Something decided I was off my usual path. That I wasn't where I was supposed to be. Who am I to go against the word of a god?
I wasn't supposed to be where I was now. Or at least that's what the light in my dream said to me. I was supposed to be a "creator of worlds" it said. I was to create fate or something like that, and manage the lives of millions. But what can I do in a world that doesn't need saving? What can I build with the tool gun to change my fate? But more importantly, why was I chosen to wield such power over said gun?
The walls of the room around me were coated in blotchy green paint. The desk that held my black laptop was an oak-wood tan color. The chair I sat in was a black office chair that refused to move on the white carpet below same color as the door and closet. A queen sized bed took up one-fifth of the room while a old rocking chair was fit snugly in the far corner of the room.
The black office chair was occupied by none other than me. I had black straight hair and a five o’clock shadow. I looked at my computer with a bored expression. I just stared at my Steam library, as if it would come to life and tell me what I truly desired to play. As my eyes scanned from top to bottom of the list I came across an old name.
“Garry's Mod.” I stated out loud.
I began imagining all the fun I had between now and the time I first got the game. It was the only game that I had over two thousand hours invested in it at the time. And according to the achievement, that was over an entire month invested in playing this one game. I wouldn’t deny that allegation for even one second, as I played it pretty much every day since I came home from high school. That game made me who I am today, to be honest.
It was more because the game had so many thuggish people. Everyone was hateful towards children and the like, but at one point I joined them and then didn’t care after a while. Some children, as annoying as some were with a microphone, were actually enjoyable to get to know. Some knew their E2 very well, and surpassed me in just the few weeks that I knew him. Although to be fair I was never invested in E2, until I got some of my own through Garry's Mod, and I experimented with them.
I stared at the name. The reason why I stopped playing was because the update made all the old players leave. It was just too different and so childishly built now. None of the important advanced options existed anymore, and all sandbox players hated the new layout. Some still came and tried it out, much like myself. But also much like myself, I also left to do other things.
Now I sit in my room and wait for tomorrow. It was 9:00pm and I was still looking at the game library that was stocked full of games. Even Civilizations V was beginning to become dull after the many times I’ve played it. The best games of my library were the ones I also didn’t want to play anymore.
“There really nothing left to play.” I admitted dully to myself, as I put both hands on my head with a sigh.
I looked back at the clock on my laptop screen. It read “9:01pm” and I huffed in disappointment. I’ve sat in this seat for an hour straight, with nothing to do. My chores were done and my dilemma went unsolved. I was no closer to getting any entertainment out of today. I grabbed the mouse and opened the start menu. I then clicked on shutdown and waited for the screen to go black.
When it did, I closed the laptop and spun around 180 degrees to face my bed. I stood up and without bothering to take a shower, I plopped down on the bed. I turned the bedside lamp off and plunged my room into darkness. I promptly fell asleep.
I shot up with a jolt. Around me was a pristine view of the ocean. I was on a beach looking out at a far light. I knew it was the replacement of the sun, but the light seemed important to me. It seemed to be almost blinding and uncontrollable. Or maybe it was just a beacon from something that I couldn’t understand entirely. The light was so bright, that the blue of the sky and the water melted into the bright light that ran along the horizon. I couldn't even see the horizon as the light covered it. I stared at it for a few moments, just looking and not trying to understand it.
I looked over to my left and saw an abandoned bunker placed in the sand. I gave it little thought as I observed what was to my right. There was a viewing dock, that only slightly jutted away from the sand, and gave whoever stood there a good view of the ocean. Again I paid little attention to it as I did the bunker. There was a brown rock buried in the sand in front of me by the shore. Small waves tried to crash over it, but only managed to split apart. I looked back at the hypnotizing light and stared for a moment.
I then instinctively drew my right hand behind me. But not just putting it behind me, but reaching for something. I extended my right hand as far as it could go, while I stared ahead at the light. I felt something and grabbed it. I drew my right hand in front of me and looked down at the gun in my hand.
The Toolgun was in my hand. I took little thought of it and I held it in the position I was familiar with. I pointed it straight ahead like in the game Garry's Mod. The text screen on the gun, showed only one tool on it right now. I noticed there was also a display at the top left of my vision that also showed what tool was equipped. The Toolgun seemed to be stuck on the light tool. With the light tool was able to create lights and either string them up with rope, or drop them on the floor.
Instinctively, I brought the gun up to bear, and pointed at the horizon. I fired off a shot with the gun and a bolt of electricity went from the gun to the horizon where I pointed it. The gun let out a small ‘Puft’ as the gun fired, and it recoiled slightly. More of a little finger push on the end of the barrel.
I looked around as I found myself suddenly aware of the dream. I then looked down at the Toolgun in my hand that was at my side. I found it surprising when I noticed it not there. But I could still feel its phantom in my palm. I brought my right hand up to the level of my chest and examined my palm for the phantom gun. I realized that I could feel the warmth of my hand as I rubbed my left hand thumb across my palm.
“Hello wolfGear.” A voice came from seemingly all around me.
I shot my head up and looked from my left and right. I spun around and looked to the landscape around me. I was in a place completely flat and the clouds were gone with nothing but the empty blue sky. I kept spinning around in place while looking at the impossibly flat landscape. I stopped and calmed myself when I couldn’t find what spoke. But I knew something was there that I couldn’t see. I looked up and saw what I thought was the sun.
But the light didn't burn my eyes when I trailed up to it and I looked directly at its source. I was astonished when I realized the bright light wasn't a sun, but just a light. No discernible center where all the light originates, and not even a shape because the light was so bright. It made the sky look just like the horizon from the other place I was just at. Only this time I was aware of what was happening rather than being an uncontrollable dream.
“Do you know where you are? Or where you should be?” A male Omnipotent-like voice spoke to me.
I somehow knew that this voice was coming from a creature that was far superior to me in every way. My skin was touched by an energy as its light beamed down on me, the light gifted me the feeling of trust. I nervously responded to its question.
“I-I think I’m in a flat world. How do you know my alias?” I asked unsurely.
“I know you. That’s how I know your alias. But you are wrong with the location. You and I are in your dream. I’ve decided to speak to you this way, so what I’m about to say doesn't seem as far-fetched.” the voice seemed to echo around me.
“What do you mean?” I asked with a raise of my eyebrow.
“Being inside your dream, means you would accept any reality I give you. If I appear as I do now in the real world, you would be scared... and you’d also be destroyed through the raw power my form gives off. But let’s dispense with the whole explanation as to how I’m here and get onto why we’re here.” the light explained to me.
Its voice still came from all around me. I was beginning to become aware of all the events before coming to this place in my dream, and I gave him my attention. Although I kept the idea that his was just a dream in the back of my head. If it was just a dream then I’d better just continue along with it.
“Now, I know you’d doubt my sincerity, but when you looked at your palm did you not feel a gun?” It questioned of me.
“Uh yeah, I did. Wait, weren’t you going to say why you’re here?” I replied, this time I completely missed an obvious truth.
“Yes, but first I need you to know the importance of what I have to say. And I will make it so these words will never escape your memory, until your mission is over. As you know, when in a dream you usually don’t remember feeling the objects you interact with as clearly as you do now. Not only that, but you wouldn’t still feel the influence of one that disappeared in your hand as well,” continued the Omnipotent being that added a pause after his sentence.
I waited for him to continue, but when it was obvious he wasn’t going to I said. “Ok?”
“You’re not supposed to be here Blake.” the voice simply stated.
“What do you mean?” I responded with curiosity and the crunching of my eyebrows to form a judging scowl. “And how do you know my name?” I asked.
“You’re not supposed to be the way you are now. You’re supposed to create and destroy. To write and rewrite the history of worlds you’ve made. You’ve missed out on the most important footnote in your life. The experience was to change what you’ve wanted to do, and would have made a lasting impact on you, for the rest of your life. It was supposed to start in high school. But for some reason you missed it.” It explained.
“…What was it?” I asked without much thought, completely forgetting my the previous reveal as to him knowing my name.
“Something very important. And now I must send you to a world that doesn’t need you, but you will need that world. Your experience there, will correct what you’ve done wrong. And although it wasn’t your fault, it must be fixed by you and you alone. When you’re done and you’ve become the person you were supposed to, I will be back to collect you, and return you home.” he explained to me.
“What do I have to do? Wait why was I not supposed to be the way I am now? Am I not supposed to be a game designer?” I asked the light.
It chuckled warmly. “No you weren’t. You were supposed to create worlds, Blake.”
“Isn’t that what I do now?” I asked.
“Yes, but you don’t invent them. You don’t structure them as if they were your idea. You don’t do what you’re supposed to do.” he repeated to me.
I crossed my arms. “Then what am I supposed to do?” I impatiently replied and gave him a scowl.
“I will show you a world that will change you. Being who you are, accepting and conservative, you wouldn’t take an impulsive action that would ruin your reputation with the creatures I’m pairing you with.” He told me with a hint of mirth.
“What do you mean? Do they have weird customs?” I questioned of him, while completely understanding the fact that the omnipotent being said ‘creatures.’
“Well, they are weird, to the average human mind.” He added with un-sureness.
“So what are they?” I asked.
“You’ll see.” he cryptically replied.
Then the light became brighter. It was so bright, that the world around me disappeared from the light pollution.
I opened my eyes groggily. I felt exhausted and tired, the same feeling you would get when you wake up and want to go back to sleep. I tried sleep on the hard ground but that proved fruitless and I tried to get up from my prone position to look around me. But I had no energy, and when I looked around I saw I was lying face-down on the grass in an unknown park. The hedges were high enough to block the view of an eight foot man. I saw that the corners of the small field had paths that led out in different directions. From what I could gather, I was in a hedge maze of some sort.
I began to believe I was still in the dream. And just like how many other people try to continue sleeping, I began to doze off. I felt as if I was still in a dream like state. The world around me just didn't seem real enough to hold my interest. But the uncomfortable feeling of the hard ground made me realize I was probably not dreaming.
I continued to try to move my head to scan more of the area. But as I moved, I realized my vision began to blur and I became even more exhausted. But when I stopped moving my head my eyes rested on a strange device in the grass. It was only a meter from me, and I could reach out and get it if I had the energy to crawl just a little closer. But the object was instantly recognizable as the Toolgun from my dream.
“I heard something over here!” exclaimed a gruff seasoned voice.
I tried to move my head again and look at the hedge path across the way where the voice came from. I was surprised to see two white horses, wearing golden armor and a spear, trot into the clearing at a brisk pace. They both spotted me at separate times and stared at me for a few moments. I began to suspect the horses were intelligent, from the fact they wore the armor and held the spears. I was surprised to see they had wings on their sides that held the spears by tucking them close to their bodies.
I knew that this could be trouble so I tried to crawl toward the gun. I lifted my arm and tried to grab onto the grass. My head became dizzy, my vision began to swim, and a headache began to set in. I then brought my other arm out, and tried to push myself up. I was able to get a foot off the ground and lean forward enough to fall toward the Toolgun. But when I reached out to grab it, I blacked out.
The marble walls of Canterlot Castle glistened in the sunlight, giving it a heavenly shine and a cheerful feel. The stained glass windows were adorned with flowers, that hung on hooks on the walls, adjacent to the windows. The castle bustled with activity, as guards patrolled the halls and the courtyard for any intruders. Servants also occupied the halls and escorted guests who came to tour the pristine white castle. They cleaned the rooms that were unused along with the halls when no one was using them.
The castle was the busiest place of all Equestria. The only time a servant or guard got a break was when their shifts were over, or their platoon wasn’t given guard duty. That is except of course, the regal Princess Celestia.
Princess Celestia sat in her throne room with a content expression on her face. The duties of the kingdom were finished, and the mayors were content with the funding they’ve received. The nobles were setting up for this month’s party, and everyone was happy; there was no paperwork to be done, and all the current threats to Equestria have been dealt with.
Princess Celestia used this time to reminisce on good memories, and then jot down mental notes to set up appointments with her friends or write them nice letters. But she was still restricted to the similar deadlines and schedules that her servants and guards all bound to. Her role was to remain in the throne room, unless called away by a threat or an issue with a noble comes up that she must deal with. The only break she gets from sitting on her throne was when the country didn’t need any documents to be signed, or everyone was happy.
She relished in this quiet, as she wasn’t required to do anything but entertain herself with her thoughts. Princess Celestia would rather have this time to spend conversing with another pony. Her guards are to remain quiet when on duty, unless they have something to report. So the Princess had nothing to do, but sit there waiting for something to happen. And of course, like many times before, it did.
The doors to the throne room opened with light purple magic. Princess Celestia became slightly nervous when her nephew, Prince Shining Armor marched into the throne room with two guards escorting him. The room was silent except for the hoof steps from three stallions approaching Princess Celestia with stoic expressions.
They weren’t rushing to get in front of her, so the Princess was sure it wasn’t an imminent threat to Equestria. Shining Armor had a purple cloth table napkin covering a small object he was carrying on his back. Princess Celestia found the scene strange, but she kept silent as they approached her. Shining Armor stopped in front of the golden stairs that led to the Princess’ throne.
He saluted and looked her in the eye, “My Princess.” He put his hoof down on the ground and continued, “We’ve discovered a creature in the Canterlot Sculpture Garden. These two guards brought it to my attention and assisted a squad to bring it to the dungeons for examination. The creature doesn’t look like a threat, but it definitely isn’t from anywhere known to Equestria.”
Princess Celestia remained motionless, excepting for her flowing mane and wore a small frown as she asked, “How did it get to the gardens?”
“We don’t know. But the creature was reported to be barely conscious when it was found, suggesting that it used a great deal of power to get here. It was also carrying this.”
Shining Armor’s horn lit up with magic and the purple napkin on his back lifted off of the small object on his back. It revealed a stick of wood attached to a metal contraption with colored wires and plastic plates attached at random places. Princess Celestia could make out the distinct look of duct tape on the thin end of the strange device.
“What is it?” Princess Celestia asked as she grabbed it with her own magic.
The Princess pulled it toward her and examined it more closely. She could make out a screen and what she assumed were computer parts attached to it. Its design made no sense to her, and it looked more like someone strapped a battery to some metal and expected it to do something. But as she held it with her magic she noticed a strange energy attached to it that tickled at her horn.
“I will look into this,” she added emotionlessly. “I want you to report this to my sister at once. Tell her to meet me in the dungeons to examine the creature.”
The three stallions saluted their Monarch. “Yes ma’am!” they stated in unison and turned at a quick trot out the door.
Before Shining Armor cleared the door Princess Celestia saw him tuck the napkin snugly under his chest plate. Princess Celestia smiled for a moment, before drawing her attention back to the strange object. She chose to ignore the weird presence that it had when she held it with her magic. She stood up from her throne and began to descend.
The Princess looked to her personal guards, who flanked her throne. Without words they began to show activity, and they trotted to each other and stopped when they made a four foot gap between them. They waited for Celestia to get to the bottom of the steps, and when she arrived they followed her down the chamber.
Princess Celestia kept her magic held onto the object and trotted at a jogging pace toward her throne room door. When she got close, they parted with her unicorn guards magic and she exited the throne room and down the short stairs into the hallway. She looked to her right and began to walk forward before a train of thought stopped her. She looked down the left hallway with a tilt of her head. She then used an old spell that she really only used when addressing a large crowd.
“DISCORD! I NEED YOUR HELP!” she shouted in the Royal Canterlot Voice.
Her well-trained guards didn’t even flinch when her voice boomed beside them. They readjusted their position beside the Princess so they would face where she was facing. Within a few seconds, a flash of light obscured their view and Discord appeared in front Princess Celestia.
“Hello Celestia, did you miss me?” he asked with a smile.
Princess Celestia smiled at the newly reformed Discord. “Well I would like it if you bothered me when no one was complaining about the state of Equestria.” she replied with a hint of irritation.
“Oh, but I know you love it when I do that!” Discord added with a smile as he floated at a horizontal position with his head facing her. “Besides it’s not as fun if I’m not interrupting something. Now will that be all?” he finished with a bored expression.
“No. I came across an object that I don’t know about,” Celestia levitated the metal instrument in front of her and into Discords view. “Do you know anything about this?” she asked.
Discord looked at it as it floated there for two seconds, before reaching for it and taking it from Celestia’s magic. His expression unnerved Princess Celestia, as it held a face of interest and confusion. He then applied his own magic to the device and made it float above his palm. His confusion morphed into delight as he dropped it back down to his palm with a gasp and observed every angle of the contraption.
The Princess couldn’t remain silent. “What did you uncover?” she inquired with interest.
“Oh Celestia, this is the most marvelous thing I’ve ever seen in my entire life! There’s nothing to compare!” Discord exclaimed cheerfully as he looked over the object. “This is a tool of Chaos!”
Princess Celestia’s eyes widened in surprise. “Can you be sure?” she asked him with worry.
Discord gave her a deadpan look, “Oh please, don’t act like it’s the end of the world. It’s only chaos.” He smiled. “Besides, it’s completely inoperable right now. I could sense the residue of a lot of chaos magic in this. It’s broken now, but in its prime, it was probably a tool to do weirder things than I can think of.” He looked thoughtfully at the device, “Which by the way was why I was so excited. Something that used to do chaos at my level is interesting. What’s better is that it was made as a tool so anyone could use it.” Discord stated.
Celestia sighed in relief. “Good. But Discord, we believe the operator of that device is here.”
Discord stopped flapping his wings and he dropped to the ground, landing on his feet. “He what?” he asked with interest.
Celestia repeated herself. “We believe the operator is here. Unconscious in the dungeons. I’d appreciate it, if you were to join me and Luna meet him.”
“Of course I’d join you!” Discord announced with excited features. “Race you there!” he snapped his fingers and disappeared in a flash of light, leaving the device behind.
Princess Celestia caught the device with her magic and rolled her eyes. She then turned around to trot down the right hallway, that was one of many, that led to the dungeons.
Princess Luna arrived in the Canterlot dungeons. She stepped down the last step of the gloomy spiral staircase and a square room with iron bars. The room was connected to the many jail cells of Canterlot dungeon. Iron bars cut the room in half, and a single light bulb light up the room and cast long shadows. The light bulb was above the door Princess Luna just came from. She looked around and spotted the iron door that a guard was supposed to open for visitors or new inmates. The guard in question was an earth pony on the opposite side of the iron bars, and staring at her with a bored expression.
A lone guard at the desk on the opposite side of the iron bars got up and trotted toward the iron door that Luna positioned herself in front of. The keys on his belt jingled together and clanked against his golden armor. Without speaking, he took the keys off of his belt and started sifting through them. When he reached the right one he lifted the key into the keyhole and pushed it in. With a fluid motion he turned the key and opened the heavy iron door as if it were a paper weight.
“The cell you’re looking for is C-13. Princess Celestia and Discord are waiting for you.” he noted dully.
As he waited for Luna to enter the jail Luna was preoccupied with her own thoughts.
“Why would Celestia bring Discord? Is he part of the problem? Or does he know more about it than we do?” Luna thought to herself.
Princess Luna trotted through the open iron door and into the room with the guard. He promptly slammed it shut, and a surprised Luna finally understood why it intimidated so many visitors. It also explained why so many of them also requested the door be padded so it wouldn’t make such an intimidating noise. The gruff stallion solar guard returned to his desk and waited for the next visitor or inmate that was going out and heading home or to trial.
Princess Luna looked at the door in front of her that led to a hallway. She opened it with her magic and walked down the gloomy grey brick hallway. The hallway also had one light bulb that cast long shadows. But thankfully it was a short one, that spanned only two meters, before reaching a three way passage. Princess Luna looked at the two signs on the wall that pointed to cellblocks in alphabetical order. She turned left where blocks A through N were located.
As she walked she listened to her own hoof steps on the gloomy brick. She began to feel out of place with her surroundings as she searched for cell C-13. As she read each letter of the alphabet at each new hallway into another cellblock a morbid thought came to mind.
“One thousand years on the moon seems like a luxury compared to only ten here. No wonder criminals are too afraid to commit another crime when they’re set free. It’s a wonder how only five percent of them are declared mentally insane after they get out.” She thought.
She reached cellblock C and took a right. She saw Princess Celestia looking into the thirteenth cell with a neutral expression and Discord up against the brick wall behind her but following her gaze into the cell. The corridor was lit up with light bulbs that were spaced so there was one in front of each cell. The walls were still just as gloomy and slightly damp as the rest of the dungeon. As she trotted closer to them she realized the cells were empty.
“Well, hello to the mighty Princess of the Moon.” Discord started the conversation in a mocking tone.
Princess Celestia looked down the hallway to see Princess Luna trotting towards them with a small scowl directed at Discord. Celestia smiled when Luna looked at her and she in turn smiled back.
“Hello sister. Discord.” spoke Princess Luna.
“Hello Luna. The creature there hasn’t woken up yet. But Discord believes he will wake up soon,” replied Celestia as she gestured over to the occupied cell.
Luna looked over to the occupant and put on a puzzled expression. The creature was wearing some form of clothing over its exposed skin. It was wearing a cap on its head, and its garments had many different pockets. The color of the cap was a dark green alone, with a different array of colors on the rest of the clothing. But they all had dark colors that seemed to match, and gave the creature a raggedy look. The creature's limbs were bound together with chains, and it was lying on its side on the floor facing away from the group.
“When will it awaken?” asked Princess Luna.
“Any minute now.” replied an unnervingly serious Discord.
I opened my eyes slowly. I was wide awake and cold. The article of clothing I was wearing felt different from what I was wearing when I went to bed. I looked around and noticed that not only was I not sleeping in my bed, but my bed was nowhere to be found. So was my room for that matter. In its place was a gloomy jail cell, with grey brick floors. I tried to move my hands to sit myself up but I was stopped by something solid and I heard the jingling of a chain. I looked down and saw my hands and feet were bound to each other.
“Oh what the hell?” I whined out loud.
I heard the distinct sound of whispering behind me. I froze in place as I began to realize that I’ve been arrested. Not only was I in jail, but I was in a jail I didn’t recognize. It didn’t look like a jail the United States would use either. The brick floor wasn’t something normal for a jail cell anywhere, and I began to wonder if I was brought to another country. I tried to roll my body to the right so I could see who was with me. After some struggling, I was able to roll myself upright and get a good look at my captors before gravity pulled me to the right, to permanently face them.
My mind slowed down in utter disbelief when I saw three figures. Two were large horses with horns and wings, while the other one looked like a walking stained glass window of a chimera. My thoughts caught up to me, and I slowly remembered my dream. But the conversation with the light seemed so clear that I could remember the whole thing in detail. Even the things I didn’t notice before like the pattern of the grass.
I felt slightly at ease when the thought of that dream being true was a possibility. Before I really had much time to react, the chimera with an eccentric smile snapped its eagle arm and disappeared in a flash of light. I pondered its intent before it appeared above me in another flash of light.
“Hello traveler!” he greeted me cheerfully. “I’d really like to know how you made-” he reached behind himself with his lion arm and pulled an object out of the blue. “-this little contraption right here.” he said joyously.
He held in front of me the Toolgun that I was entrusted to. Or at least, I think I was entrusted to it. The light wasn’t clear enough as to what the Toolgun was supposed to do for me.
“Discord! How did you get that? Never mind just let him have his room.” scolded the white horse with an irritated motherly voice.
“Oh please Celestia, if someone so normal as him had a device as chaotic as this, he’d be completely fine with new things.” the chimera shot back.
“Discord, get on this side of the bars, please.” demanded the navy blue horse.
The creature Discord folded his arms and disappeared in a flash of light. Only to reappear beside the two horses.
“I’m sorry about that.” added the white one. “Still... I’d like to know why did you come here?” she asked in a calm and down-to-earth voice.
My brain caught up and began sifting through the many things I could say. The many questions I have to ask these three, were supposed to be overwhelming. I’ve always like imagining my creations in other worlds, but now being in one myself made me feel vulnerable. I had nothing on my mind right now that I could really say. But the question that the white horse asked was the one thing I was only slightly sure of now.
“I-I…” I paused as my voice failed me for a moment, the feeling of being judged was never a good one for me, but I always was able to get over it when the conversation continues. “I was sent here for help.” I responded honestly.
I began to feel slightly paranoid when I realized two of them were wearing crowns. I began to suspect they were each royalty, and I didn’t have many options to my fate. They each showed differing expressions of confusion. The white horse cocked her head to the side, while the blue one scrunched her eyebrows in contemplation. The chimera looked unimpressed but he seemed interested and continued to listen.
“What do you mean, 'sent here for help?'” asked the blue one. “Is your race in trouble?” she asked.
“No, but I was sent here so I could change.” I told her.
“Change how?” inquired the chimera. He leaned forward and held onto the bars with his different hands.
“Well I’m not sure.” I answered honestly again. “The light told me that I wasn’t who I should be, and what I’m doing now isn’t what I’m supposed to do for the rest of my life.” I told them.
“Also, it said I’m supposed to be creating worlds. Apparently I’m a god.” I thought sarcastically.
“A light being?” asked the white horse with a tilt of her head.
“Um, I guess? Hey where am I?” I asked trying to get them to answer my questions.
The white one looked at me thoughtfully. “You are in our palace dungeons. I’m Princess Celestia and this is my sister Princess Luna. This is Discord.” she replied, gesturing to the other occupants of the room.
After her introduction I began to speak their names in my head over and over so I would remember them better. As I did that silently, an important thought came to mind.
“Wait, if you’re all royalty, why are you all here?” I asked with my eyebrow raised.
“Not all of us.” Started Discord, his voice full of pride. “I’m the spirit of Chaos. By the way, how did you come across this?” he asked pulling out the Toolgun again.
“It was given to me. Can I have it back?” I answered his question, hopeful to get it back.
Luna was next to speak. “N-” but she was cut off by Discord who put his talon in front of her mouth.
“Why of course!” he chuckled merrily while receiving a glare from both his companions.
He tossed the Toolgun to me and it bounced on the floor and landed a foot from me. I then realized I couldn’t get it because my hands were tied up. I looked back up at Discord who was smiling widely while fighting back a fit of giggles. The two horses beside him had no inclination of my bound form, until they noticed my predicament. Even though I really wanted to ask them to un-cuff me, I felt inclined to get on their good side.
I looked at Discord and smiled. “I see what you did there,” I noted matter-o-factually to make it as funny as I could get that joke to be.
The Toolgun disappeared in a flash of light and reappeared in his lion paw. He smiled back at Celestia and chuckled triumphantly. “You see? I knew someone would get my sense of humor.” he said happily.
“The last thing we need, is another Discord.” Princess Luna admitted as she rolled her eyes.
“Oh don’t be that way Princess. You’ve done enough pouting on the moon anyway.” Discord mocked her.
Celestia rounded on Discord and gave him a stern look. “Discord, my sister's banishment is nothing to joke about.” she growled irritably.
“I’ve been away for one thousand years too, you know.” he countered and folded his arms.
Princess Celestia looked away bashfully and turned back to me. “Tell us about yourself.”
“She’s avoiding the conversation.” Discord whispered to Luna, loud enough so everyone could hear.
Celestia in response rolled her eyes. Princess Luna smiled in guilty pleasure for her sister's awkward circumstance. But she turned back to me and waited for my response. Discord saw that he wasn’t going to get anywhere if he kept it up, and he looked back at me with crossed arms. The Toolgun remained in his possession as they watched me with a more serious expression.
“Uh, can I be un-cuffed now?” I asked.
“We don’t know if you’re a threat, so we won’t remove the cuffs.” noted Princess Luna.
I pondered for a moment to think of a response. “…You think I’m a threat?” I asked.
Discord responded. “Well, we don’t know. I personally think you’re no threat to anyone. But that’s because I can’t feel any magic in you, and the only possible threat was this thing.” he admitted as he held up the Toolgun. “But...” he dropped his arm to his side. “It doesn’t work anymore. It was broken a long time ago.” his voice was full of disappointment.
I was instantly demoralized when I heard him say it was broken. I ran through the many things I could have done with the Toolgun. I then realized that without the Toolgun, I’d be so much more naked to this place. I will have to survive off of the generosity of these horses. But then I thought of the possibility that it was turned off and will activate when I touch it. It was a hopeful thought in an impossible situation.
“…Can I see it? I want to see if I can fix it.” I stated after the silence stretched on a while.
Princess Luna responded to me. “No. We would like to examine it further before we release it back to you. So for now, you can’t have it back.” her voice was full of authority.
“Ok. Can I at least be un-cuffed then?” I asked.
“I don’t agree to this. I don’t want to unbind you.” Princess Luna stoically replied.
“I’m not so sure Luna. He isn’t really much of a threat. Removing his cuffs wouldn’t hurt.” Princess Celestia chimed in affectionately.
Her horn became surrounded with a strange material and I felt a strange sensation with my cuffs. I looked down only to see them having the same aura and suddenly disappearing in a pop. I was silently impressed by the display and I gave my arms and legs an experimental shake. I then sat up into a sitting position before getting onto my knees and standing up at my full height. I looked back at them to catch their interested gazes. I was as tall as Luna if her horn wasn’t jutting out of her head.
“Well, a fellow biped.” Discord wryly noted with an interested tone. “How nice it is to know I’m not alone in the castle anymore.”
I looked to my left and found a single toilet up against the wall and a sink on the farthest end of the cell. There was a cot that was folded up against the wall to my right of where I stood. I examined it quickly and determined it wasn’t big enough to fit me, along with the toilet and sink. This cell was created for something smaller than me to live in.
I looked back at my three odd visitors who were watching me closely. “Hey can I get a different cell?” I asked looking between each of them.
“No.” replied Princess Celestia. “At least not tonight. But tomorrow I’ll send transfer orders to a new cell. Although if you behave, I’ll let you have a guest room.” she added with cheerfulness.
“Can’t get into much trouble in a jail cell.” I commented.
“True, but if you resist any orders the guards give you, then you’ll be hearing from us.” Princess Celestia teased me.
“Got it.” I replied turning toward the cot.
I grabbed it and pulled it down from the wall. It fell down and snapped into place a foot off the ground. It was barely four feet and looked only mildly comfortable. I looked at the cot with a disapproving frown. I turned my head to the Princesses and Discord and raised my eyebrow. Discord was smiling at me with a smug expression. He lifted his talon and snapped his fingers. In a flash of light the cot increased in size to fit me. Although it still looked just as uncomfortable as always it was still a cot.
“Thank you.” I replied sincerely.
“Not a problem. Although, you now owe me two bits.” he joked, his eyes alight with amusement.
“Discord, please don’t tax my prisoners.” Celestia chimed in. She then faced me again with a smile on her face. “I’ll visit you sometime later. But someone will come to get more information about you in the morning. Have a good night Mr…” she paused and realized that I haven’t introduced myself. “What’s your name?” she asked sheepishly.
“Blake.” I responded.
“Good to meet you, Blake.” she said.
Discord disappeared in a flash of light. The last thing I saw on his face was boredom. I began to suspect he was only here because he wanted to learn more about the Toolgun. I didn’t know much so I couldn’t offer him much information about it.
“Goodbye. And again be prepared for the morning.” she stated in her motherly tone.
“Bye.” I responded without much emotion in my voice.
They both turned to my right and trotted out of view. After a few minutes of listening to their trotting, I sat down on the large cot. Their hoof steps were gone and my thoughts shot off in thousands of directions. I had my arms wrapped around each other as my situation began to sink in. I lowered my head and leaned forward as I began to think. But when I looked down I noticed something odd.
“Wait, these aren’t my jeans.” I noted out loud.
I looked at the rest of my attire and found I was in the resistance uniform from Half-life 2. The outfit fit well and was warm from the layers of clothes. But the most concerning thing about it was how distracted I was, to not notice I was wearing something new. I felt the cap on my head but didn’t think much of it. I knew exactly what I looked like now. I looked over to my shoulder to confirm the lambda symbol was on my arm.
I fell to my side onto the cot and rolled to my back. The strange development from my regular life to this new fanciful and strange one was absurd. I began to wonder if I actually had a conversation with two giant horses and a walking window.
“I’m on LSD.” I admitted to myself matter-o-factually.
I found myself staring at the gloomy ceiling, lying on the cot that the stained-glass window made bigger. My hands were behind my head, and rested on a small pillow. A few hours ago, I was in contact with creatures that I didn’t even recognize from the real world at all. My only conclusions were that I’ve gone from my world to another one, or that my brain was making up scenarios to shield me from a darker truth. I was beginning to believe that those creatures weren’t real at all, and with my mistake of not asking to touch one of them I wouldn’t know for sure.
And although the conversation we had was a simple and slightly informative one, I could barely remember the conversation we had. It was a possibility that my nerves made me forget what was said, it was a sort of stressful situation when I reflected more on it. Unfortunately, by now I’d forgotten their names. In my defense, it has been over a few hours since I last saw them. Well, that and I’m bad with names of people I’ve met for the first time. That is of course, unless the name is really easy to remember like John or Mike.
I lifted my hands up to my face and looked at them. I noticed how my finger prints seemed to have different grooves from what I recognized. I sighed loudly, knowing no one would hear the stressed noise. I lowered my hands to my side and I bumped the armor that was strapped to my thighs. I looked down and examined the body armor. It was comfy and lightweight. It made me feel safe and still allowed me to be flexible. As I examined them, my eyes wondered to my pockets to find bulges in each one.
I sat up, and reached into my left and right pockets with my hands, to locate the disturbance. My fingers wrapped around two leathery objects and I pulled them out of my pockets. I examined what I pulled out, to discover that they were gloves. Black, heavy-duty gloves that looked like they could fit snuggly around my hands. I quickly tucked them back into my pockets for a later date. No need to wear heavy duty gloves that looked like they were meant for trouble in a prison.
I leaned back and plopped down on the pillow behind my head. I could tell it was late because I was tired. I’m usually in bed early, so I get an early start the next day. I always find myself with time I don’t really need, and I’m more comfortable with having a lot of time on my hands, than none at all. I rolled to my right side and placed my right hand under the pillow. I was impressed that the black thigh armor didn’t impede my roll, nor did it make it uncomfortable.
The shout jolted me awake and nearly tipped me off the cot. For three whole seconds, I panicked, after I noticed I wasn’t in my bedroom. But when that time passed I remembered where I was and I looked beyond the iron bars. I was momentarily confused when I noticed two white miniature horses on the other side of the bars. Between them was a shorter horse, with a light blue coat and a nervous expression. The features of the shorter horse were very feminine in nature. She had a green mane and wore a lab coat, she also had a horn on her head. The two stallions beside her were two different types of ponies. One didn’t have wings or a horn; the other had a horn just like the female.
“Please don’t aggravate it,” whispered the female pony, in an oddly British accent.
The horse without a horn or wings looked at her with a cold expression. He nodded in confirmation and turned back to me. He was the tallest, and undoubtedly the strongest looking of the group of three. The two guards had blue armor with rounded blue caps. I assumed they were prison guards from the look of the stars on their chest. I looked back to the female horse and took in her attire. She was wearing a blue saddlebag. I found that awkward because I normally associate those with pack mules.
The unicorn guard ignored the back and forth between the other two, and spoke to me. “We are to escort you to the cafeteria, where we will discuss your eating habits. The princess expressed that you are to be un-cuffed when we bring you to the cafeteria. We are assigned to you, to make sure you don’t get into trouble, and to protect you if a riot breaks out.”
I sat upright and put my feet on the ground. My shoes made a satisfying tap on the ground that announced that they’ve been newly made. I looked over at the three horses, contemplating what I should do next. Without much thought, I stood up and walked over to the metal bars. There was no discernible door from what I could tell. I looked around for any sign of a door; the female horse looked at me with some concern. I faced her with a confused expression.
“Uh how do I get out?” I asked sheepishly.
The light blue mare looked at me with a raised eyebrow. She lit up her horn and pulled a clipboard from the bag on her right. She also somehow pulled out a quill from the clipboard and started writing things down on a blank sheet of yellow paper. I tried to look at what she was writing down, but even though I was taller than her, I wasn’t able to make out the words.
“What are you writing?” I asked curiously, cocking an eyebrow.
She stopped writing and looked up at me.
“Oh, I’m starting my report on you. The Princess instructed me to record your actions and give feedback to her,” she answered my question proudly.
I tilted my head slightly. As the information began to sink in, she returned to her writing. As she did, I looked between the unicorn guard and the buff guard. I wondered if it was wise to try to make an escape. But after a quick scenario playback in my head, I realized I didn’t even know where the exit was, and by the time I probably found it, it would probably be under a pile of rubble, or under the protection of the entire army. That, and I most likely won’t get the Toolgun back afterwards if I tried.
I looked back to the three ponies, and watched as the light blue mare with a green mane continued to write. That is until I figured out that she was writing a little too much for our first encounter.
“Hey, what are you writing?” I asked again.
She looked up at me with a confused expression. “I already told you.”
“Yeah, but you’re writing down a lot. We didn’t really do anything informative about me yet.” I commented.
She stopped writing, and spoke pleasantly, “Oh, well I’m just setting up the categories I want to go over while I’m around you.”
“Wait are you a psychiatrist?” I asked.
“Yes I am, and we’ll be moving soon,” she noted sounding uninterested.
“Cool,” I joked dismissively, examining the bars. “How will I get out of my cell? I don’t see any door.” I asked.
“Right,” replied the light blue mare. She turned to the unicorn guard to her left, “You may open the cell now.”
“Yes ma’am,” his horn glowed in a light blue aura.
Before my eyes, the bars began to move. The odd row of bars started to slide upward into the brick, while the even row of bars began to slide into the bottom bricks. The whole display caught me off-guard, and I almost fell backward when I noticed them moving. When the bars finished moving the buff stallion prison guard stepped forward and walked around me. I traced him with my eyes before he stopped behind me and shoved me forward, causing me to stumble.
“Hey! Easy!” I exclaimed with slight irritation.
“Please don’t aggravate him,” the mare chided him with a hint of irritation.
The buff stallion nodded his head and waited for me to walk forward. The unicorn guard took up a position in front of the mare that I stood behind. I saw the buff stallion take position behind me and stared ahead. Wordlessly, we started moving forward down the gloomy hallways. I looked in each of the cells that we passed by for anything of interest. But as we entered the main hallway it became apparent that all the ones in the area except mine were empty.
Princess Luna stood beside her sister in the royal library's main hall. All around them were many shelves of books. The library was bustling with activity as the professors from Canterlot University of Science and Mathematics dispersed throughout the library. In the center of the activity was the device that they were trying to understand. The object rested on a reading table, near the center of the library, occasionally a laboratory assistant or a professor would approach with a book regarding mythical tomes and forgotten magic.
One particular stallion came up to Princess Luna with a book in his magic, and he scanned the particularly interesting page he was reading. The stallion stopped one meter in front of Princess Luna and continued to stare at the page. His brown coat and maneless head contributed to the image of his age. His lab coat was neat and cleaned. Princess Luna tilted her head in confusion for the stallion's strange behavior.
“What is it professor?” she asked him.
“Hmm?” he looked up from the page in confusion. “Oh yes, Princess Luna. I was re-reading to confirm my suspicions. I believe I’ve found something similar to the device in question. But I’m not sure how it relates, shape-wise,” he turned the book around and lifted it up so the princess could read.
Princess Luna looked at the passage with interest. Celestia overheard the conversation and scooted closer to Luna to read over her shoulder. As they both read the passage, they were left with more questions than answers. They continued reading until the page finished and the segment stopped offering important information.
“I’m sorry Professor, but I’m not sure what I’m looking at,” commented Princess Luna.
“I’m sorry,” the professor responded. “But this passage here is about the creation of a staff. An object created to wield magic, even when the user doesn’t have it. And according to Discord this is exactly what this object is.”
“But how can you be so sure? Magic constructs like that don’t exist. They’ve been proven impossible to create.” Princess Celestia stated, confusion evident in her tone of voice.
“Maybe with this world's magic, but maybe not with his,” continued the professor. “I believe that the device he was carrying broke when it came to this world. I also believe that the magic-focusing constructs had different rules in his world, and when it came over here, those foci became null.”
Luna lifted her right eyebrow and asked, “So it won’t work, unless it’s sent back?”
“Precisely my theory. And as long as it’s in Equestria, it should remain inert and harmless,” he concluded confidently.
“That’s an interesting theory, professor.” Celestia nodded her head, then asked, “But is it possible the device could simply be regaining its energy?”
The professors’ grin turned into an unsure frown. “Well, maybe. Discord said it was broken, so I could only assume that he felt the focus it has wasn't gaining any power, or it wasn't complete.” he admitted, rubbing his chin thoughtfully.
“Is it possible the device only activates when Blake touches it?” Celestia inquired further.
“Well maybe,” responded the professor. “But in order for that to happen, one of them will require a small reserve of magic to fuel the focus. And since neither of them have those, I believe it’s safe to give the device back to the creature.”
Princess Luna and Princess Celestia shared glances, before Celestia asked, “You think we should give it back to him then, sister?”
“Not yet. He hasn’t proven to us we can trust him,” darkly responded Luna.
“And how do we go about doing that? You can’t really show you mean no harm while in prison.” Celestia chided her sister.
Princess Luna’s lips curled upward deviously before admitting, “Well, I’ve already found something that could prove him to be harmless.”
Princess Celestia saw the corners of Luna’s mouth raise, and eyed her sister quizzically.
We arrived at the Cafeteria that was deeper in the prison, than the cells. As we walked we came across halls that looked like cement, rather than the brick I had been seeing. It created a smoother surface and a more modern looking prison. In front of me was still the nameless mare, with a blue saddlebag and light blue coat. As I looked at her head I noticed her mane seemed brushed. I thought it was strange that the horses needed to brush their manes.
The guards led us down the long corridor, and we reached a door. I began to feel slightly nervous as the unicorn guard opened the iron door with his magic. The door moved aside with a spine-chilling creak. When the door opened, I was blasted by noise. As I got to the door I ducked my head to be able to enter. When I stepped inside the noise began to quiet down. As I looked around the white walls of the room gave me a very dull impression, but as I noticed the occupants of the room, I started to get very nervous.
All around me were plastic park tables, that had been nailed to the floor. Each one was occupied by stallions and mares in orange jumpsuits. They were all eyeing me strangely. At first, I found it very intimidating with so many inmates staring at me. But as I watched them, I noticed their apprehensive posture and expressions.
“Hey, let’s go over here,” stated the mare in front of me.
She started walking off to the left, and I noticed our guards didn’t join us. I looked behind us to see the guards standing by the only exit that had already been closed. I was slightly annoyed that it didn’t make any intimidating closing noise. It made the whole experience very anti-climactic. I turned back to my companion and followed her, to whichever table she was leading me to. But as I walked and tried to keep myself from looking at the staring inmates I began to notice the amount of symbols on their collective asses.
I almost completely stopped in place, when I noticed every single horse that I could see had a tattoo on their ass. As I continued looking, I noticed there were rings on each of the unicorns' horns, and extra fabric that tied the pegasus horses' wings down. My nervousness was instantly replaced with confusion, as I continued to walk with the light blue mare.
“Here’s an open spot.” I looked back at the blue mare and noticed she already sat down at an unoccupied table.
I strolled over and sat across from her. We both sat on the far edge of the table. To my left was room for at least ten horse creatures, with another ten more on the other side. The table felt surprisingly cushioned, which made me believe it was built for riots, and so none of the horses will be hurt. I was distracted from my observations by the blue mare in front of me.
“Ok, let’s get started on the basics. What do you eat?” she asked with a friendly smile.
“I’m an omnivore,” I stated simply.
I held my breath when I remembered that horses were herbivores. I looked at her with some amount of horror, but when she didn’t react and only continued to scribble on her clip board I released my breath.
“Mhm. So, you eat meat and plant life right?” She said calmly.
“Uh, yeah. Hey I want to ask you something.” I started speaking, with no small amount of awkwardness in my voice.
She lifted her head from the clipboard and looked at me with a raised eyebrow.
“What do you call your species?” I asked sheepishly.
“Oh we call ourselves ponies. Now let’s move on t-” I interrupted her.
“Wait! I still have questions!” I exclaimed and looked back at the inmates.
Some still held their gaze to me, but others continued on with their business.
“I wanted to know about the marks on... umm, all of the ponies...” my question trailed off awkwardly.
She tilted her head in thought before realization hit her, and she asked, “Oh! You mean our Cutie marks?”
“Is that what they're called? The ones on your thigh?” I clarified.
She smiled warmly before continuing, “Yes. They show the special talents of each pony. I have one that shows I’m good with psychiatry. It’s an image of eyeglasses with a quill and scroll.”
“Huh that’s interesting. So they’re tattoos?” I inquired.
She looked slightly appalled, and looked to her left in disgust. “Ugh, no. Tattoos are applied by machinery. They also hurt, and are really barbaric,” she then turned to look back at me. “Usually, a minotaur or certain ponies would get them. I’m sure you could find at least one here.” she stated, rolling her eyes.
“Whoa whoa whoa, minotaur?” I questioned with a quizzical gaze.
She looked back at me indifferently before asking, “Yes. Minotaur. Do you not have them in your world?”
“Uh, no.”
“Huh. Well you’d be so lucky.” she replied dully, while writing something down.
I assumed it was the fact that minotaur don’t exist in my world. But as I watched her write, my mind wandered to the situation I was in. But more importantly my mind considered the ‘pony’ I was with. And straight to the face that all I could call her was pony or doc based on her career path.
“Hey if you don’t mind,” I started, getting her attention. “May I have your name?” my question came with a more carefree tone.
Her horn suddenly stopped glowing and the quill fell to the paper. “Oh how rude of me. I’m sorry,” She frowned, it rebounded into a smile. “My name is Quick Quill. But my friends call me QQ.”
“QQ?” I asked, with a bemused expression.
“Hey it’s a nickname, ok?” She countered with an aggravated expression.
“Sounds Q-cute.” I joked.
“Shut up.” she snarked crossly at me.
She started to blush furiously, which made me snicker at her embarrassment. She pouted as she picked up her clipboard and quill with her magic again. She held it up to her face and blocked me from her view, I decided it was best to leave her alone, but I held my bemused expression. She examined it quickly, and then lowered it so she was looking at me with a soft, but serious, frown.
“Hey,” I spoke, giving her a soft smile.
Her frown became indifferent, and she waited for me to speak.
“Thanks.” I admitted appreciatively.
She raised her eyebrow questioningly and asked, “What for?”
“Well, for reminding me how to laugh.” I grinned honestly.
She crossed her hooves. “What? By making fun of me, is that it?” She huffed in annoyance.
“No. Well...” my grin widened. “Maybe a little.” I looked at her appreciatively.
“You’re not welcome,” she replied in a peeved tone.
My smile didn’t falter as I continued, “Well, I’d like you to know that I haven’t had much of a reason to smile as sincerely as I did just now. Well I just haven’t been able to smile all that much back home too.” I admitted to her frankly, “You changed that just by introducing yourself, and giving me your nickname.” I gave her an affectionate smile.
She regarded me strangely, but continued to listen. She put her forehooves on the table. I waited a few seconds for her to collect her thoughts. Then I continued with what I thought was the most important information one could ever know.
“You know,” I started strongly. “Not many people know this, but talking to people is a really emotional experience.” She gave me an indifferent gaze, but continued to pay attention. “Now not everyone would agree. In fact, a lot of people would probably think otherwise, they would think it isn’t an emotional experience to get to know someone. But for people like me. People who truly value the company of another person. We would think deeply about the friendships we’ve made.”
She lowered her clipboard to her right, and put the quill down gently on top of it, before looking back at me. This action made me feel like she wanted to hear me say all that I could to her about how I feel about conversation, and making friends in general. And without even knowing it, she gave me a chance to remind myself of the values that I used to live by.
“Now, it’s a strange concept at first, but when you’re an artist,” I paused. “You not only make the beauty in the world, but you see it.” I joyously remembered myself. “Now, I may not be the most artistic person, but I’m probably one of the most philosophical people you’d ever meet.” I looked at her with a soft smile. “QQ, you introduced yourself and made me comfortable by doing that,” I paused again. “But you took it a step further and gave me your nickname. Something personal, to you and your friends.”
She regarded my statement with a quizzical expression.
“Now, that nickname told me more about you, than you could have known,” I clarified a bit. “Behind that nickname is a history. Whenever you hear that nickname, you hear the history it’s been through, or at least I do,” I admitted sheepishly. “…Think of all the times your friends have used that nickname.” I asked her.
She looked at the table, and smiled quickly, before her gaze returned to me.
“You and your friends probably have a lot of fun together. And that fun also came with your nickname. It was probably used so often that you’ve come to think of it as a commodity. Or something too normal to second-guess, or think about.” I continued frankly.
I leaned in closer, gave her a knowing look, and whispered, “But what you don’t know...” Her ears perked up and pointed toward me with interest. “Is all this time, you were carrying a memory,” she raised her eyebrow, a sign of an unasked question. “A memory, in the form of words. It was there, during your picnics with your friends, and it was there, when you shared emotional moments with your friends. It was also there, when your friends first started using it. And even when you told your new friends about it. Your nickname, QQ, is the lightest memento you will ever carry.” Her mouth moved up into a smile. “The best part about it though…” I leaned in closer and finished passionately, “You’ll never lose it.”
Quick Quill leaned back and straightened up like myself. “Wow, you looked like you were going to cry,” she quipped with a joyous smile.
I grinned before I shot back, “I probably would have, if I had some sad music playing. You know, piano and wind chimes.”
“Well, a violin for myself,” she responded cheerfully.
“Yeah. String instruments are pretty interesting,” I responded. “Thanks for letting me remind myself.” I admitted cheerfully.
She held her smile, but remained curious and she asked, “Reminded you of what?”
“Well, myself, really. My beliefs were in that little monologue that I just gave you.” I stated frankly.
“Do you want me to keep your beliefs a secret?” she asked with a smaller, but still present smile.
“Nah,” I motioned my hand dismissively. “It’s information that the world should probably know.”
“Then I’ll be sure to tell everypony I see.” She replied merrily.
“I’d like that.” I felt satisfied.
She gave me an affectionate look before she raised an eyebrow in confusion and asked, “Hey, how did you know I went to picnics with my friends?”
“Just a lucky guess. That, and it was a great example.” I reply truthfully.
I saw movement at the corner of my eye and I turned my head to the left. I watched as three stallions approached us with one mare. They looked like the most thuggish group of ponies in the prison with cuts and bandages on their bodies. Two of the stallions were Pegasus ponies while the mare was a regular one, along with the other male. The one confident looking regular stallion that I could only assume was the leader had a darker tone of fur or hair around his jaw. It made him look like he forgot to shave, and he probably has. But the only reason why I found him the most interesting of the group was the fact he had a malicious grin plastered on his face.
Quick Quill looked to her right, to where I was looking. When she saw the ponies approaching, she began to tense up. I instinctively stood up, much to the surprise of both parties, and strolled over to the other side of the table, next to Quick Quill. I then went around her to the empty spot on the table to her right and sat on top of the table while my feet rested on the seat. I took care to move her clipboard and quill in front of her, so I didn’t sit on it.
I was now placed directly between Quick Quill, and the newcomers. The mare rounded the table on its opposite end, with one of the pegasi stallions. They moved to sit across from us, and I didn’t stop them. I was focused on the other two, who looked more intimidating. The one with the malicious grin was a brown stallion, with a matching brown mane. He looked at me with interest and his grin disappeared into a serious glare. I assumed he wanted to be by Quick Quill, so I was proud that I put myself between him and her earlier.
When he got close, he tried to move around me so I threw out my foot to create a makeshift blockade using my leg and the table adjacent to us. He looked at me with a glare.
“You’re in my way, freak.” spat the brown stallion.
“I won’t let you through.” I replied sternly.
“Aw, protecting your mare?” teased a female voice from behind me.
I looked behind me and noticed the Pegasus mare giving me a mocking dreamy look. I took this moment to remember my response for such things.
“Well of course. Can’t disappoint a mare now, can I?” I replied lightheartedly.
“Oh, well you’re disappointing me.” she refuted flirtatiously.
“Well, to be honest, you’re not the one I’m trying to impress.” I shot back.
I heard hoofsteps below me, and I turned back around to see the gruff stallion trying to duck under my leg. Instinctively, I put my foot on his neck and pressed him against the floor.
“You know, when I tell you to not do something, it’s a good idea to not do it.” I mused disapprovingly.
He tried to stand up on all fours, but I pushed harder to keep him down.
“All right, all right! Let me up!”
I released my foot from his neck, and when he stood up, I placed it in front of his chest and moved him back.
“You’re asking for it, stick arms.” he growled aggressively. “Next time you block me, it’ll be my hoof on your neck!”
“Please, just go away!” Quill shook fearfully.
“Not an option, doll face.” he added amorously. “Besides, you owe me for those extra years.”
“Blake,” her tone of voice drew my look back to Quill. “Please don’t let him get close to me.” she cried fearfully. “I was his counselor, until he started hitting on me. I filed a harassment complaint that increased his sentence to life imprisonment,” she admitted to me.
I looked back at the gruff stallion, who was left to deal with his grudges by his thuggish friends, as they sat calmly watching the spectacle. I looked over at the entrance to the lunch room where I knew the guards were, only to find that they weren’t there.
'God damn it, so I’m dealing with an inmate with a grudge, and no guards to back me up.' I thought nervously.
The situation was beginning to get dangerous in my eyes. The stallion was glaring at me angrily, but quickly glanced to the mare across from Quill. I found the action strange, until I heard a scuffle behind me. I quickly spun around to see the Pegasus mare trying to drag Quill away, by the neck. At the same time I heard the brown stallion step forward with a hoofstep on the white floor. But the moment I saw Quill in danger, my impulsiveness took over, I ignored him, and burst forward to protect Quick Quill.
I only needed to take a few steps forward to instantly be in front of the two mares. While this went on, I only saw what I could be described as red. I didn’t actually see the color, but I felt angry that the mare was hurting Quill. The Pegasus mare who had her forehooves around Quill’s neck looked up at me in surprise as she found me in front of her. I reached down and shoved her off of Quill who was on her back after being dropped to the ground.
I instinctively grabbed the Pegasus mare by the neck, and discovered that her body was almost weightless. I used this to my advantage and picked her up, and then I threw her down onto the table with a thud, never letting go of her neck. As she struggled, while lying on back trying to force me to release my grip, I looked back at the one brown stallion and his two other thuggish companions.
They were looking at me with startled expressions, and kept looking between me and the mare that I was choking. When I realized that they would potentially rush to her rescue I instantly let go and let her get air. She rolled right-side up and sprinted off the table and across the room. The Pegasus stallion that was beside her ran off after her, leaving me and the two other thuggish stallions alone with Quick Quill.
The other Pegasus stood up out of his chair, and climbed up onto the table while giving me an angry glare that matched the brown stallion's angry glare. They both got into a charging stance.
“You’re gunna pay for hurting one of my own, freak,” growled the brown stallion.
I quickly thought of a counter argument to stop a potential fight.
“The moment you attack me, I’ll have all the rights to defend myself.” I reached into my left pocket and took out the heavy duty glove and coolly slipped it on. “And when I defend myself, I’d have the legal right to kill you.” I stated unnervingly calm while reaching into my right pocket. “I didn’t want to hurt her, and I didn’t.” I slipped on the other glove over my right hand. “But the moment you try to fight me...” I looked over at the Pegasus who I assumed was also light weight. “Or both of you try to fight me.” I grinned wickedly for a few seconds, before returning to a neutral expression. “I’ll have all the reason I need, to hurt you. And I guarantee, whether I win or lose, two of us won’t be around after this.” I finished.
I waited in a ready stance while the two potential aggressors contemplated their next move.
“Hey!” shouted a welcome gruff voice. “You there! Cease your aggression immediately!” I looked off to the right, where the returning guards came back through the door.
I was relieved to see them finally arrive and approach us. The guards with wings flew over the cafeteria and landed between me and the two thuggish ponies, which instantly gave up their aggression and backed away from the well-trained guards. The large regular stallion that guided Quill and I to the cafeteria approached us calmly, but with a serious expression.
“You will be under the protection of the Equestrian guard, until the lunch period is over.” He looked over at the Pegasus guards who were watching the inmates leave, and then he turned back to me with a softer expression. “We’re sorry for leaving you like that. It won’t happen again, I promise.” he admitted remorsefully.
I sighed shakily as the adrenaline caught up with me, “Y-you’re forgiven, but please don’t do that again.”
“We won’t leave you this time,” he stated confidently, and turned to the table besides him. He took a seat and watched us.
I looked over to Quick Quill, who was sobbing quietly. Her saddlebag was resting next to her on the ground. I took a few steps toward her, until I was over her. I then got down to my knees and took Quill into my arms. She didn’t resist as I sat her up and brought her closer to my chest. As I held her my muscles began to spasm from the adrenaline to use it up. It made me look like I was trembling, and very much affected by what happened, and to be honest, I was. I did what I felt was right by protecting my friends with all I could offer. Knowing that Quill was ok, and in my arms, was a relief to me.
“Let’s forget lunch and get out of here,” I suggested to her in a shaky voice.
She continued to sob into my chest, but I felt her nod in agreement. I contemplated what to do next, because I didn’t want to let her go. I maneuvered my hands around her and picked her up by wrapping my arms around her lower back with my right hand and holding her close with my left one that went around her side. When I held her securely enough, I stood up quickly and turned toward the door.
I looked to the guard, who was sitting at the table. “Grab her things. We’re leaving the cafeteria.” I ordered to him, while putting on a brave face for Quill.
He was about to protest before noticing Quill’s sobs. “All right, I’ll get her things,” he replied while standing up.
I ignored him as I made it my mission to get to the door. As I walked to it, I noticed the inmates' stares. Some of them looked fearful while others looked enraged. I turned away from them and concentrated on the door. I could feel the left side of my face burning from their judgmental stares, and I could hear their whispering. My pace quickened as my stress increased. All I wanted to do now, was get to the door and never see this place again. Hopefully I won’t have to, and maybe my food will be given to me at my cell, where the long shadows were more welcome than the aggravating inmates.
But in the back of my mind, I knew I would have fun learning more about them. I couldn’t help but tell myself to forgive them for being the way they are, that their true reason for being here was their mistakes. And that they can change, just like I’ve always told myself for so many years before now.
When I got to the door, I waited for it to open, seeing as my arms were full from carrying Quill, I had to wait for a guard to open it. Without warning, it was surrounded in a navy blue aura and opened without a sound. When it fully opened, I found myself standing in front of the navy-blue Princess.
“Hello Blake.” she stated with a smile, then she looked at the pony in my arms and frowned. “Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t realize how much trouble my actions would cause.” her voice heavy with remorse.
“We have a lot to discuss.” with that, she turned and started walking away, leaving me to catch up.
I continued to carry Quick Quill in my arms down the dark corridor. The navy princess was leading me away, sticking a meter ahead of me while moving at a brisk, but not unmatchable pace. Quill ceased her crying and just stayed still as I carried her. I felt like a parent carrying his daughter out of a bad place, and to be honest, it was a very bad place indeed. I looked down at her face and it held a blank expression. I was slightly unnerved by it because of earlier. The moment I stepped into the dark hallway, was the moment where everything hit me again.
I realized I could have died in that room if the guards didn’t come when they did. But my confusion was amplified when the princess told me she was sorry for what she did. I had a new thought in my head, that told me that the princess was to blame for the situation.
“I’m sure you have many questions,” my thoughts were interrupted by the princess's voice. “But when we meet with my sister, all will be explained,” she explained, her tone was neutral and emotionless.
We reached the end of the gloomy hallway and took a right. I was alone with my thoughts and the sounds around me. The comfort of a warm body against my chest was welcome, in the dank and dark halls of this medieval prison. I felt Quill begin moving in my arms and looked up at me with an indifferent expression, but I could see where the tears ran down her face.
“Put me down,” she demanded of me with a lifeless voice.
The Princess heard her and stopped to wait for me to put her down. I was reluctant to do so, because I would be without something to tie me to this world, other than my will, to break me out of my thoughts. But I couldn’t refuse her and cause more trouble for me. So I slowly got to my knees and let Quill spill out of my arms, into an upright position. She steadied herself and turned toward the Princess without a single acknowledgement to either of our presences. We began to walk down the gloomy halls together, and as time passed my mind wondered.
My musings were put at a standstill, when I realized the pony in front of me turned to the left. I followed Quill and the Princess down the darker hall, but it had unfamiliar walls, it wasn’t the corridor that led to my cell. I wondered where we were going, and the only answer I could come up with was the exit. When we got closer and walked into the room, I noticed the bars that separated both sides of the room. It was the equivalent of a gate house where the guards would let the inmates or visitors through, and would only stay on one end of the bars.
The navy blue Princess that led us there walked over to the closed door and stood in front of it in wait. Quick Quill walked over to the other side of the iron door and straightened herself up. On the other side of the iron doors was the other Princess. The white one looked at me with a slightly guilty expression. But they both couldn’t distract me from Quick Quill's posture and the conformation that her cutie mark looked like something you’d expect from a psychiatrist. Although, the strangest part about her posture was that it was vaguely military.
“Sergeant Spyglass,” commanded the navy blue Princess with a serious expression. “Report your findings on the subject Blake.”
My mind back peddled several miles into confusion. “Sergeant? Holy shit, was Quill an actor?”
“Yes ma’am!” Quill saluted. “The subject Blake has discussed with me his preferences on social activity. He immediately opened up to me and stated to me his values to remind himself of his character. He values the act of getting to know somepony, and immediately began trying to teach me to value the time spent with my associates,” she then dropped her hoof and returned it to the ground while continuing to stand at attention.
Her British accent was unshaken and controlled. It suggested that the entire display with her tears may have actually been staged. And considering who she is, I could only assume it was entirely staged.
“Very good Sergeant. Now, what of the chain of events?” the navy blue princes inquired.
“Blake reactively moved between me and the aggressor, Boulder. The subject showed signs of nervousness and fear, but continued to remain in the aggressors’ path. Rather than play the third party and leave me to the aggressor, he continued to defend me by trying to ward him off. When I was attacked, he quickly rushed to my aid and attempted to intimidate Boulder after subduing Lt. Skydiver. Rather than continue the conflict, he attempted diplomacy before the guards arrived.” she finished evenly.
“Very good Sergeant Sunglass. You are dismissed. Return to the barracks where Captain Shining Armor will debrief you.” ordered the navy blue Princess, her tone authoritative.
Her horn lit up, and the metal iron bar door began to slide to the right and open a path for Spyglass to pass. Spyglass bowed and marched passed both ponies wordlessly. When she reached the spiral staircase she started to go up it and out of sight. All three of us watched as she went, and when she was out of sight both Princesses rounded on me.
“So Blake. You probably have questions.” started the blue Princess.
I opened my mouth to ask the most prevalent question on my mind, but stopped to consider my options.
“Well yes, I do have a few.” I replied with a smile. “What were your names again?” I asked with a sheepish smile.
The navy blue Princess rolled her eyes while her ‘sister’ put a hoof on her mouth to hide her amusement.
“Again,” the navy blue one spoke. “I’m Princess Luna. And this is my sister, Princess Celestia.”
“Pleased to see you again, Blake.” Said Princess Celestia. “But do you have any questions about the events that just transpired?” She asked in a more cheerful way.
“Yeah,” some hesitation had worked its way into my voice. “Why would you set that up?” I asked with concern.
Celestia made to answer, but Luna interjected with an indifferent expression, “Well I’ll answer that one. I was the one who set up the event. The reason for it was to get a more accurate interpretation of who you are.” She admitted. “Staging this event was the quickest solution to this matter.”
“Ok, but why?” I asked.
“Well.” Princess Luna looked away sheepishly. Her tone of voice was strong, but quiet, like a strong whisper, “We had no right to hold you more than twenty four hours, considering all you did was trespass in the gardens...” She then looked back at me, “Even if you were an unknown species. And if you turned out more violent than you claimed, we could hold you in the prison longer if we decided to have you held responsible for the injuries or death of a pony.”
I stood there slightly stunned. “S-so if I didn’t act the way I did, you’d have kept me in jail for a longer time…” I stated shakily.
“That is correct.” she replied to me indifferently.
I looked over to Princess Celestia who held a sympathetic gaze. I looked at the cold floor and at the heavy duty gloves with finger slits that I put on to look more intimidating. Now instead of protecting me from harm or a bad situation, they made me feel less exposed. I wanted to shrink into a corner and be left alone, until I saw fit. But to do that would make it harder for me to ask questions. I looked to the right and noticed the empty desk with keys resting idly on the desk.
“H-hey, isn’t there supposed to be a guard there.” I noted unenthusiastically.
Princess Celestia looked over and then back to me with her sympathetic gaze. “Why yes,” she answered my question. “But, to protect the identity of one of our operatives, he had to be dismissed.”
“S-so, I'm guessing I’ll be sworn to secrecy about Quill’s identity?” I asked, still in a slight state of shock.
“Correct.” Luna's reply came heartlessly. Her face remained in its neutral expression.
“…So what now?” I asked, cocking an eyebrow at the pair.
Luna looked at Celestia, who in turn gave her an encouraging smile that they soon shared together. They both faced me with those encouraging smiles.
“We have no more reasons to consider you a threat to Equestria, nor do we have a reason to hold you here. So you are allowed to go free and roam Equestria as you wish. But I suggest you stay at the palace, until your presence becomes known throughout the realm.” Luna suggested to me.
“O-ok. Can I have my-…” I paused, my mind then filling with nervousness. “…-my stuff back?” I finally finished.
Princess Luna nodded. “Of course. We’ve finished looking at your Toolgun, and found it inert. So we feel obligated to return it to you.”
“Ok. So where do we go from here?” I asked.
“Well.” Princess Celestia stated to get our attention. We looked over at her and she smiled. “Like Luna already said, you can always stay here at the castle. We will find you a place to stay to discover yourself while you remain here.” Celestia said with enthusiasm.
“Discover... myself?” I repeated.
“Yes. You came here to do that, didn’t you?” Said Princess Luna.
I pondered in confusion for a moment before I remembered the light.
“Oh right, the light.” I replied awkwardly. “Ugh, it still didn’t tell me anything useful. How am I supposed to learn what I’m supposed to be doing when I don’t know where to start? All it told me is that I create worlds and stuff. But that’s not useful.” I grumbled.
Princess Luna traded a suspicious look with Princess Celestia, before looking back at me with raised eyebrows.
“Well actually,” Celestia commented knowingly. “Your situation is not unlike the process of getting a cutie mark.”
I tilted my head and looked at her quizzically. “Wait, yeah! Quill, or Spyglass told me about those. I asked what they were.” I looked at Princess Celestia’s flank and spotted her sun cutie mark. “Wait, what does yours show?”
Celestia looked back at her mark and smiled before turning back to me.
“My cutie mark is the image of the sun,” she stated proudly and her face broke out into a warm smile. “That is because I control the sun with my magic.”
“And I...” Princess Luna turned to her side, after she got my attention. “Control the moon.” She added smugly.
I looked between both of them with a quizzical expression. “Wait, but the moon revolves around the earth, and the earth revolves around the sun.” I stated.
They looked back at each other with raised eyebrows. Princess Luna stepped toward me with a small frown on her face.
“What makes you believe that? The magic of Earth made the sun and moon's orbit uncontrolled. When unicorns came into the fray; they used their magic to stabilize the movement of the sun and moon. Do your sun and moon orbit uncontrollably?” she asked, her tone curious.
“Uh no. It’s a very well-rounded orbit. But it’s definitely not controlled by magic.” I stated. “So do you guys move them on your own?” I asked.
“Yes. We do. The unicorns used to do it themselves, but with larger groups, all trying to move it at once before Celestia and I appeared.” Luna answered my question pompously.
I gave her an unimpressed look. “Ok whatever,” I dismissively waved a hand. “New world, that means new rules.”
Princess Luna deflated slightly, while her sister watched on in amusement. “All right then, shall we?” Princess Celestia suggested, motioning to the spiral staircase.
I looked through the iron bars and over the open doors. “Yeah I guess.”
The pathway through the dungeons and up to the surface was a long one. Princess Luna was behind me while Princess Celestia stood in front of me, as we ascended the stairs. I began to lose hope that there was a top of the dungeons after my feet started to scream in agony as they forced themselves to march up the long spiral staircase. But when I saw the staircase becoming brighter and the grey brick revealed to be a light brown, I felt joy.
By now the Princesses noticed my exhaustion. It was hard to miss, considering I was huffing and puffing my way up the staircases. I saw Celestia look back at me and give me a smug look. She was clearly taking amusement of my exhaustion, and I personally really didn’t care. When I saw the light outside, I was ecstatic. I couldn’t run to it, so instead I continued to hobble up the stairs and occasionally using my hands to pull myself up.
When Princess Celestia stepped out onto a marble surface, and away from the exit door of the staircase, I gathered as much energy as I could to rush out that door. When I got to the door, I fell forward and rolled onto my back while breathing through my mouth. Princess Luna got to the top of the steps and walked over me without acknowledging my presence. I didn’t care as I was prioritizing my breathing.
While I sat there on the white marble floor I was able to get a good look at the well-lit ceiling. But when I saw it I began to realize I was out of the prison. The Princesses let me free from a cage full of inmates that would want to hurt me for what I did. They took me away from a hostile place, and let me see the sun. All of a sudden the world felt just a little too surreal to me. Like this whole adventure was just a dream.
“So Blake.” Celestia started optimistically. “Do you want me to carry you to your Toolgun?” she asked, her tone of voice said she was joking.
Princess Celestia’s voice made me reconsider the creation of such a fantasy. I collected my thoughts and smiled, while panting for air. I readied myself to be free from the nervousness and doubt that I acquired over time in this magical, and somewhat terrifying, land. When I was ready, I responded to Celestia.
“You know... *pant* I think *pant* that’s a good *pant* idea.” I replied, still completely exhausted.
“Well I’m not sure what others would think, if the Princess of the Sun were to carry an unknown species through the castle.” Celestia mused in a pondering tone. “Oh well, might as well do it if you’re this tired after going up a few stairs,” she added sympathetically.
I listened to the hoofsteps of the Princess as she got closer to me. I caught her horn out of the top of my vision, before her whole face found a position over my head. She was wearing a warm smile that seemed to calm me of all my worries. But as I continued to watch her facial expression, I noticed a slight change in that expression. Her horn began to glow in a golden light and after a few seconds she raised her eyebrow. Her horn's aura dissipated as she looked down at me.
“What?” I asked.
For a few moments she didn’t say anything, and just stared at me with a quizzical gaze. I began to feel slightly nervous as she looked down at me. I heard hoofsteps come from behind her and Princess Luna came into view to my left. She also was looking down at me with a similar expression, but it was full of more worry than Celestia’s.
“What?” I repeated, but with more anxiety this time.
Princess Celestia raised her head and stepped back a few feet. “Nothing. I just thought I sensed something.” she stated dismissively, waving a hoof in the same manner.
“Hmm, I thought I sensed something too, sister.” Luna added, looking back at Celestia. “I believe I felt a bit of chaos magic in him.”
“Chaos magic?” I asked. “It’s not going to hurt me, right?” I said sitting up and spinning to my left to look at them both.
I crossed my legs and felt my breath return to me gradually. My exhaustion still affected my body, but it wasn’t at the point where I would be coughing up my lungs. I swiveled my head between both the Princesses who looked at me strangely.
“Well no.” Luna started. “But it’s odd for any form of magic to go undetected for so long. Especially if the user of that magic was unconscious most of the time...” she trailed off speculatively.
“Wait ‘most of the time?' How long was I out?” I interjected, my voice showing my worry.
“Well, not all that long really. Just twelve hours since you were recovered in the sculpture gardens.” Celestia commented simply.
“Twelve? Really?” I asked rhetorically. “Wow that’s a long time. Or at least I think it is. I’ve never been unconscious before, to be honest.”
“Well, we did wait for some time for you to get up. At least eight hours of watching you lay on those bricks.” Princess Celestia stated indifferently.
“Wait hold a sec, eight hours of watching me sleep?” I thought to myself. “Holy hell, they're really dedicated creepers, if they watched me sleep that long.”
I gave them a disapproving gaze and deadpanned, “You really watched me sleep that long.”
Princess Luna frowned and scrunched her eyebrows in irritation. “You make us sound vulgar. And trust me, creature-” her tone turned vitriolic. “-unfavorable misconceptions of the crown is not only frowned upon, but here are considered treason.” Without another word, Luna spun around and trotted off down the long hall of the marble castle.
“Damn it. I’ve been demoted from Blake to creature. Wait, did she say crown?! Oh no way, she’s the ruler of the country?! Wait, what was I thinking? Princesses are the royal family! And considering the medieval feeling of this place, I’d say they’re in the dark ages... fuck I just sealed my fate.”
Princess Celestia watched Luna with a surprised look on her face. But as Luna continued down the hall it contorted into a sympathetic look. She sighed and lowered her head slightly as her ears folded back.
“I’m sorry about that Blake.” Celestia admitted. “Luna’s been upset recently, what with Discord's reformation and all. She’s almost always very touchy these days, with his antics getting on her nerves.”
“My my, Celestia. Do you have to put it that way?” chimed in an ominous disembodied voice.
Celestia and I started looking around the hallway for anything that could create the voice. I was more specifically looking for speakers, or an E2, for some reason.
“Is it really always my fault that she can’t find the joy in what I do?” the voice added sorrowfully.
“Discord, now is not the time.” Celestia replied to the voice with a hint of irritation.
“Sorry.” the voice dispassionately replied. I saw a flash of light in front of Celestia and the same creature from when I woke up appeared, with an indifferent look on his face. “But you know I’m right,” he added sagely.
“Yes. She can’t find it in her to forgive you for the horrible things you’ve done. More specifically, the horrible things you put us through.” she shot him a slight glare. “But I’ve put that behind me. So why are you here? I thought you would stay in your room where you could use chaos to your whim.” Celestia asked with a raised eyebrow.
“Well, true.” Discord's reply came jovially, with a smug grin. “I should be in my room and fooling around. But I felt something curious coming from our pal Blake here.” he stated jubilantly. “Just a little bit of chaos,” he then looked directly at me. “Sup Blakey.”
“…Hi.” I replied nervously. “Hey Princess.” I started, grabbing Princess Celestia’s attention. She looked me right in the eye as I continued warily, “Princess Luna’s not going to accuse me of treason is she?”
“She wa-?” Discord looked at me inquiringly and turned to Celestia.
“No Blake.” Celestia interrupted his question with a reassuring smile. “Princess Luna was speaking impulsively. Besides, we both have to agree that the pony or creature in question is to be accused of treason, to be punished for it.”
“But isn’t she the ruler of the country?” I asked nervously.
“It’s Equestria, Blake.” She explained compassionately, “And no, she’s actually one of the co-rulers. I am the other co-ruler, and as sisters, we rule Equestria together.”
I paused to consider the following information. But another question came to mind before I fully absorbed it.
“Wait wouldn’t that mean you should be calling yourselves the Queens, rather than Princesses?” I asked.
Princess Celestia looked at me appreciatively. “Well yes, Blake. We technically are considered Queens. However, early on in our co-rule, the leaders of the other kingdoms and republics believed Equestria was divided, since we both claimed to be Queen. So we would receive letters from each of the leaders of the realm about our ‘separate’ kingdoms,” she explained with subdued joy. Possibly from being able to explain the process behind it herself. “So we both agreed that we are not Queens in title, but Princesses. To show that neither of us has full rule over the country, and to show that we still have power,” she finished her explanation with a warmer and wider smile.
“Blah blah blah, talk talk talk, me her me.” Discord teased her, miming with his paws of a pair of mouths talking at each other. “Yes yes Celestia, you’re brilliant and all your subjects love you for it.” he added sarcastically. “But let’s get to the real fun shall we? Now how did you get chaos magic?” he questioned me with interest.
He showed it by floating in front of me horizontally while watching me with an exaggerated grin. Princess Celestia backed up and stood off to the left, but so our view of each other wouldn’t be blocked. But she remained a wedge between us, although it didn’t seem protective or intrusive.
“Actually Blake.” she added, looking at me. “I would also like to know the answer to that too. If you happen to have one.” she stated politely.
I looked between both of them perplexedly. “Uh well, I’m actually not sure what you mean. You said you felt something, but I didn’t feel anything.” I admitted cautiously.
Discord's smile vanished and he took on a pondering stance by disappearing and reappearing with a black tux that were complimented with a monocle and top hat. He was also leaned back in what looked like a brown leather chair. Princess Celestia looked at him amusingly, when he appeared in that outfit.
“Hmm... interesting,” he stated. “You could be lying to us.” He then leaned forward and gave me a serious look. “But...” he leaned back and relaxed. “I’ve been looking over you for a little while, and I can tell that your race isn’t at all responsive to magic. So it would make sense if you didn’t feel it,” he pondered aloud. “Oh well!” he exclaimed obnoxiously. “I’m bored with pondering, let’s go have some fun shall we?”
Without any extra words Discord snapped his fingers and the whole world became blindingly bright, but somehow very bearable.
When my vision cleared I was in a large study. The room was made of red carpet, and the walls were covered in book shelves. In the center was a large desk that had a low-padded seat. On it was a clock in the center, that faced the padded chair so the occupant would see the time and a globe on the right of the desk. There were several rolled up scrolls on the left side of the desk, and an ink well with a quill inside it next to the clock. The desk was on the opposite end of the room to the door. There were two wooden chairs on the other side of the desk that faced the low-padded seat.
But the most important item the room held was the Toolgun that I was supposed to have. It was lying on top of the desk, and right dead center of all its collective items. I looked around the room at its defining features. I was standing in front of the desk and looking at it. To my right was a fireplace, and to my left was a mannequin of a pony with purple, but official, armor. I noticed that I was alone in this room until my vision became blurred and the light returned.
I found myself standing in the same room I just observed only a few moments ago. Only this time the room was occupied by four other creatures. One of which was Princess Celestia, who stood to my left with a quizzical look. Another was Discord, whom hovered casually to my right with a content smile. In front of me was Quick Quill, and another pony I didn’t recognize. His coat was white like Celestia’s, and he was sitting forward in his padded chair. He looked buff and authoritative, and his blue mane and tail made him seem nonthreatening. I had the sneaking suspicion that we caught him mid-sentence, since his mouth was open and slightly limp.
Quick Quill was sitting in the wooden chair to my left, and looking between me, the Princess, and Discord with a bewildered expression.
“Hello everypony!” Discord exclaimed jovially. “How is everypony this fine afternoon! Great weather, hmm? Lots of winged ponies in the sky, right? I saw them too!” his voice was matched with a wide smile.
“Um yes. Discord, please don’t teleport me and our guests anywhere you choose,” Princess Celestia scolded him with disappointment in her voice.
Discord crossed his arms and scowled. “Well you’re no fun...” he mumbled loudly so we all heard.
“What the hay is going on?!” asked the white stallion with blue hair.
“I’m sorry Captain Shining Armor, but Discord thought it wise to teleport us here. We were actually on our way here, and we would have knocked if we knew you were busy.” Princess Celestia apologized.
“Well, I would have burst in and interrupted to party anyway.” Discord commented matter-of-factly.
The stallion put his hoof up to his forehead and sighed disapprovingly. I felt slightly out of place and wanted to leave, but I also desperately wanted to reach out for that Toolgun. But my better judgment kept me quiet about it, until I had the chance to get it fairly rather than suddenly and unannounced.
“Well ok, I forgive you.” stated the white stallion. “But you’d better knock next time,” he growled irritably toward Discord. “Anyway, did you want to see me Princess?” he then turned to Celestia.
“I was just bringing Blake here to collect his things.” she announced pleasantly.
He tilted his head in confusion, asking “Wait, he’s been allowed out?”
“You know that’s kind of rude to say when the person you’re talking about, is right in front of you.” I deadpanned snarkily.
“Oh, I agree!” added Discord. “Mr. Shining Armor is very rude when it comes to these things. Now pray tell, what were you doing?” Discord asked curiously.
I already knew the answer, and I wasn’t sure if Discord knew about Quill’s identity. I looked back down at Quick Quill who had her gaze fixed on me. Her lab coat was gone and her saddlebag was nowhere to be found. It left her completely naked, and exposing her full body to the elements. I found this strange, until I noticed the other pony wasn’t wearing anything either. I began reflecting on the times where clothes were worn, which was actually at all times, for social norms I’m used to. But I noticed that all the ponies I saw didn’t have full sets of clothing.
I examined Spyglass’s figure, thoroughly taking note of each way her muscles moved and soaking in the colors of her coat and hair. Her tail had the same light green coloration as her short hair, her horn seemed sharp and well groomed, and her light blue coat complimented the green hair and made her seem slightly fragile. But I knew she was a well-trained soldier or spy. I actually wasn’t quite sure what her role was, but I didn’t really care. All I wanted to do was get to know her more than ever. The idea of being able to learn more about someone who’s really good at hiding who they really were, excited me.
“Blake?” Spyglass asked in her slightly British accent. “What are you doing?”
I paused for a moment to contemplate my response before finding one.
“Sorry, I was thinking. Um, why are you naked?” I asked with a raised eyebrow.
I was subtly aware that all eyes were on me. I looked up to confirm my suspicions. I was right.
“What?” I asked as my eyes darted between Discord and Celestia.
“What do you mean, 'why is she naked?'” Discord inquired. “It’s a normal thing.” He smiled.
“Oh. Huh, well where I’m from, it’s not. Nearly everyone wears clothes. That, and she’s the first pony I saw without clothes” I clarified.
Everyone in the room made a distinct noise to show they understood where I was coming from. The white horse named Armor simply said, “Ah.” and was mimicked by Discord shortly thereafter.
Princess Celestia and Quick Quill, or Sergeant Spyglass, simply let out an, “Oh.” In their own variants of the expression.
“Wait, why wouldn’t you look at me the same way?” Asked Armor.
“Well I kinda don’t know you so I don’t want to offend a stranger by looking at them. Especially seeing as you have my things.” I admitted, pointing at the Toolgun.
“Ah yes,” his horn began to glow pink and the Toolgun lifted off the desk and to him. “This?”
“Yes that.” I replied excitedly.
“Princess?” Armor asked for confirmation, looking at Celestia.
“You may give it to him, Shining Armor.” she regarded with a warm smile.
He nodded and moved it with his magic toward me. I wanted to rush toward him and grab it but I continued to wait patiently as it got closer to me. I stepped forward and reached out for it, when it got within four feet of me. I smiled and felt real joy as I was about to get the supposedly most powerful device in the world of gaming. No magical staff, great sword, or spell can compare to the abilities of the Toolgun. No fictional super battleship, or great protagonist can compare to the Toolgun’s awesome power. The power to literally build and destroy the world. The ability to turn a simple cardboard box into a nuclear weapon, at your fingertips. And the power to make spaceships out of train cars. Its possibilities are only limited by the wielder's imagination.
My right hand reached the Toolgun, and my fingers wrapped around the handle. My right index finger rested near the trigger and the aura of magic disappeared around it. The Toolgun was in my hand. But it wasn’t activating.
“Aw... buzz kill.” I commented out loud as I looked at the black screen that faced me on the gun.
I didn’t want to give up after so long waiting for this weapon. I put my finger over the trigger and pointed the Toolgun's barrel at the ground. Instinctively, I pulled the trigger. What happened next was amazing.
*PUFT!*
The Toolgun fired one shot. A small light appeared on the ground, that I quickly identified as the light tool in the tool menu. All of a sudden, the Toolgun’s screen lit up, and it started making a strange electrical sound. But as I held it and listened to the sound, I felt something going through my hand and into my body. The occupants of the room were too busy looking at the odd light that I spawned on the ground, to notice the screen lighting up. That was until whatever was flowing into my body started to pour.
A wave of intense energy flowed through my arm and into my body. I could feel the Toolgun as an extension of my arm, rather than a tool in my hand. My breathing increased as the power continued to flow into me.
“Blake!” Celestia shouted, her voice full of worry.
I looked at her, and saw her horn glowing and at the ready. She has a worried look on her face and her body was angled directly facing me. She looked like she was ready to charge me, and probably impale me with her horn. I looked back at Shining Armor and noticed his horn was alight too. Looking down at Quick Quill I found she wasn’t there, and in fact, in the time I spent relishing in this new feeling of power Quill was able to move to the side of the desk between Shining Armor and Princess Celestia.
I looked over to my right, to see Discord had moved up against the book case and staring at me with a befuddled gaze. His talon was at the ready to snap, if need be. Just as I was going to tell them not to worry, I felt something forming inside of me. I felt something inside of me become changed and deformed. Not to my physical body, but something deeper than that. I felt a space become opened, and items began to form.
I suddenly cycled through a newfound inventory. In my arms was not the Toolgun I held only moments ago, but the Physicsgun. I cycled again and the Gravitygun appeared in my arms. They both looked the exact same, other than their glowing color. The Physicsgun was its regular blue glow, and were I to hit the trigger, it would shoot out a blue beam that emitted no noise, but once it contacts a prop, it will move it, regardless of weight.
I felt ecstatic that I had these. But then I felt something wrong, when the process was done. All the massive energy that went into me started to force its way out, and back into the Toolgun that wasn’t in my hand. I can feel it enacting its will on the energy, and crashing it around on its way out of my body. My body froze up, and I began to feel excruciating pain.
“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!” I let out a bloodcurdling scream.
The last thing I saw was the worried looks on the ponies faces as darkness welcomed me into its embrace.
A familiar, shrill noise roused me, and I slowly returned to consciousness.
*Beep*
I became aware of the aching in my bones and flesh.
*Beep*
By the volume of the noise, I knew it would be annoying after a few hours. Before it could even begin to annoy me, the consistent sound of beeping would eventually force me to wake up. But I was currently resisting the beeping's existence.
*Beep*
I finally started to regain consciousness. My surroundings were still a blur to me, but I was beginning to become more aware of my surroundings' sounds. I still have no idea what the room looks, like due to my eyes still being closed. At the time I didn’t want to open my eyes either. I was tired and wanted more sleep.
*Beep*
The beeps were getting more frequent. Either I was going in and out of consciousness, or my mind was moving in fast motion between beeps.
*Beep*
*Be-*
I was relieved when the beeping stopped. Realization struck a few minutes later, and I couldn’t return to sleep because I felt too awake. There was a light in my eyes that kept me from enjoying the soft bed I was in. But the longer I laid there in the bed, the more I began to remember. When my memory returned to the light and its message I started to question my situation.
But as my thoughts progressed to the current day, I remembered what happened in Armor’s study. My eyes opened slowly, only to close again in order to keep the light from blinding me. I became aware of how hungry and thirsty I was. My throat was dry, and it felt like my tongue was glued to the roof of my mouth.
“Ah you’re awake.” started a feminine voice. “I had a feeling you’d wake up soon. Your breathing became normal,” the voice was warm and pleasant to listen to, unlike that beeping earlier.
I opened my eyes again, to find myself staring at a white ceiling. At the corner of my right eye I could see an open window with the sun glaring in. I looked around more and saw green curtains that would obscure me from sight, if they were drawn all the way across the room. The walls were covered in a tan paint and the floor was covered in white tiles.
I turned my head to the left where I heard the voice. When I laid my eyes on what spoke, I was momentarily confused. It was a pony in a nurse’s outfit. Her coat was white and her hair pink. She had a warm smile, and an obvious nurse’s cutie mark. I felt new sensations on my body and as I looked down I realized I was hooked up to a heart rate monitor and other contraptions. But when I looked at the machine that took my heart rate I saw some flat lined statistics. Some of which seem to monitor my blood oxygen and other things that I currently didn’t recognize.
I excused this, as the fact that I’m not a pony, and their equipment may not have been built to monitor a human patient. It became a fact, when I realized there was no clamp on either of my fingers or toes to monitor blood oxygen levels. As I was about to relax, readying to wait for a little longer until someone came to tell me what happened, I noticed I was missing my clothes. The rebel uniform that was given to me when I was sent here was gone, and in its place was a hospital gown.
“Huh. I was told you could talk,” came the nurse's comment.
I looked back to her with a quizzical expression. She was looking at me with a skeptical gaze that became curious when I looked in her direction.
“Uh, yeah,” my voice cracked a little.
“Oh you do talk!” she exclaimed. “This is so exciting. I’ve never had the pleasure to work on a creature Equestria hasn’t seen before.” she trotting to the side of the bed. “Where are my manners? I’m nurse Redheart. What’s your name?” she asked politely while giving me a warm smile.
I warmly smiled back. “I’m Blake. Hey you wouldn’t happen to know where my clothes went, do you?” I asked while giving the room another once over.
Beside me was a small bedside table with two drawers and a lamp on top of it.
“Your outfit?” I nodded quickly, and she continued. “Yes, that was taken down to the laundry room three days ago, after you came in.” she frowned and held a worried expression. “Although I can’t seem to get it back, after the royal guard confiscated it and posted guards throughout the hospital.” she huffed in irritation. “Doesn’t really help that they think you’re dangerous.”
I could feel myself begin to nervously sweat. “They what?” I asked nervously.
“Oh yeah. They told me to bring the guards when you wake up. I don’t believe you’re all that dangerous. You don’t look like you could hurt anypony.” she added affectionately.
“Wait, what do they want me for?” I said trying to sit up.
My movement caused my muscles to flex and flare with agony. I instinctively went limp and tried to evaluate my situation.
“Oh dear, don’t move.” Redheart ordered, worry etched on her face. “I don’t know what happened to you, but every time we tried to touch you, you’d scream out in pain. You caused quite a commotion when they brought you in.” she gave me a sympathetic frown.
I looked down at my right hand, and made a few practice movements with my wrist to see if my gun hand was responsive enough to spawn a few things. I felt a lot of pain in my wrist as I moved the muscles. I was slightly surprised that I had so much feeling in my entire body in general. Every time I moved, I could feel every single millimeter of my muscles moving.
“I suggest you not move any of your joints.” Redheart suggested affectionately.
I looked back at her and asked, “What happened to me?”
“The doctor believes you suffered from magical overload. And according to almost every unicorn in Canterlot, you were in possession of an enormous amount of power. Most unicorns need to activate their horn to be able to sense that amount of power. But the amount that you sent out, almost every unicorn’s horn activated from the magic you were emitting. A little filly came in earlier from magic exhaustion after she crushed a dryer.” She said cheerfully. “The poor dear fell asleep on the way to the emergency room.”
“Is she ok?” I asked neutrally, not sure how to respond.
“Oh, she’s all right.” Redheart waved a hoof dismissively. “At first, we thought she was in the same condition you were in, because she was also in pain. But we found out she just used up all her magic to surround the dryer and then used yours to crush it. Gave us all a good scare, but she checked out two days ago, and we were happy to see her go perfectly healthy.”
I sighed. “Good… hey nurse?”
“Yes?” she replied as she regarded me with an indifferent expression.
“Can you not tell the guard I’m awake yet? I’d like to think of something to say to the Princesses if they come to get me.” I asked her.
She nodded her head. “Don’t worry, I understand. I’ve never seen so many royal guards stationed at the hospital ever since the wedding.” she added, her tone showing she was perplexed. “I hope they don’t bother any of the patients.”
My head flopped back down on the pillow. My neck muscles felt like they were on fire. I could see out of the corner of my eye nurse Redheart giving me a sympathetic gaze.
“Well I’ll leave you alone for now. Rest up, and I’ll come back this afternoon to see if you’re ready.” she cooed, giving me a slight wink that I almost missed.
She turned around and started to head toward the door on the farthest side of the room from my bed. As she trotted parallel to my curtain I began to contemplate my options. I realized the best thing I could do right now is talk to the Princesses.
“Wait.” I suddenly stated, catching the nurse's attention. She turned around and gave me a blank stare. “Tell them I’m awake.”
“Are you sure?” she asked with a tilt of the head.
“…Yeah.” I responded dejectedly.
“You know you don’t have to right now. You could wait.” she reminded me.
“Yeah, but then I won’t get the help I need.” I moved my head to be able to look at her. “Besides, we all need to have a little faith. Especially when we’re at the mercy of others. The Princesses haven’t done anything drastic while I was unconscious. So, I’m inclined to believe whatever they have in store for me is reasonable.”
She nodded her head with a warm smile. “You’re probably right. I’ll see you this afternoon.”
She turned back around and trotted toward the door. I watched her disappear as she rounded the blue blinds, and make her way to the door that was out of my view. I kept my head from moving as I heard the door creak and the latch click. Not even a few seconds later I heard the nurse’s voice on the other side say something unintelligible. I then heard other voices talking to each other, and a pony scurried down the hall if the quickly fading hoof steps were any indication.
I tried to reassess my situation, by trying to see what the Toolgun did to me. I could feel an open space inside of me that wasn’t physical. It was hard to explain but it was there. I closed my eyes and concentrated on what was currently in it. I could feel the Gravity Gun and the Physics Gun as they floated in some strange void. And like the Toolgun in my dream, everything I had I could feel in my hand. Almost as a remnant of each item I had was still there.
I brought out my Toolgun, and it appeared in my hand when I wanted it to. I then tried to pull it out from under the covers. My arms continued to burn and hurt, but this time when I tried to move it, the feeling subsided slightly. I lazily moved my arm out of the covers and lifted my right arm over my head and on top of the covers. It hurt, but I wasn’t about to speak out my annoyance out loud in fear of the guards coming in to stop me from what I was about to do.
I closed my eyes and tried to think of the Wiremod menu. But when I did, I discovered I didn’t have it. I groaned in annoyance, just quietly enough so anyone on the outside of the door couldn’t hear me. I silently cursed my bad luck. Wiremod wouldn’t work because I didn’t have it. I half-expected this, considering I’m nowhere near a computer so I couldn’t download a thing. But just as I lost hope I felt a new sensation in my hand.
I felt the Toolgun vibrating like a console controller. I looked back down and noticed something odd with the Toolgun’s screen. It was on a menu with many different sets of words, with the top most option highlighted. The strangest part was the fact my eyes seemed to have a display on them that showed what I could download.
“What the hell is a ‘Download Tool?’” I asked to nobody in particular.
Instantly, my confusion was brought to a standstill when I noticed the screen had the words 'Wiremod,' six options below the selected option at the very top. I tried to will it to go down with no avail. But I noticed he buttons around the screen and an arrow button pointing down. I clicked it, and the highlighted option became un-highlighted, and the one below it was highlighted. I felt ecstatic and continued to press down on the down button to get to the Wiremod option.
When I finally highlighted the option I was at a loss. Now my main issue was figuring out how to select it. I paused and looked at the screen for a little while. I was beginning to get frustrated until a thought occurred.
“Wait, why not fire the gun? If it works, then I get Wiremod. If it doesn’t... I’d most likely spawn another light. Come to think of it, how do I remove that?” I thought to myself.
I shook the thoughts from my head and refocused on the Toolgun. I pointed it at the wall and pulled the trigger. To my surprise I didn’t hear a sound. Now there was a new bar at the bottom of my vision that looked like a loading screen progress bar. I sighed in annoyance when it started up. It would take a long time, and when it was done, I would probably have company.
I holstered the Toolgun by making it disappear. I then looked at the ceiling intently as I waited for the little bar at the bottom of my vision fill up completely.
“Blake.” spoke a tender voice to my left.
I would've jumped out of my bed if it weren’t for the fact everything I moved started to hurt. I turned my head to the left to see my visitor. I was shocked to see none other than Princess Celestia herself, standing beside me with a worried expression. She was watching me silently while I got my heart rate under control.
“Oh-oh-oh! Woooooooo. Ah. Uh… you scared me.” I commented sheepishly.
She smiled insincerely, to try to seem like nothing was wrong. “Sorry Blake. I should have announced myself. The moment I heard you were awake, I came here as soon as I could.”
“That was way too fast.” I observed.
She gave me a bemused smile that continued to hide the Princess' true emotions. “Ok, I was waiting in the lobby.” she admitted truthfully, but was still hiding something.
“Oh ok, but how did you get in here without me hearing you?” I questioned, hoping to get her mind off of whatever it was that was making her look so sullen.
“I teleported here, and walked in. You were staring at your device, so I didn’t bother you.” she replied desolately.
I paused for a moment, to take in her features. We stared at each other for a while. I, particularly, was looking for a reason for why she was so downtrodden. Her warm smile seemed so wrong on her face right now. I couldn’t help but wonder if I accidently hurt anyone by grabbing my Toolgun. The filly came in because of the massive amount of magic. Is there a chance that I’ve hurt someone even younger, or someone older and vulnerable to stress?
“What’s wrong?” I asked with an indifferent gaze.
She looked at me quizzically with a raised eyebrow, and then looked dejectedly down. “I’m not hiding my sorrow very well, am I?” She chuckled rhetorically before continuing, “The nobles have been giving me trouble…” She turned her head to the side, refusing to meet my gaze. “All of Equestria has been giving me trouble,” she rolled her eyes dismissively before looking directly at me. “And they all want me to give a public statement about you, and have you with me. While in your current condition, doing just that would be more damaging for you physically, than the good it might do. But if I don’t act soon, rumors will spread. It will make your adjustment to this world so much harder...” she finished remorsefully.
“Oh, is that it?” I stated dismissively. I would've waved a hand if it wouldn't have hurt, just to make my point.
She looked up at me and gave me a glare of displeasure. “Blake, this is serious.” her tone was stern. “The nobles are powerful. Not more powerful than me, but they have connections that could hurt your mission here.” she paused to let me think on that for a moment. “But what I’m worried about is this ‘light’ you spoke about. When that magical wave emanated from your device while you were passed out, we saw that light. Discord, Shining Armor, Spyglass, me. That light was powerful. It changed your being entirely, into something more chaotic.”
I let that sink in. “Wait, so what does it mean?” I asked.
She looked away slightly, “It means the nobles might fear you. And if they keep you from your goal, that thing might be angry.” She sighed softly before adding, “Not even our strongest harmonic energy can stop that much chaos magic. Even Discord was afraid of it.”
“Oh. Ok well you know what,” I replied, trying to calm her down. “I’ll try to find a solution to this problem.”
She gave me a deadpanning look, demanding, “How?”
I smiled before stating, “I can make it so I can’t die.”
“Blake, this is serious. Your friend is scary powerful. So powerful, that every unicorn near Canterlot could feel his presence. That single incident has put more pressure on me than the combined events of the past thousand years.” she side-stepped, so the left side of her body was facing me while she glared down at the floor with a frustrated frown.
I watched her with worry as she remained silent. The anger from this Princess made me fearful. She seemed so calm and open to me when I first met her. Now I feel as if my life was in danger just being around her. Princess Luna seemed serious, but still reserved and managing her emotions. I didn’t know what to make of the Princess in front of me now though. Princess Celestia, although open minded and friendly as she made herself out to be when I met her, seemed to completely melt away and leave whoever was beside my bed.
“P-Princess... I-I’ll do whatever I can.” I stammered.
She lifted her head and looked into my eyes with a deadly gaze. But a few seconds later it melted into something distraught and mournful. She lowered her head in shame, leaving me to be confused.
“I-I’m sorry I scared you.” she apologized. “But these last few days have been harsh,” she gave me a dejected look. “The Griffins are asking for you, as are the dragons, the zebra, and my nobles. Everyone in the world seems to want to put me in a position to place some sort of judgment on you. Either execute you, or declare you some sort of ally.” She gave me a grave look, “I honestly don’t know which one you are. I can see you’re good willed, but I haven’t gotten to know you well enough to make a clear judgment on your character.”
“Ok! Ok! Princess. You’re going to have to slow down about this.” I stated nervously. “Griffins? Dragons? And by the way you talk about them, I guess they have their own nations based on their race? And they want to execute me?!” I exclaimed, starting to panic.
Celestia detected the panic in my voice and acted quickly. “Blake, calm down. They’re just pressuring me to take action, not strictly asking for your execution.”
“O-ok. B-but what about dragons? They breathe fire right?” I questioned her, still quite nervous.
“Of course Blake. But the griffins are far more rash than the dragons. The only time you need to worry about a dragon, is when you make them mad. That... or disturb them while they sleep. Griffins are impulsive, and would more likely resort to violence based on emotion and intimidation.” Celestia explained to me as gently as she could.
“O-ok.” I commented lightly, at a loss for words for the moment.
The discovery of the fragility of the situation made me terrified. The fact that dragons and griffins exist didn’t truly startle me this much. I’ve already grown accustomed to talking ponies for the most part. But the fact that those other races might want me dead was the most terrifying thought at the time.
“Blake, I’m going to need you to do something that will prove to them you’re not a threat. Or something that can prove to them that you are here for peaceful purposes.” She suggested.
“B-but you’re the Princess. You can just say I’m a friend, right?” I questioned nervously.
She lowered her head dejectedly and morbidly stated, “I can do that.”
“T-then why don’t you do that?” I offered, stammering slightly.
She looked back at me with a frown. “Because it wouldn’t work. And if I were to say you were an ally of Equestria, then questions will be raised about when we first contacted you. If the ambassadors believe we’ve been in contact with a potentially extremely powerful being for years, or even months without telling anypony, then we risk war against all of our friends. Especially since most might think of you as a conqueror coming to aid Equestria, in a war of world domination.”
“Wait, they actually believe that?” I responded distressfully.
She shook her head guiltily. “No. But they will assume the worst, especially since I’ve been in contact with you for the majority of your stay.” she added miserably.
I couldn’t think of anything else to say to her. I was in the middle of contemplating my situation when I heard a small *ping* coming from my hand. Princess Celestia looked at my right hand with a quizzical gaze, while I reminded myself of the Wiremod download going on while I was talking to the Princess. I looked back down at my Toolgun that I so carelessly left out in plain view while I was distracted. I looked at the screen and I could begin to feel new abilities become apparent.
The sensation of getting new abilities was unexplainable for the most part, but it was as if a part of my body was extended. I could feel the tools that I was given from the Wiremod begin to take form and imbed the familiarity of switching to them in my subconscious. It was as if the Toolgun was giving me access to its abilities psychically. At first it seemed strange, but the improvements adjusted themselves to make it easier for me to understand what I was using. Without much thought, I switched to the 'Wire Gates' tool.
I silently praised whatever god sent me here.
“Blake, what are you doing?” Celestia asked suspiciously, as she tried to peer over the bed to look at my Toolgun. “Please don’t do anything too drastic. I don’t want another incident, or the delegates would get restless and take matters into their own hooves,” she demanded sternly. “I won’t protect you if they storm in here.”
“Don’t worry Princess.” I replied, my tone slightly more chipper than earlier. “I think I have an idea,” my mouth twisted sharply into a smile.
“Do you want to share?” Asked Celestia.
“Well, not really.” I jested, trying to lighten the mood.
She gave me a deadpan stare and added, “Not now.”
She didn’t need to go into details to make me understand what she meant.
“Ok sorry, I was trying to be funny.” I pouted. “But you really need to smile.” I stated seriously, turning to look back at her. “Besides, I can promise you I’ll do my very best to ensure the safety of all your ponies.” I stated, my voice taking on a serious tone. “But my very last option is threatening them.” I added awkwardly. “Although, I have a few things to do before I reach that point, so I won’t have to.”
“What would they be?” she asked in a relaxed tone.
“Well first,” I started. “I’m going to show them I’m here only to have fun. Rather than choose sides, or make alliances, I’ll try to pretend I don’t care what happens to Equestria, and I just start playing with my abilities.” I explained to her.
“Basically I play the role of Q.” I mused to myself.
“Oh wait, Princess!” I exclaimed in realization. “I can probably idly complain about how you imprisoned me for a day.” I elaborated with a smile. “That way I can show I’m not here to help you, right?”
The Princess began to smile slightly. I could feel the pressure on her begin to lift itself. “That will help me keep from having to cover up the imprisonment. But then they’d see you as dangerous, and me as too forgiving. They might ask me to hoof you over to them.” Celestia argued.
I thought for a moment while looking at the ceiling in thought. Then I smiled and looked back at her.
“Well I’m not a prisoner, am I? I could probably be eerily cheerful, when I tell them they can’t have me. It might make them iffy about touching me.” I suggested, my mind flying around this idea.
Princess Celestia groaned in irritation. “No Blake. If you ever threaten, or intimidate, them in any way, then somepony would think you’re a threat. I can tell you now, most of them already think you are. We need to convince them to let you do as you wish in Equestria, and not feel threatened.”
“But I’m already a permanent threat to them, right? I’m the most powerful thing in the world right now. So wouldn’t they always feel nervous around me?” I asked, my tone playing towards innocence.
“Blake, before you came, I was the most powerful being on the planet. And I'm only rivaled by my sister, whom only recently came back to Equestria after one thousand years. It took a lot of smiling and friendly letters to each of the nations, to convince them I meant no harm after I came to power. One hundred years later, the nations saw me as the neutral superpower, on a really big chessboard. I maintained that neutrality through years of politics and trade deals.” she replied oddly mechanically.
I sighed and compromised, “Ok fine, I’ll be friendly and not threaten anyone, unless I absolutely have to.”
“That’s acceptable. But remember, we’re dealing with powerful representatives, who don’t want to live in fear. Show them they don’t have to.” Celestia suggested.
I nodded my head in confirmation before asking, “Ok I’ll keep that in mind. Anything else?”
She raised her eyebrow and gave me a questioning gaze, “Blake. Are you kicking me out?”
“Not yet.” I replied indifferently. My gaze turned to the Toolgun and I continued, “But my plan, although it needs adjustment, still needs some preparation. Wait when exactly is the hearing or whatever it is?”
“Two days from now, when all the ambassadors are here. But some restless nobles might try to see you earlier than that.” she added darkly.
“Then let them see me if they want. I won’t mind. But I’m going to need my clothes back if I’m going to make a proper impression.” I commented matter-o-factually.
Celestia gave me a deadpanned stare. “Blake, you should wear something more proper for the meeting. They are representatives representing their nations.”
“Exactly.” I added positively. “And I’m representing my people too. Most of us don’t really have homes. We kind of just continue building our machines and stuff, without finding a permanent place to settle down.” I stated my interpretation of Garry’s Mod.
Celestia gave me a drop jawed expression. “W-wait. Oh, it’s perfect!” she exclaimed ecstatically. “You’re a nomad, and coming here could be pretty normal for you...” her joyous revelations diminished and became indifferent as she noticeably began to think harder about her discovery. “Oh wait. No, then your story will backfire. If you’re a nomad and came here just because you could then there would be no reason to have you stay. And not only that, but your mission won’t be completed.” she finished disapprovingly.
“Princess. All you need to know, is that I’m going to be fun loving, and I’m here on self-discovery. Other than that, I’m a nomad.” I stated reassuringly. “I’ll be able to take it from there.”
“But Blake, you barely know a thing about this world.” She said logically.
“And if I knew too much, then someone will suspect foul play.” I shot back slyly.
“Ugh you’re right.” Celestia huffed indignantly. “I guess the fate of my country is in your hands.” she frowned. “I really don’t like that. But I’m going to have to live with it... I guess.”
“Yeah, but don’t worry, I won’t fail you. And when’s dinner? Or Lunch? Whichever. I’m hungry, thirsty, and really needing to get to work on my plan.” I turned to her and asked, my voice taking on a slight pleading tone.
She smiled in response before nodding her head, “I’ll leave now. Tomorrow I’ll have someone get you to physical therapy, where you’d begin regaining your motor control.” she graced me her seemingly trademark smile. She looked much happier than when she first came in, almost as if much of the weight she was carrying had left her now.
She turned to leave and almost got entirely out of sight, behind the blue curtain before I called out to her.
“Wait.” Her trotting stopped and I asked, “Can Quill visit me some time?”
I couldn’t see Celestia’s face, but I could tell she was smiling slightly wider, if her merry tone was any indication of her mood as she replied, “I’ll see what I can do.”
I watched her finally leave my vision, and trot down to the opposite end of the room. She cleared the door and I heard a small humming before the door clicked shut. I waited a few moments just committing to memory all the things I’ve been told. A few minutes later, I refocused on my Toolgun and switched to the Expression2 tool.
“Ok where to start… runOnTick(1).” I smiled sagely.
As I sat in the hospital room, I continued to try to code with E2. I soon discovered that all of my current E2s from the game weren’t with me. So I’d have to start from scratch with most of the E2s I’ve made. Eventually I came to a decision on just starting with holos. I was no longer hooked up to any medical equipment. My muscle strength was beginning to return as I tried to move about more, but regardless of time my body still ached whenever I tried. It was only after I tried moving my body did the pain start to subside.
I was now in full control of my right arm and able to use it without any pain or other handicap. I practiced using my legs earlier the other day so I could use them today. When the doctor came in, he told me just to try moving my body. By now, it was early morning the next day, and tomorrow the ambassadors would be here and they’d begin discussion over what to do with me. They’d probably bring their own opinions and force them on each other. But what’s worse is, the fact that I know they’d try to win my loyalty, it’s just how politics work. Fight for the most powerful player when you’re weak, and pray they won’t leave you behind.
I can only guess as to how this game is played. Since many other games seem to speak of it, including Civilizations. Playing that game helped me understand the value of friends, and the problems with making enemies. But only when you’re weaker than them, do you need to worry. However, being as weak as I am, I know I can’t make enemies or I’d be making a death-wish. The politicians see me as a higher power, and if they feel threatened they’d kick and scream.
“This is going to be tough.” I mused to myself, shaking my head slightly.
Both my arms were on top of the covers. My room was being flooded with golden light from the rising sun. I turned my head to the right to look outside. I was able to see spires outside my window; they were white and glowed with the golden light that hit them. They cast long shadows across the city. But I couldn’t see the ground from my position. I learned from Redheart that I was on the second floor of the hospital.
I turned my head back to the left, my room was dark with only a hint of the morning light coming in from the window. The entire room was heavily shadowed, making the green curtains that surround my bed look dark and gloomy. The curtains actually went in a square around my bed. The part of the walls I actually could see, seemed to have an empty cheeriness due to the shadow, and the hospital still smelled sterile and organized. I could hear faint hoofsteps outside the closed door.
I began to suspect the nurses were awake and taking their shifts. But I didn’t like how early it was. I was jarred from my thoughts when the door of my room started creaking open. When it finished, I heard the hoof steps grow louder as they approached me. I became slightly nervous as my mind began to piece together the strangeness of the situation. I now began to expect the curtains to draw back and some murderous character to be revealed.
I cautiously equipped my toolgun and pointed it at the green curtain as the hoof steps grew louder. I heard the distinct sound of a charged horn, and the curtains were enveloped in a familiar blue aura. When they suddenly drew back in a swiftly, I was suddenly startled by the pony on the other side.
“Princess?” I asked in confusion.
Princess Luna looked at me indifferently as her horn's glow dissipated.
“I’m sorry Blake, but I knew that now was a good time to talk,” she stated indifferently as she cantered over to the left side of my bed.
I tracked her movements with my head. “It’s not even six AM,” I noted, feeling unimpressed.
“I sensed you stopped dreaming, so I decided to visit you,” she explained further.
I raised an eyebrow in confusion and repeated, “You... sensed I stopped dreaming?”
“Yes. I’m the Princess of the Night, so I have the ability to manage dreams, and keep away nightmares,” she stated matter-of-factly.
“Oh yeah, because that would make sense.” I joked mockingly.
She gave me a deadpanned look as she irritably stated, “Believe what you wish, but yesterday, my actions were rash and-” she put a hoof on her mouth in contemplation before she finished, “-how you would say, uncalled for?”
I paused for a few moments, not expecting an apology. Nor a question about how correct the statement was. “Well, slightly.” I finally responded. “But I was a little rude, even though I didn’t mean to.”
“Yes, anyway now that that’s settled,” she added quickly, to put the issue behind us. Which I found so sudden it was slightly comical so I smiled in joy.
Luna noticed it and smiled too. “I would like to give you some fair warning for later today. Prince Blueblood has insisted he’d see you in a few hours, during or just after your breakfast. He’s a bit touchy when it comes to status. So when he approaches you, try to be prepared to work your way to telling him you’re a higher member of society like a prince or king, so he respects you,” she revealed with a content smile.
I raised an eyebrow and asked, “So, basically he respects royalty?”
“Yes, and the upper class. He believes in a more traditional way of thinking, such as punishing servants when they don’t do everything when asked. He is also resentful toward the lower class as he believes them to be no more than servants. He only slightly respects the middle class, but only as consumers,” She admitted with a minor hint of annoyance. “He’s caused some trouble with that mentality, but I can’t do anything about it, since he never truly committed any crime.”
I looked up at the white ceiling. “So you came to me to warn me, he’ll be rude to me?” I replied disapprovingly. “You know I can deal with anyone, right? I’m sure I can talk him down from his high horse,” I added confidently.
Princess Luna looked confused as she asked, “High horse?”
“Sorry, it’s an expression. It means someone who’s really confident and full of pride. Usually they forget about the feelings of others, until they’re beaten or bested. So I’m just going to make him feel like he’s not in power anymore,” I revealed my simple plan.
Princess Luna looked worried, “I want to tell you that he’s family to me. Don’t hurt him if he gets to you. You can say whatever you want to him, but please don’t cause him any harm,” her expression seemed sincerely concerned for her family member.
I nodded my head and turned back to her as I calmly defended myself, “I won’t hurt him. No reason to, right?”
“Good.” She nodded her head, “Oh and my sister, Princess Celestia, has informed me of your conversation. I’m up to date with what she’s told you, and we both have complete confidence in you.” She said with a smile. It quickly faded as she admitted, “Although, that may be a fib. I don’t have as much confidence in you to present yourself in such a way to allow you to vouch for yourself.”
When she paused, I realized she expected me to counter. I choose to accept the bait and speak up, “I will think of something, ok? Right now, I’ve got an idea to create my own personal guard to defend me. A guard that will just follow me blindly and just be used for show. If they thought I was being protected, then they’ll think twice about keeping me silent, right?” I asked quickly.
“No, they’d find that more threatening, when you have your own soldiers protecting you. They’d also conclude you have a force stationed in Equestria and that will lead to further issues.” Luna concluded.
“Wow you’re a lot like your sister,” I deadpanned. “Shooting down all my ideas? Ok fine, one guard that I’d call my personal guard.” I stated slightly annoyed.
“How about a servant?” Luna offered.
“And just like your sister, you’re no fun.” I rolled my eyes and shot her an annoyed look.
“That’s understandable. I’ve only just recently learned the definition of fun, and have not fully mastered it.” She stated factually.
I gave her a bewildered look. She tilted her head slightly and raised her eyebrow in confusion. We stayed silent for a few uncomfortable seconds, more because my mind was taking a while to figure out exactly how something as bizarre as that statement could ever possibly come out of another creature’s mouth.
“Are you finished gawking?” Princess Luna stated irritably.
“Uh, sure?” I replied dumbly.
“Very well. Now back to the noble Blueblood, –” she was interrupted in the middle of her sentence by seemingly nothing.
She turned around to look out the way she came in. The view of the front door was obscured by the curtain because she was beside my bed on the left. She took a few steps forward and peeked her head around the corner. I watched with interest as her ears pointed toward the door to pick up more noise. It didn’t take more than two seconds for her to back up and use her magic to quickly close the curtain.
She looked back at me disappointingly. “Well, the nurses are beginning to arrive and are going to the critical patients,” she noted, her tone full of disappointment. “I need to leave, so I don’t stir up too much trouble.”
“Wait,” I start quietly. “Am I allowed to tell him you visited?” I asked to avoid any issues.
She rolled her eyes, “Yes, if you must tell him, then I don’t mind.” She then added dully, “Now I must go. Take care.”
“You too,” I gave her a smile.
Her horn lit up and she winked out of existence with a subtle pop in her wake. I sat their drop jawed and confused when I watched her disappear before me. Without much thought, I laid back and looked at the green curtains in front of me. They remained inanimate, other than sway with the momentum that still existed in them after the princess moved them. They started to go idle in the eerie silence of the room.
I looked back down at my empty right hand and fixed a sly smile on my face. I drew it out of the covers and held it out in front of me. I then cycled through my weapons and landed on the Toolgun. When it was equipped I pointed it at the ceiling and went through the options I had. I currently didn’t know how to spawn any props, so I couldn’t get to building on any drones or hovercraft.
I quickly reached the conclusion that I needed to learn how to spawn props. I laid back and closed my eyes for a few moments to try to experiment with the new gift inside me. I started poking around the new empty space inside me where my physics gun was stored. I believed I could fill it up somehow, but I wasn’t sure on how to do that.
Due to boredom influencing my behavior, I decided to just try to remake a few wire devices to get used to any wire issues that I might come up with. Eventually I decided to try making a stoplight, even though it would serve no purpose other than to reassure myself that I can still do impressive wire feats. Even though a stoplight doesn’t seem like much, you still need to take into account of how much time it would take until cars would be going down the right road. Like in real life, the lights couldn't just change every five seconds, or people will get angry and more aggressive with their driving.
But the problem was getting the light to stay on long enough for someone to see it, and then change to the other light, without the first one still being on. You couldn’t use an Equals gate-chip or the light would just simply flash so quickly you could miss it if you blinked. In fact, I actually missed the blinks when I didn’t blink when I made a blinking light with an Equals gate as a trigger.
However there was a way to make it so the light stayed on long enough for someone to notice, or at least long enough for someone to see it without it remaining on while the other light was on. In involved using a Timer gate, an Add gate, an Equals gate, an 'Equals to or Greater Than' or 'EoGT' gate, and an 'Equals to or Less Than' or 'EoLT' gate. The Equals gate will be hooked up to the Add gate and the Add gate will be hooked up to Equals Less Than and Equals Greater Than gates. Those gates would be hooked up to the timer and a Constant Value to tell them when they will send an output. If the gates were greater than 6 but less than 8 then they both give an output of 2. The Equals gates will then be hooked up to the gate and compare it to 2 in the Constant Value chip.
When the Equals chip is at 2, meaning the currently-passed time is between 6 seconds and 8 seconds, then it will give an output of 1. The output of 1, will be hooked up to a Multiplication chip, that will multiply the Equals value, by the Constant Value, which will now hold the value 255 which is the highest number a Light can, get color wise. The light will then be hooked up to the Multiplication chip and when the Light will light up when the seconds are between 6 and 8.
*Puft* *Puft* I fired my gun to place the EoGT chip, then it’s inverted cousin, the EoLT chip.
I smiled to myself when I realized how ridiculous knowing something like this was. But this way of thinking would make perfect sense to someone as advanced with Wiremod as I was. That or people who make video games, since coding is just another way of saying what I just theorized what would work. Coding involves defining what stops what, and what runs what. The Timer runs the scenario, while the Gates say at what time something should activate. In this case, it was a really simple way to turn on a light within 6 to 8 seconds. But why 6 and 8? Why not longer or shorter? Well there was never a reason why I had to have those seconds, but it would be more dramatic when I finally see the gates work right.
That, and it was just an example.
I got to work on adding the gates I wanted in the scenario. But before I could go any further I heard the door open in my room.
“Hello?” I called out.
I saw no reason why to keep my woken state a secret from the visitor. Especially since the Toolgun was creating noise as I placed down the gates. I began to hear hoof steps traveling toward me, but it was accompanied by a strange tinkling sound, that I associated with plates and glass cups.
“Hello?” I repeated, more anxiety in my voice this time.
I was unsure if the silence between the person in the room and I was hostile or just misinterpreted.
“Hmho!” exclaimed a muffled voice on the other side of the closed curtains.
I was slightly relieved when the voice responded to my calls. It sounded feminine so I assumed it was one of the nurses who continued to visit me hourly just to see the strange creature. I heard the mare place what sounded like a tray of items on a table. She then huffed from the strain of carrying it and I could only assume she did a cliché action like wiping the sweat off her forehead. I heard her start trotting over to the closed curtain that kept me from seeing the rest of the room.
“Sorry about that Blake,” came the warm voice of Nurse Redheart.
“Redheart!” I said happily. “Why didn’t you respond?” I asked.
“Sorry, I was carrying your breakfast,” she apologized. “I can’t believe you actually eat meat,” she added, slightly worried. “You seemed so nice.”
I gave her a questioning gaze that she couldn’t see and asked, “What makes you think I’m mean for eating meat?”
I heard her hoofsteps start to come even closer and start to pass me to my right. The curtains started to move to the left to reveal the white mare holding them with her teeth and walking over to my left while taking the curtain with her. She let go of the curtain when it was fully moved out of the way and looked back at me with a warm smile.
“Well you’re right. You ar-” she stopped mid-sentence when she noticed the gate chips on the ceiling above me. “What are those?” she asked, looking at them with awe.
She approached my bed while looking up at the ceiling. I was about to explain before a mischievous thought came to mind. I smiled at her maliciously when she was looking up at the gates.
“Oh, they’re human equivalent to mistletoe,” I announced happily. “Now that you’re under them with me, you’re required by tradition to kiss me,” I mused aloud.
She looked at me with a shocked expression. “What?”
“Yup. Come’re cupcake.” I said while reaching for her head with my left hand.
She smiled mischievously, and before I realized what was going on she hopped up on the bed. She then started to lick my face with her tongue. I began trying to struggle by putting my hands in front of my face.
“Eugh! Why! Stop!” I whined pathetically.
“Well, this is how ponies kiss,” she informed me mirthfully.
She resumed trying to kiss me.
“Ok ok! It’s not mistletoe! They’re wire gates!” I exclaimed, with a smile appearing on my face.
She lifted her head triumphantly. “That’s more like it,” she spoke confidently, she turned to the right and jumped back down on the ground.
“You have a lot of water in your mouth,” I commented while I tried to get the saliva off my face.
She turned back at me with a merry smile before joking, “Well now you know, I like to wet my mouth before I lick.”
“Eeeeeeeeeeeeew!” I yelled over dramatically while giving a disgusted face.
She laughed mirthfully. “Hahaha. Well, now you know not to lie to a mare.” She said good-humoredly.
I shook my head at her shenanigans. I then came across the weird question of why.
I tried to not sound serious as I asked her, “So at what point did you think it was a good idea to lick me?” I gave her a questioning gaze with a small smile.
She gave me a sheepish look. “Uh, I dunno. It was kind of on impulse,” she admitted with an embarrassed look and nervous rubbing on the back of her head.
“Ah, it’s ok. So what’d you bring me for breakfast?” I asked trying to peer around the curtain.
She looked up at me and stated professionally, “Oh right! One moment dear.”
I watched her turn and walk around the curtain. When she was out of sight I only had her hoof steps to tell where she was. When she got to what I assumed was going to be a desk or table I heard the plate moving on the tray that Redheart brought in with her. I waited patiently as she rounded the corner and came into view. I watched with a quizzical expression as I saw her carrying it with her teeth. I remembered her pulling back the curtains with her teeth and wondered if it was a social norm.
She got to my bed and placed the trey on my lap for me to observe. I was at a horizontal angle, and started to sit up so I was able to eat it in a more comfortable position. Redheart scrambled to my side and helped me sit up. I was overjoyed to notice my muscles weren’t unbearably sore after sitting up. I looked down at the plate and observed its contents. It had scrambled eggs which was edible, but it also had some form of oats I wasn’t familiar with. And I was honestly not impressed with the ‘meat’ she said was there. Everything looked edible but the meat looked very unappetizing. First of all, it was a squirrel. Second of all, it wasn’t cooked.
“Uh, what’s this?” I said pointing to the squirrel.
She looked at me with a quizzical gaze. “Uh, that’s a griffin breakfast. Eggs and squirrel. But we added oats because you’re an omnivore,” she smiled warmly at me. “But most of this is to see what you’d eat.”
I sighed unenthusiastically. “The scrambled egg is fine, but the uncooked squirrel is just… ew.” I commented with a disgusted expression. “Oats are ok though. I’d rather have cereal if you have it.” I said with a smile.
“Eeew, you cook your meat?” she exclaimed with a horrified expression.
I raised an eyebrow in confusion, “Uh yeah, that’s pretty normal.”
“That’s just, disturbing.” Nurse Redheart shivered a little in disgust.
“Sorry, it’s just how my people eat meat. We can eat it raw, but it’s not helpful to us in any way when it is. If it’s cooked, then we can eat it and keep away from any toxins it might have.” I tried to explain.
“No no, it’s fine. It’s just a weird thought,” she looked away from me awkwardly. “Well griffins eat meat raw, and most of them are pretty rude…”
“So griffins eat meat raw?” I asked.
“Yes,” she answered my question nodding her head. “Yes they do,” she stated matter-of-factly.
A train wreck of thoughts slammed into my head as I began to analyze the relation of eating meat and being rude. It made no sense to me, but is it possible that ponies just assume everything that eats meat is out to get them? If this was the case, then I’d need to be very careful about an appropriate time to bring up eating meat. The more I thought about it, it made less and less sense. The only option left was to ask.
“Exactly how does eating meat make me rude or mean?” I asked quizzically.
She looked up at me as if I just said something so ludicrous that it sounded like a foreign language. But after a few moments of giving me a puzzled look, she shook it off and cleared her throat.
“Well usually the animals that griffins would find out in the wild are considered pets to us ponies. Griffins are known for sometimes hunting our dogs, rabbits, birds, and even squirrels for food. They also never apologize when they accidently eat our pets, so ponies just generally stay away from them most of the time. Although some griffins have embraced their ability to eat fruits and vegetables like omnivores and live alongside ponies without eating meat. Sometimes they’re rude too, but they’re much easier to negotiate with than regular griffins, who eat meat.” she explained, holding no information back.
I tilted my head dramatically and spoke, “What? How can just changing your eating habits change your personality?” I shook my head. “Y'know what? No, I think they’re just trying to be as kind as they naturally can around you. I mean they gave up their old life to live among ponies right? They had to have developed some social restraint if they wanted to continue that.” I tried to reason.
Nurse Redheart seemed to think about my suggestion for a moment. But she then shook her head disapprovingly and frowned slightly.
“I’m sorry Blake. That sounds reasonable, but I can’t accept that most griffins are trying to fit in. They seem more caught up with honor and respect, than social activity,” she reasoned, shooting me a measured look.
“Whoa, like a Klingon? Oh my inner-Trekkie is screaming right now!” I thought to myself.
I smiled comfortingly at her. “If honor is what they respect then why not meet in between?” I offered. “I mean from what I heard, no pony ever tried to start accepting some of their culture while they accepted theirs right? How many ponies tried to meet them in the middle when it came to honor?” I said hoping to get a positive response.
She looked at her hooves shamefully. “Well…” She slowly lifted her head back to me as she added, “Well, griffins generally have a better time socializing with retired guards. They also respect mayors and other ponies in power or other solar guards.”
“See?” I exclaimed with a smile. “If what I get from griffins is true, then they’re a militaristic society that believes in honor above all else. They probably respect ponies who know what it means to trust the people they’re closest to, or people who they have to, trust with their lives.” I suggested.
She nodded her head and gave me a warm smile. “You know, you might be right. I think I’ll keep that in mind next time I have a griffin patient.” She began to smile mischievously as she jokingly mused, “I’ll probably say something along the lines of, “Your health and safety is being overseen by me, so don’t make a fuss, or it won’t be medicine in that needle.” or something of the sort.”
My eyes widened in surprise. “Uh, wow. I just gave you a suggestion, and you’ve already used it to think of ways to scare people away from the hospital.” I said shaking my head in amusement.
“You know.” She said slyly. “So you going to eat what you can eat or not?” She asked looking at the trey in front of me.
I looked down at it with my smile before my smile began to slip. The squirrel was mixed in with some of the eggs and oats. And then there wasn’t any silverware for me to pick out all the uncooked meat. I began to feel slightly unwell as I looked at the dead uncooked animal. I was particularly disgusted at the fact it still had some blood on it, and the head was still there along with a hole where I assumed the kill shot was.
“Uh, yeah, not hungry right now.” I noted, staring at it with a demoralized gaze.
“You can’t eat it?” She said with a worried expression.
“No, not that. Well ok, it’s not cooked, there’s still blood on it, and its head is there… there are a lot of issues with what’s in front of me. Most of which it looks unappetizing. And I don’t think I’ll be able to stomach food until lunch.” I said uneasily as I looked at the corpse. “But I’ll gladly take something to drink if you don’t mind getting that for me.” I asked after noticing the significant lack of any cups.
Her eyes widened in surprise as she exclaimed, “Oh that’s what I forgot! I was so fussed about carrying a dead body, that I forgot to get you something to drink! Oh I’m sorry dear I’ll be right back.” She went to grab the tray from my lap before she stopped herself in her tracks. “Oh right,” she added suddenly and calmly. “Prince Blueblood wants to meet you today, and he made us keep a schedule, so you and he will have some alone time.”
I rolled my eyes. “Oh goody. I was warned about him. But he can’t be as bad as they say, right? But are you able to bring me water while we talk? I’m really thirsty, and I’ll need the water if I’m going to have a conversation with a politician.” I asked with a smile.
“He’s a Prince, Blake. I suggest you be careful about what side you take, when talking to him. He is very powerful, with a lot of influence among the nobility,” she warned me a slight quaver in her tone.
I nodded warmly before politely continuing, “Then I’ll be careful. May I be alone now?”
“Sure,” she nodded happily.
She then reached for the tray with her mouth to pick it up before stopping again to look at the gates on the ceiling.
“So exactly what is that?” she asked.
“I told you, gates and stuff.” I replied simply.
“What does it do?” She asked curiously, cocking an eyebrow at me.
I looked up at them and mused, “They’re really hard to explain. If you knew the basics of what they were, I’m pretty sure I will still sound like I’m speaking gibberish...” Turning to regard her again I quietly asked, “Oh hey, when will I get my clothes back?”
“Oh right! The guard allowed us to bring them back to you. Apparently the Princesses have decided to trust you again, and you’ll be getting them back soon. Maybe today too.” She said happily. “Although if you want, I can bring them up when I bring you your water.” She said happily.
“That’d be lovely.” I stated, joy exploding through my tone.
I looked over to my left to stare at the empty glass of water. Nurse Redheart was kind enough to bring it to me, meanwhile I thought about what to say to the prince. I eventually realized that no matter how much preparation I gave myself, there was no way I could predict or plan the conversation I would have with a royal. Especially when the conversation involved me being a potential catalyst to the destabilization of the entire world, and potentially driving all the great nations into chaos and war.
Yeah, to say the situation looked bleak was the understatement of the century.
My thoughts were interrupted by my room's door creaking open. I sat up nervously as I waited for whatever entered my room to come around the corner and show themselves to me. I felt better, now that I had fresh water circulating through my body, but now I tensed up from what could come next. As I heard the hoof steps approaching I considered on trying to reschedule the meeting.
To my relief, what came around the corner wasn’t the prince I was supposed to meet, but a familiar pony with a nurse's outfit came into view with non-other than my rebels clothing.
“Oh thank you Nurse.” I sighed thankfully.
“Not a problem dear,” Nurse Redheart replied. She turned to look at my clothes and added, “You’d better slip this on right quick, Prince Blueblood is here, and on his way.”
She looked up at the ceiling and froze to observe what I’ve done. The system of lights and gates were working splendidly, and there was a set of lights above my head that changed to the colors red, yellow, and green periodically.
“Impressive,” she praised my work with a smile.
“Yeah, I try.” I smugly boasted.
She shook her head disapprovingly, smiling slightly. Quickly trotted over to me with the clothes on her back, she took up a position by the bed so I could pick it up with my left hand, which I did. But when I grabbed the clothes they started to disintegrate before my eyes. I became slightly panicked as it was the only article of clothing that I own. But my nerves settled down as I noticed the gloves appearing on my left hand that I reached for the outfit with, along with a sleeve from the rest of the rebel armor. Nurse Redheart and I watched with wide eyes as my clothing began to faded into its rightful place, wrapped around my body and fitting snugly.
“…Well that was…” her statement trailed off and hung in the air confusingly.
“Yeah, I found that pretty cool.” I added my thought enthusiastically.
She gave me an uncertain look, then she raised an eyebrow as she asked, “You seemed just as surprised as I was. Why are you so upbeat about this?”
I paused to gather my thoughts. I rubbed my chin thoughtfully and smiled warmly down at the covers. I realized that after my reunion with my clothing I felt ready to stand up and skip around youthfully. The armor not only covered me up, but made me feel strong enough to not need the hospital bed. But as I thought about getting up and leaving, I realized that seeming slightly weaker than I am would probably be beneficial to making others feel more secure around me.
I then remembered Redheart asked a question and looked at her sheepishly. “Uh yeah, I think it’s more because umm… I expect weird stuff to happen to me?” I gave my answer as more of a question than an actual reply. Sheepishly, I added, “It’s hard to explain really.”
She smiled and nodded to me. She held a hoof up to her chin thoughtfully as she spoke, “Well I’ll say. Oh right, the prince will want to meet you alone, specifically in here, with no one coming or going in here. So if you need anything, now may be the last time to ask for it before I can’t get to you.”
Smiling, I nodded my head and responded, “I’m ok for now. Maybe later I can try eating again.”
Redheart gave me an incredulous smile with a complimentary shake of her head.
“I’m sure you’ll do fine when the prince arrives. He should be on his-” She was interrupted by a very loud sound of someone clearing their throat.
“If I may interrupt.” a voice interrupted from around the corner of the curtains. The pony that interrupted us rounded the corner and gave Redheart an unimpressed gaze. “But may I have my overdue conversation with the… guest?”
“Oh I’m sorry dear. I’ll be out of your way,” she bowed politely.
Blueblood gave her an unimpressed stare, accompanied with a condescending raised eyebrow. She smiled nervously and started to trot around him. She avoided eye contact with the prince as best she could as she made her way out of sight. While she was doing this, Blueblood made it his priority to give me a judgmental gaze before lazily looking around the curtain to make sure Redheart was on her way out. We both waited in silence as he stared at the door, watching her leave as her hoof-steps got farther and farther away. I heard the door creaking, followed by a gentle click from the door's tooth sliding into its latch. Then Blueblood calmly turned back to me and started walking forward.
He started trotting over to my bed and stood in front of it. He was about to start speaking before looking up at the ceiling after a flash of green caught his eye. He stood there mouth agape for a few moments before returning to his senses and giving me an unimpressed look.
“So,” he began. He motioned towards the ceiling with his horn as he asked, “I believe that is you’re doing?”
“Uh, yes.” I replied with an awkward smile.
He raised his eyebrow again, continuing to give me an unimpressed gaze.
“So you wanted to talk to me?” I inquired of him, trying to break the blanket of awkwardness that descended into the room.
He nodded once and continued, “Yes I did. As you very well know by now, the ambassadors are coming to see you. I just want to know how well versed you are in the ways of politics before then. It’s so we know whether or not we would just simply show you to them and then you leave, or you stay to help convince them of our neutrality.”
“Ah, I can understand that logic.” I nodded in understanding.
I felt that the best strategy to gain this guy’s trust was to agree and nod with his suggestions while offering my own.
“Do you know exactly what’s at risk?” he asked skeptically.
I looked at him oddly and realized that the issue was never really clearly stated other than “Equestria is in danger.” but I know that war was at least implied or maybe mentioned.
“Actually, no. Something about the threat of war, or so I assume. But is there anything else that could possibly go wrong?” I asked.
He nodded almost morbidly. “There is the issue of trade. Equestria's wealth, and that of the other nations rely mostly on trade, and if they feel that Equestria is even slightly being smiled upon by a higher power, then they might cut off trade. Which might be worse than war, actually. With war, lives are lost. But in economic isolation, we all starve to death and all societal advancement grinds to a halt,” he admitted stressfully, and then rounded a glare on me as he practically growled, “If you’re the reason why I can’t get high quality Saddle Arabian red velvet, you'll never hear the end of it.”
“I’m sure Red Velvet would be the least of Equestria’s concern.” I replied reasonably.
He haughtily stuck his nose in the air and asked, “Humpf. We should continue. How many peace summits have you attended?”
I knew he would tell me not to speak if I answered that question. So instead I decided to think of situations that I’ve been in that can count as public speaking. But then again I remembered my public speaking was pretty poor. Talking to people was easy enough, but a crowd?
“I haven’t attended any.” I answered his question. “But where I’m from, we don’t have them.”
He raised his eyebrow in confusion for the umpteenth time today as he asked in an incredulous tone, “Then how does your kind maintain peace? Unless you’re ruffians who love war like those griffins.”
“No, we have no need for war, other than entertainment.” I replied, referring to my gaming experience on Garry’s Mod. But it gave me a bewildered expression from Blueblood. “But it’s more because we don’t die. Or rather, we do, but it’s never permanent. Think of it as shedding an article of clothing and replacing it with a new one. I’ve never 'lived' longer than two days so to speak. Truthfully, that was the reason I asked Celestia if I could threaten them. I can last forever during conflict, I’m sure they wouldn’t.” I added, trying to seem as emotionless about the topic as possible.
Although I knew that I could respawn in the game, what I didn't know is if that carried over to Equestria. More importantly, I never want to be responsible for the death of a living creature. Bugs however don’t have my sympathy…
“W-well…” Blueblood seemed unbalanced at that, his eyes wide and an appalled expression on his face. “I’m sure that can be a last resort. For now, let’s concentrate on making them believe you’re not Equestria’s ally.”
My brow furrowed and I looked him in the eye as I asked, “You’re going to allow me into the meeting?”
He nodded again and added confidently, “Yes. If what you say is true, then you have a great deal of experience with organizing conflict. I hope you can keep conflict from happening, by seeing the signs and defusing them before it starts.”
“Right. Now I need to find a way around my stage fright… wait what if I had something to cover my face?” my face took on a look of thoughtfulness as I brought a hand to my chin.
“All right,” I finally spoke, nodding once and smiling. Then I gave him a serious look, “I’m going to need a mask.”
He gave me another confused look. “What for? Oh please don’t tell me you have stage fright,” he groaned, putting his hoof on his face and groaning.
I decided to tell some of the truth.
“Yes I do. But that’s more because we always wore masks to hide our identities. Politics also didn’t exist until the server lords started talking to each other. My job was to talk to all the engineers for insight on how to build more tools. I wore masks to keep my identity from being known. Sometimes I even used a different body to keep them from recognizing me. But they all knew me, each by a different name.” I responded, describing most of how I learned wiremod on my own. Minus the disguise part.
“I see.” He sounded unconvinced, but continued, “But if you insist then I’ll see if I can find a craftsman.” The prince rolled his eyes. “But I need you to keep them from knowing your more violent history. On a related note, what was your alias, if I may ask?” he asked, obviously analyzing my story for any holes.
“My alias was 'wolfGear.'” I replied indifferently. “I usually just built machines meant for exploration or battle. It’s good to have something to defend yourself, you know?”
“Mhmm,” he hummed uncomfortably. “Well fine, you’ll get your mask before tomorrow. But it will be my design.”
“As long as it’s not too flashy, or has any symbols or words on it.” I warned him, my gaze turning serious.
He scrunched his eyebrows and seemed unhappy as he responded irritably, “Fine. A simple. Normal. Mask. It will be white. But no promises that it will be ready when the ambassadors arrive.”
I couldn’t help but notice him becoming upset over a mask. I decided to pursue his reasoning for this.
“Why does that upset you?” I asked, lightening my glare up somewhat.
He snorted loudly and gave me a short glare, before returning to his indifferent gaze, “Well I’m slightly insulted that you chose to ask this of me now, rather than ask my auntie Celestia or Luna. But I’ll relay the request if I can. I make no promises, though.” He shook his head once disapprovingly.
I raised my eyebrow at his irritableness toward my request. But I kept it to myself and I smiled at him. He gave me an odd look as I turned to my left and hung my legs off the side of my bed. I put my hands near my hips on the edge of the bed to push myself off and up. I noticed how comfortable my heavy duty gloves really were when I applied pressure on them. As I stood up, Blueblood raised both his brows alarmingly as his eyes widened. He gazed at me up and down, to get a good idea of my height, but I was distracted by how close the ceiling was to my head, even though I didn’t hit it.
“Well that’s business for you. Now, I’m done with being in a hospital, and I’m feeling much better after getting my clothing back.” I boasted happily.
“Er, yes about that,” Blueblood interrupted my happy thoughts.
I looked back at him and he was giving me a disgusted look.
“What?” I asked.
“Well, that’s not really formal wear for the ambassadors. We should seriously find you a new outfit,” he turned his head to the side like he was going to be sick.
“Really?” I deadpanned. I defended my answer calmly, “This is the clothing of my people. It may not look flashy, but we don’t need it to look good. It's just to be practical.”
“Yes, but here we have a different standard when it comes to social gatherings,” he shot back, trying to make a point.
“But I’m representing my people. I must wear what culturally suits me, or I’d look like I’m trying to be more like Equestria's ponies.” I countered, furrowing my eyebrows somewhat.
“And that’s a bad thing?” Blueblood asked with a deadpan stare.
“Yes. Because if I’m adopting your norms, then what would the ambassadors think?” I said slyly.
Blueblood rolled his eyes as he firmly added, “They’d think you were being polite. Now, I’m going to get you a mask, at least allow me to get you a new set of clothing.”
I took a deep breath and groaned only slightly childishly, “Ugh fine, I’ll do it. Hopefully it’ll be fitted nicely.”
It’s not that I don’t like suits… ok I just plain don’t like suits. They make me feel too formal and it makes me feel like I can’t have fun.
“I promise you it would. I’d just need you to see my tailor, so he can measure you. Don’t worry, he’s the best in the kingdom, and he makes all of my formal wear,” he added pompously.
“Yeah he’s good, thank you for offering his services.” I waved dismissively. I then turned to politely ask, “But um... I’m able to leave now, right? I mean I’d like to eat something first but... You know, I’d like to try getting my abilities back, as well as seeing some ponies.”
“Well, you wouldn’t be staying anywhere in Equestria, if you fail,” he shot a serious look at me with that.
“Look Blueblood,” I stated calmly. “I’ve had a stressful day, and I’d like to know where to sleep for tonight. If you have to kick me out tomorrow, then fine. But I’d like a place to stay now. And not a hospital bed either.”
He nodded in understanding as he asked his last question, just to confirm his thoughts, “Yes yes, very well. Anyway I believe you now know what’s at stake?”
“Yes, I do,” I nodded with my reply. “'Cuz velvet’s really important, apparently,” I mumbled under my breath.
“Good,” he responded in a joyful tone that seemed out of character for him.
He spun around and headed around the green curtains with haste. I watched him round the corner and listened to his hoofsteps fade, after he cleared the door. I continued to stand there beside the bed, now realizing that I had absolutely nothing to do. Finding my better judgment, I decided to just explore the room a little. Blueblood didn’t confirm getting me a better place to stay, so all I had was the hospital room given to me.
I stepped forward as I just got a better feel for the room. I looked to my right and out the farther of the two windows of the hospital room. From an upright position, I could see the street of the upper class city. I could tell that it was upper class by… the fancy clothing everyone was wearing. That and everyone had a very stereotypical pompous air about them. They stuck their noses up in the air, and I assumed it was a cultural thing. But rather than scorn them for their deep pockets, I admired them for their seemingly effortless navigation of the streets without looking.
But I was also slightly awed by the idea that this social norm developed through some sort of cultural change. I began to wonder more about the history of this marble city, and who the builders who constructed it were. The more I looked, the more I became aware of the sheer impressiveness of it all. That and the theoretical altitude that it was at. The clouds were very close, and I could almost reach out and touch them if I were just a bit higher.
“There you are.” the silence was broken by a slightly British female voice.
I spun around to see the intruder with a slightly startled expression. When I got a good look at the pony, I began to smile brightly. Her coat was a light blue, and a matching horn jutted out of her forehead. She was giving me a very practiced smile.
“Quill! It’s good to see you’re all right.” I exclaimed happily.
She smiled slightly more genuinely, and started to trot through the door frame toward me. It was only when she was halfway across the room did I notice her steps seemed uncertain. But her smile didn’t waver, nor did her hesitant steps. She came to a stop a meter in front of me. Her horn light up and the door responded by lighting up in an aura that matched her horn and closed. She gave me a once over and stopped smiling. She then gave a quick scan around the room, slightly tilting her body to the side to look behind her. I noticed that her cutie mark changed from the quill and glasses, to a spyglass.
“Well,” she started cautiously and still faced away from me. “I’m not Quick Quill anymore,” she admitted, turning back to me with a small frown. She cautiously added, “It’s Spyglass, so you should remember that.”
My smile dropped away at her words, “You sound almost…” My heart sank slightly as I paused. “Afraid.” I observed sadly.
Her frown deepened. “I’m sorry, it’s just, and that power came from you. Or your tool,” she stated awkwardly. “I don’t really know what to think of you. My higher ups have been throwing around the words ‘dangerous’ and ‘volatile’…” she avoided eye contact. “And I feel conflicted. Yes, I led you on, but that was my job. But after you opened up to me, I began to believe that you’re nothing but a victim here,” she admitted, wincing slightly at her own words.
I frowned slightly at the admittance. I truly believed she would be one of my best friends, and here she is telling me she fears me.
“But, what happened in that room,” she added shuffling uneasily. “Well, it was horrifying. Discord snapped away after you lost consciousness, and we haven’t seen him since. That most of all unsettled me. Like he knew something more dangerous was about to happen,” she finished ominously, spilling all the thoughts that occupied her mind.
I raised my eyebrow when I realized she was opening up to me. But my suspicions began to grow when she seemed a little too sincere. But what she said was true; it’s hard to tell the difference between her lies and her truths. But my previous rule will still apply when I speak to her. That rule was: Always assume she’s being sincere.
“Well… I guess he was right.” I gave her a comforting smile.
She looked at me with a frown as she spoke warily, “How does that make me feel more at ease?”
“Well,” I started in a chipper tone and a goofy smile. “If I’m as dangerous and powerful as it gets, then it’s a good thing that my intentions are to help others.” I explained reassuringly, and then I huffed disappointingly. “But then there’s all this talk of politics and such,” I rolled my eyes. Trying to get her to cheer up, I whined lightheartedly, “Can't I just buy them flowers or something?”
She smiled at that and jokingly replied, “Nah. Unless they’re covered in jewels and your free will.”
I gave her a comforting laugh. Her jest was an attempt at normalcy, or just an act to gain my trust. But even if she was asked to be my friend or she just wanted to be my friend on her own free will, her presence was welcome.
“You know.” I started with those words, to signal what I was about to say was important. “I’d find it enjoyable if your higher ups asked you to get to know me better. Then, we can just hang and it’ll be like shore leave every day for you,” I half-joked.
She pouted slightly and replied overdramatically, “Well now you sound like you don’t trust me.”
“I will never trust you!” I exclaimed, in an unserious and friendly tone. Taking on a silly voice I yelled, “Yer out to git mah treasure! OoOoOoOh!” I couldn't suppress a smile after that.
Yeah, my maturity level is that of a five year old, when 'serious time' stops.
That somehow got her to genuinely laugh at me. “You’re weird!” she punctuated that statement with a smile and pointed an accusatory hoof at me. We both laughed for a short time.
“Ha ha ha. Hey, wanna head outside?” I asked, my laughter dying down. “I’d like to see if I can find a park to talk in. I’m sure I can deal with anyone that stares at me, if I’m not alone.” I quieted down to a whisper, “I mean it’ll be awkward to look in their direction you know?”
“How so?” She said with a curious smile.
“Well, you know. They look at me, thinking I look weird. Then I look back and I feel awkward because I’m now staring at someone,” I began just rambling meaningless worries. “Then, they’d look at me weird and I’d feel uncomfortable. Then I’d look away and come in eye contact with another person. And it’ll be weird looking at the ground, or up in the air, if people are looking at me you know?” I rambled with a mocking smile.
“Nah, I’m sure it won’t be that bad.” Spyglass replied reassuringly. “Besides, the hospital has a park out back for the patients, I’m sure we can talk in private there.”
“Oh, really?” I asked with a jovial smile. I practically pranced my way around her and jogged to the door exclaiming, “Let’s go!”
I ducked under it when I got to it, without slowing my momentum, and very nearly crashed into Nurse Redheart. I managed to stop in my tracks, but almost tipped forward into her, had I not put my hands on the ceiling to stop my fall.
“Oh my!” she exclaimed, but kept her balance.
Her eyes were wider than dinner plates and I noticed a tray being balanced on her back.
“Uh, sorry nurse.” I apologized sheepishly.
“Well you better be,” she warned me. “I just brought you your food.” she added, shaking her hoof disapprovingly.
“Oh, thanks!” I stated, oblivious to the overpowered disapproving hoof. “I’ll just uh... take that off your back.” I quickly picked up the tray and started down the hall. “Come along, Poppit!” I called back to Spyglass who was busy suppressing a laugh.
“Comin’,” she replied happily, trotting around Nurse Redheart to catch up to me.
Spyglass and I were side by side walking out the back door of Canterlot General. I looked up as the sun beat down on my face, and blocked its rays with my right arm. As I observed the almost serene hospital park, its simplicity amazed me. The benches were evenly spaced across a cobblestone path that wound around a small lake with a fountain in the center. There were shrubs and oak trees that then created an immersion effect on the surrounding area as it felt almost chaotic but planned. Making the illusion that you’re in a small forest. I saw doctors walking patients who seemed to be having trouble with walking. I assumed the area was used for physical therapy.
“What are you thinking?” Spyglass asked, off to my right.
I looked down and put my hand down, while idly taking notice of the tray of food in my left hand being balanced expertly. I smiled at her and then looked back ahead at the oak forest yard. It was lined by hedges to keep patients from leaving.
“Just how impressive it is,” came my simple reply.
I looked back down at the tray in my left hand. By now, most of the food was gone as I snacked on it during our walk through the hospital. Of course, I talked the whole way too. Nurse Redheart followed us to the back door until she spotted the tray almost empty, and shook her head amusedly.
“Why do you think that?” Spyglass continued, responding to my answer.
“Well.” I started, and picked up the last food item on the tray. An apple. “It’s because of how well-structured the place seems, I guess.” I said admiring the park.
I picked up the apple with my right hand and gently placed down the tray on the bench to my left that was symmetrical to a bench on my right. Then I took a bite out of the apple.
“Because of how harmonious it all seems?” asked Spyglass a little too invested in the question.
I thought about it, and decided to give her the answer that I believe. “No. It’s just so chaotic.” I looked back at her to see her frown.
“Oh,” she looked away, still frowning.
“Is that what you want to know?” I asked. “How loyal I am to one aspect of magic?” I remembered the slight bitterness toward Discord that others had displayed.
She looked away trying to keep from making eye contact with me as she spoke, “No.”
I continued to stare at her for a little bit before smiling and responding, “I like the chaotic nature of this park, because it feels closer to my own world's nature.” I looked back out at the park and at its fountain. “It’s like the lake has been tamed, but the trees are scattered and uncared for, like a real forest. And the path even has to wind around the trees, making it seem like you’re taking a path through a forest.” I said.
“Oh. Is that what chaos is to you?” she asked.
“Nah. Chaos is a descriptive word,” I spoke frankly. “It has no superior meaning to me, nor any secret purpose. Same thing as harmony,” I added trying to lead her off of the topic.
“…So what word has meaning to you?” she asked, turning to quirk an eyebrow at me.
I thought about it for a few moments before I smiled at my choice, “Creating.”
She continued to look at me oddly, her eyebrow still raised.
“Come on.” I stated, ignoring her face. “Let’s go sit down somewhere.”
I walked forward, which made her follow me. We walked to the right and went down the winding path to the far side of the lake. I threw the apple behind a bush when Spyglass wasn’t looking. Along the way, we passed by some thorned flowers that I took a note of. I found them dangerous to be so close to a path that patients walk on. I became slightly worried about them and slowed my pace as we passed them. Unfortunately, or fortunately, Spyglass took notice and looked at the throne bush of flowers.
“What’s wrong with the bush?” She asked.
“Well,” I hesitated as we stopped to look at it. “It seems a bit dangerous for a hospital park.” I tilted my head to the side giving it a once over.
I noticed how ugly the purple flowers on the throne bush were. It made the bright forest around it seem less attractive. I pondered it a few moments more before noticing a small break in the leaves that held an anomaly. Through the small separation of leaves, was what appeared to be an eyeball. I took out my tool gun, set it to remove, and pointed it at the bush. Pulling the trigger, a familiar sound fired from the gun and the bush disappeared, revealing a small creature I had never seen before.
“Hey!” Spyglass shouted at it. “This land is under the protection of the diarchy of Equestria!” she bellowed, her tone entering 'soldier mode.' “You’re trespassing on royal territory and private land. You of the griffin Empire are in violation of a trust treaty between Equestria and Geodea.”
The supposed griffin got into a battle ready stance as he puffed up his feathers and splayed his claws apart while on all fours. He leaned forward pointing his beak at Spyglass. While Spyglass in turn lit up her horn and lowered it slightly at the griffin. I felt as if it was my duty to stop this before, it got out of hand.
“You two are like children fighting over a ball.” I mused loudly.
They both didn’t distract themselves, only giving me a cursory glance of the eye for only a moment. Spyglass seemed to be better trained and had her attention on both of us ever so slightly. I could tell as she moved a little to the right so I’d be in her peripherals.
“Oh please, if you two fight, here and now, it’ll look unfavorably toward whichever kingdom you two represent.” Neither of them seemed phased. “So, if the griffins want to know more about me, and not make an enemy of an unknown entity, I suggest you relax,” I spoke, mostly to the griffin. Regarding Spyglass again I spoke, “And if Equestria wants me not to sink their cities.”
Her response was to completely falter on her stance and look at me with a slightly horrified expression.
“Then you should do what I say,” I finished darkly.
“Blake, you wouldn’t do that,” she replied warily, and completely forgetting the griffin.
The griffin eyed her as easy prey, but reconsidered when I shot a look at him, and he backed off. But his wings were still splayed open aggressively.
“Now I’m ready to let you leave and forget about this.” I regarded the griffin. “But before that happens, stay on my right side. And if you try to leave…” I paused slyly. “I’ll shake my finger… very disapprovingly.” I joked with him.
But it came out a little more hostile than I intended, and he gave me once over. Then he nodded hesitantly and moved to my right while Spyglass moved to my left. Their movements were tense and I made sure they were both in my peripheral vision, before continuing down the cobblestone path.
“So,” I looked to the griffin. Hoping to make idle conversation I asked, “What’s your name?”
He didn’t respond and looked away slightly.
“Ok. My name’s Blake. I’m a builder and a politician. I think,” I said awkwardly. “But I’ve built things that have awed and scared many before. I like building.” I then admitted, “I can do things that others can only dream of. And whenever I build something that can fly or shoot. I always feel really good.” I said to them both.
“Blake.” I turned to find Spyglass looking at me. “Do you really think talking to a griffin is really wise?” she asked, trying to sow distrust between me and him.
“Yes. I did talk to you, did I not?” I said giving her a smile.
“Yeah but, I’m not dangerous,” she shot back, her tone guarded.
“Yeah, you were,” I replied. I pointed to the griffin and added, “For all I knew, you and all the other ponies may have been just as untrusting as this guy.”
“Yeah, but we thought you were-”
“Dangerous?” I finished for her, and then looked at the griffin. Continuing, I countered, “So did the griffins. I just didn’t start off in one of their cages. Just yours.”
She looked away slightly ashamed. I noticed the griffin had his head tilted toward our conversation.
“So again,” I stated calmly, turning back to the griffin. “What’s your name?”
He didn’t respond until several seconds later. “Helga.”
“Uh wow, I didn’t know you were a girl.” I apologized.
She snapped her head to the left and gave me a displeased glare. She was standing tall and I took into account that she was just a little bigger than Spyglass. Her muscles rippled across her frame and held a very intimidating posture.
“You really thought she was a guy?” asked Spyglass.
“Hey, I’ve never been to this world, ok? How can you tell who’s what anyway?” I asked.
“Well for ponies it’s the shape of their muzzle,” she replied. “griffins, it’s the color of the beak.” She pointed at the female griffin's nose. “It would be a light brown if she were male. Also, she’d be a foot or so taller.”
“Damn, griffin’s are beast yo.” I complimented her.
She looked away and huffed loudly, “We could say the same for you, monster.”
“Ooh, sassy,” I joked sarcastically. “But in all seriousness. When I said griffins were beast, I meant strong and cool. That’s what that expression means when I say it.” I explained. “Now if I say my baby blue unicorn buddy here was beast, I’d totally be lying,” I added, snickering lightly.
“What?” She asked confused and they both looked at me strangely.
“What? You’re an adorable little unicorn.” I replied affectionately. “I just want to pet you!” I continued in a babying voice and got down to my knees.
She tried to back away before I forced her into a hug. “Cutie cutie cutie cutie.” I cooed loudly while shaking her side to side.
“Le'go!” she cried out unhappily.
The griffin however was laughing at her horror.
“Ha!” I rounded on the griffin accusingly. She shut herself up as I declared, “I knew you had feelings!”
“Uh, n-no I don’t!” she looked away as if she was trying to give that impression the whole time. After a short time, she spoke confusedly, “Wait, what?”
“What?” I said in equal confusion. “I wanted you to lighten up a little,” I explained. “It’s because I want you and me to talk. Like my little unicorn here.” I motioned to Spyglass.
“Your little unicorn?” exclaimed an upset Spyglass. Her brow was furrowed angrily and she jabbed my left leg. “You don’t own me!”
I flinched my leg forward after she jabbed it and took two steps in front of them before turning around and walking backward.
“Oooo two sassy ladies.” I sang. “Well, you’re still cute.”
She groaned and facehoofed. Which I didn’t really expect to be a thing, until I saw her actually do it. I thought Blueblood did that by chance. But I looked over to the griffin, who I was trying to gain favor with, and she was continuing to smile, even if it was just ever so slightly.
“Now is there anywhere we can sit?” I asked spinning around while walking and strafing down the cobblestone path.
I spied a bench a short distance away and started walking towards it. When I got to it, I sat down in the middle and held my arms to each side of the bench and gave a wink to both Helga and Spyglass. They rolled their eyes and walked to the bench, but sat far enough away that I couldn’t put my arms around them. When I noticed that, I sighed depressingly and put my arms down. Helga ended up on my right while Spyglass to my left. They both looked at me with smiles on their faces.
“Ah well. I at least got you together.” I noted, looking between them. “You notice how earlier you two were about to start trading blows, then suddenly five minutes later you’re sitting on a bench with a really weird guy?” I asked with a sly smile. Leaning back, I answered my own question. “Mission accomplished.”
I could see each of their faces and they looked between each other and myself with confusion.
“What are you doing?” asked Helga.
“I dunno…” I replied and noticed a bird fly over us.
I sat up and looked out at the lake and saw the fountain spewing water up in the air and back into the lake. I stared at that for a moment and a random thought came to mind. Oxygen saturation. I began looking for signs of fish and noticed some popping up out of the water on the other side of the lake.
“You see that small fountain, on the lake?” I asked, pointing it out.
They both looked to where I was pointing.
“Yeah?” the griffin replied, unimpressed.
“It has no artistic value in this park.” I continued. Turning to face them again I added, “So that means it serves a technical purpose.”
“Uh, fountains are supposed to look cool, not serve a technical purpose.” Spyglass replied confidently.
“Up bup bup!” I exclaimed, shaking my finger and giving her a sly smile. “Oxygen saturation is its purpose.”
“What?” asked the griffin confusedly.
I looked back at the lake. “That fountain is there so oxygen can dissolve into the water. When the falling water hits the surface of the lake, the oxygen between them will try to escape, sometimes it doesn’t, and in the end it dissolves into the water. This allows fish to use their gills to take in oxygen from the water, and allow them to breathe.” I informed them.
“I don’t believe you.” Helga flatly stated, giving me a deadpan expression.
“I say you’re wrong.” Spyglass added with a smile.
“Ok then, you think I’m wrong. That’s ok.” I said slyly.
She gave me a confused stare and then gave me half lidded eyes with an unimpressed frown. “You’re messing with me, aren’t you?”
“Well...” I left the statement hanging while I looked back to the fountain.
I remained quiet as I watched the fountain do its noisy work. The griffin named Helga kept looking between me and Spyglass as we remained quiet. Spyglass herself seemed to become more uncomfortable as time went on. Helga also began to act a little more paranoid as she looked around swiftly, as if trying to catch an ambush before it starts. But after several minutes of no one talking she gave up her anxiety and just sat with us.
Spyglass seemed the least restful of the two of them. She couldn’t stop looking back at Helga as the silence persisted, her paranoia getting the better of her. Was the relationship between their nations so brittle, that they’d be paranoid about being around each other? I leaned back on the bench and took out my Toolgun. Helga watched with interest but Spyglass spoke up.
“What’s that?” she asked.
“A Toolgun,” I responded. “I use it to build things and play things.” I smiled honestly.
“What kind of things?” suspiciously asked Helga.
“Well generally, I play music or build cars that can drive themselves. I can build things that fly, or even make everyday objects weld together and form a basic shape of something.” I explained.
“So how valuable is that?” asked Helga eyeing my Toolgun.
The griffin gave her a dirty look. “Maybe you should be more concerned about the quality of your life than practical issues, pony,” she spat venomously.
“Girls.” I said calmly, grabbing their attention. “I’d rather you not fight like that.” I pulled the trigger.
*Puft*
“It will ruin the moment.” I grinned.
*Puft*
I switched to my advanced wiring tool and hooked up the sound emitter and the numpad input. Strangely enough, I was still able to manipulate the inputs. When I wired the sound emitter A's input to the numpad's output, I had the ability to activate and deactivate the simple device.
When it activated, both Helga the griffin, and Spyglass the light blue unicorn looked at it with awe. Or maybe just increased awe as they were looking at it astonished that I created matter right in front of their eyes. The numpad itself was tiny, one that looked like a small calculator, while the sound emitter looked like a rusty old soup can missing its label.
My companions looked at it with interest as it played music. They at first gave it strange looks as if it was the weirdest alien since me. But as the song continued, they accepted the can’s capabilities and began to observe the numpad input, as it was currently the most alien object to them. Helga got up and walked toward it and gave it a questioning gaze. Hesitantly, Spyglass did the same, and before she even got close I decided to remove the chips.
The song abruptly stopped and they scanned the ground for where they would have gone before looking back at my smiling face. My grin was unmatched in shiftiness. They both scowled disapprovingly at me. I laughed out loud and stood up in front of them.
“So, let’s go back inside.” I commented pointing at the hospital.
“Ahem. If you don’t mind,” interjected a masculine voice from behind me.
I spun around and caught the stallion that stood behind me. He was a unicorn with a white coat wearing faux dress clothes. His mustache was impressive, and he held measuring tape in his right hoof that was lifted off the ground and tucked in toward his chest. His eyes were slightly closed and held a fancy posture to him.
“I’m here for your measurements sir. The prince sent me, per your agreement with him,” he said simply.
“Oh right.” I awkwardly asked, “Ah well, is there a place you want to do this, or is right here fine?”
“Right here will be fine. Now please hold your…” he paused for a moment to think, “arms out wide.”
I spread my hands out and put away my Toolgun. I then slightly spread my legs so he’d be able to take measurements of my legs without asking. He silently begun his work and summoned a clipboard that he started writing down on each time he took a measurement. I looked at Helga as she came back into view by going around my left while scanning the ground. When she went behind the bench her face lit up and her head went down below the bench. I was curious as to what she was doing until she came back up with a decent sized rock in her left talon.
She gave me a conspiratorial grin as she held up the rock like a trophy. She stared at me, waiting for my approval. I realized she was probably going to throw it, and possibly at the guy taking my measurements. But then she righted herself and used her other arm and talon to make a straight line with her arm. Her clenched fist was pointing directly at me, and her top talon lifted up as if it were an iron sight. I realized almost too late that her claw was held back primed to throw the rock. She whisked her talon with the rock forward as if to throw it.
I instinctively flinched but after a second I noticed I didn’t feel the rock hit me.
“Ahem, Mr. Blake, I need you to be absolutely still while I take these.” Said the stallion in a suit.
“Uh, sorry about that. Just you know, griffin trouble,” I replied looking at Helga who was innocently whistling.
“I’ma get you.” I warned her.
“All right. All done,” he stated with a confident smile.
I sighed in relief and prayed I would never be at my companions' mercy again. Helga already proved to be shifty. I turned back to Spyglass to see that she hadn’t moved and was just smiling while looking away from Helga and I. She probably laughed at Helga’s shenanigans but looked away, to throw me off. I turned back to see the stallion quickly trotting away down the path back through the hospital park doors. Helga returned to Spyglass’s side and looked at me indifferently.
“I can go now right?” she asked irritably.
“Oh, I thought we were having a good time.” I shot back slyly.
“Yeah, it was interesting…” she admitted. “But I don’t want to be in pony territory longer than I have to be.”
“Oh,” I rubbed the back of my head. “Well yeah, you can leave. That was really all I wanted. And all that I hoped for.”
“Wait you’re letting her leave?” Spyglass asked incredulously. “We need to report her to the guard! I don’t care if I walked with her, she’s still trespassing.”
“Spyglass, you are the guard.” I responded. “And I’d really appreciate it if you’d just this once let them get away.” I said numbly.
She looked at me with a studying gaze before frowning. “Fine, but only this once,” she gave in disapprovingly. “But Blake,” she looked at me sadly. “Were you really going to sink Equestria’s cities if I didn’t let her stay?”
“Yeah. And would you really make an entire nation your enemy?” skeptically asked Helga.
I looked between them with a grin. “No and no. Even if a nation was my enemy, I wouldn’t really fight them anyway. And I don’t have the power to sink cities. Maybe... delete buildings one by one, but not sink it. And before I could finish, I’m sure someone would have stopped me. I might as well just raid a coffee shop and run off.” I commented.
I looked back at Helga who gave me an incredulous look and shot off into the air. She was out of view within five seconds. I was slightly amazed at the speed with which she left. It was technically the first time I’ve seen one of the natives fly away.
Spyglass and I finally made it to the hospital park entrance and stopped at the front door. I looked back at the park, recalling what happened. Helga was fresh in my mind as I looked back up at the sky. Meeting new people was something I had a luxury of doing on Earth, but here it’s something I could do for fun. A new world gives you a new peace of mind when you’re accepted in it. It feels so different and strange, that you could easily feel uncomfortable. After you adjust to the strangeness, you begin to appreciate it. There hasn’t been much for me to appreciate until now. I was put in a prison and then a hospital.
But as I look up at the sky I knew I was free to do what I wanted. To have my own goals and have all the fun I want. The only thing that stood in my way was a little responsibility. As I watched the clouds I reminded myself of the things that I’ve done in the past. Specifically the things pertaining to Garry’s Mod. Before this day, I never expected myself to look up at the sky and think of the things I can physically build with my own hands.
“Are you ok?” Spyglass asked.
I looked to my right where Spyglass stood with a concerned face.
“Yeah, I’m just thinking is all,” I responded indifferently, shrugging my shoulders.
Turning back to the door, I grabbed its handle, pulled it open and held it there for Spyglass. She nodded and walked through the door as I watched her pass by.
“Thank you,” she said as I quickly followed in after her.
“You can’t catch me!” yelled a young voice.
I looked to my left as a hospital bed on wheels sped toward me at impressive speeds. On top of the bed was a small unicorn colt with a green hospital gown, who looking back at something obscured by the bed. I was frozen in place only for a moment in shock before I felt something impact my gut and topple me over. As I tried to recover and stand up off the ground, I saw the bed speed by and Spyglass got up off my chest.
“You ok?” she asked with a confident smile.
“Yea, thanks,” I replied, still a little rattled from being knocked over.
“Don’t mention it,” she waved a hoof dismissively while holding a cocky smile.
We both turned to see seven nurses charging into the waiting room and down the hall the bed went. I noticed the nurse at the front desk hop off her stool and rush out to watch the nurses go down the hall with a worried look. As I stepped forward to watch, just to see the bed with the colt and the horde of nurses still running after him. I took off down the hall hoping to catch up to them. I didn’t know why the colt was running off like that, but I wanted to stop him before he reached the end of the hall and hit the wall. At the speed of which the bed was going, it might throw him into the wall.
But as I continued down the long hallway, I realized I wasn’t faster than the ponies, and the bed soon got to the end of the hall. I tried to quickly pull out my physics gun to grab the bed, but it was too late. The bed reached the end of the hallway… and made a sharp turn. I froze slightly as I realized the bed was out of view.
“What the hell?” I thought.
“The colt is running from the nurses. He’s using a bed to go faster than them, and most of the nurses in the hospital are chasing after him… what’s going on?” I questioned in my head. As I stood there thinking, I then became slightly aware of the situation.
“He’s trying to escape!” someone shouted from behind me.
I looked back and saw the nurse from the front desk close behind me; she scrambled in the other direction trying to get back to the front desk, or I assumed, the exit. But she wouldn’t make it in time if the bed was going as fast as I guessed it was. At that moment, I realized she wasn’t scrambling to the front desk, but to the front door. No one was guarding it, because they were all chasing the bed… and farthest from the door.
“That kid is smart,” I thought to myself.
It became apparent to me that a bed ridden colt had the entire hospital after him. Not that I didn’t notice it before, but the fact that everyone was trying to stop him with the most concerned looks on their faces made me realize how dangerous this situation was. I stopped running in front of one of the closed doors of the patients’ rooms and looked to my right. There was a door on the other side of that room that I could look out of and see the opposite hallway. I tried to open the closed door to find it locked, but the window beside it still allowed me to see out the other end.
To my dismay I saw the bed speed by on the other side and my heart dropped. I looked back down the hall where the desk nurse ran off too to see her not yet reach the corner. I didn’t have much time to question her actions as she didn’t cut through the bedrooms to intercept the bed. Suddenly the world seemed to stop… being there. I didn’t move anywhere nor did I change locations, it just felt like I was no longer touching things. Like I was floating in space.
“Am I... nocliping?” I asked myself while looking down at my feet.
They dangled in open air. I found the sensation cool but I remembered the situation and flew down the hall. I was surprised as to how fast I was going, way faster than the running nurses and I quickly passed by the pony who was supposed to be at the front desk. But just as I passed her we both made it to the waiting room. I saw Spyglass standing with a determined look on her face with her horn charged and pointing at the other hallway that the bed will come down.
I relaxed as I watched her, a trained soldier, ready to stop a colt from doing something he might regret. She showed no sign of noticing me fly around the corner, and the nurse that ran in behind me didn’t show any sign of caring either. I found myself being able to touch the ground again, and the transition felt like I was coming out of a fantasy world, and back into the real one. Even though the difference between the one I’m in and a fantasy one was almost congruent. I waited as the beds squeaky wheels came around the corner.
The bed sped into view and I got a better look at my assailant. The little unicorn colt had a dark brown coat and a light brown magical aura around his horn, and a corresponding one on the wheels of the bed. But the whole bed was wrapped in a light blue aura that matched Spyglass’s. It began to slow to a softer stop and the colt looked around in surprise before his eyes rested on Spyglass. His confusion turned into aggression and gave her a scowl before lighting up his horn brighter and firing a blast of magic at Spyglass. She was surprised by it and lost her focus as it hit her horn.
“Ah!” she yelped.
But she only went to nurse her head from the blast. She seemed slightly dazed from the blast and tried to refocus her magic, but the nurse from the desk was able to grab the bed with her hooves. But again the colt’s magic proved to be a forgotten factor in the situation, and he used it again. But instead of firing a blast at the nurse without a horn or wings he used it to start up the wheels, and then open up the door. The bed started up and was ripped out of her grip by the force the colt was able to exert in turning the bed toward the door.
I still had out my physics gun, and pulled the trigger to activate the beam. It hit the back of the bed when it was facing the main entrance. The unicorn tried to make the wheels work with his magic and realized the bed had a very thin light blue aura around it. He got up and looked over the frame of the bed and right at me. But rather than power up his magic, he stopped and stared at me with an open mouth for a second or two. Then, he powered up his magic and fired at me with a panicked look on his face.
I raised my hand to protect my face, and the blast impacted my hand with a good amount of force. But all it did was knock my arm back a little. I put my hand down and gave him an unimpressed look.
“W-what ar-” he was interrupted by a blast of magic coming from Spyglass.
I looked at her in shock and noticed her irritated scowl. I let go of the bed, releasing the physics gun's trigger. I looked back at the colt but the bed frame was obscuring my view so I stepped up to it. I looked over at the colt to see that he was out cold and breathing. I let out my held breath through my nose when I saw he was just unconscious and not injured.
“Hey, you ok?” asked Spyglass.
“Yeah,” I responded.
“Is he gone?!” yelled one of the nurses as they all ran into the waiting room.
I looked over and saw the nurse horde appear swiftly with their distressed expressions, but when they saw the bed motionless they all showed relief in differing ways.
“Oh good gracious, child,” noted one as she approached the bed. “You gave us quite a - oh! He’s been sedated,” she stopped when she noticed him out cold.
“Great work there,” the desk nurse toward Spyglass as she spoke. “We’re really grateful for your help.”
“Oh don’t thank me,” Spyglass said casually as she smiled. “I’m an off duty guard. It’s what I do.”
“Yet you still have our thanks for sedating him,” the nurse added thankfully.
“That was some brilliant work, both of you,” another nurse chimed in, who was still catching her breath.
The group of nurses separated quickly and got back to their daily rituals. Five of them took the bed and the colt back to his room, passing me by with nods of gratitude. Before they rounded the corner and went down the hall to my right I stopped them to ask a question.
“Hey, why was he running?” I asked curiously.
The nurse in the back who was an earth pony looked at me with uncertainty. She then asked, “Why? Are you his guardian?”
“Uh, no ma’am. I’m not, but I’m just curious,” I admitted.
“Well I’m sorry, but I’m not allowed to talk about these things, unless they're with family or guardians,” she replied apologetically and continued down the hall with the bed.
“Oh…” I said weakly.
I heard hoofsteps come up to my side and saw the familiar light blue unicorn in my peripherals. I looked at her and studied her expression. She seemed indifferent about the situation.
“So you ready to get out of here?” she asked with a smile. “There’s a really good restaurant in town where the food is delicious. I’m sure they have a few menu options for you that don’t include hay.”
“Well ok. But what was all that about?” I asked her referring to the colt.
“Huh?” she gave a confused expression. “Well I dunno. It doesn’t happen often. But I’m sure they’ll be more cautious with him now that he’s escaped already. Maybe they’ll put a few unicorn nurses near him to make sure he doesn’t escape.” She assured.
“Well alright. But…” I paused. Waving a hand after a few seconds I continued, “Never mind. Let’s go get some lunch. Even though I just had it.”
“OK! Then it’s settled!” she exclaimed happily and trotted merrily toward the door. “I’m starved.”
I followed after her and we cleared the door side by side. I looked out into the open city road and noticed the many ponies actually looking at me as I left. Spyglass seemed unaffected by the attention and continued to trot merrily with me in tow. We made it across the stone-paved street and walked along the sidewalk. But the farther we went the more eyes fell on me. I was thankful that they weren’t judging eyes or disgusted looks. They were more curious, but the paranoia that filled me due to their stares rested in the back of my mind.
I walked a little closer to Spyglass as we walked, but while I did that I tried to not look back at the ponies that stared. I awkwardly looked at the ground and in front of me while I tried not to meet the gazes. But an unfamiliar noise reached my ears. It sounded like a very loud bird flapping its wings, but I ignored it as I focused on the stares.
“Sir Blake!” called out a gruff voice that came from the flapping above me.
I looked up at the source to see a Pegasus in golden armor swoop down and land in front of me. He swiftly reached into his chest plate and pulled out a letter.
“A message from her highness, Princess Celestia, Sir Blake!” he reported, as if addressing a superior.
“Oh,” I replied awkwardly. I took the message from his hoof and replied, “Thank you.” Turning the message over, I glanced at its seal.
It was a foreign design, as the sun and moon were represented as chasing each other like yin and yang. Only, they were both on the same level as each other, one not higher than the other and each had a trail. I thought about it with a raised eyebrow, but pulled off the seal without a care and opened the letter. The stallion watched me attentively as I took the letter out and unfolded it. I began to read and the farther I went down the page the happier I became.
“Well,” I started cheerfully. I turned to regard the guard again and spoke, “It says you’re going to show me to the castle where I’d get a guest room with a really big bed.”
“Yes sir. Follow me and we’ll reach the castle swiftly,” he turned and started walking down the street.
“Wait.” I called after him and he turned back.
I looked to Spyglass thoughtfully. “Sorry, but I need to see my room. But we can catch up after this.”
“Nah, it’s ok,” she dismissively waved her hoof as she responded. “I’ve got work after lunch anyway. I’ll come find you when I’m off, ok? Now get going, don’t want to keep the princess waiting.”
“Yeah, thanks. I’ll see you later then.” I looked back at the solar guard and asked, “Can we fly there?”
He gave me an insulted, but surprised look as he calmly responded, “I’m not carrying you.”
“Oh no, I can fly too,” I assured him.
“What?” asked Spyglass unconvinced.
“What?” curiously added the guard.
“Well yeah, I just haven’t been doing it because I couldn’t figure out how. This world is a lot different than mine, you know?” I explained, mostly truthfully.
I folded the letter up and tucked it in my rebel armor; and then went into my noclipped state and flew upward without wind resistance. I looked down at the wide-eyed and open-mouthed expressions on the ponies’ expressions. But Spyglass and the guard just gave me curious looks. But the solar guard snapped into action and flew up to hover beside me.
“We can get to the castle faster this way, but I hope you’re going to explain your flight ability to the Princesses when we get there. Otherwise, I’ll do it myself,” he deadpanned.
“No. I’m going to tell them later, but right now I just want to get to the room provided for me. Move in and set up lots of fun stuff.” I commented.
He grumbled lightly in response and flew off toward the castle I could see in the distance. He flew at and upward angle and I climbed with him. When I was high enough, I could see the horizon without any buildings to block my view. I made sure I was flying without my hands forward. I didn’t want to imitate superman and look like a weirdo without wings to the ponies below… even though I didn’t have wings, but the point stands. I however spread my legs and arms slightly to imitate a jet's wings, so I didn’t look as foolish while flying.
You never really think of looking cool when you fly, until you’re finally in the air. That fact had some other ponies flying too made me feel like I’m supposed to conform to some sort of social norm. Although at the casual pace that I’m going I can’t help but feel like a try-hard.
Forgetting the flight's awkwardness, I admired the view and the sight of roads leading out of the city and an un-obscured view of the horizon. Each town I could see from where I was seemed new and ahead of its time. The nearest town seemed to be organized in a circular shape and connected to other towns through roads and what appeared to be railways. But there were railways that led very far out into the horizon to the point I couldn’t see them, so I assumed there was a much larger kingdom beyond this.
My observation of the landscape was interrupted by the stallion in front of me banking. I looked back at him and banked with him, only to realize he was moving out of the way of a large, slow airship. I was surprised to say the least when I saw the zeppelin. I avoided it with him, but decided to get closer really quickly before following in behind him. It took a mental note of the guard's trajectory as I sped toward the zeppelin.
It didn’t take long to get there and touch it. But of course as my theory was tested, I wasn’t able to touch it and my hand went right through it. Satisfied that I completed my personal goal, I flew back quickly to the guards’ side. He was scowling at me and hovering in place.
“What were you doing?” he demanded when I returned to him.
“Oh, I touched the blimp.” I replied innocently.
“…Was that it?” he asked confusedly.
“Yeah, why would it be anything else?” I inquired.
He remained silent for a moment before responding truthfully and authoritatively, “You’re a being of chaos. All my experience with chaotic beings is that they’re either always up to no good, or want to be up to no good.”
“Not this again...” I gave him a deadpanned tone. “Ok. Here’s the thing about chaos and… whatever you believe in. Harmony, right? Well, chaos is like disorganization and harmony is like organization. And when you’re organized you only find what you’re looking for.” I stated making sure I had his attention. “But chaos which is disorganization could make you find something you’re not looking for at that exact moment. It’s how my people advance.”
“That sounds horrible,” he shot back uninterestedly. Rolling his eyes, he continued, “Not knowing what to do half the time.”
“Ok, new example.” I stated, slightly irritated. “Let’s say for example you’re in a library that holds all the knowledge in the universe… wait, hold on. Bad example…”
“We need to get to the castle,” he mumbled irritably.
“Wait, wait! I know! Let’s say you have an office with all the tools you need to create anything you want. As well as there were files on so many different subjects that they were all labeled and organized so you know where everything is. So, you search up how to make a jackhammer or something, and it’s quick and easy.” I stated.
“Uh huh,” he responded, still uninterested.
“Ok, now take chaos. What if all those files were thrown on the floor and you had to pick out which ones would help you, but none of them were labeled. Now, it may take ages to figure out what you need or maybe minutes, but here’s where an aspect of chaos comes in that is helpful. Now picture this. You rummage through files and open each one until you find something you’ve never seen before or didn’t think of. Then you put it down and then find what you’re looking for.”
“I don’t think this is a good example either,” he added.
“Wait, I'm not done.” I said, holding up a hand. “Now you’re building the jackhammer and then realize that what you’ve picked up earlier could shorten the process and save you some working materials. You say ‘meh, ok’ and you start experimenting with that knowledge you picked up from the other file, trying to add it to the jackhammer,” I pause slightly and hold out three fingers. “Now several things can happen, you make a jackhammer that’s slower, but is more powerful and can shorten the work load. One that has a different frequency to spend less energy to break up materials, or it just plain fails and you just make the jackhammer after you’ve failed. But in the end, you have the potential to make something better, faster, or stronger.” I finished excitedly.
“Yeah, it’s a bad example,” he deadpanned. “Now let’s get to the castle,” he added, flying off before I could start up a new explanation.
I gave up and went after him toward the castle. When we reached it, he went into a dive and I followed him. He landed at the front gate softly as I sped to the ground, the unicorn guards looked at me with readiness as I was about to put myself in danger in their perspective. But I stopped instantly as I neared the ground and ended noclip. Gravity took over and I fell to the ground without trouble.
“Sup guys?” I commented.
They already stopped caring about my safety the moment I stopped falling. But the two guards at the gate seemed slightly irked by my ability to fly. They looked at me curiously before the guard that escorted me spoke to them.
“I’m escorting this guest of honor to his room in the castle,” he stated.
They nodded and opened the gate with their horns, allowing us in. He chose to walk and I followed him in. The courtyard that we walked into looked more like a park than a courtyard, the fountain in the center was simple, but made of marble. A gravel path led up to the large double doors while going around the fountain in the center of the courtyard. I admired it as I went past it, but I rushed to keep up with the guard's fast pace.
We got to the front gates where two more unicorn guards waited. They had the same white coats as the ones in front. But they were definitely different. They opened the doors to the castle without question. When they opened however, there was a familiar smiling creature waiting on the other side. This creature had the very same distinctness of a stained glass window.
“Hello Blakey, didja miss me?” asked the cheerful being.
“Discord!?” stated the guard who escorted me to the castle. He suspiciously asked, “What are you doing here?”
“Oh just to say hi to my chaos buddy,” Discord replied nonchalantly. Turning the tables, he asked just as suspiciously, "What are you doing here?” He said pointing toward the stallion guard that was escorting me.
“I’m escorting Sir Blake to the room the princesses gave him as an honored guest,” he responded not giving second thought to giving away his mission.
“And pray tell, do you know which guest room that is?” Discord inquired wryly.
The guard opened his mouth to respond, but nothing game out. He closed his mouth and frowned crossly. Then he looked to me seriously as he asked, “May I have the letter?”
“Sure,” I replied, pulling it out of my shirt.
I gave it to him and he unfolded it to read its contents. He quickly scanned the letter three times and groaned before he folded it back up and placed it neatly in the open letter. “No.” He said dully.
He handed it back to me and I returned it to its pocket.
“Then how about this,” Discord started smiling maliciously. “You leave Blake with me, and I’ll tell Celestia you were a very good host.”
I stepped forward to go through the door and encountered no resistance. The guard followed me in while Discord flew up closer to the ceiling to let us pass without trouble. But he wasn’t that big to begin with, so it didn’t matter. The doors then closed behind us, leaving us alone with Discord.
“It’s my duty to escort an honored guest when commanded to. So, I must decline that offer, but you may accompany us,” the guard replied to Discord.
Discord went to argue another point but I stopped him by speaking over him. “Well hold on a sec,” I said to the guard. “If an honored guest wishes to be alone, or have a private conversation, can he ask you to leave?”
He looked at me with a flabbergasted expression. “Well, yes but-”
“Then!” I exclaimed loudly to interrupt him. “I’d like for Discord to escort me instead. You don’t need to stay by my side, if you’re not needed. You don’t know where to go, Discord does, and I’m not a threat to umm… whatever this country is again.” I finished awkwardly.
“Equestria.” Discord corrected me with a smirk.
“Oh right, Equestria.” I continued in a reassured tone, “So, I’m not really a threat to Equestria or Canterlot, so you don’t really need to keep an eye on me. Besides I’m probably going to roam a bit on my way, just to explore the castle. I don’t want to waste your time while I use mine, right?”
“Are you sure you want to be alone with Discord?” asked the guard.
“Don’t worry. I’ll keep both of us out of trouble. I promise,” I replied sincerely. “Besides, I don’t have anything to gain by getting into trouble. What’s the fun in having fun, when no one likes it when you have fun?”
I paused when I rethought my previous sentence.
“You said fun a lot,” Discord observed.
“Pfpfpf yeah I did,” I responded coolly.
The solar guard looked at me suspiciously before nodding his head, “Fine. I may not enjoy the idea of you being alone with... him…” He gave Discord a dirty look before he continued, “But I don’t have any evidence to present when asked why I’m not doing what you asked of me.” He looked to the ground. “Well, have a good day,” he added dully and trotted down the hall.
I took this moment to admire the well-lit marble hallway. A red carpet that stretched the entire length of the long hallway only just started five feet in front of me, and I could see that it was dead center of the hall. There were also pairs of plants next to the windows that dotted the ceiling. Discord and I watched him go around the corner. When Discord and I were alone, we looked back at each other. He looked at me with a grin, and I looked at him with a questioning gaze.
“Did you do something to the letter?” I asked him curiously.
“Guilty!” he replied joyously.
“Well that’s just rude!” I scolded him insincerely. After a second I joked, “What if the Princess left kisses?”
“Bahahahahha! Oh no, don’t worry, she left those for me.” he chuckled lightheartedly. “Oh, but now that we’re alone, how about I tell you why I wanted to talk to you?” he asked tactfully.
“Well sure. But let’s talk while we go to that 'honored guest' room.” I added.
“Well I could just teleport us there.” He inquired.
“You could, but then I won’t know where to go.” I countered.
He folded his arms and frowned childishly. “Fine.”
He lowered himself to the ground and hovered in front of me. He held out his arms as if to allow me through a door and put on a butler outfit that popped into existence.
“Right this way,” stated Discord, his voice taking on an obviously fake posh accent.
“Thank you,” I replied walking forward.
Discord hovered on ahead in reverse so he was facing me.
“So anyway, ol’ sweet Celestia asked me not to see you while you were in the hospital. Not like I wanted to anyway,” he waved an arm dismissively. “Too depressing and stuff.”
I smiled, “Aww, admit it Discord, you wanted to leave me liquorice Roses.” I then gasped dramatically as I joked, “Unless you’re afraid of needles! Hey man, it's ok. I cry like a baby when I get my shots too.”
“Ha ha. But now I’m serious,” he said losing his cheer. “What happened in that room isn’t as important as what happened to Equestria. Everyone is afraid of what you could be, dragons included. I think we need to either show Equestria that you’re too powerful to touch, or too weak to bother with.”
“Uh yeah, that’s a problem for tomorrow. Not today,” I replied dismissively. “But I like the too powerful option. That one seems easiest because I’ve already shown a lot of ability. Also, I kinda flew here so everyone’s going to assume I’m awesome or… something.” I stopped my rambling when I saw Discord’s uncharacteristic scowl.
“You flew? You can fly?” he raised an eyebrow. He narrowed his eyes, “How?”
“I dunno, just do. I use it to build big things. But I don’t have the ability to build yet. At least, I don’t think so,” I replied honestly.
“Oh man it’s scary when he’s serious,” I thought to myself.
“Uh huh. Well all right, I’ll let this slide now, but remember more ponies than Celestia or Luna are counting on you,” he warned me, not lifting his serious gaze.
His demeanor changed to his usual laid back style, and then floated horizontally while looking up at the ceiling casually. His body was at my eye level as he just casually led me to my room. As we walked we both reflected on what we just said to each other, but it didn’t last too long.
“You know, I don’t blame you for this,” he commented, shooting me a somewhat sympathetic look. “I can’t imagine being a pawn in someone else’s plan.”
“Wow, I forgot all about why I was here. To discover more about myself, right? But what?” I thought to myself.
“Yeah. Don’t pity me, just do what you do, ok? Besides, I’d like to see what your idea of fun is.” I commented trying to recapture Discord’s favor.
It wasn’t that I was afraid of him; I was more worried about not being on everyone’s side. Even though I found comfort in being around some ponies, I still was in a new world where the everyone else's opinion was going to determine my future here. Whether or not I’ll be an outcast to everyone or accepted has yet to be determined. It doesn’t help that the pressure of being the potential cause for a war looming over your shoulders…
I’m starting to think I have issues if this didn’t break my sanity earlier.
Discord and I floated down the hallway, toward the guest room. I decided that showing him how I flew would defuse the seriousness from earlier. It didn’t really work the way I thought it would, and he gave me an awed look and then circled me as he tried to piece together how I did it. The hallway we went down was still the hallway with windows on the ceilings to provide daylight, and a red carpet that seemed to never end, even when it branched off down different paths.
“So what do you find so interesting about me floating?” I asked Discord.
He floated in front of me and stopped. “Well it’s simple,” he held up his index talon. “You don’t have wings, and you’re using harmonic magic to lift yourself up, even though you are a chaotic being,” he said with a sense of giddiness in him.
“Wait tell me how making myself fly is harmony?” I asked, genuinely confused.
He gave me a confused look, “You really don’t know?”
“Nope,” I responded simply, avoiding his befuddled look.
He smiled joyously and conjured a monocle and top hat appear from thin air. He then somehow ended up in a very fancy suit.
“Well all right,” he cleared his throat. “Harmony is what creates the laws of this world. I, as a chaotic being, can break those laws, but harmony is able to abuse gravity and create planet like structures like the giant balls of hedge and dirt that Celestia calls a labyrinth,” he explained, rolling his eyes. “But chaos cancels out gravity, allowing things to float freely, and at times give it force to move without an equal or opposite something sciencey… you’re still following me, right?” he asked while straightening himself out in the air so he was vertical.
“Oh right, yes,” I replied. “We have something that’s called Newton's Laws. Equal and opposite reaction stuff is the basics. Don’t worry, I can follow you,” I confirmed to him, smiling lightly.
“Ah good. So chaos creates momentum without anything giving off that momentum to begin with. But what you’re doing is making it so you’re the center of your own gravity, and you’re able to pull your center of gravity upward away from the ground while neutralizing the gravity that exists already with the world, then you’re using chaotic magic to give yourself momentum, while harmonic magic keeps you in the air,” he noted, examining me studiously.
“Huh, well I really don’t know all that much about magic. I just do things you know?” I replied simply.
He looked at me strangely. “Yeah I’ve been thinking about that,” he removed his outfit and became the same kaleidoscope of animal parts I remembered him as. “How do you not know about what makes you do these things? You’re more powerful than me,” he then scrunched his face. “Something I’d rather not admit...” he mumbled loud enough for me to hear. “And you don’t even know the basics. I even heard you thought magic was kinda cool when you first encountered it. Like it’s something you’ve never seen before, yet here you are using it better than either of the Princesses or myself,” he finished with his lion paw under his chin while looking at me knowingly. “Tell me, when did you get these powers?” he asked dully.
I could tell he saw right through my ruse I tried to give to everyone else. I thought I could get away with making people believe I was always like this, but Discord proved to be much smarter than anyone here, or at least more observant. “Well,” I started rubbing the back of my head. A guilty look fixed itself on my face as I admitted, “Uh… Ok most of what I’ve been telling you guys was a lie.”
He smiled knowingly, “Mhmm.” He nodded his head before smiling and turning around, “When we get to the room I’d like to hear more about the truth.”
He then flew off down the hall and made me catch up. I raced after him, trying to take mental notes of the hall surrounding us, and when I finally caught up to him he had a smug look on his face. He then stopped suddenly and placed his feet on the ground so quickly that I went another three yards before I realized what happened. I spun around with a disoriented and confused look and spied him as he leaned on a set of double doors casually. I flew over and dropped out of noclip, which sent me to the ground.
“Going somewhere?” he asked smugly.
“Well yeah…” I smiled back. “I saw a thing, like… over there.” I pointed down the hall with an awkward smile.
“Of course. Silly me,” he replied, pushing open the door and holding it open for me to go through.
I walked through accordingly and stopped when I got a foot through the door. I scanned the room with no small amount of awe as I gazed upon the guest room. It had a large, body-sized mirror to my left with a dressing curtain to dress on the other side of. While in the center of the room was a queen-sized bed that could easily fit my whole body. To my right there was a wooden dresser and a wardrobe up against the wall with a small coffee table with a set up chess game.
I was momentarily distracted by a flash of light in the center of the room. A moment later Discord appeared where the light appeared from and gave me a smug look.
“You stood there for so long I had half a mind to call for help,” he commented slyly.
“Well yeah.” I responded dully as I gestured to the grandiosity of the room.
The ceiling was dome shaped, but it was all made of glass so I could see the midday sun from where I was. There were red banners hanging down from the walls that showed the idolization of the sun. I immediately reflected back on Celestia’s cutie mark, and then noticed the similarities to the sun banners and the mark itself. I began walking forward toward Discord as he lazily floated in the air while using his wings. But I stopped when I got to the foot of the bed and looked at the red sheets. They were blank as far as any pattern was concerned, and they seemed almost insignificant.
“Ahem,” came a feminine voice from behind me.
I turned around to gaze upon Princess Celestia with her warm smile directed at me.
“Oh hi,” I greeted her with a smile.
“Hello Blake,” she looked above me. “Discord,” she nodded once to him, then turned back to me. “I’m glad you’ve found your way to your guest room without trouble. I hope we can talk a little more before the guests arrive tomorrow. Although I’ve heard that the griffin ambassador made it his priority to get here as soon as possible, so he’ll be here within the hour. Along with an elder dragon to meet you,” She said nonchalantly.
“Wait, what?” I regarded the information questionably. Still confused, I asked for confirmation, “You mean a dragon wants to meet me?”
“Well yes,” she said with a reassuring smile. “An elder dragon at that. Elder dragons have lived longer than my sister or I have, and usually they’re much friendlier than other dragons,” she explained happily.
“Friendlier? I thought dragons were ferocious? Well, at least the ones I’ve heard in legend, but what makes this one friendly?” I asked.
She regarded me with a raised eyebrow and an indifferent expression before laughing it off and explaining, “Well Blake, elder dragons have been ferocious at times, and over many years they've learned that refraining from violence usually affords them more respect and makes them look wiser. Oh don’t tell anyone that, it’s my secret between the elder dragons and I.” She laughed like a gossiping teenager, “Luna’s in on it too, as well as Discord.” She looked up at Discord as he waved innocently while lying upside down on one of the sun banners. “So, in return, it gives them more respect as leaders, and they’re usually looked at as the ones who are always right when it comes to traditions and such.”
Celestia walked through the door and entered the room. She then closed the double-doors behind her and stood in the middle of the room, and summoned a chair from the coffee table with the chess game on it. She placed the chair down behind her and sat on it. The whole ordeal was strange as I’ve actually never seen magic used in a situation for the users’ luxury until now.
I regarded her strangely, “…I see where that can be important.” I nodded ignoring my thoughts for the moment, “So what can I expect from them both?”
“The griffin ambassador will try to get a good guess of your character. Probably to see if you’re even a threat at all. So I’d say you try to be tame and as reasonable as possible around him. So he’d find you negotiable,” she supplied indifferently.
“Wait what about-” was all I could say before I was interrupted.
“I thought you didn’t want to think about it until tomorrow?” inquired Discord.
I looked at him and he had a mock-hurt expression. Pathetically, he stated, “I feel like I’ve been cast aside.”
“Yeah… when you get serious, it’s awkward because it doesn't seem to fit you. But when the Princess gets serious it’s kinda… normal.” I responded.
“Oh…” he bowed his head… he was still upside down lying on the banner like it was the ground.
The imagery was very comical, but the situation made his musings less appreciated. Well at least to the princess. I on the other hand, gave him a smile as a response. Princess Celestia seemed to not share my enthusiasm; when I looked back at her, her warm smile was a soft frown directed at Discord. It made the conversation infinitely more awkward than necessary. I looked away for a moment to distract myself before looking back and noticing her new blank expression.
She gave me a reassuring smile before seemingly recollecting something. “Oh! Blake, I’ve been meaning to tell you something,” she said in her cheerful manner. “The ambassadors felt uncomfortable being in Canterlot without proper protection, so each one will have a security detail, except the dragon for obvious reasons,” she smiled musingly. “But then they still weren’t sure about their safety around you, as you could be as strong as Discord himself,” she added, looking back up at Discord.
“Who? Mwah?” Discord gasped with mock disbelief as he gestured to himself. Pompously, he answered his own question a few seconds later, “Preposterous.”
“Yes,” Celestia replied, clearly trying to ignore him. “So, they’ve each asked for the Elements of Harmony to be present, to contain you if you were to attempt to harm them,” she stopped as if she were waiting for my question.
My curiosity kept me from noticing it until after I asked my question. “What are those?” I asked.
“The Ele-” Celestia launched into her explanation before being interrupted by Discord.
“The Elements are here?” he asked, legitimate disbelief in his voice this time. “Oh joyous news! I can see my good friend Fluttershy-I mean I don’t miss her,” he dismissively stated.
This time Celestia actually giggled merrily at Discord's odd behavior. But the joke leaped over my head and ran off into the sunset with all the potential good-hearted comedy that could have come with it, because I didn’t get it. The Princess then redirected her eyes back to me and noticed my confused face and cleared her throat awkwardly.
“Right. The Elements of Harmony are the most powerful ancient magical items known to the world. As their name suggests, it’s mainly using Harmonic energy as a power source, you and Discord are both chaotic beings and can be harmed by them.” My heart sank, but she seemed to almost sense that even though she obliviously continued. “They were used previously to imprison Discord when we had no way of controlling his chaotic outbursts. That is until recently, when we finally were able to use the magic of friendship to convince him to have more self-control.”
“Magic of Friendship?” I thought ridiculously, nervousness starting to creep up on me. “But if what she says is true, then I could be in trouble if she uses those.”
“But the elements are six different artifacts, and separate. So, there is usually chosen wielders of its power. At one point, my sister and I were chosen to wield them. But these days, six mares were chosen to use them because of their characteristics,” she stopped and seemed to have an almost proud glow about her smile. “One of my personal students is an Element of Harmony. She’s destined to do great things,” she said out loud, but seemed to be more speaking to herself.
“That’s really interesting.” I replied truthfully. "Why tell me this?" I asked suspiciously.
Celestia smiled smugly. "So you know not to misbehave."
I gulped nervously. “So, can I meet them?” I said nonchalantly.
She looked up at me with a warm and confident smile. Proudly she continued, “Yes, yes you can. Actually, they should be getting ready for tomorrow since they’re going to be present during our talks with the other ambassadors. Rarity, the element of Generosity, happens to be a fashion designer, and has been making dresses for herself and her friends.”
“That’s, actually really something.” I replied, trying to sound impressed.
I didn’t really care much about fashion, but I might as well be polite about someone’s artistic abilities. I was about to ask if they were too busy for a meeting, before a flash of light to my right caught me off guard. Discord appeared beside Celestia sitting in his own chair and with a relaxed expression on his face. He then snapped his fingers and I witnessed a miracle where a table and chair appeared in front of him and the Princess. He then motioned me to approach and sit down by giving me a “Come here” gesture with his finger.
“Discord, please don’t go overboard with chaos magic.” Asked Celestia with a concerned expression.
“Oh don’t worry Celestia, I won’t go rouge,” he said knowingly, a second later turning the same color. Looking down slightly, he continued, "Oh! It seems I have!" He cackled for a few seconds before returning to normal.
During Discord's antics, I just looked on confusedly as Celestia glared at Discord. Taking note of her glare, he added, "But seriously Celestia, I won't go rogue."
"Good," Celestia replied, turning back to regard me.
I apprehensively stepped forward and around the wooden chair and sat down in it. It was identical to the chair Celestia moved over from the chess table. I didn’t question where it came from because I have the ability to make logic gates appear from the ether like no one’s business.
Princess Celestia gave Discord a wary look before brightening up with a smile as a thought seemed to cross her mind. “Discord, I’m about to bring us to them. But, you know how I can’t teleport you because of you’re a chaos being? Could you go to the girls and warn them preemptively of Blake’s arrival?” she asked.
“Why of course!” he replied politely and snapped his fingers.
He winked out of existence and Celestia looked back at me. She warmly suggested, “We should stand so it’s easier for me to move us. I can’t teleport you as easily as a pony, so it would be easier if I don’t have to move you from a sitting position to a standing one.”
“Oh, I understand.” I lied, but said so politely.
We both stood up and faced each other, then the Princess lit up her horn with a brilliant golden glow.
“Oh wait, before we go,” I spoke suddenly, breaking her concentration; she looked at me with interest. Continuing truthfully I stated, “I can fly.”
“What?” she said with a raised eyebrow.
“Yeah, I figured out how to fly. It’s an old ability that I couldn’t do earlier, but when I fly I can go through walls, so I never really tried to do it while I was in the prison or the hospital room. It was more because I didn’t know how to do it here, but I also didn’t want to break your trust by moving around freely you know? Sorry for not bringing it up earlier.” I said apologetically.
She gave me a bewildered gaze before smiling warmly. “I’m thankful that you were so respectful to tell me about this in person.”
Her horn lit up again and within a few moments the world quickly faded to white, and then back again. We were in a new location. We were out in the hallway with a red rug that still seemed to span the entire castle. I looked around to see stained glass windows that let in light rather than ceiling windows. The entire hallway seemed to also have a more modern décor, because there were busts of pony figures on either side of the hallways, evenly spaced apart.
But the real commotion was behind me. I turned around to see two double-doors facing me, each with a logo of the sun and moon chasing each other. It was the same one I observed earlier, but this one was on a brown wooden door. On the other side of the door however, was a bit of commotion. I could hear the voices of women bickering or arguing and… then some laughing. But then I heard Discord's voice and I realized that on the other side of this door were the Elements of Harmony that Princess Celestia just finished telling me about.
I could hear Discord trying to get their attention and their voices starting to quiet down.
“Shall we?” asked Celestia as she lite up her horn.
“Wait.” I stated, putting my ear up to the door with interest. “I want to listen to what’s going to happen.”
As the voices quieted down to let Discord speak, Princess Celestia chuckled merrily and put her ear up to the door to listen with me. As we listened we realized Discord was starting to tell them a story.
“-in his world, it’s normal to eat things that are still alive. Such as cows and ponies. Oh and he has big claws and sharp teeth and stands on two fee-” my concentration on Discord's voice was broken when Celestia huffed and backed up.
“Discord... you fool,” she scowled seriously and lit up her horn again.
I lifted my hand and flattened my palm to say stop, and then I put my other hand’s index finger to my lips and said shushed Celestia with a smile. She looked at me curiously before deciding to trust me and continued listening in.
“-He is around the height of Luna and shorter than Celestia, and he has eeeeeeeviiiiiilll powers that can force ponies to do his bidding!” he exclaimed, as if telling a ghost story. “And when he finds prey, he gives them a choice… play a game, or get eaten. And when you lose.” he stated maliciously and let the statement hang.
I could hear what I assumed was shivering on the other side of the door and I laughed quietly. I could hear Discord beginning to continue from the cliffhanger of his made up story and I got a wondrous idea. I backed up and motioned for Celestia to move out of the way. She didn’t seem to understand what I was going to do but she moved to the left out of the way of the door anyway. She regarded me with a raised eyebrow before I charged at the door.
“He-” I heard Discord continue before I slammed through the door.
*BOOM*
“WHO WANTS TO PLAY A GAME!” I shouted angrily.
“AAAAAAAAAAAH!” came the chorus of voices.
But before I could laugh at the unintentional prank, I as slammed into by something solid. I was knocked back and the air was knocked out of me as I slammed onto the opposite wall of the hallway. I grunted in pain and something in me broke…
Like bone broke…
“Minor fracture detected, morphine administered.” came a synthetic female voice from nowhere.
I realized it was the HEV suit that Gordon Freeman gets in Half-Life, and I didn’t realize it was active right now. The HEV suit is a default feature for players in Garry’s Mod; however it doesn’t speak, EVER. But my mind went right back to what hit me. I looked down to see a purple residue on my stomach before it slowly disappeared. I was sitting on the ground with my legs spread and my back up against the wall. I could see at the bottom left of my view, a HUD with my health being displayed.
25%
“Damn I could have died.” I thought morbidly.
I drowsily looked up at the shocked faces of literally everyone present, and the almost horrified look of the purple unicorn between all the other ponies. In my drowsy state, my vision began to blur, and then I suddenly seemed to do something I normally wouldn’t be able to consciously do without knowing about it… opening my spawn menu. I instinctively went to entities, and clicked on Half-Life 2 entities, then selected the large health kit and dropped it between my legs. It instantly disappeared and my health went up to 50%, then up to 75%, and then reached 100% when I spawned them again.
My vision was no longer blurry and I was able to focus on Princess Celestia, who was hesitantly stepping toward me. I looked up and smiled at her while giving her a thumbs up to show I was ok. Discord and the Princess both breathed a sigh of relief and I nocliped up and forward so I’d be floating just above the ground where I previously was before the mysterious energy almost killed me. I stopped nocliping and fell to the ground on my feet. Princess Celestia stepped into view to my left and went around me.
“Are you ok, Blake?” Princess Celestia asked with a worried expression. “Do I need to bring you to the hospital?”
“What?” I said. “Oh no no, I’m fine, that hurt but it didn’t kill me, so I’m ok. Besides, I’m not going to the hospital again, after I just left. I mean I like the nurses, but I don’t like them so much that I’d take every opportunity to get hurt to go back,” I added on a lighter note and giving her a smile. “So these are the Elements of Harmony?” I asked looking between the six drop jawed ponies.
Their expressions never changed until now where they began to snap out of their states of shock. The purple one however still had her horn activated, and it was the same glow as whatever hit me so I assumed she did that. I decided to try to get on her good side as she almost killed me. Her horn died down slowly and she tried to sink away. The one on the far left was pink and her mane like cotton candy, the one next to her was tan and had light pink hair, next to her was the purple one, and then a white unicorn with purple hair, then a cowgirl pony that I lingered on as she was wearing an AWESOME cowboy hat. Then the rainbow pony…
“Oh uh…” The white unicorn started awkwardly. “Yes, we are. It's uh... a pleasure?” she asked with a nervous smile.
“Yeah…” I said awkwardly looking away.
“How does one start a conversation after almost getting killed?” I thought.
“Well on a lighter note, you’re alive!” Discord exclaimed in a loud cheering manner.
“Yeah I am. But now it’s awkward,” I admitted.
“Uh yeah, it is,” agreed the rainbow-haired pony on the far right.
I looked at her while she was looking away awkwardly, then she looked back and our eyes met. At the time I wasn’t smiling and just regarding her with interest. She looked quickly to the right at nothing and then back to me with a blank expression. Everyone else in the room was waiting for an exchange.
“What?” she finally asked.
I smiled at her and happily responded, “You have awesome hair.”
“Uh thanks?” she stated while giving me an awkward gaze.
“Ugh you guys are just killing the mood now,” I groused morbidly. Regarding the six I asked, “I mean, I’m alive right?”
I then looked to the purple unicorn in the center of her friends as she seemed to look down guiltily. One by one her friends took notice and tried to hide her with their bodies. I took that as a sign that I can secure their trust if I played it right.
“Hey, purple one.” I pointed to the unicorn her friends were protecting. I smiled as I said, “Come here.”
Her friends shifted uncomfortably as they looked at me with worry. Discord floated down into my view behind the group of six and gave me a shake of the head as he mouthed, “No.”
“Why?” shouted the rainbow one defensively. “Why her! Huh?!” she continued, floating up in front of me with an aggravated look in her eye.
“Ok, not going according to plan.” I thought.
“Well…” I paused. “I’d like to hear an apology.”
The rainbow one regarded me strangely but nodded and flew to my right while giving me a skeptical gaze.
“Sorry,” meekly replied the purple one, from behind her friends.
“Nope, come here. Tell me you’re sorry face to face. It’s only fair you know?” I reasoned.
She hesitantly stepped out in front of her friends. Princess Celestia moved back while facing me, her horn ready to cast a spell at a moment’s notice. The purple unicorn slowly made her way to in front of me and looked up at my face when she was two feet from me. She opened her mouth to talk but I stopped her by holding up my finger.
“Wait,” I stated with a smile. I then knelt down on my knee so I’d be closer to her eye level. “I don’t want an apology. I’ve already decided to forgive you,” I added to her with a smile.
“W-what?” she said confused.
“HUH?!” shouted the chorus of ponies behind her.
“B-but why? I hurt you! Seriously hurt you!” she exclaimed, starting to panic.
“Do I look hurt to you?” I replied and let her examine me.
She gave me a once over, “No, you’re fine… but how?”
“When you hit me with that, you made me unlock an ability that I’ve been trying to get to work since I got here,” I replied simply. “I was able to open my spawn menu. Which allows me to create any object I choose as long as I know how to create it,” I added, smiling happily.
“What?” she asked confusedly.
“Yes,” I looked to her left and concentrated slightly.
She followed my gaze and looked where I was looking for a few moments. I opened up my spawn menu and went to my props menu. I then spawned a melon and exited the menu to see a melon appear in front of us.
“Whoa…” she stated, awestruck.
“So what’s your name?” I asked her.
She looked back at me with bewilderment and stuttered her response, “W-well I-I’m uh I’m Twilight Sparkle. Um hi.”
“Wait, Twilight Sparkle?” I asked quizzically. Turning to regard Princess Celestia I asked, “Hey Princess. Isn’t she your student?”
“Hmm? Oh yes, Twilight is my own personal protégé. She’s been the most capable student I’ve ever had, and I’m proud to have her as my student,” she proudly answered my question.
“Pretty high regard there, Princess.” I commented. “Even if she did attack a being from another world. But then again… that hurt.” I rubbed my stomach lightly. “She almost killed me, actually.”
“What?” Twilight looked horrified. “How? You look just fine! Oh I’m sorry I’m sorry I’m-”
“Whoa, calm down!” I exclaimed, interrupting Twilight. “Besides, death really isn’t permanent for me. If I die, I respawn. Although I might not respawn here, I might end up back home, but regardless, I can’t actually die the way you do. Or at least... I don’t think I can.” I added, thinking to the idea that I might have one life. “Actually, I’m not sure what’ll happen.” I deflated slightly, losing the cheer and replacing it with me deep in thought.
“Um… you’re not helping.” Twilight replied guiltily.
“Yeah, well I don’t really all that have much information to work with right now.” I shot back truthfully.
“So what’s your name?” she asked with a forced smile.
“Blake.” I responded. “Oh wait, gotta…get rid…” I stated, staring at the melon.
I found the utilities tab and went down to undo. I then removed the only prop I had spawned, which was the prop. It was an upgrade from removing things with the remover tool or using the Toolgun itself to undo things.
“How do you do that?” asked Twilight.
“Huh? Well I just spawn it, and remove it.” I responded.
“Yes, but how do you summon the magic to create objects from thin air?” she asked with interest.
“Uh… honestly, I don’t know,” I replied.
She gave me an unimpressed look. “How do you not know? You can’t cast a spell without knowing how to do it. Even using magic requires concentration and a set of mental steps before you can begin casting,” she explained, her irritation growing.
I began to see my ignorance of magic as a way to remove the awkwardness of the situation of almost dying… ok well, that didn’t sound like I need to go to the mental ward.
“Yeah, but I don’t know if I’m using magic or not because I’m using… wait no I didn’t use the Toolgun...” I stated confusedly.
“The Toolgun?” she repeated.
I looked at her with an indifferent gaze and then cursed myself for putting myself in a position where I’d have to explain stuff.
“Ugh, ok, see this?” I asked taking out my Toolgun for her to see. “This is what I use to make things appear and create machines with. It basically welds props together or wires up gates to give them different properties,” I explained.
“Wait what do you mean by props and gates?” She asked.
“Props?” inquired the white unicorn behind her.
We all drew our eyes to her. She had an expression of contemplation and was rubbing her chin with her right hoof.
She looked at me with a curious expression. “Props are used on sets, to create an atmosphere that fit the theme. Are you saying you’re like a stage designer, and that you use your Toolgun to set up lights and electrical equipment?” she asked.
I practically was taken aback by how accurate that statement was. Wire allows me to set up things like lights or thrusters to make my creations made up of objects that are purely for visual effect move the ways they’re intended. Such as making a plane, I’d have props to make the shape of the plane and then I’d have thrusters make it move.
“Uh, well actually, you’re right for the most part.” I responded with amazement apparent in my voice. “I create objects that are only there to make the devices function correctly, or even just to make look good. Then the wiring lights and stuff is like how I set up the equipment to make it move or even turn on lights, as you said. But I’m not a stage designer. I’m more of a…” I paused and pondered the comparison for a moment. “Machine designer?” I finished questionably.
“Wait, can you show me what you can do?” asked the purple unicorn excitedly.
“Uh, yeah I can. I can make a series of flashing lights tha-” I was interrupted abruptly.
“Can you make something fly?” she asked with a wondrous smile on her face.
I looked at her, somewhat miffed that she interrupted me, but then I registered her question and I gave her a bright smile. Princess Celestia gave me a skeptical gaze, while the remaining company began to seemingly come out of their shells and gave me a more comfortable gaze.
I was introduced to my new companions as they escorted me down the long hallway. I made idle chit chat with Twilight Sparkle. The hallway was much like the one I walked down earlier. The white walls were lined with stained glass windows featuring various unrecognizable images. Discord watched me with interest while hovering above Twilight and myself as I began speaking about the world of Garry’s Mod. Princess Celestia took up the front of the pack and led us somewhere suitable for building a plane until the meeting with all the ambassadors. The five mares followed behind us quietly listening in to my conversation with Twilight. But I was busy with Twilight’s constant questions about my origins and what my magic can do.
“So how does your Tool channel magic? Is it like a staff?” She asked with a quizzical expression.
“I don’t know,” I admitted. “I never really looked into it; I was more just focused on the effect.” I said dismissively.
She looked at the Toolgun’s main body as it was held in my right hand exposed for her to see it. “Are those special runes that channel magic?” She gestured toward the battery attached to the Toolgun and the Copper wire spindle that replaced the cylinder. “Oh those channel something actually. I’m not sure if it’s the magic you’re used to.” I said unsurely. Our conversation started about my origins, and constantly bombarding me about how the people in “my world” even though most of the context was a fabrication.
She looked up at me with a quizzical expression that permutated into a smile of pure childlike curiosity. “So…” She said with a hint of glee seeping through her tone. “What’s it like in a society that builds things for a living?” Her excited grin made me smile outwardly.
I jokingly responded. “Wasn’t I answering that question?” I asked with a smile.
She frowned slightly, which disintegrated my mirth, and rolled her eyes. “Well yes of course,” Then her smile returned, which also brought back my mirth. “But you never told me about how the government runs itself. Or what recreation your people participate in?” She asked with her smile.
“Well… honestly it’s kinda boring at times, but when you make something interesting then it becomes fun again.” I answered, trying to relate as much as I can with my building days in Garry’s Mod with a culture that I was making up on the spot. “As for the government. It’s dependent on your region. There aren’t any travel laws and most of the time the regions are small, some have laws, others don’t. And some have very harsh laws that almost seem unfair.” I answered as truthfully as possible regarding Garry’s Mod.
Twilight raised her eyebrow. “Wait, can you go into more detail about recreation?” She asked quizzically. I was momentarily confused as to why she found that more interesting than the structure of the government, and more than a little suspicious, but I indulged her.
“Well,” I started, and then stopped to think more about it. “We tend to build large contraptions or even just small ones that either just prove our capabilities or test them. And at times someone builds something so amazing that it grabs everyone’s attention and they’re admired for some time until the creation becomes well known.” I looked back at Twilight who had an unsure look on her face. “Umm yeah it’s hard to describe.” I said bashfully.
“Oh I get it!” Said a refined voice behind us. We all (including the Princess) turned to look at a white unicorn with a purple mane. “It’s like a fashion show!” She announced. “The most impressive creation usually is admired the most correct?” She asked with a sparkle in her eye.
I smiled when I recognized it as pride. “Well yes actually. And usually the most artistic person is really good at making things look impressive. But usually function wins out on fashion, but it doesn’t stop fashionable creations to be powerful.” I stated trying my best to describe some of the greatest things I’ve seen in Garry’s Mod history.
She suddenly seemed puzzled. “I’m not sure I follow anymore, if aesthetics make such a difference then how can something that looks pleasing inferior?” She asked.
I paused for a moment to consider it. “Think of it like this.” I started confident in my explanation. “Let’s say you have a regular old building made of brick. No windows or anything other than a brick building. Someone puts a door on it and says they’re done. Well another person builds a bigger building with doors, windows and a garden out on the front lawn, well that building is obviously better looking right?” I asked and everyone nodded their head.
“Well everyone’s looking at the building that obviously looks better and someone suggests to see which one would survive an attack. This is normal to stress test devices.” I added. “So someone takes a cannon and shoots into one of the windows of the better looking building and it crumbles because it hits the support beam.” I suggested taking careful consideration to the wording I used. “They take the same cannon and fire it at the building made of entire brick, and only leaves a hole in the side but it stays up. So, if ever you’re in danger you’d run to the brick house, but if you want to live on a plot of land then you’d choose the nice looking one.” I finished.
Twilight chose to respond. “Oh I see.” She said with realization. “So there is no clear idea of better because everything built is made for specific purposes?” She asked holding her head proudly for her explanation. Then an exasperated sigh came from above us and we all looked to our floating friend Discord.
In return he looked at us expectantly. “What? Just breathing. Not at all finding such a structured world suspicious for a chaos being in any way possible.” He said with a menacing grin directed toward me.
I remembered our conversation about me not having the chaotic powers before I woke up in Equestria with them. I realized he was trying to blow my cover, possibly because I was lying to them for the past hour and a half, or just because it would entertain him. I gave him an aggravated glare.
“While I do worry about Discords interest.” Said a serene voice in front of us. I tore my gaze away from Discord and looked toward Princess Celestia, whose calm stature melted away all my insecurities. “I do agree with his point.” She said directing her gaze toward me with an unsure expression. “Blake,” she said my name in her motherly tone. Giving me a sense of security. “Why are you not using your powers as freely as Discord? You have the power to fly without wings, transform the world around you into whatever you please; I sense many more possibilities in you. But you refuse to do so even when pestered.” She said as if fact. “Why?” She said almost like a calm command.
I was caught completely off guard by that. “Well…” I started and couldn’t really finish it. I rubbed the back of my head with my hand. I readjusted the hat on my head trying scratch underneath it. “Honestly I don’t have an answer for you. Why would I need to do those things anyway? There’s nothing that I want to change, besides if I did I’d upset a lot of-.” I looked behind me and paused as I looked at the suspicious glares of the six mares that accompanied us. “-Ponies.” I finished after a moment.
I didn’t notice but Celestia gave me an awkward stare. Followed up by an understanding smile. “I understand.” She responded happily, I returned my gaze toward her. “But what I don’t understand is why a society of creatures like yourself will chose not to bend the world to their will.” She asked expectantly.
I at first didn’t answer until I realized she was asking a question. At that point I said “Oh!” loudly and smiled at her. “We do though. We change the landscape depending on what we want.” I said Thinking of Map Changes in Garry’s Mod. “We have a place called Flatgrass that allows us to build on a flat area, and the skybox there is-.” I stopped when I realized I said “Skybox.” Then I laughed nervously and continued. “Oh uh just ignore the whole skybox thing, way too much to explain. Anyway it’s pretty low to the ground so there’s a lot of space between us and space. So we can build very large machines that can help us propel ourselves into space, or just drive around on the ground. We can then change the map- I mean landscape to test out our creations. Like an obstacle course for cars with hydraulics.” I said silently cursing myself for being an idiot.
Celestia seemed satisfied with my answer and nodded her head approvingly. Then turned to lead the group down the white hallway again. Twilight coughed to get my attention. “So what does your agriculture look like?” she posed another question.
“Well, we have farms on the surface of planets we live on.” I responded, trying to sound convincing.
“But I thought humans were always moving?” she inquired skeptically. “And always changing the landscape to test out their creations.” She said stating her observations and facts like they were weapons. “Crops take months to grow, and you said people move around often before a month passes.” her tone becoming more and more accusing as we went.
Princess Celestia stopped moving and faced me with a raised eyebrow. The rest of the group stopped chatting quietly to each other and looked at Celestia, and then they moved their eyes to me. I saw Discord float down into view behind Twilight with an eager look on his face. He knew that I was telling a lie about my origins and called me out on it before. But even he didn’t know the whole story, so he waited giddily as I was being torn apart by the most studious pony in Equestria.
“Well, uh...” I tried to think of a response.
“And you said the land can’t be accessed when your people leave it,” Twilight continued. “How does that work? A magical force pushes you way? And that also means that people had to be there for centuries in order to still have land, so they couldn’t possibly be there for less than a month. And you said space ships have bio-domes that can make food. And you told me earlier when we just started walking down the halls that no human would want to farm food. And you also told me that no one has built farm equipment. So it makes me wonder why humans need farms, when they don’t have farm equipment nor do they like farming,” she ranted, tearing my fabricated story apart.
“Crap.” I thought morbidly.
“What?” I said playing dumb, rather pathetically.
“Oh, and you don’t even need farms. I just saw you spawn a melon in the guest room.” She glared at me knowingly. “So, why would your people need to waste time with farms when they can just create food in the first place?” she scolded me.
“Well umm…” I mumbled regretfully.
She calmed down some, when she saw my distress. Then she sighed and softly added, “Tell me the truth.”
I shot a surprised look at her before sweeping my gaze among the others with me. I first turned to Celestia, who seemed intent on listening to my response. I looked at Discord to see his knowing grin, but he was sitting on a leather chair that’s floating in the air. He had his head upside down while it rested on his talon. I looked over at the five other mares who gave me mixed expressions. The rainbow-maned pony looked upset, while the pink one and the white one watched me neutrally, but interested, gazes. The cowgirl pony looked sympathetically at me, while the tan and pink maned one gave me a worried expression, like I was about to break down.
And to top it all off, I forgot their names.
“I…” I started and looked back at Twilight.
“…Yes?” she said softly.
The hallway was eerily quiet as everyone held their breath to see what I’d do. I looked down at the clean red carpet and the bright marble floors. They seemed increasingly serene and peaceful as silence dominated the hall. I crouched down and got myself into a cross legged sitting position. I saw the tan pony with a pink mane start to step forward before Twilight held up her left hoof to stop her.
“I don’t…” I said feeling the world closing in on me. For a moment I thought of coming right out and telling them the truth, but how much of it would they believe? I felt safe behind my lie, and also it makes me sound sane and just as strange as I am. It kept me protected from the ponies because they don’t understand me, and were willing to go to great lengths to learn more about me. And if I told them I was as weak as them before this, would they fear my powers and try to take what makes me feel safe away?
“It’s ok Blake,” Twilight said, as if talking to a child. “We just want to know the truth.” She added forgivingly. “Take your time to tell us, but please.” She said desperately. “Don’t give us another lie.”
“I…” I responded. Looking desolately at the Toolgun in my right hand I considered my options. Then realized I had to give them something that would put all of us at ease. I stood back up and looked her in the eye. “…Ok of course I was lying to you.” I finally admitted. “But there is a good reason. I want to feel safe, and I can’t do that if everyone thinks I’m weak.” I said trying to communicate my thoughts.
“What do you mean?” she asked while taking a few steps forward. Her face was only three feet from mine now as we looked into each other’s eyes. She was trying to read mine, and I was trying to lie to hers. The only thing that kept me from really giving in was the height difference between us.
“There was something that brought me here.” I said trying to help them understand my position. “A light that I've never seen before. It took me without a choice while I was sleeping, and told me I wasn’t doing what I was supposed to be doing. It brought me to a place that only existed in-.” I cut myself off, trying to think of what the light would do to me if I admitted its existence, or if it would do anything to me at all. “Ok look.” I said calming myself down. “There is a truth about my past, but I don’t feel safe if I told it to you. Can you please accept that I mean you no harm, and will never willingly bring harm to you? All I want is to be an unknown. It makes me feel anonymous and safe.” I said stating all my fears, hoping that will sate their curiosity.
“Is there anything else you can tell us?” Twilight prodded, sitting down respectfully. The other ponies followed suit.
Using what willpower I had left, I began to chip away at what made me insecure about being weak. I wanted so desperately to tell them what the truth is, but my fear of what might happen seemed to get the better of me. If anything I was making it worse by not telling the truth. “I...” I tried to explain but my words died in my throat. “I’m sorry for lying.” I said truthfully. “And I’m not ready to tell the truth.” I said hopefully buying myself time.
“I guess that’s all I can ask for.” Twilight said soothingly. “But can you promise to tell me when you’re ready?” She asked with an apologetic smile.
I gave her a more genuine smile. “Yes.” My relief was noticeable through my tone.
“Ahem,” said Draconnequus interrupted, floating above us. We looked up to see Discord back to normal with his arms crossed. He was out of his chair with a bored look on his face. “Well you’re no fun at all. But are we going to have our little talk later? If this is your response to them asking questions, then I’d be disappointed if you neglect our next chat.” He said pompously.
I sighed loudly. “Well Twilight.” I stated. “You’re not the first to figure me out; Discord and I already agreed to talk about this later. But that’s just because I didn’t want him to do too much damage with what he already knows.” I said feeling guilty that I just in-avertedly lied to my friend. “I’m going to have to tell him everything first, then when I’m ready I’ll tell you.” I admitted.
Twilight gave me an aggravated glare. “Just when I thought we were making progress.” She said just loud enough so I could hear.
I frowned knowing Discord just sealed my fate. “Dammit Discord you troll. Here I thought I was making excellent progress with my new friends and you jump in and make it harder.” I said to him with a frown.
He held his talon to his lips and said. “Oops.” He then smiled jovially. “Well I can’t be the god of chaos if I let an agent of chaos go lollygagging freely in my land.” He said giggling.
Celestia’s voice interjected in our conversation. “Discord, may I remind you of your duty in my land?” She said slyly. “And I believe Blake deserves some respect for admitting to lying to us.” She added. “Did he not sound genuine Twilight?” She said blatantly trying to undo Discords damage.
Twilight looked almost guilty and nodded her head yes. “You’re right Princess. It’s just, I have a hard time trusting him if he trusts Discord before us.” She admitted to the Princess.
Celestia put on a loving smile that seemed to beam happiness. “Twilight,” Said Celestia with a glow in her voice. “Discord caught him at a time where he was convinced he needed to lie,” She said melting the tense atmosphere with her radiance. Twilight let Celestia’s words sink in for a long moment, before trying to apply reason to them.
“But Princess, he still lied to us. And his power rivals Discord in chaotic energy. How can we trust him any more than Discord? He’s already admitting to lying to us since he got here!” She asked with real concern in her voice.
Celestia smiled with pride. “He admitted to his mistake.” She explained. “And Discord interfered before we could get the truth from him ourselves.” She said as if it explained everything. “Speaking of which.” She said almost darkly. Her expression turned from sweet to sour and looked Discord in the eye, after which he looked back unimpressed. “Don’t bully him Discord.” Her upset tone gave us all shivers. Discord was the only one seemingly unaffected. “You and I both know we shouldn’t interfere with his decision.” She said in a blatant threat. I felt her strategy to get through to Discord was me hearing her say that.
I was right in my assumption as I looked back to him as he was giving me an unsure look. He looked back at Celestia quickly so I wouldn’t notice, but it didn’t help since it confirmed my suspicions. “Honestly Celestia,” He started dismissively. “I don’t know where you get those assumptions. They’re very unhealthy.” He said teasingly and looked away. I was slightly befuddled by how they talked to each other.
Celestia looked hurt by that. “Discord please, he’s in a strange world with new rules, he’s doing his best and that’s all we can ask for.” She looked to me with a reassuring smile. “Blake, you don’t have to admit anything to Discord. I’ll talk to him about it and ask him to not pressure you into speaking with him.” She said trying to reassure me with her motherly tone.
Discord gasped in mock indignation. “Oh I see how it is.” He said continuing the joke. “You just want him to yourself Celestia.” He accused. “Another Chaotic pet like me? Someone who could do heavy lifting without breaking a sweat? Well you have your pawns Celestia, and I only have six friends.” He said giving a subtle glance toward the tan mare with a pink mane. She blushed slightly but seemed to have an indifferent but almost fearful expression. I looked between the five others including Twilight and realized they were huddled together slightly, observing the argument from afar, unsure what to do.
“Discord!” Recoiled Celestia seemingly at a loss for words. “I-is that what you think?” She asked with a hurt expression.
“Of course not!” Came Discords disgruntled response. “But you always do this. Well I want someone to talk to that isn’t you or Luna. While Fluttershy is welcome I can’t help but still feel empty.” He admitted, with an overdramatic flare to it. Like he was leading her on.
Celestia seemed at a loss. “I-I’m sorry Discord, I didn’t…I didn’t think-” She stuttered slightly.
She was interrupted. “Oh don’t play coy.” Discord said rolling his eyes. “You want to keep him from being able to harm your little ponies so you’re keeping him close. Taking his side so when the Ambassadors come to tear him apart and decide what to do with him you’ll offer them to check up on him every so often to see what he’s doing or something similar. I know you sent out those letters detailing what happened in Equestria.” He said menacingly. Celestia glared at him like she was ready to stop him from committing a crime. “Oh you know they would take months to communicate and figure out where it came from. Then they’d think you’re up to something. But they won’t accept Blake as quickly as you would, so they’d think he’s a threat even to you am I right? Offering to contain him in Equestria would allow you to get him to join your side, and strengthen your kingdom like how my cooperation strengthened it.” He looked to me with mischievous eyes. “Don’t get caught up in her good will Blake.” He said softly. “You should think about yourself rather than Celestia’s kindness.” He leaned in with a small tilt of his head. “That’s how she gets yah!” He said teasingly.
“Discord, enough!” Celestia said threateningly. “I didn’t do any of that!” She stated defensively. “Even if I did plan this, I had no idea what he would become this powerful. Yes I admit I’m afraid of his power but I don’t want to control it. I’d have to know that he’d become the being he is now to think of such control in the long term. And I sent those letters because I wasn’t sure what was going to happen. If he was a threat or-…” She stopped as soon as she realized what she was saying. “…or a friend.” She finished feeling the loss of playing into Discords tricks.
“But he doesn’t know that.” He said slyly looking at me. “And I’m not too keen on letting you take in another pawn.” He said darkly. “I’m willing to help you because I was wrong about ponies and the magic of friendship, but I’m not wrong about you.” He said with finality, crossing his arms and giving Celestia a glare.
Celestia looked heartbroken but even more worried as she turned to me. “Blake?” She said with no small amount of worry.
I thought hard about what to say next. Celestia seemed truly afraid of what I might do, like what Discord said was right or she feared I’d believe it. I looked back to the six mares behind me and they had similar expressions. Fear; It hurt me thinking that my presence would do this to someone. But I thought hard about who was right, and who was wrong. Discord seemed correct, and I respect his opinion. But he more or less outright lied to get Celestia in a hard position. I began to realize my situation was a lot more complex than I could imagine. But there was one thing I was sure of.
“I don’t know what to think.” My voice came unexpectedly even to me. That seemed to surprise most of the group and I began to feel a déjà vu of closterphobia as I realized that all eyes were on me. I looked to my left to see a bust of an old unicorns head. The name “Starswirl the Bearded” was carved into the golden plack. Walking towards it and away from the group I stopped in front of it.
“What am I to them? A being of Chaos is the answer, but what am I to myself? Human. But what can I say to convince them of that?” I thought long and hard on my predicament. “They don’t trust me do they? No, but I trust them, and I trust them to do the right thing as I would. I won’t hurt them, I won’t betray them, and I certainly won’t be used by them.” Then a bout of realization hit me. “Discord isn’t trying to keep me away from Celestia, but to get me to not trust her blindly.” I smiled subconsciously.
“I’m not here to hurt you.” I said facing the statue. “I’m not here to judge you.” I stated, turning toward the group whose eyes were on me. “I’m not going to betray your trust, and you can’t say anything to make me doubt you. This is because I know you’re both wrong.” I said to both Celestia and Discord. “You can’t classify me as a being of Chaos. I’m not a being of Chaos.” I said with conviction. “I’m not a being of Harmony.” I said with equal conviction. “And I’m nothing in between. And I’m certainly not going to be a pawn controlled by the leader of a nation.” I finished, thinking about my next set of words. I began to fear I came off more hostile than I intended.
Celestia spoke up. “Blake, I’m sorry you feel that way. And I’d never-.” I interrupted her.
“I know.” I stated calmly and looked to Discord I was about to speak to him before I was interrupted myself.
“Hey buddy! Where do you get off interrupting the Princess like that?!” Said the rainbow maned Pegasus. The six mares all had angry expressions toward me. Which hurt me but I was also confused if they heard what I said or not.
Princess Celestia stopped them. “Rainbow, hush.” She said sternly. Then nodded for me to continue.
I looked back at Discord. “Discord I respect you. It’s why I wanted to tell you the truth, which you won’t get now because Celestia is right. I don’t owe you anything. And Princess?” I looked to Celestia. “I would never hold this against you even if Discord was correct and you intended to manipulate me. You’re a leader of a nation and protecting your ponies should always be your first thought. Even if it means hurting me to protect them, it’s your duty. And faulting you because of it would be wrong. But I will always give you the benefit of the doubt because you gave it to me.” I stated calmly. Celestia’s tense form relaxed and her expression returned to a smile. “Discord, don’t do this again.” I stated as a warning, using a very serious tone I never thought I could use. “And Celestia, forget everything he said.” I commanded, which took everyone back. “There’s a point to Discords jabs that I don’t entirely disagree with. I trust you too much when your primary concern is actually your people and not me. I might accidently become your pawn whether or not either of us was intending for that to happen.” I said smartly.
“Glad to know we still understand each other.” Discord said proudly. “You know Celestia,” He said with a little more cheer in his voice. “I think I understand why you like students so much.” He grinned dumbly. “You just do what you think is natural and give them tasks you think they can pass. Then when they do they surprise you by doing it in a way you never expect.” He said proudly. “So that was fun, let’s go to the gardens!” He promptly sped down the hallway slithering in the air and took a left at the end.
“Well…” My voice was livelier. “Let’s go build a plane,” I added, more cheer in my voice than just a minute ago.
“Wait Blake,” interjected a motherly voice. We all looked to Celestia and saw her smiling face. “I’d say you learned a valuable lesson. And while we’re on the topic of politics, do you still want to attend the ambassadorial meeting?” She asked pleasantly.
“Actually...” A thought crossed my mind as I asked, “How many are going to be there?”
Celestia looked at me strangely before she nodded and smiled. “Oh, no more than fifteen.”
“Then I’ll still go. I honestly don’t like large crowds.” I said honestly.
Celestia nodded her head and started walking down the hallway Discord was going. Everyone including me started to follow her. “But can I ask you what you’re going to do? Or say?” she replied skeptically.
“I’m going to tell them what I’ll be doing here.” A smile graced my features.
She gave me a skeptical look as she asked, “What would that be?” Her tone held skepticism.
I smiled coyly. “I’m here to learn more about myself, and none of them can stop me.” I replied, gesturing to myself.
Celestia shot me a disapproving gaze. “Blake, I need you to be serious about this. If you say that then-”
I cut her off preemptively, “Don’t worry Princess. I’ll tell them I have no interest in any nations' affairs. Then I’ll respond with I’m not going to be a part of that or something along those lines if they ask about anything regarding how I’ll interact with other nations.” I reassured her.
She gave me a suspicious gaze, before accepting my proposal and nodding approvingly. She turned around and continued down the well-lit marble hallway with us in tow. I heard the flapping of wings behind me and was about to turn around before a voice got my attention.
“Hey buddy,” whispered something on my left. I looked over to see the rainbow-maned Pegasus hovering next to me while glaring at me like I stepped in something foul. “Don’t interrupt the Princess when she’s talking, ok? You should be more respectful,” she warned me dangerously.
“I’ll remember it. Hey what’s your name again?” I replied quietly.
She gave me a confused look and said. “Rainbow Dash.” I nodded and didn’t respond.
She flew back behind me and I looked over at Twilight who trotted next to me on my right. She heard the exchange and gave me a nod. I assumed she approved of what her friend said, so I decided to not interrupt Celestia in the future. We continued our journey down the long, marble hallway as Princess Celestia led the way. I grew bored of waiting and wanted to ask where we’re going, but I got the answer before we got to our destination.
I saw up ahead several large windows that weren’t stained glass. When we passed by I was able to look outside. It was a large garden that looked like it was perfect for building structures. It also had a clear view of the sky so it was perfect for vertical take-offs and landings. But more importantly, it seemed to have an overhang to the blue skies. A specific open area, beyond a few hedges, had an open grass area that had no rails or protection to keep ponies from falling over the side. There was a small marble wall that kept the dirt from falling down so it looked like a white ring that lined the edges of the garden. I saw Discord spinning around in summersault patterns across the garden waiting for us to arrive. I barely noticed that we turned the corner.
“Is that where we’re headed?” I asked excitedly, pointing out the window.
The Princess looked where I was pointing and smiled. “Yes Blake,” Celestia answered with warmth in her voice. “I hope it’s not too small for your flying machines. I understand they could be quite big.” She said referencing our previous conversation.
I looked back at her with a questioning gaze as I repeated, “Big?”
Her back was still toward me as she trotted forward. “Well, aren’t they?” she asked looking back at me. “Or am I mistaken? I got the impression your planes are similar to blimps, and need gas to lift off the ground. So, blimps are quite large, unless you have a way around that, of course.”
I carefully chose my words to sound more respectful. “Well yes, that sounds about right. However, I don’t need blimps to make something fly. I just need the right thrust in the right spots, and then I’ll be able to make it float without any gas.” I remembered the blimp from earlier. “But considering there's only been one blimp I've seen in the sky other than some ponies, I can understand where you would think that.”
Honestly it was really hard not to make her seem foolish based on my statement. But I believe I may have saved it with my ending statement. She nodded and gave me a smile before continuing on with a noticeable skip in her step. I wasn’t sure what I said that put her in a good mood, but I decided not to question it as we were going passed the windows quicker. I took a look ahead of us and noticed the hallway dipped significantly.
But I realized it just ended with stairs as we got closer. Princess Celestia started descending them without trouble despite the fact she has hooves. It was a weird thing to see when a quadruped goes down the stairs. Specifically a horse; and she descended the stairs like a dog so the action wasn’t all that alien to me.
She looked back at me and smiled, before elaborating, “The doors to the gardens are just down these stairs.”
I processed that statement quickly before a wave of curiosity hit me. “What would it be like building Garry’s Mod contraptions in the real world? And how would thrusters and gates work compared to how they regularly would?” I thought intrigued.
“Oh ok. Now can I just go meet you there?” I asked as I took my first few steps down the stairs.
Twilight was watching me with interest as I went down the stairs. Almost like how a dog owner would watch their puppy go down the stairs for the first time. But Twilight wasn’t the only one to watch me do this. I looked behind me and saw the other five watching me with varying degrees of interest. I looked back to Princess Celestia who was eyeing me with suspicion more about my request than my descent down the stairs.
“What do you mean?” she replied, the others looking on confusedly.
“Oh what I mean is meeting you out in that open area. I want to get started quickly.” I eagerly explained.
She looked forward to place her steps properly, and then she stopped and turned to me. The rest of the group stopped too, but out of my peripherals I could see Discord sleeping on a cloud with a large umbrella covering himself. I looked over to him quickly to observer. His eyes were closed and he had a joyful smile as he seemed to be humming a merry tune. Either that or he was talking to himself. I watched him pass out of sight as the window frame ended my point of view before I was distracted by the Princess's voice.
“I don’t want you to wander too far off. We don’t want to have you separated from us for too long,” she said uneasily.
“Why is that, Princess?” asked Twilight.
The Princess looked at her faithful student with a warm smile. “A few ambassadors are arriving today, rather than tomorrow. I want to make sure Blake is around to greet them.” She looked behind herself and stared at Discord through the open window that she passed by. “I would like everyone to be together while I’m greeting the ambassadors.” She then turned back and looked at me. “How soon can you be finished with your creation? If it takes too long then we’ll have to just leave it for another time.”
“Uh well, it’ll take maybe thirty minutes, maybe less. It really depends on how well it works the first time around.” I said.
Princess Celestia gave me a worried expression. She looked over to Twilight. “If it takes longer than thirty minutes, get him to stop working and come to the castle ballroom. There, we will introduce him to the ambassadors,” she ordered, giving Twilight the basics of the day’s events.
Twilight looked at her with a confident smile and bowed. “You can count on me Princess.” She straightened up and looked Celestia in the eye.
“I know I can my faithful student,” she proudly stated.
Her horn lit up and in a bright flash of light, she disappeared. I stood there looking at where she just was with a confused expression. Having being the first time I’ve seen teleportation magic I was momentarily stunned by it.
“Blake?” Asked Twilight with concern. I snapped out of my stupor and looked at her. “Are you all right?” She asked concerned.
I shook my head and smiled at her. “Oh yeah I’m fine. Didn’t expect her to leave so suddenly.” I said trying to avoid another “I’m not from here” conversation.
“Oh one more thing!” A sudden cheery voice got us to look up at the declining ceiling. “Me again!” Said Discord manically. “I was waiting outside for you guys and got bored. So I came back to discover that you’ve eaten Celestia.” He said jokingly.
“No she left! We didn’t eat her!” Said an exasperated Twilight.
Discord puffed his cheeks up and pondered before blowing out the air in a raspberry. “Eh, sounds like the excuse of a cannibal.” He reasoned. “Welp, I’ve got no reason to stick around, BYE!” He shouted suddenly and disappeared in a flash of light. I grinned at his humor before looking back at Twilight’s aggravated expression.
We stood there in silence as we were left alone with each other. Myself and the six mares that I just met. Twilight looked upset at Discord's sudden departure while she stared at where he was previously. I looked back at the five mares behind me and smiled passively. The pink one smiled back and waved while the others gave various gestures of acknowledgement. And Rainbow Dash cleared her throat and looked away.
“So what should we do now, Twilight?” asked Rarity, ignoring me completely.
Twilight looked back at her friends with an unsure expression. “I guess we go to the gardens and leave ten minutes early. If we’re late and make Princess Celestia look bad...” She looked back into my eyes seriously, her unsaid threat carried through her look. “So, can you make something quick?” she asked with a raised eyebrow.
“Hey, thirty minutes is more than enough time to build something small.” I replied confidently.
Twilight gave me an unsure look but she smiled and said. “Ok then, I have faith in you. Let’s just get there as soon as possible so we can get this done. Besides, I want to see how you use magic.” She said excitedly.
I rolled my eyes and said. “Lead the way,” I encouraged her with eagerness of my own. She nodded her head and headed down the stairs again. As we descended, the pink pony from the group of five behind us got closer without me noticing.
She caught up to me and stood on my left. “Hi!” She greeted me enthusiastically.
I was slightly confused by her voice being so shrill, but I put it aside and responded, “Hi.”
“I’m Pinkie Pie and I love meeting new ponies!” she happily exclaimed. “I know we were introduced earlier but you said you forgot Rainbow so I assumed you forgot my name so I told it to you again. Is that ok?” She asked happily.
“Pinkie...” Twilight warned her.
Pinkie responded quietly, “Sorry.”
I was confused by Twilight’s idle warning. “What’s going on?” I asked Twilight.
Twilight looked at me unsurely but a voice behind me answered.
“Well Pinkie here talks a lot,” Came a southern voice from behind me.
I looked around and noticed the pony in the cowboy hat descending the stairs quicker than the rest to catch up to us. She slowed when she caught up to Pinkie's right and kept pace with us. She then gave me a kind smile and continued.
“She sometimes overdoes it and annoys a few ponies, but she always means well. So Twilight asked her not tah talk tah yah,” she explained.
I looked at Twilight with a frown. “But what made you think I didn’t like talking to ponies?” I asked and smiled at her sudden bashfulness.
She caught herself. “Well, all I knew was that you were a chaotic being like Discord, so I assumed you’d try to manipulate her.” she admitted embarrassingly as she looked away.
I gave her an odd look but I forgave her because of the circumstances. “Yeah, I see where you’d think that. But I’m not like him, I’m not a being a Chaos. Well not like Discord. Actually what’s your problem with him anyway? I noticed everyone seems suspicious or just untrusting of him.” I asked.
Twilight rolled her eyes. “He doesn’t do it often anymore but…Most of the time, he would do things that harmed other ponies or would make things fun for himself, but that was before we reformed him.” she replied as her hoof reached the last step on the stairs.
I frowned as her statement registered in my mind. “Wait, is that why everyone is unsure about my magic? It’s because Discord hurt people in the past?” I asked.
Twilight looked back at me. “Ponies, Blake.” Twilight corrected.
We reached the bottom and continued to move forward, I let the information cook in my head and stayed quiet while deep in thought. Pinkie tried to reengage with me but she saw my expression and backed down. We got to large double doors on our left and Twilight was the first to push them open with magic. I was still stuck in my stupor to really notice until the movement of two MASSIVE doors got me to glance at them. I was slightly awestruck by it but I didn’t let it get to me. I shook myself out of my stupor and noticed how Twilight’s magic created an aura around the two doors. I was slightly surprised by it but it’s not the first time I saw magic. That’s when I saw the outside.
I saw through the window what looked like a maze, but that wasn’t necessarily true. It was a garden first before a maze. It had a lot of pathways that led off into places that I could only guess at what was there. There were white archways that were wrapped in vines and statues seemed scattered but placed in a noticeable square pattern throughout the garden. You could see them poking above the hedge.
“Are you ok Blake?” Asked Twilight.
I looked back down at her and her confused expression. “Oh, it’s a nice garden.” I stated. “I was just looking at it.” I lifted off the ground subconsciously activating noclip.
I didn’t notice the surprised gasps by some of the ponies until I looked back down and noticed their awed gazes. I smiled slightly at them but continued rising higher until I could get a good view of the garden. There was a point where a blatant maze could be made out that was actually marked by stone archways rather than white ones. There seemed to be a little yellow warning sign attached to each one with words on it. I couldn’t read them from where I was but I knew they had something to do with the maze. I was momentarily awed by a large round orb in said maze. It looked like a small planet and from my position.
“Hey Blake!” Shouted Twilight. I looked down with a raised eyebrow and expectant gaze. “Don’t wander off too far! We can’t find you if you fly off!” She said.
“Can’t Rainbow follow me?” I asked remembering the prismatic Pegasus.
Twilight looked down back to the group of mares and started saying something. I was too high up to hear unless I got closer, but I remained in place so they don’t lose me. After a few moments of conversation Rainbow Dash flew up to me with an hesitant expression.
“Uh sup.” She said unsure of herself.
“Hi, I’m just looking around till I find a good flat spot to build.” I said looking back at the garden. I spotted a place near the edge that was entirely grass with the hedges in a circular pattern. “How about right there?” I asked Rainbow.
She rolled her eyes. “I don’t know, you’re the one building. What do you think?” She said with her hooves crossed.
My feet landed softly on the grass. I smiled as the opportunity to finally build something in a proper building area. I quickly surveyed the space that I could build in. My grin widened as the half-circle was wide enough to fit at least twenty feet worth of building materials. While it was smaller than I wanted, it was still large enough to make and store a car or plane. I looked behind me toward the archway that had a path that went further into the maze. I saw my six colorful lost puppies walking through the gate. Their eyes trailed the hedge for a familiar face.
Twilight saw me and trotted ahead of the group. I watched her approach with a smile on my face. When she spotted it she gave me a small-but-unsure smile, one which I didn’t mind seeing. I turned to face the edge, which was actually at my feet, and leaned over to observe the town below me. I admired the marble architecture from afar and made careful observations. From my view I could see the hedge maze was actually on an upper level of the palace so there was a drop between it and the streets below.
“So what now?” asked the purple unicorn from behind me.
I turned to face her with a dumb smile on my face and replied, “I’m going to build a plane.”
She gave me an incredulous look. “Using, what exactly?” She asked me with an unsure expression.
My grin widened and I told her, “With my spawn menu, of course! I’ll just create the materials I need.”
She gave me a confused look. “You talked about that before. But you didn’t really go into detail.” She took a steadying breath and spoke more courageously, “Can you explain it to me; before you start building that is?”
I nodded my head. “Sure. Basically I’m able to open a menu of building materials I can spawn. I pick from the list and make them appear. To be honest, I don’t know how it works. Just that it does.” I explained.
She sighed disapprovingly, then frowned and replied, “Well I’d like to know more about how it works. But if you don’t know, then there’s no point in asking.” A silent moment drifted by before she then perked up. “Hey, you don’t mind if we research it together do you?” She asked with hope in her eyes.
I contemplated the offer for a brief moment. “I’d like to know more about it too, but I’m not sure I want ponies to know how to spawn stuff like this. I mean we just discussed the diplomats’ belief that I’ll be pressured into supporting the country I’ll stay in. But if I give anyone access to my stuff it’ll force me in an uncomfortable position. I hope you understand.” I said reminding her of our limited time scale.
“Oh right....” She trailed off bashfully. “I’ll leave you alone.” She suddenly looked slightly uncomfortable and started scratching her right leg with her hoof. I felt concerned until she spoke up again. “I should have known interacting with me will look like that.” She said not meeting my gaze. “But can we still be friends?”
I gave her a blank gaze for a few seconds before nodding. “Yes. Being friends shouldn’t be a problem. But I guess I need to learn some professionalism,” I hopefully reassured her.
She smiled back and happily exclaimed, “Thanks Blake. I’ll leave you to it then.”
She promptly turned and trotted away back to her friends. I watched her go before stepping away from the edge and looking back to the horizon. I looked on the ground and opened my spawn menu. Years of swiftly navigating it were put to use as I went through the list to find a flat surface. I opened the Builders’ prop list and selected metal_plate1 which was just a flat surface that I could easily place down gates on. I replaced the Toolgun in my hand with a large blue two handed device known as the Physics Gun. Picking up the object I made it face flat toward me, then tilted it to lay at a forty-five degree angle toward me.
The Physics Gun disappeared from my hands and swapped back to the Toolgun. But before I could continue, reality checked back into my mind. “How did I use that?” I said referring to the Physics Gun.
“The physics gun doesn’t have a trigger. How the hell did I activate it?” I thought suspiciously.
I pushed the thought out of my mind and lifted my Toolgun to point it at the metal plate. I quickly placed down a thruster with the default settings of “Force Multiplyer 1” “Force Minimum 0” and “Force Maximum 1.” I couldn’t seem to change the numbers to as powerful as possible. This actually was slightly upsetting since I need that to force the plane I planned on building forward. I instead selected a Numpad input and froze as I discovered my second problem. I looked at the input that it gave me “Enter.” I tried to change it to “Delete” to test out my abilities, but nothing happened.
“How the fuck do I change a Numpad?” I thought incredulously. “Better yet, how do I activate one without a keyboard?” I said out loud; blissfully unaware of the confused faces behind me at the archway.
Sighing in defeat, I placed down the Numpad input of “Enter.” I was now staring at a small metal square with an input and a thruster with confusion. My builders’ tunnel vision set in after I switched to Advanced Wire Tool and tried to hook up a thruster to an input of “Enter” to see if they worked. I was able to hook up the thruster’s “A” to the input. But it left me with the problem of activating the Numpad input. This unsurprisingly looked like a Numeric/directional Keypad or the calculator like item on your keyboard. I looked at the arrangement of numbers with interest. Out of curiosity I tried to press the “Enter” key and nothing happened. In fact, it didn’t even press like a button; rather it was so solid they didn’t even move.
I cursed inwardly and looked back into the Spawn Menu and clicked the “Wire” tab. I searched the Wire Menu for “Keyboard” hoping to find something that might somehow magically work. I scrolled through and found two keyboards. One was for vehicle control, and the other was for “Keyboard Interaction.” I placed both of them on the metal board. I then worked on a theory that maybe I can change the numbers in the menu using one of these keyboards. Opening up the Spawn Menu again brought me back to the Thruster settings. I selected the numbers and moved my hand to click on the Keyboard.
I was ecstatic when the number increased by eight when I hit the “8” button. I then reset all the numbers so they’d be at their maximum (10,000). I then went to the Numpad inputs and switched them to “Delete” and continued working on getting them to turn the Thruster on. Switching to my Advanced Wiring Tool, I pointed the barrel of the Toolgun at the Thruster. A flat hologram of an “A” light up in my view and I pulled the trigger; activating the output to receive a new signal. I dipped my hand down to have the barrel pointing toward the Numpad Input of “Delete” and pulled the trigger.
It was finally hooked up. I nervously hit the “delete” key on the Wire Keyboards’ numpad and smiled in euphoric glee as I heard a sound of escaping steam that signified the activation of the thruster… Then, jumped out of the way in shock as orange flames spouted from the small thruster device. Coming to my senses I scrambled back to the small metal plate and slammed down on the keyboard with my fist in the general area of the “delete” key on the Numpad. In an instant, the sound stopped and the flames disappeared.
A loud chorus of voices shouted, “Blake!”
“Oh hey, they all remembered my name.” I thought humorously.
I spun around as my builders tunnel vision ended and my mind returned to the world around me. A world owned by ponies, and not playing the game Garry’s Mod, but living it instead. I watched them approach as I stood on my feet. I was still unsure if the flame would have harmed me or not, but I wasn’t going to chance it. But my mind focused on the six mares that were rushing to my side. Waving to them I yelled, “Heya girls!” to show I was ok.
Twilight was first to voice her concern. “Are you ok?” She asked with a worried expression that was followed up by the butter-yellow Pegasus.
“You’re not hurt are you?” she questioned apprehensively. I paused for a moment to process her emotion, while Twilight was ignorant of it, she continued on.
“It didn’t burn you did it?” she continued, examining my face since it was the only exposed skin on my body. Her head tilted from side to side to survey the damage.
I looked back to her. “No. I’m fine.” I tried to reassure her with a smile. “I was just too in the zone in what I was doing to realize I forgot to turn off that fire and sound.”
“Well don’t do it again!” sternly stated the yellow Pegasus. Seemingly oblivious of my statement of being able to remove the risks entirely. “I don’t have anything to heal you up with me! I can’t imagine the kind of pain you’d be in, and-and I-.” Her voice broke slightly. “I wouldn’t b-be able to do a-anything…” She finished sorrowfully.
I gave her a sympathetic smile, subconsciously tilting my head to the left. I sat down on both of my knees to get as close to eye level with her as possible. She noticed me crouching down to her level and she lifted her head to meet my gaze. Her friends looked at me with quizzical expressions.
“Hey-.” I quietly said to the yellow Pegasus as searched for her name. Her eyes were filled with worry, trying to read my posture. I blushed slightly as a few awkward seconds passed by and I gave up. “Sorry I forgot your name. What was it again?” I asked apologetically.
She hid behind her mane and replied nervously, “Oh! Uhm… Fluttershy.”
“Oh okay, the name is ironic because she seems shy. Actually the names I've seen so far seem to have something to do with the pony they belong to.” I thought to myself. “Fluttershy, Fluttershy, Fluttershy.” I repeated attempting to remember the name forever.
I gave her a soft smile. “Thank you. Sorry about that. I’m not the best with names. And talking about it is totally killing the mood yeah?” I told her summoning up my humor. “But I’m sorry I worried you so much. I’ll be careful next time ok?” I reassured her. “By the way you don’t need to worry about a little burn. I’m not immune to fire but I can heal myself up pretty quickly if I do get hurt.”
Her smile returned hesitantly and she nodded her head. “Okay. I trust you.” She said with a heartwarming smile. Then her smile turned into a soft but stern look. “But I don’t want you building alone. Have somepony around so they can help you if you’re hurt.”
I sighed. “Yes, mother,” I replied in mock sadness; dipping my head and giving an insincere frown.
That seemed to satisfy her, and she beamed triumphantly. “Good!” Her eyes were closed while her teeth were showing through the crack of her smile. I responded by giving her a smile of my own.
Someone cleared their throat behind me and I twirled around to meet their gaze. I found myself looking into the eyes of Twilight Sparkle. She was flanked on both sides by the other four ponies. Everyone was giving her their full attention. The hoof that was over her mouth moved to the ground and she began to speak.
“We have about fifteen minutes before the meeting starts. I think we should head to the castle ballroom in about five minutes. So we should probably clean up here.” She said looking back over to the floating metal board.
I looked down at my hands and summoned up my Toolgun, then rifled through the Spawn Menu to select the proper tool for my task. With the “Remover Tool” selected I pointed the Toolgun at the floating plate. Somehow I switched it to the secondary fire and I pulled the trigger. The resulting explosion of sparks caught me slightly by surprise. But all six of my companions announced their surprise through shouts and pony expletives.
Twilight was first to recover. “Blake?” but I was busy contemplating Applejack’s expletive.
I looked at Applejack in surprise when everyone finished their sounds of shock. She met my gaze to find my eyebrows were furrowed and an incredulous smile was on my face. I mouthed the word ‘what?’ and my brows unfurrowed, but my smile remained. She looked back in confusion before she gasped in realization.
“Oh, pardon my language partner.” She said with a small blush.
“No, it’s fine, just. I’ve never heard a pony swear before.” I said bewildered. “Well congratulations on being the first!” I announced with a smile.
“She what!?” exclaimed Rarity. I turned to see her shocked expression. “Applejack! That’s, that’s, just… Uncouth! And in front of a guest!”
I was metaphorically pulled away from the conversation by Twilight. “Blake?” She asked again. I looked back to Twilight. “What did you do with that square?” She asked curiously.
“I removed it using the Remover Tool.” I responded.
She gave me a suspicious look. “Wait, removed it?” She asked skeptically. “What do you mean by that?” She said with curiosity. “Do you mean you’ve removed it from reality? Or sent it to another dimension?”
I gave her an uncertain look. “Oh I removed it from the universe entirely. I created that matter so then I deleted it.” I said to her slightly doubting myself.
“I never really considered what the Remover Tool does. Maybe it does put an item back in storage? But wouldn’t that mean that I can retrieve it? No I must be destroying it forever. But does that mean that whenever I spawn a prop, I’m actually creating matter?” I thought scholarly.
I refocused myself on Twilight to see her with a dumbfounded expression. “Wait you mean…” She remained quiet for a small amount of time. “How then? I don’t believe you. How can you destroy matter?” She shook her head. “No, it’s not possible. Even magic can’t do that. Even to make matter with magic requires enough magical energy to create a solid structure. Even then to dispel it you have to return the construct to magic.” She put her hoof to her forehead and looked to the ground for a moment. “Wait, you’re just joking. Right? No way that’s possible.” A disturbingly wide smile adorned her face.
At this moment I was silent for a while to think through my options. Twilight continued to smile at me with that unnerving smile as a tuft of hair propped up on her head. I took this quiet moment to consider whether or not I wanted to continue this conversation. She looked like she was on the brink of mental collapse. Another thing I noticed was that the conversation between Applejack and Rarity ended suddenly.
I heard the subtle flapping of wings close to my head. “Hey,” whispered Rainbow Dash. “She gets like this sometimes. Just agree with her and she won’t go crazy.” She said gingerly.
And with that, my inner troll activated. “Hey it’s been over five minutes or so. I think we should head to the ballroom.” I said with a shit eating grin.
Twilight’s ears flattened. “Oh. Right.” Her voice was quiet and she was blushing. “Yes, we need to get going. We’ve got a schedule to keep!” She then looked at me with hopeful eyes. “Will you tell me more about it later?” She asked.
I smiled at her. “Of course, but you have to promise me that you won’t freak out. Like don’t be surprised if I tell you up is down and down is up. Or that the world is actually inside out. Because we’d have to accept that in both our worlds, some things are just different.” I spoke diplomatically.
She gave me a peculiar look of indifference and replied,, “You’re right Blake. I need to accept that you may be able to do things anypony else can’t.”
I looked over to the group of her friends who upon observation they gave me approving smiles. I took it as a hint that I said something right, which I’m completely fine with. I then turned back to the purple unicorn in my presence.
“So,” I started. “We going?”
She lifted her head up. “Yes.”
She turned toward the hedge gateway and began trotting at a swift pace. The other five kept pace with us as we came up on the gateway. But she didn’t get very far before one of my other escorts grabbed our attention.
“Uh guys.” Said the rainbow haired pony.
The all six of us looked back while continuing to move forward only to discover our rainbow haired friend had stopped midflight. She was facing away from us looking out toward the horizon. Curiously I followed her gaze toward the brightly lit horizon. What awaited my eyes both confused and impressed me. In the distance were approximately forty airships of different patterns and styles. I looked on admiringly until I noticed two of them looked like they had three rows of gunports on each side. Those looked highly militaristic and caught my attention instantly.
They did however have a gold and black color scheme to them that made them seem more social. As I looked on I began to notice that each airship had a twin that looked just like it. However the twined airships were keeping a distance from the mountainside while the ships that looked more prestigious seemed to move closer to Canterlot. Each ship had gunports, even the ones that looked like they were more for show. As I watched the spectacle unfold I began to realize something.
“Oh my god they’re here for me.” I spoke out loud.
Twilight who remained silent until now added some crucial information to the event. “Those aren’t regular ships. They’re royal airships. Each of those ships are completely dedicated to the royal families of Earth’s rulers.” She said. “And I recognize some of these ships. Griffins, Minotaurs…wait I think Horses as well. Look at the banners!” She said emphasizing the long flowing fabrics of different colors that flanked the bows of each ship.
From my vantage point I could see at least eight different types of flags. I began to slightly panic as I realized there would probably be a lot of people in each ship. And in that sea of people are the guys I’m going to meet very soon. Not only that, but there were a lot of them. I wanted to disappear. I was terrible in crowds and I even asked Blueblood to get me a mask for it. I’d look ridiculous with it on and I’d look ridiculous in front of all those people.
“Well my future looks bleak.” I said responding to my internal monolog.
Twilight looked to me with a curious glare. “What do you mean?” the others looked to me as well.
I tried to explain away my outburst. “Well they brought their good ships. And based on your reaction that doesn’t seem normal. So they’ve got something special for me, you know?” I responded.
She rubbed her little pony chin and hummed inquisitively. “You may be right. But we won’t know until we get there. So we shouldn’t keep them waiting.” Twilight made an about face and started trotting off.
Out of outright fear of meeting so many important people I quickly stalled for time. “Wait.” I said; which halted the group. “I’m going to do something real quick. Twilight can you stay with me for a little while? We’re going to be a little late, but it’s necessary.” I told her.
Twilight looked surprised, and her friends looked even more worried. “What!? Blake you can’t be serious! We need to be on time and to do that we need to go now!” She said anxiously.
The white one spoke up. “What could you possibly need that would warrant being late? I mean being late says more about a pony than their appearance! Surely you know that correct?” She asked disbelievingly.
“Oh thanks, that’s especially what I needed to hear while I deal with my fears.” I thought sarcastically. “Wait hold on. Rarity sounds like she might be so much better at dealing with these situations that Twilight, I think I should do the proactive thing and ask for her help.”
“Don’t worry, we’ll be there. And we can let them wait for a little while. They’ll need to be settled in right? Besides I’m not ready. I need some things to prepare myself.” I said truthfully.
She gave me a pleading look. “Blake we need to go, now.” She said semi demandingly.
Applejack gave me an unsure look. “What the hay do ya’ll need? Can’t see you need much else than yer presence.”
I bit my lip. My shame of my fear of crowds was getting in the way of me for asking help. I didn’t want to be judged, but I also don’t want to be embarrassed in front of all those people. I quickly thought out my options, and came to the conclusion that admittance here is not only the right thing, but adult thing to do.
I took a deep breath. “Okay, well… I’m afraid of public speaking.” I admitted. I judged their gazes for a moment to get an assessment of their reaction. They all looked rather confused.
“The hay?” asked the rainbow maned Pegasus.
“Is that all?” added Applejack reassuringly. “Partner all of us have had those moments. It ain’t hard, just a little scary is all.” She explained.
Pinkie who was relatively silent till now spoke up. “Yeah! I mean even I had trouble talking to my first group of strangers who later became my friends!” she offered helpfully.
“Wait wait wait.” Interrupted Twilight, whom had her hoof on her head like she was deep in thought. “I thought you said you’ve been in situations like this before? You know talking with people who were in power and you’ve been doing it for years.” She asked suspiciously.
I thought quickly. “The only way to get power is to prove you’re trustworthy by spending time in each world with the Admins and other community members. It’s a lot like going to a new town and helping people out. If you’re good at it and things end up better because of your actions then Admins will start seeking you out for assistance or advice. You usually make friends with half the world’s staff before they ask you to join them.” I responded. “So very rarely do you deal with people you don’t know unless you’ve just arrived. And when you’re in a group of people who are in power, chances are you’re there because a friend invited you.”
Twilight rubbed her temples with a hoof. “Ok…So how many people have you ever dealt with at once?” She asked.
“Well we never actually met unless the world itself was in danger. And even if it was it would only take a single Admin to fix it. Now that I think about it, the only time a meeting would be called is when the world has already been destroyed and we’d have to rebuild. We go off of what we remember and some of us even get to create new life forms in the world. Different plant life and such.” I continued to lie conveniently. “And most of the time we only have thirty people working on it and even then we don’t talk to each other unless we’re interfering with another’s restoration.” I finished.
“Wow I’m really bullshitting the whole ‘from another world’ thing. Well it makes sense in a way, Admins reset the world to default…oh wait yeah we have ‘Admin Clean Up’ in utility menu! Oh wow I totally saved myself on that one. Of course admins can reset the world back to what it originally was…oh wait, what if I do that here? Will it reset all damage done? Or will it start the universe completely over?” I thought to myself. Not realizing I spaced out entirely.
“Blake!” Twilight’s shout brought me back from my thoughts.
I looked up to her displeased expression. “Sorry was thinking.” I said bashfully.
She lifted her eyebrow and gave me a questioning gaze. “About what?” She asked curiously. She shook her head back and forth. “Never mind that! We need to get moving. Just conquer your fears on the way there ok? I don’t like being late, and it’s not good for you to be late either!” She turned and started walking. I figured I couldn’t argue anymore so I continued the walk with her.
We all fell in line and I speed walked to a position next to Twilight as I’m the ‘guest’ of this trip. As we continued walking I was left to my thoughts as my companions began to talk amongst themselves. Twilight reserved herself for leading the group around the castle. I began reflecting on how to make my introductions and what to say. I first began plotting a lie. This is something I’ve been doing for the past few days as I try to fit in. Even that lie began to crumble a few hours before when I started admitting things.
Twilight looked back at me. “So what were you thinking about?” She asked curiously.
My response sounded unsure. “Just…” I paused. “How would you talk to a group of people that you don’t know? If I say the wrong thing, give the wrong impression; I could ruin the good thing I have here. Hell even if I’m just ignorant of their culture I can accidentally insult them and that would be worse right?” I voiced my worries.
Twilight looked like she was about to say something before Pinkie Pie interrupted her. “Weeell-.” She said in an upbeat tone. “I used to be afraid of strangers too! So I imagined that everypony was just a friend I haven’t made yet!” She told me optimistically.
I smiled at her and nodded my head. “Yeah, that’ll work. I just need to remember how fun it was getting to know all the previous admins. Hell, I talked to a group of my friends, just being funny too!” I said ecstatically. “Yeah, the time when Aaron first spoke to me. The time I got admin for the first time. That time when I argued with the owner of a server and he gave in, knowing he broke his own rules.” I started talking without mind of my company. I quickly realized this and changed the tone of my monologue. “The time I fought…” I stopped moving, which brought us to a halt. “A friend.” I finished.
As expected, no one commented on it. I looked back to see the expressions of mild concern on each of their faces. I looked back to Twilight and noticed she had very sad eyes. “Blake?” She asked.
I waved her off. “Yeah it was a long time ago. It’s not something I’m torn up about. He threatened the lives of millions, so it wasn’t hard to make the decision to fight him. I eventually had to put him down… you know… kill him,” I admitted quietly.
“WHAT?!” they shouted in unison. I wasn’t prepared by the torrent of questions they threw my way.
Twilight interjected, “Girls, stop!” All their questioning ceased as their attention immediately shifted to her. Throwing a serious look in my direction she continued, “Why–” she seemed to struggle continuing, “–would you kill your friend?”
I sighed. I didn’t know I’d have to explain this. I instantly knew I made a mistake, and had to quickly make up a lie. “Okay, my friend, the guy I killed…at the time, he wasn’t the man I knew. My friend wouldn’t put the lives of millions in danger for his own goals. My friend wouldn’t-” I looked away, trying to think of something to say, but it gave the added effect of a pause. “My friend wouldn’t betray me like that,” I affirmed, silently praying how fluid that sounded from my previous pause. “Anyway, I forgave him a long time ago. And I’d rather not talk about how it happened. I don’t want to remember him as an enemy I had to fight.” I then smiled sincerely. “I’m ok with just remembering the time we had as good friends.” I finished.
That seemed to calm them down a little. Twilight resumed walking us through the doors into the marble hallways of the castle. I followed quietly, and my companions took from my example as they were just as silent. I felt like trying to cheer them up, but I figured keeping them quiet will help me concentrate on a way to make up more lies. I actually felt bad about that decision, but it was for the best for me to keep my stories straight.
“Ok, I’m a being from another world that has the power to create and destroy. Well, I haven’t clarified that. But they think I’m a chaotic being that has the ability to use harmonic magic, whatever that is. All I understand is that it’s dependent on personality. I think. Oh right, anyway, should I threaten them? No, that won’t go well. Celestia told me to clarify that I won’t act in favor of any faction. Which I reinforced with my little speech earlier. But what more?” I thought to myself.
Moments of pondering later I came to the conclusion that the best way to approach this is diplomatically. Not taking risks by being excitable and hyper. And nothing that will say I’m building superweapons in Celestia’s back yard.
“Okay, so now that I’ve clarified a more diplomatic approach, how should I-oh right.” I looked down at my outfit just to notice how unprofessional I was dressed. My raggedy Rebel outfit made me look homeless. “Okay, new plan.” I accidentally said out loud.
“What?” Said Twilight as she continued to walk us down multiple hallways. Our companions had started up their conversation a few minutes ago. But now they hushed themselves to listen to me talk. It almost felt empowering if it wasn’t to judge my sanity.
“Oh, sorry. I was thinking out loud.” I told her.
“But what do you mean by new plan?” She inquired suspiciously.
Again I sighed out of anxiety and worry. “Honestly?” I said monotone. “I’m ok with the idea of meeting them, and answering their questions. But there’s a matter of their opinion of me when this is over. I want them to look at me and see a leader. Someone they will show respect too and understand their value. I also don’t want to appear weak or helpless, because I’m none of those things. And so far I’ve gone through a lot of ways to act in front of them. None of which accomplish all my goals.” I stated truthfully.
Twilight gave me a sympathetic glance, then Pinkie spoke up. “Act like they’re friends you haven’t made yet!” She exclaimed, bouncing in place. “Then you’ll get on their good side.” She winked once, smiling happily.
My smile met hers. “Yeah I know and thanks for that.” Then my tone changed and my smile faded. “But unfortunately their opinions carry all right weight. If I’m not able to get on everyone’s side in that room, or simply have their respect, both in me and my independence. I’m going to have to assert it by some other means, and without their support… well imagine them thinking I’m an immature teenager with the power to destroy worlds. They’ll try to control me to keep them safe, and I don’t want that.” My fears were laid out in the open now. It felt so weird having them like this.
Twilight nodded her head. “Yeah I see where you’re coming from. So what have you come up with?” She asked, and then she looked momentarily surprised before she gave me an accusatory glare. “And why haven’t you thought of this earlier?” Her tone was aggravated.
I smiled nervously, my hands fidgeting slightly. “Well, I haven’t thought of it earlier because I was assuming it would be with ambassadors. Now I’m not sure what’s waiting ahead, and from your description I can only assume I’m meeting with royalty now.” I assured her. “And as for my approaches, keep in mind I went through all the angles I could think of. The first one was aggression. If I was aggressive, they’d definitely not want to push me into associating with a country, and I’d have my freedom, but unfortunately that means they won’t trust me.”
“Yeah, I can see that,” Twilight said in a deadpan tone.
“The next option was being lighthearted and sociable. That would give them the best impression, but it also risks making me look naïve. That comes with its own problems. Another option that I’m thinking of is being diplomatic. I could go in there and state my intention to be independent to them, and ask if they have any concerns that I can address. And while that’s my best choice, it also means I have to keep up that personality every time I talk to them, because if I break from character I may lose my credibility.” I finished.
The sound of someone clearing their voice caught my attention. “If I may interject?” I looked over to the white pony with purple hair. “You may be able to use all of these ideas.” She offered helpfully. “First thing you should know to gain a pony’s respect, is to try leading the conversation. Ponies will listen when somepony important or interesting is talking. When speaking, look around the room at everypony there to involve them in the conversation. Ask for their concerns regarding your stay in Equestria. But most importantly, be social in the beginning, introduce yourself, and keep them from interrupting you as you tell jokes and talk about yourself. Then clarify your position and what you hope to achieve. Then ask for their concerns.” She said proudly, smirking haughtily. “Although you should probably wear nicer clothes for this, but we don’t have the time for that.” She admitted with a crinkled nose.
I remained quiet in some slight awe at the white unicorn. “Huh.” I finally spoke. “Thank you, I’ll definitely think about that.” Her name wouldn’t come to mind, so I politely asked, “Excuse me, what was your name again?”
She held up her head proudly. “Rarity.”
“Rarity.” I repeated. “Well thank you, Rarity. You’ve given me a gift and I won’t forget that.”
“Not a problem dear. Just make it count.” She said encouragingly as she swished her hair.
“I will.” I affirmed. “Thank you.”
Facing forward I pondered this new advice. “Ok, first be friendly and funny, then clarify my hopes for the future. After that, ask for any concerns they may have. Ok that’s good, now what should I joke about?” I looked back down at my outfit. “Well I look homeless, maybe I can make light of that.” I thought momentarily. “Yeah and I can also juggle… heh. Nah. Maybe like all great comedians I should tell them how much I stressed about meeting them.”
Satisfied with my plan for the inevitable confrontation. I opened up my spawn menu and looked through my tools to select the “download” tool that lets me stockpile the mods I want. I let my inner fanboy in as I remembered an amazing mod. In the tool I scrolled down to Star Wars and found a lightsaber pack by Robotboy. I selected it for download, and while I waited I searched for PAC3 a mod that lets you change your appearance. Along the way I found Star Wars blasters and selected them for download as well. The star wars lightsaber mod completed its download by the time I clicked on ‘download’ for PAC3.
Switching to my tool menu I scrolled down from Download to the lightsaber mod I just installed. I selected the tool and began my task of trying to adjust my settings for it. Thankfully the settings were already set to default blue lightsaber at the proper length. I felt the urge to hold a real lightsaber right then and there, but I resisted. Instead I went into the mods lightsaber adjustment and attempted to change the length and width of the lightsaber. I ended up somehow successfully changing the color to green. I decided not to go with Red considering it seemed menacing, and no matter how much I fiddled with width or length I couldn’t get it to change without a keyboard.
I looked up at where we were going and noticed a set of two large double doors in a side room to our right. The doors were flanked by two guards. The closest two to the door were both unicorns with polished golden armor. I at first wondered what the room was for before I realized we made it to our destination.
“Is that where I’m going?” I asked Twilight nervously.
She looked back at me with a smile on her face. “Yes, it is. And we’re a few minutes late so go in immediately.” She said calmly yet assertively.
I grinned at her forcefulness. “What? No kiss goodbye?” I teased.
“Really.” She shot me a flat look, clearly unimpressed with the joke.
We stopped in front of the door and peered at it. “Welp.” I started. “End of the line. And guess what?” I said looking back at them. “I’m ready for it. All because of you guys.” I said honestly. “Well time to go in.” I said taking my first steps toward the door, letting my actions will away my fear.
Twilight however interrupted me. “Blake.” I stopped and looked back at her with a questioning glance. “The guards will open the door for you.” She said with a smile. “And good luck.” Her features showed she wanted the best for me. And I smiled in return.
“Thanks Twilight.” I responded. “Open the door please,” I told the guards.
“And thus the gates of hell…ARE OPE-is that a dragon?!”
My gaze trailed upward and met what I could only describe as a dragon. Its sharp spines were yellow and its menacing claws were a dark, charcoal black. The scales were red, and big enough to protect at least three people huddling together behind them. And its head, which was giving me the most malicious glare, was five times larger than I. But the most interesting out of the observations I made was only half its body was in the room. From where I was at the main entrance, I could see that the room in front of me looked like a massive ovular ballroom. Along its walls were tall, thin, stained-glass windows and large, marble structural supports that ran up the walls. I assumed the idea for the room was for housing oversized rowdy teenagers… or dragons.
My eyes now travelled down to a large white oval table located only a few meters from the door I just came out of. This was likely to give the large, rowdy teenagers adequate space to party while the smaller more delicate party goers remain closer to the exit in case the teenagers get angsty. I also noticed the impressive amount of subspecies equally flanking the table. Flanking the right side of the table was surprisingly little to no difference in species of ponies. Four pairs of delegates were on the right and each looked like they were differing forms of pony. The pair farthest from me on the right was the Princesses wearing their normal attire. Beside them was what looked like two purebred race horses flaunting lavish harnesses.
Next to them were two ponies both without horns or wings. They almost looked French, with one was sprouting a curly mustache and the other a baby-blue parasol. Both were wearing stylish clothing matching their accessories. The one with the parasol was wearing a baby-blue hat and a baby blue frilly dress. To their left were two ponies, another unicorn and one with both a horn and wings. The blue haired white coated stallion was wearing purple armor while the pink, lanky pony was wearing a small gold tiara and necklace.
“Hmm, now that I think about it, I should ask what the winged unicorns are called. Maybe unawingpony? Pony with wings and horns? Pegasus Unicorn half breeds? Pegacorn? Oh that’s pretty clever Blakey!” I thought jestingly.
I looked over to the left side to see a pair of creatures that looked like an eagle and lion mixed sitting closest to me. I immediately recognized them as griffins from mythology. Just like the close encounter I had with one at the hospital. They both looked dressed in black military uniforms with red capes. Both, however, looked different enough for me to tell they were two genders. The female, who sat closer to me than the male, had dark feathers on her head and a small red beak. The male had a large black beak and white feathers on his head.
Next to them was a pair of Minotaurs. I did a double take upon seeing them, finding it strange that a race from my mythology made it into this room. Mentally shrugging my shoulders, I dismissed it when I remembered unicorns. The two Minotaurs stood proudly with their chests puffed up, but one was taller than the other by a good two feet. The largest one was wearing a red cape with no shirt and black pants, his coat was black. The other was much older and wearing nothing, but he sported reading glasses and held several documents in his hand. His coat was brown and he had a long, grey beard that reached below his chest. The next pair’s seats almost seemed vacant, except for the seats next to the Minotaur’s that seemed to have two bubbles with two small creatures inside them. I couldn’t see them however, so I dismissed it.
“Wow I expected many more bodies than this. Yeah I feel a little more comfortable working this crowd.” I thought happily. “But more importantly… where the hell am I? This place has pretty much every mythical beast that I can think of. Unicorns, Dragons, Griffins, oh my! Hell even a Minotaur! Oh shit wait...I was in a hedge maze earlier. I hope they don’t hunt down humans when surrounded by walls.”
A calm motherly voice filled the air. “It seems the guest of honor has finally arrived. Although later than I would have hoped. Everypony, this is Blake, he’s the source of the magical outburst a few days ago.” The Princess turned to me. “You must have enjoyed your time in my garden, correct?” Celestia asked pleasantly.
I quickly reminded myself of my strategy of warming up the room with humor before I responded. “Thank you for showing me, Princess. It’s a very well taken care of and beautiful garden. Almost dozed off six or seven times.” I began walking toward the table, making eye contact with everyone I could. Raising my arms, I spoke up again, addressing everyone this time before anyone else could speak up to stop my momentum. “I’d like to apologize to all of you. I didn’t have any choice between outfits when I arrived. So I’m in my field outfit for whenever I go places. It comes with pockets, colors that blend in with the forest, and the ability to make anyone look homeless.” My smile reached my eyes, hoping to lighten the room a little.
My joke earned me a giggle from the pink pony to my right and some polite smiles from the male griffon and most of the right side of the room. Princess Luna and the male French pony didn’t smile. My joke also made the larger Minotaur facepalm slowly and shake his head disapprovingly. The female griffon however just remained stoic. I felt my heart sink some, but I hoped I could hook them to my energy long enough for me to finish. I stopped at the head of the table which was vacant of seats. This was probably to keep individual countries from seeming more important than others.
“Now, I’ve been around long enough to know many of you have concerns,” I said continuing to address the group in a friendly manner. “And before we start, I’d like to clarify a few things that may answer some of your questions. The first thing that was brought to my attention, was the fact that there is a powerful magical being living in Equestria, other than me. His name is Discord. And with me, that makes two powerful magical creatures living in Equestria. So what’s to stop us from deciding to pick the Princesses’ sides in a conflict?” I paused for dramatic effect. “Well, I’ll tell you.” I looked around the room evaluating their reactions. Everyone seemed to be listening very intently, but they maintained stoic and professional expressions. Some even nodded their heads politely to show they were paying attention.
I continued with a smile. “They’re not worthy of my help.” Both Celestia and Luna gave me a look of sheer surprise. A few others who noticed gave them suspicious glances, thinking they’ve done something irresponsible to make me believe this. “In fact…” I spoke up. “None of you are worthy of my support.” I clarified, leaning forward on the table. This brought all the eyes back to me. “The thing is. I only help those who can’t help themselves.” This got a lot of attention and a few approving stares from the ponies. Everyone was leaning forward in their seats with expressions of interest for reasons I couldn’t comprehend. Warily, I continued, “I’m a very cheerful guy, as you probably could tell. So when I see someone with a frown I-uh I can’t help but want to cheer them up a little. Honestly, my friends tell me I can get annoying with how eccentric I get. But it’s my weakness, when I’m not doing anything important.” I said reflecting on my past.
Princess Celestia stood cleared her throat to speak. This cut me off from continuing further. Her soft voice rose clearly throughout the room. “Thank you for that introduction, Blake. If you’re finished; I’d appreciate being able to start the official meeting between the sovereign leaders of the world.” She asked politely.
I responded humbly. “Apologies. I didn’t know there was a system I was interrupting.”
She nodded her head in understanding. “Apology accepted. And since this is your first time Blake, I will explain the process of introductions to you while I introduce myself. So you don’t get lost.” She stood up from her seat and looked forward, Luna doing the same. “I will now begin by stating the unattended chairs. The Changeling Empire. Their speaker Badland Brood-Mother Chrysalis has chosen not to attend.” She kept her face forward. “Now the host kingdom’s name. Equestria.” She looked back at me. “Then the official speaker for the country will say their names and the name of anypony present of importance in power and their title.” She looked forward again. “Princess Celestia, and Co-ruler, Princess Luna. We’re honored that you’ve answered our invitations. Thank you.” She bowed and sat back down. “Now it’s the kingdom to our left’s turn to state their nation and leader.” She informed me.
The tall brown horse next to them with a yellow mane stood up. His ceremonial clothes fully visible to the room. His pink associate stood up with him, her clothes were a royal purple. “Saddle Arabia. Custodian of the Two Holy Dunes, Hayya, and my wife and Co-ruler, Dry Sands.” He spoke proudly before they both sat down.
Next to them the two French ponies stood up. “Prance. King Childeheart the first and Co-ruler, Queen Clover the first.” He spoke proudly. They sat down too.
The ones next to them stood up. A pink pegacorn and a white unicorn. “The Crystal Empire. Love Eternal, Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, and my husband and Co-ruler, Prince Shining Armor.” The both bowed their heads and sat down. Then looked toward me expectantly.
Princess Celestia spoke up. “It’s your turn, Blake. What’s your country, and position?” She asked nicely.
I froze with fright. “Oh crap. What country? Shit, I don’t know. Should I not say anything? Okay wait calm myself. Silence. Think.” I thought quickly. I closed my eyes to control my breathing and allow myself to think deeply.
“Blake?” asked a concerned Celestia.
I responded. “Let me gather my thoughts, if you will. I’m deciding whether or not I want to-” I paused for a moment. “tell you my past actually. But I will. Honestly I just don’t know if I want to tell you about it. But give me a moment. I’ll say something soon.” My long winded excuse didn’t help my brain think of a proper backstory.
“Okay. Now that I’ve got time I can think of something.” I inhaled deeply. “Well no ideas. Maybe my inventory will have a clue.” I scrolled through my inventory to look for anything to clue me in on a story. I had my toolgun, physgun, and a lightsaber. “Oh lightsaber. Well I can be a Jedi. WAIT YES THAT’S IT! I can be a Jedi! And my lightsaber can be proof of the order. But why would I be here if I were a Jedi?” I began to formulate my story in my head. “I’m a Jedi Exile. That works.”
My pause brought suspicion and concerned looks from the other honored guests. I looked around frightfully but I still spoke. “I-I.” I paused refining my lie. “Um…” I paused longer. “The Jedi Enclave.” I said a little too quietly, so I spoke up and said it again. “The Jedi Enclave.” I wetted my lips with my tongue. “Blake the Exile.” I finished unsure of myself.
There was a cold silence that I didn’t like. I felt my face flush with color and heat. My almost religious playing of Star Wars games before arriving in Equestria allowed me think of this quickly, but now I’m regretting saying Exile. Knowing it may have left a bad impression. Although I calmed myself when I realize it made sense that I was an Exile. It helps with the reason why I’m here so I decided I’d roll with it. I looked back at everyone. They seemed disappointed… no they were unsure and some looked like they pitied me.
But the thought train broke down as a new voice to my left spoke up. “Griffonia.” Said a powerful voice.
“Saved by the griffons.” I thought happily.
The big beaked white headed griffon with black feathers and brown feathered black headed griffon were standing up. “King Blackbeak and Co-ruler Queen Bloodbeak.” They slowly sat down, giving the room time to recover.
Then the large black Minotaur who was already standing spoke up. “The Minotaur Republic. Lord Strong Arm and Advisor Pencil Swish,” he announced with his chest puffed up.
To their left the orbs made a loud noise. “The Breezies Confederacy! Leaf Windsheer with wife and Co-ruler, Pedal Coldbreeze.” Spoke an amplified accented voice.
I jumped with fright from the booming voice that came next. “Dragon Lands! Ancient Dragon Lord Redwing!” Boomed the giant red dragon above us.
“Well I wanted to learn everyone’s names anyway, but they all sound too complex to remember straight off. Eh I’ll try remembering when I have to talk to them. I guess I’m lazy like that.” I thought bitterly.
Princess Celestia stood up again. “We have made introductions. May we continue with honest hearts and respect for one another. The topic which will be magically recorded for the sake of modern history is Blake, and all questions are asked to be respectfully related to him. May we begin?” She addressed the room.
“We may.” Spoke everyone in unison. This impressed me with how practiced it sounds.
The large Minotaur cleared his throat politely, garnering the attention of everyone. “Topic Blake. I’d like to ask you something that has concerned me since I learned about you, Mr. Blake. What made you decide to release that much magic back when you released it in the middle of Canterlot?” The room seemed to take on a heavy atmosphere as the gazes traveled back to me.
I answered as best I can. “Well to be honest. I was completely cut off from my magic when I came to this world. Whatever brought me here made me lose my connection to my powers entirely. However, I had something called a Toolgun.” I materialized the Toolgun in my hand and lifted it into the air. “This tool channels my magic into something constructive. It also has the added bonus of suppressing my magic when I don’t need it. So when I finally got my Toolgun and tried using it, it channeled my magic in a violent and unexpected way. However it brought it back all at once, creating the magical outburst you heard about.” The Minotaur seemed pleased with this and nodded his head.
“Um, if I may interrupt.” Spoke the pink alicorn to my right. The room drew their eyes toward her, myself included. “You said you were an exile. Are you comfortable enough to explain to the room why?” She asked carefully.
I looked down to think. “Well okay, I know a lot about the Jedi code and so on, but for reasons as to why I’d be exiled? Oh wait yeah I’m here because I need to change, the Jedi exiled people for that, I’ll just explain that.”
I was about to speak but was cut off. “I’m sorry.” Said the pink alicorn. “You don’t need to answer.” She said.
“No.” I stated when she was done. “I’ll answer your question. I want this room to respect me and my needs. To do that I need your trust. So I will show the same respect along with pure honesty here. I was exiled because I didn’t follow the path of the Jedi. I chose to let my emotions become more important than the code, and I was exiled. But the Jedi Council isn’t unforgiving. They decided to give me a chance to redeem myself by sending me here to learn more about myself and change for the good of the galaxy.” I mentally face palmed when I realized that I was just spouting the duty of a Jedi rather than relating it to my current situation. Like saying galaxy really doesn’t help me at all.
The pink alicorn smiled happily. “Thank you for speaking about this. And tell me, what do you mean the good of the galaxy?” She asked curiously.
I sighed realizing that I need to explain what a Jedi is. “The Jedi is both a belief and a special organization that’s main goal is to bring balance to The Force. Exterminating great evil while allowing others to vanquish lesser evil, so the people of those planets become stronger. Sometimes they even ask for our aid and after some deliberation from the Jedi council, we come to their aid. However if we feel we don’t need to help or we’re unable to, we will ignore the request. Because being a Jedi isn’t just about fighting evil. It’s about fighting what no one else can fight, and teaching the weak to become stronger. It’s to make the galaxy stronger when a powerful enemy is attacking the Jedi. The weak have the power to protect themselves or stall for enough time for us to arrive.” I said giving my best description of the Jedi code to someone who doesn’t know.
But I wasn’t done so I continued on. “The Jedi collects members from surrounding cultures. Sometimes going great distances to add new members who are sensitive in the ways of The Force. The Force binds all things, guides all things. There is nothing The Force doesn’t influence. That’s because The Force is actually the life force we all have. And it’s the Jedi belief that when you die, you return to The Force. It’s reflected in their code. There is no death, there is only The Force. And they use the force to find suffering and warn of danger. It can also be used to heal wounds and manipulate objects in the name of good.”
The pink pony smiled “That sounds so honorable! So how does this tie in with your power to create things?” She asked.
I gave her a questioning glance. “I never explained my power yet. How did you know about it? If you don’t mind me asking that is?” I said trying to be humble.
She smiled kindly. “Well news travels fast when the one who gave us an invitation told us all she knows about you.” She said looking to Princess Celestia. Whom upon being viewed by the pink alicorn seemed to shrink slightly.
I thought to myself quietly. “She probably remembers our surprisingly serious conversation in the halls. Eh I should probably steer this away from her involvement unless it comes up.” I thought cautiously.
“So?” Said the pink pony to me.
I blinked in confusion. “What?”
She raised her eyebrow. “Uh, my question.” She reminded me.
My eyes widened and I asked bashfully, “Oh right! Sorry forgot. Can you remind me of it?”
She nodded her head. “No problem. How does the Jedi Enclave relate to your power?” She asked again.
“Okay, crap how do I explain my ability to make things. Hell I only talked about the Jedi because it’s something I can talk about. Okay. Well. I guess like I did earlier, it’s time to use the truth.” I thought to myself.
I nodded thinking of a way to explain that. “Well… I’m kind of special I guess. You see I’m not a regular-uh individual from their universe. I’m called a Garry’s Modder. I play with the powers of creation and destruction in pocket dimensions called Servers. I just happened to become a Jedi because I thought they sounded cool. So I joined them and helped them with my abilities.”
Our conversation was cut off by a voice to my left. The large black furred Minotaur started speaking. “I’d like to know how the Jedi use this relatively peaceful-sounding power to vanquish evil. I’d also like to know what kind of weapons they use to accomplish the feats of strength I’m detecting in your little description,” he asked, levelling a judgmental stare.
I felt uncomfortable with his criticism but I knew I had to say something. “Okay, well all Jedi know how to use The Force. Which can help them detect life and find negative emotion to help them track down evil and suffering. But each Jedi is separated into different classes based on their personality. Each class also uses different tools to fight evil. But there’s a tool that’s given to all Jedi, like the lightsaber which is widely considered the iconic tool of the Jedi. But there are Jedi called Guardians that specialize in using the lightsaber extensively to get better results.” I paused to breath.
I then continued with gusto. “While a Jedi Councilor is trained to use their Force powers and persuasive abilities to get results, as well as using their minds to solve complex riddles to help them see the truth. And a Jedi Sentinel is the balance in between both. They tend to use their saber when they need it, but also use The Force in battle to weaken their opponents. They’re also the freer-willed of the Jedi and use their abilities to seek out evil and destroy it.” I took a deep breath; I was barely taking any breaks between sentences.
The Minotaur spoke again. “What is a lightsaber? Better yet, can you make one to show me?” He asked.
“Many red flags. Why does he want to see the lightsaber?” I thought suspiciously. “Well I have one on me, but if I want to show it off I should have it out for a few seconds just in case. I don’t want to be tricked and have it stolen.” I thought cautiously.
“Well I have one on me right now if you really want to see it.” I asked impulsively.
“Really?” Said the pink alicorn to my right. “Sure let’s see it.”
Against my better judgement I pulled out the lightsaber from my inventory and placed it into my hand. Immediately it lite up in a blue beam. I jumped slightly because I forgot the lightsaber is active the first time you spawn it. I held it up for everyone to see. Their looks ranged from curious to unfazed.
I spoke again. “This tool is the official weapon of the Jedi. Its abilities are-“
“Put that away!” Shouted an irritated female voice from my left.
The female griffon looked upset. I quickly tried to find and use the button to turn it off, and after a short moment of struggling I decided to just holster it, so it doesn’t look like I don’t know how to use it. Also it would have been embarrassing to just stand there in front of everyone and struggle with my own weapons.
“Weapons aren’t allowed here!” She spoke to me with anger. “It’s a sign of distrust at a meeting such as this; remove it from your body immediately!” She said angrily.
I nervously responded. “I’m sorry but I can’t get rid of it. It’s an inventory item. One of the abilities I have is to always hold onto the things I create that are meant for my hands. And the lightsaber is one of them. I actually can’t drop it even if I tried.” I said saying the truth.
“Fine, then be subject to my distrust!” she exclaimed as she glared at me angrily.
My heart sank somewhat and I began to read the room, most seemed unsure. “Look.” I said to the griffon softly. “I didn’t know there was a no-weapons rule. And I won’t deny this as a weapon because it can be used that way. It’s called a lightsaber for a reason. That reason because it’s a sword. But its primary function isn’t just for fighting. And even though it’s asking a lot, please listen to what I have to say about it.”
She looked to me with an unimpressed scowl. “Continue.” She spoke harshly. “If I like what you say then I’ll consider forgiving you.”
I bowed politely. “Thank you for your ear. The lightsaber is a tool of the Jedi. For us, to think of it as a weapon is vastly underestimating it. The lightsaber is not only a tool, it’s a symbol. The Jedi wear it to show they’re part of the order. We use it to deflect energy that’s used against us, and it can cut through nearly all materials using its blade of light.” I was interrupted.
“Surely dragon scales can’t be cut by it!” Boomed the dragon proudly.
“Uh,” I said looking up. “Well I hope I don’t get the chance to find out.” I commented. “But if I may continue?”
“Of course.” He said.
“Well a lightsaber can cut through nearly all materials, and can melt away steel doors. It can shed light in dark areas, and can only be wielded effectively by someone with a strong connection to the force. Its effects can also be augmented by adding other special crystals too it. Making it stun living creatures when struck, and deflect blasts of energy. It can also clash with other lightsabers. But the most amazing aspect of the lightsaber is the Kyber crystals inside.” I paused to increase my breath.
I analyzed the room and continued my speech. “The Kyber crystal can come in many different colors of the rainbow; however they’re all extremely rare. Some Kyber crystals are known to exist but can’t be found. That’s what makes the lightsaber so specific to the Jedi order. When one is found, it’s brought to us to make a lightsaber.” I finally finished.
The griffon spoke again. “That doesn’t assure me. It even sounds like you’ve made that up to convince me. I think I’ll continue to hold this against you, especially since you tried to save your own hide by lying.”
I was water falling with sweat right now. I knew it was the truth but I also know it sounded like a fabricated story. I honestly couldn’t think of a way to get out of this. “Okay.” I said. “I know it sounds like a lie. But the honest truth is that it’s not.” I said nervously. “I don’t want to be called a liar. I don’t like it. But if you won’t accept my explanation then I can’t do anything about it. So I ask you allow me a second chance. Please.” I pleaded.
The griffin was about to speak again… and with a scowl on her face too. But Princess Celestia in all her glory came to the rescue. “I for one believe Blake.” She said gaining the attention of the room. “Before you all came here, we had many conversations regarding his powers. It’s my duty as Princess of Equestria to make sure he won’t hurt anyone. So he gave me a demonstration of his tools in my garden before I excused myself to meet all of you in person.” She paused.
My jaw almost dropped with that statement. “That’s a total lie! She bugged out before she even got halfway to the garden with us! I hope she makes this good. Because if she succeeds I’m going to buy her ice cream...or I dunno a new butler?” I thought thankfully.
“But his claim to be able to create and destroy matter is nothing to scoff at my friends.” She continued respectfully. “I was witness to him pulling out plates of iron from thin air and then destroying them completely without a trace when he was finished.” She said with confidence. “So I believe lying about the purpose of the lightsaber is completely unnecessary when he has far more powerful tools at his disposal. Even if we were to believe it was a weapon, it would pale in comparison to the tools he wields. Even then the explanation he gave us sounds very much like a lie. And I don’t believe it’s much of a challenge for any of us to see the anxiety on his face. From observation alone, I believe he knew it sounded like a lie, and told us anyway. Trusting us to believe him.” Her serene voice of confidence flowed to a stop.
My mind however was reeling. “She wasn’t in the garden… how the hell does she know what happened? I just want an explanation now.” I thought to myself.
The tone of the room returned to a less intense vibe as the patrons of the room seemed to look around to gauge the room. Some seemed to be closing their eyes in thought. While others just looked unconvinced. Most nodded their head in understanding.
But the Prance pony king spoke up. “Monsieur, I’m inclined to believe you and am interested in moving the conversation forward.” He said politely and directly toward me. “I’m interested in your architecture. What kinds of things have you built that helped thee uh, Jee’dai?” He asked.
I smiled; the conversation is finally about what I can do again. “I’ve built many things with the idea of function in mind. So my architecture isn’t all that great. But I’ve made a few nice looking things in the past like buildings, statues, cool cars, and I tried to build a few tanks but I was never the best at them. But the things I mostly pride myself on are the space ships. I’ve built many massive ships that at one point blocked out the sun from their size. To small machines that were able to follow me through doors.”
He seemed pleased with this. “Thank you monsieur. But for what purpose do those contraptions have? And can we see a few?” He asked pleasantly.
I smiled with enthusiasm. “Well most of the time they’re used for transportation. Sometimes they help me build. Others help me mine. And many of the special ones are made to do specific jobs like drive on walls and fly. Some flying ships are meant to carry passengers and others are just for looks or to be part of some theme or fleet. Also I build things with a story in mind. Like my one ship called The White Sorrow which is a fast warship with thin, but very strong armor. There are also different versions that can sink and fly.” I said enthusiastically.
The Prance queen spoke up. “Slake bleu! You build warships?” she exclaimed.
My eyes widened when I realized the implication and looked around. Most looked uneasy, but the ones with the most shock and worry expressed were the Princesses. And the tension returned to the room.
My heartbeat increased and I quickly thought of a lie. “Whoa whoa whoa! Calm down everyone. Of course I build warships and weapons.” I said trying to be confident. “I have to fight evil somehow. My first line of defense is through power. Which is one of the reasons why I was ultimately exiled. But I’m going to clear something up right now. I’m not going to stop building warships even while I’m here. But I promise I won’t use them against any of you unless you’ve done something terrible. It’s just how I was raised as a Jedi. I just don’t do harm to people that don’t deserve it. So, hopefully, none of you have any reason to fear me.” I explained.
The room seemed a little less tense now. Not everyone was meeting me in the eye. Some shared whispered tones to their companions, even whispering to the ones from other countries. I began to feel slightly alienated, regretting sharing so much at the moment.
“This matters not!” Boomed a voice overhead. Everyone looked up at the red scaled dragon. “As long as you vow not to use your weapons in aggression, then I do not care that you have them. This is no different than another nation having spears or combat magic to us dragons! And I am willing to extend the same consideration toward you if you’re willing to be trustworthy!” He spoke with conviction.
An amplified voice rose out of one of the magic globes. “I’m not in agreement.” Said what I assume was a male voice. “Weapons tied to sovereign rulers are tied to the responsibility to use them correctly. There are even Political, social, and economical reasons why we can’t abuse the right to war! I see no such binds tied to him! I wish to propose a ban on Blake’s weapon building. And an inspection on all his creations.” My heart dropped.
The pink pony to my right spoke up, “Enough! Windsheer, it’s too early to vote on a course of action. Much less one we have not all agreed to being an option. We don’t have all the information we need, nor have we heard the full testimony of the one in question. I suggest you hold your opinions until you’ve learned more.”
“Need I remind you?” Started Windsheer darkly. “That you are the youngest one here. You who just claimed the throne? Is it my responsibility to tell you that you’re not the most powerful royal in the room anymore? And that you’re surrounded by equals?”
Her eyes widened. “O-oh. No. Wait, I didn’t mean it like that! It’s just-”
“You forgot yourself?” He said darkly. “No we are equal here. Remember that.” Cadence hung her head in shame. Her husband rubbed her back to comfort her before shooting a glare at Windsheer.
“I-I…” She struggled to get out.
The Minotaur spoke up. “Princess Cadence is correct.” He turned a disapproving gaze toward Windsheer. “And she isn’t the only one who forgot themselves. Windsheer, you don’t have the power to force us to decide just as much as Cadence does to silence you.” He turned back to the room. “I’d like to point out the informality we’re adopting. We must all remember we’re on equal ground. And that our decisions would severely affect the life of Jedi Exile Blake.” He said powerfully. “But more importantly, this meeting has nothing to do with our ties to each other. It has to do with the subject of Blake himself. So I would like to ask that we remember why we’re here.” There were many nods in agreement to that statement.
“Jedi Exile Blake sounds so cool.” I thought to myself; completely ignoring the event that just took place.
I cleared my head and decided to add my own two cents so I don’t look powerless or submissive. “Windsheer.” I attempted to sound disapproving to the orb holding the small creature. I began to feel the pressure of judging eyes on me. Most seemed curious though.
I continued with conviction. “Just as much as you would show respect to the others in this room, I ask you show the same respect to me. I came here of my own free will, not because I’m powerless. Not because I worry about the repercussions, but out of respect for everyone here. And through my respect I hope to prove myself to you. To live in peace with everyone present and their subjects.”
I looked around the room to address everyone. “I have the power to leave this room right now, and build an unstoppable warship with the ability to level cities and start making demands. But I’m not going to do that. Why?” I let the question hang as I looked around the room. “As I stated before, I want to live in harmony with everyone present. To coexist. To be allowed to stay because of my neighborly personality and your generosity. Not because you’re afraid of me. I want friends. I want understanding. I want mutual respect. And I want your approval.”
I then looked back at Windsheer. “I’m trying my best to please you. To make sure everyone here understands that I want to be left alone.” My thoughts started to trail off. I ended up not talking for a few seconds and I started pacing trying to communicate that I’m not done while giving expressions of concern and frustration. This was all so I could think of something to say. “Look, I’m stranded here.” I admitted to the room. “It was never my intention to be here. This is a result of my exile. I’ve been placed here. I didn’t come because of free will or interest. I came because I had to.” I paused again thinking of more to say.
I finally began again. “Yes, I’m powerful and you have the right to be nervous. Yes, I can cause a great deal of suffering. You have the right to prepare yourself. Yes, I’m unpredictable. And you have the right to try and judge every move I make to understand me.” I stopped talking and pacing. Then I put my hands on the table and leaned on them while looking down. Then I looked up for dramatic effect and said. “Please don’t make this hard. I’m afraid of you all.” I admitted carefully. This drove many in the room to widen their eyes. “I don’t want an enemy out of anyone here. I will obey this…” I struggled to find a word to reference the group. “Committee.” I finally said. “All the rules you want to put on me. But please show mercy.”
Now the room seemed a little uncomfortable. But I looked around to see the general expressions of the room, and most of them seemed sympathetic. My heart swelled when I saw some guests exchange thoughtful smiles and nods. The room was deathly quiet, but it wasn’t quite unwelcome.
The large brown horse from Saddle Arabia spoke up. “I, Hayya of the Dunes, will consider this carefully. I know I haven’t spoken much since we began, but I wanted a general consensus of the room.” He said with a gentle smile on his face. “I feel we’ve been forgetting your feelings, Blake.” He said directing the comment toward me. “Our positions in life often blind us to our own emotions. Making it harder to recognize another’s. I’d like to make a bold proposal. Despite our disagreement earlier about power. I say we wait and see. Blake has shown no sign of being an aggressive being. And while I could say he tries to protect himself through his speeches; he hasn’t neglected the feelings of the room. Very unlike Discord, don’t we agree?” He looked around waiting for a few nods.
When they concurred through hesitant nods he continued. “Discord often has a pattern of pretending to listen at first, then neglecting requests all together. Causing us to play by his offhoofish personality. But Blake here pays attention to us. He gives us options, and tries his best to allow us to understand him. Maybe.” He paused. “And how bold am I to say it.” He commented offhandedly. “Maybe. He doesn’t need our restrictions. This is all I wish to say for now.” He politely bowed his head.
The next who spoke up was the griffin king. Whom remained very silent until now. “You bring up an excellent point Hayya. One that this committee won’t forget, and neither will I. But I don’t believe no restriction at all is agreeable. But maybe instead some leniency on our inevitable verdict.” He turned his head toward me. “Blake I’m not the only one who can see your distress while talking to us.” My heart felt heavy.
“Not to worry,” He commented. “I’m only pointing it out because it shows you want to be here. You haven’t been rude. Well, not on purpose.” He shrugged his shoulders. “You haven’t been cruel. And you’re still here listening to us. Trying your best to help us understand you. Honorable Hayya is right. You’re not Discord. In fact you’re the most agreeable being with unpredictable and overwhelming power I’ve ever even heard about. Discord may be playing nice. But you’re just being considerate. I’d also like to admit to not having much faith in you when you arrived late. I figured you’re just another Discord clone. Uncaring about what goes on in the world except for the things that directly involve you. But I was wrong. And I’d very much like to get to know you better.” He said with a smile.
All this sudden supportive turns have made my heart begin to heal from being overly stressed. My mood was returning to a happier one. I also started feeling much more at ease in the room around these people. Some didn’t like me; but others really understood and felt like they’re on my side. The words to describe my gratitude toward them were nonexistent. As a result of my renewed spirit, I stood up straight and gave the room a smile.
“Thanks, I really needed that.” I said to the griffin king. I turned my head and gave a nod to the Arabian horse. “I honestly don’t like being serious.” I said to them both, looking back and forth at them. “It makes me feel so uncomfortable. Like if I don’t do something right I can be punished for it immediately. Kind of like how I felt before I walked in here. Hell, I still felt that way in here. It also didn’t help when I could hear the distrust some of you had for me. Speaking your negative opinions of me like I wasn’t even here. I’ll be honest, I felt ready to cry. I don’t like it when people hate me. Especially when I try so hard to make friends.” I said letting my guard down.
I took a long well deserved deep breath of fresh air. Letting my lungs swell with oxygen and releasing it. I still felt the nervousness of eyes on me. But it was easier since it felt like they were accepting me for who I am.
“I’m glad you’re able to say that to us.” Said a cheerful voice to my right. I looked over to observe the smile of the pink alicorn. “Now I think we can make some serious headway with our debate. I’d also like to know even more about you Blake. You seem like a fun guy to know.”
I nodded happily. “Yeah, I feel the same. Maybe we can all go out for ice cream after this. Actually that’d be a pretty funny story for the newspaper.” I said forgetting my nerves. “World leaders buy ice cream together!” The comfortable chuckles of the people in the room that couldn’t be brought out before proved that we were all beginning to trust each other. Some didn’t find it funny, but it doesn’t mean they didn’t appreciate the tension of the room dying down.
The sound of someone clearing their throat brought us back to attention. We all looked to Princess Luna, the source of the disturbance. “I’ve been meaning to ask this. But the way your emotional state was at the time, I didn’t think I’d get a clear answer. But now that you’re happy and comfortable I’d like to ask.” Said Princess Luna strongly. “What’s your history? You said you’ve been in a world where Servers and Server Owners rule and all the representatives wear masks. However your history with the Jedi seems to eclipse it completely. I was wondering if you were just making these up, or at least one of them is the truth.” She asked curiously.
The tension returned and so did a weight in my heart. But I was prepared now. But I couldn’t help but feel the support of the room slipping away. “Well interesting question. But the truth is, they’re both true. I was part of both worlds. I’m a Garry’s Modder. Which means I participated in the pocket dimensions called Servers. But shortly after I left Garry’s Mod in order to become a Jedi. At first they didn’t want to accept me for being older, but when they learned who I was they agreed to tell me their code and teach me their ways.” I paused; leaving the thought up in the air.
I continued. “I told you I wore a mask correct?” She nodded. “That was because at the time I was a child. Children are supposed to wear masks called avatars to conceal their age, otherwise older Garry’s might think less of them when they have power. Or might think less of the Server Owner for giving a child power. Kind of like how your people would think if you gave a kid administration over the castle treasury. It just doesn’t seem right. So I was supposed to wear a mask and not talk to hide my age.”
Luna spoke up but with an understanding smile on her face. “Which is why you asked Blueblood for a mask, right? I think I understand. You weren’t supposed to talk and you wore a mask. That’s why you’re so nervous in front of us! You’ve never did open public speaking before I assume?” She asked.
I smiled with the hand delivered cover up lie. “Yes, exactly!” I concurred. “And honestly adults can also wear masks during administration meetings. Which is why the mask works for children. Most admins have avatars just like the kids do. So it’s common. I don’t need it anymore though; I think I’ve learned enough to do this kind of thing again. I mean I survived this right? I can get through the next one.” I commented.
“Indeed.” Said Luna with a smile.
“I’m confused,” boomed the dragon above us. “I’m not following the conversation. I must not have been given the same information as the rest of us.” He said.
The French king spoke up. “You’re not the only one monsieur.” He said in his heavy French accent. “The letter mentioned nothing of his history, just of his personality and abilities. May we start from the beginning?” He asked politely toward me.
I was about to explain until I was cut off. “Actually.” Interrupted Luna. “I fear my next question might get buried by an explanation. So we’ll explain after my line of questioning is done. If I may be so bold?” She said bowing politely toward the committee. Nods of agreement followed. “Thank you for your patience honorable guests.” She steeled herself and looked toward me. “When did you join the Jedi?” She asked strongly.
I was slightly taken back by the question. “It was after I was around thirteen when I joined the Jedi Enclave.” I responded.
She nodded. “I see…” She paused and stared me in the eye. “Why did you join them?”
I was slightly taken back but I continued. “Well they were cool.” I said with a smile. “Honorable warriors that fight for the sake of good. Using their faith to lift objects and hunt down evil to make the galaxy a better place. Even having a tool made specifically for th-”
“Blake.” Said Luna strongly. “I doubt this explanation entirely. You’re telling me; you left your home. All your friends and family behind. The power you had in a government. The comforts of home. And a place to sleep all because you thought… it was cool?” She finished.
I felt that everything I worked for just vanished. My lies. My acquiring of support. My air tight explanations. All up in smoke because I couldn’t keep my story straight. But I couldn’t just lay down and die like this. I need to pick up the pieces and try to form a story. I thought for a moment, lowering my head to think. Then I looked up and held out my hand in front of me. I ignored the looks of confusion. I went to my inventory and summoned the lightsaber again. It activated immediately and I held it so the blade pointed to the sky. The room erupted in noise of chatting and nervous conversations.
Princess Celestia spoke up. “Blake! What are you doing?” She asked with alarm. “Put that away!”
I shouted my next word. “This!” The room got quiet. I calmly said, “Is proof that I became a Jedi.”
I then placed the blade back in my inventory and pulled out my Toolgun. I switched the tools to the rope tool. I didn’t bother playing with the settings. I pointed the Toolgun at the table and pulled the trigger. A quick zap of electricity hit the table where I pointed the gun. I raised the Toolgun to the ceiling and shot it again creating a rope that ended at each point I shot the gun. The sudden appearance of a rope in the room hushed the committee. I then did it three more times to different walls of the room.
I then spoke again. “This proves I’m a Garry’s Modder. A creator and destroyer of matter!” I exclaimed to garner the attention of the room. I then went back to the tool menu and selected utilities. Then ‘Clean Up Everything’ which made all the ropes disappear. “But how I became both is…” I said quietly, but loud enough for them to hear. “Painful.”
Luna spoke again. “Blake. You didn’t need to show us those abilities. We can take your word for it.” She tried to assure me.
I shook my head. “No.” I said calmly. “I will now tell you why I’m both.” The room remained quiet but very attentive. “We think we’re better than everyone out there. We’re the only race to create and destroy matter. We create our own worlds as a result of this. Leaving out everyone we don’t agree with. One day I was interested in the galaxy that we didn’t create. I learned about the Jedi and tried to become one. And when I returned I was rejected for cooperating with the lesser races.” I paused.
I tried to seem sad. “I’m not just a Jedi Exile.” I said to the room. Of which a group of voices started chatting to themselves. I ignored them and continued. “I’m banned from coming home. And the Jedi took me in. As I was raised by the Garry’s, I was stubborn to accept new ideas of peace and they said I was dark. But I continued to follow their guidance and they continued to accept me as long as I was willing to try understanding them.”
I took a breath “I began to realize I’m not all that powerful. Especially when they told me I wasn’t supposed to use my powers of creation and destruction. It’s why I seem so clueless when I try to use it. I’ve almost forgotten how. And when I said I built their ships. That was sort of a lie. I helped construction teams since I was good with space ships.”
I paused to think and continued. “They were trying to teach me to not be what I was born as. A Garry doesn’t care about the lives of lesser creatures. As I grew to love the Jedi, I grew empathy. And I began to love the galaxy like they do. But my nature was too strong for them. I wouldn’t accept their blind justice belief. They would do everything that’s right at all times. Save all lives. But I didn’t want to save the lives of dark people.”
I looked up at the room. “So a Jedi is forbidden to kill. And I believed the death of evil creatures would balance the universe. So after years of trying to teach me, they decided that a test of my wisdom was needed. So they exiled me, and I have to remain here until I’ve proven my nature as a Jedi, or my nature as a Garry. But both have appeal to me. I want to destroy evil and protect the peace. But being a Garry means always being in the grey. I can’t be all evil and all good. I was born like this. And I have to overcome it before I’m welcomed back.” I finished my complicated lie.
“I truly hope they accept it. If they don’t I’m done.” I thought bitterly.
“Blake I-” Luna stopped. “I didn’t know you had this restriction. If I did then I wouldn’t have brough-”
“Stop.” I said strongly. I then continued very casually. “You asked something you needed to. I won’t hold it against you. And you didn’t hurt my feelings. It’s just hard not fitting in. But I hope to change that here.” I said.
The booming voice of the dragon above cut through our thoughts. “I don’t see any reason to continue asking questions. I’ve learned a great deal about Blake’s past and-oh well we haven’t really discussed your future yet now have we? I propose we ask about future plans now. So Blake, before anyone can agree or disagree. What are you going to do now?” He asked with a subtle grin.
“Uh…” I said dumbly. “Profit?” I jested.
“Actually I do need money don’t I?” I thought to myself.
“What do you mean?” He asked confused.
I responded quickly. “Well I was actually trying to joke around but it does bring up a concern. I need money. And I need something to do while I’m here. And just sitting around eating the Princesses’ food doesn’t really help me get anywhere with my task. So I’m going to have to think more about that. Honestly, I don’t have a clear goal in mind other than build things. So I think I’ll try building things that I can use in utility. Maybe rent out mining equipment or something like that.” I commented.
“Actually food is something I still need. Huh. Weird. I’m hungry but I also feel like I don’t need it. Strange.” I thought curiously.
Princess Celestia stood from her chair. “Well, I don’t believe we’ll need Blake’s presence for the next thirty minutes. What we plan on doing is coming up with contingencies and strategies to combat you if you decide to turn on us. Normally we wouldn’t tell you this but since you were so open about being okay with us doing this, I believe we can trust telling you.”
She then said bashfully “Although that may not be the consensus of the committee so I may have been a little bold in saying that.” She steeled herself for the next line of words she was about to say. “I would like to propose a vote to dismiss Blake. His presence was necessary to discover information, and now that we have enough, his presence is no longer needed.”
The room was filled with confirmations. “Aye.”
“Aye.”
“Aye.”
“Aye.”
“Aye.”
“Aye.”
“Aye.”
“Aye.”
“Nay.” Spoke the Minotaur.
Everyone looked to him in surprise, including myself. I gave him a curious glance which he seemed to return with vested interest. To me it felt like he wanted me to answer for something, or he still had questions that made him unsatisfied. I took this moment to look at the old Minotaur beside him who hasn’t moved this whole time. But I noticed through his stoic expression that his eyes were watching me. A pen was motionless in his hand against his clipboard.
Princess Celestia’s warm voice interrupted the staring contest. “Blake, the committee has agreed: You’re dismissed. You may leave if you want to.” She said as if prompting me to leave.
I felt relieved. “Yeah I think I’ll do that.” I said with a smile, “I’ve got some projects I want to finish.” I turned and began walking. “Have fun without me, then. Good to meet you all!” I said without looking back.
My strides were short but quick. I felt the pressure of everyone's eyes on me as I took my leave. I know I couldn’t see them, but I had a feeling everyone was watching me. And as I walked toward the large marble double doors I thought to myself. “Okay just calmly walk out, Blake. I want to leave too, take long deep breaths to myself. But what’s more concerning is that look. What’s with that look anyway? Better yet, what did the minotaur king want with me? Does he want to talk more?”
I reached the door and looked back at the large black furred Minotaur king. His gaze never left me as I reached for the door handle. But I stopped and let my hand down to look him back in the eye. His gaze wasn’t malicious or cruel. It seemed analytical and expecting to me. The stare gave me comfort but also made me feel like I’m not meeting expectations. I opted to give him a smile. Which he didn’t return but his right ear twitched in response. I turned fully to face him and noticed the eyes of all the members of the room looking between us. They saw our gaze as something of an interest. But I spared them only a glance until my eyes locked onto his again.
My smile widened and I said, “Let’s meet up later Lord Strong Arm.” I said recalling his name. “I can tell you still have questions. And I’d like to get to know your more. I mean your people are the only two legged people I know of other than me. So let’s meet up before you leave.” I then gave him a polite bow and while my head was low, I nocliped through the door and out of the room.
