Mirror: Book I - Mind

Heat. Wave after wave of grueling, unwavering, unimaginable heat swept across the plaza square and filled the space of Ponyville like a heavy, stifling gas. From a distance the cobblestone walkways looked as thought they were evaporating, the paint threatened to drip and melt off of the shop signs. The welcome mat was dragged back indoors, albeit slowly in ill accommodation to the unrelenting humidity.

As ponies sat beneath the shade, adorned their visors and rolled out their tongues in a desperate attempt for cool air, they took notice to a certain subject who seemed all but unphased by the cruel onslaught of the sun. David walked among them, standing tall and scratching his scalp at the odd dismay of the equines around him.

It’s their fur. He concluded inwardly.

The mares and the colts gave him equal, stinging glares, and turned up their snouts.

They must envy me… The boy supposed.

He supposed further that in this case, he had the upper hand over his disdainful watchers when it came to the common elements. That, however, only fueled the fire evermore as the boy knew the ponies could only ever really wrap their hooves around his shoulders and his arms around theirs, dancing all night long and singing songs when they were all drunk out of their minds. Even in the elegant and enchanting land known as Equestria, such occasions were only relevant every once in a blue moon. The boy considered himself lucky for being able to experience at least one such event this early into his arrival. His mind wandered back to his situation, by means of just how much longer this visit to Equestria would last. How much longer would the dream encase him so, he wondered.

Once again he ran over in his mind that there was still a task to accomplish, he had yet to achieve something before he was able to be set free from this realm and wake up back in his own reality where he could once again take control. The illusion of control, it seemed, was becoming thinner and fading into a far more elusive and ethereal substance as the days went on. David looked back at the ponies, their glares had not ceased, and he already knew enough to ignore them. Fixing his bag over his shoulders he strode on with a tall, proper gait and headed straight for Silver Spanner’s abode.

Within his bag he carried the necessary assortments for what he planned to do with his friend this afternoon. A picnic, as tacky as the matter may have sounded, was nothing short of the exact spell of relaxation the boy was looking for. With newfound enthusiasm he bounded around to the back of Silver’s home and approached the back patio where her new garden lay. The new garden, of course, had fallen to bits and crumbling shambles.

David stopped dead in his tracks and surveyed the muddled display with a wide, wondering gaze. Every single flower, every plant and produce in sight was driven into the ground with a harsh, unforgiving hate. The tomatoes had been smashed to a dirt-riddled, gooey pulp. Potted plants laid in sharp, broken, ceramic and clay pieces with brown-black dirt thrown against the walls. Worst yet, clearly visible hoof prints laid in the midst of the turmoil, even the roses were shown no mercy.

He stared at the horrible mess for a moment more until he heard it. A cry from inside the house. David swung the patio door open, hitting his head on the frame after forgetting to duck, but ignored the pain all the more as he hurried into the living space and found his unicorn friend hunched over the coffee table. A small, unscathed flower in a clay pot laid upon the surface.

“Silver Spanner…?” David approached quietly.

The mare turned, slowly. Wet streams stained her fluffy, red cheeks, the bags beneath her eyes were crimson and her nose shown beat red. She sucked in a gasp and hiccuped again as she struggled to stiffle her tears in the presence of her human friend. A tiny choke escaped her lips, but nothing more, as she turned back to the tiny, potted flower with a weak, little whimper.

“What happened?” David resumed his gait, sat by Silver’s side and rested a hand over her back. It was, in fact, the first time he had physically touched her, aside from shaking her hoof the first time the two had met.

Silver’s silence endured, but the boy pressed on.

“Silver?” He pressed. “Tell me what happened.”

“It’s…it’s horrible…” She sniffled.

“Are you hurt?”

“No…I’m fine.” She rubbed the snot away with a free hoof. David glanced around the room for a box of tissues, but the mare continued. “You saw what happened already, outside…”

“Your garden?”

Silver nodded quietly.

“Why? Who did this?” He pressed again.

For a long moment then the pony did not answer, but she took a breath and cleared her throat, certain to answer to her friend. “Rose Luck.” She said.

It was David’s turn to sit motionless in silence for a short spell, staring at the unscathed flower upon the table, not really knowing what to say or do next. A sudden, seething flare overtook the unicorn next to him as she grunted inwardly and shook from her core. The boy observed how much this ordeal had truly upset her, the true colors Silver Spanner was beginning to show, and the way Rose Luck had hurt her. It spiked something from within the boy.

“This is my own fault, I should have seen this coming.” Silver stuttered on. “It wasn’t just Rose Luck, her friends must have been here, too. They were my friends, but look at what they did! I don’t understand why they would do such a thing.”

The boy was still silent. Slowly, he felt the gap between his palm and his fingers tighten closer and closer until all that remained was a shaking, vengeful fist of pain and fury. Suddenly, his mind touched back to Earth, to his home, and the memories swam through his thought like a regretful revelation. He remembered all the times he felt himself too weak or too hesitant to stand up for those he called his friends. When the insults and the bullying were aimed upon him, his allies had always stood up in his defense. But David…he always felt too ashamed, too thin, too weak to do a damn thing about the pain and dismay he had seen the ones he called his friends go through alone. He decided that this time, things would be different.

“Rose Luck.” David’s voice ironed. “Where is she?”

“What?” Silver dried her eyes.

“Where is Rose Luck?”

“I…I’m not sure.” She blinked and looked up at him. “Why?”

“Silver, you and I both know that you worked your ass off to get that garden outside as bright and beautiful as ever. Rose most of all should know that, and look at what she did.” He rested a hand to her shoulder, shaking his head. “This isn’t right, we can’t let it end like this.”

“What are you going to do?” Fret filled her eyes.

He spared another glance to the untouched flower, stood up, and stared to the outdoors. “I’m going to set things straight.” He hissed.

“I don’t know what you think you’re doing, but what’s done is done.” She brushed his forearm. “Just stay here, let’s…let’s spend our time together at home.”

The boy took a long, solid breath of oxygen through his nostrils, closing his eyes and invigorating himself for the trial ahead. He gazed down at Silver with nothing but intent in his sights, and the words seemed to form on their own. “This never was my home. I’m going now.”

“David, please…”

“You can stay here, if you want.” He strode for the door and swung it open. “I’m going to talk to Rose Luck.”

“David, stop!” Silver stumbled from the couch and bounded towards the boy. “You don’t know what you’re doing!

Her words fell upon a void as the boy seemed already halfway across the road and well on his way into central Ponyville. Silver knew that with his mind set on a stubborn path, words would do little to persuade him now, and so she searched back for some shred of hope, some shred of otherwise in the steadily escalating dilemma ahead. The potted flower, untouched and unscathed, was taken up in her magical, silvery glow. A moment later Silver Spanner was out the door and chasing after the human.

Lily Valley trotted up the path to The Lucky Rose with baskets of blue flower petals on each side of her fixed saddle, rounding to the back where she took a glance one way and the other before sliding through the back door and locking it behind her. The bush nearby produced two pairs of eyes, blinking within the shade and looking at one another before producing a young Neighsian and a young unicorn mare. They both ducked back beneath the bush and stared at the door with a mission in mind.

“You wouldn’t happen to know how to pick a lock, would you?” Amethyst asked.

“To think that our endeavor would lead to us having to commit such heinous acts.” Ronin grunted with displeasure.

“So, you do know how to pick a lock?”

The stag’s expression was deadpanned before he raised his eyes above the foliage and took a few sideways glances. “If anypony asks it was your idea.” He pushed his hoof into her chest before leaping out of the brush and sneaking up to the door.

Amethyst delightfully tapped her hooves together and followed after him. I knew he grew up in a rough neighborhood. She thought to herself.

Ponies parted like lost school fish to a big, hungry shark wading through the water. The Equerry of Ponyville marched across the dirt path with stoic, tense eyes and a tall, intimidating posture. He swung his fists in tandem with his strides and swiveled his head one way and the other, on the constant look out for the very mare he planned to blame and force an apology out of. He wouldn’t have it any other way, he wouldn’t let his friend endure all of this pointless suffering alone.

The Town Hall plaza opened up to him, and there at the foot of the stairs crouching down next to a row of flowers being fitted into their bed, was none other than the scarlet maned mare herself. Her green eyes rested calmly upon the floral decor with care and benevolence, as though a mother were looking after her children. Now that he had finally located her, a nervous spike riled up within his gut, and the human stood still long enough for his friend to catch up to him. The unicorn’s presence, however, was enough to remind him of his objective and the imperative nature it beheld. Bystanders watched from afar as the boy traversed the distance between he and Rose, and the earth pony perked up from her work with a revolted recoil.

“Um…what do you want?” Rose sneered.

“I think you know exactly why I’m here.” David stopped and pointed. “It was you.”

An immediate, subtle pose of defense beheld the pony, too meager for the boy to properly notice. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” She brushed her mane. “Get lost, chimp.”

“That!” He exploded. “That’s exactly the reason why you decided to pick on Silver.”

“I told you I don’t know what you’re talking about.” The earth pony gritted her teeth.

The bystanders afar closed the distance to get a better listen as Silver trotted up from behind, the potted flower still in her magical grasp, and she went to brush a gentle hoof across the boy’s ankle. Desperate eyes loomed up at his face, to which the human didn’t even bother to look.

“It’s because you treat me like some kind of animal, like I don’t have a place among your kind.” The boy continued with ire. “And you know what? That’s all fine and dandy. Trust me, the feeling is mutual by now. But there is NO reason SHE has to take any of the blame for it. You wanna pick on someone? Pick on me.”

“We don’t have to do this anymore.” Silver tugged his leg. “Please, we’re done here.”

“Not yet, not until she makes up for what she’s done and apologizes.” David pressed.

Rose Luck’s eyes wandered down and leveled with Silver’s, the unicorn’s stare glistening beneath bleary lens accompanied with red bags. There was something a little sinister in the pits of Rose’s mind, something that told her she was almost enjoying the pain showing in her former friend’s eyes, a friendship she had ended by way of neglect, deception and ruin. Rose hadn’t had her fill, she just couldn’t get enough.

“I bet you wonder why I left that one to rot.” Her tone was slithering.

Silver recoiled and inspected the potted plant briefly, her eyes asking “why” in every way imaginable.

“Alright, I admit it.” Rose looked back at the boy. “It was me.”

“Can’t you pick a little faster?” Amethyst hissed over her shoulder. “I’m tired of making this look like I’m covering you taking a piss.”

“I’m trying my best.” Ronin grunted back. “These Equestrian locks are nothing like the ones back home.’

“Just what kind of stuff were you breaking into anyways?”

“…cookie jars.”

His partner let forth a long, disheveled groan as she slapped her hoof to her temples, quickly opening her eyes and looking back up to find the last thing they needed trotting into view. “I think we’re about to crack open a whole ‘nother jar.” Amethyst warned.

“Oh good, an easy one.” The colt relieved, looking back, only to see what exactly the young mare had meant.

Only a mere few hoof strides from their position, Sam and Ralph trotted across the street with their spears in tow, scanning the streets on some mission of nonchalant patrol, monitoring Celestia knows what. The white stallion looked to his left and finally found something to make a fuss over. Quickly he signaled his comrade whom swung his sights over to the scene, a bright green sun visor shielding the bat pony’s eyes from the harsh sunlight. He squinted and gave a dutiful nod to his comrade in return, and the two began slowly trotting over to the lock picker and his shameful excuse of a cover.

“Go fillying with any locks around here and we’re going to have a real problem.” Sam raised his spear.

Ralph delivered a tired sigh, raising a hushing black wing over his friend’s weapon and pushing it down as he turned and addressed the two. “Might I ask what this is about?” His tone was thick.

“Afternoon, officers.” Amethyst curtsied promptly. “Uh, we’re just your local locksmith…smithers. And we’re here to…smith these locks?” Amethyst emphasized the ending question mark more than she had intended.

With a long, suspecting gaze, Ralph scanned the young colt frozen with a prong shoved inside the keyhole of the door as his eyes swiveled between him and the young mare in front of him. For a moment, the bat pony’s gaze softened almost as though he was willing to buy it. “No you’re not.” Which he obviously didn’t. “We just met you two the other day.”

“Yeah, aren’t you guys the garden detectives or something other?” Sam butted in. “Have you caught that culprit yet, or what?”

“First of all, the means of arresting somepony would fall under our hooves.” Ralph clarified. “Secondly, what business then do you two have with the local floral shop?”

“We’re trying to get inside-” Ronin started quickly. “To investigate!”

“Yes!” Amethyst followed. “In the most not-illegal way possible, of course.”

Ronin nudged her ribs, and the mare promptly bucked back.

“Then why not use the front door?” Ralph investigated.

“Because it’s not open.”

“Thus leading you to an illegal means, ay-kay-ay lockpicking, to enter?”

The duo was once again frozen, shrinking beneath the sights of their opposers.

“The real question is, why not try to pick the front door?” Suggested Sam.

Ralph sighed drearily. Upon the mention, Amethyst and Ronin slowly looked at each other, and silently moved beneath the muzzles of the two officers.

“I mean, think about it.” Sam continued. “Why would you store your most vital possessions in the back of the store where nopony might see somepony else trying to break in? In that case, put a lock on the front door where everypony can see it.”

“Sam…” Ralph grunted irritably.

“If anything, the only reason you’d put such a tough lock on the back door is if you’re hiding something back there that you don’t want anypony to see. Not even guards, like us!”

“Sam! That’s enough.” Ralph barked back. “If somepony truly is hiding nefarious items in the back of their store, then we should already have good reason to investigate the matter ourselves.”

“So, is that why those two were trying to pick the lock?”

Ralph blinked, wide eyed, as though the sun wasn’t even hurting his eyes anymore. His partner adorned a similar expression and shared a glance to the door with his friend, taking in the sudden realization that the young ponies they had just been in the midst of confrontation, were nowhere to be seen.

“You’re going to apologize to Silver, right now.” David commanded.

“And why should I?” Rose returned. “Why should I go back on my word?”

“What ‘word’?”

“After all I’ve done and how far I’ve come, going back won’t make a difference. Even if it is somehow achievable it won’t change a damn thing, and you wanna know why?” The scarlet mane’s sights pierced Silver’s gaze with stinging, green eyes. “The damage has already been dealt. You can tidy up your worthless bog of a garden as much as you want, but the message is still going to stick. It’ll root it’s way deeper into your mind than any of those plants ever could into the very earth they ate. My message will hinder your progress, embed scuffs into your projects and scratches into your work. You’ll look at your blemishes and you will be reminded that I didn’t do it, but you did, and it was because of me.”

“Is this…really what you want?” Silver slowly shook her head.

“Oh, Silver honey, get a clue.” Rose smiled devilishly. “I was never your friend, and I never will be. I just don’t like you, neither does Lily, neither Daisy. So, stop coming to the shop. Stop approaching us in public. For Celestia’s sake, don’t even look at us. That’s all we’re trying to say, dear.”

“And it took all this for you to tell me?”

“No, it took all this for you to realize that.” Rose blinked and teased a pouting expression.

Silver stood as though glued to the earth, mouth open in raw disbelief and eyes dancing upon the ground with numbness and utter pain. She may have realized then and there that she wasn’t bad at making friends. Rather, she might have just been bad at choosing them.

“I hope you realize now why we decided to leave that one unharmed.” Rose gestured to the potted flower. “I know you planted that one with your cute pet here. You want me to paint the picture?” She showed her teeth. “I just wanted to remind you that the only friends you could every truly make in your life are all freaks.”

The unicorn failed to utter a single word in return. Rose turned and silently swiped her tail inches from Silver’s muzzle, sauntering back to her flowerbeds with a prideful smirk across her lips. She stopped, turned, and sneered one last comment. Rose just couldn’t get enough.

“Have fun wiping the grime with your pet monkey. Bitch.”

The air snapped frozen in time. The breeze fell, the birds went mute and the buzzing of the day dampened, softened, and silenced.

Then, David grabbed the flower, raised his pitch, and slugged the potted plant inches away from Roses face.

The ceramic container shattered into a million forgotten pieces lost to the soil below. Dirt speckled her hair, dusted her nostrils and dotted her eyes. The earth mare spat and recoiled, but before she knew it, a certain pale-pink claw reached within the havoc and curled its fingers around her mane. The flower was crushed beneath the boy’s foot as he lunged inside and unleashed every bit of pent up fury he had to surrender.

“Hold it right there!” Sam rushed in upon the scene and raised his spear. “I only just learned how to use this thing yesterday, but that doesn’t mean I’m not excited to use it!”

Ralph promptly trotted inside the broken-hinged door and took a relaxed look around as he raised his sun visor, the shaded indoors providing a soothing change of sights. There was nopony present, only a collection of shelves with several different bottles, all topped with factory-made special rubber stoppers to keep the contents sealed within. Before the guards could even think to investigate further, Ralph’s ears heeled backwards in the direction of the outdoors, and at that his ally immediately gained the assumption that something was amiss.

“A disturbance…” Ralph determined.

“The bar, again?” Sam sighed. “I’m tired of digging ponies out of the dumpsters.”

“No, something bigger.” Ralph’s sights slitted. “In the plaza, ponies are screaming.” He looked to Sam. “We should go.”

“But…”

“You’ll probably get to use your spear.”

Sam’s ears perked up and his smile brightened, following his partner with a new, enthusiastic gait as the bat pony readjusted his sun visor and took to the skies, the white earth stallion following from the ground below. As the two sped off in the direction of the heart of the town, the two faithful investigators poked their heads out from around the corner and gazed upon the new, open entrance to the back door of the shop.

“Either that was pure luck, or the smartest idea you’ve come up with this entire adventure.” Ronin credited the mare.

“Praises later, let’s go.” She ordered, trotting ahead of him. “But that doesn’t mean they’re not accepted.”

The colt took a short second to roll his eyes before running up to join his partner inside the shop. There they stood at the entrance, gazing upon the surplus of odd supplies, knick-knacks, and strange bottles lining the far shelves, each and everyone adorning a strange, blue label taped across the outer surface. Amethyst quietly walked up, locking upon the pieces with an estranged, curious squint, and found a familiar, green liquid-like substance swimming within. Only a second later, a tiny shriek filled the room, and the two looked to their right.

“Lily?” Amethyst prompted. “What is all this?”

“I-I-” She stuttered and shook where she stood. “I thought you two were gone!”

“Tell us what Rose has been up to.” Ronin confronted the mare. “What have you two been planning?”

“Nopony was supposed to know about this!” Lily shriveled backwards, bumping against the table behind her. Where her twin baskets lay, one of the containers fell onto its side and spilled hoof-fulls of the same blue-labeled bottles with their iconic, green glow filling the inside. Ronin and Amethyst were almost as shocked as Lily, to which the mare perked her head back up and looked upon them with a shrunken muzzle and teary, blinking eyes. “Please, don’t tell anypony…”

“Please, I’m begging you-!”

“I told you why I’m here! You knew this would happen!” David snarled fiercely, mere inches from her eyes. The grip on the mare’s mane would not cease.

“Please don’t hurt me-!”

“I’ve dealt with you ponies from day one, and every single day… Every. Single. Day.” The boy’s face revealed contortions of fury, anger shook in his fists and insults slithered past his teeth. “I don’t get a single, goddamn ounce of respect out of you conniving little bubblegum shits! Well, this is it. I’ve had enough. You made me cross the line, Rose Luck.”

Rose tucked her face beneath her hooves and elicited a pitiful whimper. Soon enough, hoofsteps drew in closer, crowds began to gather, and to the boy’s disregard a circle had already been formed.

“No, not just you…” He sneered over his shoulder to the other ponies. “All of you.”

A sinister glare overtook his eyes like a looming, treacherous shadow. The boy’s shade veiled over Silver Spanner, and the unicorn took on a timid stare as she wavered backwards. David’s grip on the mare below him was sure, but he gazed over his quarrel and swept an accusing finger across their line.

“You think you ponies know everything? You’re all just a goddamn comic book! A kid’s cartoon on a television screen! Your thoughts don’t mean a damn and your words don’t mean zilch! Look at me! I am a human-being. I am worthy of thought, I am worthy of respect, I am-”

A crack and a whip flashed across the air. His chest tightened and his stomach curled stiff. The boy hadn’t another word left in him before his weight was forced to the earth with a thundering, defeated boom. It only encouraged the ponies all the more to crowd in closer, raise their voices and rise in number. David quickly looked down, a lasso rope coiled around his torso like a tight, unrelenting serpent.

Applejack. He thought dreadfully.

“I reckon this day would come sooner or later.” The farm mare in question emerged from the parting ponies, tipping up her hat to stare down at the boy with a shaded, pitiful gaze. As her stare continued, a fearful shiver enveloped the human whole as he studied from a ground view level just how small these ponies felt in the presence of his full stature. Knowing full well that he had unleashed uncontrollable amounts of rage only seconds prior, the full scale of his anger reflected in the many blazing eyes of his faithful citizens ready to do with him as they sought.

“Out of my way, out of my way!” The old mare bustled and shoved through the double doors. “What in the name of the royal sisters is going on this time?”

“Miss Mayor, it’s the ape thing, again!” A bystander rushed up.

“Our Royal Equerry…?” Mayor Mare mused.

“That thing has lost it, out of control I tell ya’!” The stallion furthered. “The ponies call for…”

“What?” She adjusted her glasses. “Well, spit it out!”

“Banishment!”

“Neigh to the Equerry~!” A distant pegasus hollered. “Send the monkey home, to the forest from whence it came!”

“To the forest from whence it came, to the forest it shall go!”

The chant of the ponies carried across the expanses of Ponyville and drew in clump after clump of spectators and rioters alike. Pegasi gathered upon tiny tufts of clouds in the sky and watched below, unicorns struggled to levitate their comrades to higher places and earth ponies practically began climbing over one another. The more considerate ones escorted a shaken Rose Luck to safety, and Applejack held her head high circling the boy with the end of her rope clenched between her teeth. She yanked yet again, the human was matted with a new layer of dust, dirt and fear as the roaring of the ponies boomed and the stomping of their hooves shook him to a shivering, cowering mess. The farm mare heard something, a little whisper of some sort, and lent a curious ear to the human’s quivering form below. He clasped his hands together tightly and clenched his eyes shut.

“Please…let me out of this…I’m sorry…” He prayed.

Applejack squinted confusingly, but brushed away the sight and lent a peek up on Town Hall’s balcony. Starlight Glimmer stood before the Mayor, her hooves sprawled and her lips at a rapid pace. Mayor Mare lowered her head, and in response Starlight seethed and flared her horn alive, but her superior’s hoof held her at bay. Slowly, the unicorn looked back at the old mare to find her quietly shaking her head.

“First swing is yours, champion.” A lone stallion approached, and rested a mallet into Applejack’s hoof. “Show it some discipline.”

It seemed as though in that very moment the motions of the day slowed to a sluggish, breath-taking pace as the howls wavered and the dust floated through the air like specs of dirt in space. Applejack’s eyes hovered over the mallet and soon met the figure of the boy, and the farm mare’s attention was almost completely unaware of the unicorn over the railing crying “No!” at the top of her lungs.

Without warning, the hairs of the pegasi stood on end, the crowd immediately fell deathly quiet in the midst of a certain dread overtaking them all, that something was wrong. Then it happened a blinding light followed quickly by a crackling boom like the glory of the heavens reigning down upon them all ruptured the core of the riot. The pegasi on the clouds shook and swiveled through the air, many of the ponies of the ground bounced backwards, and the light gave way to a single mare, a single Alicorn forcing her stance to the earth with a final, deafening boom. Applejack stepped backwards in response, but the Princess was not done. She opened her eyes, flared her wings and lit her horn to project her voice.

“ENOUGH!!”

The in-practice thum of her “Royal Canterlot Voice” shrouded over the ponies like a heavy blanket, and at that their tone took on an almost apologetic degree, leaving only murmurs and mumbles of ill concern. The ponies feared that their Princess would be for the human instead of against, and though these thoughts filled Twilight’s mind so, she pressed on with her purpose.

“Does the notion of violence not fill you all with dread and discomfort? What has gotten into my little ponies?” Twilight looked over the crowd. “I will not condone for such actions and you will all leave my Equerry be, is that understood?”

“Your Equerry is out of control!” One hollered.

“Princess, there’s no reason to speak in its stead!” Another called.

Twilight maintained her stature, yet deep within a sense of uncertainty swelled and swirled about. She knew already what the boy had done, she knew now that since the citizens finally had some manner of unfit behavior to pin against him they would stop at almost nothing to get their way and bring him to their so called ways of “peace” and “justice.” In that moment she felt a small rap at her hind hoof, a slender claw desperately pawing at her. Twilight nearly flinched but remained still and looked down. It was David, looking up at the Alicorn as though a child would his mother.

“Twilight…” Fear and tears stained his muddied eyes. “Please, help me…”

Instinctively, the pony curled around and lowered her neck over the boy’s shoulder. David tensed and laid like that for a short silence, not quite knowing what to do or say, only the soothing scent and sight of lavender filling his senses to give him the relief he very much needed in that moment of time. Immediately the sights and sounds of the hot, horrible day all around him fell away into a quiet, castle foyer ruins with settling dust and a single, purple mare looking over his wounds. The memories flooded back through his head like the calm, graceful flow of a quieted river. When he had fought off those timberwolves at the castle and failed miserably, Twilight was there to save him. Twilight was there to pull him to safety and cast her spell upon his wound, thus saving his life.

That action of kindness and virtue led to this, this very moment here in the plaza square where David had made the decision to throw his friendships away, to scream at some poor little pony and allow the town to seethe and hate over his presence all the more. Somehow, something deep down within the boy told him that he did not deserve this from Twilight. Not here, not now.

And yet, the Alicorn stood her ground. Calmly, Twilight gestured the boy to his feet, and the crowd booed on with enraged, shaking hooves.

“Applejack.” Twilight’s voiced ironed. “Undo your lasso.”

“Listen, Twi.” The farm mare puffed her chest. “I’m not so sure that’s a good idea-”

“That is an order from your Princess.”

She stared upon her friend with unfathomable amounts of disbelief. Finally, Applejack's muzzle scrunched ferociously and her eyes flooded with anger, and she begrudgingly loosened her grip on the boy. As though clicking a switch on the rope, the tether dangled and feel around the boy’s feet, to which Twilight hovered her sights back over to the farm mare and gave a stoic, grateful nod. Applejack didn’t even bother to look back.

“C’mon.” Twilight said. “We’re going home.”

The second hour had passed since the crowds outside the Castle of Friendship led on their fervent cries of dismay and disapproval to the Princess of Friendship’s decisions this day. In the midst of it all, Twilight’s mind momentarily wandered back to her letter to Celestia, and knew now that if she still had no knowledge of the human’s presence in Ponyville, she most certainly would by sometime this evening. The mare trotted by and gestured Spike away from the window, closing the curtains shut with her magic as she walked him back down the main foyer. Twilight watched as her little dragon clamored up the stairs to his room, awaiting for his little claws upon the crystal floors to die away before toeing her way over to the double doors where the displeasure of the ponies outside had only increased in volume. She rapped on the door twice and slivered it open, enough for the stallion standing guard outside to whisper back through the crevice in the door.

“How is it, out there?” Twilight asked.

“Not many have left.” Ralph answered. “We’ll be here until nightfall, I’m sure.”

“Don’t push yourselves.” She furthered. “And don’t hesitate to call for help.”

“Princess Twilight!” A mare from the crowd spotted her. “Why is the creature here?!”

“Who is he?! What does he want?!” Another hollowed.

Quickly, the Princess shunned herself beneath the cover of the doors, causing Sam and Ralph to respond with leveled spears as the crowd pushed once more. The Alicorn inside slumped against the door and eased herself to the ground with a long, burdened sigh, but rose back up with a flicker of one eye and a gaze toward the map room door. With poise wings, a puffed, fluffed chest and a stoic, stagnant expression, the pony trotted for the chamber in view and poked her head inside. There, just as she expected but still surprised to see, was David. He sat in the Element of Loyalty’s seat, his head hung low, resting in his palm, and his tired, slitted eyes focused on the item that lay before him. He flipped through the pages of his book over and over again like a tape on a constant loop of play and rewind. Twilight trusted then that he had been given enough time to think, and approached without another spell of hesitation.

“David.” She began calmly.

No answer. The boy was deathly quiet.

“Please don’t make this any harder than it already is.”

He shook his head and snapped his book shut. “And why shouldn’t I? What’s the point anymore?”

Twilight was silent, staring on.

“Don’t you get it?” He tightened a fist. “I don’t belong here. I never did.”

“You’re my Equerry…”

“I DIDN’T ASK FOR THIS!”

His out-lash reverberated throughout the castle corridors. For a long moment of silence then, he and the mare stared at one another for what seemed like hours. The hum of the halls returned like an unrelenting stifle of pain in the back of one’s thought, and with that the boy took another moment to breath and rest himself back into the chair, albeit roughly and with much uneeded noise. Twilight, on the other hoof, felt the same levels of frustration and anger slowly welling up from within, and she physically trotted around, attempting to look the human in the eye.

“I know this isn’t like you, so stop acting like you’re so upset.” Twilight gave him a glare.

“Uh, hello? The whole lot of Ponyville tried to kill me just now!” He stood up. “What makes you think any part of this is an act?”

“You know exactly what I mean.” Her gaze tightened. “Stop acting like you’re in the right, I know you’re not the only victim here. I know what you did to Rose Luck, and even if she is to blame for the travesties she’s committed, that is no way to show your concern.”

“So, what? You’re gonna let her off scott-fucking-free?”

“Language.”

“You lied to me, Twilight. You said if it ever came to this, you wouldn’t side with them.”

“I…did not lie to you.” She blinked. “I told you that I would never let them take the initiative on you, but you’ve wrought this upon yourself. You truly don’t realize how lucky you are right now, huddled inside the very castle that which I provided to you unconditionally. I…no, my friends and I fought for this castle! To be a haven of friendship and harmony for all, not to be abused and misused like it is now.”

“Oh, yes. All hail the Princess of Friendship!” David threw up his arms. “Ah, but whatever happened to Twilight Sparkle?”

Twilight froze where she stood, her pupils dilated in an uncomfortable manner. The boy barely had half the mind to notice he had struck an oddly sensitive chord within her, and thus he continued.

“You know what I think might’ve happened? She was replaced, traded away for the so called ‘greater good.’ Don’t get me wrong, it wasn’t like it was her fault, obviously people had gotten too sensitive that she was following her own agenda and needed to suit the personality of someone who would bow to rule and authority, even if it meant shoving her muzzle neck deep into their flanks.”

“What are you talking about?” Twilight hovered over the edge.

“Do I have to spell it out for you?” David shook his head. “You are not like you. You are the one who has lost your sense of self. The Twilight who actually gave a damn about magic, who had a drive, who had a passion, is gone. Replaced by some…embarrassment of her former self.”

The mare stared back at the boy for a long, quiet moment, and she calmly regained her focus before revving up her next line of the sparring argument.

“Say what you will about me, I have no qualms on whatever your preferences or regards to my duty as a Princess may be…but allow me this to get one thing straight to you. I will not abuse my magic in risk of harming others, I will not use it for my own personal gain, and I will most certainly NOT do any more damage with it than I have already DONE!”

Her final outburst led on a little longer and a little harsher than she intended, and the reaction had shown in the boy’s face. It was that of confusion but also a mixture of disappointment, disagreement on his end. Slowly, Twilight found herself in need of taking another breath with how powerful her words may have been carried, a slight sizzle lingering upon her horn giving tell-tale sign that she may have misused the fabled “Royal Canterlot Voice”, in spite of what she had just uttered. Finally, she rested her eyes easily upon the human standing before her and aimed to finish their debate.

“I don’t know what’s going on inside that head of yours, but all I want…” She paused, stifling a hiccup. “All I want right now is for the old David to come back. The kind, gentle boy I met before any of this had ever even started. I don’t know where you came from, I don’t know what you’ve been through, but I know that there is good in you.”

His gaze returned a long moment of disbelief before he finally gave a short, light chuckle, shook his head and dropped his hands to his trousers. “So that’s it then?” He shook his head again.

Twilight stared on, waiting.

David turned around and picked up his book resting on the table. He gave the cover a final once over, stared back at Twilight, and threw the book onto the ground.

The impact reverberated like a heavy, hollowing strike to the core of the lone little pony in the room. Her hurt gaze quietly crawled up from the defiled tome on the floor up to the firm, stubborn and unapologetic stare the boy was giving to her now. Deep down she could sense the hint of hurt behind those amber-gold eyes, deep down she knew he had regretted what he had just done.

And thus, without another word spoken between the two, the human turned for the door and blasted past them. He stomped his way up the stairs, bumbling past a short mass of green spines and purple scales. Spike had lost his footing and stumbled to the floor with a scared, shocked gaze towards David’s staggering height. The boy said nothing and walked on. He grumbled through the hallway and located his bedroom door among the many in the corridor. One final sight swept across the crystalline halls before he lumbered inside and slammed it shut behind him. In all the while, Twilight’s eyes returned to the book upon the floor. Spike crept his way past the map room entrance clutching his tail with both claws, spines low and timid to any outbursts that might occur. The little dragon observed the mare for a long while before finally deciding to walk up and slowly tug at her tail with a shaky claw. The mare did not move. He rested the same claw upon her haunches and struggled the words past his quivering lips.

“Twilight?” He mumbled. “Are you okay?”

A single, wet drop struck the floor below. Spike looked up as she choked out an unintelligible set of words, and draped a wing over her face to hide her tears.

“Oh, Spike…” Her words finally arrived. “What have I done?”