• Published 7th Feb 2012
  • 19,660 Views, 671 Comments

Displaced - Seven Fates



A unicorn colt has an accident, and nopony knows him. His wild claims go widely ignored until...

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Chapter 9

Fluttershy eased her eyes open. She'd had the most horrifying dream. It was the day of the party, and everything was ready. All she had to do was bring Scootaloo, Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and her human friend Goldenrod outside to the party, but when she and Nurse Redheart went to retrieve them, they saw a terrible sight.

Before the shy mare fainted out of terror, she saw a large green creature looming over Apple Bloom. Meanwhile Goldenrod and Sweetie Bell hung helplessly at it's sides, clutched in its strange clawed tendrils at either side. Scootaloo was nowhere to be found.

Sitting up on the bed, she realized she wasn't in her home, but in the hospital instead. She looked around, casting her gaze at everypony around the bed. The other bearers of the Elements of Harmony, the fillies Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle, pretty much everypony she considered her friends was there with her. Even Goldenrod was right there beside her with Nurse Redheart. Finally, with a sigh of relief, she spotted Scootaloo dozing on the bed behind the nurse.

It was then that she remembered the monster she had seen and panic filled her heart. Without a sound, she dove underneath the covers, her eyes peering out from under the covers. She looked frantically around the room, scouring every square inch of it for sign of the thing that had been attacking the foals. It occurred to her that it probably wouldn't come back with so many ponies around.

Fluttershy had no idea what that thing was, but its very shape was frightening; it had the upright, clawed armed stature of young dragons, but also bore a plant-stem like hide not unlike a Timber Wolf pup. “Where did that awful plant monster go?”

“I would also like to know what you four have been up to in my ward.” Nurse Redheart had spoken to nopony in particular, but her gaze was locked on Warren as she spoke. “Please tell me, why there are vines all over the place.”

- - -

Warren looked around the room, blushing. He really had done a number on the room. From various vases, many leafy tendrils sprouted and trailed across the room. Some were holding books at reading-level for somepony on a bed, others were entwined around bed-frames, but most were drawn to the center of the room, where a pair of vases sat, each sporting a rose. Looking at the mess, he was drawn back into the events that had lead up to the mess.

Not long before Fluttershy and Nurse Redheart had burst dramatically into the ward, he'd been experimenting with the limits of his new-found affinity for plants. Through trial and error, he'd determined just how far he could extend a plant, as was now evidenced by the vines. He could make a plant grow proportionally to the amount of water available to it, but in doing so consumed the water. Purely by chance, he'd noticed he could adjust the tensile strength of the stem or tendril of the plant, making it as unyielding as steel, or as pliable as a piece of cloth.

In a moment of self-indulgence, he attempted to make a replica of him original out of the two roses. Warren justified it to the fillies as practicing control and accuracy, but in reality, he simply wanted the ego boost of being able to look upon himself. Unfortunately for his ego, his control was nowhere near refined enough to make a plant-doppelganger of himself, yielding a tall, misshapen monstrosity that would probably haunt his dreams.

Incredibly, the fillies weren't scared of it in the least. Scootaloo, craving physical activity, decided to climb onto its hunched back, staring down at her friends in that victorious 'king of the hill' fashion. Quickly, Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom were trying to climb it too, precariously unbalancing the plant. It jerked forward with a start, sending Scootaloo tumbling over the shoulder towards the ground.

Without even really thinking it, Warren willed one of the plant effigy's arms to shoot up and catch her in it's hand. With a soft thump, Scootaloo landed in the effigy's open palm. The sudden rising motion of the arm sent Apple Bloom, who at the time had been hanging off that arm, sailing into the air. Again, he willed an arm to shoot up to catch the airborne filly, only to dislodge from the other arm Sweetie Belle.

Panicked, Warren was now juggling the fillies with a focus he dared not break. The three Crusaders, in the meantime, seemed to be having a ball; they were cheering and hooting with laughter. What if I drop Scootaloo? What if I drop any of them? Crap! Crap, crap, crap! He needed to figure out a way to take Scootaloo out of danger of being dropped, and fast.

Anxiously, he carefully climbed the foliage monstrosity, making sure to keep the juggling action in sight. Without a doubt, Warren knew that if he broke eye contact for too long, all three fillies would tumble to the ground. He was the one in control of this thing; it was all up to him. With a mad scramble, he made his way up to the deformed lump that represented his head.

Timing it just right, he reached out and grabbed the bandaged orange filly at the apex of being tossed. With some difficulty, he dragged her back onto its back. Before he could explain himself, though, the deformed plant mass shifted forward again, sending him tumbling into the game he'd just pulled Scootaloo out of.

From there, everything became a lot more risky, especially with Scootaloo's cheering him on now serving as a distraction. It was one thing to judge the timing of the throws when he was rooted firmly on the ground, but being constantly jostled and launched was taking a major toll on his focus. Eventually he and Sweetie Belle collided in mid-air, evoking a startled “Easy now...”

With that, any semblance of focus he once had was broken. Apple Bloom bounced off of a forearm to the ground below. She looked up, indignant and hurt, watching as he awkwardly caught Sweetie Belle and then himself in the awkward hands of the effigy. “Wh- hey! Be careful! That hurt ya know!” she reprimanded.

Then, without warning Nurse Redheart bucked open the door, storming in. “What are you four up to in my-” was all she could manage before breaking off, distracted by the sight that stood before her. She stared, aghast at the monstrosity before her. Soon after, she was followed in by Fluttershy, who upon seeing the leafy monstrosity quickly screamed and fainted.

Knowing the others would probably come running when they heard their friend's scream, the ponies present moved the unconscious Fluttershy onto a bed and placed the now tuckered Scootaloo back onto her own bed, before Warren quickly focused his efforts on deconstructing his plant-doppelganger. If Fluttershy had that sort of reaction, heaven only knows what sort of reaction the others will have. Sure enough, Applejack and Rainbow Dash burst through the door, looking as fierce as the admittedly cute pony mares possibly could. Following suit were Rarity and Twilight, finally bringing up the rear, with a tray of cupcakes, was the pink party planner herself, Pinkie Pie.

As he regaled everypony, knowing his explanation had everypony – not just Nurse Redheart – at attention, with his explanation of what had happened to the room, and how he'd managed to keep the fillies occupied, he came to realize something. Since he'd gotten here, he'd been nothing less than downright irresponsible on multiple occasions. He made a mental note to find some sort of way to punish his inexcusable recklessness; it was the sort of thing that could get somepony killed.

“Ah reckon ya'll should apologize for the scare ya gave poor Fluttershy, sugah-cubes.” Applejack said at last, eying Goldenrod. “That's one hay of a tale you been tellin', and truth be told this plant magic of yours is a might interestin' and all, but that was a terrible scare to be givin' her!”

The Crusaders – even Scootaloo, who had stopped dozing in the middle of his recap – sounded dejected as they apologized. “We're sorry, Fluttershy! We didn't mean to scare you, honest!”

Fluttershy looked kindly at the three fillies and smiled at them. “It's okay girls, I know you didn't mean to scare me.” Hearing their heartfelt apologies.

All eyes were now on Warren, who still hadn't apologized. His throat was suddenly very dry, and wished more than anything that he hadn't used all the water in the room fueling his plant mayhem. “I guess I really screwed up at being the adult I'm supposed to be, didn't I?” He said at last. “Here I am playing around like a little kid, messing up the day. I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me for my carelessness, Fluttershy.”

Fluttershy broke her smile, and looked him in the eye for a long while. It was not a look of admonishment, anger, or even sadness. He wasn't really sure how to interpret it. It almost reminded him of a look he'd get from his mother whenever he'd get up to trouble as a little boy. It was a look of understanding and unconditional caring. “Goldenrod, you may be the oddest little guy I've ever met, but your heart is in the right place.” She finally smiled, placing a hoof on his. “You were just trying to have fun and better understand your abilities.” In a lower voice, she whispered, “Besides, you did keep her occupied until the party was ready.”

Scootaloo's ears pricked forward, now alert. “What? A party?” The orange filly began bouncing up and down on her hospital bed excitedly. “Are you really throwing me a party?”

Warren turned from Fluttershy to face Scootaloo. He broke eye-contact only momentarily in order to catch the approving nod of Pinkie Pie. “That's right kiddo, we're throwing you a party.” he said with a grin. “We all thought you must be going stir-crazy, even with the three of us constantly visiting.”

“That's right!” Pinkie began to bounce on the spot, cheerfully. “We've got snacks, friends, games and music; everything you could possibly need to cheer up a filly! What's more, you get to go outside!”

Hearing the word 'outside' seemed to ignite a fire inside Scootaloo. Without warning, she leaped off of her bed, and wrapped her forelegs around Pinkie Pie's neck in a hug. “You're not playing a prank on me, right? I can really go outside?” The filly stared up at Pinkie's face, waiting for the inevitable nod. “Oh thank you, thank you, thank you!”

Pinkie Pie giggled, kneeling to let the filly down to the floor. “Oh, I can't take all the credit.” She looked at Goldenrod with a knowing smile. “Throwing a 'get well soon' party for you was all Goldenrod's idea! I made sure the party would be super-fantastic, just for you!”

With appreciation dawning on her face, Scootaloo stared at Warren. She looked as though her mind was running around in circles trying to come up with a conclusion as to why he'd do it for her. “I- um, thanks?” She finally managed to say, blushing. “But why?”

“We can talk about that later!” Warren laughed, hopping off the bed. “If we don't get out there soon, the guests will get all the food!”

Everypony began to hurriedly make their way towards the door, the Crusader trio leading the way. Warren was just about to follow suit when he was dragged to a stop by Nurse Redheart, his tail between her teeth. He stared at her, hurt by the sudden pull on his tail.

“You can go to the party after you clean up all these plants.”

- - -

What first seemed like a small task was turning out much more monumental than Warren first assumed. When it came to reverting the replica plant, it seemed so easy. It became apparent after the first five minutes of struggling with just one plant that his deconstruction was fairly panic-fueled. Without that adrenaline flowing, he found it took much more energy to transform them back to normal.

The first one he attempted to revert started to glow, as though about to catch aflame, and then suddenly turned into dust. Of course it would make a bigger mess for me, he thought dryly as he swept the remains into a waste-bin. The rest of them didn't disintegrate like the first, but they did not look at all like normal plants, either; they were just compressed spheres of plant-matter. With a sigh, he added the spheres to the waste-bin with their dust brother.

Regardless of the struggle with his magic, he managed to get it done, though it left him feeling significantly drained. Looking around the room, he knew he'd probably be scolded if he didn't at least tidy up a bit; there were books littering the floor and a bed out of line with the other beds.

With a grunt of effort, Warren forced his shoulder into the foot of the bed and pushed for all he had in him. It was times like this, when he was most helpless and weak, that he most yearned for his old body. Moving the bed would have been so much simpler. Until he found a way to get his body back to normal and find a way home though, he knew he had no choice but to grin and bear it.

Then only the books on the floor remained. If it had been any other day, he'd have simply chanced his horn catching fire by using magic, but he still felt pretty tired from reverting the plants. I guess that's what Twilight's book meant about overexertion. I feel like I could pass out if I did anything like that now. He settled for picking up objects like everypony else did; using his mouth, he picked up the books on the floor individually, and carried them to the table beside Scootaloo's bed.

As he was picking the copy of Daring Do and the Quest for the Sapphire Stone that he'd been reading aloud to Scootaloo up off of the floor, he noticed a folded piece of paper flutter down to the ground. After setting aside the book, he bent down to pick it up in his fetlock joint. Carefully unfolding it, he found a messy, but intelligible letter.

Dear Mom and Dad

I'm sorry I haven't written to you in a long time. Things have been going pretty good around here lately. My friends have all been taking really good care of me. Everypony is so nice to me, and they treat me like family, even though we aren't. It's almost like you never really left. Even so, they can never replace you.

I met a boy last week. At first we all thought he lost all his memories. He seemed really confused and uncomfortable, so me, Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle befriended him. He's a bit strange, but really nice, and smart, and not in that gross nerdy way, either! It turns out that he's not really a pony though! He's something called a human, and says he's from another world; can you believe it?

I was in an accident as a result of hang-gliding with everypony, and actually lost my wing. The doctors managed to put it back on, and they say I could be flying in no time, but I don't know. It kinda feels like they're lying because they don't want to tell me that I might never fly again. I'm in a lot of pain sometimes. I still want to cry like a new foal sometimes, but the medicine that Nurse Redheart give me helps a lot.

Goldenrod, that boy that turned out to be from another world, blames himself for the accident. I'm not mad at him, though. If it wasn't for him, I might not have made it at all! Since then, he's been trying so hard to make it up to me. It's kind of nice having somepony fussing over me like Mom did again. When he reads to me here in the hospital, it's like having you here with me, Dad. When he's around, at times it's almost like... having you both back here with me.

That's what reminded me that I haven't written in a long, long time. I love you both so much, and I miss you both terribly. It gets so lonely at home at night.

I'll always miss you,
Scootaloo

Warren knew immediately when he began reading the letter that he was intruding on something private, and should have stopped immediately. For whatever reason, though, he became engrossed in it. Even if he hadn't intended, he'd left a lasting impression on the poor filly. She may have been all bluster and bravado on the surface, but deep down, he could see that she was just a sad little girl wounded by the loss of her parents, looking desperately for something to cling to.

Shakily, he folded and placed the letter in the back of the Daring Do novel. Warren realized then that his eyes were rimmed with tears. His heart felt heavy from the implications of the letter. Sure, I wanted to protect her as long as I'm here, but it's almost like she's starting to see me as a big brother or something. Would I really abandon her for my own world? Deftly, he removed his glasses, and then wiped his eye with a foreleg.

When he returned the glasses to his snout, Scootaloo was right there beside him. She didn't look sad, angry, or even hurt; she looked embarrassed. “So... you saw the letter,” she stated hesitantly. With glance at the ground, he nodded shamefully. “You must think I'm pretty silly, writing to my parents like that.”

Warren gaped at her. “What? Why?”

“They're dead; I thought you knew,” she said sadly, looking away. She shuddered, looking like she was about to break down crying.

“Of course it's not silly,” he replied softly. Gently, he put his forelegs around her neck and hugged her close to him. “People write letters to their deceased loved ones all the time! It's a mechanism for grieving, not something to be ashamed of.”

He released her, and then began to move towards the door. “I'm sorry I snooped though. It wasn't my place to read that letter.”

She looked at him, as though longing for something. As though realizing he was watching her carefully, Scootaloo shook her head. “No, it's... Well, it's not okay. It kinda hurts to find somepony reading something that had been private for so long. Still, it was nice to be able to talk to somepony about it. I guess that makes it even.”

“Even is something I can cope with,” he said with a wan smile. “Come on, or we'll miss all of the party.”

- - -

The party was in full swing when the two of them returned. There was loud music pounding from inside the tent that had served as a bakery earlier, ponies coming and going through the flap. Outside the tent were many arrays of tables. Every square inch of every table was covered in baked goods or candies, either end seating a large bowl of juice.

There were ponies everywhere. He could see fillies from the school off near a tree playing Pin the Tail on the Pony, lead by Twist. Congregated more towards the side of the hospital were patients and nurses. They all seemed to be enjoying themselves. At the far side of the array of snack tables, he could see Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle with their sisters and their friends.

As they made their way towards the group, Warren glanced through the flap of the tent, and saw that a dance floor was set up. He could even make out a DJ in the back. It wasn't a white mare with the blue mane; Vinyl Scratch was what the fliers he'd seen had called her. Instead, he saw a young stallion, deep navy blue in coat, his mane mix of cyan and blood-red. A banner above the door proclaimed the tent 'The dance floor of DJ-H4RM0NIX.' How can that trend be here in this world too? I haven't seen anything more substantial than an arcade machine, never mind an actual computer.

When they both reached the table, Warren headed straight for the snacks. After all the playing with magic, he was absolutely famished. Ignoring the greetings of everypony else, he stood up on his back hooves to better access the table. Sitting right in front of him were a dozen of the most delicious looking cupcakes, and directly across from him was a godly smelling apple pie.

Eagerly, he popped one of the cupcakes into his mouth. The icing all but melted in his mouth, and as he chewed, he found the pastry was with just the perfect amount of moisture. The flavor of it all almost brought tears to his eyes. He quickly grabbed a cupcake, and then another, not caring if his stuffed cheeks reminded anypony of a squirrel; he was starving.

Then, without warning, the pie in front of him seemingly leaped up into the air, out of its tin. What followed was like something out of a Scooby-Doo cartoon. Pinkie Pie was up on the table in an instant, her tongue stretching out to an unreal length. The pie landed on her tongue, and then it was gone, retracted into her mouth instantly.

A pang of revulsion shot through Warren, both at his own gorging and what had just occurred before him, when she looked at him and giggled thoughtfully. “Sorry, were you going to eat that one?”

“Uh, no...” he mumbled, backing away slowly. “I've suddenly lost my appetite.”

Turning to look for Twilight Sparkle, he smacked face-first into Rainbow Dash's flank. The sudden head-on collision surprised him, and sent him stumbling backward to the ground. Adjusting his glasses, he stared up at the rainbow-maned mare.

“Watch where you're going, chump.” she grumbled, staring down at him.

He stood up, and brushed his flank and legs off with his tail. “Sorry, Rainbow Dash. I wasn't looking where I was going.”

Rather than being pleased with his response, she smacked her hoof against her forehead and shook her head. “Ugh, you're just going to roll over and take it?” She gave him an appraising look. “Why are you even dyed up to look like me? You're nowhere near cool enough.”

Warren decided then and there that he definitely didn't like her. She'd been the first to accuse him of associating with the Draconequus after the accident, and seemed incredibly arrogant from his standpoint. “I didn't do it to look cool,” he said flatly. “I did it because I'm a man of my word.”

A strange look crossed her face. Whether she was surprised by the fact that he was unimpressed by her, or she was trying to mull over the 'man of my word' comment, he didn't know. “What's that supposed to mean?”

He glanced sidelong at Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo, seemingly in a pastry eating competition. “I did it for them,” he replied with a soft smile. This drew a strange look from Rainbow Dash. “I lost a game with the three of them, and this was my punishment. I could have reneged, but I didn't. I know she's the one who came up with the punishment, so if I went back on my word, it'd hurt her. Don't you think she has enough hurt in her life?”

Rainbow looked humbled for a moment, but quickly shook her head. “Fine, so you're kind of cool,” she said dejectedly. “I still don't think you're cool enough to wear my colors.”

He shrugged. “What do you want me to do about it?”

A playful look spread across her face. “Well,” she said loudly, “if you wanted to prove you were cool enough to wear my colors, you'd race me.”

Everything went silent then. He could have even sworn he heard a record scratch as the music died down. It seemed like everypony had their eyes on them both. The absurdity of it all; a scrawny unicorn colt racing the pegasus everypony said was the fastest living thing in Equestria. Then he heard everypony begin talking animatedly.

“He's not really going to race her, is he Twilight dear?” he heard Rarity ask.

“No, of course not, Rarity. Goldenrod is a bit strange, but he isn't crazy,” Twilight's voice replied. In a mumbled tone, he heard her say “At least, I hope not.”

“Oooh! A race! Just what this party needs!” Pinkie Pie squealed. “Who wants to do a six-legged race?”

“Wouldn't it be cool if he raced Dash?” Apple Bloom said loudly.

“Yeah!” Sweetie Belle's reply was most eager. “Imagine if he won!”

“Nah, he'd never beat her.” Scootaloo laughed. “But if he did, that'd be pretty awesome.”

It seemed like everypony in the area was having their own animated discussions about the race. The general consensus was that he'd never race Rainbow Dash. It seemed simple enough, let everypony talk and let his ego take the beating, and there'd be absolutely no harm done. Something nagged at him, however. It might have been the attention-loving grin on Rainbow Dash's face, or it could have been what Scootaloo said.

Without even consciously thinking, Warren said, “I'll do it. I'll race you, no holds barred.”

Author's Note:

We’re back, finally. It’s been a long stretch of various difficulties, but we’ve managed to come through. I’ve had a lot to think about over the last few weeks, allowing me to get my affairs in order here. The unintentional hiatus extension was a bit of a pain, but that’s the thing about working with a beta-reader. You have to be accommodating for their schedule, while still being able to light a fire under his arse when it comes down to it. That being said, I’m glad he’s over his bout of illness.

As far as releases go, I know for a fact now that setting a specific day for releasing chapters has only been a detriment to me. I’m pretty sure that was what resulted in the stagnation of my ability to write, leading up to the hiatus. I’d like to thank fellow author ZeroSkyler for pointing that out to me. I promise I’ll get around to reading Reflection eventually. It might take the moon falling on my head, but it will happen, friend.

A more emotional chapter, I went into this with the goal of laying the groundwork for the type of relationship I have planned between Goldenrod and Scootaloo, as well as for preparing motivations when the metaphorical wheel in the sky starts turning and the plot really gets under way.

I’m sure you all have also noticed the new cover image. I’d like to give GMEiden over on deviantART a great big shout-out, thanking them for their participation in the contest. I find it works much better than that old image I threw together. The story should come off far less angsty now.