Waters: Part 2 - Dark May

May 1st

Tartarus

W woke up yesterday and found out he turned into a stallion who is trapped inside the Tartarus, and he doesn't even know why. He looks at his back and finds out he has a drawing on his rear: an unmade bed, but decides to leave it aside when he looks at Cerberus.

"Hey!" shouts W, again. "I told you lots of times and you don't answer. I need to go out. I need to go to my world and to kill a bad man... a very bad man!"

"Cerberus doesn't talk, you idiot!" says a goat-like creature. "Let me sleep!"

W looks at his right and looks that there is a bigger cage under him, where a skinny centaur sleeps next to a pink filly. They are Tirek and Cozy Glow. Cerberus only looks at him and turns around and suddenly, two big mares appear on the Tartarus. The biggest one is white and has the shape of a sun on her loin, while the other one is a dark blue mare with a moon and black stains as a mark. Both mares stand in front of W's cage, without even saying a word.

"Hello?" says W.

"Hello, Bedmaker," says the youngest mare. "Finally you've woken up."

"Who are you and how do you know me?" says W, angrily.

"Everybody knows you, Bedmaker," says the white mare. "Your infamous story as the Burglar of Canterlot and Ponyville even called our attention."

W's anger lowers when he hears that. "Burglar of Canterlot and Ponyville?" says W. "What are you talking about?"

"I am talking about that notorious robbery you did during the Grand Galloping Gala," says the white mare, raising an eyebrow. "I think you crossed the line there."

"The Grand Galloping Gala? What?"

The two mares look at each other. It looks like Bedmaker lost his memory or something."Wait, sister... what if he lost his memory for real?" says the youngest mare.

"Sister, you know Bedmaker lies every time," says the other mare while looking at W. "He is the real Bedmaker from Ponyville and he does remember what he did. Robberies and threatens."

W realizes that this bedmaker they are talking about maybe his counterpart from this world. "Wait..." says W. "Are you talking about my counterpart?"

The white mare raises an eyebrow. "Counterpart?"

"I am originally human," says W. "My name is Walter Theodore Waters, and people call me Bedmaker... but only as a nickname. They call me W too."

Now, the white mare, who is confused, looks at his sister and says: "No... No... the Bedmaker can be a good liar, but he could never lie to the governors of Equestria."

Governors of Equestria?... "Governors? Are you..." says W, shocked.

"We are Princesses Celestia and Luna," answers the dark blue mare, surprised.

"Celestia? Luna? Like Canterlot High?"

"Canterlot High?" asks Luna. "Wasn't that in...?"

"Sunset Shimmer," whispers Celestia. "It is in the human world."

"Sunset Shimmer?" asks W. "How do you know Sunset Shimmer?"

Nevertheless, Celestia and Luna are not listening to him now. Both princesses slowly walk away while looking at each other.

"Are you sure this stallion is the real Bedmaker?" asks Luna.

"He looks the same as Bedmaker, he also has his cutie mark..." answers Celestia. "He must be... he must be..."

"Are you sure?" says Luna. "Royal Guards told us he used to wear an earring on his left ear that he could never get out of it. Besides, this pony's attitude is different from Bedmaker's... you know that pony likes to mock everyone he sees... this one looks like he had no idea of what was the Grand Galloping Gala..."

"Stop, Luna... He must be... but I'm not sure... he may be lying but his face, his eyes shows something... something else. Besides... if he knows about Sunset Shimmer..."

"Wait, no!" shouts W, while looking at a portal opening in front of them. "Don't leave me! I need to be free! To go back to my world! Please! NO! I NEED TO GO BACK! THEY NEED ME! TRIX... RON! Ron... Ron... Tri...xie..."

Celestia and Luna get out of Tartarus while W starts punching the cage with his hooves. He remembers the train again and shivers go down his spine... but two images can't stop stomping his thoughts... Ron's body, lying on a train wagon's floor, killed by Plegovich... and Trixie's blue hoodie. Why did he have to get rid of Trixie? Why? She didn't do anything! Why did he do it?

"Calm down," says a familiar voice. Stallion W looks above him and finds out Discord is inside the cage with him, as a draconequus.

"You?"

"Hi, W... I haven't seen you since... that day before the Train."

"No," says W with a lump on his throat. "Don't ever say that again. I feel... I feel I'll never be the same after that. I've changed, Discord... I want to see Plegovich and all of his friends dead... and their blood on my hands..."

"Calm down, W... now you need to know something very important."

"What?" he says, angrily. "I've got to know that all of my friends may be dead and I am now a horse trapped inside a magic jail?"

"You are a stallion."

"WHATEVER THE FUCK I AM!"

"W... calm down... I came here to tell you that my old friend told me everything will be OK."

"Ok? Everything OK after the Train?" says W., "Ron's dead! Trixie's dead! Plegovich won... and everything's OK? Why don't you tell your old friend to go fuck himself?"

"Hey, that old friend of mine saved your life. He put you here. You should thank him."

"...He put me in this cage... as a stallion?"

"You would have died if it wasn't for us, W. This friend told me I had to magically cure you, carry you here, to the Tartarus, and leave you."

"Tell that friend of you I want to be free... and I want to kill Plegovich with my bare hands!"

"No," says Discord. "If my friend's words are true, you will have to wait just... a couple of minutes."

"What?" says W. "Why don't you get me out of here now? Why I have to wait?"

"Oh... he's calling me. I'll tell you later."

"But..." W shuts his mouth... because he finds out Discord is no longer there. He sighs and lies on the floor while a tear comes down from his right eye. Suddenly, Cerberus, the three-headed dog appears and starts barking.

"What do you want, dog?" says W.

However, Cerberus is not the only creature outside the cage right now. Behind him, a purple alicorn appears. It has a dark purple mane and also a purple aura around her horn. She is reading a book which is also surrounded by the same aura, and then the alicorn slowly moves her eyes and looks at W.

"Who are you?" says W.

"My name is Twilight Sparkle."

"Twilight Sparkle?" says W, shocked. "Twilight from the human world or this world?..." he says, but then he realizes she isn't the Twilight she knows, she is indeed from this world. The cage is opened and W can finally come out of it. Twilight stops reading her book and enters the cage.

"I am only letting you out because we want to know if you are the Bedmaker of the human world."

"I am, indeed," says W. "I am not a stallion, I am a human."

"Well, if you are human, you may explain to me what has happened these last weeks on Sunset Shimmer's world. Come with me."

"Pleg..."

"Not here," says Twilight Sparkle. "You will have to explain to all of us. Come with me to the Castle of Friendship."

Castle of Friendship

W enters the Castle of Friendship and looks that there is another massive building next to it, called the School of Friendship, that has a sign that says: "Holidays have been changed. New Year starts on August 1st.". After reading the sign, he enters the Castle of Friendship's throne room and stays next to Twilight and Spike. There are also other ponies inside the castle: Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie. Starlight Glimmer is also there but apart from the table. Everypony is silent and can't stop looking at W as a stranger... as a threat. Nopony, except for Twilight Sparkle, has told him something, and he feels a bit scared because of that.

W looks at a sign that calls his attention: there is a sign that says: "The Magic Bird hasn't attacked since April 30th... we seriously have to stop it!"

"What is that?" asks W. "An evil bird?"

The ponies look at each other. "Are you serious?" says Rarity. "That bird was the one you let go to rob the Great Galloping Gala. It is a giant evil bird that even Fluttershy cannot control."

"I... I tried to," says Fluttershy. "But he shouted to me and escaped... and since yesterday... He hasn't attacked Ponyville."

Suddenly, Twilight puts the book she was carrying on the throne room's table. He opens it with his magic and leaves it on a page.

"I want you to read this," says Twilight. "And I want you to explain all of us here what happened."

W nods his head and starts reading:

January 24th

Dear Princess Twilight:

I'm writing this to you because there is something that is worrying me, and I don't know who neither what this is.

Days ago, Flash Sentry told me and my friends, including your human counterpart, a stranger wanted to take us photos without our consent, but not only he did this, but also Flash told us he had a weapon that he may have wanted to use against us.

Today I was going to the school's bathroom until I heard a thought related to us. He wanted to look for the girls because someone called Plegovich wanted us for the next day. He may be a crazy journalist or something like that, but I'm still worried.

Sunset Shimmer.

-

January 25th

Dear Princess Twilight:

Something's happening. I don't like this... This may be worse than Midnight Sparkle, I think.

Lots of weird guys dressed in tuxedos arrived yesterday at school with a lime-skinned man. They told us we had to stop a threat in Saik City and wanted to go to as train.

There is only a page left. Twilight turns over the page with his magic and W reads the last letter with shivers.

April 25th
HELP
HELP
HELP
HELP
HELP

W looks at Twilight, shocked. "We tried to enter the human world," says Twilight. "But Canterlot's streets were empty. We didn't find anyone."

"When did you enter the human world?" asks W.

"Three days ago," answers Spike. W shakes his head.

"Well," says W. "Before explaining this to you, I want you to know that I am not related to any robbery or heist made by my counterpart. I am the human Bedmaker."

"If you are the human Bedmaker," says Rainbow Dash. "Tell us what happened on January 25th in the human world if you were there... because we saw you for the first time and were captured and sent to the Tartarus on March 1st."

W now looks at every pony around him. The only thing he is thinking right now is what is he going to say to all these ponies... what is he going to say about Plegovich, and he knows these ponies are serious as shit.

"Ok," says W. "I'll be honest. All your human counterparts were kidnapped... or disappeared, I don't know... by a man called Nicholas Plegovich."

Now, all of the ponies are shocked. Fluttershy covers her face with her hooves and Spike almost passes out. Twilight now approaches W. "Is that Plegovich guy the name you shouted yesterday?" she asks.

"Yes..." says W, with a lump on his throat. "He destroyed Canterlot... destroyed me... he kidnapped my friends, killed an old pal... he killed... he killed... Trixie."

"Trixie?" says Starlight Glimmer, shocked. "Trixie Lulamoon?"

W turns around and looks at Twilight. He slowly nods his head. "And that's it," he says. "This man called Plegovich made them disappear, and I have no clue where they are. Sorry for giving you little information."

"Don't worry," says Twilight Sparkle. "It is enough. Now, you can go back to your cage by now, until we decide when you can be free."

"Um..." says W, a little bit disappointed. "What? I need to go back to my human world, please! They need me!"

"Sorry," says Twilight Sparkle. "But we still don't know if you are the Bedmaker from Ponyville or the human world. We will verify your information and investigate about this. Unfortunately for you, you will have to be on the Tartarus until we come up to a conclusion."

"I am the human Bedmaker, Twilight! Please, you need to listen to me!"

But then, Royal Guards appear and carry W to the Tartarus. Once they close the Throne Room's Door, the Mane 6, Spike and Starlight Glimmer start discussing.

"I think he may be lying," says Rarity. "All of us know Bedmaker is a pretty good liar."

"He had his cutie mark, Twilight," says Starlight.

"I know, Starlight," she answers. "But I am not sure if this Bedmaker is the one we were looking for. Despite he is a stallion and has his cutie mark, he told us what happened in the human world."

"But... Twi," says Rainbow Dash. "We don't know if he is lying or not."

"Hey, I wanna say something," says Spike. "I saw his face while he was talking about Trixie. I think he is the human counterpart of Bedmaker and he may have known the human counterpart of Trixie while being on the other side of the mirror."

"I still believe da boy's a good liar," says Applejack. "No one can lie better than Bedmaker."

Then, something breaks in half from out of nowhere. Everypony looks at the object who broke: a mirror.

"What? No!" shouts Twilight Sparkle. "The Crystal Mirror broke in half! But... how?"

The ponies and Spike approach the broken Crystal Mirror, which was used to go to the human world. The Crystal Mirror is broken but... how did it break?

Tartarus

W comes back to the Tartarus, disappointed and still under the weather. He is angriest than ever because of the Train, but at the same time, he feels lost and blue because he doesn't know what to do inside the pony world and how to go home, to the human world... Besides, he doesn't know how are their friends there. Are they kidnapped? Dead? Alive? Where are they? What are they doing now? What are they doing to them?

He gets in the cage and the Royal Guards lock it. He lies on the floor and starts playing with his hooves, trying to learn how to live with these. Minutes later, Discord appears again inside the cell with a smoothie.

"Hello there."

"Hi," says W while looking to the cage's ceiling.

"How are you?"

W moves his head and looks to Discord. "Are you kidding me? You really asked me how I feel?"

"Whoops, sorry... I didn't know how to break the ice. Don't you want a smoothie?"

"No."

"Why not? It is strawberry-flavoured."

"I'm not in the right mood, Discord!" shouts W and gets up. "What the fuck do you want?"

"Um, OK... I came here to tell you something."

"What? Something from your old friend who is afraid of revealing his identity? Tell me who's him, for god's sake!"

"I've already told you I can't say his name here. Ponies are afraid of him."

"Why? Is that old friend of yours Lord Tirek or any other creature from Equestrian Mythology?"

"Yes, it is from Equestrian Mythology... and he is often referred to as the Devil."

W raises an eyebrow. "You mean... oh, man... which was his name? Vreminian?"

Discord chuckles. "No, you idiot. Sir Verminium is now locked inside a magic statue which is located into an unknown island. He would never be that guy because he will be trapped inside that statue forever."

"So who is him?"

"I can't tell you his name... the only thing I can say is that he broke a mirror for you!

"A mirror? Why?"

"Long story, but that's not what I want to talk about... um... he told me something you won't like so much."

"What?"

"You will have to wait here, on the Tartarus, until my old friend's order. You can't go to the human world until his word."

"Are you kidding me?" says W. "I can't wait until I enter the human world and destroy Plegovich... and you tell me this? How long I will have to stay here?"

Discord raises his shoulders. "He didn't tell me."

W closes his eyes and slams the cell's floor with his hooves. "You son of a..." he shouts, but finds out Discord is not there anymore. "No! No! I will never... never..."

W shouts and tries to get out of the cell. Then, he finds out Tirek and Cozy Glow, who are in a cage under him, are looking at him. He calms down and sits on the floor. "Sorry," he says. "I'm going through bad times."

"You are clearly a psychopath," says Cozy Glow, while looking at Tirek. "Maybe worse than him."

"Than me?" says Lord Tirek. "That weak pony... worse than me?"

"Hey, watch your mouth, goatee!" says W. "I can kick your ass even if I was that filly."

"Oh, you..." says Tirek, and suddenly W begins to feel colder than normal. He feels dizzy and looks at how the Tartarus is slowly turning into complete darkness.

"What?" he says while falling to the cage's floor. "What? Help!"

Tirek and Cozy Glow aren't there anymore, and a smooth voice starts whispering around W's stallion ears. "The Train... The Liar... Train, Train, Train... Liar, Liar, Liar... Bad Man, Bad Man, Bad Man..."

"NO, PLEASE!" shouts the scared stallion. Now he is only in a dark room while being surrounded by whispers and shouts. Suddenly, certain images appear around him. A train, the Crystal Mirror, both Twilight Sparkles (human and pony), Pinkie Pie crying, a kitchen knife and Grey Blackle. All these images start flying around him along with the whispers. "STOP! STOP! STOP!"

"AAAARGGHHHH!" shouts the whisper. All of the images join into a massive fireball and explode into a burst of light. W closes his eyes and feels something on his hooves... they are slowly turning into human hands.

He opens his eyes and he is a human again. A naked human. He turns his head to the right and finds out there are a black desk and a small chair. He wakes up and looks around. Everything is black. He can't see any other thing except for the desk and that chair.

"Sit down."

"Who is there?" shouts W. He can't see any human or pony near him. "Who are you?"

"Sit down, Walter Theodore Waters. We have to talk."

"On that chair?"

"On that chair, but be careful... you should wait three seconds because you will sneeze while sitting down and you will hit your head with my desk."

W thinks that is a joke. "Are you kid..." W's nose itches and then he sneezes. The voice was right. "Holy shit... you were right."

"Sit down now."

W now sits down and looks that there is a couch in front of him. The coach turns around and a tall, skinny man shows up. He is a beige-skinned, bald man with a black tuxedo with a tie and black sunglasses. He slowly puts his hands on the desk and remains silent.

"Um... may I know who are you? And why am I here?"

"Let me present, Walter Waters. My name is Event, and I am a preacher and a god from Equestrian Mythology."

"A god? Wow... I've never heard of you, though."

"People do know me... Ponies do know me but they fear me because I helped Verminium a long time ago to fight against Celestia and Luna to obtain Equestria's throne. The problem is that they never understood why I did it." Then, Event stands up and starts walking around W. "As a preacher, I can know what will happen in the future, and thanks to this I was the oracle. I was the one that everyone wanted to talk to. Everyone wanted to know their futures... And that day... I found out, thanks to my visions, that if Verminium won and obtained his throne, he would be easier to defeat in the future. I told Celestia and Luna this so many times... but they didn't believe me. They never did. They treated me like nothing. They said I was evil and now ponies fear me... and I only helped them with a master plan... with the power that makes me who I am... a preacher."

"Um..." says W. "And how is this related with me?"

"I don't like messing with time, Walter Waters... I only did it once because of Verminium and look at its results... I ended up like an enemy. That's why I prefer the future to be natural rather than be modified by my hands. However, a time ago I had a message... a whisper... a vision from the future, and I knew I had to mess with time again."

"Why?"

Event sits on his chair and slams his fist onto the table. "That Plegovich guy... with Verminium's magic on his hands... he will destroy your world, Walter Waters, and he will also destroy mine."

"How?" asks W. "How can he destroy this world if he is in the other one?"

"Well... take a look at this," says Event and then he touches W's forehead.

The Bedmaker closes his eyes and feels he is in a rush. He slowly opens his eyes and looks that he is Canterlot, in front of Canterlot High. The sky is not blue anymore, but dark red. There is also a strange, nasty smell around the area and W wants to know what it is.

While walking to Canterlot High's entrance door, he finds a newspaper and grabs it. There are only four words in the newspaper's cover: "This is the End."

W passes the Wondercolts Statue and finds out someone is there, on the floor. When he approaches the person, he finds out it is Applejack.

"Um..." says W, trying to remember her name. "Applejack? Applejack?"

Applejack doesn't answer, and W tries to wake her up by touching her shoulder. Soon he finds out her shoulder is cold, really cold. He slightly moves her and looks that somebody cut her neck. She's dead. "Oh my..." says W, shocked, and while looking around he finds another body, and another one, and another one, and another one.

There are three dead girls near the football pitch. W doesn't identify two of them, but he realizes the third dead girl is Sweetie Belle. All of them have cuts on her arms and legs, and one of those girls' (Applebloom) body has a note on her hands. W grabs it and reads it.

"Dear Applejack,

Come here, they are following us outside."

W leaves the note on the floor and enters Canterlot High. Everything inside is empty and silent. It looks like the school hasn't been cleaned for years, and the hallways are covered with bloodstains.

"Did you?"

W turns around, frightened, and looks that the cafeteria's door is locked. He tries to look inside through one of its windows, and sees that a girl is inside with a lime-skinned bald man with a cigarette on his mouth... that man may be Gail Garry, who knows.

"Did you understand, Sonata Dusk?" says the man. "You have been separated from your sisters because of Plegovich's orders. No tacos, no sisters, only you, me and the streets."

"I wanted to be in a happier place," says Sonata Dusk, crying. "You took me away from my last tacos!"

"You are in the happiest place of all time, Sonata! The Land of New Equestria! Where everyone lives beneath their leader, their master... Mr Plegovich!"

"But why I have to live under the orders of a man, Mr Garry?"

Yes, it is Gail Garry. "Because you have to," says Gail Garry and then he kisses Sonata's forehead. Seconds later, a portal is opened in the middle of the cafeteria and a man with a robotic arm comes out of it. It must be Doom Kid.

"Hey!" says Garry. "How did it go? How many non-Plegovich ponies you killed?"

"A lot, especially in Ponyville, man. Everyone there is non-Plegovich, I swear."

"How about Waters? Did you get him?"

Doom Kid laughs. "Holy shit, yeah," says Doom Kid, laughing. "He was hiding in Appleloosa. He shouted for all his dead friends... Tyler, Flanks, Delight, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy... We killed him right there."

W walks away from that and everything is black again. Now, he is standing in front of Event.

"Did you like it?"

"Of course not."

"That future you saw, Walter Waters, is the future I want to change. That's why I analyzed so many timelines and situations and find out there is a way to make all of that stop. There is a way where Plegovich can lose and you can win."

"What should I do then? How do I do that?"

"You must do what I say... and that's it."

"Um... that's it?" he says, and then the Bedmaker raises an eyebrow. "Wait... aren't you...?"

"I am that old friend Discord told you about, and I cured you and put you in the Tartarus. I need you alive because Plegovich wins in all the futures... except the ones where you come back from the pony world. However, I found a future where you win, Equestria is not destroyed and Plegovich is defeated. The first thing you have to do if you want to live that future is to wait in your cage until Princess Twilight appears."

"Sure," says W. "But how long do I have to wait?"

"Little time."

Event covers W's face with his hand and disappears, and the Bedmaker comes back in the cell as a stallion.

"Just remember, W. You will have to do everything I tell to you."