A Broken Flame
Memory Dream Sequence 2
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By Luckyfanisaac and Bumblebeau
Memory Dream Sequence 2
(Scene 1 - Opening)
The white sun shone brightly over the horizon of the purple and white planet of Sakatoria surrounded by white asteroids that all have portals leading to other dimensions in the multiverse for space traffic. Along with military spaceships and space stations to protect the planet.
To honor their planet’s natural form the homes were built into the land rather than on top of them, and the locals drape themselves in purple robes to match the color of their plant life, as a way of acknowledging they are a part of their planet.
(Something like this is what the buildings look like.)
Sakatoria is also a well-respected environment for education in the multiverse amongst immortals and gods, especially among the Paraloxes, multiversal traveling, Fire-like beings who monitor and bring order to the multiverse.
During one such classroom the sounds of digital pens hitting the board filled the room as the teacher, a mare named Mirror Plane (that looks similar to Pinkie Pie’s mom) with a white coat, a purple and white striped mane and tail, (similar to Twilight Velvet’s mane but with thinner purple and white stripes), with blue eyes, black glasses with a golden bead chain, wearing a purple suit with a white buttoned undershirt, continued her lecture on the history of the multiverses.
(Basic picture of classroom)
While the students were all staring at the front of the class, giving the teacher their full attention, one student, known as Burnt Blaze, was a colt with a red coat with a lighter red mane and green eyes. He also had cybernetic attachments such as a red lensed eye piece on his left eye, and small black cyborg fingers on his hooves. His current attire is a purple hooded sweatshirt and purple jeans. He had his birthmark, which is a mark that paraloxes get on their flanks to represent their families and where they come from, a yin and yang symbol stitched on to the sides of his pants where it would be on his flanks.
Blaze was scribbling profusely on his notes to keep track of the teacher’s lesson. The teacher didn’t bother to record her words on the smartboard, so Blaze had to write them down himself. The Smartboard was primarily used to draw illustrations on the board and small bulletin points, which was the real challenge of taking notes in class.
“Mister Blaze!” Mrs. Plane proclaimed.
Burnt Blaze shot his head towards the teacher and stood up in his seat.
“Y-Yes Mrs. Plane?” Blaze asked while covering his face in an attempt to hide his blush. He could feel the icy stare of his instructor piercing his very being.
“In which universe did Chancellor Puddinghead legalize the use of Caramel as an adhesive substance?” his Teacher asked with authority in her voice.
Blaze stared at his instructor, then he darted his eyes across the room; Blaze eyed the other students as they awaited his response.
“Mister Blaze? Your answer?!” Mrs. Plane asked impatiently.
“Uh, … W-Well…” Blaze said as he started to sweat up a storm as he looked through his notes. He looked through his papers like he was trying to find a needle in a haystack. Upon exchanging papers to seek the information he ended up dropping some of his papers. He was about to reach down to grab them, when he found the answer he was looking for.
“Chancellor Puddinghead passed the law in the Universe… 82.38 B. However, many insect infestations occurred because of it. In response his advisor, Smart Cookie, requested that the law be immediately repealed.” Once Blaze finished quoting from his notes he continued to stare at the instructor, hoping for her approval.
“Correct Mister Blaze, perhaps next time you’ll be able to do it without your notes.”
“Y-yes ma’am…”
Though his fellow students gave him a round of applause for his answer, he slumped into his chair as if he had gotten it wrong. It wasn’t fair, he needed his notes to remember things that were said just yesterday, whereas everyone else could easily remember nearly everything that ever happened in their life; Since Paraloxes have photographic memories, it wasn’t against the rules for them to use notes during class.
Blaze had learned not too long ago that he had a disability which made his ability to recollect information in his head harder compared to the rest of his species, which unfortunately was one more thing in his life that made him feel different from everyone else. He was thankful a little bit though that his cyborg eye piece helps him with this problem. Though he still needs to take notes on digital paper that gets saved into his cyborg eye piece.
While Blaze continues to berate his lesser memory, he feels a hoof tap him on the shoulder, he turns to see a filly he became friends with, Nutty Butter, she had a yellow coat and a butter yellow white mane and tail with deep hazel eyes, wearing a lilac and white plaid shirt with a white collar and lilac pants. A picture of a Sakatorian purple nut was stitched onto the pants where her flanks were.
“You dropped these, silly goose,” she said with a wink as she handed over the rest of his notes to him.
“Oh, thank you, Nutty!” Blaze said as he retrieved his notes.
Nutty smiles and whispers to him. “No problem. You know you can always count on me; Friends always help each other out.”
Blaze offers a small smile before making eye contact with Nutty again, Blaze could then see that behind her smile was a certain darkness. Blaze could feel his birthmark, a yin and yang symbol, becoming cold as he continued his little staring contest.
“Hey are you okay?” Blaze snapped back to reality, offered a simple nod in response to Nutty’s concern and retreated his gaze back at the smartboard as he returned to writing his notes.
Blaze couldn’t explain it, but sometimes when he was around others he would feel his birthmark offer a strange sensation. Sometimes it would feel warm and inviting, like when his mother or father would give him a hug or tell him they loved him, other times it would feel cold and hollow; he has felt the later a lot recently, ever since he enrolled in school his fellow students would give him this feeling, and sometimes he could feel what they felt too. The most common feeling he experienced was… hungry. Not for food, but for something else.
Just then the bell rang signaling the end of class.
“Alright class, remember that we will be having a test on ancient “Sakatorian Multiverse History” in 2 weeks so make sure you study hard as it will count towards your final grade.” The teacher, Mrs. Mirror Plane, said to her students. “I expect you all to memorize all of your notes.”
Burnt Blaze knew that last part was directed at him as he digitally put his notes back into his digital binder and put it into his purple saddle bags that had his birthmark on the buckle. He then put his saddle bags on as he headed for lunch.
(Scene 2 - Lunch)
Once Blaze’s Multiverse History class was finished he left straight for the cafeteria, from the corners of his eyes he could see the other students looking in his direction as he passed them and overheard them talking.
“That was totally him! You said he was in the same class as you, are you friends yet?” A student asked.
“Not yet, but I hope that we become friends soon.” Blaze recognized the second voice, it belonged to a student from his Multiverse History class. Blaze’s Birthmark had given him that familiar chill in his soul, yet a smile formed on his face regardless.
“Let’s hope it doesn’t take too long, having a Balancer for a friend could give someone all kinds of perks in this school,” His potential “friend” said.
“I know right, anyone who’s friends with him will practically run this place, and with all the Students trying to get his attention I’ll need to up the ante on being his best friend!”
“Um, you’re going to include me in your little clique too right?”
“Maybe, that depends on how useful you are.”
The students continued their conversation as Blaze stared into space. Soon he walks away from them and avoids the gazes of the other students.
(Outside the History room.)
(Scene 2 - 2)
Once he entered the sizable, grand chamber, his nose was assaulted by the various scents of exotic cuisines from different worlds.
As he glanced around the cafeteria he saw the various tables filled with the other students gleefully devouring their food of choice while socializing with their peers. The floor was aligned with white and purple colored marble tiles; one step can make a sound that made a satisfying clap from his hooves to make the journey to and from the lunchroom as enjoyable as the lunch itself.
At the other end of the cafeteria there was a large oven, and on its surface were various pans and cooking wares made of pure titanium. Basking in the flames were various cuisines such as roasted chicken, bread, soup, and various other foods from many worlds. The cafeteria also served various fruits and vegetables, all grown from Sakatorian soil.
Cafeteria tray
Kitchen area
(Scene 2 - 3)
“Hey Blaze over here,” called Nutty from the front of the line.
“You can come up here.”
Burnt Blaze walked up to her, “Are you sure that this is okay?” He whispered to her.
“Yeah it’s fine you're practically a VIP no one will mind.”
Burnt Blaze took a look back at the other students who were just nodding in approval. Since it seemed...alright...Blaze joined behind his friend Nutty to get lunch.
After a bit of pondering Blaze was able to select his meal. He had ordered roasted chicken with mashed potatoes and gravy, and a Vegetable mixture consisting of steamed green beans, carrots, and corn. For a drink he chose some juice, which comes from a native plant with a long unpronounceable name.
Blaze then made his way to the table that contained the plastic cutlery and napkins and took what he needed along with some salt and pepper packets.
(Scene 2 - 4)
Once Blaze was satisfied with what he had, he looked around for a table; to his luck he found a table where no one else was sitting. “Hey look, there's a table!” Blaze shouts. Nutty nods in response and they both make their way and sit down. Once he felt comfortable he started adding the salt and pepper to his food and started separating pieces of the chicken with his fork. He blew on it a few times to cool it down and placed the piece in his mouth; his taste buds were instantly bombarded by the herbs and oils that baked the chicken, and a tear left his eye as the heat burned his tongue.
“Hot isn't it?” Nutty said with a small chuckle as she chewed on her roast beef.
“Just a little,” Blaze said as he took some of his juice. As the cool liquid soothed his tongue he pondered on Nutty’s words.
“Do others really treat me like a VIP?”
“Sure do, you could probably get away with murder if you tried!” Blaze shivered in response to her words.
“But why me? Aside from my poor memory nothing stands out about me.”
“Maybe not, but you’re the first Balancer anyone has ever seen in billions of eons. You’re going to have others treat you as something special no matter what you do.”
Blaze used his fork to play with his food as he continued to ponder the conversation. Nutty took a break from chewing to notice Blaze looking so glum.
“You okay?” She asked after swallowing her food and putting a hoof on his left shoulder.
Blaze pondered his words a moment longer in his head before he was ready to speak them aloud.
“It’s just... it makes it sound like everybody only likes me because I’m different.”
“And you don’t like it very much?”
“No I don’t. If everyone likes me because I'm different... Does that mean if I was just like everyone else would everyone hate me?”
Nutty resumes chewing on her food while she thinks about her next words.
“Blaze, It shouldn’t matter what strangers think about you. Because only those who truly care about you will see the real you. And as long as you have one real friend, you have everything you need.” Nutty then smiles while having a piece of mashed potatoes stuck to the corner of her mouth. “And you’ll always be my friend, Balancer or not!”
Blaze has a sudden feeling of comfort as the two of them return to their food, and a familiar burning feeling assaults his tongue again. But then suddenly he felt a chill from his birthmark, and not even the scalding heat of his meal was enough to rid him of this subthermal sensation.
“Hey sorry but I gotta go, nature calls!” Her words snapped Blaze from this trance as he watched her walk away. He could have sworn she was shaking her hips for some reason.
(Scene 2 - 5)
Blaze reflected on Nutty’s words as he ate his food at a slow pace. He was grateful to have one true friend, but what he really wanted was for everyone to treat him the same way Nutty does. He wanted to feel accepted and loved, but not as the Balancer.
Blaze had heard of the Balancers before, but all he truly knew about them was that they were a type of Paralox that disappeared long ago; Blaze himself was the first one to come into existence in such a long time. He didn’t know why they dropped out of existence or where they went, but apparently they knew how to travel to places no one else could.
Just the thought of being able to disappear like that was a thought that gave Blaze more happiness then he dared to admit. He thought of all the places he could go, the beings he could meet. Perhaps Nutty would like to go alongside him and they could have all sorts of adventures together. Maybe along the way he could make new friends with creatures who never even heard the word Balancer. Others who could see him as a normal pony, just like anyone else.
(Scene 2 - 6)
His thoughts were interrupted as the table he was sitting at was being filled with other students, several of them he noticed were those who sat at the same table as him and Nutty quite often.
“Thee chicken tastes really gooooood today no?” One of the colts, (with a gray coat with a purple mane and tail wearing a gray dress shirt and black pants), said with a wide grin. Blaze felt a familiar coldness from his birthmark as the colt spoke, (in an accent similar to the spa twins in Ponyville).
“Y-yeah, it’s pretty hot though so be careful when taking a bite.”
“Thanks for zee tip, pal!” The colt exclaimed with a smile. The cold feeling in his birthmark refused to leave; Blaze also felt a hint of joy from his cold feeling, like someone was finding humor in something terrible.
“How were your classes today?” Another filly with a yellow coat with pink and blue hair, with pink on her right and blue on her left, wearing a pink and blue tie dye shirt and blue sweatpants, asked Blaze in a smooth voice, (similar to Tree Hugger,) wearing a similar smile taking a bite of her chicken hamburger.
“They were good, and had a bit of trouble keeping track of my notes in my Multiverse History class, but I managed. My genealogy was the same old, same old with it being a semi breeze.”
“Wow, so cooooool! You really take your studying seriousssssssly!” As Blaze became suspicious of her words the cold feeling in his birthmark intensified. A feeling of dullness filled his mind this time as if someone didn’t care.
Blaze looked at the plates of those around him and saw they had the exact same food he ordered; the only exception was the one who had a chicken hamburger and the gray colt who had two rolls.
The student saw Blaze looking at him and picked up one of the rolls. “Would you like one? I made zure to get tah fresh one zo it should bee really good!” The Colt asked with a wide grin. Blaze felt a familiar coldness from his mark and a feeling of dread.
Before Blaze could answer, another student brings out some candy. “How about a Choco-Bar? I also have some gummy fruit if you want.” Blaze shook his head as the cold feeling intensified.
“How about more Chicken? It’s really good today!”
“No you should have more veggies, they’re much better for your health!”
As the students continued to offer him food his birthmark felt so cold he was afraid his leg would go numb; he had to pat his thigh every now and then just to remind himself it was still there. Finally he had enough and stood from his seat shouting at the top of his lungs, “Enough! I don’t want anything else!” The students were completely silent as he breathed heavily with a stern expression; he glanced around the Cafeteria and noticed that everyone else was staring at him. Embarrassed by the sudden spotlight he leaves his table, along with his food; he lost all his appetite after that one scene.
He saw the students get up after him and in response he shot his hoof up in front of them. “Look, I just… I just need to be alone for a bit, please don’t bother me!” As Blaze turned around he became worried he may have been too harsh, that feeling instantly subsided once he heard one of them speaking.
“Now look what you guyz did! He hatez me now becauze you annoied him!”
“We annoooooyed him?! You weren’t doing yourself any favorsssss!”
Blaze’s ears flattened as he heard them fighting and left the cafeteria. He wanted to get out of there as quickly as possible so he headed to the bathroom to try to cool down.
(Scene 3 - Bathroom)
As Blaze entered the bathroom he stared into the mirror and saw his coat and hair were a much darker shade of red. He also saw his tail and mane were on fire. This happens to paraloxes when they experience a strong amount of a certain emotion.
As Blaze stared at the mirror he started to get really angry as his body burst into flames he then started ranting.
“Stop it, Stop It, STOP IT!!! EVERYONE STOP TALKING TO ME LIKE I’M SOMETHING SPECIAL WHEN YOU DON’T EVEN KNOW ME!!! I am more than some dead race! I like to sing! My favorite food is Chicken Alfredo noodles! I have a fear of high ceilings! When I was in kindergarten I kissed a girl I liked.”
“I am all these things and more, but all you care about is that I’m part of some stupid race who ran away because: gods know why! And what’s so special about Balancers anyway? I certainly don’t feel special! Do you know how hard my life was because I have the memory of a Sakatorian Zeta Fish?! Do you know about all the nights I cried myself to sleep because of how many things I failed at, that literally everyone else in my class can do blindfolded?! If the super special Very Important Balancers were anything like me, THEY DESERVE TO BE FORGOTTEN!”
(Scene 3 - 2)
Blaze then continues to stomp his hooves down then bursts into tears as he lays down and cries into his hooves. After a while Burnt Blaze hears a knock on the door. After calming down himself a little bit he replies, “Who is it?”
“It’s me Blaze are you alright?” Replied a voice, it was his friend Nutty who could hear his rant from the hallway.
“Ye ye ye yes?” He shakily replies.
“Are you sure?” She replies knowingly, raising an eyebrow behind the door.
Before Blaze could even consider coming up with an excuse his eyes started to water up again and his throat felt like it was housing an entire family of frogs.
“N-Noooooooo,” He replies, laying down and bringing his head down onto his hooves. “I’m not okay!”
“Did something happen at the lunch table after I left to use the restroom?”
“Yes, the students were being pushy again.” He replied, starting to cry again.
“Oh Blaze I’m so sorry,” Nutty replied in a sweet apologetic voice as she hugged the door. “I should have been there for you.”
Nutty paused for a second, “Is it okay if I come in?”
Burnt Blaze shoots his head up, “But this is the boys room!!” He exclaimed.
“Actually your in a teacher’s unisex bathroom so it should be fine and we’ll have privacy.” She says looking at the bathroom sign for a moment then turning her head back to the door.
“Unless a teacher comes,” she said under her breath.
“Alright come in,” He replies, unlocking the door with his magic.
(Scene 3 - 3)
Nutty opens the door with her magic and sees Blaze in his current state. His coat and mane were on fire with a circular scorch mark surrounding him with black soot on his clothes with tears running down his right eye. She could also hear a soft vacuum sound coming from his cyborg eye that’s vacuuming up his tears from his left eye.
“Don’t look at me!!!” He exclaimed.
0:58
“Oh my! Burnt Blaze!!....I’m so….sorry,” Nutty exclaimed as she put her right hoof to her mouth and started to tear up. She then runs over to Blaze and grabs a hold of him and hugs him with her belly touching his belly.
As Nutty held Blaze in her embrace he looked upon her to see her skin lighting up as the crackling flames entered her body. With small breaths she took in the flames and devoured them until the fire covering Blaze ceased to be.
This was a common practice among close friends and family to symbolize how close they are when they try to share each other’s flame. The males would produce fire and the females would absorb it.
“Thanks Nutty,” said Blaze quietly, giving a small soft smile.
“You're very welcome, Burnt Blaze,” she said, giving a small smile in response as she gazed into his eyes along with a kiss on the forehead causing Blaze to blush. They hug for a few more minutes and then they hear someone knock.
(Scene 3 - 4 Janitor)
“Boom! Boom! Boom!” Went the door.
“What’s going on in there,” replies a gruff voice.
“We’re having an emotional burning moment in here!!” Replies Nutty almost angrily.
The voice sighs, “You shouldn’t be in there. This bathroom is meant for staff only and I’m supposed to be cleaning it right now.”
“We came in here by mistake,” Replied Blaze.
After hearing a male voice the Janitor’s mind starts going south. “Alright I’m coming in. You kids better be okay.” He says, taking out his laser key pointer. This was an invention that helps people not to have to carry so many keys around and is how people on Sakatoria lock stuff.
The door opened to reveal a dark blue bulky stallion with dirty light blue almost gray hair in a brown janitor's outfit with gray eyes and a third psychic eye. This was what most of the paralox’s looked like in the west.
“Now what in the world is the reason you kids are in here?” He asked with a stern expression crossing his hooves.
“Well some of the kids were being a bit pushy to me so I left the cafeteria to go to the bathroom to cool off,” Replied Blaze.
“And as you can see he really needed it,” Nutty jokingly said as she pointed to the smudges on Blaze’s coat excreted from his tantrum. Blaze had a slight blush as he noticed it was all over the walls of the bathroom as well.
“I can see that,” Replies the janitor observing the scorch mark. “So why were the kids being pushy?”
“Well he’s the Balancer and…” Nutty explains but was cut off by the janitor.
“HE’S THE BALANCER!?!” he exclaims in a booming voice causing the kid’s manes to blow a little bit due to the force of volume.
“Uh yes but…” Nutty tries to explain but is cut off by the janitor again.
“So let me get this straight,” he says holding up a hoof, “you think just because he’s the Balancer you two can go wherever you want and do whatever you want!?”
“What no, I just ran in here without looking!!” Blaze exclaims.
“I don’t think so,” says The Janitor, “I think you're trying to get special perks but that’s not gonna happen not on my watch. You kids get yourself cleaned up and get out of here and I’ll be sure to report this to the principal.”
With a rough grumble the janitor gave them both some dry cloth to clean with and some cleaning supplies. Blaze stood up and picked up a spray can believing it is what he should use first.
“No! No! NO! You’re supposed to use soap and water first!” The Janitor said while stomping loudly on the ground.
The sudden outburst caused Blaze to panic as he dropped the Spray bottle. “I- I’m sorry!” Blaze said as he bent over to pick up the bottle.
“Don’t be sorry, be better!” The Janitor argued. Before Blaze could say anything else Nutty cut between them and gave the Janitor a nasty look.
“Hey, lay off him! What makes you think you have the right to talk to him like that?!”
“If either of you two make a mistake cleaning, I’m the one who will have to clean it up. Do you want to go through your whole life making others' lives harder?”
“Of course not, I didn’t mean to-” Blaze stuttered.
“Then do it right the first time!”
Nutty gave another nasty glare before turning to Blaze and placed a hoof on his shoulder, just in time to see him feeling down.
“Don’t listen to him, you got this!” After a reassuring nod Blaze placed the spray back with the rest of the supplies, grabbed his cloth, and went to the sink for some soap and washed it under some warm water. He then took the now soaked cloth and lathered it all over the walls. Nutty copied his actions as she started on the other wall.
“Make sure you scrub in circles!”
“Yes sir!” Blaze replied as the dirt and debris was slowly cleansed from the walls. Once the smudges were completely soaked they took another dry cloth and scrubbed off their work. The walls looked much better, with only small stains visible.
“Here, wash off your cloth and use this for the hard stuff!” Nutty said as she handed Blaze some mild detergent. Blaze did as he was told and soon smiled with pride as the mess he made disappeared completely.
“Wow, you did an awesome job! I can barely see any soot,” Nutty said with a gleaming smile.
“It’ll do, could have done it faster though! Now I have to start on the other bathrooms late!” the Janitor grumbled.
Blaze’s smile faded while Nutty’s scowl returned. “Why are you so mean?! He did the whole thing while you were probably sitting on your butt doing squat!”
The Janitor rolls his eyes as he gathers his supplies. “You’re done, alright, now leave!”
Blaze sulks as he turns around, but Nutty places her hoof on him and nods. “Hey you go on ahead and get changed okay? I just need to talk to him real quick.”
Blaze nods and leaves for another restroom to get changed into some clean clothes from his locker.
(Scene 3 - 5 Nutty’s True Nature)
Once Nutty was sure they were alone, Nutty then gives a nasty look to the Janitor.
“Is that how you treat the Balancer?! You should be on your knees begging him for forgiveness for what you said!”
“So he’s the Balancer, so what? That doesn’t excuse him from not thinking about how his actions affect others,” The Janitor said as he started cleaning the mirror.
“More importantly, why are you so determined to see him be treated like royalty?”
“What do you mean? I just want what’s best for my friend!” Nutty said in her defense trying to hide her nervousness.
The Janitor looks at Nutty and studies her appearance. “You look familiar, what did you say your name was?”
“I’m Nutty Butter, I’m the best friend of the Balancer, Burnt Blaze, and don’t you forget it!”
“Nutty, huh?” The Janitor says as he continues scrubbing. “You know, Miss Nutty, I’ve seen a student that looks like you around quite a bit.”
“Y-Yeah, so what?” Nutty asks while still trying to look intimidating.
“So this student, I happen to see her leaving places just as bad things happen. For example, the Microphones suddenly emitting feedback during school announcements, or Student’s lockers being filled with garbage. Why I even recall seeing her leave from the rooftops after throwing a tub of mayonnaise onto a teacher’s vehicle. I also found mayonnaise and horseradish with the instruments from the school band in the lockers as if someone thought they belonged there.”
At this point Nutty’s Intimidating stare started to waver. “What are you trying to say?”
“I’m just saying, someone like that might think being friends with someone famous could get them out of a lot of trouble.”
The Janitor stops and stares her right in the eyes with a stern expression. “I’ve seen many who used others just for personal gain. But to see someone so young pulling on the heartstrings of someone who may or may not have great potential, I’d rather be a grumpy old man than whatever you are!”
Nutty has an apathetic grimace on her face as he finishes his words.
“So what do you plan to do, tell him I’m not really his friend? Do you really think he’ll believe I'm such a bad person after the way you treated him?”
“Maybe he will, maybe he won't, but I wonder what the school board will believe after I mention your name, Miss Nutty Butter. I doubt the way you perceive your friendship is worth getting detention, or even worse.”
Nutty loses her intimidating look as she considers his words. She considers her next actions carefully and deduces that there is nothing she can do that would get her in worse trouble, out of options Nutty huffs, turns her back, and crosses her hooves.
“You better watch the way you treat my friend, as the Balancer a great destiny awaits him and I’m going to be with him the whole way!” Her scornful glare returns to meet the Janitor’s eyes, “So if you want to try your luck saying his best friend is some kind of troublemaker, go right ahead! Hopefully they’ll still let you keep your stinking job!”
Nutty then exits the bathroom to find Burnt Blaze waiting for her.
“Um hey Nutty is everything alright?” Burnt Blaze asks his friend.
Nutty brushes her mane back with her hoof. “Yeah, everything is fine. Let’s just get back to the cafeteria and finish our lunch.”
Nutty heads back to the cafeteria with Blaze following her. Burnt Blaze can’t help but sense a black aura around her.
(Scene 4 Recess)
The doors swung open as the students ran out to enjoy their outdoor time. Once Blaze finally emerged outdoors he felt the sudden breeze brush against his face. Blaze closed his eyes as the sound of the wind howling in the air became unexpectedly tranquil. However once the wind died down the noise was replaced with the sound of the other students playing.
Blaze felt envious as he saw many students had found their friends and were deciding on which of the various activities they would play together. Blaze wanted desperately to join in on the fun, but knowing his fellow students all they would want to do is talk about how cool being a Balancer must be, or they would pretend to be interested in whatever subject he wanted to talk about, only for him to feel his birthmark become cold again.
Suddenly he feels a tap on his shoulder and sees Nutty giving him a large smile. “Hey there, Blaze! Wanna play?”
Blaze stares at her as a startled expression becomes present on his face. “O-oh Hey Nutty! Um, Sure. What should we play?”
Nutty looks around the playground and ponders for several moments before looking back at him with a cheeky smile. “How about Tag?”
“Tag? Really?!” Blaze asks with a raised eyebrow.
“Alright then, you have a different idea?” Nutty asked with her forearms crossed.
“Well…” Try as he might, Blaze couldn’t come up with any game he wanted to play. Taking advantage of his indecision, Nutty raises her hoof and boops Blaze right on the nose.
“Tag! You’re it!” Nutty says as she runs away. Blaze stands startled once again as Nutty is already several yards away.
Nutty stops in place once she realizes she is so far ahead. “C’mon slow poke! Unless you want everyone to see you lose to a girl!”
Blaze looks around to see if anyone is watching and rolls his eyes. With no better ideas of what to do he runs forward in Nutty’s direction. She purposely waited several moments for Blaze to catch up. He reaches out his forearm, ready to tag her out, before she evades him at the last possible second and has him reaching for air.
“Not bad, Let's try that again, shall we?” Nutty said teasingly.
Blaze huffs as he reaches for her, again unsuccessfully. They continue this playful little fray for several minutes. Blaze becomes so aggressive from his failed attempts that he stomps on the ground while he changes color with flames threatening to emerge from his skin.
“Aww you mad, bro? Want me to go easy on you?” Nutty said with a sly expression.
Blaze has a sour expression as Nutty laughs with her eyes closed, moving him even further. He takes this time to prepare his stance before leaping right at her. Nutty opens her eyes just in time to side step away from him; with nothing to grab on to he falls flat on his face as the rest of his body lands roughly onto the ground.
“Ooh nice try, the landing could use some work though!” Nutty teased before laughing. For several minutes Blaze laid down without a single bit of movement. Nutty stopped laughing long enough to become concerned.
“Blaze? Everything okay?” Nutty asked as she creeped over. Without any response Nutty started to become worried as she placed her hoof on top of him and flipped him over with him now laying on his left side.
“Blaze, Say something!” Nutty said while terrified. Suddenly Blaze grinned widely as he booped her on the nose.
“Tag! You’re it!” Blaze turns himself over, raises himself up, and runs away while Nutty stares at him running away. At first she felt confused, but as reality set in she had a huge frown.
“Why you!!!” Nutty said as she lunged for him. This time it was Blaze’s turn to evade her and he took off running.
“Now who’s the slow poke?” Blaze asked as he ran.
Unfortunately it seems he had spoken prematurely. For not too long after he finished speaking he felt Nutty place her hoof on his side.
“Tag!” Nutty said the moment she made contact. Though a bit disappointed, he turns himself around, hoping to still be able to tag her. But with as much luck as he had before, he had grabbed the air as Nutty stepped away from his reach.
(Scene 4 - 2)
They continued their game for what must have been ten minutes before Blaze finally had to call it quits. Realizing his fatigue, Nutty leads them under the shade of a tree and Blaze wastes no time taking a seat. As Blaze tries to regain control of his breathing he notices some pressure centered on his stomach. He looks down to see Nutty using his stomach as her own personal pillow, with one hoof placed at the upper most part of his tummy while looking directly at him with big wide eyes, one eye mostly covered by her mane, and a small smile on her face.
(Somewhat close to this pose.)
Blaze broke her gaze to look around them, with only his exhaustion rivaling his embarrassment if anyone were to see them. “A-Aren't you ...W-worried of how... other ponies... will see you? Th- They… They might think…”
“Think what?” Nutty said after flashing her eyelashes at him.
Blaze, whether he was too shy or too tired, was unable to answer. Nutty giggled at his display before reaching into her pocket and pulling out what looked like a yellow rubber popping toy. She folded it in her grasp and threw it in the air. The moment it was above them it expanded until it completely surrounded them. At first there was darkness, but then small hexagons revealed the playground. Nutty giggled again as Blaze was registering what he was looking at.
“Don’t worry it’s just a cloaking device, that way no one can see you being a baby!”
Blaze wanted to object, but his fatigue still had the better of him, and his friend using him as her own personal pillow was not helping.
“You did pretty good back there,” Nutty says.
“I did?” Blaze paused to catch his breath. “But I only….caught you….the one….time!”
“Well yeah, but you were able to keep me on my hooves the whole way. You have so much stamina!” Nutty replied.
“Th-Thank you! You’re no…. Slouch…. Yourself…. for a girl!”
Nutty rolled her eyes as Blaze started to regulate his breathing.
“I’m serious though, do you play sports or something? Because no way would a lazy bum be able to play like that for so long.”
Blaze takes a moment to register her words before answering her, “Well, to be honest… I don’t play sports, but I do practice dancing with my mother.”
“Your mother’s a dancer?”
“Yeah, she’s a tail dancer from the Twish family. My mother was just too shy to perform so she became a chemist.”
“Thats cooler then what I got, My family is a bunch of Nut Farmers.”
“Oh yeah? That must drive you nuts!”
Nutty giggled a little at his pun.
The school bell suddenly rings, ending recess for Blaze and his friend.
“Looks like it’s back to class.” Blaze said with a frown.
“Too bad, you were really comfy!” Nutty said slyly as she took down the cloaking device.
“Hey, why do you have something like that anyway?” Blaze asked once the shield returned to its compacted form.
Nutty froze in place as she tried to think of an excuse. She soon thought up a line as she placed the shield in her pocket and leaned close to him. “It’s so I can tickle my tail without anyone seeing me!”
“R-Really? That seems a bit excessive for-” Blaze never had a chance to finish before Nutty interrupted him by tugging his arm.
“Hey, your next class is Study Hall, right?” She asked with an innocent smile.
“Y-yes, why?”
“No reason, but do me a favor and don’t make plans with anyone else okay?”
“Okay, but wh-” Blaze staggered as Nutty looked back at Blaze with a smile.
“Great! See you at the Library!” Nutty interrupted with a wide smile.
Before Blaze could question her further she runs off, leaving him with a blank stare on his face.
“What a weird girl…” Blaze said as he shook his head and made his way inside.
(Scene 5 Study Hall)
After recess Burnt Blaze headed to the library to work on homework.
(Possible Floor Plan for Library.)
He entered the school library, passed the grand staircase in the entryway, and went to the study area by the reference desk.
Once he was at the study tables, he stared at the other tables and chairs lined up around him, decorated like they were preparing for a banquet. On the tables were flowers which were bred from a Sakatorian floral species that originally only existed in caves and other rarely lit environments. Their bioluminescent glow not only provided enough light to allow the students to see their books, but they also gave a calming aroma that provided the perfect tranquil atmosphere for studying.
Blaze continued to look around and reflected on how grand the room itself seemed. To an onlooker it would be easily confused for the inside of a cathedral. Between each pillar there were various Mosaic Paintings decorated with the image of various beings who were important to Sakatoria. Some who had wisdom and sharpened the minds that formed philosophies still argued over to this day. Others who inspired artists and brought repose to the souls of all who witness their creations.
Blaze then looked up to the end of the corridor and saw light reflecting off the marble surfaces like water, and became memorized by the way they danced and created an ethereal canvas above the heads of all who educated themselves below it.
In his mesmerized state he takes off his backpack and tries to place it on the end, but he mistrejects the angle causing the bag to fall to the floor. Blaze snaps out of his trance and bends down to pick up his bag. He looks to his side and notices some books and papers managed to fall directly underneath the tables. After exhaling a breath of pure aggravation he crawls under the table to pick up his belongings.
(Scene 5 - 2)
“And then he just read his notes in front of the entire class!” Blaze paused when he heard the voice of his Multiverse history teacher, Mirror Plane, walking passed the table he was under.
“You’re overreacting, besides, it’s not a rule for students not to read their notes.” Said a second voice who Blaze immediately recognized as his Genealogy teacher, Trace Ancestry. Mrs. Ancestry, which was what all the students refer to her as, was a white coated mare with a gingerbread orange mane and brown gingerbread eyes. She was wearing a purple dress shirt with a pink and white striped tie, a pinkish white undershirt and black dress pants.
“Are you defending him?!” Mrs. Plane snapped. “Reading his notes makes him look like he isn’t learning, and if one of the Deans were to walk in and see him like that it would look like I’m not doing my job properly!”
Blaze peeked under the table to spy on the teachers, who have yet to see him, and Blaze could see a darkness coming from Mirror Plane, seething out of her teeth like thick smoke from a flame. This display, followed by the icy feeling of his birthmark, gave Blaze the same uneasy feeling he had felt all day.
“He cannot help it, unlike his fellow students he can’t remember literally every single detail he reads. As teachers our utmost priority should be to assist him in his education, instead of belittling him for what he cannot control.” As Blaze silently listened to her words the icyness of his mark disappeared, and was replaced with an unfamiliar warmth. All along his birthmark felt icy and empty, but now as Mrs. Ancestry defended his disability it felt warm. Not hot like he was being scorched by a flame, but rather a cozy feeling, like his entire body was wrapped in a blanket. He looked at Mrs. Ancestry and saw no darkness from her, instead he saw a small glow, like a candle in the night. Blaze stared at her like he was looking at a beautiful hot angel.
“Not all the higher ups know about his Memory problems, and having a bad memory isn’t something that’s easily identified, so what am I supposed to do if they say something about the way I educate him behind my back?” Mrs. Plane responded to her words with a frown.
“They cannot do anything without your knowledge, if they bring it up then speak of his disability with calm and grace! Seriously Mirror only you worry about things like this!”
“You’re too nice to your students, What will you do if he stops studying altogether?! Life isn’t going to wait for him to pull up his notes if he forgets what he’s supposed to do!”
“Not every situation is solved by having a superior memory, and memory is not always reliable when under a great deal of stress.” Mrs. Ancestry replied while adjusting her glasses. “But let's be serious, the only thing you care about is if he gets good grades.”
Mirror Plane paused for a moment to recompose herself, “And can you blame me? As long as our students achieve great results, our school’s reputation remains flawless. And that means more money for us!”
“Is that all you care about? The money?”
“You would too after all the scratches I found on my vehicle. My insurance won’t cover so many repeated offences! I’ll have to start paying out of my own pocket! I am not going to risk being in the poor house because a student wants an easy grade!”
“That’s the difference between you and me. You only care about the grades of your students, I care about whether or not they are able to learn. And if you are so worried about his memory being a liability, there are other creatures in the Multiverse with memories equal in capacity as him, And they too have been capable of creating Civilizations, Philosophy, and methods of Education.”
“It matters not if other species have thrived with what little they remember! He is living among peers who’s memories can outlast the stars. If he plans to coexist with such peers then he must do better!” Blaze felt a tear leak from his right eye after that statement and he quickly wiped it away and wrapped his tail around himself to hug it.
“Then do better he shall, but not by feeling crushed under narrow-minded expectations!”
“Why do you even care if a single student lags behind? One weak mind pilfers resources better suited to expand the minds that will use them wisely!” Mirror Plane scoffs as she heads to one section of the library, not waiting for her answer. Mrs. Ancestry fixes her glasses again as she sighs at her colleagues' apathy.
“One life has the same potential for greatness as another. It only takes the smallest bit of knowledge to change the world.” Mrs. Ancestry said as she left in a different direction to her coworker. Once Blaze was sure his teachers were gone he emerged from the table and he reflected on their conversation as he picked up his books and put them in his saddle bags. Mrs. Ancestry’s words helped him believe his memory was irrelevant to the good he could do, but did that really matter if everyone else could do more good with better memories and a sharper mind?
(Scene 5 - 3)
As Blaze wrestled with newfound questions, he suddenly felt something tugging on his arm. He quickly turns around to see Nutty with her signature grin.
“I finally found you! C’mon and get up! I want you to come with me!”
“Wh-Why, Where are we going?” Blaze asked as he was forced off his chair.
“I recently joined a study group to help with my grades,” Nutty said as she stopped pulling him. “I would love it if you joined in too!” Giving a happy grin.
Blaze pondered at her request. “How many students will be there?”
“Including me, Four. So what do you say?”
Blaze took a moment to answer. On the one hand, he would get to be with his friend longer, and possibly make more friends. On the other hand, what if everyone in the group else gives him a bad feeling like everyone else at school has? As he continued to ponder he felt Nutty tug on his arm.
“It would mean a lot if you did!” She said flashing her eyelashes again like she did at recess.
“S-Sure, why not?” He stutters out with a blush.
Nutty grinned wider and started pulling him again. Blaze grabbed his bag hastily as she led him towards a table with three students on one end. There were two fillies, one was sitting in the middle of the two foals with a pink coat and a purple mane, with a pink overhead curl in a pigtail, with green eyes, and blue and light blue striped socks with pink freckles on her cheeks. She had a light twister mark on her flanks.
The other filly sitting on the far left end had a white coat and a Pink mane and eyes with a pink spiral on her flanks. The third was a colt with a blue coat and a navy blue mane that had a horn and wearing a blue scarf with a swift Sakatorian ship on his flanks.
“Hello there, You’re Nutty’s friend right?” the colt asked, offering his hoof. “My name is Harbor Sprint!”
After Blaze shook his hoof the filly with the white coat quickly rose and grabbed his hoof with hers. “I’m Pink Swirl, Nice to meet ya!”
The other Filly shook her head as she placed her hoof gracefully in front of Blaze. “I am Moonlight Twister, A pleasure to meet you!”
“Hello everyone, My name is Burnt Blaze!”
“Hey there Blaze, happy to have you!” Harbor said in a tone Blaze recognized all too well. However unlike the friendly tones he heard before, this time was not accompanied by an icy sensation, nor any dark auras. Instead Blaze felt a warm, welcoming presence like he did with Ms. Tracy.
“Do you wish to have a seat?” Moonlight asked Blaze with a warm smile.
Before Blaze could answer he felt Nutty tugging at his arm again. “C’mon sit next to me!” With little else to say Blaze did as he was told and placed his book bag next to the right leg of his chair.
Once Blaze was seated across from Harbor, Harbor pulled out sheets of paper and cleared his throat. “So Nutty tells us you take Mrs. Mirror Plane’s Multiverse History class?”
“Yes, are you in her class too?” Blazed asked, unfamiliar with any of their faces.
“Nah, we got Mr. Fixed Point!” Pink Swirl said in a scratchy tone similar to Scootaloo. “I swear his voice puts me to sleep every time!”
“I have Mirror Plane in my next period class, I do not look forward to it. Her presentations focus overabundantly on minor details,” Moonlight said in a mix of Rarity and Pinkie Pie’s voice.
“I know, I feel like every time I write notes in her class I’m writing an entire novel!” Blaze said with annoyance present in his voice. Moonlight laughed at his comment, which stopped once Blaze started to stare.
“Forgive me, I found your remark much too humorous.” Moonlight said as she waved her hoof in front of her mouth.
Although Blaze was surprised anyone laughed at his lame joke, he was more surprised not to feel his birthmark reacting. It was like she wasn’t forcing herself to laugh at all, rather she had found it truly funny. Blaze didn’t know how to deal with this so he waved back at her.
“No it’s cool, I just thought I was the only one who laughed at my jokes.”
“Doesn’t surprise me though, Moonlight acts like a proper lady, but she has a weird sense of humor; She’ll laugh at anything!” Pink Swirl replied, causing Moonlight to blush.
“Th-That is Absurd!” Moonlight replied.
“Oh yeah, what about that time you saw a picture of one of Princess Platinum’s party dresses and you said, and I quote, ‘why, she looks like an Ice cream clown!’ while giggling like a mule?” Pink Swirl said while quoting her friend.
“C-Could you blame me?! With that much makeup she may as well join the circus!” Moonlight replied with her pink face replaced with the color red.
As the students laughed at their friend, Blaze couldn’t help but feel a chuckle coming in; he covered his mouth in an attempt to hide his sense of humor. Nutty on the other hand looked at Blaze and noticed how much he was enjoying the situation, while she was happy her friend was able to relax, she didn’t like where the attention was going.
“H-Hey, not to be a bit munchy, but shouldn’t we get started? I need to cram the life of the Hippogriff monarchy before Friday!”
Harbor rolled his eyes before clearing his throat to get everyone’s attention. “Nutty’s right, let’s get started!”
Nutty breathed a sigh of relief as she grabbed her textbook. She wanted to bring Blaze in hopes she could help him with any homework he had, and thus seem like an intelligent friend. However if he gets too close to her study group, things might not go Nutty’s way. If only her grades weren’t so bad right now she wouldn’t need this group.
For the next twenty minutes the group went over their notes for their classes. In such a short time they were able to cover the entire Hippogriff Monarchy, up until the invasion of the Tsunami King. Blaze used his stylus pen, and a blank sheet of digital paper, to make corrections on his digital notes.
“Uh, Dude, what are you doing?” Pink Swirl asked with a crooked eyebrow.
Blaze looked up from the table to give Pink Swirl his attention. “Huh? Did you say something?”
“I’m asking you why it looks like you’re trying to write without anything showing up. What, is that disappearing ink or something?”
“N-No I’m just editing my digital notes.”
Pink Swirl takes another look at the table before staring back at Blaze. “What notes? I don’t see anything.”
Blaze then shyly taps near his robotic eye. “My eyepiece records the things I write down, It helps me a lot since I can't…” Blaze pauses as he questions how much of his life he should share with strangers he just met. “It just helps me keep track of my notes, especially for Mrs. Plane’s classes.”
“Believe me I know how difficult recording notes can be,” Moonlight said as she included herself into the conversation. “She puts too much focus on her illustrations and not enough on writing. Quite the artist, don’t get me wrong, but it would be nice for her to focus on other methods of instruction.”
“Like what, Holographic video? Those things rarely show anything other than movement loops, not to mention they’re expensive!” Harbor replied.
“Yeah, not all of us have money like your family does!” Pink Swirl spoke with annoyance.
As Blazed stared at Moonlight fanning herself, which Blaze remembered was a gesture used by higher class citizens, he suddenly had a question in his mind.
“Um, Moonlight. By your family having money, that means you're rich right?” Blaze asked, hoping he wasn’t treading on eggshells.
“Why of course, my family is one of the school’s top sponsors, there’s even a wing named after my late great to the 10th grandfather.” Moonlight replied.
The moment she responded Blaze understood that it meant Moonlight would surely capture the attention of the other students. And if that was true Blaze wondered how Moonlight feels about so much attention.
“S-So, If your family is so well known, does that mean students treat you differently?”
Moonlight looked at Blaze with a pained expression, “Well admittedly they did, I even had quite the crowd to shadow my every movement since my family is one of the top trading families here in Retoria.”
“What happened?”
“Well, I admitted to them that although my family is quite well off, I myself am quite broke.”
“Your family is rich but you don’t have any money?”
“A way of making sure I become a self-made lady, my parents have denied me from accessing any of their funds. Once the other students found out about that it was quite easy to see my own shadow once they left my side.”
“Do you miss the attention?”
“Absolutely not! Sure it was quite nice to have someone who listened to my every word, but when you realize how everyone else was only pretending to be your friend because they believed you would give them what you wanted, you start to realize how alone you really were.”
Nutty couldn’t help but ponder on this and wonder if she makes Burnt Blaze feel the same way. “Hopefully not,” she said to herself in her head.
As Blaze listened to her words he couldn’t help but feel a similarity between them. Blaze scratched his hind leg, expecting it to feel cold, but that cold empty feeling never appeared. Such a feeling normally occurred whenever a student mentioned to Blaze they grew up with a tough childhood or some other tragic tale only to then ask for money or help with homework.
“You think you had to deal with fake friends?” Pink Swirl spoke. “My dad was one of the School’s top athletes, every year he was here the school never once lost a single game! So when everyone finds out we’re related they expect me to follow in his footsteps!”
“So then what happened to you?” Blaze asked, causing Pink Swirl to cringe.
“My first day on the field… I tripped over my own hooves. I couldn’t even get a single goal in, unless you count that one time I scored in our own goal.”
As Moonlight laughed at her story, Pink Swirl crossed her arms and leaned back on her chair. Blaze continued to rub his leg, wondering why their stories weren’t giving him chills.
“My story isn’t as flashy as everyone else’s but my older brother used to go to this school too, and was one of the top students his graduate year! Everyone expects that to mean I’m smart too and they ask me to do their homework.”
“And you’re not smart?” Blaze asked, hoping that he didn’t sound rude.
“Not as smart as he was, never expected getting the cold shoulder from the chess team to feel so…fierce.”
“On the bright side, more fillies talk to you!” Pink Swirl said.
“Yeah, I just wish it was with fillies that didn’t laugh at the drop of a hat, or someone whose hooves could knock out a rhino.”
“And we wish for the company of a colt who doesn’t scratch his hind quarters in the hallway,” Moonlight replied with her hoof covering her devious smile.
Harbor suddenly has a red face. “Th-That was one time! And I didn’t know anyone was watching!”
The students laughed again, which included Harbor after a few moments, and this time Blaze found himself chuckling. Nutty looked at Blaze’s happy expression and hid her face with her book. She wanted to get them both as far away from here as possible, but was unable to come up with a reasonable excuse. If this continues, Blaze may get the idea that there are other students who will treat him kindly, and if that happened what would make what she does so special? She found herself biting the tip of her tongue just to calm herself down as she seized in jealousy.
“So Blaze dear, why did you ask your question? Do other students treat you well?” Moonlight asks, tilting her head.
Blaze abruptly stopped laughing long enough to process her question, and felt nervous as he saw their eyes focused on him.
“Um, yes… sort of, see they only act like my friends, but then they act like they want something from me.”
“Oh wow,” Pink Swirl replied. “So somebody in your family is important to the school too?”
“Not exactly.” Blaze started rubbing his arm with his hoof, deciding very carefully on his next words. “See, I come from a long line of... travelers, and everyone thinks that I can show them places they’ve never seen before.”
Blaze thought he had done a good enough job being subtle, until he saw Harbor’s eyes go wide. “Y-You’re the Balancer, aren’t you?”
The moment he said that Blaze tensed up as the girls went wide eyed as well.
“I thought you seemed familiar, so you are the Balancer everyone speaks of?” Moonlight says as she scratches her chin.
“Y-Yes…” Blaze responded nervously.
“Forgive me,” Moonlight said. “But when I heard of you I had pictured someone who had a more extravagant appearance, but you appear to be so… so…”
“You look so normal, I mean there’s that eye and those fingers, but the way you act is just like anybody else,” Harbor finished.
“I was expecting you to be taller!” Pink Swirl said bluntly.
Blaze looked back at Pink Swirl before hearing Moonlight burst into laughter.
“Pink Swirl,” Moonlight snickered. “He’s the same age as you! How tall were you expecting him to be?”
Blaze held himself, bracing for the chill he undoubtedly would feel. He then looks over to Nutty in hopes she could find a way to get them out of this. But before he could signal her, Harbor spoke up.
“So is it true the Balancers could go anywhere they wanted?”
Before Blaze could answer him Pink Swirl beat him to the punch. “Why would that make you so famous? Moonlight’s family can go anywhere they want too, you don’t hear her bragging about it!”
“It’s more than that dear!” Moonlight exclaimed. “Balancers could travel to realities that even our brightest minds could not comprehend. They could travel to white and dark realities and spread harmony throughout while we could only travel to one or the other and if I recall correctly they were even able to bring some souvenirs of their travels back with them!”
Pink Swirl absorbed the information she was given and started scratching her head. “So they were famous because they brought home snowglobes from other universes?”
“I heard it was closer to resources like food, books of knowledge, technology, and even weapons previously unheard of,” Harbor corrected, which made Blaze even more nervous.
“So let me get this straight, anyone who becomes friends with a Balancer could have access to treasures no one could even dream of?” Once Pink Swirl stopped speaking she paused for a moment to look back and forth between her friends, then she looked at Blaze with a smile. “Yeah, you got it way worse than us!”
“Man, I can only imagine the hard time everyone else gives you,” Harbor said with a grin.
“But don’t worry dear we are nothing like everyone else!” Moonlight said with a cheerful expression.
Blaze couldn’t understand it, he had heard words like these before from his fellow students, but this time he wasn’t getting any cold signals from his birthmark. Instead it felt warm, like it did with Ms. Ancestry. Blaze started to wonder what it meant, until a thought came into his head. What if instead of a cold feeling he was about to feel hot, like a burning feeling, what if this warmth was just the precursor to him knowing an overwhelmingly sweltering existence. But why would this be true? Why them and no one else? The mere thought was starting to make Blaze sweat.
“Hey man, you okay?” Harbor asked while looking like he was concerned.
Before Blaze could answer they all heard the bell ringing, signaling that they should prepare for their next class. Blaze then felt Nutty holding on to his arm.
“Looks like that's the end of our little study group. Thanks for the help, we truly appreciate it!” Nutty said with a smile. She then gave Blaze his book bag back and pulled him to the exit. As they both left Blaze looked at the group one more time.
“Bye, Blaze! It was nice meeting you!” said Harbor Sprint as he waved goodbye.
“Really cool to meet you!” Pink Swirl waved with a half smile.
“We hope to see you soon!” Moonlight Twister flicked her hoof as she gave her farewell.
The unfamiliar warm feeling returned to Blaze. Believing it to be an omen he darted away. Once they were out of their sight Nutty pulled him aside with a concerned look.
“What’s wrong, Blaze? You look like you’ve seen a ghost!”
Blaze wiped his forehead and felt the sweat from his brow. “They just… give me a weird feeling, I don’t know what to think…”
Nutty places a hoof on his shoulder and tries her best to give him a calming look.
“If you don’t like how you feel around them, then it’s best not to see them again. We’ll have our work hours somewhere else, okay?”
As Nutty spoke, a familiar icy feeling came over Blaze. Although there was something about it he didn’t like, he enjoyed having something he could understand, even if his knowledge of it was minimal at best.
“Now come on, Blaze, it’s time for choir!”
(Scene 6 Choir)
As study hall ended Burnt Blaze and Nutty headed to their last class of the day, Choir Practice, hoping that it would go better than his other classes and turn his day around.
Although many of Blaze’s classes were predetermined for him, he was allowed to also partake in an elective course of his choosing, Blaze enjoyed singing, so he decided to join the school choir; it was the one class he felt like he didn’t need to focus on writing down notes all day.
The class was preparing for their next school concert; They were assigned a popular Sakatorian folk song, which has a great history behind it Hush-A-Bye Mountain. Once they had been assigned their parts they started to go over the notes. Blaze was assigned to the Tenor; He was hoping for a role as Bass, but he was happy to help however he could.
Blaze felt a tap on his shoulder to see Nutty Butter beaming at him. “Check it out, I got an Alto part! Maybe we can stand right next to each other!”
(Scene 6 - 2)
They had practiced for an entire half hour before finally deciding to take a break. Blaze cleared his throat while rubbing his neck. Before he knows it Nutty offers him something to drink.
“Here, have some water! You have been trying awfully hard!”
“T-thank you…” Blaze says bashfully as he accepts the water; the cold liquid feels pleasant against his tired throat.
As he continued to drink his beverage other students started gathering around him offering their complements and praises.
“You were doing really well today; Where did you learn your technique from?” A colt asked with wide inquisitive eyes.
Blaze swallows his drink and brushes his hoof on his lips to get rid of the excess droplets of water on his mouth before he answers. “N-Nowhere special really, it’s just something I enjoy doing.”
“Really? I’ve never heard singing like yours! I figured you must have learned it from somewhere else.” Another student said.
“I bet once you graduate you could go to all kinds of places and learn all kinds of things!”
Blaze rubs the back of his head and blushes, which is soon drained as the ponies continue to flatter him.
“If you do, maybe you can bring us along too!”
“Maybe we should start hanging out, what are you doing after school?”
Soon other members of the Choir gathered around to give Blaze some flattery. Blaze was not sure what to do in this situation; he was happy to see so many try to get along with him, but he was also starting to feel uncomfortable with how they surrounded him. Out of pure instinct he threw his hood over his head and pulled on the strings, causing the hood to close until his face became barely visible beyond his muzzle. He then covered his face with his hooves and started to nervously shake.
Suddenly Nutty stood between him and the others with a scowl. “Leave him alone! Can’t you see you're bothering him?” She said with an irate expression.
“What, so only you get to be friends with him?” One of the other choir members asked.
“Yeah, let us have a turn! You can’t just hog the Balancer all to yourself!”
The students then started grabbing at Nutty, pulling her away from Blaze. She then landed on the floor with enough force to split the cartilage on her nose; pain was present in her muzzle as she tried breathing through her blood-filled nostrils. Nutty looks to Blaze and reaches out to him with her blood soaked hoof. She seemed to be saying something but her words were drowned out by the other students' chatter. Almost immediately Blaze felt tugging on his sleeve. “C’mon man, you want to hang out with us instead, right?
Before Blaze had a chance to answer, another student grabbed his other sleeve. “Why are you telling him to be with you?! Besides me and my friends should have first dibs, we’re the upperclassmen after all!” Said a filly in a voice similar to Diamond Tiara.
“If only seniority made you less tone deaf you might get confused for someone with talent!” Said another filly in a voice similar to Silver Spoon.
As the other members joined this vocal war their words started to mix together to form a collective choir of its own; He couldn’t even hear his own voice anymore as he felt tugged on all sides, completely numbing his sense of direction until the room itself felt like it was spinning him in a circle. His head was beginning to feel so light and empty; he was unable to tell where anything but the floor was. As Blaze felt his legs slowly feel like jelly he started to gag as the back of his throat expanded, with something lodged in his stomach feeling like it was on its way out. Blaze wanted to leave but every attempt to push himself past the students was like trying to walk through a wall. The lump in his stomach twisted into a knot as Blaze begged any being that would listen to make this madness end.
(Scene 6 - 3)
Suddenly a loud slap was heard on the billboard, which was enough to make Blaze’s head stop spinning enough to open his hood and peek through the hole to see the teacher, a stallion with a yellow white coat, light blue mane and tail, with orange eyes, wearing a black suit, a white buttoned undershirt, and purple suspenders over the suit with black pants. As everyone else turned their heads to the teacher, his face was painted with an expression of pure infuriation. “Do any of you understand the importance we will play in performing this song in front of this school? The history and importance behind the lyrics represent the very height of Sakatorian pride, and I will not tolerate any one of you dishonoring it because of sycophancy, is this understood?!”
As the class gave their agreement through groans Blaze opened his hood and looked at his teacher, happy that someone was finally not showing him special treatment because of who he was. That feeling was short-lived as the teacher shot his eyes coldly at him. “As for you, Mister Blaze, Balancer Paralox or not all great minds require respect as well as education, and that is not going to be possible if you keep flaunting your status among your peers!”
“What? No! I didn’t mean to… I wasn’t-” Blaze tried to defend himself, but the instructor waved him off while pinching the bridge on his muzzle.
“Just take your place and do your best not to outshine the others!”
Blaze’s face fell as he returned to his place on stage. As he stares back at his teacher he felt a familiar darkness from him, but unlike the students he felt something different from him; The eyes of his fellow students had a hungry look to them, like they wanted something only Blaze could offer, but his teacher had a more aggressive look, like he despised him, yet also hungry like he desired what Blaze had; The only emotion he could associate this with was… Jealousy?
“From the top now!” His instructor said before the choir started once again.
(Outside choir room)
(Scene 7 Nutty’s Betrayal)
The final bell rings, and the students prepare to go home. As they make for the lockers Nutty spies Blaze staring down at his hooves as they walk.
“Still feel bad about everyone treating you special?”
Blaze said nothing as he avoided the gaze of the other students. Nutty placed her right hoof on his shoulder, causing the colt to break his trance and look at her.
“Hey, I know you probably don’t want to talk about this anymore, but doing so can help get all the stress out!”
Blaze let out a soft groan, he really didn’t want to talk about his problems anymore, he just wanted to go home and sleep off all his worries. However he knew deep down that Nutty was right and he needed to talk about his problems, else they fester inside him. He takes a deep breath and reveals his thoughts to his friend.
“The thing is… all day today Students have been complimenting me non-stop,” Blaze said with a tired look.
“Is that such a bad thing?” Nutty asked with a crooked eyebrow.
“Normally no, except I don’t like the way I feel around them, they make me feel like they don’t actually like me, they’re just nice to me because they want something from me.”
Nutty was silent for several moments before answering. “I know this isn’t what you want to hear, but as the Balancer, you can expect a lot of popularity like that.” Blaze shuddered as he heard the word Balancer again, needless to say that name has given him nothing but trouble. His thoughts were interrupted as Nutty placed her hoof on his shoulder. “But you don’t have to worry, I’ll always be there for you! You can count on me to be your friend!”
Blaze smiled at her words, but soon recoiled as he felt the icy sting of his Birthmark once again. He placed his hoof between his hearts as he felt hollow, like there was a huge hole where they were supposed to be.
(Scene 7 - 2)
“Hey um…” Nutty looked away and bit her lip. “I know you just said you don’t want others to use you for personal gain… but I actually really need your help.”
“What’s up?” Blaze looked at her with concern. After everything she did for him today, he would do whatever it took to help his friend, no matter what.
“Well, you remember that Janitor from before?” Nutty said, rubbing her left forearm with her right.
“Yes,” Blaze replied.
“Well, he’s been saying some mean things about me, saying I’m a bad student.”
Blaze looks at her with surprise. “Why would he do that? You are an amazing person! I couldn’t count how many times you have been willing to help me out at school.”
“You saw how mean he was to you in the bathroom! He doesn’t care about anyone but himself! And now he’s saying awful things about me to the school board. If they believe what he says I’ll have to stay in detention for the whole week!”
As Blaze hears her story he could feel the anger bubbling inside him. However it seemed to simmer slightly as his Birthmark gave him a chilling feeling.
“So here's the thing-” Nutty continued, catching Blaze’s attention. “-I was hoping you could speak for me, ask them not to believe him.”
Blaze considers her request as he feels the icy sting of his mark. “B-But what if they don’t believe me?”
“You’re the Balancer! You’re like the VIP of the whole school, if anyone can convince them to drop his ridiculous claims it’s you!” Nutty then places her hoof back on Blaze's shoulder. “Please, Blaze. I really need you to do this for me!”
Before Blaze could answer he sees a dark aura surrounding Nutty; the intimidating presence it was exhaling caused Blaze to back away from her.
“Blaze, are you okay?” Nutty asked as he continued his backwards path. As Blaze thought about her words a particular scene came into his mind.
“H-Hey, what happened when you were in the bathroom with him?”
Nutty dropped her caring facade for an instant before answering. “Why does that matter?” Looking down at the floor to the right of her.
“I-It’s just… I just want to know why he would say such things about you…”
Nutty then drew an expression which exudes annoyance looking back up at him. “You of all people should know what he’s like! He’s just a stupid meanie who thinks he can do whatever he wants for no reason other than because he’s older than us!”
“But before he was upset because we made a mess, I don’t think he would just make up stories over something we fixed…”
“So what, you’re going to believe him over me?! I’m your best friend, I deserve your trust and more!” Nutty exclaimed while beating her right hoof against her chest.
“N-Nutty, What do you mean-?”
“I listened to your problems, I defended you from the other students, I even got hurt because of what happened in Choir class today. If it wasn’t for me all the students and teachers would be walking all over you!”
“The- The teachers?”
“Yes, do you know how many of them are just bullies who take advantage of their students?” Nutty exclaimed, starting to pace back and forth. “They say horrible things behind their students' backs, they pretend to care about them so long as the class’s grades are high, and even if you make a small mistake on your exam they treat you like a complete failure! And they expect us to take it with a smile like good obedient robots!”
Blaze was too frightened to respond to her words; he was unable to fathom this new face his friend was showing.
“You know what I mean, don’t you?! You’ve seen how everyone treats you, and you just take it like the helpless child you are! Without me you would be nothing!”
As Nutty started panting and breathing heavily, she started to realize how she must appear to Blaze so she corrected her posture, brushed her mane out of her face, and cleared her throat. “B-Blaze, what I meant to say was-”
The iciness of Blaze’s birthmark pulsed throughout his entire body. Blaze thought hard about all the times he felt this frigid presence and soon developed a theory. All the times he felt cold it was when everyone else acted cruel or hid behind a false persona, so any time his birthmark felt cold it was when everyone had evil intentions in their words. They wanted to use him to gain favor with the school, they wanted to have the privileges they thought he had, they pretended to be his friend when all along they didn’t care about him and laughed at his pain. And since this feeling was present when he was with Nutty, he could only come up with one answer to what it ment.
“You… You just want to use me too, don’t you? You only like me because I’m different! You are just as bad as the other students!!” Blaze choked out feeling his hearts break.
(Orange Pony Nutty, white one Burnt Blaze but is crying)
Nutty paused for a moment before exhaling deeply with a grumpy face. “I’m nothing like everyone else! No one else is willing to go as far as I do to be your friend! I’m the only friend you have and the only one you’ll ever need!”
As Blaze heard her words the Cold feeling of his birthmark left him feeling like multiple holes were pierced into his body, leaving him shivering on the inside. Blaze couldn’t take seeing his “friend’s” true colors anymore and decided to leave.
“I- I’m sorry.. but I can’t-” Suddenly Nutty grabbed the sleeve of his robe as he turned away.
“NO! You are NOT going anywhere!!!” Nutty snapped with fury in her voice. Blaze struggled to escape her grasp and ended up ripping off the sleeve. He didn’t pause and ran at full speed away from her. As he continued to run indiscriminately ahead, with tears threatening to become a waterfall on his face, he heard her yell out in anger.
“You’re supposed to be my friend Burnt Blaze! And friends help each other out, NO MATTER WHAT!!!”
(Scene 8 principal’s office)
Blaze was currently staring down at the floor of the faculty office. A janitor, a different one from before, found him crying his eyes out in one of the boy’s restrooms and had led him to the office to speak with the principal. When Blaze couldn’t speak, the principal decided to call his mother to hopefully make him feel calm enough to tell him what happened. Blaze repeated what happened in his head, how everyone lied about caring for him, how they only wanted to be his friend because of what they would get out of it. Burnt Blaze only wished for a simple life, but instead they will only see him as the Balancer, someone who will only be liked because of how special he is.
They only like him because he’s special.
Everyone likes him because he’s special.
Everyone will only like him because he’s special.
“Blazey?”
Blaze looked up as he heard a familiar sound, it was his mother’s voice; she had finally arrived and had a look like she was scared. She closed the distance and held him by the shoulders.
“Blazey, sweetie, what happened to you? Why is your uniform ripped?”
Blaze couldn’t answer and instead looked down; he didn’t want to see anyone else today. All Blaze wanted to do was disappear at that moment. After a few moments of silence his mother lifted his face to get him to look at her.
“Sweetheart please tell me what’s wrong, I promise I won’t be upset with you!”
Blaze was skeptical of her words, until his birthmark started to feel warm, like it did with the students of his Study Group and Ms. Ancestry. Blaze felt his hearts becoming heavy as he finally spoke. “Mom… do I have to stay in school?”
His mother’s eyes widened as he spoke. “Did something happen in school today? Was one of the kids mean to you?”
“No one likes me momma, they say they do but they only want me to do stuff for them! I hate it here! I’d rather be alone then spend one more second here!”
As his eyes watered his mother couldn’t help but join in. She held him in her arms and nuzzled his head. “I’m so sorry sweetie, I wish there was something I could do. But with me being at work everyday and this being the only school in the area… I’m so sorry sweetie!” As he heard his mother’s words the warm feeling grew stronger, it was such a welcome feeling compared to the rest of his day.
“I will promise you this though,” His mother said as she fought back tears. “You will find someone who will love you for who you really are, not as someone who will bring riches, but someone who is kind, special, and super amazing regardless of his or her birth.”
Blaze hugged his mother tightly praying she was right. Once they were done hugging it out Blaze gave the Principle his story, after examining the situation he decided to look into it and Blaze was sent home. As he left the building he took one more look at his mother who tried her best to give him a warm smile. Fortunately for her his birthmark gave him the warmth to know her feelings were genuine. Then Blaze took another look at the school. He was excused for today, but he’ll have to come back the next day and return to all the fake smiles and false friendships.
Blaze said a silent prayer in his hearts that his mother’s promise would come true one day, otherwise the only friendly faces he will ever know will be masks hiding the monsters underneath.
Author's Note
This chapter is planned to have a lot of fan art so that’s why the scenes were labeled. This point in DJ Hopper’s life is about first and second grade ish. I really tried to stroke the heartstrings in this chapter and that’s why it’s so long. I wanted readers to cry so please tell me you cried otherwise I didn’t do this chapter right.
If anyone is willing to help me write in there spare time please PM me. Or if you want more chapters to come out sooner you can support me on patreon. https://www.patreon.com/Luckyfanisaac?fan_landing=true
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