//------------------------------// // The Morning After // Story: Freeze // by Timeless River //------------------------------// Chapter 2 Morning came. The sun was bright, the sky was blue, the world was inviting. A ray of light cast itself upon a closed red eyelid, making the fur gleam as a fresh apple might. The eyelid fidgeted under the light and half-opened. The ray of light caught the eye by surprise, and it blinked shut. The red pony that the eye belonged to shifted in attempt to stay asleep. But that shifting was what woke him up enough that he couldn't go back to sleep. Back to comfort. The red pegasus rolled over, eyes still closed, aqua mane a disaster on his head. He desperately wanted to go back to sleep, but that sleep wasn't coming. Reluctantly, Streak opened his eyes. The brightness of day assaulted his eyes, rendering him momentarily unable to see. He blinked through the phase. Then an idea struck; What was the time? Streak glanced at the digital clock on the dresser. Noon. It was just- Wait. It was noon. They'd slept half the day away! Streak rose to wobbly hooves and trudged over to the bathroom. He looked at his reflection groggily and fumbled for his comb. The normally straight-standing mass was flattened and jumbled. Leaves and sticks were interspersed throughout his mane. He looked like he had been running around in a shedding forest. Which he had. This would take awhile. By the time Streak had finished straightening his mane, Prism was up and in the hallway, heading downstairs. Her mane was a forest despite the fact that it looked combed. "Mornin’," she mumbled, not fully awake. In fact, her stride seemed more habit that consciousness. Prism clopped down the stairs, Streak's eyes following her tail. Streak walked into his room, intending to make his bed. However, his bed seemed untouched. He traced the outline of his bed with his eyes and went down. There was a pony-sized indent in the floor. Well, there was that mystery. From downstairs, a shriek came. Downstairs... That's where Prism was! Streak opened his wings and took off, blazing a blue trail down the stairs. "YOU'RE A MESS." The volume of that sentence was enough to throw off even a world-class flyer such as Streak, and send him careening into the wooden floor of the tree. The hearty thump of his impact caused the dark-coated unicorn to notice him. Prism was laying a foot from where she was standing previously, cradling her head. Otherwise, she appeared to be unhurt. The unicorn's piercing orange eyes were set on Streak with an intensity that made him shiver. He stood up, trying to reconjure the confidence that sent him flying down the stairs. But it shriveled and waned under the glare. Also, there was something just plain wrong with the unicorn. It wasn't the coat or mane, despite the fact that they were rare colorations. Nor was it her eyes... But above, her horn... Half of her horn was snapped clean off. Upon closer inspection, the strange mare had skeletal-looking wings, held together by a soft golden light, with blade-like wingbones. Streak's mind reeled. He took a step back. Looked away. Looked back. Rubbed his eyes and blinked a couple times. No. It was true. The 'unicorn,' if that was what she was, had wings and a broken horn. "What do you want?" The words cut through his stupor, bringing him out of his mind. "I asked you a question, pegasus." The unicorn was speaking. Her voice was feminine, but had an unusual roughness to it, as if she had emotionally been through a lot. "Stop standing there with your mouth wide open and answer." Streak cleared his throat and dredged up his confidence. "Get away from Prism. You're hurting... her..." Streak trailed off as the scene seemed to change drastically. Prism was no longer on the floor with her ears covered. The unicorn was no longer standing above Prism. Prism was now up and in the unicorn's face, jabbing her hoof threateningly. The unicorn focused, as if she was going to use magic. Her horn glowed dimly, and began to spark. Prism hopped back, startled. The glow of the unicorn's magic flickered and shimmered, obviously needing lots of energy to maintain. The glow died suddenly, with more sparks popping out of the unicorn's horn. The unicorn recoiled, obviously in pain from trying to cast a spell. Upon seeing the unicorn recoil in pain, Prism was instantly apologetic. "Oh, I'm sorry! Did I-" "I don't need your apology." The unicorn turned her head as if in pain, although her face showed resentment for a split second. "I'm fine." There was silence while the unicorn recovered. Outside, the sun was high in the sky, a little past the noon position. Birdcalls echoed through the air, creating a beautiful melody. It was a good day to be outside. “Could you two stop arguing? We’ve only just got up.” Streak’s voice attracted two surprised glances, seeing as the two mares had forgotten him. “I mean, I heard Prism scream, so I thought something was wrong.” Streak shook his head and snorted. “Seriously. Some ponies.” Streak proceeded past the two mares and into the kitchen. Actually, it would be a good idea to introduce themselves to the mare they rescued. Maybe then she wouldn’t have so much a temper. He turned around and trotted loudly into the living room, making his presence known. “Um, we forgot to introduce ourselves. I think we’ve started out on the wrong hoof.” Streak endured harsh glares from the unicorn. “My name is Streak, and this is my friend Prism Harpsicord.” Streak received a look from Prism “Pleased to meet you.” “Oh, now you decide to be nice? After your marefriend yells at me?” The unicorn laughed. “Nice try.” “First off, it wasn’t me who told her to be hostile to you. I’m trying to be nice to you,” Streak said, getting annoyed. “Secondly, she’s not my marefriend. She’s just a friend.” “Sure seems like it,” the unicorn mumbled under her breath. She regarded Streak with interest, thinking about his request. She came to a decision. “My name is… Dear Celestia.” She trailed off unsure. Surprise became evident on her face when she realized what was happening. She began whispering uncertainly. “My name is… Equ… Ine? Erde? Nox? My head, why does it hurt?” “Are you okay?” Streak asked. Prism moved to comfort the aching unicorn, but Streak blocked her with a hoof. “It would be better if you didn’t.” “My name… Is… Nox.” The unicorn’s voice returned to normal tone and volume. “My name is Nox.” Nox flared her wings at the affirmation of the statement. “When is your Summer Sun Celebration?” “Summer Sun… Er, what?” Prism spoke up at this point taking over for Streak, who headed towards the kitchen again intent on making breakfast. Streak wasn’t all that good with dates, anyways. “There’s no such thing.” “Solstice festival? Independence celebration?” Nox asked. “Well, we have the Independence festival, but-” “When is it?” “In a week.” Prism regarded Nox, who stared right back. Nox broke the ensuing silence with a question: “Where am I, and what’s the date?” “You’re in New Ponyville, and it’s the 15th of Summer, year 280/Acorn, Monday” .At first Prism was surprised, but then she realized that she had picked up Nox from ruins in the Everfree forest. Who knows how long she could have been there? Another awkward silence followed, with the interspersed sounds of Streak cooking. _-~-_-~-_-~-_ “Breakfast is ready!” Streak’s call came into the living room, breaking the tension. Both Nox and Prism quickly entered the kitchen, and seated themselves as far away as they could from each other. The effort was actually rather futile, due to the fact that the table was a small table that could seat six at maximum, when all sides were filled. This maneuver, however, was not lost on Streak. “Today we have salads with cheese.” As Streak set each pony’s plates at the table, the tension began to increase again. Nox shifted in her seat, slight uncomfortable. Prism agitatedly picked at her wings. Streak himself sat down to eat, fully aware of the uncomfortable mares. “…So, Nox.” Streak began, attempting the break the silence. “Where are you from?” “Ponyville,” was her response. “New Ponyville?” Streak asked, trying to push past Nox’s uncooperative air. “No, just Ponyville. The one New Ponyville was built for.” Nox elaborated a little more, but still wasn’t conversational. “What happened to the original Ponyville?” “I don’t know.” “Hmm.” Streak said. This wasn’t working. Subject change time. “So, you’re going to be staying with us until the Fest, right?” “Fest? You mean the Independence festival? Yes. Until then.” Nox fumbled with the utensils, not really knowing how to eat with her hooves. “So, um, I called a friend to come over to help you blend in.” Streak paused. “A broken unicorn horn and magical-looking wings don’t, uh, exactly go over well with the general public.” He paused again, expecting a “why” response. He got none. Nox had quit fussing with the utensils and ate directly off of the plate, effectively cutting off all conversation. “When’s he coming over?” Prism asked between bites of her own salad. “She should be coming soon.” Streak corrected. He stood up and began to collect dishes as everypony was finishing up their food. An awkward silence settled on to the room due to the fact that with no food to occupy them, they’d have to talk with each other. Nox impatiently tapped her hooves, her mane and coat shining with luster that only the darkest colors can manage. She flared her wings, which were each like blades on their own and connected by an ethereal golden light. Together, they formed wings. Nox's orange eyes roved around uncomfortably, their color contrasting sharply with her coloration. Her dark violet mane was a mop above her head, hair sticking out in every direction. Her tail wasn't looking much better, either. It was matted and in need of a good grooming. DING-DONG went the doorbell. “Oh, here she is now.” Streak rose from the table and went into the living room to answer the door. At the door were two mares. One was a faded yellow earthpony with a rich purple mane. The other was a faded pink unicorn whose long apple-green mane fell over into her face, obscuring one eye. Whereas the former had an air of excitement and of someone who liked to be with others, the latter seemed to be a solitary creature, giving off a downtrodden air of boredom. “Hey Violet. Hey Pink Lady.” Streak greeted his friends at the door and gestured for them to come in. “We’re in the kitchen.” “Hi Streak, what’s new? What’s up? How’s life been treatin’ ya? Me? I’ve been fine, I mean what really happens around here. Srsly. What we need is- hmmph! Pinshyyy!” Violet fired off a torrent of words as she walked in. The mare beside her stuffed her hoof into Violet’s mouth, cutting of the stream of babble. “Hey Streak,” Pink Lady said. “I really didn’t feel like listening to her right now.” “As I was saying,” Streak began as the three walked into the kitchen. “I have a mare that I need to disguise. She’s over there at the table.” Streak pointed to Nox. “I need you to hide her horn and wings.” “But if she’s a unicorn,” Violet cut in, “why do you need Pinks here to disguise her?” Nox glared at Violet, who obviously hadn’t yet noticed the obvious. Pink Lady observed Nox to see what needed to be done. She turned to Streak. “Pegasus?” “Earth pony,” Nox interjected. “Why an earthpony?” Violet turned towards Nox. “Why not a pegasus? You have wings, all Pinks has to do is-“ “I can’t use my wings,” Nox interrupted without looking at Violet. “Now, who’s going to disguise me?” Nox turned to Streak. “I thought you hired a disguise specialist.” “He did.” Violet responded before Streak could open his mouth. “Pinks here is a whiz with disguises! And I should know.” Violet smiled a wide smile. “Anyways-” Pink Lady began. “That pony-” Nox pointed at Pink Lady “has an apple for a cutie mark. Not exactly what a disguise specialist should have. You-” Nox shot another glare at Violet “have a liquor-related cutie mark. I don’t know if I can trust you not to be a drunk.” “She is NOT a drunk,” Pink Lady responded angrily. “She is a respectable mare that HAPPENS to have an alcohol-related Mark. Is there a problem?” “Yes, there’s a problem. Neither of you are fit to-” Nox’s hastily compiled argument was cut short by hoof thrust into her mouth, due to Pink Lady. “Shut up and sit still,” growled Pink Lady. Her horn lit up with stormy grey light that matched her eyes as the faded pink unicorn cast a spell. The light covered Nox’s horn and wings. They went from completely opaque, to translucent, to transparent, to seemingly nonexistent. As Nox’s horn disappeared, her mane rearranged so that it didn’t seem like there was a horn in the first place. “Finished. You can breathe now.” Pink Lady stood back to admire her handiwork. Nox took a ragged breath and galloped off the kitchen sink to appraise her reflection. “A bit tense, isn’t she?” Violet commented. “I mean, really. What’s her deal about our Marks? Or, ‘cutie marks,’ as she called them.” “Uh, Streak?” Prism spoke up for the first time in awhile. “I think that you forgot to introduce our friends to Nox…” “Does it really matter?” Pink Lady asked. Prism gasped. “Yes it does matter! It’s very rude to not introduce friends to one another!” “Nox,” Streak called. Hearing her name, Nox turned and ear towards the conversation. Seeing this, Streak continued. “The mare with the pink coat, green mane and grey eyes is Pink Lady. The peppy one with a yellow coat and violet mane is… well, Violet.” Satisfied with her reflection, Nox turned back towards the conversation and took in the two ponies. “Sorry about that, we must have come off as hostile or something! But nice to meet you anyways!” Violet said. “Oh! We should-” “Really be going,” Pink Lady said, cutting off whatever Violet was about to say. “But-” “Come on.” Pink Lady trotted towards the door, forcing Violet to come along with her. After pushing Violet out of the house, Pink Lady turned around to say her goodbyes. “Nice you meet you, Nox. Hope we can get to know each other later. Sorry if I came off a bit harsh. Bye.” The sky was purple-pink in sunset, as the sun capped New Ponyville’s buildings on its descent. Streetlights were turning on, the sidewalk-inlaid bulbs giving off soft pseudo-natural light and illuminating the night. Inside the cloud-tree, the three ponies were back in the living room. Streak was rummaging around in the shelves that ringed the room, while Prism and Nox waited patiently on the floor. “Aha!” Streak deftly pulled a box from the bottom of a stack of books. “Monopony! The classic real estate game. Actually, it’s rumored that this game was played before the wars.” “The rules are easy to learn,” Prism added, speaking to Nox, “so you shouldn’t have any difficulty learning. Unlike Risk.” “Risk isn’t that hard to learn,” Streak protested, setting down the Monopony game and opening it. “It’s just… somewhat complicated.” “Can we just start already?” Nox cut in. “Sure,” Prism said. “What piece do you want?” Nox responded instantly. “The alicorn.” “Alicorn?” “Yes, the alicorn.” “There’s no alicorn,” Prism said, confused. At the same time, Streak asked “What’s an alicorn?” A/N- I am terrible at names. Simply terrible. "New Ponyville?" -insert obligatory DW joke- I didn't even rename Risk. Goddamn, I need a pre-reader.