Jay flicked through his book pages a few more times over, making sure he got everything straight. Sadly enough, he figured out that what he saw the first time was indeed true; every last page in the book was burnt. That meant that he probably wasn’t going to be able to rewrite Oculus’ dilemma, and thus, the whole situation was not going to be made easier.
Hikari was looking over his shoulder, equally as disappointed. Shaking her head, she asked the final question, “So, we’re really gonna have to find this guy?”
The hot pink earth pony was startled at Hikari’s inquiry, previously unbeknownst to the fact that she was standing right behind him. Somehow, he managed to keep his cool despite his surprised expression. Turning around and sighing dejectedly, he answered: “Yep.”
The white pegasus stood there in silence. She had no idea what to say other than something enthusiastic, even though, truth be told, they gang had really hit rock bottom this time. The only way up for them was to be optimistic about this whole conundrum, but with Oculus gone, they had no motivation. Well, except for the fact that Oculus was gone.
“Well, he r-really shouldn’t be that hard to find,” Jay stammered, all out of ways to make the situation better. “B-Because I know him. I’ve written him into existence, after all. He’s just… really tricky. Like Oculus himself.”
Hikari smirked, rolling her eyes. “Yeah. Oc is a really clever fellow,” she deadpanned. Jay chuckled, adjusting his glasses on the bridge of his snout.
“Yeah, well… he’s changed…”
“-Changed into a runner.” Hikari sighed. “It’s hard to keep up with him. Guy gets so pressured, it’s like he’s out of place or something…” She flopped down onto the floor, her forelegs giving as she went from sitting to lying down with her head in her hooves. Jay sat down next to her, subconsciously stroking her mane with a hoof.
“He is, as much as I hate to admit it. One of the first characters I’ve ever made in this universe. Sometimes, he’s even worse than Clark…”
Hikari blinked in confusion as she raised her head up for a second. “Who?”
The pink schemed pony shook his head. “N-Nevermind.” And Hikari lowered her head again. “But still. He’s made a lot of mistakes in the past after Pentagon tried to ruin his life. Everyone was rooting for him, then. But after his suicide attempt-“
“What?!”
“-He just went a bit nuts. Turned into such a douche, started abusing his girlfriend for a little while, until everyone started hating him. Then, he died just so everyone wouldn’t hate him, and came back as some sort of soul-split bug demon.”
“I was there for that one.”
“Mhm. You were definitely… there.”
“But still… after all that, he should be… happier, shouldn’t he? I mean, he’s got friends now, and everyone likes him again. None of us are against him anymore. I mean, really, none of us are against each other anymore.”
Jay nodded, “-And that’s a good thing. However, the problem is that Oculus just happens to be the… unluckiest out of all of us.”
Hikari looked even more confused, sitting up to face Jay head on and cocking her head. “What do you mean…?”
“I mean that, well… after all the things that happened to him before, don’t you think he’s still affected by them? The fact that he’s been the bad guy so many times that he’s literally stuck as the bad guy, now? And surely, since he can’t get the mask off, everyone that used to know him will need a good deal of explaining done to realize that it’s just Oculus. Doubt they’d believe it, though, since the mask makes his voice all… reverbed, and… techno.”
The pegasus nodded solemnly, lying back down. “…Right… and I guess that explains more why he ran away, doesn’t it?”
“Yeah. I just wish it’d be easier for me to make another copy of my book. Without it, I… I’m kinda useless.” At that remark, Hikari’s ears perked up, and soon after that, so did she.
“Jay, don’t say that. You’re not useless. You’re an important part of this team. Our intel, our brains, our…”
“Yeah, but what else do I provide without being an intelligent pushover? Other than… providing you all information about the problems I create for you… I’m just… the root of everyone’s unhappiness,” Jay protested, his ears flopping down as he turned away. “I mean, what else do I have to offer? Other than that, I’m not much of an interesting character, am I?”
Hikari couldn’t believe what she was hearing. A creator-based entity, hating and belittling their own power just because they lost the source. Why, she never thought she’d live to see the day where powerful creatures started complaining about how weak they are. This was Jay, though, so the circumstances were drastically different.
He never hid the fact that he pitied himself. Yet every time something dire was happening that didn’t require his pessimistic thoughts, he was always ready to take charge. If anything, he was the leader of their quaint little gang. He could micromanage (while griping about it), he could multitask (while also griping about it), and he could even choreograph the next ten invasions if he wanted to. Whether he liked it or not, he had potential to be who he thought he could never be. But he just needed a chance to better himself. To appreciate who he really was.
“Jay, you are an important part of this team,” she objected, lifting his chin up with a wing. “You just don’t know or think it yet. But you are. And while everyone else is still bummed about Oculus running away, you’re still trying your best to make a difference, whether or not it’s because you feel bad, because, truth be told, we probably don’t even mean that much to you.”
Jay chuckled dryly, turning his head away. “Of course I care about you all. You’re like, the family I made to make me feel better about myself, no matter how terrible I’m feeling. Every time you guys are in a bad situation, I’m always able to step in from the sidelines and pull you out of it, or just stop it altogether. Now that I can’t do it anymore, I… I don’t see why you keep me around. A-And I can’t leave because… well… you know.”
He rubbed nervously at the back of his neck with a grimace on his face. A small, amused smile came to Hikari’s lips, signaling that she at least got the message. “We wouldn’t ever do that. Not to you, not ever. No matter how hairy things get -like the other day- we- or, I will always be there for you.”
Jay smiled back. “I’ll always be there for you, too,” he said, holding out a hoof for a potential hoof bump. “Deal?”
The white pegasus lifted her hoof to return the hoofbump, saying: “Deal.”
Trojan trekked through the heavy rain of the swampy forest, another copy of Jay’s famous book in protective aura. He was tired already, heaving through the stormy weather just to see the death of the fabled Princess Twilight Sparkle, but he already knew that it would be worth it just to see the look on her face.
He continued on and on until he reached the peak of the mountain, and the rain stopped as soon as he touched the top. Adjacent to the Princess’s palace, the mountain was, next to the sun dipping just above the horizon. The sky was painted a beautiful mix of red, orange, and yellow, the red symbolizing the perfect amount of bloodshed, and the scarlet liquid that was to be splashed across the skies.
It was the perfect twisted melody just to make Trojan’s heart smile. And, just because he was trapped under the guise of Oculus in that treacherous house, he wasn’t able to spell out her fate in red ink from across the universe. Even so, it gave him the idea to savor the moment, and write it out right as he was watching it in the fields just below the mountain range.
He was just about to be brilliant.
Sitting down on the tainted, yellow grass, Trojan made the first step in the process of greatness and took out his pen. He licked his lips at the idea of such an amazing tale of Princess Twilight’s gruesome slaughter, being able to just taste the vicariously abundant amount of scarlet, washing onto her palace floor. It was all just too good to be true.
However, as the prized target of the precious book began to exit her palace, he realized that the bloodlust-induced dream he was having was very much real. And it warmed his heart.
Jay laughed maniacally in a nervous manner, looking up at his horns as they glowed bright pink. “K-Keep going! I-I think it’s working!”
Hikari frantically looked back down into the children’s book she was currently reading in order to power Jay’s intuitive magic. But she needed to read faster and increase how many paragraphs she was reading to do so. And, truth be told, Hikari wasn’t the best at reading.
“Uhm… If you give a dog a donut, he will ask for some apple juice. Then, he’ll drink it all. He’ll ask you for some more. He’ll go outside to pick apples, and-“
Jay interrupted, even more manic than before, “I-I think I can! J-Just gimme a little more!”
Hearing the commotion from the downstairs living room, Umbra and Pentagon come rushing downstairs.
“What are they doing…?” Umbra questioned, skeptical of the vigorous shouting going on and filling his ears. Pentagon smirked, immediately ready to suggest what events may have been taking place as the two were listening in.
Just as he opened his mouth, Umbra slapped a hoof over his muzzle. “Don’t. Even. Think about it.”
Pentagon rolled his eyes, disappointed at the umbrum’s notion. Sure, Pentagon was a changeling, so he could always tell that whatever emotions or feelings that were emitting from the room weren’t… that, but it still dawned on him to remain blissfully dirty even though he was still hurting inside.
“….Whatever… hey, I’m the wronged party, here, you shouldn’t blame me for trying to lighten the mood for myself.”
Umbra deadpanned at Pentagon, a small frown on his face. “You of all creatures should know that Oculus wasn’t just dating you and you alone. Ocellus is probably feeling even worse than you do, so don’t get it in your head that you’re the only wronged party.”
Pentagon looked away and huffed, an even worse damper being put down on his already terrible mood.
