The Forgotten Kind

by HollyB

6. The Silenced Magic

As I fell to the ground, the earth spun around me. I heard the distant sound of Bon Bon's shout and hooves clattering away, out of the door.

And I saw Gaia dying again and again.

I watched, unable to make a sound, unable to look away, unable to think, as Gaia slumped to the ground, a storm of leaves covering her - a final tribute.

Again and again and again.

I watched, unable to breathe as the darkness surrounded my body, and Gaia's eyes went entirely lifeless, her heart and soul gone, like flowers in the winter. As she went down, the beautiful forest crumbled. The leaves wilted and fell off the trees; the waterfall exploded like a geyser; the brightly colored birds plummeted to the earth.

One by one, the flowers left Gaia's dull green mane, and in one small flash of magic, she returned to the lifeless and dead form of a human. Her eyes saw nothing but pain as they shut forever.

I screamed and covered my ears with my hooves.

Gaia was dead. Dead, dead, dead.

And the horror dawned on me. She had touched the amulet.

The cutie mark. It was her.

NO! I never... please no! No no no no! I screamed in my head, the images flashing in my brain again and again. The conclusion was always the same thing.

It was all my fault.

I had killed her.

I had killed Gaia, the mother of Earth.

I sunk deeper into the darkness and sobbed. I fell onto the ground, my hooves clattering. My wings, earthbound again, automatically opened.

I went crazy.

I grabbed feathers in my teeth and ripped, the pain stifling my senses of guilt and pain and the longing to fly. I tore and grinded and ripped my feathers out in a fury, cursing and shouting at myself.

"I don't even deserve them! I'm not even a pony! I am nothing but an insignificant little dreamer, spoilt and I... I'm suffering! I killed Gaia, and here I am nothing... even on my other world I am.. was nothing. Please..." I pleaded up to the darkness.

"Just kill me now."

But no; nothing would ever take me now. I was a pegasus, who was too terrified to open her wings and fly, and for that, consequences came. An idiot, who was nothing at all.

"Please..." I croaked.

The darkness finally obliged and swallowed me up.

***

I woke up to the sound of beeping.

The room was dim and I realised I was still in the hospital. I had imagined for a second that I was five again and I was waking up to go to school and walk with Maddie. The beautiful feeling of warm blankets and friendship faded into a dark recess of my mind. I sighed.

A pony was sitting on a chair next to my bed. She looked tired.

Clearing my fuzzy mind, I saw it was Bon Bon.

"Bon Bon....? Wha... what happened?" I whispered hoarsely.

She snapped her head up, and upon seeing me, her face broke out into a relieved smile. She got to her feet, and not wearing her nurses uniform, she trotted over.
"Are you okay?" she demanded. "You were fine, but then you had a total breakdown and..." she paused, seeing my concern.

"I.. I don't know what happened. What did I do?" I looked at her.

Flinching, she said something about how it wasn't the right time to tell me.

"What happened...? Please Bon..." I whispered. Why wouldn't she tell me?

"It isn't the right time to tell you..."

"What?"

"You're still recovering."

"Bon Bon." I said, my voice getting firmer. "Tell. Me. Now."

Her eyes widened, and she took a step backward. Her hooves clopped on the ground, the sound mingling with her sharp intake of breath.

"Cassie, you had a stroke."

My mind reeled backwards and I stared at Bon Bon in disbelief. How did....? What?

"It was very sudden and very dangerous. To be honest, you are very lucky to be alive." she muttered, grimacing at my expression.

"How long was I gone for?" I asked with mounting dread.

"Four days...."

"What?!"

I had to go! I had to find... Gaia told me...

"Cassie, we will talk about this later. You need to rest." said Bon Bon.

I started to clamber awkwardly out of bed, saying, "No!" I glanced down at my wolf caused wound as it stung, and winced.
Bon Bon took a step forward, pushing me back to the bed. I fought back, and then hit her in the face.

She gasped as she let her hooves go to her muzzle, where blood was pouring out of the nostrils. I raced to the door, my wings fluttering frantically. I pulled at the door handle with my teeth, unsure how to open it with hooves. The cold metal stung the insides of my mouth as I tugged at it, knowing that I had to get out, and honor Gaia's name. She had died for me.

Your fault. It's all your fault.

This filled me with a new determination and depression, and I turned around and bucked the door open. It flew off it's hinges, crashing into the hallway wall across from it.

Wow. I definitely wouldn't be able to do that back home... I thought, thinking of my useless, slow human legs. Wait, why are you not running? You have to go!

Bon Bon wheezed and then came after me, but was too slow as I zipped out of the door and was running down the white tiled hallway. I heard shouting, and nurses and other ponies were chasing me, the hooves on the cold tiles making a deafening, thunderous roar.

Even so, I grinned. Running is one of the best things I could ever experience right then. I needed it, like Celestia, the sun, or Luna and the moon.
Images filled my head, one of a shimmering, blinding white alicorn and one a pitch-black night colored alicorn. Sisters.

Wait... are they the princesses? How did I... I haven't even heard of them before!

All of a sudden, one last image disturbed the peaceful alicorns. A hurting, vengeful monster roared in my mind, then vanished in a puff of black smoke. I blinked in surprise, and shied a little to the right, almost crashing into a cart, which was only narrowly avoided by leaping to the left.

You need to get out of here! Stay focused! I told myself, looking for some sign of an exit.

Looking back, I saw that they were right on my tail. Literally.

Run! I screamed silently.

Just as I was tackled to the ground.

Ponies crowded around me, standing over me as I struggled beneath the weight of four stallions.

"Please! I have to go... please! Everyone's in danger.... please, just listen to me!" I cried.

Bon Bon appeared, her nose stained with blood.

Sitting down next to me, she smoothed down my messed up mane. "Shhhh now" she said.

They think I'm crazy!

I struggled, knowing that if I didn't get free... well...

Gaia would have died for nothing.

I screamed and pushed them off me. Thorns raked through my mind as the ground erupted in a burst of fury, soil flying. Leaves pushed up into poison flowers and the vines twisted and turned, trapping anything in its path. The line of anger from my mind flowed into the ground from my hooves, covering and killing everything. Leaves spread over their path to me, blocking my pursuers.

I knew it was my chance to get out.

So I ran, the screams of ponies catching my breath.

And then skidded to a halt. Hundreds of nurses and guards stood at the entrance to the hospital.

What do I do? This... this is a nightmare....

"Kill them." said a voice in my head. "You have the power. Just look"

Looking back, I saw the wave of destruction, and hoofprints. My hoofprints. Where grass had sprouted up through tiled floor where I had ran.

"No!" cried another. "You know that Gaia would never want you to do that with her power. Please, please don't harm anyone. Well anypony. You know what I mean...."

I smiled. That was me. The real me would never harm anyon... uh, pony. See, that was even my delightful awkwardness and ignorance coming through the guilt and anger. Backing up, I surveyed the scene.

At least one-hundred ponies stood there. Several looked like they had guns.

I started to feel the beautiful, earthy powers build up inside me. This time, not as vengeful as last time, just curious and ready. I was able to control it now. Good.
I didn't want to kill any...pony.

"I... I... um.." I choked out, stuttering nervously.

I was then startled backwards as a lone orange pegasus shot up out of the crowd and toward me.

I tried to power up and protect myself, but he was just too fast. As my powers were about to flow, he shot me in the chest with a long silver bullet. My powers combined with the metal in my chest, and the pain in my chest was replaced by searing warmth. Looking down, I saw my chest wound being wrapped by vines and leaves. They disappeared as long with the wound. All that remained was a faint green scar, the amulet glowing. I heard gasps.

I touched the bullet still lodged there, just above the new scar.

Wait... not a bullet, a needle. Oh no.

It was a tranquiliser.

Everything faded into nothing.

***

I opened my eyes up to a white unicorn mare standing over me. There was nothing around us, only darkness, only her.

"Where... am I?" I asked her, unsure of what to say or even do.

"I don't know! You tell me!" she replied sharply. Her voice was so familiar, but I just couldn't pick it.

"Uhhhh... what?"

"I said, I don't know! Dang, don't you even listen?" she replied, stepping back. I stared.

Seeing her fully, my mind refused to comprehend. The red mane; the aqua-blue fur going up half her legs; the slight, 'I can't be bothered' tone to her voice. No wonder she sounded different, the last time I had seen her, she was just a hopeful filly.

I stepped forward and pulled her into a massive hug.

"Tempera... Tempera Glow, god have I missed you..." I whispered into her mane.

Seeing her stepping out of my embrace, and the confused look on her face saying, 'Should I know you?", made me cry out.

"Do...don't you remember me?" I asked, quivering a little.

"Um, well, should I?"

"You don't know me. After all this..." I turned away, feeling a tear slide down my cheek.

"Who are you then?"

"Temp... please..."

I saw her ears perk up at the sound of her nickname I had given to her long ago.

"...please believe me. I'm Cassie."

"Cassie? Cassie was never a pony. I would have made her one, but it was..." she paused.

"You are not Cassie. It's not even any of your business anyway. Leave her be."

"I can prove it to you! Please Temp..." I said, watching her flinch at the nickname. "You were - are my best friend. I have spent my whole life, hoping and waiting for you and you never came. You ruined my life but I never gave up on you. Just please..." I pleaded. "Just hear me out."

I saw her flare up angrily.

"Your life ruined?! I..."

"Please!"

She snorted huffily. Hurt brimmed in her eyes.

I reached into my mane with a hoof and tugged the warmth out, letting it fall with a thud to the ground.
Tempera Glow looked up and gasped.

Walking over to the amulet on the ground, she pulled off an object fitted securely on her horn. A flash of silver and deep blue jolted my memories. A sapphire laden bracelet fell to the ground, and came to a rest next to the amulet.

She ran to me and threw her hooves around my neck, burying her face into my tan fur.

"It's you. It's really you!" she sobbed. "How did... why?"

"You came back? But why didn't you tell me? I... I thought-" I said sheepishly.

She took a step back, sniffing a little.

"No, no." she said, gesturing at me. "This first."

I looked down at my hooves and then spoke-

"I think it was the amulet. I went through the portal. I was definitely not expecting this, especially the wings...."
"You have wings?!" she shrieked, turning me around. "Wow...!" she pawed at them happily.

I realised they were clinging to my sides for once. Strange.

I spotted something on her flank. It was a pencil, and a heart I think.
A cutiemark...

"And you have your cutiemark! Wow! How did you get that?" I asked, grinning.
She smiled, looking up at me. "Well... it's a long story..."

"Tell me!" I pleaded.

"Hmmmm... well I knew you would come to Equestria! I just knew it, Cassie." she smiled. Avoiding the question. Weird.

"Do you like it? It's an amazing place."

Thinking of the hospital, I stammered, "Well, uh, totally, but where do I find you?" I asked, also changing the topic. She would tell me later for sure. "Are you still in Ponyville? Or did you move?I have nowhere to go... so.. uh..."

I stopped seeing her face scrunch into a look of sadness. Betrayal and loneliness flashed in her sea-blue eyes.

"You... you don't know?" she whispered, gazing up at me.

"Wha... what?"

"That night. The one when we last saw each other..."

Her silky tone gave me the chills. I looked away.

"What?" I asked softly.
I looked into her beautiful eyes for a second. Something had happened to her, I just knew it. You could never keep a secret from a friend.
She sighed.

"Cassie..." Tempera Glow whispered. "I never got back to Equestria. I was trapped on Earth."

Author's Note:

I'm sorry for how late this was guys. I've recently broken my leg, and thus, did not have time to write. Another, is that I really want the chapters to go longer, like this one

So, how did you like this chapter? TOOK ME AGES, but Iove it!
So this is where Temp has been all this time? *gasp*
Very sad and sorta emotional scene I pulled there, what do you think?
Hmmm... well, 'til next time...
Stay tuned!

Comments

[Snowfyre]

uh oh. thats not good D:

[HollyB]

5320522
Nope ^-^

[Literary]

"I was trapped on earth." More please?