Chapters (Just a note to all, this is my first, ever, fan fic and I probably won't do more.)
It was in the middle of winter, and the snow dripped from the sky leaving their tiny ice crystals plastered over the ground while the others were stepped on were the creators left there hoof prints...but for the few who have to endure the cold, for they were the workmen, it has more hazardous than anything. They were constantly drilling in day and in out just to make it by, but most of it was normal for them...they were stocky, built up, roughed up by their worked, and eventually got used to it since it was a regular day to them, but what had done would destroy their establishment forever....
"Hey, Chief, I think I hit something!" One of them said, pulling the drill to the side and looking down at the metal brace like object that he had hit.
The chief of the project was just speaking to 3 of the other workmen before he came over to see what he was being called in for. He approached the worker to see the object buried in the old cement and dirt. "Hmm, looks like it's a chest....dig it up." He said as he pulled down his spectacles to wipe the dirt off and walked by the sidelines.
"Yes, Chief" The worker pony proceeded to dig around the large object, making the cement crack and the dirt fall out in clumps before it seemed big enough to see once they pulled the rebar off. They took a brush from one of the paints and dusted it off.
It was a big, medieval chest that had skulls on it and a sign said "Never to open". At first, the chief, smiled at it and laughed. "Probably some cook buried this up to guard his doll collection....He he...." He pinched the bridge of his muzzle before turning to the original founder and the worker beside him. "Bring it the antique store clerk; I think he might know what it is."
The workers nodded before trotting to each side of the chest pushing it over and trying to lift on their backs...it was surprisingly light, but jingled a bit as they walked to the antique store ran by Antique Unique. It wasn't a far trot away from the construction site, but it was definitely a bit lengthy.
They weaved in and out of alleys until they met with the small antique store that seemed to have been here since Pony Ville was created. The workers walked in, hoisting the chest into the door where the bell rang and Antique Unique greeted them. "Hello, boys...did you bring me something?" The old, bearded man said with a sing song tune.
"Yes, sir....we found this chest in our dig site and thought it might interest you." They dropped the chest below his hooves, letting him observe it.
At first, he didn't seem fazed by it, but he grew more interested as he saw the images carved along the sides. "Oh....a medieval trap chest...these were used to keep the most valuable and secret objects, but the trap about them is that the keyhole is actually hidden..." He turns it over to reveal a small keyhole. "...at the bottom." The workers didn't seem too impressed. "It's too bad however there isn't a key here....can you open it?" The left worked asked with a since of simplicity.
The clerk pushed his glasses up. "Of course, these locks were easily opened with a crowbar...I happen to keep one in the back for those robbers." He walks behind the counter, and pulls out a black crowbar that was never used. "This will do the trick..." He grips it in his mouth and pulls the flat end into the edges of the box before pulling down, surprisingly opening it with ease....
The morning after the resurrection of Stitches there were many counts of fires erupting across Everfree, Ponyville, and even in Canterlot! There were robberies, and many counts of burst pipes in houses almost everywhere.
Yet, for this pony, she was uninformed of these problems…she was resting in her head with her hair spread by the pillow’s comfort surface. She turned over as the sunlight shined on her face. Twilight Sparkle awoke with a light smile on her face while her eyes fluttered open to see the morning sun in all its glory. She then sat up, and stretched her hooves with all her might to awake her still sleepy body. “Celestia did a fine job today.” She said as she scooted over to the edge of the bed and hopped onto her hooves before hearing tons of knocking from the door. “Who could that be? Spike! ” She called, looking for the little green dragon. She found him in the middle of the library with her friends, sitting down with their heads hung and their eyes seeping tears.
She seemed so astonished to even see Rainbow Dash crying. “What happened?” She said as she trotted towards them, eyeing them all with a sense of sadness herself.
All of them raised their heads and sat straight up with the tears stained upon their faces. They seemed to choke on the words before even speaking…
Applejack spoke first. “Twilight…the barn was burned….” She said as some more tears dripped down onto her lap
Twilight’s jaw dropped to the floor with even the thought of a pony doing that….”Who would do that?”
Pinkie, the joyous of all spoke in her usually happy self “You wouldn’t believe what happened to me! The entire kitchen of Sugarcube was flooded with swamp water, infecting all our delicious treats!” She waved her hooves radically before bursting into tears and resting her head on Applejack’s shoulder. Applejack put her arm around her, comforting her while petting her head. “Shhh…Shhh, pinkie…” She cooed in her ear, trying to calm Pinkie.
Twilight looked at Rarity, who was up in the…bad news list. Rarity seemed to catch the eye contact and tried to sum up the breath to speak. “My entire dressing line that I worked so hard had the literal color sucked out of them! I have to redo them all!” Rarity cried with outrage.
Twilight bit her hoof, trying to hear them all, but trying to find the courage not too.
Rainbow Dash just hanged her head; her hair seemed wet, like sopping, but not drooping. Rainbow Dash looked up at her with beady eyes. “They…Them…Some…SOMEPONY FLOODED CLOUDS DALE! They stomped on all the clouds above Cloudsdale causing them to constantly run! It was already over pouring by the time anyone found out! “She cries, then putting her face in her hooves.
Fluttershy seemed to be the strongest though, she spoke with confidence yet her presence seemed to be sulking within herself. “They…they stole angel bunny…” That made twilight gasp with complete surprise...she herself was almost in tears! The whole conundrum is terrible!
“Who did this?!” She asked while flailing her hooves, she seemed so outraged! “Who could do this?!” She repeated herself. That answered her when Spike suddenly burned out a note, with a special mark that read “Call of Duty” and with it inside was a book.
Twilight grabbed the note from Celestia herself, it read in a more disorganized font. “Dearest Twilight, I have gotten multiple reports of destruction across Equestria…most of them being arson, disasters, and even people losing their cutie marks! But…with a stroke of luck, a young Canterlot boy was able to get a sketch of the accuser, but it seemed so…unrealistic and familiar….he said it was like something out a science fiction book, so with this note I sent you the complete list of mythical creatures and disasters ever recorded.” Twilight dropped the note with a jaw dropped. “Oh my…this is big…” She said like there was something in her throat…tears. “We have to found out before this happens to anyone else!” She said to the rest who started to perk up, but still sat seated. “Will you girls help Equestria once more?” She puts her hoof in, gaining her happiness again.
The girls looked back from one another, trying to read them thoughts she observed.
“Yes.” Pinkie said as she put her hoof in.
“Absolutely, darling, we must find this….thing!” She put her hoof in; she seemed to have that vibe of her like she wanted revenge.
Applejack tipped her hat to Twilight. “Y’know I can’t deny this here chance to get payback.” She put her hoof in, joining the crowd.
Rainbow Dash, crushed with tears and still in them, put her hoof in. “They will pay!” She announced…her eyes were bloodshot from the crying.
Fluttershy sort of scooted away. “Aren’t you joining us, Fluttershy?” Twilight asked.
She turned away from the group with a sudden shame, but then put her hoof into the group without facing them. “Let’s do it…no one messes with my bunny.”
The group of girls hugged each other, squealing in unison as they jumped up and down…
While the trickster traveled across Equestria, he seemed to keep having thoughts of his master which only filled him more. Everywhere he went. From Baltimare to Canterlot he seemed to think of him and how his master brought him to life to protect him…yet he was defeated and his master must’ve taken the most intolerable punishment. “It’s okay, Master….I’ll make them pay!” He said while tears seemed to form in his eyes…he couldn’t even cry, he used his magic to create fake tears.
His dark heart that his master made seemed to be crushed, yet still alive…kept alive from something.
Twilight and her band of friends surrounded the book, flipping throughout while seeing the most disgusting and terrible sounding creatures and stories that plagued Equestria. She flipped through the entire thing, trying to find something that fit their character…something like Discord, but not as powerful. She flipped to the end until she groaned. “This has nothing! Nothing about floods, fires, or tricks!” She put her hooves over her head and collapsed.
Rarity flicked to the last page…noticing there was an edge sticking out. “Wait, Twilight…” She said with reassurance as Pinkie butted in and pulled the page back, revealing…the curse of Stitches.
Twilight uncovered her face, stood up and read over it.
“Stitches, a doll animated by an old Student of StarSwirl who was made to protect him while the colts made fun of him, because of his blindness.” The first entry read…it was in ink, like it was new.
“He was made in medieval time where the dark arts was common, but animation was the thought of a mad pony, yet, the creator ClusterStar was seduced by the darkness that consumed his heart. “ The next one read.
“Stitches is considered highly dangerous, he is an entity of pure dark magic and filled with the knowledge his creator had. Even the magic he had…even though he’s not a unicorn himself. He has stolen, robbed, burned, flooded, and caused plane destruction to all of Equestria for messing with his Creator.” She read with disbelief.
There was a picture…fitted into the page with wax. It was a haunting picture of him, raining upon the ponies with green flames…his appearance however, was unbelievable. He was made out of strongly woven stitches and cloth that were infused with magic to keep him together. Twilight and the group chattered to themselves.
“What an awful pony! No…this is an abomination!” Rarity cried in despair.
The next entry was written by a different pony…you can tell by the new format.
It read. “Only one person was known to have defeated Stitches, and that pony is me, StarSwirl…” Twilight seemed so happy to be reading something from him. “I tricked him into coming to me, masquerading as his master and former student. While he bowed before me, I revealed myself and used my most powerful spell to turn him into a doll which then I locked in the Trap Chest.” The text read…
The last one was in red this time and seemed to be spattered. “WHOEVER IS READING THIS, DO NOT PULL HIS LEG!” It said with the G’s tail smeared across the page.
“This is terrible…” Twilight said while she closed her eyes and shook her head. “Stitches…who could believe this is true! We need to inform Celestia!” She turned to Spike who raced to grab a pen and quill and prepared.
“Dear Princess Celestia, we have found the culprit. And it’s worse than anything we could imagine…Stitches is back.” She said with no more words, trying to keep it quick. Spike nodded and sent the message instantly to her, blowing it into the wind.
“Now that we have informed Celestia-“The note suddenly exploded it from Spike’s mouth. “Wow that was quick.” She said before opening the note…Celestia wrote quicker and a bit messier.
“Dear Twilight, this is bad…oh so very bad….Stitches is the reason why the alicorn’s moved away, they thought this place was desolate, because of him.” The first sentence read. “But, none the less…you have to defeat him….but this time a different way. The one flaw StarSwirl had with his spell was that if the doll’s leg was pulled, he would reanimate.” The next line wrote; it seemed so unrealistic. “Wait, so that means somepony is missing too!” Pinkie announced! Everpony was just speechless…that was going to be the worst thing to ever hear. “Now, the only one who has beaten him or controlled him is StarSwirl and ClusterStar….and only one lives….” The text gravely said…”…ClusterStar lives…., but imprisoned in the Monarch Goggles.” As Twilight read that sentence a small package flew through the window and landed safely by the table with a fiery feather attached. “Once you put them, you will be transported to the age of medieval time where he resides, but, if he takes the glasses from you and puts them on, he will be able to come back, but you won’t...so be careful Twilight Sparkle…we believe in you.” “Signed, the princesses”
Twilight skims over it again to reassure that this is real. The others seem to be dumfounded as well.
Twilight then held the monarch glasses in her aura then removes the string revealing golden goggles with purple crystals embedded into it.
Rarity squeals as she quickly grabs them with a squeal. “Oh my, these are beautiful! I can just put them on-“Everyone else stared at her with a bemused smile. “Oh…right…” She levitates it over to Twilight Sparkle.
“So, if these here glasses do what they do, what if they do get stolen by ClusterStar? Will be never see you again?” Applejack asked.
“I…I don’t know, AJ. It’s a risk that I’m going to have to take to save Ponyville, girls, but…If I don’t come back, I’m sorry.” A tear rolls down her face with just the thought of not being able to come back to her friends.
Pinkie seems to butt in with her usually blabber, but this time she’s more serious. “Please come back, Twilight…” Pinkie said, putting her hoof on her shoulder.
“She’ll come back, I’m certain.” Fluttershy said, using her insight, but hopefully predicting the truth.
Rarity trots back from where she “praised” the glasses. “Please do come back, darling. It wouldn’t be the same without you.”
Rainbow Dash seemed the quietest here, but it’s only because she’s trying to stay strong for her friends, because if she talked her voice would be choked up. She summoned enough strength to sit up, and speak these words. “You better come back, egghead.” She said with a playful push of her hoof against Twilight’s shoulder.
The girls joined in the giggles from RD’s comment. “I’ll make sure too, Dashy.” She giggled while looking upon her friends.
Early that day, as Stitches made a trip to the Everfree forest, remembering the old, almost invisible path it took to get to his Master’s house. The wind howled and slammed against his body as he saw through the brush of a tree, the remains of his Master’s house. He seemed attracted to it as he saw the dust that gathered around the picket fence. He pushed open the gate that had a broken bottom hinge to see the door, completely removed and even busted down from the house. Inside, the remnants, or at least the unbroken remains lay on the floor. Everything was gathering dust…even the bed and the sheets that covered them had dust like it was last used a hundred years ago…which would’ve been accurate. He entered his room…where he slept or at least attempted to sleep and found it didn’t collect dust. It seemed used and clean. The bed was made, his window was closed, his pillow fluffed and his desk….had a note. He instantly was gravitating around the note as he held it in his fiery aura of magic. He skimmed it over, and it turned out to be braille. Obviously with his Master’s knowledge, he naturally remembered how to read it. He skimmed his hoof over the note.
It read:
“Dear ClusterStar, for your creation of Stitches and the cause of chaos throughout the land, you will be imprisoned, forever, in the Monarch glasses. I do not recommend running away, because for that the punishment may be more severe. The guards will come tomorrow. Please don’t resist.”
Stitches sown up jaw dropped as he was flooded with confidence that his Master was still alive. If these Monarch glasses exist, no doubt the princesses would have them. He suddenly had his mission in sight. He had to free ClusterStar. He walked out of the small, broken down house with a sense of hope that he can once protect his Master. He turned his head to the west where Canterlot laid in the distance with all of its pillars, spires, flags, and various flowers of every variety known to the princesses. He quickly started jumping tree to tree while thinking about what time it will be once he gets there, hopefully before the afternoon, when Twilight got the glasses at 2PM before Twilight got the glasses.
While he was zipping through the tree’s, leaving the mark of his body in the hole behind them, he began feeling a bit of happiness for once instead of his rage, angry, and disgust for the pony kind. He knows he is in the shape of one, but he wishes not to be called one.
Later that day after 2 hours of complete traveling and a couple rest stops to continue perceiving his plan for the future, he finally made it to Canterlot. While admiring the outskirts of it, he tried to walk through the main path to find it protected with a barrier. “I should’ve guessed He said as his eye brows arched. “I probably have to find a suit of armor to get through…maybe even disguise myself. He looked around him, trying to spy something that could get him. Suddenly, like a shot through the air, an engine roared its way towards him. The train, he thought. Possibly a way in, he thought again. He was up like a rocket, floating above it before gently lying flat down onto its hull as it wizzes past the shield, completing his first objective.
After the train came to a stop, he kept to the alleys of the city, making sure no one would spot him.
“With all these ponies, I’ll never find the glasses….” He whispered with frustration. He saw a stage coach that had the purple shield of the prince of the kingdom, Shining armor. “It’ll work.” He looked back and forth from the alley’s edge as he quickly ran sleekly down under the coach, attaching to it with the stitches upon his hoof, and getting a 1 way ride to the Canterlot castle’s halls.
After what seemed like a long, arduous ride to the castle. He found himself on the inside where they kept them all. The guards and shining armor himself stepped out from the coach with their heads raised high before trudging off someplace else.
Stitches took his chance, he darted for the closest exist, slipping through the cracks of the door and slowly shutting it so no one would notice. “Now…If I was a pair of glasses…where would I be…?” He looks around the large, main intersection of the hall way before hearing multiple hoof steps coming down one of the hallways.
He slinked across under the curtains and looked down from the edge with his rear up, seeing the guards shuffling towards the outskirts. The lead one, which was surprisingly Shining Armor, told the rest. “One of the citizens saw a doll riding the train in.” He said while the other guard added. “It must be stitches!”
“Exactly, Soldier” The shining armor said, as they turned a corner, disappearing ahead.
Stitches moved out of the curtain to the edge of the hallway to check if they were gone. He sighed with pleasure knowing they were.
He turned around to be face to face with a guard. His eyes widened before his hooves were placed to his mouth and the stitches and cloth of his skins surrounded it, shutting it for good while the others spread his stitches to the ground, planting him there like a statue.
“Please, if you will, tell me where they keep the monarch glasses.” He asked with ferocity.
The guard huffed a bit, trying to something, but getting muffled by the mouth patch.
Stitches walked to the front of him again where his hoof touched the patch, removing parts of it for him to speak.
“It’s…It’s gone!” He said with a loud voice, Stitches patched his mouth.
“I don’t believe you…” He removed the mouth piece again.
“Celestia sent it…to Twilight! Her apprentice! She saved Equestria a thousand times, and will save it a thousand more!” The guard said, attacking him directly.
Stitches patched his mouth over with cloth before it started spread to his entire body, turning him into a full sized doll with buttons and stitches.
“Well, looks this was for nothing, but it was worth seeing this place.” He laughed silently to himself before walking back to the stage coach area.
He held his hoof up while it seemed to glow red. “Well, I can’t leave here without a ruckus to distract them.” He ran his hoof across the stagecoaches, starting a fire on the line that crossed them while he made slowly for the exit.
The guards seemed to hear the burning and cackling of fires, returning to the area where they tried to find the hose to put them out.
While that happened, Stitches boarded the same train that got him there, with a 1 way ticket to Twilight Sparkle and her friends.
Suddenly, the chest exploded into a wild decay of dust and debris, revealing the insides of the medieval and ancient chest.
The contents of the chest was rather sad and depressing since all that was contained was a little, horse like doll that had red buttons for eyes, and many stitches covering its entire body, but the most peculiar observation of all, was the condition of the doll, it was mint.
The guards sighed, shaking their heads with disappointed that showed how sad that it held no treasure of all. “Chief was right, just a stupid old doll.” One said while the other just looked down at the ragged object.
The antique owner was also very disappointed as to say. He eyed it a couple of times, touched it here and there, trying to see if this was the true prize of their finding. “Well, its old…might be worth a….couple of dollars…” He said with his grainy voice. The two guards left without any more words, obviously not wanting to talk about the object any longer.
The antique man sighed, and then made a sound like he was chirping disappointingly. He looked back at the chest with a grim face then flipped it shut with one hoof, while dragging it away towards the dark, back of the shop where all the other items were held for recording service.
During the day, the sales were normal, especially with the new mid-pacelantic vases discovered under the remains of an old broken down ship, there was also returns which Antique despised since the mere mention of returning an antique ruined his mood.
However, during the night when the street lamps flickered on while one flickered on and off, because it’s quite broken down with the various age. The lamps were there for a while, probably 10 years.
Then while he was behind the counter and no one was about, he entered the back room to take inventory which he did every week for the past 10 years.
He accounted for every object, making sure every one of the antiques had a tag that had the price, age, and the day it was returned, found, or bought.
Yet, a weird feeling came over him. He felt curious towards the mystical chest that arrived here with disappointment and sadness.
He flicked it back open with a gentle swivel, revealing the broken down, sadness filled toy. He picked it up, observing it once more before placing it gently on the desk and sitting into the chair.
The doll was just a normal doll, old, ripped here and there, but still having that sense of mystery that made it interesting. He flipped it over.
The text on the back read “To free me of glitches, and put you in stitches, this doll begs, pull my leg.”
The clerk seemed curious about the doll’s inscription and proceeded to prop it up on his desk with it facing him. His hoof took hold of the doll’s right leg, and pulled lightly so it wouldn’t harm or disfigure the toll…it made a “CRANK!” noise like a machine, then suddenly… like magic, a great cloud of blackness engulfed poor Antique and the doll….He made a loud scream of surprise before he was silenced with stitches, covering his mouth, legs, ears, and neck. His eyes were replaced with buttons and his sized shrink to that of the doll while the doll changed in a different way.
The doll seemed to convulse, and change into a living pony, with stitches covering its body and button eyes that seemed to work. The doll’s brows changed to that of mischief as he celebrated by quickly hiding the doll back into his chest, snapping his hooves, and locking it with his own magic.
The doll’s body still seemed to be that of yarn, but magically brought to life by the dark arts. He was incredibly happy to be back in the living, but he felt his master has passed to another life…the magic he cast on him was that of his, a powerful dark wizard he was when he was alive, but those days have passed….and his mission trudges on.
The doll’s mission was still at hand…to cause hell to the residents of Pony Ville for making fun of his creator and driving him to the ground!
Stitches snapped his hooves together as he pulled out a document of trouble to cause. He tried to speak first, finding it hard…he tapped his chest as he coughed dust for a few seconds before his scratchy, yet surprisingly intelligent voice spoke. “They will pay for their mistakes.” He clutches his hoof in an angry attempt to show rage as his document spoofed into green smoke.
He walks towards the chest like he was peering into a mirror. “The times have changed…maybe some new stitches are in order.” He looks upon himself before turning around repeatedly, spinning the dust off him and replacing his gray figure with a black one with red buttons and stiches. “Snazzy. Yet ill fitting…I love it.” He laughed manically before leaping on the door and into the streets…so many things to do first.
He opens his hoof, showing a green fire, while he laughs manically…letting this be the beginning to the end of Ponyville…then everywhere!