Random Ideas

Idea 2: AU Grey Homecoming

The cold, starry night made it easy to walk through the town – the town that I grew up in, the town I came back to years later, the town I left behind later for my goals – everypony fast asleep already.

Even though it had only been three years since I left Ponyville, I couldn’t help getting a sense of nostalgia whenever my eyes went: over there was when I first met Pinkie (she tackled me then dragged me to Sugarcube Corner), over there was the first time I got the nerve to talk to Flitter, over there the time I smacked Pop eight times in a row. Those memories brought back as much joy as it did sorrow.

I took a deep breath and tried to settle myself, not letting the memories get to me. I left everything, my friends and family, everypony I have ever known, loved, and cared for, for a reason. There’s no reason to let those memories stop me now. Checking to make sure my saddlebags were on right and the contents secured, I walked down the path to the town library, the second to last location for my journey, taking in and enjoying the quiet of the night for as long as I could, as if it would be the last time I’d ever get a chance.

As I rounded a corner, I managed to hit a shadowy figure. It took me a bit to realize who it was, but the moonlight illuminating his pink eyes helped.

“Hey there Pop,” I said.

He just looked at me, stared at me, as if he was seeing a ghost, like he was losing his mind. A few seconds passed and the bewilderment turned into rage.

“You, you are supposed to be dead!” he shouted.

“Geez, not sure everypony in Canterlot heard you there.” I went to pass him, but he held me down.

“You are supposed to be dead. Your name is on the plaque of the fallen.” He stared me in the eyes, with a look that would have fazed me three years ago.

“Yeah; what about it?” I told him, releasing myself from his grip.

“I was there, we were there, at that ceremony, to pay my respects to all those lost in the invasion.” He jabbed a hoof at my chest. “I went to pay my respects to you.”

I swatted away his hoof. “So? You want a cookie or something?”

He growled. “Forget this.” He made to walk away but sucker punched me across the jaw. “Do you know what happened because of that day? Icy is gone; Rarity never leaves her house; Fluttershy is in an asylum; Rainbow can’t fly anymore; Spike boarded up the library from the inside; Flitter has gotten distant.” He emphasized each statement with a punch.

My eyes never moved away from his the whole time. “Are you done using me as a punching bag then?”

He growled. “Since when do you not care about what happened to your friends?”

“Since I already knew what happened to them,” I replied, dusting myself off a bit.

“You, you knew? You knew the whole time what was going on and you didn’t even bother on letting any of us know you were still alive?!” Using both of his forehooves, he pinned me to the side of a building, propping me up against it. “You better give me a good reason not to end you right now,” he told me, adding pressure to my shoulders.

I rolled my eyes. “Fine, I will, but let me give you some advice first.” I then brought my forehooves together, breaking his grip before tossing his hooves down and bringing them back up for a double hoof strike to his chest. He staggered back, winded as I charged him, wrapping a foreleg around his neck in a single lariat. I then twisted, bringing him down to the floor before pulling up sharply while sitting on his back. “If you are going to pin somepony, make sure that they can’t get out of like I did.” My point given, I got off of his back.

He turned and looked up at me. “Just what happened to you these past three years?”

I shrugged. “Just what needed to be done.”

“’What needed to be done’?”

I started to walk away, looking behind me as I went. “Don’t tell anypony that you saw me.” I stared ahead, seeing the library in sight. “Not like anypony would be able to stop me anyway...”