An Island built in the sky

by Brotato

Ch. 17: [Part 1] The bigger picture

Chapter 17

Part 1: The bigger picture

Kid walked across the garden, still feeling the rush in his veins slowly recede. Truthfully, he wished he didn't have to intimidate the pony so much. The way he acted so negatively toward being a human struck him deeply; reminding him of the disdain Caelondia had for his white hair. It made him wonder if he went too far since his original plan was to prove his worth. Not frighten and threaten a supervisor.

"He deserved it," Kid's anger spoke while clenching the hilt of his hammer in his right hand, feeling it build up again. However, he quickly remembered that anger never helped him in the past, and it definitely wasn't going to help him now. He needed someplace to relax and let his mind calm down. Seeing a nearby bench, he walked toward it and rested his hammer on the side and took a seat. Letting out a long sigh, he rested his head on the back of the bench and looked up at the sky. Several white fluffy clouds sat above him without a care in the world, and for a moment, he wished his life was that easy. Instead he's stuck in another world. A world that has never heard or seen a human before.

Would Equestria even accept him as a human? Would the ponies?

The thought scared him a bit. This place was so calm and serene. His bout of anger might as well have been a pollution to the air. What would Celestia say when she found out he grabbed Chip and frightened the poor guy? More importantly, what would his friends say if they found out? What kind of punishments do they even give out here? Deciding to just wait for them to find out, he focused on what was far more important.

Rucks said he needed a metal tube... thing... remade, and needed to find a power source. While he promised himself he wouldn't give up finding a way back home, he felt like a water-drop of hope in an entire sea of doubt. Where would he begin? Sitting forward on the bench, he eyed the garden and hedge-maze for answers. His gaze wandered toward an odd statue that looked like several pieces of different animals were glued together. Its face recoiling in fear of something indiscernible that only the artist who chiseled the statue knew about.

Whoever made that statue must have a strange imagination, Kid mused. Even more odd than the statue was the sense of someone or something watching him. Even if he was alone. He pushed away his instincts as he found the entire idea silly. Even if someone was watching him, he doubted it was...

Hammer ruffled his hair in frustration. In less than several minutes he somehow went from worrying about his friends reactions to grabbing a pony by the throat, to studying a statue. He couldn't focus, and that was what he needed to do if he planned to fix the Bastion.

A sigh left Hammer's lips. Maybe all this weight on my shoulders is finally getting to me, he deducted. The peaceful garden did start to eased his nerves, so he decided to stay for several minutes. Dr. Hammer's orders. ten minutes of relaxation. He got more comfortable by weaves his fingers behind his head and closing his eyes.

"I'm sure she's busy anyway," he agreed with himself.

"Thou speakist of our sister, do you not?" An inquisitive voice spoke up behind him. Kid lowered his arms and tilted his head far back, only to see Princess Luna walking toward him, upside-down. He jumped off the bench and grabbed his hammer on instinct. Taking a wide defensive stance, he peered at her cautiously as if she were going to attack. Luna scruched her face in distaste at his reaction. "Please calm thyself, Hammer. We promise to not sic the guard on you again. In fact, we would like to apologize deeply for causing such distress." She helped herself to sit on the other end of the bench. "Not many ponies are able to teleport directly into the inner rooms of Canterlot Castle like you just did. I hope that helps you understand my worry as we believed you were wishing harm on our sister."

Seeing Luna's sorrowful expression, Hammer slowly left his defensive stance and set the hammer against the bench again. He sat back down on the bench and ran a hand along his face. "It's alright, Princess. I can't say I would do the same since I don't have any siblings, but I always look out for my friends. Just be sure to ask questions first before jumping to conclusions I suppose." He waved a hand in the air as if to shoo away her worry.

A small smile appeared on Luna's lips. "We are glad to hear this." She peered at something and Kid noticed for a moment her brow furrow in confusion. "I was told you would be assisting with construction with the eastern wing. Are you already finished?"

"Chip and I didn't see 'eye-to-eye'." Hammer began, leaning forward to rest his elbows on his knees. "He reminded me of some others I hated very much in my past and I guess I finally snapped. Ever since being sent here I've never met such a..." While Hammer would love to say some 'colorful' language, Luna probably wouldn't appreciate it. "... Stubborn and condescending pony. I was eager to help and prove myself, but he refused every single time."

He noticed his hand was clenching in anger and quickly relaxed it. "Long story short, He angered me enough that I grabbed him, then began to intimidate and humiliated him in front of his crew. After that I took my Cael Hammer and resolved the problem and walked away, leaving me to relax on this bench." A sigh left his lips for having to explain himself, but he was glad it wasn't Celestia first. Hammer waited for Luna to start berating him for doing such things to a pony, but was caught off guard with an entirely different reaction.

Luna was giggling. The usual short giggles you hear whenever a woman, or mare in this case, found something quite amusing. "It appears you were expecting us to be angered or disappointed in you?" Luna raised a sly eyebrow upon seeing his perplexed expression. "To be honest, he had it coming. Chip has always been a nuisance in Canterlot's side ever since he was hired. The only real reason he's still here is the lack of ponies who match him in skill." She tucked her hooves under herself for a more comfortable position." I always believed somepony showing him up would straighten him out."

"Well, we can only hope I straightening him out enough." Hammer said in a way to end the subject. He eyed the statue again and he found his curiosity take over. Now that Luna was here, maybe he could get some answers on the subject. "Do you know who created the odd statue?" Pointing a thumb at it.

Luna glanced at where his thumb was pointing and her face scrunched in disgust. "If only it were a 'normal' odd statue," Luna muttered loud enough for Hammer to hear. "What you see is the creature of pure chaos, Discord.

Hammer blinked several times with a blank face as he wrapped his mind around what Luna was telling him. "So... that thing used to be alive?"

"Oh he's still alive, but as you can see he's a bit... stuck. The statue is his prison, thanks to the Elements of Harmony."

"The... elements of Harmony?" Hammer raised a brow in mixed confusion and interest. Whatever it was, it must be very powerful to turn a living creature to stone.

Luna raised her own brows in disbelief. "Oh, twilight never told you? She's one of the bearers after all. The element of magic. The others being loyalty, honesty, laughter, kindness, and generosity."

Hammer nodded his head in understanding, propping up his right foot on his left knee. "So what does he do exactly? Being that he's stuck like a statue forever, it must be pretty bad."

"You have no idea," Luna put a hoof to her forehead. "He's as unpredictable as anypony can get. One day he might turn the entirety of Canterlot into a giant bowl of ice cream. Next he'll be busy drawing a smiley face on Celestia's sun with a sharpie."

For a moment, Hammer didn't think having a bowl of ice cream the size of a city that bad. Then again, waking up to find your house turned into a chocolate sundae would be quite the surprise. "I... see your point."

"Wonderful." Luna hopped off the bench and lightly flapped her wings to stretch. "It was nice chatting with you Hammer, but now I must depart. My sister should be expecting you any moment in the throne room." She fixed him with a focused stare that felt like she was reading his mind. A amused smile formed on his mouth as well. "And don't worry about Celestia punishing you about your incident. We both were looking forward to somepony teaching him a lesson, but she won't show it. She'll say something about 'treat other ponies as they treat unto you' or something blah blah blah." Luna explained in a very unprincess-like manner.

With her advice on how to deal with his impending confrontation with Celestia, she bad farewell. Hammer watched her do a single quick and powerful flap of her wings. It was enough since she shot into the air and had gained enough altitude to be high above the hedges. Soon after, she zipped away and departed into the blue sky. Disappearing behind one of the ivory towers.

With nothing left for him in the garden, Hammer stood up and grabbed his weapon. Securing it to his back, he walked toward the doorway a little ways down the small paved pathway. When he reached for the handle, he heard something faint behind him. Turning around, all he saw was the garden and its lush colors. There were several birds flying to a nearby tree, but nothing could've replicated what he just heard.

It was faint, like trying to listen to Fluttershy when she was being extra timid. It wasn't something natural like the wind tussling the leaves or chirp of birds. It had a voice and came directly behind him.

And it was laughing.

Comments

[Brotato]

Ugh blarble. I had to wrestle chapter 17 down and tazer it into submission. Anywho, have an update.

Also, ermagherd time to focus on the plot

[Paper Crease]

>nusence
USE AN PROPER SPELLINGS PLEASE.
(For your convenience, it's spelled 'nuisance'.)
Anyways, Discord re-arrival is main plot?
I'm looking forward to this.

[Cellin]

It was faint, like trying to listen to Fluttershy when she was being extra timid. It wasn't something natural like the wind tussling the leaves or chirp of birds. It had a voice and came directly behind him.

And it was laughing.

Oh damn it...

[Andreno]

I saaw quite a few tense errors, and so.lme speiling.
god, the crap tablet i am on sucks. Sorry i cant elaborate.

I am loving the story. Keep it up please.

[ThereIsNo4thWall]

This story needs some Zulf in it, but either way it's amazingly awesome!

[Brotato]

1222296 Sadly, kid didn't save him. So that means he's still faceplanted in the snow back in Caelondia.

Edit: *Thinks for a moment* Actually... I'll get back to you on that.

[ThereIsNo4thWall]

1222742

[Malesur Darkhoof]

The plot tickens!
i0.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/newsfeed/000/294/601/d2a.jpg

[Rainbow_Dashtruction]

since His original plan

RAGE

Then immediatly afterwards

Would Equestria even accept him as a humans? Would the ponies?

Your turning me into a grammar nazi

[Rainbow_Dashtruction]

Sisappearing behind one of the ivory towers.

GODDAMNIT

[Rainbow_Dashtruction]

1220674 That was the only one you found?!

[Brotato]

1266286>>1266323 I'll be sure to make more typos purposefully for you in chapter 19 then!

Oh, and thanks for pointing out the typos :D