A blank slate...and a new beginning. (Re-written)by Azvameth RoseChaptersChapter 4: Set up the stage.Chapter 12: Mirror, mirror and a heart.Chapter 8: Time to bring you up to speed.Chapter 4: Set up the stage.(Aza's POV) Soon after I told I would answer whatever questions Twi had, I find it easier to call her Twi, Red entered the room carrying something made out of wood that had a plate on it with a red ball on it, something brownish that smelled really good and a glass with some orange stuff on it; the entire thing made my mouth water up. She placed on the bed as told me: "Go ahead and eat this, it will make your belly stop hurting." Really? Staring at the plate I followed her instructions, first the brownish thing. It had something yellow on top of it that looked solid but was melting. "That's a bread, more specifically toast. The yellow thing is called butter." I opened my mouth and bit it, my teeth went through it with ease. This toast thing is amazing! Then my lower jaw opened right in the middle and my tongue shot out at the bread wrapped itself around the bread and pulled it into my mouth and I ate it whole in one go. Everyone in the room gasped at the sight, as for me...I turned my attention to the red ball. I picked it up and looked at Red, she shook her head before answering my questioning look. "That one is an apple. It's a bit harder than toast but...I think you can eat it very easily." I looked at it took a bite and once again I felt my teeth cutting through it just as easily as they cut the bread. "This thing is delicious!" I said before the previous scene repeated itself, Aj looked pleased with what I said...why? "That is so weird," Rainbow said as she stared at me. I got embarrassed before I changed my attention to the glass with the orange stuff, Rainbow this time said what it was. "That's orange juice. Just don't eat the glass. Or you will end up with a lot of cuts on your guts." "I'm not retarded you know?" I answered grabbing the glass. Then I drank it, it was just as good as the other stuff. As soon as I finished drinking it I placed it on the wood thing I noticed my belly had stopped its complaining. I Turned to Red and said with a big smile, that seemed to scare her a bit since she started sweating a bit as her eyes darted around. "Thank you very much. This stuff was delicious!" After that, I went for the bag Rarity had left on the thing I was laying. It had a white short sleeved shirt that seemed a bit bigger than me, some black short pants...I think it's underwear, some long black pants that had some sort of dark brown cloth around the waist and some grey shoes that looked something I saw in a book about a desert explorer. I pulled out some stuff that was attached to my body and got up apparently, I shouldn't have done that since Red gave me a very stern look. Just then I realized I had some sort of bright green cloth covering me. I took it off without a care in the world...and that made the girls, princesses, and Red gasp before running out of the room. "What was that about?" I thought to myself as I put the clothes. Just as I thought they were slightly bigger than me...it felt very comfortable, the brown cloth was actually to adjust the waist so the pants didn't fall off. But I had to tie a knot in order for it to work...I don't how o do that... "HEY!" I called out to any of the girls that were outside. "I don't know how to tie a knot! Can anypony help me out?" "Are you serious?!" Rarity asked from behind the door. "Yeah!" I answered feeling a bit uneasy...then I remembered that in some of the books I read there were moments where mares would feel flustered seeing a stallion with his body slightly exposed, that's why they ran out! "I just need somepony to tie this thing around my waist. I'm completely dressed up now! No need to worry!" "Very well," Rarity answered before opening the door slowly. She left out a sigh once she saw me dressed up and holding my pants with one hand and holding the cloth with the other. After that, she frowned a little at the sight of my clothes being slightly bigger than me. "I made them bigger because I believed you're malnourished...so I thought you gain weight after being released from here...but still...I cannot say that I am pleased with the sight of these oversized clothes." She said with her gaze fixed on the ground. "No problem! I'm actually glad to have some clothes! Not to mention they are the first gift I ever got!" I said almost letting go of my pants to reach out to her, but my head told me otherwise so I just stood there looking at her. "Would you be so kind as to teach me how to tie this up?" She raised her head and gave a small smile before saying. "You're too kind." Then she proceeded to walk up to me and give me instructions on how to make the knot. Apparently, she even thought of a specific way to tie this up as to match the design. "She really thinks this stuff up carefully doesn't she?" I thought to myself before she finished, then she got up and said. "I do believe you should also put your shirt in your pants, that way it won't look like they are so oversized." I did as instructed then she smiled at me and went to door signaling me to follow. The others were waiting outside, they all looked at me then at Rarity. This repeated for a while before I said "Thanks for this Rarity. I really like it!" They looked at each other before everypony started to walk out. I just followed, but before I did that I said goodbye to Red. "We're going to sugar cube corner," Twi said as soon as we left the hospital. "Pinkie asked us to meet her there once you got out." "Does this have something to do with her running around town asking everyone to gather at this sugar cube place?" I asked making everyone stop in their tracks. All of their ears were perked up and their posture got weird as if somepony had snuck behind them and screamed at them. "You actually heard her?" Twi, asked turning slowly to stare at me. "Yes, but I was kinda focused on the food so...I didn't pay too much attention beyond the: come to sugar cube corner as soon as possible!" They left out a sigh...what is going on? They guided me through the village until I saw a huge building shaped like some sort of cake. I sincerely thought of taking a bite out of the building...but I restrained myself. As we approached the building I noticed that there was a lot of breathing coming from inside the place. "Er...there is a lot of people inside there. Are you girls sure I can go in there?" Before I could have my answer a lavender aura surrounded me and tossed me through the front door. The room was dark and but my eyes glowed and allowed me to barely see in there...I scanned the room until I saw many pairs of hooves in front of me. I got on my feet as fast as I could, just as I did the room lit up and I heard a deafening chorus yell. "SURPRISE! WELCOME TO PONYVILLE! AND THANK YOU FOR SAVING US!" I jumped up and attached myself to the ceiling while breathing very fast and looking around, my hair had changed again and it was black. Everypony in the room stared at me on the ceiling...they looked very surprised with me. I can't say I blame them since I look like an oversized bug. Pinkie came out of the crowd at a very unexpected place, she was using something in her hooves that were allowing her to walk...ON THE FUCKING CEILING! "HEY! Did you like your surprise party?" She asked me with very wide eyes and a big smile. I simply jumped from the ceiling back to the ground. Before looking at her confused, my ears were still ringing a bit. "I'm very surprised. But...why?" "Why what?" she asked making the same move as I and getting back on the ground. "Why do this for me?" I said with my mane going crazy, without any color staying more than a few seconds. "Do I need a reason to want my friends to smile?" She answered tilting her head, one eyebrow raised and her eyes fixated on me. That answer was...so...honest. I felt happy...so happy, I gave my biggest smile to her while my mane turned a very bright blue. I think she understood my smile because she grabbed my arm and pulled me towards the crowd, everypony was forcing their smiles a bit. I AM scary looking, I sincerely thought of saying BOOH! Just to see what they would do, but before I knew it Pinkie had me trying a bunch of different party-games. Time flew by like crazy as I went from game to game with pinkie dragging me around, after a while, she took me to a place where a bunch of ponies were dancing. I just stood there looking at everypony moving around, then I decided to try to imitate them. It was a disaster, I ended up just making some weird movements as I made my arms look like jelly. I saw Twi and the others laughing at the sight, Pinkie laughed at me and then started to imitate me, I don't give a crap about what they will think about me because of this weird dance! I'll just keep having a good time with my new friend! After that, I got out of the dance floor and went to a nearby window. It was dark outside, I got to give it to whoever creates this skies...they are a sight to behold. Then I realized that very soon I would need to go back to my *house* back in the forest. After dark, the weird looking wood creatures are way more active, so the sooner I got back the better. I made my way outside and found Luna sitting by a fountain at the center of the street, I did not have much time so I decided to keep on going. However, as soon as I passed by her she turned to me and asked: "Where are thou going? The festivities are not yet done." "I need to get back home before the moon is at its highest." One of her eyebrows raised at the word *home* I didn't pay much heed to her and continued my explanation. "Otherwise I will have to deal with some weird looking wood monster on my way back." "Certainly you do not mean the ruins of our old castle?" She asked me with her gaze fixated on me, I gave her a look that meant *that's the one*. "Have you not heard? Twilight Sparkle has arranged a place for you to stay in this town." I tilted my head at her and gave a look that it could be translated into *Say, what?* "Twilight's home has a basement that she used as a storage. When thou collapsed at the end of thy battle, Twilight cleaned said storage room and placed a bed so thou could have a place to stay. We have also considered arranging a room at our castle, however, Twilight Sparkle insisted that you remained at Ponyville." What? I have a home here now? "That's right Aza." I heard from behind me, turning around I saw Twi. "You're staying at my home. But since you're there you'll need to help or get a job." Job? Does that mean work? "Princess Celestia sends me money every so often, but since you'll be staying with us you'll need to help out." She gave a scary look as she said that, I kinda got scared...a lot. Then she smiled and said." Just kidding. The princess has already told she will adjust the allowance so that it covers the extra expenses. If you get a job it will be so you can have some money for yourself. If you can't get a job you'll just have to deal with the budget." I left out a little sigh...they are doing this on purpose. "Are you sure?" She just nodded positively and got back inside, but before that she looked over her shoulder and gave me a long look without any expression at all...was she worried or something? Then I turned to Luna who was still sitting at the fountain. Having no more reason to leave town I approached her. "What are you doing?" "We are appreciating our work," she said without turning her gaze from the night sky, she had a satisfied smile on her face...did she do that? almost as if she heard me she continued. "We are the princess of the night and the dreams. As such the night is our domain and protecting the dreams of our subjects is our duty." "Are you a goddess?" I asked without thinking, I immediately facepalmed. That got me a small laugh from Luna. "Sorry, I'm just a little amazed...so am I right to assume your sister controls the sun?" She nodded positively. "Ok...well...your night sky is beautiful. You must put a lot of effort in it from what I have seen." Her eyes widened as she turned towards me, did I say something wrong? "Has thou watched our nights?" She asked me, her pupils were very bigger and her look was demanding an answer. "Yeeeees?" I said with a bit of fear. "I kinda stay up late to read...and because of my stomach, I didn't get much time to sleep. So watching the sky at night after I got bored of reading was my favorite way of drifting to sleep and to waking up." Her ears perked up and a huge smile appeared on her face, then she jumped up and started to hop around the fountain while humming a catchy little tune. I felt a presence by my side and I saw Tia (Celestia was too big for my liking...tia fits her better) which made me jump a little to the side. Tia was staring at Luna with a little smile on her face. "Why won't you join her?" I asked her, she just looked at me for a few seconds. Then she just proceeded to go to her sister and hopped around with her sister. After watching them for a while I shrugged and joined them. It didn't take very long for everypony who was inside to start coming out and watch the odd scene where the two princesses and the bug were hopping around a fountain humming a song. The six friends were also in the crowd, I ran to them grabbed Twi and Pinkie and brought them to join us. They smiled before joining, I did the same to all the other girls and now all of us were hopping around to the rhythm Luna hummed. I looked up and saw that the stars were swirling int the sky making a beautiful vortex in the sky. I love this place. I do everything I can to keep it this beautiful and happy. (Chrisalys's point of view, Badlands.) "How are the preparations for my visit?" I asked the drone in charge of preparing my documents so I can pass through any checkpoints until I got to Ponyvile. "Almost done your majesty.The traveling gear and clothes are all ready. Just running a final check to see if this persona is not currently being used by any of our scouts." He answered as he continued to check a book in which we kept a register of all the active and inactive disguises we had prepared. "Done, the Rosy disguise is safe and isn't in use." "Very well, then I shall depart to Ponyvile first thing in the morning." It should take about three weeks to reach the town, so I did not want to waste any time on this. However, as both their mother and their queen I cannot be too reckless. If that being is an asset to us I have to attain it, it might be a way for us to stand among the ponies without having to disguise ourselves. If they can be trusting to him, then maybe we can make a deal with them so my children won't have to keep stealing other people's feelings to survive. Fear, joy, anger...love, all of these feelings sustain us, however, we cannot take these feelings from our own kind. So as of right now, we are forced to steal them from ponies or any other being within our reach and the process is harmful depending on how much energy is taken from the subject. Such damage could be avoided if the subject was aware of the process and consents to it, but in the current state of affairs, the ponies only run at the mere sight of us. More than once have my children been slaughtered by other beings simply due to our appearance, therefore I need it, it might be the key to a better future for my children. "Also, send word to the local spies. Have them set up a stage for him to interact with me upon my arrival." I ordered before leaving the room and heading to my chambers. Once inside, I saw once again the recording of that being killing a manticore, I had received it the day before. "I might be setting up the stage so I can crawl up to your graces. But you are setting up the stage so I can crawl my way up to the castle. And hopefully towards a solution for my children's suffering." I mumbled to myself as I heard another child leave out their last cry before their heart stopped and I fought against the need to cry. Why must a mother watch her children die in such a way? This question plagued my mind as I slowly drifted into sleep and the image of the being got burned into my mind...it is only a way to my children's happiness. ONLY that. Author's Note The story continues as Aza starts his first normal interactions with the locals. I hope everyone is enjoying these if you guys are let me know. Also please let me know what I should change or pay more attention. Chapter 12: Mirror, mirror and a heart.(Celestia's POV Four days after the slumber party) "How much longer? I want to check on that mirror." "Tia, is everything alright?" Luna snapped me out of my thoughts. "You've been aloof for the last days. Is something bothering you dear sister?" It's been quite a while since I've last been this focused on something to the point I've been letting my concern show. "In a way yes. There is indeed something bothering me. Have the audiences for the morning finished?" Luna reached for the scroll containing all of the morning audiences scheduled. "That was the last one arranged for this morning. Does your concern involve that mirror you've been checking every single moment you're not having to deal with any of your royal duties?" I'm more off then I've believed to be. "We do not wish to pry but...what is so important that has been making you lose your focus?" After I told her about the current demographic profile of our country and how that influenced the current law of engagement, she became much more attentive to her duties and me that is no surprise she would see through me that easily. After the last calamity of our millennia, namely Nightmare Moon, the mentality of the population started to shift. Strong stallions were always on battles, which made mares responsible for multiple aspects of our kingdom basically making them the only reason our country kept working and the population ratio for males and females was around 1:1. However, after the event, the following peace made the need for strong males reduced since I could out-class any threat. That change in mentality made the birth ratio of females change, though the conception of a newborn is mostly ruled by chance the desire for a colt or a filly influences the ratio as well due to the number of reproductive cells produced that have the genetic code for a male or a female. There is also the increase of adopted sons and especially daughters due to all the parents that died during the wars that preceded the millennia of peace. Eventually, the ratio between males and females was around 1:12, so in order to prevent our population from diminishing any further the law the prohibited polygamy was revoked and we made the current laws come into play. Now stallions can have herds that can only be formed after both the male and females involved have become of age, he must have a job so he can aid in the finances of the family and in order to get married all of the members of the relation must agree to do it. And very recently I've managed to get the approval of a law that disbands a herd in case of proved the male is having an abusive relationship with any female that is from his herd or not. I really regret the amount of time it took to approve this...many females had their psyche damaged far beyond repair before we could protect them. "Tia?" I was daydreaming again. "Sorry Lu, yes it has to do with the mirror." I finally answered. "Would you like to see?" I knew she was going to find out sooner or later. Might as well come clean now. She came to my side and I used a spell to open a path in front of us, this path led to a special room I originally used to check upon Luna while she was banished to the moon. There I made a special mirror that was created using magic and a crystal can be found underneath the castle. "What is this place sister?" She asked looking around the white room that had four walls, three filled with scrolls and one that was entirely made of a smooth surface that reflected both of us. "This room allows me to check upon every single one of my subjects," I said as I ran my fingers through the old scrolls. "I only used this room to check up on you during your banishemt...but...recentely started to use it to check somepony in particular." Lunas's eyes widened and started to check the scrolls to see if there was a spell anywhere that indicated who I was interested in. She was smiling. "Tia, don't tell me that after all these years you still haven't settled for anypony." She said giggling. "Who might be the lucky one? Maybe that captain of the guard you recently named?" "No Luna, I haven't even considered anypony through these years due to our...condition." Her expression changed and her ears fell to the side of her head. After we used the elements of harmony...both of us were no longer affected by time, I stopped aging at the age of 30, Luna at the age of 27. The effect started to kick in after two years of my first use of the elements, while Luna took three. So Twilight and her friends would also stop aging eventually, this doesn't make us immortals...stab us through the heart or any lethal wound and goodbye land of the living. Needless to say that since we could no longer age having a partner...was out of the question. Having somepony by your side all the time to have them age and die while you stay the same is simply a torture. Flirting and teasing was fun but...having somepony that you could actually stay with...that never happened. Not to mention the pain of caring about the ponies around you only to see them die eventually was also really depressing. But the worst part was probably the number of ponies that tried to court us seriously in order to achieve our curse that they worshipped as a blessing. "But Lu, it would appear that problem is no longer present." Her ears perked up as she looked back at me. "You don't mean that..." It was so obvious the change in her tone that I couldn't help but smile at her. "I've been checking up on Azvameth every single moment I can in order to see his health," I started slowly walking around the room. "And not a single thing about his vitals changed. If he was aging I would have been able to detect the faintest of decays in his condition due to all the spells I've been using. His body truly is stopped in time just like ours." I stopped to look back at my sister only to see a humongous smile on her face. "And if everything he told us about himself is true...he coming back from the dead would mean..." "The possibility of having a partner and not having to fear for his age...or having to mourn his death," Luna said and I complied with her conclusion with a nod. "But how have you been checking upon him?" I approached the crystal wall and placed my hand on the surface. "Mirror, mirror that sees all. Show me the wanderer that brings forth a new dawn." I said while keeping my hand upon the surface, the words to show the pony of interest manifest upon the caster's mind when his/her hand is placed on the mirror's surface, all I had to do was say them and the mirror would activate. The mirror turned black and then the image of Azvameth formed upon it. He was walking around Ponyville while he was greeted by the townsfolk. No sound was emitted by the image, looking to the side I saw Luna looking at the edges of the mirror with the eyes of a child after seeing something new that picked its interest. I decided to show her something else I could do with this mirror. "Mirror, mirror that sees all. Show me for who he would fall." The image zoomed into his chest and an image of a small statue carved out of a crude black and white stone with him sitting as if he was meditating. From this small statue parted multiple strings that looked like silver webs that connected to multiple huge stained glass windows with the image of each of the current elements bearers. There were also big windows with me and Luna. From each of them, other webs shot out and made connections to the other images. "Sister...what is this?" She said while her eyes darted from one image to another. That was pretty much my impression when I first saw this. "This is his heart. The figure that represents him...it also shows how he sees himself. A crude being that is far too small for all the ones he holds dear. One thing I cannot say myself is if he loves any of the figures presented here in a romantic way. Though...I think I know somepony who could tell if he actually-?!" Before I could finish my line of thought, a glow came from the mirror. The look on Luna's face made me worry, I looked back to the statue and saw it start to crack and some pieces of it fell. "Sister! What is happening?! Is he okay?!" I started to look around the image searching for anything that could explain what was happening. After some searching, I found a small green vine moving on the back of his statue. This vine was burrowing itself upon him which was the reason for his current cracking and breaking. If this got any further...his heart would be lost...I do not know what would happen to anypony who lost his heart like this. "WE NEED TO DO SOMETHING!" Just as she said that a white silhouette came out of nowhere and pulled out the vine, the vine then revealed itself to be a strange looking miniature mare with dark skin like Aza's, long green mane, green eyes that looked dead and devoid of purpose, this mare also had a long and curved horn as well as wings...insect wings. Who was that? And who was the figure? From her mouth, small fragments of the statue rolled out. "Could the white one be Fillin?" "That could be the case...what about the mare?" I said as I watched the white figure talk to her, I could tell that because whenever he opened his mouth a black hole would appear on his head. The mare was responding...but I couldn't hear it due to the limitations of the mirror. (Fillin's POV) "Lady, I know my friend over here is very sweet. But this is ridiculous!" I said to the mini-mare that just stopped moving and was simply hanging while I kept holding her. "Now, care to tell me your name?" "Chrysalis..." She said in but a whisper, her mouth moved slowly as she said that. What is up with this chick? It's like someone...She...is so broken. This was her heart...her manifestation was skinny as heck and full of wounds. So...that's it! She was using him to repair herself, desperation is basically her middle name at this point. "Lady, if you're that damaged why not ask for help? I'm pretty sure he would help you in a heartbeat. Literally." I said, her head turned to me and her eyes started to gain some light. I think that what she got from him right now repaired her mentality to a certain degree. "How? I...do not know." "Well, you already made your way here. Just ask the statue." I said pointing towards the statue was completely repaired now. I placed the mini-mare on the *ground* and she crawled to the statue. She placed her hand on the statue and closed her eyes. She turned into a ball of light, then she shot upwards and another stained-glass window appeared. Her image was on it was completely covered in cracks. A silver string shot from the statue and linked to it, soon after the statue was the one with cracks and the art was repaired. This guy won't suffer from this cracks now that he actually agreed to help her instead of being forced into repairing her damaged heart. I guess...his heart can be a mirror to how the hearts of his friends were before they got damaged, right now these windows represent the people he would die to keep happy or safe. A small stone golem to protect things that can be so fragile...the hearts of living things. Chapter 8: Time to bring you up to speed.(Twilight's POV, during Aza's study section of current law system) "Why isn't he paying attention?" I thought as crossed my legs again, I've been at this teasing game for two days and not a single response. A positive one at least, his mane has been going from white to its original form like a rave party...so basically, my approach seems to be getting him further away from me rather than lure him in. Curse the book about seducing methods! I've been following it down to the letter but nothing! 'BAM' Aza scared the hay out of me by closing the book he was holding that quickly. He then got out of the library, in the middle of our study section! The nerve! I went back to my room where Spike was sleeping on his bed snoring loudly. From inside the pillow, I pulled out the book I've been using. "Sure shot techniques...Yeah right." I said looking at the cover. I then opened the tome and started to browse through the pages, it says here that males and females that can be easily attracted by these kinds of clothes and behavior. "So why the hay isn't you responding Aza?!" "Maybe because you don't actually know the guy?" Spike said from his bed while he whipped his eyes. "Sorry Spike, did I wake you?" "No, I've put an alarm underneath my pillow that shakes a lot. So it went off and I woke up." He said before yawning, since when did he have that? "I had that for a while but didn't use it since you tend to wake me before it goes off. It's kinda weird to wake up on my own. Don't get me wrong I'm grateful for the extra sleep time since you want to pass so much time with Aza." I felt my face heat up when he said the last part...I guess it's way too obvious right? "That transparent?" "That transparent." "But what do you mean 'you don't actually know the guy'? I live with him for Celestia's sake!" "Then what does he like to do in his spare time?" "..." Come on! Think! I know something! I know the answer! "He sings!" "He sucks at singing," Really now?! "He actually likes to draw and read." OH! COME ON! "Do you know what he doesn't like?" "BLUE BLOOD!" I shot immediately. "That's a who not a what." He's...right. Seriously...do I know anything him? "What does he like?" "ROSES!" That one I knew, because his...his son told me. I don't actually know him at all. I've been living with him and I don't know the first thing about him. I fell on my bed realizing this as the book slipped from my hands. "Understand what I mean now?" I nodded affirmatively. "Ok. I'm gonna give you a claw. For what I know I think he has some sort of problem when dealing with any of us." A problem? he never gave any signs of that before...unless I was too scared to notice. Dammit! I backed myself into a corner because of my irrational behavior! "What do you mean?" I asked while turning towards Spike. "He...I don't know, he seems to think too little about himself. Like he was always worried about dragging me down or being a burden whenever we talked." Wait...they were close? OH MY GOSH TWILIGHT! YOU'VE BLIND THIS WHOLE TIME! "Please tell me what you know about him." I pleaded with Spike, he frowned and gave me a glare before heading to the bathroom. "If you want a shot at a relationship with Aza you better do it yourself. I'm your assistant when it comes to your studies and duties with the princess, I am not going to meddle in your love life Twi. Not this kind of meddling." He answered before slamming the door. "He's...right. I need to do this on my own, ok...think. I'll wait for him to come back...then I keep these clothes on just to make sure the book wasn't wrong. Then I...try to talk to him about something that isn't...studies...that's the only thing I've been doing with him! I haven't done anything else! What am I supposed to talk about?! WHAT AM I SUPPOSED TO DO?!" I thought to myself as I pressed my temples trying to think. "SPIIIIIIIKE!" I yelled. "PLEASE HELP ME COME UP WITH A CONVERSATION TOPICS LIST!" The answer to my request was a long and loud sigh. After a few hours of discussion, I had a complete scroll filled with different options that could start a conversation without making it weird to anypony! YES! Now all I had to do was wait for him to come back. Spike was laying on the floor with a quill in his hand when I received a message from Pinkie...Pinkie. I...haven't has been exactly a good friend, she went through a lot of trouble to make me and the girls be more receptive towards him...and we ignored it and tried to turn him into a mindless slave. I picked up my phone and looked at the message. "Hey! I need you, girls, to come on over. Aza fell unconscious in my room after he got into an accident with one of my party canons while trying to cheer me up." "YOU GOT TO BE KIDDING ME!" I thought as I got up and grabbed Spike with my magic and ran out of the library. (Applejack's POV, when Aza was heading towards the farm during his mental argument with Nightmare Moon) "Gotta keep in shape!" I said as I bucked another tree and made the apples fall on their buckets. "I can't have Aza thinking I can't handle myself after that hydra fight. That pony knew how to throw a punch! I still couldn't believe he broke that thing's forelegs with his bare fists!" I couldn't help but keep remembering him saving us by making that hydra chase him every single time I closed mah eyes. And when I remembered about him dodging that thing's attack I remembered feeling mah heart get tighter every time the hydra tried to hit him. "You're at again aren't you Applejack?" I snapped back into reality by Granny Smith's voice. I felt my face lit up as I turned around, I'm a terrible liar so if you've known me for long enough you can probably read me like a book. "Thinking about that Aza fellow again ain't ya. You need to speak to that fellow now. Otherwise, you might lose him those city mares." "G-granny! I know what I'm doing! I'll talk to him next time he comes to work." I actually dismissed him after the apple bucking season telling him only to come by when I asked because there wasn't much work left to do and...because I was still afraid of the fella. Which was when I got stressed out, so...yeah...I don't think he'll come by before I give him a call. "I'm gonna bring these apples back to the barn, you get back to the house carefully, okay?" She nodded before turning back and heading back home, I, on the other hand, got to those buckets. I can carry up to two of the huge ones. One in each arm, they are about as large as a boulder and when they are completely full they weight about as much, way more than what your average earth pony can lift I can say I'm very proud of mah strength. Big Mac, on the other hand, can carry three of those, one on each arm and one on his back using a mount like it's some kind of backpack, which is more than anypony I've ever known can carry, I tried but I didn't manage. Granny told me she woke up during the night of the apple bucking season she went to get some water and saw a shadow with green glowing eyes breathing very heavily while dragging his feet on the ground and carrying three of our buckets. That had to be Aza, even if he was struggling he lifted those buckets and prepared everything in one night. That's very surprising considering how scrawny he is. Full of surprises that one is, once I had placed the buckets in the barn I came out and saw Aza turning away from Big Mac. I picked up the pace and shouted "AZA! How are you doing partner?" "Like a pile of trash that I am," He answered while resuming his walk. "I better get back home before I get an earful from Twil. I left in the middle of the lesson." Really now? For Pete's sake! He finally comes back and suddenly he's gone again! But then again...Twilight can be really scary. I simply left out a sigh, once he was far away I turned to mah brother and asked. "What did he want?" "I think he came to work but once he learned that you've been talking non-stop he left." I felt mah ears fall as I stood there, he left once he heard I was talking about him? Did I scare him? Or he doesn't like me? "But before that, he basically said that you would be better off finding someponyelse since being with him would be dangerous if people decided to go after him because of what he looks like." He...he was concerned for mah safety? He didn't want me to become a target...that's sweet. But...I can handle myself just fine! I slapped myself on both of my cheeks shook mah head and went back to the orchard. I'm gonna show him! "I'm way stronger than I look! He's gonna see it!" I said starting to kick trees left and right. After about an hour of non-stop kicking, I heard my phone go off. It was Pinkie, I've been meaning to talk to her and apologize to her because of how I agreed to Twilight's plan to turn him into a puppet. There are no words to describe how much I regret that decision, then I took a look at the message. "Hey! I need you, girls, to come on over. Aza fell unconscious in my room after he got into an accident with one of my party canons while trying to cheer me up." I simply ran like had just seen a snake and had to get away. I'm a rodeo pony so I can run fairly fast when I had Sugar Cube Corner on sight I saw Twilight run inside with Spike being carried with her magic, then Fluttershy, Rainbow and then Rarity. She called all of the girls...okay. Going through the front door and ran up the stairs, while I did so I heard a series of gasps coming from the room, once inside I also let out a gasp due to the sight in front of me. Pinkie was trying to undress out of an unconscious Aza that laid flat on the floor with his face covered in cake frost and was wearing a fancy-looking dress. "WHAT IN TARNATION IS GOING ON!?" "HANDS OF THE MERCHANDISE!" He shouted getting up. (Aza's POV immediately after his blackout due to Pinkie's antics) "Shewasreadingmymindwasanearthpony. Shewasreadingmymindandwasanearthpony. Shecan'tusemagicandyetwasreadingmymi-" I was slapped on the face by a black mare before I could continue my thought frenzy. "Snap out of it and get rid of these bunnies and rainbows!" I shook my head and looked around, I was basically in a beautiful day with dozens of rainbows in the sky and a lot of fluffy little bunnies hopping around happily and... an annoyed Nightmare buried in fluffy little bunnies that were hugging her to the point she couldn't move. "This..." "Don't you dare." "...is..." "If you say it I'm gonna get you." "...so..." "I am warning you." "ADORABLE!" "I am going to kill you!" "Sorry! Sorry." I said as the entire scenery reverted to a peaceful night with a full moon illuminating the sky. She got up dusting off her...jacket. "New look?" She then proceeded to strike a pose to show her garments, instead of a black dress she was wearing a black jacket, dark blue shirt, light blue jeans and a long silver necklace with a moon pendant. "Why?" I asked while looking the clothes that seemed to emphasize her... "It's rude to stare you know?" My mane shifted into pink. "Though in your case I'll make an exception. As for 'why'...why not? A little change never hurt anypony. And you seem pleased by these." She said with a smug smile striking another pose to emphasize her body, my mane turned into a pink flame before I shook my head and tried to come up with a retort. "You know...I LOVE to mess around with you since you're so easy to fluster." "And you're probably jealous of the other girls trying to get to me while I'm awake. Hence the clothes change." I got a dagger pointed at me from her eyes due to this little comment..."But I prefer the older look. Fits a royalty title holder better than the everyday clothes. Not to mention all the black makes your eyes stand out more than your body." I earned a frown from that. "What? I think your eyes are very VERY beautiful. They look like aquamarines." "You're off the hook, for now." She said turning away in a manner that I couldn't see her face. "Well, you're not gonna wake up for a while due to the shock so...what to do? I have *some* ideas." "If you offer me sex I promise to recreate the happy-go-lucky scenario with house-sized bunnies that taint everything the hug with rainbows and there will be a humongous smiling sun that will keep giving you good pep-talks every ten minutes," I said with a serious look while I glared at her, she turned towards me with a concerned smile before she answered me. "H-h-how about some sparring?" Good, my point came across. "Sounds good, let's let out some steam.Do you have a battle garment?" "Of course!" "But..." I thought of asking something before we started, but I decided not to. "...come at me with everything you have! Fair warning though: I suck at this!" (The creation's POV present time) "WHAT IN TARNATION IS GOING ON!?" I found my way back into my old body and saw the one called Pinkie taking a dress from me and heard that. "HANDS OFF THE MERCHANDISE!" I yelled at the pink mare making her jump away and let out an 'eep'. "Thank you. Now let's see here..." I got up and undressed that fancy looking thing. "What the heck you've been up to dad?" "Dad?" A familiar voice said I turned to look and saw a familiar lavender pony standing there confused. "Aza, why are your eyes pitch black?" "Oh! It's you! Summoner! Sorry about this, but Azvameth is currently sleeping." Her eyes widened before they narrowed at me, I felt in danger so I continued. "Azvameth's original body died of old age and I got back. But don't worry I'm gonna allocate myself in his heart and try to offer him an ear and listen to any of his troubles. I do NOT intend to get my body back. I'm satisfied with the life I lived." She dropped her guard a little bit before she got into a neutral stance again. "Who is this guy?" The flying blue one said. "He is Azvameth's son." All of them gasped at that and looked very worried about that almost as if they...Oooooooh, you better at this than I thought dad. You got these six to fall for you. "Son is a manner of speaking." They stopped looking at each other and turned to me. "He imagined me and I came to be. I'm actually a character from one of his stories, the name's Filin." "Stories?" The one I knew asked with a glimmer coming from her eyes. "Listen before you ask about who he was. That guy doesn't exist anymore. The purge remember?" Her ears fell flat as the others looked at me in confusion. "Anyways I guess I need to bring myself up to speed right now, so I know what he has gone through. Give me a second so I can poke around his mind. Then I can clarify some stuff about this body to you girls with a little Q/A. That okay with you all?" "Yes!" They answered in synch. Wow, what the heck did you do dad? Author's Note "Why did you run?" "Because you scare me a little bit with the whole reality breaking thing. And you're not supposed to be here. Can you untie me please?" "Only if you don't run away again." "Okay." *unties* "Thanks. What did you want to talk about?" "Do you like cake?" "...yes." "Okay!" *opens up a tear in time and space before disappearing into it.* "Okay..." This chapter is a bit shorter, but the next one will have a lot of exposition about the current situation and the society since Aza seems to be having trouble studying. Have a nice day!
Chapter 4: Set up the stage.(Aza's POV) Soon after I told I would answer whatever questions Twi had, I find it easier to call her Twi, Red entered the room carrying something made out of wood that had a plate on it with a red ball on it, something brownish that smelled really good and a glass with some orange stuff on it; the entire thing made my mouth water up. She placed on the bed as told me: "Go ahead and eat this, it will make your belly stop hurting." Really? Staring at the plate I followed her instructions, first the brownish thing. It had something yellow on top of it that looked solid but was melting. "That's a bread, more specifically toast. The yellow thing is called butter." I opened my mouth and bit it, my teeth went through it with ease. This toast thing is amazing! Then my lower jaw opened right in the middle and my tongue shot out at the bread wrapped itself around the bread and pulled it into my mouth and I ate it whole in one go. Everyone in the room gasped at the sight, as for me...I turned my attention to the red ball. I picked it up and looked at Red, she shook her head before answering my questioning look. "That one is an apple. It's a bit harder than toast but...I think you can eat it very easily." I looked at it took a bite and once again I felt my teeth cutting through it just as easily as they cut the bread. "This thing is delicious!" I said before the previous scene repeated itself, Aj looked pleased with what I said...why? "That is so weird," Rainbow said as she stared at me. I got embarrassed before I changed my attention to the glass with the orange stuff, Rainbow this time said what it was. "That's orange juice. Just don't eat the glass. Or you will end up with a lot of cuts on your guts." "I'm not retarded you know?" I answered grabbing the glass. Then I drank it, it was just as good as the other stuff. As soon as I finished drinking it I placed it on the wood thing I noticed my belly had stopped its complaining. I Turned to Red and said with a big smile, that seemed to scare her a bit since she started sweating a bit as her eyes darted around. "Thank you very much. This stuff was delicious!" After that, I went for the bag Rarity had left on the thing I was laying. It had a white short sleeved shirt that seemed a bit bigger than me, some black short pants...I think it's underwear, some long black pants that had some sort of dark brown cloth around the waist and some grey shoes that looked something I saw in a book about a desert explorer. I pulled out some stuff that was attached to my body and got up apparently, I shouldn't have done that since Red gave me a very stern look. Just then I realized I had some sort of bright green cloth covering me. I took it off without a care in the world...and that made the girls, princesses, and Red gasp before running out of the room. "What was that about?" I thought to myself as I put the clothes. Just as I thought they were slightly bigger than me...it felt very comfortable, the brown cloth was actually to adjust the waist so the pants didn't fall off. But I had to tie a knot in order for it to work...I don't how o do that... "HEY!" I called out to any of the girls that were outside. "I don't know how to tie a knot! Can anypony help me out?" "Are you serious?!" Rarity asked from behind the door. "Yeah!" I answered feeling a bit uneasy...then I remembered that in some of the books I read there were moments where mares would feel flustered seeing a stallion with his body slightly exposed, that's why they ran out! "I just need somepony to tie this thing around my waist. I'm completely dressed up now! No need to worry!" "Very well," Rarity answered before opening the door slowly. She left out a sigh once she saw me dressed up and holding my pants with one hand and holding the cloth with the other. After that, she frowned a little at the sight of my clothes being slightly bigger than me. "I made them bigger because I believed you're malnourished...so I thought you gain weight after being released from here...but still...I cannot say that I am pleased with the sight of these oversized clothes." She said with her gaze fixed on the ground. "No problem! I'm actually glad to have some clothes! Not to mention they are the first gift I ever got!" I said almost letting go of my pants to reach out to her, but my head told me otherwise so I just stood there looking at her. "Would you be so kind as to teach me how to tie this up?" She raised her head and gave a small smile before saying. "You're too kind." Then she proceeded to walk up to me and give me instructions on how to make the knot. Apparently, she even thought of a specific way to tie this up as to match the design. "She really thinks this stuff up carefully doesn't she?" I thought to myself before she finished, then she got up and said. "I do believe you should also put your shirt in your pants, that way it won't look like they are so oversized." I did as instructed then she smiled at me and went to door signaling me to follow. The others were waiting outside, they all looked at me then at Rarity. This repeated for a while before I said "Thanks for this Rarity. I really like it!" They looked at each other before everypony started to walk out. I just followed, but before I did that I said goodbye to Red. "We're going to sugar cube corner," Twi said as soon as we left the hospital. "Pinkie asked us to meet her there once you got out." "Does this have something to do with her running around town asking everyone to gather at this sugar cube place?" I asked making everyone stop in their tracks. All of their ears were perked up and their posture got weird as if somepony had snuck behind them and screamed at them. "You actually heard her?" Twi, asked turning slowly to stare at me. "Yes, but I was kinda focused on the food so...I didn't pay too much attention beyond the: come to sugar cube corner as soon as possible!" They left out a sigh...what is going on? They guided me through the village until I saw a huge building shaped like some sort of cake. I sincerely thought of taking a bite out of the building...but I restrained myself. As we approached the building I noticed that there was a lot of breathing coming from inside the place. "Er...there is a lot of people inside there. Are you girls sure I can go in there?" Before I could have my answer a lavender aura surrounded me and tossed me through the front door. The room was dark and but my eyes glowed and allowed me to barely see in there...I scanned the room until I saw many pairs of hooves in front of me. I got on my feet as fast as I could, just as I did the room lit up and I heard a deafening chorus yell. "SURPRISE! WELCOME TO PONYVILLE! AND THANK YOU FOR SAVING US!" I jumped up and attached myself to the ceiling while breathing very fast and looking around, my hair had changed again and it was black. Everypony in the room stared at me on the ceiling...they looked very surprised with me. I can't say I blame them since I look like an oversized bug. Pinkie came out of the crowd at a very unexpected place, she was using something in her hooves that were allowing her to walk...ON THE FUCKING CEILING! "HEY! Did you like your surprise party?" She asked me with very wide eyes and a big smile. I simply jumped from the ceiling back to the ground. Before looking at her confused, my ears were still ringing a bit. "I'm very surprised. But...why?" "Why what?" she asked making the same move as I and getting back on the ground. "Why do this for me?" I said with my mane going crazy, without any color staying more than a few seconds. "Do I need a reason to want my friends to smile?" She answered tilting her head, one eyebrow raised and her eyes fixated on me. That answer was...so...honest. I felt happy...so happy, I gave my biggest smile to her while my mane turned a very bright blue. I think she understood my smile because she grabbed my arm and pulled me towards the crowd, everypony was forcing their smiles a bit. I AM scary looking, I sincerely thought of saying BOOH! Just to see what they would do, but before I knew it Pinkie had me trying a bunch of different party-games. Time flew by like crazy as I went from game to game with pinkie dragging me around, after a while, she took me to a place where a bunch of ponies were dancing. I just stood there looking at everypony moving around, then I decided to try to imitate them. It was a disaster, I ended up just making some weird movements as I made my arms look like jelly. I saw Twi and the others laughing at the sight, Pinkie laughed at me and then started to imitate me, I don't give a crap about what they will think about me because of this weird dance! I'll just keep having a good time with my new friend! After that, I got out of the dance floor and went to a nearby window. It was dark outside, I got to give it to whoever creates this skies...they are a sight to behold. Then I realized that very soon I would need to go back to my *house* back in the forest. After dark, the weird looking wood creatures are way more active, so the sooner I got back the better. I made my way outside and found Luna sitting by a fountain at the center of the street, I did not have much time so I decided to keep on going. However, as soon as I passed by her she turned to me and asked: "Where are thou going? The festivities are not yet done." "I need to get back home before the moon is at its highest." One of her eyebrows raised at the word *home* I didn't pay much heed to her and continued my explanation. "Otherwise I will have to deal with some weird looking wood monster on my way back." "Certainly you do not mean the ruins of our old castle?" She asked me with her gaze fixated on me, I gave her a look that meant *that's the one*. "Have you not heard? Twilight Sparkle has arranged a place for you to stay in this town." I tilted my head at her and gave a look that it could be translated into *Say, what?* "Twilight's home has a basement that she used as a storage. When thou collapsed at the end of thy battle, Twilight cleaned said storage room and placed a bed so thou could have a place to stay. We have also considered arranging a room at our castle, however, Twilight Sparkle insisted that you remained at Ponyville." What? I have a home here now? "That's right Aza." I heard from behind me, turning around I saw Twi. "You're staying at my home. But since you're there you'll need to help or get a job." Job? Does that mean work? "Princess Celestia sends me money every so often, but since you'll be staying with us you'll need to help out." She gave a scary look as she said that, I kinda got scared...a lot. Then she smiled and said." Just kidding. The princess has already told she will adjust the allowance so that it covers the extra expenses. If you get a job it will be so you can have some money for yourself. If you can't get a job you'll just have to deal with the budget." I left out a little sigh...they are doing this on purpose. "Are you sure?" She just nodded positively and got back inside, but before that she looked over her shoulder and gave me a long look without any expression at all...was she worried or something? Then I turned to Luna who was still sitting at the fountain. Having no more reason to leave town I approached her. "What are you doing?" "We are appreciating our work," she said without turning her gaze from the night sky, she had a satisfied smile on her face...did she do that? almost as if she heard me she continued. "We are the princess of the night and the dreams. As such the night is our domain and protecting the dreams of our subjects is our duty." "Are you a goddess?" I asked without thinking, I immediately facepalmed. That got me a small laugh from Luna. "Sorry, I'm just a little amazed...so am I right to assume your sister controls the sun?" She nodded positively. "Ok...well...your night sky is beautiful. You must put a lot of effort in it from what I have seen." Her eyes widened as she turned towards me, did I say something wrong? "Has thou watched our nights?" She asked me, her pupils were very bigger and her look was demanding an answer. "Yeeeees?" I said with a bit of fear. "I kinda stay up late to read...and because of my stomach, I didn't get much time to sleep. So watching the sky at night after I got bored of reading was my favorite way of drifting to sleep and to waking up." Her ears perked up and a huge smile appeared on her face, then she jumped up and started to hop around the fountain while humming a catchy little tune. I felt a presence by my side and I saw Tia (Celestia was too big for my liking...tia fits her better) which made me jump a little to the side. Tia was staring at Luna with a little smile on her face. "Why won't you join her?" I asked her, she just looked at me for a few seconds. Then she just proceeded to go to her sister and hopped around with her sister. After watching them for a while I shrugged and joined them. It didn't take very long for everypony who was inside to start coming out and watch the odd scene where the two princesses and the bug were hopping around a fountain humming a song. The six friends were also in the crowd, I ran to them grabbed Twi and Pinkie and brought them to join us. They smiled before joining, I did the same to all the other girls and now all of us were hopping around to the rhythm Luna hummed. I looked up and saw that the stars were swirling int the sky making a beautiful vortex in the sky. I love this place. I do everything I can to keep it this beautiful and happy. (Chrisalys's point of view, Badlands.) "How are the preparations for my visit?" I asked the drone in charge of preparing my documents so I can pass through any checkpoints until I got to Ponyvile. "Almost done your majesty.The traveling gear and clothes are all ready. Just running a final check to see if this persona is not currently being used by any of our scouts." He answered as he continued to check a book in which we kept a register of all the active and inactive disguises we had prepared. "Done, the Rosy disguise is safe and isn't in use." "Very well, then I shall depart to Ponyvile first thing in the morning." It should take about three weeks to reach the town, so I did not want to waste any time on this. However, as both their mother and their queen I cannot be too reckless. If that being is an asset to us I have to attain it, it might be a way for us to stand among the ponies without having to disguise ourselves. If they can be trusting to him, then maybe we can make a deal with them so my children won't have to keep stealing other people's feelings to survive. Fear, joy, anger...love, all of these feelings sustain us, however, we cannot take these feelings from our own kind. So as of right now, we are forced to steal them from ponies or any other being within our reach and the process is harmful depending on how much energy is taken from the subject. Such damage could be avoided if the subject was aware of the process and consents to it, but in the current state of affairs, the ponies only run at the mere sight of us. More than once have my children been slaughtered by other beings simply due to our appearance, therefore I need it, it might be the key to a better future for my children. "Also, send word to the local spies. Have them set up a stage for him to interact with me upon my arrival." I ordered before leaving the room and heading to my chambers. Once inside, I saw once again the recording of that being killing a manticore, I had received it the day before. "I might be setting up the stage so I can crawl up to your graces. But you are setting up the stage so I can crawl my way up to the castle. And hopefully towards a solution for my children's suffering." I mumbled to myself as I heard another child leave out their last cry before their heart stopped and I fought against the need to cry. Why must a mother watch her children die in such a way? This question plagued my mind as I slowly drifted into sleep and the image of the being got burned into my mind...it is only a way to my children's happiness. ONLY that. Author's Note The story continues as Aza starts his first normal interactions with the locals. I hope everyone is enjoying these if you guys are let me know. Also please let me know what I should change or pay more attention.
Chapter 12: Mirror, mirror and a heart.(Celestia's POV Four days after the slumber party) "How much longer? I want to check on that mirror." "Tia, is everything alright?" Luna snapped me out of my thoughts. "You've been aloof for the last days. Is something bothering you dear sister?" It's been quite a while since I've last been this focused on something to the point I've been letting my concern show. "In a way yes. There is indeed something bothering me. Have the audiences for the morning finished?" Luna reached for the scroll containing all of the morning audiences scheduled. "That was the last one arranged for this morning. Does your concern involve that mirror you've been checking every single moment you're not having to deal with any of your royal duties?" I'm more off then I've believed to be. "We do not wish to pry but...what is so important that has been making you lose your focus?" After I told her about the current demographic profile of our country and how that influenced the current law of engagement, she became much more attentive to her duties and me that is no surprise she would see through me that easily. After the last calamity of our millennia, namely Nightmare Moon, the mentality of the population started to shift. Strong stallions were always on battles, which made mares responsible for multiple aspects of our kingdom basically making them the only reason our country kept working and the population ratio for males and females was around 1:1. However, after the event, the following peace made the need for strong males reduced since I could out-class any threat. That change in mentality made the birth ratio of females change, though the conception of a newborn is mostly ruled by chance the desire for a colt or a filly influences the ratio as well due to the number of reproductive cells produced that have the genetic code for a male or a female. There is also the increase of adopted sons and especially daughters due to all the parents that died during the wars that preceded the millennia of peace. Eventually, the ratio between males and females was around 1:12, so in order to prevent our population from diminishing any further the law the prohibited polygamy was revoked and we made the current laws come into play. Now stallions can have herds that can only be formed after both the male and females involved have become of age, he must have a job so he can aid in the finances of the family and in order to get married all of the members of the relation must agree to do it. And very recently I've managed to get the approval of a law that disbands a herd in case of proved the male is having an abusive relationship with any female that is from his herd or not. I really regret the amount of time it took to approve this...many females had their psyche damaged far beyond repair before we could protect them. "Tia?" I was daydreaming again. "Sorry Lu, yes it has to do with the mirror." I finally answered. "Would you like to see?" I knew she was going to find out sooner or later. Might as well come clean now. She came to my side and I used a spell to open a path in front of us, this path led to a special room I originally used to check upon Luna while she was banished to the moon. There I made a special mirror that was created using magic and a crystal can be found underneath the castle. "What is this place sister?" She asked looking around the white room that had four walls, three filled with scrolls and one that was entirely made of a smooth surface that reflected both of us. "This room allows me to check upon every single one of my subjects," I said as I ran my fingers through the old scrolls. "I only used this room to check up on you during your banishemt...but...recentely started to use it to check somepony in particular." Lunas's eyes widened and started to check the scrolls to see if there was a spell anywhere that indicated who I was interested in. She was smiling. "Tia, don't tell me that after all these years you still haven't settled for anypony." She said giggling. "Who might be the lucky one? Maybe that captain of the guard you recently named?" "No Luna, I haven't even considered anypony through these years due to our...condition." Her expression changed and her ears fell to the side of her head. After we used the elements of harmony...both of us were no longer affected by time, I stopped aging at the age of 30, Luna at the age of 27. The effect started to kick in after two years of my first use of the elements, while Luna took three. So Twilight and her friends would also stop aging eventually, this doesn't make us immortals...stab us through the heart or any lethal wound and goodbye land of the living. Needless to say that since we could no longer age having a partner...was out of the question. Having somepony by your side all the time to have them age and die while you stay the same is simply a torture. Flirting and teasing was fun but...having somepony that you could actually stay with...that never happened. Not to mention the pain of caring about the ponies around you only to see them die eventually was also really depressing. But the worst part was probably the number of ponies that tried to court us seriously in order to achieve our curse that they worshipped as a blessing. "But Lu, it would appear that problem is no longer present." Her ears perked up as she looked back at me. "You don't mean that..." It was so obvious the change in her tone that I couldn't help but smile at her. "I've been checking up on Azvameth every single moment I can in order to see his health," I started slowly walking around the room. "And not a single thing about his vitals changed. If he was aging I would have been able to detect the faintest of decays in his condition due to all the spells I've been using. His body truly is stopped in time just like ours." I stopped to look back at my sister only to see a humongous smile on her face. "And if everything he told us about himself is true...he coming back from the dead would mean..." "The possibility of having a partner and not having to fear for his age...or having to mourn his death," Luna said and I complied with her conclusion with a nod. "But how have you been checking upon him?" I approached the crystal wall and placed my hand on the surface. "Mirror, mirror that sees all. Show me the wanderer that brings forth a new dawn." I said while keeping my hand upon the surface, the words to show the pony of interest manifest upon the caster's mind when his/her hand is placed on the mirror's surface, all I had to do was say them and the mirror would activate. The mirror turned black and then the image of Azvameth formed upon it. He was walking around Ponyville while he was greeted by the townsfolk. No sound was emitted by the image, looking to the side I saw Luna looking at the edges of the mirror with the eyes of a child after seeing something new that picked its interest. I decided to show her something else I could do with this mirror. "Mirror, mirror that sees all. Show me for who he would fall." The image zoomed into his chest and an image of a small statue carved out of a crude black and white stone with him sitting as if he was meditating. From this small statue parted multiple strings that looked like silver webs that connected to multiple huge stained glass windows with the image of each of the current elements bearers. There were also big windows with me and Luna. From each of them, other webs shot out and made connections to the other images. "Sister...what is this?" She said while her eyes darted from one image to another. That was pretty much my impression when I first saw this. "This is his heart. The figure that represents him...it also shows how he sees himself. A crude being that is far too small for all the ones he holds dear. One thing I cannot say myself is if he loves any of the figures presented here in a romantic way. Though...I think I know somepony who could tell if he actually-?!" Before I could finish my line of thought, a glow came from the mirror. The look on Luna's face made me worry, I looked back to the statue and saw it start to crack and some pieces of it fell. "Sister! What is happening?! Is he okay?!" I started to look around the image searching for anything that could explain what was happening. After some searching, I found a small green vine moving on the back of his statue. This vine was burrowing itself upon him which was the reason for his current cracking and breaking. If this got any further...his heart would be lost...I do not know what would happen to anypony who lost his heart like this. "WE NEED TO DO SOMETHING!" Just as she said that a white silhouette came out of nowhere and pulled out the vine, the vine then revealed itself to be a strange looking miniature mare with dark skin like Aza's, long green mane, green eyes that looked dead and devoid of purpose, this mare also had a long and curved horn as well as wings...insect wings. Who was that? And who was the figure? From her mouth, small fragments of the statue rolled out. "Could the white one be Fillin?" "That could be the case...what about the mare?" I said as I watched the white figure talk to her, I could tell that because whenever he opened his mouth a black hole would appear on his head. The mare was responding...but I couldn't hear it due to the limitations of the mirror. (Fillin's POV) "Lady, I know my friend over here is very sweet. But this is ridiculous!" I said to the mini-mare that just stopped moving and was simply hanging while I kept holding her. "Now, care to tell me your name?" "Chrysalis..." She said in but a whisper, her mouth moved slowly as she said that. What is up with this chick? It's like someone...She...is so broken. This was her heart...her manifestation was skinny as heck and full of wounds. So...that's it! She was using him to repair herself, desperation is basically her middle name at this point. "Lady, if you're that damaged why not ask for help? I'm pretty sure he would help you in a heartbeat. Literally." I said, her head turned to me and her eyes started to gain some light. I think that what she got from him right now repaired her mentality to a certain degree. "How? I...do not know." "Well, you already made your way here. Just ask the statue." I said pointing towards the statue was completely repaired now. I placed the mini-mare on the *ground* and she crawled to the statue. She placed her hand on the statue and closed her eyes. She turned into a ball of light, then she shot upwards and another stained-glass window appeared. Her image was on it was completely covered in cracks. A silver string shot from the statue and linked to it, soon after the statue was the one with cracks and the art was repaired. This guy won't suffer from this cracks now that he actually agreed to help her instead of being forced into repairing her damaged heart. I guess...his heart can be a mirror to how the hearts of his friends were before they got damaged, right now these windows represent the people he would die to keep happy or safe. A small stone golem to protect things that can be so fragile...the hearts of living things.
Chapter 8: Time to bring you up to speed.(Twilight's POV, during Aza's study section of current law system) "Why isn't he paying attention?" I thought as crossed my legs again, I've been at this teasing game for two days and not a single response. A positive one at least, his mane has been going from white to its original form like a rave party...so basically, my approach seems to be getting him further away from me rather than lure him in. Curse the book about seducing methods! I've been following it down to the letter but nothing! 'BAM' Aza scared the hay out of me by closing the book he was holding that quickly. He then got out of the library, in the middle of our study section! The nerve! I went back to my room where Spike was sleeping on his bed snoring loudly. From inside the pillow, I pulled out the book I've been using. "Sure shot techniques...Yeah right." I said looking at the cover. I then opened the tome and started to browse through the pages, it says here that males and females that can be easily attracted by these kinds of clothes and behavior. "So why the hay isn't you responding Aza?!" "Maybe because you don't actually know the guy?" Spike said from his bed while he whipped his eyes. "Sorry Spike, did I wake you?" "No, I've put an alarm underneath my pillow that shakes a lot. So it went off and I woke up." He said before yawning, since when did he have that? "I had that for a while but didn't use it since you tend to wake me before it goes off. It's kinda weird to wake up on my own. Don't get me wrong I'm grateful for the extra sleep time since you want to pass so much time with Aza." I felt my face heat up when he said the last part...I guess it's way too obvious right? "That transparent?" "That transparent." "But what do you mean 'you don't actually know the guy'? I live with him for Celestia's sake!" "Then what does he like to do in his spare time?" "..." Come on! Think! I know something! I know the answer! "He sings!" "He sucks at singing," Really now?! "He actually likes to draw and read." OH! COME ON! "Do you know what he doesn't like?" "BLUE BLOOD!" I shot immediately. "That's a who not a what." He's...right. Seriously...do I know anything him? "What does he like?" "ROSES!" That one I knew, because his...his son told me. I don't actually know him at all. I've been living with him and I don't know the first thing about him. I fell on my bed realizing this as the book slipped from my hands. "Understand what I mean now?" I nodded affirmatively. "Ok. I'm gonna give you a claw. For what I know I think he has some sort of problem when dealing with any of us." A problem? he never gave any signs of that before...unless I was too scared to notice. Dammit! I backed myself into a corner because of my irrational behavior! "What do you mean?" I asked while turning towards Spike. "He...I don't know, he seems to think too little about himself. Like he was always worried about dragging me down or being a burden whenever we talked." Wait...they were close? OH MY GOSH TWILIGHT! YOU'VE BLIND THIS WHOLE TIME! "Please tell me what you know about him." I pleaded with Spike, he frowned and gave me a glare before heading to the bathroom. "If you want a shot at a relationship with Aza you better do it yourself. I'm your assistant when it comes to your studies and duties with the princess, I am not going to meddle in your love life Twi. Not this kind of meddling." He answered before slamming the door. "He's...right. I need to do this on my own, ok...think. I'll wait for him to come back...then I keep these clothes on just to make sure the book wasn't wrong. Then I...try to talk to him about something that isn't...studies...that's the only thing I've been doing with him! I haven't done anything else! What am I supposed to talk about?! WHAT AM I SUPPOSED TO DO?!" I thought to myself as I pressed my temples trying to think. "SPIIIIIIIKE!" I yelled. "PLEASE HELP ME COME UP WITH A CONVERSATION TOPICS LIST!" The answer to my request was a long and loud sigh. After a few hours of discussion, I had a complete scroll filled with different options that could start a conversation without making it weird to anypony! YES! Now all I had to do was wait for him to come back. Spike was laying on the floor with a quill in his hand when I received a message from Pinkie...Pinkie. I...haven't has been exactly a good friend, she went through a lot of trouble to make me and the girls be more receptive towards him...and we ignored it and tried to turn him into a mindless slave. I picked up my phone and looked at the message. "Hey! I need you, girls, to come on over. Aza fell unconscious in my room after he got into an accident with one of my party canons while trying to cheer me up." "YOU GOT TO BE KIDDING ME!" I thought as I got up and grabbed Spike with my magic and ran out of the library. (Applejack's POV, when Aza was heading towards the farm during his mental argument with Nightmare Moon) "Gotta keep in shape!" I said as I bucked another tree and made the apples fall on their buckets. "I can't have Aza thinking I can't handle myself after that hydra fight. That pony knew how to throw a punch! I still couldn't believe he broke that thing's forelegs with his bare fists!" I couldn't help but keep remembering him saving us by making that hydra chase him every single time I closed mah eyes. And when I remembered about him dodging that thing's attack I remembered feeling mah heart get tighter every time the hydra tried to hit him. "You're at again aren't you Applejack?" I snapped back into reality by Granny Smith's voice. I felt my face lit up as I turned around, I'm a terrible liar so if you've known me for long enough you can probably read me like a book. "Thinking about that Aza fellow again ain't ya. You need to speak to that fellow now. Otherwise, you might lose him those city mares." "G-granny! I know what I'm doing! I'll talk to him next time he comes to work." I actually dismissed him after the apple bucking season telling him only to come by when I asked because there wasn't much work left to do and...because I was still afraid of the fella. Which was when I got stressed out, so...yeah...I don't think he'll come by before I give him a call. "I'm gonna bring these apples back to the barn, you get back to the house carefully, okay?" She nodded before turning back and heading back home, I, on the other hand, got to those buckets. I can carry up to two of the huge ones. One in each arm, they are about as large as a boulder and when they are completely full they weight about as much, way more than what your average earth pony can lift I can say I'm very proud of mah strength. Big Mac, on the other hand, can carry three of those, one on each arm and one on his back using a mount like it's some kind of backpack, which is more than anypony I've ever known can carry, I tried but I didn't manage. Granny told me she woke up during the night of the apple bucking season she went to get some water and saw a shadow with green glowing eyes breathing very heavily while dragging his feet on the ground and carrying three of our buckets. That had to be Aza, even if he was struggling he lifted those buckets and prepared everything in one night. That's very surprising considering how scrawny he is. Full of surprises that one is, once I had placed the buckets in the barn I came out and saw Aza turning away from Big Mac. I picked up the pace and shouted "AZA! How are you doing partner?" "Like a pile of trash that I am," He answered while resuming his walk. "I better get back home before I get an earful from Twil. I left in the middle of the lesson." Really now? For Pete's sake! He finally comes back and suddenly he's gone again! But then again...Twilight can be really scary. I simply left out a sigh, once he was far away I turned to mah brother and asked. "What did he want?" "I think he came to work but once he learned that you've been talking non-stop he left." I felt mah ears fall as I stood there, he left once he heard I was talking about him? Did I scare him? Or he doesn't like me? "But before that, he basically said that you would be better off finding someponyelse since being with him would be dangerous if people decided to go after him because of what he looks like." He...he was concerned for mah safety? He didn't want me to become a target...that's sweet. But...I can handle myself just fine! I slapped myself on both of my cheeks shook mah head and went back to the orchard. I'm gonna show him! "I'm way stronger than I look! He's gonna see it!" I said starting to kick trees left and right. After about an hour of non-stop kicking, I heard my phone go off. It was Pinkie, I've been meaning to talk to her and apologize to her because of how I agreed to Twilight's plan to turn him into a puppet. There are no words to describe how much I regret that decision, then I took a look at the message. "Hey! I need you, girls, to come on over. Aza fell unconscious in my room after he got into an accident with one of my party canons while trying to cheer me up." I simply ran like had just seen a snake and had to get away. I'm a rodeo pony so I can run fairly fast when I had Sugar Cube Corner on sight I saw Twilight run inside with Spike being carried with her magic, then Fluttershy, Rainbow and then Rarity. She called all of the girls...okay. Going through the front door and ran up the stairs, while I did so I heard a series of gasps coming from the room, once inside I also let out a gasp due to the sight in front of me. Pinkie was trying to undress out of an unconscious Aza that laid flat on the floor with his face covered in cake frost and was wearing a fancy-looking dress. "WHAT IN TARNATION IS GOING ON!?" "HANDS OF THE MERCHANDISE!" He shouted getting up. (Aza's POV immediately after his blackout due to Pinkie's antics) "Shewasreadingmymindwasanearthpony. Shewasreadingmymindandwasanearthpony. Shecan'tusemagicandyetwasreadingmymi-" I was slapped on the face by a black mare before I could continue my thought frenzy. "Snap out of it and get rid of these bunnies and rainbows!" I shook my head and looked around, I was basically in a beautiful day with dozens of rainbows in the sky and a lot of fluffy little bunnies hopping around happily and... an annoyed Nightmare buried in fluffy little bunnies that were hugging her to the point she couldn't move. "This..." "Don't you dare." "...is..." "If you say it I'm gonna get you." "...so..." "I am warning you." "ADORABLE!" "I am going to kill you!" "Sorry! Sorry." I said as the entire scenery reverted to a peaceful night with a full moon illuminating the sky. She got up dusting off her...jacket. "New look?" She then proceeded to strike a pose to show her garments, instead of a black dress she was wearing a black jacket, dark blue shirt, light blue jeans and a long silver necklace with a moon pendant. "Why?" I asked while looking the clothes that seemed to emphasize her... "It's rude to stare you know?" My mane shifted into pink. "Though in your case I'll make an exception. As for 'why'...why not? A little change never hurt anypony. And you seem pleased by these." She said with a smug smile striking another pose to emphasize her body, my mane turned into a pink flame before I shook my head and tried to come up with a retort. "You know...I LOVE to mess around with you since you're so easy to fluster." "And you're probably jealous of the other girls trying to get to me while I'm awake. Hence the clothes change." I got a dagger pointed at me from her eyes due to this little comment..."But I prefer the older look. Fits a royalty title holder better than the everyday clothes. Not to mention all the black makes your eyes stand out more than your body." I earned a frown from that. "What? I think your eyes are very VERY beautiful. They look like aquamarines." "You're off the hook, for now." She said turning away in a manner that I couldn't see her face. "Well, you're not gonna wake up for a while due to the shock so...what to do? I have *some* ideas." "If you offer me sex I promise to recreate the happy-go-lucky scenario with house-sized bunnies that taint everything the hug with rainbows and there will be a humongous smiling sun that will keep giving you good pep-talks every ten minutes," I said with a serious look while I glared at her, she turned towards me with a concerned smile before she answered me. "H-h-how about some sparring?" Good, my point came across. "Sounds good, let's let out some steam.Do you have a battle garment?" "Of course!" "But..." I thought of asking something before we started, but I decided not to. "...come at me with everything you have! Fair warning though: I suck at this!" (The creation's POV present time) "WHAT IN TARNATION IS GOING ON!?" I found my way back into my old body and saw the one called Pinkie taking a dress from me and heard that. "HANDS OFF THE MERCHANDISE!" I yelled at the pink mare making her jump away and let out an 'eep'. "Thank you. Now let's see here..." I got up and undressed that fancy looking thing. "What the heck you've been up to dad?" "Dad?" A familiar voice said I turned to look and saw a familiar lavender pony standing there confused. "Aza, why are your eyes pitch black?" "Oh! It's you! Summoner! Sorry about this, but Azvameth is currently sleeping." Her eyes widened before they narrowed at me, I felt in danger so I continued. "Azvameth's original body died of old age and I got back. But don't worry I'm gonna allocate myself in his heart and try to offer him an ear and listen to any of his troubles. I do NOT intend to get my body back. I'm satisfied with the life I lived." She dropped her guard a little bit before she got into a neutral stance again. "Who is this guy?" The flying blue one said. "He is Azvameth's son." All of them gasped at that and looked very worried about that almost as if they...Oooooooh, you better at this than I thought dad. You got these six to fall for you. "Son is a manner of speaking." They stopped looking at each other and turned to me. "He imagined me and I came to be. I'm actually a character from one of his stories, the name's Filin." "Stories?" The one I knew asked with a glimmer coming from her eyes. "Listen before you ask about who he was. That guy doesn't exist anymore. The purge remember?" Her ears fell flat as the others looked at me in confusion. "Anyways I guess I need to bring myself up to speed right now, so I know what he has gone through. Give me a second so I can poke around his mind. Then I can clarify some stuff about this body to you girls with a little Q/A. That okay with you all?" "Yes!" They answered in synch. Wow, what the heck did you do dad? Author's Note "Why did you run?" "Because you scare me a little bit with the whole reality breaking thing. And you're not supposed to be here. Can you untie me please?" "Only if you don't run away again." "Okay." *unties* "Thanks. What did you want to talk about?" "Do you like cake?" "...yes." "Okay!" *opens up a tear in time and space before disappearing into it.* "Okay..." This chapter is a bit shorter, but the next one will have a lot of exposition about the current situation and the society since Aza seems to be having trouble studying. Have a nice day!
