The schoolhouse bell rang throughout Gallowsville, signaling the end of another school week. Only moments after it started ringing did the front door open to unleash a sea of foals excited for the weekend. They galloped throughout the village, darting along a web of cobblestone paths to thatched roof houses in a raucous cheer, looking forward to two days without school.
One such colt — yellow-maned, tan-coated and without a cutie mark — bolted down a side street towards the outskirts of the village, green eyes wide with excitement. Cookies and milk awaited him at the end of every school week so long as he kept his grades up.
“Hey, Corn Cob?”
The colt halted in his tracks, looking to the side in between a couple of white picket fences. An older colt with messy black hair, a charcoal gray coat, purple eyes, and a cutie mark depicting a brick getting smashed in half was leaning against one of the fences.
Corn Cob mentally groaned at the sight of him. “What do you want, Bruiser?” he asked, making no attempt to hide his irritation.
Bruiser looked him over, examining him like he was a school project being judged by Ms. April Showers. It was something that Corn Cob had long since gotten used to, now annoyed instead of discomforted by the action.
“I can see it in you.”
“See what?”
Bruiser smirked. “The criminal mastermind you’ll become in the future,” he said matter-of-factly.
Corn Cob blinked. He hadn’t been expecting bruiser to say anything like that. “... What are you talking about? I’m not a bad pony, and I never will be.”
“Really?” The smirk grew wider. “Your pop says otherwise.”
Corn Cob felt the bottom of his stomach drop at the mention of his father. “W-What are you talking about?” The discomfort was starting to come back. Bruiser had never said anything like this to try to hurt his feelings before.
“Hah! Don’t think the whole village hasn’t heard!” Bruiser laughed. “Your dad got into big trouble at work in Fillydelphia, and now he’s sitting in a cold, steel cell waiting to be tried.”
Corn Cob’s eyes bulged. “What!? No, he isn’t!” He stomped a hoof, giving Bruiser the most threatening glare he could manage. “My dad’s not a criminal! He would never do anything bad!”
Bruiser shrugged his shoulders. “Keep lying to yourself. Your dad’s a crook, he is.” He raised both hooves up onto the nearest fence, hoisting himself over and into the yard beyond. He briefly poked his head over the top to say, “Like father, like son, as they say,” before dropping out of sight.
Corn Cob stood in place for a few moments, too angry to respond or even bring himself to move. He was so angry right then. A voice in his head demanded that he chase after Bruiser and sock him square in the jaw, but he knew he couldn’t do that without getting into trouble.
Finally, with another angry stomp of his hoof, he turned and resumed his walk home. He grumbled the whole way, repeatedly playing out the scenario of him socking Bruiser. He’d managed to calm down a little by the time he made it home.
His mom was gardening out in the front yard, her green mane wrapped in a bandana while her orange coat was grimy from a hard day’s work. She stopped and waved to him as he passed through the front gate, smiling wide.
“Hello sweetie! How was school?”
He sighed. “It was fine, Mom.”
His mom’s smile dipped. “Is something wrong, sweetie?”
Corn Cob shook his head. “It’s alright, Mom.” He pointed to the front door. “Cookies and milk?”
His mom just stared for a few moments before regaining her smile and nodding. “They’re on the kitchen counter. If you want to talk with me about anything, I’ll be right here with an open ear.”
“Thanks, Mom.”
He went inside and, after dropping off his saddlebag up in his room, made his way down to the kitchen. The weekly treats rested right where his mom said they’d be. Corn Cob wasted no time in snatching a cookie off the plate and dunking it into the glass before chomping off as much as he could fit in his mouth. He savored the homemade sugary goodness against his taste buds every second he chewed; his mom always made the best cookies. He swallowed the chunk of cookie, washing it down with some milk before taking another bite.
As he chewed, his eyes wandered around the room before settling on a scroll hanging from the wall by the dining table. It depicted his family tree, going back ten generations before the family records got confusing. But the section his eyes immediately focused on was the entry right above his own, specifically, his dad’s.
There was a black smudge covering his dad’s picture that he didn’t remember being there that morning. Somepony clearly did it on purpose, but the only pony who could’ve done it was his mom.
Corn Cob frowned. Thoughts of gorging himself on cookies and milk slipped his mind as he took off through the house. His mom was still gardening in the front yard but stopped when she saw him come through the front door.
“Did you need something else, sweetie?” she asked.
Corn Cob tried to speak, but couldn’t manage as his emotions started taking over. He could only guess the reason why his mom had crossed out his dad’s portrait on the family tree, that his parents must’ve gotten into a big fight. But then there was Bruiser’s claim that his dad had done something bad enough to get himself arrested.
Realization came to him slowly, but when it did Corn Cob felt like he’d been punched in the gut. His lips quivered and his legs wobbled. He felt tears form in his eyes, but he held them back, not wanting to be a weakling.
“Sweetie?” his mom said, worry clear in her tone. “What’s wrong? Did you get hurt?”
Corn Cob looked his mom square in the eyes and put out the question he was afraid to ask, but needed to know the answer to, one word at a time as he held back choking sobs.
“Is dad a bad pony?”
His mom’s eyes bulged in surprise. She stared at him for a few moments before her face relaxed and she bit her lip. “Did you see the family tree?”
Corn Cob wiped a stray tear from his eyes, nodding.
His mom rubbed the back of her head with a hoof while continuing to bite her lip. The fact that she didn’t immediately tell him it wasn’t true was a silent confirmation.
Corn Cob buried his head in his hooves, finally letting the dam burst. Tears flowed freely from his eyes, puddling the ground beneath and staining the hair on his forelegs. He heard his mom’s hoofsteps approaching him, followed by a soft, comforting stroke along his back. He looked up into his mom’s kind, caring eyes.
“How about you go play in the backyard?” she suggested before breathing a heavy sigh. “I’ll explain what happened to your father tomorrow, okay?”
Corn Cob wiped his nose, sniffling. “Promise?”
His mom nodded.
“O-Okay.”
The two exchanged a hug before Corn Cob set off for the backyard, his mom’s comforting words making him feel a little better. But the fear that she would say that his dad was indeed a bad pony never fully went away. Bruiser’s earlier claim about him becoming a criminal in the future played through his mind, but he quickly shook it off. He knew it would never happen.
A giant hole that he’d been digging for the past few weeks claimed a spot at the edge of the backyard near the woods, the shovel still firmly lodged in the dirt. Corn Cob galloped the distance once he entered the backyard, excitement over the idea of making progress on his tunnel to the other side of the planet replacing his worry.
He clutched the shovel length in his mouth and lifted his head, ready to jump in when a flash of black within the trees caught his attention and he shifted his gaze up.
A pony wearing a simple, hooded black cloak was standing just within the treeline, directly facing him with their eyes covered. They didn’t move a muscle, standing as still as a statue. A distant eye might not have noticed them with how utterly still they were.
Corn Cob blankly stared at them, unsure how to react to the stranger’s sudden presence. He was tempted to say hello, but his mom’s warning against talking to strangers held him back. He settled for a simple wave hello with his hoof while smiling around his shovel. The pony smiled back, then turned and walked behind a nearby tree.
Corn Cob waited for the pony to re-emerge, but they still hadn’t even after a few moments. Corn Cob thought about following them to see if something was wrong, but decided against it. The pony was strange, but if they wanted help or to chat or something they would’ve made that clear.
Shrugging his shoulders, Corn Cob resumed digging his hole, quickly putting the unusual encounter out of his mind. He spent the rest of the day digging before his mom called him in for supper, during which he never once let his eyes look at the family tree scroll. The evening was spent drawing doodles before he went through his bedtime routine and slipped beneath his bed covers.
His mom’s promise to explain things tomorrow resurfaced in his mind. He thought about possible explanations for what happened to his dad until his eyelids grew too heavy and sleep finally overtook him. Whatever the reason ended up being, all Corn Cob truly wanted was for his dad to come home.
Corn Cob was violently pulled from his dreams by a distant, ear-splitting wail of terror. His eyes shot open and he sat up in his bed, instinctively jerking his head back and forth.
“What—!?”
He quickly realized the scream had come from outside. He rushed to the window and peered out at the relatively distant sight of the village.
All the street lamps had long since been extinguished, leaving the full moon above as the only source of light— the image of the Mare in the Moon made it especially creepy. Its beams helped light up the houses so he could see clearly, which he liked very much. The village was always too dark and scary at night.
Another scream pierced the nighttime air, and Corn Cob felt an icy chill travel down his spine. That scream wasn’t normal, not like any other scream he’d ever heard in his life. He’d heard screams of terror before, but that one sounded… wrong. Unnatural. It was definitely a pony’s scream, but there was something about it that made Corn Cob’s stomach flip and flop.
The sight of some buildings lighting from inside helped calm him down a little, and even more when a few ponies came outside onto the streets. Then another scream split the air, followed by another. And another. The screams started coming quickly one after another, blending into each other and getting gradually louder. The previously silent nighttime air filled with horrible, bone-chilling wails that made Corn Cob’s coat hairs stand on end. He wanted to return to his bed and cower under the covers, but couldn’t force his legs to move.
The distant sounds of confused and panicked cries could barely be heard over the horrible screams. Corn Cob saw the distant forms of ponies running around, no doubt trying to figure out what was happening. The screams seemed to be coming from within the village, but Corn Cob couldn’t tell from where. Only after a while did he realize why the screams were getting louder: they were getting closer.
A flicker of movement caught Corn Cob’s attention, and he turned his gaze to a spot near the center of the village. He struggled to make out what he was seeing through the nighttime air. There was something moving in between the houses, filling the space with enormous shadows, but it was too dark to see what it was.
The shadows came around to a wide open space in his view, and Corn Cob could see that, in fact, there was nothing creating them. It was just a shadow mass moving between the buildings, slowly creeping forward and covering all of them in impenetrable blackness.
The ponies who had gone outside soon noticed the approaching shadow mass, and their terrified reactions were appropriate. They rushed back to their homes with terrified cries and loudly slammed the doors behind them. The shadow mass didn’t react to them, continuing to slowly take over the village with no resistance. Each new house it swallowed resulted in more unnatural-sounding screams which only stopped once there were no more buildings.
Terror struck Corn Cob when the shadow mass turned down the path towards his home. His legs took on a life of their own, rushing him to his bed whereupon he shot under the covers and pulled them close to his shivering body. The only sound to come out of his mouth was a constant stream of terrified whimpers.
“What in Celestia’s name is going on outside?” The sound of hoofsteps descending the stairs echoed through the house.
Corn Cob’s blood froze in his veins. The fear rising in him exploded. His legs once again moved on their own, bringing him outside his room and down the hall before coming to a stop on the stairs. He looked down to see his mom had reached the front door, her hoof already pushing in the doorlock.
“Mom! No!” he cried.
The door swung open. The shadow mass spilled into the foyer, swallowing his mom with its inky blackness. Her head swung around, confusion clear for a moment before her face disappeared.
“What the—?”
Her sentence was abruptly cut short, replaced by the same ear-piercing, unnatural scream that Corn Cob had already heard too many times.
“MOM!”
The shadow mass continued moving into the house, quickly reaching the stairs and beginning to climb up towards him.
Corn Cob bolted back to his room. He didn’t duck under the covers, choosing instead to search his room for something to defend himself with. Some wooden blocks, a baseball bat, the chair at his desk— nothing looked very useful.
The shadow mass soon reached his door and started spilling into the room. Corn Cob dashed to the window, intent on jumping out. His stomach dropped when the window found itself covered by a curtain of blackness, the shadow mass now having blocked both exits.
There was no way out; Corn Cob was trapped. The shadow mass inched closer and closer from all around him, swallowing his room like a tide of black lava. His heart pounded in his chest while a weird, yet horrible ringing sound filled his ears. He tried to cling to hope, to tell himself that something would come along to save him from harm.
That hope died the moment the shadow mass reached his body. The mass quickly covered his left foreleg, followed by his right. A quick glance behind him showed the other side had started swallowing his tail. A single tear fell from Corn Cob’s eyes as he scrunched them shut. He braced himself for something horrible to happen and cause him to scream like everyone else had.
The shadows were cool to the touch, allowing Corn Cob to track its progress as it covered him. The coolness traveled from both ends of his body, steadily working itself toward his barrel whereupon the two sides met each other. His entire body was cool for several seconds while Corn Cob waited for something to happen. Pain, he figured. Or the sight of some nightmarish creature come to eat him. Anything that could prompt the kind of screams he’d heard.
Then the cold instantly left his body
Corn Cob waited for a few more seconds, but nothing happened. He cracked open his eyes and was surprised to see the shadow mass had completely vanished. No trace of inky blackness could be found anywhere in his room, letting the moon’s rays shine through his window unblocked.
Corn Cob blinked. His brain took a few moments to recognize the fact that he wasn’t hurt. But any relief he started to feel was quick to disappear when he remembered his mom.
He shot through the house down to the foyer, panic and fear clutching his heart. His mother was lying facedown on the floor, her body collapsed in a tangled heap.
“Mom! Mom!” he called as he ran up to her body.
She didn’t respond. Corn Cob nudged her body, but she showed no response still. A sinking feeling settled into his stomach. He nudged her a little harder. Still nothing. Finally, he used his forelegs to push his mom’s body over.
A terrified gasp escaped his throat and he backpedaled away from his mom’s body. Her face was as pale as a ghost and twisted into a mask of pure terror. Her muzzle hung open, while her eyes were stripped of all life and replaced by two soulless, white orbs.
Corn Cob couldn’t force words out of his mouth. He backpedaled further away from his mom’s lifeless corpse, confusion and horror gripping him. His mind all but shut down as he struggled to understand what he was seeing.
His mom was dead, that much he clearly recognized. A small part of him questioned why the shadow mass hadn’t killed him, but the bulk of his brain was overcome with crushing sadness. Tears fell from his eyes, staining his forelegs and the wooden floor under him, while choked sobs wracked his body.
He stayed there, crying to himself for some time before he forced himself to get up and stagger out the front door, wiping a few remaining tears from his eyes.
He ran down the path as fast as he could, coming out between a cluster of houses.
“Is anypony there!?” he called out. “Anypony!?”
Silence greeted him.
Corn Cob bolted for the nearest house and banged on the door. “Hello!? Please open up! My mom is… she’s...”
Nopony answered. He moved on to the next house over and banged on their front door, but still no answer. No one answered at the next house either, so he moved onto the next batch of houses. He ended up checking every single house in the village, but never got anything. No one answered his cries for help either; all he ever heard were the distant sounds of nighttime critters.
The moon was nearing the horizon by the time Corn Cob staggered into the center square. Breathing was extra hard and his hooves struggled to move his body forward, so tired they were from running and banging on doors. Through the exhaustion in his mind, he was scared. Scared that he was all alone in the village. Scared that the shadow mass might return and kill him. Confused as to what to do now that he couldn’t find help.
He made it to the middle of the square before his strength left him and he collapsed to the ground. His breathing steadily returned to normal while his mind settled down. He was lost for what to do, so he settled for just lying in the dirt, not caring that his muzzle would get dirty.
His ear twitched, and he jerked his head up. Hoofsteps were approaching from behind him.
He turned his head around, a terrified whimper escaping him at the sight of the shadow mass creeping towards him. Leading it was the hooded pony he’d seen earlier, their face still obscured. The fact that it wasn’t trying to swallow them didn’t manage to register in Corn Cob’s mind through the surge of fear that overtook him.
Corn Cob forced himself onto his legs and tried to get away. He made it only a couple steps before he collapsed again. He continued trying over and over, all while the stranger steadily closed came closer.
It was no use. Soon he felt the stranger’s hoof on his shoulder, making his heart skip a beat. He turned to look back at them, eyes wide with fear. The lower half of the stranger’s face was now visible, and the shape of their muzzle revealed them to be a mare. The shadow mass paused behind her, a thick, black curtain stretching across the center square.
An icy grip of terror took hold in Corn Cob’s veins. His throat tightened. He tried to break away, but the stranger’s grip was strong. She lifted her other hoof and moved it towards him. Corn Cob shut his eyes. The stranger’s hooves moved over his shoulders. His body shook like a leaf as he waited for something to scare or hurt or kill him.
None of that happened.
The mare was… hugging him. He opened his eyes.
“What?” he managed to whisper.
The mare giggled, meeting his gaze. “I understand your confusion,” she said kindly. “Rest assured, you’re safe now.”
Corn Cob blinked, then looked over her shoulder at the shadow mass, another whimper escaping his throat.
The mare followed his gaze. “Right then.” She broke her hooves away from Corn Cob and raised one of them in front of her. She cut the air with one quick motion, actually splitting it apart as if it were paper. A colorless void was left in the space where her hoof swiped, standing out against the black nighttime air. The mare motioned for the shadow mass to come forward with her hoof and, like a dog obeying its owner, it lunged forward into the void.
The effect was like watching a drink being sucked through a straw. The shadow mass slowly slipped through, gradually shrinking in size and uncovering the village. Seeing it disappear brought a sense of relief to Corn Cob, but it was buried under all the questions running through his mind.
At last, the shadow mass fully slipped into the void. The mare closed it with another swipe of her hoof and turned around to face Corn Cob with a soft smile. “Feeling better?” she asked.
Corn Cob nodded.
“Good to hear.” The mare’s smile turned down a little. “I imagine you have many questions for me, huh?”
Another nod.
“Well, let’s introduce ourselves first.” She placed a hoof to her chest. “My name’s Stella. What’s yours?”
“C-Corn Cob, Miss Stella,” he stuttered out.
“That’s a cute name,” Stella replied, before stroking his mane. The action was strangely comforting to Corn Cob. “Oh, excuse me; I probably look scary with this hood on.”
Stella retracted her hoof and used it to pull her hood back, revealing her entire face to Corn Cob, and he was surprised to see how pretty she was. Her eyes, kind and motherly, were a beautiful shade of grass green. Her mane was blonde and tied in a bun, while her pink coat was completely flawless.
“Wha—?”
Stella giggled. “Were you expecting an old hag?”
“I… I don’t know,” he replied. He didn’t like the sudden tingling feeling in his belly. He followed up by asking, “What’s going on? What’s that shadow thingy?” He felt his eyes tear up as he asked the third question. “Why did it kill everyone?”
Stella’s smile turned down even further. A few moments of silence stretched between them, broken only by the distant sounds of crickets and frogs. Corn Cob patiently waited for her to answer, eager to know why she’d unleashed that monster onto Gallowsville and had it kill everyone.
“It’s a lot to explain to a child, but I’ll work down the list,” Stella finally said, letting out a tired sigh. “First of all, that ‘shadow thingy’ is called the Black Wave. It’s a pet belonging to my father.”
Corn Cob blinked. “Your... father?”
Stella nodded. “My father’s a very special pony,” she explained. “He lives outside of space and time.”
“Outside of space and time?” Corn Cob’s confusion only grew at her answer. “How does that work?”
“I’m sure it’s difficult to wrap your head around,” Stella said. “But it’s because I’m his daughter that I can open portals to his home and summon the Black Wave.” She put a hoof to her face, her smile returning. “It’s also the reason I’ve lived for three hundred years without aging a day past twenty.”
Corn Cob’s eyes bulged. “Wait, you’re over three hundred years old!?”
Stella nodded. “Not only that, but that ties into the reason why the Black Wave didn’t kill you.” She lowered her head to meet Corn Cob at eye level, putting her hooves on his withers. “I’m your great great great great great great great great grandmother.”
Corn Cob felt his brain crack in two. “You’re my…?”
“I know it’s hard to believe,” Stella said. “But if you didn’t have my father’s blood coursing through your veins, the Black Wave would’ve claimed you too.”
She ran a comforting hoof along his back, much like his mom would whenever he wanted to believe things would be alright. Corn Cob felt many of the strange and uncomfortable feelings throughout his body disappear at the touch, as well as from her explanations. She’d answered many of his questions, even if he struggled to make sense of some of it. But one question was still unanswered, and it was the one he was scared of asking the most.
He gulped. “Why did you kill everyone?”
Stella stopped stroking him. Her eyes changed from kind and motherly to dark and scary, sending a chill down Corn Cob’s spine.
She sighed, retracting her hoof. “I don’t expect you to fully comprehend what I’m about to tell you, you being so young.” Corn Cob was surprised to see a small tear rolling down her cheek. “The story goes like this…”
A sharp series of knocks banged loudly against the front door. Stella, her husband, and their daughter jumped in their seats at the dinner table, turning their gazes to the door, their food instantly forgotten. A multitude of firelights could be seen through the front windows, as well as the unmistakable four-pronged shapes of pitchforks among them. Angry chattering could faintly be heard outside.
“What’s going on?” Stella’s husband asked, getting up out of his chair.
“I don’t know, Iron,” she said.
“Mommy? Daddy?” their daughter said, frowning.
Stella lightly rubbed her mane. “Don’t worry, Dawn; everything will be just fine.”
Dawn accepted her promise with a smile. Stella followed her husband to the front door. They opened it to an unnerving sight: everypony in the village holding torches and pitchforks, their faces perpetual scowls as they chattered angrily amongst themselves.
Their faced turned downright hateful as soon as they caught sight of Stella.
“There’s the witch!” someone shouted.
“Banish her!” another followed.
“Get her out of this village!”
Stella’s blood froze in her veins. They had to know her secret; they wouldn’t be doing this otherwise. But how did they find out? Did somepony spy on her during one of her interdimensional conversations with Father?
A rugged-looking stallion with orange hair and a gray coat stepped to the front of the crowd. He eyed Stella with clear distaste before turning to her husband. “Iron Brand,” he regarded him.
“Magistrate,” Iron replied, confusion and fear in his voice. “What’s going on?”
“I think you know why,” the village magistrate said. He pointed toward Stella. “Your wife is not a pony in anything but physical form. She’s been witnessed by multiple villagers casting dark magic no earth pony should know. Nopony feels safe with her in town, so we’re giving her a chance to leave town quietly and without conflict.”
Each word was like an icy dagger stabbing Stella’s heart. The villagers were smiling and waving greetings to her just yesterday. How could their attitudes change so quickly? She’d only talked with her father once in the intervening time. There couldn’t have been multiple ponies watching her at that time. How long had her secret been out without anypony confronting her about it?
Stella turned to Iron Brand, looking for support. Her husband was staring at the mob with an unreadable expression. It certainly did nothing to ease her mounting anxiety, but she figured he too was utterly shocked by the sudden mob mentality of everyone in the village.
“Please, everypony, I don’t intend to harm anyone,” she said, turning back to address the mob. “I’ve been living here for two years with my family, and I’ve barely ever lashed out at anypony!”
“Shut your mouth, witch!” one pony barked, making Stella recoil. “Your ilk isn’t welcome here! We’ll set your house ablaze if you don’t leave!”
There were murmurs of agreement throughout the crowd.
“Why are you doing this!?” Stella cried, tears beginning to well up in her eyes. She couldn’t believe this was happening. “I wouldn’t hurt any of you…”
“She lies!”
Stella’s eyes shrank to pinpricks at Iron Brand’s words. She turned to see her husband eyeing her with a frightful gaze. Confusion and shock gripped their twisted hooves around her brain. Her throat clenched as words failed to escape her. All she could manage was a few choked gasps in response.
Iron Brand rushed back inside and over to Dawn who was still sitting at the dinner table. He wrapped one hoof around their daughter while shakily pointing the other at her.
“I remember now!” he shouted. “She used her dark magic to take my wife’s life, then put a spell on me and my daughter to make us believe she was our family! She intends to brainwash all of us into becoming her mindless servants!”
A hateful roar erupted throughout the crowd, but that only barely registered to Stella’s mind as it tried to comprehend her husband’s words. Something wasn’t right; there had to be a reason he was doing this.
“Burn the witch!”
“Kill her!”
Stella ignored the mob’s bloodthirsty cries, looking to Iron for answers. He met her gaze, and instantly Stella knew he was merely acting, evidenced by the sorrow she saw in his eyes. But why?
His eyes flickered down to Dawn, who was looking between the two of them and the mob outside in frightened confusion. All of Stella’s own confusion and shock melted away as comprehension dawned on her. The emotional turmoil in her heart split in the middle, tearing between hesitation and courage as she steeled herself for what could possibly be the single toughest decision of her inevitably prolonged life.
She mouthed the words ‘take care of her’ to Iron, and he gave her a barely perceptible nod of affirmation. She turned away from both him and the mob, the latter’s cries stinging her ears. She ignored them as best she could, bringing her hoof up to the air in front of her. With a quick slash, the air before her tore open, revealing the colorless void where her father lived.
She spared one last glance between Iron Brand and Dawn. They had the same iron-gray coat, silver mane, and brown eyes. For once Stella was glad her daughter didn’t inherit any of her colors. She only hoped her husband could come up with a good lie to Dawn about why her mother would suddenly be gone.
She stepped through the portal, and it silently closed behind her.
Corn Cob listened all throughout Stella’s story, finding it a struggle to make sense of his feelings towards the events she described. He wasn’t afraid anymore, at least.
“I didn’t see my family very often afterward,” Stella continued. “I couldn’t run the risk of being close to them, lest I endanger them again, especially as word of my secret spread throughout Equestria. I did make sure to be there when my husband passed away, as well as my daughter. I saw my grandsons a couple of times, but otherwise, I’ve stayed hidden from the world.”
“Why would ponies hate you just because you can cast strange magic?” Corn Cob asked. “That’s not fair.”
“Indeed it isn’t,” Stella replied. Again she knelt down and placed her hooves on his withers. “As for the ‘why’, let me ask you this: has anypony ever judged you unfairly? Made a claim about you based on no concrete evidence and you know is false?”
Immediately, Bruiser’s words from yesterday rang through Corn Cob’s mind. “Yeah,” he replied with a nod. “That’s happened to me before.”
“Ponies hate and fear anything that they don’t understand. Because of this, I decided to wait for the day that ponies stopped being afraid before I would try to reintegrate into society.”
Her eyes turned scary again. “It’s been three hundred years, and nothing has changed. The nobles of Canterlot treat commoners like dirt. Gryphons and zebras and donkeys are mocked and ridiculed by all three tribes. Then there are cases like mine, where ponies tear families apart because they let fear blind them to virtue.”
Corn Cob said nothing. He didn’t know what to say, even.
“But that’s all about to change,” Stella continued. She looked Corn Cob straight in the eye, but her face was strange. Her smile seemed a little crooked, and the look in her eyes was odd. Happy, but in a weird kind of way. Even her excited tone as she continued speaking sounded wrong. “The Black Wave is going to pave the way for my father to remake this world into one free of prejudice, where all of his children can forever live happily!”
She pulled Corn Cob closer, hugging him as she rested her chin on his shoulder. She gently rubbed the back of his head and whispered into his ear, “Won’t that be nice?”
That would be nice, he thought. A world without bullies like Bruiser was the kind of world he wanted to live in. Stella’s story about losing her family because ponies didn’t like her strange magic wasn’t fair. Nopony should have to lose their family because some other pony was afraid of them for no good reason. That wasn’t right. He would never do that to an innocent pony.
Corn Cob’s eyes widened as that thought led to another. Did all ponies really have ‘prejudice’? Aside from Bruiser, none of his classmates had said anything to bother him about the stuff with his dad. And then there were all those stories about Princess Celestia, how she was a kind and fair ruler who treated ponies the way they deserved to be treated. There had to be many more ponies like them in the world, right?
Yes, there had to be! Then Stella wanted to kill ponies because she thought differently! That wasn’t fair at all! She was wrong!
“... No.” Corn Cob raised his hooves up to Stella’s withers. “NO!”
He shoved against her with as much force as he could manage. He succeeded in getting her off of him— Stella stumbled back, but stayed upright, looking at him with wide, surprised eyes.
“I don’t wanna kill anyone!” Corn Cob cried. His eyes teared up again. “Only bad ponies do that!”
Stella raised a hoof towards him. “Please, Corn Cob…”
He shook his head. “I won’t help you kill everyone! Even if we’re related!” He pointed a shaking hoof towards her. “I-I’m going to stop you!”
Corn Cob didn’t wait for Stella’s reply. He turned around and galloped towards the village entrance. Fillydelphia wasn’t too far away, and the sun was coming up really soon. He had to get there and tell everypony about what happened, that the Black Wave was going to kill them all.
They had to believe him, right?
