19 - Trouble
Chapter 19: Trouble
After a little conversation about what qualified as cool or not, with me ending up more amused than exasperated, Runner showed me around the school to point out some of the more awesome things around.
Which weren’t much.
I mean what do you expect? It’s a school, not a research lab.
We trotted around the playground for a bit and looked at the various landmarks around the school.
Runner pointed a hoof at the dead tree.
“What’s this?” I asked, not comprehending. I didn’t see the significance of the dead tree. The branches were bare, the thing was wilting and there was a rough, unkempt patch of soil and grass around it. It was smaller than Tempora, sitting about chest height, if I were human.
It was one of the most unimpressive trees I’ve ever seen.
Runner looked at me as if I was stupid or something. Wavey decided to be actually helpful and explain.
“This is the Warning Tree," she stated, rubbing the bark of the tree. I cocked my head in confusion.
“The Warning Tree?” I repeated.
Runner face-hoofed.
“Where are you from? A different planet? Tempora had these placed all over Equestria," he said in a matter of fact tone.
Curious, I inspected the tree closer. It still looked like a dead tree. I rubbed my hoof on the bark like Wavey had done. Nope, still felt like a tree. I looked at my hoof in mild surprise. I could feel things through my hooves. Weird.
Oh well, I could always ask Tempora about it later.
I turned around suddenly and faced Runner giving him an intense look. He took a couple of steps back.
“Ooooh," I cooed at him, putting on a thin, nasally voice. “I’m an alien.”
Runner burst out laughing.
“Ha," he giggled and even Golden and Wavey joined in.
“An alien," he choked after his fit subsided. “Good one.”
I gave him a wide smile.
“Yeah, if a real alien came through they wouldn’t have that kind of voice," I muttered sheepishly.
Golden Gala bobbed her head in agreement. She looked excited.
“Yeah! They’d be big and tentacly and slimy and icky and stuff, right?”
Wavey cocked her head.
“Wouldn’t it make more sense if they were like us?”
Runner and Golden paused and gave each other looks. Then they turned to back to Wavey and shook their heads.
“Nah," they both said at the same time. Wavey looked non-plussed.
“Well it would make sense," she mumbled, pawing the ground with her hoof. Runner and Golden laughed at Wavey’s expression. I decided to end it there.
“Hey Runner, weren’t you going to show me the rest of the school?” I asked him, rolling my eyes in sympathy at Wavey. Wavey gave a small smile back.
Runner paused in mid-laugh.
“Oh yeah, I haven’t shown you the garden!” he exclaimed, bursting forward and leading the rest of us to the rear end of the school.
I gave Wavey a nudge, as she half-dragged her hooves behind.
“Ah well if it’s any consolation I think aliens would be like us," I chattered reassuringly. “If not in physical form, then in like minds.”
Wavey brightened at that.
“Yeah," she grinned. “That sounds nice.”
——
Later that day, when school had ended, I spotted Tempora languishing at the gate searching everypony intently as they walked up to the gate. She was in ‘disguise’ of course, but her presence was just so bizarre it made me face-hoof and want to trot right back to the school.
Runner and Golden snickered at me as they observed the overenthusiastic mother-figure and my reaction. Wavey gave me a sympathetic hoof rub but that only made me feel worse.
“Okay," I mumbled, taking a couple of hoofsteps forward reluctantly. “Let’s get this over with.”
The three foals gave me a jaunty farewell as I made my way through the rushing crowd to the excited mare, with her forelegs propped up on the gate. She gave me an inane grin as I slowly approached her.
“Mother," I hissed through my gritted teeth.
Tempora made an odd sound in between a squeal and a squeak.
“Oh Harmonica! I’ve always wanted to accompany my son back from the school," she bubbled as I stopped a few paces away from her.
“Don’t you have, ahem, your other daughters as well?” I asked wryly.
Tempora nodded.
“And I wouldn’t trade them for the world," she replied ecstatically, practically dancing on her hooves. “I just never had the chance to bring back my son.”
I sighed.
“Yep, okay," I said in answer to that. It was just a little embarrassment. Kind of.
Out of nowhere, Tempora gave me an uncomfortable lick on the side of my cheek that made me whip around and glare at her in shock.
She gave a pony-shrug.
“Sorry, you’re just so cute!” she squealed as I let go a long-suffering sigh.
Erggh.
I’ve had weirder days.
——
When Tempora had gotten over her, for lack of a better term, fan-fillying over me, I asked her about the Warning Tree.
At that, Tempora instantly sobered up and she took slower paces. I trotted along with her in silence for a moment until Tempora spoke up.
“You might not like what I have to say about the Tree," she said finally, as we came up to the main path towards the castle.
I pursed my lips as I considered whether or not I should broach the subject. If it was out there in the open, there was bound to be information on it somewhere else.
Tempora sighed.
“But you probably will find out about it later, if you wanted to," she muttered, then tilted her head to address me.
“The Trees are an advanced warning system," she explained as we rounded the corner to get on the main path to the castle. There were various small shops, carts and stands around, selling one thing or another in the marketplace. I looked at the goods curiously, we had ridden a carriage of all things to get here so there wasn’t much sightseeing, as the windows were curtained. Now, I got a good look at the bustling ponies. Tempora was about to continue when we were interrupted by a screechy voice on the left.
“Apple for the missus?” the croaky voice scratched out at us. Tempora shook her head. The old mare looked at me.
“Perhaps for the lad? I promise, it is good.”
Tempora shook her head again, this time more firmly.
“Come on Harmonica, we have to go.”
I turned to leave but a dark green hoof shot out, grabbing one of my limbs.
“Hmm," the old mare growled, peering intently at my hoof. “I see tragedy in the future with you.”
Tempora stomped a hoof impatiently but the mare grabbed me tighter, leaning in to whisper in my ears.
“You will play an important part in the fate of Equestria," she croaked quietly into my ear. Her raspy voice held more gravity than it suggested.
“Remember yourself," she whispered, then let me go as Tempora was just about to come over and intervene.
“Come by anytime!” she told me cheerfully as she waved a hoof at me. I gave her one last sparing glance before Tempora lead me away.
“Charlatans and commoners the lot of them," Tempora growled viciously. I was taken back.
“What has being a commoner have to do with anything? Better yet, why are there commoners? Isn’t everypony equal here?”
Tempora snorted.
“A mere ideal. How can everypony be equal? Are all ponies born of equal strength, intelligence or power?” she asked, raising an eyebrow.
I gaped at her.
“W-What? That may be true-“ I started but she cut me off.
“Yes, it is. That is why there is royalty and that is why there are commoners. If there was a change in the system it would be complete anarchy!” she argued, flaring her nostrils.
I stopped and glared at her.
“Just because they weren’t born or married into royalty, does not make them any better or worse than anyone else! If someone is born different, they are just better suited to different things, inequality is not an excuse for discrimination!”
Tempora gave me a glare in return.
“That’s ridiculous. Ponies have their place, that’s why they have cutie marks.”
There were those words again. Sounded ridiculous but they really liked their ’cutie marks’. I sighed, then took a calming breath. Getting angry at Tempora would be counter-productive. I tried a different tack.
“Cutie marks, you ponies keep mentioning them, are you saying those images you have on your flank actually mean something important?”
Tempora raised an eyebrow.
“Of course, they signify your life’s calling, your special talent as it were.”
I crossed my arms.
“So that galaxy on your flank, how does that relate to Time?” I asked, gesturing to her flank. It was covered by her dress but my point still stands.
Tempora looked at her flank and then looked back at me.
“Is that what it is? A ‘galaxy’?” she asked me, she looked back at her flank as if seeing them in a new light.
“Yes, a galaxy. It’s a celestial object that houses millions if not billions of stars," I explained patiently.
Tempora looked confused.
“I thought that perhaps it looked like some sort of vortex for Time or it signified the circular flow of life, that Time is a part of," she muttered. She looked a little put off.
“No," I shot back. “It’s definitely a galaxy. Go ask my Dad.”
Tempora nodded absently, she trotted a few steps.
“I might do that," she replied, somewhat distantly.
Oh dear, did I break her? I guess I shouldn’t have destroyed her world view.
“Hey, uhm-“ I started but then a bright flash seared my vision.
“Ah, dang!” I swore, reflexively shielding my eyes with my forelimb.
Tempora was gone, she teleported away again. The after effects of the teleportation lingered in my vision and I angrily blinked for a few moments. I stomped a hoof in frustration. That stupid-
I took a calming breath.
I glanced up the road. It had taken us about twenty minutes to walk up this path. I looked back, then forwards again. We had only made it about one-fifth of the distance to the castle. I sighed. This was going to be a long walk.
——
I opened the front door of my house with my mouth because my traitorous hooves wouldn’t grip the door handle. I tried not to think about what had been there, fortunately it tasted like metal… mostly.
I found Discord sleeping soundly on the couch. Even though I came into the house grumbling, seeing Discord made me feel warm. I let out a sigh and collapsed on the couch with him, placing a hoof on his back while I took a nap.
——
“Oh, look at them both, that’s so adorable!”
“Shh! You’ll wake them.”
“Oh don’t be silly, they’re fast asleep.”
“Only one of them is a child, Tempora.”
“But they’re both foals now.”
“Now, that was your fault, I don’t think Harmonica liked that too much.”
There was a pause.
“Yes, I know… I can be a strong headed at times.”
There was another pause.
“Oh stop it Max, I already feel bad enough. I need to apologise to Harmony now.”
My ear twitched. I opened my eyes to see my Dad staring at me, only inches away from my face.
“Looks like he’s already wide awake," he chuckled, grinning at me.
I rolled my eyes at him.
“You know if I wasn’t used to you doing that all the time, I’d probably hit you in the face," I commented wryly.
My Dad merely shrugged, still smiling.
“Good thing you’re used to it, then," he laughed and I smiled.
I turned to look at Tempora who shifted her hooves uneasily. I glanced at Discord, who was still fast asleep. Tempora cleared her throat.
“I think I owe you an apology," she began but I cut her off.
“Eh, I don’t like this sort of touchy feely stuff, just woke up," I said, getting down from the couch and staring up at Tempora. “Just zap me back to a human for now and I’ll forgive you.”
Max folded his arms and stared me down.
I blew out a frustrated breath.
“Alright," I groaned, then straightened.
“I’m sorry too," I added uncomfortably, it wasn’t sincere but Tempora seemed to accept it.
Tempora nuzzled me as I sat there feeling unsettled. I didn’t want to talk to Tempora right now. I didn’t really want to see her at all.
I dredged deep for some form of composure. Amazingly, I was able to find some left.
Tempora looked regretful. Her horn lit up and I felt a disturbing sensation of twisting muscles and tendons moving. I heard a cracking sound and though I didn’t feel any great amount of pain, I felt as if my bones were moving and twisting under my skin. Last time this happened, I was unconscious. Fascinated I looked at my hoof as it morphed slowly into a hand. There was a moment as I couldn’t articulate my fingers, which sent a short shiver of panic down my spine but after a while I stretched comfortably, working out the kinks in my joints. Ah, it feels good to be human again.
Tempora cleared her throat.
“O-Okay Harmony," she stammered. “I have to leave now… I’m sorry I couldn’t stay much longer. You might want to cover your eyes.”
I quickly shielded my eyes as she flashed away.
I turned to my Dad lifting an eyebrow. My seriousness was still valid even though I was naked.
My father sat gently on the couch, patting the remaining space beside him.
“I know you’re upset-“ he held up a hand to stem my protest “-but Tempora is trying her best. Her views can be a little… archaic but deep down she really cares for you and she’s trying to change for the better.”
He was silent for a moment.
“I’m not asking you. I’m not telling you. I’m just giving you my thoughts," he stated flatly. His mouth quirked as he gave me a wink.
“She’s not perfect, Harmony, but no one is. Everyone deserves a second chance.”
I looked at Discord as he slept soundly, occasionally, his paws would twitch, making me smile.
If I argued now, I would feel like a hypocrite.
“Okay," I elucidated slowly. “But this better be the last time I get transformed into something without being asked, first.”
My Dad laughed heartily, slapping me on the back.
“Don’t count on it," he chuckled, getting up and walking to the door.
As the door shut, I grumbled to myself.
“Yeah, that’s probably hoping for too much.”
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If one doesn't live like a commoner, one doesn't understand what harmony means between the nobles and the common folk alike.
5142756 are you suggesting that he has/had a status of 'commoner' - e ness sir
Uhm..."Upper classes" are still mortals.
So called nobles are still mortals.
Royalties are still mortals.
No, I don't call agelessness immortal.
This is what happend when a so called upper class messed up.
i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/02248/b_2248497b.jpg
5142852 not in a insulting way, Im just saying that harmony was raise in a middle class area, and thus know that everybody is equal, unless they are jerks. The queen on the other hand, while trying to be right and just still has a small mentality of 'a superior complex' in her mind. One from being raise in a noble lifestyle. So in other words, harmony may prove a excellent leader since he knows how the people feel of getting screwed over by the higher UPS in terms of government.
oh, I would say tempora is a bit of a bxxxh, but its a much older equestria
Wow!! I did NOT expect that kind of attitude from the Queen, i thought she was more openminded than that.
Was he singing this?
Early warning system for WHAT?
That wasn't an explanation.
"She's not perfect."
Well then, she better damn well stop acting like she is.
Yyyyup, another tick on the ol' 'Tempora's a cunt' chart.
I almost forgot that this was a more feudal time.
I thought Harmony was supposed to remain a pony for some time. The transformation back was completely unexpected. So will he switch back and forth with his pony form?
That was fun. Looking forward to more.
Keep up the good work. Deus tecum.
I am still waiting for the pony who is named after waffles.
Dammit Tempora, I hoped you were better than that.
5144042 If the characters were perfect then the story would be boring.
That last line reminds me of the ending from the SpongeBob SquarePants Movie.
5145950 Fut the shuck up. And if you want to be dumb, it's 'pedophile'. If you wanna be an idiot, AT LEAST do it right. Like putting a picture of Pedobear.
H just can't catch a break can he? First he get's animorphed, then he has to go to (shudders) school, get into an political arguement with Tempora, and is finally abandoned to a loooooonng walk home.
I'm guessing the tree's a warning against Discord or something.
I don't imagine that this will be the last time Tempora and Harm's views clash. I'm expecting much shouting
Nah, you'd need to introduce her to Stephen Hawking in order to break her.
You just chipped her.
Wow when Tempora spoke about inequality, I swear I heard Charles Zi Britannia from code geass giving his speech about inequality
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!
Change him back! Change him back! I was waiting for that forever! It wasn't nearly satisfying enough! CHANGE HIM BACK!!!
5352403 memeguy.com/photos/images/apparently-emma-watson-broke-up-with-her-boyfriend-this-is-every-guy-right-now-79914.jpg
That archaic way of thinking made me go from, mildly cute motherly figure. To I hate you and everything you stand for.
Yep. I now completely hate Tempora. Not even funny.
Of course it doesn't fit. Oysters are mostly solid! You can't have an ocean of solids.
Those lakes must be pretty hot, though, unless we're going for those rare, room-temperature liquid candies.