Chapter 8: I've Been Dreaming, I've Been Waiting
Disclaimer: I don't own My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic or any of the characters, nor do I own Team Fortress 2 or any of its characters. I do, however, own Copper Head and Captain Ajax.
††† EARLIER THAT DAY †††
"Sister, may I ask you something?" Luna asked her older sibling as the last of the nobles filed out of the throne room after a long discussion of the future of Equestia (and to see if the Royal Budget had enough leftover to sustain another pool in the East Wing).
Celestia stifled a yawn. "Of course you can, what's on your mind?" Celestia said with smile as she wiped a few stray tears that had welled up in the corners of her magenta eyes.
"Why did you do what you did? The spell after all the events with Silas had concluded, I mean." Celestia didn't say anything for a long while, she just looked at her sister, with an almost dumbfounded expression as she chose her next words carefully.
"What would have happened if I allowed that harrowing memory to remain in the minds of our subjects?" Celestia's voice was stern and unwavering. "Our previously 'impenetrable magical wall' faltered, and the most dangerous being to invade our land since Discord and Sombra turned you back into Nightmare Moon and me into that…maleficent, baneful, Solar Flare. I didn't want my little ponies thinking that we could become something so monstrous," Celestia sighed, slightly disheartened.
"…I know that I've adapted to the modern methods of speech, but I could have sworn you were using the Royal 'we'," Luna's voice trembled ever so slightly as she stood and walked over to large window that overlooked the gardens. Her sapphire eyes scanned the edge of the hedge maze. The massive labyrinth, along with the rest of the West Wing Garden, was maintained by a single donkey who was now casually raking away a few stray leafs near a large, stone statue of Nightmare Moon.
"I don't understand, Luna. What do you-"
"Did you mean to say that you didn't want everypony to remember what turned YOU into a monster while you erect statues of my darkest hour all across Equestria!?"
"Luna, you have to understand…"
"Understand WHAT!?" Luna slammed her hoof against the tile, causing crystalline cracks in the magically reinforced floor. "If you could wipe the minds of everypony, why didn't you do the same for me when Silas first corrupted me instead of allowing an entire holiday to be made around it!?"
Celestia was taken aback by the rage pouring from her sister. Luna's eyes were now glowing brightly as she rose from the ground on her opulent wings, her voice growing ever louder. "I didn't have a hoof in the creation of Nightmare Night, some of the villagers came up with the idea-"
"But it couldn't have been made official WITHOUT YOUR APPROVAL!" Luna screamed as she flew rapidly over to her sister's face, the tears that had been rolling down her cheeks were now much more prominent. "The one time YOU falter, you bleach it like a stain! When I take a turn for the worst, you make sure that ponies for generations to come know what a horrible-" *SMACK*
Luna reeled back in shock, her reddened eyes returning to normal from the stinging pain that now afflicted her cheek. She looked up at Celestia as she slowly placed her hoof back on the ground. "I made that holiday and those statues so nopony could ever forget you!"
Luna could only blink.
"I…I made up that holiday about a decade after I was forced to banish you. I knew everypony would only remember you as Nightmare, so I played off their fear. I had rumors spread about the nefarious Nightmare Moon and that she may be lurking in shadows ready to attack if she wasn't appeased with offerings of sweets and the like. It caught on, and soon everypony was celebrating Nightmare Night and looking forward to it. I thought that if you ever did return, they wouldn't be as frightened of you. Shining a light at the monster under the bed so to speak. I wish I could have made it so they remembered who you really were, but at the time, even I wasn't sure you could ever be saved."
Luna looked away from her sister, trying her best to digest all the information that had been thrust upon her. "That still doesn't explain your recent actions…" Luna muttered sorely, still rubbing her cheek.
Celestia shook her head and took a deep breath before continuing. "I admit, part of my reasons for expunging that particular memory was to save my own self-image, but it was also for the good of everypony else, too. Imagine the doubt and fear everypony would have if they knew that deep down their Princesses had these vile alter egos just below the surface ready to lay waste to our fair land. What if Cadance had been there? What sort of villainous creature might she have become? Then there's the more obvious reason of Silas and all that he caused…I wanted everypony to have a sense of security, even if it was a false one," Celestia's head drooped slightly as her mane did the same. She felt a nudge from under her chin, she looked down to see Luna nuzzling her in an affectionate way. Celestia quickly returned the favor, and the two sat there for what seemed like hours, enjoying each other's company.
After a good, long while they separated, tears staining both of their cheeks as they wiped the remaining few from their tired eyes. "I'm sorry for yelling, Tia, and really do appreciate all that you've done for me over the millennia. If I could just ask one more question?"
"I think it's only fair."
"Are you going to do it again after all this is over?"
Celestia thought for a moment. "No. The only reason I blotted out that Pyro person was due to his own little transformation he had during his fight with the Horseman, that, and I didn't think my little ponies could handle the sight of creature such as he. But, after seeing the way Twilight and her friends handled it so calmly, I think I can let this one slide. Don't you agree, Lulu?" she said with wink.
"…And that thing he did to Blueblood was pretty funny too."
The giggle fit at the cowardly noble's expense was cut tragically short as a rapid knocking at the doors brought forth a frantic-looking guard. The Princesses instantly knew something was wrong, not only had he barged in unannounced but chunks of his otherwise pristine gold armor was were missing and he was covered head to hoof in a gelatinous green substance.
"Prin…Princesses! The-They escaped! We couldn't hold them, we couldn't…couldn't…"
Celestia looked at her sister not with worry, but with fierce concentration at the new threat at hoof. "It's alright, you're safe now. What happened?"
"The Changelings! They broke out their cells, we think think they're after the Elements!"
††† NOW †††
"Now if you could just hold this up, turn a little to left? No, to the right? There we are. Let me just bring this over here, and…perfect! Thank you so much, darling. It's not everyday I get to work with a unique model such as yourself." Rarity took a few steps back to admire her hours of work. She sighed happily, the sweat, tears, and a frizzled mane had been worth it to create her most elegant and difficult piece to date; a suit for Spy that would also look ravishing when he donned his disguise (not that he needed it, he just wanted to give Rarity something to take her mind off of trying to ask him anything about himself).
Spy admired the threads on his new suit, which looked exactly like his old one only with Rarity's Cutie Mark embedded in a pin on his lapel. "Je vous remercie, Rarity. It's exactly what I needed, I can't get anyzing done without a well-crafted suit." His work completed, Spy lit up a fresh cigarette and took a seat on one of the couches, much to the distress of Rarity's uppity cat, Opalescence, who greeted the new house guest with death-hisses and warning swipes. "Charming…"
"Opal! That is NOT how we say hello! Sorry about her, she's um, very protective of her things…which at times I think is everything around here," Rarity said sheepishly as she pried the frantic feline off the couch and flung her into the other room with her magic.
Spy watched the dressmaker as she moved about her mannequins, fussing over the smallest of details as if it was a horrible disease. He wondered if that was what having a normal job was like, or…what a normal life must feel like. Spy have never really had a normal life. If he ever did, he must've been younger than Scout; running from his home, then from the French government, then Interpol, even the C.I.A…he never stopped moving, or changing identities. He reflected on his many personas; farmers, police officers, prostitutes, construction workers, body builders, corpses, TSA, nuns, he'd been almost everything.
But somewhere in the middle of it all, he had lost who really was. He couldn't even remember his own name at times. It wasn't until his run-in with TF Industries that he found a sense of rest. They wiped his slate clean, on the condition that he smeared it with the blood of his enemies upon the request of his benefactors. He supposed that, even as a serial killer, he could still live a normal life. If Robin Walker could do it, so could he!
"…"
"Pardon me, but does Ponyville suffer from raccoons?" Spy said quickly, turning his attention towards the window behind him.
Rarity didn't look away from her work as she continued sewing and putting the final touches on various pieces. "Raccoons? Heavens no, thankfully the Everfree Forest keeps most of them happy, and those that wander too far into town are swept up by Fluttershy. Flithy little creatures, why do you ask?"
"Zere's somezing outside."
+++++
"*YAWN* Oh…I really do need to get some sleep. I need to- *YAWN* -be ready for…whatever…" The tired unicorn began mumbling to herself, even though Celestia's sun had only begun to set, Lyra had little to no energy to spare and was now focused on getting to bed and finally getting some sleep. She slowly climbed the wooden steps up to her room, once there, she unceremoniously took off her ruined dress and tossed it gently into her closet before heading towards the bathroom.
As she began brushing her pearly teeth with the toothpaste Colgate had given her, she felt a warm sensation emitting from the ring she still wore around her mint-green horn. It felt good, as if though the warmth spread out around her entire being like a hug. It also filled her with a sense of longing for her friend who was no doubt facing countless perils. She tried to shut it out of her mind. Thinking about it would only cause her to worry over something she had no control over…especially since she was even more powerless than usual.
"Out of everything he could have taken…why my shield?" Lyra sighed sadly, the empty spot on her wall reminding her all too well that one of the three gifts from Pyro was now only Celestia knows where. She finished brushing her teeth and wrapped herself up in her comfy blankets, sleep quickly taking her as she drifted off into dreamland.
"HELLO, WOULD YOU BE WILLING TO TAKE PART IN OUR MANDATORY SURVEY?"
"AAAAH! Who are you!? How did- MMPH!"
"EXCELLENT. CAREFULLY NOW, TAVISH, WE WANT HER TO BE ABLE TO SPEAK HER MIND."
"LET GO OF ME YOU DIRTY- "MHMMHM!"
"WELL, THAT'S ENOUGH OF THAT. YOU SURE THIS IS THE ONE, DEMO-DUNCE? 'CAUSE NOT THAT I MIND BEING AWAY FROM THAT HOLE-RIDDEN HARPY, BUT IF I SPEND ANYMORE TIME IN THIS COLORFUL PLACE I'M GONNA VOMIT BLOCK INK…AND I'M PRETTY SURE I HEARD RACCOONS. I HATE RACCOONS."
"Aye, it's her. Look, she's got the ring on 'er horn." Lyra continued to squirm from under the tall creature's grasp, she tried to call for help, but her muzzle was clamped shut by the giant's-
'Hands!? Demoman!' Lyra moved her head as best she could against the drunken might of her captor, and saw that he was indeed Spy's lost companion (not that Spy would ever admit to that). Lyra had to get to the others and warn them. If he was here, Chrysalis and her brood must not be far behind! Lyra's thrashing finally paid off as she shook off Tavish's grip long enough to come down on his hand like a vice with rounded teeth…which was about as effective as one too.
"Ach, tha's cute, she thinks she can hurt me," the towering explosives expert laughed as he gingerly tousled her mane. Well, Lyra had had about enough at this point and informed him that she wanted to be put down by "gingerly" smashing her back leg into his caber.
Lyra was impressed, she thought for sure that would have worked. What Lyra couldn't see (that The Bombinomicon was thankful for) was the pain-ridden face of the otherwise stoic, alcoholic knight, standing only because the kevlar flap down near his waist had saved him once again.
"WHOA! WHOA! CALM DOWN, WE JUST WANNA TALK. LISTEN, OUR DEAR, SWEET GRANDMA IS TERRIBLY ILL AND WE NEED THAT RING IN ORDER TO PAY FOR HER OPERATION…"
Lyra's tired yellow eyes looked over at the floating book before rolling around in their sockets in a sarcastic manner.
"…AND YOU'RE NOT BUYING ANY OF THIS, ARE YOU? ALRIGHT, YA GOT ME; WE'RE NOT OVERLY-AGGRESSIVE GIRL SCOUTS WITH A SICK GRANNY. WE ARE, HOWEVER, IN NEED OF THAT RING YOU'VE GOT THERE."
"Well then you've made the trip for nothing, I'm never going to give up this ring, and there's nothing you can say that will change that!"
"'SAY'? I SUPPOSE NOT, BUT THEN AGAIN; I'VE ALWAYS THOUGHT THAT ACTIONS SPEAK MUCH LOUDER THAN WORDS. EXCEPT THESE ONES: BRAZBO BARRABUS!" The Bombinomicon's red eyes shifted to a shade of green as smoke of the same color poured from within its bindings onto the floor. Within a matter of seconds, the eerie mist had engulfed the entire room, and now began to snake its way around Lyra.
Demoman remained unfazed as the smog wrapped around the frightened pony still struggling to free herself, he was still trying to shake the feeling that he wouldn't be walking straight for awhile after a kick like that (not that walking in straight lines was really his forte anyway). His train of thought was interrupted as the mare clenched tightly in his arms seemed to bend and contort. He worried for a moment that the devilish codex might be trying to pull the age-old squirrel in a microwave maneuver while he was still holding Lyra!
Tavish did his best to peer into the dense fog at his captive. He felt her trying to wriggle her head out from under his headlock, no doubt to take another crack at chopping down on his blast-riddled hand. He chuckled and lightened up on his grip just enough to let her get what he wanted. What's the worst she could-
*CHOMP*
"ACK! ME HAND! What the devil?" Demoman relinquished his wily captive and quickly tended to his hand, sucking on the wound to try and stop the bit of blood dripping from the break in his dark skin.
Lyra, now free and somewhat disoriented, tried to stand on her own hooves but instead collapsed to the floor. She lied there for a moment in confusion. What happened? Her legs felt fine as far as she knew, she tried to stand only fall forward again. She rolled onto her side and looked down at her hind legs, and in the low light, she could have sworn she saw…FEET!
'This…can't be real! Can it…?' She reached out for her new appendages with another alien, yet all too familiar limb; a hand. Her heartstrings began to to play a frantic melody, one of elation and utter confusion. She gripped her dresser for support, and finally putting her once thought "useless skill" into action, she shakily stood on her two new feet.
"THERE, NOW DOESN'T THAT FEEL GOOD? WOULDN'T YOU LOVE TO BE ABLE TO FEEL THE GRASS BETWEEN YOUR TOES? RUNNING YOUR FINGERS THROUGH YOUR HAIR? TRYING TO BRUSH YOUR HAIR OUT OF YOUR EYES AND TRIPPING IN THE GRASS THAT STAINS YOUR PANTS BEYOND ALL REASON AND NO MATTER HOW MANY TIMES YOU WASH THEM YOU STILL LOOK LIKE YOU BOUGHT THEM HALF-OFF AT A THRIFT STORE? DOESN'T THAT SOUND GREAT?"
"This…this is amazing! How did you-"
"I, ER, A MAGICIAN NEVER REVILES HIS TRICKS! EXCEPT FOR THE GREAT REVILO. IDIOT. NOW, WOULDN'T YOU LIKE TO STAY THIS WAY, FOREVER?" Lyra looked down at her now peach-colored skin, it felt so smooth against the mint-green lyre T-shirt and jeans she now found herself wearing. It felt…right somehow, albeit strange. She couldn't just sacrifice the ring Pyro had nearly died trying to give her, but the feeling of being human…
"I'm not going with you…"
"EXCUSE ME?"
"I-I'm not going with you. I don't know how you made me human, but it's not worth betraying my friends!" Lyra braced her new form for whatever assault the two deviants might be planing, but nothing could have prepared her for what came next: laughter.
"Lass, we came 'ere tell ye tha' Pyro sent us."
"He DID!?"
"THE FIERY FREAK WOULDN'T LEAVE US ALONE UNTIL WE CAME BACK TO THIS FRUITY TOWN TO GET YOU," The Bombinomicon looked about Lyra's colorful room with utter disgust for anything happy and/or candy-colored.
"I knew he was still worried about me! I knew it I knew it I knew it! This is perfect! Wonderful…too good to be true. You need the ring for something, Chrysalis sent you here so just admit it!" Lyra was suddenly spun back around towards Tavish, making her shaky stance even worse. He held her by the shoulders and pulled her in until she was inches away from him and his rancid alcohol breath.
"Does it look like we follow orders, lassy? We escaped from tha' witch after the Gala! Pyro used his uh, power o' friendship, ta' tele himself over. Tha's 'en we met up and decided ta' take ye with us."
Lyra looked deeply into his eye for traces of any mind control spells. His eye was indeed green, but it was all contained in his iris with hints of brown along the rims.
"…How soon can we be there?"
The Bombinomicon perked up from his half-daze, "IF WE HURRY, WE CAN MAKE IT BACK TO THE MEETING PLACE BY MORNING. BUT IN ORDER TO MAKE THIS SMOOTHER, WE'RE GOING TO NEED YOU TO BE ABLE TO TAKE MORE THAN FIVE STEPS BEFORE FALLING OVER…NOT THAT DRINKY MCGEE CAN DO MUCH BETTER," The Bombinomicon chuckled as his eyes flashed and shrunk an even more confused Lyra back down to her normal pony form. Demoman placed her on the floor with a pat on the head before equipping the exhausted tome on his flack jacket.
As the sound of her hooves clacking against the wooden floor echoed throughout her house, Lyra knew her days of hearing that noise were numbered.
"WE'D BETTER GET OUR COLLECTIVE ASSES IN GEAR, I'M PRETTY SURE OUR LITTLE WALKABOUT DIDN'T GO UNNOTICED."
+++++
"Is this really necessary, darling? I mean, there is such a thing as being a bit TOO prepared," Rarity reflected on what she had just said and what her friends might have said, but quickly dismissed it. Those extra scarfs had most certainly paid off in the end, despite what everypony else had said, but this…
"Sadly, zere iz no such zing. No matter how prepared you zink you are it always pays to have a back-up plan, ezpecially in my line of work." Spy grunted as he propped the last couch against the door before glancing around the Boutique for any other possible ways someone, or somepony could possibly enter.
"Well, thank you, Mr. Spy. I think you've done an excellent job managing to fortify the Boutique AND managing to keep everything looking fabulous. Sort of. Don't you think so, Sweetie Belle?"
"It looks okay, what do you think Apple Bloom?"
"It's alright, could use some more fortification 'round the windows. What about you, Scootaloo?"
"It needs to be about thirty percent cooler."
Spy was about to scream. "Rarity…how long have zey been here…?"
"Oh, I let Sweetie Belle and her little friends in the back before you started, erm, renovating my Boutique," Rarity said with a twinge of disdain in her voice as she began to realize how tacky it was to have all of her dressers and mannequins shoved up against the doors and windows. Had Rarity not been wrapped up in thought on how to reorganize her shop, and the CMC talking busily amongst themselves about the human newcomer, they may have heard the blood vessels in Spy's eyeballs popping like party balloons from the immense pressure that had built from him attempting to remain composed instead of rocketing out of his shiny spats.
This was a failing endeavor.
"You WHAT!? Do you have any idea how dangerous zat is? Zey could have been assassins in disguise, or zose 'Changeling' abominations I keep hearing about!"
"Who, them?" Rarity looked back at the three fillies who were practically vibrating trying to bottle the numerous questions they had thought up since they first laid eyes on the French back-stabber. They all looked up at the older unicorn and smiled, Spy could have sworn he saw halos flicker above their over-sized heads. "Oh, they're harmless…relatively speaking. Just so long as you're not furniture or expensive fabric that stains, you should be fine."
Rarity turned with a wink in Spy's direction as she trotted happily out of the room, whispering "Tag" as the last bit of her bobbing tail disappeared from sight.
"Rarity? I-" It was then that Spy realized what she had meant, and that he was powerless to stop what was coming...
Stats
Page generated in 0.025 seconds
Total duration
1,019 users online
1,307,253 hits today, 1,822,946 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
Hey! Sorry this took forever, but you know me! OR DO YOU...?
ANYWAY, still using that "z" thing for Spy, and I took the French from Google so if it's wrong I'm sorry.
Dear God I'm not even at the halfway mark yet...
WE UTMOST ENJOY THY TALES
Update? YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS FINALLY
in the magically reenforced floor
The one time YOU faultier
when he dawned his disguise
I can't get anyzing done with a well-crafted suit
YOU SURE THIS IS THE ONE
the same color pored from within
Rarity said with a twinge of distain in her voice
1. Reinforced.
2. Falter.
3. Donned.
4. Uhh... this would be a Without right?
5. You're.
6. Would this be Poured?
7. Disdain.
Oh spy... you have mimicked every possible occupation... except those related to child care...
Kinda looks like Celestia can't take an outburst from Luna without smacking her. i think it's only fair that Luna restores their memory of that night mainly because having rulers that knowing mess with your mind is worse than just about anything else and I'm very surprised Luna didn't point that out. I mean at least Nightmare Moon was fairly honest about her intentions.
1632938 Quite so, and that darkness thing she did with the whole Sombra incident? How long had she been hiding that little gem, hmm?
1631763 Thank. GOD.
1633202 By hiding you mean keeping on display right next to her throne right? Also Luna didn't point out the obvious is that the ponies didn't remember her at all, they remembered Nightmare Moon to the point that they kept referring to her as such even after her purification. That on top of the mind-wiping incident, Luna should have had a strong enough argument against Celestia, that Tia should have just admitted it instead of deflecting Luna's argument. As it is ponies will only remember Luna as having an evil side and Celestia as the savior therefor leaving room for Luna to be corrupted again. Basically, she's trying to maintain the facade of being invincible and incorruptible, which is even more dangerous than ponies knowing even she has faults.
Quite frankly I'd kinda like Luna to point that out as well as undue that rather convenient mind-wipe. Also because it inconveniently invalidates a lot of the Pyro's story in-universe. Screw his transformation, they've seen NMM, Discord, and now Queen Chrysalis. I think they are tougher than their own Princess gives them credit for. Still doesn't stop them from being cowards though.
Yes. An update. This fic is not dead.
iambrony.jsmart.web.id/mlp/gif/strokey_stroke_by_mattyhex-d4d0npl.gif?1320514728
1633369 LIKE HELL IT IS! It's me that's dead...
1633275 Can I characterize royalty or what?
1634243......Or what.
1636795 More than likely it'll be pieces.
1634888 Oh you...
iambrony.jsmart.web.id/mlp/gif/tumblr_mct10jjif31rthxy9o1_500.gif
"ahhyea"
~Uber Turret
1698771 Damn, that was easily the longest comment I've had...ever. Gold beans* to you, you horny unicorn!
I realize that guards wouldn't act like that were they humans and/or in this time, but I try to keep the ponies acting like how they would in the show (as much as I can) and the raving mercenaries acting like homicidal maniacs (without compromising the ponies and their behavior). But yeah, those guards were actually there as punishment. You know how many ponies try to sneak in through the side/back entrances? It's basically just repelling crazies and the occasional overzealous fan of the Princesses that desperately needs to warn them about something irrelevant or trying to ask them for favors. They also have to deal with Mane 6 impostors on a steady basis (and the whole Changeling thing too).
Thanks for your opinion! (Usually when I get long comments they're belittling me for not writing it the way they thought I would or point out some sort of crippling flaw I overlooked.)
*Warning: Gold Beans are merely for display and not for consumption. Consumption of Gold Beans may lead to laziness, vomiting, reverse vomiting, crying at rainbows, loss of sight and other bodily functions, poor hygiene, little to no finance on your next major purchase, membership to things you would never ever want, and violent constipation.
Well it seems they become evil alter egos that want to make X last forever, at least from what I know. Celestia = Day Luna = Night
So if Cadance is love, she wants people to love forever? Or everyone love her? She loves everyone? I don't know, but something tells me you would need a mature tag on story about that....
1889797
That sounds like one rocking porno