Old World Blues

by Wheller

Chapter 1

Chronology notes:
Stop! You are reading the tenth story in the Bonds of Eternity Series.

The first story in the series is Family found here:
http://www.fimfiction.net/story/1307/

The second story in the series is Nihil Novi Sub Sole found here:
http://www.fimfiction.net/story/1444/

The third story in the series is Friends in High Places found here:
http://www.fimfiction.net/story/1716/

The fourth story in the series is Trust found here:
http://www.fimfiction.net/story/1973/

The fifth story in the series is Domino Effect found here:
http://www.fimfiction.net/story/2151/

The sixth story in the series is To Whom It May Concern found here:
http://www.fimfiction.net/story/2465/

The seventh story in the series is Bridge Over River Rijn found here:
http://www.fimfiction.net/story/2726/

The eighth story in the series is The Way of the Maneaanite found here:
http://www.fimfiction.net/story/2931/

The ninth story in the series is Diamond in the Rough found here:
http://www.fimfiction.net/story/3062/

Old World Blues
Chapter 1

‘Darling, I thought you said that we weren’t meant to have what was behind these rocks?’ Rarity asked.

‘Maybe we’re not’, Vinyl Scratch said. ‘Well if the universe put down rocks to keep us out, the universe can tough it out’.

Rarity, Twilight Sparkle, Rainbow Dash, Vinyl Scratch, and Surprise were sitting in Whitetail Wood, near the collapsed cave. At least a tonne of rock blocking the path that they needed to head down, Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy had gone back into town in order to fetch some of Pinkie Pie’s blasting supplies. It had become something of a surreal moment, because Pinkie Pie had dropped her bubbly personality at the first mention of the word dynamite in favour of a more serious outlook.

For good reason, dynamite was dangerous, and much of the equipment was fragile. Pinkie Pie insisted on as few ponies on the trip as possible. Fluttershy had gone along with her because her natural grace made her ideal for carrying fragile things.

‘And what was it that you called this thing... a spritebot?’ Rarity asked. Levitating in front of her face was a large metal parasprite with a rather large hole in the face from where Vinyl Scratch had shot it. The night prior, on the mares return from departing the HMSIS Dash in Fillydelphia, they’d heard a strange noise and thinking that some wild animal was stalking them, Vinyl responded by trying to scare it.

The attempt had the same effect, they knew what had been watching them, and it had been this.

‘Yeah... I’ve seen one before’, Vinyl said, and turned towards Surprise, who as the oldest of the group by a long shot, was bound to be more familiar with them. Surprise, however, was staring off blankly into space, and even Rainbow Dash waving a hoof in front of her face seemed to get her attention.

‘Is she okay?’ Rainbow Dash asked.

Vinyl merely shrugged. ‘Dunno, she’s been acting strange since before we left Trotterdam... well, stranger than normal, at least’.

Twilight glanced over to Surprise, and then back to Vinyl, and waved her over. Vinyl got up and trotted over.

‘About Surprise... are we sure it’s a good idea to be taking her down there?’ Twilight asked.

‘It’ll be fine’, Vinyl said. ‘She was around when all this stuff was brand new, if anypony is going to know about it, it’ll be her. Besides, have you been paying attention to her lately?’

Twilight cocked her head slightly, not entirely sure what Vinyl Scratch was getting at.

‘I have’, Vinyl said. ‘It’s really noticeable with Pinkie Pie, Surprise starts mimicking whoever she’s with. She’s with Pinkie Pie, she’s going to skip merrily down the street, she’s with me, she’ll go around grinning like an idiot, I bet if you let her follow you around she’d become a real know it all’, Vinyl said adding a grin.

‘I am not a know it all’, Twilight said with an air of annoyance in her voice.

‘Baaaa-lonie!’ Vinyl said grinning widely. ‘But anyway, then she gets with a group like this, she shuts down, doesn’t know what to do, and then, nothing’.

‘She wasn’t like that in the old world’, Twilight said. ‘She was hateful, spiteful, malicious... dangerous’.

‘She had direction in the old world’, Vinyl said simply. ‘She doesn’t have that anymore, she doesn’t know where she fits in... she’s just sort of... there. It’s kind of tragic really’.

Twilight glanced over to the white Pegasus, staring blankly into space, she shook her head madly. ‘No! I am not about to start feeling sorry for Surprise, not after what she did to me’.

‘Technically speaking, she didn’t actually do it’, Vinyl said simply.

‘Do not get metaphysical on me’, Twilight snapped.

Vinyl could only grin.

It was about that time that Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy returned, Fluttershy was somewhat lagging behind, being slow and purposeful to not damage the goods that she was carrying. Pinkie Pie was out in front, and reached the group much quicker, while Fluttershy was still some forty metres back. Pinkie Pie gently set her saddlebags on the ground and walked over to the rest of the group.

‘Hey everypony!’ Pinkie Pie said cheerfully.

‘You’re in a good mood’, Twilight said with a smile. ‘That the dynamite over there in that bag?’ Twilight asked, point a hoof at it.

‘Ha! No! Are you kidding me? I’m way too jittery to have carried dynamite all this way!’ Pinkie Pie said.

Twilight raised an eyebrow in response. ‘But if not you then... who...’ Twilight’s mouth stopped in its tracks as they all glanced over to Fluttershy.

‘Pinkie Pie...’ Twilight began.

‘Don’t worry Twilight! Fluttershy’s grace makes her the perfect pony to carry dynamite!’ Pinkie Pie said, quiet enough so that Fluttershy couldn’t hear her.

‘Pinkie Pie... does Fluttershy know what she’s carrying?’ Twilight asked.

‘Of course!’ Pinkie Pie said.

Twilight stared at her.

‘Well... see... I implied...’ Pinkie Pie said.

Twilight continued to stare. Pinkie Pie began to look nervous.

‘OKAY! No she doesn’t!’ Pinkie Pie said, she leaned in close, and began to speak softly through gritted teeth. ‘And I wouldn’t tell her either... not unless you want her to start panicking and explode EVERYWHERE!’

‘What’s everywhere?’ Fluttershy asked as she approached the group, gently pulling the saddlebags off her. Everypony started to tense up. Fluttershy set the bags gently on the ground against the large pile of rocks and walked closer to her friends.

Everypony let out a sigh of relief. Twilight looked to Pinkie Pie angrily. ‘Pinkie Pie... when this is done, you and I need to sit down and have a good long talk about... things’.

Pinkie Pie chuckled nervously, she swallowed hard, they all moved back to a standing position about a dozen metres back from the collapsed entrance.

‘Okay Everypony!’ Pinkie Pie announced. ‘From now on nopony goes near the pile of rocks except me! Dynamite is really sensitive, if you even so much as TALK too loudly near it, it can go off! I don’t want one of you getting hurt from it!’

Everypony nodded, but were otherwise not paying attention to what was going on around them, except Rarity, who ducked her head around Pinkie Pie to get a look. ‘Pray tell, what is Surprise doing?’

Everypony turned, to their horror; Surprise had approached the bag of dynamite lying on the ground and had reached out with a hoof to touch it.

‘SURPRISE! NO!’ Vinyl Scratch called out.

Too late, Surprise touched it and the bag full of dynamite exploded.

...

Octavia sat quietly in her seat. The Manehattan Express to Greater Canterlot had just begun to move out of the station. She had the compartment all to herself and was skimming over a newspaper, The Times.

The compartment door opened and Octavia looked up.

‘Beggin’ yer pardon, miss, everywhere else is full, would ya...?’

‘No of course not’, Octavia said simply. She took a moment to look over the pony standing in the doorway. Large, red coated draught pony with a cutie mark of an apple half, followed by an orange earth pony mare with three apples for a cutie mark, and a stallion, his coat an amber yellow, and a large red apple for his cutie mark.

This was the part of the show that Octavia liked to call, guess what these ponies like to do. She figured it had something to do with apples.

‘Thank ya kindly miss!’ the mare said. ‘Ah’m Applejack, that’s mah brother, Big McIntosh’, she said pointing to the red coated draught pony. ‘That’s mah cousin Braeburn’, she said pointing to the other stallion.

‘Octavia, charmed’, she said simply, and cleanly, and went back to reading her newspaper.

‘Ah’d bet, city slicker like yerself headin’ fer Canterlot?’ Applejack asked.

‘Not exactly, this train services all of Greater Canterlot, Greater Canterlot is a big place’, Octavia said, not particularly caring for Applejack’s attempt to make conversation with her.

‘We’re headin’ home ourselves, been away far too long’, Applejack said, clearly not picking up on Octavia’s desire to avoid conversation. ‘How ‘bout you?’

Octavia eyed Applejack over the top of her paper, glancing scornfully at her. ‘If you must know, I’m going to this little town in the middle of nowhere that I cannot for the life of me remember the name of to visit... a friend’.

Much to Octavia’s dismay, Applejack remained blissfully unaware of the level of hostility as it rose in the compartment. This was going to be a long ride.

Comments

[Apocalypse Pony]

WHAT THE FUCK SURPRISE?

[Wheller]

And before anyone else says it. The dynamite that they were using was stuff that Pinkie Pie made in her basement.

[DreadedCandiru2]

So, is Surprise still Made Of Iron or is AJ going to come home to them having a wake for somepony she barely knows and doesn't like? Also, is Octavia going to be an annoying, stuck-up jerk all the way to Ponyville?

[Fallen Knight]

s3.amazonaws.com/kym-assets/photos/images/newsfeed/000/112/480/OpoQQ.jpg?1318992465

You got to be kidding me

[Wheller]

40096

Applejack doesn't know Surprise at all actually.

Surprise on the otherhoof, knows (knew?) Applejack very well.

Surprise nooooo!!!! I was just starting to half like her in a weird sorta way. From earlier Octavia I'm assuming she will be way too serious (though rightly so) then be a huge jerk all the way there till she brightens up to the group. Either way, I want the Doctor!

[Rahzzy]

what the *yay* possessed you to do that SURPRISE!?