//------------------------------// // Parousia Chapter 6- Let Sleeping Dogs Lie // Story: Nature's Call // by Doc Crowl //------------------------------// I woke from a dreamless sleep to find myself in utter darkness. For the first time since I could remember, I felt… good. I was asleep on something soft, I was warm, and I wasn’t being threatened. It was something out of the ordinary, and I took it for all that it was worth. I wrapped myself in the sheets, entirely at ease. I assumed I’d reached Canterlot, that this was how they treated their ponies there, and wondered why it had ever been that big of a deal to get here in the first place. Canterlot… That triggered something in the back of my mind… something important… but what? It bothered me deeply that I couldn’t think of what I was supposed to do with ‘Canterlot’. I was meant to do something, to help someone. It was important, vastly important, but I couldn’t for the life of me remember. I decided I’d probably have a clearer head after a long nap. Lying back down, I sighed as my head rested against the cool pillow. I drew the sheets up, and curled into a little ball. I wrapped my arms around myself, tightly gripping the sheets around me, and tucked my legs underneath. It was my favorite way to sleep- so warm, so secure, so weird, so perfect. I sighed again, thinking it was crazy just how completely comfortable I was. It felt like I was back where I belonged, maybe at home somehow, and it felt fantastic. There was still something bothering me, though. Something nagged at the back of my mind incessantly. I was too comfortable, too safe, and I had the sudden urge to leave. Simply get out. Jump out of bed and go, go, go. My heart started beating, and I tried to grab the sides of the bed to stabilize myself. As my fingers curled around the edges of the mattress, I realized what was bothering me: My human body. I heard something within the cool darkness make a horrible noise, like the groaning of a starving lion who wasn’t being allowed to eat its prey. That didn’t make any sense to me, but the idea was enough to terrify me. I leapt up from the bed and began stumbling around, trying to find a wall. My bare feet connected with cool, moist dirt, and that freaked me out even more. I sprinted in a random direction until I managed to find a wall, tripping over myself several times in the process. The noise of the creature continued, seemingly in response to my movements. “A door! There has to be a door!” I thought desperately, searching for a handle. I traced my fingers over the surface as fast as I could, and encountered only more dirt. I ran with my fingers against the side of my apparent cell, and found the next wall by smacking into it. Shaking it off and running along that one, I kept going all around the room until the third wall, where I felt a handle. I ripped the door from its earthen frame, and there was a rumble as some dirt shifted. I didn’t care; I could already see the next area was just as dark, and the creature behind me had started to shift around. I tossed the door behind me at the source of the noise, and started to sprint through this dark room too, figuring the next door would be somewhere opposite. I tripped over something heavy, and fell face first into a pile of thick, furry things. They all started squirming and making noises, and I realized they were alive. Whatever that place was, whatever those things were, I didn’t want to be there! I tried to stand again, to run, but I was brought down by the loose footing of the writhing mass. I instead elected to crawl, desperately moving forward on my hands and knees over the moving mass. Just as I thought I’d reached the end of them, when I couldn’t feel any more moving bodies, my hands found themselves in empty space. I’d been moving forward so fast, so hard, that I didn’t have a chance. My momentum carried me over the edge, and I let out a blood curdling scream as I did. I had no idea how far down this abyss stretched, but I wasn’t going to go quietly! My body immediately began to twist, and fairly fast, so I was falling back-first when I landed on more of the soft, heavy things. Thankfully they broke my fall, but they stabbed me several times, and I felt something beneath them all give way. I had no idea how far I’d just fallen, but if the moans of those things beneath me were anything to go by, it was a decent distance. Lights came on then, bright and powerful, in every color imaginable. I gasped and covered my eyes, blinded by the brilliance, and tried without luck to shift myself out of the pile of animals. The things below me heaved together, and managed pushed me off of them. I landed a few feet below, once again on the moist dirt. I tried uncovering my eyes, but the bright lights all around me were too harsh. Instead, I stood as hastily as I could, and started running away from the drop. I still couldn’t see, but figured I would regain my sight when there were less stabby creatures around. I only got about ten yards when I was tackled to the ground by one of the fuzz balls. It blindsided me from my right, and I landed on my left side, knocking the wind out of my lungs. I immediately drove an elbow into whatever had hit me, causing it to lose its balance atop me. I bucked for everything I was worth, and the creature flew off. I forced my eyes open as I once again scrambled to my feet, and saw through bleary eyes I was surrounded by varying sized Diamond Dogs-shaped blurs. I forced air into my nonresponsive lungs, preparing for a fight. If I had been running on anything but adrenaline at that point, I might have been worried. As things stood, I charged forward with a bellow, determined to remain free. I was NOT going back to that godforsaken Detention Hall! I bowled over a multitude of the sleepy canines, driving myself forward despite the climbing number of persistent obstructions in my path. I tried juking one way or the other, hitting low, jumping over them, but there only seemed to be more and more of the Diamond Dogs growling and trying to take me down. I felt one jump on my back, and reached up to throw him off. As I did, another hit me from my left, punching into my unprotected ribs. I turned to bat him away, but was quickly assaulted by two more from the right jumping on me. Left, right, front, back, even underneath when one dug a quick hole, I was under a constant stream of attacks. I fell to one knee, still fighting, before what seemed like every single one of the Diamond Dogs in the area jumped on top of me. Even with my body’s enhanced strength and the adrenaline coursing through me, I was brought to the floor, and couldn’t move an inch. It seemed like there were dozens of them on any given body part, all except my head. I let out a frustrated cry, knowing I’d be once again subjected to unimaginable tortures. Probably worse than before, after an escape attempt, but- My mouth was suddenly stuffed with a hoof, cutting off my scream. I blinked a few times, trying to figure out exactly how a Diamond Dog could have stuffed a hoof into my mouth, when I saw Lyra bend down to look me in my eye. She had bags under her eyes, and a few bruises on what I could see of her head and forehooves. “Keep it down, will ya?” she asked, an annoyed grimace on her face. “It was hard enough carrying you here by myself, but the first time I actually manage to start getting a good night’s sleep, you wake me up by throwing a door on top of me!” I was confused enough to stop struggling, and the Diamond Dogs slowed their squirming. I tried to reply, but the hoof was fairly efficient at preventing anything meaningful from coming out of my mouth. I raised an eyebrow and looked pointedly at the hoof, hoping she would get the message. Instead, she just smiled. “I dunno. I kinda like it better when you’re not talking,” she said, examining what she could of my exposed head. “You were so cocky and self-sure when we first met, so arrogant, I couldn’t get in my two bits. Now, it’s your turn to listen!” She ended her statement with a prolonged yawn, which spread around the Diamond Dogs like wildfire. She pulled her hoof from my mouth, which tasted exactly like you would imagine a hoof might taste like, and apparently decided my head look comfortable enough to sit on. She turned around and threw herself on my skull, most of her weight squarely on me, though she did recline a bit on the Diamond Dogs around my shoulders. I couldn’t even turn my head to address her. “So, you’re helping them now?” I called out, a little ashamed I had trusted her. “After taking care of the Elements, and knowing your kind will become slaves or worse to the Nuckelavee, you just decided to throw in the towel?” She laughed from on top of my head. “What makes you think I’m working for the Nuckelavee? We saved your flank from Charon, we set you up in a nice warm bedroom- whose door was unlocked, by the way- and I even fell asleep watching over you!” “But… Diamond Dogs…” I came back weakly. “Oh, you mean the Diamond Dog refugees who’ve been helping the pony resistance all across Equestria? The Diamond Dogs who had to give up their loved ones in service to the Nuckelavee, and have been entirely selfless in gaining every single bit of information we know about our enemies and their movements? The Diamond Dogs who you just woke up by crushing and fighting while they tried to sleep? Those Diamond Dogs?” I wasn’t sure how to respond, so I kept quiet. Which, for me, is more difficult than I’d like to admit. “That’s what I thought,” she said quietly. “Don’t judge a book by its cover, and all that. Lesson learned?” I sighed. “Yeah, lesson learned. Can I get up now?” She jumped off the pile, striking my head with a hoof as she landed. What she was raised on I had no idea, but one thing was for sure: she weighed a LOT more than Twilight did. As in, about half again as much. Around ninety pounds, at least. “Oops! Sorry!” she laughed as I scowled. The Diamond Dogs all started getting up slowly, apparently unsure whether or not I was going to freak out on them again. I waited patiently until they were all cleared away before calmly getting up myself. “You definitely seem sorry,” I spit, rubbing the new lump on my head. “Why exactly did you have to jump off the pile of Dogs?” “Style,” she grinned, tossing her mane like she was so proud of herself. “If not for the fact that you supposedly saved my life, I’d be knocking you down a peg young mare,” I warned, wagging a finger. I actually had no idea how old she was, or even what was considered ‘old’, but I figured that might get a rise out of her. Besides, a few friendly put-downs would help to lighten the mood! She looked me up and down, and nodded to herself for a few seconds. Then I was on my back, staring straight up into her golden eyes. All I had seen was a blur before she had somehow managed to flatten me. I didn’t hurt, but I was shocked how fast she had taken me down. “I’m not all that young, but thanks for saying so,” she winked before jumping off me. “Now, if you’ll just follow me, I’ll give you the grand tour. First of all, this is the main sleeping area for the Diamond Dogs.” I was too stunned from getting my butt whooped so quickly to do anything but follow her instruction. I slowly got up, looking around me. We were underground somewhere, in a massive chamber. There were glowing stones all around us, and it looked like I was in the middle of an honest-to-God refugee camp. There were small cots set up by the hundreds, all spaced around in tight clusters. I glanced in awe at the rounded roof, a few stories above my head. I couldn’t tell if it was a natural cave or not, but I assumed it was due to the large stalactites that hung throughout. It was beautiful, lit by the bright glow of the luminescent crystals that dotted every surface. The large amount of Diamond Dogs that had taken me down were slowly shuffling back to their cots, where those I assumed were their children sat with wide eyes. Those that weren’t paying attention to their families were staring at me with hate or fear. I felt ashamed of myself, and turned to catch up with Lyra. She was ascending some steps cut into the side of the level I’d dropped off of, which was about twelve feet high. As I started to walk after her, the cool earth between my toes reminded me of my lack of shoes. Looking down, I saw that I was wearing only my boxers and undershirt. I hurried after Lyra, desperately hoping they had kept my clothes and shoes. If not, my stay in Equestria had suddenly become quite a bit more interesting. I took the steps two at a time, and when I reached the top, I saw a similar setup on the higher level as the lower one. The space was a scaled down version of the one below, with maybe a third as many bedding set-ups. Also, there were mats and bedrolls instead of cots. The only thing really different was that, instead of being all Diamond Dogs, there were a few ponies dispersed here and there. I counted at least a dozen, none of whom I recognized, talking calmly with their Diamond Dog counterparts. As I hurried past to catch up with Lyra, the discussions died away. They all glared at me with unrestrained venomocity, many glancing at the clear path of ruined sleeping arrangements I had taken from an empty doorway to the nearby ledge. “Come on, that’s just the courier sleeping area! The VIP rooms are over here!” Lyra called out. “While most leave their rooms in the same conditions they received them in, you’re the first to start redecorating!” I blushed, and jogging faster toward the room Lyra trotted into. It was adjacent to the one I had woken up in. There were a few other doorways after that, but they were closed. I walked into the brightening room, and saw more of the precious stones embedded in the walls. They were beautiful, and cast Lyra in what I could only describe was a heavenly glow as she turned to face me. I immediately started looking around the room, to avoid making eye contact. I didn’t want to look at anypony when awkward thoughts like ‘heavenly’ were associated with them- obviously, I’d been in Equestria far too long! There was a bed and little else, which gave me nothing to look at but the gems. I stepped closer to the wall, Lyra watching me, as I examined the glowing rocks. They didn’t pulse, and I couldn’t see them connected to anything. “How can they be turned on and off, if there’s nothing connected to them?” I asked. “It was dark outside too, but something made them brighten.” “Oh, they sense movements. Shut the door, I need to talk to you.” I turned around, hearing the joking tone she’d used so far dropping out of her voice to be replaced with a tired seriousness. She sat on the edge of her bed human-style, looking at the ground. I closed the door as I was asked, and saw the questioning glances I received from the ponies and Diamond Dogs on the other side. I wasn’t sure what that was about, but at the same time, I didn’t much care. I’d been through quite a bit while in Equestria, and some weird looks weren’t very high on my list of priorities. “Gonna have a heart to heart now, huh?” I asked jokingly, hoping to improve Lyra’s suddenly dark mood. She didn’t respond. “You know, we better make this fast; those fellas out there might start getting the wrong ideas, what with me only in my boxers,” I laughed, jerking a thumb over my shoulder. She looked in the general direction of the other ponies and sighed, shaking her head. “They’re a problem,” she muttered low enough that I could barely hear her. “Um… You want to talk about it?” I never was all that great at low-tension pick-me-up talks. I could come up with pretty good ones when the situation was dire or it was someone I knew very well, but Lyra was somewhat of an… unknown. The only concrete things I knew about her was that she could kick my butt, and that she was apparently part of this underground rebellion thing. “Not really, no,” she sighed, running one forehoof through her mane before flopping back onto the bed. She sighed explosively, rubbing her hooves against her eyes. I knew better than to say anything; if she needed to talk about it, she would. I got the feeling her issues weren’t exactly vital to saving Equestria, but I decided I’d help if I could. “You know what? Buck it.” She suddenly rolled over, looking straight at me, her former smirk returning. “They’re not my problem. Saving Equestria is my problem. Running a resistance is my problem. And you are my problem. Admittedly, a very interesting problem.” “I’m not sure I like being called a ‘problem’, but... what kind of ‘problem’ do I represent?” I asked, sitting next to her on the edge of the bed. I sat myself up against the headrest, my right leg up on the bed and my left leg resting on the floor. It was my Bedside Chat Form®, something my roommate knew well from his last breakup. “Well, first of all, let’s talk about the issues you’ve caused so far.” She started tapping one hoof on the other to keep count. “One- you showed up out of the blue with Princess Twilight Sparkle, and freed two of the Elements of Harmony- causing the Nuckelavee to crack down on ponies all across Equestria. Two- you spent two weeks straight going through with a plan that was a suicide run anyway, and had to be saved. Three- you were heavy to carry back, and I had to do it by myself! That was a pretty tough issue, fatty! Four- you soaked up all of Princess Twilight’s power when she cast the spell to turn you back into your human form, and almost killed her! Fiv-” I cut her off immediately, jumping up. “What do you MEAN, ‘almost killed Twilight’?!? Where is she, damnit!” Lyra was shocked, but I didn’t care. Twilight had almost been killed? By me? And she was just mentioning it NOW?! I grabbed Lyra and hoisted her into the air, holding her face close to mine. “Where. Is. Twilight,” I demanded forcefully, trying to keep my calm. Lyra was still in shock, or couldn’t comprehend what I was asking, or something. I didn’t have time to deal with her. With a snort, I dropped her onto the bed, and marched purposefully toward the door. Pulling it open, I strode into the large cavern and looked around. Some of the light crystals had started to dim as the inhabitants of the refugee camp settled back to sleep, but I didn’t care. I spotted an earth pony just about to fall asleep nearby. She was pale yellow, with a purple mane and tail. I was at her side in moments, shaking her awake. “Where is Princess Twilight Sparkle?” I asked as clearly as I could. I saw terror fill her eyes in place of sleep, and she gulped. “Wha- what do you want with her?” she asked in a small voice. “I want to save my friend, who might be dying because of me! Is that too much to ask? Now, where is she!?” I shouted into her face. Her pupils shrunk to pinpricks, and she started shaking, but she pointed out a doorway two down from Lyra’s room. “She- she’s in there, sir!” she squeaked. “Thanks, ma’am,” I said somewhat gratefully. I was already halfway to the door when I realized I hadn’t put the earth pony down. I chuckled a little awkwardly, placing her as gingerly as possible on her hooves and giving her head a quick pat. Then I was off again, racing toward Twilight’s room. Lyra just then decided to come out of her room, still shaken. As I turned the knob to Twilight’s room, she cried out, “Wait! You can’t go in there!” but I continued. There was no way one little warning from a pony was going to stop me from helping my first Equestrian friend any way I could. As I strode into the room, I realized a few things. First of all, it was pitch black. Second of all, there was definitely some labored breathing in the room approximately where I assumed the bed would lie. As I began to move forward, I was alerted to one last thing: Twilight had some bodyguards in the room with her. I came to the last understanding as I heard a snarl and was cut across the chest, ripping open my shirt. Knowing whoever it was that had cut me would be used to the dark by now, I backpedaled swiftly out of the room. I shot past Lyra, who was standing just outside the doorway, my focus on Twilight’s room. I stood there prepared, not wanting to seem threatening, but not wanting to be caught off guard again either. When I saw Deluge walk out of the darkness, I dropped my stance. Before she could say anything, or even really react, I rushed her and enveloped her in the biggest bear hug I could muster. It hurt my chest a little, and I’m pretty sure I got some blood on her fur, but I didn’t care. I was so happy to see a familiar face, someone I didn’t have to explain myself to or fight against, that I almost started crying. She growled at first, apparently still thinking me an assassin, but she saw pretty quickly she had nothing to defend Twilight from. She couldn’t move her arms to hug me back, but she did manage to nuzzle her head into my neck. It was when she started trying to lick me that I dropped her like a sack of potatoes. She chuckled good naturedly, wiping the blood away from her chest. “Still not wanting Deluge, I understand. You’ll come around eventually,” she said smugly. “Not in this lifetime!” I shot back. Surprisingly, although I loathed her constant advances, they were still in a playful enough context that I could enjoy our little spats. In fact, I had genuinely missed them. She nodded a few times before her smile began to falter. “Sorry, I was drifting off when you came in. You really can’t see her though, Paul. Twilight can’t take any more stress.” I started to talk, but she cut me off. “No. Twilight said you can’t come in until she wakes up. You might absorb too much magic.” I wanted to argue, but I couldn’t go against Twilight’s wishes when she had saved my life. I might be able to control myself, but what if I slipped, or somehow couldn’t stop myself? That was a scary thought. “At least… keep calling me Creed, okay? It’d be nice to have some consistency on the whole name thing,” I asked. Deluge nodded quietly, and I looked at Lyra. Lyra sat quietly next to the door watching us, which, from the few encounters I had with her, seemed uncharacteristic. Her eyes began drooping and her head began to dip, cluing me in to the fact that she was exhausted. Rightfully so, if she had carried my oversized butt away from a warzone! I walked over to her, and bent down gently to pick her up. “You don’t have to-” she started. “No no, I insist,” I cut in, positioning her so that she was cradled in my arms like a baby. My dogs and little brother had always fallen asleep when I held them like that, and I figured Lyra wouldn’t be an exception. As she fought her eyelids, she continued to mumble. “No, we need to talk. So many problems, you, the others, plans…” She gave a long, drawn out yawn that quickly spread to me. “Listen, you need your sleep,” I told her. “You’ve been working hard, and I’ve kept you up much more than I should have in the past few hours- what with carrying me, subduing me, trying to talk to me and explain what’s going on, I’m surprised you didn’t drop earlier!” I walked through the still open doorway of Lyra’s room, where the glowing stones had started to dim. They were only at about a fifth of their brightest, and they illuminated the room in a soft, inviting glow. They were like dozens of small nightlights, and as I placed Lyra on her bed, I couldn’t help but wonder why the Diamond Dogs hadn’t mined them. Maybe they were just too common to bother with? My attention was brought back to Lyra as she shivered a little. I pulled out the sheets, spreading them over her. She snuggled in, sighing contentedly. As I turned to leave, she grabbed my hand. “Please don’t go,” she whispered, smiling softly though her eyes were already closed. “I’d sleep so much better if you were here…” I smiled, remembering my first night with Twilight. I didn’t think Lyra would have any nightmares that bad, but I figured I couldn’t deny someone who was already half asleep. “Tell you what,” I replied softly, bending down on one knee. “I’ll stay here until you fall asleep, okay?” She grinned, snuggling more firmly into my hand and refusing to let go. “Deal,” she yawned loudly, her face falling into the unmistakable grasp of sleep. I watched as the tension left her face, every small muscle slowly releasing its burden as she drifted into that magical ether. Her forehead muscles relaxed first, moving in an expanding pattern from her horn. Then her cheeks softened, though a hint of the smile remained. Finally, the stress left her entire head, and her shoulders relaxed. When she started breathing heavily, just on the verge on snoring, I knew she was out. It was fairly quick, only a minute and a half or so. “What is it with me and sleeping ponies?” I wondered as I stood. Pulling my hand as gently as I could from Lyra’s grasp, I turned to the door to see Deluge standing there. She had her arms crossed, and a look of concern was on her face. I moved out of the room, closing the door as quietly as I could, before addressing her. “What’s wrong?” I asked in a low whisper. I saw almost all of the lights were out in the cavern, meaning almost all of its inhabitants were out as well. I felt only slightly sleepy myself, and had absolutely no idea what time it was. “That green pony, Lyra,” Deluge replied in an even lower voice. “Not sure I trust her.” I was taken aback. “Really?” I whispered harshly. “She fed the Elements of Harmony while they were on display like mannequins in the Town Square, she carried my fat pony butt all the way here, and apparently on top of that, she’s one of the leaders in… whatever this is,” I waved my hands around, indicating the sleeping forms of the hundreds around us. “How does that not give you something to trust her for?” Deluge held up her paws defensively. “Never said she was unkind, I just meant I don’t trust her. She was acting… strange around you.” “Strange, how?” I asked, intrigued. “Well, you’ve been asleep for about seven hours,” Deluge replied. As she talked, I continued to examine the large cavern. “She had Dogs who were in contact with the other ponies in the Detention Hall. She told them to ignore you completely, not even look at you, to make sure you could handle everything alright.” The cavern was swiftly forgotten, and my attention was drawn back to Deluge. “What do you mean, it was her idea?” I asked, both horrified and angry. “Do you know how long I was in there?” Deluge nodded sadly, and I heard her sniffle a little before she spoke. “Two weeks… they say it was a new record.” I was disgusted. “Great, a new record! I could have gone through with it, you know! I could have faked everything, I could have been in Canterlot by now, fixing all of this! Your species would be free along with all of Equestria, and you’d never have to worry about your little puppy again!” I knew as soon as I said it, bringing up her son was the wrong thing to do. But I had to make her see reason, I had to make my point that they had ruined the plan. Not to mention me. “You think I don’t know that?” she growled quietly. “I fought against it. I knew you’d be hurt. I knew you’d be broken if you had nothing but your thoughts to…” She took a breath. “I had to sit through almost four full nights of you whimpering in your sleep, not being able to do anything about it. You know that? You would cry out for your father, or you would just cry. I couldn’t help but think of my puppy the entire time. How he was alone, his mother nowhere to be found and his father long since passed. There hasn’t been a single moment I don’t think about him, so don’t you dare try to use him in an argument against me.” She shook her head slowly, angrily, as she spit the last words out at me. I was quiet. “I’m… I’m sorry you had to hear me,” I told her sincerely. “I thought that’d gone away a long time ago…” I sighed, putting both of my hands on the back of my head and looking at the ground. “It’s just… I can still feel it there, you know?” I asked, breathing hard. “When I’m not moving, every second I’m not focused on something else, for the past half hour I’ve been awake not a single second has gone by that I haven’t felt that emptiness pulling at me, whispering in my ear… It was horrible. Not the torture, that was just pain. Being rejected, unwanted, disregarded like an infinitesimal speck-” my voice broke, and I had to stop. I couldn’t come to terms with the feeling of my mind snapping, of that final wall falling away, much less talk about it. Not then, at least. Perhaps in the future, but not then. “That was the real torture,” I finished weakly. I couldn’t say anything else, I lacked the words and the drive. “What else… Lyra, I mean… What else did she do that was odd?” Deluge swallowed, crossing her arms in front of her. “Well, when she heard you’d broken, she immediately came up with a rescue plan,” she said slowly. “She had every pony here and Twilight help. I came along to help plan. We knew you’d be important for us, and every pony agreed to the plan. When you came along though, being pulled with that rope through your… she just snapped. She jumped out of the bushes before any of the rest of us, and took Charon head-on. She put up a pretty good fight too, and while the rest of us were finishing him off, she grabbed you and took off running. She ended up carrying you since you couldn’t walk.” I nodded, vaguely remembering the green blur that had filled my vision. “So, she acted heroically. Not really odd in a bad way, I suppose,” I said simply, ignoring the fact that it was her fault for getting me into that state in the first place. “Anything else?” Deluge continued with a slight pause. “She was the one to suggest turning you back into a human when Twilight told her about your natural form, and your abilities to heal yourself. Twilight didn’t want to do it, but your spirit and mind were broken. Your body was just… following them, getting worse and worse. When your heart stopped for the first time was when Twilight decided she had to do it.” Deluge shuddered, taking several deep breaths. “The spell… it didn’t work the same as last time. Twilight said after that you were so broken, it took every bit of magic she had to get you to the point you could even be fixed. Then she collapsed. I brought her over to her room, and she woke up long enough to tell me not to let you in- she would be too low on magic, and you absorbing any more might kill her. I checked back on you, but Lyra said she would watch over you. I told her you absorb magic to heal yourself, and she got this… far-off look in her eyes. She said she knew, that Twilight had explained everything, and that she would be fine.” Deluge came to a stop for almost a full minute, contemplating what she would say next. Finally, she resumed. “I checked on her an hour before you woke up. She was passed out on the floor, and was looking really pale. I was going to force her to leave, because you were sucking her dry of magic in your sleep, but you woke up a few minutes before I would have made the decision.” I stood there for a while, not saying anything. Lyra had been kind and even playfully sassy with me, yet she was definitely acting…oddly… when I wasn’t around. It was worth checking into. “Thanks for telling me, Deluge,” I sighed, rubbing my head. “I need to think about the past… weeks, I guess… I need some fresh air. How do I get out of here?” She nodded understandingly. “We could both use some air, and a little pick-me-up,” she replied. “First, you need to get dressed.” Nodding tiredly, I turned back toward the room I had escaped from, its doorway a gaping maw of darkness. I flailed my arms as I walked in, hoping there were some crystals in there that would react to my movements, but there was nothing. “Strange,” I thought to myself. Deluge came in after me, and then the crystals began to glow. I waited a few moments while they warmed up, and saw my jeans folded neatly on the ground next to the bed, my socks, shoes and belt in a small pile next to the jeans. I hurriedly pulled my jeans on and laced up my shoes, before standing to follow Deluge. As we started out the door, I placed my hand on her back to make sure I wouldn’t lose her. Thank God I did, because the maze of cots she navigated in what had become utter darkness was nothing short of astounding. On the way towards the opposite side of the cavern from the rooms, she stopped to pick up a sack and throw it over her shoulder. She waited for my hand on her back once more, and then we made our way without incident to a small hole in the side of the chamber. We entered the gently upward sloping tunnel, which almost immediately came to a junction. The left led away into darkness, but I felt the smallest of breezes coming from the right. Deluge headed that way, and I followed in silence. We walked for what seemed like an hour before I spotted a faint glow up ahead. Excited, I began moving up the tunnel at an increased pace. Letting my hand slip from Deluge’s back, I jogged my way up the tunnel. I hadn’t realized just how stuffy it was in the tunnels. I felt an increased desperation to be once again in free air, which was odd, but I didn’t question it. All I knew was that I needed to be out of the confines of the tunnels. After a couple hundred yards, I could make out the bright moonlight that outlined a field. When I exited the tunnel, I was almost blinded by the moon. It was so incredibly bright and large. If anything, it seemed bigger and brighter than the night I had first come into Equestria. I stood there, enraptured by its beauty and letting the flowing breeze flow over me. I closed my eyes and tilted my head back, relaxing immensely. I heard Deluge emerge behind me. I turned to ask her if Luna somehow had the ability to bring the moon closer to their world, when the sight of the sack on her shoulder stole the breath from my lungs. It wasn’t a sack at all; instead, it was a small bundle of fur that was breathing rhythmically while Deluge slowly stroked its back. My mouth dropped open and my heart gave a little kick when she gestured me closer to her son. I walked forward as quietly as I could, and examined him closely. In the full light of the moon, it was as if he were under a flashlight. He had several spots all over him, one which noticeably covering the entire back of his neck. He looked like a little Boxer puppy, though with thick, poofy hair. He kicked a little bit in his mother’s grip; he couldn’t have been more than a foot long. “I could just eat him up!” I gasped quietly. Deluge gasped and backed up from me, and it was only then that I realized what I had just said. “Not literally, stupid. It’s just an expression,” I softly berated her, stepping forward. “The moon is more likely to eat him than I am.” She chuckled, once again relaxed. She slowly rubbed him behind his right ear, and his foot started to kick just like an earth dog when you found their favorite scratching spot. I was making little cooing noises and d’awwwing quietly when she gestured me closer. I stepped up to her, and she gently transferred him from her shoulder to mine. He immediately curled up against me, nuzzling my neck and sighing in his sleep. I couldn’t clearly see him, but slowly patted him while rocking. “He is so cute I gushed, patting him slowly. “He doesn’t look much like you, though.” “No,” she smiled slightly. “He inherited most of his father’s traits. The only thing he got from me was his demeanor. You’re lucky he’s asleep.” I nodded, though I couldn’t imagine the cute little fuzzball breathing deeply against me as being anything but an angel. “What happened to his father?” I asked as casually as possible. “If you don’t mind saying, that is.” She shook her head, and turned toward the moon. “He went out with the pack one night to hunt. There were reports of some dangerous creatures in the area, and they went out to protect us. He…. He never returned. None of them did.” She sighed, her eyes never leaving the moon. “I stood in the forest that night, listening. There were some roars off in the distance, the sound of howling, but then… Nothing.” I walked up behind her and laid my free hand on her shoulder. “He sounds like a great guy who cared for his family. You should consider yourself lucky to have had the time with him you did,” I told her. She didn’t react. I looked at the moon with her, contemplating what I would have done in the same situation. Run after them? Search for the bodies? Find a new mate? I didn’t know enough of Diamond Dog culture to come to a conclusion. “Did he know his father?” I asked, patting her son once again. “He played with him every day,” she replied. I looked down at the small puppy I held against me. “So, we’ve got more in common than anyone here, huh?” I muttered to him. “Don’t you worry. You’ll be stronger than anyone can imagine.” I glanced up, and Deluge was examining me. She had a small amount of blurriness in her eyes, and kept diverting her gaze between myself and her son. “Is there… something wrong?” I asked. “No. Nothing…. Nothing at all,” she smiled. “Tell me about your father.” Deluge’s son started growling in his sleep, and if it weren’t for the moon already bathing everything in its light, my smile would have shone brighter than anything else in the forest. I patted him and he quieted. “Alright, but on one condition,” I replied. “You have to tell me this little killer’s name first.” “His name is Ruckus,” she told me, turning to start slowly walking away. I followed her, focused on Ruckus. I didn’t know where she was headed, or even if she was walking in a certain direction, but I figured a walk would do us both good. “What can I say?” I started off. “He was the life of every social gathering. When he walked into a room, people stopped whatever they were doing to go listen to one of his stories. He was larger than life, always working hard to support us in a part of town that was less than savory. His dream was to become a pilot, since he was a kid it was all he talked about. We never had the money for him to get sufficiently trained, even though he was fantastic at it. Eventually, he elected to just work around planes- closest thing he could find to flying himself. He’d be gone twelve or fourteen hours a day working, but when he came home, he always had time for me. He’d read me to sleep, play with me, and even let me get away with a few things my mom wouldn’t have approved of.” Deluge listened silently, padding along just ahead of me and to my left. “What’s a plane?” she asked when I paused for longer than I’d intended. “Oh, right. Metal flying vehicles varying in size from single person, single propeller ones no bigger than 10 feet all the way up to ones the size of the cavern we came from, which could hold hundreds of people. They’re one of the main modes of transportation between far away cities, since they can go hundreds of miles an hour.” Deluge didn’t even flinch, which surprised me. She just took it in stride, and asked another question. “What happened to your father?” I shifted Ruckus uncomfortably as I walked. “He, uh… he died of cancer when I was 13. There was a period of time when he was on chemotherapy- burning substances they inject in your veins in the hope that it will kill the cancer- and still working full time. He lost a lot of weight, wasted away.” I could feel the tears welling up, but it was good to talk about him. He deserved at least that respect. “We… we spent as much time together in those last weeks that we could, even taking a few camping trips. Just the two of us. That’s when I developed my love of nature. Anyway, the last I saw of him, he was reduced to this… skeleton of what he once was. Pale, gaunt, barely able to move. He gave me his copy of my favorite bedtime story, told me he loved me, and asked me to leave him while he died.” I cleared my throat, trying to clear the lump that had formed. It made to difficult to speak, but I wanted to be completely honest with Deluge. “He said he didn’t want me to remember him like that. He said he wanted me to remember him how he was when we were camping, when he could still pick me up and hold me. When he still felt like he was a good father.” I choked on the last sentence, unable to continue speaking of my father in that vein. Ruckus’s kicking brought me back to the present, and I smiled. Who could honestly remain so sad when the beauty of life surrounded us? The trees were tall, the wind was fresh, and I was with a friend. I perked up, deciding it was time to share just what sort of a guy he really was- not the sick shell that lay in the hospital bed, but the vibrant storyteller who always had something funny to say, or an impression to do. “Anyway, he was a silly guy. This one time, he took me to a football game for his favorite team, the Sun Devils. I’d been feeling sick all day, and had begged not to go, but he was convinced I was trying to get out of it. We were sitting at the front row of a balcony, and I had real bad vertigo, so as I looked down, I felt a rumbling…” _________________________________________________________________________________________ We continued to walk and talk for hours. After a few stories of mine, Deluge started to chip in her own. Ruckus woke up once, asking who I was and where his mom was, but fell asleep again fairly quickly. Eventually, I came to see that our stories weren’t really meant to make each other laugh. They did, of course, to the point that our sides hurt several times. More than humor, though, they were about escaping the stresses of our time for more peaceful periods in our lives. I could tell Deluge picked up on it too, but she never mentioned anything about it. Finally, after what seemed like forever, there was a comfortable lull in our conversation. We walked in silence, still heading in the same direction. I looked around, not knowing where we were. “Um… Deluge? Shouldn’t we be heading back?” I asked, a little anxious. “I mean, at this rate, it’ll be sunrise before we even reach the tunnel entrance.” She nodded, looking around at the trees. “Yeah, but we’re so close now… I think we should just keep going.” I stopped walking. “Close to what, exactly?” I asked, trepidation setting in. “Where have you been leading us?” Deluge shushed me, holding up one paw. “Keep it down! They’ll hear you!” she giggled before turning and slinking into the underbrush. I didn’t have a choice but to follow her. I hadn’t been paying attention to where we walked, I held her kid in my hands, and I was in a world that wasn’t my own. What was I going to do, whip out my cell phone and GPS my way out of there? I sighed, and then plunged in after her. We had been walking among the fairly open trees, but this area was thick with vegetation. I also wasn’t the most graceful f stalkers, and Deluge turned around constantly to silently berate me, but I didn’t really care. I would remind her with shrugging shoulders that it had been her idea, and she would turn back to whatever it is she was doing. After a while, I started to hear sounds. It was like a small buzzing sound that carried throughout the mostly still forest, along with some other, less noticeable sond. It was almost like the cicadas back home, but quieter. “What is that?” I whispered when Deluge finally crouched down to look through some bushes. Apparently she didn’t appreciate the breaking of silence, because she punched me in the gut without turning around. I let out a pained gasp, which caused her to turn with a frustrated yet questioning look on her face. “Oh, I’m sorry to interrupt,” I whispered sarcastically. “It’s just, you know, I’m still sore from that mauling you gave me earlier!” I took Ruckus from my shoulder and rudely shoved him into his mother’s arms. Standing, I walked cockily through the bush. Silence be damned, I was curious about that noise and it would bother Deluge to have her little hunt ruined. I glanced around the clearing before me, a smile growing on my face. I turned to Deluge, saying in a loud voice, “How did I not know you were bringing me here?” She smacked a paw to her face (as she deserved), and shook her head. I turned back to my clearing, the same one that somehow existed on two separate worlds, the same one that I had sought solace in before the whole Equestrian crisis thing happened. It was moderately filled by a good sized grouping of Diamond Dogs, some of whom were snoring. I quickly saw the real source of the noise, though. There, in the same tree crook that Twilight had slept in, the same space where I had asked Twilight and Deluge to stash my personal belongings when I went into Ponyville, sat Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy. Pinkie Pie’s face was lit up, enraptured, by the screen of my iPod, and I saw the ear buds trailing up to her equine ears. Fluttershy sat next to her, neither ear bud in, yet I had no doubt that she could hear it crystal clear. My ear buds were one of the few things I splurged on back home, and when they got cranking, they would put some cheap stereo systems to shame! Not one of the Diamond Dogs stirred when I had spoken, and the ponies in the tree at the center of the clearing didn’t react either. Maybe they were too focused on whatever video they were watching? I immediately decided it was time to get back at Pinkie Pie for blowing me off my feet back in the town square. I crouched down and started slinking forward, planning on sneaking through the minefield of sleeping Diamond Dogs all the way to the tree. “What’re you doing?” Deluge hissed from behind me, not daring to speak above a berating whisper. “If you scare any of them awake, you’ll get cut to pieces!” I rolled my eyes, and answered without turning, “First of all, you lead us here. So I’m pretty sure you were just planning on pulling off something like this anyway. And secondly, I think you’re forgetting who you’re talking to- when I’m in my normal form, ain’t nobody gonna lay a paw on me!” I continued to creep forward, disregarding the warnings being hoarsely whispered to me from the foliage. I stepped around the first few Diamond dogs, but eventually they got to be so thick that I had to step over them to find the few spaces of uncovered ground. When I was just fifteen feet from the tree, I put my foot down in the wrong place- the end of a Diamond Dog’s tail. I immediately dropped all of my weight onto the other foot, hoping the pressure was not enough in the short time span my foot had pressed down on the Diamond Dog’s tail to wake him up. He rolled onto his back, and began to stretch. I had to dodge a few flailing limbs, and even jump a few foot stops back when he began to twist and turn in his sleep. Eventually, he calmed down, and sighed blissfully as he drifted back into unmolested sleep. I released a breath I realized I had been holding, and made sure to pay more attention where I placed my bumbling feet. I made it to the dogless clearing around the tree, a space of maybe four feet. Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie remained fixated on the screen, and I could quite clearly hear what it was they were watching. To my horror, it was Blazing Saddles. Apparently, the interest with human conceptions of equines was strong within Twilight and her friends. “But… I thought they were in a desert… Why are they in the middle of so many buildings now?” Fluttershy asked, obviously completely lost. “I have no idea… but this is the most super duper movie I’ve ever seen in my whole entire life…” Pinkie Pie declared in awe. Just as Dom DeLuise decreed “Watch! Me! Faggots!” on screen, I snaked one arm around Pinkie Pie and clamped a hand over her mouth. My other hand paused the iPod, ending their viewing of Mel Brooks for the night. At the same time, I declared in an ominous tone, “That is way too inappropriate for the two of you.” I didn’t bother cutting off Fluttershy, as her cheers of excitement were adorably pathetic in the show. I figured, “Hey, if her cheers are so quiet, her yells will be too!” In a way, I was right. Fluttershy shot forward into the tree while simultaneously turning, and began screaming the highest pitched, and yet quietest, voice I’d ever heard. I don’t think a single Diamond Dog even heard her. Pinkie Pie, on the other hand, was quite the little terror. At first trying to unsuccessfully scream herself, she tried kicking me away- also to no avail. I had made sure not to be drawing energy before I grabbed her, to ensure her safety in my grasp, but even without the enhanced strength I think I would have been able to hold her. That puzzled me, until I heard her start to giggle. Almost immediately afterward, she began to lick my hand. “Ugh!” I mumbled, pulling my hand away to wipe on her fur. After all, her saliva, her problem, right? Pinkie Pie snickered even as Fluttershy continued to scream in her almost silent way. “Let me guess- y’all work for Mel Brooks?” she asked. “I wish,” I muttered in her ear before placing her back in the tree. She turned around to study my face intently, a bright smile on her lips that reflected the moonlight. Her eyes searched mine, narrowing a bit, before she backed up and turned to Fluttershy. “Come on, Fluttershy, it’s just Creed!” she whispered to her friend, patting her on the shoulder as Fluttershy shook with her back to the tree’s back wall. “Of course it is!” I smiled happily, tapping a rhythm on the tree’s bark. “I mean, come on, could this face really belong to anyone else?” I tilted my head to one side and half closed my eyes, bringing one hand up to caress my chin in what I hoped was a goofy rendition of a sexy pose. Instead, I discovered that my facial hair had continued to grow at its normal amount while in my pony form, much further than I liked it. In fact, it was the length my friends adoringly called the “Hobo”. Pinkie Pie turned back to me, still grinning. “Nah, I just saw it was you from your eyes,” she claimed. “I figured that one out after playing around with this CRAZY pool that made a bunch of me! There was a whole paint watching contest, but I was scared it would happen again, so I snuck back and made one last copy. I looker her all over, and finally figured out it was the eyes!” “Okaaaay,” I said slowly, unsure how to process that. “But… Didn’t the pool get a huge rock put over it?” “Mmmhhhmm,” She nodded. I waited for an explanation, but I saw after a few seconds she deigned not to give one. “Alrighty then, back to business,” I clapped my hands quietly, rubbing them together. “I need my stuff! My guitar, my iPod, my pis- uh, all of it…. Wait a minute, Pinkie, they don’t mention working for Mel Brooks until later in that scene. How do you know what they say?” She giggled again. “Oh, that was my third time watching it! I finished all the movies and music on your little thingy about half a week after Twilight showed it to me! She also explained the whole ‘little filly show’ thing to us, and I gotta say, I like it!” I blanched immediately, groaning and putting my face in my hands. Let’s just say, there was some music and movies I wouldn’t want my grandmother seeing on that iPod, let alone the innocent ponies! Twilight telling them about being cartoons didn’t bother me, that was going to happen anyway. “Oh, don’t worry, I ignored the cursing and bad stuff some of them talked about,” she waved away my fears with one hoof. "I actually really liked those ‘Barenaked Ladies’ and ‘Lynyrd Skynyrd’ ponies!” “They call themselves ‘people’, remember, Pinkie?” Fluttershy spoke quietly from the depths of the tree. “That’s just a silly willy nilly name though!” Pinkie snorted. “It doesn’t even make sense!” “How… How do Lynyrd Skynyrd or the Barenaked Ladies even make sense to you?” I asked, incredulous. I mean, come on, they’re not exactly something I would peg as being popular here!” The more I thought about it, the less sense it made. “And why wouldn’t you like, I don’t know, LMFAO or Daft Punk? Y’know, the party type artists!” She just rolled her eyes. “’Cuz ours are so much better! I saw ‘Smile Smile Smile’ on there, so I know you know that too, y’know?” Fluttershy had slowly been coming closer, though she was still hiding her face through her hair. I laughed seeing that, and she shied away a bit more. “Alright, Fluttershy, I’m sorry about scaring you,” I said somewhat seriously. “Honestly though, I’m the same pony that made you get up and get out of Ponyville. Do you remember what I told you?” She mumbled something under her breath, and I leaned closer. “I’m sorry, I didn’t quite get that,” I lied, feigning ignorance. “Can you say it one more time?” “Never be afraid to fall apart; it’s only an opportunity to rebuild yourself how you always wanted to be,” she repeated studiously. “That’s right!” I smiled. “After all, sometimes it’s the appropriate response to reality to go insane!” She too smiled, and her head rose enough that I could see half of her face without obstruction. “It is you,” she stated, seemingly relieved. “Duh!” I sighed exasperatedly, shaking my head in a vain attempt to hide my goofy grin. “Now then, if you’d kindly hand me my stuff, I’ll be on my merry way!” Pinkie Pie passed me the iPod, the unused lantern, my guitar case, and, after some hesitation, my pistol. I hurriedly stuffed the pistol in my back pocket after checking that the safety was still on, and smiled as I opened the guitar case to see Benjamin resting against my acoustic. “Oh, I’ve been in need of you for quite some time, buddy,” I mumbled as I drew Benjamin out of the case. “You aren’t leaving my side from now on!” I turned around and spied Deluge picking her way across the field of sleeping Diamond Dogs. I waved to her, but she was too focused on her footing to notice. Shrugging, I turned to look at the moon. It was already almost behind the horizon, and I knew sunrise wouldn’t be that far behind. Maybe ten minutes before the light in the east started dying the sky a rich yellow. I looked at Pinkie Pie, and then at Fluttershy. “So,” I said casually, slipping the shoulder strap of my guitar on. “What would the two of you fine young mares like to hear as we wait for sunrise?” Pinkie Pie’s smile was of astronomical proportions, and Fluttershy couldn’t help but to pipe up (relatively speaking). “I really liked that song ‘Simple Mare’, if it wouldn’t be too much of a hassle for you?” “Yeah!” Pinkie Pie chimed in. “That’s a good one!” I had to think a few seconds before I realized what song they were talking about. “You mean ‘Simple man’?” I asked. They both nodded their agreement, and I smiled. “Well, alright, but only ‘cuz you didn’t conform and say ‘Freebird’. I can’t stand that one!” While they gave me strange looks, I felt a paw on my shoulder. I turned my head to see Deluge standing there, a wide eyed Ruckus on her shoulder. He was gazing around us, taking everyone in. “Of course not,” I downplayed, and then looked at Ruckus. “Now, I want you to listen to the words for this song, okay?” I asked him. “They’re good words to live by.” He returned my stare with a determined one of his own. “I’ll remember every single stupid word of it,” he replied, straight-faced. “Oh, I see your mom has passed onto you her love for literature and the finer things in life,” I commented dryly. “How nice.” Deluge rolled her eyes, but I had already turned to the east to watch for the coloring of the sky. As I started to slowly pluck the strings, tuning the guitar, I saw the barest glint of the sun. “Music expresses that which cannot be said, on which it is impossible to be silent,” I told Ruckus solemnly. “This song is about a mother and son, their relationship, and her advice to him on how to live his life. Pay attention, and I’m sure you’ll understand better than anyone could explain using simple, or as you put it, stupid words.” I began to play, and immediately lost myself in the hauntingly simple chords of the classic song. My mama told me when I was young Said sit beside me my only son And listen closely to what I say And if you do this it'll help you some sunny day Oh, yeah it will Take your time, don't live too fast Troubles will come and they will pass You'll find a woman and you'll find love And don't forget that there is a someone up above And be a simple kind of man And be something you'll love and understand Baby be a simple kind of man Oh, won't you do this for me son if you can Then you can Don't get your lust from the rich man's gold All that you need now is in your soul And you can do this, oh baby if you try All that I want from you my son is to be satisfied And be a simple kind of man And be something you'll love and understand Baby be a simple kind of man Oh, won't you do this for me son if you can? If you can Oh, don't you worry, you'll find yourself Follow your heart and nothing else And you can do this, oh baby if you try All that I want from you my son is to be satisfied And be a simple kind of man Be something you'll love and understand Baby be a simple kind of man Oh, won't you do this for me son if you can So baby be a simple, be a simple man Oh, won't you do this for me son if you can As I struck the final chord, the first rays of the sun burst into brilliance in the sky, bathing the area a beautifully enriching light. I couldn’t help but to open myself to the magic of it, and allowed my body to become a sponge for the calming power. “One thing I can say with certainty,” I told the group as the diamond dogs began stirring behind us, “is that Celestia knows how to raise a great sun.” Everyone silently agreed, enjoying the sun for themselves, except for a single errant voice beside me. “I liked the song, but your voice kind of stunk,” Ruckus chimed in, breaking the moment for everyone. While they chuckled, I turned to him in mock surprise. “Well, well, well, we have ourselves a music critic!” I declared. “Keep announcing your opinions like that, and maybe someday you’ll make it onto my list of friends!” “If he keeps announcing his opinions like that, I’ll be putting him on my spanking list,” Deluge added warningly. Looking at me, she said, “We should probably be getting back to the cavern now, though. They were planning on a big meeting tomorrow- er, today- and I don’t think we should miss it.” I sighed, looking at Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy before nodding my agreement. “I suppose we should… Good morning then, girls. Sleep well!” As we started back on our hours long trek to the cavern, I couldn’t get a few things off my mind. First of all, why would Lazarus elect to continue letting Celestia and Luna raise the sun and moon every day, respectively? And secondly, what had happened in the fight against Charon? I was going to have to talk to Lyra, but immediately decided my imprisonment wasn’t going to be a part of that conversation. It was a subject I was hesitant to approach, since it had been her that had basically caused my breakdown- yet she was also the one who had fought for my release, and stayed by my side the entire night. What could I possibly make of that? ”Oh well,” I thought to myself as we trudged toward the tunnel entrance miles away, Benjamin over one shoulder and Ruckus darting in and out of foliage around us. “Better to let sleeping dogs lie.”