The Destroyer 7by BrightshadowChaptersIntroductionChapter 1Chapter 2Introduction"What is this?" "Why don't you shut up and find out?" "How does this explain his cutiemark?" "Look at them! Don't you see the resemblance?" "Can someone turn the generator on for me please?" A sea blue earth pony, whose color seemed washed out, looked up sharply from his work. His short, kinky mane and tail, a dark washed-out blue-green, set him apart from the other six ponies in the room. Aside from his cutiemark that is. He waited as one pony went outside to flip the switch on what he called a generator. Another decided to turn out the lights for dramatic effect. Whatever was going to happen, he believed it would have lights. All the ponies in the room quieted their chatter. The blue pony pressed a button on the peculiar slate device and: DING. DIING. DIIING. DIIIING. Four tones much too loud for the huddle of ponies resounded around the room. A bright square light illuminated the mix of faces twisted in pain and confusion. Expressions softened as they got used to the brightness. "Woah!" "Pretty!" "It's a rainbow! A rainbow flag!" "What is this called Blue Screen?" asked a coral-pink pegasus, who traced the illuminating square thing with her hoof. "It's called a screen," the blue earth pony said in a near whisper. The coral one nodded slowly as if everything made sense to her now, her braided mane bobbing up and down. "And this whole thing is a lap-top!" announced a dark orange unicorn with blonde mane and tail, barely out of his colthood. He beamed as if he had just answered the million bit question. The yellow unicorn next to him snorted and pushed up her glasses. The orange one hung his head dejectedly, his bright red glasses sliding down his nose. "What's a Windows 7?" asked the yellow one. "If I'm not mistaken, it's what's on your houses yes?" This remark came from an overly-tall turquoise pegasus with a thick accent. "Yes Horizon, but why would seven of them be on the laptop?" "That's a bit complicated for you to understand right now." "Are you calling me stupid?" No response came from Blue Screen. The yellow unicorn opened her mouth to speak, but flame-red hair tickled her ear. "Let it go Brightshadow," said the silver-gray horse beside her. His tail was swishing, as if physically materializing the calmness of his demeanor. "It's too complicated for all of us right now," he breathed. Brightshadow tensed for a moment then relaxed. Lockin' Key was right. Blue Screen began to type. Rather, he attempted to. His breath quickened as he desperately began pounding keys. Silky Ribbon worriedly placed a hoof on his shoulder, her braided mane tickling his side. He seemed to calm down a moment, then suddenly became enraged. "THESE BUCKING HOOVES!" He attempted to flip the laptop, but Andromeda braced it. Her spiky off-black and sky-blue mane, spiked hard with immense amounts of hair gel, practically did the work for her. Blue Screen frantically paced around the room, seemingly thinking. Silky watched him worriedly, hurt shining bright in her red eyes. It wasn't until now that the orange pony finally lifted his head. "I could press them… with my telekenesis." Brightshadow snorted and Andromeda looked away shamefully. "You're a genius Sodapop!" Blue Screen practically whinnied as he skidded back in front if the device. The orange unicorn stood by him as he spoke in hushed tones, then used his power to gently click the corresponding keys. The surrounding ponies watched in awe as things began appearing on screen as quickly as Nightmare Moon had been vanquished. "Here it is…" The clicking and screen changing had occurred for a while, entrancing the ponies into a zombie-like state. At the sound of Blue Screen's voice however, they snapped to attention. They huddled closer together (if that was possible) to stare at what had caught the pony's attention in the vast void of the laptop. They stared… …and a collective gasp bounced off the walls. Chapter 1At the sound of Blue Screen's voice, they snapped to attention. They huddled closer together (if that was possible) to stare at what had caught the pony's attention in the vast void of the laptop. They stared... …And collective gasp bounced off the walls. It was a long moment before anyone spoke. "Five fingers… five toes…" puffed Silky, her long braid rubbing against her heaving chest. "That's… that's ah… ah… a…" stuttered Brightshadow, unable to complete her thought. "Human," Blue Screen offered flatly. At that, Andromeda began coughing uncontrollably (perhaps she was trying to mask laughter) and Sodapop seemed on the verge of fainting. Horizon was still staring at the screen. "Blue Screen!" Silky blurted, "Where'd you get this?" "It's my laptop. It's my picture. A picture of me." He stared blankly at the screen, deep in thought. Staring back at him was a tall lithe figure with dark brown skin. His hair resembled the kinkiness of Blue Screen’s, but it was black. This particular being lacked a tail. He sat stretched out on a couch, smiling lopsidedly - nonchalantly - at the camera that had captured him. His eyes just barely looked up at it. On his lap sat a laptop... the same laptop that was in front of him now. One of his hands could be seen, although his fingers were blurry. It was clear that they were flying across the keys. “Lyra was right all this time...” sighed Brightshadow. “She’s not crazy...” breathed Sodapop. “Oh she’s crazy,” Blue Screen grunted, “But no, she wasn’t wrong.” He instructed the orange unicorn to cycle through the pictures. They watched in wonder as buildings taller than they had ever seen, higher than Canterlot’s castle, passed in front of their eyes. They saw pictures of a species they had never seen before. They wore clothes. Clothes all the time. They walked on two legs. They did not fly, nor did they seem to have magic. So these... these were humans. Just as the ponies had settled into a relaxed state that watching a slideshow can produce, the screen began to flash brightly, then distort. “What’s going on?” “Oh no! I was afraid this might happen!” The screen distorted further. Suddenly a very recognizable symbol appeared in the top-right corner of the screen. The imperial symbol of Equestria: Celestia’s cutiemark. Blue Screen stared at it in horror, his eyes shifting back and forth from the symbol to the middle of the screen. Slowly, ever so slowly, pictures that looked much like Twilight’s file folders began to disappear. “It’s wiping,” Blue Screen whimpered, “She put a spell on it to wipe it!” He whirled around and stared straight into Andromeda’s eyes. “You’ve got to stop it!” Andromeda seemed stunned at suddenly becoming important. Her eyes searched his before looking down. "I-I can't…" “You have to!” The purple earth pony turned away. The blue one’s eyes returned to the screen. Losing focus, they rolled wildly. Moisture was forming at the corners of them. Then he paused. His head snapped back, almost dangerously. “Lockin’ Key!” “Wha?!” No one seemed to be expected to be called on today. “I need to you turn into a data storage device! A kind that can fit into this opening here...” Blue Screen pointed to the side of his laptop. “I can only turn into keys, man.” “It’s like a key!” “I know what he’s talking about,” Andromeda piped. She seemed more sure of herself now. “We have them on my planet! There kind of small and boxy like... Well here...” Although she was an earth pony, Andromeda’s eyes began to glow green with strong magic. Lockin’ Key stared into them, and his eyes flashed for a moment. “Got it.” As soon as it was said, the body of the pegasus began to change form. It shrunk and rounded, then flattened out. Soon Lockin’ Key was nothing but a gray and red blob. The goop wavered between what seemed to be a crudely shaped key and a oblong rectangular block before settling on something in between. An oddly shaped, blocky sort of key, that had the ability to separate in the center. Blue Screen quickly instructed Sodapop on how to take the key-shaped-storage-device, open it, and stick it into the laptop. He then led him, again very quickly, through the process of saving information on it, as much as possible, since capacity of the device was read by the processor as ‘INF.’ which, Blue Screen guessed, could only mean infinity. He guessed those were perks of being a living object. “It’s overheating! Hurry up Sodapop!” “I’m going as fast as I can! These controls are weird!” “Blue Screen,” whimpered Andromeda, “Even I’m smart enough to know this is dangerous for him.” “Listen to her Blue!” cried Silky. “Nothing is that important,” groaned Brightshadow. “The screen is going blue!” Horizon shouted. “The screen is going blue...” sighed the blue earth pony, “Pull him out Sodapop.” The orange unicorn nodded and with great gusto yanked the live device out from the slot, and not a moment too soon. The computer flashed with a blue error screen and countless meaningless numbers before flashing white and crashing with an exaggerated bang. Smoke came pouring from every vent and opening. “Agh! Put it out before my house catches on fire! And my paintings!” Brightshadow screeched. Andromeda’s eyes flashed green again and out of nowhere a glob of water appeared above the smoking heap of microchips, hanging in the air. “What are you waiting for, and invitation!?” Unphased, Andromeda nodded once and the water dropped, dousing the laptop. “There it goes...” sighed Blue Screen, “My whole life is...” “Now in my head! Oh Celestia it actually worked!” Lockin’ Key was now back to his pony form and shaking his mane wildly. “Never in Tartarus will I do that again. Do you know how painful being cut in half was?” “You weren’t exactly cut.” Brightshadow eagerly offered that correction. “And no stallion should ever know that much about another stallion! Just no!” Everyone stared at him with bemused looks on their faces. Sodapop began to chuckle and Silky broke into wild laughter. “Dude,” the gray stallion wheeled on Blue, “Dude you’re into some weird horseshit.” Author's Note I hope you've enjoyed the introduction and this short chapter! Please comment with your thoughts, criticisms, and suggestions! Any help is appreciated! Chapter 2“So you’re just like us. Abnormal.” Silky leaned forward and sucked determinedly at her overly-iced blueberry milkshake. “I don’t see what’s so abnormal about you guys.” Blue Screen stared at the dandelion sandwich sitting on his plate. He sniffed it warily before wrinkling his nose in disgust and pushing the plate away. “Do you think every pegasus can turn into any kind of key on command?” Brightshadow whispered flatly. She eyed a mare trotting by, who considerately picked up her pace. “How about an earth pony using magic?” mumbled Silky. “Yeah, but she’s not...” “Shh!” Silky warned, “The fruit has ears!” The coral pegasus was referring to the cantearlope sitting on her plate. It was a joke, but Blue Screen got the point. These ponies were full of paranoia. “Sodapop and Horizon are pretty normal,” he offered. “Burping bubbles large enough to float on is pretty weird,” began Silky, “But his horn glows every time he does it, so I guess it’s part of his magical ability.” Brightshadow stared at her cup of creme brulee soda as if contemplating the idea of burping out giant bubbles. She seemed to decide against it as she scooted the cup away slightly with a hint of her magic. “Horizon,” she said, “Horizon is a foreigner, which makes him weird enough.” Silky looked up and smiled. “Speak of the Cerberus.” Horizon was treading up to the table with Lockin’ Key and Sodapop close behind, snickering loudly. The turquoise pegasus was large among Ponyville standards. He was at least three inches taller than any Ponyville stallion, and only about two inches shorter than the great goddess Celestia herself. There weren't many Ponyville stallions who sported exceptionally long manes or jewelry, but he proudly wore a long blonde ponytail, and kept it gathered with a silver band. A similar band at the base of his tail kept it slightly hiked in the air. A Saddle Arabian native, Horizon did not have the luxury of a cutiemark but instead flaunted a silver saddle with a long and regal purple saddle pad, with holes in the sides to allow his wings to come through. The pad had a symbol on it which he described as his family crest. When first arriving in Ponyville, the whispers about his “flamboyant” saddle and long mane began almost immediately. He tried to explain that it was simply the garb of his home country, and was actually quite plain, but no one paid much attention. Something about a thick accent they couldn't understand. It wasn't until he met Sodapop, then Lockin’ Key, and the rest of the collective did he find ponies that actually seemed interested in his heritage. The whispers eventually ended and he was treated quite civilly now, but there were times he still didn't feel respected. Something about him being an expatriated spy for the Griffins. He didn't pay attention to politics much. “You look puzzled Horizon,” Brightshadow droned. “What’s wrong Horizon?” Silky asked. Blue Screen looked up with with ears perked. Whatever was wrong with Horizon was probably much more interesting than the dandelion sandwich he was prodding. “Ponies keep running past me asking me if I’m sweet on Zecora. I think I understand the phrase ‘sweet on’. I’ve learned it has nothing to do with taste...” “It might have something to do with taste,” Sodapop snickered and Lockin’ Key gurgled with laughter. “...But I don’t even know who Zecora is!” “She’s a zebra who lives in the Everfree Forest,” Blue Screen said. Brightshadow and Silky looked at him as if they were surprised he knew this information. He was not one to care much about what anypony would consider common knowledge “That’s all I know,” he grunted before returning to prodding his sandwich, which was considerately flat and squishy by now. “Zebra? There are zebras in Equestria?” Horizon sounded shocked and fairly pleased. “Not normally,” Silky said, “She traveled here.” The Saddle Arabian’s face went downcast. “Oh... So just because she’s a foreigner like me, we somehow belong together.” “Now they don’t mean it like that Ho-” “How do they mean it then?” he snapped. Brightshadow saw this as an opportune time to change the subject. “What are you two snickering for?” she asked, looking back at Sodapop and Lockin’ Key. They looked at each other a moment and snickered some more before finding the voice to answer. “I asked Horizon if he tapped that plot,” Lockin’ Key answered, barely able to contain himself. Sodapop burst into laughter. Brightshadow’s eyes widened astronomically. “You asked him WHAT!?” Silky could see this was going to turn into an argument and she quickly stood. “Well, I have a lesson with Vinyl Scratch today. So if you excuse me...” and she quickly trotted away. Looking back she could see Horizon and Sodapop try to scoot out of the vicinity. Poor Blue Screen was left there sitting between the quarrel, prodding his dandelion sandwich. “Why would you ask him that!” “It’s not like I’m interested!” “You sure sound interested!” “I didn’t mean it like that, honest!” As famous as Vinyl Scratch is, it surprised Silky that she still resided in Ponyville. Surely she had the fame and fortune enough to move somewhere like Canterlot or Manehatten or even Applewood, Los Pegasus. She felt greatly honored that the unicorn had agreed to train her in the deejaying arts, but maybe all she really had to do was ask. Silky walked passed the mailbox that read Octavia and Vinyl Scratch (Octavia played a violin or something right?) and walked up the doorstep. She raised a hoof and rapped the door. There was no answer. She waited and did it again. This time there came a shout, from Octavia it sounded like (she plays oboe! No it it definitely has strings...), then there was the sound of hooves clambering through a large mess. This sounded odd to Silky because their house was never a mess. Octavia made sure of that, she had OCD (and plays the... cello!). But even Vinyl wasn't as messy as this sounded. The door opened a crack and Vinyl poked her head out. She looked left and right before even looking at who was in front of her and blinked blankly at Silky as if she didn't know who she was. “What’s up Vinyl?” “Hi-hi! Yo... What’s up? Um... what are you doing here?” Silky made a face. Was Vinyl suffering from amnesia? “I come here every Wednesday,” she said slowly, “For my lesson?” Vinyl shifted her eyes again before responding. “Yeah. Lesson. Yeah. Yeah! About that... I meant to call...” “Call?” Silky was thoroughly confused. “...But I forgot your number see.” “My number?” Vinyl was looking past her. Silky also turned around but didn't see anything of interest, just a few ponies walking by and smiling at them. The coral pegasus turned back around and waved a hoof in front of the white unicorn’s face. She flinched. “Number! Oh wait... right... never mind. Look Ms. Ribbon...” Ms. Ribbon? Where was that coming from? She and Vinyl were on a first name basis. “I can’t do it today. Maybe next week. I’ll let you know.” “Uh, ok.” Silky just stood on the stoop in shock as the door was practically slammed in her face. She barely registered what Vinyl had said. What she couldn't understand is how Vinyl could cancel like that, without saying anything. If the ponies in Ponyville were known for anything, it was being reliable. If they couldn't keep an appointment, they always let somepony know. Always! The coral pegasus turned around slowly and stepped off the stoop. She wondered how she would spend her Wednesday for the next hour. It would be weird just to show up somewhere, but she figured it would be ok to go to Sugarcube Corner. Pinkie Pie just exudes weird... Silky lifted her drooping head enough to see Blue Screen headed down the road. She called his name, loudly she thought, but he apparently didn't hear her, because he kept on walking without even turning around. Yes, he must not have heard me, because ponies in Ponyville are always polite. Always... Blue Screen had heard Silky Ribbon clearly, he just didn't feel like being bothered. Sure, she was his friend, but the annoyingness of her nature was second only to Pinkie Pie. Besides, he was expected somewhere, and Ponyville ponies always stuck to schedule right? Every Wednesday, between the hours of two and three, he'd head over to Lyra's place to listen to her babblings about humans. She was highly misinformed, but he still listened just to see how much was known. He wondered how she got information, and the little human nick-nacks she stashed. Something about a doctor. He wasn't fond of them. Today he had something for her. His laptop, which was blackened with smoke damage. He would've never let her handle it while it was in working order, but now he would let her tinker with it. She might even get it to work again like she did some other things. For an artifact this big she'd be ecstatic. She'd ask him where he got it. Crap. Blue Screen realized, too late, that he had forgotten to come up with a good excuse on how he'd acquired a human artifact. But he had already knocked on the door and it was clicking open and… "Oh, hi Bon Bon." "Blue Screen! Have you seen Lyra?" His eyes widened. "She's not here?" "No! And she didn't come home last night! I thought she might have gone to your place." Why would she do that? "I haven't seen her Bon Bon." "I'm going to Twilight's to ask her to organize a search party." Blue Screen looked Bon Bon up and down. She was a mess. Her mane was a tangled ball of blue and pink, not the neat rolls he was used to. Her cream coat was dull. Her eyes were large and red and it looked like she didn't sleep last night. As he watched her he saw her neck twitch. A nervous tick? “How about I go to Twilight’s place,” he offered, “You should get some rest.” “Oh thank you Blue Screen! You truly are a gentlecolt! I just need a quick nap and I’ll be sure to join the party.” “Take your time,” said Blue as he turned to leave. “This is Lyra we’re talking about. I shall take no time!” Blue Screen was near the road. “Oh! Blue Screen, dear!” He stopped. “Twilight’s house is the big library that looks like a tree.” Blue Screen mumbled his thanks and kept walking. Author's Note I'm sorry it took such a long time to post this. I wished to do a once-a-week posting, but being that it is the end of senior year, I've been really busy. Anyway, I should have plenty of time to write now that summer has started!
Introduction"What is this?" "Why don't you shut up and find out?" "How does this explain his cutiemark?" "Look at them! Don't you see the resemblance?" "Can someone turn the generator on for me please?" A sea blue earth pony, whose color seemed washed out, looked up sharply from his work. His short, kinky mane and tail, a dark washed-out blue-green, set him apart from the other six ponies in the room. Aside from his cutiemark that is. He waited as one pony went outside to flip the switch on what he called a generator. Another decided to turn out the lights for dramatic effect. Whatever was going to happen, he believed it would have lights. All the ponies in the room quieted their chatter. The blue pony pressed a button on the peculiar slate device and: DING. DIING. DIIING. DIIIING. Four tones much too loud for the huddle of ponies resounded around the room. A bright square light illuminated the mix of faces twisted in pain and confusion. Expressions softened as they got used to the brightness. "Woah!" "Pretty!" "It's a rainbow! A rainbow flag!" "What is this called Blue Screen?" asked a coral-pink pegasus, who traced the illuminating square thing with her hoof. "It's called a screen," the blue earth pony said in a near whisper. The coral one nodded slowly as if everything made sense to her now, her braided mane bobbing up and down. "And this whole thing is a lap-top!" announced a dark orange unicorn with blonde mane and tail, barely out of his colthood. He beamed as if he had just answered the million bit question. The yellow unicorn next to him snorted and pushed up her glasses. The orange one hung his head dejectedly, his bright red glasses sliding down his nose. "What's a Windows 7?" asked the yellow one. "If I'm not mistaken, it's what's on your houses yes?" This remark came from an overly-tall turquoise pegasus with a thick accent. "Yes Horizon, but why would seven of them be on the laptop?" "That's a bit complicated for you to understand right now." "Are you calling me stupid?" No response came from Blue Screen. The yellow unicorn opened her mouth to speak, but flame-red hair tickled her ear. "Let it go Brightshadow," said the silver-gray horse beside her. His tail was swishing, as if physically materializing the calmness of his demeanor. "It's too complicated for all of us right now," he breathed. Brightshadow tensed for a moment then relaxed. Lockin' Key was right. Blue Screen began to type. Rather, he attempted to. His breath quickened as he desperately began pounding keys. Silky Ribbon worriedly placed a hoof on his shoulder, her braided mane tickling his side. He seemed to calm down a moment, then suddenly became enraged. "THESE BUCKING HOOVES!" He attempted to flip the laptop, but Andromeda braced it. Her spiky off-black and sky-blue mane, spiked hard with immense amounts of hair gel, practically did the work for her. Blue Screen frantically paced around the room, seemingly thinking. Silky watched him worriedly, hurt shining bright in her red eyes. It wasn't until now that the orange pony finally lifted his head. "I could press them… with my telekenesis." Brightshadow snorted and Andromeda looked away shamefully. "You're a genius Sodapop!" Blue Screen practically whinnied as he skidded back in front if the device. The orange unicorn stood by him as he spoke in hushed tones, then used his power to gently click the corresponding keys. The surrounding ponies watched in awe as things began appearing on screen as quickly as Nightmare Moon had been vanquished. "Here it is…" The clicking and screen changing had occurred for a while, entrancing the ponies into a zombie-like state. At the sound of Blue Screen's voice however, they snapped to attention. They huddled closer together (if that was possible) to stare at what had caught the pony's attention in the vast void of the laptop. They stared… …and a collective gasp bounced off the walls.
Chapter 1At the sound of Blue Screen's voice, they snapped to attention. They huddled closer together (if that was possible) to stare at what had caught the pony's attention in the vast void of the laptop. They stared... …And collective gasp bounced off the walls. It was a long moment before anyone spoke. "Five fingers… five toes…" puffed Silky, her long braid rubbing against her heaving chest. "That's… that's ah… ah… a…" stuttered Brightshadow, unable to complete her thought. "Human," Blue Screen offered flatly. At that, Andromeda began coughing uncontrollably (perhaps she was trying to mask laughter) and Sodapop seemed on the verge of fainting. Horizon was still staring at the screen. "Blue Screen!" Silky blurted, "Where'd you get this?" "It's my laptop. It's my picture. A picture of me." He stared blankly at the screen, deep in thought. Staring back at him was a tall lithe figure with dark brown skin. His hair resembled the kinkiness of Blue Screen’s, but it was black. This particular being lacked a tail. He sat stretched out on a couch, smiling lopsidedly - nonchalantly - at the camera that had captured him. His eyes just barely looked up at it. On his lap sat a laptop... the same laptop that was in front of him now. One of his hands could be seen, although his fingers were blurry. It was clear that they were flying across the keys. “Lyra was right all this time...” sighed Brightshadow. “She’s not crazy...” breathed Sodapop. “Oh she’s crazy,” Blue Screen grunted, “But no, she wasn’t wrong.” He instructed the orange unicorn to cycle through the pictures. They watched in wonder as buildings taller than they had ever seen, higher than Canterlot’s castle, passed in front of their eyes. They saw pictures of a species they had never seen before. They wore clothes. Clothes all the time. They walked on two legs. They did not fly, nor did they seem to have magic. So these... these were humans. Just as the ponies had settled into a relaxed state that watching a slideshow can produce, the screen began to flash brightly, then distort. “What’s going on?” “Oh no! I was afraid this might happen!” The screen distorted further. Suddenly a very recognizable symbol appeared in the top-right corner of the screen. The imperial symbol of Equestria: Celestia’s cutiemark. Blue Screen stared at it in horror, his eyes shifting back and forth from the symbol to the middle of the screen. Slowly, ever so slowly, pictures that looked much like Twilight’s file folders began to disappear. “It’s wiping,” Blue Screen whimpered, “She put a spell on it to wipe it!” He whirled around and stared straight into Andromeda’s eyes. “You’ve got to stop it!” Andromeda seemed stunned at suddenly becoming important. Her eyes searched his before looking down. "I-I can't…" “You have to!” The purple earth pony turned away. The blue one’s eyes returned to the screen. Losing focus, they rolled wildly. Moisture was forming at the corners of them. Then he paused. His head snapped back, almost dangerously. “Lockin’ Key!” “Wha?!” No one seemed to be expected to be called on today. “I need to you turn into a data storage device! A kind that can fit into this opening here...” Blue Screen pointed to the side of his laptop. “I can only turn into keys, man.” “It’s like a key!” “I know what he’s talking about,” Andromeda piped. She seemed more sure of herself now. “We have them on my planet! There kind of small and boxy like... Well here...” Although she was an earth pony, Andromeda’s eyes began to glow green with strong magic. Lockin’ Key stared into them, and his eyes flashed for a moment. “Got it.” As soon as it was said, the body of the pegasus began to change form. It shrunk and rounded, then flattened out. Soon Lockin’ Key was nothing but a gray and red blob. The goop wavered between what seemed to be a crudely shaped key and a oblong rectangular block before settling on something in between. An oddly shaped, blocky sort of key, that had the ability to separate in the center. Blue Screen quickly instructed Sodapop on how to take the key-shaped-storage-device, open it, and stick it into the laptop. He then led him, again very quickly, through the process of saving information on it, as much as possible, since capacity of the device was read by the processor as ‘INF.’ which, Blue Screen guessed, could only mean infinity. He guessed those were perks of being a living object. “It’s overheating! Hurry up Sodapop!” “I’m going as fast as I can! These controls are weird!” “Blue Screen,” whimpered Andromeda, “Even I’m smart enough to know this is dangerous for him.” “Listen to her Blue!” cried Silky. “Nothing is that important,” groaned Brightshadow. “The screen is going blue!” Horizon shouted. “The screen is going blue...” sighed the blue earth pony, “Pull him out Sodapop.” The orange unicorn nodded and with great gusto yanked the live device out from the slot, and not a moment too soon. The computer flashed with a blue error screen and countless meaningless numbers before flashing white and crashing with an exaggerated bang. Smoke came pouring from every vent and opening. “Agh! Put it out before my house catches on fire! And my paintings!” Brightshadow screeched. Andromeda’s eyes flashed green again and out of nowhere a glob of water appeared above the smoking heap of microchips, hanging in the air. “What are you waiting for, and invitation!?” Unphased, Andromeda nodded once and the water dropped, dousing the laptop. “There it goes...” sighed Blue Screen, “My whole life is...” “Now in my head! Oh Celestia it actually worked!” Lockin’ Key was now back to his pony form and shaking his mane wildly. “Never in Tartarus will I do that again. Do you know how painful being cut in half was?” “You weren’t exactly cut.” Brightshadow eagerly offered that correction. “And no stallion should ever know that much about another stallion! Just no!” Everyone stared at him with bemused looks on their faces. Sodapop began to chuckle and Silky broke into wild laughter. “Dude,” the gray stallion wheeled on Blue, “Dude you’re into some weird horseshit.” Author's Note I hope you've enjoyed the introduction and this short chapter! Please comment with your thoughts, criticisms, and suggestions! Any help is appreciated!
Chapter 2“So you’re just like us. Abnormal.” Silky leaned forward and sucked determinedly at her overly-iced blueberry milkshake. “I don’t see what’s so abnormal about you guys.” Blue Screen stared at the dandelion sandwich sitting on his plate. He sniffed it warily before wrinkling his nose in disgust and pushing the plate away. “Do you think every pegasus can turn into any kind of key on command?” Brightshadow whispered flatly. She eyed a mare trotting by, who considerately picked up her pace. “How about an earth pony using magic?” mumbled Silky. “Yeah, but she’s not...” “Shh!” Silky warned, “The fruit has ears!” The coral pegasus was referring to the cantearlope sitting on her plate. It was a joke, but Blue Screen got the point. These ponies were full of paranoia. “Sodapop and Horizon are pretty normal,” he offered. “Burping bubbles large enough to float on is pretty weird,” began Silky, “But his horn glows every time he does it, so I guess it’s part of his magical ability.” Brightshadow stared at her cup of creme brulee soda as if contemplating the idea of burping out giant bubbles. She seemed to decide against it as she scooted the cup away slightly with a hint of her magic. “Horizon,” she said, “Horizon is a foreigner, which makes him weird enough.” Silky looked up and smiled. “Speak of the Cerberus.” Horizon was treading up to the table with Lockin’ Key and Sodapop close behind, snickering loudly. The turquoise pegasus was large among Ponyville standards. He was at least three inches taller than any Ponyville stallion, and only about two inches shorter than the great goddess Celestia herself. There weren't many Ponyville stallions who sported exceptionally long manes or jewelry, but he proudly wore a long blonde ponytail, and kept it gathered with a silver band. A similar band at the base of his tail kept it slightly hiked in the air. A Saddle Arabian native, Horizon did not have the luxury of a cutiemark but instead flaunted a silver saddle with a long and regal purple saddle pad, with holes in the sides to allow his wings to come through. The pad had a symbol on it which he described as his family crest. When first arriving in Ponyville, the whispers about his “flamboyant” saddle and long mane began almost immediately. He tried to explain that it was simply the garb of his home country, and was actually quite plain, but no one paid much attention. Something about a thick accent they couldn't understand. It wasn't until he met Sodapop, then Lockin’ Key, and the rest of the collective did he find ponies that actually seemed interested in his heritage. The whispers eventually ended and he was treated quite civilly now, but there were times he still didn't feel respected. Something about him being an expatriated spy for the Griffins. He didn't pay attention to politics much. “You look puzzled Horizon,” Brightshadow droned. “What’s wrong Horizon?” Silky asked. Blue Screen looked up with with ears perked. Whatever was wrong with Horizon was probably much more interesting than the dandelion sandwich he was prodding. “Ponies keep running past me asking me if I’m sweet on Zecora. I think I understand the phrase ‘sweet on’. I’ve learned it has nothing to do with taste...” “It might have something to do with taste,” Sodapop snickered and Lockin’ Key gurgled with laughter. “...But I don’t even know who Zecora is!” “She’s a zebra who lives in the Everfree Forest,” Blue Screen said. Brightshadow and Silky looked at him as if they were surprised he knew this information. He was not one to care much about what anypony would consider common knowledge “That’s all I know,” he grunted before returning to prodding his sandwich, which was considerately flat and squishy by now. “Zebra? There are zebras in Equestria?” Horizon sounded shocked and fairly pleased. “Not normally,” Silky said, “She traveled here.” The Saddle Arabian’s face went downcast. “Oh... So just because she’s a foreigner like me, we somehow belong together.” “Now they don’t mean it like that Ho-” “How do they mean it then?” he snapped. Brightshadow saw this as an opportune time to change the subject. “What are you two snickering for?” she asked, looking back at Sodapop and Lockin’ Key. They looked at each other a moment and snickered some more before finding the voice to answer. “I asked Horizon if he tapped that plot,” Lockin’ Key answered, barely able to contain himself. Sodapop burst into laughter. Brightshadow’s eyes widened astronomically. “You asked him WHAT!?” Silky could see this was going to turn into an argument and she quickly stood. “Well, I have a lesson with Vinyl Scratch today. So if you excuse me...” and she quickly trotted away. Looking back she could see Horizon and Sodapop try to scoot out of the vicinity. Poor Blue Screen was left there sitting between the quarrel, prodding his dandelion sandwich. “Why would you ask him that!” “It’s not like I’m interested!” “You sure sound interested!” “I didn’t mean it like that, honest!” As famous as Vinyl Scratch is, it surprised Silky that she still resided in Ponyville. Surely she had the fame and fortune enough to move somewhere like Canterlot or Manehatten or even Applewood, Los Pegasus. She felt greatly honored that the unicorn had agreed to train her in the deejaying arts, but maybe all she really had to do was ask. Silky walked passed the mailbox that read Octavia and Vinyl Scratch (Octavia played a violin or something right?) and walked up the doorstep. She raised a hoof and rapped the door. There was no answer. She waited and did it again. This time there came a shout, from Octavia it sounded like (she plays oboe! No it it definitely has strings...), then there was the sound of hooves clambering through a large mess. This sounded odd to Silky because their house was never a mess. Octavia made sure of that, she had OCD (and plays the... cello!). But even Vinyl wasn't as messy as this sounded. The door opened a crack and Vinyl poked her head out. She looked left and right before even looking at who was in front of her and blinked blankly at Silky as if she didn't know who she was. “What’s up Vinyl?” “Hi-hi! Yo... What’s up? Um... what are you doing here?” Silky made a face. Was Vinyl suffering from amnesia? “I come here every Wednesday,” she said slowly, “For my lesson?” Vinyl shifted her eyes again before responding. “Yeah. Lesson. Yeah. Yeah! About that... I meant to call...” “Call?” Silky was thoroughly confused. “...But I forgot your number see.” “My number?” Vinyl was looking past her. Silky also turned around but didn't see anything of interest, just a few ponies walking by and smiling at them. The coral pegasus turned back around and waved a hoof in front of the white unicorn’s face. She flinched. “Number! Oh wait... right... never mind. Look Ms. Ribbon...” Ms. Ribbon? Where was that coming from? She and Vinyl were on a first name basis. “I can’t do it today. Maybe next week. I’ll let you know.” “Uh, ok.” Silky just stood on the stoop in shock as the door was practically slammed in her face. She barely registered what Vinyl had said. What she couldn't understand is how Vinyl could cancel like that, without saying anything. If the ponies in Ponyville were known for anything, it was being reliable. If they couldn't keep an appointment, they always let somepony know. Always! The coral pegasus turned around slowly and stepped off the stoop. She wondered how she would spend her Wednesday for the next hour. It would be weird just to show up somewhere, but she figured it would be ok to go to Sugarcube Corner. Pinkie Pie just exudes weird... Silky lifted her drooping head enough to see Blue Screen headed down the road. She called his name, loudly she thought, but he apparently didn't hear her, because he kept on walking without even turning around. Yes, he must not have heard me, because ponies in Ponyville are always polite. Always... Blue Screen had heard Silky Ribbon clearly, he just didn't feel like being bothered. Sure, she was his friend, but the annoyingness of her nature was second only to Pinkie Pie. Besides, he was expected somewhere, and Ponyville ponies always stuck to schedule right? Every Wednesday, between the hours of two and three, he'd head over to Lyra's place to listen to her babblings about humans. She was highly misinformed, but he still listened just to see how much was known. He wondered how she got information, and the little human nick-nacks she stashed. Something about a doctor. He wasn't fond of them. Today he had something for her. His laptop, which was blackened with smoke damage. He would've never let her handle it while it was in working order, but now he would let her tinker with it. She might even get it to work again like she did some other things. For an artifact this big she'd be ecstatic. She'd ask him where he got it. Crap. Blue Screen realized, too late, that he had forgotten to come up with a good excuse on how he'd acquired a human artifact. But he had already knocked on the door and it was clicking open and… "Oh, hi Bon Bon." "Blue Screen! Have you seen Lyra?" His eyes widened. "She's not here?" "No! And she didn't come home last night! I thought she might have gone to your place." Why would she do that? "I haven't seen her Bon Bon." "I'm going to Twilight's to ask her to organize a search party." Blue Screen looked Bon Bon up and down. She was a mess. Her mane was a tangled ball of blue and pink, not the neat rolls he was used to. Her cream coat was dull. Her eyes were large and red and it looked like she didn't sleep last night. As he watched her he saw her neck twitch. A nervous tick? “How about I go to Twilight’s place,” he offered, “You should get some rest.” “Oh thank you Blue Screen! You truly are a gentlecolt! I just need a quick nap and I’ll be sure to join the party.” “Take your time,” said Blue as he turned to leave. “This is Lyra we’re talking about. I shall take no time!” Blue Screen was near the road. “Oh! Blue Screen, dear!” He stopped. “Twilight’s house is the big library that looks like a tree.” Blue Screen mumbled his thanks and kept walking. Author's Note I'm sorry it took such a long time to post this. I wished to do a once-a-week posting, but being that it is the end of senior year, I've been really busy. Anyway, I should have plenty of time to write now that summer has started!
