//------------------------------//
// Chapter 3 
// Story: The Adventures of Color Splash 
// by Penguifyer 
//------------------------------//

“Eeeeeek!”
Night jumped at a screech from the bathroom. Concerned, he trotted over to the bathroom and placed his ear against the door. Color had a date in thirty minutes. Prior to the scream, Night had never seen her so excited, especially since Mom died eight years ago.
“No-no-no, there’s no way that’s correct!” A small scuttle echoed through the door, followed by a pause and then an “Ahhhh!”
Night stepped away from the door just as Color burst through it, knocking him over. “Night, I need your help!”
He stood up and brushed himself off. “Ok, what’s wrong?”
She inhaled. “I need you to check something for me.”
He blinked. “Uh, okay?” It couldn’t possibly be that easy.
Night followed her into the bathroom as she stopped in front of the scale. It was one of those fancy, "digital" scales the humans made. Dad bought it to help himself lose weight, making Color and Night suspect he was dating around.
She let out a deep breath. “Watch the numbers for me.” She stepped on the scale. The numbers slowly climbed up past 50 pounds, 100 pounds, and settled on 112. “Do you see what I see?”
He did a double-take. Dad complained about being 107, and Night himself was 96. As far as he knew, healthy mares rarely topped 100. What perplexed him was that Color looked normal, if not a tad thin. Something was fishy here, but investigating now could ruin her evening.
He let out a deep breath and smiled. “Color, you look fine.”
Her eyes twitched. “How am I supposed to believe that? I weigh more than Dad!”
“I mean it, Color. You look fine.”
“What kind of guy wants to date a mare who weighs one twelve?!”
“And do you want me to measure your barrel to prove it?”
She paused. With a jolt, she dashed to the cabinet, fished out a roll of measuring tape and tossed it to Night. He caught it with a levitation spell and sighed. Unraveling the roll, he levitated it under and around Color’s barrel, tightened the strip, and noticed something odd.
“What does it say?” she prodded.
He raised his hoof and poked her in the side. She winced. “Uh, what was that?”
“Just checking something,” he assured her while confirming his suspicion. Her body felt surprisingly firm, much more than he remembered.
He shuffled to her side and squinted at the tape. “Yeah, I have no idea what twenty-eight inches mean?”
“Twenty-eight?” She fell back and brought her hooves to her head.  “How the hell am I twenty-eight inches and a hundred and twenty-two pounds?”
“Don’t worry about it.” He sat down next to her and wrapped a foreleg around. “You look fine. And if he doesn’t like what he sees, I don’t think he deserves you.” He gave her a squeeze. She was definitely firmer than she used to be. Hell, she was firmer than anypony he knew.
She looked down. “Do you really think that?”
“Why wouldn’t I? You are my baby sister after all.”
She leaned back into him and he hugged her back. After a pause, Night broke the silence. “So, when’s that date arriving?”
“Shit!” She pushed off of Night and dashed out of the bathroom and to the window. Peaking through the blinds, she jumped and called out to Night. “He’s here!” She darted for the door while waving to Night. “I’ll see you in a couple hours or so.”
Night watched her meet up with her date and walk into town through the window. Shutting the blinds, he walked to the couch, sat down, and smiled. Color’s weight confused him, especially considering her healthy build. However, tonight was her night and he had no intention of spoiling it.

— — — 

Color stared out the train window watching her home drift away. Yesterday, she finally convinced Saul to take her with him. Now it was actually happening. Saul, sitting beside her, noticed her staring. “Never been away from home?”
“Not really.” She leaned back into her chair as New Ponyville faded from view. “I went to Canterlot once as a filly, but apart from that, I don’t remember ever leaving town.”
“Maybe you’ll catch the travel bug. I guess it’s one of the nice things about my job. I’ve seen some pretty cool places.”
“Your job…” Color paused. “I want to ask you about that. What is a human like you doing in Equestria?”
“Me? I’m on duty.”
She turned toward him, recalling that phrase. “What do you mean by ‘on duty?’”
“I’m with the AUN.”
“The what?”
“Armies of the United Nations.”
Color stared at him dumbfounded.
He sighed. “The global human military?”
“Oh, they pop up on TV every so often. Wait, you’re a soldier?”
“Well, yes… kinda." Saul looked around the coach to see if anypony was listening before lowering his voice. "I’m with TA specifically.” She raised an eyebrow. “Terra Angeli; just don’t worry about it. Anyway, my assignment is to patrol Equestria and to make sure things don’t get out of hand. At least, that’s what you need to know.”
Color brought a hoof to her chin. “Now that I think about it, I guess it makes sense. My dad told me that it’s difficult for ponies to leave Equestria and for humans to come in.”
“It’s not just difficult. The AUN keeps a strict record of every human who enters, leaves, is born in, or even dies in Equestria. To a certain degree, our movements are even tracked. Thing is, the human that was seen with Meaty is not registered at all. Moreover, I’d guess he’s the one who abducted your brother.”
That last line stung. She looked away and stared out the window, not knowing what to say.
The ride to Canterlot only lasted two hours, most of which Color spent staring out the window as Saul fiddled with an assortment of papers. Pulling into Canterlot, Color’s eyes widened at the sight. Multitudes of trains occupied dozens of platforms as bells and whistles blended with intercom announcements. Low engine hums interrupted by screeching brakes echoed throughout the station. The whole place held a chaotic, yet exciting energy.
As they stepped off the train, the noise bombarded her ears as the advertisements and glowing lights nauseated her brain. Herds of ponies boarding and leaving trains flowed through the corridors. Dizzy, Color stumbled down the platform as Saul dragged her along, grinning.
“You really don’t get out, do you?”
“Barely, let alone Canterlot,” she scoffed. 
He mumbled a “ha” as he dragged her to a bench and sat. “We’ll only be here for an hour, anyway. Enjoy it while you can.”
She nodded, breathing in and out in order to control herself. Of the countless advertisements and neon lights, a sign of a human man stuck out to her. A pink athletic jacket and pants, the shade of pink that’s flamboyant and masculine at the same time, accented his muscular form while a pink cap topped a cocky grin. His somewhat darker hair and skin contrasted Saul’s.
“Do you know him?”
“Who?’
Color pointed to the sign which read “new album next week.”
“I do, actually. What does he call himself again?” He paused. “Ah, Triple Diamond.”
“Ooh, I know him. My school friends used to fangirl hard on him. Never was a fan of his music, though.”
“Really?”
“Yeah.” She leaned back. “Honestly, I’d bet money he’s gay.”
Saul chuckled, nearly losing it. “How much?”
“20 bits.”
He calmed down and smiled. “All I’ll say is that what you see is not always what is.”
“Am I wrong?” she jeered.
“I can’t say. I don’t know him too well.”

— — — 

They arrived at the Crystal Empire early the next morning, the trip being a slow and overnight venture. Yawning, the two of them stepped off the train and onto the platform, which, for some reason, was outside of the city. Towers of glass and crystal, dominated by a central spire, loomed in the distance.
Saul tugged her saddlebag. “I wanna show you something before we enter the city.”
“Uh, okay?” Color complied, following him to a field outside of the city.
Searching the ground, he picked a sizable rock and levitated it above his hand. “You brought the glove with you, right?”
“Of course I did,” Color assured before fishing the glove out of her saddlebag.
“Thank god.” The rock fell back to his hand. “You probably didn’t notice it with the pencil.”
She raised an eyebrow. “Notice what?”
He tossed the rock to her, forcing her to hop up and catch it. The weight of it caught her off guard. “Levitate it.”
She adjusted the glove, planted the rock on her hoof, and thought about painting. Guiding the tingling feeling to her hoof, the rock levitated. Oddly enough, the glove pressed against her hoof weighing as heavy as the rock.
“You notice it?”
“I think.” She wiggled her hoof, getting a feel for the weight. “It’s like I can still feel its weight without touching it.”
“Precisely.” He picked up another, much larger rock. “‘To every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.’ The better to say it is that when you apply a force to an object, that object feels the same force in the opposite direction. Mathematically, force is just the change in momentum, which is why we humans refer to this as a Momentum Transfer Spell.”
Color stared in confusion. “Um, what about it?”
“Well, magic obeys physics.”
She paid decent attention to Physics class in school, recalling the law. But to ponies whose daily experiences seemed to disobey the theories and laws they learned, physics was unintuitive and hard to grasp. “I don’t get it. I mean, I do, but also I don’t.”
“Let me put it another way.” He levitated the larger rock above his hand. “You could launch this rock at an unthinkable speed, even with just your glove.” He brought the rock back to his hand. “Doing so would crush and shatter every bone in your leg, possibly your body too. Thankfully, I know someone here who can help you work around that, like this.” He held the rock straight out to his side with his right hand. Blue light emanated from his palm. A loud “bang” and the rock shot out into the distance.
She also noticed a dent form in the ground around his left foot.
“Assuming everything goes to plan,” he added.
Color raised an eyebrow again. “Assuming?”
“You’ll see.” He walked past her as she processed the “you’ll see.” Deciding not to dwell on it, she shook her head and followed him.
Entering the city, dozens of ponies filled the streets with a few humans sticking out among the crowds. Each of the buildings towered over the streets, blending crystal architecture with steel and concrete construction. In the center of the city loomed the Crystal Castle, whose structure blended crystal with elegant glass and steel. It was as if the city lived in two worlds at once.
The whole place dizzied Color, much like Canterlot.
Saul patted her head. “You okay there?”
“Yeah.” She regained her balance. “Just not used to the activity.”
He smirked. “Too many humans?”
She looked away. “Not exactly.”
He pushed her along. “The Crystal Empire is a funny place. Its secure location combined with ample room surrounding it made it a perfect location for the AUN to bunker down.”
“Bunker down?”
“Well, that’s a long story. All I’ll say is that humans had varying opinions on what to do with Equestria once we found it. Equestria paid a price for some of those disagreements.”
He sighed.
“Unlike most of Equestria, the ponies here welcomed the AUN with open arms. A great relationship has been maintained ever since. Some even say they get preferential treatment. It’s also one of the few places with an airport.”
Color chuckled. “For whatever that’s worth.”
“Hey, when you’re a human, it’s one of the only flights you can get here.”
Approaching the central castle, a scream called out from an alley beside her. Turning her head, she saw a large stallion with a rusty pickaxe dragging out a colt from a building. A unicorn mare dressed in black leather and chains knelt down to the colt and tapped his head, silencing him and freezing a terrified expression on his face. Noticing Saul further ahead, Color trotted and caught up with him, unsure what to do about what she just saw.
Close to the castle, Saul slowed his pace while staring up the tower. “Just a heads up, the princess here is older than she looks and can be a bit feisty.”
“Princess? I thought there was only one nowadays.”
Saul stepped inside the castle. “There is, and we’re about to meet her.”
A brief trek through the castle led them into the throne room. The crystal walls, with the occasional steel strut, extended upwards to no discernable ceiling. Light reflected off of each surface, basking the room in a daylight glow. All along the lower walls stretched a mural depicting a battle between ponies and a sort of mutation of ponies, centering on a human silhouette directly above the throne leading the ponies into battle.
On the throne sat a normal pink pony with a purple and blue mane, looking about as old as Color. She crossed her back legs and rested her head on her forehoof, tapping the throne with the other. To her right sat a large unicorn stallion with charcoal coat and black mane, clothed in a red robe. Looking back to the throne, Color noticed something else she never thought she’d see: wings and a horn on the same pony at the same time.
Color tilted her head toward Saul. “Is she an…”
Saul cut her off, speaking in a whisper. “Alicorn, and keep your voice down.”
The two of them stopped in front of the steps to the throne as Saul knelt down and bowed. He tapped Color’s leg, whispering “bow.” Color shook her head breaking her trance and complied.
As they stood back up, Saul looked up to the throne. “Yes, princess?”
The princess spoke, filling the room without overstating her presence. “I received your request last night and have already talked it over with my advisor here.”
“And I assume we wouldn’t be here if you accepted.”
The princess pointed at Color. “You are?”
Color stood still for a sec. Saul nudged her, motioning toward the princess. “U-um, Color… Color Splash, miss…”
“Flurry Heart,” she answered. “Where are you from?”
“New Ponyville.” Color bowed her head, realizing the poor first impression she made. “Forgive me, we don’t see much royalty back home.”
The stallion to her side leaned over and whispered to her. “Understandable, there isn’t much royalty to go around.”
Flurry sighed, shifting her eyes toward Saul. “Do you understand what you’re asking?”
“I just want to take Color to the research lab within the castle. They should already be notified of my requests.”
“They are. However, two ponies already snuck into the castle, one by literally climbing the walls of the castle and the other by posing as a research assistant.”
Saul caught on to the implication. “With all due respect, that lab is not under your jurisdiction.”
Flurry nearly cut him off. “But I control the gate. And if bringing a random pony in there wasn’t a risk to my security, especially as crime is on the rise, I wouldn’t be so hesitant.”
“I can vouch for Color, and you can vouch for me personally,” Saul assured
The stallion beside Flurry leaned in, stopping her from speaking. After a brief whisper between them that Color couldn’t discern, Flurry sat up straight and breathed in. “We’ll think about it overnight. You’ll be notified of our decision in the morning.”
Saul bowed again, signaling Color to do the same. “Thank you, princess.”
They left in silence.
Upon exiting the castle, Color spoke, trying to defuse the tension. “I assume that wasn’t the plan.”
Saul shrugged. “Yeah, the AUN has a pony magic research lab in there. The hope was to get you in there today and get you started with human magic. But that’s not gonna happen.”
“I guess.” Color realized she couldn’t press further with that topic. “You said she’s older than she looks. How old exactly?”
“I don’t know the exact age, but I do know she’s in her nineties.”
“Wait, what?” Color froze, dumbfounded. “Nineties!?”
“Well, alicorns live for a while from what I hear.”
“Not like that! Have you seen any pictures of them? They get tall and get those giant ass wings!”
Saul waved her down. “I’m just repeating what I know.”
Color shook her head. “Fine, I’ll take your word for it. So then…” she looked around the city. “What are we gonna do for the rest of the day?”
“I gotta go book a hotel for the night. After that, I’m going to the library.”

— — —

Color didn’t hate libraries, but she had spent so much time in them, at her brother’s request, that she’d prefer to never step hoof in one again. However, they had one redeeming item: romance novels. Maybe it was her one past relationship that ended awkwardly or the fact she secluded herself inside her studio way too often, but she obsessed over them. They also helped her waste the remaining hours of the day while practicing the Momentum Transfer Spell with one hoof as she read.
Saul, on the other hand, chugged through a fat stack of Equestrian history textbooks. When she asked him about it, his response further confused her.
“There’s a strange conflict between human history and Equestrian history that’s bothered me since I came here.”
“What do you mean by ‘conflict?’”
“To humans, Equestria appeared on Earth ninety years ago, yet there’s little to no reference to the event until years later, and no explanations on why or how it happened. Moreover, ponies have a history spanning thousands of years prior. And the more I read, the more I believe it happened.”
“Why wouldn’t it have happened?”
“Time isn’t easily manipulated, let alone at such a scale.”
She had no idea where to take the conversation. “I’ll take your word for it.”

— — — 

By hotel, Saul meant a small bed and breakfast at the edge of town with only ten rooms total. Color appreciated the quaintness, especially after the stresses of traveling and dealing with Flurry, but did find it to be an odd choice.
“Flurry recommended it to me and after what happened earlier; we should take up the offer,” Saul assured.
“Whatever.” Color threw her saddlebag on her bed before climbing on top of it. “I’m just ready to kick back and pass out.”
Saul dropped his backpack. “By the way, I’m gonna step out and won’t be back for at most an hour.”
“What for?”
“I got a lead to follow. That’s all I can say.”
“That didn’t answer my question.”
“If you’re wondering, it might be related to your brother.”
She waved him on. “Fine. I like the privacy anyway.”
He slipped out the door, rendering the room silent. Color laid back and closed her eyes, letting her body relax. After a few minutes from what she could tell, somepony knocked on the door.
“Back so soon?” she moaned.
The knocking continued.
She rolled off her bed. “Come on, I know you have a key.”
Another knock.
She stretched and walked over to the door. “Don’t tell me you forgot it.”
After she unlatched and opened the door, a cloaked pony burst through stopping in the middle of the room. A stern but familiar voice spoke. “Close the door and lock it.”
Color complied, dead bolting and latching the door. The cloaked pony proceeded to shut every window and their blinds. After examining every corner of the room, the pony slowed to a stop and sat down on Saul’s bed.
“Don’t tell me you’re…”
The cloaked pony cut Color off with a chuckle, sliding off the hood. Color’s jaw dropped, seeing the face of Flurry Heart on Saul’s bed.
“Okay, okay, okay…” Color took a deep breath. “I want an explanation for this.”
Flurry motioned with her hoof. “Keep your voice down. I can’t let anypony know I’m here.”
Color nearly whispered. “Fine, but that’s not an answer.”
“To be honest,” Flurry twirled her hooves. “I’m still pissed off that Saul just thought he could just come here and waltz into that lab without my permission, but I wasn’t gonna say no. I trust him, but I have to be careful with who I let in there.”
“Yeah, but…” Color paused, putting the pieces together. “You mentioned that bringing me in would be a risk to your security.”
Flurry nodded. “There’s a reason the lab is inside the castle.”
“Wait…” Color recalled the alicorns she saw in the textbooks. “You’re not a normal alicorn, aren’t you?”
“I won’t tell you now, that’d be irresponsible, but I need you to promise me you won’t tell anypony, or even human, what you’ll learn there, especially about me.”
“Fine,” Color replied. Flurry’s stare wanted more. “I promise, ok?”
Flurry nodded. “Close enough. I want you to come in tonight actually since I want to keep this off the record. Saul already knows, by the way.”
“How does he…”
“I’m in the loop with the AUN. I can message him quite eas…”
Tapping from the wall echoed into the room, silencing Flurry. She tiptoed to the wall as Color held her breath. Another tap followed by a silence, and then a loud thud.
“Get back!” Flurry shouted as a yellow line stretched vertically along the wall. A few more thuds created more lines, all at different angles until a chunk of the wall fell outside. A large orange stallion with a rusty pickaxe and a grey mare in black leather peered inside. The stallion lunged himself with his pickaxe at Color, rotating his body to prepare a swing.
At the last moment, Flurry dashed in front of her, blocking Color with her body. The ax struck Flurry and a metallic ring echoed in the room. She landed on her hooves, sliding on the ground.
A line encircled her cloak, cutting off the back half. She tore off the rest of it, revealing a full suit of armor glistening from the streetlights.
The stallion hopped outside, swinging the ax onto his back. “I guess the rumors are true. You’re a Fate Dancer too, aren’t you?”
Color eyed the armor as she clung to the wall. A shield with a star on it embroidered its flank.
Flurry shot out a blast of energy out of her horn at the stallion, but he hopped to the side and struck the wall. “How about I bring you out of your little hole.” A line traveled across the wall, causing the building to shake.
The stallion lunged to strike the other wall, but Flurry hopped in front of him, taking the blow and nicking him with another blast. He stepped back and beside the mare, eyeing Flurry’s armor. A single crack glistened in the light.
“We did our research, suspecting you had that Fate Dance, Armor Bond,” the mare jeered as Flurry panted. “A Fate Dance that can nullify any magic.”
The stallion held up his ax. “It might help against my Fate Dance, but it can’t nullify mine completely. My Half Ax can crack any object it touches in two.”
Flurried slowed her breathing as the mare grinned, adjusting a headset microphone. “It doesn’t matter, any Fate Dance is imperfect.”
The words caused Flurry to stumble, forcing her to catch herself as the stallion lunged for another attack. She dodged it as the stallion struck the ground, creating a fissure in the road. Color could hear faint sounds emanating from Flurry despite her still mouth.
“Resilient, are you?” the mare snarked as the sounds grew stronger. Color picked up the occasional “useless” and “fault” out of the sounds. “It doesn’t matter. My Imperfect Words seep into the brain of anypony I choose, taking over their thoughts and destroying their minds.”
The stallion lunged again, forcing Flurry to roll away and trip over her hooves. The words grew louder. “Stop it!” she yelled, catching herself. The stallion swung again but Flurry blocked it with her leg. Another crack appeared.
The stallion laughed, enjoying his work. “You know, Flurry? I was hoping I’d get to see your Fate Dance.” Flurry scuttled to her hooves as the stallion struck the ground beside her.
Color clung to the wall, unsure what to do. Flurry and the stallion fought outside, not caring about her. Even the mare didn’t acknowledge her presence. More clangs resounded; more cracks appeared.
She had to do something, but she had no magic or powers. She couldn’t even fly and rescue Flurry. She was useless. Her mind searched for anything she could do.
The glove.
Color lunged for her saddlebag, fishing out the glove. Pulling it out, She stretched it across her hoof. Another clang resounded outside. Flipping over a bed and pressing her back against it, she extended her hoof at the stallion and waited for him to stay still.
She only lifted a pencil and a rock before. There was no telling what would happen if she poured as much as she could into the glove. A brief thought of painting primed the glove.
The stallion recovered from a long jump, stabilizing himself as Flurry rolled over, covered in cracks. Color guided the tingling feeling into her hoof. Pulsing shot through her body, focussing on the glove. This was it.
A blue circle appeared on the stallion and launched him into the wall across the street, blowing a hole through it.
Color’s hoof slammed into her body and blew her back into the bed. The sound caught the attention of both Flurry and the mare. Flurry used the moment to strike the mare with a magical blast before running up to her and knocking her out.
Pain resonated throughout Color’s foreleg. She wiggled her hoof, relieved it could still move, but winced from the pain in doing so.
Flurry trotted up to her, her armor disappearing as she recalled her Fate Dance. “Color!?” Flurry sat down next to her and examined her foreleg. None of the bones appeared broken but bruises darkened along the leg. 
Color slowed her breathing, still tense from the pain. “Is it… broken?”
“Not that I can see. Could be fractured though. Best to keep your weight off of it.” Flurry propped up Color’s hurt foreleg with her back, carrying the weight and helping Color move. “I saw it in Saul’s request, but I didn’t think you could actually do it.”
“What?” Color grunted as they stepped outside
“Human magic.”
Saul hopped down from a roof down the street as Flurry waved to him. “I heard a loud crash and came here immediately.” 
Flurry interrupted him, shuffling over and handing Color to him. “Don’t worry about it, just help us get back to the castle.”
Saul nodded, grabbing Color and throwing her over his shoulder.
Flurry relaxed before trotting down the street. “I guess you were right about her.”
Saul smiled, following after Flurry.