Ripples

Chapter 16

Birthday

        Just as the four of us stepped out hooves out of the doorway, a magical blast from nowhere zapped us. Before we even realized what happened, we were standing in an open, grassy field. All of our previous belongings were laid out around us, bags and everything. They were arranged in a strange circle around us, and in the center was the present which Discord had given me.

        We looked around to observe our surroundings. It was a pretty uninteresting grassy field. There were a couple trees in the distance, a lake towards the east, and some patches of flowers. No civilization in sight, although I must admit it was quite pretty here. I felt much better...rejuvenated. I looked down at myself. Scars still dotted my body, showing the places the...sensors had been placed. I pushed that thought behind me. Focus on the present...        Captain finally spoke up. “Loste...I know we’ve been through some rough times and all, but...I need a break. And I’m sure you three do, too.”        Rage and the red pony nodded in agreement, I simply stared at the present. Why would Discord give me a present? What was in it? Would it kill me?        “I have some food in my bag...well, I did. Doesn’t look like anything was taken, but I’m going to check,” Captain continued. He walked towards his bag of supplies, and withdrew some boxes of cereal. “Apple Crunch” was printed on the box, large and colorful. It was faded and torn at this point in time, but it was apparent enough what was inside. Captain opened it and poured it into four separate piles on the grass.        “I don’t have any bowls...should taste the same. I imagine we’re going to have to make do with a lot worse in the future, so enjoy it while you can,” Captain stated. He bent down and took a bite from his pile, chewing for a few moments and then swallowing. His face relaxed, and he leaned further back.        Rage was next. Skeptical at first, he took a small nibble from his pile, and then immediately took an enormous chomp. As he looked back up, Captain’s questioning glance caused him to smile, embarrassed. Dried cereal fell off his cheeks, and we all let out a small giggle. More cereal fell from his mouth as he laughed, only intensifying the laughter. I even laughed a little...        Me and the red pony took a bite at the same time. As I bent down and closed my mouth around the pile, an amazing fruity taste covered my tongue. It was sweet and sugary, and tasted of apples. My mind seemed to clear itself, relaxing my muscles and calming me. I hadn’t felt this good in a long time...        We all laid on our backs, staring into the clear sky. The sun had just recently came over the horizon, starting a new day. Birds chirped overhead, flying in formation towards the lake in the east. It almost felt as if nothing was wrong in the world...        “Hey guys,” Captain spoke, breaking the silence. I turned to face him.        “I know these past few days have been rough...believe me, I know. But just being here, with you guys...I feel like I’m home. I never really had a home, an army base, sure, but not a home. Ever since I met Loste, though, I felt more like I had a purpose. Like I could do something important with my life...as important as the Rebellion may seem, it wasn’t a job for me.”        I reached a hoof over to Captain, touching his hoof with mine. He looked at me and smiled, his eyes glistening in the sunlight.        “I still don’t have a cutie mark, and I don’t know if I ever will...but it seems we all share that in common. I just have to wonder...was us meeting purely by chance, or were we meant to be together? Are there others we’re destined to meet, and help or recruit? Are we the only ones?”        I could hear somepony crying. I looked to my left. It was Rage. I lifted my other hoof to his, linking us together. He opened his watery eyes and smiled. The red pony understood, and linked his hoof with Rage.        “Captain,” I said. “Thank you. Thank you for everything...all of you. Thank you for giving me the best birthday I’ve ever had. Even though we probably have a lot of troubles ahead of us, and probably pain and misery...remember that I’ll always be there for you. Even if we’re separated, I’ll always remember you...thank you. I love you all.”        I started crying. Not from sadness, but from happiness. I have found my place in this world, and I have friends there with me. We could take on this world, as long as we stuck together. A cool breeze brushed past us, sending my mane into my eyes. It felt nice on my skin...

~ ~ ~

        We had all fallen asleep sometime sooner, and I was the first to awaken. It was midday, and we were starting to get hot. I walked over to the others to wake them up, starting with Captain. Once everypony had been awoken, we set out towards the lake. After gathering our belongings, I decided to take Discord’s present with me. I don’t think I was ready to open it yet, but I wanted to keep it...I didn’t know why. Discord was the entire reason my life had been so terrible, and yet...I wanted to keep his present. Evil as he was, this present didn’t seem...evil. I didn’t feel insecure with it, or worried from it. I just wasn’t ready for what was inside.        The lake wasn’t too much of a walk away, it was nothing compared to some of our previous expeditions. When we got there, we bent down to take a drink. The water tasted somewhat foul, but it was a welcome refreshment nonetheless. We decided to sit down and take inventory once we had finished drinking.        The red pony was the only one of us not to have any items, but he seemed fascinated with the loot we’d collected. As Rage and I laid out our advanced weaponry on the grass, the red pony was investigating them with intense curiosity.        “Hey, don’t touch them,” I scolded. “They could seriously hurt somepony!”        He looked almost guilty, but continued staring at them. I didn’t blame him, I still felt like an outsider to the rest of the world. I’m sure we all do...even the red pony. Speaking of him...what was his name?        “Hey, uh, red pony...I still don’t know your name,” I stated awkwardly. He looked at his hooves disappointingly, upset with my comment.        “Hey, I didn’t mean to upset you or anything,” I tried to comfort him. “It’s just-”        “I don’t have a name,” he interrupted. To be honest, this wasn’t all that bad compared to some of the shit I’d seen, but I was still confused.        Captain butted in. “Remember what I said about how names reflect parents’ emotions? Well, the red pony here...he never knew his parents. They were taken by the Resistance when he was born, and he was left to die. This was in Vanhoover, around the time when I was a young colt. I don’t know many of the details, but somepony found him and took him to this family in Las Pegasus. Well, turns out a foal was a bit much for them at first...”        The red pony walked away, towards a lone tree. After he sat on the other side, Captain continued the story.        “There was a Resistance raid one day...they still hadn’t thought of a name for him yet, but they had to hide before the Resistance could find them. They hid in a wine cellar, locked it shut. He didn’t understand at the time, though...he cried. The Resistance pried open the container and shot his parents on sight. Somehow, he was able to escape before they could hurt him, and he traveled all the way to Baltimare. I don’t know what exactly he did there, he seems very defensive and secretive about his past life. As far as I know, he grew up there, learned how to be independent. One day we crossed paths near Dodge City Junction, and he recognized me from some posters we had hung around Equestria. We actually had a functioning printer back then, but most of those posters have blown off somewhere, probably into the ocean.        “He decided he wanted to join the Rebellion. I was a little busy with some diplomacy and collecting supplies, but I sent him towards our base in Fillydelphia. Several months later, we crossed paths again. This time we had a special infiltration mission on a Resistance base, this base was particularly tricky. It was his first special operation, he gained permission to go after his performance saw a huge increase. I don’t know why that was, but he sure seemed a lot happier about then...”        Captain looked back towards the red pony. He had been looking at us, and quickly turned his head back around.        “I don’t know what happened to him, or why he’s so defensive about it, but he’s obviously distressed. I’ve tried to help him, but I’d just been so busy all the time with the Rebellion and whatnot...”        Captain looked in the sky. “What happened to the Rebellion? Are they still alive? Do they still consider me their leader? I don’t know much about the world anymore...”        I patted his back gently. “It’s okay...we’ll make it,” I told him reassuringly. “Like I said, I’ll always be by your side. I have to wonder, though...it’s so peaceful here. And beautiful. If the world is so horrible, then where are we? Also, how did you learn as much as you did about...him?”        Captain sighed. “I still don’t know about our location, but the only times I was able to squeeze any information out of him was when we were on missions together. I’ve always been an active leader, participating in as much as possible. Dangerous, sure, but it was enough to keep my mind off of...things. Some of the soldiers tried to name him. I’ll admit, most of them were pretty crude and often rather harsh, but even the legitimate names never stuck with him. He always wants to be anonymous. The only name he’s even showed any consideration of would be ‘Anon’. He doesn’t respond when you refer to him that way, but he doesn’t reject it like all the other names. Anyway, It took him awhile, but I think he’s gotten pretty comfortable around me. I just wonder if he’ll ever tell anypony what his life was really like...”        Both of us looked towards the red pony. He had moved slightly farther from us.        Captain sighed. “Don’t bother him about it. It will only make him upset. I’m sure it will just come out...eventually...”        Suddenly, everything became black. I couldn’t see shit, and neither could Captain. I could hear Rage complaining nearby, and I didn’t know about the red pony. I began panicking, feeling frantically for Captain. I accidentally slapped his face, causing him to moan in pain.        “Sorry!” I told him, confused and frightened at our sudden blindness. Just when I thought things couldn’t get any weirder, the tormenting voice of Discord boomed from nowhere.        “Oh, hello! I hope you had a nice birthday. That was actually just a little magic simulation, some technology invented just before the war. That place doesn’t exist, I just thought it would be a kind gesture to let you spend some time in peace for your birthday. I’ll admit, that was quite touching, what happened in there. I almost started to-”        “STOP!” I screamed, interrupting. “Discord, stop this! Just let us go!”        “You sure are eager to leave...don’t worry, you’re almost free. For real, this time. I was only trying to be nice, though...”        “I don’t think you’re capable of being nice, you asshole!” I screamed into nowhere at him. “How do you explain your collection of my ‘work’? The fact that my entire fucking life has been planned out for your benefit?!”        The lights turned on, we were back in the same room as before. The TV remained shattered, although the glass had been cleaned from the floor. Rage, Captain and I stood in a group in one corner, the red pony laying in the other looking horrified. Discord himself stood in the doorway, annoyed at my outrage.        “Look, just because I am a creature of chaos doesn’t mean I can’t be nice every once in a while. I pity you, did you know that? That is why I’m letting you live. You actually did something for me, as horrible as it was. So I extend my thanks to you for helping me all this time.”        I didn’t believe it. Something was wrong here. “Discord,” I began, staring into his cold, cruel eyes. “Did you ever have any friends?”        He flinched. He actually flinched. What...? I could see tears forming in his eyes. He quickly blinked them away. “I...did. She’s gone now. No concern of yours,” he said quickly. “Now please, get out.”        Er...she? Captain and I exchanged confused glances.        “I said get OUT!” Discord commanded, snapping his fingers. The four of us teleported in a surge of magical energy, disappearing from the room.