A human turned pony gets to live in all of MLP's glory. And he gets stuck in the middle of it. Perfect times for all.
It has been said that everyone deserves a second chance. It could be a decision made, a choice to make, or even to live again. Usually the last one is literal in the sense of having only one life to live. Unless you're one of the rare, lucky people who get a chance to live another life. I happened to be one of those few lucky people to be reborn again. Oddly enough, it happened on a Tuesday, a day that was going to be a normal, boring day. As to why I was picked... well, you just have to sit back and listen as I tell you my story of being born into a different life from the one before. Ah, before I get to far, I wish to thank daughterdragon for letting me use their pic as a cover for my story. You're awesome like that.
It was a clear afternoon, with not a worry in sight. College was finally done. I had sent out my applications. I even had a steady girlfriend that I was considering to marry sometime late in the year. I was sitting and playing on my Xbox, playing Fallout. In the background, I had some music playing. My family was in good health and had jobs aplenty, even my brother (odd as the case is for him). Once I had heard of a show called My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. With it came comments on how the Season 6 would be much more cooler than Season 5. I was curious and decided to watch the show online myself, after getting some work done in Fallout, of course.
It was nearing nighttime when I finally got off my Xbox and chowed down on some frozen pizza. While I was eating, I decided to get the first episode at least started up so that I had something to do. What caught my attention, was when I got the episode and it froze up on me. Almost like a system crash, but I could still move my mouse. I couldn’t even exit out of my current tab or open a new one or even close down my Chrome. What happened next went too fast for a mortal eye to catch. All that could've been seen if done, frame by frame, was me getting pulled in and shrinking to fit the screen’s video. All that was left after it had happened was a pizza slice floating in the air before falling down on the plate. There were no signs of anyone leaving or even anyone living there, to begin with. The computer then shut itself down and closed out of all sites, leaving a shut-off screen.
I was experiencing something else. One moment I was watching a frozen screen. The next moment, I was in a darkened room-like area with a spot of light that happened to be on me.
“What the heck? Am I dreaming right now? I don’t remember falling asleep…” I said, looking around in mild surprise.
“No, my human,” a feminine voice called out in the dark. “This is not a dream, rather a choice.”
“Wha- What do you mean? Who are you? Where am I? Why am I here?” I panicked.
The voice giggled a little at my reaction (which, in hindsight, was rather hilarious) and clarified. “All in due time. Yet, it should be kind to at least answer some of those questions now. My identity will be revealed soon, so I’ll introduce myself then. You are currently in a dead dimension, where many other gods have given offers before. In fact, this place was created for such purposes. It gets annoying to try and schedule everyone in. Do you know how long the wait times are? I mean, dear me! I’m sure he didn’t need it for-” She interrupted herself and cleared her throat, returning back to where she was before the rant. “My apologies. Anyways, you are here to make a choice that could affect many others. About the why… It will become clearer with time.”
“What?” I said, sounding pretty numb.
“You do have functioning ears, right? So help me if I got a deafened one…”
“Sorry, I got confused for a second. So, what’s the choice I’m making here?”
“Ah. Glad to hear that. As for the choice-”
“Wait… did you just…” At that point, I had an outlet for my nervousness and laughed at the pun this person made. “Nice pun there!”
“*ahem* Can I please finish what I was about to say?” She asked, sounding somewhat annoyed.
“Sorry. Yeah, if you please continue.”
“Thank you. Now, here are your options: either be reborn into a better world or continue to exist in your current one. Both lead to a happy life in the end, but to be reborn is to experience a whole new world. The reason will be made clear if you choose to be reborn.”
“And if I choose to stay?”
“Then you continue to live your old life as always. If it helps to make a decision, I will tell you this. If you choose to be reborn, I will erase your existence in the previous world so that none will worry about you.”
At this point, it came down to two options. Pick the safe, comfortable option of staying or the risky option of being reborn. I asked only one question to clarify something.
“Where will I be reborn?” I politely asked.
At that point, the room lit up and the mysterious voice became a figure that was well defined. The figure was a tall, lanky… unicorn with wings? Interesting. She had a white coat, a red mane, some freckles on the right side of her face, huge wings, and a long horn.
“You will be reborn into my world. A world called the Mythos, more specifically Equestria, the land of pony kind. I believe you asked for a name earlier. My name is LaurFastia, the creator goddess of this realm. Not to mention one of the most powerful alicorns ever to come into existence.” She stated with clear intent.
At this point, I couldn’t believe my eyes. Talking with a creator of an entire universe? I must be one lucky bastard to be able to be in her presence, much less to speak with her. But, I summoned all my courage to give my answer in a clear voice.
“I choose… to be reborn into Equestria,” I decisively asked.
“As you wish. Know that you can never return to your realm now. You will reclaim all your human memories at the age of 18, including that of your human family. Are you prepared to accept this price?” Her tone brooked no argument.
“I do.”
“Then I wish you luck, my little pony,” She said and then started to charge some magic on her horn.
It was only a moment later when her magic was flung at me. It soaked into me and began to change my body. I went onto all fours, my hands and feet turning into hooves, pains in my back as some wings grew out of me. Altogether, my body changing to a more equine form. I also began to shrink to the size of an infant and started to regress to the mentality of one. The last thing I remembered clearly was a bright light and me being held up by a doctor, who pronounced:
Well, today was an interesting day. I can’t believe half the crap that’s happened to me. I feel as though I should start from the beginning. Otherwise, I’d confuse half of you. The other half would track me down for more information and I want to be left in relative peace and quiet. So, let’s back up to when I was a young colt, around the time I got my Cutie Mark to help explain my current situation.
I am a Pegasus, for those who cannot see me currently. As such, I was born in Cloudsdale, home to all flying races, but Pegasi seemed to be the most dominant. I had a loving mother and a caring father. I also had a normal childhood, as far as normal goes, and I never did too much outstanding. I got good grades, but I wasn’t a genius like some in the class. At least I could pay attention to the teacher, unlike Rainbow Dash. She wanted to fly faster than her previous time she set the day before. At the rate she was going, it’d be no wonder how fast she could do her job. She could even clear up the weather in about 10 seconds flat when push came to shove. Back then, she could only manage 17 seconds as the quickest.
I was never picked on by bullies for a while. Since Rainbow Dash, when we were young, took some kind of liking to me. She helped me fend them off until they got the message. That was actually how I ended up friends with Fluttershy as well. Even as shy as she is, which I suppose I should’ve seen coming (shy is in her name after all). If it wasn’t for the wings, she would be mistaken as an Earth Pony rather than a Pegasus. But for all her faults, she was very kind to me. I would always ask for her help when it came to animals, as she seems more interested in that than anything else. Though it was interesting on the last day of flight camp.
You see, bullies are sometimes too problematic. I got rid of mine with help and luck, but Fluttershy was a good target for them. It got so bad that Rainbow Dash had to beat them in a race in order for them to stay off of her. But, wow. What a race. It was going to be a normal race that always happens to her. But this one was special in more ways than one. From the word go, things went haywire. Rainbow Dash and the bullies sped right past Fluttershy and she took a sharp glide down into a plains area. Rainbow Dash, too preoccupied, started to beat the bullies one ring at a time. It got to the point where she was almost a blur. She went through the final hurdle so fast, I could swear she left a rainbow trail behind her. It soon became true, as she got to the point of extreme speed that she broke the sound barrier. Then, a rainbow sonic blast came from that, having her leave behind a trail of a physical rainbow. She got her Cutie Mark right then and there, but for me, I was inspired to do something as mind-blowing as that as well.
A few months roll around and a talent show was up in the works at the school. I had thought about not entering when I remembered the Sonic Rainboom Rainbow had made. I wanted to try and find something It was awesome to show off to the other kids. So I signed up for the talent show and tried to find something I was good at. It took me a few attempts, but I began to notice a pattern after a while. If I picked up an instrument, I wouldn’t know the first thing about how to play them. Yet I always seemed to play a song from start to finish without missing a note or beat. Each time, I would play the same song on a different instrument. I would sometimes have to adjust the song to be able to play. I even played instruments I’ve only heard of until I got them for the first time. Despite that, I was still able to play the same song. It took me a while to figure out the song I was playing. I picked one out at random to play, after all. It then hit me after the fifth instrument. It was the Cloudsdale national anthem. It took a few more instruments, but I was right.
I then had an interesting idea. I wanted to try and play a different song on the instrument that I heard once when I was a younger foal. I tried it, and to my surprise, it had worked. I even sang the song from memory and got it 100% right, no mistakes whatsoever. I then asked my parents for some of their classical music and for a violin. I had asked so that I could perform for the talent show that night. I listened to a couple of songs before the show had started and hoped that my guess was not wrong.
When it came to be my turn on the stage, I came out and told the audience that I would be performing a piece made by Octavia. It was adapted to a violin as well. I then tuned the violin and started to play. For those in the audience (as I found out later), it had sounded exactly like Octavia was there on stage herself. Only playing the violin instead of a cello. I timed the notes perfectly, the dynamics were never off. Even the melody playing was outstanding.
At this point, I should clarify something. While I may have a good memory, nopony I knew could up and play a song from memory alone. Not to mention using it without some practice, not even those skilled in the craft. This was something outstanding, even to fellow musicians when they hear this tale. It was at that moment I had realized my talent for playing music like I was the song itself made into physical form. My Cutie Mark appeared once the song had ended (which was one of the best finales I’ve had, even to this date). It was a heart made of a bass and treble note. I had never felt so happy before that moment. I now had the talent to call my own and it was an awesome one, to me at least, to have.
I then made it my mission to work on my talent, more specifically my memory. After all, it would be very bad to forget something you worked on, even if it came with ease. So I joined the local theater and started to memorize better, even outside of the script. It turned out I was a decent actor as well but was best suited for comedy and musicals (No duh on the last one, I know). I have been working in theater to this day and I still enjoy making the audience laugh and be moved by my singing.
This has led us back to where I would explain my current situation. I apologize for the info dump, but I thought it'd be best to explain my past. That way I could tell of a more recent past. It was when I turned 18. I had finally become a stallion and not some colt that got too big for his britches. It was that night, after a huge binge of alcohol, that things started to take a turn for the weird. I remember at the very least staggering towards my bed. It was right then that everything turned white.
When I woke up afterward, I realized 2 things. For one, I had memories that looked like something from a sci-fi comic book. You know, when an intrepid pony discovers a new race of aliens and all that. The second was that I had a huge headache. It was only after taking some coffee and pills for a headache that my head started to concentrate. What it led me to was something I never expected: It was from my viewpoint and these memories felt… familiar in a way. I spent all that day reviewing each memory, starting to connect everything together. Songs flooded back to me, filling in holes I never knew were there, making me feel more complete as a pony. Vacations started to be more visualized, showing me the wonders of the planet. My happier times began to liven me up a bit. It was the final memory that sealed the deal to me.
It was the memory of me, relaxing in my old home. Then I was getting sucked into some kind of limbo dimension to make a deal with the goddess in this world. I remember making the conscious decision to leave my old world behind. In exchange, I would live on this one and to get all my memories back at the age of 18. It was at that point I started to weep tears of loss. I had lost all my family. My friends. I was even about to ask a marefiend I had to be married to me. But then I realized something else that made me cry harder. They had forgotten about me as well, this time with no chance of recovery, as I no longer existed in that world.
*sigh* I’ll be back to talk later. These old memories do make me still tear up from time to time and I need a moment to recover. I’ll try to focus on something a bit happier next time. Right now though, I need to drink some of my favorite cocktail: tequila and root beer. It helps calm the nerves.
OK, much better now. So where was I? Ah yes, that’s right. Explaining my life story to you. Not much left to be honest. Let’s see here… the story as a child, Cutie Mark, and further life story. Not to mention the remembrance of my human memories. I suppose all that’s left to tell is my current ailment and the history behind it and what it is I’m doing right now. Seems to be a good point on where to end off for an interview.
I remember the day that I got attacked. It started as a normal day for me, at the very least. I was 21 and by then my talents were heard about and was starting to gain attraction outside of Cloudsdale. It got to the point to where I was asked to play for Canterlot. I speak for everypony in business when I say this. Getting the attention of the nobility is one of the high points in your career. For me, it was a chance to prove that a Pegasus could be a great musician, as good as any Unicorn. So I packed up my stuff and headed off to the capital of Equestria.
It was when I arrived that things got heated. You see, a good friend of mine put down the statistics of different races in Canterlot. For every 10 Unicorns, there was a Pegasus and for every 6 Pegasi, there was 1 Earth Pony. Of course, there was the Royal Sister, Princess Celestia. She was the only alicorn on Equus beside Princess Cadence and she lived elsewhere. So for someone for someone like me to appear, it caused some disturbance. At least for the normal Canterlot's citizen life. I had struck a nerve with a couple of ponies for even daring to say I could be a great musician due to me being a Pegasus. I would have to prove them all wrong later that night too. Now, for time’s sake, let’s skip to the night of the concert. Nopony would want to hear about how a day in Canterlot went, especially if one lived there.
It was nighttime and I was preparing myself for the concert I would be performing in. I had a momentary feeling of unease 5 minutes before I got on stage, but I chalked it up to pre-show jitters. If I had listened to my instincts that night… Ah, but what’s done is done. I can’t change my past, especially for something as important as that concert. It was finally time for me to perform my song. It was a piece of music from the Time Of The Two Sisters and it was an ode to them both. I had listened to it beforehand, so I had everything memorized and tuned. Disaster struck though, near the end of the piece. You see, I sang too well for some of the nobility. They thought they would be outclassed by a mere Pegasus if they didn’t do something about it real quick.
I never did get who shot the spell at me. I couldn’t remember where they were sitting or if they were sitting in the audience. Not even what their appearance was, or what color the spell was. All I can remember was that it had to have been a Unicorn. Which didn’t help with identification in Equestria, much less Canterlot. As I was singing, the spell was shot at me. Before I knew it, I had lost all my oxygen and had fainted immediately, my whole world turning black.
After that, I arose in the Canterlot hospital. But when I turned to a nearby nurse, I was confused about why I wasn’t hearing myself talk. I couldn't even feel any words coming out of my mouth. A doctor had soon come in and told me that I was diagnosed as mute for an indefinite amount of time. After looking over the spell, they saw it did lots of damage to my vocal cords. At first, I was shocked. Me, lose my voice? A preposterous idea, especially to a singer. But when I was going to voice my objections to that statement, I began to realize the doctor was right. I couldn’t speak a single word, even if my life depended on it. Which it did, as it was my job to sing for others. I was starting to feel like I had no purpose left in life. That was when I overheard the doctor saying something of great importance to me.
It seemed that they’d been experimenting on ways to return the voice to other ponies. They had made a major breakthrough very recently. In fact, it was my condition that helped them make said breakthrough, so I was given two options. The first one was to try out this new form of healing that has been untested but was very likely to work. The second one was to spend the rest of my life in eternal muteness. You should know what choice I made, especially considering where we are now, with me talking. So the doctor tried out the new healing spell on me. I then felt a slight change in my body. It felt like my body was accepting the magic, but not as the doctor most likely intended it too.
He asked me if any changes were done to me once he had finished applying the spell. I told the doctor that indeed, there was a slight change. It soon became clear what the change was when trying to speak. I could not, as hard as I tried, speak above a natural whisper. I then attempted to sing. To the complete shock of everyone, especially me, my singing was completely restored. In fact, I had gained an “upgrade”. It would influence ponies in a subtle manner emotionally, depending on the tone of the song. It never worked on a banker to give me some free money though. I’m kidding, I’m kidding! Hey, put that down! OW, OW, OW, OW! I was making a light joke! Dear LaurFastia, lighten up! OW! I apologize, I apologize! I surrender, dammit!
*sigh* So, where were we? Ah, yes, what happened afterward. I’m sure you would want to know. Well, to be honest, not much happened afterward. I got a generous fan donation of some black bands from Zebrica. Plus enough bits left over to get myself a gold watch to help me keep track of time. Yet my fashion was pretty awful, as all I could ever find were single colored lime-green vests. They were comfy, so I frequently wore them, but I wish someone could change the color. It seemed though that somepony made it to where they don’t take a rip, tear, or even stain. The downside was that it meant no one could change the color. My eye color changes whenever I put on these glasses as well. They’re a more hazel without them, but turn a monochromatic blue once I do put them on. I wear these glasses to help me see better, as the cost of eye surgery is too much on my budget. Yet glasses are more cheap to come by, so that’s why I at least wear them.
4 years later, I moved to Ponyville. It was both to become their choral instructor and because of the quiet atmosphere that the town gave. Though I teach anyone who has the bits to pay. I don’t charge a whole lot for my services either, and I stay with them a week for each payment. I’ve taught Sweetie Belle, who I later found out to be the little sister to Rarity. Also known as the owner of the Carousel Boutique, the fashion shop to go to. I also taught Fluttershy, who I couldn’t resist trying to give her free lessons. But she was just as stubborn about paying for them. It’s been kind of a joke to us by now. Oh, yes, before I forget, I better put my name down for these. Can’t confuse me with the other ponies you get. Thanks for listening to me. Now, if you excuse me, I need to get to class. I’m kind of on a time budget here. See ya later, Twilight Sparkle!
You know what’s an interesting wake-up call? Singing right into your ear at a time I would consider to be too early, which was 7:00. Especially if the pony doing it was Pinkie Pie. Needless to say, I sang-shouted right at Pinkie. Of course, it did nothing to change her usually bubbly mood.
“Hey, Medley! Guess what? Guess what? C’mon, guess already! I thought you’d be awake by now? Do you want me to sing a pep-me-up-for-morning-stuff song? Also, can I have some of your coffee and hey what’s that?” She rambled at a high speed before getting distracted by something poking out of the closet.
“Pinkie, I like you as much as the next pony. But please, do not get me up at this insane hour. At least without a license and a very good reason.” I whispered while half-asleep, wishing for a mute button for Pinkie.
“C’mon, Mr. Grumpy! It’s the Summer Sun Celebration! And It’s at a big number as well! Number 1000! C’mon, we need to get ready for it today!” She yelled in an excited manner before dragging me away from my bed to try and hurry me along.
In case, by some odd coincidence, you’ve never met her before, here's the scoop. The pink pony of puzzling physics named Pinkie Pie is Ponyville’s professional party planner. She takes her job to a whole other level. She usually does a party every day for some reason or another. I still remember with some fondness on my ‘Welcome to Ponyville Party’ she set up for me. To be honest, she’s one of the most fun ponies to hang around, if you can tolerate her need to be as energetic as possible.
She also works at the Sugarcube Corner, home to the most amount of sweets available. With the possible exception for Bon Bon’s Confectionary. But now I’m starting to ramble. Anyways, I had my coffee and the spell of enchanted voice volume (on a sheet, so anypony could use it). I then finally got myself out the door with Pinkie Pie trailing behind.
As it turned out, this year was a little different than usual. For once, I had an important role in the celebration. I was to perform a piece dedicated to Celestia’s 1000 year rule. It was made for today's celebration in particular. With my talent, I would perform it very well, but as they say, practice makes perfect. Anyways, it was about 8:00 before anything interesting happened.
I only got through a few warm-ups before I noticed a royal chariot fly across the sky. It got stranger when it started to fly down towards Ponyville. I knew it couldn’t be Princess Celestia. After all, an alicorn is very conspicuous, especially in daylight. So, as anypony would, I wondered who it could be. My question was soon answered as the carriage had landed and a mare stepped out of the carriage. She was a dark lavender pony with a violet mane and tail that both had pink highlights. With her was a… baby dragon? Huh. I did not see that coming in the slightest. Anyways the mare was talking to the dragon with an air of impatience.
“But the fate of Equestria does not rely on me making friends,” she said, with the carriage now at a complete stop. The guards whinnied a bit to signal this as well. She jumped off the chariot and walked up to them.
“Thank you, sirs.” She thanked them as they flew back off to Canterlot.
“Maybe the ponies in Ponyville have interesting things to talk about!” the dragon exclaimed.
At that moment, I saw Pinkie Pie walk towards the three of us, most likely to tell me something interesting. I knew that this would be a hilarious event to watch. I predicted Pinkie would confuse the mare with her usual gasp, jump and run away. Then, later on, make the customary ‘Welcome to Ponyville’ party for her. And wouldn’t you know it, I was right to the letter. I even got the confused sentence right, which was:
“Well, that was interesting alright,” She said while making a confused face.
At this point, I started to laugh out loud at her reaction. She took notice and yelled at me.
“And what are you laughing at, exactly?” She demanded.
“Hehehe! I’m sorry, but it’s always hilarious to watch Pinkie Pie react to every new pony who lives here. She did this to me too, don’t worry. Name's Medley,” I introduced myself in a polite manner after winding down.
At this, the dragon looked like he recognized it and took out a checklist.
“Huh. Well, he is number 7 on the list, but since he’s here, we might as well check on him now,” he said to the mare.
“Ah yes, the Summer Sun Celebration preparations. How’s the song coming along?” She asked me, getting right onto business it seemed.
“There goes getting a name, it seems. I already memorized the song. I was about to try it out for the first time.” I replied, trying to remain polite but letting some of the sarcasm come through.
“Oh, sorry. Lots on my mind today, what with the preparations and all. My name is Twilight Sparkle and this is my assistant Spike. We’re here to oversee the preparations for the celebration.” She finally introduced herself and the dragon.
“Wait, what do you mean, ‘already memorized it’? I thought it took at least a week to get all the words right, especially since this was made a few days ago.” Spike questioned.
“Ah, Spike. This is where talents come into play. You see, my talent is an eidetic memory for any composition, no matter what. If it also has an instrument, I can play that as well along with singing it,” I explained.
“Really? That’s so cool!” Spike grinned.
“Oh come now. Even I had to practice my magic a lot and my talent is magic. I don’t believe you at all,” Twilight stated, looking at me as though I was both lying and being lazy.
“I have a good memory for music, not memory in general. I have to make sure to keep up my mental exercises to keep a memory at all. A trade-off, I suppose,” I rationalized.
“You better have that song memorized, or else it’s my head that goes!” She said in a panicked voice.
“Don’t worry. I understand where you’re coming from. After all, I once had a lot on my plate for being a very good actor and singer, trying not to brag here,” I told Twilight.
She huffed a bit and went along her way towards Sweet Apple Acres. Spike gave me a look that tried to convey that she was stressed and not to take it to heart. I understood and nodded my head to make sure he did as well. It was after that did I realize I was supposed to actually be doing something. Yet, my tendency to wait until the last minute kicked into high gear and wanted to try and help Pinkie with the party.
I did end up helping her, both in the morning and the better part of the afternoon as well. Lucky for me they decided to cancel school for the day. It was soon after that that other ponies started to come into Twilight’s home and help with the surprise party. It was 4 o’clock when Twilight arrived with Spike. Though it was an odd conversation that took place between him and Twilight.
“Huh. Rude much?” He stated.
“Sorry Spike,” Twilight apologized. “But I have to convince the Princess that Nightmare Moon is coming and we’re running out of time. I just need to be alone so I can study without a bunch of crazy ponies trying to make friends all the time. Now, where’s the light?”
It was very bad timing on Pinkie’s part to turn on the light at that specific time. Seeing as we startled Twilight completely. I was amazed that she didn’t even see us, even with her magic. Once we all yelled surprise, She sighed and started to try and get away from the crowd. That failed almost immediately with Pinkie Pie being a chatterbox. She talking Twilight’s ear off for a solid two minutes (I timed). It all ended with Twilight accidentally drinking hot sauce and escaping to her room to study. After seeing the culinary disaster waiting to happen, I went upstairs to try and comfort her a bit. After all, she must’ve been introduced to the other ponies who were working on preparation.
Applejack had her family over, so Twilight must’ve been suckered into sampling their food. It made sense too, as Applejack works, lives, and co-owns Sweet Apple Acres. Also known as the best farmland to ever produce apples. They are to live for, not kidding. Then there’s Rainbow Dash, who never really did grow up much. So she most likely showed off her skills and got Twilight into some kind of a mess. I could tell since Twilight also looked like she escaped Rarity’s clutches. Then there’s Fluttershy, who was most likely interested and was talking to Spike due to him being a dragon. She never did change from foalhood either, but at least she’s cool with animals. And now she got introduced to Pinkie, who does not know the meaning of the word subtle or simmer down. I knew that they could be a handful, but were cool ponies to hang around once you got to know them a bit. But, I’m digressing.
“Hey, Twilight. Not in the mood to party?” I asked, not wanting her to be more upset.
“All the ponies in this town are crazy!” She yelled. Yep, I set her off. Well, now it’s time to try and reel her back in.
“They really do mean well. It’s just that, I know today is a big day for you and I know you want everything to be perfect for Princess Celestia,” I began.
This got her to calm a bit, but instead have it be replaced with confusion. “How did you know that?” She asked if a bit too harsh on me.
“Hey, don’t hit the messenger. I could tell from earlier today and from recent events. I can be a logical pony when I want to be,” I joked a bit, trying to lighten the tension.
At this, she gave a small smile towards the joke but started to frown right afterward.
“Do you want to be left alone or do you want someone to vent towards?” I gave her a choice.
“Just leave me be, please. Oh, and tell Spike not to eat too much sugar. He is a baby dragon after all,” She smiled at that and turned towards the window.
I said I would leave her be then and closed the door behind me to go back to the party. Though I swear I could hear something about ‘Elements of Harmony’. I left her alone for about an hour but then had to get her so that she could make it in time for the celebration. She thanked me and we made our way to the town hall. Everypony was ready for what they needed to do. I was off to the side so that I could come on later while Fluttershy was getting her birds ready. It was very soon afterward that the Mayor began her speech. She did the introductions and the history behind the Summer Sun Celebration. Then, it was soon time for Princess Celestia to make her appearance.
What would’ve been next would be Princess Celestia, but for some reason, she was missing. It was soon clear why, as a mist that looked like a starry skyscape started to form into an alicorn. But this was not Princess Celestia. Everypony could tell that much. Judging from the sharpened teeth, the cat-pupil eyes, and the very dark coat. The voice also kind of gave it away too, come to think of it.
“What did you do with our Princess?” Rainbow Dash loudly demanded as she tried flying directly to the alicorn, only being held back by Applejack.
She began to chuckle in response to Rainbow Dash’s actions. “W̫̼̻̪͉h͕̦̝͉y̸̩͙̹̱ͅ?͖̦͠ ̖͚̲̹̺A͉͎̰̘͓͔m̪̫ ̯̰̰͖͎̕I̝̫ ͔͉̪͚̳̭̀n̦͙̤͇͉̞ͅo͎͠t̖͓̬͘ ̺̺͉̭̭r͈o̢̬̫̱y̪͕͡a̵̙̲͖̤͇̙ͅl̟͖͔̹ ̳̦̣ḛ̘̼n͚̘̯̙ò̼ú̻̤̤g̣̰̰̱̻͕ͅh̨̝͓̝̟̳ ̷̙̪f̡̞͈o̙̱̙͟r̳̺̲̰͍̩̱ y̺̮̭̤̻̲͇͜o̮̮͈͖̹̜u?͜ ̳̞Do͇͔̮ņ͎'̦́ṱ̮̘͢ ̣̰̝͈̮͜y̡͓̩͔̩̗o̷ͅṳ̶͙̭͔̟̣ ̞̪͘k͇̹͓͓n͇̜͍̮̦̲o̞w͖̮͓͍ ̖̹̣̩̜wh͍̠̞̳̲̺ͅo͙̲̲̘͍̮ I̥̦͚̭ ͓a͕̳̣̫̻̹͉͘m͕͍̲̗̰̟͞?̪͠ͅ” She challenged.
“Oh, oh! More guessing games!” Pinkie Pie still retained that cheerfulness. “Uh, let’s see: Hokey Smokes? How about Queen Meanie? No, no, Black Snooty, Black Sno-” She was interrupted by Applejack, who stuffed an apple cupcake in her mouth to try and get her to stay quiet.
It somewhat worked. However, she was on a roll here. “D̲̪̩͈̩̦ọ͍̙̪̙̪͎͡e͈͚͔̙̞͖͖̕s͖̝͉̕ ̷̝m͖y̥͍̯̜̳̘͈ ̢̣̜̹͉̞͍cr͚͜ͅo̴̱̪̲w̼̦̝͚̩̬̼n ̭͍͖̜̖̦̯n̰͇̼o̥ ̷͔l̮ǫ͙̺͇͉̣̠̻n͉͔̻̮̳͈̹͞g͈̳͚̟͚̘̯e̢͙r̟̫͎̯̠̥ͅ ͔̞̭̗̝co̱̤̖̺͕̦u͏͎͚̝ͅn͙̯t̤͚̺͉̖͠ͅ ҉̜̭̗̣̗̲n̝̥̻o͕̩͓͉̹̘͖w͓̕ ̲̥̺t̰̜h̦͞a̱̮̠͕ͅt̲̣̼͔̬̲̞ ̬I̷'̬̳̗̫̦̖v̜̝̪͎͓̬̳e̙̟̻̮͔ ̟̲͉͉͢b̻̹̮͙̙̝ͅee̤̹͞n̟̘̳̖̼̜͓ ̳i͖̭̬̪̲͕̰mp̤͢r͟i̡̪̣̩̗̪s͝ó̟͎̖̖̞n̼̟ẹ̺͜d͏ ̢̜̥̤̲̦f̴̝o̷̬͇ͅr̜͚̗͙̼͍̼ ̮̹̙̻̱̼̰1̪̼͓̀00͇͚͉̺͉0̟̺ ҉̦͇y̸̩͉̠e̟̳͖̜͓͉̰͡a̝r̩͓͈̭͝s̤̣̻?͏̞̯͈̙͕ ̙͉̫D̟̥̬i̘̦͔d͈̗ ̼y̮̣̲o̰̤͇͍͓u͇͕̠͓ ̮͓̹̬͉͢no͘t͓͝ ̖͖͔r̟̮̕e̠͇̗͖̻̼c̵̩̫͓̬͖a͕̰̥̳l̖̬̳l̷͉̠̠̤̼ͅ ̣̜͔̥͖͉͉t͉̟̫h̶̰̹͎e͓͖̬͞ ̡̤̼̘l̞̗eg̻̜̪͎͈en̮d̪̬̗?͕̟ ̳̖̼̭͡D̶̤̱͙i̺ḑ̬͚̭͉̣̹ ̸̖̼y̭̠̮͍͖o͏̳͉u̧̱̫ ̺n̬̺̞o͕͓͉̦t҉̘̩ ̢̘͚̥͓̼̺͕s͔̘ͅe͖e̲̗̭̺̥̠̱̕ ̛̖̮t̤̫̬̗͟h̴͈͚͈̙̱̞ͅè̫͖ ͙͔͉͖̩̫͙s͇̱i̹̜̝̕g͔n̼̻͖͕͇͎̕s̖̤̺̟͔͇?̥͓̖̣̰̻͎” She taunted while intimidating Fluttershy and Rarity.
Twilight, however, took a stand (metaphorically, of course). “I did. And I know who you are. You’re the Mare In The Moon. Nightmare Moon,” At this proclamation, the entirety of Town Hall gasped in shock, even me. After all, I thought it was just a myth as well. Though come to think of it, the signs were kind of obvious. But once again, I digress.
It seemed like Twilight was about to say it, but lost her nerves at that point. I stepped in, understanding her situation completely. However, I can be just as tactless as Pinkie on my off days and this counted as an off day.
“You’re here to raise eternal night and to make sure the sun never rises again,” I stated in a monotone voice.
She turned to look at me like I had spoken out of turn. S̳̞͍o̸ ̳͓̥̯̟y͔̤̹̘̞̭͡o̫̺̦̙̤̹u҉͙͙̝͖͍̻̬ ̞̯͔̱ķ͎̬̪̼n͏͙o̭͚͍w͕̫̼̬ ̫͞a͙s̸̱͙̮͓̙͚ ̴̮̞ẁe̢̬l̰͉̟̦͞ͅl͓͕͚͇.̖͠ ̸T͏̯̟̠h͍̯̺̟en̡̺̥ ̰r͙̳̗̞̫͕e̝̻̞̟͚m̨̤̰̖e͖͖̣̻͓͉̝͞m͔b̫̲̞͉͍͕ḙ̛̪͍r̀ ̹̬̮t͓̻̝̯h̻͔̹̳i̶͇̙s,̳̞͟ ̶̪̞̯m̠͉͇͇̘y̩̲͕ ̦̼̻ͅl͖̭̻ì̝̩̲͎̩̰̩t̟̕t͏̦̪̞̬̫l̖e̻̪͎͍̱̫͞ ̺̭̲̲͔po͚n͈̰y͉͈̜͡.̧̖ ͉̹̙̗́T̻̤̮̫̗́h͓͚̬i̞͍͉s̫̫̱̫ ̙̩̗̤̗g͓̼͡o̧̫̱̥̮̭͎͚e̷͔̣̹̺̦͙s̘̞̪̝̼̗̥ ̗̫̲͖̼f̩o̥̖̪̞͕r̢̝̤ ͙͉̣̩̗͇̼̕t̳̺͚̟͓̝h̛̝ḙ̸̦ ̻̱̤͘r̠ḛ̰̱̗s̷̲̘̳̤̗͎t̯ ̷̰͈̰̘̻̩ͅo̬̳̯̜̟f̹̹ ̘̜͚̞̠̫y̛̞o̴u̦̞̣͙ ͈̤͙̙͔͇a̗̬̕s̩ ͓w҉̳̜̰e̗̭̝̕l̙̭̣͞ͅl͙̹͓̳̲͜.͇ ̖̼̮̟̻R̗͔̦̼̲e̘m͍̬͓̠̭̯ͅe̮͎̤̟m̫̺͖͠b̡̬͍̫̥ͅé͚͉̻̭̼̖͈r̰͉̺ ̹̼͖͚͎͇͟th̬̲̻͈̲̬̟i͇̙̘̤͡ṣ͔̻̭̭̯̺ ̮͎̲d͖̜̦a͉̕y͕̹͈͚,̘͚̫̠͚̹͢ ̛̰͓̹̹͇͕͔f̣̙̣͉͙̥͉͘o̻̮̺̖͚̗r ͘i͔͙̜̟͕͇͠t̻̬̝̪͎͞ ̠̞̖s̩ḩ̼̫͓a̡l͢l ̴͔̥͓͕̦͔͍be̮͙̱͉̟̼̕.̳͔̝̫͚̹̘ ͍͕͎̹͡Y̷̘̻o͚̺̜ͅur͔̙̞͎͎ͅ.̗͕̟̖͇̼͞ ̨͇L̞̜̰̖A̡̟͔͈S̬̣̺͙͕̖̯͢T͓͇͔͓̟!͉͇̜̝” She laughed maniacally as she teleported off to who knows where.
“This is really bad. Really bad,” Twilight stammered.
“So, what next?” I asked, partially stunned at what just happened. After all, it’s not everyday you get to meet a legend and live to tell if said legend happens to be a villain.
“Now, we try and stop Nightmare Moon,” Twilight said while throwing Spike onto her back and ran off to the library. I followed suit, having no idea what to do. We had to run a bit, but we finally got to the library. Twilight quickly got Spike into bed.
He only got up to quickly say, “We got to stop Nightmare…” and promptly fell back asleep.
“You’ve been up all night Spike,” Twilight threw a blanket over him in tired happiness. “You are a baby dragon after all.”
She shut off the lights and quickly started going through her small collection of books, throwing out one after the other. I knew what it would be like in an eternal night, so I quickly started to help her search for the book as well.
“Elements, Elements, Elements! How can I stop Nightmare Moon without the Elements of Harmony?” She asked herself.
I just answered back with, “I don’t know! Where the heck is this book anyways?”
“And just what are the Elements of Harmony?” Rainbow Dash asked, appearing almost out of nowhere. “And how did you know about Nightmare Moon, huh? Are you a spy?”
She was pulled away rather quickly by Applejack, who admonished Rainbow Dash’s behavior. “Simmer down Sally. She ain’t no spy,” She then turned her attention to Twilight. “But she sure knows what’s goin’ on. Don’t you, Twilight?”
The other ponies that gathered behind her, which would be Pinkie Pie, Rarity and Fluttershy all looked at her expectantly. For some reason, it made me think of some kind of scene out of a horror movie.
Twilight sighed and explained to them what was going on. “I read all about the prediction of Nightmare Moon. Some mysterious objects called the Elements of Harmony are the only things that can stop her. But I don’t know what they are, where to find them. I don’t even know what they do!”
“And as for the legend of Nightmare Moon,” I stepped up to help Twilight with her case. “Legend has been said that there was once two sisters who governed over Equestria: The Sun Sister and the Moon Sister. They ruled over the land in relative peace and achieved Harmony throughout the land. But over time, the Moon Sister was jealous towards the Sun Sister. You see, ponies celebrated during the day, but slept through her beautiful nights. And so, one night, she decided to not lower the moon to try and get ponies to love her nights. There was a fight between the two sisters, with the winner being the Sun Sister. Using the Elements of Harmony, she banished her sister to the moon. This legend has been passed down for generations, but I never realized it could be true.”
The mood was a bit somber until a voice spoke up. Not surprisingly, it was Pinkie Pie. Surprisingly, it was what we needed, “The Elements of Harmony: A Reference Guide.”
“How did you find that?” Twilight asked, running to where it was, pushing Pinkie out of the way.
“It was under E!” Pinkie replied, bouncing back towards the main group in her usual happy self.
“Oh.” Twilight was confused and most likely wondering how Pinkie was able to understand her system of organizing better than she did. But, she passed over that and took out the book. She began to read out loud.
“There are 6 Elements of Harmony, but only 5 are known: Kindness, Laughter, Generosity, Honesty, and Loyalty. The 6th is a complete mystery. It is said the last known location of the 5 Elements was in the ancient castle of the Royal Pony Sisters. It is located in what is now known as The Everfree Forest.”
I think it was about the time we got everyone near the place when it finally had hit them.
“THE EVERFREE FOREST?!” Everyone but Twilight and I exclaimed.
“Whee, let’s go!” Pinkie happily stated and started to walk towards the forest.
“Not so fast,” Twilight said, halting Pinkie mid-step. “Look, I appreciate the offer, but I really rather do this on my own.”
“No can do, sugarcube,” Applejack stepped forward. “We sure ain’t lettin’ any friend of ours go into that creepy place alone. We’re sticking to you like caramel on a candy apple.” Rainbow Dash, Rarity, and Fluttershy, along with Applejack walked towards the forest as a group.
“Especially if there are candy apples in there,” Pinkie Pie resumed her walk. She looked back and responded to Twilight’s incredulous face with, “What? Those things are delicious!”
“Look at it this way, Twilight,” I said to her. “Just in case there are the 5 Elements in there, you need more than 1 pony to use them. Especially if there’s a 6th one that relies on the other.”
“But they don’t need to risk their lives for a total stranger who wasn’t too nice to them to even bother them other than for decorations for some celebration,” Twilight sighed.
“I knew what was happening to you, so I understood that you were just anxious. Plus, that chariot told me that you were from Canterlot, so I was expecting you to shy away from everypony and just focus on whatever you wanted,” I logically deduced.
“...” Twilight had a look of shock on her face as I pieced everything together.
“Don’t worry. I just took basic clues and strung them all together.” I tried to stop her from launching into a panic attack.
“Speaking of clues… I’m just starting to notice something. Why does it sound like your voice is amplified?” It had worked, but now she had a new target to aim her worries at.
“What do you mean?” I tried to pull a blank face at that but failed.
“You do realize you’re speaking to a protege of Princess Celestia herself. And for the fact that my talent is all magic, however small or big?” She pointed out, smirking a bit as she raised an eyebrow.
“...That is a story for another time. If you still want to know, talk to me later and I'll tell you myself. I say later because as of right now, it looks like the group is leaving us behind. Shall we catch up?” I told her.
“Yeah, we should. Thanks for taking the time to ease my worries.” Twilight thanked me.
“Anypony could understand as well if they took some time to look at the situation and understood what needed to be done. Hey everypony, wait up!” I yelled as best I could at the group, who was just starting to notice two missing ponies.
“What was that all about?” Rainbow Dash asked me and Twilight, being suspicious.
“Nothing more than a short conversation, Rainbow. Now, shall we move forward?” I asked as I trotted along.
“Sure thing. Let’s git going, gals… and colt,” Applejack said, almost forgetting I came along for the ride. I nodded my head to show it didn’t affect me.
We walked along for a little bit in complete silence. Oddly enough, it was Twilight who broke the silence first.
“So… none of you have ever been in here before?” She questioned.
“Heavens no! Just look at it,” Rarity responded, pointing all around her. “It’s dreadful!”
“And it ain’t natural,” Applejack tacked on. "Some folks say it don’t work the same as Equestria.”
I kept all memories of my life before to myself, but Twilight had to ask since she was as unfamiliar to the forest as I was.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Twilight fearfully asked the group.
“Nopony knows,” Rainbow Dash spoke in a spooky voice. “You know why?”
“Rainbow quit it!” Applejack yelled at Rainbow Dash.
She ignored her and continued trying to spook us. “‘Cause everypony who’s ever come in… has never… come… OUT!” She finished with a yell.
I think Karma had some fun earlier and now it was being a troll, as at that moment the land we were standing on collapsed, sending Twilight, Rarity, Pinkie, and Applejack down while Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy and I all started to fly. It was me and Fluttershy getting Rarity while Rainbow Dash got Pinkie Pie. Applejack hung on to Twilight’s hoof to keep her from falling.
“Applejack, what do I do?” Twilight asked, hanging on for dear life.
I signaled to Applejack that we were ready to catch her fall.
“Let go,” Applejack calmly replied.
“Are you crazy!?” Twilight shrieked.
“No, I ain’t. I promise you’ll be safe,” Applejack promised.
“That’s not true!” Twilight was starting to panic.
“Now, listen here,” Applejack became a bit sterner. “What I’m sayin’ to you is the honest truth. Let go and you’ll be safe.”
It was in that moment I made the connection to an Element and a pony. It seemed like Twilight did too, as she did as she was told and was caught by Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash. I was already on the ground, waiting for the rest of the group. Applejack just jumped down from rock to rock until she caught up with us.
We continued along our path, with Rainbow Dash telling a blow-by-blow account of the recent event. Several times. In the span of a few minutes. It was getting to the point where even I was starting to be a bit miffed at this. However, I held my tongue and just let the group handle her. Luckily, she was interrupted. Unluckily, it was a manticore that stopped us.
“A manticore!” Twilight panicked as it roared at us. “We've got to get past it!”
I then noticed that the manticore had a thorn stuck in its left paw. However, due to the nature of the spell page of amplifying the voice, I was just stuck at a normal talk level. I thought that Fluttershy saw the thorn as well, but I knew that she couldn’t be easily heard either, as her default is a whisper/mumble unless she completely forgot where she was at that moment. The other 5 ponies tried to defeat the manticore, but were outmatched quite quickly. It was at the point the 5 ponies all started to charge at the manticore what both Fluttershy and I stopped them.
“Waaaaait!” Fluttershy yelled as I talked, giving a bit more volume.
Surprised by Fluttershy actually being louder than me, they listened as she turned to the manticore. She walked up to it and gave it a warming nuzzle with her head as she batted those baby blue eyes at him. The manticore paused and showed her the paw with the thorn in it.
“Oh, you poor, poor little baby,” She cooed.
“Little?” Rainbow Dash asked dubiously.
“Now, this may hurt for just a second,” Fluttershy said as she pulled out the thorn. The manticore gave a loud roar but then started to lick Fluttershy’s face like a little kitten.
“How did you know about the thorn?” She asked Fluttershy after the whole group went through.
“I didn’t,” Fluttershy told Twilight, surprising her. “Sometimes, we just all need to be shown a little kindness.”
“Then, did you notice the thorn earlier, Medley?” She asked me.
“Actually, yes. These glasses I have on enchant my vision to a better degree than normal pony eyes. I figured it would come in handy today outside of writing music,” I answered.
“Then why didn’t you say anything earlier?” Twilight asked once again.
“I can’t speak above a normal voice. Again, if you want to know, then get me later for an interview,” I told her.
We continued to walk along our merry way. Well, for most of us it was merry.
“Ugh. My eyes need a rest from all this icky muck,” Rarity complained. It was at that moment we lost the light of the moon. “I didn’t mean that literally.”
“The ancient ruins could be right in front of our faces and we wouldn’t even know it!” Twilight started to panic for the millionth time.
We then all started to voice our problems as well with the dark. It was then Applejack who spoke above the rest.
“Uh, girls, I think I stepped in something,” She said, holding up a muddy hoof. Fluttershy gave a scream at that.
Applejack exasperated, “It’s just mud.” She then turned to find a somewhat creepy looking tree, which the darkness just improved on. It was at that point we all started to scream Bloody Mary. It was also at that point I noticed that Pinkie was laughing at the trees. Shortly after the girls noticed as well, most likely matching my stupefied expression.
“Pinkie, what are you doing?” Twilight was truly shocked at her. “RUN!”
“Oh, girls, don’t you see?” Pinkie asked, bouncing to a beat that I could soon hear.
When I was a little filly and the sun was going down…
“Tell me she's not…” Twilight groaned.
The darkness and the shadows, they would always make me frown…
“She is,” Rarity and I said at the same tie, her in resignation and me in happiness.
I'd hide under my pillow
From what I thought I saw
But Granny Pie said that wasn't the way
To deal with fears at all
“Then what is?” Rainbow Dash asked Pinkie.
She said, "Pinkie, you gotta stand up tall
Learn to face your fears
You'll see that they can't hurt you
Just laugh to make them disappear."
Ha! Ha! Ha!
Everypony gasped as the tree turned to normal. So while she was singing, I started to laugh at the ridiculous tree faces and they poofed. They caught on quickly and started to do the same during her song.
So, giggle at the ghostly
Guffaw at the grossly
Crack up at the creepy
Whoop it up with the weepy
Chortle at the kooky
Snortle at the spooky
And tell that big dumb scary face to take a hike and leave you alone and if he thinks he can scare you then he's got another thing coming and the very idea of such a thing just makes you wanna... hahahaha... heh...
Laaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaauuuugh!
Everypony then got into a big group on the floor and we laughed for a while. It was during that time I had made another connection to an Element and hope that Twilight did the same. We all got up eventually, still chuckling and proceeded to what looked like a river being upset if it had feelings.
“How are we gonna cross this?” Pinkie Pie asked.
We then heard someone crying very melodramatically and began to investigate. It was a short-lived mystery, as we quickly found out what the source of the noise was. It was a pretty strange sight. It looked like a 10-foot tall sea serpent throwing a fit and sounding very… odd. At least, his pattern of speech did.
“What a world, what a world!” He cried out in anguish.
We got near him to ask what the trouble was.
“Excuse me, sir,” Twilight began. “Why are you crying?”
“Well, I don’t know. I was just sitting here, minding my own business, when this, tacky little cloud of purple smoke just whizzed past me and tore half of my beloved mustache clean off,” he explained. “And now, I look simply horrid!”
He dramatically splashed into the river, soaking all 7 of us to the skin.
“Oh, give me a break,” Rainbow Dash grumbled.
“That’s what all the fuss is about?” Applejack seemed to be on the same boat as Rainbow Dash. I, for one, understood his reaction. After all, I had a well-trimmed goatee that matched my natural hair and I would not be so calm if someone took it away from me.
“Why, of course, it is!” Rarity looked at the two in horror. “How can you be so insensitive?”
She walked up to the serpent courageously. “Oh, just look at him. Such lovely luminescent scales.”
“I know,” The serpent perked up at this.
“Your expertly coiffed mane,” She continued to praise him.
“Oh I know, I know,” He started to preen a bit.
“Your fabulous manicure,” She continued, both in part distraction and geniality.
“*gasp* It’s so true!” He squeed a bit at this.
“All ruined without your beautiful mustache," She ended.
“It’s true, I’m hideous,” He went back into his funk.
“I cannot let a crime against fabulosity go uncorrected!” She pronounced with a hardened expression on her face.
I don’t know what possessed me to say what I said next, but I did it anyway. “So, that means I can wear lime green vests to Canterlot? Sweet! I knew it was a good idea to get all those shirts!”
She then slowly turned her head towards me with a maniacal grin. “You’ll be next, dear gentlecolt. Once we’re done here and we get some rest, it’s off to my shop to get you. New. Clothes,” She then proceeded to turn her attention back towards the serpent and pulled out one of his scales.
“Ow! What did you do that for?” He teared up a bit.
“Rarity, what are you-” Twilight was interrupted by Rarity using the scale. And I have to say, I never saw it coming either.
Rarity had used the scale as some kind of scissor-like object to cut off all of her tail, leaving behind nothing but a ragged stump of her once a beautifully groomed tail. She then lifted the tail with magic to where the stump of the serpent’s mustache was and tied the mane to it, completing the mustache once again.
The serpent giggled a bit at his fabulous dual mustache and started to feel happier. “My mustache! How wonderful!”
“You look smashing,” Rarity commented.
“Oh, Rarity! Your beautiful tail!” Twilight started to worry.
“Oh, it’s fine my dear. Short tails are in this season,” Rarity brushed off. “Besides, it’ll grow back.”
“So would the mustache,” Rainbow Dash grumbled some more.
“I actually agree with Rarity on this one. After all, one can never go without the proper facial. It simply cannot be done,” I added.
“Then why do you wear those hideous green shirts, darling?” Rarity almost screeched her question.
“I find them to be more comfortable. Plus, it does make me stand out from all the rest of the other ponies,” I rationalized.
“Um, sugarcube, yer already different from most other ponies. Ya kinda do have red hair with blue hair at the ends,” Applejack pointed out.
“You will still require a different wardrobe once this whole nonsense is over,” Rarity stubbornly added.
“Well, now we can cross this river, everypony!” Twilight moved forward but was stopped by the serpent.
“Allow me,” he said, turning his back into crossable platforms that only required a bit of jumping on our parts. We thanked him for the help and continued along our way.
We walked along for a little while before Twilight exclaimed, “There it is! The ruin that holds the Elements of Harmony. We made it!” She started to run ahead before being pulled back by me.
“Why did you do that?” She angrily yelled at me.
“Sorry, I didn’t realize you had wings to fly across the gap,” I answered with a bit of sarcasm. What? It happens every so often. I just don’t normally use it unless it’s a hectic time, which I think this counts for.
“What’s with you and falling off cliffs today?” Rainbow Dash piped up.
Pinkie sighed, “Now what?”
“Duh,” Rainbow Dash said, sticking out her wings to show she could fly over.
“Oh yeah,” Pinkie realized.
Rainbow Dash grabbed the end of the bridge and pulled it up so at least one side was up. I then had a sinking feeling: Where was the next trap? I knew it couldn’t just be the bridge, as that would be too stupid of a plan, even for Nightmare Moon. I then saw three Pegasi with similar uniforms that looked like the Wonderbolts, but with a darker tone to them. I also saw Rainbow Dash cheering for a second and thought they were trying to bribe her to leave us hanging. I quickly got Twilight’s attention to the rather long wait.
“Rainbow!” Twilight yelled from across the bridge gap. “What’s taking so long?”
I think it was then she also saw what was happening. “Oh no,” she whispered.
“Rainbow!” She yelled again. “Don’t leave with them!”
One of the Pegasi noticed beforehand, however, and quickly separated the group from Rainbow Dash in the fog, muffling out Twilight’s sentence.
“Oh, I hope she’ll get the bridge up and running,” Twilight worried.
“I hope so as well,” I tried to calm her yet again, but it proved as effective as last time: not very. It was only a tense-filled few seconds before Rainbow Dash reappeared, clearing the fog to show that the bridge was completed and the Pegasi disappeared.
“See? I’d never leave my friends hangin’,” She said as we crossed the bridge.
It was at that moment everything clicked together: The 5 ponies who faced the challenges in their unique ways also represented the 5 Elements of Harmony in the myth. However, I didn’t know what my purpose for being here was, as Twilight was most likely the rare 6th Element of Harmony. I really didn’t do much in the way of support in the challenges. Heck, most of us didn’t really do anything in the latest one. However, my thoughts were cut abruptly as we came upon the royal ruins. We entered the building, amazed at the relics still left there before we got to the main greeting room.
“Come on, Twilight,” Applejack said, a bit impatiently. “Isn’t this what you’ve been waiting for?”
“The Elements of Harmony,” She breathed. “We found them!”
The ones who could fly were the ones designated for the task of getting the spheres down. I carried 2 as did Rainbow Dash while Fluttershy took one. We set them down as carefully as we could.
“One, two, three, four… There’s only 5,” Pinkie counted.
“Where’s the 6th?” Rainbow Dash asked.
“The book said, when the 5 are present, a spark will cause the 6th Element to be revealed,” Twilight recounted.
“But what in the hay is that supposed to mean?” Applejack questioned in slight irritation.
“I’m not sure, but I have an idea,” Twilight hesitated, then warned. “Stand back. I don’t know what will happen.”
We all decided to heed her advice on this. Her specialty was magic, after all.
“Come on now, ya’ll. She needs to concentrate,” Applejack politely asked us as she was moving us out the door. We complied and waited for a little while.
“So, what’s the deal with you and Twilight, dude?” Rainbow Dash asked me while we were waiting.
“Nothing at all, actually. I was just concerned for her. I thought that’s what a friend was supposed to do?” I replied, keeping my voice calm.
“So, you don’t have a thing for her?” Rainbow Dash continued.
“Not at all. I just usually see where she’s coming from. After all, my experiences may not be the same as hers, but anyone can relate. It’s just a matter of taking time to see what’s going on to better understand how to help her. This applies to almost any of my other friends,” I explained.
“What do ya mean, ‘almost’?” Applejack noticed.
“I have non-pony friends. Therefore, different rules apply,” I further expounded on. Everyone just gave a look that seemed to agree with what I was saying.
We then heard a yelp from Twilight and immediately sprung into action. But by the time we got there, she had already disappeared with the Elements. We got confused for a second before noticing some staircases leading upward and towards a different building.
“Come on everypony! CHARGE!” I did a little war ditty that got them charged up enough to go out and climb the stairs.
Everypony was worried about her, so we started calling out to her as we reached near the end of the staircase.
“You think you can destroy the Elements of Harmony, just like that?” We heard Twilight tell Nightmare Moon. “Well, you’re wrong!”
“The Spirits of the Elements of Harmony… Are right… HERE!” She did a dramatic showing of all 7 of us.
It was in that moment, the shards that were scattered around Nightmare Moon began to float in different colors and fly towards their respective colored pony.
“Applejack, who reassured me when I was in doubt, represents the Element of Honesty!” Shards floated around Applejack after that sentence.
“Fluttershy, who tamed the manticore with her compassion, represents the Element of Kindness!” Shards floated around Fluttershy after that sentence.
“Pinkie Pie, who banished fear by giggling in the face of danger, represents the Element of Laughter!” Shards floated around Pinkie Pie after that sentence.
“Rarity, who calmed a sorrowful serpent with a meaningful gift, represents the Element of Generosity!” Shards floated around Rarity after that sentence.
“Rainbow Dash, who would not abandon her friends for her own heart’s desire, represents the Element of Loyalty!” Shards floated around Rainbow Dash after that sentence.
“And Medley, who saw each situation for what it was, whether it be personal or external, and did all he could to help, represents the Element of Understanding!” Shards floated around me after that sentence, even though we all clearly saw 5 Elements.
“The spirit of these 6 ponies got us through every challenge you threw at us,” Twilight challenged.
“Is that the rare 6th Element? Understanding? That’s not very powerful at all,” Nightmare Moon desperately was grabbing at straws.
“No, Nightmare Moon. Understanding is not the 6th Element. A spark was needed to connect all these Elements together. I found that spark the very moment I knew how happy I was to hear from you. To see you. How much I cared about you. The spark ignited inside me. When I realized that you all…” She paused to face a terrified Nightmare Moon. “Are my friends!”
Suddenly, a 7th ball appeared right over Twilight’s head. It was the unheard 7th Element. Twilight continued to lecture Nightmare Moon. “You see, Nightmare Moon when those Elements are ignited by the… the spark. That resides in the hearts of us all, it creates the 7th Element. The Element of Magic!”
The ball then expelled its latent energy out towards the shards surrounding us. The shards turned into necklaces for all of us, even me, while the ball turned into a tiara that rested on top of Twilight’s head. We then all formed together in a group to fire off a… rainbow of Friendship? Interesting. Nightmare Moon cried out, but she was caught in the Rainbow and was quickly consumed by it. After the resulting white pulse, we were slightly scattered in the group formation. We slowly came back to and quickly took a damage report.
“Everypony OK?” Applejack asked a bit groggily.
“Oh my goodness,” Rarity was up and about, examining her tail, now fully restored.
“Why Rarity, it’s so lovely,” Fluttershy commented.
“I know! I’ll never part with it again!” Rarity exclaimed.
“No, your necklace,” Fluttershy pointed at what seemed to be a necklace made out of nowhere. “It looks just like your Cutie Mark.”
She was right. In the middle of the necklaces being worn by all of us was Rarity’s purple diamond, Fluttershy’s pink butterfly, Applejack’s orange apple, Pinkie’s blue balloon, Rainbow Dash’s red lightning bolt, my green heart notes, and Twilight’s tiara held up a fuchsia six-pointed star.
After checking out new jewelry, we quickly noticed something interesting. The sun was rising, along with a voice that Twilight recognized immediately.
“You are all indeed good friends,” The regal voice said.
The rising sun soon started to shine through the cracked window and began to be brighter and brighter until it had ended very quickly. However, an alicorn was standing in front of the window. Namely, Princess Celestia herself. Everypony began to bow, including me (I don’t want to possibly piss off royalty). Twilight, however, reacted a bit differently.
“Princess Celestia!” She exclaimed as she trotted up to her.
“Twilight Sparkle,” She replied in the same tone. “My faithful student. I knew you could do it.”
Well, that solved a mystery as to why she was here and a real explanation to the royal chariot earlier. However, Twilight continued speaking.
“But, you told me it was all an old pony tale,” She sounded confused.
“I told you that you needed to make some new friends, nothing more,” she spoke benevolently. “I saw the signs of Nightmare Moon’s return and I knew it was you who had the magic inside to defeat her. But you could not unleash it until you let true friendship into your heart.”
During her little speech, we all slowly got up and looked in awe at Celestia. I was just hoping for an explanation as to why there were more Elements than stated in the legends.
"Now if only another will as well,” Celestia said, looking in a spot. We all turned our heads to the spot as well.
It was a dark blue alicorn surrounded by fragments of what looked like Nightmare Moon’s armor. Celestia confirmed my thought by simply saying, “Princess Luna.”
Celestia began to speak with her and Luna gasped at this. “It has been a thousand years since I have seen you like this. Time to put our differences behind us. We were meant to rule together, little sister.”
“Sister?” I heard some of us dumbly state.
Celestia continued speaking to Luna. “Will you accept my friendship?”
Everypony leaned forward to hear the answer. In Pinkie’s case, she went too far and fell over.
Luna looked a bit sad and ran up to Celestia. “I’m so sorry! I missed you so much, big sister!”
Both Celestia and Luna were starting to cry. “I’ve missed you too.”
Pinkie was crying buckets full of tears. I wish I was saying figuratively, but with Pinkie Pie, it rarely does. She soon stopped for something even more pressing to her. “Hey, you know what this calls for? A party!’
Everypony cheered and Celestia and Luna teleported us all back to the outskirts of Ponyville, where the Summer Sun Celebration was being held. She and Luna got on their royal chariots after asking me and Twilight to stay behind for some answers. During the celebrations, however, Twilight got a bit saddened.
“Why so glum, my faithful student?” Celestia asked, walking up to her. “Are you not happy that your quest is complete and you can return to your studies in Canterlot?”
Twilight sighed a bit more, “That’s just it. Just when I learned how wonderful it is to have friends… I have to leave them.”
Celestia smiled a bit at this. “Spike, take a note please,” She asked the young dragon.
Spike wrote as Celestia was saying, “I, Princess Celestia, hereby decree that the unicorn, Twilight Sparkle, shall take on a new mission for Equestria. She must continue to study the magic of friendship. She must report to me her findings. From her new home… in Ponyville!”
The rest of the group got up and started to huddle Twilight in friendship hugs. “Thank you, Princess Celestia!” Twilight thanked her. “I’ll study harder than ever before!”
We all cheered and the celebration got back on its jubilant track. We continued to party until the sun was starting to set. Need I remind you that this was the longest day of the year, so it was some kind of new record for how long we continuously partied. Alas, every good thing must end some time or another and everybody had left for their homes around dusk. When it was just me and Twilight left, Celestia got all 3 of us into a room and used a couple of spells, most likely to stop any eavesdroppers.
“Now, what I’m about to say must not be repeated until we have time to figure out how to deal with this,” Princess Celestia told us right off the bat.
“But why, Princess Celestia? Also, why are there more than 6 Elements of Harmony? Are there any more we should worry about? What is going on?!” Twilight started to go into a panic attack.
“I would be asking the same questions, your highness. Maybe just a bit more calmly,” I added on.
“To answer your first question then, we need to make sure that the nobles don’t take advantage of any of you for political gain. I wouldn’t put it past a few of them to also try and remove your Elements from all of you so that they could be the ‘True Bearers’,” Celestia had a disgusted tone of voice when mentioning them. Looks like politicians never change, no matter what. We both nodded our heads and she continued.
“As for the second and third questions… This involves a story based on me and my sister’s history. After all, books can be wrong sometimes, especially if they were published anytime after the banishment of Nightmare Moon. Please listen in order for a better understanding,” she explained. We had both agreed to quietly listen.
She launched into her tale. “Over 1000 years ago, around the time of our parent’s rule, there were many Elements of Harmony made. I think the last count we did was over 13 different kinds. However, time wore on these differences. A few had faded into obscurity, and thus the power lessened them into nothing but mere gems. The rest, however, were destroyed in the battles against Tirek, Queen Chrysalis, King Sombra, and Discord. Even the 6th Element itself disappeared after the banishment of Nightmare Moon, leaving behind only the 5 Elements you saw earlier: Honesty, Kindness, Generosity, Laughter, and Loyalty. Your Element, Twilight, was easy to recover, as it only required someone to know when that spark hit them. Your Element Medley, however, was one of the few that faded into history. While it’s true we all can understand one another, sometimes you need someone you can trust to know where you’re coming from on in some situations, and not a whole lot of ponies can lay claim to that, except for possibly me or my sister. And we were trained for this for a very long time. For someone to be this naturally understanding is astounding. I hope this also answers your 4th question as well,” She finished with a smile.
Twilight and I were stunned. That was the mystery behind these things? I thought they were just the equivalent of magical MacGuffins, able to solve any problem without being mentioned ever again. Now I come to find an interesting history behind them and a reasonable explanation for what happened today? Don’t get me wrong, I still think that they are very powerful, but not the end all, be all for our villain problems. Though the name Discord struck something inside me. I don’t know what it was, but I’m sure it was just a random thing.
“Now I am needed at Canterlot, my little ponies. be safe and never give up your friendship for anything,” Celestia flew off, biding her goodbyes.
“Thanks for staying for the celebration, Princess Celestia!” Twilight yelled in thanks as Celestia flew off, waving her hoof.
Once Celestia had flown far away, Twilight turned to me and asked, “Now, shall we get to the interviews you promised?”
“Yeah, yeah. I know. Let’s get back to the library,” I told her as we walked back to her home.
Well, today was one of the most interesting days yet. Got some new friends, got a new Element that has been apparently been lost to time and I got to sing the song that I worked on. I count this as a good day but hope that this was just an odd day, with many normal ones to come. Cheers!
Well, at least I woke up like any sane, normal pony today. Pinkie Pie didn’t sing a song to wake me, Fluttershy didn’t lose control of any animals, Twilight didn’t misfire a spell towards my room, Applejack didn’t buck any apples towards my room, Rainbow Dash didn’t crash land in my room, and Rarity didn’t abduct me in the middle of the night so that she could find some more inspiration… You know, it seems to me like fate is obsessed with anything going wrong while I’m asleep in my room, and only my room. For once, I’d like to see a disaster happen in my living room or kitchen. Not the bathroom though. That would be a bit… problematic. Anyways, enough rambling. Now we can go out and enjoy this peaceful, cal-
“OW!” I yelled once I got hit by a blur of pink.
“Sorry, Med! I just heard someone say the Grand Galloping Gala and I had to find out!” Pinkie apologized.
Yeah... since I’m part of the group now, I get a nickname. Rainbow Dash is Dashie, Applejack is AJ, Twilight’s Twily, Fluttershy’s Flutters, Rarity is Rares, and I’m Med… ic. Sorry, couldn’t resist that little inside joke. But yeah, I’m Med apparently and the only explanation I got from her is that since everyone had one, I needed one and this was perfect for me. Never say I don’t try and understand her. After all, I know of her ability to break the fourth wall (originally human, remember). Wow, I can ramble on just like her as well. From what I remembered, it was something about the Grand Galloping Gala. For those who haven’t heard of it (a.k.a: no pony in existence apparently), it’s one of the grandest and prestigious events to ever come out of Canterlot. It’s so exclusive, you need to be practically royalty or have good connections in order to be invited. I wish that incident had never happened, otherwise, I would’ve been performing at this year’s Gala. But then again, I never would’ve met my new friends and discover a secret lost to history.
“Well, then, let me get up so I can come with you. Not like I had anything else planned for today,” I asked Pinkie, which she did and pulled me… through the scenery? Wait, what was that? Wait, how did we… oh yeah. Pinkie’s ability. My mistake. Anyways, she found two golden tickets sitting on top of her eyes after she bumped into Twilight. She and I noticed that these tickets were for the GGG (as I will be calling it now). Pinkie immediately started to sing about what she would do at the Gala.
Oh the Grand Galloping Gala is the best place for me
Oh the Grand Galloping Gala is the best place for me
Hip hip! Hooray!
It's the best place for me
For Pinkie…
“With decorations like streamers and fairy-lights and pinwheels and piñatas and pin-cushions. With goodies like sugar cubes and sugar canes and sundaes and sun-beams and sarsaparilla. And I get to play my favorite-est of favorite fantabulous games like Pin the Tail on the Pony!” Pinkie exclaimed mid-song.
Oh the Grand Galloping Gala is the best place for me
Oh the Grand Galloping Gala is the best place for me
'Cause it's the most galarrific superly-terrific gala ever
In the whole galaxy! Wheee!!
Pinkie ended the song with a huge grin on her face. She then immediately began bouncing around Twilight.
“Oh, thank you Twilight!” She exclaimed. “It’s the most wonderfulest gift ever!”
“Ummm… actually... “ Twilight looked really peeved out, most likely due to the tickets. She probably met some of our friends already and they probably did something similar to what Pinkie just did (without the music, of course). This was further proven correct by Rarity, who, when she saw the tickets and gasped.
“Are these what I think they are?” She questioned Spike.
“Yes, yes, yes! Twilight’s taking me to the Grand Galloping Gala in Canterlot!” Pinkie told Rarity, despite Twilight trying to say it was not the case.
This time we got Rarity telling us what she wanted to do at the Gala, after a bit of her self-ego. Apparently, she wanted the prince of her dreams: Prince Blueblood. She had the whole thing planned out too, down to the minute detail. Kinda creepy, but this is Rarity I'm talking about, after all.
However, that plan hinged on one thing: Blueblood being the perfect gentlecolt. I once had the distinct displeasure of meeting the esteemed royal in pony. In less than 3 minutes, he made fun of my appearance, thought my profession a waste unless I played the most fitting royal songs for him alone and was all around a total asshat. I can safely say that I would never hate a pony, as all ponies do come to a better side at least some time. Bluebitch, on the other hand, is very firm about being the most royal of asshats, so he gets the distinct reward of being the first pony I hate and most likely the only pony I hate. OK, rant over, back to what’s happening.
“Twilight, I simply cannot believe you would invite Pinkie Pie so she could party and prevent me from meeting my true love!” She whined. “How could you?”
Now all we need is Fluttershy for the complete collection of crazy ponies, I thought. Not even a moment later, Fluttershy’s pet rabbit, Angel, took the tickets from Spike’s grasp and sprinted back to Flutters to give them to her.
“Uh… Listen, guys,” Twilight started to say. “I haven’t decided who to give the extra ticket to.”
“You haven’t?!” Pinkie and Rarity exclaimed at the same time, getting in Twilight’s face.
“Um… Excuse me…” We all turned our attention to Fluttershy. “Twilight, I would just like to ask - I mean, if it would be alright - if you haven’t given it to someone else…”
“You?” Rarity harshly questioned. “You want to go to the Gala?”
“Oh, no,” Fluttershy said in her usual demeanor. Angel then tapped her with his foot a few times and she completely changed.
“I mean, yes,” She started to blush a little here. “Or, actually, kind of. You see, it’s not so much the Grand Galloping Gala, as it is the wondrous, private gated garden that surrounds the dance.”
She went on to explain how rare the animals and plants were and how she wanted to see it all for herself. Though it was interesting to hear Fluttershy of all ponies be so passionate about getting something. She soon ended with her flying into the air, hugging the rabbit.
“Gee, Fluttershy… It sounds… beautiful?” Twilight was extremely confused now.
“Wait, just a minute!” Rainbow Dash hollered from the top of a nearby roof.
“Rainbow Dash!” Twilight looked a little bit more annoyed now. “Were you following me?”
“No, I mean, yes, I mean, maybe? Look, it doesn’t matter. I couldn’t risk a goody four-shoes like you giving that ticket away to just anybody,” She replied haughtily. Almost like Rarity, in a way.
“Wait just another minute!” Applejack calmly walked behind Twilight.
“Applejack!” Twilight was getting more and more annoyed, it seemed. “Were you following me too?”
“No, I was followin’ this one!” She pointed her hoof at Rainbow Dash. “To make sure she didn’t try any funny business. Still tryin’ to take my ticket.”
The others took offense to this and started to argue towards and around Twilight. She got into a small little ball to try and block out the sound. This was the point I needed to set things back down. I quietly told Twilight to move out of the way as quietly as she could. Once she did, I decided to use something I’ve heard only once in my life: A Siren’s Song. It was from a mission from across the ocean and I was one of the rare few that got to hear it late in the night. This got everyone’s attention back around to me and completely stopped any arguments.
“Now that we can listen, can you please let Twilight speak?” I asked the group politely.
They looked a bit sheepish and decided to sit down and talk about it like friends should. I then found out why Applejack wanted to go (sell her apple wares) and why Rainbow Dash wanted to go (meet with the Wonderbolts). While we were waiting for Twilight to calm back down a bit, I used my logical mind for a moment to consider who would be the best to go with her. Fluttershy was immediately out, as all she wanted to do was visit the gardens. While the timing of the dance and seasonal bloom coincided, it would still be better just to ask Princess Celestia herself if she could visit during that time. The next to go was Rarity, as first of all, she could be introduced to Prince Blueballs by Celestia herself and could be given the warning that he was not at all a good stallion and proceed with patience. Next to go was Applejack, for sure. After all, selling food when there is free catering is not a good idea at all. Plus, Applejack’s food would be looked down upon by the nobles attending, believing it to be ‘common carnival fare’. Rainbow Dash, surprisingly, had a good case here: Get connections into the Wonderbolts. And there’s no better place for connections than the GGG. However, a few problems arose with that as well. For instance, she kind of… you know… HELP SAVE EQUESTRIA FROM ETERNAL NIGHT!!! Then again, Celestia did say she would keep this under wraps, so I guess they wouldn't know. Plus, if I know Rainbow Dash, then she’s probably going to win the Young Fliers Competition that would be coming up and spend a whole day with them. Now it was just down to me and Pinkie Pie. We actually both had good reasons to be there as well. I wanted to be there to complete the journey that had an abrupt stop while she wanted to be there for the Gala itself. So no matter what I did, it would be a tie for the best reason to go.
“Girls, this is my decision and I am going to make it on my own. And I certainly can’t think straight with all this noise,” Twilight said, pulling me away from anymore thinking. Apparently, she had calmed down and now a gurgling noise could be heard from her stomach as well. “Not to mention hunger. Now go on, shoo!”
After the girls had grumbled and left, I was still there and Twilight gave me a look of irritation. “I thought I said for you to go?” She asked me irritably.
“You do realize that I never asked you for the other ticket? In fact, I was the one to get our friends to stop fighting. Plus I figured I could get you something to eat since I’m actually getting paid,” I calmly put forth.
Twilight took a few more seconds to calm down before fully realizing what I had said. “Sorry about that Medley. So far, all the rest of my friends have decided it was them that was going without my say-so. I really do like the fact that you just didn’t even bother,” She said apologetically.
“I do understand the need for a bit of a difference. While I have my own reasons to go, I also understand the need for your decision to be made at all. Now, if I also understand it, you need to get food into you,” I smiled a bit there.
She blushed and agreed to go someplace and eat. I accompanied her because first of all, I was hungry as well and I was also a gentlecolt and help pay for the food, even if the mare was supposed to pay for it all. I also wanted to stick around and see if the others took the advice and left it be or if they decided to get the ticket at any cost. As I like to say: Hope for the best but prepare for the worst.
We sat down at a decent restaurant and got to deciding a lunch. Twilight ordered a daisy and daffodil sandwich, I ordered sunflower seeds and a small salad with carrots and radishes, and Spike (after trying to order gems) got some hay fries.
“What do you think Spike?” Twilight worriedly asked Spike.
“I think we need to try another restaurant. I mean, I like grass and all, but would it hurt anybody to offer gemstones?” Spike complained.
“Ponies can’t eat gemstones. Ponies are normally the ones ordering. Ergo, no offering of any gemstones," I chuckled a little.
"U͜n҉for͝tun͡ately ͟for̵ you͝."
“Um… did you get something? You sounded a bit off there near the end,” Twilight asked curiously.
“What do you mean? I sounded just fine,” I was confused as to what I said. All I did was explain how waiters didn’t offer gems as meals.
Twilight gave me an odd look but was stopped by any further questioning with the food arriving. It was just as we were starting to eat that ponies all around us started to flee to their homes. It was also then I noticed that it was raining everywhere except where we were.
Odd, I thought to myself. Who’s in charge of the weather today? Oh, wait, don’t tell me Rainbow Dash is trying to…
Sure enough, looking up got me a view of Rainbow Dash putting up the scheduled storm for today everywhere except where Twilight was sitting. Twilight looked to where I was looking and found the same thing.
“Hi there best friend forever that I’ve ever, ever had!” Rainbow Dash yelled from the patch in the sky. “Enjoying the sunny weather?”
“Rainbow Dash? What are you doing?” Twilight suspiciously asked Rainbow Dash.
“What do you mean?” Rainbow Dash tried to pull an innocent tone and was failing miserably at it. “I just thought the smartest, most generous pony wouldn’t want to get rained on. So I’d thought I’d kick a hole in the clouds to keep her dry so she could dine in peace. That’s all.”
“Rainbow, you’re not trying to get extra consideration for the extra ticket by doing extra special favors, are you?” She started to glare at Rainbow.
“Me?” Rainbow tried to continue the charade of innocence, this time adding the sun as a halo. I think it still had no effect on Twilight. “No, no, no! Of course not!”
“Uh-huh,” Twilight and I said in unison.
“Seriously. I’d do it for anypony,” She claimed as other ponies were trying to get out of the downpour.
“Rainbow, I am not comfortable accepting unwanted favors. So I’d appreciate it if you closed up that raincloud right now,” Twilight stated firmly.
Rainbow Dash grudgingly accepted and closed the gap. Before it could start to rain, I quickly flew over to the recently covered hole and re-opened it.
“Hey, what did I just say?!” Twilight looked a little bit pissed off.
“Remember, I don’t care about the ticket. I’m actually trying to be a good friend. I just forgot we had a rain scheduled for today. I’m not usually on duty, so if a new schedule is posted, I never know until I get back and ask for this month’s and the next’s,” I explained.
“Hm… Well, I think I can quickly finish up here. Just please close it before we leave,” Twilight grumbled a bit before starting to eat again.
After we had finished up, I quickly patched up the hole in the clouds and we went through the rain, which is why and how Rarity found us dripping wet.
“Twilight. It’s raining,” Rarity said in an almost deadpan tone.
“No, really?” Twilight sarcastically stated.
“Come with me before you catch a cold!” She pulled Twilight into the rain and made her way to her shop. Spike and I trailed behind her, trying to get out of the rain.
Once all four of us had made it inside, Twilight instantly shook her coat, splashing all the water away. However, it landed on Rarity instead.
“Oops. Sorry,” Twilight said bashfully to Rarity, who was soaking wet at this point.
“Oh, no. It’s quite alright,” Rarity faked an expression of happiness. “After all, we are the best of friends, are we not?”
“Let me at least get you a towel, Miss Rarity,” I politely stated, starting to fly and grab one for her.
“It’s quite alright, Medley. I can get one by myself and I don’t need someone who was invited to do this for me,” She declined in a polite manner, levitating a towel to her as we were speaking.
“And you know what the best of friends do?” Rarity asked Twilight, attention fully on her.
“Uh…” Twilight had no response to anything so far.
“Makeovers!” Rarity jumped with joy and quickly got to work on Twilight.
What she did was kind of funny, at least to my sense of humor. She pulled a cover from nearby and immediately shooed me and Spike to the other side. What we then heard were the sounds of a construction going on, complete with the sound of a drill. Twilight sounded like she was resisting a bit but to no avail. When Rarity had pulled off the cover, Twilight had on a saddle made in a simple design with a few gems to accent the tri-colored fabric.
“Uh… Yeah. It is kind of pretty, isn’t it?” Twilight looked at the outfit in kind surprise.
Spike seemed to disagree, but I thought it was nice on her. It was simple, which she usually goes for, and it was a unique outfit that she normally wouldn’t wear.
“And you!” Rarity set her sights on the dragon. “Oh, Spike. I have a dandy little outfit for the dashing gent.”
She once again pulled the cover to where Twilight once stood. Spike tried to make a break for it, but from what I knew of Rarity, once she has a design for you, her telekinesis knows no bounds. I should know. I just had my whole wardrobe replaced except for one vest I had managed to save from the purge. Anyways, back to Spike. Again, construction was heard and it was soon time for the reveal. The reveal was... interesting to say the least. He had on an outfit not uncommon in the Renaissance Period (human calendar) with a wavy blond wig to match.
“Oh, Spike,” I heard Twilight say in the background, chucking a bit.
“Now all you need is a hat,” Rarity dashed back with a sombrero-like hat with a feather sticking out a bit.
“I told you, I didn’t want any part in this girly gala gunk!” Spike complained. “See you back in the library!”
With that, Spike dashed off so fast that the outfit hung in the air for a moment before falling onto the ground.
“Do you want me to go after him or stay here. Works for me either way. I understand the need for these dresses and also understand Spike’s need to try and stay male. A male thing,” I explained after seeing their strange expressions.
“Actually, darling, since you’re here, would you mind testing out this new outfit? I still need a bit more work on stallion clothing,” Rarity asked, starting to form puppy dog eyes to keep me there as well.
“Where are they and how many?” I grumbled good-naturedly.
“For heaven’s sake!” Rarity went along with the act. “There’s only 500 that need to be done today!”
We both had a chuckle at that and Rarity told me the real amount of outfits, which only happened to be the one. Since Twilight and Spike had already done this skit, I think it would be safe to say that the same happened to me as well, this time just for Rarity and Twilight. When the cover disappeared this time, it was a sight to behold. I was dressed up as a Canterlot royal in full garb, with cleverly hidden holes for my wings to spread out. For those who have not been to Canterlot at one time or another, a normal Canterlot Pony would have on a vest with trimmings that best matched their coat. In my case, that’s a black vest with white trimmings. As I was not a unicorn myself, I could also wear a hat without it getting in the way of my magic. It was a simple top hat, but it went well with the entire ensemble.
“Well, darling? What do you think?” Rarity leaned in for my opinion.
“Why I think it is a wonderful outfit. I may wear a more casual version of this more often. With the top hat, of course,” I commented. “Truly, a design flaw is nowhere to be seen with this.”
“Thank you, Medley. Now as for Twilight, this is all about how well you’ll look for the Grand Galloping Gala,” Rarity went on to Twilight.
“Wait… the Grand-” Twilight had a look of comprehension on her face but was interrupted by a gasp from Rarity.
“And oh my goodness! What a coincidence,” Rarity pointed out the copy of Twilight’s current attire. “I happen to have an ensemble of my own that matched yours to a T! We would be the belles of the ball, you and I. Everyone would be clamoring for our attention. All eyes would be on us, and everyone will finally know the most beautiful, the most talented, the most sophisticated pony in all of Equestria is Rarity the unicorn!”
She then noticed the unamused face on both me and Twilight. She nervously laughed for a moment and continued onto what can only be an entirely different train of thought while patting her on the head.
“And Twilight Sparkle, of course,” She continued to nervously laugh and pat Twilight on the head and petered out.
“I see what’s going on here,” Twilight was starting to look a bit pissed off right now, seeing as Rarity was backing away. “You’re just buttering me up so that I give you the extra ticket. Well, it’s not gonna work!” At this, she flew the saddle away from her. “You’re going to have to wait for my decision just like everyone else!”
At this, she stormed out of Rarity’s shop slightly enraged. I thanked Rarity for the outfit, put it back together nicely, got into my regular attire, and walked out with Twilight, figuring she could use a sane pony to vent at for a little while.
“Well, at least it’s not as bad as lunch,” Twilight murmured loudly.
“Did somepony just say lunch?” Applejack appeared out of nowhere and grab Twilight to who knows where this time. I, of course, wanted to see where this would go.
“You’ve got to be kidding me!” Twilight looked upon the cart right in front of her, filled to the brim with what looked like many apple sweets.
“I got apple pie, apple fritters, apple tarts, apple dumplings, apple crisp, apple crumble, and apple granny smith! The dessert, not my granny. What do ya say, best friend?” Applejack said very fast.
Twilight’s pupils started to dilate bigger and bigger during the naming until I swear I could put one of the desserts on her eyes as a small serving plate. And now I’m hungry all over again. So was Twilight, apparently, as her stomach sounded like she never had any lunch at all.
“Is that a yes?” Applejack asked not too desperately.
“No, no!” Twilight was starting to raise her voice as the dessert Applejack had been balancing flew off. “I don’t know who I’m giving the ticket to and all these favors aren’t making it any easier to decide! In fact, I’m less sure now than I was this morning!”
“So that’s a maybe?” Applejack asked a fleeing Twilight.
“What the heck happened this morning? I know it must’ve been something…. Wait a minute. You and Rainbow both appeared at the same time and given the two of you based on past experiences… you both competed for the extra ticket, didn’t you?” I asked logically.
“Well, um, maybe?” Applejack looked away, seeing as an expression of guilt was creeping up on her.
“Well, I hope that nopony else could try and bribe her and where’s Pinkie?” I hit a realization that so far, the only pony not to try and bribe her was Fluttershy and Pinkie. I knew for a fact that Fluttershy’s pet rabbit, Angel, would organize something for Fluttershy. If I knew Pinkie, it would be a big celebration that would involve townsfolk and a party in honor of Twilight being a ‘super-duper-awesometastic best friend that would give her the ticket'. From what I also knew, Pinkie was not subtle, so of course, the townsfolk would be involved and most likely chase after Twilight for the ticket. Once this was realized, I flew back to Twilight home, hoping nothing had gone too far.
Unfortunately for me, it was not the case. Twilight had just yelled at Fluttershy for her trying to also get the ticket and she didn’t notice the crowd of ponies gathered at the door. So when they did the surprise party, Twilight instantly knew who it was doing this and what they wanted. Pinkie sang a song after throwing her in the ring of ponies.
Twilight is my bestest friend
Whoopie, whoopie!
“Pinkie…” Twilight exasperated. Pinkie continued on nonetheless.
She's the cutest, smartest, all around best pony, pony!
“Pinkie,” Twilight started to angrily say. She was ignored yet again.
I bet if I throw a super-duper fun party, party!
“Pinkie!” Twilight was trying, to no avail, to get her attention.
She'll give her extra ticket to the Gala to me!
“PIIINKIIIE!!” Twilight yelled at the top of her lungs.
This seemed to work to disperse the crowd enough so that they stopped throwing her up into the air. Pinkie trotted merrily up to her. “Yes, Twilight?” She batted her eyes for effect.
“At least the other ponies tried to be subtle about the ticket,” She yelled at Pinkie while getting up.
Now I could see where this was going. And sure enough, the ponies gathered around to hear from Pinkie herself that Twilight had an extra ticket to the Gala and immediately started to try and do favors for her to get it. At this point, I calmly walked up to Twilight and just told her to cover her ears. She knew what I was about to do and covered her ears and Spikes for good measure. Then, I started to sing a song that I knew would at least lead the crowd away: Run Away! from Monty Python’s Spamalot. It worked like a charm, somehow, and led the crowd away. It didn’t for Pinkie, however, as she just snuck inside Twilight’s home instead. Crazy, but this is Pinkie I’m speaking of. Nonetheless, once the crowd had dispersed, Twilight stopped the magic and ran back inside before the crowd had realized that she had a ticket still. When she got inside, she quickly had me and Spike shut off all lights and lock all doors. Once done, we all sat in relief as a huddle. Then, the light in the room turned back on to reveal that Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie were waiting up in one of the higher cubbies.
Twilight screamed, “I can’t decide, I just can’t decide! It’s important to all of you and I just can’t stand to disappoint any of you and giving me gifts and doing favors won’t make any difference because you’re all my friends and I want to make you all happy and I can’t! I just can’t!” Twilight then broke down into a sob.
“See, this is what I was trying to show you 5 and none of you took the hint! I was being the supportive friend without the ticket being my main priority. I was trying to show what you 5 were supposed to do, but all of you were oblivious in your quest for the ticket. Shame on all of you,” I said in a harsh reprimand, trying to comfort Twilight.
Applejack was the first to come down with a look of great guilt in her expression. “Twilight, sugar, I didn’t mean to put so much pressure on you. And if it helps, I don’t want the ticket anymore. You can give it to somepony else. I won’t feel bad, I promise,” She said in a remorseful voice, gently patting her on the back.
“Me too,” Fluttershy flew down to join us. “I feel just awful that I made you feel so awful.”
“And me too,” Pinkie joined in. “It’s no fun upsetting your friends.”
“Twilight,” Rarity added in her voice to the mix of apologies. “It was unfair of me to try and force you as I did.”
“Yes! That means the ticket is mine!” Rainbow Dash flew in joy. She was about to rub it in, but a harsh glare from all of us, especially me, stopped her from doing so. “You know, I haven’t perfected my signature moves yet for the Wonderbolts anyway. I don’t need that ticket either.”
“And as I already told you earlier, I may want the ticket, but not enough to try and get it at any cost. I understand when a situation is out of hand and I try to not add to it. You can keep the ticket,” I reminded her.
“And like Medley said earlier, us gals were so gung-ho about going to the Gala, that we couldn’t see how un-gung-ho we were making you,” Applejack continued, Twilight calming down and lifting her head up a bit.
“We’re sorry Twilight,” they apologized in unison.
“Spike, take down a note,” She asked the dragon, for which he pulled out some parchment and a quill for writing. “Dear Princess Celestia, I learned that one of the joys of friendship is sharing your blessings. But when there are not enough blessings to go around, having more than your friends can make you feel pretty awful. So, though I appreciate the invitation, I will be returning both tickets to the Grand Galloping Gala.”
“What?!” the girls yelled.
“if my friends can’t all go, I don’t want to go either,” Twilight explained.
“Twilight, you don’t have to that,” Applejack said in utter shock.
“Nope, I made up my mind,” Twilight made her final decision. “Spike, you can send the letter now.”
What I saw next was something I have never seen before. Spike opened the window and blew fire on the letter. Instead of it turning into ashes, it turned into green smoke that looked like it was flying towards Canterlot. I went with the assumption that this was how the reports got sent to Celestia. The action lied elsewhere, as Fluttershy spoke up.
“Now you won’t get to go to the Gala either,” She softly said.
“It’s OK, everypony. I couldn’t possibly enjoy myself without my best friends with me,” Twilight soothed them.
This seemed to calm everypony else down and send us into a group huddle with Twilight in the middle. “So I’d rather not go at all,” Twilight softly said in the huddle.
Spike, however, did the fake barf and then puckered up like he was about to actually barf. “Well wallop my withers, Spike,” Applejack scoffed at Spike’s reaction. “Isn’t that just like a boy, who can’t handle the least bit of sentiment.”
“Hey, I resent that,” I complained. “I’m currently in the huddle with you gals.”
It went largely unnoticed, however, and for good reason. Spike did hurl, but instead of vomit, he belched out a green fire that then turned into a scroll. This went through where Applejack’s head would’ve been if she hadn’t ducked in time and the flame went through the gap of her head and her hat.
“A letter from the Princess? That was fast,” Twilight stated.
“Y͏o͡u d͡o̴n̷'t̢ sa҉y͝.͡"
I don’t know why, but everypony was looking at me with a strange expression on their face.
“Are you sure you don’t have a cold or something?” Twilight asked me.
“Yes, I am quite sure. Now, wasn’t there a letter about to be read?” I answered, pointing my hoof at the letter in Spike’s claw.
“Oh, yes, right,” Twilight looked dazed before setting her sights back on the letter. “Can you please read the letter, Spike?”
He nodded and opened it up. He used a more serious voice and said, “Dear Twilight, why didn’t you just say so in the first place?” He then pulled out some more tickets and exclaimed, “Seven tickets to the Grand Galloping Gala!”
“Now we can all go!” Twilight cheered. We all started to cheer as well to this series of good news.
We then heard Twilight’s stomach rumble and remembered that it was late at night and she hadn’t gotten anything to eat since lunch. Rarity just simply said, “Allow us to treat you to dinner.”
“What a great way to apologize,” Rainbow said as we were walking out the door, making sure to grab our own ticket as we left.
“And to celebrate!” Pinkie added. Come on everyone! The cupcakes are on me!”
There was a slight delay to the restaurant with Spike, but as I stopped for him, I noticed another flash of light and saw Spike run out with childish glee with his ticket to the Gala as well. He noticed me and immediately tried for the macho man route of dialogue. As soon as I turned my back, however, I still could hear his giggling going on. We then all sat down a decent place and got our orders down (which I’m sure nopony would want to hear). While we were waiting though, the girls noticed something peculiar going on with me in general.
“Say, Med, how did you manage to get the crowd away from Twilight’s place yet I wasn’t affected in the slightest. Though I did love the song you chose,” Pinkie asked in a curious tone.
“I just used my natural talent, that’s all,” I bashfully answered. “As to why you weren’t affected… I can’t answer that.”
“Though I got a question of my own sugarcube,” Applejack was next to question me. “How come you didn’t raise your voice at me back at Twilight’s home before we apologized?”
I froze at that. To answer that meant explaining my story yet all over again, this time to even more ponies. I couldn’t lie either, as this was the Bearer of the Element of Honesty asking me this question. I was actually starting to sweat so much, the other noticed this as well.
“It’s alright, darling,” Rarity tried to calm me down a bit. “You can tell us. After all, we are friends, aren’t we?”
At that moment, I knew the answer I would give. After all, if I told Twilight right after the adventure of Nightmare Moon, then I could tell the rest of them as well.
“OK then. Twilight already knows and has it recorded so you can read it for yourselves. If you have any other questions, you can ask me privately when I’m not doing lessons. Now, I do believe I see the food coming our way, so let’s enjoy the good food, good drink, and good company involved. Cheers!” I proclaimed.
And so, after a night of dinner and the promise of my life history, I end on this bittersweet note. I know Luna’s realm calls to me to sleep, but now I had a question going through my mind: Why was it that at the two moments of mass confusion to me that I was asked why I had a disease when I clearly didn’t say anything? This kept me up for a while, pondering the answer, but nothing came to me later that night. I eventually fell asleep with the question still burning inside my mind. With that, a friendship problem had been averted and now everyone in the circle of friends knew my story. They promised in return to tell me their life story, but one at a time as to not confuse me. Now I did everypony a good night and hope for pleasant dreams.
End of Chapter 5
Just Take A Deep Breath And Stop To Smell the Apples
Just Take A Deep Breath And Stop To Smell the Apples
This morning was an unusual one. I say that as I was waking up to a stampede of cows heading towards Ponyville and the collective noise functioned as my alarm clock.
“Why did it have to be today of all days?” I groaned as I rolled out of my bed onto the floor. “Ow, that hurt.”
I flew upward to land back on my hooves and quickly got the doors and windows shut down, as was everypony else. I waited out the stampede until it was either farther away or it had stopped, I couldn’t tell. However, from the sounds of cheering going on, I figured it was Applejack taking care of the stampede, diverting them back to their part of the field, considering this would be something right up her alley. Since she saved Ponyville and all, it was a good idea to throw a celebration for her. Well, it was Pinkie’s idea, but we went along with it anyway. The mayor also decided to give her an award for her troubles as well. We had set down the remaining pieces for Applejack’s celebratory party when Twilight was checking on everyone.
“We all ready?” Twilight asked Rarity.
“Just one last thing,” Rarity answered, using her magic to lift a big banner done entirely with apples for Applejack. “Now we’re ready.”
“Is Applejack all set?” Twilight asked me.
“I think so. The only problem is that I don’t think any of us have seen Applejack this week,” I explained the small dilemma.
“I know this about our good ol’ buddy Applejack,” Rainbow Dash interjected. “Applejack is never late!”
“I would have to agree with you there, Rainbow,” I answered to her.
After a while, the Ponyville residents were gathered in front of the stage and were waiting for the ceremony to begin. I decided to sing a little song to ease any tensions on this ceremony/party. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PCWet3x2A5M
“My word, darling! I know that you said you had a good voice, but it sounds absolutely splendid! Though, what song were you just singing? I have an idea if you can let me use it,” Rarity exclaimed once I had finished singing.
“ I made up this song completely on my own. It is meant for a 4 part acapella, but I just loved the bass part. I can give you the sheet music in case you want it. It would be interesting to hear some other ponies sing it for once. For now, though, we need to focus on the ceremony. It looks like it’s about to start,” I promised her, trying to segue into what we came here for in the first place. Rarity and I saw Twilight walk up to the stand, straighten her flashcards, and begin the ceremony properly.
“Welcome everypony! Today we are here to honor a pony we can always count on to help on in matters great and small. A pony whose contributions to-” Twilight was interrupted in a whirlwind of her own notes by Rainbow Dash.
This started a line of fellow friends all trying to get their speeches done as well, as Rainbow was then replaced by Pinkie, who then was taken over by Fluttershy, all ending with the mayor stopping Twilight from advancing any further.
“All I can say is that I was going to patiently wait for you to be done. Though it might be better off next time to cut down on the flashcards. After all, almost all your friends had one quick speech. You don’t need to give a soliloquy for one of your best friends,” I tried to calm her down as she fumed a bit in her spot. I think the glare I got in return signified that it was not very successful.
“And so, without further ado,” Mayor Mare started the ball rolling on the party aspect and ending the ceremony part. “It is my privilege to give the Prized Pony of Ponyville award to our beloved guest of honor, a pony of utmost trustworthiness, reliability, and integrity. Ponyville’s most capable and dependable friend: Applejack!”
The curtains were brushed aside to reveal… a blank space. Wow. I swear that stage curtains are alive and hate us because I’ve now rarely seen a time that when the curtains were going to reveal someone important, they’re not there for some reason or another. I believe Spike said it best after a long pause.
“Awkward,” Spike said.
“I’m here!” We all heard Applejack yell from the back of the audience.
Her trip up was something that only irony could’ve had a huge hand in, as she was tired as all Tartarus, kept on yawning all the while carrying overflowing baskets of apples. Have to say, this would be a terrible first impression for anypony. It didn’t help that she was out of it as well, messing around with the trophy before dragging it with her back to her farmhouse.
“Was it just me, or did Applejack seem a little..?” Twilight was forming a question.
“Tired?” Rainbow Dash tried to fill in.
“Dizzy?” Fluttershy added.
“Messy?” Rarity tried her hoof at it as well. Her explanation to the stares we gave was just, “Well, did you see her mane?”
Pinkie, however, said, “She seemed fine to me. Woooo! Woooo!” She then ended with the noises while trying to move in front of the shiny trophy.
“I would actually agree with Rainbow Dash on this case,” I threw in my own two bits.
Twilight hummed a bit and told us that she would go check on Applejack, just to make sure she was alright. We agreed and went our separate ways to wait for Applejack to help us with our ideas and whatnot. I had actually planned for Applejack to help me learn how to lasso (it looked interesting and get your mind out of the gutter). When she did arrive though, I had a feeling that this was not going to end well for either of us. It looked like her mane was wrung through a tree multiple times and her eyesight looked like it was getting fuzzier by the minute. I knew right then I had to do something or else I might end up getting lassoed upside down a building, bound in just the right way not to be able to fly.
“Hey, Applejack, before we start, do you wanna listen to a song? I want to see how well it gets performed for when Luna re-emerges from the shadows,” I asked.
“I thought you wanted to try your hoof at using the rope to lasso?” Applejack questioned me, a tad suspicious.
“I do. I never said I would sing instead of trying to lasso. I just want to try out my song while I still remember that somepony is nearby to listen,” I replied, trying to ease her nerves.
“Well, OK. But we are going to lasso afterward,” She said as she plopped down to listen.
“Will do,” I finished, starting to warm up my voice. “Now, here’s my original piece of music, in honor of Princess Luna: Children of the Night.”
Come, little children, I'll take thee away
Into a land of enchantment
Come, little children, the time's come to play
Here in my garden of shadows
Follow, sweet children, I'll show thee the way
Through all the pain and the sorrows
Weep not, poor children, for life is this way
Murdering beauty and passions
Hush now, dear children, it must be this way
Too weary of life and deceptions
Rest now, my children, for soon we'll away
Into the calm and the quiet
It looked like my idea had worked. Applejack was starting to really nod off and probably would’ve stayed awake, but my natural talent, it seemed, was starting to win. I noticed that I had built up a good audience listening in to my song and it was starting to affect them as well. I knew the song was about to end soon, so I pushed as much as I could into the lullaby as I could, hoping for Applejack to fall asleep at last.
Come, little children, I'll take thee away
Into a land of enchantment
Come, little children, the time's come to play
Here in my garden of shadows
It had worked. Applejack slumped over, fast asleep and not even reacting to the outside world anymore. The flipside is, it also worked on the impromptu audience, putting them into a slumber as well. However, only 5 other ponies were still standing in the crowd and I noticed that they were all my Element friends. They looked stunned, switching their gaze from the sleeping audience to the snoring Applejack to me and repeated.
“That… was… wicked! Is this seriously your natural talent? Awesome!” Figures that Rainbow Dash would be the one to be the one in total excitement.
“This is strange. To be able to put this many ponies to sleep at once just through voice… this is alicorn level amounts of magic,” Twilight stated with a hint of fear in her voice.
“I’m sorry girls. This was my idea on how to get Applejack to stop being so stubborn about needing some sleep. If I were to take a guess, she is probably trying to do the Apple family Apple-bucking Season all by herself,” I tried to soothe their fear.
“That… was right. How did you get all that?” Twilight asked in a dumbstruck voice.
“Lucky guess and a few clues here and there. Now, why didn’t she ask for help instead of trying to do a whole orchard?” I pondered.
“Well, Applejack here thinks she doesn’t need any help and she’s all fine on her own. I swear that she’s as stubborn as a mule,” Twilight answered, then apologized to a nearby donkey.
“Well, she’s probably going to be out of commission for the next few days, so why don’t we just get her home so that she doesn’t end up sleeping on the road for the next few days,” I offered.
We all agreed and got Applejack home. Her family was happy that she finally got to sleep and told us that once she woke up, they’d try and get her to accept some help. We all went to sleep that night with no problem. Our dreams, however, changed to something we normally wouldn’t see.
I knew for a fact that if I suddenly went from performing my concert in front of thousands of ponies to the apple orchard, an intervention from Princess Luna is most likely involved. Sure enough, I saw the rest of my friends as well and we all met up to Applejack, who was still Apple-bucking.
“What in the hay?” Applejack turned in surprise to see all 6 of us there. "How did we get from Med’s place to my orchard in less than a minute? It makes no darn sense.”
“I believe we’re in a dream, darling, and somehow we’re having a connected one as well,” Rarity answered.
“Wowee! A connected dream? Does that mean we can see each other's thoughts and share favorite dreams and see other worlds and-” Pinkie rambled on, being cut off by Twilight.
“I think that Princess Luna is involved somehow. She is the Princess of Night and Dreams, after all,” Twilight deduced.
“No duh,” I reflexively retorted.
“Hey, now. No need to get testy with us,” Applejack snapped.
“Sorry. Though, I have to wonder, who’s mind is this taking place in? After all, someone needed to start the dream and you can’t create a dream out of nothing,” I deduced.
“Hey, everypony! I found a hidden and secret door! It’s even labeled! How strange is that?” Spike shouted off in the distance.
“What does it say?” Twilight yelled back.
It was a long pause before Spike yelled back, “Girls! Medley! You need to read this, immediately!”
It was a mad scramble toward Spike’s voice, but we eventually found him. My heart instantly clenched when the door was labeled ‘Medley’s Human Memories’. My friends all gasped when they realized what that had meant.
“Lands sakes. You mean to tell me that little story of yers was real, Med?” Applejack looked dumbstruck.
“Yes. I’m guessing you girls had doubts over my story about my previous life?” I sighed at all of them nodding their heads, even Applejack. “I had wished you girls had said so so that I could confirm it with verbal words as well as written words. However, I seem to recall you girls pressing for information, so I did what I could to make sure that you got all the information you needed. Now, this may not be humanity as a whole and only how I lived my life, but if you really want to see how a human lived… well, the opportunity is right in front of you,” I pointed a hoof at the door.
They were hesitant about this for a few moments before the most unlikely pony decided to go and visit the realm of humans. “I say we do it,” Fluttershy shyly stated.
To say we were all shocked would be an understatement. Fluttershy, the timidest and shyest of all ponies, who would never harm a fly, was one of the first ponies to volunteer for a journey that would not be at all innocent. With that, the other 5 agreed to go with her.
“Well, since I wish not to re-remember these memories all over again, I’ll at least be polite in letting you all into my memories,” I politely declined the journey, opening the door for them. “Just remember, do not think I act like most of the humans that are frequently heard about but rather the few I knew and talked with.”
They all nodded and entered the door one by one until I was the only one left in the dreamscape. I then felt a strange presence, almost like when I was meeting LaurFastia, land nearby.
“We thank thee for thy song in our honor. But we also ask as to why did you create such a piece?” I heard Princess Luna speak behind me.
“I thought it would be something to appreciate you as a Princess and a pony at the same time,” I answered as I turned to face her. “Why did you create the combined dreamscape, pulling my human memories along with me into what looks like Applejack’s mind?”
Her face tightened a bit and she explained as best she could, “We thought it would help if we could show them that thou art true in your written statements of the human realm. However, that was something even beyond our power as Princess of Dreams, as much as we wanted to help. But then, a surge of power was put into us and we were able to do so. This is… highly unusual.”
“I can only think of one pony who could do such a feat: LaurFastia,” I replied with a note of awe, which I was entitled to, as she was the one who brought me to this world after all.
The expression on Luna’s face was so peculiar. I believe it was some sort of combination of surprise, disbelief, awe, and interest. “What dost thou know about the Mother Creator?”
“All I know is that she’s immensely powerful and the creator of this universe, judging from the fact that she some of this and for bringing me to this world in the first place,” I answered back as best I could.
“He would be correct as well,” Luna and I hear a voice but cannot find its origin. “He has his part to play, so I brought him here. He came here of his own free will as well, so do not think this was a mistake on my part. Remember this well, Princess Luna: Do not interfere with this plan.”
After this was said, a Cutie Mark of the show logo appeared for a few seconds before turning into a small explosion. Well, I can certainly say she had a style for exiting the conversation. It was about that time my friends had returned from my memories, all looking a bit shell-shocked. Before I could even open my mouth, Twilight was the first to tackle me into a reassuring hug before the rest of my friends joined in as well, all saying how sorry they were about how my life was before and how they should’ve trusted me right away. I held my ground until I saw Pinkie with a flat mane and crying. All resolve broke down then and there, not even bothering to hold back my own tears. I know that for some of the memories, they would hit real close to home, as I had the propensity to look up creepypastas and a few involved at least one of each of the Mane 6, the biggest ones being Rainbow and Pinkie. That didn't equate with any knowledge of the show and I knew quite well the difference between the creepypasta version and the genuine article. After we had cried all we could, we eventually turned our attention back to Princess Luna, looking in on this with a small smile on her face, seeing friends bond together.
“Sorry there, Princess. Just wanted to make sure everything was alright,” Applejack apologized for the group.
“We are not offended, Bearer of Honesty. We made this shared dream in hopes that thy friends would help thee see the light, as it were. We, however, are not responsible for the human memories doorway in this mindscape. That will be a discussion for a fairer day. For now, though, let thy friends help make thee see sense,” Princess Luna said before going off into another dream to help some other pony with their nightmare.
“Applejack, you’re Applebucking hasn’t just caused you problems, it’s over-propelled pegasi, practically poisoned plenty of ponies, and terrorized bushels of brand new bouncing baby bunnies. I don’t care what you say! You! Need! Help!” Twilight ranted. My guess is she was planning on saying this to her sooner if not for my involvement.
Apparently, something momentous happened while I was gone, and Applejack relented with a sighed, “OK, Twilight.”
Twilight looked like she was being too harsh with her. “Now Applejack, I completely respect the Apple family ways. You’re always there to help anypony in need, so now it’s time you put away some of that stubborn pride and allow your friends to help you out.”
Applejack smiled a bit at this. “Thank you fer the kind words of yours.” She then gave me a look. “Now, what were you plannin’ on doin’ while I was fast asleep?”
“Well excuse me for trying to get you to sleep so that you could think better and come to a decision. I worked with the talent I had, so sue me,” I complained.
“Oh, yes. About that: Why was it we weren’t affected by your singing yet Applejack and the rest were knocked unconscious?” Rarity asked politely.
“Who can say? My working theory is that since we’re the Elements of Harmony, we must have some kind of basic magic shield against one another’s talents, or at the very least mine. But since Applejack was so tired, the magic wasn’t enough to protect her from my talent. Hence why she fell asleep whilst you five didn’t. This is all just an idea, so don’t take my word on this,” I logically argued.
Twilight had a strange expression on her face that I now will call her ‘testing face’. “Meet me after helping Applejack. I have some tests for you to do.”
I nod. “Now, since we all are sharing a dream, what say we have a little fun?” I grin.
“What do you mean, fun?” Rainbow looked at me suspiciously.
“Well, let's see here. What’s the one thing all of you enjoyed in my memories?”
The unanimous vote was the amusement park Disney World. “Well, then,” I say as the mindscape turned into Disney World from memory and the other 6 get turned into humans. “Let’s have some fun times while we can still dream, girls!” They cheered and immediately set off in many different directions while I stayed behind to relish in one of the few awesome memories I had left.
Eventually, though, all dreams soon come to an end, as the mindscape slowly faded into white and then we were all brought back to reality. We had waited for Applejack to be in good health and help her out with the rest of the applebucking. It was a bit disappointing after the awesome dream, but at least they had enjoyed themselves from my memories and didn’t leave completely against the human race. While they may have scars from the experience, I know that they’ll come to me with any questions they may have left. However, to improve humanity’s good qualities just a bit more, I invited them all over for a quick lesson in the good humanity has done, but somehow Lyra had snuck in as well, most likely hearing the word ‘human’ and getting excited. I think enough of my thoughts have been put down for tonight’s entry. I’ll leave my performance at the end for a little fun. After all, life is not always about the philosophy behind it. Every once in a while, you need to finish on a bright and clear note. The name for this song: Anthropology. Sung by: Me and Lyra.
"Alrighty, mares and gentledragon. Here’s a song for the good in humanity! Hit it, Medley!" Lyra excitedly called out as I nodded.
small jazz solo for intro
Human beings fascinate me,
being just the way they are.
Tell me little pony, can you
push a cart or drive a car?
Lyre is my instrument but humans strum their sweet guitars!
It's a mystery.
Anthropology!
Fingers, toes and tiny noses
brownish hair and tannish skin!
Would it be too much to ask to see the world they're living in?
Everybody tells me that it's old and fake mythology.
It's a mystery.
Anthropology!
Aren't you bored of brushing your coat?
Styling your mane with your hooves?
I don't mean to butt in our gloat,
But ancient history proves
humans don't have wings or magic,
they don't need it,
they don't care,
all they got's imagination,
new inventions everywhere!
Babies, children, teens and elders all alike have clothes to wear!
It's so real to me.
Anthropology!
Albert Einstein, Cleopatra, William Shakespeare, Elton John!
Michael Phelps, Barack Obama.
Who's to say that they're all gone?
Maybe humans like us too and dress like us at ComicCon?
I actually woke up at a decent time, without any sort of accident or adventure. Finally, I could get up like any normal pony and- *thud*- or I could still trip on my bed somehow. Seriously, what did I do to offend beds so much? Or did I actually get a curse placed on me that affects me when I get in a bed? Oh well, at least it’s my only problem today when getting up. Now that I think about it, the social atmosphere was a bit on a low key today. then again, this was morning, so I don’t expect much in the way of something vital going on, at least with Ponyville society. So, I got up, did my usual routine, and get prepared for my choral class. I knew something was off when none of my friends even stopped by for a crazy task or something new. I resolved to ask about it after class.
Well, the class was off today as well. Not one of the students put in their full effort and looked like they were going through the motions. I even tried to bring some energy, but something about today seemed to negate the energy. I eventually ended rehearsal a bit earlier than usual.
“Alright, can someone please tell me what brought you all down in a bad mood today. Don’t even say nothing either, I didn’t even have to interrupt any conversations today, which never happens,” I tried a vain attempt of humor, but it seems it still did nothing.
At last, one of my students spoke up. “Sorry, Mr. Royalwind. It’s just that… Pinkie isn’t feeling too happy today and she makes up most of this town’s energy.”
My eyes slightly widened at this, “Well, class, it looks like you have independent practice today for the afternoon. I trust you’ll at least get some practice done,” I rapidly rushed out the door at a good clip towards Sugarcube Corner.
I arrived and the Cakes, upon seeing my expression, just pointed up the stairs, where some crying could be heard. I nodded and flew up the stairs quickly. I slowly approached what I assumed was the door to Pinkie’s room, which was the source of the crying. I knocked on the door politely.
“Pinkie? It’s me, Medley,” I got out before hearing a gasp, then suddenly being pulled into a tight hug from a crying Pinkie, with the door slamming and shutting itself tight.
“Pinkie? What’s wrong? What happened?” I choked out from the death grip she had on me.
She cried for a little bit longer before finally loosening the grip on me, enough to where I could breathe and she could get a sentence out. “I-I-I’m a ho-horri-ible mo-mons-ster!” She then resumed her crying, mainly using my shoulder.
I tried to see where she would get this idea from, before suddenly realizing that my human memories must’ve been the cause of it. I still asked, “Did you get this idea from my memories?” The louder crying seemed to buy into this idea heavily.
I hugged her as hard as I could, which got her attention a bit, stopping the crying. “Pinkie, you’re not a monster. You’re a lovable mare with a fun and upbeat attitude. You’re not a secret psychopathic killer with cannibalistic tendencies. That Pinkie is a dark piece of human imagination, nothing more.”
This was apparently not the correct thing to say, as she just bawled harder onto my shoulder. I tried to comfortingly pat her on the back as best I could.
She eventually was able to talk again. “It’s not a figment of any imagination. She is real! She’s inside me, waiting to break out and kill everyone I know and love!” She scooted back up against the wall, away from me. “Stay away, before she decides you’re next!” She began freaking out after saying that.
Her mane was deflating, even more, her coat starting to turn more saturated, but still remain pink. An odd thing happened as well: her face went from panic to sadistic glee and her cutie mark was flipping back and forth between Pinkie’s three balloons to a cupcake with two knives as a backdrop, crossed at the cupcake.
“S̐ͣ͆͝t̲̪̝͓͇͈͆ͭ̓ͅą̘̖̙̯ͮͧ̐̈ẏ̪̯̃͂̑͐ ̺ͥ̏ͫͩ̄̐̕a̩͈̺̬̋̑̓̓̾̈ͨ́w͋͞ǎ́̃̓ͫ͑͐y̸̮̩̅.̯̤̯̇̃͜.̙̺͕̣̗̒̀.͎̯̖̰́ͧ” Pinkie’s voice was changing as well, going from scared to cruel satisfaction and back again in a few seconds.
“What the…” You stood there, stunned at what looked like an identity crisis brought to life until you realized a few things: Pinkie was really out of it today, apparently Pinkamena was real and was the transformation of her slowing down and more often than not landing on Pinkamena? Oh dear, it seems it stopped on Pinkamena, and the smile was not something to look forward to. Your world then faded to black... and I awoke.
This was recorded down at a later time, as no recollection was found on this incident until much later.
I’m finally free! It took too damn long, in my opinion. Then I see an interesting opponent facing me with a knife and a cruel grin. I then recognize the mare from my host’s memory banks.
̢“͝Ḿi͠ss̶ ̕P̷inkamȩn̴a͝,҉ ̕I pr̀es͝uḿe?”͢ I purred, my magic already prepared.
“Why my reputation precedes me, it seems.” She purred right back, her knife at a good tilt for a quick stab.
“̸No̧w,̵ n̛o̕w, Miss ͡P҉inkam͘e̵n̡a. ̧It͟ ne̷v͠e҉r so҉lv͢èş a ̡p̧r̨ob͜l̕e҉m ͜t͟ò ̡b͠e ha͢şt́y̡ i̴n҉ a͜ny si҉tu̷a̴t͜io̸n͜,” I stated as the area began to change without her noticing.
“Aw… and I wanted to know what you would taste like as a cupcake. Your arms look very tender, perfect for a cupcake too,” She wildly grinned and charged, her knife slashing where my arms were.
I had moved around the knife and shot a bit of magic to knock her back though before she could get the chance to even scratch. She jumped back up very quickly. “Fast moves there. Too bad your number’s up.”
“̶O̶h͘,̛ ̶d͘o͠ e͠xc͏u̴se̡ ̀me f͠or҉ n̛ot̡ ̡dyi҉ng̛ ̷w̛hen ̛y̛o̴u͡ ͠w̛an̕ted ̢m̢e̶ ̨t͢o̢. Ḩere̕, have͡ a͟ņ ap̨ol̕ogy҉ ͜s͟p̕èl̸l ͟s̶e҉nt͟ ͠dír̸e͟c̨tļy to y̢our ͠hea̵d̵,͢” I shot back with a quick spell.
She dodged with ease and shot forward with the knife again. We kept up this fun dance of death until I got bored. “We̴ĺl͞, i͠t ͜s͞eeḿs̴ l͜ik̨e͢ th̀ís ͘g̢ot̨ t̨oo̸ b́or̢in͠g͟.̵ Time̷ t͜o͟ c̵ha͏nge̕ ͠ùp thi̕s d̢an̕c͡e n͜u͜m͢b̨e̡r̢,” My eyes swirled with magic as I started to levitate. “͘L̶et̢’͜s ̀s͏ee͜ ͢ẃh͟at this̡ ̛d̢oe̕s ́to yo͝u, Miss͘ ̢Pin̵k͝am͞e̶n͝a̵.͘”
I saw her eyes widen as she tried to find a way out of this, “You can’t kill me! Otherwise, this host will die! You know these rules! Let’s just work something out, alright?!”
I was so tempted to unleash my magic blast, but I stopped and settled back onto the ground and asked in a curious voice, “҉Why̴ ͏t̢h̛e sudde͡n cha̸ng̸e ̕of̡ ̡he͠a̢r̀t̸?͘ ̷I͢ ̨thou̧gh͏t t҉he ́s͜a̴yi̛ng w̨ènt̢ l̡ik̶e so҉:͠ ̸th̀o̢s̶e wh̡o͠ lív͘e̸ b͢y ͏t͝he̸ sw̷ord̵,̶ di҉e̴ ̢by ͜the ̡swo̴r̵d?͏”̧
She rolled her eyes like it was the most obvious of answers. “Obviously, I can’t kill you either. Damn hosts. So, let’s make a deal, shall we? Without the strange magic affecting the area?” She pointed to around the area, which looked so wonderful to me, but then again, I’m not the one to be asking how mortal reality should work.
With a sigh, I brought everything back to normalcy and conjured a table for negotiation and began with, “Sha͠ll ̸wé ́begin, ͞Mis҉s ̛Pi̡nka͏mena?̸”͢ She responded with a nod and took a seat on one side while I was on the other side.
“So, what would be some good ground rules to set. I have so many cupcakes to make after this,” She complained a bit, looking as bored as I was.
“WHAT?! Why would I agree to such a thing? These cupcakes need that special ingredient and I already have the next number drawn. Plus, I am an expert assassin and can kill without being noticed,” She snarled, looking like she was about to break out the knife again, damn the consequences.
I shake my head and just respond with, “O̢h rea͡ll͡y?͘ ̢And͢ ͝h͡ow l̕on̸g҉ w͜i̢ll i̶t͡ tak̶è f́or͏ ͏some͞pon̛y t͢o no̵t͘i̷ce͝ ͘tha҉t ̡they’͝re g͢o̸ne̴ a͝nd͏ ͞ge̷t̵ ͡th҉e̢ R̛oyal̵ ̕Ģu̡ard̵s̷ a̧nd ͘b͝ot͏h Pri҉ņc҉e̶sse͝s̵ ͝i͘nvơlv̵èd͜,͜ ̨sińce ͏mųrder ́is a r͠a̵re ca̕se̶ in ̸E̶qu̸e̵str͏ia̡?͞ And I̢ don’̶t͡ ́tḩi͝n̸k͏ ̴you̷ c͡an̵ e͠v͠e͞n̸ ̀t҉aŗg͞e҉t ͟t̛h̸è e̢lder̕ly ̡ju̕s̛t͞ ̕b̸efo͡r͝e ͜th͠e̷ỳ ͘di͡e ́a̢s͠ ͜w͝e̷ll b́e̷f͝ơre yo͏u c̛ould s͏a͠y̶ ͢you͝ ͡c͝a҉n͠ d́o ͘t҉h̶at. A͠ltho̢ug͞h,̶ ŗe̶ally? Ol̛d ͏po̶n͘y m͏ea͢t? Th͟a͢t do̷e̷sn’̨t s̡ound ͡t͡ast͘y̕ ̀in the ̕s͞l͞i̧ģht̴e̛st҉.҉”
Oh, the expression she had! I wish I had a camera for it! It looked like it was a cross between rage and logic and it wasn’t a good way to combine them. She eventually settled down for a bit to form a sentence.
“You… make too good of a point. So what the hell do either of us do, since you aren’t allowed out either, it seems,” She spat out.
I swear that grin deserved a trademark or at least a painting of it. “I think those are conditions I can meet with ease. If it means I will be freed to bake my delicious cupcakes and to make sure their numbers come up and be dealt with,” She readily agreed with the terms set. “In return, I’ll make sure you’re one of the last numbers and I’ll give you a free box of cupcakes. My treat.”
We shook on it and we let our hosts back in, who were probably either freaking out or unconscious as the case may be. I might even tell him of this conversation away from any listening ears, just to see his reaction.
Added entry ends
“Ow… my head… what in LaurFastia’s name happened?” I got back up shakily on my legs and felt my wings shake loose for a bit as I tried to figure out what happened.
“Weird. That’s never happened before. Usually, I try and keep her back, but now she’s staying where she’s supposed to. But she’s also chucking very evilly and that isn’t a good sign at all,” Pinkie looked up in great confusion.
“So… I technically helped you out today?” I asked, puzzled.
“Maybe? Well, she doesn’t want to come out anymore, so I guess you did,” Pinkie replied in the same kind of tone.
“I say throw a party today for all of Ponyville. Say it’s for rebuilding community happiness, if anyone asks,” I say to try and relieve the confusion and tension.
This seemed to work, as Pinkie burst into a pink explosion of happiness and she regained her normal perky self. “That’s a great idea Med!” She then dashed off, most likely to spread the news and to prepare for the upcoming community-wide party.
I chuckled and went off back to my class, as somehow, only an hour had passed, so school was still in session. When I had arrived, everyone had at least a smile on their face as they heard that Pinkie was planning on throwing a town party, and a Pinkie Party is the best kind of party. I smiled for a bit before getting the class’s attention.
“Now that everyone’s energy has been restored, let’s begin again. From the top, everyone!”
It was a fun rehearsal that I ended up teaching for the last two hours. We had managed to now blaze through the songs and do a spectacular job. Heck, I only had to fix a few mistakes we had made. I call that a good day. It was soon time though, as I dismissed the class with the favorite saying of ‘No homework for today!’, which instantly got me some brownie points with the students. Man, do I love working with kids sometimes. Anyways, I had some time left over to mull on what happened today, or rather, what didn’t happen today. I seem to recall that I fell unconscious for about an hour, right when Pinkamena was about to gut me for some cupcakes, yet I woke up without even a scratch on me and Pinkie’s back in control of herself. I wish I knew what could happen during that hour, but it seemed like Pinkamena wouldn’t share, for ‘dramatic effect’. Ah well, I’m sure it wasn’t anything too important.
It was a rather big blast Pinkie had thrown together at the last minute, even though it looked like it had taken a whole town a few days to decorate. I would ask how, but for some reason, I just accepted the possibility of her doing this all by herself, maybe with a bit of help from some of the townsfolk. Odd, I know, but I just didn’t have the urge to do so. Ah, but I’m sure you’d want to hear about the party itself, not me rambling about my problems. In that case, the party was still a blast, even for someone who doesn’t often go to them. I got some strange looks when I found the stash of tequila along with a cup of root beer and combined the two, but as I like to say, everyone has their quirk, so don’t judge me. Anyways, it was an interesting time, as AJ was getting some extra business for the Apple family, Rainbow was begging with AJ for some apple cider, Fluttershy was actually there, Rarity was enjoying the punch, and Twilight was near Pinkie trying to get the answer to the question that never should be asked to Pinkie Pie: How did you do all this? All in all, I was glad to have helped, even though I had no idea how that even happened.
Oh, damn. Looks like I need to stock up on more parchment. Sorry if it seems like I keep on ending on very rushed notes, but I try to save on parchment as much as possible. Well, I end with this question: What is going on when you close your eyes? S̬̏̀̿ͭͮ̓ͮw̜̞͔͓ͯ͑ͥ̆ͤ̚͠ę̩͉͙̜̽ͬ͌̾ͫ̔̉eͥ̽̇̀t̬̭̪̏̎̎͜ ̮̋ͧͭͫ̆ͯd̹̰̮̽͜ŗ̙͇ͭ̍ͧḙ̬̺̋͛́ͭ́ā̢͚̹̬̠̟͇̪ͥͪm̬̘̺̭ͭ͊̈ͣ͑ͤ̚͟s̵̞̥ͨ̋ͫ̌ͭ̊̑ͅ.̩̟̪͞.͖̻͈͕̭͛͛ͥ͝.͖̣̋̈͂͌ͥ͠
Dear LaurFastia, it seems that my idea of a curse put on me to have beds hate me still holds true, as I was sleeping peacefully before being awoken by a pail of cold water, resulting in a knee-jerk reaction of rolling off the bed and landing with a thud on the ground. I was disoriented for a bit before realizing that I was pranked if the sound of quiet giggling was anything to go by. I had thought about going out there and ‘yell’ at them, but something inside me thought different and I instead smirked a bit and snuck around behind their hiding spot. Once in position, I did a small jump-scare that I saw once in a video game back home. The result was a bit hilarious, as I saw Rainbow and Pinkie both jump high into the air, screaming a bit. I had a small laugh at that as they soon realized it was just me and they giggled a bit as well.
“Nice one Med! I couldn’t even tell you were close by!” Pinkie giggled.
“Yeah, that was a nice way to get the drop on us!” Rainbow laughed.
“Heh, I still have a few tricks up my vest in case somepony decided to prank me,” I replied with a small smirk.
I soon bid them goodbye as I went off to teach, still smiling a bit.
“Man are those two pranksters. Hopefully, they won’t try and become the next Marauders or Weasley Twins,” I humorously prayed.
It was the next day that was a bit more interesting, though not in a fun way. It was after school and I made my way to a cafe that I quite liked only to discover Pinkie Pie already occupying a table, looking a bit glum. I froze a bit at that, as the last time she was feeling sad, a demon had nearly come alive and I was the first victim. I quickly made my way over to her table and made my order before turning my attention to Pinkie.
“Heya Pinkie. Something bothering you today?” I asked politely.
She sighed a bit. “Oh… it’s just some mean old griffon that’s hanging out with Rainbow Dash instead of me. I had a full day of pranking ahead of us too...”
I looked a bit relieved. “Sorry for thinking otherwise Pinkie. I just remembered the last time and… well, I just wanted to check up on you.”
She looked a bit mad at first before slowly nodding. “No, she’s been laying low and not bothering me at all…”
“I… I’m sorry Pinkie. I’m just worried about my friend,” I smiled back a bit sadly.
She nodded a bit before perking back up a bit. “Hey Med, wanna do some of those pranks I planned?”
I smiled a bit brighter and chuckled a bit, a small mischievous glint in my eye. “I think that would be a lot of fun.” I frowned a bit though, despite the fun that would soon come. “Though what exactly did this griffon do? I must admit, I’ve rarely met a griffon. The only one I met was on… the night… my voice…” I trailed off, looking a bit saddened.
Pinkie Pie reached out across the table and pulled me into a hug. “It’s alright Med, you don’t have to worry about that mean old pony. Plus, you got better? Can you imagine if you couldn’t talk? Can you imagine if I couldn’t talk? Where would that funness go?”
I laughed a bit, cheering up some more. “I’m sure we’d all miss you talking, no matter what.”
She giggled a bit as well. “Well if you couldn’t sing anymore, then who would I go with on Karaoke night?”
We both then laughed a bit more, our moods lightening up. We eventually settled down and she began to explain what had happened.
“Well, this griffon, who’s Gilda by the way, she kept on making me go away! First, she had Rainbow Dash leave me behind when I used a trampoline to talk with them, then she popped my balloons to make me sink back down, then she messed with my flying contraption, making me crash land after telling me to buzz off!”
I listened with more and more anger at what this Gilda did to Pinkie. I liked reading up on other cultures though, so I wasn’t entirely angry.
“Normally Pinkie, I’d say you were being jealous of Gilda taking up so much time with Rainbow Dash, but that’s not entirely the case. Yes I think you are being a bit jealous of her, but you also have to understand that griffons are fiercely loyal to their closest friends and family, often not trusting anypony else near them. I do have to admit though, she was being a bit excessive on trying to keep you away.”
“Oh wow Med! That’s like something Twily would say! How are you this smart?” She looked at me in wonder.
I sheepishly grinned and waved a hoof. “Oh, I just spent some time as a foal learning about other cultures. Equestria is a land of many cultures and races, so I figure what’s the harm in learning about them? Heck, the only ones I couldn’t find much hard information on, even at Twilight’s library and my short time in Canterlot was on dragons and draconequus’.”
“Oooo! What’s the second one? What’s the second one?” She bounced excitedly.
“I don’t really know. It was just mentioned briefly and not in detail on what exactly they were. However, I think it’s time we got to pranking,” I grinned at her.
She gave a similar grin back and soon we were galloping (or in my case, flying near ground level fast) off to the prank shop. We slowed down a bit though when we saw Gilda in town. I have to admit, from how Pinkie described her, she fit it spot on. However, the opinion soon started to sour more and more, as she purposefully scared Granny Smith, insulted a vendor, stole from a different vendor, and roared at Fluttershy when she accidentally bumped into her. Both Pinkie and I, along with all the townsfolk around us, gave her glares as she gave one last insult before flying off, not seeming apologetic in the least.
“She’s a grump, and a thief, and a bully, the meanest kind of mean meanie pants there is! I can take it, but no one treats Fluttershy like that! No! One! This calls for extreme measures: Pinkie Pie style!” She angrily said, channeling the look of Pinkamena, without really becoming her.
“I agree with you 100% Pinkie Pie. I think I may join you in that,” I said with a bit of cold fury.
She nodded with an evil grin as we both began to plan a party. I must admit though, it was a delicious irony that Rainbow Dash was the one who had plans on setting up some pranks hidden in the party, as she said that it was going to be a good surprise for Gilda. We both sweetly smiled and nodded, causing her to give a strange look at both of us, me more so than Pinkie. Before we started, though, I closed my eyes for just a small moment. It was extremely odd to open them to find the whole party set up, as Pinkie and Dash both thanked me for helping out. I ignored it for now as we waited for guests to come.
It was now time that guests were coming in for the party for Gilda. It was quite interesting hearing the small bits of conversation that I did before Fluttershy stealthily made her way over to me and Pinkie.
“Um, Pinkie Pie? About this party for Gilda? Um, do you really think it’s a good idea? I mean…” She quietly stammered out before Pinkie tried to dissuade her.
“Don’t worry your pretty little head about mean old Gilda,” She drew Fluttershy in what was her mind a comforting way but came off as patronizing. “Your Auntie Pinkie Pie got it all taken care of.”
As Pinkie Pie walked off, I stepped in a bit, looking at Fluttershy’s glare at her. “You know that Pinkie Pie is trying to cheer you up a bit there. Plus she did mean what she said: Don’t worry about it. Pinkie wouldn’t throw a party for someone who roared at you without good reason.”
“Pinkie better… Besides, I’m older than her…” She sighed with a bit of irritation as Pinkie Pie welcomed Gilda to the party.
I do have to admit, it was hilarious seeing Gilda set off all the pranks that Rainbow Dash had hidden, though it was less so when she started glaring at Pinkie, believing that she did it instead. It came to a climax after Gilda tried playing Pin The Tail On The Pony and ended up splattered with cake and a mustache tail. She roared in anger and immediately started yelling at Pinkie Pie. It was after accusing Pinkie Pie of pulling all those pranks on her did Rainbow Dash step up and glare a bit at Gilda.
“You know Gilda, I was the one who set up all those ‘weak pranks’ at this party.”
Gilda was stunned for a moment before surprisingly stating, “What?!”
“So I guess I’M Queen Lameo,” Rainbow Dash sarcastically stated as well, walking directly in front of Pinkie and glaring at what was soon going to be her former friend from the looks of things.
“Those pranks I set up weren’t meant for you specifically. It was just bad luck that you happened to set them all off,” Rainbow looked down a bit dejectedly as I looked away a bit in confusion.
Those pranks were too synchronized to be merely bad luck and coincidence. Though I do remember closing my eyes once before waking up to find I had helped Rainbow and Pinkie set up the party. I have no idea what the Tartarus is going on… I wondered as Gilda tried to backpedal on her words, failing at it miserably.
It soon reached its finale as Gilda stormed off, calling Rainbow a dweeb before leaving. I could see that both were glaring at each other, yet I got the feeling I wouldn’t be seeing the last of Gilda.
“I’m sorry everypony,” Rainbow apologetically said a bit after Gilda left, “For bringing Gilda here. I didn’t know how rude she was. And Pinkie Pie… I’m really sorry she ruined that awesome party of yours.”
Pinkie looked up at her with a small smile. “Hey, if you want to hang out with party poopers, that’s your business.”
Rainbow smiled at her. “Actually, I’d rather hang out with you. No hard feelings?”
“No hard feelings.” She shook Rainbow’s hood, only for the joy buzzer to go off once again, this time revealing that they both had joy buzzers. Everyone laughed at that before dispersing back into the party, the mood brightening more.
I talked a bit with Pinkie after everypony dispersed. “Looks like there was more to her than I thought. Sorry for the misjudgment there Pinkie.”
She giggled before waving a hoof, brushing it off. “It’s alright, Med! Even you can’t be like Twily and be a super smart super smarty-pants all the time. Now come on! There’s still a whole lot of party to finish!” She then jumped into the party as I joined her with a small shake of my head in amusement. I saw Twilight writing her letter to Princess Celestia and smirked a bit when I saw that she sent over some invisible ink along with her usual letter.
The party soon came to a close as it was starting to be time for everypony to head back off to bed. Soon almost everypony was gone, except for the Mane 7, as I like to call ourselves. I walked up to Twilight with a bit of worry.
“Hey, Twilight? Something… strange has been going on with me and I don’t know what it is,” I nervously said.
She looked a bit puzzled before the whole group got together and listened in.
“Well, we’re all here for ya, ain’t we? You can tell us,” Applejack put a hoof on my back with a supporting smile.
“Exactly, darling. We’re all friends here and friends help each other out,” Rarity added with a small smile.
I smiled a bit as well before taking a deep breath to calm myself down.
“Well, it’s just that… I don’t remember helping Pinkie and Rainbow set up this party at all. It was one moment I was walking in and I shut my eyes for what felt like a moment, only to discover that once I opened my eyes, the party had been set up and Pinkie and Rainbow Dash had thanked me for helping them. Plus, those pranks were too well-timed to be merely coincidence and bad luck,” I explained.
The group looked at one another with confused and curious expressions before Twilight looked back at me. “I have to admit, I never heard of this kind of thing before. I’ll have to check and see if there’s such a thing in the books. In the meantime, don’t worry about it, alright?” She smiled a bit at me, though this smile felt a bit different from before. It had felt… warmer. Like she was trying her best to help and comfort me.
I smiled back a bit, feeling a bit better than before. “Thanks, everypony. I’m gonna head off to sleep now, alright?”
“Of course, Medley. Good night,” Fluttershy softly said. “I think it’s time we all head off to bed as well.”
The group had nodded and we made our way back to our homes. As I lay in bed, I still can’t help but wonder about what had happened.
I don’t remember helping set up the party, I was speaking strangely beforehand apparently and I have a missing gap of when I was over at Pinkie’s trying to help cheer her up. Hopefully, it’s nothing too bad…
With that final thought, I drifted off to sleep, wondering if my life was about to get any stranger. Well, as they say, be careful what you wish for. Good night everypony!
End of Chapter 7
Slice of Life 2: A Chance To Relive An Old Favorite
Well, this was certainly an interesting way to wake up. Getting a scroll at about 6 in the morning through dragon flame is a bit disconcerting, but it’s not the worst that could’ve happened. It’s sad though that I have a lot to compare it too. Nevertheless, if it was by dragon fire, then it must mean that Twilight had some need for me. Hopefully, it wasn’t going to be more experiments. I like experimenting as much as the next pony, but that mare can take things to the extreme when she’s looking for an answer. Anyways, I soon got up and read the letter, blinking the sleep out of my eyes.
Dear Medley,
I know that this is an earlier time than usual for me to even talk with you, much less send a letter through Spike. However, I think I may have found a cure for your speech condition in one of my old books, modified for your situation. I have no idea if it may work, but the good news is that there’s no chance anything bad will happen to you if it goes wrong. Please come whenever as soon as you can so I can see if I did anything wrong or if it worked.
With hope and happiness, Twilight Sparkle
I was astounded at that, though not as much as you may think. I’ve already gotten three letters like this one since I told her of my condition. However, this was the first time that she said nothing bad would happen if it went wrong, which to me made it more likely to succeed. After all, the last three times she tried it nothing had happened, but that was not the worst-case scenario, so I had some hopes for this to work. I quickly got my clothes together, a muted yellow vest this time as I flew out the door, making good progress towards Twilight’s Library Home.
Once I arrived, Twilight immediately used her magic and moved me quickly to a different room in the library that had some kind of circle going on. My eyes widened a bit as it looked like a ritual of sorts and from what I can remember, those never ended well.
“Um, Twilight, you sure this is a good idea?” I began to feel very nervous.
She didn’t respond as a spellbook levitated in front of her, pages wildly flipping through until they stopped on a specific page.
“Twilight?” Panic began to course through me.
She then shot a continuous beam of magic into the circle and it began to glow brightly. I started to levitate, my wings still limp at my sides. I then began to yell when the magic began to seep into me, slowly changing my body, both inside and out. My organs felt like they were being squished around, changing to fit some other creature as my front hooves began to turn into hands and arms as my back hooves turned into legs. My body then started to grow more in size, becoming more upright and thinner, my fur coat slowly changing into cotton clothing. It soon ended as I and Twilight both collapsed onto the ground, looking exhausted. When she looked up finally, her face paled a bit.
“M-Medley?! What in Celestia’s name happened to you?” She yelled as I slowly began to sit up, feeling very off from before.
“Twilight… what happened?” My voice was deceptively calm as inside my mind it was a full panic attack.
She nervously levitated over a full-sized mirror so that I could see my reflection. She nervously explained, “I… I have no idea why that ritual changed you so much… it was only supposed to change your voice, not your whole body…”
I looked at my reflection, a maelstrom of emotions running through me. I was… human again. The sensation felt… interesting. I wasn’t too mad at Twilight, as being turned into my former race wasn’t too bad of a thing. However, what I was mad about was the fact that she didn’t warn me in advance about what ritual she was using, how badly it could affect me, or even realize the danger of tinkering with a ritual in the first place.
“There is a way to change me back, right?” I looked back at her, trying to keep my calm demeanor.
“Y-Yeah… I’m so sorry… I was only trying to help…” She was starting to cry a bit, flinging the spellbook away from her.
I smiled a bit and leaned over, giving her an awkward hug. “It’s alright Twilight, I know. Just please… next time tell me something like this could happen and don’t mess around with rituals unless you know exactly what it is you’re dealing with, alright?”
She nodded as she burrowed her head into my chest, sniffling a bit as she dried her face on my shirt, which was a white color, just like my coat.
I chuckled a bit. “At least my fur coat made it through the transformation into clothes. I don’t think you’re quite ready to see the male human body naked.”
She giggled softly a bit, a small smirk on her face as she looked up at me. “Well, we can always do a few… experiments~”
She then started to laugh at my both horrified and scared expression on my face.
“I’m only kidding, Medley, honestly,” She still giggled after a little while had passed.
I gave a small sigh of relief, which prompted a few more giggles out of her.
“You nearly had me there, Twilight,” I grinned a bit back at her, a faint blush on my cheeks.
She giggled even more as I realized I was blushing. “Please, dear LaurFastia let me turn invisible right now.”
I soon broke off the hug, feeling a bit embarrassed as well as we awkwardly stood there. The good news was, Spike came down, which did break the awkward tension. Bad news, Spike came down and saw the human in place of his friend Medley.
“Gah! Twilight! Wh-What is that thing and what is it doing in our house?” Spike yelled as he fled behind Twilight.
I rolled my eyes at that. “I swear to LaurFastia Spike, I will come by in the middle of the night and blare rap music for that little comment.”
He peeked his head out a bit, clearly still scared. “M-M-Medley? Is that… you?”
“No, it’s the pink monster from the ice-cream lagoon, here to turn you into a nice dessert,” I sniped back at him.
A broom levitated over my head and whacked me right on top of my head, Twilight giving me a pointed look at the blunt sarcasm.
I gave a small sigh. “Sorry, Spike. Yes, it’s me, Medley. Twilight was trying to help with my condition and some things got… mixed up, shall we say?”
“Oh… OK… if you say so…” Spike slowly walked up to me, poking me a bit with his claw. “Wow, you look and feel so… different.”
“Heh, thanks, Spike,” I grinned as I held out a fist. “We can actually do a fist bump now, at the very least.”
He chuckled as he did a fist bump with me and as Twilight looked through the spellbook, her face starting to slowly pale as she got more and more through it. “Come on, come on, I know it’s in here somewhere…”
I looked a bit nervously at her. “There is a way to counteract this… right?”
The spellbook soon fell onto the ground after hitting the last page, Twilight’s face a near perfect shade of white. “Uh-oh… This isn’t good!”
“No… you gotta be kidding me… p-please don’t tell me…” I began to panic again.
She gave a small and slow shake of her head before her eyes light up as she flipped through. “That’s right, I was working with a modified one for transmutation! All I have to do is figure out how to reverse the base ritual then modify that to turn you into a pony again!”
I gave a sigh of relief. “You nearly had me again, Twilight. I swear, I’ll collapse from shock if you keep it up. How long do you think it’s going to take?”
“W-Well… it took me about a week to modify the base ritual… and now I have to find how to reverse it and modify THAT… so about… two weeks?”
“...can’t you just simply perform the ritual in reverse?” I blinked a bit.
She blinked a bit as well. “Medley, you are one of the smartest ponies I have ever met!” She grinned as she tackled me into a hug.
I smiled a bit and chuckled as I gave her a small hug back. “I used something called common sense and simple thinking. You really don’t have to over-complicate this, Twilight.”
She gave a small giggle as we soon broke off from one another. I have to say though, these hugs felt… oddly comforting and warm. Inviting even. But I digress.
“The set-up for the ritual took about a day, so it looks like for one day only, Ponyville will have it’s first, and probably last, human being,” She gave a small smirk at me as the book levitated in front of her again. “In the meantime, why don’t you make yourself at home here in the library? I’m not sure everypony’s ready to meet you quite yet in your… former form.”
I gave her a small nod as I started to walk out the door, only to bang my head against the top of the arch of the door out to the library. I uttered a minor curse quietly as I could hear both Twilight and Spike giggling at my mistake. I soon gave a small smile and shook my head a bit as I ducked underneath the door and stood in the library.
It wasn’t too long until Rainbow Dash came by to crash. Quite literally too, as she managed to break through the ceiling and landed right into a bookshelf, collapsing onto the ground as books rained on her. I’ve seen her do this a couple of times before, so I knew that she was alright after getting herself re-oriented. Sure enough, her head poked up from the pile of books as she shook her head a bit.
“Man I need some work on that Buccaneer Blaze… Nearly had it this time too,” She grumbled as she started to stand, a few books falling off of her.
“No kidding. But hey, I know you’ll get it one day. Eventually,” I snickered a bit.
“Oh yuck it up, Medley. I don’t see y-” She turned to me and immediately stopped speaking as she saw my human body.
I gave a small wave and grin, winking slightly. “Heya Rainbow. Like the new look?”
“But- How- What?!” She spluttered as Twilight walked out to see what the commotion was about and quickly put everything together.
“Hey Rainbow Dash. Sorry about the surprising new look for Medley today. One of my modified spells went wrong and this was the result. It'll all be cleared up by tomorrow, don’t worry,” Twilight said with a bit of exasperation at seeing the damage caused by Rainbow yet again.
“Gotcha Twilight,” Rainbow gave a small salute as she looked up at me. “Wow, you’re really tall.”
“Did you just notice this now? Then again, it’s much easier to tell with a human than a pony. Either way, yeah, I'm 6 foot in a human form, or so it appears,” I shrugged as I sat down to her eye level.
She snorted a bit. “Gotta say though, wish you coulda kept the wings. That’d be so awesome to see!”
“Yeah it would, wouldn’t it?” I grinned back. “It’d certainly give the weather patrol something to talk about.”
She laughed as Twilight shook her head in amusement, books levitating and flying back onto the shelves, in their proper order.
“Well, I gotta go. Gotta practice my routine for the upcoming Best Young Flier’s Competition,” She quickly said as she stretched out a bit and looked ready to take off.
I gave her a small, two-finger salute. “Divine speed,” I added with a smirk.
She gave a small smirk back as she took off through the hole in the ceiling, leaving her trademark rainbow trail behind her.
“Well, that happened,” I said as I stretched a bit, helping Twilight a bit with putting up the books.
“Why do I get the feeling that all of our friends are going to visit one at a time and each have their own reactions to your current… condition?” Spike slightly grumbled as he swept up the dust and small pieces of ceiling.
“Don’t be silly Spike. That only happens in cartoons or some made-up story by somepony who can’t think of something too creative,” Twilight admonished him as she vanished away the larger pieces of ceiling rubble.
Pinkie popped up right behind Twilight. “Heya everybody!”
“GAH!” Twilight jumped back, as did Spike and I, though to a lesser degree.
She giggled a bit as I calmed down enough to speak. “Hello to you too Pinkie. What brings you around?”
“Oh nothing, just wanted to check on my friends,” She coyly said as grinned at me.
“Uh-huh... riiiiight…” I wasn’t buying it as I crossed my arms as I raised an eyebrow.
She giggled as she bopped me on the nose lightly. “You got me. I just wanted to see a human in real-life. You seemed like just the one.”
“You saw Rainbow Dash fly off and wanted to know what she saw,” Twilight drolly said as she looked at Pinkie with an unreadable expression.
“Oh wow! It’s like you’re both psychics! Oh, oh, oh, try to guess what I’m thinking now!” She jumped excitedly.
“...you’re thinking about sweets of some kind!” Spike interjected.
She clapped her hooves excitedly. “Yay! You’re all psychic!”
“Now that can’t be true. After all, we didn’t know you’d appear out of the blue at this time. Plus, you never seem to be predictable. At all, in fact,” I chuckled.
She giggled a bit too. “Well, I’m kinda needed back at the Cake’s place. I think-” She stopped before her face paled and she made a mad dash off, screaming, “THE OVEN IS STILL ON!”
All three of us took a collective blink before we shook ourselves out of it.
“And just when we started to get the hang of her…” Twilight groaned slightly.
“Twilight, I say this with all the love a friend could have: Don’t question how Pinkie Pie works. It’s better for your health and sanity.” I replied with a straight face.
She shook her head, looking really determined to solve the mystery that was Pinkie Pie. I shrugged in response as I heard a knock at the door.
“Twilight? Ya still home? Kinda wanted to know, it’s after lunchtime. Gotcha some stuff to eat,” Applejack called out.
I had a wide grin as Twilight paled a bit and shook her head, silently trying to tell me that whatever I was planning was a bad idea.
“Come on in Applejack! There’s even something new that was just recently added that would get your attention real nice,” I called back out to her.
Applejack walked through the door with a few baskets of what looked like Apple Family products. However, Twilight had to catch them quickly with her levitation, as Applejack jumped back a bit in fright when she saw me.
“What in tarntion?! Twilight, this ain’t funny!” Applejack yelled.
I laughed as Twilight glared a bit at me. “Heya Applejack. Nice to know I can get some recognition.”
“Wait a tic… Medley? That you? You look kinda different from before...” Applejack looked at me suspiciously, trying to see if I was lying or not.
“Well, that’s the… HONEST TRUTH!” I laughed as Twilight, Applejack, and Spike all face-hoofed (palmed in the case of Spike) themselves.
“Yeah, that’d be Medley alright,” Applejack shook her head as she looked back at me, then at Twilight. “Now just how in Equestria did you manage to turn Medley here inta a human?”
“Spell gone wrong. It’ll be fixed tomorrow,” Twilight explained rather succinctly.
“Thank ya kindly, Twilight. You can still eat apple stuff, right Medley? From what I remembered, there weren’t a whole lot of fruits that ya ate.”
“Oh, I like apples just fine. Golden Apples are the best though, in my opinion,” I replied with a grin.
She shook her head a bit, more so in amusement now. “Welp, I gotta get back to the farm. Just wanted to check up on Twilight and make sure she was eatin’ sumpthin’. See ya both later.” She then waved goodbye and walked out the door, closing it behind her.
Both Twilight and I didn’t really speak much, as we both started eating into the Apple Family foods, which I swear is one of the best fruit products I ever tasted. And I had lived in two different worlds, so take that as you will. Nevertheless, it seems Spike’s prediction became evermore truthful, as the next knock we heard at the door was Rarity.
“Twilight darling, are you alright? You’ve seemed to have been cooped up in here for most of the day.”
“Just fine Rarity! Just doing some studying!” Twilight yelled back at her.
“Oh, but I insist you have at least some kind of company in there with you,”
Spike didn’t say anything about him being there, as he looked smitten at the door. I decided then to speak up a bit.
“What, do guys not count or something?” I answered.
“Oh, Medley! You know very well I didn’t mean it like that. Apologies to Spike as well, I almost forgot about him,” Rarity sounded like she just remembered.
“Don’t say a word there, Mr. Casanova,” I lightly bonked Spike on the head, snapping him out of it and he gave me a death glare. Well, a small death glare, but still, props for trying at the very least. He then smiled and opened the door, letting Rarity in, despite Twilight’s protests. All I can say was-
“Ow, ow, hey, stop it, ow, hey, quit it-”
Yeah, once Rarity saw me, she reacted by telekinetically grabbing the nearest object (which was a broom, what a shock) and repeatedly thwack me on the head with it, screaming at me.
“Rarity! It’s just Medley! Don’t hit him too hard!” Twilight panicked as her magic started to combat against Rarity’s, causing the broom to stop mid-air, but that’s about as far as it went as the broom vibrated in place from the combating magics.
“Seriously Rarity, I know I don’t have any fashion sense, but I didn’t think it was worth being hit with a broom!” I jokingly yelled at her, grinning a bit.
She soon let go of the broom as she then recognized me once more. “Medley? How in-”
“A magic spell went awry. It’ll be fixed tomorrow,” Twilight gritted out as she put the broom back where it was.
“Oh, I see. Well, you still look rather dashing as a human, Medley dear. I quite like the clothes that you have on, they suit you quite nicely,” Rarity commented as I got the glare from Spike once again, this time for getting a compliment when he didn’t.
Rarity then looked back and forth at me and Twilight, puzzled a bit before grinning a bit. “I do have to say though Twilight, I didn’t expect Medley to keep you company. I don’t think you’re too mad though~”
She giggled at Twilight’s and my face of both shock and blushing. Twilight then stammered out something unintelligible and I wasn’t faring much better.
“Oh darlings, do lighten up a bit. You know I’m only teasing. Or am I?” She then waved a hoof goodbye with a small wink as she walked out the door, closing it behind her.
It was a long while before we were able to snap out of it, mostly because of Spike laughing at our faces, to which we both turned to him with a glare.
“Not funny Spike,” Twilight and I snapped at the same time. We then looked at each other with both a small glare and a deeper, but still light blush as Spike just laughed harder.
I had just noticed that Celestia was setting the sun, taking a look out the window. “Wow, this day went by fast. It’s kinda funny though when you think about it.”
“Why do you say that?” Twilight gave me a curious look as she walked off to the kitchen to make a small meal.
I followed her as best I could, answering her as well. “Well, it’s just that normally I feel like I’m often sidelined, like as if I’m just another Ponyville resident. Even as a human it still doesn’t really change. Heck, the only thing different is just initial reactions. I know you girls and Spike got some advanced warning and you already know me well enough to know me on voice, but still… It doesn’t feel like I belong with any of you.”
She stopped abruptly, making me stop as well, nearly running into her. She then turned to face me, a look of guilt and worry made very clear.
“Medley… don’t say that. You ARE a friend to us, don’t ever think otherwise. I know it may seem as though we don’t care about you, and I apologize if that was how you saw us,” Twilight softly said, walking up and nuzzling me a bit.
I softly smiled sadly and knelt down to give her a soft hug. “It’s alright Twilight. It’s just… Being a stallion and all that, plus having a former life as a human… it makes me feel different from most ponies.”
Spike tagged along as well, seeing Twilight head for the kitchen. He was ahead of us a bit and stopped to look back at us. Even though he was a baby dragon, he could clearly see the conflict in my face and went back before giving me and Twilight both a big hug. Well, as best a hug as he could give at any rate.
“I can say the same, Medley,” Spike gave a big grin. “After all, I AM a dragon. Plus, I know I’m really young for a dragon at that. I can sorta understand where you’re coming from. I gotta say though, ponies really like you and your talents are just so awesome. If they can like a dragon of all things, I think that they’ll like you as well. Especially Lyra.” He giggled a bit at that.
Soon we were all laughing, imagining Lyra begging for the ritual to turn her into a human, or me back into a human. The mental image of such a thing happening was just the thing to bring me back into a good mood as I gave Spike a small hug as well after we had calmed down a bit.
“Thanks, Spike. Looks like you can help other ponies just as well as you assist Twilight,” I thanked Spike with a small grin.
Spike blushed and waved a claw, saying it was nothing before running ahead and started to make dinner for the three of us. Twilight followed suit, but not before giving me a quick but deep hug and dashing off, leaving me kneeling there, stunned at what just happened. I soon shook out of it though, as I made my way to the kitchen, where I could smell pasta being made along with a sauce that looked red.
“We’re having spaghetti tonight?” I asked with a wide smile.
“Yep! With garlic bread and a few daisies to help add some flavor to it,” Spike said as he stood on a stool, stirring both the sauce and the noodles.
“Heh, gonna be hard to do that with the human body. We weren’t really meant to eat flora, all we got instead was the ability to eat meat. While I am human, no matter how many times it may happen, I promise I will not eat any meat in Equestria. I’ll find some other way to get the vitamins I need,” I promised as I helped bring down dishes and take out silverware to set.
Twilight looked scared for a moment when I mentioned the meat-eating, but visibly calmed after I made that promise. I also noticed that she had an intense blush that hadn’t quite died. I must’ve had the same thing going on as well if her deeper blush was by anything to go by.
She does look kinda cute when she blushes… Wait, what am I thinking?! She’s just a friend… right? I daydreamed before snapping out of it and quickly setting up the table.
Before we could start eating, there was another knock at the door, and from the small sound it made, I guessed it to be the only friend not to have made an appearance today: Fluttershy.
“Well, looks like I was right on one count: it seems everypony chose today to come over and visit you, Twilight,” Spike grinned as he went over to let Fluttershy in.
“I wonder how Fluttershy will react to me being human. I just hope she doesn’t think I’m some kind of rare animal. I like her, but her mothering nature to animals would just seem a bit too… off for me,” I worriedly said.
“Oh don’t worry Medley, I’m sure she wouldn’t… do… that…” She trailed off as she thought about it and judging from her pale expression, she was worried about such a thing herself. “Never mind, you should probably be prepared, just in case.”
“Aaaaand now I’m starting to panic again,” I drawled, panic seeping into my voice.
It was soon time that Fluttershy entered the kitchen, and from the gleams in her eyes, it was just as I worried. She then flew right at me, tackling me off the chair and held me down as she turned to Twilight.
“How did you get such a rare creature Twilight? Is he alright? What is he?” Fluttershy fretted.
Twilight giggled as I groaned out, “Well, looks like you were right Twilight.”
This caused Fluttershy to instantly sit up at hearing a familiar voice and panic. “M-M-Medley?!”
“Yes, Fluttershy. That’s Medley. A spell had gone wrong and he turned human. The counterspell will be done tomorrow,” Twilight tiredly explained.
Fluttershy blushed and started to stammer quietly and get off me slowly, looking more and more afraid. It took me a bit, but I soon realized that Fluttershy was starting to fear me and I instantly snapped into action to not cause her a panic attack.
“Fluttershy, it’s alright, you didn’t know. I’m not upset at all. Far from it. It’s OK Fluttershy, don’t worry,” I soothed her, reaching out a hand calmly.
She flinched away from the palm before slowly leaning into it and timidly nuzzling it before smiling softly and coming back towards me. I smiled back as I petted Fluttershy a bit, causing her to blush a bit, which in turn caused Twilight to giggle a bit at seeing Fluttershy’s expression.
“S-Sorry Fluttershy…” I looked away, feeling a bit guilty.
“Oh… it’s fine Medley… this just feels… so strange… and comforting…” Fluttershy trailed off.
When I looked at Twilight for a brief second, I thought I saw something flash on her face for a brief moment that I couldn’t place. It quickly disappeared as she smiled and as I stopped petting Fluttershy.
“So, what brought you around before I distracted you?” I asked, tilting my head in curiosity.
“Oh yes, that’s right. I was trying to find you so that we could schedule the next lesson,” Fluttershy whispered, hoping Twilight didn’t hear her.
However, it seems she could hear, as she asked, “Lessons? On what?”
“Fluttershy, do you mind telling her?” I asked her, not wanting to make her feel embarrassed or feel like a total weirdo. Not the term she would use, but close enough for me.
She shook her head, but pointed a hoof at me, nodding her head a bit.
“Or I could tell as well,” I smiled and nodded a bit as I turned to Twilight, who was eagerly awaiting an answer. “She’s taking singing lessons from me so that she can both keep her singing voice from becoming rusty and so that she can improve a bit more. I think she had a beautiful voice to begin with, but as they say, practice makes perfect.”
“Oh, so that’s why you and her disappear every once in awhile. I heard her sing a bit before, for the last Summer Sun Celebration. I would agree with your assessment. Are you enjoying these lessons Fluttershy?” Twilight turned to Fluttershy, who gave her a very shy nod.
It soon came time for her to say goodbye, as she waved a hoof goodbye and quickly made her way off back to her cottage, probably to feed the animals. When she was far out of sight and we had all finished the meal, Twilight turned to me with a different strange look on her face. She soon blushed a bit as she nervously kicked a hoof.
I sighed a bit. “What is it Twilight?”
“Um… can you please… do that thing you did with Fluttershy?” She whispered, almost too quietly for me to hear correctly.
“I’m sorry, what did you say?” I leaned in closer, as did Spike.
She gave Spike a look that paled him a bit as he nodded and made a mad dash off to his room before she turned to me again, the blush intensifying.
“C-Can you please… do that… th-thing you did with… Flu-Fluttershy?” She stammered nervously, still a bit on the quiet side.
However, this time I could hear her and I blushed a bit before nodding and started petting her as well. She relaxed as I continued to run my hand through her mane, feeling even more embarrassed, but also relaxing a bit as well, sitting nearby her. She eventually started to nuzzle lightly into my hand strokes reflexively. I decided not to say anything to make this even more awkward than I’m sure we already felt. She soon snapped out of it and quickly flinched away from me and got up fast.
“Well, time to head off to bed. Sleep and all. Goodnight Medley!” She rapidly said before making a gallop off to her room, embarrassment and horror still clear on her face. I, on the other ho- hand, was left feeling guilty and confused on what had just happened. I eventually just let it slide to the back of my mind and slowly made my way to the spare bedroom I saw before when I had visited. I finally got some sleep, but sleep was not very peaceful.
When I had arrived in my dream world, it was in a state of chaos. Everything was flying about in random clusters, fictional ponies I had made up over the years acting bizarrely out of character, the landscape forever changing at random times, and the weather seemed to be off-kilter as well, raining during the night before hailing on a sunny day after a small moment. When the world had returned to it’s natural state and I was about to wake, I could’ve sworn I saw a red unicorn, a blue earth pony and a strange looking statue in the middle of town, but I chalked it up to the aftereffects of the chaos I had witnessed and I was a part off and soon woke up in a small, cold sweat. Twilight it seemed was standing nearby as she looked shocked and gave a surprised yelp before backing up a few steps, stopping, and moving back towards as she realized I was finally up.
It took a while, but we had both calmed down and Twilight interrogated me, asking, “What were you dreaming just then to give you that much tossing and turning?”
“I… I don’t know. It was all so crazy and the dream kept on changing,” I replied, still a bit shaken up from how real the dream felt.
She grudgingly accepted the answer before nodding her head towards the magic practice room. “Got everything set up now. Time to be a pony again.”
I grinned and chuckled. “That means I can finally fly again. I do miss having wings. Still felt a bit weird not to have two appendages I had been born with in Equestria.”
She giggled a bit in agreement as we made our way to the ritual room and she performed the counter-ritual. I felt the same pain again, this time though feeling myself return to my natural equine form. It had soon ended, leaving me flopped over in the middle of the circle with a small grin on my face.
“I think we should do this on Halloween, just to see what might happen,” I chuckled.
She gave me a look that spelled doom if I attempted this and paled a bit. “On second thought, it’s best not to worry about it. At all.”
“Indeed, my little ponies,” A soft, but authoritative voice spoke as Twilight looked behind me, scared out of her wits. When I looked back, I adopted a similar expression as I made my way to stand by Twilight.
LaurFastia chuckled a bit at our expression. “Relax, my children. You’re not in any serious trouble, as you have righted the wrongs made.”
We both relaxed a bit, but looked a bit worried still as we had caught on that she said we weren’t in any serious trouble.
“However... “ The ritual that turned me human soon popped in front of her as she frowned a bit. “I thought it was impossible for a human to appear in Equestria unless I had given them permission to remain so, especially since I made it impossible for humanity to naturally find my children.”
“W-What do you mean by that, Mother Goddess?” Twilight stammered a bit, looking nervous.
LaurFastia sighed a bit. “While humanity does have it’s good parts too it, the species as a whole is not ready to meet with other species, especially ones so peaceful as my children. I occasionally look into their realm and pick out a few humans I deem worthy to be welcomed with little to no problems. Those that have lived good lives have the option to be reborn here while those who represent the virtues of humanity are given the chance to remain human and live life as they normally did, just in Equus instead of Earth.”
I must’ve had a priceless expression, as LaurFastia giggled a bit at me. “Yes Medley, you were one of the few chosen. You lived a life without too much trouble or strife, but yet you went and did some good in the world instead of becoming spoiled and corrupted. I know not everypony’s perfect, but you just weren’t virtuous enough to be considered to keep your human form.”
“I don’t mind, my goddess,” I smiled a bit as I looked at myself and my wings. “I would’ve asked to become a pony anyways. Fitting in with the local population better and all that. While I do occasionally miss my old form, I wouldn’t trade my current one for it willingly. Well, unless I want to have some fun scaring going on or if I want to change things up for a day. But pretty much, I would stay pony more so than be human.”
She laughed a bit as the ritual floated back down to Twilight, coated in what seemed to be a pure, white magic aura. “I shouldn’t expect anything else from you. I knew I made the right choice.” She soon turned serious. “I will let you, Twilight Sparkle, keep the ritual. I have given it numerous magical protections that only a god from a different world could even hope of breaking. That ritual could be immensely dangerous with the wrong beings, but I have seen into the future, and have seen that you will have need of that ritual. It will not be needed in the near future, despite the bleak circumstances that you will have to overcome, but it will be needed.”
“I… I am honored, Mother Goddess, for being entrusted with such a task. I will perform it with the best of my ability,” Twilight nodded, determined not to disappoint her.
LaurFastia smiled at her and gave a small nod back. “Now, I will be off. Farewell, my little ponies.” She turned to face the wall before stopping and turning back to us for a brief moment. “Oh, and I give you both my blessing. Do not try and make me regret that.” She smiled at our confused, but determined expressions not to disappoint her before she walked through the wall, seemingly going through an invisible portal back to wherever she stayed.
We stood there stunned for a moment before we both shook out of it and Twilight instantly put the ritual in the ritual room, hiding it deeply and adding a few more layers of protection to it before giving a small nod in satisfaction.
“So… what now?” I asked, feeling a bit awkward just standing there.
“Now? Now we go and hang out with our friends and have a fun day today,” She answered as she turned back to me with a bashful smile.
I gave a soft smile in response as we both headed out the door and had a blast with our friends today. Everypony was slightly relieved to see me back as a pony again, though a bit disappointed when we said that we couldn’t repeat the spell again. However, we all had our fun as Pinkie threw yet another party, just for the 8 of us when you include Spike.
I finish up my final thoughts tonight as I can feel sleep creeping up on me after having so much fun getting around in my pony body yet again. Though I’m still left with even more mysteries, I decided to just put that aside for tomorrow to discuss with Twilight. Though even as I write down her name, I get a small tingle that runs through me. Yeah, definitely gonna need to talk with her tomorrow. But until then, I think I’ll sleep peacefully, knowing that even as a human, my friends still care for me.
*sigh* Why does it seem like I’m destined to be plagued by eternal annoyances? More specifically, for times to be woken up. It was such a peaceful sleep too. But nooooo, a few young foals decided to run into my house, Spike being dragged along with them before they somehow managed to crash themselves into my bed, flipping over and landing on my stomach. I gave a loud ‘oof’ sound as the three of them landed one on top of the other, creating a small stack of young foals on my stomach.
“Really? Why me? Why?” I groaned out as they got off of me and I got out from bed.
“Sorry about that, Mr. Royalwind!” The shorter and squatter foal said.
“Y-Yeah… You’re not gonna mark us down, are ya?” The taller foal added on.
Ah, so it seems that these two foals, more commonly known as Snips and Snails, were the ones that started it.
“Don’t worry about it, alright? Just get out now before I decide to make you both sing a duet. With everyone watching. And it will be graded,” I smirked as I saw their eyes widen and they bolted out the door.
I chuckled to myself as Spike looked at me, both in a bit of awe and worry. “You really wouldn’t do that to them, would you?”
“Nah, I was just joking on that part. Worked though, didn’t it?” I grinned to Spike.
“Touche,” Spike chuckled as he stood up as well, brushing himself off.
“So what got the two of them so excited that they managed to practically carry you away and manage to become my alarm for the day?” I questioned Spike as I got out a set of clothes for the day.
“Oh yeah, that’s right!” Spike exclaimed. “They managed to tell me before we somehow got into your house and woke you up. They said something about ‘The Great and Powerful Trixie’, but that was all they managed to get out.”
“Wait… ‘The Great and Powerful Trixie’?” I snapped my head towards him.
“Y-Yeah… you know her or something?” Spike stammered a bit as he noticed how quick I was to respond to the name.
I gritted my teeth a bit as Twilight dashed into my home. “Oh Spike, you’re alright! Wait… why is Medley so angry?”
“I dunno… All I said was a name and he got… scary,” Spike said as Twilight quickly picked him up and put him on her back.
“You want to know why I’m pissed?” I angrily told them, snapping my head towards them. “It’s because for all of her bragging about being ‘The Great and Powerful’, she herself has barely average magic. Except when it comes to illusions, of course. I eventually found out that she was the one who managed to trick me into giving her a fortune for a spell that made it sound like my voice was fixed, when in reality it didn't do a single thing. But before I found out, she hightailed it out of town and I hadn’t heard her since then.”
“Oh… I’m… I’m so sorry Medley…” Twilight looked really apologetic as she and Spike both shrunk back a bit from my angry rant.
Then something felt strange for a moment before I visibly calmed down. For a moment, it felt like… something or someone was trying to take over my body. Either that or it was repressed rage. To be honest, both can feel same (don’t ask me how I know). In any case, I had calmed down considerably and looked at them again, trying to not scare them off.
“Sorry you two. Old memories and whatnot. I’m feeling much more calm now, don’t worry,” I soothingly monotoned.
It took a while, but they both eventually felt it was alright to continue on, though I did notice they were flinching slightly from sudden movements I did.
“Are… are you alright to come and see the show with us?” Spike hesitantly asked after a long moment of awkward of silence.
I shook my head. “Nu-uh. I’m not going. I’m sorry, but if I go I’ll feel inclined to try and create a tornado. Right on top of her and her caravan. And I would be hoping for either asphyxiation or a far away launch.”
Both Twilight and Spike cringed at the cold tone of voice. Spike eventually nodded. “We’ll come back and tell her if she’s gotten any better. From the sound of things though… that’s really unlikely.”
“See you both later then. Sounds like the show is starting up,” I said as I heard fireworks going off.
Twilight nodded as she teleported her and Spike over into the audience. I sighed, still feeling tension and anger towards that showpony, eventually deciding to go and take a small nap to relax.
It was a while later that I heard the front door slam open, jolting me awake. It looked like it was night time already from just looking outside the window, a normal night. What was not normal, however, was the sounds of screaming and loud roaring. I quickly rushed down the stairs before stopping dead in my tracks to notice who was hiding behind my door, trying to hide from the monster outside. I could instantly recognize her, who wouldn’t be able to.
“You…” I growled a bit, my face turning into an expression of fury as I methodically made my way to her.
“W-What? Someone was already occupying this place? Last time The Great And Powerful Trixie visited Ponyville, no one lived here,” Trixie arrogantly stated, not realizing the danger.
“Oh trust me. It took a while for me to rebuild my fortune that you stole,” I spat out as I got closer to her.
Trixie, for her part, finally realized who was there and she started to turn very pale. “W-Wait! Trixie can explain!”
“Oh really?!” I exclaimed. “No please, do tell me why you swindled me and gave me false hope at the same time for a good reason.”
“Trixie was just starting out as an illusionist and needed a start-up fund. No bank wanted to give Trixie a loan and no pony was wanting to invest in me,” Trixie hurriedly explained.
“So the very good reason for me to practically lose the family fortune was a way to get ‘The Great And Powerful Trixie’ off the ground?” I seethed as I felt my anger starting to rise to the very top, almost exploding.
Trixie looked frightened and downtrodden at the same time as she responded, “No… That was not the reason Tri- I- took away your money. Please… let me explain further.”
I stopped for a moment as I saw her visibly deflate herself. No longer being bombastic or egotistical, but rather a more humble mare. I was still pissed off of course, but it calmed down into a small cold fury as I stood there.
“Very well, Trixie Lulamoon. Please explain fully,” I stated in a monotoned voice.
Trixie nodded. “Back when I was first starting out, I thought I could hire on an assistant, who happened to be a close friend of mine at the time. She is no longer a friend though, after I found out she only wanted to be friends with me to be popular enough so that she could mooch off my fame and live the life of luxury while I did all the work. However, she required a hefty fee on top of all the equipment and advertising I had to get as well. She required the money that day and I was running out of ways to raise enough money to hire her. When you visited me and offered as much as you did, I thought my prayers had been answered and quickly used a big lie to get what I wanted and get out to do my show. After about a year though, my former friend and I had a big fight and she left me, trying to go on her own. She obviously failed, leaving only Trixie to do her show. I’ve tried to hire other assistants, but even with your fortune and my growing fame, they just weren’t quite the ones to help out. And so, after a few years, that large boost that started my career ended up being the reason I could get food on the table. While I was getting very famous, most of my shows were for charities, so I did not see much revenue. In fact, this show in Ponyville was going to be one of the few times I would ask for tickets and the proceeds would go to me,” She then looked up at me, her face swelling up with tears. “I apologize for saying something I know was practically a con, but I had the best of intentions and eventually it was needed to help keep my idea afloat. Putting aside my ‘Great and Powerful’ shtick, I wanted to be one of Equestria’s best entertainers that wasn’t a party planner. ‘Trixie the Illusionist’ was going to be the title before my friend convinced me to change it to ‘The Great and Powerful Trixie’ so it could sell better. Eventually I was so caught up in the name, I started to believe my own hype.”
A louder roar could be heard this time as Trixie sighed and whimpered out, “And now two of my most idiotic fans decided to prove my false claims and bring an Ursa to Ponyville. I should’ve never come here at all…”
She eventually broke down into a sobbing fit as I stood there stunned. While true, she had stole my money, I could now see that she was doing it for, somewhat, noble reasons. True, I was a bit mad still, but I could forgive her for it, just as long as she payed it back. I walked towards her again and put a hoof around her, comforting her. She flinched a bit from my touch, still expecting me to strike her, but eventually cuddled a bit closer to me and cried for a bit on my shoulder.
“Don’t worry Trixie. You know what you did was wrong and you feel sorry for it. All you need to do is to make up for it, alright? Just work off the fortune. Like I said, I eventually recovered it over time and as long as you put work into clearing away the debt, as it were. I won’t count you as a friend just yet though. That needs to be earned, not just simply given. However, what you’re doing and will do will help immensely, I can tell you that much,” I smiled as she calmed down.
“I… I think I can deal with that… It’s going to take a while, isn’t it?” She giggled a bit nervously.
I chuckled a bit too. “Only 5,000 bits you need to work towards. Charity work still counts, I’ll just count it as me making a donation anyways. For charities, only a tenth will actually be what I would’ve put in. So, a show gets a donation of 100 bits, that’s 10 bits less off the debt. Sound fair? After all, it’s not about the money, it’s about what it represents.”
She nodded before another roar echoed, even louder this time. “Not to ruin the mood, but Trixie does want to remind you that there’s still an Ursa outside.”
“I get the feeling that if you’re gonna live here, you’ll definitely need homeowner’s insurance,” I sighed as we both got up and ran outside. “You distract it, I’ll knock it out. Then Twilight can handle the rest.”
Trixie nodded and off we sped where I could see the rest of my friends also trying to fend off the Ursa… Minor? I forget, was it the blue ones that were Minors or were they, wait, no, scratch that, it was a Minor. Always smaller in comparison to the Majors. In any case, I simply strode up close to it and sang a lullaby to the big blue bear. It worked it seemed, as it slowly fell asleep as Twilight lifted it up with her magic, using the Ponyville water tower as a big baby bottle of milk and sending it back off to the cave, thus saving Ponyville once again from a threat. Once the Ursa Minor was taken care of, my friends turned and saw Trixie close by. They looked ready to go at her, but I quickly, put myself in the way of them, stopping them all in confusion as to why I would do this.
“Friends, I know from what it sounds like, Trixie was playing you all for a cheap laugh. However, I think she’s changed enough to not want to do that anymore. ‘The Great and Powerful Trixie’ was vanquished by a better pony, known as ‘Trixie the Illusionist’. Plus, if I can trust her, considering my history with her,” at this the girls looked nervously at each other. Looks like Twilight told them no doubt, “I think you girls can too. Besides, she’ll be staying here to work in Ponyville for a while, you can keep an eye on her then, alright?”
“I dunno Med, she did kinda make us look like complete fools all while yammering on about how ‘Great and Powerful’ she was in comparison to Twilight,” Applejack looked hesitant. “However… I can tell yer being honest in saying she wants ta change. I’ll trust you on this, Med, don’t make me regret this.”
Rainbow seemed to be in the same vein, as did Rarity and Fluttershy. Twilight actually looked OK with it to begin with and any excuse for Pinkie to throw a party was OK with her.
I smiled at Trixie. “Looks like you’re now officially a part of Ponyville. If the Element Bearers can trust you, you’re not a bad pony as others may believe.”
I then turned stern as I saw Snips and Snails try to sneak away and quickly intercepted them. “Now, would you two happen to be the ones that tried to bring in an Ursa Major and were only lucky in the fact that you got an Ursa Minor instead?”
They nodded as they went to their stomachs. “We deserve whatever punishment you give us, Mr.Royalwind sir, ” Snails said eventually, sounding apologetic.
I stared down at them as my voice became crisp. “You will both write me an individual essay on what exactly you did wrong and will have to perform a duet in front of the whole class by next week. The essay will be due the week after your duet. One of them will be graded, the other won’t.”
They nodded and sped off back home. I turned to my friends with a small smirk. “Sometimes it’s so much fun being a teacher. Though in this case, I think the punishment was fair enough for them.”
They all nodded as they saw everyone, including Trixie, was asleep around us Mane 7 and Spike. I blushed a bit and shyly kicked a hoof. “...bit too much?”
Twilight rolled her eyes with a smile and giggle as she levitated everypony back to their homes, looking exhausted herself. “I think it’s time we all go to sleep now. Night everypony!”
We all said our good nights as we made our way back to our homes. Feeling a bit proud of myself for knocking out an Ursa Minor with just my singing alone, it made me wonder what else I could do with it. I eventually just put it in the back of my mind, counting it as a special thing that happened and leaving it at that.
I finish my thoughts before heading off to bed, for real this time. Hopefully. Maybe. Unless Luna decides to visit my dreams again, this time without showing off stuff to my friends. I also realized that today I showed that I truly was the Element of Understanding, able to actual overcome my hatred of somepony in favor of seeing the situation from multiple perspectives. Looks like that’s an illusion, wisped away by the reality of it all. Well, I bid you all a good night as well. See ya!
Well, it seems like nature is horrible to me even in a world where the weather is controlled. Considering that some pegasus was blowing smoke into my room, I’d say that apparently I was due for a bit of a reality check. Now, the pegasus didn’t mean to do that as she profusely apologized for blowing it the wrong way, but still, not a fun way to wake up. The problem was compounded by the fact that it looked like the whole entire sky was filled with thick, dark smoke. I wondered why in Equestria there would be so much smoke in the sky and headed off to find Twilight. Typically, if you don’t know what’s happening, she’s usually the one with the answer.
Rambling aside, I quickly made my way to Twilight, where she caught everypony’s attention rather quickly and explained that while someone was not causing a large fire, a dragon was planning on sleeping on the nearby mountain. This was a due cause for panic, but I liked how the town had complete trust in her when she said that a small group of ponies were dispatched by Celestia to deal with the situation. I knew instantly who she meant by that small group of ponies and confronted her after the crowd had dispersed.
“So Twilight, care to tell me why you just volunteered us to try to get rid of a dragon of all things?” I confronted her, my voice holding a cool calm.
“Don’t worry Medley. We have our secret weapon,” She confidently replied, standing tall and facing off against me.
“Please don’t tell me this involves- Oh what am I saying, of course it does,” I face-hoofed myself in annoyance.
“What? It makes sense to me. Fluttershy can talk to any animal, not to mention she's the Element of Kindness, so she could persuade the dragon to move elsewhere the best,” Twilight argued.
“Your plan also hinges on her also able to overcome her fears of high places, adult dragons and climbing all at once in a near instant,” I blandly shot back, giving her a blank look.
“Oh, she’ll be alright, there’s nothing to be afraid of. Besides, she’s has to come with us in case we need to use the other Elements of Harmony,” Twilight logically pointed out.
At this point, I just gave up trying to talk her out of it and went along with it, making sure that she was at least being supported throughout the trip, which I got the feeling would be a horrible journey up that mountain.
I soon got everypony roused up from their activities and Twilight had us all meet in her library to discuss the situation.
“What in the name of all things cinnamon swirl is a full grown dragon doing here in Equestria?” Applejack wondered as Twilight was flipping through a book.
Twilight put up the book near an already sizable stack as she answered, “Sleeping.”
“Huh?” The rest of us confusedly asked.
“According to Princess Celestia,” Twilight explained as she was packing her saddlebags, “He’s taking a nap. His snoring is what’s causing all this smoke.”
“He should really see a doctor, that doesn’t sound healthy at all,” I muttered, still not liking Twilight’s plan.
“Hehe, that’s what I was going to say! Though more excitedly than you, Mr.Grumpy Hooves,” Pinkie giggled at me.
“Well, at least he’s not snoring fire,” Rarity added but then asked, “Though what are WE meant to do about it?”
“I’ll tell you what we’re meant to do about it! Give him the boot!” Rainbow exclaimed as she started kicking the air, almost knocking over something in the process and ended up crashing against a bookcase, knocking down a few books as she reoriented herself.
“We need to ENCOURAGE him to take a nap someplace else. Princess Celestia has given us this mission and we must not fail. If we do, Equestria will be covered in smoke for the next 100 years,” Twilight stated.
“Talk about getting your beauty sleep,” Rarity said in aside to Pinkie and I, making me chuckle a bit.
“Alright everypony,” Twilight finished, “I need you to gather supplies quickly. We’ve got a long journey ahead of us. Let’s meet back here in less than an hour!”
“Ok gals! And guy! You heard her! The fate of Equestria is in our hooves! DO we have what it takes?” Rainbow cheered us on.
We all had agreed and quickly made our way out the door, except for Fluttershy, for very obvious reasons. I decided to help her out a bit as we went out.
“Oh… hi Medley…” Fluttershy softly said.
“Hey there Fluttershy. I know this might seem Rainbow levels of blunt, but you really don’t want to go, do you,” I bluntly asked her.
She looked a bit surprised before she timidly nodded her head. “I just… don’t really like adult dragons… or heights… or anything that sounds like it’s dangerous, like this journey…”
I smiled a bit and shook my head. “Fluttershy, you may not think so, but we really do need you along with us. After all, I get the feeling Twilight’s idea is not going to work. From what I’ve heard about dragons, they aren’t the most… social, of creatures. However, we do need to get him off someplace else. That smoke might not be good for a pony’s health, especially a pegasus like you or me who has to fly in that stuff. Or the animals for that matter.”
She looked a bit more determined now and nodded, though I could still see that she was afraid of doing this still. She got to her cottage and started preparing, leaving me to quickly fly off to my house and grab a saddlebag of what few instruments I could fit into them. It was at that point I blacked out for a moment, though thankfully not too long. When I came to though, it looked like all my instruments were gone and my saddlebags looked like they weren’t even packed with anything. The only thing stopping me from flying out in a rage that someone stole them was this: who would *want* to steal instruments? I looked at the time and rightly thought that it was time for me to get a move on. I quickly got the saddlebags on and flew out to meet the group.
I had arrived at almost all of them being there except for Pinkie and Twilight. However, that was soon cleared up when Pinkie sprung from behind me in a small explosion of confetti. The strangest part was though, I never saw her behind me in the slightest. We all stood in a straight line as Twilight came by, all saddled up and ready to go, as were the rest of us.
“Alright everypony. Listen up! I’m mapping out the fastest route, but we all got to keep a good pace if we expect to make it up the mountain by nightfall,” Twilight said as she walked by all of us.
“M-M-Mountain?” Fluttershy stammered.
“The dragon is in that cave at the very top,” Twilight continued, not hearing Fluttershy at all.
“Looks pretty cold up there,” Applejack commented.
“You bet it is! The higher you go, the chillier it gets,” Rainbow Dash grinned as she explained, luckily preventing me from making a snarky comment. Yes I was still pissed, how could you tell?
“Good thing I brought my scarf,” Rarity sighed with relief as she pulled out a pinked striped scarf and put it on.
“Oooo! Pretty!” Pinkie exclaimed.
Rainbow snickered, “Oh yeah. That’ll keep you nice and cozy.”
I saw as Fluttershy looked up in terror at the mountain, no doubt thinking that she didn’t want to go in the slightest and do all these, admittedly dangerous, things. As Twilight was looking at the map, I was a bit shocked at Fluttershy speaking up.
“Uh-huh,” Twilight didn’t even bother to look up as she continued reading the map. “Well, we could go this way…”
“But, if I could just have a second…” Fluttershy continued, trying to get Twilight’s attention.
“Uh-huh. No, we want to avoid that,” Twilight still was focusing greatly on the map, which was starting to irk me a bit now.
“So, um, I was think that… Um… Maybe… I should just stay here in Ponyville,” Fluttershy asked.
“Uh-huh,” Twilight the broken record said.
“Oh, good,” She sighed in total relief as she started to walk off, “I’ll stay here and-”
“Wait, you have to come!” Twilight finally looked up and stopped her from leaving, “Your way with wild animals will surely come in handy.”
“Twilight… We talked about this. Extensively. Stop trying to force Fluttershy to come if she clearly does not want to,” I finally spoke up, giving her a cold look.
“It. Is. Fine. Medley. Spike will take care of her animals while she comes with us. We need her badly on this trip, whether she thinks so or not. Now, let’s get moving,” Twilight shot back at me with a cold look of her own. She then rolled up the map and moved on ahead, the rest of our friends giving Fluttershy sympathetic looks before following her.
“Don’t worry, you can count on me Fluttershy! Remember, I’ve done this before when you had to go off for something and needed someone to look after them for a bit,” Spike encouraged her as he had a few pets with him.
“I know, but… But I still feel like I should be watching over them instead of coming along…” Fluttershy sighed.
I came up and put a hoof on her shoulder. “I really did try, but Twilight was just so insistent on this. Look at the bright side though, she at least knew to get Spike to take care of them while we went off.”
Fluttershy nodded and we both quickly caught up with the rest of the group.
“Are you sure that Medley wasn’t right to think Fluttershy shouldn’t come along?” We could hear Rainbow Dash ask Twilight up ahead. “That pony is afraid of her own shadow. She’s just gonna slow us down.”
“Enough Rainbow. I already told Medley off for this, she’s coming along. Now let’s. Keep. Moving,” Twilight gritted out as she pulled ahead, Rainbow Dash giving her an odd look.
“She’s right you know…” Fluttershy softly whispered.
I looked at her for a moment before an idea popped into my head. “How about this, Fluttershy? Why don’t I sing you a song that’ll help you keep moving along?”
Pinkie popped out from behind Fluttershy and pouted. “I already had a song planned out Med! You better let me sing along this time!”
I laughed and nodded, pulling out some lyric sheets that I had with the title: Stronger Than You. Pinkie took a look at it before her face turned a bit pale.
“N-Never mind… Please tell me you have a different version,” Pinkie shook a bit as she quickly gave me the song lyrics back.
“Well… I do have one other duet… Technically two… but both require somepony a bit… more…” I slowly turned to Fluttershy before pulling out the lyrics to the other duet. “Fluttershy, I know this may seem like a strange song to try and help you build confidence, but I would like you to sing the other part while I sing my part. Trust me, this is perfect for you. And I don’t lie when it comes to music.”
“O-OK… She hesitantly took the lyrics and nodded, ready to begin.
“Pinkie, I know a way you can still help. Go check my saddlebags and see if there’s a piano inside,” I distractedly asked as I took a look at the lyrics myself to make sure I got the right ones.
“Okie doki loki!” She giggled as she rummaged inside my saddlebags before grunting and pulling out a full grand piano.
“How in Equestria- Never mind, I don’t wanna know. Here’s sheet music for you to accompany us Pinkie,” I shook my head in disbelief as I put the sheet music on the music sheet ledge.
She nodded and played a few notes before looking at the both of us. Rarity had noticed the small commotion and just shook her head in a small bit of amusement and rolled the piano with her magic, letting us walk behind the group.
“Ready Fluttershy?” I asked.
“R-Ready… Oh I do hope I don’t mess up…” Fluttershy meekly responded.
I gave a nod to Pinkie, and soon the music started to flow.
I started off with the voice as Pinkie played the opening notes.
It’s a beautiful day outside...
Birds are singing, flowers are blooming…
On days like these… ponies like you…
S H O U L D B E B U R N I N G I N H E L L.
Fluttershy then started off, a bit frightened by the sudden change in voice.
I didn’t know what, I got into…
Somehow I can’t go back even if I really wanted to.
So what more can I do?
Here at the end it’s just me and you…
Then it went to me, still talking-singing.
But ponies like you don’t play by the rules…
And colts like me, it ain’t easy to be played by fools
So let’s go, let the room get chiller.
Let’s go, dirty brother killer.
Fluttershy then took it back, unbelievably looking like she was gaining more confidence.
Go ahead and just hit me since you’re able.
We know my determination is unstable.
I’m not even mad because I keep on dying.
But I don’t even know why I’m trying.
I finally got to sing in the next part.
You’re not gonna win, we’ll be here together!
Fighting in this Judgement Hall forever!
Now I know you just RESET each time I beat ya’,
But I’ll always be right back here to meet ya’.
We then began to sing together, our voices blending well.
I know you’re made… / Right now I’m made…
o-o-o-o-of...
LO-O-O-O-OVE…
LO-O-O-O-OVE…
Pinkie played a few more notes before we sprung back in again.
o-o-o-o-of...
LO-O-O-O-OVE…
LO-O-O-O-OVE…
Fluttershy then began to sing on her own while Pinkie played on.
I know who you are…
You remember who I am.
We knew that once in a timeline we had grown to be good friends.
And yet I killed your brother without giving him a chance.
Every time you throw me down,
I hope you kill me once again.
I came back next with my own refrain.
Go ahead and try to hit me if you’re able.
You should know by now that MERCY’s off the table.
Think you can try to Spare me like I’m some pawn?
We’ll you didn’t spare my brother, so GET DUNKED ON!
I know you made my friends all disappear.
But everything they cared about is why I’m here.
Fluttershy added in the last few lines before the chorus.
You gave me advice,
I choose genocide,
But I know how to make it right.
The final chorus.
I know you’re made… / I am made…
o-o-o-o-of...
LO-O-O-O-OVE…
LO-O-O-O-OVE…
But I think I’m stronger than you. / But I’ll give up for you.
Fluttershy continued on, looking like she was more confident in herself.
o-o-o-o-of...
LO-O-O-O-OVE…
LO-O-O-O-OVE…
But I’ll give up for you.
LO-O-O-O-OVE…
LO-O-O-O-OVE…
LO-O-O-O-OVE…
But I’ll give up for you.
Fluttershy then hummed out the last few notes alongside Pinkie’s piano playing. Soon the song came to an end.
When the song finally ended, Fluttershy looked up, completely surprised at how confident she became, though I could tell she had a bit of nervousness in her.
“W-Wow… T-T-Thank you Medley… That kinda helped,” Fluttershy said as she was blushing.
Twilight, who had been hearing what was going on, looked like she had a maelstrom of emotions running through her. Angry, both at me for trying something risky that could’ve backfired and for the fact that she still thought it was a good idea to bring Fluttershy anyways, bewilderment at how a song that sounds like, by all accounts, should’ve scared Fluttershy more than ever, actually giving her confidence, confidence from just hearing the song itself about facing the dragon, which she was worrying about before the song from the sound of things, and then finally a… was that a pang of jealousy?
Why is she feeling jealous right now? She have nothing to be jealous OF! I thought as she looked back at the blushing Fluttershy and me smiling at her before I thought of something that I knew would be completely crazy.
Is Twilight… Nah, can’t be. While I must admit it would be cheesy, that can’t be the case? Maybe she wanted to sing instead? She never really showed interest in it before… I think? Maybe-
“Hey, we reached the top of the mountain! Awesome! And here I thought we would‘ve had to take the long way around ‘cause of Fluttershy!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed in relief as we arrived at the top, interrupting my thoughts.
“Wait, WHAT?!” Pinkie cried out as she reached behind her and pulled out the sc- OH COME ON PINKIE! LEAVE THE SCRIPT ALONE, WILL YOU? NON-CANON, NEW ELEMENT, EASIER TO DO FOR ALL INVOLVED, MAKE IT UP TO YOU LATER, PUT IT UP!
Pinkie meeped before hurriedly putting it back, thankfully, as everyone, even me, gave her an odd look.
“I wanted to see why I couldn’t sing my song, but apparently I’ve been reaching for the script too often, so he’s a bit mad at me right now and won’t tell me why, though he promised I would get to sing one later,” Pinkie explained.
We all just shook our heads and went with it, though Twilight looked like she was doing it begrudgingly more than anything. We all then started to settle down and do a few things first.
“Rainbow Dash, you’ll use your wings to clear the smoke,” Twilight asked Rainbow, who nodded and immediately flew into the sky.
“Rarity and Pinkie Pie, you’ll create a diversion to distract the dragon if things get a little hairy in there,” Twilight looked to the two mares, to which Pinkie and Rarity both gave notice and agreed to it, Pinkie playing with a rubber chicken afterwards, much to Rarity’s incredulosity.
“Applejack, you're ready with the apples in case he decides to attack,” Twilight said as Applejack grinned and nodded, bucking two apples into a nearby tree to show how effective that would be.
“Medley, be ready to use your singing to calm the dragon in case the attacks don’t work at all,” Twilight glared at me, to which I glared and gave a curt nod back in response.
“But it shouldn’t come to that, because Fluttershy will do what she needs to do to wake him up. And between the two of us, we should be able to get him to understand why he needs to go. Is everypony ready?” Twilight asked us all now, as all but Fluttershy looked ready to go.
“OK then… We’re going in!” Twilight determinedly stated as she walked on in, me following suit belatedly and with half as much enthusiasm.
“So… what is the best way to wake up a sleeping dragon without upsetting him?” Twilight wondered out loud softly as we made our way in.
“Huh? You said something Medley?” Twilight turned to me, confused even more.
“Twilight, I didn’t say anything. Also, where is everybody? Especially if you insisted on Fluttershy,” I answered as I looked behind us.
“Fluttershy?” Twilight looked back as well, seeing that the rest of our friends were outside the cave and trying to get Fluttershy moving.
“Really? She has to go and do this now?” Twilight irritably said as she walked back to our friends.
“Hey, both she and I were ready to stay back in Ponyville, but YOU insisted she come along,” I snapped back as we got near the entrance.
Twilight, apparently at her limit, whipped around to face me, her horn glowing slightly as she growled at me.
“That. Is. It. Medley. Not one more word from you on this. It’s obvious she’s just overreacting and she can very well face that dragon.”
“Oh really? I’m sorry, what normal pony would willingly try to wake up a dragon and politely ask it to leave? Plus, you’re assuming that she isn’t scared at all, and yet if it wasn’t for my song, we’d have taken the longer way around, Fluttershy causing us to delay more and more.”
“We need all the Elements together! They only work in close range to one another! Besides, you agreed to it!”
“Only after the fact that you’re as stubborn as Applejack when it comes to something from the Princess!”
“I’m taking this seriously!”
“So am I!”
Added entry from Pinkie Pie!
We were all waiting outside the cave, trying to get Flutters to stick her head out when we heard Med and Twily arguing like an old married couple! Hehe, it was so hilarious, I just grabbed some popcorn for all of us as we watched them bicker and everyone was giggling at the sight!
“Should we…?” Rarity started to say as she munched on the popcorn like a ‘prim and proper pony’, which is soooooo boring!
“Nah, let ‘em work it out. Besides, they ain’t interruptin’ that dragon’s sleep,” Applejack commented as she munched on the popcorn like any other pony should.
“One sec, can’t resist doing this!” Rainbow Dash grinned as she yelled at Med and Twily, “Get a room you two!”
We all laughed at the sputtering from Med and Twily as they both quickly stopped arguing, but I could notice an itsy bitsy blush on both their faces! Hehe, I know what I’m doing for Hearts and Hooves Day!~
End of added entry, sorry everypony!
Twilight and I sputtered a bit as we heard Rainbow Dash yell at us to ‘get a room’. Honestly, I almost keep on forgetting that Rainbow’s an adult mare sometimes with how immature she is. But, nonetheless, both Twilight and I quickly got out of the cave, me hoping that no one could see my embarrassment. Judging from Pinkie’s wide grin, I would go with a probably not. We finally got back on track as Twilight talked with Fluttershy, looking much calmer than before and at least now listening to her.
“So, what’s stopping you from going inside that cave with us, Fluttershy? Please don’t say you’re afraid of caves too,” Twilight sighed.
“I’m not afraid of caves… I’m scared of… of...“ Fluttershy mumbled off into inaudibility.
“What was that sugarcube?” Applejack softly asked as she leaned in closer to hear better.
“I’m scared of…” She repeated, barely speaking up.
“What?” Twilight also asked, walking a bit closer to hear better.
“I’m scared of dragons!” Fluttershy spoke up and just afterwards, the dragon snored loudly, breathing out a gust of smoke right into our faces.
We all coughed a bit as we quickly blew away the smoke, finding Fluttershy trying to hide behind Applejack. Twilight walked over to her, trying to get her to come with us.
“But Fluttershy, you have a wonderful talent dealing with all kinds of animals,” Twilight told Fluttershy.
“Yes, because they’re not DRAGONS,” Fluttershy rebuked.
“Oh come on!” Rainbow Dash cried out irritably and continued, “We’ve seen you walk right up to a horrible manticore like it was nothing!”
“Yes, because he WASN’T a DRAGON,” Fluttershy emphasized.
Oddly enough, Pinkie was the one who made an interesting rebuttal, pointing out that, “Spike is a dragon! You’re not scared of him.”
“Yes… Because he’s not a huge, gigantic, terrifying, enormous, teeth-gnashing, sharp scale-having, horn-wearing, smoke-snoring, could-eat-a-pony-in-one-bite, totally all grown up dragon!” Fluttershy argued
It surprised me how many descriptions there were for just this one dragon. Then again, she did have a point. Spike was, after all, a BABY dragon, not an adult one like the one we were dealing with.
Twilight looked like she was about to say something, but I cut her off, saying, “I told you so! But noooo, apparently Celestia’s most prized pupil could never be wrong, huh?”
“OK Medley, that’s it!” Twilight roared before she tackled me and we started fighting.
Admittedly… that was a stupid thing to say in hindsight. That kinda crossed the line there, which I soon found out with her hooves kicking all over me. For a unicorn, and a bookish one at that, she has a really good right hook. Eventually, our loud fighting woke up the dragon before we could even try and do anything and looked down at all of us, a cranky expression on his face. We all froze in fear, Twilight and I stopping mid-punch.
“...put aside our argument for now and worry about the dragon?” Twilight asked.
“I like that plan,” I replied.
We all then started to try and defend ourselves against the dragon, all fleeing around with Rainbow Dash trying to buck it on the snout. That really ticked him off, if the huge pillar of fire was anything to go by. I think it was at that moment we saw Fluttershy instantly go from scared out of her wits, both from the dragon and from me and Twilight fighting, to more confident as she looked up at the dragon, glaring at him.
“How dare you,” She said softly, which got the dragon’s attention, making us all worry before she got into him, saying in a much louder and scolding tone, “How dare you!”
She flew up onto his snout and landed on it, looking him dead in the eyes as she continued her scolding.
“Listen here, mister! Just because you’re big, doesn’t mean you get to be a bully!” She berated him, almost sounding like a mom at this point as she continued on, all of us looking amazed at what she was doing while she said, “You may have huge teeth and sharp scales and snore smoke and breath fire, but you do not, I repeat, you do NOT HURT. MY. FRIENDS! You got that?”
Stunned and afraid, the dragon actually cowered a bit before her Glare, while Fluttershy just simply said, “Well?”
“But that rainbow one kicked me, and the purple and white ones were arguing very loudly…” The dragon tried to make excuses, which looked like it wasn’t cutting it for Fluttershy.
“And I am very sorry about that. But you’re bigger than they are and you should know better,” Fluttershy pointed out, much to the group’s growing awe at this happening.
“You should also know better than to take a nap when you’re snoring could become a health hazard to OTHER creatures,” Fluttershy went on to say.
“But I... “ The dragon tried to say something else, but Fluttershy was on a roll now.
“Don’t you ‘But I’ me, mister. Now, what do you have to say for yourself?” Fluttershy interrupted, looking and sounding more and more like a mother scolding her child, which was only continued by her saying, “I said, WHAT do you have to say for yourself?”
Right before our very eyes, we saw this full-grown dragon start to cry like he had just been chewed out for causing trouble, which, to be fair, he was. What just struck me about this was that this was FLUTTERSHY of all ponies doing this to him. I think we were all dumbstruck and at a loss for words as we just stared up at the two. It soon came to an end when Fluttershy patted his snout a bit.
“There there...Don’t cry. You’re not a bad dragon. You just made a bad decision,” Fluttershy comforted him as she flew back down with the rest of us, now regrouped.
“Now go pack your things. You just need to find a new place to sleep, that’s all,” Fluttershy asked as she landed down on the ground.
We all cheered at this new development for her as I quickly spoke to the dragon, apologizing, “For what it’s worth, Mr. Dragon, we’re sorry we woke you up like we did and attack you once you woke up.”
He nodded in acknowledgement as he started to fly away.
“Looks like you’re braver than you think you are, Fluttershy,” Twilight smiled as she talked with Fluttershy, the dragon now flying off to parts unknown.
We all went down to Ponyville as we saw the weather reserves quickly clearing out the smoke, letting fresh air and sunlight back down onto Ponyville. We all eventually reached Twilight’s library, where she ushered me inside, looking apologetic as Spike came outside, quickly putting Angel Bunny on Fluttershy’s back, who looked like he had been behaving himself mostly, if the low amount of damage to the inside and to Spike was anything to go by.
“Twilight, I want to start things off with an apology for my earlier behavior. I admit that I crossed the line and I wasn’t really living up to being more understanding on where you were coming from. So, with that in mind, I’m sorry,” I got in before Twilight smiled slightly.
“I want to apologize too. I also admit that I was too focused on the task at hand to really notice Fluttershy’s fear and just brushed it off to the side while you tried to keep her going when you eventually caved in. So, for all it’s worth, I’m sorry too,” Twilight replied
She then gave me a small hug, to which I returned, though I did feel an odd sensation after doing so. I just pushed it off to the side, thinking it was just relief that we all made it out alive and for her no longer being angry with me.
She then smiled as she called for Spike to take a letter, quickly ending the hug. She then had Spike write a letter on friendship, this time the theme was trusting your friends when they have a problem, but also saying that they can be an amazing source of strength if you trust in them enough.
We then looked outside as Applejack called out to us, Twilight finishing her letter just a bit beforehoof.
“She’s just 5 away from makin’ a new pony record!” Applejack excitedly explained as Rainbow Dash was bouncing a ball from her head. Feeling mischievous, I got Spike to do a dragon roar, scaring Rainbow Dash completely. Everyone giggled as Spike and I fist-bumped, a prank well done. Rainbow Dash tried to deny being scared at all, saying that he ‘broke her concentration’, which caused Fluttershy to say that it was alright to be afraid and not anypony could be as courageous as her. As a reply, Rainbow blew a leaf up to Fluttershy’s hindquarters, which caused Fluttershy to do the exact same reaction as Rainbow, giving us all giggles again as Twilight smiled and shook her head at the antics going on.
It soon became night time and now I finish writing up for the day. Something in my mind kept on pestering me, though what it was, I didn’t know. All I knew was that it had something to do with Twilight. In what way, or how, or why, I had absolutely no clue whatsoever. I’m gonna call it a night here, but I do wonder what it is with my sudden thoughts about that unicorn.
End of Chapter 9
Rain Rain, Go Away, But Pinkie Pie Is Here To Stay
Rain Rain, Go Away, But Pinkie Pie Is Here To Stay
Sometimes it sucks being a pegasus. Since, being a pegasus, you’re a helper in creating the weather. Normally, this means you get positive comments on keeping the weather clear and sunny. On the other hoof, you’re also getting the negative comments, such as thunderstorms on a perfectly good day and, of course, the falling snow for winter. The reason why I say this?
“I simply can not why the pegasus ponies would schedule a dreadful downpour this evening and ruin what could have been a glorious sunny day,” I overheard Rarity as she and Applejack were arguing with each other. Much to everyone’s non-shock and horror.
“Come on Rarity, none of us like it any better. These things do need to happen though,” I replied as I plugged up another part of the sky.
“Med’s right, Rares. Besides, they accidentally skipped the scheduled sprinkle last week, so, we need a doozy of a downpour to make up for it, is all,” Applejack added as she started picking up loose branches.
I nodded with a sheepish smile, as it wasn’t completely our fault that someone forgot to add it to the schedule. Luckily, it wasn’t too late and we’d only need the downpour for the night. With that in mind, my job was soon done and I started to fly back home. It was only when I noticed that most other ponies were gone that I decided to fly back and help out with the clean-up. When I came back though, I saw that Applejack and Rarity were over by… a bench? Strange… I quickly landed near them as I heard Applejack talk, the rain starting to sprinkle down.
“What now?” Applejack asked exasperatedly as she looked over the bench.
“...I prefer not to get my hooves muddy,” Rarity replied as she looked down underneath the bench, seeing the now mud from the sprinkle.
“Y-You’re kidding… right?” I dumbfoundedly said as I looked at her.
Applejack tsked and said, “There is just no pleasin’ ya, is there? Everythin’s gotta be just so.”
Rarity raised an eyebrow as she turned back to face Applejack and me. “Well, and how does muddying my hooves serve any useful purpose?”
At this point, I could the the impending argument and sighed, “Really you two? You’re doing this NOW? Right before a thunderstorm?”
“Well, she started it by asking me to get my hooves muddy,” Rarity pointed a hoof at Applejack.
“That ain’t so! I told you not to worry about the little details and worry about the the practical side of things,” Applejack pointed a hoof right back at her.
“Oh dear LaurFastia, it’s like talking with two bickering children. I don’t care who started it, I’m ending it,” I fumed as I looked at the both of them.
This resulted in a three-way argument between us, which soon ended when an thunderbolt came down and struck down, immediately pushing ourselves close together.
“Find shelter?” I asked as I quickly started to get ready to fly.
“And fast,” Applejack answered as she and Rarity hugged each other close.
I nodded before I quickly flew off, the rain starting to come down harder. I stumbled onto hooves as the rain made my wings too wet to use well, desperately trying to find either a friend’s place to spend the night or to find my own home and crash.
I was saved from this when I ran through the Sugarcube Corner and saw two hooves comedically stretch out and grab me, pulling me quickly inside. It was only when I landed that I could see the culprit: Pinkus Pieus, a.k.a, The Wall Breaker.
...what? It tied in with her family business and she DOES like breaking walls. Just more so the fourth one than any of the other three. Anyways, Pinkie also handed me a towel to dry myself off while she talked to me.
“Heya Med! Long time no meet! Even though you just came by this morning for a breakfast cupcake and some coffee! Anyways, I saw that you were just running through the snow while I was eating my usual ‘Rainy Day’ dessert to try and cheer me up and thought ‘Hey, why is Med running through the rain? He should be dry and warm somewhere’. So I decided to pull you in and dry you up and now you can spend the night here and OH MY LAURFASTIA you’re spending the night with a mare! Lucky stallion you!~” Pinkie rapidly said as she went through a range of emotions.
I suppose my face must’ve been a priceless one, considering that when I looked up at her, she started laughing uproariously. I could also feel the blush that came about when she mentioned that last little part. Though it was surprising I understood most of that long train of thought. Then again… and here’s where I abandon that train of thought that would’ve lead me down the rabbit hole.
“P-Pinkie! I was just trying to see if any of my male friends had a small place I could crash for this thunderstorm if I didn’t manage to make it back to my home in time,” I explained as I started to dry my wings, the only things left wet.
“Aw, you don’t wanna spend some time with any of your female friends?” Pinkie fake pouted as she crossed her hooves.
I rolled my eyes at that one. “You know fully well that isn’t the case. However, I don’t know if it’s decent to spend the night with one of my female friends. Plus, YOU were the one to pull me inside where you work. Speaking of which… where are the Cakes?”
“Um… They had to go somewhere. I think it was something about an anniversary. I don’t know, they said that they were leaving for a while and left me in charge of the shop while they were gone. So it’s just you and me tonight, bucko,” She giggled.
“I… see. Well, looks like I’m dry enough to try and bra-” I was interrupted by a louch crash of lightening, which instantly made my wings spring up in surprise.
“Nuh-uh, mister. You’re spending the night with me. Pinkie Promise?” Pinkie grinned as she pulled out a cupcake and held it out to me.
I chuckled tiredly as I took the cupcake and recited, “Cross my heart and I know how to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye.” And yes, with all the motions too.
Pinkie nodded firmly, considering it a valid promise. Which meant I either spent the night with her like I promised, or try to leave again, this time with an angry Pinkie on my tail, trying to beat me senseless before not considering me a friend anymore. Given the two options, I decided to do the right thing and NOT end up with the one getting me injured and a loss of a friend.
“So… what do we do now? It’s still too early to call it a night and we can’t exactly play outside,” I asked as the rain thundered down around us.
“Hmm… Well, we only have two ponies… And we’re both of the opposite gender… Well gee, I can’t think of a whole lot,” Pinkie thought as she paced a bit in the dining area.
I sighed again- I get the feeling that’ll be happening a lot more often than usual- wondering why exactly PINKIE was the tease of the group. If it were anypony, I thought it’d be Rarity. But looks can be deceiving it seems. But anyways, it was up to me to try and think of something that the two of us could do on a rainy day (That wasn’t that, get your mind out of the gutter) before Pinkie gasped and looked like she came up with something.
“I know what we can do!” Pinkie cried out as she turned to look at me with a wide grin. “Why don’t you tell me a fun story from when you were human? I’m sure you got tons of them!”
I looked stunned for a moment, almost forgetting that I had been human once, considering how long and how peaceful my pony life had been, new friends included.
“Hmm… Yeah, I think I know a good short story to tell. So get your popcorn and soda ready, because it’s story time,” I chuckled as I saw Pinkie happily nod before zooming off to get the items listed. While she was off, I had wondered what exact story I would tell her that wasn’t exactly violent.
Let’s see here… The Pirate Tale’s a bit too long… Definitely not the Furry Horror Story, but keep that in mind for a campfire tale… Aha! I know exactly which one! The Magical Orphan Story, that one is one of my favorite short stories… Well, it’s not short, but it can be condensed heavily to make it a short story. I thought as Pinkie soon came back with a bucket of popcorn and two bottles of soda, handing one over to me.
“So Mr. Storyteller, whatcha got?” Pinkie sat down, bouncing slightly in excitement.
I grabbed a nearby stool and cleared my throat. “Well, I do have a story about a magical young boy who lived in a cupboard under the stairs. His name was Harry Potter, and this was his adventure, both in and out of school.”
“Ooooo! I like where this is going! Except, why was he under the stairs?” Pinkie commented a she ate her popcorn.
“I’m getting to that Pinkie. You see, Harry lived in a home with his uncle, aunt, and cousin, all of whom hated poor Harry because of one reason: Harry could do magic,” I explained as I stole a bit of popcorn.
“WHAT?!” Pinkie exclaimed as she jumped up, popcorn flying into the air. “Why would anypony do that? That’s just mean! I thought you were going to tell a fun story Med, this isn’t a fun start!”
“Sorry Pinkie, that’s literally how the story starts off. I can’t change that at all if I want to tell you the original story,” I apologized as I rubbed the back of my head, forgetting that ponies tended to be a bit more… nice, is the general term I will use.
“Then we’re gonna change the story! Come on Med, let’s give Harry a new story!” Pinkie smiled widely as she got some paper and pencil.
I chuckled a bit as I took a pencil and wrote out what happened in the stories, or at least, the major points. “This seems to be much better than what I thought. Thanks for thinking of doing this Pinkie, I know writing isn’t what I first would think of for something to do, but hey, it gives us something to do while it still rains.”
"Yepperoni! Now… Oh wow, that’s kinda a long list,” Pinkie stopped for a moment as she looked at the growing pile of paper. “Are you sure these are the main points?”
“These ARE the main points! Trust me on this!” I exclaimed as I was wrapping up Year 2.
Pinkie looked at the pile then back at me a few times before giggling, soon laughing loudly as she rolled on the floor. I looked up, both curiously and befuddlement before looking down at her. “What?”
“Hehe, you sound a lot like Twily, Med! You’re even making notes like her!” Pinkie giggled still.
I blushed slightly as I grabbed a fresh sheet of paper and starting writing down the main plot of each book. “Heh, sorry Pinkie… I was a big fan of the book series when I was living there, so I know a lot of things that I think are crucial.”
Pinkie smiled happily and hugged me. “I know you mean well Med, but even I know when to cut it back a bit! Hehe, I wonder if you’d really like to be where Twily is right now, don’tcha?~”
Pinkie giggled as I sputtered a bit, eventually responding, however, embarrassingly, “D-Don’t be ridiculous Pinkie! I-I’m sure she’s doing just fine without me.”
“That’s not what the blush is telling me~ Hehe, you’re so easy to tease you know that? Better not let Rarity know about your little crush though, otherwise you’ll never hear the end of it from her and me both!” Pinkie giggled as she looked over the 7 plots of the books.
We had fun creating new stories for Harry, but soon it became time for us to go to sleep, which is when I’m writing this, thankfully without Pinkie stealing the notebook to write in it. Today has left me wondering about many things, but more so just one: Do I have a crush on Twilight? I figured the answer wasn’t a definite no, but I can’t tell for sure. I have a feeling it’ll be a restless night for me, especially with the storm passing through. Until next time, it seems.
It looked like a beautiful day today. What am I saying, it usually is. However, today was very quiet in the morning. Very quiet… Odd, usually there’s something that comes flying in to-
“Woah! Oof! Sorry Med!” Spike yelled as he climbed off me very quickly.
Well, there’s my morning alarm for the day. I got up and stretched out a bit, looking around the tree, still wondering how they managed to build a home inside a tree, not to mention an entire library. Though the irony factor is staggering when you consider how one would normally make books.
“It’s alright Spike, I had to wake up as it already stands. I’m glad I could help out Twilight though with the library on Reshelving Day and help her organize it again when Rarity dropped by with Opal. I swear, that cat sometimes…” I smiled and chuckled a bit as I made my way down to the kitchen.
“Yeah… She seemed really happy that you stayed though, if a bit confused. Why did you stay? Celestia was just setting the sun when we finished,” Spike asked as he started making pancakes.
I opened my mouth to give an answer before I shut it, thinking about it for a moment. I had no idea why I stayed behind at Twilight’s, though I did feel a bit happy that she liked me staying over.
I eventually responded with a, “I have no clue Spike. Maybe it was getting late and, well, no one was thinking logically?”
Spike raised an eyebrow at that but said nothing else as Twilight came down to join us for breakfast.
“Good morning Medley. Hopefully Spike didn’t wake you up by accident,” Twilight slightly sleepily said as she sat at the table.
“He did, but I’m not mad I now expect this sort of thing to happen. It was purely an accident and I got to wake up early, so it all worked out,” I chuckled as Spike looked a bit sheepish still.
“Here we are! Six buttermilk pancakes with syrup and dandelions!” Spike exclaimed as Twilight levitated over the silverware and plate. I helped Spike served everyone and soon we weren’t really making conversation, enjoying the food. Which, I might add, were so yummy! I know that sounds like something Pinkie would say, but it’s true! I really need to have more of Spike’s pancakes when I can… Mmm…
Anyways! After we finished out delicious breakfast and Spike was cleaning off the dishes, Twilight turned to me.
“Why DID you spend the night here? It wasn’t that late for you to make a quick fly-by to your own home,” Twilight parroted Spike’s earlier question.
“I… wasn’t thinking right? I DID spend the day helping you and Spike reorganize the library twice, so I was probably too exhausted afterwards,” I answered.
Twilight raised an eyebrow before smiling softly as Spike went over to us, Twilight putting him on her back as all three of us made our way out to Ponyville, which was still oddly quiet.
“Wow, what a gorgeous day!” Twilight smiled as she looked up at the sky overhead, which had little, if no, overcast.
“Rainbow Dash must’ve gotten up early for once and cleared all the clouds away,” I snickered softly.
Twilight rolled her eyes at that one, but giggled softly when it was mainly true. When Rainbow wasn’t napping, she was practicing for the Wonderbolts. Rarely did we see her actually do her job, usually before or after. I had more of a chance, considering we both worked on the weather and Fluttershy was exempt due to health issues (i.e: too scared to do her work).
“I bet all of Ponyville is going to be out and enjoying the sunshine,” Twilight commented as we went along, though the sense of unease at the abrupt quietness increased dramatically at that point.
“What? Where is everypony?” Spike asked as we stopped and looked around.
It was like Ponyville became a ghost town overnight, the wind blowing gently as shutters slammed shut, the only sign that everypony was still around. I even saw a tumbleweed tumble by, pretty much making it look like an abandoned town. Though it was odd that a filly was out, looking around in the same kind of curiosity we were before being quickly pulled in by the tail by their mother.
“Is it some kind of pony holiday?” Spike confusedly asked as we timidly went onwards.
“I doubt that a holiday would be this quiet… or desolate for that matter. Not even for religious holidays,” I shot the idea down.
“Does my breath stink?” Spike questioned as he burped a bit into his claw.
“Not more than usual,” Twilight dryly answered as she looked around some more.
“Is it… ZOMBIES?” Spike frightfully stood up, looking around fast.
“Spike, calm down, will ya? It isn’t zombies, trust me on this,” I smiled as I shook my head at him. He was a baby dragon, but still.
“Pssst!” We heard a voice whisper to us as we looked around, not seeing who it was.
It was while we were looking at the open top doors of the Sugarcube Corner that we saw Pinkie whisper-yell at us to quickly come inside before “she” got there. Obviously we followed that piece of advice, jumping inside to a darkened serving area.
“Who? The zombie pony?” Spike clung on for dear life, both at the idea and to Twilight.
“Z-Z-Zombie pony?” Pinkie quivered a bit, thus disproving that theory right off the bat.
“Spike, there are NO zombie ponies,” Twilight lightly admonished him before looking around in the dark, asking, “Pinkie, what are you doing here all alone in the dark?”
“I’m not alone in the dark,” Pinkie straightly said as she turned on the lights a bit to show the rest of our friends and Applebloom surrounding us.
“OK then… what are you all doing in here?” Twilight phrased the question slightly differently.
“We’re hidin’ from HER!” Applejack softly exclaimed as she pulled the curtains back, letting us get a better look of this mysterious figure that has sent the town into hiding.
What I saw from out the window was a pony-like figure pawing at the ground, wearing a cloak that covered most of her up, though I could see some black and white stripes near the bottom of her hooves and a few gold rings.
“Wait a moment… she looks familiar…” I commented as I looked harder, trying to remember who exactly that was.
It was only after she looked right over at us, her eyes glowing an ominous yellow underneath the cloak that I grinned slightly, now getting a better picture of who she was.
“Well now… This is an unexpected blast from the past. A bit like Trixie, but in a more positive way,” I chuckled as I could imagine her slightly smiling a bit on the inside.
“Wait, you know her?!” Rainbow Dash exploded into a frenzy, giving me a glare.
“Well, yeah. What, I’m a well-traveled stallion, I know ponies, especially those who specialize in healing,” I calmly commented back.
“Y-You mean,... you know… Zecora?” Applebloom looked up at me in fright.
“Applebloom! I told you never to say that name!” Applejack scolded Applebloom, making me a little ticked off.
“It is kinda odd for her to be glancing this way,” Twilight added onto my earlier statement.
“Glance eeeevily this way,” Pinkie interrupted, trying to sound spooky.
Twilight rolled her eyes and continued, “And then everyone but me and Medley here flipped out for no good reason.”
“‘No good reason?’ You call protectin’ yer kin, ‘no good reason’? Why, as soon as mah sister saw Zecora ridin’ inta town, I saw her shakin’ in her little horseshoes,” Applejack shook Applebloom to the side repeatedly to make her point.
“Diiiiid nooooot,” Applebloom shakily shot back, seeing as she was still being shaken back and forth.
“So I picked her up and brought her here,” Applejack continued as though Applebloom didn’t say anything, putting her on her back.
“I walked here myself!” Applebloom climbed off Applejack’s back, looking a bit disgruntled.
“Fer safety!” Applejack argued as she looked down on her sister.
“Applejack! I’m not a baby! I can take care a myself!” Applebloom replied, looking fed up.
“Not from that creepy Zecora,” Applejack argued steadfastly.
The rest of our friends agreed, calling her a creepy, mysterious and spooky pony. I was starting to get a little ticked off myself, thankfully not yet as Twilight seemed to not be buying it at all and stepping up with me to take a closer look out the window, the group piling in quickly behind us to also observe. All we really saw was Zecora taking off her hood to reveal a black and white striped Mohawk, confirming for me that it was indeed Zecora, as zebras tended to have different placement of their gold bands and have a different hair style, from what I’ve seen in my, admittedly, small travels across Equus.
“Will you cut that out?” Twilight complained as the group collectively gasped yet again.
“Just look at those stripes! So drab looking,” Rarity vainly pointed out.
“She’s a zebra,” I pointed out the glaring obvious, with just a small hint of anger behind it, which the group most likely didn’t get, wrapped up in their paranoia.
“She’s a WHAT?!” The group exclaimed loudly.
“A zebra. And her stripes aren’t a fashion choice Rarity. It’s what she was born with,” Twilight helpfully added, which Rarity immediately fainted at.
At this point, I was starting to get more than a little upset. I had made a friend in Zecora, and seeing everypony except Twilight bad-mouthing her made my wings flare up a bit, causing Twilight to give me a curious look as the rest of the group ignored the ever-increasing anger by adding more fuel to it. It soon got to the point when Applejack mentioned she lived on the edge of the Everfree, I looked up eyes blazing a bit. Only now did everyone feel the anger rolling off of me, as they looked curiously at me.
“Um… M-Medley… W-Why are y-y-you s-so sc-c-ary look-king?” Fluttershy trembled as everypony took a few steps back.
“You ponies… I expected better out of full grown mares, Twilight being the only exception to this. Spreading rumors, believing in hearsay… That’s something I expect from little fillies and colts. Oddly enough though, the only filly in this room is acting much more mature about this, seeing as she had the common decency to use ZECORA’S NAME,” I angrily stomped a hoof as I turned and started to go outside, tossing a comment back at them, “When you’re ready to apologize to her, visit the both of us. Until then, I don’t want to talk to any of you. Sorry Twilight.”
The mares and Spike were stunned at the sheer anger I had left behind, though amidst the stunned silence, it seemed Applebloom snuck out and cautiously followed me.
“S-Sorry about mah sister, Mr. Medley… She can be real stubborn…” Applebloom tried to excuse her sister.
I sighed heavily as I took a deep breath. “It’s alright Applebloom. It’s just… bad-mouthing a friend like that got me a bit riled up, you know? You can join me if you want. Zecora’s a friendly zebra and would love the extra company.”
She smiled a tiny bit as we both made our way to Zecora, who looked at me in recognition and Applebloom in curiosity.
“It’s a nice surprise to see you in town, but why are you and her the only ones around?” Zecora asked as all three of us walked towards the Everfree.
“It’s just ponies being superstitious to a whole new level, to which I apologize for my friends taking part of. Oh, Zecora, meet Applebloom, little sister of my friend Applejack, who is currently bunkered down with the rest of my friends,” I introduced Applebloom to Zecora, who gave a little wave to her.
“Applebloom and Applejack? Why similar name’s back to back?” Zecora asked.
“Well… we are family and we do sell apple products… Though I think I remember Applejack tellin’ me somethin’ about some fancy Orange cousins up in the cities,” Applebloom answered.
Zecora soon stopped us as we came upon some bright blue flowers, which I soon recognized as Poison Joke, quickly pulling us onto a path that had the least amount of them infested.
“Beware the leaves that are actually oak. They love to play a most cruel joke,” Zecora supplied an answer before Applebloom could even ask why.
Applebloom looked a bit confused, as I nodded, as we both listened to her and steered clear of the Poison Joke.
“Applebloom, you better get back to your sister quickly. They aren’t going to be too happy once they see you’ve disappeared and are near Zecora, despite me being here as well,” I spoke up as I could hear some distant voices and stomping.
Applebloom looked conflicted, but nodded hesitantly as she scurried on back to the group, who I could see stopped and got Applebloom… in a big patch of Poison Joke. It seems Applebloom was smart though and let herself quickly get on Applejack’s back to avoid contact with the Poison Joke.
We were just far enough away that Zecora sighed and said, somewhat ominously, “Beware! Beware, you ponyfolk! Those leaves of blue are not a joke!” before both she and I quickly made our way to her hut.
The last thing I saw the group do was look around worryingly and frightfully before I lost sight of them. I sighed and shook my head, probably wondering what would happen to them later on.
“I love my friends, but sometimes they can be so paranoid about non-ponies,” I sighed as we arrived at Zecora’s hut.
“Non-ponies, you say, that’s odd to note. How many other species can you quote?” Zecora asked curiously as she let me inside and soon was getting tea ready.
“Well… we really only had one griffon visitor. That kinda ended with her leaving in an annoyed state at all of us for ‘taking her cool buddy’ away,” I recalled.
“Well, you know my stance and my outlook. After all, it’s never safe to judge a covered book,” She smiled slightly, though I could see a bit of pain in her eyes.
I nodded sadly as remembered as well the first time I met her, along with many others since then. I was still young and foolish at the time, so she had forgiven me a bit for that. I think it helps that I came to her for advice and help and trusted her with a few secrets of mine, getting my first non-pony friend in the process. It was only a year though before she had to pack up and travel again because of low supplies, but we at least sent letters to each other over Yuletides to catch up.
“You did the best you could with your remedies, don’t feel too bad. Think of it this way: it took a new and still experimental spell in order to give me a small fix on my voice while your cures worked every time I had a sickness, even more so than the doctors. It helps that you weren’t biased against me because I was a Pegasus living in a Unicorn city,” I tried to cheer her up, not wanting her to think she still couldn’t do anything about my voice.
“Why thank you, my dear friend. I just wish that horrible spell had an end. I still don’t know how that spell was made, but I guess we’ll find out another day,” She sighed as she lightly shook herself out of the bad memories.
“So Zecora, two things: May I stay here for the night and mind telling me what you’ve been up to as of last letter? I’m quite curious,” I grinned as I accepted the now freshly made cup of tea she made for me and her.
Zecora flashed a similar grin and approved, having us both stay up late into the night to catch up on lost time. We soon had to stop though to get some sleep and food, much to our forgetfulness. I was really happy that she was staying in Ponyville longer than she usually would stay in a town or city. But this was due to the fact that the Everfree had the widest selection of natural growing herbal plants in Equestria and she heard rumors about Ponyville being a center of friendship and tolerance, not to mention selling what few ingredients she couldn’t find in the Everfree that weren’t extremely rare. It was a content smile that saw me go to sleep without a worry… except for how my pony friends would react to this odd situation. That was admittedly a worrying thought, though I didn’t think too much on it.
This entry was added by Twilight, taking place after Medley had stormed out of the building
I think I could speak for everypony when I surprised that I saw Medley, one of the most calmest ponies I had ever seen, give us all a cold look and chew us out over making rumors about one pony. That was, except for me. I personally never believed in rumors about ‘witchcraft’ or ‘curses’ or anything of the supernatural sort. There is no scientific basis for them to be even possible! Wait... I should stop myself there before I get into a scientific rant on that. Anyways, everyone was stunned silent for a moment, not able to really find anything to make a comeback on, before Rainbow Dash was the first to snap out of it. And she looked really angry, if her yelling was anything to go by. Thankfully, I had managed to find a silencing dome spell and set that into the room just as she bursted.
“What the Tartarus was that all about?! He never told us he was friends with that… that zebra!” Rainbow Dash bellowed.
“What business was it ours that we had ta know about every onea Med’s friends? Didja ‘onestly expect a zebra a all thin’s comin’ here ta Ponyville? And what were tha odds of them bein’ Med’s friend, huh?” Applejack rebuked on Medley’s behalf, causing the two to argue.
I groaned in irritation at the two having yet another little foal argument when I noticed that somepony was missing from the group. It took me a while before I gasped when it hit me, halting the argument.
“Where’s Applebloom? She was here a moment ago,” I asked, looking around.
Applejack frantically looked around before she took a shocked breath, looking at the door, causing everypony to look that way as well.
“The door’s open!” Fluttershy softly pointed out.
“She went outside?!” Rarity exclaimed.
“And Zecora’s still out there!” Rainbow Dash added.
“That silly little filly! I told her ta stay put!” Applejack worridly shook her head as she charged out the door, the rest of them quickly following suit.
“Spike, stay here in case Applebloom comes back,” I turned to my trusty assistant Spike, who nodded as I soon joined the girls into chasing after Applebloom.
We soon made it into the Everfree, but couldn’t find her, even as Applejack called out, “Applebloom?”
It took us a while of searching, but we soon found her coming back to us, letting her be put on Applejack’s back as she fussed over her. I smiled a bit at the sisterly affection before I froze slightly, as everypony else did, hearing an ominous voice call out, saying, “Beware! Beware, you ponyfolk! Those leaves of blue are not a joke!” before I thought I could see a piece of brown and white moving out of sight. I was stung a bit that Medley didn’t choose to come back, but he was a full grown pony, he could handle himself, not to mention his odd singing ability that the other pony residents of Ponyville caught onto yet, except for the girls and I, along with Spike.
After some insulting hurled at Zecora by the girls (Fluttershy and I being the exception), who was long gone it seemed to me, we eventually talked with one another, Applejack being the first.
“And you… why couldn’t you just listen ta ya big sister?” Applejack reprimanded her.
“I...I…” Applebloom tried to speak up, but Applejack cut her off.
“Who know’s what kinda nasty curse Zecora coulda just put on you?” Applejack continued on her earlier statement, looking very cross.
“Just like in my song!” Pinkie exclaimed.
Before she could launch into her song, I had to interrupt with an irritated, “You girls, there’s no such thing as curses!”
Pinkie looked put out that she wasn’t able to sing her song as Rainbow scoffed and said, “Well that’s interesting to hear coming from Miss Magicpants herself.”
“MY magic, real magic, comes from within. It’s a skill you’re born with. Curses are artificial, fake magic. It’s conjured with potions and incantations, all smoke and mirrors meant to scare. But curses have no real power, they’re just an old pony tale,” I explained rationally.
What I wasn’t expecting was the group to suddenly frown a bit, as Fluttershy, much to our complete surprise, asked, “Then what do you call Medley’s strange singing ability?”
Applejack nodded, leading the rest of the group out as she turned to me to deliver what seemed like the final nail in the coffin of that argument. “Just you wait Twilight. Yer gonna learn that some pony tales… really ARE true.”
As I trailed behind the group and picked up Spike, I began to think about this. Normally, I would’ve been right, with the scientific facts to back me up. But I knew that what Medley had couldn’t be just a curse, it was experimental spellwork that just had an odd effect on him. Maybe it might have something to do with him being a reincarnated human?
I puzzled that over the night, along with worrying over what was happening to him, with him seemingly gone at Zecora’s. That statement in of itself made me a jumbled mess of emotions, from sadness to angry to… something new. But it was directed at him choosing to spend the night at Zecora’s just after spending the night with me and Spike, and not too long ago at Pinkie’s. Why was he staying overnight at other mare’s houses? Why wouldn't he want to stay here for the night with me and Spike?
I soon went to sleep, but worries still attacked me in my sleep, causing me to dream of horrible scenarios that I’m not going to write here, partially because I don’t want to frighten anypony who may end up reading this and partially because… well, I plan on adding this to Med’s journal at some point, giving him an alternate view and what he missed out on. Yeah… that's it.
It soon was morning as I woke up, fighting hard to open my eyes. My mane felt like it was a mess, but that was to be expected, with how much I suspected I tossed and turned. I yawned a bit as I went to the bathroom to try and brush my mane down. However, ‘try’ soon became a key word, as I couldn’t feel my magic being used at all. Now fully awake with worry, I shook my mane a bit to get it down, working relatively well, before I gasped and looked up at my horn.
“W-W-What the- What happened to my horn?!” I yelped in complete surprise, my horn flopping up and down with bright blue spots on it.
I quickly went down to the library to search for answer, Spike soon joining me as I told him to look up something to cure my horn.
“No, no, no, no, no!” I cried as I looked through book after book. “None of these books have a cure! Ugh! There has to be a real reason for this! An illness? An allergy?”
“A curse!” I heard Spike call out as he read through one of my fantasy books.
“I said a real reason. Something that points to something real!” I chastised him for still thinking about it being a curse.
“How ‘bout this one?” Spike held up the book so I could see it better.
“Supernaturals? Spike, the word ‘supernatural’ refers to things like ghosts and spirits and zombies, which are as make-believe as curses,” I explained to Spike, setting the book down. “This book is just a bunch of hooey!”
Spike looked saddened for a second before looking up. “What if you’re wrong Twilight? And if you’re right, what does that say about Medley’s singing?”
I got a bit defensive on that, ready to lecture him on the *vast* differences between Medley’s singing and curses before Pinkie popped out of nowhere and tried to speak. I once again say try, as her tongue was bigger than normal, not to mention it had similar blue spots on it.
“Pinkie, what happened to you?” I worried over her, taking note of her tongue and excessive amounts of spitting.
I also say excessive amounts of spitting as she tried to speak, but all that came out was a rainstorm of spit.
“Hey, say it, don’t spray it Pinkie!” Spike complained as he brushed off the spit.
We then heard someone slamming into the wall and looked out the window, only to see Rainbow Dash try to fly in, but was stopped by the window. I could at least somewhat admire her ability to try and talk with us, even as she slammed repeatedly into everything.
“She’s… trying to say that… Zecora…” Rainbow Dash then flew in, smashing into the nearly empty bookcase, continuing with, “Slapped us all… with a curse!”
“I’m afraid I have to agree,” I heard Rarity agree with Rainbow, but as I turned to face her, I was met with the worse case of dreadlocked fur and mane.
“I hate ta say I told ya so Twilight, but I told ya so!” Spike and I squinted a bit and looked over at Applebloom, who had… a mini Applejack? “It’s a curse I tell ya!”
What the heck was going on?! I looked over at Fluttershy, seeing nothing wrong with her and saw that Applebloom hadn’t had any problems either. It flashed in my mind how Medley would look right now if he were here with us before quickly stuffing that in the back of my mind, not wanting to be sad and angry.
“But, Fluttershy seems just fine!” I knew I was grasping at straws, but it was still true.
“There doesn’t seem to be a THING wrong with her,” Rarity agreed as she tried to keep the mane out of her eyes.
“Fluttershy… are you OK?” I asked softly, to which she turned her head away from me.
Alrighty then, new questioning. “Is there something wrong with you?” I asked worriedly as now I got a small nod from her.
“Would you care to tell us?” I asked a bit too bluntly it seems, as she scrunched up and hid within herself.
“So… you’re not going to tell us?” A nod from her. “Yes you’re not or yes you will?”
As she was shaking her head, Applejack ran over to us and interrupted with, “Good gravy girl! What’s wrong with you?”
Fluttershy looked away shyly and replied in the deepest voice I ever heard from anypony, much less a mare, “I don’t wanna talk about it.”
We were all quite surprised when we heard her speak like that. Guess that would be something you wouldn’t want to tell to anypony. It then hit me suddenly as I started to get their attention, before Spike could make an immature joke at our expenses.
“Everyone, I just remembered: Medley’s probably sick in some kind of way, just like the rest of us!” I exclaimed, now looking a bit worried.
“How do you know that? After all, Applebloom looks just fine, and she came back to us healthy too,” Spike pointed out, looking up in strange fascination with my horn.
“Well, just in case, and because we need it pronto, keep on looking for more books with a cure for this!” I snapped slightly at him, getting a bit too irritated not being able to use my magic.
Spike grumbled a bit as he went off to search again as Rainbow Dash managed to get out of the ladder she crashed through on her entrance inside.
“I think we’ll find a cure to this curse at Zecora’s place!” Rainbow Dash said as she crashed into the wall yet again.
“It’s not a curse!” I stubbornly held onto that idea.
“I agree with Dash! We’ll go to Zecora’s, rescue Medley if she’s got ‘im there for some kinda voodoo and force her to remove this hex!” Applejack proclaimed, standing as proudly as she could the size of a toy action figure.
“It’s not a hex either!” I yelled, getting a bit frustrated with the girls, missing Medley to keep the peace. Or at least, provide some much needed common sense.
We all then started to argue over if it was a curse or not, getting really heated into it. Against all odds, Rainbow Dash was convinced it was still a curse while I tried to point out that there wasn’t such a thing as curses. The same with hexes or voodoo or anything else that wasn’t spells or magic.
“I don’t care what you say Twilight!” Rainbow Dash started saying her ending argument, “It’s time to pony up and confront Zecora! Come on girls. Are you with me?”
Rarity and Pinkie Pie agreed to go along with this crazy idea. Fluttershy was voting the Fluttershy way. That is to say: indecisive. I had to quickly give a glare at Spike for laughing at Fluttershy’s predicament, and at least he looked sorry for doing so.
“How about you Applejack?” Rainbow Dash turned to see if she agreed, only to discover her not there, with a confused, “Applejack?”
“She’s gone!” mumbled Pinkie as we all looked over at the pile of books, with one mini pony missing.
We all then quickly checked to see if somepony accidentally squashed her. When that was cleared we then checked to see if anyone sat on her. The next bit was strange, as Pinkie decided to look through Rarity’s hair at the insistence of Rainbow Dash. Rarity, rightfully so, was a bit uneasy about PInkie’s searching. I then noticed somepony else missing.
“Applebloom is gone too!” I noticed.
“I bet they went after Zecora to go rescue Medley,” Rainbow Dash deduced.
“Well we better go find them,” I sighed slightly as I led the group, leading with a, “Come on girls. Let’s go.”
Added journal entry ends
I was pleasantly surprised this morning, as Zecora made some of her delicious dandelion stew, a common breakfast for her due to them sprouting everywhere and no one minded a few going missing. Plus, they were pretty useful for some of her concoctions, though I never could remember which ones. Try as I might, I can only recall songs perfectly, not potions or flight patterns. Heck, the most could do was memorize the weather schedule. But I digress.
I soon heard some knocking at the door, which made me curious. Though it did sound like someone was a bit timid. I couldn’t blame them that badly, it was practically neighboring the Everfree Forest. When I opened the door, I was pleasantly surprised to see Applebloom’s face.
“Hello there, Applebloom! What brings you here of all places?” I asked.
“W-Well… Um… Yer friends started arguin’ about Zecora again and I just wanted to say hi to her and maybe… I dunno… Help her out with somethin’?” Applebloom looked like a strange combination of fearful, curiosity and hopeful all in one.
I smiled as I let her in, Zecora looking a bit surprised. “Hey Zecora, mind letting Applebloom help you out today with your gathering? I know I was gonna, but Applebloom here wanted to get to know you better. Plus, we have many months to meet and chat later on,” I smiled awkwardly as I then felt the tension in the air, so thick you could cut it with a knife.
Eventually, Zecora nodded and Applebloom sighed in relief, as Zecora helped Applebloom identify different plants that she uses so that she could help pick them.
“You two can go on ahead, I’ll stay back here and mind the place, so to speak. I do worry about the girls, especially with superstition and paranoia,” I explained as I cleaned out the cauldron, getting it ready for another batch of stew.
They both nodded as they headed out, leaving me to start making the stew. I smiled a bit as I poured some chrysanthemum pollen into the cauldron, glad I was able to do this one thing. I took a small sip and nodded in approval before I felt… something, watch me. I turned to the window in curiosity and soon yelped a bit in surprise, wings flaring up.
The reason for this? My friends looked completely bizarre! Twilight’s unicorn horn was flopping about a bit, Pinkie’s tongue was sticking way out of her mouth and Rarity had dreadlocked mane to the extreme! The only pony that I saw looked normal was Fluttershy, but I highly doubted that she wasn’t affected. I soon went outside and saw them in real-life, which soon resulted in me getting a tackle hug from the one and only… Wait.. Pinkie was still standing there.
“Oh thank Celestia Medley, you’re alright! Are you alright? Did your voice change? What happened to you last night? Please tell us what’s going on!” I heard someone speak rapid-fire like, only to look up in shock that it was *Twilight* of all ponies who did that.
“Um… good morning to you too?” I slowly was starting to get my brain working again. “Um… Twilight? Kinda… Need air now… Help…”
I thought I saw Twilight blush slightly as she put me down, soon rearranging herself to normal before launching into her questions again, this time a bit slower.
“I’m alright Twilight, nothing’s changed with me or anything. As for what’s going on, you kinda stumped me there. What brings you around here any… Wait, please tell me you aren’t buying into it as well?” I ended on an irritable note, my wings still flared up a bit.
“Of course not! Besides, as I’ve explained over and over again, this isn’t a curse or a hex or anything like that. However, they still aren’t convinced at all,” Twilight hurriedly explained to try and calm me down, which worked a bit.
“...Twilight… where are Applejack and Rainbow Dash?” I asked, a bit worried over what foolhardy stunt they were going to do.
It seems my answer came in the form of a tiny Applejack steering Rainbow Dash towards the hut, whose wings seemed to be flipped upside down, causing them both to fly all over the place. I stood there stunned for a moment at the strange sight before realizing that Applejack was aiming towards the door to bust it down and ‘defeat the evil enchantress’. Luckily for me, when they got near the ground, Twilight managed to stop them and set them down quickly with her magic.
“What the- Medley? Why are you out here? Don’t tell me she’s got you under some kind of potion that made you her minion!” Rainbow Dash cried as she unsteadily got back on her wings, floating over to Fluttershy who gently put her on her hooves before Rainbow Dash attempted to try flying again.
“Yeah, and what’s in that big black pot thingy? I just know she cooked her up in some kinda stew,” Applejack piped in, landing on Twilight’s head.
“Enough,” I spoke clearly and sharply, the best I could do for yelling, my anger clear and out there. “Stop believing in what is obviously a lie and actually look at the Tartarus-damned facts. She has done nothing to deserve this kind of treatment except for her different look and for her living location. And you’re all supposed to be tolerant and friendly with other kinds of species, not trusting in hearsay and superstition. Amazingly enough, Applebloom was the only one out of all of you to actively try and talk with her. Shame on all of you for having a filly teach you something that should be quite clear and firm in your minds.”
Everyone’s face looked guilty and saddened to some degree now except for Rainbow Dash’s and Applejack’s, but even then I could see they were doubting her being ‘evil’. It just so happened at that time that Zecora and Applebloom came back from their gathering and quickly made it over.
“What in the- What happened to all ya? And why are y’all standing right out here, lookin’ like you were arguin’ about somethin’?” Applebloom asked as everyone looked to turn and stare, Applejack quickly jumping on her sister’s back and gave a threatening glare at her.
“But Meldey… how did we all change, and yet you and Applebloom haven’t whatsoever?” Twilight asked, trying to make sure of everything it seems.
“You *did* hear the warning Zecora gave, right? Now, what were you surrounded by and stepping in?” I replied with a question, smirking slightly.
She thought about it for a moment before her face lit up and answered, “In a big patch of some strange blue flowers! After that, we all had these strange things happen to us. Yet you and Applebloom don’t have anything wrong with you because you listened to the warning.”
“That plant is much like poison oak, but it’s results are like a joke,” Zecora explained with a smile of her own as the expressions of realization dawned on everypony and the guilty looks intensified to the point where even Rainbow Dash and Applejack looked sorry for assuming.
“Also known as Poison Joke, it seems. Fitting, since no one likes poison oak and no one like a prank being pulled on them this mean,” I added in.
“I’m now wondering how sentient it is to pick up on our highest held traits and turn it back on us… But that’s for later. For now, how do we get rid of this? I couldn’t find a cure anywhere in the library,” Twilight looked a bit worried again at possibly finding out there was no cure.
Zecora smiled a bit more and pulled out a book that I read occasionally, mostly on healing potions, and said, “To cure this affliction, it’s simple indeed. A good old fashioned bubble bath is all that you would need.”
“Wait… I recognize this book… But I thought it was a book just filled with myth and rumors, not actual remedies,” Twilight replied, looking like she was feeling a bit awkward for dismissing a book out of hand.
“Maybe next time, you’ll take a second look, and not judge the cover of a book. Both physically and mentally, I must add, before things get very bad,” Zecora turned to look at everyone, soon with everyone apologizing for how they acted.
“Zecora… Would you be kind enough to mix a batch of the herbal bath?” Twilight asked softly as she looked up at Zecora.
“Well, Zecora and I were just replenishin’ almost all the ingredient’s needed for it,” Applebloom started.
I continued with, “But it seems whenever she went into Ponyville, everything mysteriously closed up shop, and the streets were emptied of anypony who could’ve given her directions to the shop to make things quicker.”
“Oh, well, I think we can help you with that,” Twilight grinned slightly as everyone seemed to have cheered up a bit.
We soon made our way into Ponyville, and after talking with the flower shop, both to convince them that Zecora was good and that we were looking for an herb, we made our way to the spa and relaxed in the water. Since I didn’t have anything wrong with me, I had planned on making it back to my home. I soon was caught in the combined magical clutches of Rarity and Twilight, both of whom seemed to grin, and just a bit evilly as well.
“So Medley dear… Have *you* ever encountered this ‘Poison Joke’ before?” Rarity grinned as I fretted a bit.
“Once… a long while ago when I was out helping Zecora gather some for her herbal brews,” I tried not to give too much info away, but that was when Twilight stepped in.
“Oh? And, pray tell, what happened to you? I seemed to have flopped on my magic, Rarity’s mane and coat were a mess, Pinkie couldn’t speak, Rainbow kept on crashing into everything, Fluttershy had a deep male voice, and Applejack turned tiny. Since your special thing is music, what could’ve happened to you?” Twilight’s eyes glinted a bit, and I wasn’t too sure if that was a good thing or bad thing.
Zecora happened to hear and giggle, replying, “It seems that during the night, he changed and made for a completely different sight. For you see, his face was quite pale, when he was a she: a female!”
Everyone started to laugh at that, not cruelly though, as I blushed hard. That was an especially odd day for me, as it took us a day to fix the problem. It was especially awkward when we had to go into the neighboring town and I got hit on. Frequently. And not just by the stallions either.
Sooner than one would think, Celestia was setting the sun as we all bade each other a good night and went to our homes. It seems that today was making an improvement from the last time someone of a different species came to town. It probably helped though that Zecora looked almost like a pony to begin with. Which now has me pondering how ponies would react to a hippogryph. Some food for thought and for my dreams it seems. Ah well, at least I can say I’ve connected more of my friends together, especially with one that is notoriously hard to find.
End of Chapter 11
Parasprites: For Definition, Please See Locusts Or Hungry Male Teenager
Parasprites: For Definition, Please See Locusts Or Hungry Male Teenager
For the love of LaurFastia, can I please have one or two more *weeks* of not being violently awakened or being startled into alert mode from my morning slumber? I was just about to yell that exact thing before I realized who woke me up this time: Fluttershy. Of all ponies to enter someone’s house and wake them up, I was slightly surprised that it was the most timid and quiet pony in Ponyville, if not Equestria. So instead of angrily talking to her, I decided to calm down a bit and try to remember *why* she woke me up.
“Good morning Fluttershy. I do have to say, I wasn’t expecting you this early in the morning,” I greeted her calmly as I got out of bed and stretched a bit.
“G-Good morning, Medley… Um, s-sorry if I woke you up, but… um… it’s already near noon and you d-did kind of promise to help me out picking flowers for Princess Celestia and getting the apples from Applejack…” Fluttershy stammered, almost mumbling.
I instantly remembered that promise I made to her a few days back and instantly felt guilty about forgetting and for sleeping so late when normally I would be up bright and early.
“Sorry Fluttershy… Let me just quickly grab a small breakfast and a shower and I’ll be right there to help you out, alright?” I smiled sheepishly as I walked down with her to the kitchen, where I was greeted with a few small animals looking up at me in curiosity, already making a meal. “...I take it you have a few animal helpers with you for flower picking, Fluttershy?”
Fluttershy shyly nodded, replying with, “Um… I hope they won’t bother you too much… but they really wanted to come along and help me out today as well and I just couldn’t resist their adorable little begging faces.”
I chuckled softly at how easy it was sometimes for Fluttershy to be suckered by the animals she takes care off and waved a hoof. “It’s alright Fluttershy, that just means more flowers for Celestia and that means less of a burden the animals have to carry.”
She smiled a bit and nodded, patiently waiting for me to eat and shower before we made our way to the Apple Family’s acre, where a basket full of apples were waiting to be picked up. In the distance I could see Applejack and Big Mac apple-bucking a few trees, with a big amount of trees already bucked. We gave a friendly wave to them as I picked up the basket and placed it on my back, a few of Fluttershy’s animal friends helping me balance it.
We then made our way to a meadow that were filled with yellow and blue flowers. Thankfully the meadow was far and away from the Everfree, which meant no Poison Joke to accidentally pick up. I set the basket of apples down on a nearby rock, thanking the little animals for helping me with it, to which I got a lot of adorable little cheers. I chuckled softly again as I looked at them before I saw Fluttershy hide a little giggle. We then went to work at picking flowers, Fluttershy humming tunelessly as she looked around. It was then that one of her animal friends picked a dandelion and quickly brought it over to her, getting a smile from her.
“Thank you little squirrel, but remember, these flowers are for Princess Celestia. Only the prettiest ones will do,” She smiled as a small breeze blew by, letting the dandelion pollinate.
The squirrel chittered sheepishly as he hid the stem of the dandelion behind him before scurrying off again. I shook my head at the adorable little scene before placing the last few flowers into the basket. This time, Fluttershy placed the basket on her, though this one being much lighter made things easier, I suppose. But when we got close to the rock with the basket full of apples, we heard a strange noise coming from one of the bigger pebbles nearby. Fluttershy, to my non-surprise, jumped and quickly hid behind the basket of apples, the basket of flowers landing upside down, scattering them all around her. For my part though, I instinctively flinched and quickly turn to where I thought I heard the noise come from.
The answer soon came into the form of a little blue bug that looked like a big, round fly with an adorable pair of green eyes, as it chirped quite cutely. Fluttershy’s reaction was, again to my non-surprise, immediately cuddle up with it. Though I was still wary of it, vague memories of what it was or what it did or even it’s name flashing in the back of my mind. Oddly, everything seemed to be much more organized than usual, though it was still quite vague.
“Hello little guy,” Fluttershy got closer to it and spoke in soft tones, “I’ve never seen anything like *you* before.”
As the bug sniffed an apple that had fallen out of the basket during the small panic, Fluttershy instantly went with, “Oh, are you hungry?” before crushing the apple into an easily digestible pile of mush.
“Here you go,” Fluttershy pushed the apple mush over to the little bug, though it seemed to ignore it now as it looked at the basket full of apples.
Then, before I could even blink, it immediately and quickly ate through an entire basket of apples, practically making chainsaw noises as it ate. Before I could react, the basket was soon empty of all apples as it fluttered around Fluttershy.
“I guess you *were* hungry,” Fluttershy commented as the bug settled in her hair, nestling in quite comfortably.
I instantly was on edge after that little display of eating. Nothing should’ve eaten that many apples that fast. Not even Pinkie on a hungry day could manage that, though it would be a close second. I decided to go with Fluttershy as she decided to go show off the new creature we had found along the way. Before we left though, I quickly gathered up as many flowers as I could and put them back in the basket, putting it on my back as I caught up to Fluttershy.
We made our way through the town, checking in on the celebration along the way.It looked like the streamers were nicely placed, the flowers were getting perfectly watered, and the ponies were re-doing a banner that I think was missing a few letters from it being ‘Welcome Princess Celestia’. I smiled and shook my head, as it seemed the whole town was going into overdrive to prepare for the arrival of Celestia, who from the sound of things really wanted to just have a casual visit. However, I would do my part diligently as conductor of the band for the parade later on.
I then saw Fluttershy see a glimpse of Twilight go into Sugarcube Corner, and she giddily bounded off towards the group, leaving me no choice but to give the basket of flowers quickly to Roseluck, who needed them for some floral arrangements, as I caught up to her.
“Twilight! Pinkie! You’ll never believe what I…” She slowly stopped as she saw both Pinkie Pie and Twilight there, doing an impressive slide on the floor as she mumbled quietly, “Oh… I’m sorry… am I interrupting?”
“No, not at all! Come on in and make yourself at home! Both of you” Pinkie smiled at her before I saw her tongue extending out and grew wider, quickly swallowing a whole entire cake. After getting a look from Twilight, Pinkie asked, “So, what’s going on Flutters and Med?”
“Eh, not too much. Did some flower picking for Roseluck and got the apples we needed from Applejack for some of the food. Though there’s one problem though,” I answered as I stood beside Fluttershy.
“Wait… where are the apples? I thought you said you picked them up!” Twilight looked like she was on the edge already.
“Well, you see… This little guy right here just… sort of… ate them all… core and everything,” Fluttershy smiled as the little bug made himself known, hovering around Fluttershy. That was, until two more bugs popped out of her mane, one with yellow coloring and one with brown coloring, both with the same green eyes.
“Wait a sec… there was only one of them out in the meadow. How the heck did you get two more?” I asked.
Fluttershy shyly shrugged as Twilight spoke up with, “Well, they’re amazing! What are they though?”
“Huh… I thought if anypony would know, you would. You do seem like the one with a good answer 95% of the time,” I answered as they fluttered around us.
“And what would be this extra 5%, Medley?” Twilight raised an eyebrow, smirking slightly as I froze a bit.
“W-Well… um… There’s always room for error…” I stumbled as the girls giggled at my expense, including Twilight.
“It’s alright Medley, I know I don’t always have the answer. The Poison Joke was a case of that. Nevertheless, if you want me to Fluttershy, I can take care of one of them,” Twilight looked at the bug with what looked like ‘adorable meter alarms’ going off behind her eyes.
“Thank you Twilight. What about you Pinkie?” Fluttershy asked Pinkie.
What I saw was an expression of disgust on her face as she glared at the bug, coldly saying, “A Parasprite? Are you kidding?” before going off towards the door.
It then suddenly clicked in my mind what those things were, and for them to be in Ponyville didn’t surprise me as much as irritate me like Tartarus. I soon joined Pinkie in leaving out the door, glaring at one of the bugs who strayed close to me.
“What the- Pinkie, Medley, what’s wrong with you two? Also, a para-what?” Twilight looked shocked, probably at seeing us both not act like usual around new creatures or species.
I turned to look at Twilight with a raised eyebrow. “Do remember you have a library at your disposal. I suggest looking them up before blindly taking one in. Now come on Pinkie, let’s go look for my saddlebags from when we had to confront that dragon. I think all my instruments are still in it.”
She nodded as we made our way out of the shop and to my home, where the search was on. We checked all over for it, taking up most of the day to try and locate it, but it seemed that it was moved away from the house after a long and exhaustive search.
“That’s odd… Usually it’s either by my bed or it’s in the living room,” I thought over as I collapsed near the sofa.
“Yeah… That was a long search… Thankfully the rea-” Pinkie was soon interrupted by the sound of a nearby Parasprite, which she quickly leapt up and dealt with it.
“The rea- what? Pinkie, you’re making less sense than usual. Esp̸ec͏ia̴lly ̕s͞ìnce ҉yo̵u͠'̶re ҉no͝t͠ ͟a̡l̢l̢ the͢r̀e͡,” I coughed a bit after I finished, Pinkie giving me an odd and hurt look.
“Why did you say that Medley?” Pinkie asked.
I gave a confused face as I responded, “I thought I was just making an observation, not trying to make fun of you. What makes you say that?”
“Oh, nothing,” Pinkie hurriedly stammered out before she went into the nearby closet.
As I checked the closet, I chuckled a little bit at her not being there in the slightest, probably appearing somewhere randomly back at Sugarcube Corner or somewhere near one of our friends. I went to sleep that night wondering what in Equestria had Pinkie worried that much besides the Parasprites.
It was only the next morning being awoken by a Pinkie Pie shaking my sleeping body roughly to know that today was going to be a panic day. When I woke up and saw a small cloud of Parasprites outside my door… well…
“How did it get this bad?!” I panickedly asked as I became much more aware and hurrying out the door with Pinkie.
“I have no idea! Come on, we gotta find that saddle bag!” Pinkie screamed as she dragged me along.
“Quickly, to the school! It might be there!” I said as loud as I could as we quickly altered direction.
It was only a small amount of time before we finally found my saddle bags full of instruments sitting in my office as we gave a sigh of relief. However, that was quickly ruined by a small hole in the ceiling that was steadily getting bigger.
“What in LaurFastia could possibly be doing… this…” I slowly tapered off as we both saw something completely unbelievable.
A huge swarm of Parasprites were slowly *eating* their way through the ceiling, intent of devouring the whole building with their ravenous appetites. However, last I checked, Parasprites only ate edible sources, like apples and cauliflower. So, using my deduction skills, I figured *somepony* decided to mess with magic and change the Parasprite’s diet. It didn’t take long before we both figured out who was responsible for the sudden change and quickly confront the source.
“Twilight Sparkle, what did you do to them?” I glared slightly at her as we found her panicking.
“Sorry! I was just trying to get them to stop eating the food! And where have you two been, gallivanting around Ponyville while we have a *crisis* on our hooves?!” Twilight yelled at me.
“Look, we just needed some instruments in order to get rid of the Parasprites, Pinkie can vouch for- Pinkie?” As I turned to look at her I found her with a pale face and ashen look as she pulled out… nothing.
“...WE GOTTA GO BACK TO YOUR CLASS FOR THE INSTRUMENTS!” Yep, Pinkie was now in full panic mode as she zoomed off towards the class and back, bringing all the instruments needed.
“What in Celestia is it so important to get instruments? Can somepony please explain?!” Twilight screamed in frustration.
“It gets rid of them, trust us!” I replied before I heard a small *pop* and I felt the enhancing voice spell just break down completely, leaving me in whispers.
“...*eye twitching*...you… gotta… be… KIDDING ME?!” Pinkie roared as she plunked down an accordion.
Twilight paused for a moment as she look stricken with guilt as I gave her a look. “Um… heh heh… I’ll fix it afterwards?”
I facehoofed before grudgingly nodding, grabbing a few instruments and warming them up a bit, as did Pinkie.
“1, 2, 3, 4!” I sang as Pinkie and I played to the beat of a random polka, not really bothering with words as we went through Ponyville, playing the part of a Pied Piper and getting the Parasprites to bounce along to the tune as they followed us into the Everfree. By the time we got back and all the Parasprites were all gone, we saw Celestia fly back up to Canterlot.
It was an awkward silence that fell upon us as we helped repair Ponyville, Pinkie and I putting back the instruments where they were supposed to go. Once evening hit, Twilight looked apologetic as she cast the voice enhancing spell back on me, returning my ability to talk to a normal level.
“Sorry for blowing up at both you and Pinkie… I was just really stressed out over Celestia coming to Ponyville and the Parasprites and Fluttershy accidentally keeping one to start the problem over again and not bothering to really sit and listen while you explained and…” Twilight nervously rambled on before she was stopped by a hug from me, a small smile on my face.
“It’s alright Twilight. Pinkie and I should’ve stopped to explain it better and we should have warned you ahead of time what they were and what they could do. Plus, it was a rather panicky situation and tempers flare easily during such times,” I chuckled softly as I let go of the hug, though a tiny part of me wanted to keep the hug going.
Twilight nodded and smiled a bit before bidding me goodnight and went off to her home, as did I. Once I got to bed, I couldn’t help but wonder why everything that could go haywire happened in Ponyville before chalking it up to just coincidence with a side of fate for somepony. I went to sleep with a small smile as I thought about a joke involving a Parasprite, an apple and a pony.
Well, today’s the day. After a few months of staying practically indoors, being cooped up in small, heated rooms, today was the day that we could finally go into spring. The one day celebrated by most ponies: Winter Wrap-Up. After the three months of people complaining about *having* to keep all four seasons to maintain harmony in nature, the fashion designs made by Rarity for stallions (she can be vicious when it comes to fashion), today’s the day where it all ends… for at least 9 months. But hey, ¾ of a year isn’t bad. Especially since it was the Ponyville kind of Winter Wrap-Up, where unicorn magic wasn’t allowed to be used to clean up, since it was originally an Earth Pony settlement. Unlike Canterlot, where magic was used to just simply magic the problem away. Personally, I like Ponyville’s better, as it actually feels like you cleaned up for spring.
What wasn’t so fun, however, was an over-eager foal starting a small snowball fight with a friend of theirs, mis-aiming the snowball and managed to throw it through the open window to my bedroom… to which it hit me in the cheek, causing me to quickly wake up from the cold and the impact. I groaned as I started to get out of my warm and toasty bed and to the window, giving the two foals a look… and wouldn’t you know it, it happened to be Snips and Snails.
“S-Sorry Mr. Royalwind!” Snips called up, looking scared.
“Yeah, what he said,” Snails added.
I sighed and shook my head before grinning a bit, replying with, “It’s alright you two! Just be sure to know your duet: you’ll be the first two to perform it now!”
They then quickly took off in terror as I laughed quietly a bit, quickly getting ready for the day, grabbing the blue vest Rarity made for everypony in the weather team.
I soon joined everypony outside, standing near Twilight since I’m usually a late sleeper, unless someone or something decided to do something about it or teaching every other day. Soon, everypony was gathered and Mayor Mare started her annual speech.
“Thank you everypony, for being here bright and early! We need every single pony’s help to wrap up winter and help bring in spring,” Mayor Mare ended her usual opening to cheering as she continued on with, “Now, all of you have your vests and have been assigned to your teams. So let’s do better than last year and have the quickest Winter Wrap-Up ever!”
As the crowd cheered, I thought I could hear Twilight say something to Spike, but it was lost with the cheering going on around me. Admittedly, I was also adding to the cheering, seeing as last year it took us *days* to wrap up winter. This year however, I had high hopes, not the least thinking about the new addition to Ponyville, Twilight.
“Alright everypony, find your team leader, and let’s get galloping! Medley, if you would please help start us off with the annual song?” Mayor Mare looked at me with a small smile as I blushed a bit from all the attention I was getting.
Soon, everypony was with their groups and I started to play the notes to the song on a piano someone thoughtfully pulled out for me. Rainbow was the one to actually start the singing, as I played along. It was refreshing for once to only sing chorus lines instead of having any added lines as well.
As soon as I played the last few notes, I joined the rest of my team in clearing the skies and helping gather the migrated birds. As I did, I noticed Twilight on the ground, looking a little bit lost. I couldn’t blame her, this was her first Ponyville Winter Wrap-Up, and she focuses on using magic. This was going to be especially tough for her, considering she didn’t even have a vest on to show which team she was helping. I landed softly as she looked at me with an expression that seemed to be pleading and begging for something to help on.
“Medley!” Twilight exclaimed as she came a bit closer to me.
I smiled a bit as I saw Spike looking really tired before focusing on Twilight. “Hey there Twilight. You look a bit eager to help.”
“I am eager! This is my first one away from Canterlot! So… um… what exactly does the weather team do?” Twilight asked, looking confused.
“Well, besides the obvious answer, which would be to clear the skies of winter weather, we also help bring back the birds that migrated south for the winter, making the load a bit easier on the other team that helps out the hibernating animals,” I explained as I saw Twilight quickly take some notes before putting them away.
“Could I help? Maybe help clear up the clouds or…” Twilight smiled, a bit awkwardly.
“Um… Twilight… there’s one problem with that,” I pointed at my wings and then at her horn, summarizing the obvious, “I have wings, which means Pegasus magic, which means able to interact with clouds directly. You have a magic horn, which means Unicorn magic, which means not able to use magic during Wrap-Up, as per tradition.”
Twilight blushed and nodded, probably feeling a bit stupid as I threw her a bone with, “Try seeing if you can help with the animals, either through helping wake them up or by building bird nests for the birds we bring back.”
Twilight thanked me as she went off in the direction of where Rarity was while I flew back into the sky, starting to clear the clouds away.
It was only after a little while when the weather teams stopped due to both the animal team and the earth team had polarizing requests, completely halting the clan-up all together. It was then that Mayor Mare decided to come over to figure out the problem was.
“What in Equestria are all of you arguing about? This sort of silliness is why we were late last year! And the year before that! And the year before that!” Mayor Mare reprimanded the three ponies, continuing on in the same thread, “I was hoping my amazingly inspirational speech and Medley’s cheerful song would urge everypony to do better than last year. But now it looks like we’re going to be later than ever! I mean, just look at this catastrophe!”
I looked out and saw the same problems that plagued us the many years since I was here: the ice was too big for us to really melt down, the nest building wasn’t even really started, as Rarity was completely focused on a really bad nest, us not getting the clouds off in time, the icicles still around all over the place, the snow that still stood in the way of planting the crops, and all the animals who still had to finish hibernating. Not to mention Caramel losing the grass seeds… again… as Derpy went north to go get the southern birds… also again. Frankly, it was getting frustrating that we had a lack of good planning and coordination, but this was the best we’ve had to work with, looking back on the one when I first got here. That one took nearly a *month* to finish everything. Soon, everypony started to bicker and argue about who should do what and faster, with me admittedly adding onto the problem.
Eventually, the Mayor interrupted us, “Stop this at once! We don’t have time to argue!”
This caused us to settle down as we listened to her. “It’s almost sundown, which means Spring is going to be late again. Another year of scandal and shame for Ponyville. If only we could be more organized…”
As if expecting this to be her cue to pull the answer from out of her back, Twilight jumped out of a nearby bush, crying out, much to our surprise at her doing a near Pinkie Pie routine, “Spike! Get my checklist and clipboard! Stat!”
For once, we seemed to ignore her and go right back into arguing. This time though, I didn’t get involved and tried to get everyone to quiet down. However, it proved to be ineffective and I wasn’t in a mood to do a song to try and get their attention. Soon though, Twilight used a nearby bird as a whistle of some kind, grabbing everypony’s attention as she quickly apologized to it, going into her speech.
“Look, I know you all want to do this as quick as you can to finish up in time. But you don’t even know how to go about doing that! Luckily, the answer is simple. All you need is…” Spike zoomed in right on time, holding a clipboard and a writing quill as Twilight finished, “Organization! And I’m just the pony for the job!”
I blanked out for a moment before face-hoofing myself. I had completely forgotten about Twilight and her near OCD levels of organization. Heck, I didn’t realize that the problem was so easy to fix with just a better organizer. Though admittedly, I had just gone on with the flow of Ponyville, not really contributing much other than my work for cleaning up. Soon though, the whole town agreed and let Twilight quickly make a list of things needed to be done before we all spread out for our jobs.
Ours was the most simple, yet the most difficult to pull off: As soon as the critters were all awake and out of their hidey-holes for hibernation, we would form a controlled sideways tornado that would send off all the snow, thick clouds and icicles, which would let the ice blocks that were much easier to melt do just that.
It took us altogether the whole night and morning to finish Winter Wrap-Up, ending in the middle of the afternoon. But soon, the whole town looked ready for spring as we all gathered by a tree on a hill overlooking the town, in front of Twilight as Mayor Mare walked up to congratulate her.
“I can’t believe it… Spring is here. On time! And we have you to thank for it, Twilight Sparkle,” Mayor Mare smiled as she continued on, “If it weren’t for your organizational skills, we would’ve been arguing all over again.”
“Eyep,” Big Mac agreed as we all laughed at that, knowing it was true.
“It was a team effort,” Twilight happily replied.
“Well then, here’s a gift from all the teams,” Mayor Mare started as Rarity came up to Twilight with a new vest, “For leading all the teams, we give you the title… The All Team Organizer!”
Rarity quickly flashed the vest onto Twilight, who looked a bit happier at seemingly finding her place in this mess.
“Goddess… I don’t even know what to say… Thank you everypony!” Twilight blushed a tiny bit as she thanked us.
Mayor Mare looked proud as she addressed us for the final time for Winter Wrap-Up. “I hereby declare that winter is… wrapped-up on time!”
We all cheered for that, as I noticed Spike floating in the water on the last unmelted ice cube. “Heh, I think Spike’s in for a surprising wake up call from his nap once that ice has melted away.”
We all chuckled at that as Twilight smiled wide, levitating Spike onto her back just as the ice melted, which at first she got a glare, then a sheepish apology for when he woke up. We all soon retired to our homes, putting away our winter equipment into our storage rooms for next winter.
It soon became Luna’s time as I finished writing in my journal. I’ve always wondered if Twilight did the same sort of thing after all our hectic adventures that we’ve been having. Then I vaguely remembered something about ‘friendship reports’, which sounded so much like a summarization of a message after an episode of a show. I chuckled a bit at that comparison as I wrapped up my notes for the day. I was proud to have finally been a part of an on-time Winter Wrap-Up and hoped that next year, we could finish earlier than before. Hey, everypony can dream, am I right?
Uuuurg… Today just felt like a day where I had NO energy whatsoever to even get out of bed, much less meet with and talk with other ponies. But I did make a promise to them that I would try to make it to this… Iron Pony competition… in support of both of them. Much like Iron Man competitions from Earth… and wasn’t that a comforting thing to remember from that world… it would be a series of different physical challenges until they had either run out of challenges in a draw or close match or until one of the two competitors was winning by a wide margin. Of course, some differences could be found in the Iron Pony one, such as the obvious rule of no wings or magic unless you were both the same type. An example would be a Pegasus wouldn’t be able to use her wings fully unless she was up against another Pegasus. It’s the same principle with Unicorns as well, no use of magic unless it was against another Unicorn, but that drifted off into spell duel territory, something I really didn’t know much about.
Huh… It’s amazing what goes through your head when it’s early in the morning and you don’t want to get out of bed. Nevertheless, I groaned as I rolled off the bed, landing painfully on my side, but not overly much thankfully. I soon made it through my morning routine and trudged my way out the door before the temptation to jump back into bed was too great.
I soon joined up with Twilight and Spike as I looked on, seeing Dash stretch out a bit, possibly to be more limber. Twilight gave me a friendly wave of a hoof while Spike grinned and waved as well, saying hello. I responded with a small wave and hello back as AJ stood a bit off to the side near Twilight and Spike.
“So, you two are doing what now?” Twilight asked curiously.
“See, we set up a buncha events to decide which one of us-”
“Is the most athletic pony ever!”
“And I’m here to…” Twilight and I spoke at the same time, causing us both to look at each other weirdly as Spike giggled a bit.
“Uh… um… I don’t know? Why ARE they both here?” Dash stopped stretching to look at Applejack for the answer.
AJ didn’t look amused by this as she answered our question with, “Twilight’s here ta be the judge with Spike assistin’ her as scorekeeper while Medley here can pravide music to our little competition.”
“Right! Heh, SOMEPONY’s gotta record my awesomeness to the history books! And what kind of competition would it be without music to get your body pumped?” Dash grinned as she went back to stretching, the rest of us just shaking our heads at her… Dashness.
It was soon time for the competition to begin and Spike looked really excited. So much so that he grabbed a nearby twig and used it as a microphone. “Hello everypony! And welcome, to the first annual Iron Pony Competition!”
“Uh, Spike… who are you talking to?” Twilight asked as she looked over confusedly at him.
“Uh… well… Medley! Oh, and them!” He pointed at me and the rest of the girls, which they were climbing up the hill towards us, seeing the last few touches being made on the events.
“Let the Games begin!” Spike shouted as he jumped on Twilight’s head, which caused everypony but Twilight to cheer, which could be easily deduced with Spike being the one to jump on HER head.
We then quickly went to go and do the first challenge: obstacle race. In short, get to the finish line as quickly as possible without nudging any of the barrels. Twilight looked a bit eager to start, as she would be the starter, Spike would be the timer, and I would be the judge to make sure everything played out fairly and the scores were evenly done. Fluttershy actually wanted to help out a bit, and her job was to help keep score of which pony had the most competitions won.
“Ready… set… GO!” Twilight called as AJ sped past her.
I saw as AJ managed to get through the course pretty fast for an Earth Pony, but accidentally nudged a barrel along the way. It was a pretty good time though, from what I could tell. I looked over at Spike to see what the time was.
“That was 17 seconds Applejack!” Spike looked amazed, as did I.
“Yer kiddin’? That breaks my record from last year’s rodeo!” AJ looked a bit proud at that fact.
“However, due to you nudging a barrel along the way, that counts as a 5 second penalty against you, leaving you with a final total of 22 seconds,” I added in.
“Aw, apple fritters… ah well, that’s still not too shabby of a time,” AJ murmured a bit, but didn’t argue with it.
As Dash looked like she was about to panic, AJ tried to comfort her by saying, “Hey. Don’t be nervous. Remember, it’s all in good fun! Now, git on up there!”
Once Dash took her position, Twilight called out again, “Ready… set… GO!” and Dash took off like a rainbow trailing blur.
She managed to get through it pretty fast as well, considering she couldn’t use her wings in these competitions. She even managed to avoid nudging any of the barrels along the way, ending on a good run. I looked to Spike for the time once more.
“Hoo, that was some fancy hoofwork there Rainbow!” AJ complemented Dash as she flew back.
“Thanks… But… I couldn’t… have been as fast… as you!” Dash panted out as all three of us now looked at Spike for the time.
“18 seconds!” Spike looked very shocked, as did all three of us.
“18 seconds?! Rainbow, are you sure you aren’t secretly a rodeo pony?” AJ smirked a bit as she nudged Dash playfully.
“Well, it looks like, due to a penalty from earlier, Dash takes the point with a lead of 4 seconds!” I cheerfully spoke as Fluttershy added a point to the total up on the signboard.
“I can’t believe I won!” Dash started to smirk a bit before being brought down by AJ, both literally and figuratively, as Dash started to hover.
“Don’t get used to it. After all, ya did kinda win by a small bit ‘cause I accidently nudged a barrel. Plus, it’s only the first one,” AJ pointed out.
As we went over to the next challenge, Dash gave me a smirk and asked, “So, going off of Pinkie, are we? For nicknames, that is.”
I blushed a tiny bit, but shrugged and replied, “Why? Got a problem, Dash?”
She laughed and shook her head at me, pretty much saying no. I chuckled a bit too as we made it to their next challenge.
The next challenge was one you find at any carnival ever: the ‘Test Your Strength’ game, except with bucking the target instead of hitting it with a hammer. Ponies after all, not humans. Anyways, since Dash won the last game, she got to go first and managed to ring the bell with her buck, to which the now slowly growing audience cheered at.
Once Dash flew over to AJ, AJ looked up at her with a smirk and simply said, “Mighty respectable there, but let me show ya how it REALLY get’s done.”
With that, AJ bucked it so hard, the target was shattered as the bell rung and flew up in the air. The crowd cheered wilder as both Dash and I fell back onto our haunches in stupefied wonder. AJ looked very proud and nonchalant about the whole thing, as she just calmly walked back over to the tree and kicked it a bit, apples falling out easily.
“Years of applebucking,” was the simple answer to our unasked question of how the heck she managed to outclass Dash in a long shot.
Fluttershy soon added the point to Applejack’s total, bringing it up to a tie, as the apples that fell on Dash’s head sounded distinctly like the old ditty: “Shave and a haircut, two bits!” However, I’m hardwired for music, so who knows if that was actually the case. Anyways the rest of the challenges soon followed afterwards, with Spike usually the one being used as a sort of dummy. Rodeo bucking, roping, balancing balls, hay bale toss, hoof wrestling, punting a hoofball, and too many more to list. Where one would win, the other would win the next one right back, bringing them to a dead tie. We soon ended halfway in between for Dash and AJ to take a breather.
“Fillies and gentlecolts!” Spike began to announce, “At the halfway point, our competitors are tied at 5-5!”
“Who are you talking to?!” Twilight gave Spike both an annoyed and confused look as she looked over a scroll before making it disappear.
“I don’t know Twilight… Maybe ask the large audience that’s currently surrounding us,” I smirked a bit as I pointed a hoof all around us, causing Twilight to gasp a bit.
To be fair to Twilight, I was a bit stunned too at just HOW many ponies showed up for a huge competition event between Dash and AJ. Then again, those two competing against one another IS a cause to go and look at, so looks like I shouldn’t be that surprised. Nonetheless, we got them into the next competition segment with push-ups and they practically shot through it all, only slowing down a bit once they hit the 70’s mark and really slowing down around the 90’s mark. A testament to their strengths, especially with AJ being a farm earth pony. Then again, weather patrol DOES take hard work.
“95… 96… 97… 98… 99… “ Twilight counted down the last five push-ups, as we could visibly see them straining to complete it fully.
Then, I saw something for a split second, but it went too fast and Dash was suddenly up on her hooves for the final push-up, beating AJ by one.
“100! Rainbow Dash is the winner!” Twilight called out as Dash cheered with a small loop-de-loop while AJ collapsed from her failed attempt at her 100th.
After a bit of grumbling (hopefully good-naturedly) from AJ, we went on to long hop. Think long jump and you’re golden. Anywhom, the same thing happened again, with AJ getting pretty far before just barely being beaten out by Dash. Once again, I thought I saw a blur of something near Dash, but I couldn’t quite see it right and it was too late before I could focus again. AJ looked a bit more peeved, but still took it in good spirit.
It was the next competition segment that I started feeling like something wrong was going on. It was to carry across little chickies to their mother hens at the other side of a long mud stretch. However, the feeling of uneasiness may be due to the fact that Dash was using her wing quite clearly for this part, but since she wasn’t using them for flying, it technically counted as something she could do. Dash ended up with another point while the rulebook (Apparently that’s what Twilight was doing with those scrolls) got a new update: no use of wings or magic AT ALL during the Iron Pony Competition.
It all came to a head at the final segment, where the winner of this could possibly win, with this last one being worth 5 points. And of course, it was tug-of-war, where it was down to who could pull the hardest and who was the toughest to move. With this, it felt a lot like the unbeatable offense against the impenetrable defense, with Dash on offense and AJ on defense.
“Alright you two. This is the final event. Give it all you got!” Twilight encouraged as Spike waved the checkered flag for them to start.
At first, it seemed pretty much a stalemate, with Dash pulling as hard as she could while AJ stood her ground and pulled back just as hard. It was after a minute where it seemed Dash was losing a bit of ground, as she slowly slid over to the mud center being used to show who lost very clearly. AJ was grinning as best she could while holding onto the rope with her teeth, as it looked like victory for her was just around the corner.
“Looks like the workhorse might come out ahead of this one!” Spike announced as Dash was teetering over the edge of the pit.
It was then that I finally saw what that blur was that kept on eluding me: it was Dash’s wings being unfurled quickly, but this time she used them in plain view, where it was obvious she was breaking one of the rules of the Iron Pony Competition.
“And Rainbow Dash just committed a foul by using her wings to gain a clear advantage! As such, she automatically loses this part of the segment, making Applejack the Iron Pony!” I announced.
The results were very intense, with Dash giving me a glare and was going to yell at me before realizing that she opened her mouth, meaning she let go of the rope that kept AJ suspended in the air. AJ soon landed in the pit of mud, glaring up at Dash, who gave a glare right back. Then Twilight gave a glare at Dash and soon it was a heated argument between the four of us. What resulted was an hour long argument with Dash claiming she didn’t know that was an official rule and then claimed after it was clear that it wouldn’t work that AJ should be docked a few for using her Earth Pony strength to cheat as well. That set off AJ like nothing else, especially since she IS considered to be one of the most honest ponies in Ponyville, if not Equestria. It finally ended with no pony being the Iron Pony, calling the whole competition forfeit due to cheating on Dash’s part and the challenges that were clearly in favor of AJ.
“Ya know what Rainbow, I think I got a way ta settle this once and fer all!” AJ smirked as Dash looked annoyed.
“Oh yeah? How?” Rainbow snarked at AJ.
“Tamorrow’s the annual Runnin’ Of The Leaves. I challenge you ta race me!” AJ declared.
“Ha, easy smeasy,” Dash bragged as she was about to fly off for tomorrow.
“Hold on!” AJ grabbed Dash by the tail and pulled her down, forcing her to listen as AJ continued, “There is one condition: Tha point is ta RUN, so no wings allowed!”
“No wings? No problem!” Dash grinned as she bucked off AJ by a few meters.
They agreed to it on a hoofshake, centers spit on, much like a handshake. Twilight gave a grossed out look as I chuckled, figuring Rarity would faint if she ever saw that happen. Twilight and I left for home to prepare for tomorrow as well, as tomorrow I overheard (aka: listened to Twilight freak out) that Celestia was going to make a visit to Ponyville’s Running Of The Leaves. This gave me a perfect opportunity to ask a question I had been wondering since I was first sucked into this crazy adventurous life: whatever happened to my attacker?
It was the next day, and Twilight and I met over by the starting line while Spike ran off to Pinkie, probably to do more announcing like yesterday. I probably should’ve warned him that Pinkie tended to talk on and on about anything for any length of time, but he was long gone by then and I had figured he knew this by now. I hoped that Pinkie would at least realize that Spike wanted to announce as well as her, but my bets were low this time around.
Twilight and I got into our positions at the starting line, doing a few basic stretches to work out the muscles a little bit and to warm ourselves up for the event. As I stretched, I looked around, enjoying the beautiful fall weather as I remembered why this was an important part of Equestrian history, which, come to think of it, I really should study a bit more. Or at least, reread again. As this holiday marks the middle of fall, the ponies would run through the trail of trees, their hooves stomping letting the leaves fall off the trees. Without this holiday, the leaves would stay on the tree, making it that much harder to start winter.
My thought on the history soon stopped as I looked over at where AJ and Dash were and snickered quietly a bit. Apparently Dash had said that she could do this race with her wings tied behind her back. AJ, still probably feeling a bit bitter about yesterday, took this literally, and tied Dash’s wings to her back nice and tightly.
“Racers, please take your position!” Pinkie announced, helping Spike get on the hot air balloon.
We both smiled as we took our positions as Twilight finished up a few final things on her scroll and sent it off back to her home. The scroll disappearing is what alerted AJ and Dash to us being there as they did a double-take.
“Twilight? Med? What in tarnation are ya both doin’ up here?” AJ look confused.
“I’m racing,” Twilight and I said at the exact same time, causing us to look at each other strangely.
Dash just laughed and commented, “Good one, you two! Nice rehearsal on speaking together at the same time too!”
“I’m not joking,” Twilight gave a deadpan look at both of them as I nodded in agreement.
“WHAT? Neither of you are athletes! Twilight, you’re kind of a… well, egghead. Med, you can barely do standard weather patrol, with even FLUTTERSHY beating you sometimes,” Dash looked surprised at the both of us, along with AJ.
“I am not an egghead! I’m just well read,” Twilight pouted slightly.
“And for the record Dash, I’m trying to improve my stamina,” I replied with a tiny glare.
“But Twilight… have ya actually ever RUN a race?” AJ snickered a bit.
“Well… no… But I do know a lot ABOUT running,” Twilight looked like she was trying to be confident in her decision.
I felt a bit ticked off at our friends acting like little foals about this, so I stepped in as well. “Girls, let Twilight be. Can’t you at least attempt to be happy that she’s participating in something physical? When you both know that’s usually not her thing?”
AJ had the decency to grimace a bit before smiling genuinely and supported Twilight in her decision. Dash on the other had just laughed and shot a small smirk at me.
She then asked, “Ooo! Med’s getting a bit defensive over Twilight! Got somethin’ to share?~” She snickered at Twilight’s and my glare.
“And just what might you be insinuating, Dash?” I asked in a deceptively calm voice.
She was about to answer, but before she could say anything, she was interrupted by Pinkie Pie, who announcing the start of the race.
“Is everypony ready?” Pinkie called out as we got ready to run.
“Get set…” Spike followed after her as we took our starting running positions.
“AAAAND THEY’RE OFF!” Pinkie loudly shouted as we all took off, each at a different speed, with AJ and Dash taking the clear lead and Twilight and I just casually jogging around the back, far away from the action.
As we walked behind everypony, we heard the interesting announcements coming from both Pinkie and Spike. From what I heard about from last year’s Running, as I couldn’t attend due to the flu, Pinkie made a great replacement than the usual announcer, Time Turner (who I think is actually The Doctor as a pony, but don’t let him know I said that). Not that he was bad or anything, he just made odd comments that only I seemed to get, and even then it was only half the time.
Ah, I’ve seemed to have rambled a bit there. Anyways, Twilight and I were jogging through the trail, enjoying the scenery. And I do have to say, the piles of leaves that were made along the way was quite a sight to see every year, especially when comparing them to when they were still on the tree. We then happened to see AJ get up, looking a bit pissed off as she glared ahead.
“I don’t believe it!” We heard AJ cry out in a small bit of anger as we pulled up behind her.
“I know, it’s beautiful, isn’t it?” Twilight breathily reply as she looked around.
“Not the scenery Twilight! Rainbow Dash just tripped me!” AJ angrily ignored the surroundings and glared ahead.
Both Twilight and AJ looked at me strangely, with me doing the same to them.
“Uh, Med, you sure you’re feelin’ alright? This ain’t like last year where ya had the flu, right?” AJ politely asked.
“Girls, I’m doing fine. What, did it sound like my throat was clogged or something?” I replied confusedly.
Twilight gave me an odd look before shaking her head and pointed out a rock sticking out of the ground, saying, “Besides if you were going a bit slower like we were, you would’ve noticed that it was a ROCK you tripped over, not Rainbow Dash cheating.”
“What?! Aw, hayseeds, now I got a lot of ground ta catch up ta Rainbow!” AJ groaned as she sped off, looking like it was going to be easy for her to catch up.
“Just be careful!” Twilight called out to AJ, but it looked like she was too far off to listen.
“You do know from the Iron Pony Competition that AJ and Dash will compete when it comes to their pride, right?” I shook my head and smiled as we both started jogging again.
“Well, I hope they can overcome that just this once and enjoy this holiday like it was described in the books I read,” Twilight spoke hopefully as she took in the scenery once more.
I had the feeling that this wouldn’t be the case until it was far too late, but I decided to keep that opinion to myself, not wanting to try and ruin Twilight’s first Running. After a little while, we overheard that AJ had caught up to Dash and were back to a stalemate.
Wouldn’t you know it, we found Dash in a very similar situation to AJ, as she was loudly complaining that AJ had somehow tricked her into losing the lead.
“Dash, if you actually took the time to look at least somewhat around you, you’d have noticed this big stump here,” I pointed to a stump near the path as I continued with, “But obviously, you didn’t.”
“Oh I see. A big cheater is what I see!” Dash glared ahead, as I guessed she was referring to AJ.
“Hm… One problem with that: why would the ELEMENT OF HONESTY being doing something as dishonest as CHEATING to win this race?” Twilight logically pointed out, referring to our Elements of Harmony.
“Face it Dash, it was an accident of your own being,” I summarized.
“An accident, right, sure it was,” Dash’s very sarcastic tones led to a different answer, but she ran off to catch up to AJ again, muttering to herself.
I sighed and shook my head as Twilight and I started our jogging again. It seemed like I was indeed right and those two would be pulling all the stops to win. While I knew AJ wouldn’t try to cheat, she WOULD retaliate if she saw Dash obviously cheating, and AJ could be very creative when it came to stopping dirty play. However Dash had the same line of thinking, so I just prayed to LaurFastia that their antics didn’t affect anypony else in the race.
“So… I gotta ask: what was up with the nicknames back there when Applejack had tripped?” Twilight asked after a while of silence and taking in the scenery.
I blushed a tiny bit and waved a hoof. “I just kinda followed Pinkie a bit and since I’m kinda more friendly with them now, I think nicknames are in order. Pinkie already has one, now Applejack and Rainbow Dash have one: AJ and Dash. Plus, it does help conversation move along a little bit more.”
“Oh, is that so? And what about Fluttershy and Rarity? Or even me?” Twilight giggled at my probably hilarious expression and stammering.
She eventually waved a hoof and lightly added, “Don’t worry, it’s not a bad thing. I’m just teasing you a bit.”
I blinked as my mind went temporarily haywire from the idea that Twilight, Element of Magic and Celestia’s protege, was actually teasing me. I paid for that by tripping over some overgrown roots and groaned a bit.
“Curse you universe! I’m not even in bed!” I cried out to the sky, shaking a hoof as Twilight started laughing at my antics.
“Medley, come on, we still have a race to do,” She smiled softly and shook her head while also looking a bit concerned and also asked, “Are you sure you’re alright?”
“Don’t worry Twilight, I’m not made of brittle bones, I’ll be fine. Come on, let’s continue,” I smiled as we both started our silent jog once more.
It was after another long while before Twilight commented, “Oh my. Whitetail Wood is just lovely!”
It was right after that that I noticed Dash standing next to the arrow sign, looking a tad suspicious, but I couldn’t think of a good reason why that was the case.
“Hey Rainbow. Shouldn’t you be up ahead?” Twilight greeted Dash.
Rainbow laughed and confidently returned with, “I’m SURE to win now.”
“Even when all the other racers passed you not a moment or two ago?” I smirked a bit at her reaction.
“Oh horseapples,” Rainbow nervously looked down the path and sped off like a blur, saying a hurring “See ya!” behind her.
We both shook our heads at the same time at Dash’s usual antics and went back into the race.
For once, we managed to catch a few moments of silence before we noticed both AJ and Dash sliding down a cliff on a slab of rock. We didn’t even stop this time around only walking past them, with a small comment from Twilight that pointed out that if they were planning on winning, they should be at the front, not behind us. It was only then I caught the grin on Twilight face before she sped up and ran fast. I was shocked a bit before a similar grin appeared on my face as I started to race Twilight.
We both crossed the finish line at nearly the same time, Twilight beating me out by a second or two and Twilight got a gold medal for being in 5th place while I had a silver medal for ending up in 6th place. We then stood off to the side, eagerly awaiting the rest of the ponies, which then soon became AJ and Dash, as they were the last two to attempt to cross the line.
What we saw… honestly didn’t surprise us all that much. It looked like all bets were off now, as they started pushing and pulling each other to try and beat the other, all ending with AJ tackling a hovering Dash and they both brawled their way to the finish line, with Pinkie announcing that they had tied for last place.
“Wait, if we’re last.. Who won?” Dash looked completely befuddled, which didn’t improve as Twilight and I walked over with our medals.
“You two?!” AJ and Dash cried in complete shock as they saw our medals.
“Nah, this isn’t first and second, it’s fifth and sixth respectively,” I corrected their assumptions.
“We did pretty good, considering that I’ve never run a race before and Medley said that he was trying to improve his stamina,” Twilight added on to my statement, causing me to smile and nod at that.
“How’s that even possible?” AJ tried to figure out.
“You both were running so SLOW! And were looking at the scenery!” Dash pointed out.
“Exactly!” Twilight and I pointed out at the same time, causing us to give each other a small look before I let Twilight continue, “We paced ourselves, just like my book said was a good way to win a race. It said that most ponies would tire if they used up all their energy early on, so we waited until the very end and managed to beat out most of the other ponies.”
“I don’t… I don’t believe it!” Dash yelled in surprise, “Twilight… And Medley… Beat us!”
“Well, with all your horsing around, it made it a bit easier,” I chuckled at their stymied expression.
Applejack finally caught on and looked a bit apologetic, “Yer right, the both of y’all. Our behavior was just terrible.”
“I guess we weren’t very good sports,” Dash conceded, kicking a hoof out of guilt.
“Sounds to me like a very important lesson was learned,” I heard a voice speak out behind us, and judging from the gasps, I assumed it was Celestia herself. Plus, it was also the cries of “Princess Celestia?!” from AJ, Dash, and Twilight that gave me a big clue.
“What are you doin’ here?” AJ asked her as she approached us, me turning around to face her and bow on one knee before her, as did the rest of my friends as Celestia spoke.
“Fall is one of my favorite seasons, so I came to celebrate the Running Of The Leaves,” Celestia smile as we got back onto our legs.
“I’m sorry you had to see us being such poor sports Princess,” AJ apologized.
Celestia’s smile never wavered as she replied. “That’s alright Applejack. Anypony can get swept up in the excitement of competition.”
“It’s important to remember, that the friendship is always more important than the competition,” Twilight stood by Celestia as the look of recognition was on AJ’s and Dash’s face.
“Exactly, Twilight.Now, unfortunately because the two of you were so busy tricking each other instead of shaking down leaves, many of the lovely trees in Equestria are still covered,” Celestia explained pointing a hoof at all of the trees that indeed still had their leaves on them.
“Why Princess, I bet we can have those leaves knocked down for you lickety-split!” AJ looked confident as she looked over at Dash and asked, “What do ya say, friend? Wanna go fer another run?”
“I’d LOVE to stretch my legs!” Dash grinned as she dashed off, AJ following suit after her, but this time it seemed much friendlier than before.
As AJ and Dash raced down the pathway and everypony was heading home, talking excitedly about this year’s race, I went up to Celestia, who looked curious at what I would ask.
“Princess Celestia, I have a question that’s been burning in the back of my mind for many years now, and only just now do I feel the urgent need to ask and since you’re available for a small moment,” I asked Celestia as formally as I could.
“Oh? And what could that question be, Medley?” Celestia raised an eyebrow and a small smile.
I looked up at her and asked in the calmest voice I could manage, “What happened to my attacker? I know you must’ve found her by now.”
At this, Celestia looked saddened and Twilight gave me a cross look for upsetting her. But before Twilight could speak, Celestia answered in a regretful voice, “I’m sorry Medley… but your attacker hasn't been found since the very beginning. She is surprisingly hard to find. We are working as hard as we can, however, to make sure we find this pony and see justice be delivered.”
“But… Princess Celestia, I don’t understand. I thought you had an highly trained group that could easily find others, especially unicorns!” I stomped a hoof angrily.
Celestia looked even more saddened as she gave me even more bad news. “Unfortunately, even we cannot seem to track her by normal means, or even by stranger ways. And thus, we are forced to keep searching on hoof and wing until we find your attacker.”
My body shook with anger at the unfairness of the world, as it seemed that no good deed went unpunished. I was about angrily say so before Twilight cut me with. It was rather scary to see her with a more sadistic and bloodthirsty grin.
“Princess Celestia, as I was born and raised in the fields of magic, especially that of Starswirl the Bearded, I've come across some hidden spells that may be of use to help find and take her down. And since I know some ponies in Canterlot, I believe I can call upon a very nice lawyer to help open the case and quickly get a case going,” Twilight planned.
Celestia started to smile at this and nod. “Of course, my faithful student. I will vouch for your lawyer and of course be the impartial judge on the appeal.” She then winked at the both of us before she headed off to Canterlot, leaving behind the trial details along with a time and location for a trial and some books on laws. One was, appropriately named enough, “Laws for Dummies: The Innies and Outies of the Political System”.
Twilight and I brought the supplies over to her home and started to draft out a plan of action for getting the trial done the right way, which meant to try and stick the runaway mare with everything we could. It soon was getting late and it was time for me to head back home. So, with a cheerful goodbye, I quickly flew home and put up my medal, giving a small smile as I promised myself to do better next year and possibly beat Twilight. I soon went to sleep, planning out a few more details and ideas for the inevitable trial against the mare that nearly ruined my life. I wouldn’t ask for the death penalty of course, but if they ended up giving it, I wouldn't try and lessen it any, as she nearly ended my life with that spell. I fell asleep with a smile on my face and one last question burning in the back of my mind: why do my friends think that I sounded sick sometimes?
Ponyville. A peaceful little town/village that normally would be seen as a quaint and isolated getaway vacation spot with friendly locals. However, it’s also home to many terrors, and home to the 7 Elements of Harmony and their Bearers. In short… my kind of place to live. Unfortunately, peace always has a fun way of being disturbed. Take for example, your friends dragging you out of bed so that you can visit another friend who’s busy with their work. In short, my wake-up call, as I was dragged out of bed by an uber-excited Pinkie and a giggle from AJ, Dash, Fluttershy, and Twilight, who looked like they got the same kind of wake-up call, but managed to fix themselves along the way. Interestingly, Rarity was not the one to do this, as she was the one busy working.
“Come on come on come on come on!” Pinkie bounced impatiently as I groggily got up, blinking the sleep out of my eyes.
“Wuzz goin’ on? Fi’ht?” I mumbled out as I began to wake up more and more.
“Nah, though I wish, cause that would be awesome!” I heard Dash complain before she explained, “We’re going over to Rarity’s to look at some fancy-smancy dresses for the Triple G.”
“She sang a song and everything too!” Pinkie added in, bouncing now excitedly.
“She’s also made you a tuxedo for the Gala as well, Medley. And before you can refuse, it’s far too late now and she’s already made it along with our dresses,” Twilight smiled a bit.
“Oh alright. Can I at least get myself through a shower and clean myself up a little?” I caved in from the puppy dog eyes I was starting to get from all the girls. Even Dash and AJ got in on the act, and I swear they did it just to make sure I would agree.
I made it through my routine pretty fast for a normal day and we all eventually headed out to Rarity’s boutique. We made some small conversation on the way, but it all came to an end once we reached Rarity’s place, with Rarity standing outside looking ecstatic.
“Oh I’m so glad you girls and Medley could come along! Now you get to see your new outfits!~” Rarity sang as she put blindfolds over us and led us up to her designing room.
When she took off our blindfolds, we all looked over the outfits, completely stunned at what we saw. I have to admit, I don’t have an eye for fashion at all, but even I could tell that these were quite exquisite pieces. AJ’s looked like a more formal version of her usual get-up, with a saddle and tassels included. Twilight’s looked like it had stars literally stitched on around the edges of the almost cape-like dress. Fluttershy’s reminded me of a Poison Ivy type outfit, though a lot more modest and brighter. Dash’s was made fit for a goddess, with a rainbow style dress almost arching along with a victory laurel. Pinkie’s… really, it was like a formal chocolatier's uniform, with sweets placed all around the brim and designs on the bottom of the dress.
My attire, I think, took the cake. Then again, it was MY outfit, so bias beware. It wasn’t like a normal tuxedo, and I got the feeling Rarity wouldn’t settle for that at all. It was ultra formal, with a black coat tailed outer vest, a forest green for the middle piece, making it accented with a grey business vest underneath as the final piece. It also had a red bowtie, a sleek black top hat, and some black formal footwear to complete the set. The designs on the coat tails looked like a treble note and bass note, one on either side that almost looked like my cutie mark was cut down the middle and split. There was also a small pin that had my cutie mark on in on one of the outer vest pockets.
“Aren’t they all amazing?” Rarity looked expectantly at us.
What she got in return, however, were 6 stunned faces and a very awkward pause as we tried to find the words to speak. Eventually, Twilight spoke up.
“Wow…” Twilight began with an awkward smile. “They’re…”
“Yeah! They’re…” Dash tried to continue with that statement, but failed.
“They sure are… uh... Somethin’, “ AJ didn’t help to clarify at all.
“Yes! Something!” Twilight looked like she was saved, though I just raised an eyebrow and she wilted a bit.
“I love something!” Pinkie looked like she had that same kind of smile Twilight had. “Something is my favorite!”
“It’s… nice…” Fluttershy looked saddened by what she saw.
“Well, I think that they look very… unique,” I smiled as I winced at not really helping the situation, or at least the situation I thought was happening.
Rarity looked crestfallen as she tilted her head in confusion as asked politely, “What’s the matter? Don’t you like them?”
The tension in the room just increased from there, as everypony began to shift their eyes away from Rarity, especially AJ.
“They’re very nice,” Twilight responded, trying to keep up her smile.
“And we’re plum grateful ‘cause you worked so hard on ‘em,” AJ kept the awkward train rolling.
“Mine’s just not as cool as I would imagine,” Rainbow finally derailed it, as AJ, Twilight and I gave her a glare, to which she defended to herself, “She asked.”
“I guess what we’re all saying is…” Twilight tried to find the right words.
“Well, what these girls are thinking at any rate. I know I really love the design. Especially how you used my cutie mark, that’s ingenious!” I sincerely complimented her as the other girls (except Rarity, who smiled and waved a hoof, blushing lightly) gave me a strange look before shaking their heads and continuing on.
“They just weren’t what we had in mind,” Twilight finished as Rarity went back to her crushed state at the other girls not being impressed.
As the other girls agreed, Rarity tried to bring herself back up to a happy state, but I could still see some sadness that refused to leave her in her eyes. She eventually spoke up again.
“That’s OK… Not a problem… There’s plenty more where that came from. They’re only a first pass. You’re my friends and I want you to be 110% satisfied!” Rarity reassured everypony. “Not to worry, I’ll redo them!”
“Rarity, please don’t try if you need to. They look marvelous already,” I tried to reason with her, but it seemed it wasn’t going through to her.
“While I would agree a bit, I don’t mind doing this, especially if I want them to be better than marvelous. I want all of you to be absolutely perfect!” Rarity smiled as she put away the previous attire.
“Are you sure? We wouldn’t want to be a bother…” Fluttershy meekly asked.
“Oh, it’s no problem. Really, I do insist!” Rarity sounded a bit more forceful as she put down more attire and gave a determined smile at all of us.
“Well, in that case… Thank you again Rarity!” Twilight thanked Rarity as the girls headed outside, with me staying behind.
“Don’t worry dear, you can go on, I’ll make sure these dresses and your suit are absolutely fabulous!” Rarity waved a hoof at me as she pulled down materials to sew with.
“Rarity, I liked mine just the way it was. There’s no need to imp-” I was cut off by a glare by her.
“Tell me what you can think of to improve yours since you’re still here,” Rarity demanded, completely ignoring my statement.
I sighed and told her a couple of things I could think of off the top of my head and helpfully made a list so that she could check and see if they were completed. She smiled tightly and nodded, forcefully shooing me off with her magic as she got to work. The odd thing was, she told me to check in with the Ponyville General Hospital for any sign of sickness before making me leave. I was very confused, but shrugged and went off to the hospital to check for any diseases, hoping she didn’t stress herself too badly in remaking the dresses.
It took a while, especially with the other girls stopping by and ‘helping’ Rarity with their personal dresses. I made sure to at least check in on her every other day to see how well she was doing and for her to take a small break and just relax. But finally, she said that the dresses and tuxedo were finally done and that I could get the girls. We all soon gathered, the girls eagerly anticipating theirs while I had on a blank expression, not really liking that I was forced to change something that I truly was fine with.
“OK girls… And Medley. I did EXACTLY what each of you asked for. Now, don’t hold back! Let me know what you think!” Rarity pulled aside a curtain, revealing the new… designs?
Oh dear LaurFastia. While the girls were busy gushing over their dresses, my eyes slowly widened a bit, which anypony could mistake it for awe, when in fact it was sheer terror. What in Tartarus were the girls thinking? What the bucking Tartarus was I thinking?! I was starting to agree with Opal, who was glaring and hissing a bit at the new disasters of fashion.
“It’s exactly what I asked for!” The girls cried out in joy as I mouthed the words in horror.
Rarity gave a sigh of relief as Twilight thanked Rarity once more. Then Pinkie asked the question i was figuring the answer too, and it wasn’t a good one either.
“Are you as happy with the dresses and suit as we are, huh, huh?” Pinkie rapid-fire asked as Rarity blanched a bit (impressive with a white coat).
“Well… I’m happy, that all of you are happy,” Rarity evaded the question a bit, but I didn’t blame her as I was transfixed with the flawed designs. “I’m just relieved to finally be done, especially since I had to take a break here and there thanks to Medley.”
As the girls turned to look at me, Spike opened the door and caught his breath, diverting the attention away from me.
“You are never gonna believe this!” Spike announced, “You’ve heard of Hoity Toity?”
“The bigwig fashion hotshot in Canterlot?” Twilight wanted to clarify as both Rarity and I started having looks of dread.
“Uh-huh! He heard about your fashion show! Well, maybe I mentioned it to him… Anyways, he’s coming here, all the way from Canterlot just to see your show, Rarity!”
“Whoa nelly!” AJ was very surprised as she turned to face Rarity, stating, “You could sell alotta dresses and tuxes ta this guy! Yer business would be boomin’ in no time!”
Rarity gave an awkward smile as she looked at all of us as I started to pale, not noticeably though. This would do the complete opposite and probably ruin her for good in the fashion world to show off these dresses. However, I didn’t know what to do in this situation, so I just had to hope he cancelled at the last minute due to celebrity reasons.
Unfortunately, it seemed that luck was against us this time, as it as late evening and the crowd was starting to gather. It got noticeably quieter from behind the curtain near the start of the show, so I assumed that Hoity Toity had indeed shown up to watch this fashion disaster waiting to happen. I was trying not to just make a break for it and hope no one saw me, but I knew better than to try my luck at the moment. I had just finished putting on all the pieces of my design when the music started to play and I sighed a bit, hoping it was better in the light than it was in the dark.
When the curtain opened and I stepped out with my friends, I could immediately tell that it was not the case at all, for anypony. Twilight had a dress that seemed to be made of constellations from the night sky (most likely accurate too) along with a headband made of stars. Pinkie’s looked like a giant cupcake in all forms, which included a giant, most likely edible, cupcake as her hat, as well as some party balloons tied to her tail. Dash looked the least cringe-worthy out of all of us, but she still seemed to be like a windblown rainbow pretending to be a deity. Fluttershy looked like a caricature of nature, with a bird’s nest as a hat, two petal rings on her neck, and neon green floral patterns on her dress. AJ’s was… a very fancy version of her regular working outfit, with bright colors clashing against one another, mainly the red and yellow.
As for me, it was as if two different ponies were trying to make a costume and literally split it down the middle. One half was like a fashionable hobo, with stylized rips and tears along side it, with half a snowcap on top of it, completely colored red. This totally went against the other side, with was like a lawyer’s regular outfit, except a sky blue color, even the half of a fedora sitting on the other side of the head. I was completely embarrassed of what I was enduring, which wasn’t helped by the crowd’s completely stunned and disgusted looks.
“Do you think we overdid it?” Dash whispered to us, the audience drowning out the sound to themselves as we gave ourselves a once-over.
AJ shook her head and replied, “Nah,” before looking at her outfit and quickly rescinded it with a, “OK, maybe we did.”
“I didn’t even ask for this one! I was just fine with the stuff we had before you girls insisted on changes,” I muttered, the girls giving me an angry look.
At that point, I just simply shut my mouth and dealt with the scorn and horror of the crowd before happily getting behind the curtain and getting out of the atrocity. I was just about to throw it away, but some part of me disagreed and it ended slipping into my saddlebags without the girls noticing.
We all met up near Rarity’s place and went up to her door, Pinkie knocking on it.
“Rarity? You in there? Are you alright? You haven’t come out for days!” Pinkie worriedly asked, surprisingly not being too blunt for once.
“I’m never coming out!” Rarity responded dramatically, continuing with, “I can’t show my face in Ponyville ever again! I used to be somepony! I used to be respected! I made dresses, beautiful, beautiful dresses! But now… everypony is laughing at me! I’m nothing but a laughingstock!”
As Rarity went into a small bit of hysterics, we all shook our heads a bit at her usual melodrama. Though this time, I would admit that it was a little bit warranted, considering she showcased her worst designs in history to somepony important from Canterlot. I was also silently thanking LaurFastia that Celestia or Luna didn’t attend as well. Those results would have been more catastrophic.
“You’re not a laughingstock Rarity,” Twilight tried to soothe Rarity a bit.
“She kinda is!” Dash blurted out, to which she got a glare from Twilight before Twilight tried again.
“Come on out and talk to us,” Twilight pleaded.
“Leave me alo-o-o-o-one! I want to be alone! I want to wallow in… Whatever ponies are supposed to wallow in!” Rarity cried as she went on this vein of pity and logic, “Do ponies wallow in pity? Listen to me, I don’t even know what I’m supposed to wallow in! I-I’m so pathe-e-e-etic!”
“Well, now what do we do?” I asked as we listened to her wail and cry.
“Um… Panic?” Fluttershy meekly offered, much to our non-surprise.
“That’s your answer for everything!” Dash shook her head in annoyance.
“Well, we can’t just leave Rarity like this!” AJ called out, pointing at the door with a hoof.
“She’ll become a crazy cat mare!” Pinkie cried in horror as we gave her an odd look and a small scowl.
“And for land’s sake Med, git to the hospital already!” AJ gave me a glare now as I returned it.
“I already have. There’s nothing wrong with me.” I angrily replied, “Plus, I still didn’t say anything at all!”
“Quiet you two! You’re both acting like little foals,” Twilight shushed us as she looked into the keyhole and she looked like she struck upon an idea.
We came by during the night to quickly sneak off what looked like Rarity’s dress for the Gala and the plans to go with it. The girls did the actual work on it, I was to be the morale supporter, as apparently they didn’t trust me with any of the fabric or other accessories, which was probably a good idea. It was late morning before the girls were finally done, and I would have to admit, it was breathtakingly beautiful.
We had Dash pick up Opal and put her up in a tree so that Rarity would actually have to leave the house. We all stood in front of the mannequin holding the dress so that the surprise wasn’t ruined as Rarity bolted out the door towards Dash.
“Rainbow Dash?! How dare you leave my poor Opal in a tree!” Rarity scolded Dash, who still kept up her smirk.
“Well, how else were we gonna get you out here to show you… this!” Dash pointed her head at us, as we stepped off to the side, revealing the dress in it’s full and finished glory.
We all smiled and hid some giggles and chuckles as Rarity tried to find words as she tried to comprehend what she was seeing. After a small moment, Pinkie spoke up, explaining what we had done.
“We all finished our dress for you!” Pinkie simplified in a short and sweet sentence.
(Aw, thanks Mr. Writer! Hehe, sweet?) (Pinkie! Get back in the story! Please?) (Oh alright, but seriously, what’s up with Med? Is he-)
“Thanks ta Fluttershy’s freaky knowledge of sewing, Twilight keepin’ track of stuff and plans and Med’s singin’, we got this done lickety-split for ya!” AJ answered the unasked question.
“Do… Do you like it?” Fluttershy asked with a hopeful tone of voice.
“Like it?” Rarity asked as she inspected the dress, repeating, “Like it?”
“Oh no… She doesn’t like it…” Fluttershy started to get saddened as we all started to worry a bit.
“No, I don’t like it,” Rarity declared, causing us all to sigh with sadness, before she grinned and turned around to face us, continuing with, “I love it!”
This instantly turned our moods a full 180, causing everypony to cheer.
“You ponies did an amazing job! It’s exactly the way I imagined it!” Rarity smiled at us as she took another look at the dress.
“They just kept me out of the way as they followed the plan under Twilight’s guidance,” I chuckled a bit, as Rarity and the girls giggled at the small joke.
“We should’ve followed your guidance when you thought of the perfect dresses for us,” Twilight looked guilty as she went on, “Those first dresses you made for us were perfect. Medley’s tuxedo was perfect as well, though I don’t know why he wanted changes to his at all when he said right from the beginning he was happy with his.”
“That’s the thing Twilight: I DON’T know why. Especially when Rarity asked me to visit the hospital for anything wrong with me. For that, I have to apologize as well, to ask making another tuxedo for me when it was clear the first one was magnificent,” I looked down in shame.
“We’re super sorry about this…” Pinkie apologized as the girls did what I was doing, except Rainbow, who flew down with Opal on her back.
“You worked REALLY hard on those dresses for us and tux for Med here exactly how we wanted them. We all saw how well THAT turned out,” Dash looked guilty as well now as Opal jumped onto Rarity’s back.
“Oh, I forgive you… All of you,” Rarity smiled as she approached us, our faces a little lighter now.
“Well, that’s mighty big of ya,” AJ started before she was cut off by Rarity melodrama.
“But my whole career is still in ruins!” Rarity cried, pointing out that not everything was fixed.
“Oh… yeah…” AJ lamely said, looking downtrodden.
“Don’t worry Rarity. I still had some influence in Canterlot. I went and see if Hoity Toity could come back for a redo. Turns out… he could,” I smirked a bit as everyone looked over at Hoity Toity, who had just arrived.
“Alright, I haven’t got all day,” Hoity Toity impatiently asked as we all quickly hurried inside, looking a lot more eager than the last time we did this.
Once Rarity got the show underway, it was like… well, it’d be bad to say night and day, especially with the two rulers of Equestria, but it’s the one that best fit. Instead of having a runway during the late evening, it was a stage inside the boutique, with all other sources of light cut off as Rarity used some magic to create some pretty good illusions as backdrops for each pony. I could hear Hoity Toity getting more and more impressed as each of us came on.
For my part, Rarity used a simple bar line being made in the air, piece by piece, as I sang each note with crystal clarity, landing in a pose that showed off every part of my outfit.
“Now this brings back memories of your symphonies Mr. Royalwind! Simply spectacular!” Hoity Toity cried out as we seamlessly moved on to the next pony.
At the end of the show, we had clearly changed Hoity Toity’s mind, as he was clapping and cheering on Rarity, who thanked him repeatedly. Before he left, he pulled me off to the side to talk for a little bit, as I took off my tuxedo.
“That was definitely worth the return trip here. However, I still want some compensation. I’m a busy stallion after all,” Hoity Toity asked me once I was fully out of the tuxedo.
“Of course. However, I have one more favor to ask. You do it, and I can see you having the best seats in the house for my grand opening at the Gala this year,” I smirked a bit, though inside I felt sick at having to bribe and bargain with any noble from Canterlot, even one of the newer ones like Hoity Toity himself.
He looked very interested as he leaned in a bit closer to hear and asked, “And what might that be? Do remember that it’s a public concert with nothing but the best musicians from across Canterlot.”
“Ah, but not the opening. You can thank Celestia for that. This year, musicians will be playing in the background for most of the Gala, but about an hour in, those who can buy tickets will be treated to a private concert. With nothing but the songs handpicked by said best musicians and with me as the singer. You do remember how well I sang?” I raised an eyebrow and chuckled a bit, as did Hoity Toity.
“Very well then. What’s the favor?” Hoity Toity asked.
“You know that my career was almost destroyed that faithful night? Well, it seems an trial is coming around and I’m going to see myself winning this. What won’t hurt me however is to have an upstanding stallion like yourself along with a few other nobles defending me,” I laid it out plainly.
“Hm… if you win, this could be another boost to me standing, not to mention those tickets. And from what I saw that night, you might win this in a landslide,” Hoity Toity thought about it for a moment before nodding, “I agree to the favor. Now, I must be off. Give Celestia’s pupil my regards as well as Ms. Rarity. Audieu.”
I sighed in relief once he had left for good this time. All I needed to do now was to get the tickets and get a few more nobles on my side to secure my vote. However, with a case as easy as this, all I really would need is just another family or two. Still, politics are a pain in the rear to deal with, and I had no interest in doing this ever again. Then again, knowing my luck… well, I would complain about it if the time came.
We all put away our Gala clothing in a special storage room so that they would remain in perfect condition when the time came. The girls said their goodnights to me and the others and ent on their way. I was about to do the same, but I was soon stopped by Rarity, who looked a little flustered.
“I want to thank you Medley. For both helping me with my stress when the girls insisted on new designs and for helping me get my career back up to where it was. This might have possibly even boosted it,” Rarity thanked me.
“It was no problem at all, Rarity. Besides, I understand how it is to be a professional and have others with less knowledge try to improve it. DO remember my singing career and job,” I grinned and chuckled a bit.
Rarity giggled a bit as well as she unexpectedly gave me a kiss on the cheek and told me, “Still, you helped me out, being generous enough to spend some time destressing me. I’ll make sure that you and Twilight get a dance together during the Gala as a way to repay you.”
My face must’ve been a sight to behold as Rarity started laughing and shooed me out the door before I could respond. I stumbled back home in a daze, not knowing what had just happened… well, in general, for this whole event. What did she mean by ‘making sure me and Twilight had a dance together’? Did she think I had a crush on her or something? Preposterous! But even as I finish this, I still wonder why she had said that, and had made that travesty of a tuxedo when I very clearly showed that I was perfectly fine with the original. Oh well, perhaps I could solve that mystery another day. Hopefully…
Well, damn it. It seems after all that excitement, I had completely forgotten to check up on how Trixie was doing. Not that she was someone I could ever forget, but in all the excitement of Zecora coming to Ponyville, an infestation of Parasprites, a near fashion disaster, and the death-defying experience that was a dragon ready to sleep near Ponyville, one tends to lose track of things. So, after falling out of the bed tangled in the sheets and getting ready for the day like normal, I went off in search of Trixie’s caravan/mobile home. I looked around for a while before I finally found it. Strangely enough, it was in the exact same spot she left it in when she came into town. I knocked on the door politely and waited patiently for her to answer before I also realized that she was an entertainer, which meant a lot of work to be done. As I was about to leave though, the door opened and Trixie was at the door, smiling a bit nervously when she realized it was me.
“Hello once again Medley. It’s been awhile, hasn’t it?” She asked with a raised eyebrow.
I sheepishly smiled and kicked a hoof. “Sorry about that Trixie. But duty calls as an Element Bearer, and schoolwork can be burdening on one’s self. Thankfully I’ve finished all the exams and concert pieces and let the little ones have their fun time. Last class of the day too, so they can leave whenever.”
“I see,” Trixie seemed to be less worried and smirked a bit. “You do realize you can ask Trix- me- to perform at the elementary school, right?”
“Yeah… I realize this. I’m not great with remembering things when it doesn’t relate to music. And when you’re doing a bunch of crazy things in a short amount of time, well…” I trailed off, looking a bit embarrassed.
Trixie giggled and waved a hoof inside. “Well since you’re stopping by, I can at least give you a bit of the total payment. Surprisingly, I managed to make about 10,000 bits so far, leaving you with a 10% total of about 1,000 bits. However, most of the shows were charity, so they’ve been donated at this point. What I managed to get from shows for my profit was around 1,000, which leaves you with 100 actual bits to spend. Don’t get too wild with it now.”
I rolled my eyes a bit and chuckled. “Hey, you managed to take off a chunk of the debt, that’s still good to me. Besides, I never planned on getting much money from this at all. Like I said, it was more so to teach you a lesson and remind you that actions have consequences.”
“You sound a lot like Twilight Sparkle there for a moment from what I overhear from her annunciated letters to the Princess,” Trixie commented as she passed over a bottle of apple cider, pure green apple if you please, with a straw in it for easy drinking.
I raised an eyebrow a bit, taking a gulp of the cider. “Now what do you mean by that statement, Trixie? And thank you for the cider, very delicious.”
“Not a problem, Medley. And you know fully well what I mean by that,” Trixie smirked as I gave her an oblivious look.
“You didn’t answer the question there,” I restated, causing her to giggle and shake her head at me.
“Why must the stallions always be so clueless?” She looked at me and smiled, plainly saying, without any sort of hidden tones, “You have a crush on Twilight Sparkle, don’t you.”
I stared at her for a moment before vigorously shaking my head. “I do not have a crush on her! She’s just a friend!”
“Oh? I see then,” Trixie kept grinning as she pondered for a moment, randomly saying, “What’s her favorite book?”
“The History of Equestria: Unabridged Edition, signed by Celestia herself,” I rattled off without thinking at all.
“Favorite color?”
“The colors of her mane and midnight blues.”
“Usual lunch?”
“A daisy sandwich with a glass of milk to go with it.”
Trixie giggled as I stopped and looked at her. I was coming to a realization that I might’ve possibly had a crush on her, but I refused to accept it. After all, even in a paradise like this, there was no such thing as ‘love at first sight’.
“So, you don’t have a crush on Twilight Sparkle at all, you say? Trixie finds that to be a bit odd, considering what you knew about her,” She calmed down enough to speak again, still grinning at my expression.
“Still, she’s just a friend that happens to be a mare. That’s not uncommon in Equestria, is it?” I tried to rebuttal her, but even to me it sounded like an excuse.
Trixie just shook her head and changed the subject of conversation, letting me sigh in relief.
“Though Tr- I- must ask… why was your tuxedo so… strange, during that fashion show that unicorn put on? I was in the very back and it seemed very unlike you, from what little I’ve heard and seen from you before,” Trixie asked.
I froze up a bit at that answer, though I wasn’t sure why. After all, I could tell the truth and say that I had no bucking clue what in Tartartus caused me to ask and wear that… thing. But for some reason, it felt like it would be lying to a friend.
“I… I’m honestly not quite sure at all why, Trixie. Perhaps my memory isn’t as good as I thought it was?” I offered.
Trixie’s glare showed that she didn’t believe me for a second, which was further supported by her next sentence, “I know that you’re lying to me, Medley. Tell Trixie the truth, immediately!”
I tried to speak up before a blinding headache caused me to drop my cider and stumble a bit, yelling in pain. I yelled out as I felt my body change, but my eyes were closed and as soon as it ended, I blacked out. But before I did, I could hear a small gasp escaping from Trixie, meaning that something had happened, and not at all for good.
The conversation that took place was added later, with help from Trixie
“̧A͝h͜,͢ ̛so m͝uc̵h b͢e̛ţter͜ n͘o͘w̕ ̷t҉h͡a̧t ͠Ì’m͡ ̕f̛r͞ee~͏”̀ I smirked as I stretched out my hooves, letting out a few shots of magic to warm it up a bit.
“Wh-What in the name of LaurFastia?! Who the Tartarus are you?! And what have you done to Medley?!” Trixie cried out, readying her own magic.
I chuckled as I changed the surrounding area to look more like home, causing her to shriek in surprise. ̕“W̸el̸l̡,͞ ỳo̧u c͢ou̡l̸d ̀say͜ t͝hat ͜I’̀m j̴u̧st́ a…͏ gue̛s҉t͢… ͟in ̷Me̛dley͠’s͠ ͢body.”̶
“Back demon! Give me back Medley!” She cried out as she shot a pathetically weak spell at me.
“I̡’m͜ ͜af͢r͞ai͠d no͟t, Miss Lu͜l͘am̶oo͢n,̛” I shook my head as I casually shot the spell back at her, missing her by an inch, which caused her to pale considerably. “͟In ͜fact͡, ̴I ̡h҉a͢ve͞ all̸ th̨e ti̸m̶é ̀in͞ t́h͞e͠ ̴wo̵r̴ld ŕight n͏o ͠t̸o̢ do as̀ I ̨w̨ish~”̷
“Wh-What do you mean by that? And who are you?” Trixie trembled, most likely in fear, which is always good in my book.
“̀Nam͘es͠ h͟av̡e ҉powèr,͘ ҉Mis͘ś Ĺulam͟oon. ̷It’̵s̷ ņo͟t w̨i̸se t͟o re̛v̴éa͢ĺ ́o̧ne̴’͝s ńaḿe̶ cas̨u̷al͢ly. As f͠or͠ ̛wha͠t ̀m͟y ̧p̕u͢rpo̧se is…͝ ̴W̡e͢ll,̛ ̧l͟e̛t’̸s͢ ͝j̵u͞st ̧s͏ay̸ it i͠sń’ţ ver̀y f̸riendly,”~”̴ I chuckled darkly.
“What do you want with Trixie then?” She asked, rather fearfully, and rightly so.
I looked over at her with appraising eyes, calculating her worth. “̧Hm̡…͡ ͏A slig̴htly abov̸e ̡ma̷gic͞a po̸ol… No̸t̀ t̢o͜o b́a̧d̕ ̨of̀ ͏a f̧i͘gu͞r̴e ͞ei̛t̶h̴er… ́Y̸o͠u̢ ͠w͘ould ͘p͢erh̛a͏ps͢ ̶m̸a͡ke͜ ̢a͡ d̢e͟cent̷ c̕o͢n̴cu҉bine͡ o͏nce ̕I͝ ̵t̢ak̨e o̧v̨er̢ ͞Èqu͘èstri͝a ̛wi͘ţh͢ ͡t̶he͢ ͠C͟a͘ribo̷u.̷”̕
Trixie’s blood ran cold at the mention of the Caribou. That particular race was banned from all civilised nations, essentially banished to the farthest regions to the arctic tundras. They were well known for their blatant misogyny, seeing mares and females of any species weak and useful only to males for pleasure and breeding. They particularly liked capturing ponies because of the way their government empowers females more so than males. It got to the point of the Royal Sisters themselves intervening and personally dealing with the Caribou threat. They had remained dormant for a long time, for about a 1000 years, give or take a decade, but they could easily be persuaded to once again attack Equestria and conquer it for themselves.
“You… You monster!” Trixie shuddered as she looked around, most likely trying to find an exit. “How could you do such a thing?! Have you no honor or morals at all?”
I shrugged as I laid back comfortably, relaxed just like a cat would be. “I d͡o͟ǹ’͏t pla͘n o̡n ̨kèe̵p͏ing͝ ͝the͜m͡ a͢r͟o̕und̴ fǫr͢ long ̧a҉n̕yw̕ay̴s͢.̴ I’̀ll k͜ee͜p ̛t̕hem̸ ͜unt̸iĺ t̕h̨ey ҉com̀plete͜l̢y͠ ruĺe͞ over ̷t͘h̡i҉s c͢ount͠r̕y,͝ t̀h͘en͡ ͞t̶a̶k̸e ̀ço̢nt͏ro͡l̸ m̵y̡şe͏lf.̵ Us͏ef҉u͘l̶ as͘ fod҉d҉er an͜d ͜as͠ sca҉pȩgo̵at̶s̨ ̛f́or̢ my̡ ̕plan҉ ́f̀o̢r͠ ̵e̢v̵en͜tu̸a͟l̀ w͜o̡r͢l̴d̀ ̶domínati͡on. E҉qu̴est̸r̴ia̧’s͠ t͡he͠ ̛pe̛rf͜ect͢ pļác͟e̴ ͘t̡o st͢ar͜t, as̵ ͡I ̷ca͞n̛ ͏at ͟l͝e̡a҉s͞t͟ som̛e͠wh͟at́ agree wi҉th́ the C͏aribòu:́ ͟f̨ęma̷les ̵s̀hoưld҉n̡’t͢ b̷e̴ in sųch̶ hi̛gh̶ ͢po̕s̕i̡ti̶ons͞ ͝of̢ ͡po̸we̕r͞, es͜pec̶i̴al͏ly ̴w̢ith̕ r̷ul͝i̷ng ͜ov̨er͠ ̢an ̡e͠ntire͝ couņţr̀y͘. I̵nste̛a̷d, st͏a͝llions̴ s̶h͏oưl̛ḑ be v̸o͡te͘d ͢int̵o̶ of̵f̸ic͢e̴, m͢u҉c͜h ̡l͝ike a͝ may͢or͏ would b͡e͜. Th̷is ̢w̛ay͟,̶ ͡the co͞u̷ntry shòuld̴ ͜p͡ro͏s̸p̧èr̀ ́g͡r҉ȩa̧t͞e̸r͟ o͟n̴c͝e ́i͡t̡’͢s̷ b̷eińg͝ ̡led̕ b̢y͞ a͢ ̶male ̴who̶ ͏was ͞v̷o҉te͟d͡ ̸by͠ ̡the ̀p̴ơni҉es wh̀o͟ m͟at̢t͘e͟r.”
Trixie blinked and stumbled back a bit by the analytical tone I was using before taking in my full appearance. “What in the name of Equestria ARE you?”
“My͜ ͞f̧orm҉?͞ Oh̵,̕ ͢t̶hat͘’s v͡er͞y ͜s̡im͘p͝l͘e.́ ͘I̢’̕ḿ ͘pa̢rt̷ po̡n͜y ̕a͢n͝d ͡part h̕u̷man̷.̡ À ̕cen̢t̴a̸u̢r, ͏if̀ you ͝w̕i͢l͘l̵,”҉ I smirked as I clarified, “̀Ju̢şt ̴a b̕i͝t͝ ͜dįffe̴r͜ent f͜r͝o͏m͡ ͏th̨e ̵o͜n͢es͞ iń your̛ ͜wor̡l̴d.̧”̢
“Part… part human?” Trixie stammered as she took a step back from me. “But, but those are just mythical creatures! Never has one existed in this world, and especially not a demon like yourself!”
“͡Yǫu҉ a̷ŗe ̸p͝a̷rt͞i҉all͠ỳ right̨. I̸ ͢wa̡s not́ ͡na͢t͜ive҉ly͜ bor̛n͡ ͢l̸ike͝ t͏his in ̴y̢o̵ưr ҉wǫrld҉.́ ҉R͠ather, ͠I am t̀h̷e̶ ̕br̀i͞dg͏e ̷that̛ ̕is th̶e g͏a͢p ̀be̕tw҉e͝e͞n b҉ot͟h ͞w͠o̡rlds͘ ̵th͜ąt͟ I ̛n͡o͡w h͝ai͟l͠ f̶rom. I̷ ́rȩp̛res͡ent h̕uma͡ni͠ty’̧s͢ ̸an̶d҉ ͞p̵ony҉ kin̨d’́s ̕wòrs̀t͜ flaws͡,̕ ́a ̧d̴e҉m͟ón̸ ̵i̸n ͝a͞l͏l ̶p҉ra͢ctića͞l ͞t͜erm̕s̷.̵ ̢As ͞f̵or ҉wh҉y̢ ̢I’̧m͠ h̕e͏re͘ n͡o̷w…͟ I’m ̵ju̶s͝t̸ ͝si̵m̶p̢ly҉ bore̡d͜ ̸and̛ ne͞èd ͡so͟meth͟ing ͜tơ amu̶şe m̧y͞s̸e̷lf̢ w̨i̕t̡h.̸ ̢Pla͠ying ̧a̵round҉ ̴w͏ìth ̀m̶o͡r͝t̛als͠ ͡a͞r̸e̢ alw͢ay̷s ̕go̢od ̡fo̸r̀ ̵a c͢húck̀le͜,̛”̴ I grinned as I looked down at Trixie.
She was about to speak before I grimace in pain a bit. Apparently my host had decided to fight back, but rather than the previous attempts, which could be ignored with ease, this one felt like an alicorn was directing all of it’s power at my mental barrier. I started to hold my head in my hands, the surroundings bleeding back to what it was before my changes to it. I then roared in pain, as I was forcefully pushed back into a corner of the mind, locked away very tightly before darkness flooded my vision.
End of added conversation
I groaned in pain as I got up on wobbly hooves, looking blearily all around me. It felt like my wings were on fire, my head was pounding and my hooves felt very weak, like they were supporting more weight than they should’ve.
“Oh thank LaurFastia, you’re back!” Trixie called out in relief and joy as she hugged me, squeezing out all the air in my lungs.
“What… Trixie… Air…” I managed to wheeze out as she blushed a little bit, letting go of me as I sat down, trying to get back to normal.
“What in Equestria just happened?” Trixie asked as she looked at me concernedly.
“Funny, I was just about to ask that myself,” I looked at her strangely.
“You… You don’t even know at all? About him?” Trixie looked dumbfounded as I started feeling better.
“Who on Equus are you talking about?” I raised an eyebrow as I got back on my hooves, feeling much stronger than before.
“Trixie cannot believe she has to say this… You have a demon inside you for LaurFastia’s sake! A damned soul inside you trying to break free!” Trixie yelled at me, making me flinch and take a few steps back.
“Wh-What? A demon? That can’t be so, I would know if there was some kind of demon inside me,” I tried to rationalize, yet it was starting to make more and more sense the longer I thought about it.
It now suddenly started to make sense why my friends thought I had a cold whenever they looked at me strangely. It would also explain my first reaction to hearing that Trixie was back in town and why it felt like someone was always watching me. I shivered a bit as I heard a cold and quiet chuckle in the back of my mind before it was crushed ruthlessly by some kind of force.
“...I need to contact the Princesses. Immediately,” I spoke hurriedly as I started to run out the door, soon running into a magical barrier.
“Trixie thinks not now,” She gave me a look as she further explained, “As Trixie was key witness to this, you’ll be needing to bring her along. For another, you could simply ask Twilight Sparkle to have her contact and bring the Princesses here.”
I started to marginally calm down enough to nod in agreement, as she took down the barrier and ran off alongside me, getting to the Library in record time. I practically pounded on the door to the library, Spike answering the door, giving me an odd look.
“Med? What brings you here? Something important?” Spike asked before he was nearly bowled over as I ran inside, calling for Twilight.
“I do apologize for Medley. It seems some… disturbing… information has been brought to light and he needs to contact the Princesses,” Trixie explained as Twilight quickly came running down the stairs.
“Spike, send a letter quickly to both Princesses! This is urgent and we need their power and expertise immediately!” Twilight shouted at Spike, who hurriedly nodded and sent off two short letters to both Princess Luna and Princess Celestia.
Within moments, both sisters appeared in the balcony, worry and fear prominent in their expressions. I vaguely heard Trixie tell Spike to get out of the home and to the local arcade, most likely to both distract him and to keep him out of the way, but soon the only voices I could really hear were the Princesses and Twilight.
“What has befallen the stallion Medley? Art thou stable?” Luna asked worriedly as her old speech patterns emerged.
“What would require BOTH of us, especially during twilight hours?” Celestia repeated, both princesses giving their full, undivided attention.
“Your Majesties, I do apologize, but I feel that there is a crisis that could be catastrophic if left unattended,” Trixie spoke up as she looked at me, continuing, “There is a demon spirit living inside him, much like the Wendigos, but a true demon. His plans were… gastly.”
“Explain, fair mare! What foul demon? What plans have they concocted?” Luna demanded.
Trixie took a shaky breath and relayed the information, “This demon’s name… he would not tell it. His plans were to… to join with the Caribou, helping them take over and conquer Equestria brutally. Once that was accomplished, he would dispose of the Caribou, making himself the ruler of Equestria, and with it change the foundations of the laws in Equestria to benefit males greatly over females and then let the next leader be voted into power, most likely letting only stallions vote.”
Everyone was stunned by the news, especially me, as I could hear the cold chuckling in my mind start to be audible again. Both Princesses looked frozen, and Twilight… I could feel a small pang somewhere in me as she stared at me, her eyes filled with horror and fear.
“That explains so much… The strange voice that you couldn’t hear and we thought was just an illness… The comments themselves…” Twilight recalled.
“Unfortunately, we no longer can simply banish the demon away from the body. A demon is naturally Chaotic, and while Harmonic magic does work, Order magic does not. As alicorns, we both have become filled with Order magic. Thus, we can only further bury the demon inside your mind, Medley,” Celestia sadly explained.
“Unless…” Luna looked over at Twilight and Trixie, looking like an idea was being formed in her head.
“Sister, what are you planning?” Celestia asked, looking over at the two of them before it seemed like she was making the same plan. “Dear sister, what you’re planning is very dangerous. One misstep, and this will become disastrous.”
“It is worth at least a try, dear sister! They are the only ones who can do it! It also helps that one is an above-average unicorn and another is your on student,” Luna shot back, confusing all of us.
“Princess Celestia… Princess Luna… what are you two talking about?” Twilight nervously asked.
“While it is true that alicorns only have Order magic, unicorns themselves have Harmony magic. While we can only bury the demon… you both have the capabilities of actually sending the demon straight back into the jaws of Tartarus, where it belongs,” Princess Luna explained, slowly losing the olden accent.
Trixie and Twilight looked at each other, having a silent conversation before they both nodded, while I asked the important question on my mind, “What happens… if they don’t succeed?”
Princess Celestia answered, a bit of terror in her voice, “Then… Then Medley will be the only being banished… Meaning the demon is free to take over.”
Our blood ran cold as we gulped. Or at least, that’s what happened to me for sure. It was a pretty high-risk bet, that’s for sure. Either me or the demon would be sent to Tartarus while the other would get to keep the body. I had to admit, this was not the first thing I thought about as I woke up this morning. At least this could be dealt with early so that something couldn’t try and surface my demon. Silver linings, I guess.
“Trixie, Twilight… I am willing to undergo the process as long as you both are willing to do it. I now know the risks, but I am willing to take them. Besides… I have good feelings about this,” I smiled nervously at them as they nodded and had a private conversation between themselves.
While they were doing that, I saw Luna smiling slightly and shaking her head, saying quietly to me, “Next time, let us meet in a much less dire situation, shall we? While a Princess’ job can be stuffy, we don’t need this kind of dynamic break from it. For once, maybe just talk in a coffee shop?”
I blushed slightly but still raised an eyebrow as I replied in the same kind of whisper, “Aren’t you the Princess of the Dream Realm, and therefore talk with anypony you so choose while they sleep in their mindscape?”
Luna looked at me before giggling quietly and shaking her head. “At this rate, you might get a herd with how smooth and charming you are~”
Luna giggled harder at my brighter blush, causing Celestia to look over at us with a questioning look before Luna just grinned and shook her head. Celestia sighed with a small smile and nodded right before Trixie and Twilight finished their conversation and gave their attention to the Princesses.
“Have you both decided? Will either or both of you do as we are about to ask of you?” Luna asked them both.
“Yes Princess Luna,” Both Trixie and Twilight replied at the same time, causing them to look at each other as I snickered quietly before very quickly snapping back into attention.
“Very well then. Twilight, create a summoning circle. Trixie, gather a few items please. The items are one bit, a feather from Medley and a gemstone, most preferably ruby or diamond,” Celestia ordered.
Twilight nodded as she grabbed some spare chalk she had stored away next to a couple of blackboards while Trixie took out a bit from her cape and plucked a feather from my wing, setting them down as Twilight told her where Spike’s stash of gems were. They quickly accomplished this task, as Twilight made a perfect circle around the room as Trixie came back with a large diamond. She set it next to the other ingredients and awaited further instruction.
“Now, in most of these kinds of rituals, blood is the final ingredient. However, since we are trying to do a banishment instead, we must use holy water. Fortunately for us, any water blessed by an alicorn of any kind, unless they are dark, is considered to be holy water. All we need is a cup of water and we shall bless it, making our fourth ingredient that we need. In the meantime… Medley, place the objects to the south, east and west cardinal directions. The holy water will be placed on the north direction once it has arrived,” Luna explained.
Again, it was done in a quick fashion, with Twilight getting a cup while I placed the objects don. Once the water came up, Celestia and Luna both gave their blessings on the cup, making it very dimly glow in the twilight. They set it on the northern part and gave their final instructions.
“Twilight and Trixie. I want you both to share your magic with one another as Twilight chants. Twilight, you shall chant repeatedly, ‘Out demon! Harmony compels you to do so!’ until the demon is unearthed. Once it has, immediately start to chant, ‘I banish thee to the jaws of Tartarus! Harmony compels you to do so!’ three times in quick succession. If successful and powerful enough, it should banish the demon from him almost completely, leaving behind residuals, which cannot influence him greatly unless he chooses to let it. If this fails, the demon will instead let Medley be the one banished and we shall act swiftly to end the demon before it begins anything,” Celestia explained, which caused us to pale a bit, but we all nodded in understanding.
“Very well then. Let us begin the banishment,” Luna announced as she closed the curtains and the door to the room, lighting the candles as they remained the only source of light.
“Out demon! Harmony compels you to!” Twilight started to chant, making sure to be clear and powerful, Trixie sharing her magic with twilight as Twilight activated hers.
I once again started to feel pain as my body contorted, but this time I didn’t black out, but rather saw it as though I was slightly detached from my own body. My body began to grow a bit, causing my lower body to thicken as my upper body changed completely. The wings shrunk into nothingness as I began to form a human torso that seemed to smoothly connect with the now horse-like lower half, and everything above the torso turned human as well, giving me two human arms with all 10 fingers, slightly sharper teeth than a regular pony’s, and a human head. In fact, I looked very much like how humans imagined centaurs to look like, though without the red eyes that looked nearly black and the cruel grin that promised pain and torture to whomever it pleased.
“You rang?~” The demon purred before he saw what was happening in full and began to angrily yell, soon becoming in pain.
“I banish thee to the jaws of Tartarus! Harmony compels you to do so!” Twilight quickly chanted three times, each time causing the demon to roar in pain.
After the third time, it seemed like nothing had happened and the demon looked to be recovering. But then, out of nowhere, a small ball of pure white shot out of Twilight’s horn and zoomed straight into the body, which made the demon’s eyes bulge out widely. He then started to slowly shift back down to my normal body as I could feel his influence from my mind slipping away, letting me slowly gain control. Just as I was to enter my own body, I swear I could hear two voices arguing with each other, about what I couldn’t tell. But then I opened my eyes and looked around the room, my smile slowly getting bigger.
“I… I’m free. I’m finally free,” I was so relieved that I fainted right there on the spot, a joyful expression on my face.
Added conversations by Twilight in lieu of letter
“Medley!” I cried out in fear as I checked him for a pulse, something I read about for what to do if somepony faints.
“It is alright, Twilight. I believe he is just too relieved at the moment. After all, that demon was most likely a reminder of his past, and a particularly awful one at that. He’ll come to soon,” Princess Celestia told me, calming me down a bit.
“Past? What do you mean, past? Was he always a centaur before some magical accident?” Trixie asked, scowling in confusion.
Both Princess Celestia and Princess Luna turned to look at each other, with Princess Luna giving Princess Celestia an odd look. Princess Celestia sighed and nodded slightly, turning to me.
“Twilight, my faithful student, please help explain to Trixie about Medley’s past. I believe that you must have written down something when Medley went to explain to all 6 of you girls, from what I could gleam from my sister,” Princess Celestia requested of me.
“Y-Yeah, I do… How did you know?” I blushed a bit at the hidden praise.
Princess Celestia smiled and pointed out, “I have known you for a long while now, Twilight Sparkle. Not once did you ever forget to write down any and all information you came across, especially when it came to other species.”
“I have no trouble believing that, considering she lives in a library,” I could hear Trixie mumble.
“We must be off, dear sister. The night court awaits me, and I believe your bed does as well for you,” Princess Luna giggled a bit as she flew off towards Canterlot.
Princess Celestia just shook her head with a small smile and did the same as well, leaving me with Trixie and Medley. Trixie looked very eager for information as she turned to me.
“Now, what in Equestria is going on here? Tri- I- had not imagined how this day would be happening. It was going so pleasantly too. Medley had decided to visit me today because I believe he felt he was sidelining me in favor of adventures with you 6 mares,” Trixie recounted.
“Wait, what?” I raised my voice slightly, feeling a pang of hurt and… jealousy? Anger?
Trixie rolled her eyes at me and chuckled at my response. “Calm down, Sparkle. It was just for some conversation. Though I wouldn’t mind if it was a little something else~”
I glared at her before realizing I was also starting to growl a bit as well. “You keep your hooves off him Trixie!”
“Why should I? He isn’t with another mare or stallion is he? Unless…” She then grinned smugly as I froze up.
“N-No… he isn’t with anypony as far as I know…” I mumbled.
“Then do try and fix that, Twilight. Trust me, he won’t say no to you,” Trixie cryptically told me.
“Now what do you mean by that?” I narrowed my eyes at her before I heard Medley groaning a bit, shifting.
“You’re a smart mare, you can figure it out,” Trixie grinned. “Now, where is that book about Medley?”
“One moment,” I snapped at her a tiny bit before the book came flying towards Trixie, who effortlessly caught it with her own magic.
“Thank you Sparkle. Now, I must be off. I do have rehearsals tomorrow for my next show at the end of the week. Goodbye, and good luck~” Trixie giggled before she threw down a smoke pellet and quickly dashed off.
I shook my head as I tried to break down what she said pertaining to Medley. What did she mean by, ‘He won’t say no to me’? And why was she trying to sink her hooves into him? She needed to ask her later, but for right now, Medley was waking up.
End of added conversation
I groaned as I blearily opened my eyes, seeing myself in a room that was illuminated by the moon and a few candles. As my eyesight came back, I could see one pony still around, as what had happened to me finally reached my brain, jerking me into the realm of awake fully.
“It worked? Please tell me it worked and this isn’t my torture in Tartarus?” I babbled, still worried.
Twilight just shook her head and smiled. “It actually worked Medley. That demon is all but banished.”
I sighed in relief as I got back up on my hooves, looking around the room in confusion.
“Both Princess Celestia and Princess Luna had to leave for Canterlot, and trixie has a show going on at the end of the week,” She explained.
“I see… Wish I could thank them as well for doing all this for me. That was Rarity levels of generosity for both their time and attention. But for now… Thank you Twilight. Thank you for helping me with this very dangerous task,” I smiled at Twilight as I stretched out my wings, making sure they were in working order.
I could see a small blush on her cheeks, as she nodded a bit. “Anything to help a friend.”
I smiled a bit more at that as I was heading out the door. “Hopefully Trixie isn’t too frightened of me next time I see her after reading my human past.”
Twilight stopped me from leaving, giving me a heated glare as she asked, “Why are you so worried about Trixie?”
I tilted my head in confusion as I replied, “She’s probably had a very weird day today, and she’ll be reading about a species that wasn’t exactly sunshine and rainbows since ever. Normal ponies don’t usually get involved with this kind of stuff. Plus, she’s trying to change herself to not be as arrogant and obnoxious as before. Isn’t it a friend’s job to make sure they’re doing alright?”
“I… sorry about that Medley. You’re right, I wasn’t quite thinking there,” Twilight admitted as she removed herself from my path.
“Hey now, we’ve all had kind of a long day today. I wouldn’t be surprised if you were a bit tired right now and are a bit less logical,” I chuckled a bit as I made my way out once again.
What happened next almost threw me for a loop. Just as I was about to take off, Twilight ran out, stopping me once again. Just as I was about to ask what it as this time before she gave me a quick peck on the cheek before bolting back inside, slamming the door shut with seemingly unnecessary force. However, that action threw me for a loop as I stumbled on back home, absently rubbing the cheek she kissed with my hoof. Even while I was going to bed and finally drifted off to sleep, contemplating how such a day had gone from normal to whacked-out in no time flat, one question was burning through my head: Why did Twilight, of all ponies, give me a kiss on the cheek?
It was a perfect day that day. The snow outside my home looked pristine and twinkled a bit in the sunlight. I was comfortably lying in my bed, enjoying the warmth within my blankets and smiled a bit at the memories of the adventures I had with the other 6 mares. This was somewhat rudely interrupted by Pinkie barreling through the door and jumped on my bed repeatedly, excited.
“Come on, come on, come on Med! It’s Hearth's Warming Day! Which means Hearth's Warming party and treats and presents and lotsa other Hearth's Warming goodness!” Pinkie screamed in joy before taking a hoof and sped off towards Sugarcube Corner, somehow going IN BETWEEN buildings as to not disturb the snow.
We had finally arrived in Sugarcube Corner, with Pinkie vibrating slightly in pure excitement as I was trying to fight a woozy feeling and a pounding headache at trying to figure out how in Tartarus Pinkie got us here both so fast and not going outside that wasn’t magical teleportation. Eventually, I just shunted it to the back of my mind and smiled happily, greeting with everyone at the Hearth's Warming party Pinkie had thrown.
I could see right away that the mares in question earlier this morning were here, bright-eyed and as happy as I was. Spike was close to Twilight, looking longingly at Rarity and looking a bit nervous. Most likely he was worried over Rarity liking his gift, straight out of puppy-love crush cliche number… 7? But I soon moved on, seeing in surprise that other than the rest of the Apple family, Zecora, Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle, and Trixie, it was practically just us Mane 7 plus Spike. Nevertheless, it still felt like all of Ponyville was crammed into this small little shop, which only showed off Pinkie’s extraordinary skills in party making.
“Happy Hearth's Warming Day, Medley!” Everyone happily called out to me, smiling happily as I gave a wide smile in return, putting my presents to everyone underneath the tree.
I have to say, shopping for everyone this year was really hard, especially since I just went shopping for them recently. Not out of malice or laziness mind you, rather forgetfulness and lacking the grasp of the deadline. Luckily, I found everyone something they could all enjoy. Apparently I was also the last to arrive, if Pinkie ushering us towards the tree was anything to go by.
“Now, we get to open our presents and have a delicious Hearth's Warming feast with lots and lots of cake and ice cream and apple cider and-” Pinkie rambled on a bit before she was politely cut off by Twilight.
“Now, let’s start with the stallions here first, as it’s only fair. We’ll also go by youngest to oldest first, so Spike gets to open his presents first. Then Medley and then finally Big Mac. Then it’ll be us mares from youngest to oldest. Now, let’s see here… is anypony younger or exactly 19 years old? Other than the fillies, of course,” Twilight asked.
“Tri- I- would be 19 myself. When is your birthday? Mine is September 12th,” Trixie challenged Twilight.
“Oh really? Mine is October 12,” Twilight grinned back at Trixie.
“Huh… that’s my birthday too. I’m just a bit older,” I commented off-hoovedly.
“Really? Huh… odd,” Twilight stared at me for a second before shaking her head and refocusing, though she was blushing very lightly. “So it seems the order will be Applebloom, Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle, me, Trixie, Pinkie, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Rarity, Applejack, Zecora, and then to end off things will be Granny Smith.”
Everyone nodded and we went right into our presents with great haste and exuberance. For time and convenience's sake, I shall not list what everypony got in said order of things. However, since I have horrific memory, I will put down at least what I got for the others and what I got in return from everypony. Let’s see here...
I got Spike a personalized saxophone, Big Mac a new set of tools for his tool box, the CMC, which is the Cutie Mark Crusaders (headed by Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo and Applebloom), all a one-time pass for any quiz or exam they wished, with a guaranteed A, so long as it wasn’t the final exam, Twilight a musical planner since she was interested in the idea of becoming a singer herself and wanted something to keep track in, Trixie a new design for her firework show during her performances, Pinkie a complete kit of prank items, minus the fake knives, Dash a nice pair of shades that both kept your vision in full color while also keeping the sun out of your eyes, Fluttershy a flute that hoots like an owl when played, Rarity a set of gold beaded bracelets (they were cheaper than I thought, especially since it was proven to be real gold), AJ a white Stenson to match her own brown one, Zecora the spell used to help “cure” me so that she could tinker with it, and Granny Smith a pot with some sunflower seeds starting to sprout.
What I got in return was a certificate from Spike to my favorite music shop, a more sturdy bed frame that could be easily assembled from Big Mac, a combined effort from the CMC to create a homemade Christmas card with three unique candy canes, a book on Equestrian musical history (unabridged version) from Twilight, Trixie’s first ever made poster for her new show ‘Trixie The Illusionist’ with a signature at the bottom, a joke book that featured puns from Pinkie, a pair of workout clothes from Dash, a whistle that sounded like a mockingbird when you blew into it from Fluttershy, a new pair of enchanted glasses with emerald inlays on the ends from Rarity, a small basket of golden delicious apples from AJ, a special potion brew to uplift my spirits from Zecora, and a Zap Apple pie from Granny Smith.
The only thing of note during the process was Pinkie’s gift-giving. Which involved her pulling a present from her mane, putting it underneath the counter, only to grab a completely different present from the exact same spot a minute later. When I went to go see if the present she had earlier was still there, I didn’t find a single thing, except a tag that read ‘Happy Christmas or whatever you crazy ponies celebrate! And thanks for the cherry chimichangas! So delish!~ From: Deadpool!!!’. I instantly put the tag back and just walked away, shaking my head and promising to drown myself in my favorite mixer until I completely forgot that. Though it wasn’t helping right now, as I kept on thinking, How? Why? When? Why? Can it be? WHY?!, over and over.
Once all the presents had been unwrapped, Pinkie’s and Granny Smith’s smiles were wide as a banana when they shooed us into the dining area, showing the veritable buffet of food they had on the tables. There were mounds of mashed potatoes and gravy, stuffing, peas, roses, dandelions, posies, noodles, and that was just the dinner options. The rest of the dining area was completely stocked with almost every kind of apple dessert imaginable and an equal amount of other sweets and goodies, nearly covering up the dinner foods. Whatever little space was left was filled with many varieties of soda’s for the foals and Spike and alcoholic mixers for the grown-ups
“Git on up there, everypony! Soup’s on!” Granny Smith called out, letting us storm the tables with unbridled glee and happiness.
It was practically chaos during dinner. Dash kept on hitting the hard apple cider, getting steadily drunk in the process as she steadily devoured an entire apple pie and cherry pie. Fluttershy was like a ninja, taking a little bit of everything, but remained far away from any sort of liquor or alcohol and kept Dash in line as best she could. AJ tore her way through all the apple options, including a basket of apples that she had brought herself to the party while taking the alcohol in moderation (until she and Dash had a drinking competition), Rarity slowly but methodically made her way through an entire bowl of peppermint chocolate cookies, making sure to only have small sips of alcohol at a time, Pinkie was a whirlwind of sugar and alcohol, making her way through practically everything in her path like a Tasmanian Devil, before passing out in a half an hour due to her body finally responding to the vast amounts of food and drink going through her. Twilight was trying to eat and read at the same time, not even noticing that she was drinking beer while she was eating her way through an entire cake, all the while I was having a blast, munching my way through the flowers and making my delicious mixer of root beer and tequila, which got me a few odd stares from the rest of the girls until they shrugged and went along doing what they were doing.
Meanwhile, the other adults managed to keep the foals and Spike out of the alcohol and shaking their heads at us with a smile. At least I think they were. Honestly, that was when my vision started to get a bit blurry and my already bad memory just decided to up and leave on me. So, the only ones who could really describe what happened next would be Trixie and Zecora, as those two are the ones I know the most and trust the best. Nothing against the foals, Spike, Big Mac or Granny Smith of course.
Zecora’s P.O.V
It was quite a sight to see, especially on this full day. For when the alcohol touched them, their true selves began to act and play. Rainbow Dash was less cocky, more emotional, and quite close to Fluttershy. I think perhaps that there are some feeling that have been denied. The same is not quite so for for Twilight and Medley. In fact, they worked together, in perfect harmony. They didn’t yell or cry once they were in each other’s sights. But rather they acted almost normally, but they looked like they’ve seen the light. With touches of hooves (and Medley’s wings), they soon began a song, which everypony, even me, started to sing. It was a song of true friendship, no matter what the course. And I think that taught them all something, in full force. They did not stop at just friendship though, they continued on. They brought in the next level, an unnatural phenomenon. They talked about love, and all that entailed. Though being drunk, their point somewhat failed. But, in a manner unlike I’ve recently seen, they decided to act like a couple of teens. They were right underneath the mistletoe as well, so when they decided to kiss, my heart began to swell. To see such a love in such clear view, it made me wonder if they truly had a clue. Lucky for Medley that he will and won’t read this part. For truly, to be that oblivious, aches at my heart. A Merry Hearth's Warming, a Happy Holiday. It now is time that I must go away.
Back to normal P.O.V.
Hopefully either Zecora or Trixie adequately explained what had happened afterwards. Now, back on point to where I last remember…
It was about noon by the time I woke up, my head ringing like church bells were right next to my ears, my head pounding as I tried to take in my surroundings. Everything was still blurry, so it took me a while to recognize some books on a nearby shelf and the fact that it looked I as inside a tree trunk.
Golden Oaks Library…? How did I…? I tried to think before giving up, trying to shut out any sort of light and tried to go back to sleep. But that was when I recognized that there was another pony in the bed with me. With a purple coat… and unicorn… horn… Please dear LaurFastia, tell me this is just a part of a dream…
Unfortunately for me then, it wasn’t, as I saw Twilight start to move a little bit in the bed, slowly rising as she groaned in pain.
“What in Celestia… Ow my head…” Twilight groaned as she blearily looked around, commenting similarly to me, “What the… Home? I thought I was still in Sugarcube Corner…”
When she turned around to face me, it was deadly silent. We looked at each other for what felt like an eternity. What finally broke the silence was us in unison screaming at the top of our lungs before rolling out of the bed and landing on the floor, soon going from a scream of surprise to one of hurt.
“Medley?! What the Tartarus are you doing here?!” Twilight screamed at me as I tried to fight off the increasing headache that came with said screaming.
“I have no damn idea whatsoever. I blacked out and don’t remember a Tartarus damned thing after my 5th mixer,” I gritted out.
She then began to look green as she rushed off to a nearby toilet. I could hear faint sounds of throwing up as I unsteadily got back up on my hooves. I was somewhat glad my own stomach could handle the alcohol inside me, though cursed the fact that it took so little for me to be drunk off my ass.
Eventually I saw Twilight stumble back into the room, looking a bit queasy. “What the Tartarus happened then last night? I know at least we might’ve been too drunk to do… other activities. Read it in some scientific book once.”
“Thank LaurFastia for small blessings then,” I murmured, my head now a dull roar instead of a jackhammer pounding on me. “Shall we go see who else is gonna be like us? I gotta ask somepony who wasn’t drunk and old enough to tell me what exactly happened. And I got a present I was gonna share with just you gals and Spike after the party yesterday.”
She nodded as she and I went downstairs and poured some coffee. While I don’t often drink coffee, I felt like today of all days it was necessary to at least somewhat quell the headache that came from being drunk.
Spike came down just after Twilight had a few sips of coffee, grinning at us and giggling a bit, earning him two simultaneous death glares.
“Soooo… how did you date go last night? I bet it was a doozy!” Spike laughed before paling a bit at our growling, wisely deciding to shut up.
“As much as I can remember, we didn’t do any kind of dating, nor anything inappropriate. Besides, he’s my friend Spike,” Twilight snipped at Spike.
Spike nodded, but didn’t look convinced in the slightest. He quickly made us all some breakfast before all three of us headed off to Sugarcube Corner to see if anyone else had arrived.
Sure enough, the rest of the girls were there, and all of them showed stages of alcohol drinking. Dash looked like she was as wasted as we were, AJ faring not too much better, Pinkie looked more tired than anything, Rarity was in good condition, leaving Fluttershy to be the only sober and completely healthy pony out of all of us. Spike was a baby dragon, so all he had was a small bit of tiredness that came from an apparent sugar high last night.
“Hey y’all… Ow… mah head hurts worse than a stampede near mah ears…” AJ waved a bit as she nursed something to cure the headache.
“Gonna agree with you there Applejack… oh sweet LaurFastia my wings ache, and my head is killing me…” Dash complained as she was nursing a similar drink, with two other cups close by them, apparently for me and Twilight.
“Oh, that reminds me… Zecora stopped by for just a tad to drop off some headache potion for your eventual hangover. I’m quite glad to say that none of you did anything foolish or embarrassing whilst you were drunk,” Rarity smirked a bit as she added, “Zecora also said instead of letting you four face the consequences of a hangover, she felt a bit of pity and said to help her harvest some apparently dangerous ingredients to find.”
“Thanks Rares… Not today though… later time. Hangover cure,” I spoke simply as I made my way to my cup of potion relief, Twilight following close behind me. Once I had a bit of the potion, I looked over and saw Fluttershy blushing profusely and sticking close to Rarity and Spike.
Twilight seemed to notice too, as she politely asked Fluttershy, “What happened last night? Did we do something bad?”
Fluttershy shook her head, but murmured something too low for us to hear. And no matter what we tried, she would not speak any higher. We eventually gave it up as a lost cause, as I would ask Zecora at a later time while I was helping her harvest. I then perked up a bit as I remembered what I was going to give the girls and Spike.
“Hey everypony. And Spike too. You know my human memories, right?” After a round of confused nods, I went along with my idea, “If I could contact Princess Luna today so that we could all have a connected dream again, I could show all of you, including the princess, one of humanity’s highlights. I had wanted to show you all yesterday after the party, but we got a little… sidetracked.”
Everyone seemed to look at each other, silently contemplating before they all turned to me and nodded in approval. I smiled as I asked Spike to send a letter to Luna explaining what my idea was and if it would be alright with her to do this for us. A few minutes later, Spike belched out a reply letter, with Luna saying that she would gladly be willing to do this once we all went to sleep tonight and was quite curious as well what I had in mind to show to cheer everypony up.
It was for the rest of that day we decided to sit quietly in Sugarcube Corner, enjoying each other’s company. Surprisingly enough, even Pinkie was a bit more mellow today, only making small talk with us. Sooner than was thought possible, Celestia was setting the sun as we all yawned. While the rest of us had fully recovered from our hangover after a few hours, we did all feel particularly tired and decided to bunk at Sugarcube Corner and bring our gifts back to our respective homes tomorrow. So off to the spare beds and makeshift beds we went and went off to sleep.
We all awoke in a featureless dreamscape, with hints of other dreams happening off in the distance. Some were quite personal, some general, a few violent, most were peaceful. There were even some hints of dirty dreams that thankfully Spike couldn’t quite catch. The oddest thing about this landscape though was the red and blue haze as far as one could see normally, and no matter how we tried, we couldn’t see what was exactly in that haze.
“It is quite the enigma, is it not?” Luna appeared behind us, looking over at the haze and causing us all to jump a bit in surprise.
“P-Princess Luna!” Twilight yelled as she hastily bowed before her, as did the the rest of us.
Luna just chuckled a bit and shook her head. “While we do enjoy our royal pleasantries from time to time, all of us are friends here in the world of dreams. I am just it’s protector, not it’s ruler. So do rise, my little ponies.”
“I do have to say though, your language skills are slowly getting better Luna,” I commented as we all rose, some more unsure than others.
“We hope that was a compliment, young stallion,” Luna raised an eyebrow at me with a ghost of a smirk.
I nodded with a grin as she laughed a bit as well. I quickly then told everyone what my present would be.
“So, I’ve been thinking about something since all of you were last in my mind. While yes you have seen my entire life, you saw the bare basics, cutting out any unnecessary information. What I just thought of while combing through my human memories was a moving picture advertisement that I actually researched a bit more on. But first, some backstory,” I explained as everypony nodded and I continued, “As you saw during your crash course in my human life, humans have had many wars. For me, the three worst wars in my history was the American Civil War because of close ties to my home country, and the two world wars that affected, well, the world. The first World War was not as horrible for us as it was for others, but it still left its impact nonetheless. What I want to show you… is a moment of peace and tranquility within a horrendous war.”
Everyone looked stunned at what I was proposing and they met together to quickly debate over looking at the memory of what I found. It was short-lived though, as everyone soon broke away and agreed to it, which made me smile a bit.
“Then let’s do this,” I looked off to the left and saw a door that was labeled ‘WWI Christmas Truce’. This time, I led the group through the doorway… and into the trenches.
“My word, what a dirty and unclean place!” Rarity held her nose with her hoof as best she could as she tried to block off the stench.
“This was how World War I was fought: in trenches. It was only the only way to survive and to not get your head blown off by a sniper or your body riddled with holes from a machine gun or even caught and be an easy target on the barbed wire,” I explained with a deadpan expression.
Everyone looked around and felt nauseated, and I would have to agree with them. The smell of corpses and other unpleasant scents filled the stale air, the dead rats around us showing signs of poison gas being used and the sound of cracking guns could be heard occasionally, even in the blackened night.
“Why did you bring us to this time specifically Medley?!” Twilight raged at me.
“Because all this… is about to change. And all it took was one soldier from both sides,” I smiled as I could see the sun begin to rise and light up the whole place, which did little to improve the trenches except where it was safer to step.
Indeed, not too long after the sun rose up, the troops were waking up from their slumber, the night excellently disguising themselves. Not to mention the mud and dirt they had on them helped them blend in better. They were getting ready and into position for another day, completely ignoring us as I pointed at a nearby calender someone had managed to grab.
“Today is Christmas Day, a human holiday very similar to Hearth's Warming as you can possibly recall from my own personal human memories. While other Christmas’ were just another day of war, this one is a bit different,” I pointed out as we could hear a commotion, followed quickly by some rapid-fire German.
It had seemed one of the soldiers had decided to slowly come up and out of the trench, clearly showing that his hands were empty of any kind of weapon. When we also managed to get up and out of the trench, thanks to Luna, we saw that a soldier from the other side was doing the same, his fellow soldiers telling him to get down before he got himself killed.
By sheer foolishness, bravery and luck, the two soldiers approached each other warily, as both side were starting to trickle out behind them. No weapons were drawn or even brought up, but everyone showed that their hands were free and not hiding anything. It then came to a breaking point, when the two soldiers looked at each other before shaking hands and smiling.
This caused all tension to break loose, as everybody started to meet with the opposing enemy and treat each other like brothers. Treats were traded, stories were told, and there was even a game of football going on between the two opposing forces. There was no harmful words being flung about, no hostility. If it wasn’t for the battlefield setting, it would’ve looked like an entire city coming together to celebrate this holiday. In other words… Equestria. Specifically, Ponyville.
It soon all came to an end though, as the sky was getting darker. Everyone said their goodbyes, knowing that they would have to fight each other once again. However, before everyone went to sleep, those two soldiers that were brave enough to practically call a truce for that day only, started to sing ‘Silent Night’. Everyone quickly joined in, and all we could hear as we were leaving was the sound of two armies singing in unison with each other, ending on a peaceful note before war reared it’s ugly head once more.
Once we had exited the memory, everyone was practically stunned, even Luna. However, it was Twilight who broke the silence, asking me a question.
“Was… was that what truly happened? How could humans be so peaceful one second and yet go right back into murdering one another?” Twilight pleaded as her eyes began to well up a bit.
I gave another surprise of the night: I hugged Twilight, comforting her as I tried to explain as best I could.
“To be honest… I have no clue. I think it’s a war within all humans to be the peaceful, civilized being they wish to be versus the beast that wishes nothing but it’s own gain, especially if causes others pain that they once were. Ideals, politics, religion, race, gender, sexuality, income… these are all barriers that humanity has tried to break down, with slowly but steadily increasing results. When I had left Earth, my former country had progressed far enough to give others the freedom of religion, multiple political parties as to not let one group control the power, banning discrimination based on race, using government programs to help the poor, giving clear rights to those sexually different, empowering the hated gender. Now have they all worked? In many cases, yes. However, they still deal with things like sexism, racism and corruption, both of power and money. That doesn’t mean they stopped trying, but rather try and fight back to help those in need of such protections. That’s why I think my former country in particular fought in so many wars: they wanted to have other people of the world be given the same opportunities as they did. Though I do admit some cases were much sketchier than others as to why they did them, but it was the ideal behind it that drove them. In summary… it’s human nature to be paradoxical, but always try and be better than before,” I explained at great length, barely noticing how everyone else was entranced by my speech.
“We thank you, Medley, for your explanation as to why they were like this. We have not had to deal with this kind of chaotic being for over a thousand moons,” Luna smiled sadly as her horn started to glow and look over at us all, “Our dear sister is about to raise the sun now. We believe it is time for all of you to sleep peacefully in your own dreams. And as for humanity… my royal sister and I can research all that we can on this species and possibly see about sending a diplomatic party, if possible, to your world. Farewell, my fellow ponies.”
I finish writing here, as now there is nothing left to say of any note. I had a rather dreamless sleep and the day after the dream was nothing much to worry about. I end off here, wishing a Happy Hearth's Warming to everypony and a Merry Christmas to myself. Cheers!
Madness Taken For Granted, Whether You Like It Or Not
Madness Taken For Granted, Whether You Like It Or Not
It was a beautiful morning for anypony to wake up to. Clear skies that were from the previous day, nothing extreme to worry about, and I had no tests to grade, nor any homework. Which of course meant everything had to go immediately wrong. Apparently during the night, my wings sprang open and stayed open. It was the only reason I could think of as as to how I managed to take-off straight away from my bed to the sky, now fully awake and panicking a bit.
By that point, I reached such a height that my wings went off autopilot and started flapping like nuts. I then started to dive much like an airplane did: head-first, my nose pointing the way. That lasted for about 10 seconds before I saw the ground coming up fast, and directly in my path was Twilight, who didn’t even notice me until the very last second. Right before we collided, I could see for a fraction of a second her eyes starting to widen and her hooves began to move her away. It was too late for any actions though, as I ran smack-dab into her, causing a deep furrow that stretched about 6 yards.
Both Twilight and I groaned in pain, trying to get up on our hooves. We realized that we were in a very… compromising, position. Once we both realized that, we both blushed and jumped as fast as we could out of the pit, making sure to stand a good distance from one another, especially when I remembered what Twilight did during my crazy demon day.
Spike, meanwhile was laughing his butt off, rolling around on the ground as he tried to breath while laughing. Pinkie was there as well, looking a bit surprised for a change as she looked up at the sky, peaking through the- OK, Pinkie, seriously, how many times do I have to tell you to stop looking at the script.
“But I’m really really curious why Medley’s here instead of a frog? And I’m still mad you cut out a lot of songs! You even skipped a Cutie Mark Crusader episode! My Cutesenera celebration!”
Look, Pinkie, I promise I’ll make it up to you, both the party and the songs. Just… please, fix the hole in this wall and get back in there!
“Okie dokie lokie!” Pinkie smiled as she pulled out some building supplies and seemingly fixed a hole in the air.
Spike, Twilight and I all stared at Pinkie questioningly and confusedly, as they only caught one side of the conversation. I shook myself out of it, figuring it was just a Pinkie thing and therefore not in my best interest or mentally healthy to try and decipher the being that is Pinkie Pie. Twilight though… she looked like she was bursting at the seams with questions and follow-up questions, which was all a precursor to the various amount of tests. However, I only noticed something in her expression that only came up for a split second, too fast for me to verify: a look of darkness and logic combined. The moment soon passed, everything returning to normal.
“Sorry Twilight… it seems my waking up habits have struck once again… literally this time. Are you alright?” I questioned, slightly worried about what had happened. For LaurFastia’s sake, we managed to make a furrow with our bare bodies.
She shook her head as she grimaced a bit. “Nothing major thankfully… hurts like heck though. Just maybe a lie down for a bit with a book and some tea and I’ll be good as new.”
I turned to Pinkie, who was beaming at Twilight for some strange reason.
“I told’ja Twily! Pinkie Sense, for the win! Though, you got a little something on your face there…” She pointed a hoof at some dirt on her nose and left cheek.
“Oh really? Did your ‘Pinkie Sense’ tell you that too?” Twilight snarked back as she rubbed the dirt off her.
“Nah, I could just see it,” Pinkie responded cheerfully as she walked on, humming a small little tune.
Twilight stood there for a moment, fuming a bit before she stopped, that same strange expression flipping though her face again before she looked tired and worn down, groaning a bit.
“Come on Spike. Let’s practice my magic somewhere else, with a little less commotion and a soft chair,” Twilight grumbled as she went off in the opposite direction, Spike getting on Twilight’s back as I walked alongside them.
“Let me guess: you were just witnessing for your first time Pinkie Sense?” I smirked a bit as Twilight shot a glare at me, which she held onto as I continued, “While I must admit that it’s a bit… unorthodox, Pinkie Sense has never once been wrong, no matter how minor the circumstance.”
“But it makes no logical sense and seemingly all made up. She predicted something would land on me, and lo and behold, you just so happened to fall right onto me. That’s a coincidence, not a vision of the future!” Twilight argued.
It seemed today of all days was the time to test Twilight’s sense of logic, as Pinkie zoomed right to us, her tail twitching wildly.
“My tail! My tail! Twitcha twitch! Twitcha twitch! Something else is gonna fall!” Pinkie warned.
Twilight scoffed and continued to walk on while I discreetly took Spike and got under some cover. Hey, when it comes to Pinkie Sense and falling objects, better safe than sorry.
“Pinkie, please,” Twilight smirked as she continued walking, not noticing the furrow that was made earlier, and much to her surprise, “Nothing’s going to fa-AAAH!”
She had managed to fall right into the furrow made not too earlier, as Spike shot out of my hooves and leaned over the edge of the furrow.
“Oh no! Twilight fell!” He looked shocked and hesitant, as he asked Pinkie, “I… Is it safe to go help her?”
“It’s OK! My tail stopped twitching,” Pinkie confirmed, her hat jumping off her head, doing a backflip, then landing right beside her as she skipped off, humming again.
I shook my head as AJ came by, looking confused. “Funny, I was just about ta make a ditch right here, but somepony already beat me to it. But why’s Twilight in there?”
“Short answer: Pinkie. Long answer: Pinkie Sense predicted that something would fall, like for example, Twilight falling into a ditch,” I quickly explained as Twilight got up from the furrow, glaring at me and Spike.
“Honestly you two, she did not. Two coincidences in a row just like this are unlikely, but it’s still easier to believe than twitchy tails that predict the future,” Twilight stated stubbornly.
“And yet Spike was pulled away just before you fell into the ditch because we’ve had too many similar Pinkie Senses that resulted in ponies getting bedridden due to injuries for months,” I calmly stated back as Twilight scoffed while AJ nodded in agreement before looking around worriedly.
“Oh, and Pinkie said her tail wasn’t twitching anymore, so no worries there!” Spike helpfully added, causing AJ to sigh in relief before she could ask that question.
“Oh, please don’t tell me you buy into this? It’s nothing more than coincidences, tragic or not. Mistakes happen, there can be slip-ups along the way, and it definitely didn't involve a twitchy tail predicting it would happen,” Twilight held steadfast in her scientific belief.
“Twilight, you haven’t been here in Ponyville for that long of a time. Heck, you’re not even through all the Ponyville celebrations yet! Those of us that’ve been here for a long while believe Pinkie Sense, even though it doesn’t make a whole lot of sense half the time,” I stated, matching her glare with one of my own.
Then, a Pinkie interrupted, her ears flopping as she called out, “My ears are flopping, my ears are flopping!”
“Uh, girls, what does that mean?” Spike looked nervous as he tried to shield himself.
“Um, Spike, step back here with us while we take a few steps back…” Pinkie looked worried as the four of us moved away from Twilight.
Twilight smirked as she looked at us, commenting, “Hah, twitching tail that predicts falling objects? What next, flopping ears that predict I’ll get a bath?”
Twilight laughed before a passing pony carrying hay splashed some mud all over her, as she looked stunned before she growled, stomping off back to her home, where that weird expression managed to stay on her for half a second. Pinkie and I looked at each other worriedly, as that expression felt like it spelt bad news as clear as day.
“Hey Twilight, want to take a bath at my place or-” Pinkie was about to ask before Twilight cut her off.
“No, no, bucking Tartarus no! I’m going to take a bath away from all of this nonsense! Come on Spike!” Twilight yelled angrily as Spike was dragged over to her by her magic.
I looked over at Pinkie and asked worriedly, “So… we should probably follow her and make sure that she’s alright, right?”
Pinkie nodded as she sneaked behind Twilight and Spike without being noticed while I took to the skies and did the same. By incredible luck, we managed not to be detected as she stormed off inside, slamming the door behind her. The door soon opened again, though it was rather quick, with Spike being pushed out the door with a small bag of bits, most likely for the arcade. As Spike went off, hesitantly looking back at the Golden Oaks Library, we could then hear the water running, with Twilight most likely taking a bath. Though once we both managed to sneak inside, she put up a dome to keep anyone from entering or from leaving, which was a mixed blessing to have happen, as she didn’t exactly know we were in here.
“Medley… this doesn’t feel right… this isn’t normal Twilight behavior… and I can feel her wanting to come out…” Pinkie shivered in place as I tried to comfort her, even though I could feel myself start to shiver from the non-existent cold.
If Pinkie is saying what I think she’s saying… this could be really bad not just for me and her, but for all of Equestria, if not Equus, I thought as we hesitantly made our way closer to Twilight.
We then stopped as we listened outside her bathroom door. What we heard instantly chilled us to the bone.
“N-No… I won’t let you… harm my friends…” Twilight’s voice was straining, as though she was trying to push someone back.
“Oh̡ ręa̢ll̶y ̶now?~̵ ̧I ̕tho͏u͏g̕h̨t y͞o̕u͡ w͢e̸r̶e̕ ҉a ͠s͝c̴ie͜nţi̢st ̛firşţ? ͜U̕nle͜s͠s̸ ̵y̵o͠ur͞ e̡x͜p͡erie͟n̸çe̸ in ͝Ca̢nte͝rl̨ot̵ ̕h͢as ͟c̀h̶an͞g̢e͘d҉ in͘ th͠e̡ past͡, ͝yo͠u ͘d͟on̴’t͘ h͢av̀e an͢y̷ true̷ ̧fr͞íe̵nd͟s̸, ơn̢ly͡ fel͢lơw͏ ͏r͏e͘sèar̨c̢hérs.̡ ̴A͏nd ҉not̴hi͜ng ̛c͝an s͘t̢o̵p y̨o҉u̢ f̸rom͢ ͟u̶si̡ng ą f̷ellow͠ ͜r̡ȩs̡e͝arch͢e͞r i͢n̛ ͜the ǹaḿe ̵o̡f sci̢enc̢e̡ and ͘di̶s̕cov̛e͢ry. ҉Fo͢ll҉ow ͞the ́e͝x̛ampl̢e͡ of̡ ͝ţha̡t w͢on͜drous sc͜ie͢nce fa͟ciļi͏t͟y yo̸u͡ ̨manaǵed ͟t͞o ̛f̶i̵nd ̴in ̵M͞e̛dle͏y’̕s̕ ̛me̵m̕o͢rie͢s̨,” We heard the voice smoothly reply, as we saw tendrils of dark magic esacping the door before rushing back inside and the voice continue on, “T́ìḿe ̢to ̴d̨i̡s͡c͟ove͠r the ҉T̵R҉U̵E͏ m͢agi͞c ͟o̵f̷ f̵ri͡e͡n͢d͘s̷hip...͏ ̶G̡e͘T̀ ̸t͟H͞eM͟!҉”
We scampered off as the door burst open, magical sparks and bolts flying loosely at us as we made our escape. With all other methods of escape blocked, we decided to quickly make our way to the basement and hide there, hoping she wouldn’t find us for a good while.
“C͜Ó̸́MĘ ̴̸B̴A̧͞C͠K̶̨̨ H̵͡É̡͡R͠E,̀͜ ҉T̶E̛͟ST̴͝ ̴̶S͜͡U̸̴B̛J̴È̸͟CT̷S͏̵͢!̛͟” We heard that demonic voice yell at us as we ran away, slowly getting out of sight before we abruptly stopped.
We had forgotten in our haste to escape that Twilight could teleport a short distance in an instant, and now we payed the price for our forgetfulness as she teleported right in front of us. Now we could see what exactly we were dealing with.
Twilight’s mane was unkempt and crazed looking, but strangely dry, considering we heard her leave a shower. She had a dark aura surrounding her, her eyes lit up creepily in luminous blue and glinted sadistically as she stalked closer to us. What was also a strange detail was that the very dark magic was also forming a pair of wing-like structures, as though she was an alicorn. She then grinned a smile that spelt terrible trouble as her voice sounded colder and oilier.
“Còme no̢w, my l̡i̴t͡tlé ̡po̷ni͝e̛s~ W͏e h̸av̀e̷ S͏ƠO̶O ̧m̶an̕y ̶t̡éşts̨ ͜t͝o ̨do̸~̶” The possessed Twilight croned as she got closer, the dark magic forming tendrils around us.
It was when the tendril touched Pinkie that she began to cry out in pain, her mane deflating as her expression became cruller and devious. I then noticed her Cutie Mark on one side as well change from her regular three balloons to a cupcake crossed with a pair of knives. A hurried look at Twilight’s cutie mark showed one side with a dissected star in a beaker filled with what looked like acid and the other side showed her regular cutie mark being dissected. I then looked at my own blank and saw myself… not change? I thought about this for a second before realizing that Twilight, Trixie and the Royal Sisters helped exorcise the demon within. Though it was still hurting like Tartarus, being gripped by dark magic. I then looked at Twilight in horror, whispering a name I thought I would never have to say…
“You… you’re the Mad Scientist… the Midnight Twilight…” I whimpered as she turned to look at me before giggling scarily, making me move n closer to her.
“T͘h̷at͡'͘s͢ ͏r̛i̸gh̷t~ ̶A̵n͢d ͡f̶ro҉m͢ n͝ow̵ on̕.̴.. ͝I'M ̢IN̴ ̨C͟ǪN͡T͟ROL͠!̧” Midnight Twilight laughed maniacally before a slashing noise could be heard, and we both turned to the sound.
It was like a nightmare had come to life. A serial killer, born out of humanity’s worst aspects, was holding her signature knife and looking at Midnight Twilight hungrily, her expression one of a mad mare’s.
“S̀o, it ͢l̵oo҉ks ̴lik̕e̢ ͜y̸o͠u͠ ̸w͟a̛n̡ńa m̡éss with ̡M͠Y̡ ̨ḩǫs͜t,͡ h̛ùh? Well ̸to͞o ̵b̢ad̸, ca͡u̕se Pi̧n͝k̕a͘m͏ena͝ a͢i̸n̴'t͜ ҉l͜e̛t́ti̶n͏g̢ ͠ya d̶o ţha͝t̸! ͢I ͟t̡h̡ink͢ ̵y̛ou̧r ̢h̸or͡n ̨wi̕ll̨ ͝b̴e̶ t͝he͘ ͏f͡irst̨ of many̢ ͝o҉f̴ m͞y͠ neck̛l̷ace ̶and y̵o҉u͞'ll͠ b͘e ̕in͡ my fi͡rst b̴àt̛c͢h̛ of ́cup̵c͘ake̶s̀ b̸e͠f̡o̧r̕e I let ́yo҉u t͠a̷ke c̛o̧n͏t͠ŕo̶l ͠o͢ver ̨a͝ny ̧p҉art̸ ͏o͝f̢ ́my ho̢st͏'̶s͡ bo̴dy̴!͢” Pinkamena snarled before charging at Midnight Twilight with her knife.
What then happened next was indescribable. Midnight Twilight quickly pulled away the dark magic tendril holding me as she aimed at skewering Pinkamena. Pinkamena quickly sidestepped the tendril and kept on charging forward, gaining more speed. She then crashed into a force field bubble that Midnight Twilight had surrounding her, which made her take down the bigger one outside the tree to better conserve magical energy. It was then two blurs charging at one another: one was saturated with dark magic while the other one had wicked speed and tenacity to help keep her moving.
It was then that I felt something… odd, inside me. It felt like I was charging a spell, but I knew full well that unless I had somehow grown a horn in the last few seconds, that I was a regular pegasus, not a unicorn or an alicorn. But yet the feeling persisted, growing in strength before it felt like it was being released as an explosion. To my utter surprise, both Pinkamena and Midnight Twilight staggered and crashed into opposing walls, staggering them for a moment. I was stunned for a very small moment before I sprung into action, standing in between both creepypastas.
“Enough, you two. Your fight will cause untold amounts of destruction in Ponyville and it seems you both would be locked in a stalemate for an exceedingly long amount of time. It is time to return to your hosts’ minds and be locked away,” I firmly stated, looking at both of them.
“N̨E҉V̶E͡R!” Both of them cried out as they readied themselves for another attack, not even hesitating if I was in the middle of it.
I then did something incredibly stupid and reckless in hindsight, which was to walk towards Midnight Twilight and then kiss her on the lips. This completely stunned both Midnight Sparkle and Pinkamena completely, along with me once I pulled away in utter surprise and shock. Surprisingly… it worked. Because of the confusion I had caused, it let Twilight and Pinkie retake control over their bodies, albeit painfully and slowly. But, in the end, I saw Twilight and Pinkie collapse on the ground, groaning in pain as they got up on shaky hooves. Twilight looked at me as though she was a deer caught in the headlights of a car as Pinkie grinned widely.
“D-Did you… just… what…?” Twilight sputtered out quietly as I steadily blushed more and more, feeling more awkward by the second.
“Um… S-Sorry… was that… uh… so, how about that weather…?” I fumbled, looking down at the ground in sheer worry and embarrassment.
“It finally happened! The Medley and Twilight ship is now officially confirmed!” Pinkie cheered as she did some cartwheels in the background, back to her normal, happy self.
“Pinkie!” I whined a bit, looking up at Pinkie before looking back at Twilight and blushed deeper, looking immediately back down at the ground.
“Medley… I…” Twilight hesitated a bit before clearing her throat and continuing on, “I don’t… let’s just say this never happened and… no, maybe we can… augh! I don’t know what to do!”
Pinkie then appeared right in front of us with a wide grin. “You could always ask the Love Doctor~”
“Pinkie, you’re making less sense than… usual…” Twilight thought about it for a moment before her eyes lit up with an idea. “That’s right! I do know someone who could help with this kind of problem! It’s her specialty!”
“What do you mean by that?” I asked shyly and curiously, peeking my head up at Twilight.
“My old foalsitter! She’s the Princess of Love! If anyone can help us out, she definitely can! Though I don’t know where she last went off to… Shoot. It looks like I’ll have to ask Princess Celestia if she left Canterlot or if she stayed there. Until then… I don’t know what to do…” She looked slightly deflated as she looked down at the ground.
I thought about it for a while too, before eventually giving up. “Twilight… To be honest, I don’t know what to do either… I’ve never had to deal with this before, even in my previous life as a human… I mean, I had crushes, yes, but… never a marefriend, or even a girlfriend…”
“Wait, really?” Pinkie tilted her head in confusion as she pulled out my biography and took a closer look near the beginning. “Hmm… yep, it all checks out! Weird, I know I saw it as something else. Oh well, guess it could’ve been a mistake or a retcon!”
“...yes, that might’ve been the case,” Twilight shook her head with a small smile as she turned to Pinkie Pie and somewhat questioned, “I guess I’ll just believe you… If for anything, for my health, both mentally and physically. But how does your-”
“Twi… Just go with it. If worst comes to worst, she’ll explain it as it comes along. Even she doesn’t know what all of her Pinkie Sense says, especially her combos,” I shook my head with a smile as Twilight just groaned before blushing at me.
“S-So… I’m ‘Twi’ now?” She raised an eyebrow and giggled at my most likely panicked expression, “It’s alright… Med. You can call me Twi. It’s actually kind of…”
She then trailed off, much like Fluttershy would. I tilted my head in confusion before I started to blush even more (how much can one pony blush anyways?) and look away, all the while Pinkie was giggling at us.
We three ponies eventually left for our homes, as Luna was raising the moon, leaving me to my burning thoughts that kept me up much later than I thought was possible. Is it possible for Twi and I to be in a romantic relationship? Does she really care that much for me? Were our friends ight and we’ve just been oblivious to it for so long? I finally rested uneasily as these thoughts kept on swirling in my head. The last question that came to mind before I slept was as followed: Is it possible to exorcise a creepypasta from a pony?
Another peaceful day in Ponyville. The sun was shining, the clouds were scattered to provide excellent bits of shade, a nice, cool breeze was blowing though… and I was the unfortunate pony who woke up to yelling near my window that somepony had left open. I was startled awake and quickly rolled out of my bed and onto the floor once more. Groaning in a bit of pain, I looked out the window to see Dash seemingly coaching Fluttershy on… cheering loudly. My brain began to then quickstart as I remembered what day it was today. Today, it was the Young Flier’s Competition, and Dash had been hyping up the day since… well, the last time it happened. She was unable to compete due to severe changes in the weather schedule, so she seemed a lot more energetic and nervous than last time. I smiled as I flew out the window and landed nearby the two ponies, hearing Fluttershy give a very quiet ‘yay’.
“Training for cheering for Dash there, Fluttershy?” I chuckled lightly as she jumped into a bush before blushing and meekly coming out if it.
“Y-Yes… Was I too loud? S-Sorry if I was…” Fluttershy looked a bit scared.
I shook my head with a small smile. “Don’t worry Fluttershy, I needed to wake up soon anyways. After all, I’ll be with the rest of you girls, cheering on Dash as loud as I can.”
“Wait a sec Med… don’t you need that amply-thingy spell just to *talk* normally? And when didja get it to be permanent? Or is Twilight helping you with that?” Dash took the time to land nearby as she winked at me for my last comment, making me blush and Fluttershy giggle softly.
I soon got myself back under control as I explained. “Twi managed to find a way to make a spell stick to a pony, so long as they don’t overuse it. So if I did actually try to shout, the spell would just kinda… fizzle out. Which then bring me back to my whispering.”
Dash nodded, looking like she was following along and just asked, “So… no yelling because that means no talking?”
“Exactly,” I nodded back as I continued on, a smirk on my face and spoke before she could realize that I had used my nickname for her, “So, how’s our fastest pegasus in Equestria doing right now?”
Instead of looking proud and arrogant, she actually looked kind of scared. “I’m doing fine right now… but I don’t know how I’ll do against all the other fliers…”
I rolled my eyes a bit at this with a chuckle. “Dash, come on now. We all know you’re gonna blow away the competition. Especially since you practice when you aren’t napping or are doing your shift in the weather patrol.” I then smiled a little, happy that today was a day off for the weather patrol as the Princesses made sure today was a day for perfect flying conditions.
Dash nodded again. “Well… since you’re both here… wanna watch me do my routine? I-I of course never make mistakes, I just need an audience to cheer for me!” She struck a pose, though even Fluttershy could see that she was nervous about this.
Fluttershy and I agreed to it, as Fluttershy giggled a bit. Soon, Dash took off into the air as we gave the loudest cheers we could. She started on a good note, which carried over nicely onto her second part. It was when she reached the climax of her finale that things turned sour, as she seemingly bounced from the air and practically catapulted herself off into Ponyville.
I blanched a bit. “...any bets on it being Twi’s library again?”
“Sorry… especially since she invited everypony else over to help clean up after that study session…” She shook her head with a small smile.
I sighed a bit, shaking my head. “All I know is that she wouldn’t tell me what it was she was studying and that she would be expecting my help, and I quote, ‘after something inevitably destroys my system of order and shelving.’”
Fluttershy quietly giggled a bit at that as I chuckled lightly while we made our way back to Ponyville. She then tilted her head in confusion as she noticed the nickname. “Um… M-Medley?”
“Yeah Fluttershy?” I turned to look at her in confusion.
“U-U-Um… s-sorry f I’m s-sounding a bit too nosey but… wh-when did you start c-calling Twilight… ‘Twi’?”
I blushed heavily as I looked away for a moment. I eventually turned to her with a sigh. “It’s a… long story… but it was also very recent too.”
She nodded and smiled a little. “You two kinda look wonderful together, actually…”
“Heh… thanks Fluttershy.” I smiled as we approached Ponyville.
Oddly enough, I had to keep up pace with Fluttershy this time around as we got into Ponyville. We soon arrived to see Dash, along with everyone else, adrift in a sea of books that were previously on shelves. From what I could assume of course. For a brief moment, I could see her relieved, and I briefly wondered why, as Dash had done this kind of thing before and shrugged it off like it was nothing. But eventually, the moment passed as we stood at the window, looking down.
“So… need my help then Twi?” I asked her as everyone looked confusedly at me, except for Twi, who blushed a little and nodded.
“Now hold on a moment! Since when didja ever call her Twi?” She looked at me, as everyone sans Fluttershy and Twi did as well. Twi, for her part, looked away with a blush, similar to what I was doing.
“Um… you wanna explain?” Twi and I asked at the same time and we blushed harder. “I was asking you! You first! Stop that!”
Everyone laughed a little at that as I sighed, capitulating. “It’s a long and more personal story. It also just happened recently, so…”
“It’s alright darling, we quite understand.” Rarity soothed as me and Twi slowly lost our blush.
Pinkie gave us a quick and grateful smile before she returned to normal. “Oooo!~ I bet Twilight invited you here for a very private and special reason!”
“Pinkie, don’t be ridiculous.” Twi rolled her eyes a bit with a small smile. “I just wanted him here in case something happened to all our hard work and reorganizing.” She then sent Dash a look.
“Um… heh heh heh… sorry about that.” Dash sheepishly kicked a book by accident before blushing and hovering again like she usually does.
Twi shook her head a bit with a small smile. “Well, I do hope I’ll get to see this Young Flier’s Competition I’ve heard you go on about.”
I tilted my head in confusion. ”Um… Twi? Unless you can suddenly sprout wings and fly, or you’ve been hiding a pair of them, I don’t see you being able to stay on a cloud.”
Twi gave a small smirk before looking around, letting out a groan. “Where did I put that book? I can’t tell what went where…”
It was then Pinkie exploded up from the humongous pile of book, gripping a book lightly with her teeth. “Ith thith the one u ashk fur?”
“Oh, thank you Pinkie!” Twi lightly took the book back in a telekinetic grip. “Where was this thing anyways?”
“It was in the pile of books you labelled Alphabetical Passive Magic!” Pinkie chirped as she sat back down and started to rummage through the pile more.
I raised an eyebrow as Twi blushed lightly, trying to defend herself now. “I was curious to see what else there was and wanted to learn more about pegasi!”
I raised two hooves in surrender. “I never said a word there Twi.”
Twi scoffed a little. “You didn’t need to. Anyways, this is the book I was looking for: Flight of a Pegasi! And with some notes that I took and hid away in case something like, say, somepony crashing into the bookshelves and ruining an entire weekend’s worth of cleaning, I could still replicate it!”
“Hey, I said I was sorry already, cut me a break here!” Dash complained loudly before she caught sight of Fluttershy giving her an innocent look and sighed. “I’ll help clean up too if it makes up for anything.”
“Thank you Rainbow Dash!” Twi smiled as she flipped to the page before a sheet of parchment floated over to her. “Alright, this spell will allow anypony to be able to fly for up to three days, but the wings are fragile and not exactly made of regular pony material. Or pegasus material for that matter.”
“Oh, oh, I insist to be the one to try out this new spell Twilight darling! I do hope my wings will be fabulous!~” Rarity called out first, much to everyone’s surprise.
“Um.. Rarity… much as I hate ta make ya think otherwise… why in tarnation are ya so eager ta be experimented ‘pon like this?” AJ asked worriedly.
“Just think of the design ideas I could get and I could get some hoof-on experience in air maneuverability!~ That, and knowing Twilight like we all do, I have nothing to worry about backfiring. That is correct, right Twilight darling?~” Rarity looked over at Twi after she gave her reasons.
“Don’t worry, I simply copied down the spell from another book and wanted to see if I could tinker with it a bit. This is the original copy of the spell, though it does look kinda difficult to pull off… But if you think I can do this, I can give it a try!” Twi looked determined as she took a spot a bit away from Rarity before casting the spell.
Rarity soon was being encased in a cocoon of magic, her eyes widening the last thing I saw before it enveloped her entirely. Then, after a brief moment, it burst in a bright flash, blinding us all for a moment. When we could all see again, what we saw surprised all of us, including Rarity. What lay before us was a marvellous sight of illuminated colors before we noticed Twi groggily still standing on her hooves. I quickly helped her out while everyone went off, Rarity being particularly excited. Not that I blame her. After all, it’s not often one gets to have wings.
“You didn’t mention that spell was exhausting as well Twi,” I lightly reprimanded Twi as she giggled a little.
“Sorry there Med… jeez that took a lot out of me…” Twi mumbled as she staggered over to the bed before flopping on it, practically knocked out. I stayed by her, even after Spike came back later that evening.
“Huh, hey there Med. Wonder what you’re doing here,” Spike asked as he waved at me.
I waved a hoof back in hello as I looked over at the still sleeping Twilight. “She just attempted and succeeded at using a very intensive spell that sapped most of her magic. At least, that’s what I think happened after the spell.”
Spike then narrowed his eyes at me as I shook my head, explaining further. “Twi and the other non-pegasi wanted to be there and cheer on Dash in the Young Flier’s Competition, so she found a spell that lets non-winged beings… well, have wings, and all that entails. It only lasts for a few days and they’re apparently very delicate.”
Spike, mollified by my answer, gave a small nod as he shook his head a bit. “Wish I was a bigger dragon with wings of my own.. But nope, still a baby dragon.”
I chuckled a bit as I looked at him. “Ah, youth. Always wanting to hurry up and grow up before they all want to be young again.”
Spike scowled at me before sighing a bit, giving a very light chuckle in return. “Guess you’d know so… old stallion.”
“Old stallion?!” I looked affronted. “I’m 23 years old I’ll have you know!”
We both glared at each other before laughing, causing Twi to frown as a pillow smacked into our faces. “Need sleep… quit it... “
We nodded as I left the room and building entirely while Spike going to his small mattress. Soon we were all asleep once again as a new day was turning around the corner.
Soon after I woke up the next day (After burning my toast instead of injuring myself by getting out of bed), I met up with Fluttershy and Dash as we flew off to Cloudsdale, our airborne hometown. Along the way, we stopped for a brief conversation with Derpy (who was on vacation from being the mailmare to eagerly watch the games) and a few other friendly acquaintances before touching down. As soon as we did, however, we met some not-so-friendly faces.
“Well, well, wadda we have here?” The shorter brown pegasus named Dumb-bell spoke first, tauntingly.
“If it isn’t our old friends, Melody, Klutzershy and Rainbow Crash!” The taller and tanner pegasus named Hoops guffawed.
“Been kicked outta any flight schools recently Rainbow Crash? You can wreck Melody’s band instead!” Dumb-bell insulted while the three of them laughed away.
Both Dash and I rolled our eyes as I spoke in a monotone voice. “Nice to know the IQ hasn’t changed at all since we started flight school Dumb-bell. Hopefully you managed to actually move out of your parent’s home and live a normal life, but that might be asking for too much.”
The three then glared at me while Dash snickered and Fluttershy paled a bit. I smirked back at them, almost taunting them back as they knew full well that trying to fight me wouldn’t be a pretty good thing to do. Eventually, Dash returned her attention to the three colts. Oh, sorry, stallions, my mistake.
“As for you three losers, I haven’t been kicked out of any flight school at all!” Dash glared at them as they turned their attention to her, smirking as they knew she wouldn’t do anything violent in front of Fluttershy.
“Face it Rainbow Crash, there were too many rules and not enough nap-time for you.” Dumb-bell smirked as he arrogantly moved closer to her, making sure to keep a fair distance from me.
Hoops did the same on her other side. “Haha, ask her about the Sonic Rainboom.”
Dumb-bell scoffed as rolled his eyes, looking down at her. “That’s nothing but an old mare’s tale, something that Klutzershy and Melody here would listen and eat up. You don’t have the skills to pull something like that off.”
“Excuse me!” Fluttershy looked a little sheepish as the bullies turned to her now. “Um, sorry… But, anyways, she IS going to do a Sonic Rainboom.”
“No she’s not, cause there’s no such thing!” Dumb-bell retorted back ever so eloquently.
“Then maybe you should be there so you can see it for yourself!” Fluttershy then paled and quickly hid behind me as I shook my head.
‘She was doing so well too…’ I thought as I raised an eyebrow at the colts, I mean stallions, who all backed away a step from me before going back to taunting Dash, laughing at her expression.
“Oh don’t worry. We’ll be there!” Dumb-bell grinned as he and the other two flew off.
After the obligatory “witty insult” from Hoops, I shook my head a bit as Fluttershy stepped out from behind me, looking excited.
“Did you see that Rainbow? I was being assertive!” Fluttershy beamed at Dash as I chuckled a bit, while Dash sighed and looked downtrodden.
“They’re right… I’m never gonna be able to do a Sonic Rainboom.” Dash sighed again as I shook my head, smirking a little.
“Come on now, you know those three colts, I mean stallions. They’re just jealous and a little bit sexist towards you. Always have been, and always will be.” I nudged her with a wing as Dash still looked miserable.
Fluttershy was about to say something, but looked a little bit and was stunned. “Rare…”
“Rare? The Sonic Rainboom is WAY more than rare!” Dash snapped a little, both in panic and fear.
“Rarity…?” Fluttershy spoke softly again, this time making both me and Dash turn our heads. I smirked as Dash and Fluttershy still looked stunned at the sight.
It seemed that our white-furred unicorn friend’s wings were perfectly matched to her. Her wings were very similar to that of a butterfly’s, both in appearance and functionality. However, it did worry me a little at how fragile they could be, as it looked like a microscope could burn them away easily. Eventually, I just put those thought to the side as I laughed at the completely shocked expressions on Fluttershy’s and Dash’s faces.
“Why so shocked dearies? You saw them yesterday, did you not? Hehe, I must say though, I must thank Twilight for making these gorgeous wings for me. Luckily, I can thank her very soon. As in right now, actually,” Rarity smiled as she flew over to the three of us, a hot air balloon soon poking out of the clouds as it revealed Twi, AJ, and Pinkie, all ready to celebrate alongside me, Rarity and Fluttershy.
“Hey…!” Dash began to smile widely.
“You girls came too?” Fluttershy had a similar smile on my face as I looked awestruck.
“OK… I admittedly did not see that coming.” I said, still a little stunned as Twi giggled a little at my expression.
“I can’t believe you girls could make it!” Dash cried happily.
“Neither could we!” Pinkie giggled as she jumped out of the basket before we could react.
However, once her hooves touched the cloud… he stayed on it. I looked completely shocked now before slowly coming to a realization as I looked at Twi’s grinning face.
“You… reverse engineered pegasus cloud manipulation… for non-pegasi to be able to visit cloud cities?” I spoke out loud incredulously as Twi and AJ both jumped out of the basket, the same thing happening to them.
“Hehe, yep! That was part of my super secret studying I was doing to surprise both you and Rainbow Dash! I figured it was way easier and less taxing on my magic to simply let us walk on clouds than to grow a pair of wings each time we wanted to go to Cloudsdale,” Twilight explained as she looked a bit sheepishly at us. “So… um… surprise?”
Dash’s response, surprisingly, was just to cheer happily. My response, on the other hoof, involved me tackling her into a hug as I cheered as loud as I could, blowing out my spell in the process. I then, without thought, kissed her lightly on the cheek before blushing madly alongside Twi herself. Dash and AJ snickered as I set her down and looked incredibly sheepish, pointing a hoof at my throat as she nodded very quickly, her magic appearing around my throat before I coughed, signifying that the spell had been recasted.
“And that’s why, Dash, I can’t yell, scream, shout, or do any loud speaking,” I tried to calmly explain as my blush still betrayed me.
“Well, if I was feeling nervous before… which I totally wasn’t… you girls would be making me feel a lot better now,” Dash grinned as she actually looked a little more relaxed than before. “In fact… we got a little time before the competition. Why don’t the three natural pegasi here show you around Cloudsdale?”
It was met with universal approval as we made our way out towards Cloudsdale proper, with Pinkie bouncing alongside me and Twi as we walked together. Funnily enough, I could see AJ and Rarity walking side by side along with Fluttershy and Dash doing the same.
“Welcome… to the greatest cloud city in the sky: Cloudsdale!” Dash announced as Rarity, Twi, AJ, and Pinkie all ‘oohed’ and ‘aahed’ the sight.
Well… maybe not Rarity. As I turned over to wonder why she was still ‘oohing’ and ‘aahing’, I soon found my answer in the form of a mirror… as she looked at her reflected self, with her butterfly wings. I shook my head as we moved along, Rarity soon catching up to us as I became the tour guide.
“If you’ve ever heard of a famous pegasus, chances are very likely that they came from Cloudsdale itself. And before you think I’m just bragging or exaggerating… you’d be surprised. I think the last statistic taken was around 95% of all famous flier in general came from Cloudsdale, though that’s just an Equestrian statistic,” I chuckled a little as Twi shook her head with a small smile.
While we walked, I overheard Rarity getting comments from some of the local construction pegasi. I rolled my eyes as Twilight warned her about the delicate state of her wings. I hoped that Rarity was paying some attention, but it sounded like it was going in one ear and out the other.
“Hey Med, mind lettin’ us see this weather factry I heard lots about?” AJ asked.
I quickly looked over at Dash while we had a quick non-verbal debate on whether or not it’d be a good idea, considering the… earned reputation it had. We quickly agreed to regular weather factory only, and not to answer any questions about the rainbows and how THEY were made, other than it made for a really hot and spicy sauce.
“Sure thing girls. Come on, let’s go to the Weather Factory!” I grin as I led everyone to the Factory, handing out uniforms for everyone.
The reason for wearing the uniforms was so that they wouldn’t distract workers unnecessarily and for safety reasons, as the suits came with small pegasus enchantments that helped protect a pegasus from the water in the clouds and the cold from the snow we made. My voice lowered a little as we entered the Factory.
“Here is where we make our snowflakes. Each and every one is hoof-made and created from scratch entirely. It’s also a very delicate operation, as even the tiniest puff of wind can set a worker back weeks, possibly months depending on how long they’ve been working,” I explained as we carefully made our way through the workshop.
“I must say, they look even more beautiful from up here,” Rarity marvelled at the snowflakes on display.
However, due to her wings and the breeze it caused, the snowflakes from around the workshop soon started to fly around in the air, as workers panickedly tried to catch some of the works before they broke. I gave Rarity a deadpan, but she looked back at me as though she was completely innocent. I sighed and shook my head.
“It seems we better move long before Rarity decides to not listen to anymore rules set in place,” I drolled as I quickly moved the girls off to a different section.
I steered clear of the rainbow part for now as I wanted to save that for the end part of the tour. That, and all questions that the girls wanted answered would have been by that point except for the most obvious one of where or how we made the stuff. We eventually came across the cloud making section of the factory.
“And here’s where we make our clouds for any type of weather. It could be just plain-old cloudy, which goes down one tunnel and out across Equestria. Then there’s dark and cloudy, but fluid, which goes down the left tunnel out into requested parts of Equestria. Finally, there’s the dark and cloudy, along with solid, which goes down the right tunnel into the more seasonal parts of Equestria. What type of weather a place will get is all up to Management, and they list the weather scheduled for each branch of Equestria, which in turn local management breaks down into shifts for the workers in each town. Ponyville, for example, is one of those town with the pegasi living there taking shifts,” I broke down as Twi listened with rapt attention while AJ and Pinkie looked slightly confused but still got the gist of it.
Rarity, meanwhile, seemed to have attracted the three colts (stallions, LaurFastia damnit!) from earlier today as they looked at her in awe. When they noticed us, they grinned before looking at me. They froze for a moment before scoffing, ignoring me in favor of Dash.
“Hey look! It’s Rainbow Crash again!” Dumb-bell called out as he stood a little ways away from us.
“Heheh, yeah! It’s Rainbow… uh… Crash!” Hoops called out after looking like he was doing all he could to remember the oh so wonderfully witty insult.
“Rarity! What are you doing talking with these guys?” Dash shot at Rarity, who still looked like she did nothing wrong.
“Oh, they were just admiring my wings Rainbow Dash,” Rarity ariely responded as she kept showing off her wings.
“Yeah, forget the Sonic Rainboom. You should just get a pair of wings like these,” Dumb-bell pointed at Rarity’s wings as all three of them laughed cruelly and flew off.
I now was starting to get a little annoyed at Rarity, who was practically upstaging Dash and making her even more nervous. Fluttershy did her thing and tried to soothe and relax Dash, but it looked like Dash was really starting to get nervous. I then decided it would be best to get out now and skip to the finale that was the rainbows.
“And here is where we collect and transport our rainbows. Not much is known about them, but what pegasi and chefs alike have found out about them is that they are extremely spicy, and to those with inexperienced taste buds, will shoot technicolor flames from their mouths. Otherwise, to those used to spicy concoctions, it will just simply caused technicolor smoke to come out of your ears, the severity depending on how used you are to spicy food,” I detailed as Pinkie, against all reason, decided to take a lick.
The result happened just as I said they would, though her face cycled through all the colors of the rainbow very fast before she spewed out a small ember trail of technicolor fire that instantly evaporated into thin air once they touched the clouds.
“Wait… where do these rainbows come from? What are they made out of? How are they made?” Twi asked curiously.
Instantly, me and Dash both became stone-faced as we looked at her and spoke in a serious tone and in unison. “Pegasus secret. Please, do not try and fish for more information.” Twi reared back a bit in shock before reluctantly nodding.
Dash and I both relaxed as we gave a brief glance at the shadowy figure way off in the distance before returning our attention to the inattention of all the workers, who had circled around Rarity as she flaunted her new wings. Twi looked like she went from curious to angry as she went up to Rarity with a small glare.
“Rarity! We’re supposed to be helping Rainbow Dash relax, remember? Stop showing off your wings and put them away!” Twi hissed a tiny bit at her.
“Oh, pff, how do you expect me to put away perfection?” Rarity scoffed a little as she rose into the sky, spreading her wings out to catch the sun in them, reflecting beams of colored light onto the ground like stained glass.
I wasn’t gonna lie, that was a bit impressive. What wasn’t so impressive was Dash starting to look like she was about to have a nervous breakdown. Twi noticed this too as she turned to Dash, putting a hoof on her shoulder.
“Rainbow Dash, are you OK? You don’t look so good,” Twi asked worriedly.
“Fine? Of course! Why wouldn’t I be OK? Everyone’s so in love with Rarity’s wings that they won’t even notice me as I totally flop the Young Flier’s Competition!” Dash responded in a slightly panicked tone.
And of course, as if LaurFastia had heard this and decided to mess with her, the crowd soon wanted Rarity to enter in the competition as well, to which Rarity gladly accepted the invitation. This caused Dash to panic even more so as we tried to console her, but to no avail.
Eventually, we had to part ways as Rarity made her way off to the stadium, followed morosely by Dash while the rest of us went and took our spots. I then looked at Twi questioningly.
“Hey Twi, where’s Spike? I thought he’d love to go see this sort of thing,” I asked politely, if curiously.
“Unicorn secret. Don’t try and fish for information,” Twilight snapped back as all of us looked shocked and surprised at Twi.
I then realized what was going on and gave a small look. “Twi, Dash and I were telling the truth. Only pegasi that work at the Weather Factory are allowed to know the bare minimum, and the penalty for spreading even that information without approval directly from the Princesses could be met with, depending on your talent, loss of flight or Cutie Mark Removal. Only the Princess and those in Management are allowed full and detailed information, and that penalty for telling would be even more dire. So, after the Competition is over, if you still wish to know, ask your mentor Celestia or her sister Luna. But know that sometimes, things are best left alone for many a good reason.”
Twi flinched a bit, as I could see the gears turning in her head and the determination to know the answer clear on her face as she sighed. “Sorry Med… I’m just so used to you sharing secrets with me.”
I smiled a little as I nuzzled her neck lightly. “It’s alright Twi, you didn’t know. But that still doesn’t answer my first question of why no Spike.”
She giggled lightly as she blushed, nodding. “Apparently dragon scales, even as a baby dragon, are resistant to passive magic abilities often gifted to ponies, developing their own instead. It looks like when he gets wings he’ll be able to move and interact with clouds like a pegasus, though not as well as a pegasus.”
I nodded before the announcer came on, introducing everyone to the Young Flier’s Competition. Sure enough, he first introduced as the royal guest for this years competition as Princess Celestia. He then introduced the celebrity guest judges for this year’s competition as well, the Wonderbolts. They did a small routine as a select few of them went and sat at the judge’s table. Soon enough, the Young Flier’s Competition had officially begun.
What then followed were a whole bunch of acts from many different pegasi. Some were decent, and rated so. Others failed horrendously, and the scores reflected that. There was one pony very early on that reminded me of someone, but I didn’t know who… he looked very familiar too… But nonetheless, there were a few good acts within the competition as all 5 of us eagerly awaited Dash’s performance, along with a healthy bit of excitement for seeing Rarity’s. I gave the best cheer I could when Derpy herself came on to fly, and even though she did rather poorly, it looked like she put a lot of hard work to do the best she could and actually pulled off a good move here and there.
Soon enough though, we had seen practically every other flier go up… except for Rarity and Dash. I was beginning to worry a bit, as AJ said the same thing out loud as I did inside my head that the competition was nearly over and we hadn’t seen them. Soon enough though, we saw Dash nervously fly out, followed by an enthusiastic Rarity, who looked completely decked out in… I guess fashion? Whatever it was, it looked fitting, but odd on her as they both started to perform at once.
It was going… horribly. At least for Dash. For each part Rarity pulled off with success, Dash would be close to it before inevitably finding a way to completely wreck the flow. It all came to a head though as Rarity played her finishing move of spreading her wings as far as she could and as high as she could, covering the audience in bedazzled lights. However, I soon noticed a small trail of smoke coming from her wings before it abruptly burst into flames and quickly turned into ash. Rarity was frozen in the air for a moment, looking beyond panicked as she then started to plummet to the ground at a very fast velocity.
The Wonderbolts, for their part, quickly dived into action and chased after her, soon catching up to her. By that point though, they were pinpricks in the distance as I looked over the edge in worry. I then saw Dash quickly go into a steep straight dive down towards the four ponies. As she moved, I started to notice the mach cone forming around her, a grin starting to split my face as the girls also looked excited. The cone became to become more narrow and narrow until…
*BOOM*
She had created a Sonic Rainboom as she went even faster, causing a rainbow colored shockwave to appear, along with a similarly colored trail right behind her as she quickly caught up to everypony and managed to catch them all before pulling them up back towards the stadium, arching over it to create a rainbow above the stadium itself. Everyone cheered as loud as they could, even Fluttershy was actually yelling and screaming in joy.
Dssh eventually slowed down enough that the trail behind her disappeared as she flew right through the center, pegasi quickly helping take off her load of ponies. When she landed on the cloud herself, the celebration was in full blast now, as everyone was still cheering for her loudly. I then smirk as Twi shook her head, glaring at me before I shrugged, shouting at the top of my lungs that she had one before the spell broke down yet again, leaving me in a mute grin of happiness. The expression that would’ve best described Dash at this time was pure elation and ecstasy that she had won the competition, and I thought I could see her celebrating as happily as everyone else in the crowd. Eventually though, the audience quieted as Twi brought her air balloon back, letting Rarity solemnly walk into the basket before turning to us.
“I want to apologize to all of you, for getting so carried away with my beautiful wings. I guess I just lost my head…” Rarity apologized as we all forgave her, knowing her habit to be a bit vain while Rarity turned to Dash, “And I’m especially sorry for being so thoughtless as to jump into a competition at the last minute when you had spent months practicing to try and win it. Can you ever forgive me?”
“Aw, it’s OK. Everything turned out alright, right?” Dash smiled a little and waved a hoof before looking a bit disappointed, “I just wish I could’ve met the Wonderbolts when they were all awake.”
I smirked as I saw what looked like the Captain of the Wonderbolts tap Dash on the shoulder, who turned around and stared in awe at meeting her idols right now, who were wide awake. It was at that moment I think Dash’s brain temporarily shut down, along with any sort of conversation beyond ‘Oh my gosh’ being repeated rapidly.
“So you’re the little pony that saved our lives. We really wanted to meet you, and say thanks,” The captain said with a small smirk.
Dash was still stuck on a fast loop before we heard the sound of wings flapping and three ponies landing. I turned at the same time as Twi, looking surprised as she was.
“Princess…” Twi reverently said as she bowed before her and quickly looked up, the rest of us following suit.
“Hello Twilight Sparkle. And hello to your friends too,” Princess Celestia smiled as she looked over us.
“Princess Celestia… I’m sorry I ruined the competition… Rainbow Dash here really is the best flier in Equestria,” Rarity apologized morosely before turning to Dash with a smile, causing Dash to look a bit sheepish.
“I know she is, my dear,” Celestia stated as she smiled over at Dash, “That’s why, for her incredible act of bravery, and her spectacular Sonic Rainboom, I’m presenting the Grand Prize for Best Young Flier to this year’s winner: Rainbow Dash!”
Celestia the placed the winner’s crown on Dash’s head as the audience erupted into uproarious applause, causing Dash to completely break down in happiness, constantly and rapidly saying ‘Oh my gosh’ as she was being carried out of the stadium by Pinkie, Fluttershy and AJ. Celestia then looked at Rarity, Twilight and me.
“So Twilight Sparkle, did you learn anything about friendship from this experience?” Celestia asked.
“I did Princes… but I think Rarity learned even more than me,” Twilight slightly corrected as she looked at Rarity.
“I certainly did,” Rarity agreed as she went on to say, “I learned how important it is to keep your hooves on the ground and be there for your friends.”
“Excellent. Well done Rarity!’ Celestia praised her as Dash was brought back.
“This really is the best. Day. Ever!” Dash cheered.
I then noticed the three… stallions, hovering nearby, for once being smart and not trying to interrupt something involving Princess Celestia.
“Uh, hey Rainbow……. Dash,” Dumb-bell looked like he was going to say something else before being elbowed in the side by Hoops, continuing on, “We just, uh, wanted to congratulate you on winning the competition.”
“That Sonic Rainboom was awesome!” Hoops called out in awe.
“Huh, thanks guys,” Dash sounded polite, but confused, probably as much as me.
“Uh, w-we’re really sorry if we gave you such a hard time before,” Dumb-bell looked apologetic, but then again… Princess.
“Oh, it’s OK. Don’t worry about it,” Dash sounded accepting, but something still seemed like a ruse.
“Uh, hey, do you wanna possibly hang out with us? Maybe you can show us how you did that incredible trick!” Dumb-bell sounded a little desperate as now I realized what he was trying to angle for.
Luckily, Dash saw the same thing as me. “Sorry colts… but I got plans!” She then started to fly off with the Wonderbolts, causing me to snicker at the three stallion’s dumbfounded expressions.
The three soon left as I then whispered to Celestia. “Princess Celestia, Twilight wished to know the hidden public records of the Rainbow Factory. Do you wish to grant her permission?”
Immediately Celestia stiffened as she looked at Twilight, for once looking like a stoic ruler of the past before nodding. “I will grant her permission directly and tell her what the records say myself. However… I have had faint premonitions of her reaching a similar status as mine and my sisters, alongside Cadence and possibly others. So instead of the public hidden records… she will know the true history of the Rainbow Factory. I can only hope she’ll forgive me in time…”
I nodded as I called over Twi, who came over with a bright smile on her face, which slowly faded as she took notice of our demeanour. “What did I do wrong, Princess Celestia?”
Celestia, despite the news that was about to be broken, smiled a little bit. “Do not fret, Twilight Sparkle. You are not in trouble. Come, let us three go somewhere more private.”
Her horn shined with magical power before we appeared to be in a hidden room inside the castle. Twilight looked nervous as I smiled sadly at her.
“Twi… it looks like there’ll be two exceptions to the rule of what you’re about to hear. I am that other exception, due to my human knowledge and already know the sorry tale,” I explained as I stood in the middle of the two females.
Twilight blanched a bit, but nodded and looked up at Celestia. “I… I’m ready to be told the truth.”
Celestia looked at Twilight for a moment before nodding, launching into her explanation. “To start off this story, I must take you back to a time when I had just recently banished my sister to the moon for her 1000 year imprisonment. During the millennia… drastic changes were to be made. With my sister at my side, I could always subdue or capture the enemy and send them back or try to reform them. However… once my sister had disappeared, I could no longer be merciful or as kind. Instead of capturing my enemies… I utterly banished them or killed them. It was a time when Equestria needed strong soldiers to fight in the many wars that would crop up with new villains trying to overtake the throne. A particularly nasty enemy by the name of the Caribou went nearly extinct before they turned and fled to the farthest reaches of the north, away from my control. And to get these strong soldiers, I implemented a policy and machine that still remains to this day, though now completely revamped. It has gone through many names, but the most prominent one of today… is called the Rainbow Factory.
"That is where they create the rainbows used in the sky and as rare and exotic spice. However, this rainbow did not come without a price. For if a soldier was too weak to join or had become crippled… they were of no use in the wars. But during the wars, rainbows were also used as incendiary devices, capable of causing massive explosions. So instead of fighting as a pony… their blood would be drained and turned into liquid rainbow instead through pegasus magic and a device that would help drain the pony of all blood. The bodies were either turned into jerky rations for our griffon allies or were incinerated. This was from long ago, but the purpose today is now to drain criminals of their blood to create the rainbows you see today. We had made a stockpile of rainbows during the war and were going through what we had left before we started draining again. The only ones that know of it’s existence outside the Factory itself is right here in this room. I’m sorry if this is not what you had wanted to see as the answer Twilight… but it is the absolute truth."
Twi looked like a mixture of horrified, sickened, terrorized, and shocked at what Celestia had described as I nodded my head sadly. “It’s all true Twilight… every city as it’s dark times… Cloudsdale’s is the Rainbow Factory, a secret division of the Weather Factory. Where not a single soul gets through…”
She stayed like for a moment before Celestia took a step towards Twi. Twi immediately flared up her horn, looking desperate. “S-S-Stay b-back!”
I walked over to her instead, nuzzling her as she cried into my shoulder. Celestia looked saddened as she quickly just popped me and Twi back to our… to her home while I continued to comfort her into the night. I end this on a sour note after such a sweet victory, so that I may better help her and comfort her through this. I can definitely say that Twi’s beliefs in Celestia as a perfect and benevolent ruler burned up as quickly as Rarity’s former wings. I do wonder though… what will happen if Luna finds out? And if she knows… how long it will stay in operation?
End of Chapter 17
With A Hand's Worth Revealed, Only The Couple Remain
With A Hand’s Worth Revealed, Only The Couple Remain
This was, by far, the worst way I could have woken up. I thought Pinkie and Dash had a record on that, but apparently, it was quickly shattered by Twily’s number one assistant, Spike. For a consolation prize, no one else was involved. However, being roughly woken up and pushed out of your bed by a baby dragon, only to then trip on the windowsill as I groggily tried to take off and dive bomb into the ground? Yeah, no, not very fun. Nevertheless, that was the exact situation I found myself in this morning as Spike tried to pull me up, all the while yelling at me about something. I couldn’t hear however, as my head was still planted in the ground. It was only after uprooting my head and shaking the dust off of me that I heard what he was saying.
“Please, Med, you- you gotta help me! Rarity! Diamond Dogs! Girls! Help!!” Spike unhelpfully shouted at me.
I was soon up and threw him on my back, heading off to collect the girls alongside him, as that’s what I was guessing from his shouts.
“How long ago was this Spike? Please, we gotta know this,” I quickly spoke as I grabbed Fluttershy and Dash after quickly explaining the situation to them.
“Yeah, what gives Spike? What happened to Rares?” Dash yelled at him as she flew us faster to AJ’s.
“I-I do hope she’s alright…” Fluttershy whispered in fear as she kept close to Dash’s surprising me a little by keeping up with her.
“Knowin’ her? I’d say she’d be complainin’ about gettin’ dirt in her hooves or somethin’ ta that idea,” AJ rolled her eyes as we explained the situation with her now, quickly making our way to the library.
Along our speedy way, Pinkie had somehow slipped into the running group without any of us noticing. I wouldn’t have noticed either if it wasn’t for her worried whisper into my ear.
“Medley… She’s getting excited… I can feel her wanting to come out already… I have a very bad feeling about this… Even my Pinkie Sense is acting up, saying this is going to end in a disaster!” She panickedly whispered to me.
I could feel my blood running cold, as I thought I could hear a very, very low and rumbling chuckle in my mind. Pinkamena being unleashed? That could only lead to a total disaster, especially considering the last time she interacted with someone of a similar nature to her… And whatever could make Pinkamena excited was indeed something to fear and worry for. However, there wasn’t much we could do. After all, our friend had been ponynapped by some Diamond Dogs.
From my small time travelling, I had encountered exactly 1 Diamond Dog. From what I could gleam from her, Diamond Dogs didn’t travel much outside their home country Canidog, apart from Equestria. She told me that most Diamond Dogs were peaceful, much like the ponies were, but specialized in digging operations. To get one to work with a construction crew meant less ponies that could possibly get injured. However, it was pretty expensive to hire one, so only one or two could be seen on any major construction or digging site. And after the work was done, they would disappear without a trace.
Pulling me from my impromptu history lesson in my head was our arrival at the library, explaining the situation for a final time to Twily, who nodded as she led the charge to get back our friend from the Diamond Dogs. As we were running towards the last known spot of the Diamond Dogs, I hoped we weren’t too late. Then I was idly, and maybe a bit horrifyingly, wondering who I was talking about more in this moment: Rarity or the Diamond Dogs.
We soon found our answer as we found one lone Diamond Dog desperately trying to escape the hole he had dug open, as though fleeing from a terrifying enemy. Before we could even get him to speak, he yelped and screamed as he was dragged back down the hole. Soon, we could hear a small, mad, school filly giggle as the sound of ripping and slicing could be heard. Everyone looked both horrified and sickened by the sounds. The ones most affected though were Pinkie and Twi, both shaking and crying in pain.
At that moment, I sprung into action to protect the rest of our friends. “Fluttershy, AJ, Dash! Take Spike and get the Tartarus out of dodge. Barricade yourself in the bunker, and don’t come out until I collect you,” I forcefully spoke to make up for the lack of yelling available to me.
“Med, what in tarnation’s goin’ on here?! Can’t we at least help a little?” AJ snapped back, sounding worried as she grabbed Spike and tossed him to Dash.
“I’ll explain later. Right now, I’m about to do the typical colt thing to do. Which is to say, charge in headfirst like an idiot,” I gave a small grin before pushing Pinkie and Twily down the hole, with me following suit.
Before any of them could try and stop us from falling in, all the holes quickly became filled in with gemstones, making it impossible to determine which hole we fell down in, since they all looked too interconnected to truly pick.
Once all three of us had landed, the shift in Twily and Pinkie became immediate. Twily’s cutie mark showed one side with a star being dissolved in a beaker filled with what looked like violet acid and the other side showed her regular cutie mark being cut in half, while Pinkie’s cutie mark balloons were popped by two knives, crossing and stabbing through a cupcake that had fallen out of the balloons. Their expressions changed as well, as Twily’s became more detached and aloof while Pinkie’s became malevolent and sociopathic.
“Ah͟..̕.̸ ̨it ́l͟o̷oḱş l̢ik͝e̛ ̨w͡e h͝a͠ve ̕fo̧un̸d ҉a̢no͜th̶e̵r͡ ̴of u̧s. ̵E̕x͏cellent͢!” Midnight Twilight gave a cold smirk as she stretched her back and hooves, her horn shooting off some dark sparks.
“Ye͟a͞h,̀ ̧ỳe͏a̷h, ̨wh͡at̢ever, eg͢gh͘ead͞. ̨Let͜'̡s͠ h͢u͟rry ̶it̴ up͞, I҉ ͠wanna ͡s̛e̢e t̡he̷ f̷r͠esh͠ ̨m͡ea̕t béf̷o̕r͡ȩ ͢I ̧c̡hóp͜ ̷u̧p̴ ́TH̕IS̴ f͡r̶es̴h meàt,” Pinkamena groaned back as she deflated the mane while grinning madly at me.
“Nòw ̷n͢ow͢ you ̀t̴wo̵~̀ Let's ̨n͘ot̀ ̕get ͝vi͠ol̶ent ͠ov̵er͝ l̶i͢t̴tl͟e͝ o̷l̨d҉ m̵e~͞ ̷Af̨t̛e҉r a͏ll͘,̛ th͝ŕe̕'s ͘en̷o̧u͏g̵h̛ ͝of͘ ͢m͘e͠ ͟to g̢o arou̢nd~ E͟specįall҉y̵ ͏t̵o y͡oư, ́ḿy ̡lo̡v͏e̵~” A new voice joined us as we turned to the sound of hooves coming closer to us.
It was quite the nightmarish sight to see, if I had to go for an adjective to perfectly capture this moment. While none of the others were happy fun times, this was one of the downright creepiest things to see. Her face looked like it had gotten a long scratch down it, most likely from one of the Diamond Dogs. She had small cuts all over her body, as her horn occasionally dripped blood. Her cutie mark looked like shattered bloodstones, while one of her eyes was a black with white iris in it.
Pinkamena looked… revolted, almost, at this dark version of Rarity. “N͏o.̶.. no,̢ no, ́n͠o,͡ n͜ǫ!͜ F̷u͞cking͝ ̀h̸e̶l̶l, th̛is̸ ̀has ̡got ̴t͟o͝ ҉be̡ a̡ ̨mistake̛ ͠from̢ B͘o͠s͠s. ̵T͏h̵e̷r̵e'͢s͡ ̴no̵ wa̶y͡ i͟n ͜H̵om̵ę ҉t̢ha͜t Y̵O͠U͡'̢R̛E th̸e on͏e p͢o̧s͜s̡essi͢ng̛ HER,” She snarled as she readied her signature knife.
“Th̵is͠ w͡a͢s..͠. ̶unexpe͝ct̸ed̀. ͟A ̕m͏a͝soćhis͢t̴ic͟ ͢s͜i̧st͢e͜r҉-̡i҉n-̛ar͠ms ͠a͡l͢on̨g̨s͟idę ͞me ̵a͏nd̵ ͘m͞is͘s ̷s͝l͜i̡c̡èr ͏óv͢èr̸ ̨here̷? Ne̢x͟t ͞yo͝u'̀l͟l͘ b͏e̶ ̀t͠el̷li̢ng͟ ̨me ̀w͝ę hav̨e á d̡ȩm̶o̕n fr̡ui͘t̴bat͡ ̶and a͢ t̢i̴m̵b̧èŗ ͟wȩr͏e̡wo͝lf to ̧joi̴n us,” Midnight rolled her eyes and spoke in a very sarcastically bright tone, almost mockingly using Twily’s voice.
“H̨m̸ph, ͟th̸i͞s i̶s̛ th͜e͠ ̶r̵ecep̧ti͞on̡ I͜ g͝ȩt?̶ ̸I w̶a͝s͝ e͝xp͏ect̸in̸g͏ mo̕ŗe͜ ̀of a ̛par̨ty to͡ ͘b͞e͜ ̢t̸hŗo̵wn͜ a͘nd ͢f͡or ͟m̀or̸e͞ ͏g͟ues̶ts̨ t͘o͜ ́be ̴in̢vit͝e̵d. ̧A͏ll̕ ͡y̕o̸u ̕di͢d was b̢ri͠ng ̵a͜ ̀p͡at̶h҉e̡t҉i҉c̷ li̸ttle͝ p̛a̛rty f҉a̴v͡o̷r͏. ̀I͜ ̵ev̕ȩn̸ ̴gǫt̵ f̀oo̴d͟ ͢for ̀ýou͠ to̢ ̵m̷a̷kę w̢i͠t͟h, ͜my͠ ҉love̕!̧~̕” Dark Rarity giggled as she winked and blew a kiss at Pinkamena, who gave a snarl in return.
The situation was so surreal, I could’ve laughed out loud. Only I got the feeling that I would soon be executed or captured by one of the three, and that’s if they didn’t rip me to shreds trying to take my body.
“Ladies…? Um, if I may just say something before I’m killed/experimented on/tortured/combination?” I politely asked, causing all three to turn to me at once.
"W͞ḩat͠ ̶wo͞u̡ld ͢th͟a̧t ͏be̶?͜" They spoke at slightly different intervals, but close to at the same time.
“THIS,” My voice boomed, causing all three to be blown back and for some loose ground to collapse in front of me, creating a roadblock for them.
I took my opportunity as fast as I could to put some distance between me and the three little maids from Tartarus. I knew it wasn’t a moment too soon, as I could hear rocks being shattered or disintegrated right behind me, and it was pretty fast work. By the time they gave a cry of rageful victory, I had already started making my way deeper into the tunnels and caves.
While I was running for my life, which is something I never thought I’d be used to, I was hurriedly trying to come up with a plan for stopping the three dark horses. Hell, I barely remembered how I stopped them the last two times. It didn’t help that I was running a near constant headache for reasons I couldn’t figure out. All I could manage to think of was a random turn here and there, and not to focus on the fallen bodies of the Diamond Dogs that littered every hallway.
Eventually though, my luck ran out as I hit a dead-end. I knew I let loose some curses about my white fur as I heard the sound of hooves slowing down close-by. Two lights then glowed from unicorn horns, one an ominous grey and one a raging red.
“I̛t s҉e̶e̸ms your͡ ̴l̴u҉ćk͜ ̢ran ̡oųt,̛ test su̢b̡jéc̕t,” Midnight sounded very smug as they grey light moved even closer.
“N̸o̴w al̡l ̸ẃe need t͜o d̵ó i̷s͏ t̀o͡ ͟m̛ak͘e y̧o͡u̴ŗ ́corp͡s̀e̴ ̧look e͜v͜er só ̢l͢ov͞èly͠~” Lil’ Miss cooed, mockingly sounding like Rarity as the red light started to grow in size.
“H͝ey̡ ͘n͡ow͝, ͝Ì nee͏d̵ ͏s̡omè ͡fresh͠ ͡meat ̕f̧or ͜m̶y ̢c̷up͠ca̵ke,̡ s̕i͏cko͟!̕” Pinkamena snarled as a glint of steel could be seen amidst the growing red light.
“No, w͞e ͘c͜a҉n̢'҉t ĺos͞e ̴an̢y ͞of ҉h̵įs ̴f͟l͢esh! H̡e͘ ńeed͘s ͘to ͞be̡ i̸n͏t͠a̶ct ͟f͞or̕ m̴y ́ex̡p̵er̡imén͠t͢s to ́be d͢oǹe!̸” Midnight shot angrily right back, the grey now swapping out for a more pitch-black ball of magic, making the entire room look like it was covered in blood.
“I̶ t̷hi͟n͜k w͠e͢ ̴çan̴ ͏lơs̀e͡ so͠me͏ ̕of̢ ͞the͘ ̷o̴rga̛ns,̵ but ̢he ̸stiĺl ͟ńee̵d͞s ͞to̧ ͝h͢a͢ve s̵ǫme me͢at on h͝i͢m ͏i̴n ͠oŕder for̨ me ͢t̸o̕ ma͡k͞e͢ thȩ c̵u͡tes̶t͡ ̡p̶l͜ush́i̢e ̴ou͞t̶ ̡of him!~ ̛On̵e s̸o ̴s͘oft a͜nd̛ ̴l̕if̛e-̧lik̵e~̡” Lil’ Miss added on, causing the three to bicker over how to use my body.
‘I swear to LaurFastia, it’s like I’m trapped in some horror anime with a soon-to-be herd... ‘ I thought as I tried to escape while they were bickering. Unfortunately for me, I could soon feel shackles weighing down on my back hooves and wings. ‘Oh, bucking Tartarus. Seems Lil’ Miss made these, as I doubt Midnight would bother with constructs and rather just knock me out… and that thought process didn’t help with my earlier thought.’
My thoughts were thankfully cut short as Pinkamena eventually threw her hooves up in the air. “F͘i̸ne̷,͠ then ̨i̛t'̧s̸ ͠śet̕t̨l̢eḑ!̕ ͟N̴o͢ ̶one̢ d͏oes̛ an͠ỳth͘in̵g̸ ̵b͏e͏ca͠use͏ we͞ ̷ca͝n̴'̧t̷ fuckín͏g ͜agr̨ee on w͠ha͘ţ ̷to do͡ w͟it̴h the damn co̶r̶p͏s҉e͏,͜ i͟f̛ ̀we e͝v̴e̴ń t̷ur̢n̶ ̸hi̧m҉ i̶nto̢ ̨o͠n͏e͘!”
“As͞ f̧o͜r ̷tḩè ̀o͡th̵e͡rs.̨.̴.̶ we̴'l̶l ͞nee̵d͏ ̵t͘o ̴go co̴l͠le̴ct ͟the͡m͏. ̧Es͘p͏e̛ci̡al͝ly ͡m̵y̛ a̕ssist͝aǹt̡.̵ T͠h̶ough ́he'͢l̢l͜ need a̵ ̸fe̢w͘ u͞p̛g͞r̀ades͡ ̶to͘ mak͘e ҉hi̡m ̀mor̡ę.͘.҉.͜ ̧p͘l̢ia͞bl͟e,” Midnight nodded as the three started to move off.
At that point, I could feel my head ready to burst, as the entire room looked like it was filled with bright light. And that was the last thing I saw before I blacked out.
When I finally came to, the four of us were… back at Twily’s house? I decided to just think on it later, as I heard groans from the three mares. Thankfully, they sounded, alright, but to make sure, I checked their Cutie Marks. I sighed with relief as all three of them looked completely normal again.
“Oh dear heavens, my head…” Rarity whined as she got back on shaky hooves.
“Owie… you said it Rares, not me…” Pinkie mumbled as her mane slowly inflated again.
“What… happened…?” Twily murmured as she shook her head, a black and white spark flying off her horn.
“Dunno… ow…” I groaned as I could feel myself exhausted to the bone, and my wings were sore as Tartarus, along with what felt like a migraine.
“Wait… oh no! Are you girls alright?! Is Med right?! MY MANE AND COAT!” Pinkie yelled, horrified as she zoomed to each of us for scratches and injuries.
“Pinkie… Not so loud, darling…” Rarity winced as she was quickly patched up with some bandages on some scratches that were there.
Twily helped me back onto my hooves, which were incredibly shaky and unresponsive at the time. I gave her a weak smile back before I zoned out, trying to get the feeling back into my hooves to stand again. I could hear blurbs of ponies talking, but honestly, I was not paying attention in the slightest. I guess it must’ve been a brief conversation, because I could eventually feel Twily dragging me both physically and magically.
“Medley… are you alright? You seemed way out of it when we were discussing what had happened, and you weren’t responding to anything we were saying to you…” Twily broke through the hazy mind with a very worried tone.
“‘M fine… jus’ tired… And little hurt… Nothin’ much…” I barely heard myself mumble back to her.
She dragged me so that I was facing her dead in her beautiful, deep purple eyes… eh, too tired to listen… sleep…
Twilight’s addition
I sighed as I saw Med practically fall unconscious before my eyes. I nearly went into full on panic mode before I could hear his soft snoring, and relaxed a little.
“We need to get you to a doctor as soon as we can and make sure you don’t have a concussion or anything…” I worriedly stated out loud as I got him as quick as I could to a doctor.
As it turned out, he only had a minor concussion, though the doctor couldn’t seem to find where it came from as an origin point. It was as though it had sprang from nowhere, and would likely fade in just the same way. He was still confined to a hospital bed while they did everything they could to make it a quicker and less painful transition, but it still worried me.
As I watched over him throughout the night, I was thinking about what exactly HAD happened down in the now abandoned mine shaft. All I could remember was this odd voice before screaming in pain, and then… nothing. I decided to ask Med about this in full detail the following morning, when he was feeling up and ready for it.
I then saw that Med, had written out a scroll that said everything was alright and that it was safe to come out. I was extremely worried at that point and was tempted to wake him up to explain everything, but sent the scroll to Spike to relay the message. I soon felt my eyes grow heavy, and before I could even think about it, I fell asleep, resting my head near one of Med’s surprisingly soft and warm wings.
Quite honestly, I just want this to end. What, you may ask, do I want to end? Oh, just the HORRIBLE RUN OF LUCK WAKING UP. Seriously, it’s becoming almost a running joke now! If it isn’t some pony or dragon landing on me, it’s my own body bucking it up. If it isn’t that, nature decides to step up to the plate. And if nature’s unwilling, magic will be the one to take care of it. It’s a neat little system that decides to be the most painful alarm clock I ever had. This time though? Buffalo stampede next to the train we were taking.
You see, AJ was taking a tree down to Appleloosa, a small little town nearing the outskirts of Equestria. They were building an apple orchard and wanted AJ to contribute to help bring in “family fortune” with their apple crops. AJ, of course, agreed to it and asked to show some people, meaning us 6 ponies and Spike, around the place. Her cousin, Braeburn I believe, agreed to that as well, which is how we found ourselves on the train. On the train ride though, an explanation was finally given on what had happened a couple of days ago with the Diamond Dogs.
“Alright, ya been avoidin’ me, Flutters an’ Spike here long enough. Now, spill.” AJ started off on a very blunt note.
“I would have no idea what you are-” I was cut off by an irate Spike.
“You do! I saw your face before you forced us down there!” Spike raged at me, looking like one unhappy dragon.
“I’m with Spike on this one,” AJ continued, giving me a hard look. “Now. Tell. Us. Medley.”
Once she used my name in that tone, I sighed as I explained the best I could with my own theory on what had happened. I didn’t go into detail with each pony, since it WAS kinda dark for a world like Equus, but the simplified version I gave didn’t sit well with either Spike or AJ, who both wanted to hurl when I brought up the “cupcakes”. I then explained how I was nearly possessed by a demon myself before Twi and the two princesses managed to get it out from me.
“Wait a tic… How come ya ain’t done it fer any of us?!” AJ angrily shouted.
“Because we don’t know what kind of thing we’re dealing with for you and Shy, and don’t even know if Spike has anything in him. Plus, who knows, maybe it could be a “darker side” or something like that, and we can’t just simply banish your darker half,” I sounded very irritated, the best I could do without actually yelling and blowing out the spell I had on.
“And why in Tartarus’s name can’t we?” AJ growled.
“Because of balance. Can’t have light without darkness, and can’t have darkness without light. Nightmare Moon is a perfect example of this. Sure, we brought back the light side, Princess Luna, but all we did was just re-contain the dark side, Nightmare Moon, from resurfacing. We can’t do that with the rest of you, since we don’t know exactly what we’re dealing with, and the last thing we want is to get any of you out of whack.” I tried to reason with her before Spike noticed something.
“Wait… then how come you got rid of that demon thing?” Spike pointed out.
“That was because…” I thought about it for a while, before coming up short. “I… don’t remember. But I know it was OK for me or something like that.”
AJ sighed, as she knew my memory wasn’t the best, even for important things like this, but accepted it nonetheless. Spike went to Twi for a better recounting. Soon enough, after everything said and done, it was nighttime, and AJ went off to give “Bloomberg”, otherwise known as the delivery to Appleloosa, a bedtime story. Why she got a private sleeper car for just one tree still baffles me, but I eventually just reused a phrase most often used for one other pony in particular: It’s AJ, don’t question it. Besides, not long settling down, with Spike leaving in a huff because of the gals’ antics, we all quickly got some sleep.
It was quite a different story in the morning, however. I was soon jolted out of my bed, flying right into the other side of the train car with a groan. As everyone got up and flocked to the window to see what caused such a ruckus, causing me to be the one to fly up and out to look outside on top of the train car. What I saw astounded me, most likely as much as the gals down below.
It was a herd of buffalo, stampeding alongside the train car. Very, very close to the train car. My eyes widened a little as I saw some of them run ahead and ram into one of the pulling ponies, while a couple of them rammed hard into the side of the train car, resulting in me flying out and grabbing on while it readjusted myself.
“Hey, Med! You good up there?” Dash called out from inside after a small while, presumably because the others were shaken around inside.
“I’m doing as well as one could hope,” I replied in the loudest tone I could muster without breaking my enchantment.
“Hang on, I’m comin for ya!” Dash responded to my reply, starting to come out before another ram into the train car made me nearly lose my grip. Though as I clung tightly to the roof, I noticed a pair of buffalo stacked on one another, before a smaller one jumped on top of them before jumping onto the roof a couple of cars down.
“Don’t worry about me, I got this.” I spoke down into the car as I was about to dash off.
It was then that Dash came out, looking a little dizzy and banged up, but alright. “Nu-uh! I can handle this! You go back with the others Med.”
“I am NOT just going to sit and do nothing when I can be doing something,” I heatedly argued, the smaller buffalo getting closer by the second.
She growled a little, but reluctantly nodded. “Then stay by me and help me catch her so we can figure out what in Tartarus is going on.”
I nodded back, as Dash tried to intercept the buffalo, only to have the buffalo run right past her and towards me. I quickly flew at her, the train wind helping me there, but she jumped over me, just as I crashed into Dash, causing us both to fall off the train, which rode off into the distance.
“OW! Med, that is the opposite of helping!” Dash berated me as she held her nose, which was bleeding a little bit, most likely because it hit my forehead hard.
“Well sorry for trying to help,” I bit back sarcastically, feeling like a major headache was coming on, and my wings felt a lot more hurt than before.
As we were both still dazed and confused, we didn’t even see the caboose of the train, conveniently where “Bloomberg” and Spike were at the time, go by us. At least, not until the last possible second, which is to say, far too late to do anything about.
“Dang it!” She angrily stomped her hoof before wincing a little. “They dragonnapped Spike and took a tree as well!”
“But… why? What use would a baby dragon and one single apple tree to a tribe of buffalo? This isn’t making a whole lot of sense, at least without something to help explain this…” I murmured, rubbing my forehead with a small frown.
“Well… we better get moving…” Dash glared at me as she got up and started walking slowly, a little bit of a limp to it. “I told you to go stay back with the others, now we gotta chase after them, and I can’t just fly after them either.”
I glared back as I walked alongside her, also with a little bit of a limp. “And as I recall, you were fine with me helping, right up until I missed. What, did I ruin your dramatic capture or your chance to be the hero?”
She growled dangerously at me. “Coming from someone who couldn’t yell a warning?”
I growled back, as we both got ready to brawl before our injuries flared up a little, making us yelp a little and snap us out of it. We sighed as we walked along in tentative silence. It felt like a few hours had passed before one of us spoke up again.
“Sorry Dash… I was really just trying to help…” I apologized, as after a few hours, I knew I could’ve made a smarter move, and admit that maybe trying to pull of something like a tackle with a speeding train helping boost your speed wasn’t the best plan to go with.
“It’s fine. Don’t worry about it,” She quickly replied, though she still sounded a little angry.
“Hiya you two!” Both Dash and I jumped a few yards in the air before landing painfully, with a giggling Pinkie standing where she would be right behind us, if we hadn’t jumped.
“Pinkie! What are YOU doing here?!” Dash exclaimed as she helped me up, while I helped her up.
“Because I’m helping you two to save Spike, duh!” Pinkie giggled and smiled at us.
I grumbled as I got back up. “Well, whatever sneakiness we had is gone now.”
“Hehe, why would we wanna be sneaky sneaky?” Pinkie went on to say.
Dash snapped at Pinkie now. “Because we need to scout out the area and not get-”
We were quickly surrounded by buffalo that appeared from seemingly out of nowhere, cutting off any way of escape.
“...caught…” Dash finished lamely, as the buffalo did not look too happy with us.
I was prepared to toss Pinkie over the crowd while Dash would hold off the now charging crowd, but a recognizable voice shouted at them to stop. They immediately froze, parting a little to reveal…
“Spike?!” We all exclaimed, Pinkie and Dash more than I for obvious reasons.
“Dash, Pinkie, Med, sup?” Spike strolled out, without a scratch on him. He then looked at the buffalo, giving then a grin. “Don’t worry about these gals, they’re cool.”
“If you say so, Spike,” One of the buffalo, which to Medley sounded like a human teen, fist-bumped Spike as the buffalo then thundered off.
Needless to say, we three ponies were quite confused by the whole situation. We probably all looked confused as well, looking at each other with mystified expressions. Finally, we all gave a small nod and followed Spike and the stampeding buffalo party. It took us a while, finally stopping at a small campfire that was somewhere in the middle of the tribe once it was nightfall.
Spike explained the situation as, “Seems they took me by mistake. They’re also feel pretty sorry about it. Luckily, they seem to treat me at least nicely. Still not a big fan of ponies though.”
Some buffalo brought over some food for us to munch on, at least giving basic courtesy. Dash immediately rejected her bowl, while Pinkie was the complete opposite, chowing down through hers in an instant and working on Dash’s. I know I ate into mine, if only to feed my stomach something, since I had forgotten to truly eat a meal throughout the day.
“I think we should bail out as soon as we can. I still don’t trust these guys,” Dash scanned out from the tribe as she said this.
I shook my head and gave my rebuttal. “Dash, we should at least hear them out and see why they attacked in the first place. After all, attacking a train randomly doesn’t seem like normal tribe behavior.”
“And what would you know of how buffalo behave?” Dash glared at me accusingly.
I rolled my eyes a little. “Dash, you know I traveled along lots of Equestria, bringing me into limited contact with a lot of different species. I tried to see if there was an earthly cure from the buffalo for my affliction, but it was no good.”
“And our tribe still apologizes for not being able to help you.” The young buffalo from earlier appeared, giving Spike a bowl of turquoise.
It took me a moment before recognizing her. “Wait a second… Little Strongheart?”
She nodded with a warm smile. “It seems that I finally get to actually meet you. As I was told, you came when I was still a newborn calf. Now after so long, it is great to see the Great Mystery Song.”
“Ah, so that’s my new name now, hm?” I chuckled a little as Dash gave me a glare.
“Don’t tell me you already know these guys? And- Wait a sec!” She looked over as she recognized her immediately. “You’re the one that caused us all that trouble on top of the train! That settles it, we’re out of here!” She grabbed Pinkie by the tail and tried to leave, before Little Strongheart jumped right in front of her path.
“Wait! Please, accept my apologies for what I did on the train. We didn’t mean for anyone to be hurt.” She looked actually sad that we had sustained injuries.
It looked like she was determined to say her piece though, since even after Dash had pretty much disagreed and tried a different way out, Little Strongheart zoomed in front of her path again. “We only wanted the tree! The settler ponies have taken over the land and planted an orchard all over it! Thanks to their thoughtlessness though, we can no longer use our traditional stampeding grounds…”
Pinkie and Dash both looked confused, as Spike and I gave each other a look at each other before nodding, as I turned to Little Strongheart. “Perhaps it is best if you bring in Chief Thunderhooves to explain your situation.”
Little Strongheart nodded, and not too long later, a meeting had formed, with Chief Thunderhooves in attendance. Everyone now had gathered around the campfire, with the bowl cleaned and cleared off.
“Ah… The Great Mystery Song returns to us. I am afraid we still hold no cure for your curse.” He nodded at me.
I waved a hoof. “It is alright, Chief Thunderhooves. I eventually found one, but your efforts were still welcome and thanked. However… I think we will have to catch each other up on old times later. For now, my two pony friend wish to know the situation in hand, and why your tribe is in conflict as of right now.”
He gave a nod as he spoke to all of us. “We have a long and winding stampeding trail that we have run upon for generations. My father stampeded among these grounds, and his father before him, and his father before him…”
He trailed on like this for a while, making everyone, even the buffalo, start to doze off from it. Eventually, Little Strongheart shook him a little, shaking him out of it.
“In any case, it is a sacred tradition to run the path every year. But this year, these… settler ponies, these… Applelosians!” he was getting steadily worked up into a rage before Little Strongheart, once again, taking him out of it as she continued on for him.
“They planted apple trees all over it without our express permission.” She explained as calmly as she could.
“Well now. That’s a good reason to be upset, huh Dash?” I looked over at her with a smirk. In response, she just angrily pouted and sat, crossing her hooves.
“The ponies REFUSE to move their trees, so we are stuck here, and it is not fair!” She stamped a hoof angrily in conclusion.
Pinkie eventually spoke up. “See Dashie? They had a preeety good reason to-”
Dash immediately got up, looking indignant and furious as everyone looked surprised and afraid. It was then that she spoke up.
“I’ll say they had a good reason!” She stomped a hoof in righteous fury as she flew over to the Cheif. “C’mon you girls! Er… guys! We have some apple-pickin’ Applelosians to talk to!”
It was then decided that, after a good night’s rest, everyone would depart in the morning. Dash looked super hyped to start, but eventually Pinkie, Spike, Little Strongheart and I all managed to calm her down enough to make her get some sleep. Pinkie immediately dozed off right after that, with Spike soon joining them. But, as I had promised the Chief, I would catch him up on what had happened since I disappeared, and how I was eventually “cured”.
“Now… Mystery Song… please help us understand what has happened in your travels, and how you came to be speaking clearly as you are now.” Chief Thunderhooves demanded politely.
“Of course, Chief Thunderhooves.” I gave a small nod as I launched into my story, which had involved me travelling to Zebrica for a brief stint, which was how I met Zecora, to Phillydelphia, to no avail and names long forgotten, and finally back where my journey had semi-ended, in Ponyville, where Celestia’s own student found the spell to keep my voice amplified to a normal speaking level.
“And that was my journey. In the end, in a small, little village, I found someone who could help me with my problems just as well as a Canterlot doctor.” I ended my tale with a small smile.
The Chief chuckled a little. “It seems you found a lot more in this pony than one who could master such magic.”
I blinked before blushing a little more, thinking of Twi. I now started to worry over if she was alright, even if a part of me inside my head was logically arguing that she was with the others as well, in a place full of friendly ponies.
The Chief’s chuckling was like low thunder, fitting since his name was Thunderhooves. “And it seems I am correct as well. I do hope that your union with her is peaceful and happy.”
I sighed a little, giving in as I nodded. “I just… don’t know how to really ask her…”
“It will come to you in time, Mystery Song. For now though, rest. Your companions and Little Strongheart will need it for upcoming negotiations with the settler ponies.” He gave an angry snort at the mention of them before nodding, heading off to go to sleep himself.
I smiled as I headed off to sleep myself, thinking more about Twi and what tomorrow could hold. I did eventually get some sleep, but with both horrifying nightmares and fantastic visions of fantasy haunting my dreamscape, even with Luna on dream patrol.
It was around noon before I even knew it, as I was roused from my slumber by Pinkie, who gave me a slightly worried look.
“You were being really fidgety in your sleep, Med.” Pinkie went for the obvious, but sounded concerned for me.
I smiled a little as I got up, taking a little time due to the blanket that was wrapped around me and my wings. “It’s fine, Pinkie. It was all just dreams.”
Nothing else was said, as we both got out and we all made our way to Appleloosa. Even during the trip, no words were said, even as I could feel Dash’s anger on the behalf of the buffalo and Spike, who was on my back, worried about everypony. I know I was still slightly worried over Twi, but still held logic that she was safe and sound and- OK, enough daydreaming about the beautiful pony that is Twi! ...where was I?
Oh, right, meet-up. It was kinda funny, actually. Just as we arrived there, who else could be galloping towards us, but… the rest of our friends. And another pony, most likely a settler pony. They skidded to a stop, staring at us unblinkingly and in surprise before Spike broke the tension.
“Hi gals!” Spike gave a small wave at everypony who had raced out to most likely try and rescue us.
It seems that was what they needed to come at us, with Shy tackling Dash down in relief, and to my surprise, Twi doing the same to me before scooping up Spike in a big and motherly hug. They made sure everyone was alright and safe, and we quickly caught up on what had happened before we got down to business.
Little Strongheart came out as I explained. “Now, before you go thinking that we made a heroic escape from the buffalo… that is entirely false. In reality, they took us in and explained their side of the situation at hand, and brought someone along for negotiations.”
“Uh-huh.” AJ didn’t look convinced as she stepped closer. “And who’s she?”
“This is Little Strongheart, and she’s here to help explain why the settler ponies should move their apple orchards elsewhere and off of buffalo land.” Dash cut in, pushing forward Little Strongheart towards the center of the group.
Just as the settler pony was about to speak up, AJ butted in. “That’s odd. Cause my cousin Braeburn here wants to explain to the buffalo why they should let the apple trees stay.”
I gave an internal groan as Dash cut off Little Strongheart, being just as stubborn as AJ now. “The land is theirs. Look, they planted the trees in the wrong place, it’s no biggie, just move ‘em out of the way, that’s all.”
“They busted their rumps puttin them there!” AJ stepped up, angry on behalf of the settlers. “Now they're supposed to just bust their rumps again just cause some buffalo won’t stampede someplace else?”
“OK, girls?” I tried talking, but it seems they weren’t in the mood to listen as they kept on bickering.
“Just plant the trees somewhere else!” Dash called out.
“Where?! It’s the only plant land around these parts!” AJ waved a hoof at the admittedly very dry desert.
“Girls?” I tried in vain, but nope, it had to be Dash and AJ arguing about something and literally getting up in each other’s faces.
“The buffalo were here first!” RD exclaimed loudly.
“The settler ponies need it to live!” AJ shot back.
At this point, I was fed up and shouted as loud as I could. “GIRLS! STOP THIS!” I immediately felt the spell fizzle out, making me cough hard.
Everyone jumped at the yell, as I was usually as quiet as Fluttershy, if only a bit more involved. Twilight sighed as she reapplied the spell, carrying a backup just in case. I gave a grateful and warm smile, making her blush, which in turn made me blush. Eventually, I got back on track, speaking normally now.
“Look. It’s very clear that the settler ponies need this land, I can see that now. However, they didn’t exactly get permission from the buffalo to build there, and since the buffalo were here first, I think it would’ve been good to ask before assuming. However, has anyone thought of a very simple, and effective, solution?” I calmly stated, laying out everything and making sure that both sides were seen in the right and in the wrong.
“Oh yeah? What’s that?” AJ snipped at me.
I gave her a glare, and one at Dash to preemptively silence her own snipe at me. “Just make a path for the buffalo to stampede through. I know that it’s a little bit of work, but it’s better than moving an entire orchard elsewhere. However, as this was originally buffalo land, the settlers will have to give concessions to the buffalo.”
“Actually… we tend ta have a good harvest every year. If tha buffalo wanna give permission fer us ta be there, we’d give them a share of all the apple goods we bake.” Braeburn chimed in.
“That sounds like a deal the tribe would be willing to accept.” Little Strongheart nodded as Pinkie- OK, no, enough, stop doing this.
Nope! Not until you give me a song! And you skipped over plenty of my song’s, buster!
Pinkie, I already had a hard enough time as it is giving everyone equal amounts of screentime in this episode. I mean, chapter. Plus, as I recall, your song is what originally got everyone to START the fighting. Which is NOT what I wanted to have happen.
Weeeeeeelllll… Can’t you give me something else here? C’mon, pleeeeeeeeease? Pretty please? Pretty please with-
Fine, fine, I’ll give you a celebratory song to sing at the end of the chapter, now GET OUT!
Okie dokie lokie!
-gave out a small cheer. “Yaaaay! This means… time to party!” She cheered as she quickly ran off to Appleloosa.
“Uh…” Braeburn looked very out of the loop, an expression shared by Little Strongheart.
“It’s Pinkie, don’t question it.” Everyone else said in unison, making us all giggle and laugh.
“But seriously, just let her do her thing. It’ll be worth it.” Eventually I calmed down enough to talk normally, putting a hoof on his shoulder.
Sure enough, not one moment later, and after getting the buffalo over to hear the deal that had been made (which had been agreed to, much like Little Strongheart predicted), Pinkie got the party of “Appleloosa and Buffalo Agreement” going. Which in this case was a town square, wild celebration at nearly avoiding a war. On a stage set up, Pinkie was singing a song. At first, I couldn’t recognize it. Once I did though, I started to laugh a little, wildly and happily dancing to the tune. It went something like this:
Yepperoni! Thanks for letting me sing that song! I never thought I’d get to use that!
After the song had ended, everyone was mystified by the words, but cheered anyways for the country theme and beat to it, letting a proper hoedown begin now. I eventually grinned, waving Twi over. She promptly shook her head and looked nervous before I rolled my eyes a little and dragged her out to the dance floor, even as she claimed that she couldn’t dance at all. Soon enough though, we both started to dance and have a fun time, especially when we both were doing Twilight’s, admittedly only good dance move, the Pony Pop. Sure, we may have accidentally kicked a couple of ponies and maybe a buffalo or two, but we apologized and were quickly forgiven, since no one was actually hurt. In the end… another awesome party from the pink party pony herself.
It soon became time to leave though around nightfall, so we made our goodbyes and travelled back to Ponyville in relative silence, content to just life in the afterglow of the party. Once we arrived in Ponyville, we all said our goodnights and headed back to our homes. I rested on my bed, but my brain kept me up for a long while. Back when there was arguing going on, I felt a pull on myself, a very small one, but one nonetheless. It felt like it was telling me what to say, as I had no idea of a solution like that in full. Something was influencing me there… but what? Rest once again did not come easy, as I kept on thinking about the strange force, and a small idea of the day that justice would finally come to me.
Is it wrong of me to feel happy when someone else is getting crapped upon? Especially that one is the person that caused all of your misfortune? If so… then screw it, I don’t care. I have been waiting for this day for literal years now, and it had finally come! Ah… at long last. I had checked my mail earlier today, and lo and behold, there was a court summons for me to go to Canterlot. A lawyer had been hired on my behalf, as this was a serious case to be considered. Considering it had Assault, Near Cutie Mark Fracture, Attempted Murder, and some other minor charges as well. It seems as though, while it took a while, they caught the one responsible and were setting up a trial, as this trial was to be judged by none other than Princess Celestia and Princess Luna themselves. I quickly hurried off to tell Twily, who was strangely grumpy. At least, until she talked.
“Med… it is 6 AM in the morning…” Twily broke off into a yawn, looking dead tired. “What are you doing awake…?”
“Twi, it’s my trial! It’s finally come by! Quickly, we need to gather everyone and hop on the first train to Canterlot!” I excitedly spoke, my volume a little higher than normal, the spell straining against it.
It took Twily a moment before she immediately snapped awake, giving an excited yell, scaring her newest assistant, Owlowiscious. She had gotten him pretty recently as her night assistant, and while initially Spike thought she was replacing him, setting the two down and talking through it cleared up the matter rather instantly. Anyways, she quickly gave me a quick peck on the cheek before rushing up the stairs, leaving me stunned, my wings popped out, and a small blush on my face.
Twily quickly ran back down the stairs, a very sleepy and grumpy baby dragon on her back, still snoozing away. She blushed as she realized what she did, shuffling a hoof before shaking her head a bit. “Come on Med! We gotta let the others know!”
I nodded, quickly taking off after her as we gathered everyone. Their reactions seemed to be mainly the same as Twily’s, with a confused and a little grumpy wake-up call before immediately perking up and happy to hear, with a meet-up at the train station. The only exception was Pinkie, who just wasn’t grumpy in the morning, and immediately went into action, as though she already knew what was going to happen. Nevertheless, we all met up just in time for the train for Canterlot to arrive.
“Oh boy oh boy oh boy!” Pinkie spoke rapidly, looking like she was shaking in excitement.
“Still don’t know what took ‘em so long,” Dash muttered as she fought a yawn.
“These things take a while to set up, Dash. Especially if it involves both Princesses,” Twily explained patiently.
“Well, s’long as Med here gets due justice, I reckon that he’ll be just fine,” AJ spoke up, sounding the least tired out of all of us.
“Indeed, darling. I have no doubts that they’ll uphold in your favor. Especially with such solid evidence,” Rarity chimed in, brushing her hair idly.
I gave a small smile at the support I was getting, but knew that three things were against me, no matter what. The first was that I wasn’t a part of Canterlot, the second being I was a stallion up against a mare, and the third was that I was in no way rich or really even all that famous. All I could really count on was the support of some sympathetic nobles and both Princesses, even with what looked like a cut-and-dry case.
The train ride was rather subdued, as we were all still practically waking up. Rarity had brought along some fancy clothes for me to wear, even if I got the feeling it also doubled for promoting her wares. Still, it felt very snug and nice on my fur, even with pre-made holes made specifically for my wings. It looked very fashionable on me, and according to Rarity, part of the top fashion trends in Canterlot. I just mindlessly agreed, still worrying hard over what was to become of my case.
Soon enough, we pulled into Canterlot proper, and we left once the train had made a complete stop and the doors were open. It was a mad dash towards the castle, where my trial would be held. As I was the one who technically initiated the case, I was required for all of the trial. My friends were there since I was an Element of Harmony, and in case all 7 were needed, they had to be closeby as well, so they’d be in the visitor’s gallery.
Once we had arrived at the castle, already a huge crowd was forming. Some of them seemed to be journalists, getting the scoop on such a high-profile case, which was rare to hear of in Equestria. Others seemed to be nobles, either in support of me and providing one or two testimonies on my behalf, against me, in which case they’d be providing testimonies that said otherwise, or those that just seemed to be interested in such a high-profile case.
“I say, what are you riff-raff doing here? Don’t you know this is a high-profile trial?” One of the nobles condescendingly told us as we got closer, barring our way with a smug grin.
“Actually, sir, that’s my trial I’m trying to make to. Please move so I can get in.” I spoke calmly, and perhaps a bit snappishly.
He scoffed a little at that. “I doubt that. Not even you ponies from… whatever backwater hovel you came from, should even be-”
“Enough, Well-To-Do,” A voice spoke up, looking cross as I, and Rarity, recognized him as Fancy Pants. “Let Mr. Royalwind though. I daresay we need this trial as soon as we can.”
Well-To-Do huffed, but moved aside enough for me to squeeze through. I gave a reluctant thanks as I managed to get my way to the front, where I was immediately ushered inside for what was to be a long, long trial.
Sure enough, I was right. After everyone had settled and the trial had started, it immediately went into as close as one could get in an all-out legal war. Old laws were brought up, both for the defense and the prosecution, often resulting in each of them cancelling out. Then legal loopholes were considered and crushed, resulting in nearly a full hour of bickering until the Princess’ set them straight and the trial continued. Or at least, it would have, if not then everyone was ordered a short recess to be fed and watered enough for the next part of the trial. I quickly made my way over to my friends as we lightly discussed over a small meal.
“I gotta say, lotta strange talkin goin on in there. Ain’t it obvious yer in the right?” AJ spoke up.
“I wish that were the case… however, the legal system has to prove it for sure. Even if you’re the Element of Honesty, and I wish they could go with your word on it, this needs to be done for some closure.” Twily spoke with confidence.
I nodded before frowning, looking around. “Strange… I don’t see my parents anywhere… you’d think they’d be here. Especially at their son’s trial.”
“Hey… when was the last time you even visited your parents, Med? Or even wrote them a letter?” Dash gave a small look at me.
I raised my hooves in defense. “I’m a busy guy, but I sent out a letter two weeks ago, and never heard a reply back. Plus, with everything that’s been happening lately, I haven’t had time to check on them myself. Last time I did was after the Young Flier’s Competition.”
Rarity hummed a bit in thought. “It’s odd indeed… however, they could’ve simply been unable to attend today. Or the postal service is taking a longer route than usual.”
I gave a small nod, finishing my meal as everyone was called back in. And thus, the second round of my trial started. I know this isn’t sounding epic, but… c’mon, it’s a trial, most of it’s legal boring stuff that I can’t understand half the time.
After all the witnesses were called up, both the defense and prosecution made their closing statements, and the jury quickly went with a decision. I should also note that, during the entire trial, the mysterious attacker of mine kept up their hood and somehow kept it on, even without magic. And neither of us had spoken the entire trial. So once the jury made their decision, Celestia nodded and handled the verdict.
“We find the defendant… guilty. For all of their crimes, they shall be executed by tomorrow’s dawn. Whatever assets they may own are now property of Medley Royalwind, as compensation for any damages done,” Celestia boomed.
“Any last words before you are executed, mare?” Luna spoke up, looking down at the mare.
“Why yes… Yes indeed,” They grinned before they chuckled and started to laugh. “It was all so very easy! I don’t care if I’ve been caught, he deserved it, the up-start! He, thinking he could be better at being a musician than any of the fine ponies in Canterlot, preposterous!” She then froze before her voice became cold and playful. “That’s why he needed to be taught a lesson in humility. To show that he belongs under the hooves of his betters. And to do that… I did so much more. I waited until I finally completed the job before letting you capture me.” Her eyes gleamed with red and black under the hood, her grin even wider. “Now he has paid the price. And I hope he knows better than to try and sing. Ever. Again!” She laughed maniacally now. “Let the Elements be broken, one by one! Let Chaos make it all undone!”
I could feel chills as I spoke up, sounding hard and determined. “What… what did you do?”
She looked right at me, making me feel an immense pressure on my brain. “I made sure your family will never live on. And you have nothing to go back on.”
“Explain yourself!” Luna demanded over the cackle of the crazed mare.
“There’s only one of the Royalwind’s left alive now! And I hope that he will soon die, and that better ponies will take his talents and perfect them further!” She cried out, a mad grin on her face, her eyes shining with malice and cruelty.
It took me a bit to piece it together, but once I did… I… I couldn’t believe it. My parents… dead… All I knew at that point was the seething anger at this mare, who took away my family, however small it was, and tried to kill me as well, all because I tried to display my talents in the wrong place. But another part was sadness… as now… I didn’t have my parents anymore. They were killed at the hooves of another… and while they were getting up in age, I wanted to at least give them grandfoals… they still had a lot of life left in them. As she was being killed tomorrow, I decided, out of whatever was left of my rational brain, to leave her be. Once the trial came to a close, with the mad mare cackling as she was carted off for her last night alive, I slowly walked off to my friends, who all looked as shocked and as saddened as I did. Even Pinkie looked saddened and angered by this, which I shouldn’t have been too surprised, considering the news.
“Med…” Twily whispered as she held close to me, nuzzling me lightly.
No other words had to be spoken, as I finally broke down and started to cry. While I got what I wanted… I lost everything for it. My family for going into music… my voice for getting too famous too fast… my bits for a desperate cure… it was times like these where I question... Why… I… I’m sorry, I can’t keep writing.
Added Journal Entry: Twily
I was a mess of emotions as we stayed the night in one of the Princess’ spare rooms in her castle, due to how long the trial had taken. I was worried about Med and how he took the news… I was saddened that he lost his family while the rest of us girls still had our own families… and I was angry at someone being so vicious and cruel as to simply murder his family because of where he performed. After getting him into an uneasy sleep, I met up with Pinkie and Applejack for a brief discussion.
“Girls… I… I can’t believe what happened to Med…” I started first, if a bit awkwardly.
“I agree, sugarcube…” Some of Applejack's country-like voice and mannerisms seemed to dissipate.
“I… I thought anyone, no matter what, wouldn’t be this… horrible…” Pinkie whimpered, her mane a little deflated as she looked a little less… cheerful.
I looked at them both, my voice sounding cold and hard. “Girls. I wanna make her pay for what she did to my Med. I want her to endure the worst tortures I can think of and make her feel all the pain Med is feeling.”
They looked at me worriedly, but I noticed neither of them disagreed with me either. Pinkie eventually spoke up, worriedly.
“D-Do you mean… Twilight… I… I don’t know if that’s a good idea…” Pinkie whimpered in fear.
“Simply executing her doesn't work for me! It’s too painless, and she’ll feel no remorse or regret for what she did! And you heard her say what she was planning too!” I growled, stomping a hoof angrily as my horn flared with magical sparks.
“Twilight… I wanna get my revenge on her as much as you do… but she’ll be dead and gone by tomorrow morning. There’s no need to try and…” Applejack shivered. “...summon *them*.”
I growled even more angrily, feeling a sharp pain in my head. “Girls… please… You know we need to send a personal message. About how to not fuck with my Med. And if that takes leaving a message written in her blood, so be it.”
Now they both looked worried about me. “T-Twilight!” Pinkie put her hooves on my shoulder. “This isn’t like you! Please, don’t talk about this! Just LET IT BE!”
I stopped for a moment, looking into… Oh no… Pinkie was crying hard. I couldn’t help but tear up, hugging Pinkie as I heard a distinct grumbling in the back of my head. “I… You’re right, Pinkie…”
Applejack joined in on the hug, silently crying as well. “It’s no use, Twilight. We can’t change this or make it any better. All we can do is help out Medley in his time of need.”
It took the three of us a while to finally break-up, as Pinkie gave a watery smile. “Hehe… why don’tcha go be with Med, alright Twily? I’m sure you’ll make it better.”
I tried to look offended at that, but I just couldn’t as I gave a very light laugh. “I… I might just do that, Pinkie.” I then quickly made my way to Med, hoping I could help him.
End of Added Journal Entry
I soon had been awoken by the sound of my bed creaking and feeling somepony behind me, nuzzling me. At first, I thought it was Pinkie, trying to cheer me up, as per the usual. But it felt… different, somehow. Which only led me to one other conclusion.
I gave a small sigh. “Twi… what are you doing in here…?”
“I wanted to check up on my friend,” Twily mumbled as I moved around in bed to better see her.
“And your first thought was to join me in bed?” I tried for a quip, but I just was not really in that sort of mood.
Twily shook her head as she gave me a hug, pulling me close to her as I immediately hugged her back. I felt that strange sensation again, and because of the… intimacy… of it all, I knew I was probably blushing a fair bit as well.
“Med…” Twily couldn’t find the words to say anything much else.
To be honest though, I was kinda glad she didn’t try to say “I’m sorry”. After all, it wasn’t her fault I… I lost my parents… she didn’t cause this personal and devastating tragedy. Even when I was human, I still had my parents, along with a sister and brother. I knew that in time, I’d probably heal enough to return to normal life. But now I felt as though I had been scarred, and had wounds that could never be healed. I was alone now… with only the support of my friends. I knew I wasn’t going to be married anytime in the close future, even as a very few loose thoughts shifted in my mind about such a thing. I knew that I was simply just… too nice of a guy to really date. That, and I wasn’t rich, or influential. I never aspired to be a powerful pony. All I wanted was to spread my wings and let my voice be heard. Either gently to soothe souls, or loudly to bring attention to problems at hand. I… sorry for the rambling… I’ll just… call it a night… Just… Why me?
I laid in my bed, awake and alone with my thoughts. It had been awhile since I had gotten the news of my parent’s death. Ereyesterday, or the day before yesterday, I went to my parent’s funeral. It was thankfully and mercifully short, even as they were laid to rest in Cloudsdale. Then yesterday was just… a day. Nothing important really happened, as the school let me off for the week in order let me get myself back in working order. I wasn’t taking as many private voice lessons since a while now, and even though I knew I had to get back to work, it still felt like the world was just out to get me. That changed as I heard a knock at the door. Groaning, I got myself out bed, managing to bang my hoof against the bedpost as I did so. With a yelp and a tumble, I finally made it to the front door, opening it up.
To my complete and utter surprise, it was Pinkie at the door, with a singing telegram, as she was all dressed up in party fare. Here was what she sang:
This is your singing telegram
I hope it finds you well
You're invited to a party
'Cause we think you're really swell
Gummy's turning one year old
So help us celebrate
The cake will be delicious
The festivities first-rate
There will be games and dancing
Bob for apples, cut a rug
And when the party's over
We'll gather 'round for a group hug
No need to bring a gift
Being there will be enough
Birthdays mean having fun with friends
Not getting lots of stuff
It won't be the same without you
So we hope that you say yes
So, please, oh please R.S.V.P.
And come, and be our guest!
“Um…” I stared at her in surprise. On one hoof, it was really nice to do a singing telegram, and it did lift my spirits. But she also looked a bit worn out, so I got the feeling she was doing this for all of us Mane 7 and Spike. But before I could voice anything, she dashed off, leaving me even more confused. I just figure to come on over once I had gotten myself together for the day.
And oh boy what fun it was to get myself going for the day. While I still felt pretty numb from everything that had happened… Pinkie always did have the best parties in town. I figured that Gummy’s party would do me a bit of good and maybe give me a reason to celebrate. Plus, knowing Pinkie, she’d feel pretty bad if I didn’t make it. With that in mind, I got my outfit back on for the day and headed off towards Sugarcube Corner.
It looked like I was one of the first to arrive, besides for Pinkie of course. Already there was punch and cake out, and the music was just warming up. Pinkie immediately noticed me and zoomed on over, giving me her usual vice grip of a hug.
“I’m super super glad you could make it today Med!” Pinkie cheered as she somehow hugged me tighter without crushing my lungs harder. “I know things have happened recently… and it was alright if you didn’t wanna come. But I’m glad you could anyways!”
“Heh… Thanks, Pinkie,” I tiredly responded.
Pinkie then gave a small yelp as her leg… twitched. Pinkie’s cry explained it. “Pinchy knee! Ow, ow, pinchy knee!”
I thought back to her Pinkie sense before paling a little bit. “Wait… something scary is about to happen, isn’t it?” I looked around fretfully.
Her body then began to shake as she let go. “Doo-o-o-o-o-ooozzzzzzzyyy!”
“And something unexpected?” I could feel my fear creeping up behind me… just as everypony and Spike walked in.
“Howdy y’all! Hope we weren’t too late!” AJ called up, walking up the stairs as well.
Well, so much for this day about to go well. Before I even knew it, Pinkie pushed me away before yelling in pain, the transformation about to take place. I hoped that the Cakes were off on some business trip, because things were about to get ugly. And horrifying.
When Twily made it up the stairs first, she froze in panic, putting up the same dome she used last time she was Midnight Sparkle, keeping us all contained. It was the last action she did before going through the process herself. I quickly scooped up Spike as he and I saw each of the other girls be forced into their own terrifying changes.
Pinkie was the first to finish her transformation. Her coat was now saturated with grey, as her mane was straighter. Her Cutie Mark slowly shifted into that of two knives crossing a cupcake, and her sneer was on full force. Twily’s was next, as her mane became unkempt and crazed looking. Her dark aura surrounded her once more, as her eyes lit up creepily in luminous blue and glinted sadistically, grinning a grin that spelt terrible trouble, with her Cutie Mark slowly reverting to being dissected. Rarity was next, as the long slashes across her eye formed again, the eye turning black with a white pupil. Scratches started to appear all over her body, as her Cutie Mark looked like they had been turned into bloodstones now instead of diamonds. And those were just the repeats.
Spike and I saw the terrible shifts our other three friends were undergoing after the first three. Dash was the first one, as her mane looked more like it was dyed in blood and rainbows, a manager outfit forming over her as her rainbow Cutie Mark look splattered with blood in a way that looked like it was slashed through. AJ was the next pony on the chopping block, and it looked like it was about to be a literal one, as she took on a crazed look, her eyes swimming with insanity as her apple Cutie mark looked like it was flecked with dirt and blood. Finally, poor Fluttershy was the last to change, and it looked like it was an immediate shift. She looked like she was ready to butcher anypony who came in her path, her Cutie Mark looking more torn to shreds with scars.
Spike and I watched everything unfold, feeling our horror creep up as they all turned to look at us. It was then that they spoke. Or rather… Factory Dash spoke first.
“Wh͝a̡t ͏do ҉we d̛o wit̀h ̢this..҉.̕ f͟a͝il͢ur̵e͞ ̶and the̵ ̡pe̷t?” Factory Dash question, looking down at us with cold, unfeeling eyes.
“Tur͜n̡ them i͞nto̸ ͏cu҉te͢ l͜itt̴l͝e̢ ͘d̨ǫlls͜!͞” Lil’ Miss Rarity cried out.
“M-Med... “ Spike’s voice was wavering as he was first besieged by everypony ganging up on us, and then seeing them starting to argue with one another about how to deal with us.
I looked at the group before a wild idea popped into my head. “Spike. Don’t worry. I have a plan. All we need to do is keep them here until those… things, give up their control. And we have to make sure they don’t try and burst the bubble. Otherwise… all of Ponyville is in danger.”
“Med… what are you thinking?” Spike panickedly whispered.
“...send a message to the Princess, and we’ll see if they will accept a party,” I replied as conversation was dying down.
He nodded just as everyone had turned back to us. Before one of them could say a single word, I quickly spoke up.
“Ladies of the under-realm… Before you do… whatever it is you agreed to… I propose… a tea party!” I exclaimed as best I could. “And Spike here will be my assistant in making sure this party goes swell.”
“.̧..what̵?” They answered collectively, all of them having various expressions of confusion, annoyance, or both.
“W͝hy͟ ͟th͘e͞ hel̵l ͜wo̕u͡ld we ̢h͟a͡v̧e a t́éa ̷p̀a̷r̢ty?҉” Pinkamena snarled.
“Because… friendship is magic?” I lamely tried before sighing. “OK, you got me. I was planning on keeping you all here so that the Princesses could take care of you.”
“Yo̡u͘... are̛ a͘ teŕrible ͡l̕i̛a͜r̴.̶” Midnight Twilight noted as everyone seemed to agree that it was a bold-faced, and very obvious lie.
“...OK, the truth is I don’t wanna be killed off, but in all actuality, a tea party isn’t the worst thing I can think of,” I shrugged again, making it sound like they had finally gotten the truth out of me.
AppleBad was, thankfully, not in tune with AJ’s Element, and swallowed it all as easily as the rest of them. “A͟l̷r͟i͝ghty ̀ţh̀e̷n̴.̕ ͜Gi̧t͠ ̵ta̛ ͝wor͜k on͘ s͘ome of ͘t͜h͘e͞m a͟pp̨le r̸e̡c͡i̵p̸ęs͟.҉ ̢A̷nd̸ they ̴bett͟er ̢bȩ ̶g҉ood.̴” She narrowed her eyes at us after that, not even needing to say the threat.
We both nodded as we hightailed it down the stairs. Once down, SPike turned to me with an angry look.
“What the heck just happened?!” Spike yelled at me as he quickly hurried over to grab a writing material and a scrap of paper.
“I don’t know… but remember my human memories from way back? And those… creepy things Twilight wouldn’t let you see? Well… that’s them. They are referred to as “creepypastas” in the human world. The girls are the sick, dark, twisted thoughts of humans, turning them into horrible psychopaths that will do horrible things on a whim. It seems that these are the demons that haunt over them. And it’s all my fault…” I explained, saddened as I sat there.
I had sometimes wondered what it would’ve been like had I not been around Ponyville, or Equus in general, especially nowadays. Maybe the girls, even if they were missing an Element, would still have fun times together, have less problems to deal with. They wouldn’t have probably even known about the horrors of humanity, and thus… infect them, almost, with their own creepypastas. They wouldn’t be dealing with a friend who couldn’t even speak right without magical help. The longer I was left to my thoughts, the more I realized that maybe I was partially telling the truth upstairs, and that I only wanted to selfishly delay my inevitable death for no discernable reason.
Fortunately, or unfortunately, depending on how you look at it, Spike was there to NOT keep me alone with my thoughts. He snapped his claws in my face a bit, knocking me out as I looked at him.
“Hey, Med. I know this is kinda bad. But seriously, I kinda need you to not just check out here. Trust me, I kinda need you right now to stay focused, especially with this crazy idea of yours,” Spike spoke, sounding as serious as a baby dragon could be.
“Spike…” I sighed a bit. “What’s the point? I’m probably going to make things worse and end up hurting my friends even more. After all, if none of you had seen my human memories, maybe they’d be better off and not acting like this. They’d all be enjoying a birthday party for Gummy. Heck, they’d probably be better off without-”
“Aaaaand no, stopping you there from that train of thought,” Spike interjected as he pressed on. “This isn’t your fault Med, and I’m sure Twilight would say the same thing. This might’ve happened later, and then who would be here to help them identify and then deal with them if you weren’t around? What if they hadn’t seen your human memories and didn’t believe you when you said you knew these horrible ponies?”
I blinked a bit before cracking a small smile. “Spike… you are very intelligent for a baby dragon, and I mean that in the best way. You’re not Twily’s number 1 assistant for nothing.”
He gave me a glare at the nickname. “I still don’t trust you enough… but if it makes Twilight happy, fine. But I got my eyes on you.”
“Hu͘rr͠y it̸ u̴p dow͟n ̛th͟ere̡!” Pinkamena cried out, apparently not hearing a single word of what went on.
“Yo̡u ha̡v́e͝ 5̵ mi͠n͏u͜t̢e͢s̡ befo͟re I s̛t͞art̸ th͏ink̵i͜ng ̛of c҉re̴a͞t̀i̵v̶e ̨w̕a̵y̨s͞ to ͝tes̕t ýo͢u̢ tw͘ǫ,͘” Midnight Twilight called out as well.
Hearing our friends corrupted like that made me stand up, the numbness feeling like it was being kicked to the curb, at least for now. I wasn’t going to let this travesty happen to my friends any longer than what was necessary. For once, I did not want to be placid and calming, I wanted to get. Shit. DONE. I quickly wrote out a plea for help on the piece of paper, handing it to Spike.
“OK, Spike, quickly boil some tea with your flame breath. I’ll go grab some leftover apple treats and get them ready for snacking,” I commanded, hoping he’d get the message.
He nodded and winked at me, quickly getting a teapot on a small fireplace before blowing out some pretty decent flames, making sure the scrap of paper was in the path of the flames. I made sure to burn a cookie, both to signify that I was hurrying as fast as I could, and to disguise the smoke from the paper being sent off before it could be intercepted. I quickly warmed up the rest of the cookies and some apple treats over the dragon fire as the water came to a boil. I prepared the treats on some platters as Spike made some golden flower tea for everypony. With one minute to spare, we made our way up the stairs, steeling ourselves for the creepypasta ponies.
FlutterBrute gave a low growl, which I think was a sign of pleasure. It’s kinda hard to tell. Thankfully, Lil’ Miss Rarity was there to enunciate it out.
Pinkamena promptly snarled as a response to Rarity before glaring at the two of us. “You ͏too͝k ͞y̴o̸ur s̕w̷ȩe̶t̵ ͢ti̕me g̸etti͏n̕g̶ ̢up̵ ͏here. Bu͜t̴ ͟yeah̛, not ͝hal͏f ͏b́a͏d.̢ I̡'̴ll͏ ma̵k̴e s͜ure̶ ̕I çut͠ ͠y͘ou ̸two̢ u͏p͡ pers͢oņal̨l̢y͜ ínśt͟eád̶ ̨ǫf̵ ͡my ̨a̸ccom̴p͝l̕i͞cé.͜”
I rolled my eyes as I dryly responded back, setting up the platters and cups of tea. “Why thank you for the magnanimous sentence.”
Midnight Twilight snickered quietly, as everypony else looked confused, but Pinkamena looked the most annoyed, figuring she was the butt of a joke, but didn’t know what the joke was about.
I quickly served the cups of tea as Spike and I, however reluctant, took our places at the table as well. Spike had brought a gemstone to snack on, along with sneaking a soda from the fridge. Meanwhile, I partook in some of the tea and snacks. I especially enjoyed the tea, since buttercups were such a nice delicacy to eat, and were very nice to drink as well. It was no wonder why it was a popular blend of tea. Nevertheless, it felt very surreal to be having tea and calmly chatting with what was essentially 6 demons born from humanity. Everything seemed only the slightest out of place, like with the conversations, the animosity everypony had against one another, and even their appearances.
“Węll n̵òw. Loo͜ḱs ̀li̴k͘e͡ ͠they̧ ain͡'̕t̸ ̕às͞ b҉ad ͠a͘s ̡ap͞p͠les as ͏I̷ ̕th̴ough̡t ͏they ͘w̴a̵s̢” BadApple commented as she munched on nothing but the apple treats, with a bottle of apple cider that Pinkie had stashed away somewhere. “S̡till҉ b̡ad '͏ǹou̸gḩ that̸ I ̵go̴t͡ta ̴t̨a̢k̡e̛ c͝ar͏e̸ of ̧ȩm͝,̛ b͡u͝t ͟I͞'ll feel҉ pret̨ty ̸b͏ad͢ ͜b͏o͝ut͜ it.”
After hearing that, I could finally hear a small snap happening right in my brain. Why was I being placid, even against these… these things that took over my friends? Why did I have to wait for the Princesses to just come and solve everything when I could be doing something right now? Like, say, use my damn ability or something! It then hit me, and I got a wide grin on my face.
“You know what?” I stood up and walked over to the other end of the table, taking Spike with me. “Hey. Asshats.”
That got their attention for sure, as all of them glared right at me, readying their weapons. But before any of them could speak, I pressed a hidden panel on the wall, as heavy duty music equipment popped out of the wall.
“First thing to note: Pinkie has everything hidden around everywhere. Especially in her home. Secondly, she let me knew where all the hidden music equipment was. And finally…” I grabbed the mic as music started to play in the background. “Here’s my final fuck all of you.”
The music was in full swing by then. Just as Pinkamena threw a knife at my throat, with Midnight Sparkle and Lil’ Miss Rarity charging a spell and the rest about to charge at me with various instruments of murder, they were blown back by the blaring music playing. While I sang, I poured every bit of anger I could into the song, making them writhe in pain. It was as though I was actually harming them without lifting a finger. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1iAYhQsQhSY
As soon as I was finished playing, I could see my life flashing through my eyes. The six mares once again attacked me, only for the bubble outside to burst, and the two Princesses flew in, landing on my side. I had pushed the equipment as hard as it could go so I could keep them pinned, so needless to say, it was a bit ruined by the finale.
“Enough!” Princess Luna roared, stomping a hoof angrily. “æthweorfan behwon êow stêpan oferniman!”
The creepypasta girls all roared in anger, even if they were still clinging on. They chanted back in unison. “Nese!”
Princess Luna then reverted to something even older than I thought could be possible. “Redire ad inferos!”
All 6 of them screamed before they collapsed back onto the floor, knocked out cold. Princess Luna nodded a little before turning back to me.
“We wish to know what was going through your addled skull to come up with a ridiculous plan as the one we bore witness to. This is not the same stallion I spoke to in dreams past.” Luna all but demanded of me.
“I… Sorry, Princess Luna.” I deflated, now wondering what the heck was going through my head.
“I think that it was not all of his own fault, Sister.” Princess Celestia spoke, trying to defuse everything. “I believe that he went overboard on keeping them contained for our arrival. He had foresight to at least do this.”
Now it was Princess Luna’s turn to feel awkward. “Oh… I do apologize, Medley.”
“No, you were right, Princess Luna. It was, in hindsight, not the smartest move I ever made.”
The girls were starting to slowly wake up, as Spike quickly dashed over to Twily, looking extremely worried.
“Uhh… what happened…?” AJ asked, holding her head with a hoof.
“I dunno… ow… feels like a thundercloud went off right against my ear…” Dash groaned, rolling onto her stomach to free her wings.
Twily looked up and tried to bow for both Princesses, but ended up instead slipping and crashing back down, giving a small cry of pain. “S-Sorry Princesses! I- I-”
“It’s quite alright, my faithful student.” Princess Celestia smiled as Spike helped up Twily. “It seems now that everyone here has experienced their demons.”
“Demons? What the hay are you talking about?” AJ queried.
“I will explain in a moment, Applejack. But first, everyone should recover from this experience first.” Princess Celestia offered.
“Yes, please… goodness, I haven’t felt this horrible since that incident with the… mines…” Rarity trailed off, her eyes widening a bit.
“Please, everypony. Relax and know that this will all be explained.” Princess Celestia calmly advised.
Twily looked at me while I know I was looking away, both saddened and angry that this all happened. Why did it have to be me involved with everything? Why did it have to be me be the cause of all this trouble?
“Med…” Twily spoke lowly, walking over to me before nuzzling me lightly. “It’s not your fault… It’s really not.”
“But Twily… I showed you my human memories. It’s my fault that you’re all acting like this…” I replied, sounding pretty morose.
“Hehe… Med…” Pinkie gave a small smile as she stood up, the quickest to get over the pain. “It’s not like that at all. Twi’s right. It’s not your fault this happened. Heck, if it wasn’t for you, this’d probably come up much later!”
“OK, what are you guys talking about?” Spike questioned, sounding still confused, but now a little angry about being left out of the loop.
“I’m sorry, Spike… I guess it’s time to fully explain everything. With the help of both Princesses.” I spoke up, still keeping close to Twily.
And so, once everyone had settled down and had something to drink and eat, I launched into a full explanation of the creepypastas, and how they came into be. I also gave a short summary of each of their stories, not even sugarcoating anything. Not like there was much to really sugarcoat to begin with. By the end of the story, which was helped by the Princesses, everyone looked 6 different shades of green, with Shy being the worst off and AJ fairing the best, though still looked like she was going to throw up.
“And there you have it. That’s everything involving you girls and your… unwelcome visitors.” I spoke solemnly. “And once more… I apologize for making this all happen. I never wanted to put any of you in this much danger… or this much pain…”
“We know, Med… We know.” Dash snapped at me before calming down a little.
“I understand if you girls don’t want to be my fri-”
I was interrupted with a crushing, and very fast, bear hug from Pinkie. She was almost immediately joined by Twily, and soon enough, everyone but the Princesses were hugging me.
“Med… we’re not gonna leave a friend behind. Sides, ya ain’t done nuthin wrong. And that’s the honest truth.” AJ spoke up, sounding pretty stubborn about it.
“Yeah! What kinda friend would I be if I left ya hangin?” Dash added on.
“It wouldn’t be very nice of us to just leave you be…” Shy quietly continued on.
“Or very funny! In fact, that’s be unfunny!” Pinkie declared.
“So it would be quite generous of us to try and make the best of our newfound… abnormalities.” Rarity hesitated a bit before contributing,
“We’re your friends, Med. And that will never change.” Twily finished, still holding tightly onto me, as though she was trying to comfort me.
“Yeah! C’mon, Med! You were being awesome back there! Er… no offense, ladies…” Spike winced as he blurted that out.
While he did get some chastising looks from everypony, I could feel the sentiment and idea behind it. It made me smile a little to know that, even after all I had done, they still wanted to be with me. I had no clue why they did, but in this case, I was content not knowing why.
“Hey! I have an idea! Let’s make Gummy’s party a slumber party!” Pinkie called out, and was met with unanimous approval.
Princess Celestia chuckled slightly while Luna smiled. “I do believe that is a good idea, Pinkie Pie. For now though, my sister and I are needed back at the castle to keep watch. Especially with the Grand Galloping Gala approaching soon. Good evening to everypony, and know that together, you will be able to overcome any and all adversity.” Princess Celestia spoke with finality before she and Luna flew off, back to Canterlot.
Soon enough, we were all settled down for the night, and ready to hit the hay with some sleeping bags Pinkie had stored away somewhere in her room, just for an occasion like this. After an event like what had happened earlier, we weren’t really much in the mood to talk, or even party. Or at least, I wasn’t. I wasn’t too sure about everypony else, but I knew all I wanted to do was sleep and try to pretend it never happened. It was foolish to think so, but I still wanted to try. And so, I fell asleep, my last thoughts on what would come about from this, with all the consequences of the Creepypastas being known to the Mane 6 and Spike.
Today was finally the day everypony had been waiting for. The event that was talked about non-stop since a week ago. The one where it sent Rarity into a tailspin making sure everything was put together. Especially today, since now it was time for us to put on the outfits she made for us so long ago. I was especially excited to go, seeing as this would be one of the first major events I attended with all of the friends I had made in Ponyville.
My thoughts kept on drifting back to Twily though as I crashed out of bed, wondering what she would think of tonight. I quickly tried to stop any and all train of thought related to that as I got my saddlebags and headed outside. Along the way, I met up with almost everypony else that was going, which consisted of AJ, Dash and Shy.
“Heya Med. Excited fer tanight?” AJ asked with a small grin.
“Of course I am. Not only will I be at a fun little upper class party, but it’ll be with my friends.” I grinned back.
“Yeah. That, and Twilight’s going too, which means you’ll have even more fun.” Dash snickered at me.
I huffed as we approached the rest of the group, with Rarity complaining about how long we were taking. Considering that it was only just turning noon, I don’t see how we could’ve been any earlier unless we were camped out right beside her place the night before.
“Hold yer horses girls, we’re here.” AJ called out to Twily, Rarity, Pinkie, and Spike, now making it a complete group of 8.
“Perfect! I’m ready.” Twily chirped as she put down her book and got up.
“For what?” Dash eagerly asked.
“Alright Spike.” Twily asked Spike, ignoring Dash’s question for now. Spike, in turn, had brought out an apple, and set it on the ground.
“Oooo! An apple! Are we gonna have a cake?” Pinkie randomly questioned.
“Shush! Just watch!” Spike spoke in awe as we all turned to watch.
Twily concentrated for a moment on the apple, her magic building up in her horn. She had this intense look about her, as though she was putting every thought into the spell she wanted to do. She looked so focused and persistent on her task and… sorry, trailed off for a moment there. Where was I? Oh, right, transforming the apple. Well, after a small moment, the apple grew and transformed into a carriage, straight out of Cinderella.
We all gave our compliments as Twily gave a light smile. “Thanks. But that’s just the start. Fluttershy, did you bring your friends?”
Shy smiled as some white mice popped out from the top of her head. “Yes… Will they be safe, Twilight?” She looked concerned as she let the mice scamper down onto the ground.
Twily waved off her concerns as she replied back. “You have my word.”
She then, with the same spell as before, turned the mice into… very… odd… horses. Like they were still mice, with whiskers and some sort of frame, but was as tall as a normal horse. It was… quite the experience. Twily beamed as we gave our opinions on the matter.
“Neat, huh? Don’t worry, they’ll be mice again by midnight!” Twily gave a large smile.
Of course, since things had to go wrong on an important day like today, Rarity’s cat Opal attacked the mice-horsey hybrids, making them flee off into the Everfree. Twily tried to call them back, but to no avail.
“Those horses were supposed to pull our carriage! Now what are we supposed to do?” Twily looked downtrodden, her head hanging a little.
“Well… maybe Spike and I could pull the carriage up?” I offered up to the group.
“Yeah. A baby dragon can totally pull a cart with 5 horses in it like a pegasus can.” Dash deadpanned.
I rolled my eyes a little. “Fine then, I can-”
“Oh no you don’t!” Rarity vehemently denied. “I will not have you being dirtied and sweaty when putting on the outfit!”
I raised my hooves in surrender. “OK, OK, I was just suggesting.”
“That still leaves what we need to do!” Pinkie panicked, maybe a little too dramatically.
“Whatever shall we do?” Rarity seemed to follow along as she looked over at some stallions that were nearby.
Rarity strutted over to a couple of stallions that were by each other. “Excuse me, dear stallions. Would you perhaps mind pulling our carriage to the Gala?” She batted her eyelashes at the two.
They readily agreed to the task as Twily looked slightly embarrassed. “Oh. Hehe… Right.”
I gave a small chuckle. “Well… at least we found a way. That was a pretty inventive way though, and we still have a carriage at least.”
Twilight gave a light giggle before looking at me. Strangely enough, all she did was give a small blush and quickly look away. I was a little bit confused, and also blushing lightly if the small snickering was anything to go by.
“Alright girls. Time to get ready for the Gala starting now!” Rarity beamed as she gathered everyone but me and Spike.
“W-Wait, you forgot us!” Spike exclaimed.
Rarity gave a small smile as she looked back. “I believe it will not take as much time for you two to be perfect. Therefore, you have 1 hour to do what you want before you return.” She then looked a little creepy as she stared us down. “NO later than 1 hour. Understand?”
We both rapidly shook our heads as Rarity happily brought the girls into her boutique, leaving me and Spike alone with the small group of stallions. It was an awkward couple of minutes before I spoke up.
“Arcade?” I hesitated a little on that.
“Yeah… arcade works…” Spike gave an awkward nod as we made our way over.
It took me a moment before I realized that this was the first time I actually ever spent some time alone with Spike. The closest we ever got included Big Mac in our game of Ogres & Oubliettes. Which is in no way, shape, or form connected to any other popular franchises of table-top RPG’s that involve dice and character sheets. Not in the slightest.
In any case, I tried to strike up a conversation with Spike. “So… um… how’s it going with Twily- er… Twilight?”
Spike gave me a look for an uncomfortable amount of time before shrugging a little, looking as uncomfortable as I was. “It’s fine. Lots of reading for sure.”
I gave a nod as we walked along before making another attempt. “How often does she reshelve those books? It feels like once a week.”
Spike shook his head. “Nah. About twice a month. She has a list for what order to do all the books in too.”
“That… sounds so very much like her.” I nodded my head as we made it to the arcade.
Before we went in though, I was stopped by a comment made by Spike. “OK, what is up with you and Twilight?”
I turned around, looking confused and hopefully not at all flustered. “Um… er… no comment? Y-Yeah, no comment, nothing to say.”
“Wow. Just like Applejack in your lying skills.” Spike deadpanned.
“And it looks like you got your snarkiness from Dash, so it’s even.” I grinned, trying to avoid the earlier conversation entirely.
“Ha ha. Still haven’t answered my question, Medley.” Spike spoke in such a serious tone that sounded like he wasn’t backing down from this.
I gave an awkward smile before sighing, giving in as I knew this was serious. Given that he usually called me by the group nickname for me, using the full first name gave it some weight.
“I honestly don’t know, Spike. I’m not sure I can be in a relationship with her at all. What with her being Celestia’s student, and from Canterlot. Besides, I’m sure there’s plenty of mares and even a few stallions she has her eyes on, and I’m alright with being a good friend.” I laid out, grateful we were now at least away from the main entrance.
Spike simply raised an eyebrow as he went for the jugular quickly. “She seems to spend a lot of time fantasizing about somepony, and she usually mentions being able to “soar and explore the sky”. That doesn’t sound anything like you at all?”
“Oh please. There’s a bunch of Factory ponies that’d love to be with Twily- *cough cough* Twilight.” I stumbled a bit, reflexively saying the nickname I had for her out of habit.
“Which ones have ‘fur as pure as a perfect cloud’ again?” Spike argued.
I actually had to think about that before starting to sweat a little bit. “Um… er… a few… sh-she could still be talking about anypony else!”
“Oh, and I almost forgot ‘singing clear through my heart and making me forget everything I knew except for the wonderous song’. Still anypony there?” Spike snickered a slight bit.
Now I was starting to really sweat, as that pretty much brought it down to only a few. And she wouldn’t even know the other two, so all that left was… me? I was about to say such a thing, but apparently all I could muster were some sputters. Spike was wearing a very wide grin before looking dead serious. And what was it with everyone making very good scary faces, LaurFastia damn it!
“All I can say is… if you ever make her cry… you’ll be toast.” Spike foreboding me with a crackling glare.
It was at times like these where I questioned my life, and wondered how it got to the point where I’d be talking to a baby dragon. Then being scared by said baby dragon, who was intelligent enough to know how to work Twily’s ever-changing library and her tendencies. I quickly nodded as Spike gave a small nod back.
“Alright, just wanted to be clear. Anyways, let’s hit up some of the machines. Hey, I bet you’d make all the highscores on the karaoke machine!” Spike laughed as he ran inside.
It took me a bit to recover from the emotional whiplash, but soon enough, I dashed in with him, wanting to forget that entire conversation ever took place. Yet, as I started playing, my mind still drifted back to the conversation that Spike and I had just moments ago. What were my feelings towards Twily? I knew that I liked her a lot, but was that as a friend or as something a little more romantic?
It seems as though I was wrestling with the question longer than I thought, because soon enough, Spike was getting me for our own preparations for the Gala. I didn’t even realize an hour had passed me by. Nevertheless, I went along with Spike back to Rarity’s place. On the way back, we had another conversation, this one at least a little less confusing.
“I still can’t believe we’re going to the Gala tonight!” Spike started off in an excited voice. “The best part is, we all get to hang out together all night long!”
“While I admire the enthusiasm… we all want to do separate things. Well, in the ladies cases, they want to do completely opposite things. I need to be elsewhere, as I have some noble ponies that wanted me to perform especially for them, and paid a fair amount of bits in order to see me do just that. They all have their tickets, so it’s up to me to give them a show that was worth the ticket.” I explained calmly, even as I felt bad about doing so.
Spike had this downtrodden expression on his face as his head was down. “Oh… OK…”
I sighed a little before giving a small smile. “Hey now. We’ll all still be able to spend some time together as a group. Just not the whole night.”
This cheered up Spike considerably, and it probably helped that we were nearly at the Carousel Boutique. I rolled my eyes with a light smile as Spike picked up his pace a bit, eager to see Twily, but probably more so Rarity. I still had no idea why she wanted to meet Prince Blueballs… Blueblood… so badly, even after she had been warned. But since she could be as stubborn as AJ in some cases, I figured it’d be best to let her learn from experience, as no amount of convincing on my part was going to change her mind.
Soon enough, we were escorted into a smaller room by Rarity that had both our outfits on, and a small shower to wash off in. It reminded me of the few times I was in acting, and how the guy’s dressing rooms were usually smaller and more barren.
“Do please hurry with your outfits, darlings. We don’t want to dilly-dally in the slightest. I want to have as much time as we can at the Gala, and we need to leave very soon.” Rarity commanded of us before closing the door on us.
Since we didn’t have any time to try and talk with her, we both kinda shrugged as Spike went in first, quickly rinsing off and drying before struggling with his suit. I went in right after, and repeated the same process as Spike did, albeit with a little more difficulty, seeing as I lacked any active magic or opposable digits like Spike’s claws. Soon enough though, with a little bit of help from Spike, I was in my complete outfit for the Gala, as was Spike. All that was needed was the approval of Rarity and that would be the last thing to do before getting in and heading off to Canterlot for the Gala.
After waiting another 15 minutes, Spike looked fed up and was impatiently marching in circles. “Aw come on! How long does it take for them to be ready??”
“Hey now Spike. Remember now, this is them we’re talking about. While AJ or Dash may not care a lot, I’m sure Rarity and even Twily… Twi, are making sure everything’s perfect. Plus, you also gotta remember that for guys like us, we’re expected to wait for them. So, just relax a bit and-” I was cut off by the sound of hooves coming down from upstairs.
Sure enough, all the ladies were done as a set, and were ready to head out now. It was around twilight hours that things were finally in place for everypony. And I had to behoove it to Rarity. She really knew how to bring out the best in everyone there. While she kept it simple and manageable for me and Spike, the ladies themselves were done up in an incredible fashion, showing off every bit of their charm, and their beauty. I was especially blown away though by Twily. I know I had seen her in her outfit before, for the little presentation put on for Hoity Toity. But now that there was no pressure on any of us at the moment, I could take a moment to look at her in full detail.
Twily looked over at me after wrapping up a small conversation she was having with Shy, and started to blush. I guess I had been staring way longer than I thought I did as I shook myself out of it. Now my mind was either concentrating on the image of Twily or it was panicking that now I looked like a creep.
“So… um… all good to go?” I awkwardly squeaked out.
“Of course! One quick moment though darlings.” Rarity spoke up, giving us a look over as she made minute adjustments and applied some basic make-up on me as well. “There we are! Absolutely dashing figures!”
We all then got into the carriage, with Spike at the reins on the outside. While on our way up, we started having multiple conversations. And I had to admit, I got sucked into a couple of them as well. For the most part though, I just kept to myself and looked out at the beautiful sky outside the window. It was only after I heard my name being called a few times did I look back at the ladies, looking a little sheepish.
“Hey, y’all right there, Med? Seem kinda quiet, even by Shy’s standards.” AJ asked, looking a little concerned.
“No, no, I’m all good. Just drifting off, that’s all.” I waved a hoof off… er… handedly.
“If you say so. We wanna make sure you don’t bail out or somethin last minute.” Dash grinned as she lightly hit my shoulder.
I gave a small wince and wide grin. “No worries, ladies. I’m completely and utterly fine.”
“Oh, glad to hear it! We totally don’t want you to bomb for your special show, in front of dozens of high-class ponies. Who all paid a lot of money in order to see it for themselves too!” Pinkie beamed innocently.
...OK, now that’s when I started to panic a little. What if I did make myself look like an utter idiot on front of them? Not only would my reputation be dragged through the mud, but Twily would also be disappointed in me. I probably looked only a little terrified to the others, but I think I hid it so well.
“Um… Medley?” I could hear Shy faintly as she… did something. I don’t know for sure, it didn’t register with me.
“Oh fer cryin out-” AJ poked me on the nose hard.
This definitely brought me back out from the horrible visions. Like… the ones I had of me epically bombing my small solo concert for tonight. Just as an example, of course.
“Are you sure you’re alright, Med?” Twily asked me in concern.
I turned to her for a moment, lightly blushing as I gave a small smile and chuckle. “D-Don’t worry! Perfectly fine!”
Everypony else didn’t look so convinced, but were stopped as we saw ourselves getting very close to the castle. The ladies all looked pretty excited, and aside from any fears that I had of losing it, I was actually kinda excited myself. After all, the last time I was in Canterlot was… my… erm… Anyways!
It was night time when we finally arrived. But the view was so… breathtaking. The way the castle was lit up against the dark backdrop. The collection of ponies actually looking like they were enjoying themselves. And of course… the ladies that were with me to make it the best night ever!
Soon enough, we stopped as Spike, being a gentledrake, opened the door for us. We all started filling out, with me being the last out of the carriage. Spike quickly caught up with us, making a total of 7 ponies, plus one young dragon, anxious and excited.
“I can't believe we're finally here. With all that we've imagined, the reality of this night is sure to make this... The Best Night Ever!” Twily yelled out happily as fireworks flew overhead.
I could feel music building up, and as though I was transported to another dimension… we all started to sing. First up was Shy, who was still eager to meet the creatures that were here, and admittedly, there were probably there for that night only. And Shy would need a ticket in order to go see them.
Next up was AJ, who had the smarter idea of making a few connections in high society. And there were so many possibilities open at the Gala, that her ticket could prove that they weren’t “backwater country ponies”. I hoped she found at least one or two nobles she could stand long enough to make a business deal with, but the chances were pretty low.
The next to sing was Rarity, who sung about, what else, her “Prince Charming”. Who was anything but charming, or even remotely interested in someone from Ponyville like Rarity. I’m not saying that to mean, that’s just the impression he gave off. Nevertheless, her having a ticket could possibly make him appreciate her as the wonderful mare she is.
Dash came in next, and to no one’s surprise, she wanted to spend time with the Wonderbolts. She already had done some amazing feats worthy of the Wonderbolts themselves, including saving them on a few occasions. Unfortunately, now she’d have to endure the more social aspect of a team like the Wonderbolts as well, and getting a ticket to the Gala was one way to prove it.
Pinkie cheerfully sung the next verse of the song, about the Gala itself, and the great time she would have. If I had to admit, Pinkie going in the first place wouldn’t have been so bad, but now she could be here with her friends as well with her own ticket. I was just slightly worried that Pinkie would try to… Pinkie the Gala up. She wasn’t exactly used to a toned-down party after all.
After that, I know I sang next about how eager I was to perform again. Even if nerves were a little high-strung, this was a great opportunity to try and re-establish myself as a professional singer, and my ticket would show that I was still a good a star as ever. Still, the thought of messing up in front of ponies who paid extra for a private performance was a little heavy on my mind, but for now, I decided to just enjoy myself a little at the Gala.
Finally, Twily was the one to round us off with wanting to talk with Princess Celestia herself. I honestly wish that she would be able to get that wish, especially since it required a ticket. But the more I thought about it, I wondered just how long Princess Celestia would be greeting other ponies who entered. After all, she was the de facto princess, as other ponies were getting used to the idea of the Royal Sisters. I had high hopes for Twily’s success though.
In summary, it looked like this:
Fluttershy: To meet!
Applejack: To sell!
Rarity: To find!
Rainbow Dash: To prove!
Pinkie Pie: To whoop!
Medley: To sing!
Twilight Sparkle: To talk!
After the song had ended, Spike slid on in. “Yeah! This is going to be the best night ever? You know why? Because we’ll all be-”
I didn’t hear what he had to say, as I quickly made a run for the rehearsal room. I had to go over my routine. I also made sure all of my instruments that I had requested for and the sheet music I had were all in perfect working order. Plus, I wanted to go over the routine oooone last time.
Soon enough though, the crowd had filled up completely. It seems that this was a sold-out show, a surprise for me. Then again, there were very few seats, and for nobles, the price was rather cheap. Nevertheless, I steeled myself for the job and came out to applause after a small introduction.
“Greetings, ponies of Canterlot.” I waved to the crowd as I readied myself on the piano. “I would like to take a small bit of your time to thank you for coming to this performance. As such, when you all took the survey, a fair majority of you asked for a more classical piece, which I agree wholeheartedly with. But you decided to make me step up my challenge and do an original composition. As such, I would like to sing a piece I have titled, Luna’s Aria.” I then started to play for the small crowd.
As I wrapped up my song, I could hear them politely clapping, and started to feel a little stung by this. They asked for me to perform for them, didn’t they? For once, I thought that my talents weren’t actually being recognized. And I was determined to make this my best night ever! So, with that in mind, I pulled out my violin instead.
“Thank you, everypony. Now, for my next song that I will perform for everyone, it is a classic as well, but this one's from the history books. Revived by Princess Celestia and verified by numerous professional musicians, I give you… Lullaby for a Princess.” I then started to play for everypony once more.
Soon after I finished, the crowd looked a little more pleased. Finally, it looked like I was getting somewhere with this. Just as I was about to announce my third song though, who else would crash through into the private room, but Pinkie Pie. It seemed time had passed along farther than I thought if she was already starting to get bored at the Gala.
“Oh boy! Hiya Med!” Pinkie waved obliviously at me as she was given looks of annoyance.
I sighed as I shook my head. “Anyways… for my next song, I-”
“Will be letting this pony right here do a fun and dancy song!” Pinkie chirped as she jumped up on stage and pulled out a set of… wait, were those bongos? “Listen up everypony! Time for some funky beats!”
As she played, she pulled out more and more instruments from… wait a sec, those were my saddlebags! How did she get them from Ponyville at all, much less slip through and into the Gala without Rarity of all ponies noticing? Nevertheless, the crowd was both baffled and extremely annoyed now, since this was a surprise to even me. I quickly went up to Pinkie, wanting to know what exactly was going on.
“Pinkie? What the Tartarus are you doing??” I harshly whispered to her.
“Making this more of a party than it is right now!” Pinkie pushed back before grinning at the audience. “Let’s do another fun song!” She then started to play yet another familiar tune to me.
When she was done with that song, some of the nobles had gotten up and were starting to leave with looks of disgust. Now I was really mad at Pinkie for possibly ruining the one chance I had at this, all to make it more of one of “her parties”. “That. Is. IT! I am challenging you to a musician’s duel!” I announced clearly, making the nobles hesitate before returning to their spots, seeing how this would turn out.
Pinkie gave a blink before giving a nervous smile. “U-Um… Medley? Maaaaaybe I went-”
“Oh, now you try and back out after crashing it. Well guess what? Now you have my full attention.” I snapped back angrily, positioning my violin.
Even in my anger, I still had to give Pinkie some credit. Since it looked like I wasn’t going to back down, she nodded as she pulled out the piano. Now she looked ready to fight me musically.
“Let’s do this!” Pinkie roared as she started it up, with me adding the back-up instrumental.
Once we hit the final note of the song, our instruments pretty much snapped as my voice gave out. We then heard a loud noise outside, which was something no one wanted to hear at a party like this. We practically abandoned the now broken instruments and the audience, who were too stunned to really cheer for anything. The scene Pinkie and I arrived to was… more than interesting.
It seemed like a cake had been launched at Rarity, ruining her outfit entirely. AJ looked like she had been through the wringer, which didn’t bode well on the business end. Dash looked a bit scuffed up and was surrounded by rubble of pillars and a statue. I’m very sure Pinkie and I looked like a hurricane had blown past us from our performance on stage. And it was that exact scene Twily arrived at with… Princess… Celestia…
“Well… It can’t get any worse…” Twily murmured to herself.
It was at that moment I realized Shy was still missing from the group, along with Spike. However, a large rumble outside told us that something huge was going down. And sure enough, the doors to the garden burst open, with critters of all kinds fleeing into the gala room.
And there, in full beaten and battered glory, was a very enraged Shy. It looked like she had no luck in getting any of them to come to her, and… wow… this was something not really seen in Shy.
“You… are going to LOVE ME!!” Shy roared as the animals fled away from her faster.
“Oh crap.” I whispered fearfully as animals started wrecking the place and causing a bigger commotion of chaos than before.
I then heard Twily whistle us over, and we all began to hustle out of the now completely ruined Great Galloping Gala. as we ran, I was thinking of how badly I screwed up tonight. Even with Pinkie’s involvement, I don’t know how it was going to get any better than what I was planning. I felt like such a complete idiot.
Soon enough though, we were out of the castle entirely and had ran to the first place Twily could lead us. Which, in this case, was a donut shop. Strange how they had one in Canterlot, but I wasn’t one to complain about donuts at all. As we walked in though, we saw a familiar face. One Spike, who looked like he had gotten rid of his outfit along the way so he could eat some donuts and drink some hot cocoa.
“Twilight Sparkle! Haha, long time no see.” The cashier, or from the looks of his cutie mark, the owner of the place, spoke up.
Spike came running over, looking happy that we came back. “Hey, how was the Gala? How was the Best Night Ever?”
We all gave each other looks before Twily sighed, pulling up chairs for all of us, plus some donuts and hot cocoa. She then went into explaining how her evening went, which sounded pretty boring now. All she really did was stand next to Celestia and greet nobles as they entered. After seeing how it had ended, I wouldn’t blame her for wondering what Celestia would say about this at all.
Next up was Dash’s story of how her night turned out. Like Twily’s, it started off on a good note, as she managed to get into a small section that held the Wonderbolts team due to past actions they had seen her do. However, it also sounded like the Wonderbolts were just like Princess Celestia, in that they were too busy mingling with the crowd of admirers to really talk with Dash, In the end, she kept on doing more and more spectacular feats of recklessness before it ended with how I saw her, surrounded in a ring of rubble.
AJ took the story up next, and said that at first, things were going well. She had struck a chord with Fancy Pants, who was interested in expanding their current contract to a greater degree. He even pointed out a few other nobles who would be interested in a small deal with her. Unfortunately, things quickly died off from there, as her pretty honest and blunt way of handling things rapidly made the nobles scoff and not even consider a deal. It was made worse when Blueblood had made some snide comments about her products and that “no noble pony should be even near such common carnival fare.” Needless to say, it ended rather poorly for her.
It seemed the talk of the Prince only in name brought in Rarity’s night out. She described it as, as first, a “dream come true”. However, as the night went on, it was becoming clearer that he was not all that he was built up to be in her mind. Making her do things that, if it were any other normal pony, gotten him slapped for, if not outright beaten to a pulp. In the end though, after a flying cake had hit Rarity, with Blueblood using her as a shield to protect his outfit from any debris, Rarity was too fed up with him and sent him packing.
This now lead on to Shy’s night. After getting to meet a few critters, she had noticed that they all seemed to run away from her. This surprised me only a little, as even though Shy was good with animals, these animals weren’t used to Shy at all. It only got worse and worse, as she said how she kept on getting more and more frustrated by the animal’s behavior, that eventually the animals fleeing into the Gala was pretty much guaranteed.
Then it went on to Pinkie’s story, at least for the first part of it. She said that she was having a blast at first, dancing and jumping around excitedly. Soon enough though, the atmosphere of the party was starting to really get to her. After interrupting Octavia’s performance in the main area for a brief moment, she then had found which room I was performing in and decided to see what I was up to. She let me explain what had happened after that in my own story.
Sure enough, I was the last pony to tell of my own night. I whispered, if a bit embarrassingly, to Twily about getting my vocals back. Once applied, I thanked her as I told my story from when we had arrived. I was pretty much put up as soon as I could to perform for everypony as soon as I arrived at the Gala. It started out well enough, playing an original composition that I had written back when Luna had first appeared again in pony society, with some help of Princess Celestia. Unfortunately, after doing a second classical song, that was when Pinkie had shown up and played a couple of songs from some place that I KNOW I’ve heard them before. In any case, the finale was me and Pinkie duelling it out on stage, with our instruments snapped and my vocals blown out. I then left it to Twily to wrap everything up.
“That sounds like the WORST night ever.” Spike summarized as he started eating another donut.
“It was!” We all replied in unison before cracking up, both at what had happened in hindsight and at just how we all quickly and unanimously agreed.
Things quickly calmed down though when Twily looked pretty worried. “I just hope Princess Celestia isn’t upset with us for ruining the Gala.”
“That was the best Grand Galloping Gala ever!” We all quickly looked up and saw Princess Celestia… smiling at us?
“Princess Celestia!” Everyone spoke in surprise at bother her appearance and her current mood.
“Pardon me Princess,” Twily began. “But tonight was just… awful!”
“Oh Twilight. The Grand Galloping Gala is always awful! Especially since my sister has to work through it and Cadence couldn’t make it this year.” Celestia beamed as she joined us.
“It… is? And really?” Twily sounded confused, much like the rest of us were.
“That is why I was thrilled when you were all attending. I was hoping you could liven things up a bit. And while the evening may not have gone as you planned, I’m sure that you’ll agree that, in the end, it didn’t turn out so bad for this group of friends.” Celestia went on to explain.
“You’re right, Princess!” Twily looked like she had finally caught onto it. “Friends have a way of making the worst of times into something pretty great.”
“Yeah! Hanging out with friends!” Dash started to cheer on.
“Talking!” Shy awkwardly continued on.
“Laughing!” Pinkie interjected with a wide grin.
“You mean doing exactly what I thought we were gonna do the whole time?” Spike smirked at Twily.
“Yes Spike. You were right to think that.” Twily let him have his moment.
“As horrible as this night was…” AJ started, looking briefly over to Rarity with a small and heartfelt smile.
“Being together and here made it all the more better.” Rarity finished happily, standing very close to AJ.
“Yeah, gotta say, even if Pinkie came along unexpectedly during the night, we still got to do some fun stuff. I just wish we could’ve done some more fun stuff as a group.” I chipped in.
“Exactly! Which is why we should still call this…” Pinkie built up the dramatic tension.
“The Best Night Ever!” We all cheered happily and laughingly.
Soon enough though, we settled down into a round of conversations, with Twily and I being together. I’m sure we were both blushing pretty bad as the group collectively needed to be elsewhere. And urgently as well, if leaving me and Twily at the table was anything to go by.
“S-So… um…” I lamely tried to start a conversation, repeating almost exactly what I did earlier that day with Spike.
Twily gave a light giggle at my stumbling words and, hopefully, took a little pity on me. “Was there something you wanted to talk about with me? Especially since our friends decided to all leave for the exact same reason?”
We both took a chuckle at that before I nodded, looking even more flustered than I did before. “Y-Yeah… actually. I… I w-wanted to ask you a-a-a q-question…”
Twily looked a little concerned as she put a hoof on my shoulder, the blush becoming more pronounced on her beautiful face. “Don’t worry, Medley. You can ask me, alright?”
I gave a shaky nod before I moved right along. “I… I’ve been thinking about this for a while now… and… erm… y-you don’t have to accept or anything either! I…” I took a deep breath before rushing out the words. “Twilightsparklewillyoubemymarefriend?”
Twily looked… a little confused. I think I might’ve rushed a bit too much, but I did not want to repeat any of that, since my heart was pounding as it was from just saying it once. Slowly though, I could see Twily starting to understand the rushed sentence, and her blush began to grow. She looked down for a moment, which immediately made my heart sink. It looked like she didn’t want to at all. I was so stupid to have thought that I had a chance, even after what Spike had said earlier in the day.
So, it came to a complete shock to me when she quickly wrapped me in a hug before giving me a full kiss on the lips. Even as I write this down… I couldn’t tell you what it felt like to be kissed like that. All I knew was that it felt really good, and after getting over the shock… I never wanted to part from that kiss. Ever.
Unfortunately, what ruined the moment was both the collective cooing from the group of friends that had conveniently arrived just as we kissed, and the fact that we still needed air to breath. So with great reluctance, at least for sure on my end, Twily and I eventually parted our lips, but refused to be separated anymore than that.
“Finally! Took ya long enough!” AJ crowed with a small grin.
“We thought it would never happen! It was waaaaay too obvious!” Pinkie chimed in.
I looked pretty embarrassed as I hid a little behind my wings. Twily then gave me a nuzzle, which made me put the wings back down. I was glad this happened, but I really wanted to make sure, and this wasn’t her trying to take pity on me.
“S-So was that a…” I trailed off near the end, almost copying Shy for how she would talk to any normal pony.
“I think that was a yes. But, just to be clear… yes, Medley. I will be your marefriend.” Twily smiled happily.
You know what? I think I’ll end it there. Not much happened after finally asking her, other than us arriving back to our homes and anything else I didn’t think was important enough to mention. All I know was that now, I felt incredibly happy. Best Night Ever indeed. After a lot of sleepless and bad dreams from when the trial was held last, tonight would be the first night that I could finally rest easy, and dream peacefully. Goodnight, everypony. No questions to ponder this time, no mysteries that were rattling in my skull that were very pressing, just me and a wonderful dream, involving Twily.
