What Happened In September

by Bonk6

First published January 1st, 1970 00:00

Based on The Living Tombstone's song September.

Death and Decay has been hated his whole life. Now, when his best friend Michael Delachord wants to take a stand, will he choose to follow him, or will he see the consequences? Along the way he finds things are stranger than merely his friends actions, and what role will his marefriend have in this?

The third of four in the Forgotten Power series.

Chapters

Part 1: The Beginning of the End
Part 2: Things Get Very Weird and Wrong
Part 3: The Death, the Decay, and the Awakening

Part 1: The Beginning of the End
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What Happened In September

Part 1: The Beginning of the End

What Happened In September

Part 1: The Beginning of the End

October 29th:

I can't remember, what happened in September;

When everything is gone, when it's dark and I'm alone.

It's been forever, since I could have remembered;

Where the hell is everypony? I just want to know the story

Of what happened right before, I've become so alone.

August 29th:

There were birds chirping, air blowing from the east of Equestria. How did I know what specific direction it was blowing from? I am not your typical pony. My name is Professor DaD. No, I am not a father. My true name is Death and Decay, though I don't want to be defined by my burden of a title.

All my life I've tried to escape the cheap jokes and rude looks. Ponies who just won't respect me for having parents that never wanted a colt. They took their anger out on my birth, and a doomed name was given to a doomed foal. If I could change it I would, but nothing of the sort ever happened in pony history. I was stuck in remorse for causing my parents the grief of my own existence.

I studied for countless hours, slaving over book after book, and eventually was eligible for the job of professor at the Ponyville University of Science and Magic. It helped to raise my hopes, but not necessarily get rid of the glares and comments.

I hurried off through Ponyville, heading to the one pony who has shown any compassion for me. "Mike, are you home?" I knocked again, hoping my only friend would be home to talk.

There was the sound of multiple metals unlocking, and the door creaked open. "Hello Death, come right in, there's much to talk about." Mike gestured inside as I obliged, heading for my usual seat in his own personal library.

Michael Delachord to the outside world is like me; terrifyingly unwanted. My tombstone cutie mark may be more frightening than his microphone (though nopony knows why his mark is a mic), but ponies see him as a madpony. He can go on and on about there being no future in Equestria, but I know he isn't completely mental. He's my one friend, and I'm his. Us against the world.

"They did it again," Mike began, "They all think I'm screwy."

I sighed, "Tell me what happened." Truth is, I've heard this many times before. Different stories, same ending.

"There I was, doing my daily shopping, when these two foals started throwing rocks at me! I alerted their owners-"

"Parents," I corrected.

"-And you know what they said? They said I deserved it!"

"And then you threatened them?" I assumed, knowing how these situations always end.

"It had to be done! I told them they'd get what's coming to them, and they will be sorry they ever messed with the Ma- Ugh.. I mean..." Michael looked around, obviously confused on what happened.

I frowned. This was new, him forgetting his own name? "Michael, remember? Michael Delachord?"

He simply nodded, obviously lost in thought. "Yes.. Yes, that's it..."

We sat in silence for a long while. I didn't want to be rude to my one friend, so we sat longer. Finally I managed to clear my throat and say, " I better be going, I've got some... Errands to run."

Michael looked up with a mysteriously dark grin, which I've gotten used to from him. "Yes, that you do Death. Heh heh..."

I never understood why he would do that. Surely he hadn't figured out my secret... Right? I left his abode and started my walk to my destination. As I walked I suddenly felt something strike my hip. I yelped in pain and inspected my side to find a scab along with some dried blood. "Huh?" Looking around to see what might have caused this, I found nothing.

"Weird.." I continued along, quickening my pace a bit. I wondered if I had healing powers, but quickly dismissed the thought. That would be ridiculous. Me, have abnormal abilities? The only power I had was to clear a room by walking into it.

Finally I had arrived at my destination; the alley between Sugar Cube Corner and an old run down shack. Stories say the abandoned building was also a bakery, and was the only one for a long while. Though the rumors get darker, saying that there were many different homicides there, with the murderer never found. So they shut the place down, and then they made SCC. Not the kinda place I should be sneaking around with my title, but there were... Certain reasons why I needed to be here.

"Deathly!" The next thing I felt were two forehooves wrapping around me in a warm embrace.

"Nice to see you too, Pink."

Allow me to revise my previous statements of not having any other friends than Mike. Well, perhaps Pinkie Pie wasn't only a friend, but more. We have to be secretive, making sure no other ponies knew. We weren't sure if me dating the baker would raise my popularity or end hers, so I told her we wouldn't need to test it. Secret lovers, meeting everyday among the shadows.

"I missed you so much, don't ever leave me again!"

"Pink, I've only been gone a night," I reminded.

"It felt like forever," the pink pony replied as she nuzzled me.

I loved her, not only because she actually liked me, but because she cared. Truth be told, she herself feels like an outcast. Her friends laugh at her for being different and crazy, and she doesn't stop because it's all she's ever known. I'm her escape, and I'm more than ok with that. She is mine, too.

"What's this?" Pinkie Pie asked as she gently placed a hoof near my injury.

"To be honest, I don't know. I found it on me while walking here."

Carefully, Pinkie rubbed the scab as I winced. A small crumb of something I wasn't sure of was left on her hoof.

"It's bits of rock," she proclaimed. "Were you hit?"

"I don't think so.. I'm not sure," I admitted.

She placed a hoof on my shoulder. "If there is ever anything wrong, just tell me ok? I'll help you."

"Thanks, Pink. Same time tomorrow?"

"I'll be here." She planted a kiss on my muzzle and gave a quick goodbye hug, then I went back into the night once more. I loved her so much, she always made me feel safe.

Pinkie went back into the bakery from the back door, not noticing the big blue box lurking in the shadows of the alley way, or the peering eyes from inside.

October 29th:

Still can't remember, what happened in September;

Back when everypony died, trails of blood during my stride.

I just discovered, that the ponies were defeated by something very strong

It seemed very weird and wrong

It just doesn't belong; like it came out of this world.

TO BE CONTINUED...

Part 2: Things Get Very Weird and Wrong
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What Happened In September

Part 2: Things Get Very Weird and Wrong

What Happened In September

Part 2: Things Get Very Weird and Wrong

August 30th:

I trudged through the hustle and bustle of Ponyville, a good night's sleep keeping me moving along. 'Ponyville sure has grown,' I thought to myself. 'There must be a carnival in town, or maybe a convention..'

I kept my pace until I reached Sweet Apple Acres. I wanted to surprise Pinkie with an apple pie when I saw her again in a little while. I walked through the open gate and started heading for the shop next to the living quarters of the Apple family. As I walked through the night, I saw in the distance three foals playing through the window of a treehouse. Their laughter was sweet, and I smiled even though they would probably be rude if they saw me. I had that effect on ponies.

I looked away and kept moving, when I heard them all yelp in surprise. I turned my view to them again to see them rolling on the ground, moaning in slight pain. I was confused, but then the realization of why they fell came to my mind; the treehouse was no longer there. No house, and no tree.

Strange things have been happening around here, but I'm the last pony who should be investigating. I have a bad enough sign above my head that doesn't need to add "freak of nature" to its list of negatives. Ponies see me snooping around the unusual and they'll assume I was the cause.

I returned to my trot and arrived at the little shop. "WhatcanIgetforya'?" The store's clerk, ZapApple said at a high speed. She was dark orange with a country hat on backwards upon her head. Her cutie mark was of three rainbow colored apples. I've never see any apples like this, but I didn't question it.

"One apple pie please."

"Red delicious o' tasty green?"

"Red is fine."

"Mah name's not Apple Sack. And ah remember you. You're that stick in the mud Gilda."

"Excuse me?"

The salespony shook her head rapidly, then looked back to me. "Sorry, ah sometimes have mah moments. Just screwy speeches come out o' mah muzzle occasionahlly. Pardon," she told me with an sincere smile.

"It's alright, no harm done."

"Hay, do y'all need help with that?" ZapApple asked, pointing a hoof at a new bruise on my forehoof. "Ah've got some ointment y'all could borrow for ya hurts and such."

"No.. That's ok, I think I just need to get going..."

I took the pie with my mouth and started for me and Pinkie's alleyway, really questioning my sanity. When did I get hurt again? Things were certainly out of place, but is it all because I'm forgetting what's actually happening mere moments before?

When I arrived at the alley I cautiously looked around, making sure no naysayers would get the chance to naysay. Then I stepped into the dim lighting, walking further to find Pinkie.

"Hey Deathly," a sweet voice cooed from behind me.

I turned to see Pinkie Pie looking smoothly at me. I did my best to smile back, though I probably looked awkward with the pie in my muzzle. I placed it down carefully on a crate and returned the gaze.

"You didn't have to get me anything," she told me. "I'd be fine with just you. More than, even."

"So you won't accept my offer; a pie for a Pinkie Pie?"

"You had me at 'you'."

I grinned at her, then started dividing the pie and offered her the first slice. She took it and we sat there, eating pie on the crates of equipment that were never put into the abandoned bakery. A night to remind me that I'm not entirely alone in this world.

Not long after our midnight desserts, I said goodbye and headed back into the night. I was tired, and couldn't wait to get into my warm bed back at home. Almost halfway there went without a problem when- "Death and Decay!"

I looked at the grayish-brown pony with red streaks in his dark brown mane. "Mike? Why are you yelling, it's past midnight.."

He looked excited for some unknown reason. "Do you know why my mark is of a microphone, Death and Decay?"

I didn't, but before I could reply he answered, "Because I'm not afraid to speak my mind to others."

"That's fine Michael, but why did you need to-"

"We need to use our talents together," he interrupted. "Divided we are weaker, don't you see? Together we can accomplish the impossible! We must unite to finish what we started, for as one we are whole once more!"

"Have you been drinking, Michael? What are you talking about?"

He quickly grasped my shoulders. "We could purify this world of prejudice, make others stop hating us for their lack of knowledge!"

I shrugged off his hooves and looked at him with a bewildered expression. "You mean kill everypony?!"

He sighed. After looking over my shoulder Michael spoke again. "No, not kill them. Just open their minds, Death. Once we do that we can truly be accepted. Follow me and I'll show you how," Mike told me as he started walking back the way I had originally come.

I was about to follow him when I heard somepony speak from behind me.

"This world has been connected."

I turned to see a brown stallion standing there. "Who are you?"

He simply said "An old friend."

"I don't know you."

"You did, and you will. It's complicated, and in your current state you wouldn't understand. I'm sorry, by the way."

I glared at him. "What do you mean I wouldn't understand?"

He looked back at me with distant eyes. "Be careful. I wouldn't want to have to take you out of here, just as much as I don't want to keep you in."

I was about to question him again when he stomped on a peculiar device on the ground and disappeared, device and all.

At this point I was only slightly bewildered by this, so after a quick second more I turned and ran to catch up with Mike. We trotted in silence until we reached the abandoned bakery. The sign, now dangling by a lone rope, read "Pastry Palace". I noticed something different than before; a window that had once been boarded up was now broken, letting wind into the murder site.

"We can work on the machine here," Michael announced. "A machine to purify the minds of the world. With your knowledge combined with mine, we can achieve the stars."

October 30th:

I've regained a small memory,

Came to my head just like that, suddenly.

I think I've gotten a clue;

Something tells me this is worse than what I knew.

TO BE CONCLUDED...

Part 3: The Death, the Decay, and the Awakening
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What Happened In September

Part 3: The Death, the Decay, and the Awakening

What Happened In September

Part 3: The Death, the Decay and the Awakening

August 31st:

Through the day Mike and I have been hauling in the boxes from the alley way. Apparently, he has been planning this for a long time. He stored equipment in there that I always assumed were the old supplies from the bakery. The bakery was dusty and dim, though Mike had set up a few lights and single-hoofedly cleared out an area for us to work. I kept noticing a bruise on his right forehoof, probably from the moving. Normally I would think nothing of it, except it was the same spot I had mine.

There was no time to see Pinkie today. Mike kept me busy working on the mysterious machine to his design. Most of it was ordinary metal and electrical wires, though some of it was unknown even to me. The main tool he gave me was something he called a "Sonic Screwdriver". It worked like a unicorn's horn, and was just as magical. When I asked where he got it from he simply said he found it.

Hour after hour was work time with Michael. We both wore lab coats so we wouldn't get too dirty, and the machine started looking odd after a while. Something he insisted was for the inside to be hollow, and he never mentioned any power source for the device. Even stranger, it was very peculiarly shaped; like a pony.

September 1st:

"It's almost complete," Mike told me.

"What do we need to add?" I asked him.

"No more mechanics can help this machine. The finishing piece will arrive shortly."

I wondered what other than mechanics could help the device, and who would be delivering it. "How does it work?"

He looked at me with his blue eyes, but I could have sworn they were brown as mine for a moment. "When powered, it will change their minds," He assured me. "Forever."

"But how is it powered?"

Mike walked towards the back door of the bakery and opened it, revealing... "Pinkie?? What are you doing here? I'm sorry I couldn't see you yesterday, but you didn't have to come looking for me.."

Pinkie Pie looked confused at me. "But you told me to come here, to help you with your project remember?"

"Yes, I did Pink," Michael answered, instead of me. "I'm sorry for the confusion, I just need you to make sure the Nightmare Night costume I made you fits, it's right over there."

Against my will, I pointed a hoof at the machine. I tried calling out, I tried running to her, but it was as if I no longer had control of my actions. Helplessly I watched as the one I loved stepped into the machine. I got up and unwillingly closed her inside. She started to scream as she was confined to the small, cold and metal space. I heard her terror in my ears, and as horrified as I was I could not even comfort her for my wrong doings.

I heard Michael begin chuckling to himself and spun around, now somehow in control.

"Finally, it's done... IT'S FINALLY DONE!"

He hovered over a control panel and I realized what was really going on. "Stop! It's going to kill us all!" I shouted, trying to convince him of his evil scheme being flawed. "Stop it!"

"NO. I'm going to save you.. I'm going to save you all!" He cackled maniacally. "Isn't that what you wanted? Hahahaha! DON'T YOU TRY AND STOP ME! Go away from me..." Now he was talking to himself as I watched in total horror. "This is your redemption day everypony! Stay away from me.... Go away!"

I advanced slowly, trying not to make him suddenly react.

"You can't touch me now! You see this button here?" He motioned to the large button on the panel.

"I'm gunna PRESS IT!!" I shrieked as my hoof came down, fully aware of what I was about to do. The ponies deserve this! They hurt me; Death and Decay, Michael Delachord, the Master! Seperated I was too blind to act, but now my mind was connected to both sides once more! They called me screwy, but no longer! My hoof hit the button, and the machine now powered by my lover's brain came to life! The last thing I saw before my coma was it blast forward at me, knocking me unconcious.

Epilogue:

October 31st:

As I continued to stare at the now collapsed bakery, I started regaining my memory. I brushed my blood-tipped spiky blue hair, and glanced at my tombstone cutie mark. I was alive, and finally I remembered what had happened back in September.

"I just remembered, what happened in September; I'm the one who killed them all, I survived after the fall!"

I howled in united laughter of both sides; Michael Delachord and Death and Decay. Together we were the Master. The Living Tombstone that marked how all the others had fallen. The only survivor.

I turned around and hit my head on a big blue box. I fell over and before I had a chance to think, a hoof reached out and pulled me inside. The brown pony; the Doctor, had found me.

/This is the third installment of four in the Forgotten Power series. Read the others and wait for the final conclusion to be released\