• Published 10th Mar 2012
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Shisno Chronicles: Friendship is Magic - nightelf37



Basically, it's a 'retelling' of the popular "Friendship is Magic" TV series with an OC.

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(NOT) A Friend In Deed

Author's Note:

I already gave you my reasons for not doing "A Friend In Deed". Now, the next chapter is just random snippets.

Sorry I wasn't able to publish a chapter for so long. I was so addicted to Stardew Valley and played an entire in-game year. You should check it out. It's inspired by Harvest Moon. I had also downloaded Steven Universe episodes and watched through all of them.

I had parts centered on Timerity and Record Keeper in mind, but then I remembered Special 4, which only had two parts. So I decided to shaft those for another time.

I own only the following: My originally designed OCs, and anything that doesn't happen in the show proper.

Special 11: Two Story Crew Snippets

Chronicle: Experiencing And Retelling A Strange Dream

Fluttershy's cottage…

For once, Chronicle had decided to wake up early. Getting up from one of the couches his marefriend sleeps in on occasion (like when foalsitting the Cutie Mark Crusaders when Skyla isn't available), he made his way to the kitchen where she prepares the food for the animal tenants around, approached the sink, and washed his face.

Just as he was finished, he felt something tug on his tail. Turning around, he saw that it was Angel, and he looked worried. "What's wrong, Angel?" he asked.

The bunny was pointing out of the kitchen, urging him to follow. He looked pretty worried.

"All right. Lead the way."

And he did. But as soon as Angel started scaling the steps, he started to worry, as he was making his way up to Fluttershy's bedroom. They've yet to reach the point where they would be comfortable in sharing a bed; sure, he slept with Twilight once, though that was more from an issue of space since Rarity and Applejack slept in his that time. He also slept with his sister once when he and his friends had been whisked to her Equestria, but that was beyond the point.

As soon as he reached the room, he saw the reason why Angel was worried.

Sleeping in Fluttershy's bed was not a yellow pegasus. The pink mane, wings, cutie mark, and a detached tail extension was still enough to tell that this was still likely her, but the rest was completely different. The form right in front of him had no coat, exposing pinkish skin. Her hind legs were now longer, bent differently, and had five toes. The same applied with her forelegs, but not by much, and he couldn't see much of them from his current position. Her hips were wider, and that's where her cutie mark was now. Her wings were positioned differently as well, now both on her back, which was now broader to match her new size.

Chronicle's mind immediately shut down from shock as he tried to process just what he was seeing. And then she turned in her sleep, oblivious to what became of her, revealing the other side to him. Her face was as lovely as ever, her "forelegs" now showed her delicate hands, and also right in front of him were two, large— his modesty immediately ground that train of thought to a screeching halt as he also covered his eyes with a raised hoof.

Whoa, whoa, whoa! he thought as he backtracked. How is this happening? Who did this? Can't be Discord! He can't possibly— Once again, it was interrupted, this time by the lack of floor behind him. In his shock from what he saw on Fluttershy's bed, he neglected the fact that the stairs were just behind him. As a result, he yelped as he tumbled down the staircase he just climbed earlier, rolling until he reached the bottom, where he knocked the back of his skull against—

D—R—E—A—M—T—W—I—S—T

—a bunny's foot, which was kicking him there, forcing his sleeping form on the couch to fall from it as he landed on the floor face-first, which then prompted him to wake.

"Oww!" he cried out as he promptly got up and glared at the culprit, Angel. "Do you really have to give me that rude an awakening?"

"Sorry, Chronicle, but we know you're a deep sleeper."

Turning to the voice's source, he saw that Fluttershy was already done preparing breakfast for her animal residents. Now, she had the table set for the two of them. And much to his relief, she was still a pegasus pony.

"Right."

The following breakfast was quiet, both the tranquil and the awkward kind. Today, she made salad, and made sure that there wasn't hay among them, knowing he didn't like it. She wanted to ask why, but with the way he was turning away every time he looks at her, his cheeks taking in a reddish hue, he didn't look like he wanted to speak right now.

Chronicle knew that if he didn't tell her now, it was going to bug him for at least three days. Her saddlebags were already packed for her camping trip with Applejack, which was usually a few days after Board Game Night (he'd come too, but he still had four others to look out for). But did she really need to know? That dream wouldn't make sense for a native Equestrian. And if the rumors regarding Lyra Heartstrings were true…

And then he felt the harsh glare of Angel, who was also on the table with them. Not that he was scared at all, or anything like that. But he decided it might be best to tell her his dream. He wanted to use the MemLock just in case, but Dad wasn't too keen on Story Crew equipment being used for such trivial purposes. So he'll have to be careful with his words.

"Before Angel woke me up, I had a very weird dream," he began as he chewed on a carrot.

This caught the pegasus's attention and she paused in her eating.

After gulping the piece down, he continued. "I was waking up early—in the dream, mind you—and was washing my face in the kitchen when Angel caught my attention, urging me to go up to your room. And when I did, I saw that you…" He rubbed his nape as he tried to find the words. "…well, there wasn't a pegasus on the bed."

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"Well, somehow I knew it was still you, but… in the dream, you had been transformed into something else. I found myself reeling back, then falling down the stairs, then hitting the floor just as Angel in the waking world kicked me off the couch."

"Um, what did I look like in the dream?"

Chronicle blushed at the recent memory of the dream, and unlike others, probably because of his dreamscape, he can remember his dreams vividly. "Thankfully", what he saw in his dream happened in reality in Blue Diary's assigned Equestria, though with Lyra Heartstrings instead. Managing to remember all too well what happened there, he explained.

"Well, imagine you turned into a bear. But you still had your mane, and your wings were now on your back. Follow me so far?"

"Mmm-hmm."

"Now remove all the fur, the claws, and tail. Now imagine a slightly shorter and slimmer body with smooth, pinkish skin. Longer hind legs and feet with five toes, four small and one large."

"Okay." Now she was really curious.

"Add wider hips, with your cutie mark there. Forelegs also longer, but not as much. Instead of hooves, you had…" He took out his 'white glove' and showed it. "…Something like this, but daintier. On your chest…" The unicorn was blushing profusely now. "…were… were… udders is the closest words I can think of. Two of them, one teat each. And the udders were half as large as your head right now.

"And your face was…flatter, in a sense. Your ears were on the side instead of the top and cannot be twitched like bear ears or ours." He twitched an ear in demonstration. "Your nose was comparatively small, no snout. Can't tell if your eyes were different, since they never opened in the dream. Basically, you were a full-on biped."

With the full image in mind, Fluttershy now knew what he had 'seen', but she was still confused as to why it was making him feel awkward. "Wow. I…I don't know what to say."

"Well, dreams can get very weird sometimes, heheh. You don't need to dwell on it too much."

"I've had weird dreams, too. Before you confessed your love for me, I sometimes had dreams of being in a snowy white void, and I would see a white earth pony. Somehow, I always think that was Angel, But I never ask why. I just—" Just then, a knock came on the door. "Oh, that must be her."

Thankful their current topic of conversation was over, Chronicle called in his marefriend's stead. "Come in!"

Entering the cottage was Applejack, who also had her saddlebags filled with camping supplies. "Mornin'! Ready to go, Fluttershy?"

The pegasus nodded. "We were just in the middle of breakfast."

"Right. Your monthly camping trip," the stallion commented.

"Why don't you come with us next time, Chronicle?" suggested the farmpony.

He thought about it. "Maybe, but even if I can dispatch or leave behind some magical clones to cover for me, my worry could potentially dampen the fun of your trip if I come. I've been more of an urban/city pony, to be honest. And you remember the last time I had some clones tag along, right?"

The two to-be-camping partners remembered, and it was rather embarrassing. It involved someone's lost limited edition boffyball card, Lacertas (lizards of the same Astral Beast category as the Ursa Minor and Ursa Major), a Bugbear, two prosthetic hooves, a special parasprite lure, a smuggled cormorant, and a zebra-racist former Discord cultist. "Well, it's not like those things'll happen every time," she defended.

"True, but again, I'd rather not ruin your fun. You two rarely hang out together alone otherwise. Same goes for Pinkie Pie and Rarity."

Applejack didn't get it. "Together alone? What the hay is that supposed to mean?"

"Meaning just the two of you without a third serving as the bridge. One example of such a bridge would be Rainbow Dash." As he finished a last lettuce leaf, he pointed at Applejack. "She's a fellow athlete like you…" Then gestured at Fluttershy. "And she's her childhood friend. Both of you share an obvious bond with Rainbow, but as far as those not in the know are concerned, there's not much connecting you two with each other."

"I know another example, Chronicle; you and me."

The unicorn had to admit that was a good point. "Guess you're right. I'd ask for another sparring partner, but I prefer practicing against techniques. Compared to other earth pony combatants I've dueled, especially the weapon-less ones, all you got going for you is your strength and lasso." He was met with un-amusement. "But, after your trip, I'll find some free time if you wish to prove me wrong."

Applejack accepted the future challenge. "You're on."

Nighttime…

The white pegasus flew as fast as he could to the mare's home, which was a shack that was a good distance from Ponyville. The reason he had to hurry was because she was about to make a terrible mistake with her life, a mistake he could fix, even though it may not be easy.

His friends might have acted out of a millennium-long induced paranoia, but that didn't make them turning her away any better or any more justified. With that avenue closed for the time being, his path is the only one that can save her. Well, there was one other, but certain faiths regard it as unforgivable and would condemn her for such an act, not that she saw her current situation as anything worse.

Blue Diary finally reached the shack, seeing the faint glow of a fire from the grime-coated windows. With one final push, he reached the doorway, its door fallen onto the grass outside, and startling the residing pony as he landed on the fallen door and called out her name.

"Sunset Shimmer!"

The pony inside the house was a unicorn mare. Her coat was a shade of amber, her mane crimson with yellow stripes, her eyes cyan, and her cutie mark a stylized sun split in two colors; red and yellow. She looked disheveled, hopeless, ready to do what many ponies driven so deep in despair would do. She was embracing an oil lamp, raised onto her haunches, and was ready to light it to beyond its maximum capacity, and the results would be very, very ugly if she were to go through with it right now. Blue would be safe with his magic swords and amulet, but he can't guarantee Sunset's own safety, if she even wants it.

"What do you want?!" she demanded of him, voice filled with anguish and frustration as she got down on all fours again. The lantern dropped, landing on its base. "Is it not enough for you to ostracize me just for what I look like?! Are you going to take me away as well?!"

He had to calm her down fast and raised a hoof. "No! Nothing of the sort! I just… I just wanted to apologize on behalf of Trixie Lulamoon and the other Elements of Harmony. You just caught them at a very bad time." As soon as Sunset calmed down a bit, showing she was willing to listen, he continued, "A series of assassination attempts came sometime around last week in an attempt to take out the Elements. We managed to halt the attacks just in time, but some of their blade had nearly ended up mere inches to my friends' throats. I'll come by again tomorrow to escort you, and I'll make sure you're not assaulted just for your looks."

Tears began to fall from Sunset's eyes, and she began to sob in disbelief. "I don't understand. So many ponies have prejudiced me simply because of that. How do you not?"

Blue composed himself as he entered the shack as he waited for her to calm down enough to listen. "Because I live by a quote from my family that says, 'Judge not from looks, but from deeds.' I'm giving you another chance, Sunset, and I'm not gonna let anybody take it away from you this time."

She turned away, facing the lantern again. "It doesn't matter anymore. I can't keep living like this. So much rejection, from fillyhood to adulthood, all because of my bright colors and my sun-themed name…" She struggled to stop from crying all over again, and just managed it. "I just want peace, and I'm done waiting."

The pegasus became solemn. "Is that what you want? Peace from this nightmare that is your life?"

"Yes." Her tone was resolute, and there was no way to turn her from this line of thinking…except for perhaps one other thing.

"All right, then." This seemed to surprise Sunset as she paused from resuming to light the lantern. He was going to give up that easily? Just let her do what she was about to do? "I've got another offer for you."

This confused her. "What?" As she turned to face him again, Blue procured two objects.

One of them was a clear sphere with a depiction of his cutie mark (minus the two swords crossed behind it) slowly spinning inside it. The symbol also served as a clock face, whose hands spun with the hour hand going as fast as the minute hand would, which in turn was going as fast as the second hand should, which in turn did not exist here. The other was an object that had a square shape with a bronze exterior and a metal arch shape with its ends linked to one side of the square shape.

The pegasus glared at the MemLock, and the metal arch rose a bit, revealing that one end of it was still connected while the other was not. The arch then rotated itself clockwise once before descending itself again into the square shape, which then turned into a gold hue. Next, he tossed down the Time Pocket and a sphere of magic expanded from where it was thrown, engulfing Blue, Sunset, and her entire shack, leaving everything outside of the area save for the two ponies colored in a shade of amber.

"What's going on?" Sunset asked, getting a little frightened.

"Just some insurance in case for whatever reason you decide to go with your original plan," Blue answered before putting his front hooves down. "Now, for my offer."

"First thing," she cut him off, which he allowed. "Who are you, really?"

The pegasus cleared his throat before beginning. Well, his throat was already clear, but he wanted to make sure she was not being currently distracted by what he just used in front of her. "I'm a member of a multiversal organization called the Story Crew, and I'm here to recruit you."

"Wh-wh-what?" Everything was getting so confusing for Sunset, but Blue didn't look the type to trick others, and he certainly seemed sincere with his offer.

The pegasus gave the unicorn a full lowdown of everything he's authorized to tell about the Story Crew, what it does, why it does it, his position and duties in it, and all other sorts of things still classified to their Catalyst. And what Blue thought would enamor to Sunset was the fact that one's past doesn't matter when being recruited; just one's skill sets, and the Story Crew has facilities to change or add to that.

He also embellished the offer with the services the Story Crew provides for its members, but also had to tell her of the dangers the organizations faced and fought. They weren't heartless enough to throw fresh recruits into the fray; combat (physical or political) wasn't everything that mattered in the Story Crew, just for Field Operatives like him and his family.

Once he was done with his long sales pitch (Field Operatives weren't supposed to be doing this, but were taught how anyway just in case of situations like this), Blue took his time to catch his breath, and Sunset waited patiently for him to do that. Once he managed to do that, he asked, "So… what do you think?"

Sunset had some difficulty taking all of this in, and this was assuming Blue was telling the truth; the time-stopping artifact or that "lock" thing wasn't going to be enough. But given her original plan, maybe this would provide a second chance. And if it turns out he was screwing with her, she could always find a way to return to that plan. What was left for her at this point, anyway?

"What do I have to lose?" She stared at Blue straight in the eyes and nodded, her own eyes filled hope but with a little caution. "I'm in."

"All right, then. Let me contact them." Since she wasn't going to be a native denizen in a short while, using the small hammerspace all non-unicorns have, he took out his communicator, activated it, and said, "Hub Office, this is Field Op Blue Diary. I have one case of recruitment, Type Sui, Sub-Type Torch. Requesting transfer."

"Roger that, Field Op. Sending a portal to your location. What do you wish to request for Cover?"

"Explosive to burn down a small run-down shack. Timed. Within local unicorn magic limits."

"…Granted. They'll be in order in just a moment."

"Roger." Blue turned to Sunset and said, "Because of our secrecy policy, we have to curb investigations that may lead to us by giving a very plausible alternate cause. Burning the house down with the lantern and magic is one such cause."

"I see." Just then, a circle of light manifested itself to Sunset's left (and Blue's right). A box also materialized in the middle of it. All of this was still confounding her. "Is that…"

"That, Sunset, is your exit from this world. Just step on the circle," Blue answered as he picked up the box with his front hooves and then set it down elsewhere. Normally, he would be making this easy for himself with his swords or his amulet, but he's been told by his father to practice hoof use more in the event he somehow loses his items. "And in this box is the explosive."

The unicorn was quick to follow as she made her way to the light circle, then turned to face Blue as she took out something from the box and set it in the middle of the shack, tinkering with it somehow with one hoof on it and his other on the amulet he's wearing. She wanted to ask how that small object could take down the entire shack, but given how frail it was, she figured it wouldn't take much. "Is there any chance I might see you again?"

"Doubtful. By the time I get break time to go to Hub Equestria, you'll have found some work to do, and I'm not entitled to find out how our recruits are doing. Besides, I think I already got a marefriend."

"Think? What do you—" Before she could finish her question, the circle did its work by turning into a column of light, which consumed Sunset completely, and thankfully stopped at the roof to avoid being seen by anybody outside. Even if it did go through, it would've been blocked by the bubble cast by Blue's Time Pocket. When the column vanished, so did Sunset.

Thank Luna I didn't have to answer that question, Blue thought to himself as he set the explosive to do its thing in a couple of seconds. Maybe he was missing a few details, but he was sure the other operatives here could fix that, and he could hear their complaints later. With its work done, the Time Pocket stopped and the bubble vanished, turning everything outside of its coverage area back to normal coloration. Okay. Time to enact the plan.

(A/N: And I'm gonna stop it there. If you read the story provided in the link, or even read the context of this sequence, you all know what happens next. As for Blue Diary's involvement since the Story Crew omits his presence, he performs the Wounded Gazelle Gambit, even though he's actually innocent of murder; catching himself in the explosion, with "evidence" being dirt on his back and a dirt trail after being sent flying as he would naturally barrier himself from the explosion.)

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