Pucci's bizarre adventure: Made in Equestria

Chapters

Chp 1: Rebirth of all
Chp 2: Awakening
Chp 4: Unexpected visit (edited)
Chp 5: New beginnings
Chp 6: Party pooper
Chp 7: The moon falls with tragedy...
Chp 8: ...and the sun rises with hope.
Chp 9: Cat's out of the bag
Chp 10: A not so calm walk through the woods
Chp 11: Painful encounters (part 1)
Chp 12: Painful encounters (part 2)
Chp 3: So it begins

Chp 1: Rebirth of all

Multiverse theory.

Unlike fate, It is a concept, in short, that everything we humans know, gravity, space, time, energy, and information, is but a speck of dust compared to the vast number of different realities. Every decision we make, event carried out, or basic concept a person has known since childhood could’ve altered, no matter how subtle or drastic.

Take, for example, the age-old scenario for the multiverse theory. Say that you have an orange and an apple in front of you, and you decide to pick up the apple. Well, in another universe, that version of you had decided to pick up the orange instead. This scenario can apply to many things. Should I pick this brand over this other brand? Should I visit my parents or not? Should I call into work sick to avoid showing up or not? Each differentiating path has varying outcomes that impact a person.

I had worked tirelessly for years to gain my ability, Made in Heaven, in the name of my departed friend, Dio. No matter how many times the Joestars, their friends, or that damn brat Emporio had attempted to stop my ascension to heaven, I had succeeded. Sure, there was a delay at the space center, but that was nothing more than an annoyance. But in the end, I had cut them all down. The ultimate stand, Star platinum, was no match for me. Anastasia and Ermes were the equivalents of sitting ducks, and while Jolyne’s sacrifice was noble, it was unless in the end.

But that child…Emporio. He was never destined to exist after the end and rebirth of the universe. He had somehow slipped through the cracks and reemerged back in the Green Dolphin State Prison with his mind intact.

And currently, in our game of cat and mouse, the blond-haired, golden-eyed child in a baseball uniform was running for his life down a long hallway. I followed close behind; my right eye closed shut with blood streaming down my face; unfortunately, it seems my injuries don’t disappear with a reset.

“The fortunate souls who were able to transcend time have been blessed.” Emporio screamed in terror as he turned a corner; I followed closely behind. “ Those members of the human race who survived have experienced the future and arrived at this new world. The one truth of this universe is that fate will always take its course. And, in turn, destiny will repeat itself. When one human being meets another, it is due to gravity. They come together because it was fated to be that way!”

“For example, what events will unfold five years from now? Thanks to their travels through accelerated time, humanity has already experienced it. They already know when they’ll get into an accident. When they’ll succumb to an illness. And even when their life will come to an end!”

As I continued to explain myself to this brat, I couldn’t help but think back to my past life and imagine what would happen if I knew everything would happen. Would I be able to experience true happiness if I knew what would happen to my sister? What if I prevented weather report from meeting her? Those thoughts are useless either way. Fate is a set-in-stone motion; no action taken will bend it. I may not know true happiness at the moment, but I will not let the happiness that Dio and I had worked so hard for be destroyed, especially not by some brat!

Made In Heaven is the future.

While running, Emporio accidentally tripped and fell to the floor. As I came closer, the child quickly sat up and lifted his shirt, pulling various items from his belly button. “My gun! Where is it?!” He cries out. Sudden realization crosses his face as he looks up, tears rolling down his face, “Oh, yeah. I dropped it in the ocean!” Doing the smart thing, Emporio rose from the floor and resumed his futile escape, quickly approaching a cross-section.

Disappearing to the left hallway, I assumed Emporio was attempting to divert destiny again by changing the direction of a ghost room entrance. But seeing his body fly the opposite way, with blood spurting from his nose, was a product of his decision. Following his direction, I stand at the top of a set of stairs, looking down at Emporios body lying at the bottom.

Upon seeing me, he screamed again, shifting his eyes to a gap in the wall behind him. “Even if the smallest details might go astray, defeating fate is simply impossible.” I say, a bit of a taunt after Emporio’s foolish decision a few seconds ago.

Despite my subtle jab, I couldn’t deny the seriousness of the situation. If I were to lose track of Emporio or let him go, no doubt he would seek a way to defeat me. Even if that is the destined future, I can not let that happen. I had taken precautions when I sped up time, stopping at the right point where the child was at his weakest.

Emporio screamed, rushing to the gap in the wall; I was not about to let him run. With Made in Heaven summoned behind me, I swung my fist, followed by Heaven’s, at the retreating Emporio. “Die Emporio!” I shout in anger.

But instead of connecting with Emporio, he and I were sucked into the gap; my eyes widened in shock. Mere inches away from my fist, one of Pale Snakes disk’s was sticking out of Emporio’s face. On it was the face of a man in a strange horned hat with a humanoid cloud next to him that made my blood both boil and run cold. Now in Emporios ghost room, He narrows his eyes up at me from the floor with a determined look, a mass of clouds forming around him.

“You said fate is predetermined and can’t be changed. If that’s true, I’ll have to make you change it for me.” Getting into a kneeling position, Emporio positioned a spread-out hand next to his face; a fire now roared in his eyes. “When you were entering through the crack in the wall, your arm pushed this into my head.” From the mass of clouds behind him, the humanoid shape from the disk spiraled out and formed, making my eyes widen further. “In the final moments before Weather report died, he turned his stand ability into a disc before you landed the final blow. And it is the same disc Jolyne decided to entrust to me. So I’ve been holding on to it for both of them!”

I let out a roar of hate toward the child; how dare he use one of my God-given abilities against me! Before I could attack, however, Weather Forecast had beaten me to the punch, letting a flurry of punches come at me. Luckily, I dodged the attacks, using Made in Heaven’s infinite speed to appear behind Emporio.

“In the name of God, I will destroy you!” I boldly proclaimed, “Your actions here today, Emporio all they have accomplished is solidifying the fact that your screams will become the trumpets of hell!”

Activating Made in Heaven's ability, time began to accelerate. The clock on the wall had started to spin rapidly, a plant withered away in seconds, and the blood on Emporios face faded to nothing. And as I berated Emporio on his futile actions, I circled the boy using my stand’s speed, appearing around him at different points.” You shall come to realize your own insignificance as you wither away!”

Thrusting my hand out to spear Weather Report in the face, veins suddenly bulged in my hand to painful degrees as blood burst from them. Grunting in pain, I raised my hands to my face to see the same happening to the other before I was flung into a grand piano, crashing to the floor while inside it. My body felt weak and sickly, and pushing off the ground felt like an impossible task that I had barely passed. “W-What is going on here?” I ask no one in particular as I look up and see Weather Report looming over me. That is when it hit me, “It’s Weather Report!”

“One day, I read in a book,” Emporio spoke, breathing heavily as blood leaked from his eyes.” that the deadliest poison within proximity of any organism is the air they breathe. Every organism on this planet needs oxygen to survive. But the concentration level of oxygen can’t be above 40 percent. One hundred percent pure oxygen is extremely toxic, and any life form exposed to it will perish.”

I didn’t listen to the rest of Emporio's speech, mainly because the loss of blood and the harsh environment around me started to cause me to black out. Every muscle in my body felt numb, my brain sent out many shockwaves of pain, and darkness began to surround my vision. The worst pain I felt at the moment was not physical but mental, as the thought of losing all my hard work to this child was most agonizing. Panic also filled my mind as Weather report crouched down, his fist slowly approaching my head.

And In a second, my head was pushed against the floor by Weather Reports fist; the crunching of bone and the pool of blood forming underneath my face was lost to me as I cried out in pain. “No, you have to end this, Emporio!” I pleaded, “You can still stop Weather! Do not let him do this! After I finally obtained the ability I worked so hard for, God wished it to be so!”

More blood burst from my eyes and mouth as I felt the bone around my eyes start to break. “It was an ability that God chose for me to possess! A new history of humanity will be born, and the future of mankind will be saved!”

But no matter how much I pleaded or explained again why my stand was to bring humanity into a better future, the look on the child’s face clearly said that he was not listening. “Don’t you understand? Fate won, and you are the loser!” He said, pointing a finger at me.

“You insignificant little…”

“I didn’t do this alone. Jolyne knew I would make it here, and this is what she would’ve wanted me to do. Weather too, and F.F, Ermes, Anastasia, And even Mr. Jotaro. We had no idea what the future held, but we all had resolutions. The one who couldn’t accept their own fate was you, Pucci. Your fate is walking down the path of justice. You're done for!”

My eyes rolled in the back of my head, a snarl appearing on my face, “No, I’m not!” I once again cry out in pain, Weather Report’s fist grinding my face into the bloodied carpet. “You’re the one who doesn’t understand anything! Go to hell, you insignificant little brat!” I scream, reaching out my hand in an attempt to grab Emporio.

They say that in multiverse theory, every action and every moment has a different outcome based on the person's choices. Even the most minute detail can have a butterfly effect that can change major events.

And in that single moment, seconds away from having my skull smashed in, my primal fear and rage took over to defy the current moment, to defy fate. In an instant, Made in Heaven had reappeared behind me, visibly shocking Emporio. Pouring every last ounce of power and energy remaining in my body, Made in Heaven took it all.

The clock that acted as his face suddenly started to spin counter-clockwise, his body shining with a bright white light. Emporio shielded his eyes while I smiled victoriously, seeing the room surrounding us crack and break away into a star-filled void.

By that point, my mind was swimming in a mix of joy, pain, and drowsiness, ignoring that my body was flying forward at high speed, Emporio nowhere to be seen. But that was fine. What wasn’t fine was that memories started to escape my mind, slipping away like water on oil. Names and faces of friends and enemies became blurs, locations and events were fading away, and even the memory of my dear sister and Weather Report became lost. Everything and nothing became one, and my mind broke under pressure and the added injuries dealt by Emporio.

And, just as quick as the end began, darkness took both my mind and body.

Father Pucci was no more.

Thunder crashed and crackled outside as rain pelted the hospital room window. But the sounds of the outside were muffled out by a bloodcurdling scream.

Writhing in pain and gripping the handles of her hospital bed with bone-crushing force was a mare in labor. She had a light-yellow coat with a pure-white flowy mane and tail, her obsidian eyes clenched shut from the pain, and a cutie mark showing a quill and book.

“You’re almost there, Miss Sunray!” One of the male doctors said. He wore full medical scrubs from head to hoof, blood caking his forelegs. “I see the head!” He suddenly shouted, continuing to shout encouragement to the screaming mare.

Outside the room, a single stallion and a small filly stood by the operating room's door. The stallion’s coat was brown, fading to black fur at the end of his hooves, a shaved, red mane that was only a couple of inches long, and red eyes that shifted side-to-side nervously as the stallion paced back and forth. “How long is it going to be?” He muttered anxiously while chewing the brim of a bowler hat. The stallion’s nervous pacing was halted, however, when something tapped his flank, which had an image of a telescope facing up at stars.

Peering up at him from behind a shaggy light-pink mane was a gray-coated filly with cloudy eyes that were filled with worry. “Daddy, is momma going to be okay?” She asked innocently, “your hooves are making me worried.” She whimpered, slightly shaking.

The stallion saw the filly’s distress and took a deep breath to collect himself before smiling tiredly. “Yes, honey, momma is going to be okay. Dad is just…excited to meet your new baby brother!” He lied, sitting down and pulling the filly close to comfort her. Immediately, her body relaxed, and she snuggled in her father's arms. The first time his wife gave birth, his daughter almost killed her mother. Luckily, the doctors managed to save his wife and his daughter, but the filly was legally blind as a result. Despite her disability, his daughter grew up a happy filly and was able to make friends her age at school. And it was only recently he and his wife decided to have another child so that maybe the filly would have a sibling to bond with and be taken care of when her parents weren’t around.

But hours went by, and during that time, the screams had stopped. He didn’t know whether to be happy or scared when they went silent, but the door to the operating room opened, and out came a doctor in a clean white coat.

“Mister StarGazer?” He said, gaining the attention of the stallion.

Before he could get another word out, StarGazer placed his filly on the floor and shot up. “My wife! Is she okay?!” He shouted nervously, startling the doctor.

Shaking his head, the doctor chuckled lightly, “I assure you, sir, that your wife is alive and well. In fact, you can come in and-” The doctor wasn’t able to finish his sentence as Star Gazer picked up his filly and ran past him into the room, shutting the door behind him. Inside, Star Gazer placed his daughter on a chair against the wall and appeared by the bed-ridden Sunray. She noticed the visibly troubled stallion and smiled weakly, holding a small mass wrapped in a cloth to her chest.

“Deary, what’s got you so worked up?” She asked weakly, a quiet cooing noise coming from the wrapped mass.

StarGazer donned his bowler hat again and wiped the sweat from his head, “I-I thought that…the last pregnancy…you would…” He sputtered out, tears building in the corners of his eyes.

A small chuckle escaped the mare's throat, “I know what you mean, dear. To be honest, I was scared too, but it was a… miracle.” She said, shifting her position slightly. Sunray rotated the wrapped mass in her forelegs to reveal a small foal sleeping soundly in his mother's forelegs. “It’s a colt.” She muttered.

He couldn’t hold them back; happy tears poured down StarGazers' cheeks as he looked down at his son. His coat was a chocolate brown with a short white mane and lines of hair leading from his scalp to the middle of his brows. The foal’s chest rose and fell, and quiet snores paced through his lips. Ignoring the strange hair, StarGazer inched his font hooves closer to the foal, looking at his wife for permission to hold his son. When she nodded, he carefully snaked his hooves under the foal and soon had him in a cradling position.

Sniffling, StarGazer tore his teary eyes away from his son to meet his wife’s face, “I-I can’t believe it. I h-have an s-son!” He said happily. Hoofing the foal back to the mother, StarGazer wiped his eyes with a foreleg, resting it on the floor when he finished. “So, do you have a name for him?”

The second he finished his sentence, a puzzled look found its way onto Sunray’s face. “That’s the thing; a strange name came to me.” She said.

When a foal is born, the mother is given a feeling in her heart and mind. This feeling is the idea of what her foal's name would be, based on their future destiny. That is why pony names are so different from other races. Combining a word relating to their destiny and a characteristic of their body is the most popular way of foal naming, but not the only option.

“What is it then?” StarGazer said with a raised eyebrow.

Sunray moved her head over to meet StarGazer, her puzzled expression turning into confusion. “Well…from what I can tell, the name that came to me was-”

“-Pucci?”

Chp 2: Awakening

No one (3rd person)

Today was a good day.

It was a fair 65 degrees outside with a steady breeze, making the winter air barely noticeable; the sun shined high in the cloudless sky, and, recently, Princess Twilight had attended the opening of a new coffee shop. Even the nobles of Canterlot seemed to be less “snobby” today.

Today was a good day, all except for a particular pony.

“Blast! Where in all of Equestria did I put it?” A deep voice complained. A tall stallion who owned the voice rushed back and forth, tearing up the extensive study that circled him.

His coat was a lighter shade of brown since his youth, with a strange short mane style consisting of five sections and four connecting lines leading down from his sides and scalp, and eyes of black with a four-pointed star in the middle. Covering his body was a long, black collared coat with a golden trim that met in the middle of his chest in a cross-shape design.

The room he was running around was circular-shaped, with walls covered in book-filled shelves, most of their books resting on either tables or the purple carpeted floor. The only things that segmented the many towering bookcases were stone pillars keeping them apart and a single white-bricked section with a large open window in the middle. A massive telescope jetted out from the inside and pointed to the sky. And attached to the center of the domed roof above was a single golden chandelier surrounded by a mural of the stars, each one of its consolation mapped out perfectly. But despite the study’s potential beauty, parchment, maps, books, and quills layed scattered across the ground haphazardly.

A loud bang shortly erupted after the stallion tripped over a small pile of books, sending him tumbling until impacting with a shelf. Books from the higher section wabbled from the impact, eventually tipping out and landing straight onto the stallion.

Moments passed before the stallion’s head popped out of the book pile with a scowl. His ears then perked when the sound of snickering reached them, shooting his miffed look to whoever dared laugh at his misfortune. When his eyes landed on the origin of the sound, his expression turned from a scowl into a deadpan. In the open doorway to the stallion's study was a unicorn mare levitating a bookbag in an off-white colored magic, using a hoof to stifle her snickering.

Her coat was the color of buttermilk, a tied-back mane and tail of red and purple, and a pair of worn black-framed glasses covering lavender eyes. A black turtleneck sweater covered the front half of her body, only stopping before an image of a violet moon and three stars on her flank.

“Professor Pucci? What are you doing?” She said, walking in and closing the door behind her.

With a huff, Pucci quickly pushed the offending tomes off himself and rose to his hooves, dusting his coat to rid it of wrinkles. “I see you take enjoyment of my mistake?” He flatly said, making the mare stiffen up, “But it’s alright, Moondancer, I merely fell.” He sighed, returning to examining seemingly random books, not noticing Moondancer sitting at a reasonably clean table.

“You looking for something?” Moondancer awkwardly asked, using her magic to somewhat organize the scattered books around her. “Is this about that dream you had?” She said, a slight tone of annoyance lining her words.

Pucci shook his head, “No, it’s not. I’m searching for a gift.”

“A gift, for who?” Moondancer asked curiously.

“For my sister. Heart’s Warming Eve is approaching soon, so I purchased a book for her as a gift. Before, my parents or I had to read to her, so I thought it would be a nice gift. But it seemed to have been misplaced when you and I cleaned up the other day.” Pucci quietly growled the last part as he tossed another book away. “ I can’t believe myself, misplacing something as simple as a book.” He muttered.

Moondancer’s eye widened in surprise, “Wait, isn’t your sister…y’know…blind?” She asked sheepishly, trying not to offend her professor.

A sigh escaped Pucci’s lips as he faced Moondancer with the same calm mask he always wore. “Yes, the book I bought was a brail copy of a series she loves. Small and colored white with text on the front.” He explained.

“Got ya.” Moondancer said with a nod. Second of silent thinking later, she shot out of her chair, scanning the shelves like a machine. After a few seconds, a grin formed on her muzzle. Rushing over to a far-off bookshelf, Moondancer bit down onto a rolling ladder and, with a grunt, dragged it across the floor. She eventually stopped at a section labeled “M” by a brass plate mounted in the corner of the bookcase. Climbing the latter carefully, Moondancer reached the very top and did her best to see something in the dark abyss known as the very top of the bookcase. With an “aha!”, Moondancer reached into the darkness and pulled out a slim white book.

During all this, Pucci had noticed the semi-introverted mare atop the latter. “Moondancer?” He called out with a raised eyebrow. Pucci’s eyes followed her as the mare slid down from the long latter and quickly walked up to him, a prideful smirk on her face. “What is that behind your back?” he said, pointing to a hidden object levitating behind her.

Moondancer chuckled and pulled out a thick book. It was small, not even 8 inches tall, completely white with text on the front in black, bold letters. The text read: “Harry trotter and the sorcerers stone.”.

Pucci’s eyes widened, a small smile parting his lips, “That’s it!” He grabbed the small book from her magic and stashed it into his coat. “Where ever did you find it?”

The semi-introverted mare nervously chuckled while scratching the back of her mane, “Weeeeell, you see, I remembered back when we cleaned up to see if I had seen it. And I thought I HAD seen something matching what you described.” Motioning her hooves to Pucci’s breast inner breast pocket where the book was, she grinned sheepishly, “So I found it, ta-da!” She cheered half-heartedly.

“But that place you were looking through moments ago was the-” Pucci looked down while Moondancer was sweating buckets,”- junk pile where we throw miscellaneous papers.” His eyes then locked back onto Moondancer, who forced back a yelp at the sight of his narrowed eyes.

Dismissively waving her hooves wildly, Moondancer shook her head side-to-side at breakneck speeds. “No, no, it’s not like that, I swear! It’s just that I was so tired from cleaning up all day that I mistook that book for some random manual and put it up in that place by mistake!” Seeing the look remain on Pucci’s face, she tried to make herself as small as possible, her ears folding against her skull, “Please don’t fire me.” She pleaded meekly.

Seeing what his look was doing to the poor mare, Pucci slumped his shoulders and let out a tired sigh. “It’s alright, my assistant, nothing more than a mistake.” Moondancer visibly relaxed, seeing that her boss/professor wasn’t mad. He reached out a hoof to Moondancer, who took it and pulled onto her hooves. “Just be careful next time, understand?”

“Yes, sir, I hear you.” Moondancer nodded, then perked up with a face of realization, “Oh! And speaking of gifts.” Making her way to the table where her bookbag was, she pulled back the flap, and a slip of paper emerged from inside. “I know it may not be fancy or anything, but I know how much it meant to you. So here you go. Happy hearts warming!” The piece of paper glided through the air, soon making its way into Pucci’s hooves.

Upon examining the paper, his eyes widened, “A ticket to a live performance by Mustang Handel?” He said in disbelief, “But I thought they sold out the first day they announced they were playing in Canterlot? How did you manage to get this?” He asked.

Moondancer diverted her gaze, an embarrassed look on her face, “Let’s just say my bit’s bag wasn’t feeling very full by the time I got them.” She chuckled.

Pucci was about to scold his assistant about how she shouldn’t waste her bits on something so expensive, even as a gift, but that last word caught his ears, “Them?” He echoed.

To answer his question, an identical ticket floated from the bag next to Moondancers face, “Thought I could join you,” A faint blush appeared on her face, but she managed to hide it by looking down, “I-If you don’t mind.” she said in her best casual tone. She flinched as something touched her, looking up to see Pucci smile at her, a friendly hoof on her shoulder.

“No, I don’t mind. And thank you for the gift; it is lovely.” He smiled

Moondancer internally squealed at a volume that, if released, would’ve made everypony in a 5-mile radius deaf. She clumsily rushed back to her bag, stuffing back in her ticket, and stopped at the door in all one motion. “W-Well, I got to be going now! I see that my purpose for being here is gone now, so- um -I think my…toaster is running late!” She laughed awkwardly before running out the door, slamming it close behind her.

Blinking and shaking the surprise away, Pucci shook his head in amusement. After all this time, Moondancer was still the same awkward pony he’d met that faithful day. No matter how much she tried to be outgoing and social, she still got flustered by straightforward compliments from him. Maybe she wasn’t used to them when she was more closed off to the world. But besides that, Moondancer gave most of the credit for her personal development to Princess Twilight before she became the ruler of Equestria. Now she’s more of a socialite than her old self and trying new things. She even took up a job Pucci put out as his personal assistant in his astrology studies. If he ever had the chance to thank the princess, he would for having the opportunity to have such a lovely student.

But the peaceful reminiscing was ruined when Pucci took a moment to look around his study, finally seeing the mess he had made during his search. With a groan, Pucci hung his head and made his way to the broom closet.

Today was an alright day for him.

But, unbeknown to Pucci, he hadn’t noticed the cloaked figure staring at him from the window. A sharp-toothed grin flashed from the darkness of the pony’s hood before disappearing in the blink of an eye.

The birds, who were about to take flight from the window seal, were now meters away in the sky.

Pucci (1st person)

The air was alive with a strange alien warmth. Not the kind that you would receive from a loved one or warm air; it’s the kind of warmth that tells a pony that you can let your guard down just this once. Not that it was up in the first place, mind you.

I’ve always had a soft spot for the classics but never really cared for genres like country or “techno.” they didn’t have the same feel. Their harmonious melodies were like a deep-tissue message to my ears; the angelic voices of the singers mixed in well with the instruments, and the way they perfectly orchestrated the piece brought the whole package together. And not one peep from the possible hundreds of ponies in the theater interrupted this beautiful art piece.

Speaking of which, the many nobles who attended the show were almost suffocating. Moondancer and I were barely able to obtain seats near the far-left middle; it was so packed.

The most likely reason for the near-overcrowding was because the princess of Equestria, Twilight Sparkle, was in attendance, sitting far above the crowd in her booth. Either the nobles just wanted to gawk at the royal alicorn like love-sick mares, or they were trying to sliver their way into her royal reserves. The answer, I do not care for it. Tonight is when my assistant and I could relax and let ourselves get lost in the music.

And as for my assistant, she is currently resting her head on my shoulder. The lack of verbal communication and her soft breathing must mean she’s asleep, although her head is a little hot. Maybe I should let her take a couple of days off, she works hard enough, and I don’t want the mare to catch an illness.

But as the music continued to play, I took the opportunity to reflect on my life. When I was but a young foal, my father managed to get me into astrology. At first, he admitted it was an attempt to get me interested in something besides reading fantasy books with my sister. But as time went on, I became more interested in the stars and what they have to hold. I still remember when my parents bought me a telescope for my 12th birthday, we spent so many nights looking up at the night sky until I fell asleep. Books upon books about the subject filled my room, and I had partially memorized every word and trivia in them. Like how our celestial bodies are made mostly of hydrogen and helium that produce light and heat from the churning nuclear forges inside their cores.

My love of astrology led me to gain my cutie mark, a spiral galaxy, and a position in the Canterlot school of space and science. There, I put my talent on full display, and as a result, I discovered at least three other star systems alone and assisted in tracking down and proving the theory of the black hole, a dead star that collapsed into itself and sucked in all light around it. Nowadays, I mostly create maps of the night sky in my free time, waiting around until I am called on for an assignment.

“HEY, SUITED-UP PIG’S!”

A round of gasps going off at once snapped me out of my reminiscing to see the surrounding nobles and Moondancer all staring at the stage. When I followed their gazes, I couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow.

On stage was a black-coated stallion, whose fur looked matted and falling out in some places, smiling widely as his blue eyes scanned the crowd. Covering the stallion's body was what I could only describe as royal guard's armor mended with scrap iron and trash, held together place by twine. The music players behind him looked at one another with worried and confused expressions, trying to figure out the strange lunatic who went on the stage.

“I was told to kill some guy,” He said, electing another round of gasps, “But it is too hard, and I ain’t got that time!” The stallion's head then wiped side-to-side as his body twitched erratically. A low growl escaped his throat as his crazed smile turned to a deep frown. “If there’s some guy in the crowd with a shitty white mane and brown coat, come out and die already!” He roared in anger.

Immidetaly, multiple royal guards came swarming out nearby doors to arrest the crazed stallion. But his frown snapped back to his smile as I felt the once-warm air filled with a menacing chill. In an instant, three of the royal guards were implied in the head by an invisible projectile. The theater was now in horrified silence, the only sound being the stallions cackling at what he just did.

His laughter eventually died out, only to be replaced by a menacing glare. “If you don’t want to die to my stand, I suggest you start running. I’m tired of waiting.”

It was like somepony flipped a switch. Screams of terror deafened the theater as the nobles trampled and ran from their seats to reach the door. The lunatic’s cackling only increased, but I could faintly make out a shape behind the stallion.

“Seven Nation Army, KILL THEM ALL!” He shouted, pointing to the retreating crowd. That’s when I saw it, the figure behind the stallion.

Floating just above the floor was a pony-shaped entity cladded in silver armor and red robes. But beyond the armor was not flesh and blood; instead, it was all mechanical junk shaped like a pony, gears for eyes, a crushed can for a muzzle, scrap metal for the ears, and wires and tubes making up the rest of the “face”. And in its grip was an elegant bow made from dark wood and engraving decorating it.

The entity drew back its bowstring, aiming at the crowd for a few seconds before letting go with a loud bang. Arrows made of the same metal as its armor tore through the air before finding their targets, impaling some of the escaping crowd and a couple of guards.

I was reminded of Moondancers presence as she screamed at the sight. I pulled the petrified mare close to me and went low behind the seats in front of us, looking around for an escape. Luckily, my eyes landed on a backstage entrance that the guards, who were also getting shot at, came through. Keeping my panic to a minimum, I started to shuffle behind the seats in the direction of the door.

“I order you to stop, criminal!” A voice shouted. Peeking over the edge, I saw princess twilight standing between the crowd and the crazed stallion. “ Why are you doing this, Valiant Heart?! What drove you to do something so horrible!” She said, sounding more heartbroken than angry.

“Oh, it’s you.” The stallion, named Valiant Heart, sneered, his words lined with venom. “I shouldn’t have to answer to you anymore, your majesty. Especially since you kicked me out off the guard!” He roared.

Princess Twilight winced from his tone but managed to keep her ground, “That was only because you not well! You need help, Valiant; stop this, and I promise you will be better.” She practically begged. Valliant roared in anger, grabbing the sides of his head as the ghost behind him shot three arrows at the Princess. She managed to deflect the first two with magic blasts, but the third one managed to graze her cheek, drawing a small amount of blood.

“Argh! I told you before, nothing is wrong with me!!!” he said, pointing behind himself at the entity with a hoof. “See, I have proof I wasn’t lying!” Twilight followed his hoof and hardened her gaze when it landed on the bow-wielding entity. “But now, I’m going to fulfill my promise,” The entity switched its sights from the princess to where I was hiding, “And then, I’M GOING TO MURDER YOU!”

The entity let go of its bow again, sending arrows toward Moondancer and me. Time seemed to slow down as I jumped out of the way, but I was too late as the arrow mangled the seat I was behind moments ago and stabbed one of Moondancer’s forelegs that were wrapped around me and impaled my side. We fell to the ground with pained yelps, blood quickly staining our clothes and coats. I looked behind at the end of the arrow to see most of that blood gushing from Moondancer’s forearm. “Crap, must have hit an artery!” I internally cursed myself for being slow.

Twilight had seen this, and her shocked expression turned to anger, whipping her head back around and lighting her horn with a powerful lavender glow. “I said STOP” A power wave of magic exploded from her horn and was directed at Valiant. His eyes widened, and he tried to block by crossing his forearms but was sent back into the far-off wall. By this time, the music players had already left, and Valiant's body fell onto the music sheet holders below.

The princess then turned her head towards me, “Are you two alright?!” She asked. I shook my head, coughing up a bit of blood.

“N-No, my assistant got hit in the arm, and it cut an artery!” I shouted back. Ignoring the princess and turning back to the impaling arrow, I positioned one hoof behind me, grabbing the arrow under Moondancers arm. With a pained grunt, I snapped the arrow in two. The movement must have been too much, as Moondancer cried out in pain before going limp in my forelegs. Some panic managed to slip past my calm mask, seeing my beloved assistant possibly dead on the ground. I pressed my ear to her chest and sighed in massive relief, hearing a faint heartbeat.

Another loud bang caught my attention, making me move out of the way in time to avoid an arrow running me through the head. Looking back again, I saw Princess Twilight and Valiant battling, that arrow probably being a stray shot. Thinking quickly, I bit down the edge of my coat and ripped off a long strip, tightly wrapping it around Moondancer’s forearm.

“Don’t think I forgot about you, shitty hair!” Valiant called out, dodging another magic blast from Twilight. “You match his description, so you're in my crosshair now. Stay still!”

Anger rose in me as I stared holes into Valiant's head. He dares ruin my night with my assistant, hurts others just to get to me, and has the gall to order me around! I felt veins bulge in my head as I put Moondancer on the ground, making sure she wasn’t in the way. “You psycho! You’ll pay for this!” I shouted. The muscles in my legs contracted, and I kicked off the ground and into a sprint, rushing the laughing stallion.

Valiant pointed a hoof at me, “Seven Nation Army!” He commanded. The entity aimed and fired at me, which I dodged by the skin of my teeth, weaving and moving past the remaining theater seats.

Once I was at arm's length of the lunatic, I reeled back my foreleg and swung it at Valliant. But he didn’t dodge; he instead stood there as my hoof connected with his cheek. To my bewilderment, the stallion had barely moved an inch, smiling at me cockly while chuckling.

“You call that a punch?” He taunted, balling up his own hoof, “barely felt it.” The wind instantly escaped my lungs as Valiant hoof slammed into my solar plex, dropping me to the ground like a bag of bricks. I knew I wasn’t the type to get into fights often, but the psycho did have a point; that WAS pathetic.

“Sir!” I heard Twilight call out. A second later, a magic blast shot towards Valiant, which the entity softened as they went flying back. “Are you alright?” Her voice was closer and filled with concern. I managed to look up and see her staring down at me.

After a round of hoarse coughs, I nodded, “Y-Yes, your highness.” I wheezed out. “How am I going to be this crazy stallion?! And what is that thing that’s following him?” I thought, turning my gaze to where he should have been: in front of the stage.

He wasn’t there.

My eyes widened as a bang went off above Twilight, and I turned just in time to see Valiant above us, smiling as an arrow was heading straight toward Twilight's heart.

And in that single moment, seconds away from having a dead alicorn atop me, something inside me took over. In the blink of an eye, Princess Twilight and I have seemingly teleported away onto the stage, visibly shocking Valiant. The arrow targeting Twilight seconds ago now stabbed the empty floor, kicking up debris and dust. Valiant confusion turned to shock as he switched over to where we were.

I managed to dislodge myself from under Princess twilight, who followed my movement with a similar expression to Valiant’s. I knew for certain something was behind me, something that I felt would help me keep others safe from this psycho.

I knew not of its form, but I FELT its name in my head.

“You dare ruin the happiness of others on this night. And for what? Because somepony told you to kill me?” I ask mockingly, “Such unnecessary violence, utter foolishness.” I sneered. The words that came out of my mouth felt so foreign yet so familiar at the same time. But it was not time to dwell on such things, now was the time for judgment.

An aura of multicolored light surrounds me as I slowly closed the distance toward Valliant. He backed away with a fearful expression, most likely feeling the same energy coursing through my body.

“Come forth-”

“Made in Heaven!”

Author's Note

Stand Name: Seven Nation Army
Stand master: Valiant heart

Power<C
Speed<C
Range<B
Durability<D
Precision<A
Potential<D

Chp 4: Unexpected visit (edited)

Moondancer (1st person)

My mind was swimming sluggishly, like trying to traverse an ocean of molasses without my legs, slowly sinking into the darkness further and further. I knew I was in a Hospital, that there were ponies taking care of me, and that I was safe now. Unfortunately, my mind had been going in and out of consciousness due to recent events. Luckily, moments like that became less common as my stay continued.

But my body still shivered with fear because of what had been embedded within me that night. Those nobles were jerks, but they didn't deserve to…die! All that blood, their screams of pain filling my ears, and seeing the lifeless bodies fall to the floor would forever be etched into my psyche. I had lost sleep during my, what I presume, three nights here. Every time I closed my eyes, all I could see was them tormenting me for an unknown reason. I know I couldn't have done anything! But still.

Sweet Celestia, I wish Mister Pucci was here right now.

I first lost consciousness shortly after the arrow was broken and pulled out of my foreleg; the pain was too much for me to bare. Don't get me wrong: I couldn't blame him for doing what he needed to do. It's just...he's starting to worry me. I assumed he would be here by now to see me awake and check on me, but I haven’t seen him since that night.

That probably sounds REALLY inconsiderate. But I can't help that my mind is playing all these awful scenarios of Pucci being hurt...or worse. I’m worried for him.

The day Twilight showed me the magic of friendship; how I needed to be more open with others, it was honestly scary. It felt great at first, the feeling of having all these new opportunities to live my life and meet new ponies to bond with. But that was also the problem. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't be like: 'Hey! I'm a total stranger you know nothing about. How about we become life-long pals?' to just anypony. I was dreading that if I did or said anything wrong to somepony, then I would lose a potential friend. Mixing that with my lackluster social skills, I was still stuck at square one, acting more like Fluttershy than an extra gloomy pony this time.

To make things worse, my bits were running low as well, and the stress of finding a job didn't wasn’t doing me any favors. During the Canterlot attacks, my home was caught in the crossfire of the battle and sustained some damage. It wasn’t anything severe besides small holes and missing roof tiles, but I had barely enough bits to cover the damage. When the lack of money began to affect me, I couldn't stay locked up inside my home forever in fear.

Plus, I was running out of my favorite muffins.

So I took to the streets, searching high and low to find any available jobs I could get my hooves on. I looked in magazines, newspapers, community boards, and the like, but not one seemed good-paying enough or something I saw myself being content working in. My search took me all over Canterlot, but in the end, it was useless. The sun had gone down by that time, and ponies were closing shops and stores, so it killed any chance I had left. Defeated and depressed, I walked back home with my head slumped and filled with rainy clouds; nothing was going right.

That was until I spotted a single sheet of paper taped to a light pole, the kind you see for shady businesses or ponies trying to make a quick bit. Having nothing better to do, I decided to see what it was about. Once I got a good look at it, the paper's owner was searching for help in the form of an assistant with their studies.

At first, I thought it was some rich student who was too lazy to do the work for themselves, but that was before I saw a name in the top left corner. "Advertisement made by Pucci Stary Ray at 163 Colver field Street.". I was confused by the name at first. Sure, I had a general idea of who Pucci was, but nothing in-depth about him beyond being a famous astronomer. Which was saying something, considering my talent for astronomy. Regardless, even if it was a scam, it wasn't like I had anything to lose except my time. Taking the gamble, I snatched one of the few paper tabs from the large sheet with the same hoof-written address. From there, it was history.

Usually, I say princess Twilight was the one who had a massive impact on my change in behavior, but I owe a bit to Pucci as well. Ever since my first day, he has treated me with kindness and respect that I never imagined a Canterlot pony could give. He consistently tries to put on a front of a calculated and all-serious pony when, in fact, he's too shy to make personal connections. He was more of a lovable teddy bear who didn’t know when to take a rest.

From what I assumed, he didn't appear like the type of stallion to speak to others if it wasn't science or space related. But when he took me in, he too began to open up to me about other things than work and vice versa. I actually started talking to strangers without having a panic attack!

In a way, we were just two ponies who needed a good friend.

A knock from my room's door snapped me out of my thoughts and gently swung open as a unicorn nurse entered. "Oh! You're awake, Mrs. dancer." She said with a little surprised look, "Are you feeling any better?" The nurse asked as she closed the door behind her.

I nodded, my eyes drifting to the plastic bag held in her magic, "Besides feeling a bit drowsy, yeah, I guess." I reply, watching as the nurse place the plastic bag on the foot of my bed.

"That's good," The nurse hummed, "I brought your belongings, you're to be discharged today after a small evaluation, but the doctors think you'll be okay to go home today."

"Thanks." I said with a polite smile.

Before I got the chance to get out of bed to put on my sweater, a look of realization crossed the nurse's face. "Wait, I almost forgot!" She then pulled out a small cardboard package from the bag, a note attached to it. "This was left on the front desk this morning. We don't know who it is from, but the attached letter was addressed to you." The nurse explained.

Weird. I didn't know anypony was sending me gifts this early. Was it Pucci, and he forgot to put his name on it? No, he wouldn't have missed something like that when sending something. Well, there's only one way to find out.

"That's strange. Mind if I see it?" I asked the nurse. She shook her head and levitated the package to me.

It took a little work, but I cut the tape holding the package closed with my... untrimmed hoof. Note to self: go to the salon more often. Embarrassing hygiene aside, I carefully dragged out an item wrapped in bubble wrap. With the nurse's assistance, we unraveled the trapped object from its protective prison, only to raise our brows at what it was.

The objects were strange; one was a picture of an arrow with a white background. It had a long, wooden spine ending in three feathers, the head had a broad but curved shape colored in gold with silver trim, and an upside-down hole in the middle that looked like an apple. The second item was a metal chuck with jagged edges as if it was broken off of something, that something being apparent when I saw that it looked like it belonged to the arrow in the picture.

I stared at the arrow shard for a good while before switching my attention back to the box itself. Turning it upside down and shaking it, I tried to see if there was anything else in the box: nothing. I then remembered the note the nurse had mentioned; taking it off the box's side, I unfolded the small paper and read it.

"Greetings, Moondancer. To answer your predictable question, no, I am not Pucci or anypony you care to remember. You will not know who I am or what I look like, at least not right now. I have sent this artifact piece to you in the hopes that you could help me prevent a crisis from happening. No details will be provided for you. All I ask is that you deliver this to Princess Celestia once you have found all the pieces; she'll hopefully take it from there."

"Signed F.V."

A flurry of emotions exploded in me once I had finished the letter. Crisis, what crisis? I thought Equestria was finally at peace! Was this some weird prank by Pucci or something, or some crazy pony that sent this package out, and I happened to get it? I couldn't have been either. The hoof writing was much fancier than Pucci's, an eye-pleasing form of calligraphy. And the package was specifically meant for me; my name in the letter is a dead giveaway, so it couldn't be a random chance. Who could’ve sent it? Fancy Velvet, Frantic Volts, Funny Volition? Who could it have-

"OW!" I cry out in pain, feeling a burning sensation on my hoof. Looking down, I saw a trail of crimson blood running down my hoof and staining the white bed sheets, a small amount on the arrow shard itself.

I heard a gasp, quickly learning it came from the nurse who looked at my hoof with shock and worry. "Oh, dear, are you okay?" She asked. When I nodded, she turned and ran to the door. "I'll grab some bandages; I will be right back!" She said, making her way out of the room.

Now alone, I threw the arrow shard next to the plastic bag with my things inside, making a dull thud against the firm bed sheets; I reached over to my side table and snatched a wad of tissues to cover my hoof. "Damn thing." I cursed at the blood-covered shard, "How am I supposed to find the rest of you if I can't handle you properly? Why am I even talking to the damn thing or considering going along with this?!" I quietly shouted to myself to not disturb anypony outside. Seconds of silence went by before I deadpanned. "Maybe because I'm bored. And, oh, right, crisis." I flatly say to myself. It’s not like I could turn this down.

I sighed, using my magic to re-wrap the arrow shard and place it back into the box. Better safe than sorry. As I lay in wait for the nurse to return, I had this bizarre feeling that somepony or something was watching me.

Probably nothing.

Pucci (3rd person)

Pucci’s legs burned as he ran through the empty streets of Canterlot, lungs at their absolute limit to supply oxygen to the rushing astronomer. He had been away for too long and was running late to find Moondancer.

The time he spent at the castle wasn't as long as he expected, mostly just chatting with Twilight and the doctors, who made sure his wounds were fully mended. What really took the time away from Pucci's day was his coat. Pucci's coat was specially crafted from silk made only in Saddle Arabia, which meant it was somewhat of a rare material to come across outside of the desert country, even in a city like Canterlot. Luckily, there was a materials store in Canterlot that happened to have the prized material. The only problems were that they were located at the city's edge and didn't allow custom requests for clothing. So most of Pucci's day consisted of running all over Canterlot while clothless, getting the silk, hunting down a tailor, and getting his new coat made.

In the end, Pucci's coat was made and looked like his old one, albeit a bit tighter around the forelegs. None of it mattered, anyhow, as Pucci wasted enough time dawdling. He needed to make one last stop by the observatory and pick something up, a gift for Moondancer. Pucci was planning to give the gift to her after the show, but he knew how that turned out.

But now was not the time for reminiscing as the observatory was in sight, causing a determined look to appear on Pucci's face. When the astronomer was about 50 feet from his destination, a familiar power welled up inside him. Not getting a chance to question the sensation, Pucci was suddenly running at a tremendous speed that made everything around him seem like a blur. And in less than a second, Pucci appeared directly in front of his observatory entrance, breathing heavily from a mix of adrenaline and exhaustion.

Pucci blinked in surprise, his muzzle inches from the wooden barrier. "Every second that passes, things seem to be getting stranger." Pucci growled in frustration. Putting the bizarre event aside, he went to pull the key he kept under the doormat to unlock the door. Distracted, he forgot where he stood, accidentally bumping his head on the door, making himself stumble back with a hiss. "Curses. It seems like this day just-" Pucci's voice caught itself in his throat, his eyes widening in shock as his front door slowly creaked open.

A cold chill of fear ran up Pucci's spine, not noticing that Made in Heaven had manifested behind him. Swallowing a lump in his throat, Pucci's hoof reached out and pushed the door in. The darkness of the observatory usually didn't bother Pucci, but the darkness ahead felt cold and sinister, like there was an unknown beast waiting just beyond the door. His legs were weak, and a bead of sweat rolled down his head. If there was an intruder in his workplace, he needed to do something! The closet guards were 2 street blocks back, and Pucci was certainly not up for running anymore.

So steeling his nerves, Pucci stood straight up and allowed himself to be swallowed by the darkness with Made in Heaven close behind. Closing the door behind him, he perked his ears up to listen for any sounds, a shuddering breath escaping his throat as he swiveled his head from side to side.

It was quiet, too quiet. There was barely any sound besides the crumbling of parchment under his hooves as he walked further into the dark; not even the winter breeze made a sound.

“Ah, so you finally made it!”

Pucci’s eyes bulged as he spun around in the direction of the voice, Made in Heaven went into a fighting stance to protect his master. There was silence once more; Pucci’s heartbeat and heavy breathing filled his ears. Then there was a laugh, an amused laugh, sounding as if the voice’s owner was taking enjoyment out of Pucci’s fear. Instead of taking offense, the sudden laughter made Pucci flinch, but he quickly recovered and put on his best angry expression.

"Show yourself, criminal. Or I'll alert the guard about you breaking into my property." He lied in a threatening tone, doing his best to adjust his eyes to the darkness.

"I doubt that," The voice said, now close behind Pucci, "Princess Luna, whilst in space, says that no sounds could be made and heard in the dark void. The lack of air prevents soundwaves from moving about, causing such a phenomenon." Warm breath grazed Pucci's left ear, sending a shiver down his spine as an icey-cold touch softly clutched his throat, "And you, Sir, Star ray, can not be heard at the moment by anypony except me." It said in a low, sly tone.

Pucci remained motionless, the astronomer's body shivering in fear. The voice sounded young and masculine, but the grip on his throat said otherwise. It felt as if, with little effort, the stallion behind him could easily crush his windpipe and not break a sweat. If he were to anger the voice's owner, then nopony would hear his screams.

"2...3...5...7...11..."

"What...do you want?" Pucci finally said after minutes of deafening silence.

"...29...31...37...41...43..."

Catching him off guard, the chandelier above and candles placed on wall-mounted candle holders sparked to life, nearly blinding Pucci with the sudden change in brightness.

Blinking away the dark spots in his vision, Pucci spun around to see if the stallion was there, only to meet with nothing. Another amused chuckle from the voice made Pucci snap in its direction to meet the culprit face-to-face, now directly under the chandelier's warm glow.

The stallion had a slim but muscular frame, A long, wild blond mane that reached his shoulders, and a pair of amber eyes. His outfit consisted of a black one-piece suit overlayed by a yellow jack with golden bracers at the sleeves, yellow pant legs held by a green belt with a heart in the middle, and two hearts on his knees. The remaining portions of his quirky outfit were a pair of pointed shoes on his hind hooves, a belt-like choker around his neck, and a headband that matched his waist belt. Despite the get-up, the menacing air surrounding the stallion sent off all alarms in Pucci's mind, causing him to keep Made in Heaven close.

"There's no need to be hostile. So you can put away your stand for now." The stallion calmly said, motioning a hoof at Made in Heaven.

Pucci's eyes widened for what felt like the dozenth time today, "Wait, you can see it?" Reluctantly, he called the "stand" back into his body, shuffling backward towards the door only if he needed to run. "So, are you Like Valiant?" Pucci asked.

That was another thing that Pucci had gotten distracted by today. Like a few moments ago, Made in heaven was appearing and disappearing throughout the day without Pucci’s command. Pucci theorized it to be a lack of control and understanding on his part, but what got his curiosity was the ponies around him. Whenever Made in Heaven appeared near ponies on the street, they didn't acknowledge the apparition floating around them like it didn't exist. So why was Princess Twilight able to see it? He guessed that the princess had one too. It made some sense. But then, how come she acted like she hadn't seen something like Made in heaven before? None of this made sense to Pucci.

A scoff drew Pucci from his thoughts, seeing the stallion look away with a sneer, "I'd rather burn in Tartarus before ever being compared to that filth." He muttered quietly, "I should have known not to trust a nut case like him. His mind was too far gone by that point, and he paid for it after going against my orders."

"So you're the one who really caused that massacre?!" Pucci shouted angrily with a scowl, the multi-colored aura appearing around him.

"No," The stallion said in mild offense, "During my travels, I had stumbled across the aftermath of a landslide. I thought nothing of it until I heard distant noises of distress. Investigating, I found Valiant crying and mumbling incoherently about how he needed to do something. That something being the murder of his entire squad."

Pucci gasped in shock at the reveal, "But why?" He asked unintentionally.

The stallion sighed, dawning a sad frown, "When you're so different from other ponies like Valiant, the constant string of pity tends to get old fast. He explained in tears that he joined the guard to gain control over his life and to stop being pitied so often. But tragically, it was all for naught. His illnesses kept him from rising through the ranks as the type of attention he hated so only seemed to worsen." he wiped a tear from the corner of his eye before the stallion continued, "The Canterlot attacks and reassignment was the straw that broke the camel's back. His mind couldn't take the strain, causing him to turn his murderous fury onto his fellow guard."

When the stallion finished his monologue, Pucci looked on in stunned silence. Combined with princess Twilight's story/ accounting and the stallion's story, it made sense. It would make logical that he would have caused the landslide as a way to murder his guard. But something didn't seem right. Pucci was no geologist, but it's known that the sedimentary rock created by, long since erupted, magma was tougher than common stone. It would take an impossible amount of magical or physical power to cause something like a landslide in the dragon's lands. If the rock in the dragon lands were like Equestrian sedimentary, then there wouldn't have been any dragon lands to speak of with all the savage conflict in their long history. There wouldn't have been a way for an earth pony guard to cause something like that.

Deciding to poke further into the matter, Pucci coughed into his hoof, gaining the stallion's attention, "May I ask you a simple question?" he asked.

The stallion raised a questioning brow, "Go on." He said, entirely losing the sorrowful tone he had moments ago.

Pucci ignored that fact and continued, "What are these 'stands' you mentioned? And how did Valiant acquire his?"

A look of annoyance appeared on the stallion's expression for a split second before returning to neutrality, "In short, stands are a part of a pony's soul, a manifestation of one's self, if you will. As for Valiants, I had felt a sense of responsibility and sorrow for the broken stallion. I helped him escape the hospital and helped him realize his power afterward."

"So you can bring out a stand?" Pucci asked.

A soft growl escaped the stallion's throat but went unheard by Pucci, "No, some ponies already have manifested their power, usually since foalhood. I just helped him...open his eyes." He quickly explained. "But enough question, I must ask for your assistance for a matter that has been plaguing me for ages now."

Pucci looked at the stallion suspiciously, "Which is?"

"Let's say that I...need somepony to pay back what they owe. I won't go into full detail now, but all you need to know is that somepony had wronged me years back and still hasn't been punished accordingly." The stallion explained, looking at the floor for a moment in disgust at the scattered parchments.

"If so, why haven't you done it yourself?" Pucci pressed the stallion.

This time, the stallion growled audibly in annoyance, startling Pucci, "Did you not hear me before, or are your ears stuffed with cotton?!" He berated. The stallion noticed his outburst, taking a calming breath before speaking, "Sorry, it's a sore subject of mine. I had tried to sort the matter out in the past, but it has become a bigger problem I can not handle alone." He explained, putting on a face of embarrassment.

"Where do I come into all this?" Pucci questioned, excusing the stallion’s outburst.

The stallion placed a hoof over his mouth in apparent thought, "For now, all I ask of you is to find something for me, a book." he answered.

Pucci looked perplexed for a moment- then holding a hoof out to the bookcases circling the two. "If that is all, then by all means, pick the one your looking for out of my collection."

"Not found in here," The stallion scoffed, " A book that has been lost to time itself. A book of important information that could aid my revenge." He grinned sinisterly. Instead of letting Pucci talk, the stallion added: "The book I'm looking for is somewhere in the castle of the two sisters, supposedly buried under the decaying structure. I've searched the palace already with no luck. You will be a fresh pair of eyes in the matter, and your ability may be of use."

Furrowing his brow, Pucci stepped forward, "What do you-" A knock from the front door suddenly interrupted the conversation, making the two stallions divert their attention.

The stallion clicked his tongue and rose from the floor. "Shame, it seems our little chat has to be cut short." The stallion turned and casually walked to the large observatory window and opened it, stopping to look back at Pucci, "Till we meet again, hold on to my offer."

Pucci's ears perked up to the stallion's voice, whipping his head around to catch him stepping on the window seal. "Wait!" He shouted, stopping the stallion's retreat. "Who are you?"

The stallion smirked and chuckled, "In due time, my dear Pucci. In due time.": Was all he said before disappearing from the window in a flash.

Another knock from the door snapped Pucci from his stunned state. Running to the door and swinging it open, Moondancer was on the other side mid-knock.

She put her hoof down and narrowed her eyes at Pucci. "And where were YOU?" She questioned with an annoyed tone.

Nervous sweat rolled down Pucci's forehead as he swallowed a lump in his throat, "Moondancer, you're...okay." He said. "I was coming back here to grab something before going to the hospital Twilight had mentioned before I...got distracted."

"Hold on, you met Twilight?" Moondancer, bewildered, asked: "And what kind of distracted? It sounded like you were finishing talking to somepony when I came to the door."

Pucci sighed tirelessly, "It's...a long story." Moving out of the way to make room for his assistant to walk through, Pucci motioned his head for Moondancer to come inside, "Sit down, and I'll explain myself."

Moondancer, still having her narrowed look, nodded slowly before limping forward. Pucci had instantly noticed, grimacing at the sight of Moondancers wrapped foreleg. Without warning, Moondancer yelped in surprise when she was unexpectedly lifted onto Pucci's back by an unknown force. Obviously, Made in Heaven had done the deed, but Moondancers frantic questioning meant she hadn't acknowledged the stand too.

Carefully, Pucci approached the nearest table, placing the highly confused Moondancer down on a chair and sitting across from her.

This was going to be a long night.

Chp 5: New beginnings

Author's Note

Before you read, I recommend re-reading the previous chapter before this one because I edited a portion due to plot reasons. I'm warning you so ya don't get confused :raritywink:

Chp 5: New beginnings

Pucci (1st person)

I let out an exasperated sigh, rubbing my temples as my sore and tired eyes scanned the papers in front of me.

At the top of the half-filled-out sheet of notebook paper: ‘Celestial spiral system theory study’ is said in bold letters under the warm glow of a small lamp. It had been a work-in-progress in the astronomy community based on a mass of gas giants spotted north of the Clover consultation. Yet it can not be proven as no telescope in Equestria has the hope of clearly seeing it.

And as predicted, even I, the famed 'prodigy' of astronomy, was having trouble working with my available equipment. I scoffed at that title. I was no prodigy despite being called that ever since I started my career in my early 20s. I worked tirelessly to gain my position by sheer dedication and hard work alone, not because I was somehow born for this role.

Just because I presented some star that hadn't been documented before despite being in plain view doesn't mean I'm better than anypony else.

Leaning back in my plain chair, I take a moment to examine my new room. Thankfully, it was still extensive, with white plaster walls and a soft gray rug floor. The room's side walls held mounted shelves; tomes from the observatory that had miraculously survived the incompetent moving crew were placed within them. The side opposite of me sports a large, two-pony bed and a nightstand with a single lamp resting on it. On the side I am currently on was a study desk that I had in storage for the longest time, with a roll-top cover and double drawers acting as its legs with a lamp resting on top.

I sneer at the alien environment, turning to an open window next to my desk. A magically amplified telescope poked out from its opening and pointed to the snowing night sky. Despite the silence, it was almost deafening to me as I grimaced at the town named Ponyville on the other side of the window.

It had been four days since my talk with Moondancer, and the results were mixed, to say the least. Of course, I left out the part about a stranger breaking into my workplace and spewing nonsense about revenge. But it was a nightmare convincing my assistant about Made in Heaven, however. I'm ninety percent sure she thinks of me as insane now. We, thankfully, had decided to drop the topic and go our separate ways for that night, but I couldn't sleep.

There was no way I could ignore that night's events.

So the morning after, I instantly started looking for a new home, hoping the stranger wouldn’t find me. If he knew where I worked, what's to say he doesn't know where I live? Moondancer predictably started to ask questions; I chalked it up to the academy having me stationed somewhere for a project. I tried to convince her to come, but she wasn’t comfortable with moving far away from Canterlot. So I promised to send letters and provided a paid vacation until I returned, cheering her up slightly; she is more important than my job. As for the academy, I had sent them a formal letter stating that I was going on a scientific expedition for an indefinite amount of time, but it’s not like they’d ever question me- suck-ups. I hate to lie to the young mare, but I can't risk my loved ones getting in that stallion's crosshairs. I need to, at least, divert attention away from my observatory. Lead the dog with a treat on a stick, as I say.

Now, on the topic of Ponyville. Where do I start with this place? When I began my search for a new place to lie low for the time being, the location was clear…but hard all the same. Places like Vanhoover and The Crystal Empire were too far from my job in Canterlot, and I don’t want to be far if something happens to my assistant. Others like Manehatten and Appleoosa were not the ideal environments for me to work in: noisy, and the locals are bothersome. So, that only left Ponyville, which wasn’t much better.

No matter how many ponies from inside and outside the backwater town babble about how peaceful it is, I am no fool. I will have to admit- compared to its past -Ponyville has gotten a better image over the last four years since the war against the three villains.

In spite of its relatively 'new' upbringing, chaos still runs through this town's veins. Example: When I first arrived here, some foals had set a large pack of angry cats loose by accident, causing damage to ponies, buildings, soft furniture, and curtains alike. Of all things, some students from the local School of Friendship had utilized catnip to calm the felines.

Despite that and other…things about my stay in Ponyville, It is tolerable most of the time.

I shivered when a cold breeze grazed my face, snapping me out of my thoughts. Swiftly, I knocked down the buildup of snow on the window edge and closed it, letting myself fall back onto my chair and hang my head low.

Again, I took a moment to glance at the papers on my desk from the corner of my eye. "What am I doing with my life?" I muttered to myself. This study is a waste of time, distracting myself with such nonsense, all because I'm stressed and refuse to face what is in front of me. I have to do something, anything! But what can I do?

With nothing to do, I turned to the only thing I could think of in times like these. In my younger years, I had terrible anxiety due to being anti-social. To fight it, I created several ways of keeping a strong mindset, like counting prime numbers, with one of them analyzing things to get a better sense of the subject in question. Now I turn to these habits mostly when I am stuck on an assignment or project.

Focusing on my inner energy, I manifested Made in Heaven next to me. It casually floated above my desk, and not a single item on the wooden surface shifted.

As I overlooked the apparition, the cogs in my mind started to turn. "These stands seem to resemble that of ghosts from old foals tales. They appear somewhat transparent, can float without wind or magic, and No ordinary pony can see them, but with two exceptions."

"Excluding Valiant and I, princess Twilight can see them as well, as far as I know, even though she displayed no physical evidence or knowledge of a stand after two instances of them. So can stand users and alicorns only see stands, or are there special traits one needs to view a stand? Before the fight at the theater, I had no clue that Made in Heaven was a part of me. But what that stallion said about helping Valiant awaken his stand leaves more questions than answers. Do these stands appear at birth or some other point in life, or are they earned by a means I know not of? What are stands for, anyway? Using Valiant Hearts stand again: he sported a bow and arrow-styled combat. My stand doesn't seem to brandish a weapon, so does it have magic or an ability like Seven Nation Army controlling its arrows? If so, I do not wish to risk causing unnecessary damage in pursuit of an answer."

Growling in frustration, I rested a hoof against my temple; these answerless questions started to bug me. So much for that. Deciding to take a break from my analysis, I quickly spotted the half-empty mug of coffee on the edge of my desk and went to grab it.

However, before my hoof could twitch, something extraordinary happened. As the thought of grabbing the mug serged throughout my brain, Made in Heaven looked at it, leaned down, and wrapped its right hoof around it. Turning back to me, Made in Heaven offered me my beverage. In my shock, I half-expected it to follow up by saying: “here you go” or something of the sort, yet no words passed through its lips.

I took the mug in my left hoof, making Made in Heaven return to its original position, looking down at me as I stared at it with wide eyes. My attention switched back and forth between the mug and my stand, but eventually, I took a sip. I’ll have to look into this further, maybe there is a local library in town, there I can look-

KNOCK, KNOCK, KOCK!

Nearly choking on my drink from the loud and frantic bangs, I coughed into my foreleg and sat my mug down. "Who is up THIS late?!" I say to myself in irritation. Speed walking out of my room to confront the pony who dared disturb me, I had failed to notice cracks forming on my mug, spilling coffee on the carpet.

After trekking through my two-story home, I threw open the door with a scowl as Made in Heaven disappeared. My expression instead switched to Confusion at seeing a particular party pony on my welcome mat. "Hello, Mister!" She Happily greeted me as her face practically beamed with joy, her pink fur body covered by a brightly colored winter coat.

I blinked several times before looking side to side to see if anypony else was there, only to spot nopony except her. "Aren't you the element of laughter?" I redundantly asked despite knowing who she was. How was I to approach this strange mare exactly?

She burst into a fit of giggles with one or two snorts for good measure, "No, silly. My name is Pinkie Pie!" She laughed, "But you were close." She then pulled out a black and gold colored gift box from her mane and placed it on the snow-covered ground. Pulling a simple hoof-crank from her poofy mane as well, she stabbed it into the side of the box and turned it clockwise with blinding speed. "Don't be late~." She said before dashing off down the street.

I stared in bewilderment at the party mare disappearing in the distance. The sound of a cheerful chime caught my ears, making me look down to see it was coming from the box.

The chime played for a couple more seconds before the top flew off with a bang, streamers, glitter, and party horns following soon after. I jolted back in surprise as a plastic clip attached to a spring shot out from inside the box, a small piece of paper in its grip. Silence filled the air as the held paper bobbed back and forth in place before I hesitantly grabbed it in my hoof.

On the black postcard-sized paper, small drawings of stars with smiley faces and plants littered its surface with golden glitter accompanying them. In the middle, with a swirly font, were the words: Surprise at Sugar Cube corner tonight!

I stare at the card with a confused scowl, wondering why Pinkie Pie bothered to come out here this late at night for such a thing. "A surprise, huh?" I say under my breath. Looking back toward my room/study, I hung my head in defeat. "It's not like I have anything better to do." I sighed with a sour tone.

Locking my door with the spare key under my welcome mat, I took to the streets of the quiet Ponyville, ready to face what awaited me in Sugarcube Corner.

Moondancer (3rd person)

Moondancer slightly shivered as a gust of frigid wind passed over her. Using her magic, she pulled her black, red-brimmed beanie down more and adjusted her similarly colored coat to protect herself from the cold weather.

"Stupid weather, stupid mystery pony, stupid arrow shard, stupid everything, stupid…stupid!" She grumbled, wondering why her home was so far from the royal palace.

The reason for her nightly stroll was that she had the idea to ask Princess Twilight directly about the arrow shard she received in the hospital. If she could get Twilight’s attention, she could get Celestia’s and maybe figure out what crisis is supposed to happen and who sent the package. "I could be inside my nice, warm house reading a good book. But no! I'm out here while everypony else is locking up for tonight because some stupid pony I don't know has gotten me paranoid!" She ranted in her mind; the enraged fire in her eyes for F.V. could have warmed all of Cnaterlot.

It was bad enough that her old friends were either busy spending time with family or out of town and her parents were still on their "around Equestria" tour. But the absence of her boss was downright depressing for the poor mare. When Pucci stated his reason for his departure, she hated not being able to join him. It felt as if she would never be able to see him again. That wasn't going to happen, of course, She did plan on visiting around Hearts warming eve in two days, but still, it was disheartening to see him go.

A drunk smile spread across Moondancers muzzle suddenly, her glasses somehow fogging up. "But imagine. Pucci and me sitting by a warm fire, snuggling up to each other and wrapped in a blanket. His forelegs gently wrap around me as I bury my face into his chest and feel his lips pecking my head." Moondancer thought as she giggled madly, a heavy blush on her face.

But noticing the royal castle's front gate ahead, Moondancer wiped her fantasy away and cleared her classes as she approached. Two golden-cladded guards spotted the approaching mare and straightened their still stance.

"State your business, citizen." One of the guards spoke with a deep voice.

Moondancer cleared her throat before speaking, "I'm here for the night court with Princess Twilight." She stated.

The second guard shook her head, "We're sorry, ma'am. But night court has been held off for tonight." She said. Since there was only one Princess now, it would be impossible and unhealthy for Princess Twilight to attend both day and night court. So as a compromise, she had declared that day courts would be only held on weekdays, with night courts being exclusively for weekends. It was confusing at first, but everypony had gotten used to the new schedule by now.

"What?" Moondancer blurted out, "I didn't hear anything about this."

"It was an order issued an hour ago concerning personal matters. We can’t disclose any information and suggest leaving, coming back later, or waiting until the next morning." The second guard calmly said.

Moondancer stomped her left hoof on the cobblestone road, "No! I need to see her now. It's-" She was cut off as the two guards blocked the gate with their spears in an 'X' formation. "I-It's important!" She finished.

The first guard narrowed his eyes at Moondancer, "Leave now, or we'll have to use force." He said with a threatening tone. Both guards and Moondancer stared at each other, unmoving, as the winter air passed by with a hollow howl. After seconds of tense silence, Moondancer huffed and turned back, walking away from the guards as they returned to their original positions.

“Stupid guards.” Moondancer spat quietly once she was a good distance away. Now with her mood sufficiently ruined, Moondancer traced her steps down the road she spent so much time walking along with a scowl. “Well, it’s time for plan B: Go to the Library.” She said.

When all else fails, your answer will always be in a book.

It wasn’t long before Moondancer reached the enormous structure of literature and knowledge and passed through its large entrance. Warm air washed over her as soon as Moondancer closed the doors, electing a smile on her face. That smile was also one of nostalgia, her eyes gazing over the numerous rows of books hundreds of feet away from her. So much of her life was spent in this one building; it was like a second home to Moondancer. She remembered all those nights studying for exams with Twilight, excitedly awaiting the next volume of her favorite series to hit the shelves, and coming here when she needed alone time. In all the years Moondancer has known this Library, it didn’t change a bit.

“Ahem.” Moondancer’s thoughts were halted by the sudden voice, making her head turn to the Librarian’s counter. Behind the counter was a mare in her early thirties with a blue-green coat with a curly white mane and tail, her mane tied back into a bun, and an image of three flowers on a stem on her flank. She wore a sweater like Moondancers but yellow instead of black, and red-framed glasses sat on her face. “Is there anything I can help you with, Moondancer?” She asked kindly, her voice speaking with a hint of a Trottingham accent.

Moondancer nodded and got closer to the counter, “Yeah, Poppy Vine, I do.” She said, resting a hoof on the desktop.

The mare known as Poppy Vine gave a sympathetic frown, “Rough week?” She asked.

“You wouldn’t believe it.” Moondancer replied, “ Look, I’m kinda in a rush, and I need your help finding some books if you don’t mind.”

Poppy Vine smiled, “Oh, sure, I don’t mind. What exactly do you have in mind?” She said, lighting her horn expectantly.

“I need anything relating to old artifacts, decorative, weapons, unexplained, magical, anything really.” Moondancer listed off, “I’m looking into something I was given, and I don’t exactly know what it is. So if you have anything that can help me, I would be grateful.” She finished with a friendly smile.

With no word, Poppy Vine nodded and levitated a pen and paper in front of her. The pen glided across the paper in swift motions, writing down dozens of book titles one by one until there were about fifty titles written down, separated into two columns. Resting the pen on the desktop, Poppy Vine gave the paper to Moondancer, who took it in her magic. Despite being new to her job, compared to dusty pages, Poppy Vine was excellent at her job.

“Here ya go, Moondancer. Most of those should be in the history and archaeology section, but the rest are scattered here and there. Hope that helps.”

“It will, Poppy,” Moondancer said, a nervous drop of sweat rolling down her head at the sheer length of the list. “I’ll be going now. It looks like I got a bit the read.” She joked.

Walking away, Moondancer prepared for her extended stay at the Library as she dived into the depths of the many rows of books. Unbeknownst to Poppy or Moondancer, a figure shrouded in darkness looked down at the Library from atop a building as a strange silhouette wrapped around them.

“So the hunt begins.”

Chp 6: Party pooper

Pucci (3rd person)

"-And I was like: Bonnie, for the last time, I'm not taking those mushrooms from the Everfree like before; remember that promise I made at our wedding? She just rolled her eyes and said there's no possible way humans could ever exist and to stop dreaming, or she was going to leave me! The nerve!" The mint coat mare slurred angrily, brushing her cyan mane with a white streak out of the way. Her unfocused half-closed golden eyes looked at Pucci with anger not aimed toward him, and her breath reeked of alcohol and digested foodstuffs.

Subconsciously reeling away slightly in his seat at the stench, Pucci quickly took a sip of the spiked punch from a red plastic cup to mask it. Despite the alcohol in the fruity beverage being strong enough to be smellable from a yard away, it wasn't strong enough to make the drunk mare any more tolerable than before.

It also didn't help Pucci's impression of her that the mare's tail kept swatting his flank periodically for 30 minutes.

Pucci suppressed a frustrated groan as he sat straight in his seat, holding his cup to his chest. "I see. I suggest you take her advice: so it doesn't become a recurring issue in your relationship." He replied hastily. While it wasn't the best advice he'd ever given, it was an acceptable response to getting the mare to stop talking.

She looked at Pucci for a moment before looking down at the counter in thought. It didn't last long, however, before she "psh'ed" him with a dismissive hoof wave, spilling some of her spiked drink on the hardwood floor. "Ah, whatever. I'll prove it to you, Bon Bon, and EVERYPONY someday! Mark my words, sweet cheeks!" She hollered loudly at Pucci with a drunken sway and raised forelegs...before face-planting into the counter and blacking out.

A tall, gangly yellow stallion with an orange mane/tail and an underbite wearing a baker's uniform from behind the counter yelped in surprise when the mare drink spilled onto his apron and fur. He muttered something under his breath with an irksome expression, but the overly loud music in the Sugarcube Corner masked any normal levels of noise made, the source of his pained mind.

When he first arrived at the bakery, it was pitch black inside as Pinkie waited by the front door. For a split second, he felt paranoia, believing that the stallion from before was somehow going to ambush him from inside.

Thankfully, the barrage of ponies shouting surprise and confetti cannons going off somewhat rested Pucci's then racing heart. That didn't stop the occasional look over the shoulder but otherwise was a decent time.

The large cake Pinkie Pie made with black frosting was his favorite, strawberry, which he found delicious. There were simplistic games he liked; pin the tail on the pony and apple-dunking. And the little star decoration hanging from the ceiling, while somewhat tacky, was charming, in a way. Avoiding how the element of laughter knew his favorite things despite not having met her until a couple of hours ago, the "welcome to Ponyville" party was enjoyable to a degree.

Pucci wished the poor attempt at mixing techno and classical music would stop, for it was a noble but useless endeavor.

Bad music aside, another thing that bothered Pucci was the crowd of ponies sprinkled about the bakery, milling about. He was never known much as a socialite amongst his peers, taking any chance to avoid situations like large crowds or small talk by a water cooler. There were exceptions with Moondancer, his colleagues, and highly official ponies like Princess Twilight, ponies he trusted.

But, put him in a room with strangers, and he's quiet as a mouse in the middle of a sleeping Timberwolf pack. Ponies that walked up to him during the party felt like pinpricks to his nerves, and they would either be ignored or given a short response.

He wasn't trying to be rude; he just wanted to be left alone.

"I don't even know why I came." Pucci muttered, raising the cup's edge to his parted lips. Maybe he should leave while nopony was watching.

"Hiya Percy!" A cheery voice called out suddenly, nearly making Pucci choke on his drink for the second time tonight. Turning with a subtle glare, he saw Pinkie bounce out from the crowd towards him, trailed by three other mares of equal notoriety. One of which nearly made him both wince and sneer.

Pucci raised an eyebrow, "Percy?" He repeated, almost making it sound like an insult.

His eyes followed as Pinkie hopped up and landed her rump onto the countertop to his right, her smile contrasting his frown, "It's the nickname I gave you. I was going to go with 'Pissy' or 'Pucy', but they sounded mean, and I didn't want to be some meanie pants, so Percy was the next best thing to call you." She explained.

"Well, don't." Pucci scoffed, taking a swig from his drink.

"What's got ya tail in a twist, partner?" Another voice questioned.

Turning to his left, Pucci saw the Element bearer of Honesty, Applejack, standing next to the sleeping drunk mare, looking at him with an offended expression. Her body was well built, with muscle visible through her fur; it looked like she could snap the astronomer in half if she wanted to. A neckerchief with a white trim and apple designs sat nicely on her neck, contrasting her unkempt and dirt-filled orange coat from a hard day's work. The farming mare's iconic seston was absent, letting her long blonde mane flow freely as opposed to her braided tail. Pucci respected her work ethic but wasn't as fond of her line of work.

Pucci kept his straight face, diverting his gaze, finding the kitchen behind the counter far more interesting, and put down his cup, “Nothing, and I'm not in the mood to talk.” He replied harshly, wanting to be far away from the three mares.

"How unfortunate. It seems you haven't changed much after all this time." A posh voice said with mock disappointment.

He didn't bother to look behind him, for he already knew who it was. Rarity, Canterlots finest seamstress, regardless of the fact she lives nowhere near the hillside city, and the element of Generosity. She had grown in popularity amongst the nobility in the last few years. It was due to a combination of her skills in the fashion industry and status as an element barer, and her face was plastered all over Canterlot's fashion district. While her perfect white coat and styled purple mane were showing signs of age, they were always complimented by the blue cloak with the fluffy white collar she wore, making her seem like a fine wine in pony form.

He didn't like her.

"Rarity." Pucci 'greeted' with an edge to his voice.

A scoff, "Mister Stary Ray, I would say it would be nice to see you, but I wouldn't like to lie in front of my friend Applejack." She said, her tone making Pucci's blood boil.

Deciding to ignore the seamstress, Pucci faced Pinkie Pie, who was laid across the counter with her open muzzle under the running nozzle of a cider barrel, a stream of the golden-brown drink flowing directly into her maw. "Are you going to tell me why you're here?" He asked, getting Pinkie's attention.

The party mare's eyes locked onto Pucci as she nonchalantly shoved the now-empty barrel away and sat up, "Oh, I thought I could introduce you to my friends! I was going to bring along the rest, but Rainbow Dash has drills for the recruits of the Wonderbolts, Fluttershy is taking care of her sick animal friends, and Twilight hasn't responded to my invitation letters! But they all have something important to do nowadays, so I won't hold it against them. But I was pretty bummed out until I saw Applejack was selling her cider near the DJ booth. Rarity was also nearby, so I had to make do with-"

Taking an overly dramatic breath of air into her lungs mid-sentence, Pinkie followed by calmly sighing with a smile, "-what I had." She finished.

After the tirade of words was said and done, Pucci blinked silently. He then shook his head in disapproval, "I appreciate the thought, but I would like to be alone right now." He said with a hint of desperation in his tone.

"Alone? At yer own party?" Applejack said confusingly. "Well, If ya want to be alone, then I ain't goin' to bother ya." She attempted to get up but was pushed back down by Pinkie's weight as she hung off Applejack. Her forelegs wrapped around Applejack's shoulders, and her face squished against the apple farmer's upper foreleg.

"Aww, but why, Percy?" She whined, her voice like nails on a chalkboard to Pucci's increasing headache, "Is the party not good enough? Did I not add enough decorations? Was the punch too weak or did I-?” Pinkie's voice, unfortunately, was silenced by Rarity interrupting her.

She flicked her mane out of the way and looked at Pucci with disdain, "No, darling, it's not because of you. It's because he's a cowardly stallion who refuses to grow up." She said with venom lining every word.

Suddenly, Pucci slammed both hooves onto the counter loud enough for the music to cut off and grab everypony's attention, tipping his drink over and spilling it. It had also succeeded in making the three element bearers flinch away. Pucci shot up from his seat and swung around to face Rarity with an angry look in his eye, Made in heaven's silhouette shimmering behind him briefly. "You're still on about that?! And it seems like you haven't changed much as well." He scoffed. "I have apologized countless times in the past, and every time I try to make amends, you always push me away like the heartless witch you are!" He shouted, electing a chorus of gasps from the crowd.

Rarity held a hoof to her chest and gasped, "You honestly think what you did deserves forgiveness? I was left an emotional mess after what you did! I locked myself in my room for days while I snacked away on junk like a pig and cried my eyes out. The only reason I didn't let myself die in there was that my little sister had to console me into coming out. You should have been there in my time of need, but you had to be a coward and run!" She yelled back.

Quickly seeing the growing tension between the two ponies, Applejack tried to put herself in the middle of the two with each hoof held out before them. "Now, Now, let's all settle down and talk. Ah'm sure we can work this out." She said.

Pucci ignored her in favor of narrowing his eyes at Rarity, "I know I should have, and for the millionth time, I'm sorry! But I find that hard to believe since I saw you practically trying to whore yourself out to that prince at the gala after we-"

"Whore myself out?!" Rarity shrieked, "I was desperate for the love of a caring stallion that I became desperate. I knew I had no chance with Blueblood, but I did it anyway because I was abandoned by you!"

"I-I didn't abandon you!" Pucci yelled back, a waver in his voice.

Rarity growled, "Liar!" She shouted as her hoof slammed onto the floor.

Pucci was about to retort, but something grabbed his attention from the corner of his eye. In the window near the front door was Princess Twilight, peering through the transparent barrier at him while tapping the glass.

He shifted his focus back to the glaring Rarity before huffing, managing to retrieve his calm visage as he stormed off.

The sounds of Rarity demanding he come back fell on deaf ears, and Pucci found himself outside in the freezing cold. Looking over, he saw Twilight put a hoof to her lips and motion a hoof to follow her silently. Pucci took the hint and nodded, trailing behind the towering monarch until they reached a golden chariot situated in front of the large, crystalline castle. Twilight motioned again, this time at the chariot. Nodding again, Pucci passed the stoic armored pegasi and opened the chariot's door, climbing inside and waiting for the Princess to join him.

Once she did, there was an awkward silence between them as Pucci stared at the ground, Twilight nervously glancing everywhere except at the astronomer. Luckily, the silence was broken when the monarch eventually spoke up.

"So- um -mind telling me what that was about?" She asked with a forced smile.

Pucci sighed, "Yes, very much so." He replied. Twilight frowned as silence replaced the air again but not as long this time, "It's…a personal matter, nothing a pony like yourself should worry about." He added, "But, if I may ask, why were you outside?"

Twilight chuckled nervously, scratching the back of her head, "Well, it's concerning the topic of your…ghost." Twilight said.

"Since it showed up, my need for knowledge didn't stop bugging me until I started to delve into research. Like I used to do in these situations." Twilight laughed meekly. But her temporary smile dropped, her face now sporting a downcast look, "And it's a shame too. I hadn't found much in the end, and I even ignored Pinkie's invitations and held off night court for nothing. I let my selfish needs get the best of me, and I ignored one of my friends because of that." She said, looking down in shame.

Pucci peered up at Twilight, "So then, why come in secret and not call for me the next day?" he asked. Twilight didn't respond immediately. Instead, her horn lit up with a lavender glow. A bundle of parchments held together with a red ribbon Pucci hadn't noticed before levitated from Twilight's side and onto his lap. "What is this?" Pucci said, taking the parchments in his left hoof.

"It's all that I could find on your…thing. Some of it might not be accurate, but it's the closest thing I could get that seemed relevant." Twilight replied, "As for why I didn't wait, I already lost enough sleep slaving over this and wanted to free myself from it. And I thought I could help out a friend" She chuckled.

Pucci smiled at the Princess as he stashed the parchment in his inner coat pocket, creating a slight bulge on his chest area. "I sympathize with wanting to be done with work you've been grueling over for long periods of time. And thank you, your majesty." He admitted, "As for Pinkie Pie, she did appear disgruntled about her invitations but showed no signs of resentment or hatred. So you can rest easy." His smile grew wider, seeing Twilight flash him a grateful look.

Sadly, all things must come to an end, even a brief but pleasant meeting with the monarch of Equestria. Pucci shuffled over to the door to his left and partly opened it, letting a gust of cold air blow into the chariot. Before leaving, Pucci had thought in his head that seemed idiotic. But what's there to lose in this situation?

Facing Princess Twilight, he gave a friendly smile, "Your highness," He said, making Twilight look at him. "Since night court was canceled, do you mind humoring me by having a nice chat over tea at my home?" He asked innocently.

A look of surprise made its way onto Twilight's face before turning into a similar expression to Pucci's. "Sure, I never had somepony besides my other friends or nobles ask me out for some tea."

Nodding, Pucci fully stepped out of the chariot. And it wasn’t long before he and Princess Twilight were walking down the empty dirt roads of Ponyville, Twilight looking around her with a nostalgic gaze. Once they both made their way to Pucci’s home, Twilight took a moment to examine the two-story brick structure with a thatched roof. The color scheme was reminiscent of a house in Canterlot, with purple roof tiles and white bricks with golden paint trim lining the edges. Each window had a pair of blue wooden covers and floral plants in pots, hanging from each window edge and growing down the walls. Pucci’s home reminded Twilight somewhat of Fluttershy’s, minus the sanctuary and animals running everywhere.

“Princess Twilight,” Pucci spoke, ending Twilight's examination as she looked down to see him by the front door with an odd look. “Are you okay?” He said with concern in his voice.

Twilight shook her head, “No, Pucci, I was simply admiring your residence. It’s cozy.” She giggled.

“I appreciate the compliment,” Pucci thanked, opening the front door, “But I must ask you to wait here for a moment; I have some things to clean up before you come in.” He said with an embarrassed blush.

“Alright, I shall wait.” Twilight nodded.

“Thank you, It won’t take me long, just a moment.” Pucci quickly opened the door and rushed inside, shutting the door behind him harder than necessary.

—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

??? (1st person)

In the darkness of the kitchen, I growl in annoyance at his lateness. I have been waiting in this cluttered room filled with books for hours now, and the sun rises soon. It seems that the stallion isn’t as antisocial as I expected, considering he spent most of his time inside before, and probably won’t be back for a while.

But my concern was incinerated, and my spirits raised when I heard a click, short creak, and faint voice not far from where I was. One was a male voice, but the second one caught me off guard for a bit, sounding feminine and regal with a hint of naivety.

No matter. If it’s a special somepony he managed to snag off some corner street, it would make negotiations much easier. My toothy grin grew in the dark. The thought of him begging me not to harm her, pleading that he’d do anything so long as his innocent little colt toy wasn’t harmed in the exchange. My soon-to-be lap dog will be more useful to me if his will is wilted.

Hoofsteps soon reached my ears as they approached at a quickened pace. When they finally arrived at the kitchen walkway, the outline of the stallion in question accompanied it as a hoof reached for the light switch. The lights overhead came to life, illuminating the room with a warm glow.

But his horrified face upon seeing me sitting at his table betrayed the light’s glow. I could practically see his blood run cold as his face paled.

“H-How d-did you?” He stuttered out.

I chuckled menacingly, crossing my left hind leg over my right and holding my head up by my right foreleg, resting my chin on my hoof. “Long time no see, Pucci. Care to have a little chat?”

Chp 7: The moon falls with tragedy...

‘BANG!’

Moondancer jolted back in her seat upon feeling her face impact the table she sat at, hissing in pain as she held her bruised forehead in her hooves. Once the pain subsided, she rubbed her tired eyes and closed the large book in front of her with annoyance and drowsiness.

Like the many tomes around her, she threw the inch-thick book into a pile beside her. Moondancer's lack of sleep and combined irritation made the mare's care for their condition virtually non-existent, evident by the three knee-high piles of literature. The once mighty towers of stacked books she had once constructed had collapsed like a long-dead empire of useless information.

“Come on!” Moondancer groaned, throwing her hooves up in frustration, “I’ve searched up and down this place, and I’ve barely found anything!” And true to her word: there was practically nothing. Sure, there were old articles talking about arrow fragments belonging to ancient tribes, but the shard never matched their description. Each book on the list Poppy Vine provided her was pointless to skim over a third time. Why was there a book on how to cook with weapons of war?!

“Maybe, I should give up.” Moondancer sighed, letting her forelegs fall to her sides as she continued to look up. “All of this might be a stupid prank, and I’m getting myself worked up over nothing.” She said with a hollow laugh.

The sun was about to rise anyway, and Moondancer thought it was an excellent time to visit that coffee shop that opened up not too long ago. Moondancer lit her horn as she rose from her seat, and her magical aura surrounded the books strewn across the floor around her table. One by one, each tome was carefully levitated back to its coordinated spot among the surrounding bookshelves until, eventually, there wasn’t one out of place. Moondancer grabbed her bookbag off the table, running her head through the strap and letting the bag hang off her shoulders with a tired smile, and started to walk away until-.

“AHHHHHH!”

Moondancer stopped dead in her tracks at the sound of a blood-curdling scream and turned to face the direction it was coming from with a frightened look. Her brain took a moment to process what she heard as the haunting screams echoing ceased; it sounded familiar. That’s when it hit her.

“Poppy Vine!” Moondancer called out with realization, her eyes widening in panic.

Suddenly, the lights in the library shut off all at once, startling and leaving Moondancer in pitch darkness.

She couldn't move a single muscle; nothing responded to her brain's desperate pleas to move, to run, anything! The only sound that filled her splayed back ears was her erratic breathing and quickened heartbeat. The intense fear she felt reminded her of the theater incident, making memories flash in her head of the horrible night.

To have Pucci risk his health for hers, it felt as if, at that moment, she had a wake-up call. Moondancer was an assistant, a helper. Not just to Pucci but to everypony she cared for, so why did she feel so useless?

Poppy Vine was obviously in trouble, and Moondancer was standing around, scared stiff, and doing nothing. How could she call herself a friend of Poppy, or anypony, if she kept locking up when something happened to her friends? No, not again. Another pony she cared about was getting hurt, and she needed to do something about it this time! No more repeats of last time!

She needed to prove herself worthy enough to be called a friend.

Steeling her nerves, Moondancer proceeded forth. She took tentative, yet determined, steps as her ears swelled in every direction they could to pick up on anything. Unfortunately, The darkness of the library left a lot to the imagination of the edgy Moondancer, and the eerie silence was the unwanted cherry on top. “Maybe the generator malfunctioned due to the cold, and the scream I heard moments ago was Poppy overreacting in fear.” Moondancer reasoned with herself to calm her nerves; it was little help. Each passing draft, the creak of a loose floorboard, or a gust of air impacting a window from the outside made the mare jolt in fear, but she managed to keep calm, trying her best Pucci impression.

Though, it wasn’t the best due to her body's severe trembling and teeth chattering.

By the time she arrived at the end of the book aisles, Moondancer had sighed in relief at the touch of stone, the same stone that made up the second floor’s guardrail. But her investigation wasn’t over. Moondancers moment of relaxation hadn’t lasted long, as she immediately scouted the area before her, instantly locking onto the empty front desk in the dark where Poppy Vine should be.

Since she was on the second floor, where most of the history books were, Moondancer ran toward the stairs in a hurry. She was sure the scream had come from the front desk’s direction.

As she was about to reach the halfway point of the curved stairs, Moondancer felt something trip her left hoof, making her fly forward with a startled yelp. She internally cursed her bad luck, closing her eyes tightly and covering her head protectively with her forelegs. She braced for the impact and searing pain that would soon follow as her body made a direct collision course for the marble step, with her face front and center. but it never came.

After several seconds of nothing, she slowly lowered her forelegs and cracked open one eye, to which both widened in shock shortly after at what they were seeing.

Barely an inch away from her face, the sharp corners of the marble stairs remained. Moondancer blinked in confusion until she realized she was suspended in mid-fall, feeling something holding on to the back of the collar of her sweater. Moondancer attempted to look behind her to see who had saved her, but the tugging feeling suddenly vanished, letting the mare fall. She moaned in displeasure as she rose halfway, rubbing her forehead with a hoof; besides the minor bruises to her face, Moondancer was fine.

What was holding on her back? She was sure there was somepony there, at least the outline of a shoulder was. She pondered the question for a moment. That was till she remembered why she was running down the stairs; she probably tripped on something due to her lack of light.

Getting off the ground, Moondancer made the rest of the way down the stairs and made a mad dash to the front desk. Once there, Moondancer peered inside, trying to find evidence of Poppy being there.

“W-Wun!”

Moondancers blood ran cold.

That wheezing voice sounded like Poppy vines, but it couldn’t be.

Her eyes continued to glue their sights on the opposite wall of the front desk, the feeling of dread running through her veins as a gargling sound reached her ears. She eventually ripped her attention away from the wall, slowly inching her eyesight behind the front desk counter and onto the floor. Just then, the lights overhead came to life, bathing the library in a warm light Moondancer barely registered.

When Moondancer found the source of the gargling voice, she wanted to throw up.

Splayed out on the ground was Poppy Vine. The once cheerful and kind Librairan that most ponies in Canterlot knew, Now writhing and twitching in pain, surrounded by a puddle of her blood.

Her current condition was gut-wrenching to look at for Moondancer. Her limbs were broken in several places and bent in unnatural ways, even some bones broken through the skin, like half of her shattered femur jetted out of her left lower thigh. Cuts, gashes, and purple bruises decorated her blood-caked body, one of her eyes swollen shut, and her throat partially crushed. The only eye Poppy had opened looked up at the horrified Moondancer in excruciating pain, blood covering her sclera from broken blood vessels as tears ran down her cheeks, mixing with the crimson streaks leaking from her fractured jaw.

“Th-Thease…w-w-wun.” Poppy pleaded weakly. Blood poured from her mouth, coming out in spurts with a hoarse cough.

Without thinking, Moondancer vaulted over the front desk counter with little care for the object on it, knocking a potted plant over and crushing its leaves under her back left hoof. Moondancer looked up and down the beaten Poppy with panic, trying to think of a way to help her.

After a bit of frantic searching, she spotted a small medical kit on a shelf under the counter, a hopeful smile appearing on her muzzle. Grabbing it, she threw open the lid and found a roll of bandages, small, but it will do. Liberating the roll of bandages from its tin box prison, Moondancer got to work patching whatever she could on Poppy Vine.

By the end, Moondancer had covered Poppy’s lower legs, midsection, and swollen eye with the small roll of bandages, but the other injuries remained open. Moondancer leaned back from the injured mare with a gentle hoof on Poppy vines neck.

“Crap,” Moondancer muttered, “I don’t know who did this to you, but I’ll get you out of here and to a hospital if it’s the last thing I’ll do!” She proudly exclaimed.

“Don’t move.” A new voice ordered.

Moondancer forced back a startled yelp when the gruff voice spoke. She peeked her eyes over the front desk counter, only to furrow them in anger at the sight of a grizzled griffon sitting on the edge of a book display case.

His lower half resembled a black jaguar, his slender tail lazily swinging as black wings rested against his lower back. The upper half was a hawk with dark yellow feathers and a patch of light red feathers over his face, with gray ones surrounding his eyes and cracked beak. An eyepatch covered the griffon’s left eye, but the other was peached-colored and reflected ages of experience. Besides his basic appearance, the griffon looked to be in his late sixties, with feathers falling to the floor, wrinkles plaguing his features, and his skinny limbs.

Moondancer raised from the floor, knowing there was no point in hiding. “W-Who are you?” She asked hesitantly.

The griffon jumped off the display shelf but didn't move away, " My name is Godfree, and I was sent here by my master to retrieve something you have." He spoke with a rough voice, pointing a razor-sharp talon at her, "I know you have a shard of the arrow. So I'm asking nicely to claw it over, missy." He said in a warning tone.

“How do you know about that? A-And why did you hurt Poppy?!” She demanded, backing away like a cornered rabbit from the grinning senior Griffon, making sure not to step on Poppy Vine.

Godfree chuckled darkly, “I don’t usually like hurting young ladies, such as yourself, like some lowly coward, but your friend had, unfortunately, spotted me due to my recklessness. I can’t have any witnesses.” Dropping his grin, he growled in annoyance. “As for how I knew, that’s not something I care to reveal.” He startled Moondancer by taking a few steps forward, his eye narrowing, “I’m only to say this once more, give me the shard, or you’ll meet the receiving end of my wrath.”

Moondancer gasped sharply, facing away to see her flank touch the back wall. She then looked back at the griffon, narrowing her eyes and holding a hoof to her chest, "Not a chance. You're just some old fart that got the jump on Poppy, nothing more." Lighting her horn, she carefully levitated Poppy Vine's body closer to her, then aimed it at Godfree, "I'll simply knock you out and take Poppy to the hospital, then call the guard in your feathery ass." She grinned weakly, still feeling scared for an unknown reason.

Her weak determination turned to confusion as the old griffon started to cackle madly.

Throwing back his head, Godfree looked down at Moondancer with a devilish grin, “Well, it was your choice.” He said mockingly.

“Back in Black!”

There was the sound of breaking glass.

Then darkness

—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Pucci (1st person)

I didn't attempt to hide the shock blatantly written on my face at the sight of the stallion, the very reason I moved to this filthy town. How in all the nine levels of Tartarus did he find me here?! The only other pony I told about my moving to Ponyville was Moondancer. There was no way that he could have known such a thing.

Unless.

At the terrible thought, I felt my pupils shrink to pinpricks as my eye widened, and the fur on the back of my neck stood straight up out of fear. Made in Heaven was instantly by my side and had it grabbed the nearest object, a toaster, and chucked it at the fiend sitting casually at my table. Unfortunately, he effortlessly dodged the appliance by tilting his head to the side, letting the toaster smash against the wall behind him and shatter to pieces.

"You bastard!" I shouted angrily, pure hatred pouring from those two words, "What did you do to Moondancer?!" I demanded. If this colt-of-a-whore did anything to her.

Instead of a maniacal cackle or shit-eating grin, the stallion surprised me by raising an eyebrow at me. "Who is this 'Moondancer' you speak of?" He said with genuine confusion. I felt my stomach drop as a devious smile formed on his muzzle. "Going by that little outburst, I guess this Moondancer is somepony that's important to you?"

I scoffed at the stallion, making his grin waver a little. “That is none of your business!” I spat, “And how did you find me? I took utmost care that nopony knew of my moving, so how?” I said, trying to divert the topic from Moondancer and letting Made in Heaven disappear.

Luckily, the stallion didn't seem to care about the mention of my assistant that much as he rolled his eyes. "For a Canterlot pony, you sure are brutish when it comes to conversations." The stallion deadpanned, "But to be a better stallion, I'll answer your question. In short, when two stander users are near each other, they feel a connection that pulls them together. It-"

“Like magnetism?” I interrupted.

The stallion's brow twitched, but his face retained its indifferent expression, “No, it’s like the force of gravity. Something you can’t see but compels you to follow through with it. Like a tossed ball that will inevitably meet the surface below, stand users will eventually cross paths.” He finished explaining.

As much as my brain wanted to disregard the stallion's words as insane ramblings, The past five days of my life had ruined that option. This stallion had vital information on what Made in Heaven is; as much as I hate to say it, I couldn't kick him out immediately. But on the other hoof, I'm considered a stand user because of Made in Heaven. So that would make Made in Heaven a 'stand', going by the label. And if the stallion knows of my stand, it's safe to presume that this stallion is also a 'stand user' like me, which makes him more dangerous than I thought. What power's did he have? Maybe, speed, considering how he disappeared so fast the last time we talked. But I have too little information, so I can't make any assumptions.

“Enough games, stallion. What is the reason for your…visit.” I say, hesitating on that last word.

The stallion chuckled, “I have a name, you know?” He took his head and foreleg off my table and laid back in the chair, his hind legs still crossed. “My name is Dio Morningstar. But you will refer to me as DIO.” He said, finishing with a look that dared me to go against his word.

“Dio? As in the Romane word for God?” I questioned internally.

Not wanting to point out the amount of egotism in his name alone, and anger him, I nodded silently. “And as for why I am here. It is to continue our little chat from four days ago, right before you LEFT, remember?” He said with a sneer, the sight of which made a lump form in my throat. “As I said before, I needed a specific book that is in the castle of the two sisters that I need to use to resolve my business, yet I failed to find it.” Dio offered his right hoof at me with a friendly grin, “I wanted to ask you to join my search for it, and in turn, I’ll help lift that of which holds your heart down, Pucci.” He said.

I looked at the stallion with confusion when he finished his offer. “That of which holds my heart down?” I echoed, “What do you mean by that?” I asked with a hollow feeling growing in my chest.

Dio grinned slyly, “Oh, I was hoping you would know, Pucci Star Ray. I may not know much about you personally, but I know what you lie to yourself about.” He chuckled.

No…

“If you recall the village you’re currently living in, it’s strange you’d pick this place in particular. Considering what also resides in its borders.” Dio continued, his grin growing as a dreaded realization grew on my features. “Was it because it was so close to home? A quiet getaway area for relaxation? Or did you come for a reason you refuse to accept?”

I stood there, mouth agape, opening and closing like a fish out of water, trying miserably to get any words out. Yet, none came. Nothing but hot air escaped my mouth with each heavy breath. There was no way…why did he know that?

“H-How…”

“Pucci?”

The sound of Twilight’s voice caused me to jolt in surprise, snapping me out of my temporary trance. I saw Dio looking past me and in the direction where Twilight’s voice came from, the front door, with an annoyed look; a hint of shock was present as well. He then looked back at me, his eye now narrowed.

“Damn, the alicorn got to him first.” Dio tried to whisper to himself, but the anger in his tone betrayed his attempted quietness. Quickly getting up from the table, Dio’s eyes turned to a full-blown glare that turned my blood to ice. “Pucci Star Ray, what you say the next time we meet will decide your fate.” He spoke before disappearing in the blink of an eye.

I was about to question what had happened before I heard my front door close and the sound of hooves clip-clopping toward me.

“I’m sorry I came in without your permission, Pucci. But you were taking so long that I was starting to think something might have happened. And that bang I heard early didn’t help, but I chalked it up to you dropping something and-” Twilight’s voice and the sound of hooves stopped at the kitchen entryway, where I turned to see Twilight looking at with heavy concern. “Oh, Pucci, you don’t look so good.” She pointed out.

I…don’t feel good either.

Forcing my body to stop trembling, I did my best to look presentable by standing straight and re-equipping my usual stoicism. But it did very little, as now I probably look like a constipated, dying ostrich reaching for leaves on a tall tree.

“I-I’m fine, your highne- I mean -Twilight.” I corrected myself. “But, I think we should hold off on tea for a later time, sorry.”

Twilight, clearly seeing the state I was in and my poor attempt to hide it, had put on her warmest smile and nodded. “I agree. I have already put off night court; I don’t want to sleep through day court as well.” She chuckled. “Take care, Pucci.” She said, lighting her horn and disappearing in a flash of white light.

After a few seconds, I let my head drop and let out a sigh. Without speaking, I was about to leave the kitchen to go to bed before I remembered the toaster I had thrown earlier. I had gotten it for a discount at a local appliance stall in the market the other day; it's a shame I had destroyed it in my anger. Turning, I dragged my hooves along my tiled floor over to the busted Toaster’s remains behind the chair Dio sat. I stared at it with an empty feeling in my heart.

Remains…

Shaking my head, I summoned Made in Heaven, willing it to collect the pieces from the ground; I didn’t want to bend down and add vertigo to my long list of bodily annoyances tonight.

But as Made in Heaven placed the last piece of the toaster in its hooves, a multicolored light suddenly appeared around the small pile of the broken toaster. To my shock, the pieces began to move on their own, mending and repairing themselves. Wires, metal, and plastic were all molded together until they reformed into the toaster I had destroyed minutes before. Not a single, scratch, scuff, or dent remained on the appliance as it rested in Made in Heaven’s hooves.

This…is new.

Chp 8: ...and the sun rises with hope.

Moondancer (1st person)

“What the fuck is going on?!?” I screamed internally as I was slammed against a bookcase by an unknown force. Books from the higher shelves toppled out and landed on me, causing me to cry out in pain.

I stumbled for a moment before finding my balance. But I couldn’t lament the pain coursing through my body, including the multiple cuts and a fractured rib, before a chuckle reached my ears. I didn’t have time to look up and see him as the feeling of a hoof slamming into my face, sending my injured body flying down the aisle of books with a pained cry. Landing roughly on the floor, I scrambled to my weak legs and shook the daze from my head just in time to see Godfree calmly approaching me.

“We could have made this a quick and easy deal.” He called out, his frail frame barely visible in the darkness, “But, no! You had to act all proud. Look where that got you.” He scoffed.

I ignored the griffon's words, turning and booking it away from Godfree. My legs hurt, my chest felt like somepony placed hot coals in my lungs, and my body ran on fumes. The lack of sleep and blood loss from my injuries made my vision waver, creating doubles of the passing environment. Godfree’s distant laughs echoed off the Library walls, sending a shockwave of fear down my spine each time.

Tears had formed in the corners of my already blurry vision as I turned a corner, “Damn it all!” I cursed, “I’m such a coward, leaving behind Poppy Vine like that. What was I thinking; was all that I said to myself just a lie?!” I berated myself. Gone was the courage I had built up minutes ago; now, it had now been replaced by a desperate feeling, a primal feeling, of wanting to survive.

There was no way I had a chance to defeat whatever this damned grampa was using. Whenever I thought I was safe, a hoof would hit me across the face or body. It would be impossible for Godfree to do that since he’d always be out of reach from me, and the attacks come out of random areas. No matter where I hid, under tables or behind bookshelves, I’d always get hit by that unseen hoof. Was this some kind of griffon magic I hadn’t discovered? If so, I should be able to cast a temporary disabling spell on him!

Dismissing the tears rolling down my cheeks, I made a few more turns around the bookcases until I spotted Godfree by an open reading area. Due to me being on his left, he hadn’t spotted me yet, so I lit my horn and charged the spell before firing at the griffon.

But the small victorious smile I allowed myself to have quickly disappeared as Godfree instantly snapped in my direction. As the bolt of off-white magic was about to hit him, a figure shrouded in black appeared before him, crossing its forelegs while standing on its hind legs. The bolt hit the figure and pushed it back a couple of steps with an echoing grunt, its form wavering a little.

My jaw dropped as the fading light of the spell revealed no damage to the mysterious figure’s black forelegs. But my shock was swiftly ended when another hit impacted my gut, making all the air in my lungs escape in a single blow that sent me to the floor.

Godfree chuckled darkly as he slowly walked in my direction, “Foolish mare. I can tell you’re no warrior: blindly charging in with no plan and revealing yourself to the enemy.” Now he was over me, watching as I writhed on the ground, trying to suck in as much air as I could. “This will be your end, sorry.” He said before the figure appeared beside him.

Due to it being much closer now, I could make out some details from the darkness and my semi-blurred vision. It had the body of a pony mare, their body slender and tall with no hair. Every inch of the figure's body was wrapped in black bandages, worn and faintly stained with blood; only two gaps on its face allowed two eerie red eyes to shine through. And various spikes, shards of glass, and sharp metal points poked out between the figure’s bandages. The figure’s eye stared directly into mine, raising its front left hoof in the air over my head.

“Now die for your insolence!” Godfree roared as the figure's hoof came down toward my face.

I gritted my teeth and squeezed my eyelids shut, hoping that some way, somehow, all of this was one bad dream. I wasn’t strong enough to save Poppy. She was most likely dead either from this maniac or the blood loss. DAMNIT! It was impossible to think I could be anything better than I already was; I don’t deserve to be called anypony’s friend!

…

What happened?

I don’t feel any agonizing pain from broken bones. Is this griffon so sadistic that he would kill me slowly for his enjoyment?

…

Nothing.

My brain told me not to, but I forced my eyes to open to see what was going on. The first thing I saw was Godfree looking shocked at something other than me. The next thing I spotted was another figure, unlike the one that tried to crush my skull, directly over my prone form with its back facing away from me. It took me a moment to process what was happening before I realized it was shielding me from the black figure's hoof!

“W-What?!” Godfree shouted, trembling as his stand put everything it had into pushing the other figure down with little success. “That’s impossible; there’s no way she could have a stand.”

Before I could question what was happening, the figure over me lowered itself closer to me, letting the black figure slump forward for a split moment. The figure followed up by shoving the black figure away by pushing up, then reeling back its hindlegs and bucking Back in Black in the gut. Godfree was flung back, his ghost…pony disappearing, and squawked in pain as he crashed violently into the armchairs of the reading area, toppling the seats and a mini coffee table in the process.

I continued to stare where Godfree crashed in amazement until I shifted my wondrous gaze to the figure that protected me, now standing at its full height.

From what I could see from under the figure winter coat with rolled sleeves was clean red fur ending with gray hooves. The winter coat was tan brown with peach fuzz lining the inside of its folded coat collar and rolled sleeves, a large red cross on its back. Vines and moss grew and wrapped around its body, and various types of flowers blossomed around the bottom of its barrel and where the rolled sleeves ended on its forelegs. A Prussian ushanka hat rested upon its head, protecting its porcelain-like face and set of vintage aviator goggles. A pair of pants cover the figure's flank and hind legs, accompanied by black outdoor boots.

The figure stood tall and proud, getting into a wide defensive stance as Godfree arose from his crash landing, glaring at me. “He didn’t tell me that the pony carrying the arrow shard had a stand.” He said, “No matter. She just got a lucky shot in; Back in Black will take care of her.” He stated smugly.

Seeing as he was about to attempt something, I quickly rose to my hooves and was on high alert. I was proven right when the black figure called Back in Black suddenly DIVED into the floor, startling me.

I ignored the smirking Godfree as I and the figure looked around the floor in anticipation of the attack. In my search, I failed to notice a faint rippling sound and Back in Black remerging halfway from the ground behind me. When I turned around to check if it was there in my search, it had disappeared. While I was faced away, Back in Black had leaped meters into the air from the ground, letting out an ear-piercing screech. When I reacted to the sound and turned around, my eyes widened as I looked up in a panic as it started to fall back down toward me. The figure stood in front of me with a protective stance, ready to block while Back in Black threw a flurry of punches in my direction.

But to my surprise, a beam of sunlight crept up between us, bathing a lengthy line in a warm glow. What had surprised me, though, was that the flurry of punches Back in Black was throwing slowly disappeared as it passed through the beam of light with every inch. It soon included its body, as Back in Black’s forelegs, head, torso, and eventually, his hindlegs were all sucked into the sunlight, leaving just me, the figure, and Godfree.

I followed the beam of sunlight to see it coming from a nearby window; its curtains partially opened, letting said light leak in. My attention was diverted back over to Godfree as he cursed loudly, shooting straight up from his once prone position, unfurling his wings, and glaring daggers at me.

“Damn you, mare! I’ve wasted too much time on you!” He angrily yells, veins bulging on his forehead before flying at me in a blind rage.

Letting out a startled yell, I cowered away from the charging griffon, falling on my flank and holding up my forelegs in front of me, wishing that this damn senile bird was gone already. When Godfree was less than a couple meters away from me, I was further surprised when the figure suddenly blocked his path and reeled back their left foreleg. Godfree was too late to dodge or block as the figure's hoof shot forward with blinding speed and landed a hard punch in the middle of his face.

The figure then hit Godfree again, and again, and again, and again, and again, and again, and again until it quickly turned into a fast flurry of punches similar to what Back in Black did moments earlier.

“BABABABABABABABABABABABABABABA” It repeated in an echoing, masculine voice. Each punch landed on the griffon’s body in different areas, some directed at the groin, and didn’t let up their attack for a single second.

After exactly 20 seconds of non-stop punching, the figure pummeled the heavily bruised and bloody Godfree into the air and reeled back its fist. At the same time, Godfree’s free fall lined up with the figure's shoulders, letting the figure let out one last ‘BA’ as its hoof shot forward and struck Godfree in the beak. It elected an audible crack from the impact and made Godfree’s limp body do a backflip through the air. The front half of his beak went off in another direction, and blood sprayed across the ground as he flew back and landed into a mini bookcase near a window, breaking it upon contact.

I grimaced at the scene, not for Godfree, but more for the ruined books under him. “That’s gotta hurt,” I mumbled to myself. After a few moments, I thought about what Godfree did to Poppy Vine and smiled victoriously. “Good.” I huffed. While I could bask in the figure's victory, I needed to get back to Poppy. Looking at the figure, it had remained in a static standing pose, like the royal guards in the royal palace. “Um…hi?” I meekly called from the floor with a small wave.

I forced myself from flinching when the figure turned its gaze on me, “Thank you for saving me- um -stranger?” I thanked the figure. I received no answer as the figure kept staring at me silently. “But if you don’t mind, I can’t exactly get up. Can you help me?” I laughed awkwardly.

Instead of a verbal response, the figure was immediately by my side with an offering hoof stretched out. I tentatively took it and was mildly curious about the hoof's texture. It was similar to touching cold slime or jelly, but it was solid enough to be hard as a hoof. Hoof textures aside, the figure helped me onto mine.

With a little bit of wobble, I managed to balance myself and started to walk to the front desk, the figure still following me. That was until a loud ‘CRASH’ alerted me to where Godfree had fallen, causing me to turn around, only to see him gone and a blood trail leading out of a broken window.

“That’s not good.” I said, flashing a worried look at the figure. There was no time to worry about that, unfortunately. Poppy Vine needed me.

With a bit more walking, I arrived at the front desk and opened the door that acted as its entrance instead of jumping over the counter. Closing the door, I was relieved to see Poppy vine react to my sudden appearance by weakly looking up at me with a slim smile.

“M-Moondancer?” She called out.

My eyes widened in surprise; she was speaking normally again! “Huh? What did you say?” I said in disbelief.

Poppy raised an eyebrow, “Um…I said your name?” She said like she hadn’t had a broken jaw minutes ago. She then noticed the state I was in, a concerned look appearing on her face, “Oh, Moondancer, are you alright?” She asked.

“Yeah,” I chuckled, walking over to her and sitting on the tiled floor, making sure not to sit in the dried puddle of blood, “It’s honestly not as bad as it looks.”

“If ya say so,” Poppy responded, “Good thing ya got that fancy healing magic on ya.” She sighed gratefully.

It was now my turn to stare at the librarian mare with a confused look. “Healing magic? But I don’t remember learning about such spells, let alone casting them.” I said.

Now that I think about it, she was acting a little too casual for a mare that looked to be on death’s door. Overlooking her body was the only answer I acquired. Beneath the bloody bandages, I saw fresh scars, and the previously purple bruises were now a slight yellow color. Some of her broken limbs were even realigned. The broken femur that had jetted out from Poppy’s thigh was now encased under her skin but was still broken.

“Really?” Poppy said, wincing as her hind leg twitched, “That’s strange. After you led that griffon away from me, my whole body started to feel better! Sure it still- ow -hurts, but not as much. Thank you, by the way.” She said with a thankful look.

I stared at her healed body for the longest time, trying to figure out why that would happen. I was sure I didn’t use any healing spells, right? My eyes widened as an idea popped into my head: was it the work of Baby Hotline?

Wait.

“Baby Hotline?” I mumbled.

“What was that?” Poppy said, causing me to jolt.

“Uh…it…I…” I stuttered, trying my best to formulate any words. Too much was happening at once, and I needed sleep. So, with a yawn, I lit my horn, “It…was nothing, Poppy. You want me to take you to the hospital?” I offered.

When Poppy nodded, whimpering in slight discomfort as I levitated her body off the ground and onto my back. As we were leaving, I noticed that the figure from before had vanished, most likely when I opened the door to the front desk area. Well…I shouldn’t say figure, as the name Baby Hotline sounded appropriate for some reason. Shaking my head, not too hard as to disturb Poppy Vine, I pushed the memories of the past hours aside and focused on getting my friend to the hospital.

But as I was about to reach the entrance to the Library, it suddenly started to open. Panic aroused from inside me, thinking Godfree came back for a second round until a burly gray stallion with a black mane/ tail and a weird white hat walked in.

“Hey Poppy-” The stallion called out, “-I finally came to return that book on marine life you kept complaining to me about. And sorry that I arrived…so…” His voice trailed off as he spotted me with the battered Poppy Vine on my back, staring at me with a blank expression.

He then lowered his head and tilted his hat forward so that it would cover his eyes. “Good grief.” He mumbled.

Author's Note

Just to clarify, this chapter is more like a part two/continuation of the last one, explaining why it is shorter than the others. But I reassure you, the next one will be longer.

Stand Name: Back in Black
Stand master: Godfree

Power<C
Speed<C
Range<A
Durability<B
Precision<C
Potential<D

Stand Name: Baby Hotline
Stand master: Moondancer

Power<B
Speed<C
Range<C
Durability<A
Precision<C
Potential<A

Chp 9: Cat's out of the bag

No one (3rd person)

20 years ago…

In Canterlot city park, common folk and nobility of the like walked along the smooth stone paths of the luscious public garden. It was a tranquil place, the very spitting image of peace, with birdsongs carried by the gentle breeze and the smell of roses lingering in the summer air. Well-trimmed bushes separated secluded areas of the park, and intricate marble sculptures of ponies sat along several paths, the statues standing tall and proud as they depicted Equestria’s greatest heroes and legends. Breathtaking fields filled with flowers, little critters scurrying around, and the many ponies running a muck gave life to the park.

And atop a small hill overlooking the park, two ponies sat under a large oak tree that provided them refreshing shade from the warm climate. The youngest of the two ponies, a colt who had recently turned 16, was sitting next to a young mare. The mare's eyes were glazed over as she stared at the ground, not flinching when the occasional bug or incest would fly by.

In the colt's hooves, a large, pleather book was opened halfway, and the colt softly recited the words to the blind mare next to him. “-and as he held the dying mare in his forelegs, she placed a tender hoof on his cheek with clouded but caring eyes peering up at his sadden visage.” He said in a monotone voice. But then a stifled giggle came from the older mare, making the young colt stop and look at her with a flat expression. “Is something funny?”

The mare, successfully stopping her giggles, turned her head to the colt with an innocent look. “Oh, nothing, Pucci, something just came to me.” She said.

Pucci looked confused before speaking, “What is it?” He asked, slightly deadpanning when the young mare giggled more, not even trying to hide it this time.

“Man, if your this brash when talking to a mare, then you’ll never get foals.” She laughed. The mare, even without the gift of sight, could sense the blush on Pucci’s face but decided to speak before Pucci could get the chance to scold her for the tease. “As for what I’m thinking. Well… it's gonna be pretty…crazy in the near future.” She chuckled half-heartedly.

Pucci furrowed his brow in further confusion at the mare. “What do you mean by that?” He asked. An idea about what she might be thinking popped into his mind, but not a good one, making Pucci look at the mare with a miffed expression. “It better not be about-”

He was then suddenly cut off, making a noise of protest when the young mare’s foreleg wrapped around him, pulling him into a tight hug. “I know, I know, but it ain’t about that crap. I’m talking about you and our parents. Mom and Dad would probably be retired and living in the mountains in some log cabin. I…” The mare frowned and went silent for a moment before smiling again, “But you~,” She used her other hoof to ruffle Pucci's mane, much to his annoyance, “would be a cool science stallion workin’ with the big wigs! Think of what would happen after all that.”

Pucci scoffed, “What makes you think I’ll be that successful? All the colts and fillies at school make fun of me for it, and they’re probably right.” He grumbled.

“Nonsense!” The mare said, finally letting go of Pucci, “Just because some high-brow, snot-nosed kids at school tease you don’t mean they decide how you live your life! Look at me: I can’t see a damn thing, but I work as a floral designer with my friend. You? You just don’t talk much, is all.” She turned her head away from the colt, staring at the distance with a solemn look, “You're a good colt. What I find funny is that you let all this crap those bullies are saying keep you down. They’re just jealous because you’re awesome and because you have a full life of opportunities to live, things you probably won't SEE coming!” She said, side-glancing at Pucci with a wide grin.

Pucci rolled his eyes with a groan at the mare's terrible joke. Despite her lack of sight, she’d always find some way to cram in an awful joke pertaining to the subject, no matter the tone or topic of discussion. “You and your terrible one-liners.” Pucci sighed as the mare giggled at him, her smile shrinking into a soft curve on her muzzle. “But I see what you mean…thanks.” He mumbled, looking down to hide his own smile.

“No problem, bro.” The mare said, patting the young colt on the back, “For real, though. just don’t get hung up on things, alright? You’re younger than me, so you have more time to do great shit, I know that.” With a stretch and a loud yawn, the mare smacked her lips before talking again. “I think it’s time to go home, don’t you agree?” She said with a raised eyebrow.

Before Pucci could respond, she stood on her hooves, quickly followed by Pucci, who was the same height as the mare. “But it’s only mid-day?” He said in a hesitant tone. The mare turned to Pucci with a face he knew all too well, “Don’t you say anything!” He demanded with widened eyes.

But it was useless to deny the inevitable.

The mare chuckled, “Well, would you LOOK at that? Time just SEEm’s too past by me.” She laughed loudly, gaining the attention of a few nobles passing by.

“That last one doesn’t even make sense!” Pucci shouted at the mare.

“Come on, Pucci; I could be a great comedian with these jokes!” The mare retorted.

Pucci grumbled, shaking his head, “Come on, let’s get going. Make another joke, and I’ll tell mom!” He said with a huff.

“Whatever you say.” The mare said with a friendly eye-roll.

Not long after, the pair found themselves approaching the front entrance of the park: a large iron gate connected to a high fence made of the same material that stretched around the very park itself. Behind Pucci, the mare had bitten down on the young colt’s medium-length tail, using it as a guide while Pucci moved closer to the gate. But as he walked through, a light soon filled his vision, essentially blinding the young colt.

Then darkness.

Pucci (1st person)

‘BEEP, BEEP, BEEP!’

With a gasp, I shot up in my bed with wide eyes. The loud and constant beeping of my alarm clock was lost to me as I stared solely at my bed sheets, a cold sweat rolling down my entire body.

Swallowing the lump in my throat and calming my rapid breathing, I turned to my nightstand and pushed the button on top of the alarm clock with a hoof, stopping the noise. I then threw the sheets off me and swung my hind legs over the edge, swiftly getting off the bed and onto my hooves.

My body felt achy, and my mind wasn’t all there. To a pony on the outside, I most likely resembled a swaying blade of grass in a calm wind as I swayed in place and stared at the floor with a blank look.

Why was I dreaming about that?

Nevertheless, I couldn’t stand around and do nothing. It felt like years had passed by before I shook my head and started to walk over to my bedroom door. Along the way, I spotted my mug from last night resting on the corner of my writing desk.

The drinkware had apparently broken since the last time I saw it. Shards of ceramic material littered its now-dry interior; the liquid it once held had spilled and stained the corner of my desk and the carpet below it. It was my favorite mug, too: a gift from Moondancer on my birthday last year. But instead of getting annoyed or angered by the inconvenience, mostly due to my drowsiness, I summoned Made in Heaven. If what happened last night with the toaster was real, then this should work.

With a deep breath, I mentally ordered Made in Heaven to move closer to the mug. When it did, Made in Heaven took all the shattered remains of my mug that could fit in a single hoof and presented it to me. I then closed my eyes and tried to channel that same feeling I had the other night, thinking of the mug's fixed form and willing it to be repaired with Made in Heaven's ability.

I opened my eyes when a shimmering sound caught my ears. And just like last night, the same multi-colored light surrounded the shattered mug.

Shards of ceramic flew up from the floor and Made in Heaven's hoof, finding their place along the drinkware’s perimeter. In no time at all, my favorite mug, the phrase “#1 Boss” on the front, was now reformed in my stands hooves, which I happily take in my own. Too bad the coffee didn’t reappear as well. But no matter, with a satisfied smile and my mug held between my teeth by the handle, I left the bedroom as Made in Heaven returned to my body.

I passed through the hall, down the stairs, and walked into the kitchen. Breakfast wasn’t my strong suit; I usually visited a local cafe or food store in Canterlot for breakfast, but that didn’t mean I couldn’t cook.

I had to learn when she…

Shaking my head again, this time with an annoyed growl, I immediately got to work pulling skillets from the cabinets and ingredients from the fridge: some hay bacon and three eggs. The process wasn’t as long as I’d expected, the smell of a country breakfast filling the kitchen air as I scrambled my eggs and flipped the hay bacon. And, somehow, I decided that using Made in Heaven as an assistant would be helpful, having it tend to my eggs. I can say without a doubt that I’m not at a level to do such an action; the burning pain of three eggs worth of wasted food landing on my head is a testament to that claim.

When all was said and done, after cleaning my mess, I filled my plate and my mug with the first thing I found in the fridge: Orange juice. Now with my full plate, orange juice, and silverware, I started to dig in.

It wasn’t anything special, but it was filling.

And during my morning meal, I reluctantly allowed myself to think back on that dream about me and…my sister. It had been an off day from school, and as usual, my sister had an idea that involved us hanging out together.

Compared to me, she was always the most extroverted in the family. That party mare, Pinkie Pie, had somewhat reminded me of her, always trying to start a conversation and getting to know ponies, even if her company didn't enjoy her presence. Getting back to the point, she surprised me when she told me that we could sit at the park and read together.

My sister was also the thrill-seeking type- for whatever reason, and I'll never forget the bungee jumping incident. The point is: she rarely requests a calm hangout.

Nonetheless, I was pleased with the offer and took it, finding nothing wrong with her wish. The rest was just as the dream had played out: my sister teasing me, going on a mini-speech about our lives, and ending it with jokes and going home. When that dream took place- her speech made little sense at the time, largely attributed to being out of nowhere and unexplained. She completely skipped herself, skimmed over our parents, and instantly changed the topic to me. I hadn't questioned then, coming to the conclusion of it being my wired, but supportive, older sister. Now, with everything that happened afterward, I liked to think they were words of comfort and encouragement she wanted to give me but couldn’t find the right time to say them.

It did little to quell the later pain that still plagues my soul.

‘KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK’

The sound of somepony banging on my front door thankfully snapped me out of my thoughts. I grumbled and stood up from the table, walking to the front door, grabbing the doorknob, twisting it, and swinging it open, only to be surprised at the pony on the other side.

"Heh, heh, been a while, huh?" My assistant, Moondancer, said with a nervous chuckle.

Although her smile did falter under my gaze, looking at her in mixed parts disbelief and absolute dread. On one hoof: I would say that I'm relieved to see my trusted assistant before me, maybe even happy. Excluding the bandages- I could see peeking out from under her sweater's sleeves -and her missing glasses, she seemed fine for the most part. On the other hoof, though. She wasn’t supposed to be here!

With a shaking hoof, I grasp Moondancer's shoulder firmly. "W-What are you doing here?" I asked, using every ounce of my will not to show my fear. Moondancer looked uncertain of what to say, sweat rolling down her head.

I could've chalked it up to me being unusual, but that was not the case.

At that moment, my dread all but vanished when I noticed a crucial detail that I had nearly missed- one that could easily be overlooked. I had known my assistant long enough to weed out these details- and due to Moondancers coat, it would be reasonable that a total stranger would disregard how pale the flesh under her off-white fur was. In addition, I could spot faint bags under Moondancer's eyes and the subtle shivering sensation on my hoof, the same that held her shoulder.

“Well…um…I…” Moondancer stuttered out.

Without warning, I moved closer to Moondancer, a reddish hue adorning her face as I approached. Now inches away from the mare, I removed my hoof from her shoulder and rested it against her forehead. The second it made contact, I nearly drew back from the amount of heat radiating from her face alone.

Now that I think of it, the doorway where we stood was warmer than it should have been. She really was burning up from a fever, huh?

Clicking my tongue, I backed away from Moondancer as she sputtered nonsense with a drunken smile. Dear Faust, her fever is making her borderline delirious! “I will not stand for such carelessness! Walking around in the cold while running a fever, how foolish are you? Silly mare.” I sighed, shaking my head. She didn’t seem to respond to my words like she usually would: the common overreaction and thinking I would fire her because of a minor incident.

But I did not wait for a reply as I grabbed one of her hooves and led her inside, using Made in Heaven to shut the door once Moondancer and I were faced away.

“P-P-Pucci…no coat.” Moondancer slurred, a light, mareish giggle escaping her throat.

Yes…it looks like I do need to get dressed, my bad.

No one (3rd person)

"Mister Pucci, I appreciate the concern, really. But I'm fine." Moondancer said. But her reassurance was no match for Pucci as he let the fluffy sheets of his bed engulf the sickly scholar, much to her annoyance.

Sitting upon her scorching forehead was a red canvas ice pack, dropping into a bean shape due to her horn being in the way. On the nightstand next to her was a bowl of warm soup Pucci had somehow whipped up in less than 30 minutes. And the last thing that added to Moondancer's embarrassment, not that she minded, was Pucci sitting in a chair next to the bed, checking a thermometer he used on her a couple of seconds ago.

Pucci scoffed and stashed the thermometer in the inner coat pocket of his coat, having put the article of clothing not long after dragging Moondancer inside. "Sorry, but I must disagree. While unicorns' white blood cells are more magically potent than any other pony race, you still need rest. Despite your fever going down in the past couple of minutes of being inside, you are still well above normal temperature." He said in a scolding manner.

"Yeah...fever." Moondancer blushed, "And you're right. I shouldn't have come all the way out here while sick. I'm sorry, boss." She said in a low voice, bowing her head as her ears splayed back.

The room was silent, but no tension or unsavory atmosphere lingered in the air. It was more accustomed to a parent scolding their reckless child after they've done wrong. Pucci's face, however, betrayed that descriptor as his 'stern' expression twitched as he tried to keep back the feeling of pity and regret at the sight of the saddened Moondancer. To him, it was like watching an innocent puppy left abandoned in the rain. Eventually, Moondancer’s unintentional emotional manipulation broke Puccis’ false sternness, sighing and lowering his head in defeat.

“While it is foolish to do such a thing, I can overlook it,” Pucci said, internally smiling as he looked up and saw Moondancer brightening up with a look of surprise. “You are my trusted assistant and, dare I say, friend. It is only natural that I worry about your health and safety.” and the lengths I’ll go to protect that. “Now, mind telling me the reason for your visit?” Pucci asked.

Such a simple question, yet so hard to answer. Moondancer froze the second Pucci’s words passed her ears. How was she going to say anything without making him freak out about what happened or think she was crazy? There was absolutely no way she could spew all the events that had transpired hours ago. Godfree, the figures- as she dubbed them - she and Godfree have, or how she healed Poppy Vine without the use or knowledge of medical magic? All of it was too insane to believe, she woke up this morning thinking it was all a bad dream, but the memories came flooding back, and a wave of sickness along with it.

Moondancer swallowed a lump in her throat before saying: “Mister Pucci, I need to…show you something before I can answer your question.” She said, Pucci, in turn, raising his eyebrow. He was about to talk until Moondancer held up her hoof to silence him. “Please promise me you won't freak out?”

Not waiting for Pucci to ask why, she clutched her eyes shut and tensed all her muscles, groaning under the strain as her face puffed up in a cute manner.

Pucci immediately stood from his chair and was by her side, his words of protest of her actions were lost to the mare as she looked deep into herself and channeled the magic she felt that night. Suddenly, a wave of relief washed over her as she mentally gripped a...tingly feeling. There was no good way to describe the sensation, but it had made Moondancer relax her muscles and open her eyes. Upon opening them, she was met with a scene of Pucci backing away in shock as the figure named Baby Hotline, whom she had apparently summoned last night, stood by her bedside.

“Wh-What?” was the only word Pucci could say.

Seeing what was about to happen, Moondancer waved her hooves dismissively with a forced smile on her muzzle. “Wait, Wait, Wait! I-It’s not dangerous, I swear! It’s a long story, but I can assure you I can explain-” Moondaners voice caught in her throat as a multi-colored hue of light surrounded Pucci, her eyes widening as much as Pucci’s when Made in Heaven appeared next to him.

Moondancer tore her eyes from Made in heaven and over to Pucci, her wide eyes faintly narrowing in confusion. “Pucci…it looks like we BOTH have some explaining to do.” she said evenly.

Now there was an awkward tension filling the room.

Chp 10: A not so calm walk through the woods

Pucci (3rd person)

Cold sweat rolled down Pucci’s forehead like raindrops from a cloud, huffing out labored breaths as he climbed over a large fallen tree. With a strained groan, Pucci successfully conquered the dead log and rolled over it…only to fall face-first in the snow with a muffled yelp of pain.

Not even ten minutes in the infamous Everfree forest, he was an exhausted mess lying in the snow.

"Look at me," Pucci grumbled, having moved his head out of the chilling snow, "I haven't done anything besides walking and climbing over that log. Why am I so tired all of a sudden?" He asked to nopony in particular. On his person, he had traded his iconic coat for a puffy, black winter jacket, and shielding his muzzle was a red and gold scarf. A travel bag rested on his back, looking as if it would burst any moment due to the number of supplies in it. "No! I can't worry about insignificant things like that at the moment." He shouted internally.

After a few seconds of fighting against the bag's weight, Pucci had risen to his hoofs and moved further into the forest. The fire in his eyes could have melted the snow around him with how hot they burned.

It had been only a few hours ago that Pucci and Moondancer had their little talk, which was, to say, stressful.

—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Pucci (1st person)

Three hours earlier…

“So what you’re telling me is that a random stallion named Dio had broken into the observatory the night before you moved to Ponyville. You know nothing about him, and he apparently knows a lot about you and our figures- or stands as you call them -and offered you a chance to enact revenge on a pony. During that meeting, he revealed that he was the one who sent that pony out to the theater to kill you; although he said not to have you hurt in any way, you were skeptical. Yet you didn’t have time to think about it before I came in. And the second time was just last night; he acted super creepy and threatening before leaving because you somehow made buddy-buddy with Princess Twilight, and he heard her outside the house.” Moondancer receded with an incredulous expression all the while.

“Yes.” I responded.

Moondancer gave an exasperated sigh, holding up a hoof to her temple. “Sir, I hate to say this, but I like to think you were lying to me.” She said, making me cringe internally as her tired eyes locked onto me. Why was I so scared of her? “But between the fig- stands and getting attacked twice by ponies who use them, I think your story isn’t that far-fetched.” She sighed, glancing at the stand named Baby Hotline next to her.

“You’re seeming oddly calm for what I had told you.” I said with a cocked eyebrow.

She chuckled weakly and dragged a foreleg out from under the covers, rolling up her sleeve to show the limb wrapped in bandages, making me inadvertently grimace. “Well, between the wounds I got, my lack of proper sleep, and the past few hours have me emotionally drained. I would probably be freaking out about you being in danger if I wasn’t so tired.” She chuckled, but then she frowned, and her ears splayed back with a sorrowful look. “Sorry if that last part offended you, sir.” She replied.

I allowed a small smile to form on my muzzle as I placed a gentle hoof on her hind leg. I thought I heard a faint squeak equivalent to an excited rabbit coming from Moondancer but dismissed the noise as I looked at her flustered face. Is her fever heating up again?

“Moondancer, my assistant, you are fine.” I said, seeing her relax at my words. “And yes, you have a general idea of my situation, give or take a few events.”

“Still,” Moondancer piped up, “You haven’t explained why you left in the first place. Couldn’t you have reported this to the guard? Or, at the very least, tell me about it?” She asked; the faintest sign of hurt in her eyes filled me with guilt. “Why did you have to lie to me, Pucci?”

“I…” I tried to speak, but my throat felt dry, and every excuse running through my head felt hollower than the last. She had a point. I should have told her about Dio days before all this happened. I could have warned her at the very least, but I had to run off and lie. “I didn’t know what else to do then. The things Dio said. The things he could do. I became fearful and ran, having some half-baked idea of leading him away so he couldn’t find you.” And look how that turned out, “And the reason I didn’t tell you is that…I don’t want you getting involved, Moondancer.”

I removed my hoof from her hind leg and laid back in my chair, a guilty look plastered on my face, hanging my head in shame. In truth, my assistant is a capable mare on her own, at least when it comes to working. But even if she does have her stand now, she and I do not know how to defend ourselves. In a proper fight, we would be on par with a foal clumsily waving its hooves in the air during a tantrum.

Ponies like Valiant have years of combat experience under their belts. If Dio managed to recruit a nut case like him to do his bidding, who knows what kinds of characters he had managed to tame? Due to blind luck, I live another day after that fateful night.

And by the looks of Moondancer, she shared that same notion, if my theory is correct. No accident could warrant that amount of bandages. She didn’t have broken bones or torn ligaments; she wouldn’t be here if she did. Judging by the purple bruise I saw peaking out from her sweater’s collar, it was most likely some form of beating, but either not bad enough to be bedridden, or she managed to run out of the way. Still, the sight of my injured assistant filled me with boundless rage at the bastard who caused it, but the overwhelming shame I felt snuffed out that rage into a smoking ember.

Looking back up, I saw Moondancer gazing at the bed sheets with mixed emotions. The best way I could describe it was a three-way tie between bitterness, contemplation, and uncertainty, all fighting for dominance upon her features.

Taking a deep breath, I coughed into my hoof, getting my assistant attention, “I do hope you can forgive me. But, if you don’t mind, I want you to get some rest and have time to process everything. So can you tell me the reason for your visit, Moondancer?” I asked politely. It was a half-truth. She did need rest for her fever and time to think about her answer to all this. But a small part of me just wanted to get out; I could barely breathe with all the tension in the air.

Apparently, contemplation and uncertainty concluded their battle for supremacy in an alliance, then covered their future scheming with a smile that grew on Moondancer’s muzzle. “Um- sure -I guess.” She responded. “Well, It started after I got rejected from entering the castle…”

—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Pucci (3rd person)

Everfree Forest, present…

A gust of frigid air passed over Pucci, shaking the nearby branches of a tree and blowing its leaves away, But it didn’t faze the astronomer other than a subtle eye twitch. No matter what, there was absolutely nothing to stop the enraged stallion from reaching his goal: The castle of the two sisters.

After Pucci had diverted the conversation to Moondancer, it became apparent that was a mistake on his part. She went into great detail about the previous night. Going to the library after getting turned away by the guards, the lights in the library turning off suddenly, finding a mare named Poppy Vine injured, encountering a griffon named Godfree, then…running from his torment, and ending with her defeating Godfree. If Moondancer hadn’t fended off the griffon, there’d be hell to pay and griffon blood running through the Canterlot streets. Just thinking of the squawking bastard made Pucci grind his teeth in anger.

Moondancer had been the first real friend Pucci had made, aside from her being his assistant. In the total of thirty-six years Pucci had been alive, not once had he made an actual friend; his relationships generally consisted of associates, family, or coworkers. She was exceptional, however. They’d met the first time when Moondancer applied for the job, but Pucci had turned her away from the position due to still being on the fence about having an assistant. But something in him wanted to be around this mare, so he simply invited her for coffee later that same day, and the rest was history. Moondancer wasn’t overly-eccentric like Pinkie or as self-assertive as somepony like the element of loyalty; she reminded Pucci of his younger self, just more open and friendly.

It may be sad to some, pitiful even, but Pucci found it to be the most precious thing in his life, his friendship with his assistant. To have anything happen to her would mean losing something precious to him.

So when Moondancer repeated lines Godfree had spoken, it caught Pucci’s vengeful attention. The griffon had mentioned a ‘master’ that had sent him to retrieve a shard of a metal arrow that Moondancer had. Later on, Godfree mentioned that a certain ‘he’ didn’t inform him of Baby Hotline. Pucci didn’t have concrete proof, but he had an idea of who this ‘master’ was.

The timing was too perfect. Dio had visited him the same night Moondancer was attacked by some senile mercenary. Two ponies, one that’s a guard with a whole laundry list of brain issues and potentially one griffon with years of experience in the art of making poines disappear. Their backgrounds were too similar to overlook.

It sure was one hell of a coincidence if it wasn't on purpose.

In Pucci’s eyes, however, it was apparent Dio had something to do with Moondancer’s attack; he was sure of it. However, Dio did look surprised when Pucci name-dropped Moondancer by mistake, but he could’ve also faked his reaction. Even so, if Dio wanted to get precious things involved, then Pucci would gladly return the favor.

No amount of snow, wild creatures, oddly face-shaped trees, or scary noises emitting from the forest could wilt Pucci’s desire to obtain that book Dio mentioned. It had been stated by the sly stallion that he needed it for his long-awaited plan of revenge, so it was precious.

After Pucci would nab the tome, it would immediately be brought to Twilight and, by extension, Celestia herself. If it was in the retired princess’s old castle and somepony like Dio wanted it, it was probably a powerful artifact or ancient relic that leads to a powerful artifact that could be used to take over Equestria- for the billionth time by this point.

“GRRRRRRRRRR”

A menacing, guttural growl halted Pucci when it reached his ears, making him stop mid-step due to his body locking up in instinctual fear. The second he looked at the surrounding woods, multiple pairs of glowing green eyes flashed to life from the dark, circling him with hungered looks. Heavy stomps echoed in Pucci’s ears despite the snow beneath being incapable of producing an effect, with more growls joining the mix.

“Shit, This isn’t good.” He muttered.

Soon the owners’ of the foreboding noises revealed themselves to Pucci, the small amount of sunlight breaking through the dense canopy basking their rotting bark hides in a warm glow. Timberwolves: the most feared predator in the accursed forest. What they lacked in individual strength, they made up for it with their numbers and hunting tactics.

Pucci scoffed and eyed the wooden wolves as they began to circle the astronomer. Of course, he had the misfortune of running to a decently sized pack whilst on his travels, ten at the very least. “I knew this forest was too quiet- now I’m paying for my carelessness.” Looking at his back, Pucci grimaced before quickly turning back to the Timberwolves, one of the earthy mutts snapping at him. “With the current supplies I have on me, I won’t get far before they catch up.” He darkly said.

A snarl from behind alerted Pucci in time to see one of the beasts pouncing at him, sap lines and droplets flying out of its open maw of jagged wood. Just before Pucci or the Timberwolf could react, Made in Heaven manifested in the middle of the two. It threw its right hoof forward and decked the wooden creature in the side of the snout, electing a pained yelp from the beast as it flew into a tree, shattering its bark on impact. The suddenness of the event shocked every creature involved; the remaining Timberwolves that had been circling Pucci jumped back in surprise as the astronomer looked at the remains of his unfortunate attacker. To his surprise, Pucci watched in amazement as the wood of the deceased Timberwolf crumbled into a pile of lumber and turned to ash, a gust of wind blowing away what was left.

Unfortunately, he didn’t have time to overthink what had transpired as more growls reached his ears. Switching his attention back onto the others, Pucci saw the rest of the Timberwolves snarling and growling at him with equal parts hunger and hatred.

“I get the message,” He muttered, taking off his stuffed back and having Made in Heaven join his side. “Doesn’t mean I like it.” He'll need to fight if he wanted to reach the ruined castle.

Puffs of air passed through Pucci's lips, his eyes shifting nervously between each lumber mongrel that crouched, ready to pounce at any moment. You could practically hear a pin drop with the tense silence encompassing the area. Pucci was in no way skittish to dangerous concepts or creatures by any means, but he wasn’t incompetent towards the harm a single Timberwolf could do, much less nine of them.

“2…3…5…7” Pucci began to count, one of his many ways of clearing his mind during stressful times. If he remembered correctly, a pack of Timberwolves started their assault by attacking their prey from the back to catch it off guard.

Sure enough, Pucci picked up the crunching of snow behind him and whirled around, Made in Heaven with its hoof cocked back, to face a charging Timberwolf. Made in heaven got to work and uppercut the Timberwolf off its front paws, then landed three more blows to the chest, toppling the beast over and watching it land in the snow. Like before, the beast crumbled to a pile of bark and faded to dust, the wooden beast crying in pain all the while.

Two more Timberwolves broke off from the circle in hopes of killing the pony quicker, but Pucci saw it coming and grabbed his bag with his teeth. In one swift motion, Pucci swung the heavy bag with a grunt at the first Timberwolf to his left, hitting it in the face and slamming the bag and wolf into the snow, then ducking as the second Timberwolf flew over him. Before the second Wolf could turn around, the first had recovered from the attack but was immediately knocked away by Made in Heaven bucking it into the second Timberwolf, tumbling both to the ground. As the first Timberwolf crumbled to ash, the second got back up, turned to him, and charged once more at the astronomer. Stunned by the second Timberwolf’s survival, Pucci only managed to raise his bag in time to block a slash from the Timberwolf’s razor-sharp claws, creating three long cuts on its side.

With the placement of the three cuts, the bag tore at the seams, eventually spilling items onto the snow. Stone chisels, maps, snacks, water bottles, bandages, and other items littered the ground, making Pucci growl in annoyance. But there were other things to worry about than spilled milk, so to speak.

Luckily, Made in Heaven tackled the Timberwolf away, snapping Pucci out of his stupor. Surveying the remaining Timberwolves, Pucci grimaced at the sight of only eight of the wooden wolves, one of them being the one he injured. “This is taking too long. It shouldn't be-” Before Pucci could finish that thought, pairs of glowing green eyes appeared in the surrounding darkness, quickly growing in number by the second. By the time they stopped, about thirty pairs of Timberwolf eyes were peering at the astronomer. A pit of dread opened up in Pucci’s stomach; the snouts of the already-revealed Timberwolves looked to be smirking at his fear.

Like his father said a long time ago: sometimes a stallion needs to know when to give up.

“Fuck this.” Pucci said.

Without warning, he charged at the Timberwolves before him in a panic, the number of which grew as more of them stepped from the darkness to block his path, ready to tear him to bloody shreds. What they weren’t prepared for, however, was a multi-colored light surrounding him and distorting his body, then seemingly blinking out of existence with a vibrating base-like noise.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FuM8GpMc59M

They looked confused: where could have that little pony gone? The Timberwolves then turned around at the sound of distant, running hooves to see that their prey had somehow passed them and was now running away!

After a few seconds of shocked silence, their instincts kicked in, and they all chased after the pony, roaring, howling, and snarling all the while.

Over with Pucci…

“SHITSHITSHITSHITSHITSHITSHITSHITSHITSHIT” Pucci screamed as he dodged branches and large stones. Pucci didn’t know what in Tarturas just happened, but he took it and- quite literally -ran with it. He cursed himself for his laziness; why did he not choose the path to the castle?! There was no point in going the way he was going, even if it was a shortcut.

Pucci narrowly avoided getting his hind leg bitten off by a Timberwolf snapping at him, only to conclude in the wolf getting punched into the ground by Made in Heaven. The hoard of the wooden mutts trailing Pucci barked and howled in blood-thirsty excitement, having fun tormenting their prey. But Pucci didn’t back down. He picked up his speed, which was faster due to his absent bag, and watched out for any Timberwolves coming at him. There wasn’t that much ground left to cover, then these wolves-

“Argh!” Pucci cried out, a searing pain shooting through his flank as he felt bits of sharp wood stabbed into his flesh. Glancing back, a young Timberwolf had latched onto his flank like a parasite, growling and trying to thrash its head side to side to bring down the grow stallion. “You little shit!” Pucci yelled before having Made in Heaven slap the young pup off him.

The pup yelped as his form fell and was left in the metaphorical dust as Pucci continued running, blood pouring out of his wound. Ignoring the pain in his flank, Pucci’s eyes widened as a clearing in the middle of the trees shined bright light at him. He was in the home stretch now, and he couldn’t flatter! So, Looking every which way he could, Pucci smirked as he saw a large damaged tree ahead, split down the middle, likely caused by a lightning strike.

Pucci drowned out the sound of the advancing Timberwolf pack that was inching ever so closer to the injured pony. When the damaged tree was at the right distance, Made in heaven, who floated behind Pucci the whole time, went ahead of Pucci and laid into the tree’s base with its hooves.

Bits of rotted bark and wood chips sprinkled the snow around the tree as Made in heaven switched between left and right hooks, practically erasing an inch of the tree's base with every punch. Eventually, there was little left of the tree base, causing it to tilt and fall to the side with a crack and rustling sound. And due to the spot Made in Heaven punched the tree, the now dead trunk was about to block Pucci's path. He did not waver, however. Narrowing his eyes and getting low, Pucci continued to run with fear and determination coursing in his veins.

With a mighty roar, Pucci flung himself to the left and went into a slide, the snow under him making his slide faster than it would be on dirt and grass.

Since the unnatural weather in the Everfree forest rained quite often, it’s generally a more humid and dank environment compared to places like Ponyville. So when that same unnatural weather starts to drop the temperature, the forest floor is covered in more ice than snow or, more accurately, something in between snow and ice. So while the snow in the Everfree can be molded and melted like normal snow, it’s more dense and solid than its pegasi-made counterpart.

So using the semi-solid surface, Pucci successfully slid past the falling tree and missed getting crushed by mere centimeters before it slammed into the ground behind him with an echoing thud. The following sounds of pain cries and breaking wood made Pucci smile triumphantly as his momentum came to a stop, the distance of the opening not too far from his position.

But his momentary victory didn’t last long as the other Timberwolves went around the fallen tree and rushed the prone stallion.

Cursing under his breath, Pucci quickly got to his hooves and ran until he finally passed the opening in the forest. Once the castle of the two sisters came into view, it was no wonder how the abandoned palace began a Ponyville tourist trap in recent years. It had looked the way it had for years now, with barely any roof covering the majority of the building besides the two towers standing on either side. Despite the imperfect state, it was still a marvel to behold with its sheer size, and the amount of history in its walls could not be simply imagined; a sight you have to see to believe. The only thing he found unfortunate about the palace is that it rested on its own piece of land…separated by an over sixty-five meters wide cavern that was most certainly deep enough to kill him if he fell.

And bad luck strikes again, as Pucci spotted the newly constructed stone bridge to the castle on his right, but it was too far away for him to reach it in time. The Timberwolves were quickly covering distance and were less than forty meters away from the bleeding stallion. Pucci thought about taking the risk and going for the stone bridge, but taking a single step caused his flank to flare in pain. The adrenaline Pucci had before was starting to wear off, and the Timberwolves were now thirty-five meters away.

There was only one option he had left.

“This is such a bad idea.” Pucci groaned. Taking a few steps back, he took a deep breath and tightened the muscles in his legs. When the howls and growls of the Timberwolves became closer, Pucci kicked off the ground and dashed to the edge of the cavern.

No more than a meter away, Pucci jumped forward and landed inches away from the edge and gave one Olympic jump, sending himself soaring through the air. Everything went into slow-motion for Pucci. The wind blew through his mane, the feeling of gravity nonexistent to him, and a smile grew on his muzzle at his successful escape. That was all until reality came back to him, and he found out that he did not, in fact, make the jump- missing it by two pony lengths.

As gravity betrayed the astronomer and began to push him toward the dark abyss below, Pucci let out a terrified screen and flailed his limbs in a panic, not caring for his injured flank. In a desperate attempt not to become a red splatter on the cavern's rocky bottom, Pucci had Made in Heaven close the distance between him and the edge. Grabbing a hollowed-out section in the cliff face, Made in Heaven spun the rest of his body to face Pucci, holding its other hoof out to his master. Pucci didn’t need to be told twice what to do and instantly had his right hoof clutch his stands, wincing as his shoulder nearly popped out of its socket from his sudden stop.

Taking a moment to breathe, Pucci remained dangling by his stands hoof, looking at the dark abyss below him where he saw pointed stones at the bottom of the cavern. “Why does every naturally deep pit need jagged rocks at the bottom?” He rhetorically asked himself. “Whatever, I doubt the Timberwolves would like to come down here and join me.” He joked. With a grunt, Pucci had Made in Heaven toss him up to where he could replace the stand gripping the hollowed section of the cliff face, Made in Heaven disappearing back into his body.

Climbing up the dirt wall was challenging for the astronomer mainly because he’d never climbed something like this before, and his bleeding flank constantly complained to him every time his hind leg moved. Eventually, Pucci reached the top, and after a final exhausted wheeze, he threw himself onto the snowy surface of the castle's section of land.

“Note to self: never come into this accursed place again.” He grumbled.

Pucci pushed himself off the ground and dusted off the snow stuck to his coat. And the growls far off behind him made Pucci spin around to see the Timberwolves who had chased him now barking at him uselessly. Giving the pony equivalent of a ‘fuck you’, which involved pumping half a foreleg up in the air and having the other wrap around it, he got off his rump and headed to the castle entrance.

“Alright, Dio, let’s see what you wanted so badly.” Pucci smirked.

Author's Note

Stand Name: Made in Heaven
Stand master: Pucci Star Ray

Power<B
Speed<A
Range<B
Durability<C
Precision<D
Potential<A

Chp 11: Painful encounters (part 1)

Pucci (3rd person)

An echoing bangbounced off the decrypted wall of the main chamber as a large portion of stone landed with a small dust cloud at the bottom of a long staircase.

This staircase led up to two thrones- one small, one big -that loomed over everything else in the room; above them were two banners depicting the sun and moon. Behind the thrones, Pucci threw chunks of rock behind him, using Made in Heaven to break further into the filly-sized hole it made in the back wall.

His hooves were littered with deep cuts, scraps, and unsightly chipping- blood sprinkled his work section. The astronomer’s muscles ached from the digging and his previous run, and each stone Pucci lugged made him wince in pain, yet he did not stop.

“I’m sure…it’s somewhere…around here.” He huffed between labored breaths, “Why would…something so important…not be…close to…the princesses?” Another hiss of pain escaped passed his teeth as a particularly sharp stone stabbed into his fetlock. Sure, the assumption was ridiculous, but what other choice did he have? He wasn’t the second coming of Daring-Do or anything.

He’d searched as much of the castle’s first floor as he could- ignoring places likely not to hold important magical artifacts -before his injured flank made its presence known to Pucci. Luckily, he found some old cloth in one of the rooms he explored and used it to haphazardly bandage his wound, as unsanitary as it may be. But the past few hours of idiotically walking around aimlessly through the many halls of the old castle yielded no results. So to fix this, Pucci decided to throw preservation laws to the wind and start breaking walls and floors to find some hidden compartment that held the book.

And, still, nothing.

Pucci released a sigh of defeat and hung his head. “If I were a unicorn, finding this damn thing wouldn’t be as hard.” He grimaced. “I’m wasting my time. There has to be some way I can find it?” Pucci put a hoof under his chin in thought. Where would a magical book be kept?

The first idea was in the castle’s old public library, where Celestia used to keep most of the castle's tomes, but that was unlikely. One, it used to be a public area, and there would be no good reason to keep a powerful magic artifact there. Two, any books that remained and somehow survived would be ruined by the elements, reducing them to unreadable garbage with a missing roof. He was lucky the room he was in at the minute had remnants of a roof; the broken windows and glass roof led to minor snow build-up and dim light flooding the main room.

Okay, so the library is a no-go. Then maybe Pucci could find Celestia’s old room and snoop around there? As wrong as it sounded, there were rumors of secret paths and entrances in the Canterlot castle back in Canterlot, so what’s to say there aren’t any in here?

“It’s not like I have many options here,” Pucci said, getting off the floor and to his damaged hooves with another wince. “A stallion should never do something so perverse, but it’s for a good cause.” He justified, ignoring the blush he felt on his face. Why was he getting so worked up? He was going to break into the ex- princess’s old bedroom, snoop around for any secrets, probably find something, and steal it to satisfy his selfish revenge campaign.

…

Okay, that sounded worse than he thought.

Nonetheless, he shook his head of those thoughts and focused on his reason for being here. With a limp, Pucci left the throne room and began his search for one of the castle wing’s tower entrances; it was common knowledge that a pony of royalty would live in the tallest point of their home.

Along the way, Pucci couldn’t help but feel slightly unnerved by his surroundings. Any corners and hallways were all but pitch-black voids with no amount of light. Small noises echoed down through the halls like the forest that it resided in. Spider webs and dust covered every surface. And the scattered debris littering the ground made Puccis already injured hooves worse. By the time Pucci was in a long hall full of old pony armor and weapons, he wished that his backpack wasn’t out in the woods, so he could’ve used his flashlight to avoid knocking over several suits when he reached the end.

It was a shame the palace wasn’t reconstructed or cleaned, at the very least. Despite its condition and age, one could see the love and care that went into every detail; the palace's beauty would have rivaled any other in its time.

Unfortunately, Pucci didn’t care for scanning every square inch of the castle remains, for he had arrived at a large wooden door with rusty hinges. He knew this was the entrance to the staircase due to a faded sign above it saying: ‘Royal bedroom solar’.

Pucci approached the old door and placed his hoof on its surface to move the wooden barrier aside, only to find it wouldn't move an inch. Pucci then tried using his whole body to move the door, pressing his should against the rotted oak and pushing with all his might. He groaned and strained, his back hooves scraping the stone floor and veins appearing on his forehead, but soon gave up his effort with his already weak body.

“Alright, you want to play that way?” Pucci asked the door with an angered look. What in all Tarturas was this thing made out of?! Summoning Made in Heaven, his stand reeled back its left hoof and shot it forward, easily punching the door into splitters.

After a small huff of satisfaction with his small victory, Pucci stepped over the scattered splinters and rusty hinges and made his way up the spiral staircase. But with every step, Pucci felt a growing anxiety build up inside himself like something horrible was waiting for him once he reached the peak. It had gotten so bad that Pucci almost fell backward when his quaking legs gave out; luckily, he used Made in Heaven to prevent his fall and possible death.

It was rough, but Pucci eventually ‘ran the distance’ and arrived at a similar-looking door at the top. Instead of being caked in solid rust, this door was more worn and chipped, a yellow coat of faded paint covering its surface. Another sign hung from a bent nail with the words: ‘Celestia’s room: stay out!’ imprinted on a sun-shaped piece of wood.

Taking a calming breath, Pucci reigned in his nerves and steeled his resolve. He grabbed the brass handle of the door and pushed forward; this time, the door opened without trouble, letting Pucci walk in and close the door behind him.

Inside, Pucci took a moment to take in his surroundings. The room itself was mostly bare-bones, the only things that had remained were a large bed, a fancy-looking dresser with a broken mirror, an empty bookshelf, and a turned-over ponynequin lying next to a window. The canopy bed sat opposite the large mirror, its backboard facing away, and had a purple silk curtain shielding anypony from looking inside. The dresser wasn’t anything of note, white with a golden outline, and six wide dressers underneath the mirror top. And the ponynequin was larger than the average pony, covered in dust and cobwebs, hiding the cracks and holes strewn about its body; it was probably where Celestia kept her regalia. Pucci walked past the bed until he reached the down ponynequin, looking down at it with a solemn look. Beyond that, the only other things in the room were a dead silence that filled Pucci with unease and…deep chuckling?

Pucci’s eyes widened as a loud breaking sound alerted him to turn around to the bed. But before he could turn to see what had happened, a large fist slammed into his side, electing an audible crack from Pucci’s chest and a scream of pain. The strength of the owner's fist was great, sending the grown stallion sailing through the air and flying out the window, shards following Pucci as he fell through the air.

“W-What the-?!” Pucci shouted, coughing up blood as he felt his broken ribs shift, a particularly large shard of glass sticking out of his back. Every second that passed, Pucci’s body crept closer and closer to the other tower.

He tried to summon Made in Heaven to his fall, but the stand flickered and wavered weakly. “S-Shit, why isn’t i-it working?” Puccis wheezed out. Suddenly, a figure appeared before him, overshadowing Pucci with its overwhelming size. They had a set of large pointed horns, a big upper body, and a pair of hands, one of which was COMING RIGHT AT HIM!

Pucci guarded his face with his forelegs just before the fist careened into him. On contact, Pucci’s forelegs nearly broke under the force and flew back until he crashed into the other tower's wall, breaking off a few chunks of stone as he cratered into it. Letting out a pained yelp, the world around Pucci’s mind began to fade from the waking world as pain flowed through his body like a raging river of agony, his eyes rolling back into his head and blood spilling from his mouth. Unfortunately, the figure didn’t let up as it landed on the wall next to Pucci, using its fingers to dig into the stone and resting a hind hoof on the wall to maintain a standing position. Gripping the collar of Pucci’s ruined winter coat, the figure let out a mighty roar and flung the half-conscious astronomer away from the tower wall and to the glass roof of the throne room.

The glass broke instantly under Pucci’s combined weight and velocity, shattering to hundreds of pieces as Pucci crash-landed on the bottom of the stairs that led to the thrones. Dust and dirt shot up from the floor, creating a cloud around the motionless Pucci. A few silent moments later, a weak moan passed Pucci’s lips as his eyes cracked open.

He tried to move but cried out as a burning pain flared in every muscle of his body. “I-I must have passed out for a moment.” He thought, too weak to even move his mouth. “Who was that? There’s no way I didn’t notice them with their size.”

With a bit of effort, Pucci pushed himself onto his back and faced the sky, snow gently falling onto his beaten form. From what he could feel, all but a few of his ribs were either broken or fractured, his left hind leg was definitely broken, and a fracture in his skull was giving him a concussion. Darkness edged his vision, and the taste of copper flooded Pucci’s tastebuds, and a painful ringing noise muffled every other noise around him. To say he wasn’t feeling too hot was an understatement.

“I guess that happens when you get dropped from several stories up.” He weakly chuckled, coughing up more blood in the process.

Suddenly, a loud crash filled the room's air from the direction of the thrones and nullified some of the ringing in Pucci’s ears to tolerable levels. Tilting his head back slowly to see who caused the noise, Pucci had to squint his eyes to avoid getting blinded.

Standing atop the now crushed thrones was a sizeable male minotaur about a head and a half taller than Pucci. He had reddish-brown fur, two pointed horns, and green eyes that pierced through the astronomer with rage and disgust. His stance practically radiated with pride, almost as much as his full suit- minus helmet and gauntlets -of gold and silver armor, his log-sized arm folded with his head held high. A red cape with white frills flapped in an unseen wind, and a long silver battle axe resided beneath it.

He stomped his left hoof into the small throne's remains and somehow made his already straight posture more straight. " Be grateful, dog! You are about to be executed by the 8th Tierra muerta general under the Command of the 4th commandment Dio Morningstar! Accept your fate like the mutt you are!" He said with a booming voice that echoed loudly off the throne room walls.

Pucci tried to give a response, but all that came out was a weak groan. “So he’s the one who did this to me.” He thought with disdain, “I’m not surprised, it was a matter of time before that stallion rids this world of me.”

A growl came from the minotaur, his eyes narrowing angrily as he watched the injured Pucci struggle to flip himself onto his stomach. Pathetic moans and whimpers escaped Pucci’s throat every time he moved, but he miraculously got up into a lowered position, albeit shaking like a leave. It was taking all of Pucci’s willpower not to black out right then and there, but the darkness returned to his vision in full force, his minding swimming as his body swayed from side to side.

“YOU DARE MOCK ME WITH THIS PATHETIC SHOW?!” The minotaur roared, his arms now at his sides with balled fists. “MASTER DIO PROMISED ME A STRONG OPPONENT! BUT ALL I SEE IS ANOTHER PATHETIC PONY GROVELING AT MY HOOVES, LIKE A PATHETIC DOG!” He stomped his left hoof again in anger, veins bulging on his forehead and steam shooting out from his nostrils.

Not hearing what the minotaur said with his worsening state, Pucci ignored him in favor of not falling down. “I originally came here to fuel my revenge on DIO, but I lost sight of what I needed to do. All of this…needs to be for her own good.” Pucci’s hind legs buckled for a second, but he quickly corrected himself, spreading all his legs into a half-assed defensive stance. “I shouldn’t be so selfish- sister always said that -especially not toward somepony like Moondancer. She and I are not strong, especially her. Unknowingly, I had brought her into this mess because of my foolishness and put her against something she and I can’t hope to fight against. But I intend to correct that mistake. All I need to do is make sure she’s safe, and that stallion is the only thing standing in the way of that goal. I don’t care how many times I get hit, how many bones I break, or how much blood I lose. All of it will be sacrificed to protect my assistant, my friend!” With every last ounce of energy he could muster, Pucci summoned Made in Heaven behind him, a snarl enveloping his features.

“COME AT ME!” Pucci shouted back with a raspy voice, blood and spit flying out of his mouth.

Hearing Pucci’s challenge, the minotaur smiled sadistically and pulled the silver battle axe from his back, wielding it with both hands. “If you’re so willing to die, fine!” He cackled. The minotaur crouched down and, with an animalistic grunt, jumped off the ground and into the air, his battle axe already above his head.

Pucci tried to mentally command Made in Heaven to protect him but was shocked to see his stand’s body began to flicker and fade in and out. A pit formed in his stomach as the minotaur was getting closer and closer, trying his best to have Made in Heaven do something! It was too late, unfortunately, as the minotaur was only a few meters above Pucci with a bone-chilling expression full of gleeful bloodlust. Pucci closed his eyes, struggling to move out of the way, only succeeding in falling onto his injured side with a pained yelp.

“DIE!!!” The armor-cladded monster roared.

“I don’t think so, dude.” A mysterious voice said before a deep, bass sound filled Pucci’s ears, followed by a cry from the minotaur.

The next sound was a loud crash and metallic banging, and opening his eyes, Pucci saw the same minotaur that was about to kill him on the other side of the room. Groaning and rubbing his now bleeding head, the minotaur rose from his crash site- the staircase that was now severely broken due to his landing -and glared at something behind Pucci, battle axe still in his grip.

“Who dares to attack a Tierra muerta general?! show yourself!” He demanded.

Pucci angled his head in the direction of approaching hoofsteps that were coming from the dimly lit entrance of the throne room. Coming out from the shadows, a unicorn mare with white fur and a two-toned, long wild blue mane and tail stepped out. She smirked in a cocky manner, adjusting her purple-lensed glasses and a set of ear-phones resting on her neck.

“Sorry, bud, this little troublemaker is coming with me.” She chuckled getting an angry growl from the minotaur. “Can’t let you have all the fun now, huh?” Walking until she reached Pucci, she presumably looked down at his battered body with a grimaced that formed on her face before returning to her previous smirk. “Don’t worry. I got this.” She said.

“W-Who are you?” Pucci quietly spoke, his vocal cords feeling like they were being strangled.

The mare’s horn lit to life with a red color aura, the same as that surrounded her glasses, and pulled them down to reveal her crimson-colored eyes. “The names Vinyl Scratch.” She smoothly said with a wink. “You can go nighty-night now. I’ll take care of big and mean for ya, dude.”

At the mare’s word, darkness finally gripped Pucci’s mind.

Chp 12: Painful encounters (part 2)

Vinyl Scratch (1st person)

As the stallion blacked out, I chuckled in amusement. “So, now that that’s out of the way.” Manifesting my stand on my hooves, I flashed a toothy grin at the minotaur. “Wanna dance, big guy?” I asked. “If you come with me quietly, I promise I won’t rough you up too bad.”

Instead of a proper reply, he roared angrily and slammed the butt of his battle axe into the floor before charging at me, horns first. “You impudent pony! How dare you get in my way!” The minotaur shouted.

Seeing the attack coming, I tapped the ground in front of me with my left forehoof and created a glowing blue ring a half meter in diameter in the same spot. Just as the loud-mouthed muscle head was about to run me through, I hopped back at the last second, slamming my hoof down when I landed and activated my ability. The ring, now under the minotaur, glowed brightly, gaining his attention just as a collum of transparent waves shot up and impacted his stomach. The force from my attack sent the minotaur a few feet into the air, ending with him coming back down and falling onto the cold stone with a grunt.

“W-What is this sorcery?!” The minotaur yelled, pushing himself off the ground while catching his breath.

I chuckle again, doing little side hops to loosen my muscles. “That, my good sir, is the thing that’ll kick your shiny ass.” I taunted, “Funny, I don’t sense any stand magic coming from you; guess that’s what boss was talkin’ about. Must be pretty magically strong to see my stand’s attacks coming, not that it’ll do you any good.” I said with a shrug.

The minotaur huffed and finally got to his hooves. “Your foalish tricks will never defeat me, mare. I’m the-”

“Yeah, yeah, great 8th general, blah, blah, blah.” I interrupted with an eye roll, “Can we get to the part where I take you in already?” That seemed to piss the guy off, as I could make out steam bellowing from his ears and his eyes going bloodshot. It’s always the ego that brings down his type.

This time, the minotaur grunted, quickly rushing over and equipping his axe. Like before, he charged me again with his axed raise over his right shoulder. I gave an unamused snort and joined the mindless charging, running straight at the minotaur, planning on attempting the same tactic as before.

Quickly halting my advance after a few feet, I jumped back after placing down a ring, ready to blow this guy away. But to my surprise, he side-stepped the ring with impressive speed for his size, making the attack shoot at nothing as he swung his axe at my neck. I quickly placed down and activated a ring on my left, resulting in it knocking me to the side and avoiding the axe. As the minotaur swung at thin air, I ended up on the other side of the room, rolling across the pebble and glass-littered ground as I lit my horn. Once I regained by hoofing, firing several shots of magic at the minotaur- my side aching due to my hasty retreat. The first few struck him in the face, but the rest bounced off his armor as he raised his arm to block. Now with his vision obscured, I confidently smirked as I touched the back of a chunk of stone lying next to me, forming a smaller-sized ring on its surface.

When I stomped my hoof, the stone chunk shot off the ground as my waves struck the floor behind it, hurdling it into the left side of the minotaur’s face just as he lowered his arm. The sickening crack coming from his face, followed by a pained cry, made me wince a little as the minotaur stumbled back while holding his face.

It wasn't long before he recovered and glared heated daggers in my direction, one of his eyes now purple and swollen shut, blood gushing from a cut on the eyelid. “You’ll pay for that!” He shouted. How is his throat- or my ears -not ruined at this point with all that yelling?

“Aw, does the big, strong general need a kissy for his boo-boo~?” I say in mock sympathy, puckering my lips and blowing kisses at the seething minotaur.

I nearly yelped with my eyes bulging in surprise as he drew his axe-wielding arm back and chucked the weapon at me, his strength making the gaudy weapon go at least Wonderbolt levels of speed at me. Luckily, I dodged it by the skin of my teeth, losing about a few locks of mane as I ducked under the flying axe and landed on my stomach. As the axe struck the wall behind me, it nearly shook the entire throne room as its blade embedded itself into the stone wall, forming a large crack that leaked with the outside light.

“Not one for jokes, eh?” I mumbled, rising from my prone position, my eyes widening as they locked on to something I had forgotten: the stallion. Luckily, this guy didn’t seem any more injured than before, but I couldn’t leave him in the middle of a battlefield. Doesn’t look like he had much fun, did he? “I need to end this quickly.” I sighed mentally, feeling a bit disappointed that I couldn’t get to fight a Tierra muerta general for a bit longer because of this idiot.

With a deep breath, I kicked off the ground and ran toward the collapsed Pucci, Ignoring the minotaur who was trying to cut me off. As he inevitably blocked my path, his hulking body overshadowing mine, I jumped up at the minotaur with both of my front hooves glowing a bright neon blue. "Eardrum breaker!" I shouted, my hooves inches away from his face. But the minotaur caught me off-guard by grabbing both of my forelegs by the elbow and squeaking them tightly to the point they almost broke, eliminating the glow on my hooves. I gritted my teeth, squinting in pain as he gave me a bloodlust-filled grin. "This bastard is too quick for his own good." I groaned internally.

The minotaur triumphantly chuckled as he put more pressure into his grip, electing a small whimper from me. "Not so cock-sure of yourself now, mutt? Now that I got you where I want you, I will break every bone in your pathetic body of yours, nice and slow. Then I'll rip out and use your intestines to strangle that other mutt." He said, motioning his head to the stallion.

Shit, this isn't good. I was hoping to bust this guy's eardrums out and run off while he cried alone, but he's smarter than I give him credit for. There’s no way I fight this guy head-on right now. At this rate, he'll break my forelegs. No matter, just a change of tactics, I'm sure he'll feel as much pain as I'm about to.

“Time to change the rhythm.” I said, making the minotaur raise a brow in confusion.

In one quick motion, I swung my hind legs up until my back hooves were aligned where his heart should be. My stand them disappeared from my front hooves and relocated to my hind ones, glowing brighter than they were moments ago. “Bass drop!” I shouted as he looked down in time to see my hind hooves glowing at blinding levels. And in a split second, gigantic waves emitted from my hooves with a bone-rattling bass drop sound. The force of my attack shattered the minotaur's chest armor, almost threw my glasses off my face, and rattled the whole throne room, making the remaining ceiling collapse.

Try as he might, the minotaur couldn’t withstand one of my strongest attacks. His eyes rolled into the back of his head as his armor and the flesh on his chest broke and tore away, revealing rotten innards filled with collapsed organs and maggots. Luckily, I didn’t suffer the stench of his decomposed insides as the minotaur's hands released me, my attack’s remaining power pushing me away as it slowly faded away, letting me fall to the ground with a yelp.

“AH! FUCKING TITS ON A STICK, THIS HURTS!” I cried out, pulling up and grabbing my aching hind legs as I rolled side to side. Even to my trained body, bass drop still takes a toll on my body with the amount of stored-up sound it uses.

Dismissing the ringing in my ears, I stood up with some trouble from my hind legs and shook the daze from my head. Afterward, my eyes laid upon the minotaur general in front of me, his head tilted back and pointed to the sky as his arms dangled uselessly at his sides. He stood motionless, letting out occasional wheezing moans when his body would twitch. I could have struck the asshole's heart. He'll be out of commission for a hot second, but with his power, he's going to be even more pissed when he heals up.

Looking over at the stallion, my eyes widened in panic as his body had gone missing from his spot. I immediately started whipping my head in every which way to locate this guy while limping past the minotaur. He must have gotten blown away in all the chaos.

But thankfully, it didn't take long for me to spot the lanky stallion as his injured body was flipped over, sticking halfway out of a doorway with his flank tooted up. I let out a quick snicker at the stallion’s position after a sigh of relief, then quickly levitated him onto my back. I grimaced as the feeling of trailing blood trickling down my white coat; it was going to be a pain to clean out. Nevertheless, I did my best to hold back any complaints and lit my horn. A second after, there was a bright flash as we teleported away.

Mission…failed?

—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dio Morningstar (3rd person)

Dio impatiently tapped his hoof on the arm of his chair, a clear scowl adorning his face. When he sent out one of his two generals to deal with Pucci’s mischief, he believed it would be a quick job. He’d been wrong, apparently.

He was never wrong.

“Where is that prideful moron?” He muttered to himself. Just then, as if the heavens had answered that question for him, a knock came from a door behind the second chair facing across Dio, a small table taking up the middle space. “Come in!” He barked harshly at the creature on the other side of the door.

The room's air had been plagued with the scent of sweet lavender, giving a calming smell to contrast the sickening tension emanating from Dio alone as the door creaked inward. Coming in once the door fully opened, the commonly loud and proud minotaur general was almost meek-looking, stepping in with his head pointed to the floor as he closed the door behind him. Despite the near pitiful scene of the general approaching and sitting in the empty chair, Dio showed not an ounce of pity or sympathy for him. In fact, Dio’s scowl seemed to deepen further as the silence grew between the two.

Using this moment of silence to his advantage, Dio scanned over the minotaur in front of him, and the reason for his general’s pity party was evident. The front half of his chest armor was all but gone, broken to expose a still healing torse caked in dried blood, multiple scuffs covering his body, and a bleeding black eye. Dio scoffed loudly, making the minotaur flinch.

“Care to explain your-” Dio rattled his brain for the best way to put his next word, “Condition, Ox Heart?” He growled through gritted teeth, irritation evident in his voice.

Ox Heart slowly moved his bowed head up to face Dio, his poor attempt to look hardened wavering with subtle twitches of his facial muscles. “I…failed you, master Dio.” He said in an even tone. But a flash of fear passed his face when Dio slammed his hoof on his chair’s arm.

“And why is that, may I add?” Dio said in mock interest. “After my… associate in Ponyville had spotted Pucci heading into the Everfree as he idiotically spoke of his plan to steal the book from me out loud, I thought it wouldn’t be a problem to…put the fool in his place.” He then stood from his chair, walking around the table as he kept talking. “You were the closest to the castle, and with your speed, I thought you ambushing him would be a solid plan. He is not but a fool who looks up at the stars for a living; he can’t even throw a punch, for goodness sake!” Dio shouted as his hind left back leg kicked the table over, knocking over an assortment of books and a glass of wine sitting on it. “Sure, his stand MIGHT have been an annoyance for you, but instead, you come back to me beaten and bloody like the ‘mutts’ you deal with daily. Daring to enter my domain looking like this.” He spat, finally stopping next to Ox Heart, of who was rigid as a plank of wood and shaking like a leave. Moving his mouth close to the minotaur’s left ear, Dio’s hot breath sent uncomfortable shivers down the general's spine. “So I’ll ask you again: Care to explain?” He asked in a low tone.

Ox Heart's remaining eye met Dio’s as his master laid a firm hoof on his shoulder. “I-I…” The general stuttered, unable to keep the fear out of his voice. His shivers only worsened as Dio gave him a narrowed look as if to say: ‘You better have an answer now or pay the price for wasting my time.’. “T-There…was another.” He replied meekly after a moment of silence.

When Dio backed away from his general, he could almost see the minotaur melt into his seat with a relaxed posture but retaining his fearful look. Ignoring the stupid action, Dio raised an eyebrow, “Another?” He echoed the word. A nod from Ox Heart was all it took for Dio’s already dampened mood to sink lower, succeeding in visibly striking cautious fear in Ox Heart as an aura of unbridled rage filled the room.

“Who?” Dio seethed.

“I-It was…Commander Vinyl of the E.S.S.U, master.” Ox Heart answered, his voice barely audible.

Uncomfortable silence once more took hold of the room, the only sounds being the low growls and muffled curses coming from Dio. The stallion's eyes were wide as diner plates, and his pupils the size of pinpricks; his body shaking violently in barely contained anger.

Suddenly, Ox Heart gave a startled noise when he found himself falling to the floor in his chair with a thud, the impact adding a dull pain to the back of his head. But when he crawled away from the chair and got off the floor, his eyes widened when they scanned the room around him- or what was left of it. Somehow, the room was completely ruined beyond repair. Holes littered the walls and obliterated furniture pieces, trinkets, and items such as vases lay shattered and broken across the floor, And a low-hanging blanket of dust covered them. The only thing Ox Heart could find that wasn’t destroyed in the blink of an eye was himself, the chair resting next to his hooves, and Dio.

In front of him, Dio was faced away from the general, his shoulders shaking with every labored, raspy pant. “Get. out. Go and lick your wounds in the medical wing, mutt.” Dio muttered in a hoarse voice.

Not looking behind himself to see Ox Heart bow to him, Dio waited for the opening and closing of a door to release a frustrated yell. “DAMN YOU, CELESTIA!” He roared, smashing a hoof into the wooden floor and breaking a hole into the hardwood. Seconds of unbroken silence passed before Dio took a deep, calming breath and straightened his posture. “You still find some way to foil my plans, don’t you?” Dio added, his tone more restrained this time, “The only way she knew about my general being at the castle would have been some protection spell to sense negative presences, knowing her.” He scoffed.

Calmly walking over to the collapsed chair, Dio picked it up with an unsense force and sat in it, taking in the destruction he’d caused to his private room. “It was ignorant of me to believe she wouldn’t have set some kind of trap after my first attempt and not telling Ox about it.” He sighed in exasperation.

A wolfish smile forms on his muzzle, an evil glint in his eyes as he peered out of a nearby window. “No matter. This incident will only be a setback for now. I still hold the majority of the cards, Celestia.” He chuckled menacingly. “So, get ready for your downfall, Princess.”

—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Pucci (3rd person)

Location: ???

“Ow! Watch what you’re doing with tha- OW!”

A steady gush of unknown substance entered in and out of his mouth and nostrils with every breath of his burning lungs. It was odorless, but he could smell something akin to cleaning products.

That was the first thing Pucci experienced as his mind returned to the waking world, feeling like he had returned from a dormant state for centuries. The second thing that quickly returned to him was his sense of touch. Out of the many things he felt, muted pain was the major factor, but more of a full-body ache than anything else. Other sensations Pucci felt were some sort of plastic mask enveloping his muzzle, the gust of unknown substance coming from the center- must be the source, and a bed under him with a blanket covering his body from the neck down.

“Oh, stop being such a foal, Commander Vinyl.” An aged voice chastised, “I’ve seen you in worse condition after that fight you had with that dragon. What were you thinking? Rolling across broken glass and sharp rocks. Are you sure you didn’t hit your head as well?”

Commander Vinyl? Pucci racked his memory for a similar name, but it was all a blur to him, events and happenings molding into one. And what was that about a dragon?

“Come on! I was about to get my head chopped off by an axe. What was I supposed to do?”

An unamused snort came from the elderly voice, “If you don’t stop going buck wild and charging head-on into every opponent you go against, I’ll be the one who’s gonna chop off your head!” She threatened, followed by the harsh closing of something metallic.

The more he listened, the more memories began to rebuild themselves in Pucci’s mind. There was something about an axe that was about to do the same for him- he was sure of it. He remembered getting…ambushed and…punched out of a window? Still, there wasn’t a whole picture Pucci could make out. Maybe if he tried opening his eyes? He could ask the owners of the voices what happened.

Summoning all the energy he could manage, Pucci mentally strained himself as his eyelids twitched and fluttered. Seconds seemed like hours as the astronomer slowly peeled back the skin blocking his eyesight, drops of sweat rolling down his head as a bright light started to creep into his vision. After some time, Pucci’s eyelids shot open, filling the exhausted Pucci with pride, only for him to immediately close them as the light stung his eyes. Unfortunately, the sudden blinding Pucci experience caused his head to jerk back involuntarily, sending a bolt of pain down Pucci's spine and making him grunt in restrained agony.

“Well, look who’s finally awake.” The elderly voice said.

This time, without blinding himself, Pucci slowly opened his eyes and adjusted to the white light coming down from a lap on the ceiling. Turning to the side, where the voice came from, he saw a familiar unicorn mare sitting on a hospital bed, a pair of glasses sitting next to her as she looked down at him with blood-red eyes.

Next to her, fiddling with a clipboard and pencil enveloped in a pink aura, was a second Unicorn mare. She was older and shorter than the first mare, with a chestnut-colored coat, lime-green mane with gray strands tied back into a lazy bun, and light-pink eyes. She wore a red and blue horizontally striped doctor's coat over a sky-blue sweater with a picture of a wonderbolts logo and a pair of thin-framed glasses- a string of amber beads keeping the eyewear on her face. Due to the elderly mare's position on the floor, her flank went uncovered, revealing an image of a syringe in the shape of a lightning bolt on her flank- a musical note for the other mare.

Before Pucci could get a word out, the elderly mare stood up and walked over to an I.V. bag hanging from a rack next to Pucci’s bed, a syringe levitating beside her head.

“I don’t recommend talking for the moment, deary. Your body hasn’t fully recovered yet, far from it.” The syringe enveloped in her magic moved closer to the bag, then stabbed its needle into a tube connected to the bag before injecting a clear liquid into it. Immediately, Pucci felt a sense of relief wash over him, canceling out the pain entirely. “That was a bit of pain killer to ease your pain, high bit stuff too. You’re lucky this treatment is already paid for.”

“W-What…do you…mean?” Pucci asked the mare, holding back an oncoming coughing fit, his throat feeling like it was on fire and a million ants were chewing away at his vocal cords.

The second mare, who he guessed was Vinyl, jumped off the bed and landed on her hooves, wincing a little before walking to the other side of his bed. “I think this is where I come in.” She grinned, “You can get going, Granny Shock. I’ll talk to him.” She added, nodding in the direction of the bedridden Pucci as she sat down.

Granny Shock glared at Vinyl for a moment until she released an irritated sigh and lit her horn, “You’re lucky I get paid to take care of you.” She grumbled, levitating her clipboard to her side as she headed to the room's door, and opened it. “AND STOP CALLIN’ ME GRANNY! I’m only 60 years old, ya little shit!” the angry doctor shouted, slamming the door loudly as she left.

During all this, Pucci watched on with confusion, wondering what was happening and where he was. Suddenly, he felt a hoof tap his shoulder, which he found to be Vinyl’s when he turned to her- the mare looking at him with a friendly smile.

“Eh, don’t worry. Granny likes to act all tough and grouchy, but she’s really caring deep down- I think.” Vinyl said, glancing away with uncertainty at the last part before turning back to him. “Any, my name’s Vinyl Scratch, Commander Vinyl, if you want to be polite and crap. And if you’re wondering, we’re in the Canterlot Royal castle, the medical wing, to be more accurate. If I’m not wrong, you’re Pucci, right?” She asked.

Pucci nodded, still trying to process what Vinyl Scratch had told him, but his eyes widened slightly in realization. “Wait, Vinyl Scratch. I remember you from my Welcome to Ponyville Party, the one that the element of laughter threw for me.” He stated, pulling his right foreleg out and pointing his hoof at her.

“Yeah, I am,” Vinyl said with a hint of irritation in her tone, “and I’m still pissed that you ruined that party by yelling at Rarity! What was that all about anyway?” Lightly hitting Pucci’s head, her cheeks puffing up in anger.

Rubbing his head after the mare punched him, Pucci gave Vinyl an apologetic look as guilt filled his heart. “While I don’t want to get into the reason for our… argument, I still apologize for my actions.” He then cocked an eyebrow at Vinyl, an uneasy feeling replacing his guilt.“But if you don’t mind, can you tell me why I’m in Canterlot?”

Vinyl lightly chuckled at his request as she scratched the back of her mane, “I would. But I’m waiting for-”

KNOCK KNOCK KOCK

“Speak of the devil.” Vinyl quipped, she and Pucci snapping their attention to the door. “Come on in, Boss. The guy’s awake!” She called out.

Pucci switched his gaze from Vinyl and the door with even more confusion. That was until a clicking sound came from the direction of the door, making Pucci look back in time to see somepony walk in, his eyes widening in shock at who it was.

“That’s good to hear, Commander Vinyl.” She said with a velvety smooth voice, a smile adorning her muzzle. “And hello to you too, Pucci Star Ray.” As she walked in, her long multi-colored mane and tail flew in an invisible wind, contrasting her perfect white coat, passing gently passed the doorway as she fully entered the room, closing the door behind her. Even without her regalia, she had a certain charm and elegance to her tall, slender form, like a warm summer sun parting the dark clouds. “I do hope you are in good spirits.”

“Y-Your highness.” Pucci studdered, unable to process the pony standing at the end of his bed.

She gave a small giggle, putting a hoof to her lips to stifle them, “There’s no need to be so formal. I haven’t been a princess for a long while now. So you can just call me Celestia.”

Chp 3: So it begins

??? (First person)

Hours before the attack

“Huh? You want me to do what?” Valiant heart asked before guzzling down the tea I so graciously offered like the pig he is.

I sighed, resting the book I was reading on a side table, “For the last time, Valiant, I need you to test somepony for me.” I said slowly, in hopes his small mind could comprehend my simple request. “There is a stallion that has recently caught my attention, and I’m certain he’s the one I need to complete my plans.” Taking a sip from a wine-filled glass, I lick my sharp teeth and smile, happy that my dreams could finally become a reality.

Valiant looked at me stupidly, like I had grown two heads, “Okay, so I need to “test” somepony because…why?” He said, annoyed.

Standing from my leather chair, I walk over to the fireplace with a roaring flame and stare into it with a glare, “Did your idiotic brain not understand me earlier, or did you hit your head that hard when I found you; crying and begging to live like the weakling you still are?” I sneer. My question must have struck a chord in the brute because he smashed my fine china cup onto the wooden floor and shot up from his chair.

“Bastard, you dare mock me?! I’ll have you know I was one of her best!” He shouted angrily at me.”Do you think you can insult me and expect me to follow your dumb orders?! Screw you!”

My mocking chuckle filled the room's air as I threw my head back, hovering my hoof above my face as I side-glanced at the enraged ex-guard. “Oh really? But that’s that keyword: was. Oh, how you have fallen from the grace you didn’t even have in the first place.” My laughter increased as I saw Valiants body tremble in rage, a figure slowly fading in behind him. “In reality, you're nothing more than a glorified ass-kisser. One who killed his entire squad out of jealousy ‘cause he couldn’t face the fact he would never truly amount to anything!”

Roaring with rage, Seven Nation Army fully manifested from behind Valiant and shot three arrows at me. It was all for naught. The fireplace exploded into pieces from the arrows’ hitting it, sending bits of brick and ash across the floor. I appeared behind the brute in the blink of an eye, one hoof each wrapped around Valiant and his stands necks tightly.

With only the moon’s pale glow covering Valiant, I moved my mouth from the darkness closer to his ear, “You think that just because I helped you awaken your power, you can do or say whatever you want? No, you follow MY orders like a good guard would.” I scoffed in disgust as I felt his cold sweat rolling onto my clean hoof, “You’re a disgrace to all guards, and that coming from me is another level of pathetic.” I spat, finally releasing the trembling Valiant to the floor, his stand disappearing back into his body.

“All I ask of you is to seek out a stallion with segmented white hair, brown fur, and a black and gold coat, not to ask questions. Do not kill this stallion, only “rough him up” a little, at least until his stand manifests.” I walked back to my leather seat, sitting down as Valiant weakly rose from the floor, coughing. “Seven Nation Army may not be the most powerful of stands, but I hope your messed up mind manages to figure out something.” Taking another sip from my wine, I looked down at the filth at my hooves, “Got that?”

“Y-Yes…sir.” Valiant meekly replies.

As he walked away towards the door, I stopped him in his tracks. “And one more thing, Valiant,” I say with a heavy edge in my tone, “When I mean do not kill him, I mean it. If I find out you’ve gone against my orders, you’ll wish you died bleeding out on that cliff face. Am I understood?” Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Valiant give a shallow nod before quickly exiting my room.

Now alone, I turned my head towards the window, looking at a luscious blanket of forest that stretched on for miles. “Soon, Celestia, I will have my revenge. And when that time comes, you will finally see who is truly worthy of being in power and that your harmony is but a joke.” facing away, I close my eyes and chuckle lightly, “I am the one who holds time and death itself. Eventually, all of reality with it!”

Pucci (3rd person)

Pucci felt sick, no, sick didn’t describe the pain coursing throughout his entire body. His stomach felt as if somepony stabbed it with a hundred knives; his head a hundred more. Each muscle screamed in agony. Every bone in his body moaned and creaked at every movement, even as he shifted under the bed covers.

Wait, bed covers?

Another painful flip of his body, and sure enough, he was currently covered by a soft, silky sheet. Even the mattress under him was what a cloud must feel like to a pegasus.

On that note, wasn’t he at the theater, right? Princess Twilight was there, and she and Pucci were…fighting? Yeah, fighting. But who was he fighting again? It was all a blur to the astronomer, memories jumbled together in a confusing, incoherent mess. Last night’s memories, to be exact; if the sunlight assaulting his still-closed eyes was anything to go off of. How long has it been since he’d been out? The last time he checked, the moon was high in the starry sky before going to the show.

Hold on, that word: Moon.

Moon, Moon, Moon.

…

“Moondancer!” Pucci shouted as he shot up from the bed. He immediately regretted this action though the second he was straight up; bolts of agonizing pain struck from his ears to his hind hooves, setting his insides metaphorically on fire. Pucci cried out, flopping back down on the soft mattress as he writhed in searing pain, grabbing his sides uselessly.

Pucci’s cries must have been loud enough to grab somepony’s attention because a loud bang followed the violent opening of a door. Multiple blurry silhouettes filled Pucci’s vision, each holding down one of his limbs. He fought against their grips in a blind panic, but his weak and agonizing limbs did little to escape the blurry figures grasps’. From what he could make out, they wore all-white outfits like doctors, masks and all, and practically wreaked of disinfectant. Words were exchanged between the silhouettes in apparent panic, but the ringing in his ears prevented Pucci from making out any specifics.

After minutes of struggle, Pucci felt a light impact connect with his head. To his shock, he felt no additional pain from the contact; quite the opposite, as the pre-existing pain slowly faded from his body until only a minor headache remained. Pucci released a breath of immense relief he didn’t know he held, feeling himself sinking further into the comfortable mattress.

“Wait, I think he’s awake!” Said a voice in an excited tone, “Sir, sir, can you understand me?” It said, the voice sounding masculine.

Pucci managed to respond with a weak moan, trying to adjust his eyes to his surroundings, which wasn’t much help since the curtains were open, letting a torrent of sunlight flood the room. Thankfully, he made out some details of the doctor he now noticed sitting next to him.

The stallion's body was covered in a medical gown, his face covered by a mane scrub, goggles, and a muzzle mask. He turned to similarly dressed ponies, “I think we overdid it with the muscle-relaxing spell.” Said the doctor with concern in his voice.

“W-Where. Am. I?” Pucci spoke hoarsely, coughing violently afterward due to the dryness of his throat.

“I-I wouldn’t recommend speaking just yet.” The doctor said, presenting a glass of cold water in his gloved hoof, “Here, drink this, and then I’ll answer your questions.”

Pucci eyed the water for a moment before he greedily snatched the glass from the doctor's hooves, not attempting to appear distinguished, and drank it all in 3 gulps. Once finished with the beverage, Pucci hoofed it back to the doctor and wiped his mouth. “Thank you, kind sir. But repeating myself: where am I?” He asked.

The doctor seemed to shift uncomfortably in silence before taking a calming breath. "Well, sir, I don't want you to freak out in your condition, but you've been asleep for three days now." The doctor flinched seeing Pucci's shocked expression, dismissively waving his forelegs frantically. "L-Let me explain. To answer your question, you're currently in one of Canterlot castle's guest rooms. Princess Twilight had teleported into the medical wing of the castle that night, looking frantic as she held your unconscious body in her magic."

He then took a moment to whisper something to the other doctors, one leaving the room afterward. Moments passed before they returned, now with a clipboard held by their wing. "Thank you." Said the young doctor as he took the clipboard.

Having a bad feeling in his gut, Pucci stared at the clipboard with uncertainty, "Taking a guess, that's my medical record?" He questioned.

The doctor nodded, scanning over the attached paper on the clipboard before looking up, "Yes, you are correct. When you came in, you had: multiple fractured bones, most being in the hind legs, right foreleg, and skull. Multiple muscle tears and sprains. And some of your organs were ruptured too." He listed off with a grim tone to his voice.

"Am I going to be okay?" Pucci said in an even voice, showing off his calm mask to hide his inner nervousness.

"Oh, yes, you will be, sir." The doctor chuckled lightly but quickly disappeared, "It's just we haven't gotten a case like this since THAT day." He said, looking away. You could practically feel the pity oozing from his voice.

That day, when harmony and magic itself were under attack by three monsters. Tierek, the magic-sucking centaur. Queen Chrysalis, the tyrannical changeling queen. Finally, Cozy Glow, the manipulating filly pegasus. These three creatures wreaked havoc across Equestria on a mission to beat it into submission, taking absolute power for themselves. Beings like Sombra caused problems in the crystal empire, foalnapping the princess of love's child and enslaving the entire country. Fortunately, Sombra and the other monsters' chaos didn't last long due to the intervention of Twilight and her friends. Following an arduous battle, Tierek, Chrysalis, and Cozy were all defeated and turned to stone by the elements of harmony, the young six, and the pillars. Now they reside in the palace's gardens to this very day.

Ever since their defeat, Pucci had something of admiration towards the three groups, viewing them as respectable folk. Although, what they did after defeating Cozy Glow the first time did leave somewhat of a sour taste in his mouth, even if the child was misguided.

Nonetheless, to have injuries that rival those of the attack on Canterlot was certainly eyebrow-raising to the astronomer, but he managed to keep his calm expression, "I see, have any of those injuries healed yet?" He asked, knowing that the medical care in Canterlot was second to none.

The doctor nodded happily, "Indeed. The most concerning injuries, like broken bones or torn muscles, have healed. But after that muscle relaxing spell we put on you wears off, you'll feel discomforts like soreness and minor headaches. " Pulling two bottles from under his medical garbs, the doctor placed them on the table next to Pucci's bed, "When the spell wears off in a couple of hours, take one of each, and it'll help."

Pucci allowed a smile to pass his mask, taking the bottles and going to put them in his inner coat pocket, only to find that he was nude underneath the sheets. “Where…are my clothes?” He said, holding back an embarrassed blush.

“Oh, when you came in, your clothing was in shreds. There wasn’t anything we could’ve done, but you could place an order for a new pair at a local tailor.”

Nodding in bitter acceptance, Pucci placed the bottles back on the table, pulling the sheets covering him a little higher than before. He had always been fond of clothes since the nobles and ponies around were rarely seen without any. To be out in the open like that made Pucci’s skin crawl in discomfort.

Just then, the door to the room was opened once more, and in came the Princess of Equestria, Twilight sparkle. "I was informed that the patient was awake; is he lucid?" She asked the startled doctors.

"Y-Yes, your majesty!" One of the medical practitioners blurted out.

Princess Twilight faced the specific doctor with a kind expression, "Good, and I appreciate your service." The princess of friendship thanked, "But he and I need to have a private chat now. So if you could leave, please?" she asked politely.

It didn't take a second time to ask the doctors to leave the room, leaving Pucci and the princess left. It was for a good reason, too, as Pucci felt the tension suffocating him from the princess's hardened gaze. Moments of tense silence passed before her gaze softened into a tired look.

"I don't know how Celestia could act so serious and make it convincing." She muttered under her breath. That wasn't convincing enough for her? "I'm not even going to try the good cop, bad cop routine on somepony who just woke up, mister?" She said, drawing the last word out as if waiting for an answer.

Pucci caught on to the princess's tone and coughed into his hoof, " My full name is Pucci star ray, but most ponies just call me Pucci, your highness." He introduced himself.

Silence gripped the room again as Twilight looked at Pucci, deep in thought, her eyes grazing every part of his face. But as this went on, her eyes grew wider and wider until they were the size of dinner plates. Eventually, Pucci had to fold back his ears to avoid being deafened by the monarch's filly-like squeal while she happily pranced in place.

"Oh my gosh, Oh my gosh, Oh my gosh! I knew I'd seen you from somewhere!" She exclaimed, stopping her prancing and pointing a hoof at Pucci, "You're that famed astronomer from the Canterlot research center of space and science, right?"

Shaking the surprise from the call out from his face, Pucci gave a polite nod, "Um, yes, I am." He meekly replied, not knowing how to approach the princess’s... unusual attitude.

She squealed again, thankfully, a little quieter this time. "I can't believe you’re here in the flesh! It's almost like meeting star swirl all over again! I’ve read every one of your published research papers so much that I’d memorized them word for word. Like the one, you wrote about the snowball cluster, known for its pure white color and round shape. You were a big inspiration for my love of astronomy. And you being here is a lifelong dream come true! "

…What?

Did the princess of Equestria…have a fanfilly freak out in front of Pucci? To see the usually elegant and esteemed ruler of Equestria act like that was a curveball to him. Pucci started to think the muscle relaxing spell the doctors used was messing with his head somehow. And did she say that he was an inspiration for her?

Pucci was flabbergasted and could barely get a sentence out, only being able to say: “I- um -thanks, Princess Twilight?” He said.

The princess had contained her excitement by then, dawning a friendly smile, “Sorry, it seems I also need to work on controlling myself.” She giggled. “But fanfare aside, there is something I need to ask of you.” Her expression fell as her demeanor reflected total seriousness. “First off, what was that…thing behind you when you fought Valiant?” Twilight questioned.

Pucci looked down at the bedsheets, trying to recall the night’s events. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Pucci answered truthfully. “My memories of that incident are quite blurry at the moment.” Closing his eyes, Pucci waited for Twilight to speak.

“Hmm, that is troubling.” Twilight mumbled to herself, “I guess ramming yourself 6 feet into a theater wall WOULD cause some head problems.” She said, cringing at the memory.

“What did you say?” Pucci blurted out, eyeing the princess with disbelief. His eyes widened suddenly, thinking his question was rudely delivered, “Forgive me, your highness. It’s just that what you said was…strange.” He apologized.

Twilight’s lips turned up in a gentle smile as she chuckled, “It’s alright, Pucci. I know that was sudden of me to say, so your reaction is justified. And, please, just call me Twilight. As for what happened. Well…”

Princess Twilight (1st person)

Three nights ago

Tonight was…certainly a wild one, to say the least. When I got coronated, I knew that being the ruler of Equestria wouldn’t be some summer vacation. But it was way more than I thought it was.

Every day was devoted to some minor or borderline laughable task or complaint that would kill somepony like Rainbow Dash by boredom with how tedious they were. Why should I care that somepony didn't get your food order correctly?!

Don't even get me started on diplomacy-related tasks. Despite what most believe, not everypony in Equestria is accepting of friendship like the changelings. The races like dragons and minotaurs are still adamant about fully opening their borders. Being mainly cut-off and independent-based societies for most of their lives is a reasonable excuse. But it feels like if I make one wrong move, there will be a bloody war on my hooves, even though there was no tension between the three nations! The stress from my new position as ruler of Equestria has been taxing to me; I noticed more fallen-out hairs on my pillow than usual.

Nonetheless, after attending the thousandth business opening today, I decided to take a break from it for a few hours. Conveniently, there was a music performance in Canterlot tonight featuring a piece by Mustang Handel, one of the best musicians in Equestrian history. It certainly wasn't what I would call a getaway, seeing as though I wasn't that big on classical music. But it was the best I could think of while a noble mare was ranting about a rude manager or something.

So as it went, I got there, the show started, and I was enjoying the music quite a bit. It was soothing, sure, but it didn't have the same impact as Viynl's tracks when she would perform at one of many Pinkie Pie's parties.

Pinkie Pie’s parties, oh, how I’ve missed those.

But sentimental aside, I had felt a strange energy amongst the crowd; an energy that gave off pure bad vibes. Peering into the sea of nobles, I used a magic tracking spell to home in on the strange feeling, finally settling on a shadow-covered pony walking closer to the stage. The overhead lights in the theater were dim at the time, only focused on the stage itself, so I couldn't make out any details.

Once the figure got on stage, though, I couldn't contain my shock. There in the spotlight, wearing pieces of trash in the shape of royal guard armor, was Valiant heart. He...hadn't been seen in days!

Valiant heart, he was probably the most loyal guard I'd ever met, always trying to achieve this imaginary expectation Celestia and I had of the guards. He worked tirelessly on any assignment given to him to get recognition and rise to the rank of captain; Celestia, at the time, couldn't allow that. Valiant was born with a condition called bipolar disorder, a disorder that causes massive mood swings of varying degrees. For example, One moment, he would be laughing and joking with his fellow guards, then the next minute, he'd try to beat them because somepony said some minor thing wrong. It only got worse after the Canterlot attack. He would also develop PTSD from the event, and it sent him into a dark spiral. Luckily, Celestia and I were able to give him and many others like him the proper treatments they needed by putting them in programs to help with troubled ponies.

And in a couple of years, Valiant was back in the guard, now on medication. But something changed within Valiant. I would see him sneering at fellow guards I was talking to as he walked by them, always mumbling to himself and generally being closed off from everypony else.

At the time, I'd thought he was just nervous or reluctant to converse with anypony, seeing as he was locked up in a treatment facility for a long time. So I had him assigned to the newly formed retrieval squad, a group of guards tasked with scouting missions to obtain special items. And for their first task, I had ordered them to retrieve documents from a dragon diplomat in the dragon lands concerning trading routes. I would have done it myself if I could, but my schedule was packed, and I had little time to take a trip down to their lands.

As I had sent the squad off, I had that strange feeling about Valiant again. That smile. It did not convey happiness or the cockiness of the other guards; it was the type that was... off-putting, to put it lightly. I had shrugged it off as paranoia; I hadn't seen him smile that much after his treatment.

Days went by, then weeks, and almost a month before I heard anything back about the retrieval squad. They had been murdered, said the search group I sent out days prior. The photos I was presented with honestly made me want to throw up. Their bodies were mangled and torn, limbs missing, and faces frozen in agony. Apparently, the search group found their corpses poking out of a large pile of fallen stone which they theorized to be a landslide at first. But when the autopsy reports came in, there were signs of struggle: puncture wounds, slash marks, and broken bones. I was to believe that everypony in the squad was killed, but...

Valiant was the only survivor.

I still get a cold chill when I saw him again, his fur in shambles and a crazed look in his eyes. The stallion shook like a leaf in the wind and would flinch any time somepony got close to him; he was worse than after the Canterlot attack all those years ago. We tried to get any information about who would have done it out of him, but he kept saying things about a "kind cloaked stallion" and "a ghost that followed him around.". Unfortunately, we got nothing and had to send him to a care facility under the rule of insanity.

But when the guards went to retrieve him from the hospital room he was staying in to transfer him to a new room, he was missing. He wasn't hiding, and there was no sign of foalnapping. Even the nurses and doctors working there hadn't seen him leave. There were attempts to search the surrounding area, eventually the entire city of Canterlot, but Valiant wasn't found until now.

And seeing him like that, wildly proclaiming to enact murder, was painful for me. To see such a loyal guard get reduced to some raving lunatic covered in trash. When it got to the point where that ghost showed up behind him, attacking and…killing all those poor ponies, I couldn’t stand by. All the signs pointed back to him back then, but I refused to have any charges placed on him because I didn't want to believe it.

Princess Twilight (3rd person)

Present day

“And I’m sure that you know the rest from there.” Twilight sighed as she rolled the stiffness from her neck, “After our fight, you got caught in the middle of it and got hurt as well; I’m sorry for that.” She apologized.

Pucci shook his head, shifting his half-lying position until he was sitting up in the bed, “It’s not your fault, Twilight. I was the one he wanted all along, after all.” Pucci looked down with a solemn expression, “I am also sorry for what happened with Valiant, even if he is a murderer. It's a good thing you try to see the best in ponies.”

Twilight flashed a thankful smile before continuing, “Thanks, but going back to my original question: What was that thing behind you?” She questioned Pucci again.

“Can you be more specific, if you don’t mind me asking?”

Twilight sighed again, “After you seemingly teleported us onto the stage, I thought you used some sort of magic,” She looked up at Pucci’s head with confusion, “But you don’t have a horn. That’s when you got out from under me and approached Valiant. I saw that thing appear behind you as you kept talking, and Valiant had also seen it. He backed away with a look of fear and threatened to shoot again. You didn’t listen to him, and he shot an arrow at your face.” Twilight swallowed a nervous gulp, facing Pucci with concern and mild fear, “But then you just…disappeared before our eyes, now somehow right next to him. He could barely get a word out before you tackled him into the wall, going a few feet before stopping and instantly knocking him out, along with yourself.”

Pucci (1st person)

As I continued to listen to Twilight's retelling of that night, my disbelief grew more and more. Was this some kind of joke or way to make fun of me? There was no way I could do something like that as an earth pony! From what I could recall of that fight, I barely made Valiant move with my punch; now Twilight’s telling me I ran him and me through several feet of brick and wood.

My body was shaking, and a cold sweat is running down my fur, but I need to keep it hidden from the princess in order to not ruin first impressions. I raised my hoof in front of my face and gave a few test squeezes. Had I done that? The somewhat scrawny astronomer who hasn’t gotten into a single fight in his life? Me? “To tell you the truth, your highness, I do not know of this ‘ghost’ you speak of,” I reply, trying my best to keep the bile in my stomach. “But what about Moondancer, is she okay?” I ask, a hint of desperation in my voice.

Twilight nodded, some of my worries instantly fading from my mind, “yes, she is. Doctors got to her quickly and managed to patch her wounds. By the way, how do you know Monndancer.” She says with an eyebrow raised. I was about to answer her question when a sickening feeling attacked my stomach at full force, adding a slight green hue to my face.

I jumped out of the bed, finding and making my way over to the room's bathroom that wasn’t too far from me. Throwing open the door, I locked onto the toilet, borderline smashing my face into the opening in one swift motion. After a couple of minutes of emptying my stomach and dry heaving, I shakingly rose from the toilet and shuffled my way towards the sink I nearly smashed into coming in. Once my eyes stopped on the mirror, however, they widened in shock. Besides the multi-colored hue surrounding me, a figure lurked behind me.

He was a thin, white stallion with a smooth, black surface on his head; embedded with a large clock in place of its eyes with a crown of green thorns wrapped around the top of his skull. Feathers the same color as the aura surrounding me protruded from his collarbone, clocks rested on the figure's shoulders and flank, a golden tube connected the upper and lower parts of his back, and his hooves were covered in golden shoes. The figure itself hadn’t done anything, only resting its forelegs over my shoulders and hovering his face next to mine, also staring into the mirror.

A drop of sweat rolled down the side of my pale face, and out of the corner of my eye, I saw princess Twilight looking directly at me and the figure in shock. I paid no heed, only keeping my attention on the figure.

No…’ figure’ wasn’t his name.

“So, you’re Made in Heaven?” I asked the figure. I got no verbal reply, only a simple nod, which made Twilight flinch. At this point, I didn’t know what to do besides stare in stunned silence.

What in Tartarus is going on?