Bubblegum's Adventure

by MLP Sparkle Star

Chapter Fifty-Seven, Cupid

"LISTEN UP, MAGGOT," The commander yells at Bubblegum, "HERE AT THE A.O.O., WE DON'T TAKE BULLSHIT LIKE YOU TOO KINDLY, YA HEAR?!"

Bubblegum, flabbergasted by the sudden yelling, nods, gulping in fear. "So, what was your name again?"

She clears her throat. "My real name is Cupid. You will call me Commander Caldwell. Got it?"

She nods, trying to agree with everything the mare was saying.

"I am here to help you to control you visions and make sure nothing you see alternates the present timeline. Do I make myself clear?"

She nods once more.

"Good. Now, let's get to work."

She takes her to a room full of tiny pieces paper stuck to the walls. She notices that they had been arranged cleverly, so, therefore, she also had to be with her actions.

"What do you notice about this room?"

"I notice that there is paper on the walls."

"Correct. What do you think these papers are for?"

Bubblegum sat there for a moment, trying to think of what to say. She opened her mouth, but nothing came out. She then shut it again.

Caldwell sighs. "These are to help stimulate your visions better, to help you to pick the right piece of paper. Every time you get the paper wrong, you will be tazed. The tazing will also help to control your abilities; make them better."

"How do I know which paper's right?"

"It will have the number "1" written on it." She steps back. "Now, try to use your powers."

Bubblegum steps forward, taking in deep breaths. She closes her eyes, focusing on the single piece of paper that was in front of her. Placing her hoof onto the paper, she begins to see an image in her head. The image started off with flower petals before quickly showing a pony blowing their nose.

She steps back, wiping her eyes and blinking them several times in awe of what she just saw.

"I'm assuming you saw one of the many images we've put into the paper?"

She nods. "Why did you do that?"

"The only way to help you to control whether you can see which paper is the right one, we've put revolting images in each of them. The one you just saw probably wasn't as bad as the rest in there." She smirks.

After several, several tries, she finally stops and stands back, eyes widened in everything she saw and from all of the tazes.

Okay, Bubbles, think. She thinks, rubbing her temples, Instead of focusing on just the cards, try focusing on the entire room. Maybe that'll help.

So, she tries. She places her hoof onto the floor, letting the power flow from her head to her hooves. She closes her eyes once more. She begins to see an image in her mind's eye. It showed a completely empty room - the room she was in - with one pony inside. The pony carried a single piece of paper to the middle part of the left wall beside the door. The number, in fact, had a number on it: the number "1".

Opening her eyes, her horn lights up and removes every single other piece of paper from the left part of the wall and kept the card that read "1" on it on the wall.

Caldwell grins. "You got that quicker than I thought." She get's up from her spot on the floor and stretches. "You're doing good for an alicorn."

"For an alicorn"? She thought, turning around.

Before Bubblegum could start shouting at her, Caldwell, places her hoof against her lips. "You're too touchy," she adds, "if you're really gonna be a princess, you'll need to learn to control your anger."

But that just made her even more upset. Caldwell didn't really care what she had to say though.

"Listen, you can't get offended by every bad thing somepony says about you. Do you think that's what Celestia does? Just because you're someone special, doesn't mean everyone's going to love you. You're always going to have some kind of hater whether it's in Ponyville or somewhere else, got it?"

Bubblegum was astonished by what Caldwell had said, but she was right. She shouldn't get so offended by the smallest of things. She was hoping this was a big step to her becoming more mature as a being.

"Now," she clears her throat, "I'll get you to your sleeping quarters."

Confused, she followed her to this small cabin not far from where they were. Inside, there was a bunk bed, night stand, and bathroom. The bathroom itself was about as big as the bedroom, with two showers and two sinks.

"So, I sleep here until tomorrow?"

Caldwell laughs. "'Until tomorrow'? Oh please! You'll need much more training than just two days!"

Bubblegum turns to her. "I understand, but, you guys literally just abducted me from my home and expect to me train as if this was my own choice."

"IT WAS YOUR CHOICE TO KISS CISCO," She yells right back at her, "AND DON'T YOU EVER RAISE YOUR VOICE AT A COMMANDER!"

"HOW DO I KNOW YOU'RE EVEN A COMMANDER AND NOT SOME KIDNAPPER OR SLAVE OWNER?!" Bubblegum shouts. "YOU HAVEN'T SHOWN ME ANYTHING TO PROVE IT!"

Caldwell backs away. She was frightened by the look she saw in her eyes. They were full of hatred, fear, and anger. Coughing to relieve some of the tension in the air, she looks back at her, now with a straight face. "Very well," she adds, "if you want to know that badly, I'll tell you... In the morning. Now get to bed."

She turns and leaves the cabin, shutting the door behind her. "Oh, Bubblegum," she whispers under her breath, "if only you remembered."