Chapters You learn something new every day
5th birthday...
It was a normal birthday, not celebrated by anypony aside from a small "Happy birthday" and a present from Fish. Ditzy had just woken up, and had already finished taking a bath. She was excited to see what type of present Fish had found for her. She only ever got one present from Fish because she had no friends in school or anywhere else.
Ditzy walked up to her mirror and looked herself over. Her wings where preened and her mane brushed. She could have been a model if it wasn't for her walled eyes. That was all any pony ever saw. She trotted from her room and into the kitchen, ate breakfast, washed dishes, did chores, and then went back into her room to play. Fish came in and they silently began playing checkers with each other as they normally did. Only a few words of "king me" and "rematch" flowed from the room as Fish continuously won.
Then around eight PM, their parents came in. Darling had gone to a boarding school for young mares for the time being, meaning more attention could be focused on Ditzy and Fish. Not always good attention. Ditzy tip toed(hoofed) from her room, telling Fish to hide, and went to see if her parents needed anything. As she stood in the hallway, she could hear them speaking in slurry voices.
Father: "That filly...needs some sever punishing... she don’t do anything round here."
Mother: "Last night... She took three hours in the bath...THREE HOURS... she’s wastes our water. Needs to get a job or something..." they both chuckled and continued to talk to themselves. Ditzy continued to listen until she heard her parents agree to find her.
Ditzy, knowing what would come next, ran and hid in her closet. Fear rushed through her. The closet was cramped and dark. The only sound ditzy could hear were her breath and her parents noisily looking for her. This had happened plenty of times before, and Ditzy had let all of her parents rage be taken out on her, as long as Fish was never hurt.
"HA!! I FOUND YOU!!!!" The sound of a door opening and a faint squeel of terror met Ditzys ears. Only one thought entered her mind though. Must protect Fish!
“So you thought you could hide from me!" her father boasted, throwing fish onto the bed in the room. "Well i'll teach you." he rammed his hoof down towards Fish, only to end up hitting Ditzy as she jumped in the way. Ditzy cowered down in a ball on the bed, doing her best to protect fish but avoid the blows. Her mother joined in on the beating. while they focused on her she whispered to the frightened Fish under her
"Go, run. as fast as you can out the door and ill try to find you. please." Ditzy's little body couldn’t take much pain, and she soon blacked out.
Ditzy woke up to her parents standing over her, Fish no where to be found. Her head thrummed and she felt like she was on fire.
It was odd, the feeling of fear still in her as she looked on her parents. She was trying to focus on what they said but to her pulsing ears it sounded like a bunch of gibberish.
Ditzy slowly stood up and her parents turned to her.
"Ditzy." her mother took a step towards her and Ditzy cringed back in fear. Her mother, oblivious to the filly's vast fear, came closer still and that's when the filly felt it. It was like the energy within the world itself rolled into her head, only able to find one way of release to defend herself.
A bright light shot from the filly’s eyes, aimed directly at the threat. Ditzy looked to see that her mother was frozen solid. Her father stood wide eyed, mouth open. At this chance, Ditzy ran. She ran out the now open door, out of the house, and out onto the street. She ran all the way into the Dark alley way between the flower shop and Ponyville grocers five blocks away. There she lay on the concrete, to scared to sleep or cry.
Two days of sitting in a box later....
Ditzy opened her eyes to find darkness. It was always dark in this alley, night or day, but the filly instantly knew that this was night time dark. she slowly got up on her four shaky legs and stepped out of the alley way for the first time since she left.
Ditzy trotted through town square, gnawing on food scraps that had been dropped by any passer byers from the previous day. The fillies hair was dirty and knotted and her wings where a mess from laying on the harsh ground. Her back ached from its hard, cold crutches and seemed glad to be leaving that time of fear behind.
She was trotting in front of Sugar cube corner when a loud noise scared her stiff. Slowly, a blue box appeared out of nowhere. A brown colt popped his head out and looked at the filly.
"What time of day is it my good filly?" he asked as if in a rush.
"Um. Night time?" She watched the stallion look up at the sky momentarily and then face hoof.
"Thank you!" the colt said, closing the door to the box. The loud noise sounded again and the box was gone.
"What was that?!? A filly Pegasus with a jasmine coat, Tiffany blue mane and tail, turquoise eyes, and a cutie mark of three Raindrops stood behind Ditzy.
"eep!" Ditzy squeeled, startled by the filly suddenly right next to her. Ditzy tried to back away slowly. To Ditzy's surprise, the filly followed her.
“Hi! My names Raindrop. What’s yours? What’s up with your eyes? Why are you so filthy? Oh my! Are you lost?!?" Ditzy just shook her head.
"If you want you can come stay with me." Raindrop looked expectantly at Ditzy. She had always wanted a sister to play with, even when Fish was just as good.
"Okay." Ditzy smiled the thought of Fish dropping from her mind at the request. She had a new friend and a new home.
"Okay. Follow me." Raindrops clumsily took off up into the sky towards a house shaped cloud. When noticing that Ditzy wasn't following, she flew back down.
"I..I..I can’t fly." Ditzy stuttered. She opened her wings, unsure what to do.
"Okay. Spread them out," Raindrops stated, Ditzy following her example. “Now flap. Harder. Harder.
The pressure burned on Ditzys inexperienced wings. She closed her eyes and flapped and flapped. When she opened them she smiled. She was flying! The two flew up to the cloud house together. Raindrops parents accepted Ditzy into the family after hearing her story. She was one of them now.
7 years old, 2 years since left home...
"Come on Ditzy! You can do it!" Raindrop cheered Ditzy on as she raced to beat her record time. So far she had gone up to 20 MPH wing power without her wings cramping us like usual. (Just between you and me, it's so much easier to swim than fly!
-Ditzy)
"I think I'm done for now Raindrops." Ditzy slowly landed next to her adopted sister. They had been at it for an hour now ever since school ended for the day. The two friends trotted through town.
Ditzy was now nine years old and had just started fourth grade. She was still the only one in her class to be a blank flank, but she was still accepted by her one friend Raindrops. The only problem was, Ditzy never could come to tell Rain about her love for swiming or how she was different in the water. By then she had found that no other filly of colt had the same things happen.
"Hey looser, blank flank." Shining Star stopped the duo, knocking Ditzy out of her thoughts. Shining Star was a short colt, but had a big mouth.
"Shut up Shorty. You know what happened last you tried your stupid bullying on me." Raindrops stood up tall. Last time star had in countered them he got a good buck in the face.
"Just be prepared. I'll get my vengeance for that." star threatened, sulking away to pounce on his next victim.
Once he was gone, Raindrops brightened back up instantaneously.
"Okay. I have a surprise for you! Close your eyes!" Raindrops lead Ditzy through a crowded street, through some grass, and into some sort of outdoorsy place. When Ditzy opened her eyes, she was surprised to see a beautiful clearing with a large pond and a white poufy cloud hanging above it. The grass was the most greenest thing in the world and the pond a sapphire blue. Looking at the cloud closer, Ditzy noticed that it was a sort of house.
"Our very own playhouse. Just like the one Applejack and Big Mac told the class about. The only difference is that ours is a cloud.”
A fluffy, changeable, compatible cloud. Ditzy gasped and flew up to it, Raindrops right behind her. A damp layer of cloud dew covered her body. (it didn't completely penetrate my coat so I had no worries of changing. -Ditzy )
The inside of the cloud was gorgeous. It had large pillars and was two stories. It even had a slide going from top to bottom floor.
“this is so cool!!!" Ditzy had a grin across her face.
"Last one to the pond wins!!!" Raindrop burst out of the hideout in a hysterical energy frenzy and dove into the pond. The splash went at least five feet up in Ditzys perspective. (Which is hard to tell considering my eyes!-Ditzy )
Raindrops resurfaced and shot out of the water, racking towards Ditzy. All Ditzy noticed was how wet her friend was.
Ditzy flew up and dodged her friend who plummeted towards the pond once again. When she again came up her face had disappointment written all over it.
"Come on Ditzy! You’re not afraid of water, are you???" Raindrops shouted from below.
"Sorry, but I ...um...don't know how to swim!!!" This wasn't completely true, seeing that Ditzy practiced in the bathtub. It was practically second nature to her. On the other hoof, she never had taken true swimming lessons.
"Now’s better than never!" Ditzy was shocked as Raindrops grabbed her tail. She hadn't even noticed her friend coming up behind her.
"N...n...No! Wait but Rain!" Ditzy tried to pull out of her friends grasp to no avail as she was pulled to the water’s edge. All those years of hidden secret gone to waste.
"Please rain!" Ditzy whimpered. Raindrops just shook her head and tsked, all the while getting closer to the pond.
"We need to get rid of that fear before it grows into a phobia. You know what Doctor True Colt said about that stuff. If you get it you could get paranoid. Then you'd go crazy!" Raindrops kept rambling and Ditzy finally gave in.
She knew she loved the water. Maby it was time to show some pony else her love for it to. As soon as this realization struck her, so did water. When she felt it, she swam as fast as she could to the bottom of the pond, approximately 8ft. As soon as she was down there she waited for the changes to take effect.
She opened her eyes. They where no longer cross-eyed but completely straight. She could easily see underwater. She looked down to see that her whole body had taken a greenish flare to it and her tail was now skin, bone, and muscle instead of hair. At the end of it was something like a giant fin. Her hoofs where the same other than the frills on them. Her ears sharpened as they grew in to Mach the rest of her body. Finally she turned her head and watched her wings changes as she was accustom to.
Slowly the feathers melted away as membrane grew over. At three spots bone muscle and dark green skin rose up over the leathery span. She felt her gills flare and relax each time she took a breath of the water. It was like breathing pure oxygen. She relished the feel of no gravity.
Then she noticed a faint glow from her flank. She looked down to see seven bubbles glowing there. A smile burst from her face. Finally she had gotten her cutie mark! But her excitement soon changed. A frantic Raindrop had finally grabbed onto her friends mane. She pulled Ditzy above the water and pulled her onto shore, not stopping her talk to breath.
"O my god, o my god, o my god. What do I do??? I can't look. What if she’s dead? Of course she is! She can't be alive! She was under there for a minute at least! Its all my fault! I forced her in when she couldn’t swim!" It took Ditzy a moment to catch her breath in the vicious air. Water was so much easier to breath. Had she been under there a full minute? It felt like seconds to her. Of course Raindrops can be a bit dramatic sometimes.
Talking about Raindrops wasn't she just...
"Oh." Ditzy looked up from her thoughts to find Raindrops looking at her, her face filled with shock.
"You’re a..a..a.."
"Ya. I know." it had first occurred to Ditzy in school when they talked about mythical creatures. It was quite shocking at the time but she eventually got over it. She hoped Rain would to.
"But how can you be.... I thought..They were just a legend... But a...a mermare?" at this realization, Raindrops fainted.
"Eh. Shell come to eventually." Ditzy hopped back into the water to swim around.
There are many ways on how Raindrops could have reacted after she woke up. I, of course had dried off and was back to normal pony look by then. I do remember that this was the first time she was speechless. Her quietness surprised me, seeing that its raindrops we’re talking about here. But all she did was sit and stare until I decided to break the silence.
"You don’t hate me. Do you?" It was all I could say. I was scared to death that she would think me a freak and never be friends with me again. The look on her face didn't change. It looked like she was thinking really hard but at the same time her mind was blank.
"Why would you think that?" Raindrop broke the silence and a frown crept over her face as she scooted up to Ditzy.
"You saw what I am. Aren't I a freak?" Again Raindrop just stared.
"If that's what you want to call it, but Ditzy Doo, You are my sister. If you think you’re a freak, then you’re my freak."They hugged. Raindrops blue coat was soft and fuzzy against Ditzy's muzzle. Tears streamed down her face in relief. It was one of the happiest days in her life. she had gotten her cutie mark, which she showed off to raindrop proudly. She had let loose her biggest secret to her sister, and they had gotten a super hide out to play in.
"So. Do you have any other surprises? Do you have powers or mind control?" Rain said with such enthusiasm that Ditzy could barely contain her laughter. Raindrops was back to her curious self again.
"I have used some sort of magic to turn a..a pony into ice. I don’t know about any other powers though. I can breathe under water."
"So what now? We can’t tell mom or dad about this." Raindrops was in fact correct. Just a tip. NEVER under ANY circumstances tell ANYPONY that you are a mermare on purpose. That is the number one most easy way to get you dissected. Or locked up. Or banished. Or dissected while your locked up in the place you where banished to. Or any other means of torture. Take my advice because I learned this all first handed. Now back to my story.
Ditzy told raindrops that only them two could know of this, the only place that they talked of it was in their secret hideout, bla bla bla, safety mermare rules.
"Can we show that snob Star?"
Hell no. That is the worst thing to ever do. Even if it would be fun to rub it in their faces, again it is very dangerous.
Ditzy just told Raindrops no. Finally they had to go home. It was getting late and all. Our parents scolded us for being out late, etc. etc. I’m getting boring aren't I? Well i'll skip forward a bit. How about a week? School had started and Star was at it again with his bullying. Only this time he had a crowd.
"Hi Derpy! Hi Raincluts!" Star had come up to the duo at lunch. Again to refresh your memories, Star is about a foot shorter than the average 3 year old while his age is around 12 and he has a thick head. And big mouth.
"You want a treat Star? I got this cool trick to show you. It’s called give-the-big-mouth-Shorty-a-black-eye." raindrops always spoke before thinking, sadly. What’s even sadder though is when they found out about Stars big mean brother standing nearby.
"You talking to my brother punk?" a large brown earth pony, not much taller than Ditzy (but much buffer) came up to us.
"Maybe I should teach yall a lesson." he raised his hoof for a good buck at them. Raindrops flew straight up in the air, as did Ditzy. Or at least She tried. She ended up flying straight forward into the hoof. her two new Black eyes hurt ALOT!!!! Right before he could do it again a speeding bullet came out of the sky. It knocked right into him and he went sprawling. Star ran away.
"And don’t come back until you learn your manners!!" A high pitched, but seemingly rough voice shouted out.
When Ditzy heard the voice, she discovered that it was not in fact a bullet that came to the rescue, but a pony. She had a rainbow mane and a blue coat.
"Hi I’m Rainbow dash...dude. What’s up with your eyes?" the question snapped Ditzy out of her observations. At first she was about to say that the colt had ended up giving her some black eyes before the rescue, but then she understood that the savior meant Ditzy's eyes being crossed.
"Oh she’s a mer-" I gave raindrops a look to shut it before she blurts anything out.
"I was born like this." I explained softly. Raindrops had her head down in a "sorry for almost getting you dissected" appearance.
"Um. Okay. Maybe we can hang out sometime." Rainbow said uneasily before she flew away. Later Ditzy would find that she had only said that to be nice. But at the time Ditzy was just proud of making a new friend. The only friend she would make until after 'it' happened.
Sneak peak of "Into the Everfree":
"Let’s go for a swim." Ditzy whispered into his ear.
"Last night you and your friends got attacked by a mermare! Raindrop said you got hit on the head. Poor Cappuccino got lured in by its siren song. Rain save you all by dragging you to the apples farm!" my mother had just practically read my mind, but that didn't matter. Everything came back. The kiss, the water, the sharp teeth. And then the blood. Had she eaten that flesh? Was she a cannibal? It had tasted delightful at the time, but now it didn't.
Warning! Just a little gore so if you don't want to read it.
Here is the next big step in my story. I am sixteen in this and have been living with Rain for 11 years. I would advise you to listen closely and learn from my mistakes. I know I did.
-Ditzy
"Can you believe it! We'r already sixteen and haven't been in a talent show before! What do we do?!?!?" Raindrops worried. She tended to overreact about little things in life. Only, the little things.
"Come on Rain. It's not like the worlds ending." Ditzy tried to calm her, feeling helpless.
"Maybe we could do a singing number, or..." Rain looked up with a playful, but at the same time evil look.
" I could get a giant swimming pool and show everyone how fast you can swim." Ditzy punched her on the shoulder and they both laughed. It had been an ongoing joke between them to see how many ways they could come up with on how to show the world Ditzy’s secret. So far the oddest one had been going to the watermark and riding the wave smasher. When they walk out everyone would be staring.
"Oh my! Here Comes Cappuccino and Spectrum!" Raindrops quickly ran her hoof over her mane.
"Calm down Raindrop!" Ditzy started to blush as the two came towards them.
Cappuccino was a handsome colt with a chocolate brown coat and an orange and golden mane. His mane was wavy. Just like water.
“What’s up Ditz." His silky voice snapped ditzy out of her wonder. His wings ruffled as a cool fall breeze blew through.
"H...hi Luke. We're just going home." she used his nickname Luke. At hearing this he and spectrum shared a look.
"Now come on Ditzy. That's no fun. How about you guys come with us to the party tonight? Pinkies hosting it, and Vinyl scratch started making some epic music to play there. You in?" Ditzy looked from Luke, to the still silent Spectrum, to Rain. Raindrop nodded her head enthusiastically.
"Okay. But we have to be home by midnight." Ditzy grinned wide. It wasn't too often that she was invited to a party. Usually because of her eyes and clumsiness. Lucky for her, Luke looked passed all that and saw the real her. They all trotted through town until they got to the hangout. It wasn't actually called the hangout. But it was a hangout for all the teens. Already ponies where dancing. The party must have started around eight and would continue well into the night.
"Let’s eat, and then dance!" Luke shouted to her over the booming stereo. They went to the snack table which was full of junk food and sweets. They chowed down. Luke disappeared into the crowd before comeing back from the icebox with sweet apple acre cider in hoof. It had all been donated by Applejack and Big Mac. He handed one to Raindrops, Spectrum and Ditzy. Spectrum took a big gulp, as did Rain. The two stared into each other’s eyes. It was awkward.
"Sorry Luke. I don't think I should." Ditzy looked at the cider. It had no alchahol in it, but it sometimes had a close enough effect.
"Come on Ditz. It's good." She looked up at him and grabbed the jug. Ditzy took a sip and automatically loved it. Before she knew it, the drink was all gone. That’s when she got a little tickle in the back of her throat.
"Let’s dance hot thang." Luke grabbed her hoof and pulled her to the dance floor. They danced and danced until Celestias sun came down and she raised the moon. Ditzy occasionally bumped into a fellow dancer thanks to her clumsiness, but she had so much fun. But all things must come to an end, right? Before she knew it, it was eleven at night. Ditzy looked around until she found Luke and raindrop. They followed her outside, as did Spectrum.
"The night is not yet over. Let's go for a walk." Luke suggested. He walked beside her silently and she laid her head onto his shoulder. It was warm and fuzzy. Next to them Raindrop and Spectrum whispered quiet nothings to each other. They made their way through the park, and towards the Everfree forest. Ditzy led them to her and Rains hideout. Ditzy and Luke silently flew up into the cloud house while Spectrum and Rain stayed down. When up there, Luke turned to the gray Pegasus mare.
"Ditzy. Thank you for coming with me to the party tonight. I had fun."
“I had fun also Luke. Thanks for taking me..." she looked up at him expectantly, waiting for the magic of young love to take control of her mind. Their heads came closer together slowly. They kissed. His lips, true to his name, tasted like coffee.
"I love you Ditzy." they kissed again, only this time more passionate. I leaned into him and put my hoof onto his neck, pushing his head towards mine. He loved me. I had never heard any pony say that to me before aside from Rain. It felt so good to be loved. Luke pulled back and moved away, beckoning her to float down to the ground with him. They left the cloud and flew to the ground.
"Let’s go for a swim." Ditzy whispered into his ear. She did’t know what had gotten into her, but she needed to get wet. she could feel a ton of energy weighing into her, needing to be released. she looked to make sure no pony was around.
Raindrops had snuck away with her 'friend'. I slipped into the water and sunk to the bottom. I felt the wonderful pure water rush into my lungs. My tail changing. My body slickening. It felt so good. I swam up to see my love standing a few feet away from the water. He was looking the other way.
"Luke darling. Come swim. Let me sing to you." she didn't know where this had come from, seeing that she sucked at singing, but words seemed to be flowing into her mind, and the voice that made the words live had changed to soft silk. Luke turned around and looked at her, his eyes growing wide. He took a step forward, and Ditzy sang.
Look out to my water, hear them cry for a friend,
It so deep and so wild but it's cast out no sin
Hear it my child, hear the sea call,
For lonely it waits for its enemy's to fall.
Luke came closer to the water, dazed by her beautiful voice.
I am lonely and sad, come rescue me knight,
For if you come in the waters all will be right,
I am hungry dear Luke, come so I can feed
I'm sure that your body will fit my need!
At that moment Luke had leaned into the water, Ditzy reached her neck up and kissed his lips. She loved it so much that she pushed forward and bit his lip.
Her teeth had turned sharp as knives and she bit into him. He was soft and fleshy. His mouth was so soft and beautiful. He silently yelped and tried to pull back. Ditzy bit down harder. His tong played with hers. Finally he stopped struggling and followed her the rest of the way into the water.
DitzyI let him go for a moment as he grabbed a breath and they plunged into the water. She grabbed him again with her teeth, but this time on his arm. His salty blood poured into her mouth. It tasted so good! It seemed to flood the water, letting her breathe it in, filling her veins. He tried to struggle away but she just pulled him down farther and kissed him again.
This time, it wasn't for love. It was for food, hunger. Carnivorous Hunger. She bit him more and more. When she let go he struggled no more. His eyes closed, and his heart slowed a bit.
Ditzy swam around him delightfully, still not comprehending that she was killing him. Then her loves body went away. Some pony had dragged it up onto the surface. That Nasty surface where you had to breathe air.
She swam up so to find the cause of this terrible felony of ruining her fun. As she broke the surface, air rushed into her lungs. She leapt out of the now red water and looked around. Her love was lying on the grass, nearly in shreds. His legs where torn up, and so was his face. Spectrum stood over him staring at his injured friend. Raindrops stood beside him. When she heard Ditzy come up she whipped around.
"What the @&$@&@$ did you do to him?!? He's almost dead!" spectrum looked over at Ditzy and stared. She looked to an angry raindrops and back to spectrum.
I am lonely and sad, come rescue me knight,
For if you come in the waters, all will be right,
I am hungry dear spectrum, come so I can feed,
I'm sure that your body can fit all my needs!
To Rains astonishment, Ditzy backed towards the pond and the light purple Pegasus colt followed. Ditzy was so excited and hungry. She floated into the water and he bent down. She leaned up to him and kissed him like She had Luke. She closed her teeth around his lips and was about to clamp them when something smashed into her. All went black.
Just so you know, my narrator is on break so i will be telling this story in first person until further notice.
-Ditzy
Where am I? My bed isn't this hard. Wait. My beds made of clouds; it's not hard at all! Ugh. It feels like I got bucked in the head. Maybe I should go find some water. I always feel better in my other form...
"Ugh." I opened my eyes and sat up. I sat in an earth pony bed in a place that smelt of trees and hay. It was too dark to see my surroundings, but it wasn't night. I could see light coming through under the door. I got up and slowly walked towards it, letting myself out the door. I had to pause occasionally on my walk until the spinning subsided from my head. When i got out of the...barn apparently...I noticed that I was at sweet apple acres.
I walked around but found no pony so I left. I flew home, looking Raindrop to ask her what had happened. The last thing I remembered from last night was getting loaded up on cider, Luke kissing me, and being hungry. I must have eaten a lot though because I was still full. When I got home I saw a very disturbing sight. A Canterlot guard wagon was parked on our cloud. I flew up and rushed inside, worried that they were here because of me missing. I was wrong. I went in to see raindrop crying and all alone. I walked up to her and sat there. She didn't notice me or she didn't care.
"What do you want?" When She looked up, Raindrop scowled, moving away from me.
"Why are you crying? What's wrong?" I was confused at her viciousness towards me, worried that something was wrong with her.
"You really don't remember? What you did to Luke? What you almost did to my colt friend?" Rain was getting furious now.
"How you almost killed them or me?!? I was wrong you are a monster!" Rain took off out of the house. Most of what she said was gibberish because I still didn't remember what happened, but it sounded pretty bad. I went into the next room and saw mom and dad talking to the police. When they saw me they gasped and came to hug me.
"Oh my goodness! You’re safe! This is just terrible! Did you see her?"
"Who?" I was truly confused again. My mother sighed sarcastically.
"The mermare of course! There's one loose in ponyville!" I stiffened at this news. Had they figured me out, or was it another one? I really needed to know what had happened last night.
"Last night you and your friends got attacked by a mermare! Raindrop said you got hit on the head. Poor Cappuccino got lured in by its siren song. Rain save you all by dragging you to the apples farm!" She practically screeched the last part, looking quite faint. My adoptive mother had just practically read my mind, but that didn't matter.
Everything came back. The kiss, the water, the sharp teeth. And then the blood. Had she eaten that flesh? Was she a cannibal? It had tasted delightful at the time, but now it didn't.
"Huaghhhhhhh!" I practically dumped my guts out all over the floor. Luckily it was a cloud so it just fell through to land on an unsuspecting pony.
I flew out of the house and to the secret hideout. I flew past the pond (still tinged red) and into the cloud. There was Raindrops sitting alone.
"I'm sorry. I didn't know. I didn't even remember. It's all my fault. I didn't...."
“You have to leave." Rain cut me off.
“But rain you know I didn't mean to..."
“I know, that's why. If those guards find out or mom and dad, you'll be killed. You can't stay here. Go into the Everfree. Stay there until I say. Every full moon or new moon I'll bring you supplies. I'll tell mom and dad that you’re dead. They’ll believe me. Now go." I was stunned. I know I had to leave for my own protection, but it just didn't seem right. I was leaving Rain to clean up my whole mess. But I had no other choice. Many I could find a non violent cloud over the Everfree to sleep in. If not, hello trees. I still wasn't ready to get in water yet, seeing what it had done to me. To Luke. He probably would not love me anymore.
"Goodbye Rain. Thank you." I jumped out of the cloud and murmured under my breath.
"I love you sis." It was just like losing Fish again. Sometimes I still wondered what had ever happened to him.
I flew over the trees in the Everfree. No more comforts of home. Just trees and trees and a house, and trees. I didn't want to go to a random house in a creepy forest, so I flew over it and continued on.
Finally I found a nice clearing to land. I looked at the spot I wanted to land and dove towards it. Sadly I was following my wrong eye. I went straight towards the creepy house. I closed my eyes and braced for impact. It never came. I opened my eyes to see my tail had snagged on a tree branch. Under me stood a zebra.
"You'r a zebra." I said dumbly. I'm not stupid but I'm not the quickest thinker either.
“Yes young mare, I am in fact. Are you okay? All intact?" I looked at myself and nodded to her. She shook the tree a bit and I tumbled out.
“Come to my hut we can have some lunch, you are too thin and need something to munch." She looked me over and went towards the house. I followed. It was a one room place full of an assortment of odd decorations. Potions and plants sat on shelves. I sat down on the floor and rubbed my head. Rain must be a good bucker.(As in good at kicking. You sicos.)
"You rub your head like you are I'll. For that I have a brew or pill." I thankfully took the Advil from her and swallowed it down. She brought me a sandwich and I gulped it down. As you remember my last meal was pretty bad. I sat there and watched the striped creature for a moment. She seemed quite old, white hairs creeping through the black and soft wrinkles forming on her narrow face.
"I did not take you for a carnivore. Perhaps of this sandwich you would like more?
“I looked over at her. Carnivore? I looked at my sandwich in realization. I had never expected to be a meat eater. Of course I hadn't ever expected that I would be a mermare either.
"Sure why not. Do you know of any large bodies of water out here?" the zebra host thought for a moment.
“There is a lake not too far to the west. But not to go there for me would be best. You of coarse are an exception, just be prepared to fight and have quick reaction."
"What do you mean I'm an exception?" I flamed. Just because my eyes where crossed didn't mean that...
"The sirens song is not hard to hear, even from one who lives way out here." I was slightly stunned that she knew, but t was hard to be surprised by anything anymore.
"Okay. So you know. Could you stop speaking in rhymes? It makes me nervosa." I looked up a way to get off the topic. It was still awkward speaking about it.
“Of course I can. Where I come from it is just proper manners. Now I have work to be done. You may visit any day, just don't send any magic this way. Sorry rhyming again. Goodbye..."
"Derpy. Derpy hooves." I lied. It was bad enough that some pony knew. I couldn't blow all my cover at once.
“Nice to meet you miss Derpy. I am Aja. Good day." I left the house and wandered through the forest. Soon I came upon a river and decided to follow it. It was time to see what creatures lurked at this lake.
It killed me inside. Mother teared up while father stood still. I held my head low to hide my tearless eyes. I was never cut out to be an actor. I went to my room and lay down on my bed. Ditzy was pushing my buttons. Lying about my sister dying is not something I would want to do every day. Especially not to every pony I know. Then I waited.
True to my word I waited every full moon or new moon. Every time I brought a big basket of supplies. Did she ever show up? No. she didn't. To make things worse, I had nightmares. As soon as I closed my eyes, I would see him. Luke would be sitting, bleeding on the grass. An aquatic looking mare came up to me and bent down.
"Please forgive me. I didn't mean it." she would then change into the Ditzy I know. The normal cross eyed one. I would forgive her. Next thing I knew we would be home, mom and dad gone. Ditzy would again be in front of me begging but this time with our parents blood on her muzzle. In those images she wasn't even a mermare.
“You know I didn't mean it. It just happens." Then she would lunge at me with those sharp teeth. I would wake up to my own screams. And as I lived on, the waiting continued. I never knew if my sister was dead, alone, in danger, or if she was living the dream. I didn't know why she never came. I didn't know why I waited. But five years... those where the longest of my life. Then I found another way.
Five years had past since Ditzy's departure and I was once again on my way to the Everfree. A basket in my mouth and a hop in my step, I knew today would be different, i just had a feeling. I was so right.
I was almost there when a blood curdling scream split the air. Silents overtook the world a moment after. In that moment I could have sworn something rustled behind me and I stood still. After my slender moment had past, I raced towards the scream. As I ran over the hill I saw her.
It was a white coated unicorn slightly younger than me. She had purple curly hair and her face was coated in pure horror. In front of her was a massive timber wolf. It was at least five times the size of an average pony and it was headed straight towards the mare. Without thinking my wings shot me forward. In that moment everything went slow. I could see ponies running around and shouting for help out of the corner of my eye. I could also see the unicorn mare take a step back when she saw me coming. Then the impact.
The timber wolf was in fact hard as wood. I heard something crack and both of us went flying. I could see dark spots starting to cover my vision but soon shook them away. Something warm trickled down the side of my head. Slowly I rose to my hoofs and looked at what I had done. The wolf was lying on its side in the mud. It was dead. That would be the first of many. I turned around and started to stumble away from the monster when I collapsed. The black spots where back and coming in faster. The last thing I saw was the white unicorn running towards me.
I opened my eyes despite the pain in my skull. I was no medic but I didn’t have to be one to know of my concussion. The hospital room was white and the bed was hard. I slowly sat up and looked to find my mother and father sitting in some chairs to my right. They were asleep but woke up as soon as the doctor came in.
"So. I see you’re awake. You where asleep for three days, but your concussion is not to major. I would say you need to go easy for about another week. Also I have a letter for you." the doctor handed me the letter and walked off to attend to another of her many patients. Mom and dad walked over to the bed and gave me big hugs.
"we are so proud of you and are so glad you’re safe." they smiled and they told me about what had happened after my black out. The mare I saved had carried me to the hospital while a group of unknown ponies disposed of the corps. They had come to the hospital some time later and given a letter to the nurse for me.
There had been five visits other than that. One by the new town mayor around my own age who had decided to have a celebration for the new town hero. Two were by the filly and her parents who gave the money for me to get treatment from the hospital and a little more for saving their dear girls life. The rest were from my parents before they finally decided to stay. Now my parents left to get back to their jobs of clearing weather. I opened the letter.
It wasn’t so much of a letter, but an invitation.
I decided that I should go. I mean it’s not every day a princess invites you to have lunch. I was pretty sure it was a prank though.
So my head finally got better. It still ached a bit but I just took aspirin to slow it down. I hoped onto the morning train to canterlot. I sat down in the hard seat and planned out my day. The ride would take five hours. That would leave me one hour to do shopping before I have to be at the castle. After all that I had to get on another five hour train to get home and clean the house and make dinner for mom and dad...
Five hours later...
I trotted down the streets of Canterlot. Famous ponies passed me by and I almost fainted when I saw Photo Finish. I stopped at Donut Joes and bought a glazed. Finally with ten minutes left I walked up the trail to Canterlot castle. The guards let me pass and I walked in. it was so BIG!!!
The ceiling was at least thirty feet high and the ground was made of marble. The large windows let light in. I looked up to see the sun goddess sitting on her throne. The most powerful pony in all of equestria sat before me. I bowed down to the floor.
"Rise Raindrop." I was stunned that she knew my name. She had never seen me before, had she?
"I see you got my invitation. come." the princess led me to the gardens where a table was set with tea. We sat down and sipped silently for a few seconds.
"So. You managed to bring down a timber wolf. You are definitely fast. And you are brave. I would like to offer you a job of monster huntress." I sat there speechless. So the monster hunters where real? I had thought that they where an old foals tale. I did need a job. But would I want to make a living off of killing monsters?
"You would travel quite a bit and it is dangerous. You will be sent on trips into the everfree constantly..."
"Yes. I’ll take it." if I went into the everfree, I might find Ditzy. It was a onetime opportunity. The princess smiled at me.
"Yes. Of course. I do hope you find your sister, but you start tomorrow at 6 sharp. Be there." the princess returned to the throne. I was just leaving the palace when realization hit. The princess knew about Ditzy? It sent shivers down my spine. How much else did she know?
age:21...
It had been five years since I left. Since I was in pony form. Since I actually talked. My merform had grown. It was my true self. My teeth sharp, as well as my mind. I spoke through it. Telepathy. Now something that not only unicorns could use. I could swim. Swim so fast now. Almost ten miles a minute where I could only fly ten miles an hour.
I never ate grass or hay. I ate meat. I never thought about it, but just listened to instinct. I just couldn't go back to my old life. I had thought about it some those first two years. About going back I mean. By then they must have forgotten about the whole incident. But out here I felt so wild and free. I could swim, I could eat, and I could be myself. I had a new home that didn't make fun of my eyes or beat me. I had a home that I was accepted into. It may not have shown me an affectionate welcome like Rains family, but it acknowledged me as a living thing. Out here I had a place. I had friends. I had prey. And sometimes I was prey. This was pure survival. But I also had a job to keep the forest safe. I had even come up with a daily routine.
Get up
Walk half of the 120 mile perimeter of the forest to check for intruders
Stop by Zecoras and give her any herbs she had asked for
4.find some food
5.eat with Marvin while going over anything unusual we saw that day
Rest
Walk the forest again before going for a swim and sleeping.
I had come up with multiple ways to get food and today I was hunting an old boar. I came up behind it and tried to decide how to catch it. I could sing, freeze it, or continue stalking and pounce. Moon blinking was out because no moon was out. I didn't like freezing my food because it was such a pain to eat it cold. I decided to stalk it. It continued through the trees. I followed in the shadows and in any water I could get into.
We passed Aja's old house, now occupied with a zebra slightly older than me named Zecora, and the boar continued to the edge of the forest. It stopped about eight feet away from where the forest stopped. I slowly crept forward and softly sent the tune of my sirens song to the boar. It didn't have big effect but it would make it not run away at small noises. I slowly closed in and lunged. My teeth closed on air. A loud roar had scared the boar away until It ended abruptly.
"Intruder." I sent a quick thought to Marvin
Do you want this one?
"Yes." I usually didn’t take on intruders but I was already close. I followed the roar. In my head it wasn’t a roar, but a scream that I heard. A dying scream of a manticore. I raced through the woods, still on its outskirts. I stopped at what I guessed was thirty feet from the intruder and sent them the feeling of pain and fear. Usually if I got into their emotions I could make them feel whatever I wanted. It usually worked to scare them off, but this time it didn’t. Next was to send an actual message.
"Leave. You are in danger here!" I said it to their mind with my most terrifying voice. It still didnt work. Either this creature was stupid or out for suicide. There was only one more thing I could do. I started singing into their mind. Softly at first but soon louder and darker. Hopefully the intruder was a male. If not then the effects wouldn’t be as strong. On females they only followed you. Males where more fun because they drowned. Females stayed above water and swam. I sang even louder. The creature had scared my food away so now I would have to substitute them. Without looking to see my prey, I turned around and headed to the lake. There I found Marvin.
Hello ditzy. Do you have your meal?
"Yes. It should be here any minute." I turned around and took a good look at my meal, the intruder.
It was a pony. First I should tell you that I only ever ate pony twice. The first was Luke, the second was an intruder named CloudyDay who tried to murder me after we met. I admit it tasted good. But you can’t call me a cannibal because I am not a pony. I am a mermare.
Well, anyways, looking at the new intruder, it seemed to be a female. Her mane was aqua blue (my favorite) and her coat was yellowish. She slightly reminded me of some pony. Her cutie mark was covered by a saddlebag and a pair of wings. The saddle bag contained an assortment of weapons.
I continued to lead her into the water where I usually ate my food. I swam to the bottom real quick and back up to stretch out my fins. When I came back up my food was still not in the water. I looked up at the mare and oddly enough it stated back at me. We did that for about ten seconds before I looked away.
An unwanted tear ran down my face for unknown reasons. I just couldn't help but feel sad. I looked down at my hoofs and tried to collect myself.
Come on. Get a hold on your emotions. Nothing's wrong. This is lunch for you. It is under you in the food chain so you have a right to it.
I felt something run across my face. I looked over. It was a yellow hoof. I didn't move. My prey had never tried to comfort me before. This pony, whoever it was, was making everything awkward. I yanked away and rose to my full height as I backed into the water again. The pony just held their hoof out and mouthed a word as she stared at me. I tried to scream my sirens song into her mind but she had a mind block.
Little fact, only the most experienced creatures can hold a mind block. It is where any other creature cannot hear their thoughts, take their memories, or put things in such as my siren song.
I cut off my singing as the mare came closer to the water. She mouthed the same word again but this time sound came out.
"Sister?" I watched as she shook the saddlebag off and her wings came up. There on her flank was three little rain drops.
"No this is impossible. Is it really you?" I sent her with my mind. I was so shocked that I didn't even wonder how she had broken out of my spell.
"Ditzy doo." she ran up and we hugged. Marvin sat by, marveling at the site of his friend hugging her lunch.
"Mermares and ponies are so weird." he grumbled. Rain and I finally let go and she looked me over.
"Dang girl! You are skinny! And your mane is a tangled mess! But you sure have gotten some sexy muscles." we laughed.
"Let’s walk." and as we walked Rain told me about her monster hunting and about the whole waiting for years thing to which I apologized. After I told her about my job with Marvin and about my little home under the lake she decided to ask questions.
"So. What exactly did you eat? And how did you keep yourself alive out here?"
"Well. It will seem gross to you, but I eat meat." Rain gasped. "There's sort of a food chain rule out here. Anything smaller or weaker than you is fair game. I'm larger than quite a bit of creatures in the forest or stronger. Also I'm a forest protector so that gives me even more rank. Besides, I'm usually at the lake and not many creatures are ones that live in water out here. Just me and Marvin." Rain just nodded her head, still shocked, as we walked along.
"Would you cut that out? You’re getting me wet." Rain moved away a few steps. Every time we came to a puddle or small pond I would splash into it to get my body wet.
"I have to or I'll go to that hideous pony form...no offence." I hung my head as Rain gave me a glare. I hadn't meant to insult her but I hated my pony form. It had crossed eyes, terrible wings, and the hair was so scratchy. As we walked passed Zecora's place I saw her and waved. Zecora smiled happily and waved back at us. I had told her all about raindrops one time and she probably put two and two together when we walked by. We continued walking and talking until a blinding light hit me. I jumped back under the canopy of trees. We had reached the end of the forest.
"This is as far as I can go." I tried to tell Rain, but she had her mind shield up again. She turned around to me.
"It’s time for you to leave this stinky old forest. You can't tell me otherwise unless you choose to actually speak like a normal pony. I would also like you to come with me to the summer sun celebration tomorrow. You can even stay at my house and have a sleepover! I'm sure Carrot top wouldn't mind!"
I was angry that she could even think such a thing. This was my Forrest. My home. And now she would take it away from me. But I had to go. I didn't want to lose my sister again and she was already walking towards ponyville. I ran into the light and after her. I could feel the sun. Burning down onto my back. I was drying up. I could no longer send out things with my mind.
I stopped mid track and collapsed. Rain turned around and ran to me, stopping a few feet away. She knew what was happening. I felt fur forcefully grow out from my body. My fins now growing feathers. My ears shortened. My tail lost all skin and muscle as it turned to hair. My gills collapsed to closed skin. And as I opened my eyes, two different directions filled my vision. I was again a pony and my body was sore as ever.
"Stupid body." my vocal cords burned as they forced the words out of my throat. I got up shakily and followed Rain again all the way to ponyville.
Carrot top, otherwise known as Golden harvest was obviously a very popular pony around town. After introductions she wouldn't stop going on about what she and Berry punch did or Minuette and her did. It was so stinking annoying. And then she kept commenting on my eyes and how I looked or walked. I'm just glad raindrops was there to keep me under control or else I might have seriously injured some pony.
Then even worse, raindrop made me put on a dress. There was supposed to be a party for some new mare in town. I didn't care to go but Rain was convinced that I needed to get out and socialize. I wasn't convinced. I put on a dress and she did my makeup for me.
"Are you done yet?"
"Hold still. I can't put on your mascara with you wiggling everywhere."
"...How about now?"
"No."
"Can I look in the mirror yet?"
"You can wait until I'm finished!"
"But Raindrops! Ow! That hurts!"
"I don't care! Now hold still or the straightener will burn you!"
"Now are you done?"
"Ahhhhhhh!" Raindrop yelled. She stormed out of the room, only to come back with a bucket of water and pour it over my head. I would have been overjoyed by the water if it wasn't for the bucket that came down on my head after.
"Get your dress of and wipe off your makeup. When you’re done well leave." Raindrop started to retreat from the room. My tail had already changed and I swiped it across, slapping Rain on the flank. She just huffed and slammed the door behind. It was good to have a sister again. I slipped out of the tight dress and cleaned off the makeup. I was about to leave the room when raindrop came in, almost hitting me with the door.
"Finished?"
"Yep."
"Aren’t you forgetting something?" I cocked my head, not sure what she meant. I had gotten all the makeup off. She just sighed and shook her head.
"You need to dry off." oh. I had almost forgotten to dry my sleek body off and let it change back. I grabbed a towel with my mouth and lay it on the floor. I got down on the frowned and rolled around on it until my eyes where again back to the unusual state of crossedness. I quickly ran a hoof through my mane and trotted out the door.
The three of us came to the library, which was ironically a tree. Who would think to put paper back into the thing that it came from?
Inside was a mess of confetti, ponies, and bookshelf’s. As soon as we walked in a purplish pink pony with fruit as her cutie mark came up to carrot.
“You got to try the punch Harvest. I made it myself and so far *hick* its workin wonders." Carrot blushed at her friends behavior and stepped away to talk with who I assumed was Berry punch.
"Come tell me before leaving if you decide to. Oh! And I have to talk to you about a job as a mail-mare later, so don't forget!"
Raindrop trotted through the crowed, leaving me alone. I walked along the outskirts of the room, avoiding the party host. She was pink and bouncy. Just the type I would like to avoid. Before long, shouts of "she's here!" went through the room. The lights turned off and we all gathered in a bunch near the center.
"If I see one other pony, I think I'm goanna..." the lights flashed on. I shouted surprise on cue with every pony else. The pink pony ran up to the purple unicorn that had entered and started speaking a mile a minute. I just left the group and trotted to the snack bar only to be disappointed. Personally, i thought this rush back into pony society was to fast, and the food didn't help.
"Hay fries, muffins, cupcakes, hay chips, punch, water..."
"Hi! I’m Lyra!" I looked over to see a greenish unicorn mare coming towards me. Her cutie mark was some sort of instrument.
"Raindrop told me about you and I thought I would come say hi!" When she noticed my eyes drifting off and she looked down embarrassed.
"Oh. I’m sorry. Did you not understand me? I tend to speak pretty fast. Um... Do you like any of the food? I helped make some of it." I decided to play it dumb. This would be too easy with my appearance.
"Muffins!" One word. I hated muffins to death since I got back eight hours ago, but they were much better than the hay fries or daisy salads. Lyra just blushed again and scooted away. It was kind of funny putting ponies in these awkward positions actually.
I heard a ruckus coming from the punch bowl and I see the purple unicorn run from the room. I assumed that would be the last time she was out all night and I was correct. The white unicorn DJ cranked up the wubs. Ponies crowded around me dancing and chatting. Eventually I found Raindrop in there and told her I was going out to get some fresh air. That was the first time in my life that I had claustrophobia. I hated it. The walls were closing in around me and it felt like my wings where broken. I needed to get in some water.
I found the exit and raced out. The night air hit me with a cool blast. I looked up to the moon and sighed. I trotted through the town. All was quiet and dark, the streets vacant of any ponies. I saw a hill in the distance with a good view and changed my course toward it. The stars glowed brighter the farther I went up the hill. When I got near the top I heard a humming noise and continued toward it.
On the very top of the hill sat a stallion with a canvas in front of him. It was completely blank and the brush in his mouth was still void of paint. An easel sat at his feet. It was hard to tell in the dark, but his purple colored face was pure consintration . His hair looked yellow or light orange striped. I looked at his flank and saw that his cutie mark was a star with more on the outsides.
and not to scrawny either .
I went and sat beside him, looking up and taking in the stars.
"Beautiful, isn't it?" the deep, smooth voice streamed into my ears.
"Yes. I used to gaze up at the stars every night when I was a filly. It would always make the troubles of the day go away." I sighed and remembered my life from those many years ago. Now as a twenty four year old, I didn't have time to do this with all my responsibilities.
"Troubles?" the artist seemed interested enough.
"I was frequently picked on in school. I didn't have many friends. Only my sister really stood up for me. I don’t get why they did it though. The bullies gained nothing after the fights. Nothing worth the task I suppose."
"I think I can answer that. I had problems in my family and some things didn't work right. I sometimes picked on other kids to make myself feel better. I didn't do anything serious. Only name calling. There is one problem I always wanted to fix though. One little filly that moved away. She never was mean. She just sort of took my blows and covered them up. I never got the chance to say sorry." we sat there a few more minutes until I heard Raindrops voice calling for us to leave. While I traveled down the hill I looked back once and noticed that the colt had started painting. Only half way to the summer sun celebration ceremony did I notice that I never got his name.
I sank down. I was in the worst situation ever. Ponies ran screaming by the pond that I was stuck in. I could see out of the water a bit and watched as the stream of dark sparkling mist streamed out of the building. The new purple unicorn that the party had been thrown for sure was brave.
She stood up to that monster like no ponies business. I had to run and get myself stuck in this stupid mud hole when some pegasus named Rainbowdash spilt her drink on me. She had just seen me and was flying up with a confused look on her face when the mayor came out. The revolution of nightmare moon by twilight sparkle made rainbow shoot up, water spilling from her glass onto me. She didn't notice as I galloped out of the room right before the stapede.
The first thing I saw was the pond. Now that's where I was. My tail swept a crossed the bottom of the pond, moss getting stuck on the sides. I had my Finns pulled in tight. I rested on the bottom and closed my eyes waiting for the sounds to die down. I could faintly hear a conversation after about a minute.
"What the hell do you think she's doing? You think she has something to do with it?"
"I don't know Rainbow, but she sure knew what she was talking about. We should go see what she's up to." the clopping of hoofs sounded as well as a furious beat of wings. It was about an hour before no sounds broke through the water and a couple more before I decided it would be safe to come up. I gave one swift push with my fins and shot to the surface. Air penetrated my lungs and a cold chill hit my wet skin. As I suspected the streets where clear. Without thinking I raced towards Raindrops house. As the breeze dried my skin, I slowly changed back. By the time I shut the door behind me only my ears still had small pricks on them.
"Oh my god! Thank the lord your okay! When I saw nightmare moon I lost track of you and I couldn't find you in the crowd." Raindrops came up and hugged me. She gasped when she felt my slightly damp fur.
"You weren't."
"Yeah. I'll tell you the whole story later." she let go and backed away. I slipped out of the room and made my way to the kitchen. There was nothing to eat so I went to my room. We had been up all night and I needed some sleep. I slipped under the covers and closed my malfunctioning eyes.
Darkness encased me and I pictured my forest. The green, the smell of leaves and dew. My body was again wet as I slipped into the dream. I panted as I raced across the border line of the everfree forest. To my right the trees fell away. To my left more green mingled with the dark brown wood. I stopped dead in my tracks and turned to the right. I could hear the faint sounds of fillies playing. My stomach gurgled and I raced towards the sound. For some reason it seemed that the laughter kept drifting farther away.
The blue sky stretched above me and clouds flew over. Then I fell forward and a big splash sounded. Water slashed my face and I sunk to the bottom of a pond. It seemed that while I was looking up at the sky I had smashed into the same pond from last night. I closed my eyes for a second and I could again hear the screams of ponies. When I opened my eyes again the sounds where gone and like the time before, I rocketed out of the water and sped towards raindrops house. Only this time something was different. There seemed to be a shadow in the corner of my eye. I turned that was and blinked. Suddenly I was back at the hill with the mysterious painter. I looked up at the night sky to find it void of stars. The only thing in it was a massive moon.
"I think it was nicer last night." I mused. I looked over to the artist who was painting in strokes onto his canvases. I looked over at the half finished artwork and gasped. The painting was of me in mermare form running through the town. The artist dropped his brush and looked at me.
"I saw you Ditzy. Your secrets out. I was the shadow. Moby I should teach you a lesson." now the artist had turned into my father. He knocked me down onto my back and got up on his back legs about to pound down on me.
"Ditzy! Get up Ditzy! It's time to go!" Her father screamed at her with a voice that much resembled Raindrops voice. I was so scared and confused that I closed my eyes as tight as they could go. I sat there like that for a moment and prepared for the pain that was expected. Something hit my side and I pulled back with a yelp. My eyes flung open to see Raindrop standing over me with a worried look on her face.
"Just breathe in and out Ditzy. It's all okay." she cooed as she rubbed my hot head with a cool towel. I was sweating all over and I was surprised to find myself in mermare form. At this realization I tucked my head under the sheet.
"It’s okay. Carrot top went to go shopping. You’ll get dry before she comes back." and that I did. I also told Rain about my nightmare.
"Maybe you should go see this Artist. Ask him a few inconspicuous questions and put your mind to rest." I thought about her suggestion and finally decided she was right. I left the house and trotted around. The only problem was that I had no idea where to find him. I walked passed sugar cube corner, and passed the town hall until I came to the library. I guessed it would be worth a shot so I walked in.
"Hello there. May I help you?" a feminine voice hit my ears and I looked to the purple unicorn.
"Hi. I'm Ditzy. Do you know where I can find the town painter?" the purple unicorn thought a second and slowly nodded. I met him yesterday after the summer sun celebration. I think his shops next to the floral place." I said my thanks and went in the direction that was said. Soon I came to a store with a big Easel as the sign. When I walked in, the door jingled. The smell of fresh paint hit my nose. Paintings covered the walls, as did shelves of art supplies. I trotted to the front desk and dinged the little bell set there.
"Come on back!" the smooth voice from the other night hit my ears. I did as instructed and walked into the back room. As I stepped through the doorway, color hit my eyes. Thousands of paintings littered the floor. In the sender of the room sat the stallion. His coat was indeed purple and his mane orange gold. He turned and looked at me with a faint spark of recognition in his eye.
"It’s nice to see you again." he motioned for me to take a seat anywhere. I sat where I was.
“I’m Ditzy. I'm a community officer and I need to ask a few questions."
"Is that so?" the stallion looked at me within odd look. "Liar."
"Excuse me?" I looked up and it was only when it tipped over that I noticed that the bucket above my head was full of water.
Splash!
I was soaked. I looked up at him pleadingly, only to earn a look of curiosity. Tears hit my eyes when I started to change. I knew that I should never have come to try and live a normal pony’s life again. I broke down on the floor and wept. I flattened myself as much as I could to the cold stone. My body had finished changing and I curled my tail up over my face. Only two days. Two days to mess everything up and get caught.
A shadow crossed my face and I looked up to see the stallion standing over me. I was scared to look at his face. It would either be horror, evil happiness, or anger. He would probably turn me in and I would get dissected or something. But when I found the courage, the look on his face startled me. It was a face of kindness. He simply smiled at me and kneeled down.
"I'm sorry I frightened you. I just don't like it when ponies lie about themselves. My name is Ponet."
How a portrait turns into dinner
I wiped the last tears away and took another sip of Ponet's homemade pea soup. It wasn't the best, but it calmed my nerves. My tail swung nervously back and forth and my ears slumped. My wing like fins held firmly to my back. I could faintly hear the chatter in the front room where Ponet was attending to a customer.
The smell of fresh paint had long ago stopped smelling so fine and began to give me a head ach. Looking around the room I could see paint cans, canvases, and a large amount of other art supplies littered the room. The only other room beside the front and back was a small bathroom.
I dropped from the chair and went into the small bathroom to my left. It was the only other room in the shop. Inside it was a toilet, a small bath, and a fogged up mirror.
I looked into the mirror and another tear rolled down my face. Life was so unfair. Why did I have to be born like this? And to a mother and father that never wanted me? After that one day I ran away I heard that they left town and went to Canterlot, only to be arrested for one thing or the other. It seemed that Darling Doo and Fish had just disappeared from existence.
If it wasn't for Raindrops, I would never be able to cope. She knew all about me. We told each other everything. This morning she had even gotten me a job at the post office. But what would I know about a job like that any ways? I lived in the forest for most of my life. I didn't even know where half the people lived.
Not to mention that my foster parents were dead. Raindrops had told me that they were on a safari during dragon season. The beasts had scared a heard of caribou and a stampede had started. The two were trampled. And now this.
He seemed nice enough, but would Ponet be able to keep a secret? I watched my gills flare and relax every time I took a breath. The seaweed in my hair rustled every time I moved my head. My damp skin shimmered in the faded light in the bathroom. I loved this form, but it had so many draw backs. I was practically starving despite the soup. I hadn't had any meat in two days.
I looked away from the mirror and went back into the room to find that Ponet was back in his seat. I looked down at my hoofs as I made my way back to my chair. Ponet cleared his voice and I looked up. His eyes went directly into mine.
Those eyes. I had only seen the passion that was reflected in Ponet’s deep green eyes in one other pony before…
Flash back…
“And that is how you draw a pencil.” A young colt with a brown coat looked up at his sister. The colt had a red fizz of hair, just enough to hide his undersized horn. On his back sat a pair of unusable wings, too small to ever fly.
The filly standing next to him was an older gray Pegasus with crooked yellow eyes.
“Wow Fish. If you keep this up you’ll be famous!” the filly exclaimed. The colt looked up at her with a silly grin on his face, his deep blue eyes full of love for his art and for her, his sister…
"You look gorgeous." Ponet said, snapping me out of my thoughts. I could feel the heat in my face as I blushed furiously. The stallion got up and walked around me, studying me like I was a new piece of artwork.
"Your mane is a beautiful gold, just like Celestia's sun. And your skins, green like the deep waters of a lake. And your wings. Magnificent. Oh but I just love your eyes!" He paused for a moment before his own eyes lit up.
"May I paint you?" I was slightly taken aback by his forwardness to dump paint on me. He noticed my mistake and reframed his question in a softer tone.
"May I please paint a portrait of you?" Now understanding the question, I said yes, still in a daze. The stallion smiled with glee, like a colt that just got to go on his first nightmare night.
"So you can do telepathy to! Mind telling me more?” when he said this, I realized my mistake of saying yes with my mind and not my mouth. I didn’t have time to go over my whole life, so I set all my memories into his head. When I did this he gasped and fell down for a moment. He looked off into the distance like ponies do when they have flashbacks. He did that for almost ten minutes.
I was starting to get worried that I may have overloaded his mind, when he finely broke out of it. He just stared at me a moment.
"I'm sorry. I didn't know."
"I'll be here tomorrow. How about five?" this time I spoke with my voice. He nodded as I got up. I could feel myself changing back slowly. I had been there for almost three hours and my skin had dried off. Ponet did a quick heating spell to speed it up and I thanked him. My eyes where again back to their Derpy selves.
I trotted out of the shop. When the sun hit my face, I broke into a smile. I was so happy. Raindrop had been the only one to ever know about my situation. She had always thought of it as a problem. This colt, he thought I was beautiful.
This was the first time anypony had ever said it to me other than Luke all those years ago. This time I vowed that I wouldn't try to eat him. Instead of going straight home, I curved my path and went towards the woods.
When I got to the edge of the forest, I paused. Looking around I saw no pony. I quickly rustled through the underbrush until I found it. My secret stash.
On my runs through the forest I would usually find prey and freeze it, storing it for winter like a squirrel. In this pile were two rabbits and a leg of something. I quickly chowed down on the leg and rehid the rest. Now with a full belly I trotted around town.
I saw some fillies playing with a small read ball, tossing it back and forth with their magic. One of the fillies got distracted and the ball flew towards me. I clumsily caught it and was about to toss it back when I saw that the fillies disappeared. I just kept the ball. I would take it to them next time I saw them.
I decided to go home. I started to trot that way again but tripped over a rock. The first thing to hit the ground was my face. It only stung but I completely forgot about it when the rest of me hit. Pain shot through my hoof and I held back a scream of pain. Ponies walked past without even a second look except for the ones who began to laugh.
Slowly I rose to my other three hoofs. This stupid clumsy body. If only every pony could be like rain or Ponet, I wouldn't have to worry about this stuff happening. I tried to walk forward, but with my eyes separated, I couldn't coordinate with just three legs. I ended up just falling again.
As another chorus of laughter rang, I managed to get up again. As a last resort I tried to fly. I flapped my wings furiously with no result. It was so much more stressful than swimming. Mostly because flying meant fighting against the gravity. Swimming wasn't like that.
I decided to change tactics and got up on my hind legs. Now at an angle, I started flapping again. The cool air spun through my feathers. I felt my hoofs lifting off the ground. I leaned forward a bit and started moving. Inch by inch, hoof by hoof, yard by yard I started making my way up Everfree Street. (Kind of ironic if you ask me)
When I finally made it back to Rain’s place, no pony was home. I put ice on my sprained hoof and lay down. I closed my eyes for just a second...
I woke up with a start. How long had I been asleep? I tried to get up, just to fall back onto the couch when my hoof hurt. It wasn't as bad as yesterday though. There was a blanket on me that hadn't been there before and I could faintly see the sun rising outside.
I got up again, this time not putting too much pressure on my leg. I slowly walked it around until I decided that it would be fine for the day. After that I made a quick note for Rain to say where I was going, and then I left.
I decided that today I would see how Marvin was doing and hunt. I would only be gone for about an hour. After that I would go to the post office and check out the new job rain got for me. Later at five I would make my way to the art shop. I went through the town, lonely as it was still early morning. I passed by sugar cube corner and passed what Raindrops said was Fluttershy’s cottage.
I soon came to the forest and bounded in, splashing in puddles as I went along. As soon as I could, I sent out a message to Marvin saying to meet me by the lake. I swiftly caught a squirrel and a vole.
When I made it to the lake, burnt orange and eight heads filled my view. Time passed quickly as I chatted with Marvin. Before long I was on my way to the post office to start my job.
Outside, the place looked newly painted and clean. It raised my hopes and I trotted into the doors. The sight surprised me.
Smoke clouds filled the room. Letters, packages, and trash littered the floor. I asked the desk clerk and she pointed me towards my new bosses office. I went in, and in the chair sat a short but very fat unicorn pony. He didn't say a word, just nodded his head towards a bag of mail. I got it onto my back and left as quickly as I could. All that smoke had been killing my lungs and I thought I had seen a rat in there.
This job would take some getting used to, but I thought I could make it. Rain had already given me a tour of my rout and told me the rules of the job. She said she had quit the monster hunting team and would be helping me on the job some days.
I cantered along my rout, dropping off mail at each stop. No pony seemed to realize me. It almost felt like I was invisible every time I walked through town. Ponies passed by not giving me a first look let alone a second one. Finally I made it to my last stop. Rainbow dashes house. I'm sure she had heard of my '"death" all those years ago, and would start asking questions.
My second trouble was that I would have to fly up to her cloud house. I didn't like flying because it made me uncoordinated and I usually bumped into something. But a mare had to do what a mare had to do, so I started flapping. As I gained altitude my eyes kept going everywhere. I tried to go forward, but ended up going left instead. I rammed headlong into Rainbow’s house (which was pretty hard packed for a cloud) and I lost my balance.
My wings tucked in automatically and I started to fall. I tried to think and open them but my body was too scared to move and the wind held them at my side. All I could think to do was close my eyes. I counted down my approximate seconds till death.
Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three. I hit. It didn't hurt, just a sharp pull in my stomach and...Wait, was I moving back up? My eyes shot open and I was surprised to see a cyan arm wrapped around me. I and my rescuer touched soft cloud and I turned to her, the embraced flush growing on my face.
"Either you got a death wish or your wings are broken. That could have killed you ya know. Are you alright?" Rainbow had a gruff look on her face but not one of recognition.
"Yah. I'm okay. I just got off balance and I kind of...froze..." I blushed even more. It wasn't the first time I had been in a near death experience, but it was the first time I had to be rescued before. I stuck my hoof into the saddle bag on my back and pulled out a now crumpled envelope.
"I just don't know what went wrong. But here's your mail." I gave her the mail and flew down to the ground. It was almost five o’clock and I didn't want to be late for my portrait. I dropped my mailbag off and went to the paint shop. When I got there the closed sign was already on but I knocked anyways.
A shout of come in sounded through the door way and I made my way in, heading straight for the back.
"I'm here Ponet!" I shouted out and heard a mumbled reply from the back room. I went back to find Ponet in a closet trying to hold everything in it up to keep it from falling. It was a significant fail, for as soon as he locked eyes with me, everything collapsed on top of him. I galloped over and pulled of now busted paint cans and multiple other art supplies.
The pile shivered as Ponet pulled him out of it. When he was all the way out, I couldn’t help but snort. Paint splotches covered his body, making him look silly. When noticing this he laughed a deep smooth laugh. Suddenly in a playfully mood, I found one of the busted cans, and threw a blob of paint at Ponet. The two of us just laughed harder and there began a paint war.
Yellows, greens, pinks, and blues flew through the air. The paint, having small amounts of water in it, made my eyes go normal and my coat faintly shortened. The two of us finally stopped laughing and collapsed onto the floor next to each other.
Despite myself, I snuggled up close to my new friend. Ponet made no objections. With his magic he floated a blank canvas into the room and got it set up onto a stand. Then without moving he cleaned the whole room and got a fresh easel of paint and clean brushes set up. All the while I lay next to him, falling into a peacefully sleep. After a while of quiet, Ponet nudged me awake.
"Time we get started on that picture." I reluctantly got up as did he. He moved to his supplies, while I stood in front of him. Just as I was about to get myself wet to change for the portrait, a small bundle of purple flew into the room.
"Daddy, Daddy!" Ponet looked at me apologetically and turned towards the filly. I frowned and turned the sink off. If I had known Ponet was married earlier, things would have been a bit different.
"Dinky. You need to go back home. Daddy's busy right now. What happened to Aunt Sparkler?" I almost laughed out loud at the face the filly gave her father.
"I might have accidentally told her that you didn't need her to foal sit me today." Ponet sighed. He looked completely stressed out.
"Sorry Miss Ditzy. We will have to wait until tomorrow to do the portrait. Besides it’s getting late." I trotted towards the door ready to say my farewells.
"Well, then. I guess I should leave..."
"No Wait! Um sorry. You wouldn't mind staying for dinner would you? Actually I wasn't planning to cook anything so we could go out."
I smiled. I had planned to go hunting again tonight and I hated all this pony food, but I nodded my head. Maybe over dinner I could find out more about him. It didn't seem that he would turn me in for telling him that I ate meat. Together we all walked out the door, dinky skipping besides us. I tried to keep my distance from Ponet seeing that he must be married although I had no idea where his wife was.
Dinky suddenly ran ahead of us and started jumping after a butterfly, not thinking to use her magic to catch it. I saw this as my chance to talk with Ponet.
"So. Not trying to be rude, but where’s Dinky’s mother?" I blushed, not thinking before I spoke so outright. Ponet looked down a second.
"She died five months after Dinky was born due to a failing heart. Her name was Calico rose." We walked in silence for a few moments.
"So. Can you tell me about being a... you know... a mermare." he whispered. He was now grinning like a colt on his first Hearths warming eve. (Have I already used that before?) It must have been contagious because the sad mood soon turned bright and curious.
"Well, ask away." So we talked and I filled in the details from the little life story I had sent into his head earlier. I told him how I ate meat and my siren song, and all the changes I had experience. I also told him about Luke and my life in the forest. Then he told me how he had seen me running from the pond during the summer sun celebration. All the while Dinky galloped around in front of us chasing the butterfly. Before I knew it we had come to the only fancy restaurant in town, madam de floure . I was surprised when we continued to go inside. I was surprised because not only was it the most fancy restaurant in Ponyville, it was also the most expensive.
"Are you sure you want to go somewhere so expensive Ponet?" I asked worried. I had no bits to pay him back.
"My sister works here so I get a discount. Dinners on me." he smiled and winked.
We got sat down and looked at the menus.
Hay fries appetizer
Daisy and crabgrass salad
Carmeled nectarines
There was much more but I knew the closest thing I could eat to 'tasting good' was the nectarines. Sweet, juicy, and they had the ability to fill an empty stomach. Food came, we ate, we talked, and we laughed. I even made plans to babysit dinky later on. But all too soon it was over. Ponet walked me home and I stopped at the door, turning to him.
"Tomorrow at five?"
"Tomorrow at five. And I won’t be late."
"Then it’s a date. Wait... I mean um. Yeah see you then." he blushed and I chuckled at his awkwardness.
"It’s a date." He blushed even more and I turned to go inside but something small and fuzzy had come and hugged me.
"By Miss Doo!" I hugged Dinky back and a tear formed in my eye. I had never felt so close to any pony just after meeting them before.
"Goodbye little muffin. I will see you on the morrow." I softly let go and opened the door. Once I was inside I closed it and sighed. I drifted through the house, feeling as if I had just been for a swim. My feet where so light. I was so happy. I couldn’t wipe this stupid grin off my face.
"Someponys got their head in the clouds." I was so into my emotions I hadn’t even seen Raindrop leaning against the kitchen counter.
"What do you mean?" I asked confused. That was usually a term for some pony that had gone crazy or was...
"Looks like you’re in love." Raindrops giggled along with Carrot top who I had also failed to notice until now.
"AM NOT!!!" although I denied it I knew it was true. We had even agreed on a 'date'.
"Oh really?"
"Who’s the lucky stallion?" I blushed.
"Shut up." I mumbled.
"See? I told you she would be able to make friends here Rain. Seems that she was even able to make more than friends." again giggling filled the room and my face burned. I stormed out of the room and into mine. I jumped onto the bed and screamed into my pillow. It wasn’t a scream of fear or anger. More of a scream of happiness or excitement. I couldn’t wait until tomorrow.
Age: 22
Maybe I should take him to the lake first and have a picnic. Or I could....
I slowly flew away from where Rainbow dash had let me "try" to help her decorate. I would have been more of a help if I wasn't so sidetrack. I just don’t know what went wrong. It had been a long day of work and I was ready for a good meal.
I flew awkwardly towards the smaller part of town, my slightly burnt wings flopping up and down ungracefully. Soon I landed in an alley behind a local art store, and made my way through its back door, a path that I used more frequently as the days went on.
It had been a smooth thirteen months since I had left my beautiful forest with Raindrop, and although I missed the fresh forest air and the murky water, I was adjusting to this new life perfectly fine.
I walked into the building, the smell of paint and wood hitting my nostrils. The hum of the air conditioning and hoof beats on the wood floor where the only sounds to be heard. I looked around; expecting to see my favorite purple unicorn stallion standing around, but I saw him not. All that showed where he could possibly be was a light under the small bathroom door.
"Ponet! It’s time to go and you promised me you wouldn't be late. Now come on!" I banged on the bathroom door that concealed my friend Ponet. Every Saturday, when Ponet was off, we would go somewhere together to loosen the stress from the week. One time I had even gone to an art convention with him where I met Canvas Sky, one of my favorite artists. This time it was my turn to take him somewhere while Dinky was being watched by Ponet's younger sister sparkler.
I stepped back as gas from the bathroom slithered from under the door, reaching my nose. Luckily my idea for where we should go was outside. Ponet tended to be one of those "silent but deadly" types. A grunt came from inside the bathroom, then the flush of the toilet. After that, the door swung open revealing the purple unicorn now wearing a slight blush on his face.
“Did you wash your hooves?” I asked, raising an eyebrow. The blush on his face rose even more as he turned back into the bathroom and turned the sink on. Sometimes he could be so childish.
Together we walked out of the store and started down the path leading away from Ponyville. There was a calming silence between us. As we walked I looked over at Ponet and almost burst out laughing when I saw his face, gushing with curiosity as to where I was taking him. I looked back to the path as we passed the “welcome to Ponyville” sign. Next we passed Fluttershy's cottage. That mare was so shy, but once you got to know her she could be really good company…
I was pushed out of my thoughts as something brushed my flank. I looked to see that
Ponet had moved a bit closer to me so that our sides now touched. I leaned my head against his shoulder, letting out a tired sigh. Soon we came to a fork in the road and I veered to the left, the one side that had no path. Ponet, finely noticing where I was taking him, slowed down, obviously reluctant to go.
"Are you sure we should?"
"Yes. I did live there before. I know the forest inside out and it’s about time I taught you more about mermares. You want to know more, don’t you?" I could see red creep under his purple coat and smiled knowing that I had just proven a good point. I lead him into the forest, the shade of the trees instantly cooling the air around us. I hopped into the first puddle I saw and Ponet watched in obvious amazement as I began to transform. When my eyes straightened out I could see the path to Zecora’s house.
When we got there, Ponet and Zecora talked about art and masks and stuff while I sat by, thinking on where to take him next.
Eventually we had to say our farewells and leave. Next stop the lake. We played a game of I spy until we made it to the dirty lagoon. I grabbed Ponet by the hoof and pulled him towards the water with me. I was so excited to be home that I raced forwards and leaped into the water. I swam all the way down and flew up with as much speed as I could. I rocketed out of the water and dove back down again.
I did it twice more before actually coming up to see Ponet. When I did I was surprised to see him out of the water, frozen in horror, looking over my head. His face was a mask of fear. I looked around when I heard the giant splash. Behind me was a massive burnt orange hydra, staring right at me.
"MARVIN!!!!!" I swam over to him and hugged his leg, All the while Ponet looked in surprise and terror at my actions.
“I would like you to meet Ponet, my friend." Marvin looked over at Ponet and gave a smile which to the average pony would look evil. To me it was one of dull of the ‘stupid tree killing pony rodent’ as Marvin had put it. I tuned to Ponet and smiled. Ponet gave a scared smile back but tried to stay calm. I had told him about Marvin so I don't think he was too scared despite his look.
"You want to swim?" I shouted to him. Ponet shook his head and sat on the shore to watch me. I dove down into the water and checked the crevice in the wall that was once my bed. It looked exactly the same other than a few more lengths of moss floating around.
Eight minutes later I came out of the water and we continued on the tour. Soon we came to a clearing and I stopped, suddenly hearing another creature with my mind. Ponet noticed this and stopped to, not knowing what would come next. I felt a small mind to the right in a bush. It felt like a chicken, but I knew no chickens roamed the forest. This was a wild quail, a rare delicacy to me.
I looked over at Ponet with frown.
“Ponet. You don’t mind if I…I... um… I am going to get my dinner for the picnic.” He looked at me with a quizzical expression and my frown turned into a hunger crazed smile. Slowly I found its mind again and stalked towards it, being sure not to make a sound. I heard a twig snap somewhere behind me and I stopped. I was about to give up on my hunt when the quail rushed out of the bush in a panic frenzy. With a swift leap and a nip, I killed the creature.
Ponet flinched behind me, but said nothing. I knew that it disturbed him that I had killed a defenseless creature, but he had to learn that there was a system and to survive, I had to kill. I gave him an apologizing look as we continued to the ruins, the quail tucked under my wing.
Once there we climbed an unusually large amount of stairs and then sat at the edge of the tower that we had come to. This was the highest part of the ruins and it overlooked the whole forest and sky.
I ate my quail and Ponet munched on a daisy salad he had grabbed from his saddle bag. We ate in silence, and finally he spoke
"This was amazing. And I…I wanted to tell you that um.”His eyes searched mine for a moment before he spoke.
“I love you Ditz." now my face burned with heat and my heart beat faster. What was he talking about? We were just friends, right? I sat there staring at him as he continued.
“I’ve been told to move on, and it’s been hard ever since Dinkies mother died. But you brought that feeling out again. The feeling that no matter what I say, you won’t hate me; you won’t laugh at me or accuse me of doing something I didn’t. Around you I feel happy.” I looked into his eyes, tears beginning to fill mine.
“And you don’t care if I’m a monster, if I eat meat, of all I've done? You would hate me if you knew the life I lived before. I loved it, but you, or any other pony, wouldn't understand.” I tried to pull my head down to avoid his eyes, but his hoof pulled my head back up to look at him.
“I really don’t care about your past. I don’t care if you lived a life of lies. I don’t even care if you killed a pony! Ditzy Doo, I love you!” He changed his voice to a softer tone and drew his hoof away from under my head.
“Ditzy, I want you to be my special some pony. I want to be more than just friends.”
I looked out to the sunset filled with oranges and pinks and blues. Between all that, I could see greens, yellows, and gold’s. In that moment I felt a spark. I looked back at Ponet and leapt into his arms.
"Dear Celestia, yes. How could I ever say no?" I pulled my head back and for the first time I kissed him. It wasn't long, hard, soft, or even tender. It wasn't like when I had "broke" Luke. It was... Just amazing. So amazing I could barely describe it. But it was over all too fast.
When it ended I pulled back and Ponet pulled a necklace out of his saddle bag. It was a beautiful necklace with a sapphire shaped in a teardrop. The best part was that the teardrop was as blue as the deepest ocean.
"So while you’re a pony, part of your mermare form can stay with you. As well as some of me." he gently put it around my neck. I hugged him again and then we watched the sun set. The most beautifully sunset I had ever seen
Age: 24 This occurs 2 years after last chapter...
Cough Cough
I struggled to breathe as I made my way through the dark clouds of despair. I could faintly see a light on the other side of the storm, but a weight on my back seemed to pull me down to cold, unforgiving floor. My eyes glitched, both turning the wrong way and making me lose balance. I dropped to the floor, thinking that the torture would just never end. As if in slow motion I crawled on the hard, cold, merciless floor towards the now growing light. My wings where crushed by the weight on my back, and the dark smog was unforgiving, but finely I reached the light, only to find a barrier of glass in my way. I cried in despair, giving one final shove with my hooves, when the doors to freedom opened in my sight. Regaining my strength, I got up, gingerly stepping out of the post office. AKA my job.
The saddle bag full of mail sat on my back, and I took a look at the map showing my new mail rout. It was hard to tell, but it seemed that the rout went all the way to the west side of Ponyville, a place that I had never been. Seeing this as a chance to learn more about this town, I started trotting.
My first stop was at sugar cube corner as usual, where I would pick up my morning muffin. I walked in, prepared for a pink blob to tackle me into a hug as was usually done. To my surprise, nothing happened. I cautiously looked around the room, no pony in sight. I sighed and trotted to the front counter, dropping the mail in a pile. I turned around and went towards the door. Then the lights went out.
I froze, starting to worry that I had walked in when no pony was at the store, but I could have sworn that the open sign had been out. Quickly I made my way out the door, thankfully to be in the light again. I would just have to ask the Cakes why the electricity had turned off later.
Making my way down Mane Street, I began to drop off packages to the houses. The library, Lyra's home, and so on. As I went, ponies walking by would say hi, wave, or laugh at me as I stumbled every three steps. On that particular day, my eyes had been bothering me, so when I ran into a stallion on the way to my last stop, it was no surprise.
"Oh my goodness, I'm so sorry!" I gasped, the heat of embarrassment rushing to my cheeks. The earth stallion was a little younger than me with a dark brown coat and red hair with false black streaks. His cutie mark was a picture of a heart being painted by a brush with red paint. He carried a saddle bag full of brushes and other paint supplies.
"That's okay. No harm done." He smiled. His blue eyes seemed to look into my soul and I cringed.
"My name is Brush heart, yours?" He smiled again, seeming a bit overly friendly. Did I know this stallion?
"Ditzy." When I said my name, the stallion seemed about to burst from excitement. He looked about to speak, but I cut in, not wanting to spend more time with the odd stranger then needed. After thinking a moment I remembered why he seemed so familiar.
"I know you! I got some of your mail in this bag!" I yanked out the last few letters in my bag and hurriedly tossed them at him. Before another word could be spoken, I galloped away.
As I walked into the house I sighed. Multiple complaints about ponies getting the wrong mail or the mail getting crumpled had already reached the post office by time I got back. The boss said one more slip up like that would cost me my job. Not to mention that I couldn’t get the thought of that strange stallion out of my head. For some reason I was sure I knew him, but just couldn’t put a hoof on it.
"Rain! I'm home!" I called out to the silent house, not gaining a reply. It was only 5:00 PM and I was usually the only pony home until ten at night. I trotted into the kitchen, grabbing an apple as I walked by. I grabbed a few things from a cabinet and continued back to set up a prank for Rain when she got home. There was a strange ere of silence about but I ignored it.
I could see no pony around so I stealthily snuck to mine and Rain's room. I hurried towards the bedroom door, but paused when I heard a stifled groan from Carrot tops room. Out of curiosity, I slightly opened the door and gasped.
There on the bed sat Carrot top, trapped by a unicorn stallion’s dark blue magic grip. Around her the stallion was tying a rope. I looked over the stallion quickly, not paying attention to details. He was a dark blue color with a black mane. He had what looked like a black mask over his face and his cutie mark was hidden by a sheath. On the floor lay the dagger that belonged in that sheath, covered in blood. As soon as I saw this I looked back at Carrot top, now noticing the wound on her side.
Instinctually, my mind reached out to Carrot, but to no avail in my pony state. This was something that I did when I went hunting, right before I kill the animal; I send it happiness and calmness, so it doesn't die in fear. I really hoped that this would not be the case with Carrot.
She looked to the door, and to my dismay, let out a scream for me to help her. The unicorn stallion turned to me
and then....
WARNING Following chapter contains Gore. If you would prefer to skip this chapter, there is a small summery in the Authors note at the end...
Then he looked at me. His pupil was tiny and black, surrounded by a gleaming green like a cats eyes. They where a burning red, as if they had been scratched, and his eyes were filled with hatred and anger. I stepped forward, ready to attack to save my friend. He simply let out a deep laugh and let go of Carrot, stepping off the bed and towards me. I stood still, frozen in fear of the intruder that most likely would kill me. He continued to get closer. His sharp horn lit up on his head in an eerie black glow as he brought an object towards me. When I looked I saw it was the dagger.
I began to take a step back. Then another. Then another. My hooves shook with every step, making me look petty and weak. My eyes began to ‘derp’ out and my mouth went dry.
I continued to step back until I was no longer in the room, but stranded in the hallway. That was when I decided to run. All I would need to do is attract some pony’s attention, then they would come and save us. So I ran.
I turned sharp and cantered down the hall towards the door, screaming at the top of my lungs. I flapped my wings, trying to use them to speed up, but it helped a little to much. I tried to turn sharp through the kitchen doorway, but crashed head first into the counter and plummeted to the cold floor. My head burned, and my ear hung limp on the side of my head.
Don’t look back. Don’t look back. I tried to tell myself, but the truth was I didn’t know which way to turn. My eyes had gotten scrambled in the excitement so much that I didn’t even know up from down. I couldn’t even stand up.
Clip, clop, clip, clop
The sound of slow hoof steps ceased beside me and I looked towards it with one eye, my head hurting to just do that simple task. My adrenalin pounded through me and my heart sped up at the sight that awaited me.
There above me stood the unicorn, a smug smile on his face. He had a crazy twitch in his left eye, and his teeth appeared to be as sharp as the blade he held with his magic. He lifted a hoof and reached it to my head, brushing a lock of hair from my face. Then he leaned down, his muzzle above my ear. His breath sent chills down my spine. It smelt of sharp cheese and cider.
"Goodnight." He whispered. His voice was husky and gruff. I could just watch as he rubbed a sharp dagger, enthralled in a telekinetic black, against my neck. He let it glide along my body, not leaving a cut or mark. The dagger was a piercing, numbing cold metal that I could not keep my eyes from. When he took it away, he brought it close to my stomach, pulled back, and then I closed my eyes. My last thought was 'why hadn't I put on the necklace that Ponet had given me?'
The black spots lessened, leaving my eyesight obscured and scattered.
I could feel nothing behind my front legs, and my head felt as though it had been smashed under a stampede. It took me a moment to collect myself, remember what had happened, and notice that I must have blacked out. I shook my throbbing skull, trying to push out the black dots.
Carefully, I moved my hooves under me, and pushed up. My legs shook violently under my body weight in their weakened state. I tried my best not to look down, but miserably failed when I felt hot liquid running over my legs.
There in my stomach, was the dagger that the unicorn had used, sticking in a deep gash. I carefully reached my hoof in and yanked, hoping that it would treat the same as ripping off a bandage. Unfortunately it was worse. As soon as I pulled, a searing pain drove into my midsection. I stifled a scream and fell back to the floor, sucking in sharp breaths.
Yellow and red liquids oozed out, dripping onto the slick tile floor beneath me. It was a moment before I could pull my eyes away to look up. The hall looked dark, but a small light could be seen coming from the room that was normally occupied by Carrot top. The windows where dark, giving me the notion that Luna’s night had come. Raindrops would have a big surprise coming for her when she got home.
With a sudden burst of strength, I stood up, finally able to feel my hind legs and flanks. Ignoring the sharp pains in my stomach, I started walking.
Once to Carrot’s bedroom door, I stopped, unready to face the death of a friend, or a death crazed unicorn. But ready or not, I had to stop him, so I pushed open the door.
Carrot top, a sweet, innocent orange earth pony, was still alive, but covered in her own blood. She lay on the bed, still tied up and shivering. The intruder stood in a corner of the room, stuffing a saddle bag with jewelry and bits from Carrots safe. Neither of the two blood drenched ponies seemed to notice my entrance.
I stood silently, trying to come up with a plan. Should I just leave and try to get help, leaving Carrot to fend for herself?
I snuck away, hardly able to hold back the oncoming vomit. My hoofs made not a sound as I made my way back to the kitchen, trying to avoid the sight of my own blood on the floor. My own cut was almost painless, the adrenalin in me masking any damage. I would just have to take the dagger out later if I didn’t die before I had the chance.
For the next minut or so, I spent my time filling up buckets with water, and then dumping the water into a bigger tub without actually getting myself wet. When the tub was filled, I propped it onto my back, giving a grunt under the weight. My plan was simple.
Step one, enter room
Step two, scare bad unicorn half to death
Step three, run away with Carrot top while unicorn is in shock
Step four, rush Carrot to the hospital followed up with calling the gaurds to get the nasty unicorn from my home.
How bad could the plan possibly go?
I stopped, again, in front of the bedroom door. Was I truly ready to put my life on the line for a friend? The answer came as I opened the door and shouted out for the monster to look at me. Yes, I was ready.
The stallion swerved, a maniacle grin staining his face. He dropped the stuffed saddle bag and began to step forward menacingly.
"Back for more I see." He cackled. Slowly a look of disgust and misunderstanding to why I had a tub of water on my back shot through his eyes.
"Are you trying to crush your wings so I won't get to them?" He sneered, ignoring any other possible reason for the item.
I ignored his comments and continued on my struggle into the room, pain starting to grab at my wounded stomach as the tubs pressure weighed on me still.
One more step and I would be right in front of him, then would commence step two of my plan.
Crack
My leg shot from under me, now broken, after the dark blue hoof had smashed into it. Now in the state of my unbalance, I could no longer hold up the tub. It rolled off my back and onto the floor, water pouring everywhere. I heard a hoarse scream come from Carrot tops direction and an angry curse as the unicorn stallion jumped back from the falling tub. I fell to the ground, pain burning in my leg. As soon as my body hit the floor I screamed in pain. The dagger was still imbedded in my stomach and was being pushed in more as it connected to the floor.
The next few moments where a blur as my vision faded in and out of consciousness. All I could see was the unicorn stallion’s horn lighting up, and ripping the blade from under me, making my senses go even more dim. Noise could no longer reach my ears. But I could feel so much more.
I could feel the water from the tub pour over me, and I could feel my body being heal. My leg bone snapped back into place, the wound on my stomach slowly closed and scarred. Then I could feel the ever enchanting magic that flowed though me as I shifted in to my natural form.
"What the..." I could hear again. The stallion began to mutter under his breath, fear replacing his emotions. Heavy breathing from the bed showed that Carrot was still alive, but just barely.
I looked down at my hoof, watching the hairs retract into my skin as it became slick and smooth once again.
I began to stand up, pain no longer hindering my movement, and then I smiled. I could see the reflection of my toothy grin in his widened eyes. He screeched like a little filly and backed away, his magical grip on the dagger dropping.
I chuckled and took a step forward, flaring my frills. I let my tail wrap around the stallions leg and pulled him closer. He tried to jab his horn at me, but missed in his clumsy fear. I opened my mind, first checking to see if Carrot was alive. She was, but not for long. I would have to be quick and hurry her to the hospital, but something urged me to ignore my original plan of running.
Hunger
I lunged toward the unicorn, my teeth gripping onto his fleshy neck. I held him like that for a moment before finishing him off, enjoying every moment as he took in his last breath.
I turned from the carcass to the bed where Carrot lay. I galloped over to her and threw her over my back.
Stay with me Carrot, stay with me.
I ran out of the room the little weight on my back seaming to grow lighter every second. In a rush, I burst out the door, galloping down the street. I could feel Carrot slowly slipping away from me, her mind loosening its hold.
I closed my eyes and used a burst of speed, knowing that I was going faster than rainbow dash could ever fly. I watched the streets fly by as I made my way to the hospital. I couldn't tell if any ponies had seen me, and I didn't even care in the rush.
I kicked the doors to the Ponyville hospital open and shouted for some doctors. The ruckus I was making attracted at least twenty ponies, two of which saw Carrot on top of me and rushed her away to the emergency room. The rest started screaming and some just stared at me. I have to admit that I must have been quite a sight. I was now covered in Carrots blood, not to mention the blood around my mouth from the intruder’s carcass. Also, the main attraction was that I was in my mermare form.
After I was sure that Carrot was being taken care of, I rushed outside from the hospital, but stopped in my tracks. Outside was a huge crowd of ponies. In front of them stood Rain, a look of horror on her face. The rest of the ponies had looks of shock and fear on their faces.
Raindrop ran towards me, only to be stopped in her tracks by a purple magic that covered her. Rain struggled to come to me but to no avail.
“Stand back every pony, I'll handle this." A purple unicorn, Twilight sparkle, stepped forward. Her magic dropped Rain, who again tried to fly towards me, but hit a new barrier. Twilight had created a magical shield that surrounded me, her, and five other ponies. I stepped back, looking over them.
There was Pinkie, and Rainbow dash, the two that I already knew. They both wore serious faces, as did the rest of them. Other than them there was an orange earth pony known as Apple jack, a white unicorn named Rarity, Fluttershy the , well, shy Pegasus. They all stood in a row with Twilight in front of them, as if this position was a normal occurrence.
"WHO AND WHAT ARE YOU!?” Twilight shouted. Just the sheer volume of her voice seemed to scare all the ponies around. I flew into her mind, throwing pictures into her consciousness. Pictures of me in pony form and running into everything. At this sudden action and realization, Twilight jumped back a bit, a look of shock on her face. I looked at the other five, who seemed to be confused at Twilight's sudden act.
“What in tarnations! What did you do ta her you monster!?” Applejack shouted. I Bared my teeth at her and sent emotions of fear into her head. She cowered down, her eyes going wide. Now Twilight was back and now nose to nose with me.
“Lies. All lies.” Her horn lit up and I could feel her cast a mind reading spell on me.
As all the thoughts of my past raced through my head I saw Raindrops outside the shield, banging on it and shouting my name. Now Ponet stood by her, as did another pony that I couldn’t identify at the moment. Ponet seemed to be trying to comfort Rain, but to no avail. Another pony came up to her and bucked her in the flank with no warning. I watched her fall to the ground, still calling to me. The rest of the crowd seemed to be angry at her also, and before long more ponies started to attack her. Ponet and the other stallion tried to fend them off, but where highly out numbered. This made me furious.
“Who are you, Huh?” Rainbow shouted. I turned from the terrible scene to look at the five ponies in front of me. Twilight stood to my side, still in the middle of her spell. When I looked at them, they seemed to withdraw a bit. My mind told me to run as soon as I had saw Twilight take a step forward, but my instinct was stronger. Now it told me to save my family.
I lunged at Twilight, grabbing her horn in my jaws. She dropped the barrier and ended her spell, giving out a shriek of pain. I let go, not wanting to harm any pony, but needing to save my friends from their attackers. The other five ponies rushed at me as I ran from Twilight and towards the angry mob around Raindrop. Then I jumped at them with my teeth bared. I closed my eyes and let instincts take over.
I drifted down into my lake, letting the cold water rush over my fur, changing it into a sleek skin that I swam in. my wings where not feathered, but smooth and clean. My body felt relaxed and peaceful under the water, but my soul and mind where a torrent of questions and loneliness. I swam deeper until I came to the small crevice in the rock where my old home was. Moss had overgrown, but I went in anyways. I just lay there for a moment, trying to collect my thoughts. How could I have known that trying to save my friends would result in such a terrible way?
Flashback...
I let my instinct take over, jumping into the fray. I landed in front of Raindrops with Ponet to my right and a stallion that I could vaguely remember being named painted heart on my left. Both stallions where intent on saving Rain from the attackers, and so was I. I opened my mind as far as I could, reach out to all the attackers, and I let out everything I could think of. I gave them a battle cry.
All the ponies seemed to stop for a moment, frozen in fear, but the onslaught soon continued. As ponies came, I grabbed them in my jaws, or I threw them with my tail. There were so many ponies coming to us but I kept fighting. I felt a sharp pang in my back and I spin around to see none other than Rainbow dash. I leapt at her, only to crash into the ground as she flew up into the air. I stood there and watched unmoving as she taunted me. I didn’t care, as long as she wasn’t trying to harm Raindrop.
I turned back to the fight but there was some pony missing. Raindrop was gone. I spun back to Rainbow, my anger rising. I don’t care if they take me to be dissected, or even if they just outright kill me, but no pony hurts my family.
"WHERE IS SHE!?!?!" I screamed at her. Rainbow looked down, a smug grin on her face. I jumped up, but couldn’t reach her. I kept trying but to no avail. I could see that I was only wearing myself out.
"Come get me you freaking monster! I’m not scared of you." Rainbow shouted. I could feel my pulse speeding up as I got angry.
You should be scared of me. I reached into her mind. I searched through her mind, to witch I could feel her struggle. I reached into the darkest places of her mind and found her greatest fear and I pulled it to the top, overloading her mind with the though.
You’re just a failure.
She slowly deflated drifting down, down, down. Then I jumped and...
Snap!
Empty air. Something below me had yanked me down by my tail, and I didn’t like it. I was about to catch my prey and no pony could stop me.
I wheeled around snapping at the creature neck and earning another loud snap, only this time it was the snap of a neck instead of empty jaws. A scream of pain filled my mind and fear began to come from all directions. I looked down to the creature that had stopped me from jumping. It was a stallion around the age of fifteen. He had a green mane and a cyan coat, a bit darker than rainbow dashes.
With that thought I turned back to the cyan mare to see that she had left. I looked back down to the young stallion and then to the crowd where Ponet and the other stallion where still fighting. There ponies would pay and I would find Rain, no matter what the cost.
A sheet of red began to cover my vision and the salty taste of blood rolled through my mouth. It tasted good
A splash found its way to me as I lay in the crevice in my rock. I knew that it couldn’t be Marvin, and the only other explanation was a predator or an intruder. My body continued to lie in its relaxed position as my mind traveled upwards to the unwanted guest.
"Come Ditzy, you must eat, if you don’t your bones will grow thin and not have meat."
Leave me alone.
I didn’t want any pony to bother me. It had been almost two days and I preferred to stay and wallow in my self pity. It wasn't like I was short of water, and as for food I could just survive off of seaweed even though it was quite unfilling. I closed my eyes and tried to rest.
I snapped out of my daze, the red blur leaving my eyes. I could feel the presence of seven ponies inside the tree house library that I stood in front of. My mind was still numb from my sudden instinctual burn and I couldn’t discover who's minds where there. The door in front of me was wood. I looked down to see that the ground was dirt. I didn’t know why, but I couldn’t help but only notice these obvious facts. I slowly close my eyes, my head continuing to thrum. My head.
My head.
My head.
My head...
SNAP
I opened my eyes to see the inside of the library. Where had the door gone? I shifted my eyes downwards, faintly shocked to see the door with a huge whole through it. Back in front of me, seven ponies stood, one tied up and the other six cowering in fear. Was that Rain tied up? I couldn't see her very well. I closed my eyes, trying to blink away the fogginess. I looked up again, but jumped back when I noticed how close to Rain I was all of a sudden. Had I moved? I didn’t think I had. I relaxed my jaw which had gone into a snarl, and lowered my thrashing tail. I could see a little clearer, but I thought that the blinking had helped, so I tried again. Now when I opened my eyes, I was standing directly in front of Rain, the ropes holding her now in my teeth. I ignored the sudden closeness, and continued to break the binds around my sister. When she was free she ran up to me and gave me a hug. Somehow the feel of her warm fur on my sleek skin calmed my nerves helping me to think again.
I stepped out of the hug, a huge grin on my face.
"Are you okay Rain? They didn’t hurt you, did they?" I let a frown draw down the sides of my face when I noticed her starting to stutter. Rain was never good at lying.
"What’s wrong?" I growled, unable to hold back my frustration and worry.
"I...Its nothing serious..." Rain whimpered. I looked her in the eye and was slightly surprised at what I saw. Rain was scared of me. I stepped back and raised my hoof to my head, closing my eyes. Why was my head hurting so much? I opened my mouth, trying to ask why she was scared, what did I do? But something got in my mouth. I opened my eyes in alarm, the thing in my mouth seeming to be yanking my jaw open. I wasn’t sure what scared me the most when I looked. The fact that I was about to bite Rains neck, or the fact that my body had moved without my even knowing. I pulled my head back, gasping at the blood running from her punctured skin.
"Rain!" I heard myself scream. I fell to the ground, my eyes tearing up. I was a monster.
I buried my face into my hooves, salty tears beginning to run down them. I couldn’t close my eyes, I couldn’t. I couldn’t.
A tap on my shoulder and a soft voice woke me from my wariness.
"Calm now child, every pony makes a mistake in their life, one they can’t fix. But even after that mistake every pony deserves a second chance." I could feel a light growing through my body, relaxing all my muscles. I didn’t want to look up; I didn’t deserve that second chance after what I had done.
"Your right. Every pony deserves a second chance, but I’m not a pony, am I? I’m a monster that should be locked up, or turned to stone." I was stunned by the gentle laugh that met my words.
"I would agree that a Mermare would be a beautiful addition to my statue garden, but I didn’t come here for that purpose."
I looked up finally, but was unprepared for the bright light that met my eyes.
"Celestia." The alicorn sat beside me, running her hoof through my mane as she tried to calm me. She held a royal look on her face, but her eyes glinted with sadness, loss, and a small hint of anger. I watched her stretch a wing over me, warming my body further. Her horn light and I felt the same sensation of memories as I did when twilight had cast the memory spell on me. I felt her look through my whole life up to this point. When finished She began to speak again, but this time only I could hear and her mouth stood still.
“I have three offers to make you. No matter the race, you are still living in Equestria, therefore under my rules and laws. And my laws state that because of your crimes of murder and attacking other citizens, you have two penalties, death or prison. The other choice would be less of a punishment for you. But if you do take the third choice what any of my other little ponies choose to do to you upon your choice, I will not interfere. "
I took the third choice and sat up, the princess standing above me. Her horn lowered to my head and a glow formed starting at my head and inching down to my hooves, slowly transformed me back into my pony form. Many gasps reached my now pony ears.
When the princess straightened, I stood and looked around. My eyes floated in different directions, but I was able to control them enough to see all other seven ponies in the room. Flutter shy had hid behind Rainbow while Rainbows own mouth fell open, Rarity had fainted, Applejack looked down and Twilight ran to the princess. Rain stood, looking at me, tears in her eyes. I would have to tell her my decision and about the past two hours events.
I woke with a start as a hoof wrapped around my midsection and pulled me upwards toward the surface. I struggled with all I had, but the stallion that held me seemed to be prepared for that and slipped a dog’s choke chain around my neck. It was so annoying! I screeched at them with my mind, but theirs seemed to be blocked. I didn't want to hurt anypony so I used a different kind of defense. I withdrew my mind from my body, making myself black out.
When I stepped outside, I couldn't help but fall to my knees and vomit at the gut reaching smell. Celestia led me down the road, bending to Check a pony every thirty yards or so. There were only three ponies dead so far and about ten wounded, when we came to the hospital front.
"This is nothing to be proud of, and it hurts me to see so many of my subjects hurt, but I do understand that they brought it upon themselves by striking the first move. Still, I would like you to help me now in searching the wounded and helping them. None of them will know you’re the mermare, so go." Celestia started on the closest pony, bending and checking their pulse with her magic glow. I cantered to the other side and started, going from one pony to the next in attempts to find survivors. Most of the ponies where just knocked cold, or couldn't get up. Only a few other than the nine of us where walking around.
I didn't remember my other two saviors until I finally came upon them, the two trying to help each other up.
"Ponet! Are you okay?!" I galloped over to him, tripping over ponies every few hooves. When I reached him and the other stallion I hugged Ponet a huge smile spreading across my face. He gently pushed me off, and I moved back, now noticing that he was still hurt, unlike me.
"I'll be fine Ditzy. A better question is are you okay?" I nodded my head. I quickly re-laid the story of the intruder and of Carrot being hurt, leaving out the messy parts of course.
"Then why didn't you ever tell me you had a brother?" I cocked my head in confusion. I was pretty sure I had told him about Fish, and even if I didn't, who told him now? Ponet motioned his head to the second stallion standing next to him. I looked at him, looking him over. The other day he had said that his name was Brush heart after I had run into him. At the moment his coco brown coat was crusted with blood (not all his own) and his finery red mane was a crazy mess all over his head. His cutie mark was a heart with a paintbrush in front of it. I looked into his eyes. They reminded me of Ponet's eyes somehow, if it was the fiery glow of an artist or a strong connection of love towards me, I couldn't tell, but I still wasn't sure if it was Fish or not.
"Show me your wings." The stallion looked taken aback a bit and a bit nervous, but he did. Seemingly out of nowhere on his back, a set of wings shot out, although they were obviously much too small for Pegasus wings.
"Now show me your horn."I looked him in the eyes again and they sparked, as if a dare had been challenged.
"Ditzy, quit being ridiculous. Only alicorns have both..." Ponet was cut off as I stuffed my hoof in his mouth and watched Brush heart bring up a hoof to his head. He gently rubbed a hoof through his mane a moment, as if he was trying to comb it out. When he was finished with that, he parted his fiery mane in the front, and sure enough, sticking out of his head was a horn, that could probably be mistaken with a big bump for its smallness.
Ponet gasped and I just stood there, too shocked to move. Was it really him finally?
"Brush! There you are lad. It’s about time we leave if you know what I mean. And what in Equestria happened here?!?! Don’t tell me Ponyville was attacked by nightmare moon again!" We all turned around to see a brown stallion talking so fast he could give Pinkie a run for her bits.
"My goodness you found her! That took longer than expected, and I guess that means you have to leave now , but will some pony tell me what happened?!" Something in my head something finally clicked and trotted up to Fish and gave him a biiiiiiiiiiiiiiiigggg hug. He gasped at my strength and I was surprised when tears started running down my face.
(Tears have no changing effect because they are so salty)
It was a moment before his hooves wrapped around me too and we just stood there a minute. When we let go, I turned to Ponet and walked right up to him and kissed him smack on the lips. He just stood there stunned and I turned to the brown stallion.
"No hugging or kissing for me?" He grinned innocently.
"You’re that stallion in that weird blue box that asked me what time it was." His raised a hoof as if to protest a point, but I trotted right up to him and gave him a quick hug.
"Thank you." If he had never been there, I would never have met Rain, and without her I would be all alone.
"Sorry to ruin such a heartwarming moment amongst at least thirty injured ponies, but Brush, we have to go. Colgates waiting. It’s your choice if you come or not." The brown stallion then proceeded to leave, but before he turned I caught a glimpse of his face, now full of sadness.
Then Brush, my newfound brother, looked to me. He seemed to be pleading forgiveness in his face.
"Listen.. Theres this other pony that would be very disappointed if I didnt go..."
"Go on, have fun “I grinned and he smiled.
"I won’t be gone long, and I’ll be sure to visit often and bring souvenirs!" Brush heart galloped of after the stallion leaving me and Ponet alone.
I slowly opened my eyes, bright light stunning me momentarily. I could see the silhouettes of two figures standing over me.
I groaned slightly as I rolled onto my belly, putting my legs under me to get up. I had been under the water in my lake ever since the day of the attack, and I hadn’t seen anyone since. Guilt had caught up to me from hurting all those innocent bystanders, and the shock of finding my brother had hit me hard, as well as another shock.
"Are you done mopping in your tears, and ready to celebrate the trials of your future years?"
I looked to the other pony standing next to Zecora. It was of course a stallion with a golden mane and a sleek wet coat.
"I'm not forcing you to do anything Ditzy, but it’s going to be difficult leaving Ponyville behind you now that your, ah... Banished. And I don't think you should have to be lonely. Not to mention we aren't under Celestia’s control anymore, and can do whatever we please." He grinned evilly and I giggle at his smile.
"Yes, or more so, I do." I leaned over and kissed the stallion, wishing for it to never end.
"Save it for the wedding sweetheart!" We laughed and I followed Zecora to her house, Ponet by my side, and remembered the all too surprising moment from two days ago...
It was the morning after the attack and me and Ponet sat in a coffee shop. The town had fallen into quietness as ponies mourned for the five ponies that had been lost in the skirmish. I couldn't help but feel terrible, and yet annoyed at the same time. I was only acting in defend, and yet I thought death to great of a punishment.
"Cheer up Ditzy. The worlds not going to end and you where forgiven by none other than the princess herself." He groomed a hoof through my tangled mane, taking a sip of his coffee every once in a while.
"I just...can't. I need to tell you something Ponet. The, the princes gave me a choice, either I could go to prison, be...stoned, or I could leave. Be banished to the Everfree for ten years, and if I survive that long then I would be able to go back into the pony community. I don't hate the idea of going home, but it would mean leaving you, Rain, and me...I Just Can't!" I could feel hot tears running down my soft fur. Ponet kept his hoof on my shoulder, a look of pity on his face.
"You know we don't have to be alone. No pony does."
"I'm not a pony, nitwit. If you hadn't noticed, I'm a mermare who kills defenseless ponies...”
"They weren't defenseless..."
"WE'LL COMPARED TO ME THEY WERE!!!" My voice broke back into a hoarse whisper.
"They couldn't stop me, no pony could." I looked at my hooves planted firmly on the bar that we sat next to.
"You don't have to be alone." I looked back over to him. He smelt of oddly strong cologne, not the normal one that he usually wore. I watched his horn light up in its ominous purple glow that always seemed to let off a buzz of energy. He pulled a small box from his saddle bag. I took a sip of my coffee, savoring the taste...
"Will you marry me?"
Ppppppfffffffffffffffffffffffff!
I spit out my coffee right onto the now kneeling unicorn stallion.
"WHAT!!!???" I was so shocked, and when I noticed my outburst I was even more embarrassed.
"No?" Pontes ears dropped and he frowned momentarily before I jumped him, talent him into a bear hug.
"OHMYGOSHOHMYGOSHOHMYGOSH!!!" I was squeaking like a school filly. Ponet had an irresistible grin on his face.
A few claps and words of congratulations came from the other ponies that sat around the small shop.
After that I had rushed to Rains house to tell her the news, but was met with an empty house instead. No pony else that I knew seemed to be around,
So I galloped into the forest to tell Zicora's and Marvin.
“Marvin has left the living, no more friendship he will be giving." Zecora had replied sadly to my asking. That had instantly ruined my mood again and I left,
Back to my lake, without even thanks for the congratulations she gave me.
Now I stood by Ponet, deciding who to envite to our wedding. We would build a small house next to the lake, and we would make a memorial next to it in memory of Marvin. But who am I kidding? I was getting MARRIED!!! It was going to be the best day of my LIFE!!!
My first bath
I guess I should start at the very beginning. I was born to two muffin makers. Their names where Chocolate Muffin, a brown earth stalion with a fog-like black mane, and Cinnamon Flower, a high standard unicorn with a light brown coat and white specks, a darker brown mane coating her head and tail.
I assume that the thought of their names being normal pony names ,then why would they name their child Ditzy of all things,had entered your head. Well, to put it simple, I looked nothing like them.
They both had brown coats, dark colored manes, and muffin cutie marks. I was grey. i had a sunny, yellow mane, and i also had golden, crooked eyes. They both had blue normal eyes. Not to mention that i was a pegasus. No pony else had golden walled eyes or a gray coat or wings in my family. No pony except my great great aunt Ditzy Fay. So they named me after her.
Sadly for me, my top class parents where nonbelievers in equality and pretty much hated any pony that didn't
"fit in". That included me.
They never played with me, they didn't make me dinner, they didn't teach me how to do anything. All their attention was centered around my older sister Darling Doo, although she changed her first name later on to Daring. That filly was pampered, wheras i was left alone. the only way i survived was from the help of my brother Fish. He was named fish because that was the only word i could say when he was born. Mom and dad never named him. I did that myself when i was one year old.
The first time I noticed my love of water was my first bath, occuring at the age of two for me. Yes, I know, I smelt like rotten garbage ever since my mother stopped giving me tong baths. That was the only thing she ever did for me.
Well anyways, she got the bath started and left me to get washed up. I was a very smart filly aside from my wall eyed appearance. Once something was explained to me I could do it easily.
I hopped in and started cleaning myself. I loved it. My first bath was the best ever. I rubbed my hoofs over my coat, getting all the filth out. I could faintly feel hard bumps under my coat, and remember wondering what they where. My ears sharpened and my eyes straightened out. It felt wonderful.
soon Fish came into the bathroom and i let him get in with me. i scrubbed his coat and he looked nice and clean. his own coat was a musty brown and he had a fizzle of red hair on top of his head. three lumps could be found on his body. two on his back, showing small wings that would never be able to fly, and one on his head, a horn to small to bear the strain of magic. He was different like me, and i loved him.
From then on i took baths once every day if i could, and every time something was a little different when i got in. At three years old, my hair developed a type of oil like ducks have on their wings to stay dry. My eyes, also, would always straighten out was while I was in water. I could hear better still, and my ears always grew a bit longer. My tail started to change from hair to skin.
At age four, my wings started changing. I still hadn't learned to fly. But when I was in the bath, the feathers would change to membrane like those on dragon wings, and they started to develop thick bones. Of course, these changes only happened when I was submerged in water and Fish was the only one who new about it besides me. He always stayed the same in water, but he loved it anyways.
Then, me at the age of five and Fish at the age of four, our parents took sudden interest in us.
Meeting Marvin, and moon-blink a boar
So. I was in a forest, almost winter time, going to a lake that was supposedly very dangerous if you weren't a mermare. Luckily I was. But did I mention that this is the Everfree forest? That monster infested place for things that no pony cared about? Well obviously I fit into all those categories. So yes. I was walking along, avoiding poison joke and humming to myself. I was passing a giant tree when I hear a splash. I totally assumed that the lake was ahead of me so I rushed forward. I was right about it being there and all, but I should have thought about what I was doing. You see, like I said "monster infested". Now what in the world could make such a big splash??? Sadly it wasn't a big fish.
I looked out over a huge lake. It was swampy green with algae and moss. My favorite type of water if you didn’t include the thirty foot tall hydra in the middle. I looked up in awe at the huge beast. It had four heads and was a dazzling orange color. For a moment it didn’t see me. Then we locked eyes.
Its eyes were about as big as My whole self times two, and green. They had black dots for pupils in them. I stood stock stiff, not knowing what to do. I slowly devised a plan and started to slowly walk backwards. My movement must have startled the hydra, because one of its head gave a deafening roar and pulled the others forward into a charge.
I spun around and ran. Tree limbs scraped my coat as I weaved in and out of them. The hydra knocked them all down behind me. I could barely breathe as I ran. My lungs dried up, my eyes went dry. Finally I could run no more. I looked around and found a deep looking puddle. I jumped into it and tried to push myself down. Slowly I changed. My tail, hair, wings, body. My lungs cooled off as I breathed in the water. My mouth and eyes again moistened. My joy was short lived as the hydra crashed through the branches. It stopped not thirty feet away. Its heads spun every which way, looking for the intruder.
"Stupid pony creatures." I looked around, startled at the voice. That couldn’t have been me. But the only creatures around where the hydra, me, and a few terrified rabbits.
"Come out little pony." I heard it again. This time it sounded as if it was in my head.
Perfect. Just one step closer to insanity. I mentally screamed in frustration. I looked up from my puddle to see the hydra looking at me startled.
"What’s your problem." the voice sounded in my head. It was raspy and deep. It was the hydra. Realization hit me and I came out of the puddle.
Well let’s see. For starters I got kicked out of my home, forced to come here so no pony knows I’m a freaking mermare, second I almost killed my colt friend. Wait no. that would be first. But third, I’m getting chased by you.
I was seriously annoyed at this hydra. He cowered down from my screaming at him. Another thing I never thought I’d do. Telepathy. I looked at the hydras big puppy dog face it gave me.
"I’m sorry. I thought you were a mean old pony come to take my forest and destroy my swamp. Friends?" this was so awkward. Never in my life had I thought it possible to have a hydra be my friend. It was weird. So I said yes. The hydra heads made a triumphant noise and it headed back to the lake. I followed.
What’s your name? I didn’t even know if hydras had names or not.
"Marvin" the hydra said. Marvin. Not much of a vicious name. When we got to the lake, I swam in. it was much deeper and wider than any place I had been in. I was able to stretch out my fin like wings to their full extent. I pushed hard and swam. By now it was well into the evening, already the stars came out. I and Marvin talked a bit. He told me about the community, the other creatures, and the food chain.
All creatures had equal right to the lake or forest but if a creature had set up a territory, you would be wise not to go in. Any claimed territory had to have sent marks. The other creatures here where hydras, snakes, frogs, and manticores. Other large creatures lived more into the caves and stuff. As for food, anything smaller than you was fair game. I also found out that Marvin was the swamp protector. A good pick for my first friend. After a long chat, I decided to help him on the job. I would chase out any wandering ponies. He would take care of bigger stuff.
Our chat was ended by a loud rumble.
"Sorry. It’s time to eat. I must go." the hydra apologized for his grumpy stomach and left. I decided that it was time to eat as well. i tried to use my siren song on a group of rabits but only one came. it seemed that the singing taktic only worked on male prey.
I looked up at the full moon and got a feeling. I walked out of the water and looked around. Finally I came upon a plump boar like creature. It was at least a foot shorter than me so I thought it must be fair game. I followed it for some ways, staying in the shadows and getting wet whenever possible. If I went cross-eyed right now it would ruin everything. Finally it came into a clearing and I came out. It looked startled to see me at first, but soon went into the defensive position. I didn’t.
I walked over so I was across from it and bathed in moonlight. Then I let instinct take over. I opened my fin/wings all the way out. The drops of water on them reflected the light of the moon. I then looked the boar in the eye. I could see the reflection of the moon in the reflection of my eye in its eyes. It stood there mesmerized for a moment until its eyes clouded over. The moon had done its work. I mentally told it to follow me and it did. After about a mile we came upon the lake again and I slipped in. the boar stood at the shore. Its weird but I only felt comfortable eating in the water. So I told it to come in and it swam over to me. I let my teeth sharpen in preparation and swiftly bit its neck. This stunned it out of the moonblink and it started to squeal. I just bit down harder on its neck and took it into the water until it struggled no more. You know the rest.
I never had thought i would eat meat, but after i tasted that boar, i was sure that i would never want to go back to daisy sandwiches and hay fries ever again.
After I was full, I sunk to the bottom of the lake. Down there was a little crevice in the rock, large enough for me to squeeze into. I got comfortable and closed my eyes. That day hadn't turned out as bad as I thought it would. Soon sleep overtook me and I sank into a peaceful dream.
