do it. Mostly just for both Flitter and Cloud’s sakes. And who knows? Maybe my judgment would be tame and I might have been paranoid over nothing this entire time. A distinct possibility. Nope. I have a gut feeling that I would be in a LOT of trouble when they know I exist, so hiding in this house and waiting until this storm passes sounds like a better idea. Yeah, let's go with that. “Well, I could maybe just roam around a bit, unsuspiciously of course and try and get some info or pattern on what, where, and when their patrols are. Then I can escort Nava somewhere where we can sneak out of the district and crash a bit in one of the hotels here in the city until it all blows over, or maybe even go straight for Ponyville for better safety.” RD suddenly suggested which made us all perk up at her. Cloud Chaser was the first to speak up. “That… could work… but it’s also pretty risky. I mean, what if you two suddenly get caught?” Cloud asked, concerned, a question that I was also asking myself after having heard Dash’s idea. Dash simply smirked. “They won’t, I don’t care how many of these guys there are, how good they are in combat or whatever weapons they might be carrying around. In fact, all that crap on them must be pretty heavy which means their speed would be drastically lower compared to a normal Pegasus. Heck, even if they would suddenly ditch all that stuff and pursue us they are still going to be dealing with the FASTEST flyer in all of Equestria.” Dash explained while crossing her hind legs and forelegs while looking smug. “All Nava needs to do is hold on tight and I will do the rest, it's actually not the first time I carried a pony while zipping around in the air, so it’s no biggie.” She quickly added. All three of us simply stared at her, and to be honest I was still feeling very unsure of her plan. “Cloud is right, there is just too much risk involved in this particular plan even IF RD’s abilities are true. There is just one tiny little flaw in this plan of hers. If we do get spotted then they will know exactly who to look for later IF we make it out of the city. Posters of my face will be present all over the land and then my days of living freely will be over. I either just turn myself in or somehow reach the border.” i thought. I was about to speak up when I noticed that during my spacing out RD had gotten off of the couch and was making her way to the front door. “Well, I am going to have a look around then. You three just sit tight and don’t make too much noise.” She announced before opening the door and stepping out. ”No! WAIT! DASH!” I called out as I stood up but before I could even reach the halfway point the door closed, leaving me and the two sisters alone in the living room. “Nava, why did you panic like that? Is something wrong?” Flitter asked as she trotted over beside me with a worried look, followed by Cloud who flanked me from the other side. I looked between them. “Well it’s just that-” I began before the front door suddenly opened again. All three of us tensed up as we thought the worst, but sighed when it was just Rainbow Dash again, stepping back inside looking quite… surprised? “Hey, Dash? Uh… why did you came back so quickly?” Cloud asked, a question both Flitter and I had on our minds as well. RD looked between the three of us before answering. “The Bat-ponies are leaving.” She simply answered, sounding and looking very surprised. We instantly mimicked her expression. “What? What do you mean by that?” I asked. “It means that the streets are empty and that they seem to be flying back to Canterlot, if the direction of their takeoff is anything to go by. Large groups of these guys are taking off as we speak. Take a look outside and see for yourself.” Dash explained before opening the door and beckoning us to come outside. Cloud and Flitter both went, as for myself, I decided to just use the windows instead for safety reasons. I gently moved the curtains to the side and, wouldn’t you know it, Dash was right. From my position I could clearly see squads upon squads of Thestral guards taking off and flying east, where Canterlot presumably is. I was in a slight state of disbelief, but was also relieved as I watched them all take off one by one and swiftly disappear over the rooftops of neighboring buildings. Is this it? Did I somehow get lucky once more? Or was this somehow Silver’s doing again and I just didn’t notice? “Nava, you lucky bastard.” I heard Rainbow Dash comment from outside as we all continued to just stand there and watch the unexpected departure of the Thestral army. “Lucky bastard indeed.”
Chapter 19: Training Montage for Old and New /Chapter Chapter 19: Training Montage for Old and New/ Edited by: Chrome Masquerade Proofread by: Midnight Gear “Are you sure that I should be learning how to fly… this soon?” I asked nervously while scraping the dirt below me with my hoof. “THIS SOON? What the… you’re already a full grown stallion I would say it’s about high bucking time that you get these wings some air.” Dash retorted, though she wasn’t really aware of the fact that I really only had my wings for like just over 3 weeks or so. It has already been a couple of days since the whole “Getting swarmed by Thestrals” incident back in Cloudsdale which, according to Flitter, is now the second most engrossing paper story of the year followed right after the Cloudsdale magic disaster that happened before it, and knowing that I was basically responsible for both of them... It did NOT made me feel very proud about that “presumably” legendary achievement. After that though, Rainbow Dash had declared that she was going to make me “learn how to fly and get rid of that fear of heights” her personal mission which is WHY me, Dash, and even the two Pegasus sisters are now on an open grassy meadow just a few kilometers away and below Cloudsdale. How did we get down here you may ask? Well, let’s just say that it involved a blindfold, a strong mare who didn’t take no for an answer and A LOT of screaming and almost losing my breakfast. Saying that I was quite upset in the end afterwards was an understatement, it took Dash a whole 30 minutes to get me to even look at her. Surprisingly though it was Cloud this time who eventually helped me to calm down before I finally agreed on the idea that today was going to be my first ever lesson in becoming a bird. Which then leads us to the here and now, my annoyance quickly getting replaced with nervousness as I just realized what I have just gotten myself into. Though to be honest, the look Dash was giving me told me that my options were…pretty much nonexistent. She was going to teach me how to fly even if it was going to cost her sanity… which might actually have some levity to it. She began to carefully circle around me as I casually stood there, probably observing my wings and muscles on my back where my wings are obviously attached too. She even went so far as to grabbing one of my wings and pulling on them a bit, which was rather uncomfortable, to be honest. She started to hum to herself in thought before trotting back in front. “Oh, mare. We are going to have a lot of work to do.” She muttered to herself before looking back at me with a bit of a sigh. “Ok… let’s just start with the basics.” She announced as she opened her wings. “Let’s first try with a simple flapping exercise. Just flap your wings up and down normally, that way we can get some blood pumping into those muscles and warm them up for the more complicated exercises later.” She quickly explained as she casually began to flap her wings up and down to demonstrate. I nod as I tried to unhook my wings (I like to call it) in order to mimic Dash’s instructions. The problem, though, was that I had never really fully extended my wings before on my own, the only instances being accidents or when I simply relaxed my supposed wing muscles to let them fall onto the ground lazily but never in a way in how you un-flare them and then keeping them there, just like how you would easily do with an arm or a leg. All I really managed to achieve where some really awkward and uneven looking wing positions while just lazily twitching them up and down afterwards. I could heard Dash groan as she facehoof accompanied by some barely stifled snickering from behind. I began to feel really, really embarrassed after I saw the absolute comical and pathetic position my wings where in, the stifled laughter behind me not helping at all with the lack of self-confidence I was suffering from the sight. Dash eventually trotted back towards me not looking very pleased before she harshly pulled on my right wing which almost caused me fall over. Did I also mention that it was pretty painful as well? “Like this; you need to extend your wings like THIS, not just have them awkwardly dangle off from the side and then lazily move them up and down.” RD lectured while rapidly forcing my wing up and down with the same hoof she grabbed it with, again almost causing me to fall over and cry out in discomfort. “I swear, if this is somehow a joke, then let me tell it’s NOT freaking funny at all. Stop beating around the bush and take this seriously, Nava.” She harshly added before finally letting go of my wing with a glare. I glared right back at her after the shakiness in my head as subsided. “I AM taking this seriously, I have never really used my wings before EVER, so excuse me if seem a bit slow and stiff to you.” I retorted my tone firmly carrying the annoyance I was feeling. The two of us continued to glare at each other for a while before RD finally sighed. “Listen, I am just trying to help you get over your fear of heights and teach you how to fly. I mean, just look at these wings.” She explained as she gestured towards my wings with a hoof. “They are huge for a pony your size and look amazing with those silvery shining feathers in the middle… though not as amazing as mine of course, but still those things are MADE for flying and I will not -repeat- WILL NOT stand idly by and watch a being MADE to fly stay grounded for the rest of its life… or eternity… because, well… you’re an Alicorn. BUT you get the point!” RD explained glaring determinedly at me at the end of her speech. I quietly stared at her, not really sure if I should feel thankful or alarmed by her announcement. “Well, at least this actually looks and feels more like the rainbow Dash I know.” I thought to myself as I watched RD return to her original spot in front of me. “Now let’s try again, but this time do as I am doing and don’t you even THINK of slacking off in front of me. Now just repeat what I am doing.” Dash instructed as she once again began to flap her wings up and down before gesturing me with a hoof to do the same. I nod as I tried my best to mimic her movements with my own despite my lack of accurate motor control I have on my wing joints and muscles. At first it was difficult as expected but I soon found myself slowly getting the hang of how to move those wings in sync as my flapping became more and more accurate with every flap. I was slowly starting to feel a bit giddy before RD broke it by yelling at me like a sports coach I never had in my school days… and would have preferred to keep it that way as well. “FASTER! FLAP THEM FASTER! I WANT TO SEE SOME SWEAT TRICKLING DOWN YOUR FACE WHEN THIS IS DONE!” Dash shouted, which in turn automatically made me flap my wings faster in turn. “GOSH DARN IT. FASTER! MY FRIEND FLUTTERSHY CAN FLAP HER WINGS FASTER THAN YOU, SO SPEED UP, STUD!” RD commanded even louder which shocked me into flapping my wings as fast as I was physically capable of without ripping them off my back. I closed my eyes and clenched my teeth hard as I flapped my wings like I have never flapped them before (mostly because I haven’t). Sweat began to build up around my back and forehead as I could feel my wing muscles burning from the rapid stimulation I was given them. “Uh… Nava? You can slow down now. Uh, Nava? Hey!” I heard Dash call out through the rapid torrents of winds I was kicking up around me. Though I kept going, somehow, probably to prove something or whatever, as I even managed to increase my speed just a little bit more causing the noise of flapping wings and rushing winds to intensify around me. I was actually causing a small vortex around me. “NAVA! *cough *cough. Would you… would you STOP!? THAT’S ENOUGH!!!” I heard Dash yell within the noise, which finally forced me to slow myself down before eventually stopping completely with my wings feeling very sore and hanging lazily of my sides. For my part i was panting from exhaustion, with my tongue hanging out. I finally opened my eyes and was immediately greeted with a thick cloud of dust surrounded me, causing me to spit it out, retracting my tongue. The dust eventually subsided, revealing a somewhat brownish looking RD in front of me with a deadpanned look on her. I began to smile sheepishly after I noticed that both Flitter and Cloud had suffered the same fate. “Oops… Sorry?” Was all I managed to get out as I rubbed the back of my head awkwardly as RD’s gaze was still fixed on me. “Ugh… this is going to be a loooong day.” I heard Dash mutter under a hoof before looking back up at me with a very unpleased glare on her features. “Keep it up, buster and I am going to throw you into that lake over there.” She threatened with a neutral looking glare while pointing a hoof at said lake just a few meters behind her. That made me chuckle nervously which only caused her glare to intensify, which caused me to shut up, lowering my head and ears in defeat. “Yup… today is going to be a loooong day indeed.” ……………………………………………………………………………………… “Well at least it’s nice to finally have Acheron back, my trusty blood lance.” I thought to myself with a big sense of satisfaction as I held the ancient blood weapon out in front of me. This weapon is even older than me, herited from my father when he died gloriously in battle for the Equestrians 1000 years ago. Do I still feel sad about it? Yes. Do I still feel disheartened by the loss of my father? Somewhat. Will I ever admit it to anyone? Heck. No. I smiled at the ancient and powerful weapon in my hoof as I began to feel its crimson colored blade, tracing it down along it’s markings with a hoof just like you would trace it down along a lover before getting serious. Blood weapons or blood magic in general as far as i know are banned here in Equestria, but back at home it’s openly practiced and even studied to serious degrees, one of the reason being that blood magic and Thestral history pretty much going hoof to hoof. Though the making of blood magic imbued weapons such as mine have sadly been lost over the centuries, making items such as these a really rare sight to behold. Which just makes me even prouder to have one in my possessions. Acheron itself is what is known as a Sanguinem Mundi, a blood blade weapon. When transferred to a new owner it loses its power, but it takes on the strength of the first monster that one slays with it. I had felled an Elder Hydra with it, so you can just imagine... Shaking my head I immediately decided to end my musing and finally get back to work, i.e. paper work and stuff. Seriously, you do one freaking thing and what comes after is a mountain sized heap of paperwork and most of them are about reports, files and complains about angry or frightened ponies back from wherever. Cloudsdale in particular, this time, both regarding the magical incident itself AND my actions to respond to it. Did I already mention that I am a War Mare and not a bloody secretary?! I was about to start my long and torturous journey to filing these accursed papers when all of the sudden the front door to my office opened up. I was ready to scathe the interloper with some harsh words before I quickly noticed who exactly it was who had the courage to enter my office completely announced. “Greetings, Lulu.” I casually greeted her with a flat look. “Well yes. Greetings to you too, Glade, it has been a while hasn’t it?” The dark blue Alicorn monarch greeted. I crocked an eyebrow at that. “You mean us meeting? We already had our reunion right after you returned from your exile, dear Luna.” I questioned before looking back at the paper in front of me. I could hear her move up closer as I lifted my head back up again to look at her. “Not quite.” She responded with a shake of her head before continuing. “What we meant is that it has been a while since you overestimated a situation again.” She finally explained. I sighed, knowing full well at what she was implying. I hate to admit it, but sometimes I have a knack of overkilling things just because I sometimes let my own emotions get the better of my rational judgment. Luna, though, seemed to notice this, as a knowing smirk arose from her lips in an almost friendly gesture to taunt me a bit. I smirked back which finally broke up the awkwardness that dominated the room previously as both of us finally began to relax at each others presence. “You should really learn how to control your emotions a bit more, there, dear Glade, otherwise they might one day send you into some trouble.” Luna announced which in turn just made me huff at her before another smirk quickly graced my lips. “Funny… coming from someone like YOU.” I answered which quickly caused Luna’s smile to falter as she looked off to the side full of guilt and depression. My own smirk quickly dropped as i realized my mistake and sighted. “Sorry for that… didn’t mean to bring THAT to the table so very soon. We all have our demons. I was never good with talking anyway, being more of a mare of action rather than words.” I apologized sincerely, which thankfully lifted Lulu’s spirits a bit as she gave me a sad smile in return. “That is quite alright. We… have long learned from our errors and it is still a very welcome feeling to finally be back home and cured from the curse that has haunted us for so long. Though…” She explained before looking off the side again. ”Equestria seems to have changed a lot during our absence, and we are afraid that adapting to the new modern age might be… a daunting task indeed.” She finished as sadness again quickly entered her features once more. “Though…” She began again. “We are still happy to at least see that after 1000 years that you, dear Glade, haven’t changed much at all during that time. A quite welcome sight indeed when everything seems so… alienating around us. Still the same hot blooded mare I came to know.” Luna finally added this time with a true genuine smile on her muzzle for the first time as she looked down at me and winked. I chuckled as I finally let my paperwork drop for a while to give my old friend my full attention. “It’s also really nice to see that you haven’t changed much either, Luna. Still talking to yourself in third person like a complete mad girl.” I said with a chuckle which was mimicked by Lulu as well. “Well we… I mean… I know what you mean, It was actually one of the very first things we… I found out about my sister. That using the royal we has long gone out of fashion. Died out. Not a huge problem to overcome, but still… it’s going to take time to get used to.” Luna explained while rubbing the back of her head sheepishly. “Let me guess… you came here to have me teach you about modern speech and keep you up to date with whatever has changed during your absence?” I questioned knowingly, which was quickly confirmed by the Alicorn monarch nodding. “Our dear sister… I mean… My sister is still too busy on getting me up to date with the latest changes and evolutions on society, so I was forced to turn to the only other pony I knew well who might be able to guide me in this task. I would have also loved to ask the aid in one of our subjects, but, well… you already know the situation.” Luna explained, to which I simply shook my head at her last statement, knowing full well what she meant. “Well… whatever gives me a good excuse to NOT do all of this busywork here anyway. Sure, I guess I would enjoy acting as your personal tutor for a change… which is kind of funny, if you think about it. ME tutoring YOU, of all ponies.” I say as I finally got up from my desk to trot over to the front door. “Yes, I am quite aware of the irony of this situation myself.” Luna chuckled as she followed me out the door and out onto the hallways. “Though, I also came over to discuss about your… colourful method back in Cloudsdale and after having spotted it… Your blood weapon as well, dear Glade.” Luna quickly added which in turn made me just groan in response. “Don’t worry, Lulu. We can talk ALL about it privately back in the barracks archives once we get there.” I replied. “She better not ask for me to store my precious lance away somewhere so ponies can’t accidentally see it, or I might have to hit her in the head with it. Nothing separates me and the only item I have to remember my father by.”
Chapter 20: Calm Before The Storm Chapter 20: The Calm Before the Storm Edited By: Chrome Masquerade Proofread By: Midnight Gear, and Rhawkas “ARGH! What the HAY am I MISSING!?” A very mare-like, darkly colored Thestral shouted in frustration. The young Thestral inventor and tinkerer named Midnight Gear had been trying desperately since Glade had given her blood lance to him (for crystal replacements) to try and study it, and he had hoped to perhaps unlock the secret of imbuing physical weapons with blood magic. This factor was actually the main reason why Gear had taken so damn long in returning his captain's Blood Weapon; In order to study it more closely in hopes of finally getting the answers, he needed to rediscover the fine process required to create one of the most deadly weapons/enchanted items in existence. Though, he would never tell Captain Glade that his long delays on fixing up her lance were because he was very carefully placing it under a multitude of magnifying glasses and other physical and magical examining tools in order to unlock its secrets. That would be a really bad idea. Glade would, without a doubt, have his head or tan his hide AT LEAST (and possibly both), and Gear knew that this was something he was determined to avoid at all costs. From self-experience, and whenever he blew up a wall or caused fires. It wasn't his fault that some misplaced spare parts almost destroyed his lab. Not… entirely, anyway. But now was not the time to reminisce about his past mistakes. He should be worrying about the consequences of causing more trouble for the Captain as she was already extremely frustrated. “All of my years of researching back in the national libraries and archives in both Pelepolos and Kazzas (the twin capitals of the Thestral homeland) and ALSO finally getting my hooves on an ACTUAL Blood Weapon and despite that I still barely returned with any meaningful results. This is ridiculous!!!” The fact that even having an actual Blood Weapon to study and still failing to unravel its secrets was the largest source of his frustration. Gear sighed as he performed some common breathing exercises to calm his fraying nerves. “A calm mind has much better chances of finding results and hidden information.” he reminded himself. “I might have missed something.” he thought as he immediately went back to look over the numerous notes he took during his studies and examinations. The small lamp on his workshop table produced enough light for him to clearly read the information recorded on them. Gear’s eyes continued to scan the information in front of him, moving from page to page, reading them up, down, left, right and sideways to make absolutely sure that he hadn’t missed anything that might still give him enough clues to help him move further down in finally cracking the Blood Weapon's code. The more he read and skimmed over the notes, the more his frustration slowly started to return until he finally had enough as he let out another loud cry and violently slammed his hooves on the table, knocking some notes and other things to the floor. “ARGH! THIS IS RIDICULOUS! EVERY FREAKING TIME I SKIM OVER THESE NOTES I ALWAYS HIT THE SAME ROADBLOCK AT THE END!” Midnight Gear shouted as he frantically began to pace around his workshop full of strange machines, both scientific and magical, and sometimes even a combination of both. “Material, material, material, every time I come to the end of my notes, I always come to the frustrating mystery of what material, what metal had been used to make these weapons in the first place. Just like the secret of infusing blood magic into them, the specific metal used to make these weapons--and how this metal was forged or made--has also been lost over the last thousand years. IT MAKES THIS SITUATION BEYOND MADDENING!” Gear continued his rant as he stomped a hoof into the stone floor. “GODS DAMN BUCK-BLASTED IDIOT WHO BURNED, LOST, OR EVEN STOLE THIS INFORMATION!” He shouted once more as he punched a nearby wall in frustration. “Hey, brainiac! Could you keep it down in there? The Captain is making her way over here, so I suggest that you keep it down before she hears you making another ruckus in there.” He heard the muffled voice of a Thestral say on the other side of his workshop's entrance, no doubt one of the guards/guinea pigs assigned to stand near his door. “Wa-wait… the Captain is coming… so soon?” Gear squeaked as his frustration quickly gave way to panic. “Crap! I was supposed to make more models of the hoof-sized thaumic detectors and present them to her.” He thought as he raced over to another table on the other side of his room where a white dirty blanket was covering several flat, round, compass-like objects. He quickly removed the blanket off the table revealing a large number of magic detectors carefully laid on it, twenty in total. The fact that there were only twenty caused the poor young stallion to panic even more, as he was originally ordered to make at least thirty of them. Unfortunately however, he got sidetracked once again in order to continue with his research on Blood Weapons and their creation, which was one of his main projects and goals in life. “She’s going to be mad. She's sooo going to be pissed at me again for not doing the job I’m paid to do!” Gear said in a panicked voice to himself as he quickly began to move the cover back over them. Gear is frightened by a lot of things, justified and not, but if he ever had to pick which thing, creature, situation, or pony he is the most afraid of, it would be, without a doubt, Captain Glade herself. He would rather pick an angry dragon over her any day of the week… especially knowing that she has slain one before back in Nassgardiath with her weapon before returning to Equestria… he should know… he was there. The former Kazzasian military commander had an aura of pure intimidation around her despite her… well, he had to admit, despite her muscular and perfectly toned body and beauty. Gear immediately began to blush at these thoughts before his daydreaming was swiftly interrupted by a series of knocks coming from the workshop's main door. Panic quickly entered his mind once more, as he swiftly rushed to the door to open it. He would have preferred to hide under a table in the hope that the knocking would finally go away but he knew a waiting Glade was a very unhappy Glade. Another mistake he was determined to never repeat. EVER. “He-hello Ca-Captain Glade… I uhm… uh…” Gear nervously greeted after opening his door before a lump in his throat stop him from saying anything more. The Night Guard Captain in front of him wore a disinterested expression as he looked up at her, making him even more nervous than he was before, knowing full well that this was just the calm before the storm that usually accompanied her disinterested moods. Glade simply stared down at him before she started. “Are the new magic detectors I ordered ready?” She asked immediately, straight to the point, which in turn made Gear’s heart rate increase even more. The poor stallion began to shudder a bit as he braced himself for the possible backlash he was going to receive when he told her the news. “Well… you see… Ca-Captain… I have, uh…” “Let me guess, you didn’t manage to finish all of them as I requested, have you?” Glade quickly cut in, a very displeased look on her face as she spoke. “Well uh… no.” Gear reluctantly answered in fear. From the corner of his eye (despite his situations) Gear could see that the guard on his right was rolling his eyes upon this revelation before once again looking forward to ignore the exchange and mind his own business. Gear quickly closed his eyes and braced himself for the awaiting shouting that was soon going to assault his ears. Imagine the confusion he felt when all he got was just a tired sigh. He hesitantly opened his eyes to see to his complete surprise a not-pissed-off, but a rather annoyed-looking Glade instead. To say that he was confused was an understatement. He was about to mentally debate with himself if this might be the real Glade or not before the Captain in front of him stopped him. “How many?” “Huh?” “I said, how many have you made so far?” Glade asked again, surprisingly calm and collected, which felt almost alien to the young inventor, considering the fact of just how long he's known her. Gear began to awkwardly shift around in place as he looked back at her. “Well I… only made… twenty so far. I… I was busy again… with other things… so… PLEASEDON’THURTME.” The young Thestral answered before fearfully shielding himself with his front legs as Glade simply stood there. “Ugh… I would have never imagined that teaching Luna about proper speech, modern magic and social development would be such a drag… not to mention the criticism she constantly kept bringing about my weapon and blood magic in general.” Glade muttered as she massaged her head tiredly with a hoof. “I don’t have the energy for this. Just show me the models you did manage to complete before I collapse or something.” Glade ordered, which caused the stallion in question to look up at her again in confusion before registering her orders as he frantically began to move from the entrance. “Su-sure right… r-right this way, C-Captain.” He stuttered as he gestured for the war veteran to enter. Both Thestrals made their way past many drawings, schematics and assorted machinery before they finally reached the table holding the items in question. “Here they are.” Gear announced as he carefully removed the blanket covering them. Glade trotted up beside the timid Thestral to inspect the collection of compass-like devices neatly spread out across the table. All of them shimmering and glittering in the dim light provided by the simple oil lanterns around the room, showing anyone just how fresh and untouched they really are. “Do they all work just as well as the prototype?” Glade ask while never breaking her observation of them. Gear gulped nervously before replying. “We-well ye-yes… yes, they do work, Ca-Captain. I-I have tested them all… pe-personally before… laying them all out on this ta-table.” Gear answered while moving awkwardly a bit next to the Captain. Glade nodded. ”Well, twenty are better than nothing. Good work, I guess.” This surprised Gear even more, but Glade went on. “Did you calibrate them to especially look for the unknown magic signature we were hunting back in Cloudsdale?” She asked, to which Gear quickly nodded. “ “Especially… that, but they will also… detect other magical si-signatures, in case the one we...we seek has been masked with another.” he said “Good, but I am still expecting the other ten to be done as well in two days, otherwise I am going to skin your hide.” Glade added, which made Gear gulp. “Ye-yes, of course, Ca-Captain… I will get to work r-right away.” Gear responded before quickly dashing to another corner of his shop, probably to work on the other ten detectors to avoid his captain’s wrath. Glade yawned before making her way back to the exit. “If anyone needs me, I will be in my quarters resting.” Pausing, she adds, “On second thought, please tell them not to disturb me if unless they want to have a hoof up their plot.” “Next time I am going to order one of my stallions to entertain Luna instead of me. What a long day.” The Captain thinks as she slowly makes her way to her Captain’s quarters within the night guard barracks. ……………………………………………………………………………………… “I *huff* am so *huff* beat. *huff* Need to *huff* lay down.” I say out loud in between breaths as I simply collapse on my stomach, mostly because my whole back and wings are sore from all the exercises I did today and I don’t want to risk hurting them by laying on my back instead. “Hey, you held yourself pretty good today for a couch potato. You didn’t slack off as much as I had imagined you would, and you actually pushed yourself pretty hard. Nice work. You definitely deserve a rest there, buddy.” RD commented as she came up in front of me with a grin. I grinned back tiredly as I looked up at her. “Well, it’s because I didn’t feel like getting wet today.” I commented back in between pants which made Dash only chuckle at my response. “That way of thinking is kind of pointless when you are already covered in sweat. I would say you still need to take a dip into that lake if you don’t want to smell like garbage later.” RD commented back with a smirk. “Yeah I guess I have to… plus it’s kind of warm today anyway, or maybe it’s just me.” I chuckled as I steadily got myself back up to sit on my rump, my wings still dangling lazily at my sides and still hurting. “Hey, guys! Over here! I brought food and drinks if you two want some.” I heard Flitter call out from the side and RD and I turned our heads to look at her. Right there under the shade of a lone standing tree in the middle of the large meadow were both Cloud and Flitter, sitting on what I could guess is a picnic blanket with a saddlebag and a basket sitting besides them. I was a bit confused by this, mainly because of the fact that I never remembered them ever taking a basket or a saddlebag with them when we first departed (or got kidnapped, in my case) from Cloudsdale. I was instantly removed from my thoughts as RD tapped me on the shoulder before making her way over to the two. I quickly stood back up on all fours as I followed her. “RD and I DID focus ourselves on just the training the entire time. It could be possible that Cloud and Flitter might have slipped off back to Cloudsdale during that and come back with all this stuff without RD or I noticing. But I can still ask just to be sure.” I thought to myself as we made it to the two pegasisters. “How was the training, you two?” Flitter asked while looking at us with a smile. “Yeah, did Nava continue to complain or did he finally stallion up and push himself without collapsing every five minutes?” Cloudchaser joked which caused Flitter to hit her lightly on the shoulder as she began to snicker. I was about so say something to that before RD butted in. “Actually, he did pretty well for himself. I was actually surprised.” Dash answered while sending a smile in my direction, which I returned in thanks. “Hey, that’s awesome! It’s nice to know that soon you are going to be soaring through the skies with us, Nava. Trust me, flying freely through the air for the first time is an experience you will never, EVER forget.” Cloud commented after her snickers from her previous joke died down, which was met with a happy nod by Flitter. “Well…” I began as I rubbed my head with a sheepish smile. “it sounds nice and all, but I am still far from ever flying as freely and casually as you guys, especially with my fear of heights still very much active and whatnot.” I admitted, which was swiftly met with a pat on my shoulder. “One step at a time, dude. And don’t worry; with me as your teacher you will never have to take another boring hot air balloon ride ever again.” Flitter reassured me, smiling, with a small chuckle at the end. I returned her smile as we made ourselves comfortable on the picnic blanket as Flitter began to pull stuff out from the large basket beside her. “By the way. How did you two have all of this stuff? I certainly didn’t remember any of it being brought with us when you three… abducted me.” I asked as Flitter began to spread some food and drinks out onto the blanket while Cloud helped her with it. “And also, how did you fit all of that in there?” I added “Well… one, you two were so very focused and engrossed in your wing exercises that we took the opportunity to quickly fly back home to get some food and other things so that we could have our lunch here together on the fields.” Flitter answered happily in which I nod. “And also, the basket is bigger than it might seem.” she added. I decided not to touch that one. “Well, could you maybe just give me something to drink then? I feel completely dehydrated after having done nothing but wing exercises the entire morning.” I requested while wiping some sweat that had collected on my forehead. “Yeah, could you toss me a bottle too? Today is actually pretty hot.” Dash announced. “Yeah, it is, isn’t it?” Flitter replied as she tossed both me and Dash a pair of water bottles, with RD catching hers expertly in her hoof while I was just thankful that I caught it on my chest rather than my face--as I originally feared I would. “Oops… sorry about that.” Flitter apologized with a sheepish grin. “Nah, its cool, I am somewhat of a terrible catch anyway. Plus you only hit my chest and not my head.” I assured her kindly as I carefully took off the bottle cup using my teeth before taking a long and refreshing gulp from it. From then on the lunch/picnic went on without any hiccups. Flitter, with the help of Cloud, placed sandwiches, a bowl of salad and packed slices of fruits in between us.We started to casually converse with one another as we peacefully ate. The shade of the tree above us and the gentle winds blowing through the lands in accompaniment to some very cold drinks were a blessing in the warm weather, especially for me as the winds help me to cool off my sweat-covered body. Afterwards, when our hunger and thirst had been satisfied, the four of us decided to simply relax for a while as we all sat or laid ourselves down on our respective corners and enjoyed the peace and scenery around us. This once again gave me the perfect time to reflect on everything that has happened to me so far since I arrived in this world. “So much has happened in such a small timespan it’s almost comical. Before, I was living a very normal and completely mundane life and then just out of the blue everything gets turned upside down, shoved sideways and thrown out the window with one crazy and completely unexpected event after another. From simple and boring, to chaotic and downright ridiculous. Was it all a change for the better? I honestly don’t know. Do I miss my old, formulaic life that was easy and simple? Probably, somewhat. Okay, maybe I don’t know either, especially judging by the fact that everything I have ever done and pursued back in my old life was for nothing, even though I really haven’t accomplished or done anything there to begin….” My train of thought paused when a realization suddenly struck me. It was true… I really didn’t accomplish ANYTHING back in my old life. I was lazy in school, so my grades were passable at best, but I had dreams and goals that I wanted to follow... but after years of doing so I heart-crushingly gave up on them because I realized that for some reason I couldn’t do it. I didn’t really have friends, or at the very least, only had a select few in the span of my entire life because I was more of a loner than a social type. Plus they didn’t last very long anyway, and half of them turned out more of a brand of annoyance because they spent more time making fun of me than actually being my friends! That eventually made me into the loner that I became. I was, or still am, a coward and afraid of change or things I don’t understand. And to top it all off, I even had mental issues as well. Besides having--or more precisely having HAD--good loving parents and a wide, supportive family, there really wasn’t a whole lot about me that screams good, or even, dare I say, GREAT. Which only makes me feel even more depressed about myself and the situation that I’m in now, knowing that I may never see my family again, and am likely presumed to be dead by them, or more precisely just mysteriously vanished. There probably wouldn’t be a body to find anyway, which only adds to the grief of what my parents must be feeling right now. “The longer I stay here in this world, the smaller and smaller my chances--and also the reasons--of returning back home seem to become. Really, what is there to return to? Not only that, but the bonds I’m already forging in this world as well, I can’t just leave all of this behind and bugger off. In my short time here I have already become really close with both Cloudchaser and Flitter, both accepting me as part of their family very quickly and hoping to use ME to fill the void that the death of their parents had created. I can’t possibly do that to them, leave them alone the same way their parents tragically had, especially with everything that they’ve done for me so far and…” With that, it just becomes this vicious cycle of wanting to return home and wanting to stay here for their sake and also for a chance for a fresh new start. Despite the fact that I normally am afraid of change and prefer things to stay formulaic and simple. Of course, this is all dependent on if I even CAN return home. If not, then obviously deciding would be easy, but then at the same time I will be met with the fact that I really can never see my family again, my old home, or my old simple life, despite the fact of how unaccomplished it was. I began to stare off into the distance, my ears resting against my head and my shoulders going slack as all these worrying and depressing thoughts entered my mind. “Hey, dude, are you ok? You look… kind of depressed there.” I heard Dash say as I felt a hoof being placed on my shoulder. I sighed, breaking my gaze from the meadow in front of me to look at her. She genuinely had a concerned look on her and by turning my head further I could tell that even Flitter and Cloud had curious looks as well, before looking back up front. I shook my head. “No… to be honest I don’t feel ok at all.” I admitted with another sad sigh as I lowered my head to look at my forelegs. “Want to talk about it, maybe?” Dashie suggested. “No… I’d rather not. But thanks for the concern, though.” I replied. “I don’t know how they will react if I ever tell them that I am actually from another world and another species altogether." I thought to myself as I looked back up to stare at the landscape around me. RD sighed. “Well alright, suit yourself. I obviously can’t force you if you don’t want to.” She replied as she removed her hoof from my shoulder. I could feel and hear shuffling coming from behind me, thanks to the blanket I was sitting on. From the corner of my eye I could see a light, teal-colored mane, letting me know that it was Flitter sitting down next to me as I felt another hoof placing itself just between my wings on my back, which made me flinch a bit from the sensation. “We all have problems, or things that make us sad or depressed. So you aren’t alone.” Flitter tried to reassure me while also giving me a smile. “I know.” I replied again with a sight. ”Again, thanks to trying, but… it’s something I have to deal with myself.” I added. “I understand, as Dash said, we can’t force you if you don't feel comfortable.” Flitter added, while giving my back a few gentle rubs - which actually did felt pretty good for my still sore muscles back there as my wings began to twitch a bit from the sensation. “Thanks, I wish I could tell, but… well… as you said, we all have our own problems to deal with.” I say with a small chuckle as I was slowly starting to feel better with all the voiced support and concern I was getting. Flitter simply smiled at this and RD happily nodded at my response. I smiled back at them, again thanking them for their support with the matter even though I never really asked for it. “Let’s just relax for the rest of the day, shall we? It’s way too hot today for further practicing anyway.” Dashie suggested as she eventually moved back to her previous spot, same for Flitter, who quickly moved back beside her sister to lay down. I followed their example as I turned around to lay myself down as well for a while, thought when I did I could have sworn that Cloud was looking a bit depressed off to the side before laying down and facing the tree. “Huh… what is going on with her all of a sudden?” I thought as I laid myself flat onto my belly (because my wings are still killing me) to simply relax for the day and try to not let my mind wander off again to my previously rekindled problems. “Hey, wait! I just got an idea!” RD suddenly announced right after I was about to close my eyes. We all lifted our heads to look at her while she sat up with a grin on her face before fixing her gaze towards me with the same smile. “As far as I know, you don’t have much control or understanding of your magic right?” Dash asked, to which I sat back up to be in eye level with her. “Well, uh... yeah. I actually have no control over my magic or know how to use it at all, it more has a mind of its own… kind of.” I replied while memories of the whole Cloudsdale incident came flashing back, making me shudder a bit. Dash nods as an all-knowing grin spread across her features. “Well, it’s because I might be friends with a certain pony that might be in a position to help you with you magic problem.” She explained to me, which immediately made me dread the idea that she was about to propose. “Oh god… it’s Twilight isn’t it? The very last pony besides the Princesses I want to meet right now.” I simply nod, signaling her to keep going. “Her name is Twilight Sparkle. The same mare you and I bumped into during the Summer Sun Celebration and the same mare I followed to defeat Nightmare Moon.” She announced, which immediately confirmed my fears. “Not only is she the Princess's personal student, but she is also the Element of Magic herself. So she would easily be the best pony you could ask in the topic of magic. She knows like... everything about it.” Dashie quickly added. “That is the problem, she is Celestia’s personal student and the nosiest pony from the show. She will immediately know that something about me is… unique by just looking at me and then she is going to go and lick Celestia’s hooves by telling her about it.” “Hey, yeah! That’s a great idea.” Flitter suddenly butted in. “I have heard about a lot of her--and the rest of you by extension--accomplishments against Nightmare Moon in the papers. If she really is the Element of Magic than she can certainly help Nava with his magic problem. What do you think, Nava?” She added before looking at me. At this point I was internally torn by the offer these two have suggested to me. “For one, Dash might be right. Twilight (besides the Princess, but that is a no-no) might be the only pony that could help me get my magic under control and also teach me how to use it. But if I do accept her help, I have to act very carefully in order for her not to get too suspicious of me. She WILL get suspicious, I just know it, I mean just look at my horn for example it's already almost over twice the size of a normal unicorn's horn and its sharper and pointer, almost like a spear in a sense. Which only leads me to the most prominent problem I have with her being selected as my personal teacher. Her curiosity and connection to the Princess. The other problem would be how to tell her the reason of why a full grown “unicorn” stallion doesn’t have control over his own magic. I need to somehow come up with a believable backstory to make it seem less strange, otherwise my ass is grass. What about Spike? I know for a fact that he would most likely not be at home with her every single time, but still, for a baby dragon he is also quite nifty in the noggin and quite observant as well. He was, after all, hatched and raised by Twilight. But then again, if I can somehow convince Twilight and Spike to not tell the Princess, then I can get yet another important pony to vouch for me when the day of Celestia’s finding out about me will come. The more that I can befriend, the less complicated things will be, and it will also eventually give me more freedom and options as well. I think I might give it a try. “No guts no glory” is how they always say it. Actually, wait a minute, why am I debating this? Shouldn’t they already know the risk that comes with it as well? Twilight doesn’t know that she is going to be teaching an alicorn how to become a demi-god.” I shook my head to throttle down my thought process a little bit to focus on them again. “Wait, wait… wait. Hold on a second. You girls seem to be missing a very important key detail here.” I announced as I turned my head to look at all three of them. “Really? What would that be?” Dash asked while tilting her head a little bit. I just casually pointing a hoof at my wings in which her eyes immediately widened in realizations. “Oooh yeah… that could cause some issues.” She commented while rubbing her head. “Well, why don’t you just keep wearing the jacket that my sister gave you? It does seem to do a pretty good job in keeping your wings hidden and bound.” Cloud put in, which was bit of a surprise, considering how quiet she was up until now. Dash shook her head. “No. That alone won’t work.” She answered before continuing. “From what I’ve come to know about Twilight, she is a really nosy and observant pony, and an egghead as well. And kind of has OCD when it comes to her schedules and studies.” She added while looking me over. “Then who else is going to teach Nava how to control his magic, then?” Flitter asked as she also looked me over. “I honestly don’t know, but at the same time we can still give it a try, I mean, if she does find out, I will be there to help him explain things to her… though I worry that might not be enough.” RD explained with a small whisper at the end that honestly made me re-think my previous decision again. But then again, it needs to happen somehow and someday if I ever want to prevent a second Cloudsdale incident from ever happening again. I need to fix my magic or at least learn how to control it… or learn how to control Silver Wing. Sorry Silver. “I’ll do it.” “Wait, what? Seriously?” Dash asked, surprised, which was mimicked by both Pegasi sisters as well. I nod. “Yes, you might be right about Twilight. I need to fix my lack of magic control at some point if I want to prevent another disaster from striking again just because I am still very much immature when it comes to my horn. The sooner I can get this sorted out the better, in my opinion.” I explain with a bit of determination in my tone. “But what if Twilight catches on to you?” Flitter asked, concerned. “I will just take care of that, then.” Dash suddenly announced as she stood up. “How?” Flitter asked, which made all of us look at Dash for the response. “I don’t know, to be honest.” RD casually answered with a shrug which made me facehoof. “I guess I will just have to go with him whenever they are going to have their magic lessons or whatever, and besides, it could also be interesting watching in how you make a mess of Twilight’s library with that horn of yours while she gets a tantrum because of that.” She quickly added with a small smirk at the end. I groaned. “The last part was really unnecessary, you do know that.” I say with a deadpan stare aimed at her. “I know, that’s why I said it. Duh.” She said as if it that the most obvious thing ever. I sighed, but decided to otherwise say nothing else about it. Though another question quickly entered my mind as I did so. A question I am sure even the two sisters are wondering right now. “What about housing? I would imagine that I will have to stay in Ponyville for a while because of my… lack of flying. Where am I going to stay while I have Twilight as my teacher and all?” I asked, which was quickly accompanied by a nod from Flitter and a… awkward side glance from Cloud. Rainbow Dash began to tap her chin as she contemplated her response. “Well, you could stay in my place if you want. I was originally going to offer Twilight’s library, but for the sake of safety we can’t have that. Another option could be AJ’s farm, they also have plenty of room there as well. Plus the Apples are honest ponies and won’t bother you too much besides probably hiring you to work on the farm so you don’t have to worry about your secret there too much.” RD listed her possibilities in front of us as she continued to look thoughtful. Those offers could work, Dash’s place would be no problem since I know for a fact that she lives in a cloud MANSION and not a simple house, plus my ability to walk on cloud naturally works as well, and the Apple’s farm house could also work for the same reasons RD just mentioned. I personally don’t mind having to work if I am going to temporary stay there for a while. That could easily be a good excuse to exercise and get myself into shape a bit more. I gave RD a nod on her ideas. “That could easily work.” I responded which was answered with a nod from RD as well. “Well then, I guess you can than just stay down here while we make our trip back to Ponyville later…on hoof of course. It’s not that far away from where we are at the moment we can easily get there before nightfall.” Dash explained while giving her wings a few test flaps and looking off at the direction where Ponyville is. “Cloud and I can go get your stuff from back home if you want while we also pack all of this up and take it up with us.” Flitter suggested as she and her sister got up from their position. “I guess so. I do feel naked without my scarf and my hat. “ I commented while thinking of the ONLY clothes that I have. “Oh and could you also get the jacket as well?” I asked as I realized the other missing and very important item. “I was actually going to bring that up. But yeah, no problem we can quickly get your stuff while you two just wait here for a bit.” Flitter answered with a nod. “Ugh. Waiting… not one of my favorite pastimes, I tell you.” Dashie commented with a groan. Flitter simply rolled her eyes. “Oh stop your complaining, Dash, just do what you always do when you’ve got nothing better to do: take a nap. Also could you all step off from the picnic blanket? I need to pack that up as well?” Flitter said, which made Dash roll her eyes as we all stepped off of said blanket so Flitter could fold it up. “You take the saddlebags, I’ll take the basket, ok Cloud?” Flitter asked as she took the basket handle in her mouth. “Yeah, yeah, hold on a moment.” Cloud responded with a bit of an annoyed tone which was somewhat strange but also not uncharacteristic of her. “Cloud has been… a bit off today since I went all depressed earlier, even more so when Dash made the suggestion of me staying in Ponyville for a while.” I thought to myself as I watched both Cloud and Flitter take off in the direction of Cloudsdale off in the distance. I simply shrugged as I trotted over towards the tree and sat myself against it. Dash followed me soon after as she sat herself down right next to me, sharing the shade of the tree with me as she eventually started to doze off a bit. The only sounds surrounding us were the rustling noise of leaves above us as another gentle breeze passed through us and out into the open fields. “Going back to Ponyville so soon huh? Why do I have this aching feeling that returning to Ponyville now is going to end up as a bad idea and for some unknown reason it’s not Twilight related at all?”
Chapter 21: Back to Ponyville Chapter 21: Back to Ponyville Chapter 21: Back to Ponyville Edited by: Chrome Masquerade Proofread by: Midnight Gear PanzerBrony Metallicom Darkwip “Thanks for letting him stay here for a while, AJ.” Dash thanked the orange farm pony while she gave a nod of approval. “No problem Dash, a friend o’ yers is a friend o’ mine.” she then turned to me. “But, of course, that will mean that y’all will have t’ work at the farm from time to time as well to earn you keep here, friend.” Applejack explained. I nod. “No problem for me, really. Honestly I could probably use the exercise.” I replied with a smile. “True, true.” AJ replied with a nod as she seemed to observe my hind legs. “Well, anyway. I gotta go. See you in the morning Nava.” Dash announced as she gave her wings a few test flaps. “Sure thing. See you tomorrow as well, RD!” I told her back, to which she gave me a nod before taking off. AJ and I watched her for a while as she quickly disappeared into the night sky. AJ’s attention swiftly turned back to me after Dash had left our line of sight. “Well then, no point in standing here in the dark. C’mon, let me show you our home and the room where y’ can stay.” AJ suggested before leading the way and gesturing me with a hoof to follow. I did so. As the two of us made our way to the family farm house in the middle of the orchard, taking this moment to mentally reflect back on all the events that had happened today so far. After Flitter and Cloud had returned from Cloudsdale with all my stuff, they had decided to not go with Dash and me back to Ponyville simply because they had to go back to work the next day. Which was a bit of a shame, really, but they also promised to come visit me in Ponyville whenever they had free time in their hands. Hooves. Whatever. That in the end simply left just me and Dash to return to Ponyville via hooves and even managed to get there long before it was dawn. The first obvious choice was for me to stay at RD’s place, but that got scrapped when it was clear very, very quickly that my lack of flight could become a major problem. That and we both agreed that having her constantly carry me up and down would be both incredibly burdensome for her and very awkward and embarrassing for me. Which eventually lead to AJ’s place, where I am now following the orange mare through her family orchard to their home. “There it is, our home and our barn right next to it. Can ya see it?” AJ announced while gesturing at the direction she was looking at with a hoof. I followed her gaze, and to nobody's surprise I did manage to see the Apple Family’s farmhouse in the distance. I gave her a nod. “Yes, I can see it. Quite the cozy looking home you and your family have there. It looks very lovely.” I replied kindly which made her chuckle at my choice of words. “Well, thanks fer thinkin’ so. Most city folks actually don’t think so when they ever first lay eyes on our residence. Yer already alright in my book just for sayin’ that.” AJ replied with another chuckle. I just smiled before Applejack suddenly leaned in to whisper something in my ear. “By the way, if my little sister Apple Bloom ever gives ya too much trouble during your stay, just tell me. I’ll just send her off to keep her busy, or have her do chores.” Applejack whispered, which in turn made me chuckle a bit. “Don’t worry about It, AJ, I am somewhat good with kids. But I will keep that in mind regardless.” I responded, which made her nod before we finally reached the open area in which both the house and the farm are located. Once again, it was yet another picture-perfect image compared to the show, though a more realistic version, of course. AJ and I stepped onto the front porch before she went ahead and opened the door, gesturing for me to get in first as she held it open. “Gentlecolts first.” she said. I gave her a thankful smile and nod as I entered her home. Again, the interior was another picture-perfect illustration, though my thoughts were quickly stopped from making comparisons any further as AJ stepped into the house as well before closing the door. “WE GOT A VISITOR EVERYPONY! COME ON OUT AND GIVE HIM A WARM APPLE WELCOME!” AJ suddenly shouted with a lot of enthusiasm in her tone. The very first pony to show up after her announcement was an old looking mare, emerging from what looked to be the kitchen on the other side of the room. She had a green coat and snow white mane and tail, both of which were braided into buns. I immediately recognized her as the old Apple Family member Granny Smith herself. She slowly made her way over to us before greeting me with a warm and welcome smile that, only a grandmother could give. “Well hello there, young’un, I see that AJ finally brought a stallion over. Was actually about time, if you ask me. A mare only stays fertile for s’long before her years are finally past her. So what is your coltfriend’s name, Applejack?” Granny Smith announced which, cause both of me and AJ to look at her in both surprise and utter shock at the sheer boldness of her claims. Both me and AJ immediately started to frantically attempt to salvage whatever was left of this seriously awkward situation as we both started to tell her at the same time that we were not together, dating or even considering the activity that the old mare in front of us had proposed. Our mix and match words quickly got silenced when old Granny Smith began to chuckle. “Calm down ya two, I was just joking. Even an old mare like me deserves to poke fun at my little granddaughter some of the time.” Granny Smith announced with another chuckle at the end, a revelation that really didn’t help our situation as both AJ and I simply looking off to the side with embarrassed blushes on our cheeks. “Did somepony say we have visitors?” A very young voice suddenly perked up before a small yellow filly with a red mane quickly poked her head around the corner above a set stairs on the second floor. “Applebloom, aren’t ya supposed to be in bed?” Applejack questioned while giving the filly a deadpan look. The filly rolled her eyes at that before answering. “Well I was until somepony shouted and woke me up.” She countered which made AJ’s gaze soften. “Oh yeah… right.” AJ commented while rubbing the back of her head. I simply shook my head and smiled. This could possibly be a family where boredom in their lives would be something of a rarity. “Anyway, I am sure our guest here is mighty hungry. I would be rude not to offer a new guest anything drink or t’ eat. Would you maybe like some pie and some apple cider young’un?” Granny Smith suddenly offered with a kind smile, which I returned with sincerity, as I can already tell that I am going to really like her company. That and she does kind of remind me of my own grandmother, who had long since passed away, sadly. “That would be very kind of you, miss Granny Smith, but I don’t want to be rude in immediately asking for food and emptying your fridge on my first day.” I replied with a shy smile which was immediately countered by Granny Smith waving a foreleg dejectedly. “Nonsense, dear. We Apples take hospitality very serious-like. Our home is yer home, so please come, follow me t’ the kitchen so’s I can give ya two some of my homemade apple pie and family cider.” Granny Smith countered, in a friendly tone before trotting of back to the kitchen where she came from. “Also, just call me Granny or Granny Smith. None o’ that miss stuff.” I was about to object once more when my own stomach decided to betray me on the thought of sweet apples waiting for him. I mentally scolded my belly as AJ began to snicker beside me. She tapped me on the shoulder, which made me lift my head to look at her. “Come on. Granny Smith’s pies are some o’ the best -if not THE BEST- in all of Equestria. I promise ya will just love ‘em.” AJ suggested before heading over to the kitchen herself and motioning for me to follow her. I shrugged before following her to the kitchen. The kitchen itself was very simple. You had your basic looking country kitchen on the right side, while most of the left side was occupied by a large single dining table with a couple of chairs and a few wooden cupboards and paintings alongside the walls. There was even a beautiful looking 19th Century style clock hanging on the far end on the room. Again, a very simple but cozy looking setup with a 19th Century vibe to it. I’ll spare you the long details, but overall the late night dinner went off without a hitch. Applebloom was quickly sent back to bed after she came down to see and meet the new stranger (A.K.A me), while i, with the other two Apples simple ate and drank our fair amount of apple pie and cider. I decided to skip the cider simply because I don’t drink any alcohol, which i told them. both Applejack and Granny Smith, thankfully, were more than happy to bring up some of the non-alcoholic variety, which i gladly accepted. The apple pie was good as it was, though. I mean sweet heaven up above this was by far THE BEST and SWEETEST apple pie I have ever tasted in my entire life. The sweet juicy taste of freshly picked apples mixed in with a hint of cinnamon was just to die for. Again, i needed to remind myself not to go TOO crazy on all the sweets in this place. no matter how hard it would be to resist otherwise I might have to book a doctor’s appointment very soon or go to the dentist to get my teeth pulled out. Again, I have no idea how pony metabolism (or alicorn metabolism to be precise) actually works in this world when it comes to sweets or just overall food in general. But unless I can find some definite answers to these questions I am going to stick with my human knowledge of eating and drinking. Overall, beside the pie and cider, the rest of the late night dinner was pretty quick and straightforward, with Applejack simply introducing me to her elder while also explaining the situation I was in at the moment. Granny Smith, as expected, had absolutely no troubles with the idea of me temporarily living with them, and even went so far as personally offering that I could stay in their home as long as I wanted to, if I reconsidered the idea of taking her strong and independent granddaughter out on a date, the little old joker. Besides that, she was happy to announce that their home would be my home as long I was willing to help out at the farm from time to time, which I, of course had zero problems with. With all of that out of the way, AJ, myself and Granny Smith promptly excused ourselves for the night. Granny tiredly stumbled her way to her room, which was right next to the living room behind the main stairway, while AJ and I climbed up to the first floor. We passed a couple of doors until we eventually made it to the one on the right side of the corridor (who was also the very last door of it) with a large window at the end of it. “Alright, Nava, this’ll be yer room while ya stay here.” AJ announced before looking back down the corridor where we just came from. “And that very last door at th’ other end o’ the hall is the bathroom, in case you need it in th’ middle o’ the night.” AJ added while pointing a hoof at the very back end of the hall where indeed another door was. “But please make sure to always politely knock before opening it, alright? Nopony wants somepony to just suddenly waltz in while you’re takin’ a shower or committing to nature’s urges, if’n ya take my meanin’.” AJ quickly added while looking back at me. I gave a quick nod to that before my focus went back to the door as AJ opened it. After a soft *click* sound and a sudden flash of light that immediately illuminated the previously pitch-black interior, I was immediately greeted with a very well furnished and quite cozy-looking bedroom. It basically had everything my room had back in Cloudsdale, only with more knick-knacks and the constantly seen 19th century vibe to it. And also the floors and walls weren’t made of cloud. As i followed Applejack in, I decided to have a more in depth look around the room. The walls were covered in green-striped wallpaper (Actually, at a closer glance, that was paint, it just REALLY looked like wallpaper) while the floor retained its wooden look with a single large circular rug in the middle of it. A single large window was on the other side of the room right next to a simple-looking bed with sky blue curtains covering it. Again, overall this room looked, and felt very cozy and welcoming. A very nice place to stay in for a couple of days, or weeks, for sure. “Well, what d’ya think so far?” AJ suddenly asked, which forced me to end my thoughts and observations to look at her. I gave her a smile before replying. ”This room looks amazing. Really warm and cozy looking. I love it. Thanks again for allowing me to stay here for a while, AJ. It really is something.” I responded sincerely, which in turn made her smile grow. “Oh, it's nothin’. Don’t worry about it, sugarcube. As I said, a friend o’ Rainbow Dash’s is a friend o’ mine. Plus it would have been just plain rude of me to not offer you a stay at the farm knowing full well that you don’t have any other place to stay while being here in Ponyville.” AJ responded. “Anyway, don’t let me hold ya up too much longer, it’s already gettin’ late and I’m sure ya probably have a long day ahead of ya, just as I do. So goodnight, and see ya in the morning.” AJ quickly added before quickly excusing herself from the room and giving a final “goodnight!”, as she closed the door for me. With all that out of the way, I sighed, giving off a small yawn as exhaustion had finally kicked in, right on cue. Taking off my hat, scarf and glasses then placing everything on the small nightstand right next to the bed while keeping on my jacket (for obvious safety reasons) I climbed myself into my borrowed bed. “Crap, first got to turn off the lights, though.” I muttered as I quickly got back up. On impulse, i clapped my hooves twice. Nothing. “Worth a try.” i sighed as i went to hit the light switch right next to the door before swiftly crawling back into bed. “Well, here we go Nava. Tomorrow will be the start of me learning magic and possibly getting myself found out by perhaps the second last individual I want to get found out by.” I thought to myself as I simply laid on my back while staring up at white painted ceiling. I yawned. “Let that be future Nava’s problem and not mine. Let’s just try to get some sleep before I kill it with all my mental worrying and musing. I’ll definitely need my full strength in the morning if I am going to be spending it with the purple OCD mare.” I mentally told myself as sleepiness was finally taking its full toll on me as I slowly closed my eyes to drift off. It didn’t take long for the gentle and peaceful embrace of sleep, to finally take me off back to dreamland, or Silver land to be honest. ……………………………………………………………………………………… “Are you sure you don’t need any help with your apple bucking AJ? I am sure that 4 ha- I mean, eight hooves are better than four.” I tried to reason while watching her do the job she is known for doing on her family farm. It was more of an excuse, really, to postpone my meeting with Twilight as much as I possibly could. I do not know how and why it works the way it does, but you're confidence always automatically wavers at the very last second, when in the days prior to this I was all about the idea of going to meet Twilight and getting my magic fixed up or something. Kind of like agreeing on going with the operation your doctor recommended you take and then having second thoughts on it the day it's scheduled to take place, because that is exactly how I felt today. “Nope, not today. Me and Big Mac got it covered. Perhaps tomorrow when we hafta harvest a ton o’ apples fer a buyer all the way back in Manehattan. Havin’ some extra hooves helping us with that would be a huge load offa our flanks. So you just go ahead with Dash over there to whatever place you two are planning to go.” AJ answered before kicking yet another tree and watching the shiny red goodness rained down into pre-placed baskets below them. I was about to say something, when Dash suddenly tapped me on the side impatiently while giving me a slight annoyed look as well. “Come on, dude. stop beating around in the bushes already and let’s go. Why the hay do you suddenly feel so nervous anyway? We are just going to Twilight's.” Dash questioned while giving me a curious look. I was about to answer her as well before it was AJ turned to interrupted me. “You two’re going to Twi’s place? Why the hay would ya two go there anyway?” AJ asked curiously as she moved herself to another tree next to her. “Oh, just personal reasons. Nothing special.” RD answered quickly, which probably carried a completely different meaning, as AJ’s expression suddenly turned into a dangerous looking smirk. “Oh, ah see what th’ problem is now.” AJ responded while grinning at me. “Good luck on ya though. It’s actually pretty hard to get her off her books and studies and what not unless there is some sort of crisis or problem in town, even with your good looks and what not. But still, good luck though.” AJ responded while keeping her grin. I immediately began to blush as the misunderstanding of Rainbow’s answer hit home. “WHAT? NO! IT’S… IT'S NOT LIKE THAT AT ALL! WE WERE JUST PLANNING TO- ugh, never mind, let’s just go I guess.” I responded in panic before simple sighting in defeat, while keeping my head low. “There we go, that’s the spirit.” Dash announced happily, which only made me grumble. “Well, have a nice day then, you two and please keep out of trouble.” AJ announced before looking over at RD with a sudden serious look. “No, seriously. Please keep outta trouble. I know how you work and operate sometimes.” She swiftly added before bucking yet another tree with the same previous results. “Yeah, yeah I know. Whatevs.” Dash replied while rolling her eyes before leading the way out from the orchard. I quickly followed her after just waving my final goodbye to AJ. We eventually made it to the front fenced gate of the orchard and started trotting down the road to Ponyville. After I made sure that me and Dash were alone and out of earshot from the orange farm pony, I immediately decided to confront her about the strangely worded answer she gave AJ. “What the heck was that weird answer of yours back there? it obviously carried a wrong message and now AJ thinks that I have a crush on Twilight.” I questioned while glaring at the blue Pegasus mare beside me. She simply scuffed some dirt before punching me on the shoulder playfully with a smirk. “Hey, at least it’s better than just telling her straight the truth now isn’t it?” She explained before her smirk quickly grew. “Besides, if you could somehow get her to really, really like you then explaining yourself in front of her about your alicornhood might be a bit easier than it is now. You should give it a try. You already got the good looks to back it up anyways.” She added with a sly smile which in turn was greeted with me giving her a deadpan look instead. “For that matter, there’ every possibility that Applejack might know, that Dash wasn’t telling the truth back there.” i thought. “No, I am not seducing an OCD mare.” I replied. Plus I am still not ready to accept the idea of another species relationship, yet, despite the fact that I am currently a pony too. RD simply chuckled at that before the two of us continued the rest of our trek down the hill in silence. We very soon crossed a small bridge going across a brook connecting the town proper with the rest outside world. It’s actually quite surprising how a supposedly quiet little town in the countryside can have so much buzz and activity happening on its street during midday. Ponies were walking all around town, going places, talking to other ponies and just going on with their day to day life. Not as busy and full as Cloudsdale, of course, but still you can very much feel the life when walking through these dirt roads. Which was even more true when we passed by the local marketplace which really was more like a hornet's nest of ponies and activity. I even managed to spot Rarity somewhere in the distance talking to a random pony I have never seen before. But that isn’t really my issue at the moment, though I do have to say that it feels nice to be ignored now, for a change, unlike the first time I was here. Most we passed by where just too busy with their own stuff to ever truly pay me or even Dash any attention. I think I noticed one or two of them looking our way, but all they did was giving me friendly waves and smiles, which I politely returned. The biggest bonus, though, was the serious lack of pink as I was far from being in the mood for more of her shenanigans. Again, it didn’t take that long for us to finally reach the iconic golden oak’s library as Dash and I approached the front door. “Wait… I got an idea.” Dashie suddenly announced, while looking at me with a smile. “Which is?” I relied while curiously raising my eyebrow at her. “Let’s greet her in Germane.” She quickly offered with a grin. I took me a few moments to think on her offer before I nodded and gave her a smile as a reply. She nods back before getting ready to knock on the door before she suddenly stopped herself as she looked back at me with a bit of worry etched on her features. “Are you sure you are going to be ok with this?” She questioned. “Once Twi opens this door and sees you for the first time there will be no turning back at that point.” She added, which in turn made again think about my decision and the obvious risk it was going to have. I started to feel nervous again and having second doubts on my plans, but I quickly shook them all out of my mind as I gave RD a nod to answer her. “I’m already standing at the front door of Twilight’s home anyway. Might as well go through with this and hope for the best.” I thought to myself as RD started to knock on the door a couple of times before standing back. “Spike, could you maybe get that door for me?” We heard a muffled voice say, undoubtedly Twilight judging by the femininity of that voice. “I can’t Twi, I am currently busy with the dishes.” We heard another voice shout back, no doubt Spike, for obvious reasons. “I wonder what she might be doing that would keep her so busy as not to open the door herself?” I whispered to Dash as the little exchange behind the door continued on. “Probably sticking her muzzle in a book as usual. I did once told you that she is a real studying buff.” RD whispered back before we heard a muffled groan coming from the other side of the door. “Fine, fine. I will get it then.” We heard Twilight moan out as we heard a set of clip clopping hooves moving closer to the front door. I quickly stepped to the side a bit so that Twilight wasn’t able to see me right away when the door suddenly opened and reviling the purple bookish unicorn herself. “Guten tag, Twilight! Wie gehts wie stehts?” Rainbow dash greeted which immediately caused the unicorn to pause and look at her sideways, confused. “…what?” I simply heard her reply which was basically my cue to step in and add my two cents as well. “Genau wie geht es den so twilight altes haus, wie läuft den so seit du in ponyville eingezogen bist?” I added with a smile after I revealed myself by stepping to stand next to Dash. Twilight at this point just had a completely dumbfounded look with her head slightly tilted to the side as her mouth hang wide open. “…HUH?” Was her only reaction after a few seconds of just standing there which finally caused us to laugh out loud at her expense. She eventually shook her head as our laughter continued, glaring at the both of us before we eventually calmed down. “Oh man you should have seen your face, Twi.” RD chuckled while still trying to catch her breath. “I have never, ever seen a pony look so lost and confused before in my life. Oh, mare. Priceless.” RD added as she finally managed to get control of herself with a few more breaths. “Well, at least it’s good to know that somepony is having a carefree day.” Twilight commented with a deadpan look which immediately made me stop and think on why she looked somewhat stressed out today. “She must probably be doing some sort of study again and probably getting frustrated when she wasn’t getting the answers she was looking for.” I thought to myself as I moved my head a bit to the side to have a sneak peek behind Twilight, and wouldn’t you know it I was right as the main library room was nothing but a mess of papers and books laying on the floors. Twilight's gaze suddenly landed on me when I did that, which quickly forced me to retreat my head back while looking off the side awkwardly as I felt a sudden sense of nervousness wash over me. “Uhm… Rainbow Dash, who is this stallion with you?” She asked while eye me curiously. “He is a friend of mine, and actually the main reason why I am here, before you start asking.” Dash replied while stepping close to me. “Also, you already met him before.” She quickly added which suddenly caused Twilight to sport a look of realization before her gaze swiftly fell back on me. “Hey, yeah! I remember you.” Twilight announced. “You were with Rainbow Dash during the Summer Sun Celebration when we bumped into each other.” She swiftly added before her gaze suddenly rose, most definitely focused on my horn, which was confirmed when her eyes suddenly went wide. “Dear Celestia, how is it possible for a unicorn to have such a long horn?” Twilight suddenly shouted out which caused me to flinch away a bit. “A simple ‘hi’ would have done fine as well, Twilight.” RD complained as she too was affected by her friend’s sudden outburst. “Quickly, come inside.” Twilight suddenly blurted out before we suddenly found ourselves getting gripped by Twilight’s magic before being forcefully pulled into the library as the door behind us closed. The magic on us was quickly released as the two of us fell flat onto our flanks. I groaned in discomfort as I picked myself up to rub my sore flank. RD did the same as a highly annoyed look was present. “Twilight, what the HAY was that for?” She questioned, with a glare aimed at the unicorn. Twilight simply ignored the blue Pegasus as her gaze was still very much fixed on me. More specifically, my horn. Suddenly I regret my decision in going to Twilight in the first place. I really should have stayed in AJ’s instead. “For a unicorn to have such a long and sharp looking horn should be impossible, even with the sometimes rare natural occurrence with some unicorns being born with longer horns.” Twilight commented to herself as she began to circle me a bit like a hungry shark. “Curious Twilight is worst Twilight.” I thought to myself as she continued in her disregard for personal space, with her even starting to poke my horn with her hoof which was really uncomfortable. Now I know why she had no friends prior to her arrival in Ponyville, when Twilight is like this she is absolutely horrible in the social category. I was really starting to feel nervous and uncomfortable at this point which was luckily noticed by RD as she came up to break the tension. “TWILIGHT THIS IS HORRIBLE!” RD suddenly shouted which immediately caused the both of us to flinch but thankfully that also meant that Twilight’s attention was finally diverted away from me and instead focused on the rainbow mare behind her. “What is it, Rainbow Dash? Did something suddenly happen? What is wrong?” Twilight asked with an alarmed look. “Oh this is just so incredibly horrible, I can’t believe it.” Dash continued on dramatically while holding her head with her hoofs in a very distressed looking manner which only caused Twilight to almost panic even more. “What, what is it Rainbow? WHAT EXACTLY IS SO HORRIBLE?” Twilight shouted in the end in panic. “That my friend is acting like a complete CUNT RIGHT NOW!” RD suddenly announced as her fake distress suddenly changed into a glare aimed at the now shocked unicorn in front of her. Most probably from the harsh swear word RD used on her, which I honestly didn’t expect either. “Wha…what?” Twilight stumbled back. Dash, still glaring at her, continued. “We originally came here to ask YOU for help with a problem, my friend over here has, but instead of just simply saying ‘hello’ or ‘what is your name’ you start treating him more like as a source of your endless research rather than as a pony.” Dashie ranted on as she slowly advanced at the now timid looking unicorn. I was honestly shocked and surprised at Dash’s hostility as well, but decided to just keep my mouth shut as I knew from a fact that a pissed off Rainbow Dash is a Rainbow Dash you’d rather not want to stay in the way of, at least according to the show and fanfics back home. Element of Loyalty and all that i guess. Spike at some point must have noticed the sudden commotions within the main room as well as he stood there at the kitchen entrance with an interesting looking pink apron on him. Just like me he was wise enough to just keep out of the way as he slowly retreated back into the kitchen to continue to do whatever he was doing before. My focus swiftly went back to the two mares in front of me as Dash was still slowly advancing towards Twilight while she was fearfully backing off before her flank eventually made contact with the opposite bookshelves behind her and trapping herself for the blue Pegasus in front of her. RD stopped in front of her as their snouts were just millimeters away from touching one another as she continued on with her rant. “ALSO, didn’t the princess personally instruct you to study the social effects of friendship? Wouldn’t a new pony entering your home be the perfect opportunity to actually learn more about friendship by-oh I don’t know- being friendly to him and not start questioning the length of his horn -despite the fact of how kinky that may sound to some-. Also this place reeks. Have you ever left you home or even took a shower today? Because I know you definitely need it. Spending all of your time barricading yourself inside your home is the COMPLETE OPPOSITE of what you are supposed to be doing according to the princess. So stop doing whatever nerdy stuff you are doing, get out there and start hanging out with ponies especially with me and the rest of the girls since it already has been DAYS since we last ever saw mane or tail from you.” RD finally finished her rant before she took a few steps back, panting slightly, to give the now shocked unicorn her personal space back. I was beyond shocked as well, not just because of RD’s behavior, but also at how much sense and how many good points she made during her rant. You know what, I like MY Rainbow Dash WAY more than the original. She is vastly more observant and more intelligently towards her actions than the Rainbow Dash from the cartoon show. Twilight eventually relaxed and sighed as she sat down on her haunches. Her ears were splayed back as she looked down onto the floor in shame. “I’m sorry.” Twilight began before lifting her head and looking at both me, dash and the cluster fuck of a room before sighing again. “You’re right. I did behave poorly and neglected anypony for the last couple of days for the sake of more research which was not friendship related at all.” She continued before looking back at me. “Also sorry for.. .getting all up close and personal and treating you more like a thing rather than a pony. Sometimes my own curiosity can really get the better of me and the way I look and present myself to anypony, especially new ponies.” Twilight apologized while giving a genuine look of guilt towards me. I simply gave her a smile to show that there were no hard feelings which thankfully seemed to work as she eventually gave me a sad smile in return before quickly switching her attention back to Rainbow who was still standing at the same spot. “You are also right about me spending too much time bunkered up in here and not spending enough time with you and the girls. I will try to make a personal mental note to fix that so we can all “hang out” some more, as you always like to say it.” Twilight announced to RD with another sorry look which she accepted as she finally gave off a smile of her own before rubbing the back of her neck. “Nah, its cool Twi. We all have things that keep us busy, I guess… I just went somewhat overboard back there with my yelling. I guess I was just incredibly annoyed by getting forcefully pulled in and dropped onto my ass without warning and then-. Well, the point is that I am sorry for yelling at you back there.” Rainbow Dash offered while looking off to the side with a sheepish smile. “It’s ok. I guess I deserved it somewhat, and was a good wake up call for me to not keep myself locked up all the time.” Twilight replied with a smile. “So we’re good then.” RD answered, to which Twilight replied with a nod. RD trotted over to Twilight to help her back up on all fours before the two mares shared a quick hug together and chuckled. I smiled at this scene. Personally witnessing just how strong their friendship has already grown with one another was cheesy but also kind of heartwarming as well. I wanted to say something in between all of this but rather decided against it so these two could have their little private moment together. When suddenly an interesting realization quickly entered my head which I only managed to notice now since the tension has been lifted. “Is it just me or does Twilight also somewhat have a different feel to her?” I thought to myself which didn’t really go far as I noticed Twilight herself trotting up to me with her usual dorky smile that everybody knows and loves. She cleared her throat. “Well anyway, my name is Twilight Sparkle. I am Ponyville’s librarian. Who might you be?” Twilight introduced herself while reaching a hoof out. I meet her hoof with mine as I gave it a friendly shake while introducing myself as well. “Well uhm it’s nice to meet you Twilight Sparkle. My name is Nava… just Nava.” I introduced myself, a bit awkwardly, though, because… well, new pony and none other than princess follower herself, which she seemed to notice as she giggled a bit to herself as we let go from one another. “Again, sorry for my completely uncalled for behavior earlier. Really, I feel quite ashamed just because of it.” Twilight commented while scuffing the ground with a hoof awkwardly. I again just shook my head and gave her a smile, which eventually made her smile as well, pretty much defusing whatever tension was left. “So uh… about the reason why you two are here in the first place?” Twilight suddenly started, getting straight to the point, by the look of it. “Well, here we go.” I thought to myself as I mentally prepared myself for what was to come. Why? Because at this point I have mentally decided to just get clean and truthful with her. I don’t know why this is the decision I came up with, but I have decided to just throw caution out the window and hope for the best, again. Will this bite me in the ass? Probably, but at the same time I am slowly starting to get tired of all this secrecy and lying. That and I know for a fact that she will eventually find out one way or another, so let’s just get it out of the way now and save myself a lot of headaches later on. “Let’s see how this goes then.” ……………………………………………………………………………………… “Well here we are, the quiet little country town of Ponyville. Don’t know why the captain felt it necessary to send ME out here in state of one of her fellow guards I would seriously rather in my shop then have to go to a town...full of strangers." Gear thought to himself nervously as he exited the train. Once again the captain has kicked her out of his comfort zone to do something other than sit in his shop all day to quot ‘get rid of his ridiculous introvert problem’ that he has. “These Equestrian trains are so slow, weak and weirdly colorful, just like the makers. Ugh, I am so tempted to talk to the train conductor and ask him to make SERIOUS upgrades on these slow primitive things, it’s almost comical in just how far behind these ponies are in terms of actual advancements compared to the outside world. But...i guess that is the price you have to pay for a 1000 year of harmony and peace and whatnot. Which is nice but...it also caused stagnation in both magical and technological research” Gear mentally mused as he made sure that the brown cloak he was wearing was perfectly covering his form. Seriously, the first thing ponies do when seeing an actual Thestral… -or anything else that is not pony in general- is to slowly back away or run into the closest building and barricade themselves in. For a predatory species like Thestrals he can understand since it is just natural for prey to run away from anything that has sharp eyes and sharp teeth. But she even once heard tales of Zebras and Minotaurs getting the same treatment half the time, which even someone as shy and secluded like him finds it ridiculous. Gear shook his head. “No time in self meddling, time to actually get some progress done so i can get out of here and back to my sweet, sweet dark and little workshop.” Gear thought to himself as he reached into his saddle-bags to pull out one of his own inventions that he was given prior to her departure. His Magic detector, in layman's terms. The needle and the crystals gave away a soft glow when he held it up to him, telling him that it was working perfectly before placing it back into the bag before refocusing his gaze back at the bustling town in front of him. “Need to find a hotel or an inn to stay in as well while I am forced to stay here for a while, so i can hide in and continue my work in peace. If this town is even large enough to hold such establishments that is.” Gear once again mentally noted as he made his way off the ramp in the train station and trotted his way into the town. The needle on the magic detector giving of soft twitches as if it was detecting something.
Chapter 22: The Plot Thickens...For Better Or Worse Chapter 22: The plot thickens…for better or worse Edited by: Chrome Masquerade Proofread by: Midnight Gear “Okay, just follow the needle and I’ll find this new source of magic and be able to work in relative peace, or perhaps I should move to Ponyville, it seems much less distracting than Canterlot,” As Midnight Gear was walking along the main path in Ponyville, he did not notice a certain pink mare look at him and rush off elsewhere, perhaps to prepare a welcome party, nor did he notice the split-second confusion of the townsponies. “Hmm... I could improve the design and internal mechanisms a bit and add a few more diverse options of magical signatures, although I couldn’t possibly add Harmonic Magic as an option, studying let alone wielding that sort of magic would be an impressive feat and this town has all six of the bearers of the elements and the Tree of Harmony nearby.” While shaking his head, Gear said bemusedly “These townsponies hardly realize how lucky they truly are.” “LOOK OUT!” shouted a young tomboy-ish voice. Looking ahead, Gear managed to avoid the oncoming orange filly on a scooter and stop her with a sweep of his wing due to his guard reflexes. “D... do be more c... caref... ful with that sc... scooter of yours,” Gear said. While looking at her scooter he continued. “Perhaps you sh... should think of installing b... brakes in it.” “Nah, I kinda like the rush it gives me when I can’t stop and go super-fast, mister.” replied the orange filly. “We... well then, be more careful and try not to c... crash into other p... ponies,” Midnight advised while continuing on his way to find the source of the unique magical signature he was tracking. “Where was I? Ah! This magical signature is quite unique if it has never been studied or even recorded before. This makes it much harder to track. But, while unique, this works against it in terms of hiding, due to the fact that it is one of a kind and easy to follow and trace once you know what you’re looking for.” As Gear looked up, he noticed he was standing in front of a library named ‘The Golden Oaks Library’. Excitement coursed through him as he began thinking, “Aha! I’ve found it! Now I shall prove all of them wrong and perhaps be able to study this new form of magic.” Instantly, he rushed in and shouted... ……………………………………………………………………………………… “Well…” I began as I tried my best to formulate the right words I wanted to say. “Well, here goes nothing then, I guess. Fingers… or in my case, hooves crossed and let’s hope for the best.” I thought to myself as Twilight gave me her full attention while Dash in the background gave me an encouraging look, despite looking somewhat worried herself. “Ok, Twilight… the truth is that-” I began but didn’t really get too far with my long and probably broken explanation, for all of the sudden the main front door of the library busted open with a loud crash which caused us all of jump in fright. “HA! SO IT'S YOU!!! I KNEW THAT MY INVENTION WASN’T LYING TO ME, AND PROVING THAT IT WORKS AS WELL. HA! I SHOWED THOSE NEIGHSAYERS!” A young male voice suddenly shouted, which only added to both of our shock and surprise at this unexpected event. Rainbow Dash was the first to react as she immediately took to the air and dive bombed directly towards the intruder at the doorway. “No, wait! I was actually just-” was all that the young stallion could nervously sputter out before he suddenly found himself tackled by a rather speedy rainbow colored mare and back out of the library. A long sliding sound, followed by a loud crash echoed from the outside as both Twi and I were still stunned. We both eventually shook our heads and looked to one another before the two of us dashed out of the library and after the two as the sound of struggling was audible. What I saw the moment we made it outside the library and out onto the roads was… honestly something I expected. Dash was standing above the brown hooded stallion, pinning the poor guy down expertly while the victim in question was trying desperately to get the mare off him. Very unsuccessfully, I might add. A crowd quickly began to form as these two still continued to struggle alone against the wall of a house opposite the library. Twilight and I got closer to the scuffle as the two of them began to argue with one another… or more like pleading for the stallion. “Please get o… off of me! I… I was just trying to… follow and… determine the source… of an unknown magical signature!” The timid sounding stallion tried to explain as his struggling slowly began to die out. Dash, on the other hand simply snorted as she glared down at the cloaked stud while making sure that he stayed pinned under her forelegs. “Yeah sure. Cut the horseapples and stop struggling before I am tempted to knock you out instead. I know what you are. You’re one of those sharp-toothed bat-ponies that occupied Cloudsdale a while back.” Dash accused before using one of her wings to remove the hood from the stallion's head and revealing him fully for the whole town to see. What I saw left me surprised, to say the least. "A Thestral? What is a lone Thestral doing here?" I thought to myself as I kept my distance from it by standing behind Twilight and the rest of the crowd. Dash, on the other hand (hoof), continued her glare after she realized that her assumption was right. “Twilight.” She suddenly called out while keeping her gaze fixed on the fearful Thestral under her. “Go take and hold him with your magic and bring him back into the library and into the basement.” She commanded with a type of tone I have never heard or seen before of her, which again was highly surprising. And more than a bit frightening. “Wait… what? Why?” Twilight questioned confused. “Don’t ask questions. Just DO IT!” Dash demanded with a shout at the end, which caused Twilight to flinch a bit. “Alright, alright. Fine. Just… just step out of the way when I have him.” Twilight submitted before her horn quickly began to glow in a soft purple hue, which was mimicked on the Thestral’s body. Dash immediately stepped away, allowing Twilight to lift the Thestral stallion off the ground and over and between her and Dash. Whispers started to circulate from the now dozens of bystanders who surrounded us as Twilight began to gently levitate the stock still Thestral back toward her library. We, of course, followed her, with RD hovering right behind the now obviously nervous looking stud suspended in Twi’s field to keep a close on him by my guess. “Uhm…what are you three going to do with me?” The timid Thestral questioned as Twilight ducked him through the door. “Interrogate you. Duh. What do you think?” Dash responded as she landed back onto the ground to fallow Twilight through the main door. I stopped right before entering the library as I began to look back behind me, seeing the crowd previously there slowly disperse. I looked down at my hooves as I started to think on this new situation we were (or more like I was) stuck in. “Can I ever get a break from all of this? Just this once? I could mentally say more to this, but I don’t want to tempt fate by even thinking about it.” I thought to myself as I again started to look around me some more. To be honest, I really shouldn’t be that surprised that stuff just immediately started to go crazy once more, out of nowhere. This has pretty much been my whole new life since I get here. And yes, I am calling this my new life because… what else am I going to call it? New world, new body, new challenges that I may or may not conquer at all, pretty much new life material in my mind, even more so if I am going to stay here, or would be forced to stay here. I shook my head. “So much for my plan of just flat out telling Twilight the truth. Now with this new event having crashed itself through the window -or in this case door- I guess it would now be a bad time to be telling her.” I again thought to myself as I could hear some ruckus from the inside. “HEY Nava! Are you coming too or what? Better come back inside in case more of these Bat-pony hybrids are still lurking around town.” I heard Dash call out from within the library which immediately stopped my thoughts. “Well… I guess this situation could also be a blessing in disguise, because I still have this nagging feeling in my head that telling Twi about my… alicorn-hood would have possibly backfired on me.” I mentally mused as I made my way back inside of Twilight's messy library to see what both these mares will do to the Thestral. ……………………………………………………………………………………… “Being all alone at home with nothing else to do is the worst.” I muttered as I simply laid flat on the couch. With Flitter having gone off to work while I unexpectedly got a day off thanks to some really outstanding work from one of our co-workers the other day I am now basically trapped in this house for a whole day with nothing better to do than just lay flat on my stomach and occasionally swish my tail back and forth. I know it has only been a day since Nava had temporarily moved to Ponyville in hopes in getting that frantic horn of his fixed up, but it’s already enough to make this place feel so lifeless and empty without him around. Which is actually kind of strange, given that he hadn’t really been living that long with us to begin with, but yet again he just seems so interesting and mysterious on his own. I mean seriously, what pony could ever say that they are friends with, or even lived together with a freaking alicorn! Though, that’s not the main thing that makes him so interesting and even somewhat fun to be around. It’s mostly because of his introvert type personally. The fact that he is basically has the powers of a demigod while also being a complete dork and honestly, kind of a pussy is… kind of cute in my opinion. I immediately blushed when that particular realization hit me before I shook my head to get these ideas out of my mind quickly. “Though to be honest, I guess I can admit to myself that he is rather cute, since I am alone.” I whispered to myself as my tail continued to swish back and forth. I sighed as I laid myself down onto my crossed fore hoofs while letting my tail do its own thing back there. “He might have only been with us for a couple of weeks, but he has already made our normally mundane lives so much more interesting than it had been these last few years.” I thought to myself as I started to close my eyes while remembering father and mother. I began to softly hum the lullaby that our father used to sing for us when we were just little foals. Whenever I feel sad and lonely I usually start to hum it automatically, either openly or in my head if I don’t want ponies to hear me hum it. I hummed it all the way to the end and repeated it a couple of times to try to pass the time, though for some reason it didn’t help me as much this time as it normally does, as I was still feeling rather lonely and bored. I sighed again as I rolled myself onto my back before opening my eyes to stare at the white ceiling above me, my thoughts once again wandering back to Nava. “I wonder what Nava might be doing right about now? Did he already talk to Twilight and manage to convince her to help him with his magic problem without getting himself found out by her?” I wondered as I moved my forelegs under my head to support it better. “You know, we did agree that we can come over there to visit him whenever we want, but I would seriously take almost half a day to just fly there myself, plus I can’t just leave without sis; she would be pissed if I did that.” I thought to myself some more. I know this seems a bit too soon and also somewhat ridiculous to want to visit him, even though it has only been a whole day, basically, since he “moved out” of our home, but this place really doesn’t feel the same anymore without him being around. Plus I also don’t have anything to tease around anymore as well. My sister had stopped playing along with my antics over a year ago so she obviously won’t be an option in that subject. I moved my eyes to the clock on the far side of the wall I was facing to check the time. “Still three more hours before sis comes back from her shift at the weather factory. Damn, time really crawls by when you are all alone with nothing else to do or talk to.” I muttered before rolling myself back onto my belly. My tail once again swayed back and forth almost on its own as I started to once again think about the timid alicorn again. Seriously, though. Why the hay can’t get him out of my mind lately, since we were forced to leave him with Dashie to move over to Ponyville? My mind just has the tendency to randomly move to him. I know that he feels very interesting and also a bit mysterious, since neither me or sis really know much about him, but he can’t possibly be that interesting for my mind to continuously wander to him… at least to me… right? I started to groan as I buried my face into the fabric of the couch. “Ahhh… I can’t take this laying around alone and doing nothing anymore. And also why is my tail actively moving back and forth on its own? I am not on heat, it’s not that time of the year yet…or at least I don’t... think... so.” I groaned out into the sofa before lifting my head back up to glare at my self-conscious tail. “Stop!” I commented out loud, which thankfully did the trick as my tail quickly fell limp onto my flank. I smiled a bit to myself at this as I laid my head back down onto my forelegs, or at least that is what I was planning to do when both my mind and tail had, once again, different ideas. Nava back in the forefront and my tail beginning to casually wave back and forth again. “You know what, I might as well just go see what we have sitting around in the fridge and get my mind some well needed rest of all this wondering. Plus it’s long past lunch time as well, and I haven’t eating anything yet.” I muttered to myself as I pushed myself off the couch with a bit of a grunt. As if on cue, my stomach immediately began to voice its concerns when I mentioned ‘past lunch’, which only solidified my decision even more to quickly grab some cold grub from the fridge, maybe even snatch something that actually belongs to Flitter and eat that instead just to piss her off and then just retreat myself back to my room to doze off a bit. Maybe even pulling out my special box from under my bed to at least have SOMETHING to do while waiting around in the house. That, and it IS a perfect time to open it up now, since I am all alone in the first place. I actually felt myself get a bit excited at those thoughts as i casually made my way over to the kitchen to get myself something to nibble on before following on my plans to just relax for the rest of the day. “Maybe I can convince Flitter later to -hopefully- travel to Ponyville together tomorrow and to see how Nava is doing there?” ……………………………………………………………………………………… “Alright buddy. Speak or I am going to start shouting into your so-called sensitive ears loud enough to make them ring.” Dash threatened as she shone a really bright table light right at the terrified and expertly bound Thestral trapped on an old wooden chair. Who knew that Dash could do an impression of a cliché 1960’s style interrogator? All that was missing is a trench coat and a fedora and the image would be completed. Actually, I could just give her mine and it'd be close enough. “Please, I have already told the truth! I wasn’t part of the whole Cloudsdale occupation incident. I was actually in my workshop at the barracks, doing my own thing, I didn’t even hear about it until right after it was already over!” The timid looking Thestral replied, as sweat was slowly dripping down from his forehead, clearly visible thanks to the glare of the table light shined directly at his panicked looking expression. Actually, now that I had a better look at him, he does have a face somewhat similar to mine, having a muzzle that looks so much more likened to a mare’s than a stallion’s. Kind of weird, though, when you think about it. Mostly because the reason I have a much smaller and more slender looking muzzle compared to most stallions is probably because I was a European in origin before coming here. We do tend to have much narrower and pointier noses compared to others. But it could also be just because of me because… well I designed him this way myself. I rubbed my head as Twilight suddenly stepped up with a bit of a frown on her face. “Rainbow Dash, I think you are taking this just a bit too far now. Even if he was part of the whole Cloudsdale incident I heard (and read) about. These Bat-ponies are actually the primary members of the newly reformed night guard after Princess Luna’s return… or at least that is what Princess Celestia has told me in one of her letters.” Twilight explained as she stepped up to stand right next to the chair-bound captive. Dash scoffed at this before switching her gaze to her. “You wouldn’t understand Twi. You weren’t IN Cloudsdale at the time like I was. Some of them were even looking at me funny as if I was food. These guys mean business so I am NOT taking chances with this one either.” Dash retorted which made the Thestral in front of him suddenly light up in realization. I am not talking about the lamp, though. “Well, one of those might have been Ivan or Sigurd. They were always some of the more…extreme ones so to speak. Especially since they used to be Thestral Berserkers before joining the guard.” The Thestral explained, suddenly not looking or sounding so scared anymore and in more of a lecture mode. How such a sudden switch can work I don’t know, but at least it meant that the poor guy has some momentary rest from all the stress he found himself under. “Wait a minute...“ Twilight began as the explanation of what the Thestral said registered to her. “They allowed a brutal, literally bloodthirsty pony to join the Equestrian Night Guard?” She questioned in shock and slight concern, which caused the stud in question to look awkwardly to the side. “I don’t know, I… I am not part of the… whole recruitment program, or know how It even functions… in the first place. I am just an inventor and actually got forcefully drafted because of it.” The Thestral explained, suddenly being back to his normal timid self again. That thought immediately got Twilight's attention as her previous concerns suddenly got replaced by a glimmer in her eyes after he mentioned ‘inventor’. “Wait…did you say that you are actually an inventor? Like an actual one with all the magic and science behind it?” The Thestral simply nodded, or as much as his ropes even round his forehead allow him too. “Well… yes. But… why do you ask?” He asked as his interest was slightly piqued as well. “Well, it’s because I am a researcher myself, an expert in the subject of magic and Princess Celestia's personal student.” She explained with a smile, a revelation that quickly replaced the Thestral’s fear with overall curiosity and even slight excitement. “You research the fields of magic as well? Oh this is so interesting! It’s pretty rare these days to find someone with the same fields of study as mine.” He commented as a sparkle swiftly developed in his slit-pupiled eyes. “Wait, hold on a second. Aren’t we getting a bit sidetracked here?” Dash questioned, slightly dumbfounded by this sudden switch of focus. To be honest I actually found this cartoonish turnaround a bit amusing. “When two smarties find one another then the world around them might as well be nonexistent.” “Hold on, Rainbow Dash. This pony might actually have knowledge never seen before here in Equestria. Just think about the possibilities!” Twilight replied with a little squeak of excitement at the end. Dash, of course, was not impressed at all. “Are you serious?” she began, while giving her friend a strange look. “This guy is one of those bat-pony freaks that occupied the Cloud District back in Cloudsdale and almost caused a mass panic. You can’t possibly take this stud for granted?” She tried to argue before I stepped in and placed my hoof onto her shoulder to get her attention. “Leave her. In fact, as far as I can tell, these two will keep one another busy for quite a while. I mean, look and listen to them, two nerds in one room.” I whispered to her while pointing a hoof at them which RD followed. “I wouldn’t be surprised if these two just keep talking nonstop about science and magic for the whole week.” I quickly added, or at least so I thought because Equestria sometimes operates with cartoon-like physics and logic. “Yeah… I guess you might be right.” RD eventually sighed as the other two cranked the science talk to eleven. I nodded before looking at those two. “Kind of funny, actually, how both of them look really excited now, even with the timid stallion still bound to the chair.” I chuckled, which made RD smile a bit as well. “Well, two eggheads go well together, I guess.” She said with a smile before looking back at me. “But wait… what about the… you know?” RD asked, the meaning of it quickly registering in me. I scratched the back of my head. “Well… to be honest I kind of prefer it like this.” I began before looking at her. “To be honest I still don’t really trust her with keeping my whole alicorn thing a secret. Kind of a blessing in disguise when this Thestral barged in earlier, shouting that he had found me. With these two now too occupied with one another’s magic and science knowledge, they will eventually forget about me. Probably.” I whispered to her while the two eggheads still keep on talking about stuff I honestly don’t understand. Dash rubbed the back of her neck. “Well, I can actually see your logic here.” She answered. “But still... what about you getting that horn of yours fixed? If not Twilight, then who?” She asked as I turned myself around to trot back up the stairs and out of the basement. “Well, do you maybe know any other unicorn who might be able to help while NOT being connected to the princess herself?” I asked while looking back as RD followed me out from the cold and dark basement below. RD rubbed her chin as we were back in the main room of the library. “I have to think about it.” She answered before both of us were greeted by Spike coming from the stairs leading up to the second floor. “Hey you two. What the heck was all that ruckus earlier?” Spike said while chewing on some gems and holding what I can guess is a comic book in one claw “Power Ponies. Yup. It’s a comic.” “Nothing much, just Dash here having tackled a Bat-pony out of the library before bringing him back inside trapped within Twilight's magic to tie him up on a chair in your basement for a cliché 1960’s interrogation process that didn’t last long.” I explain to him casually which caused the small drake to look at me funny and overall confused as well. “Oh, Twi and that stud are now talking about Science and magic down there, which is why we are up here to leave them to their own devices.” I quickly added while gazing up the ceiling a bit. “…huh?” was Spike’s only response as he somehow looked even more lost than he already was. “Yeah it is kind of… ridiculous when you think about it.” RD butted in before looking at the still-confused drake standing at the foot of the stairs. “Can you maybe keep an eye on Twi and our new… “special guest”?” she actually growled a bit when she said that. “I still don’t trust this guy. He might be timid and somewhat of a pushover, but I still have this nagging feeling that this guy might be trouble in the future.” Dash added, which helped the drake to shake off the goldfish expression. Spike shook his head. “Well… yeah, sure. It isn’t like I have much else to do right now anyway.” He replied while finishing the gem he was nibbling on. “Spike? Spike, you still up there? Can you maybe bring us two glasses of water?” Twilight suddenly shouted from the basement. Spike groaned at this before placing his comic on a nearby table before moving over to the kitchen. “Well I don’t have much of a choice in watching them now, do I?” He questioned rhetorically before disappearing somewhere into the kitchen. Both Dash and I shrugged before making our way out of the library after calling goodbye to Spike. “So…” I began as the afternoon sun shone down onto my fur. “What now? I still need a unicorn to teach me ze magiks.” I question with a mimic of Photo Finish at the end. Dash was about to reply before a sudden but also recognizable voice suddenly called out to us. “Oh greetings, Rainbow Dash and…. handsome-stallion-I-still-haven’t-gotten-the-chance-to-get-to-know. What are you two doing in front Twilight’s place?” A white alabaster unicorn mare questioned from the other side of the street while carrying shopping bags in her magic. “Oh, hey Rarity.” Both of us greeted her back in unison as she made her way over to us with the shopping bags floating beside her. Dash nudged me. “Jinx! You owe me a cider.” before laughing. ……………………………………………………………………………………… “I. Am going. TO KILL HIM.” Glade announced after having read the report from one of her Thestral spies that kept an eye on Midnight Gear, written that he was easily captured after so very unprofessionally barging into the home of one of the element bearers. “I specifically told him to not do anything stupid. You had ONE JOB, Gear! ONE!”
Chapter 23: Magic 101 Chapter 23: Magic 101 Edited by: Chrome Masquerade Proofread by: Midnight Gear Would you like some sugar for your tea, darling?” Rarity asked while looking at me with a smile. I nodded. “Sure, that would be nice, I do like my tea a bit sweet.” I replied, to which Rarity nodded before adding a few sugar cubes to it with her magic. After having met Rarity just outside of the Golden Oaks Library, Dash and I had quickly informed her about our current situation, what had happened today with the Thestral and whatnot. She of course invited Dash and me (well, mostly me, because I still think she wants a shot at me) to her place where we can talk more about it comfortably and privately. I do have to say, seeing and stepping into Carousel Boutique for the first time was nothing special, to be honest. I mean, it looks just as the show back in my world depicted it, which really wasn’t a big surprise. What was surprising, though, was the mess Rarity's home actually was when we entered. All kinds of tailoring supplies like fabric, needles, rolls of thread and whatnot, were scattered all over the place as if a tiny tornado had passed through the boutique. Rarity, of course, was shocked to see her beloved home/work space in such a state before muttering something about never letting Sweetie Belle use her stuff unsupervised ever again, and to make her clean up the mess when she came back home later. After the initial shock and Rarity's muttering was over, she invited us into her home. While not minding the very obvious mess the entrance to the room was. Dash quickly excused herself on one of the couches, with both me and Rares (yes, I have already given her a nickname) being ok with it, before Rarity kindly offered for me to take a seat on a nearby unoccupied couch with a small coffee table in front, while she went off to the kitchen to make some tea for the both of us. Which leads us to here and now, Dash once again dozing off on a piece of furniture that is not hers and with me and Rarity having afternoon tea with a set of biscuits on a plate (cookies, for people who live on the other side of the Atlantic). “So…” Rarity began, after having taken a sip of her tea. “You came to Twilight seeking her help for your magic, but got interrupted by a bat-pony stallion crashing into her library soon after and having in the end decided that Twilight might not have been a good idea after all and you want me to help with that instead?” Rarity asked while raising a curious eyebrow as she levitated the cup back down gently. I simply nodded while trying my best to hold the cup with both of my hooves without dropping it. An action which again caused Rarity to look at me curiously, mainly my horn and the fact that I wasn’t using it. She shook her head before addressing me again with the same raised eyebrow. “Well, I would love to help your… apparent lack of magic for some reason, but why not Twilight directly?” She questioned, tilting her head a bit. “I mean, she IS the Element of Magic AND the personal protégé of Princess Celestia herself. Surely she would be able to perform a much better job in the magic department than I could ever do.” Rarity quickly added while quickly looking me over. I sighed. “Well, once again, here goes nothing I guess. Let’s hope she doesn’t freak out too much or tell anybody about me being an unknown male Alicorn.” I thought to myself as I mentally braced myself for something I knew I had to do if I wanted Rarity to fully understand me. “Miss Rarity-” I began before quickly being interrupted. “Just call me Rarity, please. All my friends do that. Adding the Miss part to my name makes me sound old, darling.” She suggested with a smile. In response, I nodded. I sighed again. “Rarity, before we can go any further… there is something I need to show you first.” I nervously announced, something that the mare in question seemed to have picked up as she quickly started to look at me in worry. “Show me something? Might it be something serious?” She questioned with a hint of worry in her tone, to which I simply nodded. “In a manner of speaking. For starters…” I began as I nervously started to slowly remove the black flight jacket on me. Rarity, of course, blushed a bit at the sudden action I made in simply removing my jacket right in front of her. That blush, though, was quickly replaced with a look of utter confusion and shock as she laid eyes on my now half-extended wings after I laid the jacket next to me, on the couch. I just sat there, my true race fully shown to her while nervously awaiting her response and rubbing my forelegs together. Rarity, on the other hand, (or hoof, in her case) was doing the best goldfish expression I had ever seen. Opening and closing her mouth, probably trying to say something as her eyes kept darting from my wings, to my horn, to my face and vice-versa. You could cut the tension with a knife, not only that, but I was feeling more and more nervous as the seconds ticked by. Almost to the point where I started regretting my decision, though it was obviously be far too late to change that at that point. “Uh… uhm… o-ok?” Rarity finally replied shakily, obviously still trying to process the information and not really helping with my unease at the situation. “A good thing, at least, that I hadn’t removed my jacket while she was taking a sip of her tea. Wait… why am I thinking this, anyway?” “Well Rarity, you see-” I began before Rarity interrupted me with a question I should have seen coming. “You… you don’t happen to be a… prince… do you?” She asked, to which I quickly shook my head while holding out my hooves out. “N-no, no, no, no, NO. I am NOT royalty in the slightest. I am not a prince, just an average quirky guy who tries to get by, nothing more.” I quickly corrected. Rarity sighed while looking somewhat disappointed (I can imagine a few reasons why), before she looked back at me with a still somewhat disbelieving look on her features. “Well then, if that is the case...” She began before looking back at my wings. “I am still somewhat… shocked that, there is actually somehow another Alicorn, similar to the princesses just casually trotting around in Ponyville. Not to mention a stallion as well.” Rarity commented before looking down at her half-emptied tea cup in front of her. “Well, that’s not all…” I began sheepishly while rubbing my hooves together nervously. “Do you know about the whole Cloudsdale incident?” I asked while looking back at her. She nodded, while gazing back at me. I nervously rubbed the back of my head before replying. “Well… that was actually kind of my fault back there, I was the source of that unknown magical phenomenon as journalists and investigators dubbed it.” I admitted which immediately caused Rarity to look at me shocked for a second time in a row, before her face quickly dropped into realization. “I I believe I have started to put the pieces together now.” She announced while rubbing her chin. My ears perked up at that, as my wings twitched a bit. “Wait… you are?” I asked, to which she looked back at me again. “Well, yes… I think.” She said, sounding and looking somewhat unsure of herself. “Whatever must have happened to you, back then most likely has something to do with the fact that you have no idea how to use or even control your magic.” She continued, while looking up in thought. “Which is why you are back here in Ponyville, to seek help from somepony that could maybe help you with that problem, teach you the use of magic and control, to hopefully prevent such an incident from ever happening again, and since you are… well, an Alicorn -which is still somewhat shocking to me, by the way-, your claim of being the cause of such a phenomenon does sound a lot more possible now as well, which makes it an even better reason to try to find a solution as soon as possible.” She finally finished her analysis, which, in all honesty, left me stumped. It was my turn to have my jaw drop. “She figured it all out like that on her own, and also being 100% on the mark as well?” I thought to myself with my jaw slightly hanging from my mouth. “Well, then again, she always has been depicted as a rather clever and very observant individual. Plus, now that I think about it more, it actually isn’t that hard to just put two and two together after my given explanation, so really I shouldn’t be too surprised at all.” I continued to think as I promptly closed mouth before shaking my head. “That… that is actually a pretty dead-on analysis there.” I admitted, as another question seemed to enter Rares’ mind. “Well, ok, that at least explains that. But still, why didn’t you approach Twilight regarding this issue? As I said, she is far more skilled and more knowledgeable on the subject of magic than I.” Rarity questioned again while tilting her head once more. “That’s because I am actually in hiding, trying to keep my Alicorn identity a secret in fear of ponies getting the wrong idea, wanting to use or even capture me, and also not knowing what even the two princesses will do to me if they suddenly found out that an unknown Alicorn is running around free in their kingdom. Especially knowing… or at least making the assumption that I was the cause of the whole Cloudsdale incident in the first place, which will obviously then put me in a bad light with them and everybody else will probably see me as a danger as well.” I explained to her in one go, looking down at my hooves before continuing. “And since Twilight is Princess Celestia’s personal protégé, I can’t really trust her to not tell her about me, which I honestly do not want… or at least not until I can clear my name somewhat and at least show everyone that I am not a possible threat at all.” As I finished my explanation with a deep breath. Rarity seemed to look at me with understanding as she levitated her cup of tea back to her mouth, to finish of its contents, before placing it back on the plate. “Well…to be honest, Twilight can be a bit of a tattletale when it comes to stuff like that, and if anything you just said is really true, then I would say that it really was in your best interest to avoid her for now.” Rarity admitted when she suddenly gave me a small smile for the first time since I revealed myself to her. “But you know what? Even if my knowledge of magic might not be as... plentiful as Twilight's, it still is enough that might be able to help you nonetheless. If something is missing, I could still just trot over to Golden Oaks Library and borrow some of her books regarding magic on your behalf. I might actually learn something myself, in the process.” Rarity finally announced, with a genuine smile, this time. I smiled back, feeling internally relieved that I somehow managed to bring another pony to understand and even trust me. For something besides my looks and my obviously out of control powers. Though, one problem still remained. I was about to ask her about it until she stopped me once more after, I presume, sensing what I was going to say. “Don’t worry darling. If you really want to keep you identity a secret I will promise you to not tell a soul about it. You have my word as a lady. If you want, I’ll even Pinkie Promise.” She assured me, kindly. Which again made me feel happy, as the very last burden was finally off of my chest and mind. I managed to get Rarity on my side and to also help me finally get some of my magic fixed and under control. “Thanks again, for understanding and for agreeing to help me Rarity. This really means a lot to me.” I thanked her genuinely. She, again, simply smiled while shaking her head a bit. “It’s nothing at all, darling, I am the Element of Generosity after all. And besides, if your stories are true (add to that the fact that you really are an actual Alicorn), then helping you would honestly be in the best interests for everypony, not just you and your friends.” She paused, then added, “I may not know much about Alicorns in general but what I do know is that their magic is quite powerful and can be downright devastating, if not used properly.” She explained, a truth I can only agree upon, if my own experiences and Silver's personal account were anything to go by. “If I don’t want to dig myself into a deeper hole than I already am, then getting some control of my powers is my top priority. And, who knows? Maybe I will be able to learn how to temporarily get my human form back, or even learn of a way to return home… if there is still time, that is. After all what would be the point in wanting to return back to Earth when, possibly, a 100 years might have somehow passed over there. I might as well stay here, then.” I thought “Anyway… would you like some more tea while we continue to discuss our plans in getting your magic under control? In fact, we can just casually get to know one another while doing so as well. I actually feel quite interested about the concept that a full-grown stallion like you hasn’t learned anything about magic prior to this, despite being very powerful. It’s a little ironic, if you ask me.” Rarity offered while levitating the teapot over her cup to refill her empty cup before looking at me to await my response. I stared down at my half empty cup before looking back at her and giving her a nod. “Sure, more tea would be nice, I actually enjoy the tea you have here.” I responded before a question suddenly came to mind regarding the drink itself. “What type of tea is it, anyway?” I asked as Rarity levitated the pot over to my cup and refilled it with its hot and relaxing content. “It’s actually Jasmine, dear. A personal favorite of mine, to be honest.” She responded, before putting the teapot back down and levitating her own cup again to take a sip from it and humming in delight. “It helps me relax after a hard day (or night)’s work.” “Jasmine, huh? No wonder this tea tasted so familiar to me.” I thought to myself as I did the same, trying to get a hold of the cup with both of my hooves to take sip from its hot and steaming content. Now knowing what its flavor actually was, I hummed in delight as the sweet taste of hot Jasmine tickled my taste buds. Helping me to relax and calm down fully after everything that has happened. “Do you want to start, or should I? Or should we have a naturally evolving conversation and just go along as it develops?” Rarity questioned which immediately made me pause. “Oh… shit. Well… time for crafty storytelling, I guess.” I thought to myself, as I simply gave her a nod. RD’s soft snoring being the only sound besides our talking with in the still disorganized room. Telling her about myself and my family and whatnot, while leaving out the ‘other world’ and ‘human’ part out of course. ……………………………………………………………………………………… “Well, I have already told you about all the magic I have studied, learned and am currently researching at the moment.” Twilight announced happily before refocusing her gaze back at the Thestral, now known to her as Midnight Gear, a local researcher and inventor of his homeland and the Night Guard he currently worked for. As she focused on the pony in front of her, she noticed a peculiarity. His right eye was glowing slightly and the iris was spinning in a clockwise direction. She also saw that the electric blue of his iris was a combination of the two separately spinning disks of metal, blue and a slightly darker shade of blue respectively, one above the other. “I don't mean to be rude, but... what the hay is with your right eye!?” Twilight exclaimed. “Hmm? Oh! That. I didn't think you'd notice, (not many do) but my right eye is actually artificial” Midnight explained. “What!? I thought that was impossible! The sheer complexity and delicacy of an eye is what makes it impossible to replicate!” Twilight said in her shock. “Well, Equestria is actually pretty far behind in terms of technological advancement, compared to the rest of the world. While you are still using science and magic separately, like steam engines and spells, the rest of the world, especially in Kazzas and Pelepolos, (Kazzas being the one further ahead, with it being far more accessible to scholars, researchers and inventors) are combining magic and science to make things like my eye, enhanced fuel and Mana Engines alike. Best examples would be our airships but without proper illustrations or schematics i cant really show much of it.” Gear told Twilight. “Wow! That is amazing! I don't mean to pry, but... how did you lose your eye? And what is this combination of science and magic called?” Twilight asked. “It’s called MagiTech, and ironically, I lost my eye when I was improving the design of the artificial eye. Like making new spells and alchemy, MagiTech... isn't always safe.” Midnight said. “Wow! I guess it's good that you succeeded then. But, I mean… to be honest, it’s still rather strange to know that that sort of stuff is possible by combining science and magic. A non-Unicorn like you and many others may study magic but... isn't it kind of useless when you can’t even cast any of the magic you are studying about? No offense, though.” Twilight quickly added. Gear simply shook his head, having been long freed from his earlier restraints by Twilight, as the two had spent most the afternoon talking about magic and technology. Mostly Twilight, as she had done most of the talking and explanation of her understanding of magic and what she had been researching lately, which left Gear very intrigued. “None taken, really. The type of magic I have been studying really doesn’t need any horn or similar materials to use or even cast.” Midnight explained as he took a sip of his glass of water. His usual shyness and timid nature were gone, in favor of talking to someone who shared his love for science and research in general. “I am actually researching and studying the nature of Blood Magic and the creation of Blood Weapons and Armour in general.” Midnight explained to her, which caused the mare in question to almost choke and spit out the water she was drinking in unison with him, in a very comical fashion. She coughed and gagged before looking at Gear with wide eyes. “Wait, can you- (*cough*) can you repeat that?” She asked, which in turn caused Gear to slowly revert to his timid nature once more. “Uhm… I-I said that I am st-studying… Blood Magic an-and Blood Weapons.” He stuttered while twirling the small glass nervously in his hooves. Twilight on the other hoof continued to just stare, before her brain finally process the answer she was given. “BLOOD MAGIC! YOU STUDY BLOOD MAGIC AND WEAPONS!? THE LONG FORGOTTEN ART MOST PONIES ONLY CONSIDER A MYTH NOWADAYS!?” Twilight shouted with more than a hint of excitement in her tone. Gear simply nodded his head slowly, which immediately caused stars to appear in Twilight's eyes as she leap in excitement. “You’ve got to tell me EVERYTHING!” Twilight said, several quills and rolls of parchment floating from her storage room. Midnight Gear smiled enthusiastically, “Sure! Why not!” “So, MagiTech has quite the history-
Chapter 24: The Discoveries Never End (Part 1) Chapter 24: The Discoveries Never End (Part 1) Chapter 24: The Discoveries Never End (Part 1) Edited by: Chrome Masquerade Proofread by: Midnight Gear I immediately jolted awake as I opened my eyes. “What the? What was that feeling I felt in my dream?” I thought to myself as I simply stared up at the darkened ceiling above me. By the light level -or rather, the lack thereof- around the room I was looking around it was obviously still in the middle of the night, and looking to a small alarm on my bedside table immediately confirms that. “2 AM. Why the hell am I suddenly jolted awake at two in the morning?” I muttered to myself as I slowly pushed myself up into a sitting position. I was quite comfortable, sleeping in one of the Apple family’s guest rooms that they so generously offered me while temporarily staying here in Ponyville for a while. As I sat there on my bed in the middle of a darkened bedroom with the light of the full moon being the only source of proper illumination through a half-drawn window I began to remember and recollect all of the events that had happened yesterday. Or more like failed to happen yesterday, to be more honest. By failed I mean ‘failed to get Twilight as my possible teacher on how to control and call upon my magic without causing a natural -or unnatural- disaster around me whenever my horn suddenly decides to act as a light bulb. That idea, of course, got immediately crashed when a timid sounding Thestral suddenly came “crashing” in and claiming that he had found the source of something. Most likely me, if I want to be real here. That thought didn’t really end up as upsetting as I imagined that it probably would be, because, to be honest with myself, despite having made my final decision in approaching the bookworm mare fully regarding my problem and my true look and identity myself, I was still somewhat cautious with this plan, like some sort of inner instinct telling me that I was secretly making a wrong move and setting myself up for something that I wouldn’t be able to escape like I miraculously had with the Thestral occupation of the Clouds District back in Cloudsdale. So overall, what it truly ended up happening was more of a small blessing in disguise than anything else, which I felt really happy and relieved for once that realization came to me. “Who knew that dumb luck could strike twice in a row in almost identical situations?” I thought to myself as I then remembered promptly meeting Rarity after that, which -after a fashion- fixed the problem of having to find another unicorn to teach me about magical control. The rest of the day spent with Rares was surprisingly pleasant. Not only did I somehow manage to get her on my side and overall convince her to keep my identity a secret, but I also managed to gain not just a teacher for my problems but a possible close friend as well. That, or she still wants to have a shot at me for being, quote unquote, “One of the most dashing looking stallions I have ever seen.” I personally don’t mind being incredibly handsome -or at least in pony standards- but such positive attention isn’t really helping me with my situation and desire to stay anonymous from the rest of the world. Besides that the rest of the evening with Rarity was ‘again’ surprisingly smooth, simple and I dare say 100% civil as well. She IS a lady with class, after all. You could easily confuse her with a noble if you didn’t already know her true background and origins. With all of that out of the way, it was pretty much just her telling me that we could start my lesson tomorrow after first helping the Apple family with their harvest early in the morning. We said our goodbyes -after having roused RD up from her ‘occupation’ of one of Rarity’s couches- and headed our separate ways. RD kindly walked with me all the way back to the edge of town before heading our separate ways as well, having told me that she actually had weather duties tomorrow before flying home herself. I made the rest of my way back towards Sweet Apple Acres myself afterwards. After a hearty dinner made by Applejack and a quick goodnight from all of us, it was then time to hit the hay and call it a day. Which now leads us to the here and now, waking up from a dreamless sleep after a sudden jolt of what I can only describe as electricity coursing through my nerves. “Strange. I wonder if it was just one of my new…” I whispered before the same sensation suddenly resurfaced, which forced me to pause and go stiff from the experience. It was also then when my horn suddenly lit up again, not as bright as the last few times, but just bright enough for me to see and to give the room a gentle glow to it. I was once again confused and slightly terrified by this, thanks to my pretty much nonexistent understanding of magic and my new body in general. I suddenly found myself sensing something. It was somewhat similar to the sensation I felt during Nightmare Moon's return, but this time it felt much more calm and pure than the dark and chaotic feeling I got when I was close to her. Yes, I am just going to call these feelings as I am obviously still very blind to all of these new senses I know have. I was once again very confused, but also slightly intrigued this time as I slowly started to shift and turn on my bed. As I did so I quickly managed to note that the intensity of this feeling was slowly growing or dropping down whenever I moved my gaze…or more specifically my horn to different direction with in the room, with the half shut window to my left being the strongest source of this… feeling. “What the… heck?” Was all I could mutter as this realization swiftly struck home. With my own curiosity once again getting the better of me, I carefully crawled my way out of bed and onto the wooden and rugged floor beneath me as my made my way over to the window. Moving the curtains away with my hoof I was swiftly greeted with a view of the outside world at night, but more interestingly I was greeted with a direct line of sight with the very edges of the Everfree forest. Not only that, but whatever sensation and source I was feeling got gradually stronger when I moved towards the window, which my logical mind immediately interpreted that whatever I was feeling or sensing must be coming from the direction I was looking in at the moment, I.E., the Everfree forest. I frowned as the realization kicked in. “The Everfree forest… really? But then again, It does makes sense when you think about it. The Everfree is the most unnatural location in all of Equestria… well, unnatural by pony standards, that is.” I thought to myself as I continued to stare off at the distant tree line. “This feeling is probably not going to go away until I march myself into the forest at night and follow whatever seems to be calling me, is it?” I questioned to myself mentally, as indeed the sensation was slowly starting to get stronger and stronger the longer I just stood there. I eventually sighed, as there really doesn’t seems to be another option for this. I do have a bit of a trust towards my new instincts, since now all they have managed to do was good, in my opinion. I know that normally I would think of myself as being suicidal for making such a decision, but then again I am an alicorn now, even in the face of great danger my own alicon instincts seem to automatically kick in and do stuff for me, even though I might not remember much of it later on. “Hope Silver knows what he seems to be doing with my magic.” I again thought to myself as I finally moved myself away from the window. I quickly grabbed all of my stuff such as my glasses, hat, scarf and my jacket as well, as I am sure that the nighttime air would be chilly outside. With myself prepped and clothed for the occasion, I carefully and silently opened the door to my borrowed bedroom before tiptoeing (or more like tip hoofing) my way through the corridor, past the other bedrooms and eventually down the stairs. “I hope this decision isn’t going to bite me in the ass for the first time.” I again thought to myself, slowly starting to feel nervous about it as I trotted passed the living room before opening the front door and trotting out to the cool and fresh air of the night. ……………………………………………………………………………………… “Good thing that my horn always glows whenever something seems to be up.” I thought to myself as I carefully followed a small dirt path. I managed to thanks to the soft light that my horn was casting all around me. Funny, despite knowing that this here is an extremely dangerous forest, -especially at night- I am not feeling a lot of paranoia or fear, as I had been the last time I was here. Which was also the first time. Another thing that was both calming and very eerie at the same time was just how… quiet the Everfree seemed to be. Beside the occasional owl or howl of some distant wolf, there was nothing else in the forest that I could identify as immediate threatening. Carefully stepping over some large rocks and holes and jumping over a large spiky vine laid right across the small path I was travelling on, I was making my way deeper and deeper into the Everfree. At some point I even managed to spot a small hut-like structure built into a twisted looking tree, on my left. Most likely Zecora’s hut, if my memory serves me correctly about its location and overall look. I personally would have loved to trot over there, maybe meet her and even go as far as maybe asked for her help, but my instincts alone where once again forcing me against this idea as I simply continued on. It didn’t take long, though, for me to eventually reach a small river and clearing on the end of my path. The ground around the river was pretty boggy, but not to an extent where you would sink down and get stuck in it. It’s a good thing that I have hooves now and don’t wear shoes anymore, otherwise they would be ruined at this point. “Great… now how the heck can I get across this? Whatever I am following is obviously on the other side of this river and I don’t want to push my luck too far in just openly standing here in… well, the open and risk something with sharp teeth spotting me. I know for a fact that water is always an animal magnet for both herbivores and carnivores alike… especially the latter.” I thought to myself, as I began to scan the edges of the river for any good or shallow enough spot to cross over it. “Nothing. Great. If I could actually use my wings other than just to create gusts of winds, with them I would not be stuck here now. Flying, or at least gliding, would really come in handy right about now.” I muttered to myself as I slowly started to trot along the shore of the river, following the stream. “If only I could remember how I did it the first time around.” I continued on as blurry memories of my rescue and first encounter of the two pegas-sisters came to mind. I might still very be wary of heights, but I couldn’t really deny the versatility and practicality of being able to fly. This situation now being the perfect example. Being able to fly means no more problems when it comes crossing rivers or large gorges. I sighed. “Thinking and theorizing on how different things would be when being able to fly isn’t going to get me anywhere.” I argued with myself as I simply sat myself down on a solid and dry spot along the river to simply stare up into the star-filled night up above. “I can understand why some peoples might find something like this beautiful. For me, though, things like these make me more or less feel indifferent, especially since I was more of a house cat type of guy before having mysteriously ended up here.” I thought to myself as I continued to stare up, despite the glare from my own horn making it somewhat pointless. “I could just try to swim over?” I wondered out loud as my gaze once again fell on the flowing river in front of me and finding its water to be relatively calm compared to most rivers I have seen. I was about to act on these ideas and possible ruin both the jacket and the scarf when out of the corner of my eye I spotted something slowly floating down the river. “Wait…is that a tree trunk?” I wondered aloud, as I watched it slowly make its way towards me. Just when I somehow couldn’t imagine that I’d get even more dumb luck after the one yesterday, I just somehow managed to get yet another break as the tree trunk managed to get itself perfectly vertical, stuck on some large rocks further down on the stream, a very short distance from where I am currently. I simple stared at it for a few more seconds in awe at my current track of good fortune, before I shook my head. “Well… thank you… faith? I guess?” I commented aloud, with a sheepish grin on my muzzle, before eventually shrugging and carefully making my way and stepping onto the one of the rocks the trunk had managed to wedge itself on. It was a bit shaky and slippery, but thanks to the fact that I was a quadruped with the luxury of wings extended for extra balance, it meant that inching my way across the -thankfully calm- river wasn’t as problematic as I imagined it to be from the start. With a final hop I made it across to the other side with a satisfied smile on my face as I gave the helpful tree trunk a thankful nod before continuing on my cheerful way. Well as cheerful as a dark and gloomy forest at night could somewhat be, until noticed something at the corner of my eye again and immediately frowned when I turned my head to look at it. Further down the river, now perfectly visible from this position and angle towards the curve of the river further down, was none other than a small -but yet actually there- bridge. “I could have just as easily crossed the river via a bridge that was just a little bit further downstream?” I whined to myself as I gave the large bushes and trees that previously obstructed my path earlier on the other side of the river with an annoyed glare. “Well, at the same time I can’t really complain too much, now. I still made it across regardless, so I should just get going and not linger on this any further.” I muttered as I shook my head before following my instincts once more. “At least now I know where the term ‘dumb luck’ comes from.” Travelling further and deeper into the forest was still as surprisingly uneventful as the other half has been, though this time with the occasional shadow dancing around the edges of my vision as the darkness around these areas was almost unnatural. The light on my horn was really not giving much comfort in that regard. But I pressed on, not just to finally get this over with, but to also get out of this creepy darkness and hopefully somewhere less unnerving. I think I even saw a few glowing eyes off into the distance behind some creepy looking trees. My vigilance, though, was soon rewarded as I spotted another break from the dense jungle-like forest and quickly found myself in a HUGE clearing. A clearing which I immediately recognized as my eyes went wide. “The castle ruins.” I muttered as I looked on into the distance at the gloomy -but still impressive looking- ruins. Once again this here was as authentic looking as it was in the show, complete with a dark and wide gorge surrounding the ruins, with only a very suicida- looking bridge acting as its only access point to the flat plateau on the other side. Unless you are a flyer, -once again, another perfect example of the advantages of flying- which I am not. I sighed and groaned in the end as I gave the castle and the gorge a more critical look as a sudden -but ultimately useless- comparison came to mind. “This place strangely reminds me of the classic Castlevania games, just add some lightning strikes and bats in the background and it's perfect.” I thought to myself instead of saying that out loud, to not tempt fate. I don’t feel like having to fight a pony version of Dracula. Shaking my head, I quickly moved on, making my way towards the rickety hanging bridge. I looked down in between it's somewhat wide-spaced boards and shivered a bit in discomfort as I saw the looong drop underneath it. My acrophobia once again kicked in as I quickly back peddled from the edge. Or that is what I wanted to do, but my horn actually had other ideas, as it suddenly got brighter. That idea being pulled onto the bridged just as filly Rarity in that one of those few episodes I actually watched from the show. And let me tell you, it looks and feels allot more terrifying that the episode made it out to be. Especially when there is dark and seemingly endless looking abyss involved. “What the… STOP! NO, STOP! STUPID HORN, I DON’T WANNA GO OVER THIS INDIANA JONES STYLE BRIDGE! SILVER IF THIS IS YOU, STOP IT!!!” I shouted in utter panic as I was forcefully pulled onto the bridge. I began to flail my limbs before quickly grabbing onto one of the posts that connected and kept the bridge suspended on either sides. Or at least I tried, before I undershot and got simply dragged alone onto the bridge, to my absolute horror. A bridge that looks more unstable than my home world’s political system over a black endless looking abyss. My acrophobia is having a field day. “NO STOP, SILVER, PLEASE MAKE IT STOP! CAN YOU HEAR ME? SILVER?” I tried to call out once more as the force pulling on me was slowly straining my neck. That and I was on the brink of... leaking after I so horribly made the mistake of looking down at my dragging hind legs and basically eeped in the same way Fluttershy would. Good thing I was alone, I guess. I once again tried to hold on onto something, quickly grabbing a hold onto the ropes acting as guardrails on either side on with both of my forelegs. The problem with this idea was that hooves don’t really have a really good grip on ropes to begin with. The other problem was that the magic pull on my horn was ever so slightly increasing the closer I got to whatever my horn was pulling me to, which meant even less chance of keeping my already negligible grip on the ropes even further. Which only left my teeth then, which I used as I forcefully -and very hard- bit onto support ropes to my right in hope that this would finally bring this second instance of magical insanity to an end. The first being the Cloudsdale incident, of course. At first it worked, though that realization didn’t survive that long as my horn just straight up started to pull even harder… and then the rope I was holding onto broke, most likely because of the force of my bite and the constant pulling via my horn. “I should have stayed in bed.” Was all I was able to say before the entire thing simply capsizes to the right, with me now falling into the awaiting blackness of the abyss with a silent scream and allot of mental scolding to Silver. My dumb luck streak had to end somewhere, ironically it was done by my own magic…again. Magic, you are a real bitch. I would have been better off as an earth pony instead. ……………………………………………………………………………………… “Hey…hey Nava, you’re ok?” I heard a very familiar voice say within the darkness. A very, very familiar voice in fact. “What the…where…what?” I groggily said out as I slowly opened my eyes and was first greeted with an image of a very blurry light brown and black blob. “Hey, you’re finally up. I have never seen you enter the subconscious dream realm of your mind in such a way. I mean… you literally dropped from the sky and I was immediately worried when you hit the ground hard and didn’t get back up immediately.” The same voice commented again as my vision was slowly clearing up and I was looking up at the familiar face of me… or rather, Silver, since he no longer wore either the hat or the glasses for the sake of less confusion. I immediately shot forward and punched him, landing squarely on his face with my hoof. He stumbled back and fell on his flank with a daze as the right side of his face was pulsing red from where I hit him. He quickly shook his dazed mind off as he hissed in pain after he tried to touch the sore spot where I punched him before glaring at me with in both surprise and anger. “DUDE…what the heck was that for?” Silver demanded in which I quickly stood up on all fours while snarling at him. “Don’t be stupid. You know EXACTLY what this is for SILVER!” I answered as I loomed over him, glaring daggers at him. “You and your stupid magic. I thought you were supposed to help me not drag me out from my bed, force me to walk into a dangerous forest at night and then literally pull me over a very unstable bridge, which eventually collapsed and caused me to fall into a dark gorge!” I shouted at him, my muzzle was inching closer to his, while he was still busy rubbing the sore spot. He looked at me confused, which only enraged me even further. I was about to hit the bastard of a double again before he stopped me by holding a hoof out. “Wait, wait… what… what do you mean?” he asked, but before I could respond he continued. “I… I know what you are talking about the whole… sensation you have been fallowing… because I felt it too, but I swear that I have nothing to do with it other than the time when I felt your fear and simply helped -or tried to help- you cross whatever you were afraid to step onto.” He explained to me, while looking up at me with a bit of panic in his eyes. “Wait a minute… you said something about falling off of something, right?” He asked while looking at me, confused. I nodded while still glaring down at him, my anger slightly lessened thanks to his somewhat useful explanation. “Well yes, you dragged me off onto a rickety, old hanging bridge - even though you know full well that I am acrophobic!” I shot back, my anger slightly rising again, which seemed to register in Silver. “Hey, hey… I had no idea that the bridge was faulty, ok? I just sensed fear from you and I thought that maybe giving you a little push would help you cross it. If I would have known that it was in a poor state I would have never attempted that stunt in the first place.” He explained to me in haste while again holding his hooves out in front of him. “I swear I didn’t know, ok? I might not have told you yet, but my influence on the outside world is pretty limited. I can only get bits and pieces of it at a time. Mostly from you, or personally sensing magic fields or anomalies around you or close to you.” He continued to explain as my anger once again lowered. “Remember, if you die, I will cease to exist as well. I could never place you in harm’s way on purpose, not just for your sake but mine as well.” He finally finished, which had the immediate effect of draining all of my anger toward him completely. My expression softened and I sighed before stepping off of him and giving him space to get back up on his own. He promptly did so as he continued to rub his sore face from where I hit him, making me feel somewhat awkward and also somewhat guilty as well. “Well… sorry for, well… hitting you back there. I guess I was a bit too quick to judge.” I apologized as I looked to the grassy covered ground with my ears dropping to the sides. Silver simply shook his head before giving me a small smile. “Nah, it’s fine, really. In fact I actually might have deserved it nonetheless for blindly pulling you into danger in the first place. I should have really been more focused with your own surroundings and situations first before I even considered jumping in. I was being narrow minded as well.” He confessed with a sorry tone and look in his eyes as he looked off to the side with the same dopey looking ears. An awkward silence dominated the space between us afterward with neither of us saying or daring to look at one another faces. Only the gently sound of the wind and rustling of leaves being the only silence breakers. This is the same landscape of endless fields of golden wheat as it had always been since I first saw it, though this time much more detailed and complete, as it had been previously, with now visible mountains and hills off into the horizon, and even with some very vivid and complex looking clouds up in the sky instead just a sea of endless blue. Silver really does put a lot of work into his own realm of existence. It really shows by just looking around it. “Again, I am sorry.” I repeated myself after a while as I looked back at him, still looking and feeling somewhat guilty from my uncalled for outburst. Silver again shook his head before looking back at me as well, with a sad smile on his muzzle. “Nah it's fine. We're both at fault here.” He simply answered. I was about to say more when Silver stopped me by raising a hoof as his ears sudden shot up in ‘standby’ mode. “We can maybe talk more about this the next we see each other.” He casually announced, which caused me to tilt my head at him questioningly as I raised an eyebrow. “Why?” I simply questioned. “Well, it’s because you’re in the middle of waking up again, that’s why.” He quickly answered before giving me a genuine smile. “And don’t worry, I won’t do anything to you this time. Let’s NOT repeat that almost fatal mistake. But… well I can still give you light of course, you are in a very dark place, from what I can tell and sense around you.” He quickly added. “Oh… well… ok then. I guess this will be ‘until next time’ then.” I answered while scratching the back of my neck as i could slowly feel the very distinct tell-tale sign of getting myself pulled back into the conscious world. Silver nodded while waving a hoof at me in ‘goodbye’ and ‘see you later’ gestures. “You just be careful out there in the real world, alright? And stay away from anymore drops or ledges this time.” He stated jokingly, to which I simply rolled my eyes as the world around me started to fade from existence. “Yeah, yeah, I know. You really don’t need to remind me of that.” I simply replied for the final time before the world around me completely disappeared in a white flash. “Always has to get the last word, if he can.” Silver said, shaking his head.
Chapter 25: The Discoveries Never End (part 2)Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.
Chapter 26: The Discoveries Never End (Final) (slight- re-edit)Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.
Chapter 27: Hitting a Wall Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.
Chapter 1: The worst wake up call EVER//The (Mis)adventures of Nava// /Chapter 1: Worst wake up call EVER/ Story by: Navanastra Edited by: WrittenWorld333 “Oh, my, god, why do I feel sooo sore?” Waking up is one thing…waking up feeling like as if an elephant has been using you as his personal sitting cushion all night long is another, and let me tell you it feels horrible…like really horrible. I generally have no idea how it feels to have a hangover simply because…well I don’t drink but I guess this is somewhat close to it…I guess. Yup close enough because now I also have a pounding headache to go with it. Bloody fantastic. Is there anything else on my body that doesn’t feel like it’s about to die…anything...please? The other thing I quickly noticed besides my body killing itself with pain was how unfamiliar all of this felt. For once I could tell that I was NOT laying on my nice soft comfy mattress I came to recognize whenever waking up, instead what greeted me is the simple feeling of laying yourself down on something that would explain why, oh why my body feels as rugged and stiff as a plank of old used wood. I was laying on a rock, a cold hard rock. Why? How? When? I really don’t know, in fact I don’t know anything besides what happened the day before. Which really is strange and worrying since I never had the displeasure of experiencing memory loss in such a way. Am I really sure I didn’t just suddenly decided to go out, buy a bottle of funny juice and drown myself with it just for the heck of it? Nooo…no of course not, one I don’t have money and two I really never liked the taste of alcohol to begin with. Besides wine…which I am positive we don’t have in the house simple because we only get some during special occasions like Christmas or New Year and stuff like that. WHAT THE HELL AM I EVEN DOING!!?? I have much more important problems to think of than liquor. Where the heck am I and what the heck happened. For once I can tell beyond the stiffness and pain that I am NOT in my room judging by the sound and smell around me. I can hear leaves rustling in the wind, owls hoooing, wolves howling and everything around me smells like nature. If…that’s even how you’re supposed to evaluate nature. I don’t know, it kind of smells like how grass starts to smell after a rainy day so I guess I can say it smells like nature. I’m losing track of the severity of my situation again aren’t I? Well that’s just great, I can’t even focus on a single topic without derailing myself with all this extra nonsense my mind is known for, it would definitely be easier IF MY BODY WASN’T AS STIFF AS A BOARD AND WOULDN’T FEEL LIKE IT WAS ON THE VERGE OF DYING, THIS IS BY FAR THE WORST WAKE UP CALL I EVER HAD IN MY ENTIRE LIFE, PLEASE SOMEONE HELP ME!!!! Speaking of waking up…why haven’t I opened my eyes yet? Oh…right…my eyelids feel as if they are made of lead…great. Everything about my body feels like as if it has just been through alot by the way it hurts and how...unfamiliar it feels as well…actually…wait a minute. I…I do feel different…like really different…did I suddenly grow extra limbs all of the sudden and why the heck can’t I feel my hands or fingers. For that matter WHY CAN'T I FEEL MY FEET, WHERE ARE MY CLOTHES? “I NEED to open my eyes NOW…I need to see where I am and what happened to me” Who knew that opening your eyes would ever become so slow and tedious that it almost felt it wasn’t worth the effort, but with a bit of grunt I finally managed to get my eyeballs out of their covers and into the light of the outside world, and the very first thing that greeted me was nothing but a blurry dark mess of dark colors in almost unrecognizable shapes and sizes. Though it was not the only image that greeted me. There was…something else, something much clearer and much closer and more obvious than the rest, something that was right at the very bottom of my peripheral vision. “I need my glasses…where the heck are my glasses?” Moving my head and neck was almost a torture on its own, I don’t want to sound like a broken record but just like the rest of my body they were sore and stiff and moving them hurt like ass. With a heavy grunt I managed to move my head to the left in hopes to find what I was looking for, it also doesn’t help the fact that I was dragging my head right across the hard rough surface of the rock I was laying against which just made this even less enjoyable than it already was. Only to eventually find out that my glasses were not there at all. Great all the effort wasted for nothing. “Uhhhh…why couldn’t I have woken up on a field of grass in state or even better MY BED!!!” At this point I felt really annoyed, if I ever want to find out where the heck I was, what the heck happened to me and why I needed to find my glasses because without them I was almost as blind as a freaking bat. Greeting my teeth in discomfort as I slowly turned my head all the way to my right I began to quickly note on how long my hair felt like. I mean shit it’s all over my eyes as well, moving across my vision while turning my head. And…and did I just saw red hair? Did I really just saw a red spot on my normal natural black hair? For once I know that my hair is normally much shorter than it feels right now and second I never EVER have used any hair dye in my life because the idea of putting anything on my hair that wasn’t shampoo was cringey though for me…unless…this is not dye at all. This was slowly becoming more and more surreal with every passing second which is somewhat pointless since the pain I felt all over my body was certainly the real deal. No amount of hallucination, dreaming or drugs can emulate the pain I am feeling now. After a slow and gruesome trek of turning my head fully back to the right I eventually sighed in utter relief for the first time since I awoke to see the blurry outlines of my beloved and trusty glasses just laying lazily beside my head. With as much effort as I could muster and gritted teeth I began to turn my whole body around in an effort to fully face the right so that I have a much easier time grabbing them. Every muscle and joints in my arm were screaming at me as I slowly moved them towards my glasses in an attempt to seize them, only to end up halting my efforts when a new and frightening sight entered my already bad vision. “What the….is…is that my arm? Where…where is my hand…WHERE IS MY BLOODY HAND?” Ok, fuck this. I need to grab my glasses ASAP and see exactly what the MOTHERFUCKING fuck is going on here. Well if I wasn’t all panicky than I am definitely all panicky now as I desperately try to grab a hold onto my glasses with those handless stubs I have now without breaking it, easier said than done when you have no hands and when your arms are shaking more violently than they would during a typical Japanese earthquake. Against all impossibilities and the fact that all of my erratic movements were just wonderful for my already aching body, I finally managed to, by some miracle, place my glasses right there where they belong finally allowing me to fully see the world around me as sharp and crisp as a 4k TV. The first thing I saw after slipping my glasses back over my eyes was obviously my surroundings. I could finally see that my earlier suspicions were indeed spot on as nothing but a dark, gloomy and overgrown forest graced my now crisp and clear vision with just a few light sources penetrating the thick canopy above. What really was even more confusing and also a bit frightening is how…unreal everything looked…everything around me despite being dark and foggy where just so…unrealistically vibrant in colors. Something you would usually only see in cartoons or comics. Another thing that automatically sets alarm bells off in my head where how familiar this all looked to me. I could have sworn that I have seen this art style before somewhere but I just cannot put my finger on it…if I still had fingers that is. That last thought though immediately snapped me back to severity of my situation as my thought quickly went back towards my handless arms that I just discovered. With great fear and dread I slowly began to move my arms upwards towards my field of vision so that I can finally have a good sharp look at them. My heart immediately sank down into my knees at the realization that greeted me. Not only where my hands completely gone but my whole arms looked different and strange as well. I…I had hooves…hooves covered in what I can only tell was in some kind of really pale brown looking fur, in fact my whole arm was covered in fur from its tip all the way up to my shoulders. Fur I swear I didn’t have just a few days ago let alone hooves in places where my hands should be. I really started to panic now as I continued to stare blankly into my handless, fur covered arms, sweating and breathing heavily through my mouth as my heart was pounding rapidly against my chest. Millions upon millions of thoughts raced through my mind trying to formulate some sort of explanation, some sort of logic in how this was scientifically possible. I needed more…I needed to know more, just to be sure. I needed to know more to make sure that this wasn’t just some sick joke or hallucination. Completely ignoring my body's protests I began for forcefully sit myself upright, keeping myself steady with my now not so normal looking arms as I started to inspect myself much closer. What I saw immediately send shivers of shock through my spine as my eyes went wide in disbelief. I was no longer human. The body I was born with, the body in which I grew up with, the body that I came to see in a mirror every day when going to take a shower was now completely gone. It had been replaced by an unrecognizable alien body that was covered in the same colored fur as my arms. My legs were no longer human legs but more like hind legs of that of a quadruped, ending in the same hoof covered in fur as my now so called arms. A long black silky tail tipped in crimson was visible from under me, and by looking and feeling around my back I even spotted what I could only guess where a pair of wings extending themselves right behind my shoulders, which pretty much solved the mystery I had earlier about the sensation of suddenly having extra limbs. All of this realization combined and it was a miracle that I was still conscious and not about to just faint from shock. “Ok…ok calm down…hyperventilating is not going to get you anywhere or solve your issues…just…just calm down…everything will be just fine and dandy.” It was then during my attempts to calm myself down when a thought suddenly entered the chaos that was my current mind. A snap of realization as one particular memory suddenly surfaced. A Really crazy and impossible idea but I still needed to be 100% sure before I can confirm this idea I had in my head, but for that I needed to see my face first. Observing my surrounding in hope to find something, anything that could help me give me a much better look of myself I managed to spot a small pond just a few meters away from me from where I was sitting. “That’s convenient…at least that explains why this place would smell like wet grass.” My mind was set, I needed to somehow get over there without killing myself as my body was still on the verge of shutting down on how sore and stiff it felt. “Time to roll down the rock I suppose…this is going to suck I know it.” With a heavy sight and a heavy grunt I slowly laid myself back down onto the rocky surface in an attempt to carefully roll myself of this somewhat large rock I was resting on. With a small yelp I managed to not so gracefully roll myself of the edge only to land onto the equally rough surface of the forest floor below, head first and with a heavy grunt of pain at the end. “For the love of…fuck…why does this has to be so difficult, first I get removed from my home, than I get transformed into…into this thing I am now with no memories and recollections of how, when, why, and now I get to enjoy the pain of hitting my head onto the ground and tasting forest floor dirt…why me, WHY?” Pulling my head out from the ground and spitting out the dirt in my mouth with disgust I eventually started to crawl myself over towards the small pond by digging my…front hooves into the dirt and dragging myself forwards with great difficulty. “Come one…just a…few…more…I swear…this better…be…worth…the effort…ohh my muscles…” I eventually made it with a heavy sigh of relieve as I simply laid there for a few more moments to catch my breath and rest my aching arms and legs. After a while I began to steel myself for what was to come, this was it, I would finally have a good front view look on what has become of me. I closed my eyes as I pushed myself over the edges of the water. I let out a calming breath as I prepared myself. I opened my eyes and time stopped. What I saw in front of me was…unbelievable, despite that something deep within my mind suddenly clicked as i continued to stare at my own reflection. What stared back at me was not the face of a person but the face of what could only described as a pony. A PONY at least that explains what I have been seeing under my vision this entire time...the…the edges of a snout…my snout. Other features i could easily see was the long horn sticking out of my now long black hair with the right side of my bangs colored in red rather than jet black like the rest of my hair. Thankfully though the only feature that still stayed the same to my old self in comparison to everything else where my dark brown eyes. I remember now where I have seen all of this before…I remembered now what all of this is. The art style…the colors…my…new…form…. I immediately knew who I was and what I was and I just couldn’t believe it. This realization was the final straw for me as I could no longer keep myself from fainting. I quickly lost my strength as the world around me started to fade away. Blackness filled my vision and I felt no more. It was rather a relief, actually.
Chapter 7: Town fall Pink and White edition (slight re-edit)Chapter 7: Town fall Pink and White edition Chapter 7: Town fall: Pink and White edition Edited by: Chrome Masquerade (Please read the Authors note at the end of the chapter regarding some of your concerns, or do it now and save yourself some time.) I swear, every young looking mare I came across either quickly looked away awkwardly or giggled and winked at me whenever I noticed that they were staring at me. Seriously, what is up with that? Am I really that attractive looking for ponies that it’s worth staring at me the moment I pass by them? It became so bad that I started to hide myself behind my two companions in order to conceal myself. Which, of course, was amusing to the two mares beside me. Especially for Cloud Chaser, as she began to constantly tease me, asking me how many kids I probably will have in the future. Saying that I felt embarrassed at that would be an understatement. But thankfully her more mature sister came to the rescue and convinced her to stop it with stern glare. God bless that mare… until she eventually joined the bandwagon herself and started making fun in how I am supposedly a mare magnet. Bloody mares and their need to breed. You would think that me looking somewhat ridiculous with all those thick bandages covering my entire midsection would score me some minus points in terms of being flirted with, but NOOOO, it almost seems as if they weren’t there at all, for them. I might be a pony from the outside but I am still very much human inside, and the idea of romancing one of these technicolour equines is still a massive no-no in my book. And besides, I want to find a way back home anyway, so it wouldn’t be a very logical idea to begin with. But whatever, as long as they don’t start invading my personal space and RAPE me in the middle of the street, I am fine with whatever goes through their equine minds. Breakfast, on the other hand, was a very interesting experience to say the least. It was the first time I ever ate something that would normally be considered disgusting to any normal human. Hay fries, daisy sandwich and a basic flower and grass salad were on the menu and I have to admit, it wasn’t as bad as I imagined it would be. Actually kind of delicious, to be honest. But I know for a fact that this was just my new equine tastebuds speaking to me, if I was eating that stuff while still being human I guarantee I would have choked on it. Another interesting event that made my day was the very town itself. Trotting through the town of “the most cliché name ever” was an experience on its own. The medieval style wooden houses, the ponies, the atmosphere and the overall nature are true to the cartoon show. I even managed to bump into some recognizable background characters, like Bon Bon and Lyra, or Berry punch and Minuette. And I even spotted Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon running around in the distance doing god knows what. Overall, I have to admit, despite the fact that I never was such a huge fan of the show itself this was still a very exciting experience. I mean, how many times does a guy discover that a cartoon actually exists as a real, living and breathing world? I still cannot fully accept the fact that I am here despite the fact that I am actually here. That sounded broken. But anyway… where are we going again? “Um… Cloud Chaser? Can you please tell me again where we are going?” I asked Cloud beside me as we casually trotted along the streets of Ponyville. Cloud Chaser gave me a look of surprise. “Wow dude you can talk? I could have sworn that you weren’t even there anymore, with how silent you were for the last 10 minutes” She exclaimed. I rolled my eyes. “Well you know why, also I do like to think from time to time and enjoy the scenery as well.” She began to snicker, which cause alarm to go off in my head the moment she did. “Thinking and enjoying the scenery?” She began to grin at me.” And here I thought you felt uncomfortable with all these mares trying to flirt with you. I guess even a shy, awkward stallion like yourself still has his needs.” She chuckled. I almost tripped and fell out of shock after she said that as I looked at her with wide eyes and faint blush crossing my cheeks. “Wha… what? NO. That’s NOT what I meant at all.” I stuttered. Cloud simply giggled at that she turned her head back at front. “Yeah, keep telling yourself that Casanova.” She responded with a sly grin. I simply groaned in annoyance as I massaged my forehead with a hoof. “Alright, we are here.” Flitter suddenly announced as the three of us stopped in front of a building with a large sign in shape of a cloud in front of it. “Ponyville weather office?” I read out loud. “Yup. This is it. The local weather management office.” Flitter explained. “This is the weather station we have been sent to from Cloudsdale in order to work with the local weather team.” She finished. I scratched my head. “Working for what?” Flitter looked at me in mild surprise. “To get everything ready for the Summer Sun Celebration next week which is going to be hosted here in Ponyville. Didn’t you hear?” I casually shook my head. She facehoofed. “Seriously, do you live under a rock or something?” “Maybe.” I casually responded again making her groan. “Wait a minute, didn’t Rainbow Dash earlier say that you are from Germaneigh?” Cloud Chaser asked while looking at me. “Well still even if he is from Germaneigh, word should still have travelled over there as well that the princess has picked Ponyville as the next location for the longest day of the year.” Flitter argued before I could even say anything. “Well, why don’t you ask HIM, then.” All of a sudden all eyes were on me as both mares stared at me. I my tail began to twitch a bit. “I don’t see what the big deal is of me knowing or not knowing about the Summer Sun Celebration. I just don’t, ok, but now I do.” I replied. Flitter sigh. “Well anyway, Cloud Chaser and I have to go inside and talk with the weather captain about something. Can you maybe just wait here for a while? I promise it won’t take long.” She explained. I gave her a simple nod and watched them disappearing through the front door, leaving me standing all alone outside in the middle of the street. I sighed. Leaving me out again, alone. Not being able to go with them was annoying (mostly because i am not comfortable being left alone in this world...yet), sure, but at least it gave me the opportunity to think again while observing my surroundings a little bit more. I sat myself down against the wall of the weather office and did just that. Ponies constantly passed by me, going about their daily routines, pulling carts, carrying shopping bags around or simply engaged one another in small talk as I began to think again. “Summer Sun Celebration, Summer Sun Celebration… where have I heard that before…” It was than when the penny fell down onto the floor as a thought struck me. The Summer Sun Celebration? That means that in just one week twilight would arrive to Ponyville, which will mark the beginning of the timeline of the show and the coming of Nightmare Moon. With that realization in mind I began to mentally worry a bit as I had no idea how this would even turn out. Sure I know for a fact that, in the show, Twilight and her gang of rainbows defeat Nightmare Moon and prevent her from turning Equestria into a dark frozen version of Fallout. But this is not the show. This is a real world where the randomness of events and chances are just as real as in my world. Everything can happen. Literally anything if Rainbow Dash’s slightly different character was to go by… or maybe it’s just me. I do seem to get a more positive response to mares, so it could be that… oh. oh… ok. Speaking of which, I have this strange feeling that I am being watched right now… a feeling which honestly creeps me the heck out but… nobody here seems to be paying any attention to me whatsoever. I began to look around, trying to find anything or anyone that might look suspicious. All I saw where the same thatch roofed houses and ponies running around. But I guess I just being silly and paranoid for no reason. I mean really why would anyone… “HI THERE!” “AHHH! WHAT THE!?” And with that I fell onto my back with an audible thud, groaning as my wings started to twitch within their covers from the shock, adding to my discomfort. After a while I looked, but was only greeted with a pair of baby blue eyes and a pink furry face close to my muzzle. Really, really close to my muzzle. “What are you doing down at the ground there silly? It’s not the annual “Laying yourself on the ground” day, is it? Oh, gosh! that means I still have to throw a party for that with lots of streamers and balloons and cake and music and cake did I already say cake? I think I did. Ooh this is going to be so much fun! Everypony laying on the ground while drinking and eating cake and candy and cupcakes and music and cake, let’s not forget about the cake, cake is very important to every…” “PINKIE PIE!” I shouted in irritation trying to stop her high pitch rambling before it would blow out my eardrums. It thankfully worked as she looked at me with a shocked expression for some reason. “Wait…why would she be looking so…” Then it hit me. My eyes went wide in shock as I quickly covered my mouth with my hoof. I can’t believe it, I…. I called her by her name even though we never ever met one another… THIS IS A DISASTER!!! I am so going to get found out now. First her, then the town and next the princesses. All because I couldn’t… “How do you know my name without me knowing yours?” She began to gasp. “Wait… that means you're new here in town aren’t you?” She announced with a big creepy smile which made me remember a creepypasta I once read about her. I shudder at that. I knew for a fact that I was going to run into cotton candy over here at some point in time but I never imagined it would be this early, and this close, like so close that she is literally standing right on top of me with her muzzle dangerously close to mine. If this wasn’t Pinkie Pie it would be a hell of a lot more awkward. What am I talking about? IT’S ALREADY A HELLA AWKWARD! PINKIE PIE. ON TOP OF ME. IN A REALLY SUGGESTIVE MANNER. Heck, ponies even began to stare at us, some of them giving us funny looks, some of them smiling and giggling. Some of them even shouted that we should go get a room. Can this day get anymore awkward and embarrassing? Saying that I felt flustered is an understatement. I was trying so hard to not embarrass myself. So... freaking… hard. And the fact that I could smell her cotton candy scent didn’t help well. If she was any lower than she already is, then it… it would… never mind. I began to gulp. “Um… Pinkie? Could you please… maybe…” I started as she slowly started to look me over, even so far as down onto my crotch which caused my heart rate to skyrocket. She whistle. “Hey I have to admit, you’re a real cutie there. No wonder all of my friends have been talking about you lately, primarily the mares, not so much the stallions, though. Kind of funny don’t you think?” She explained with a giggle, which made me groan. “O.. ok, please… could you just get…” “Hold that thought.” Pinkie said while shoving a hoof into my mouth. Which by the way…is FREAKING DISGUSTING. What has she been stepping on? It taste like…I don’t even want to know what I am tasting right now. “Where was…I?” She said while tapping her chin. “Oh right, you’re the new pony aren’t you. I am Pinkie Pie, but I guess you already knew that. What’s yours?” She asked again giving me a huge smile. “Hmmfff fffmmmff.” I gaged with the hoof still in my mouth. “Oh! Oopsies! Completely forgot.” Pinkie says as she finally removed her dirty hoof from my mouth. Spitting out the horrid taste out of my mouth in disgust I answered her. “Na..Nava My name is just… Nava.” I answered in between coughs. Her attitude quickly changed after that as she flashed her trademark Pinkie Pie smile once more while taking one of my forelegs and shaking it viciously to the point where I was sure I was going to lose it. “Well, nice to meet you, Nava. I hope that we can be friends. Oh, that reminds me.” She responded happily while still trying to rip my arm out. She is getting close though. “Wha-a-at” I tried to ask knowing full well what she was going to offer me. “A Welcome to Ponyville party of course! Where you will meet everypony in Ponyville and make lots and lots of friends. Who doesn’t like to make friends?” She announced with great glee as she finally let go of my arm and began bouncing up and down. Still on top of me, I have to add. “Oh this is going to be so exciting it’s been awhile since we had a new pony here in Ponyville. We are going to have cake, balloons, punch, streamers, cupcakes, music, clowns… wait, clowns? No, clowns are bad, I don’t trust clowns. BUT WE ARE GOING TO HAVE CAKE, A BIG BIIIIIG CAKE!” Pinkie ramble on. At that point I just couldn’t bother myself to listen to her anymore as I was way too worried about her landing her hoofs on me, with how quickly she was bouncing up and down on top of me. “How in heaven's name did I get myself in this situation?” I asked myself in my mind. “Pinkie Pie, would you please get off of him and leave that poor stallion alone?” Another voice suddenly came up, which caused Pinkie to freeze… in the air. Seems legit. “Oh, hi there, Rarity, Did you know we have a new pony in town?” “Well, no I didn’t, but now I know, seeing as how you are molesting this poor stallion.” The mystery pony said as she slowly came into my view. Oh, god why did she have to use the word molest in front of all these ponies, now they are staring even more than before, and- oh. Neat. It’s Rarity. “Also, he looks injured as well, so would you please be a lady and get off him.” She added as she gave pinkie a stern look. “Okey dokey lokie!” Pinkie replies as gravity finally remembered to bring her back down. She finally jumped off of me and gave me enough space to get back up. “I am so, so sorry there for my friend’s behavior, I hope she didn’t do anything ratio… oh, my.” Rarity apologized before having a good look at me as I picked my fedora up from the ground. I stared back at her confused as I place my hat back on my head. “My, my, what a handsome looking stallion. I must say, you really don’t see a lot of those here in Ponyville. Most stallion like yourself have either joined the guard or simply live in Canterlot.” Rarity announced while flipping her mane in a very dramatic manner. I simply raised an eyebrow. “Uh… thanks? By the way, thank you for helping me back there.” I smiled at her. She kindly returned it. “Oh, think of nothing of it, darling. It’s what do, being a help to the community and all.” She answered proudly. “Are you single, by any chance?” She quickly added while batting her eyelashes at me. “What?” I recoiled in shock. Don’t tell me, her too! Of all the ponies that would… actually, thinking back to it, from what I know of her it totally makes sense for her to ask such a question. Rarity and her look out for a good stallion. Smooth Rarity. So smooth. It was at this point where I noticed that most of the ponies who have been staring at us the entire time have long since moved on, making this situation a lot easier for me to swallow, though I still felt somewhat nervous nonetheless. I gulped nervously. “Uh… no, sorry mam but… I am not interested.” I replied as casually as possible without looking too much like an awkward pussy. Thankfully Rarity seemed to get the message immediately as she gave of a disappointed sigh. “Well, it was worth a try, though I am still open if you ever change your mind.” She answered which made me sigh as well in thanks. In my head mind you. “Oh dear HEAVENS how rude of me!” She suddenly started dramatically. “How could I even ask a stallion out on a date without even introducing myself first?” She said in a dramatic pose. “My name is Rarity, Ponyville's number 1 (slash only) fashionista and tailor.” She pointed at herself. “Who may I have the honor of make my acquaintance today?” She asked while looking back at me. “My Name is Nava, miss. Just Nava. And it’s nice to make your acquaintance as well, Miss Rarity.” I replied politely which made her smile. “Good looking and civil at the same time. A truly rare breed nowadays.” “Well, I don’t know about that to be honest.” i replied Rarity simply giggled at that. “Well, anyway, what exactly brings you here to ponyvi…?” She tried to ask before she shrieked as Pinkie took her spot. “It brings him here so I can throw him a “Welcome to Ponyville party” Right, right, right?” Pinkie asked all hyper. I again recoil at her sudden appearance as she started to bounce around me, bringing with it another crowd of onlookers that I honestly don’t need. “Pinkie, would you please stop behaving like a little filly for once. You almost got my coat dirty.” Rarity protested with a glare as she got back up. “Oh. Sorry there Rares, but I am just so excited to finally prepare another “Welcome to Ponyville” party so soon. Oh that reminds me, I gotta prepare!” Pinkie announced before dashing off faster than physically possible. “No, wait!” I try to call out. “Ugh.” Yup. That’s Pinkie Pie for you, just as sugary, hyper and physics-breaking as in the show. God have mercy on my sanity. “Hey, what’s with all the commotion out here?” I hear the familiar voice of Cloud Chaser ask. I turned my head. “Oh hey girls, done with anything that needed to be done?” I asked as both her and Flitter approached me. Flitter nodded. “Yup, pretty much. Had to report to the weather captain about what happened. It also turns out that Rainbow Dash is going to replace him as captain tomorrow. Something I honestly did find surprising to be honest.” “Also, we are free to return home back to Cloudsdale as well, tomorrow morning. A whole week earlier than scheduled because of our injuries and still broken wings and what not.” Cloud Chaser continued. I smiled at them. “Oh, that’s cool. By the way do you guys know Rarity by any chance?” I asked gesturing towards her with a hoof. Flitter nods “Yup, we do. She’s the only fashion designer we know here in Ponyville, so it’s really hard not to know her in these parts.” Rarity smiled at his as she flipped her mane again. “Well, I do have a big name imprinted on my products and specialties.” she put in. “Anyway, we have nothing better to do for the rest of the day. Do any of you know what we could do now?” Cloud Chaser asked as she gazed between us. “Well… I kind of… got invi-told into Pinkie Pie's welcome party… or something… so I guess we can do that later this day if you two don’t have other plans.” I suggested while rubbing the back of my head. Cloud Chaser was the first to respond to that. “You were invited to one of Pinkie Pie’s parties? Aww yeah! Her parties are the best! Of course we are going to go there.” I Sighed while looking down at the ground. “Hey, what’s wrong, Nava?” Flitter asked as she placed a hoof on my shoulder. I shook my head. “Nothing much. It's… it’s just… I’m not a big fan of parties simply because I’m not very social to begin with.” I explained while looking at her. “Ah, don’t worry too much about it darling. Pinkie’s parties are really some of the best I have seen. I’m sure you will still have a good time, regardless.” Rarity assured me with an encouraging smile. I looked back and nodded. “Yeah, I guess.” All four of us began to smile and chuckle after that before Cloud Chaser once again stepped in. “Anyway, I am hungry again, should we go get lunch before going to the party later this afternoon?” Cloud asked, looking between me and Flitter. Flitter nodded. “Yeah, sure, why not? I’m buying this time, I guess.“ “Sweet!” Rarity spoke up. “Well, in that case I will be off, still have to pick up Sweetie from school later. Have a nice day you three and it was nice meeting you, Nava. See you in the party I hope.” “Yeah, see you, Miss Rarity. Nice having met you as well.” I called back. And with that, Rarity and the three of us finally went our separate ways. I am really not ready for a full blown party. I just got here like three days ago. ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………... Within the deepest depths of Tartarus two red eyes emerge from the darkness, letting out a razor sharp smile as it watched the young new alicorn through the eyes of a bird passing bird. The creature began to chuckle manically to himself as the connection got cut out, his new work for vengeance to this accursed realm was now slowly piecing itself together.
