When a simple soldier makes the ultimate sacrifice, he ends up somewhere he did not expect...
Note: So this is my first story and I am open to all feedback and ideas. (human-turned-pony fic)
Extended description: When a war ravages his planet, a simple soldier makes the ultimate sacrifice. But when he wakes up he is somewhere unexpected. Can he find peace in this new land, or will his past haunt him forever?
Our world is burning. An evil force has risen, and has all but destroyed our once peaceful world, and thrown it into an age of darkness. What little hope remains, lies with myself, and rebel forces scattered around the planet. But as always, we are losing. I took the liberty of attempting to make a difference, signing myself up for a near-suicide mission in order to take down the armies and wretched governments that have enslaved their own people. I don't care if this mission takes my life, I don't care if I live another 50 years. All I want, is to bring back the age of peace that we once knew, and take back what is ours. My name is Isaac Oakleaf. And this is the story of my (unfortunate) life.
"Hey egghead! Time to get up!" Isaac jumped with a yelp as the cold water woke him from his rest. Falling off his makeshift bed while hearing the chuckles from his peers.
"Damn it Cameron, how many times have I told you not to call me egghead?" A small smirk appearing on the face of his over-muscular teammate.
"No idea, I lost count after about the thirtieth time."
"Well, next time don't get water everywhere. This truck is full as it is without you getting.....Aaron! Turn off damn noise!" The extremely loud dubstep a certain smartass private has been playing for the past hour has finally begun to drive Isaac insane. His head already pounding from the sudden wake up call.
"Hey, this is the most important mission of the war and I need to get PUMPED!" A mischievous grin spreading across Aaron's face, Isaac let out a sigh as he gave up on convincing the private, knowing how important this job was. If they actually pulled this off, it would strike a huge blow at the Empires leadership. After all, the Empire's continuation rests solely on the decisions made by their leaders.
"All right, so you all know the plan then?" Isaac rolled his eyes as the dubstep was shut off and a few murmurs of concern from the two other members of the squad. "Alright, so once we sneak around the back entrance and dispatch the two guards that are hopefully asleep around the corner. Aaron, you punch a hole in the wall of the generator room." Aaron quickly checked his pack, making sure his pack had the necessary equipment for the job. After giving the all clear, Isaac continued.
"The Empire's leaders are meeting in the conference room from 1100-1400 hours, so we have plenty of time to arm the bomb and make sure we put ourselves with enough distance to get away." Isaac had a clear expression of worry on his face as he glanced over to the relatively large bomb nested in the corner of the truck.
Suddenly Cameron decided to speak up "Well, why don't we just detonate the bomb as soon as we're clear of the blast radius?"
Isaac gave a dumbfounded expression at the stupidity of that question "Because, when the bomb goes off, every military force within 10 clicks will be on our tail. And I want to live long enough to see those bastards pay for what they did to us all."
Aaron and Cameron opened their mouths to speak, but were quickly closed after a moment of thought, remembering Isaac's story of how the Empire struck his home city first. And killed almost everyone there except him and a few other survivors. From close friends to simple co-workers, Isaac lost everything that day, and he winced at the memory of how a high ranking officer stepped over the bodies of his friends. And shot his own brother in cold blood.
After around 15 minutes of silence and preparation for the task ahead, the truck came to a sudden stop, and a voice of the driver made the team jump as they waited for the signal. "Alright ladies, you got 5 minutes before the leaders arrive. So get that bomb de....armed and ready to go!" Isaac was the first out of the truck, taking cover behind some crates before giving the all clear. Before they left the truck, however, Cameron gave Aaron a look of concern and finally spoke up.
"Are you sure about this? He's one of the best engineers we've had in this war, not much of a fighter but still....Loyal."
His voice down to a whisper, Aaron immediately replied. "I'm sure, we need to make sure this bomb goes off. And besides, it's not like the cause needs another engineer."
"Alright, if you're sure. Let's finish this." Cameron's tone now much calmer after being reassured of the importance of completing their mission. Stepping out of the truck and into the cold night air. The storm providing much needed cover from prying eyes. As they caught up to Isaac, he let out a sigh of relief barely audible. And ran to the next crate, ready to take his revenge.
After rounding a corner and coming to a back entrance, Isaac signaled the rest of his squad to stop moving.
"Two tangos at 12 o'clock. They have their back turned, wait for the next round of thunder, and shoot."
Luckily their weapons were outfitted with silencers so the storm wouldn't really be needed. But nonetheless, it helped. As the next round of thunder bellowed in the distance, the two guards dropped to the floor almost instantly as they were riddled with bullets. Their blood coloring the puddles on the ground a deep crimson. The old building had little windows, and those that were visible were too high to see them from that angle. They continued on as Isaac looked at his watch.
"12:50, perfect. Plenty of time to get in and out." He said to himself as they reached the point of interest.
As they neared the wall next to the generator room, Aaron readied the charges. Luckily their blast was quiet but powerful, and the raging storm making the noise that much less recognizable. Cameron and Isaac looked around to see if anyone was watching, Aaron pulled out the charges from his pack and laid them on the stone wall next to him. As Cameron had a much bigger build, he took cover behind the crates.
"Alright, so once we blow through here, there's a small chance they might come down to investigate. So I'll set up a few cameras, if the guards find the bomb, i'll set off an early detonation." A clear look of worry on his face, Isaac shook it off and stood beside the door and took the cameras out of the pack. Aaron had finally set up the charges when he stepped back and nodded to Isaac, standing beside the door waiting for the signal. Isaac held his palm up into the air, and looked back out the window of the door they came in through. When another rumble of thunder made them jump, he quickly clenched his fist and Aaron pressed the trigger. The resulting explosion was much quieter than they had expected, creating a perfect sized hole into the glowing generator room before them.
"Cameron, get the bomb ready, Aaron, link it up to the detonator while I set up these cameras." As Isaac walked back out of the hole, Aaron gave Cameron a sly smile, immediately knowing his intentions, Cameron looked back out the hole, then shared it. Both getting prepared for the upcoming events.
"I'm setting up the next couple of cameras around this next corridor, wait at the back entrance for me once the bomb is set."
Isaac's stern look and tone cutting through the silence like a freshly sharpened knife. He would almost look intimidating if not for him being the least muscled. The result of his life as an engineer, and not a fully trained soldier. Once he rounded the corner, Aaron and Cameron nodded to each other, before sprinting back to the van at the other end of the building.
"Finally, stupid damn focusing lens. I guess that's what we get after spending the past 8 years in a war with minimal military strength." Isaac's smile faded after the memories of that night came rushing back to him. The blood, the fires and the loss that came with it. He quickly shook it off and ran back to the entrance, only to find Cameron and Aaron missing. And the noise of the truck driving away confirmed what he had feared. A noise that after eight years of nothing but pain. Broke something inside him as he collapsed on the ground. Tears flowing freely from his eyes, remembering all the events that took place. And as Isaac sat there, a single sentence was spoken before he got up and stumbled back towards the generator room.
"......They're gone....Just like the rest of them..."
As the rolling thunder continued outside, Isaac simply sat in the generator room of the building, contemplating the fact that he needs to blow himself up. All his life he had been fighting for the greater good, to help others, but now his end has finally come. The tears stopped falling minutes ago, his energy sapped, he simply sat next to the bomb and thought to himself...
"You always expected a happy ending didn't you Isaac? That everything would be alright in the end? Well now you know, after all this fighting. All this death, and destruction, and horror. That it's over, no happy ending, no getting married and having children....Just....Death.
Isaac decided he had waited long enough, he decided to just get up and get it over with. He could hear voices making their way downstairs, ordered to patrol the area no doubt. He wiped the tears from his eyes and sat up, facing away from the door. As Isaac stared at the bomb as the voices drew closer, torch-lights becoming brighter as the guards made their way into the room. Isaac pushed his finger on the button, waiting a few seconds before one of the guards looked upon him and noticed what he was about to do.
"Open fire!!!"
The constant sound of bullets flying through the air was drowned out for Isaac when he suddenly felt like the world was slowed down. He took this time to remember everyone he lost the day of the invasion, and as the bullets collided with his back, he wondered why he couldn't feel anything. As he felt his life force draining away, he suddenly saw a figure. That figure turned out to be the face of his brother, not saying anything. But smiling upon him.
Isaac took a second to realize what he saw, but when his eyes met his brothers. He felt calm, and at peace. His brother opened his mouth to speak, and 4 simple words were heard in the back of his mind. Words that touched his heart, and cleared his conscience for the last time.
"You aren't alone anymore....."
As the final word echoed, Isaac suddenly felt the agonizing pain of the bullets as they plowed through his body. And just as the final bit of energy was sapped from his body, he let go of the button, new words suddenly echoed through his mind as everything went white. But these words were not in his head, they were coming from somewhere else.
Isaac found himself floating and surrounded by a white light, his body feeling different and out of place. Although he was blind to the world around him, the feelings came back to him, his hand were now replaced by what felt like tough marshmallows, his skin now a soft coat. The rest of his body was changed so vividly he couldn't even describe how it had changed.
"So, this is what being dead feels like huh?" Isaac spoke to himself jokingly. His eye still unable to make out any shapes or objects. So he decided to be patient rather than constantly ask questions to the space around him.
After a time in the light, he then began opening his eyes and after some focusing, found himself within the walls of a castle, the windows colored with depictions of what he can only guess as events that happened throughout the history of....Wherever he was. He quickly realized he could see his own body. He felt confused as to how this new body felt so natural to him, and after coming to terms with the physical changes, he observed his new colors. He had a dull grey coat, the perfect midpoint between white and black. And his hair, now a mane, was a brilliant shade of light green. Short and messy, and the same went for his new found tail. once he finished observing himself and his surroundings, he noticed he was covered in a golden yellow aura. And looked around to find the source, after a quick glance he heard a soft, calming voice from the other end of the room.
"Ah, I see you're finally awake."
Isaac was about to move closer to this new point of interest, when he found himself lifted off his fee...Er..Hooves. And carried towards a tall, strangely beautiful being with a pure white coat, with a flowing multicolored mane. She stood almost twice his height. And Isaac couldn't help but feel nervous as she looked him over with a plain, unaltered expression until Isaac decided to actually speak up.
"Who...Where....How..???" He didn't know where to begin, so much new information, so fast. Sent his world upside down.
"Please, do not be alarmed, I understand your current position. I have seen into your world and the destruction that has been caused there..." Isaac opened his mouth to speak, but the white entity raised her hoof, signalling Isaac to stay silent.
"I have decided to give you, and only you. A second chance. I've seen the pain you have been through your past life....
"Did she just say past life!?"
"And I have brought you here, to our world. In order to start anew, my name, is Princess Celestia."
Isaac had always wanted to meet royalty as a child, but this was far from what he had expected. Isaac felt like he had listened enough, he decided to ignore the risk of getting yelled at, and quickly interrupted the princess.
"Alright! First of all where and...What, am I? I just died, I was finally at peace, and I won the war for us! Why bring me here?"
Celestia stood, slightly shocked for a moment, then sighed and looked up at Isaac, her kind eyes calming him almost immediately. She set him down, but the aura coming from her horn was still present around his body.
"You are in our land, Equestria. I have turned you into one of our kind. A unicorn to be exact." Isaac quickly noticed a horn smaller than that of Celestias resting atop his own head. After the momentary lapse in concentration, looked back to Celestia.
Celestia sighed and closed her eyes for a second, before she continued. "As for your other concerns, yes. You died, but I have brought you back here in the hopes of having a new life. A life free from war and loss. But as for you being at peace, I thought you should know this. The Government leaders inside the building were decoys, an unfortunate, but necessary precaution they initiated. You failed your mission, and your world continues to burn. I am Sorry." She finally sat back down on her throne before closing her eyes again.
"I'm sorry?" I lost everything and just as she says I failed, all she can say is that she's sorry?!
Isaac thought to himself before letting out a short cry, not one of anger, but one of sorrow. As he lay there, broken and confused. Celestia slowly made her way towards him, and placed a hoof on his shoulder. When Isaac finally calmed down and the tears stopped flowing, Celestia explained the rest of her plans.
"I have brought you back from death to start a new life in our world. I believe you can pull through and make enough friends to live a good life, something you never had in your previous world. I am going to send you to a town not too far away from here called Ponyville. There you will meet with one of my students there, she will give you somewhere to stay. But other than that, you are on your own." Celestia seemed harsher than she had intended with the last sentence.
It took Isaac a while for all of what Celestia said to sink in. He was more than just confused as to why he was where, and how. But he quickly decided to let off of it go when wanted just one more question answered before his new journey began.
"Princess, just one more thing..." Isaac began, as the Princess looked up with a kind expression on her face."
"What makes you think I can trust these other ponies.....Or you, for that matter." Celestia closed her eyes again in thought as to how to answer Isaacs' question.
Celestia nodded before answering with a smile, "I would be surprised if you trusted me immediately, seeing as what you went through. I do not expect you to trust me, but some of the ponies you will meet may be just as wary of you as you are of them." This answer was unexpected to Isaac, who decided he could trust the words this being after she rescued him from death. After seeming satisfied with Celestias answer, he looked calmly at her as she began to say her final words to him.
"Just one more thing before you go, your injuries were...Severe, to say the least..." Her smile faded quickly as it turned into a pained expression. "My magic can only heal so much, and once I let you go, you will be in much pain for the next few minutes. But you must push through it." Isaac was about to protest, before he found his body starting to fade.
"Good luck, and you may want to find a new name. Isaac would not be.....Acceptable, in our society." As Celestias final words left the air, Isaac found himself whirling into darkness, only to find himself blinded by a familiar white light....
Alrighty, so this is my first story, and I hope you are all enjoying it. I am aware it is short, as writing takes a lot longer than reading, as I soon realized :P . But hopefully I will make longer chapters as time goes on, and I am open to ideas. Seeing as I am making this up as I go along.
The evening came quickly as Fluttershy gracefully strolled back into her cottage on the outskirts of Ponyville. Having finally finished looking after her animal friends, she was looking forward to a good nights rest. She slowly sat herself down on her bed, careful not to wake the sleeping animals that had taken residence in her home. After rummaging through her memory, making sure everything was taken care of for today, she enveloped herself in the blankets and began to drift off to sleep. After some time a small flash appeared outside her window, in the distance. Believing it to be another one of Twilight's spells, she shrugged it off and went back to a peaceful sleep.
--------------------------------
Fluttershy awoke once again in a way she did not expect, rather than Celestia's sunlight filtering its way into her home, she quickly realized it was still dark outside, and after scanning the room and getting used to the darkness, she noticed Angel tapping her repeatedly on her right foreleg. And a horrifying scream coming from outside.
"Oh my, Angel, is something wrong?"
Her calming voice did little to stop the small bunny's rambling, repeatedly stomping on the floor and pointing out of the widow, towards the Everfree Forest. Fluttershy pondered for a moment, before taking the hint and quickly making her way towards the window.
"Is something outside, Angel?"
Angel simply nodded his head multiple times.
"Oh, I hope it isn't something scary..."
Angel simply put his paw to his face, before jumping of Fluttershy's back and pointing towards the first line of trees in the forest. Fluttershy focused her eyes on the spot before she caught a glimpse of a figure stumbling and then crawling his way down the road towards Ponyville.
"Oh my goodness! Angel, go and get some bandages and water! This colt looks injured!"
Angel answered with a salute as he heard Fluttershy's pleads, and quickly ran out of the door towards Sweet Apple Acres. Fluttershy grabbed a scarf, not wanting to catch a cold leaving in the dead of night. As she ran out the door she caught a glimpse of her clock "9:43", from this Fluttershy calculated she couldn't have been asleep for 10 minutes after the momentary flash she saw earlier. And could only link the two events together.
"I don't think that flash was from Twilight..."
As she came closer to the lone colt, she came to a horrific discovery. The pony was not only injured, but several more wounds began to open on his body. Bruises, cuts and lashes, the colt looked like he had just been in a deadly battle. She let out a small yelp as the colt looked up at her for a moment and gave one last groan of pain, then collapsed on the road.
Isaac felt the familiar tingle as he found himself surrounded by a white glow, His body slowly fading from sight as he disappeared into the beyond once more. He could only imagine what this life could bring him as he spend the next 5 minutes in white space, thinking about the new ponies he is going to meet and what he could possibly have too offer them.
"What if they don't trust me? What if they think i'm a freak? What if they find out about my past!?"
His thoughts of the events to come came to a halt as he vaguely remembered something Celestia said to him moments ago.
"Wait, what did Celestia say about my injuries?"
His body felt a slight tingling sensation at first as he quickly found the white space dissolving around him to show a new environment. Looking behind him, Isaac found a lush forest under the night sky, and in the distance he saw a town containing a few dozen buildings. "So I guess that's Ponyville..." Isaac said aloud to himself in his usual, dull tone. The town on the edge of the forest had little light shining from it, assuming the stores were closed and people, or in this case, ponies, were asleep. He slowly made his way out of the forest, but something was amiss. The tingling sensation started to worsen, the small feelings becoming more and more painful by the second.
"Oh that's right, I almost forgot I was just in the middle of a FUCKING EXPLOSION!"
The thoughts all but drained from his mind as all he could feel was the pain of the blast taking it's toll on him, the pain seemed to be coming from all directions at once, and he felt blood run down his coat as several lashes appeared everywhere on his body. Bruises followed almost immediately and Isaac felt his vision alternate between the dark road under the moonlight and total blackness. Determined to get somewhere safe, he headed for the town.
Unfortunately for Isaac, the agonizing pain that attacked every inch of his body made it so he could only go so far without a mixture of falling, screaming, and complete blackness slowed his journey to a halt. If this pain was Celestia's form of humor, he hated the thought of the rest of the ponies ideas. As he got a few meters closer he felt the pain wash over him and consume him. He managed to make out a smaller, yellow mare with a flowing, pink mane rush towards him. Just as help finally arrived, he wanted to make out a small smile to his supposed savior, unfortunately the pain was now so severe he could only grunt as his body made a final effort to keep conscious, then everything was black once more.
Fluttershy was almost in a state of complete shock when she saw the colt collapse on the ground in front of her. But, remembering her priorities, she quickly made her way next to the wounded pony and held him in her hoofs.
"Shhhh...It will be alright."
Fluttershy didn't think of carrying the colt to her home, so she had to think quickly if this he was going to survive. She ran as fast as she could back into the Everfree Forest, ignoring the dangers and knowing somepony's life was at risk, would do much more to help. After merely a few seconds after wandering the Everfree Forest, Fluttershy came rushing back over to the now pale pony's side.
"Over here! My house is just over the ridge!"
Several loud steps could be heard as the ground started to shake. And after several trees were pushed aside, a Manticore rushed over to Fluttershy and looked down at the colt, before looking at Fluttershy.
"Please..Please help him..."
As the Manticore saw the tears flowing from Fluttershy's eyes, its look softened as it picked Isaac up, and laid him on its back. After a short journey towards fluttershy's home, it dropped Isaac on the floor just outside. Fluttershy was still weeping slightly as she thanked the towering beast. As the Manticore left the scene and retreated back into the forest, Fluttershy dragged the unicorn onto her couch. Noticing he had a less-muscular build than most colts, she felt calmer being around him. Ignoring his first impressions on her, she quickly called in Angel to help her clean and bandage up the colt.
"Just hold on friend, please just....."
Fluttershy stopped mid-sentence as something highly unexpected happened. The many cuts and bruises started to fade from the pony's body, some smaller wounds remained, but the others had vanished almost instantly from him. Angel stood gobsmacked at the sight of the fresh wounds simply fading away, leaving only small, faint scars along the unicorns body. The blood still covered his coat, however. So Fluttershy set to work on cleaning the marks left by the....Event.
"I just don't understand it Angel.... He was almost gone a few seconds ago...."
Angel looked at Fluttershy before observing the marks left over for a final time, before stroking Fluttershy on the hoof softly, and yawning and walking lazily to his bed. A few more minutes passed when Fluttershy finally finished cleaning the rest of the blood away. Needless to say, she was plain exhausted from what had transpired. She wanted to go straight back to bed, but felt the need to stay close to the sleeping unicorn. if only for a few more minutes. She let out a sigh as she held the colts hoof in hers, and lay next to him as she closed her eyes for a moment.
"Just a few...More........Minutes..."
As her eyes closed, Fluttershy felt herself drifting off back to sleep. Ignoring the consequences of the colt waking up first and finding her holding his hoof. But she felt the need to make sure he was near somepony should something go wrong in the night. Only left wondering what the next day would bring.
Twilight had been pacing around the library non-stop since she received her letter from Princess Celestia. Her energetic body and nervous mind full of questions about her new soon-to-be guest. Twilight's hoofs gliding across the room as she waited for a new friend to arrive. Every few minutes she looked up at the clock, And knowing the new unicorn should be arriving soon, she could not wait and constantly set her eyes on the clock. The letter from Princess Celestia contained little information, but enough so that Twilight understood the do's and don'ts referring to the new pony.
"To my faithful student, Twilight Sparkle. This is a letter of great importance, as I have a very special task ensured to you, a new unicorn has been assigned to live in Ponyville and he must be kept safe. He will be very confused about what is happening, and some of the things he says or does may seem...Strange to you. But you have to ensure he is secure and always near one of your friends, and as a precaution I shall have take a temporary residence at your Library. And most of all, DO NOT question his past. I am trusting you with this task, Twilight. He shall arrive at your home in just over an hour. Good luck. Your teacher, Princess Celestia.
Twilight read over the letter she received well over an hour ago, again and again scanning the part of the letter showing the new unicorn's time of arrival. After much pacing, Spike lazily made his way down the stairs, unable to sleep due to the loud hoofsteps. He himself took a hold of the letter and rubbed his eyes. Glancing over the information provided. He then placed a claw on Twilights' shoulder, calming her down slightly.
"Stop worrying Twilight, i'm sure he'll be over soon. He might have just got sidetracked."
"Oh Spike, how can I NOT worry?" Her voice carried a panicked tone as she sat down on the wooden floor, glaring out of the window. "Princess Celestia trusted me with this task, if she found out the new pony was missing as soon as she sent him here, she'll blame me for losing him!"
Spike rolled his weary eyes and turned Twilight's head, forcing her to make eye contact.
"She won't blame you Twilight, Celestia knows you are better than to simply lose someone."
Twilight seemed happier at Spikes kind words, a small smile appearing over her once worried face. His job done, Spike began to ascend the stairs to his bed, looking back at Twilight, he yawned before speaking. "It's getting late Twilight, we'll look for him tomorrow. But please try and get some sleep?"
Twilight sighed as the non-stop pacing and worrying had taken its toll. Finally she ascended the stairs, turning off what lights were left in the library and clambered into bed. Her worry's temporarily vanished as she let drowziness take hold of her. She felt her eyes close as she rolled over into a deep sleep.
Isaac's eyes slowly opened as the world around him came into focus, he winced at the expected pain he was about to endure, only for it to never arrive. Confused, he looked around the new area he was placed in. A small cottage, oddly shaped, and with many small beds. Isaac could only assume whoever's home he was in was fond of animals. As he began to sit up, he felt something soft move slightly along one of his hooves. He slowly turned to see another pony's forelegs wrapped around his, her body awkwardly close to him. He looked around the room, wondering whether or not to move, worried about waking the sleeping mare. Isaac strangely found himself unable to look away from her, her bright yellow coat glistened in the sunlight, her long, pink mane almost touching the floor. And her hooves felt soft and made him feel warm as they wrapped around his own. At the risk of waking the mare from her peaceful slumber, he decided to stay in his current position next to her.
"This is gonna be awkward when she wakes up no doubt...."
As Isaac thought of what she might say when she awoke, his questions were answered as the mare slowly opened her eyes and rubbed them with one hoof, the other still interlocked with Isaac's own.
"Ummm.........Hi."
Fluttershy let out a small yelp as the noticed where she was, she looked down at her hoof, then back up to Isaac. Her sparkling, light blue eyes meeting his own. Their colors matching almost completely. She quickly jumped off the chair where she was sleeping and ran upstairs, hiding herself from the very confused stallion on the couch. Isaac looked up the staircase, eyes wide as the mare charged up the stairs and gently closed the door to her room before locking it.
"Great, I've been awake 30 seconds and I've already scared off the one who saved my life."
As he finished talking to himself, his eyes grew wider as he looked around his body to see the various cuts and bruises he was sure appeared the night before. But after much frantic worrying, he calmed down and placed a hoof over the large bandage wrapped around his shoulder. The bruises all but gone and the larger cuts that were present the night before, were now mere scars, barely visible along his grey coat. Which was now a slightly lighter shade than he remembered.
"Well, no use standing around here, better go introduce myself."
Taking good use of this new life that was in store for him, Isaac began to try and make his first friend in a long, long time. As he carefully walked up the stairs, he made his hoofsteps loud enough to be heard from the mare's room, but at the same time quiet enough for her to hear him coming. As he approached the door to her room, Isaac felt himself paralyzed, unable to come to knock on the door. But after what felt like hours, he finally knocked quietly on the door, and spoke in his softest tone possible.
"Hey umm....I just wanted to say thanks, for y'know....Saving me...And stuff. My name is I....."
Isaac froze for a second, remembering Celestia's speech regarding his name.
"Well, I don't exactly...Have a name yet. But uhh...It was nice meeting you....So, i'm heading over into town now, get myself acquainted...So i'll see you another time?"
No noise came from the other side of the door, and after a long minute of waiting, he slowly made his way out of the house and down the road towards Ponyville. As he reached the crossroads between town and the Everfree forest, he gave one last glance at the mare's home, and strolled off towards the town. After a few seconds of walking however, his journey came to a temporary halt as he thought he heard a voice off in the distance. As he looked up, he saw a small cyan shape slowly grow larger and larger, and soon realized it was moving at a terrifying speed. Directly at him.
"Look out beloooooooooooooowwwwwwwwww!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
It was soon clear that the cyan shape flying towards him was another pony, and a fast one at that. After a second stood on the spot, the Pegasus was a few dozen meters away from him when he made a split second decision. Standing his ground, he closed his eyes and thought of nothing but stopping the mares flight and softening her landing. After a few more seconds of concentration, he realized he should be smashed into the ground. Instead he heard the voice call out something else.
"Wow, great catch! Twilight could learn a thing or two from you!"
Opening his eyes, he found himself inches away from the face of a cyan Pegasus, her mane and tail dazzling him with all the colors of the rainbow. She was also covered in a mysterious green aura. Which soon revealed itself to be radiating from his horn. As he stood there, her look went from happy to confused, to irritated.
"Hey! You can drop me now. And stop staring!"
Isaac noticed he was staring directly into the mares magenta eyes for the entire time. And after a second, he released his hold of her. The magic that came from him seemed almost natural, and he felt no different from the use of it. Hoping to move along back to the town, he avoided eye contact, but with nowhere to look, he found himself staring at the ground. Until he heard her speak once more.
"Jeez, it's like you've never seen a Pegasus in your life..."
Her words caught onto him as he found himself looking at her again, he felt his cheeks heating rapidly as he stammered for a reply. "Heh, yeah sorry. I'm heading off into town and i'm in a little bit of a rush... But it was nice to meet you miss?....."
Rainbow Dash suddenly found an opportunity to express herself at his request. And a smile grew large on her face before she shot up a few meters into the air.
"I'm the one and only Rainbow Dash! The fastest flyer in all of Equestria!"
"More like the loudest flyer in all of Equestria..."
Isaac shrugged off the thought, and quickly started to move off into town. "Nice meeting you Rainbow Dash, see you around!"
"Hey! I didn't catch your name!"
Isaac smiled as he continued to walk. "Yeah, neither did I!"
Rainbow stood there with a blank expression as she tried to make sense of what the stallion had just said, but she quickly ignored it as she flew down the road towards Fluttershy's house.
Rainbow arrived at Fluttershy's cottage mere seconds after her odd meeting with the new unicorn, her speed taking her anywhere almost immediately. As she arrived at the front door and knocked three times. She waited a few seconds before trying again, still no answer.
"Hey Fluttershy? You in there? Hellooo?"
Rainbow's expression soon changed from curios, to worried as she stepped foot inside the cottage. Fluttershy was nowhere to be found, but she wouldn't leave her door unlocked if she was going out anywhere. Rainbow soon hurried upstairs, hoping to find Fluttershy there. Sure enough, on the other side of the door she heard Fluttershy's small cries. She noticed the door was locked, so she put on her most calm voice in an effort to help her crying friend.
"Fluttershy? It's me, Rainbow.... Please come out and tell me whats wrong... Please?" Rainbow's calming calls to her friend were thankfully answered from the other side of the bedroom door.
"I..I'll, be fine...Rainbow...I just want to be alone for a while okay?" Fluttershy said between quiet sobs. Rainbow knew better than to intrude on her privacy so she carefully backed away from the door after saying her goodbyes. As she walked down the stairs she noticed something out of place in her living room. Her couch lay covered in first aid equipment and unused bandages. A small amount of blood lay nest to it and on top of that blood lay a small tuft of hair. A bright green hair, to be exact. As soon as Rainbow put two and two together, anger filled her eyes. She quickly burst out of the door, holding the hairs and chased after the mysterious colt, who was still heading towards town.
Isaac was almost near the entrance to Ponyville when he heard a familiar voice behind him. Only this time the cries were that of one. Angry mare.
Isaac was once again lost in thought when he felt something slam into his back, sending him flying an extra 10 meters down the road. When he regained his sight after the temporary blackout, he saw Rainbow Dash placed on top of him. With his arms pinned to the ground, and staring into the deep magenta eyes of the mare. He would have felt a huge blush creep up his cheeks if not for the lapse in concentration.
"So Fluttershy's her name then?"
*THWACK
Isaac's attempt at poor comedy only resulted in a hoof slamming into the left side of his face. He couldn't help but writhe in pain as her hoof connected with his muzzle. He quickly looked back at Rainbow, who was already rising her hoof into the air, preparing for another strike. "Don't play dumb with me! Nopony hurts Fluttershy! Nopony!" Rainbows breaths were heavy and her body instantly overpowered Isaac's fragile form. Realizing she was being deadly serious, Isaac's expression changed into one of confusion.
"I don't know what you're talking about! I woke up next to her and she just ran off! I didn't do anything I swear!"
"I hope to Celestia you're telling the truth! Or so help me you'll be in a world of pain!" Rainbow's tone becoming angrier by the second. Without a second thought, she lifted the colt off the ground and hurled him back towards Fluttershy's cottage. His body halted by the use of his magic, which otherwise would have resulted in a painful crash onto the wall of the house.
"Calm down dammit! I didn't do anything!"
Rainbow flew over to Isaac at an astonishing speed before stopping just inches away from his face. Her expression slowly turned from rage-filled to guilty, Rainbow let out a large sigh before lowering herself down next to him. She looked him right in the eyes and opened her mouth to speak, before turning away. "So what DID happen then? Fluttershy is never upset like this unless it's something serious." Isaac turned towards the house, looking up at what he assumed was Fluttershy's window. "Listen, you obviously care a lot about her. So i'll fill you in on what happened..."
As Isaac explained everything that happened the previous night. From the cuts and lashes that appeared on him randomly, to the moment of him meeting Rainbow. After going through the last moments, and taking a gasp of much needed air. Isaac expected Rainbow to hit him again for such a ridiculous story, instead she just sat there, staring at him.
"Hey? Helloooo anyone in there?" Isaac stood for a few seconds waving his hoof in front of Rainbow Dash's face. He kept this up for a few moments before Rainbow shook her head and glanced over the scars still present on Isaac's grey coat. She looked at the ground for a second before opening the door to Fluttershy's house.
".....Alright I know that can't have been made up. Not a story that ridiculous, and the scars only help your case. So i'll trust you for now until we hear Fluttershy's side of the story."
"Seems fair, so how do you wanna go about this? Smash the door down?"
Rainbow rolled her eyes as a cheerful smile appeared on her face. "Not exactly, but I think I know someone who can help." She looked around the house and after wandering into the kitchen, found exactly what she is looking for.
"Hey, Angel! Over here!" Rainbow called out in a soft yell to get the rabbits attention. It quickly hopped over to her whilst hanging up its apron. A bowl of soup on a tray, most likely for the yellow mare isolating herself upstairs. She asked the bunny if she could see Fluttershy. And after glancing at Isaac, the bunny waved to him slightly before shaking his head. Rainbow turned back to the grey colt and whispered to him in a hushed tone.
"Hey this could take a while, why don't you go into town and do....Whatever it is you were planning to do..."
"Sure... Hey i'm actually looking for someone, I think she is one of Celestias' students?"
Rainbows ears perked up at the description, and the smile on her face grew wider as she spoke. "Oh you must mean Twilight! She's over at the library, its the big treehouse near the center of town!" Isaac could only grin at the mare's enthusiasm, and as he said is goodbyes, left the house and restarted his walk to Ponyville.
Twilight held the necessary amount of bits in her hoof for her weekly shopping as she stepped out the door. The day was perfect, Celestia's sun shone high in the sky and almost no clouds were present in the area.
"Rainbow really outdid herself today" She thought as she cheerfully walked into the market. Getting the casual wave from her neighbors as she passed by. Spike was currently left at home to finish his chores. Her mind still wondering about the new pony who still hadn't arrived yet. But she quickly shrugged it off, promising herself that she would sort it out later, and stay focused on the task at hand. As she continued to walk around the town center, she noticed somepony makes his way towards the town. As she got a closer look, she didn't recognize the unicorn shifting his way through the town. On a hunch that this was who Celestia asked her to meet, she took a dive and strolled up to him.
"Excuse me, I haven't seen you around before. Are you who I think you are?"
The new colt took on a look of surprise as he was approached so casually by Twilight, after looking behind him, he smirked as he replied. "Well, if you're expecting someone from Princess...Celestia? Was it? I take it you're Twilight?" The mare instantly took a hold of Isaac and held him for a second before hastily retreating. A clear blush appearing on her cheeks.
"Sorry about that... It's just we expected you last night, after you didn't show up I got a little worried." Her voice sounded sincere, which seemed odd to Isaac. He never had anyone give a damn about him in the last 8 years. To have 2 people (in this case, ponies) to care about him so much in such a short time felt off, Exhilarating, and inspiring. He thought to himself as he began to raise a hoof to Twilight.
"My name is...."
"Oh shit, gotta think of a new name..... But this mare knows Celestia, so maybe..."
"Well, you already know about me, and why I can't say my name no doubt."
Twilight immediately took on a look of confusion as she read over the letter in her mind. Not recalling anything about a name, she looked over Isaac once more before asking.
"Sorry, but Celestia never said anything about a name. Why can't you say it?"
Isaac took a deep sigh, and closed his eyes for a moment before responding. "Celestia said that my name was...Unsatisfactory for Equestria. She said i'd have to make up a new one, but I have no idea what kind of name would be acceptable in your society."
"Well our names are usually linked to something that describes us...or something we might be good at, or love to do."
"That explains Rainbow Dash...."
"What?"
"N....Nothing.."
Twilight pondered for a moment, before coming to a sudden realization, "Well, now that I've found you, just let me finish here then i'll show you where you'll be staying. And, what is...Was, your name anyway?"
Isaac said nothing, instead staring at his hoof, before looking down the side of his body. His coat took on a lightly darker shade of grey as he began remembering who he once was.
"I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to..."
"It's alright. My name is...." he took a sigh before finishing, "Was, Isaac. Isaac Oakleaf. I understand if it seems ridiculous to you, Twilight."
Twilight placed a hoof on Isaac's shoulder and gave him a reassuring smile. "There's nothing wrong with that, although Isaac might seem a little strange, Oakleaf should be alright with most ponies. I mean if you're comfortable with a different name, it's really up to you."
"Thanks, at least I get to keep some part of myself intact."
Twilight seemed put off by the last comment as they continued to walk down the street. She knew it would be rude to ask, but her curiosity got the best of her in the end. "So where are you from exactly? Why move here?"
Isaac walked a few steps ahead of Twilight before stopping, refusing to look at her. "It's a long, long story. I barely know you, and I've had a bit of a rough day. Everything is wrong about this. Listen, give it a while, then ask me that again."
As they continued walking down the street, Isaac's stomach started to rumble, the result of having no food for almost a day got the better of him. His cranky mood vanished as it was replaced with hunger. "Hey what do you eat around here? I'm starving." His stomach growling more as they walked, Twilight led them two a restaurant just around the corner, but something was amiss.
"Hey Twilight? Why is everypony giving me funny looks?" "Damn it why do I keep saying pony?"
"Funny looks?" Twilight looked around to see a majority of the ponies that were passing by were staring at both Twilight and Isaac. Some snorting, some giggling, some even rude enough to point. "I think, it might have something to do with you cutie mark. Or rather, lack of one." Isaac gave a befuddled look as Twilight pointed to his flank.
"What the hell is a cutie mark?" Oblivious to the mark Twilight had on her lower body until just now. The purple, six pointed star surrounded by many other small white stars suddenly became the focus of Isaac's vision. He shook his head wildly before scanning the crowd. And sure enough everypony in the area had some kind of mark on their flank. His concentration was broken as Twilight spoke up.
"A cutie mark is what everypony gets when they discover something that makes them special, be that a talent, a hobby or just something they like."
"So, like a representation of what makes them unique to everypony else?" "Body! damnit! every BODY!"
"Yes, a cutie mark usually appears at a young age. Which is probably why everypony is staring at you."
Isaac took a minute to absorb the sudden wealth of information, he looked over at his blank flank once more as he sighed and continued towards the restaurant for a much needed meal. They sat down at a table outside, ignoring the funny looks they were getting, and looked at the menu.
"Well.... I have no idea what's good or not."
"You're really not from around here are you?" Twilight said with a smirk on her face.
"You have no idea." Isaac replied, returning the expression.
After some confusion with the meal, mostly how to eat properly, the two ponies finally arrived at the library. Isaac felt it necessary to apologize for embarrassing Twilight in front of everypony. "Listen, i'm sorry for...Well, not eating properly. This new body is really confusing at times." He said awkwardly as he started to prod his left foreleg. Twilight's ears perked up, and a suspicious look crept up on her face.
"What do you mean, NEW body? I mean, that explains your eating difficulties, and it's fine, really. But I don't understand..."
It took Isaac a few seconds to realize what he had just said. he stammered on the spot, his cheeks becoming a bright pink, "Oh ummm...I...Look, I promise i'll explain everything soon. But for now, please just be patient with me?"
Twilight squinted her eyes at Isaac, who was becoming more uneasy every moment. But his fears came to a halt as a calming smile appeared on her face once more. "Alright, but i'm going to hold you to that, make sure you tell me soon."
"I will, as soon as I've got acquainted with everyone."
Fortunately for Twilight, getting acquainted will be much easier than expected as a pink ball rocketed into Isaac's chest, and held him to the ground. A cheeky smile found itself on her mouth as she walked over to the grey pony, now encased in a mass of bright pink fur.
"Hi! sorry my mane isn't cotton candy, i'm Pinkie Pie, what's your......"
The pink mare instantly bounced off Isaac's winded torso and held her face an inch from his. But he couldn't help but chuckle at the wide smile Pinkie held as she stared at him. Her eyes wide and her cheerful nature almost contagious. But Isaac's smile was short lived when Twilight held her hoof over her ears and signaled him to do the same. A second later, Pinkie jumped up in the air with an astonished expression. Her eyes would surely be wider if they had not already reached their limit, the bubbly pink mare let out a huge gasp before shouting out so loud all of Ponyville surely heard her.
"Oh my gosh you're new!!! I know everypony in Ponyville its so nice to meet you you're new in town right we need to have a party!!"
Isaac barely caught the last word as Pinkie stopped suddenly, she scratched her head with her hoof and continued. "Meet at Sugarcube Corner at 7:30 and don't be late!" The pink mare squealed before running off to tell everypony else. Isaac simply stood there for many moments, until Twilight used her magic to carry the stunned colt inside and set him down on the floor inside.
"Not what I expected when I was told to go to a library."
"I admit it's not the usual kind of structure, but its a good home all the same."
"You got that right, this place is amazing."
Isaac took his time scanning the various book on the wall, he always loved reading as a child, his brother always used to take him to the library. His eyes began to water as the memories came flooding back to him, but he wiped the tears away as a voice came from upstairs, followed by footsteps making their way down the curved staircase.
"Hey Twilight, you found him! I told you there was nothing to worry about."
Isaac stood shocked at the small purple lizard made its way towards him. "Are you....A dragon?"
Spike looked over himself, as if to confirm his own identity before turning back to Isaac. "Sure am, the names Spike."
Isaac's stern expression changed to a sly smile as he looked at Twilight, then raised his hoof towards the baby dragon.
"Well, i'd be lying if I said this is the strangest thing I've seen all day, it's good to meet you Spike, my names...Oakleaf."
Spike returned the smile as he shook his hoof, and began to exit the library.
"I'm going to help Rarity with some dresses, but i'll see you guys at the party ok?"
Isaac gave Spike a confused look as he spoke. "How did you....?"
"It's Pinkie Pie, what do you expect?"
Isaac turned to Twilight, who simply closed her eyes and nodded, Isaac took the hint and ignored the strangeness of Pinkie's abilities. He looked over at Twilight, who had already started to walk down towards the basement, signaling him to follow. After a small journey down a rather large flight of stairs, they came across the underground section of Twilight's library. The floor was littered with old equipment and writing utensils. And in the corner of the room lay a decent-sized bed and a drawer.
"I know it isn't much, but I didn't have much to spare when I received the Princess' letter. But luckily you packed light." Twilight giggled as Isaac looked at his sides, realizing he had no possessions. He quickly looked back over at Twilight, who was still smiling at him.
"Nah, it's fine. Besides it's not like I had much to pack anyway."
"What do you mean by that?"
Isaac looked over at Twilight once more, the irritated look in his eyes answering her question. "Oh right, later." Twilight immediately tried to change the mood when she noticed the dark patches under Isaac's eyes. "There's still a few hours before the party so you can get a few hours of sleep before then, if you like."
"Yeah, i guess you're right, thanks Twilight." Isaac let out a grateful smile before turning to the bed, as he fell onto the bed he heard Twilight's voice behind him. Causing his ears to perk up.
"Hey, did your coat just get lighter?"
"Probably, see ya later Twilight." He scoffed before instantly falling asleep on the bed, and with the recent memories of his coat changing in multiple situations. He finally decided on a new first name.
"Isaac it's me! Isaac come on! We have to go!" Isaac felt himself sucked into a burning flame, the echoing voice of his brother in the distance as everything burned around him. The screams of the deceased filling his mind. He felt his body become human once more, the flames that engulfed his vision cleared to reveal images of people, tied up with chains and led out of an ash filled city. Some were on their knees to the side of the area, Isaac wanted to scream as he saw a shadow pull a weapon, and shoot each of them individually. Isaac stared until his mind couldn't take it any more, he felt his eyes open as he finally let his voice scream out into nothing.
"Isaac! Isaac wake up!" Twilight shook Isaac's hoof as he screamed into the air, shaking. He looked around the room, finding that he was again safe and secure. His dark grey coat fading back to a lighter shade, his eyes darted at the space around him, sweating profusely and his coat matted with fresh tears.
"I'm alright...I just, had a rough night is all." Isaac said in between large, slow breaths. Twilight held him close to her for a few seconds, she waited for his shivering to stop before letting him go. Her kind, purple eyes easing his tension as he stared into them.
"I came down to tell you it's time to go. But when I found you, you looked like you were in some....Serious pain. We don't have to go to the party if you don't want to."
"No, i'll go. It'll be good to meet some of the new ponies in this town. And it'll take my mind off what I saw just then..." He managed a weak smile as he hopped out of the bed, rubbing his eyes. "So, how long until the party?"
"Actually, we should get going now. It took me about 5 minutes to wake you up, that must have been one heck of a nightmare."
"Yes. Yes it was."
"Alright come on, we should get going."
As they exited the library, Isaac found the streets to be seemingly deserted. Only a couple of lights on in every other house, he was so distracted by the sudden change in the atmosphere he forgot to tell Twilight about his new name. "Hey, Twilight, before I fell asleep I think I found myself a new name."
"Oh, really? Great! What did you have in mind?"
"Ummm....Iridescent..."
"Iridescent? Doesn't that mean a change in color or shading, or something like that?"
"Umm...Yeah, I kind of thought of it after you mentioned a change in the color of my coat. And after what happened when I woke up, i think it's rather fitting."
Twilight seemed happy after Isaac's explanation, and nodded her head in agreement. "Well, I think it's wonderful. Come on, Sugarcube corner is right around here."
As he two rounded another house, Isaac saw the large, gingerbread look-alike house. He would have tried some of the walls if not for the fact that they were real, and somepony was living there. As he got closer, he realized all of the lights were off. But after a small pause, he knew what was coming, and so he went along with it. Twilight was the first to reach the door, opening it with a hoof and beckoning for Isaac to follow her inside. Everything was black as night as they clumsily wandered into into the seemingly empty house, this made Isaac a little suspicious. What happened next surprised him in such a way he was sure to remember the night forever.
"SURPRISE!!!!!!"
Suddenly every light in the room flicked on, along with the balloons, confetti, streamers, food and drinks that came into view. Isaac jumped up into the air and threw his head around the room, glancing at the smiling ponies and all the new, bright colors that filled the room. A smile appeared on his face that rivaled Pinkie Pie, and his coat brightened significantly. He felt happier than he had in a long time. As Pinkie made her way towards him, about to ask him what he thinks of the party, Isaac threw himself at her and took her into a tight hug.
"Wow, I didn't know ponies liked my parties THAT much!"
"Pinkie this is amazing! I've never had anypony do something like this for me!" "Body, any. body.....oh forget it..."
After introducing himself to Pinkie and a few other ponies (now as Iridescent Oakleaf), he made his way over to Twilight. She was now standing next to two other ponies. One was a freckled orange mare with a long blonde mane, she wore a large stetson hat on her head, and spoke with a thick southern accent. The other was a beautiful white mare with a styled purple mane, and spoke with a strong posh accent. Twilight smiled at Isaac as he approached and then looked back at the other two mares.
"Oakleaf, i'd like you to meet Rarity"
"A pleasure" Isaac bowed low in a successful attempt to make a good impression.
"And Applejack."
"Howdy." He lifted his head upwards to wink at the now lightly blushing mare.
"Easy there partner, yer gonna' have t' do more than that t' get mah attention." Applejack said with a smirk on her face.
The party was in full swing after about half an hour, Twilight had introduced Isaac to everypony who was there under his new identity. He still ended up with a few funny looks about his blank flank, but these were quickly put to rest as a mare with huge purple shades turned on the dance music at the turntables. A few more minutes into the party and there was a knock at the door, Pinkie zoomed across the floor like lightning before coming to a screeching halt at the entrance.
"Rainbow Dash! Fluttershy! Come on in guys! The party's just getting started!"
Isaac recalled those two names, and quickly tried to hide himself inconspicuously within the crowd. But Pinkie quickly spotted him and dragged him by the tail over to the two mares. For some reason, Isaac was expecting another smack to the face, but instead was greeted by a gentle hoof on his shoulder.
"I'm...Sorry for running away earlier...I was just so nervous and I...." Fluttershy stammered, looking away from Isaac's sky blue eyes.
"It's alright, really. I understand if you freaked out a little bit. I don't know exactly how I got to your house, but i'm sure nothing....Odd, happened." Isaac managed a weak smile before being placed in a warm embrace by the glassy eyed Pegasus.
"And i'm sorry too, I guess I was just being a little overprotective of my friend." Rainbow called out from behind in a quiet tone unlike her usual self.
"Hey, if I was put in your position I would have done the same damn thing." Isaac replied, he soon found himself crowded by five mares. Twilight, Rarity and Applejack, and of course the two pegasi. Applejack was the first to speak up, startling Isaac with the sudden question.
"So Oakleaf, where ya from anyway?" Applejack said in a suspicious but curious tone. Twilight nudged the orange mare in the shoulder and shook her head, hinting at Applejack to stop.
"I don't want to talk about it..."
"If ya don't even tell us where yer' from, how can we trust ya?" Applejack said, sternly. Eager to pull an answer from the now depressed colt. Isaac let out a deep sigh before regretfully answering.
"Applejack, I really don't want to...." He was cut off when the orange mare narrowed her expression, a serious, accusing look in her eyes. There was no way this mare was going to let up. So Isaac said something that caught her completely off guard.
"Applejack? Have you ever experienced loss? Answer me that, and i'll answer your questions." Isaac said with a slightly angry tone, his coat already darkening slightly from the harsh response.
"Fine, since yer bein' reasonable about it. I lost mah parents. A long time ago. Why in the hay do ya need to know that?"
"Lets just say after what I've been through, losing that would be a kindness."
The response to Applejacks' answer hit her hard. And something clicked inside that sent all of her fury into her hoofs, she knocked Isaac to the ground before lifting him up and bucking him into a wall. Isaac saw the rage in her eyes, but he had seen it many times before in himself. The club instantly went silent as Twilight ran to Isaac's side, with the other five mares keeping Applejack from crushing the weak unicorn. Everypony in the room now hard their eyes fixed on the scene unfolding.
"How dare ya say that about mah parents!!! How dare you!!!!" Applejack screamed, fresh tears running down her face.
"You asked me about my past, and i'm giving you your answer.,.." Isaac said between gasps, the mares buck knocking the wind right out of him. The orange pony calmed down slightly, allowing Isaac to finish his answer.
"You think that losing your parents was horrible? It was nothing next to the years of pain I felt! Nothing compared to what I lost!" Isaac yelled back at the temporarily stunned mare. Tears now flowing down his cheeks as well.
"Oh yeah?" Applejack screeched, "What in tarnation did you lose that was so special to ya?!"
There was a temporary silence in the air as Applejack waited for Isaac's response. "Well!? What did ya lose!?"
The once loud and cheerful party suddenly became dead silent. The laughter and conversations replaced by complete silence, and the once smiling ponies were now staring with their mouths agape at the sudden change of events. The small traces of blood from the winded unicorn sprayed on the floor from his coughing, a result of the tree-shaking buck Applejack had landed on him just moments ago.Twilight stood, her mind conflicted at who's side to take, her eyes watering as her best friend fought with such rage against the colt she was assigned to look after.
"What d'ya mean yah lost everything?"
Isaac looked up at Applejack, a small amount of blood seeping out of his mouth, and his coat now a very dark grey. His glance moved away from Applejack to scan all of the other ponies in the room. Some stood, petrified to do or say anything. Others were giving looks of disgrace at Isaac, and murmuring to the ones next to them. Isaac looked at the floor, and wiped some of the blood off of his chin, then he looked back up to Applejack.
"Meet me at the library, bring your closest friends. And only those you can trust to keep a secret." Isaac said quickly, as he eyed the door and walked out, not bothering to give anypony a look as he left. His mind was a mess, but he knew if he was to ever fix what had happened, he had to say something. He made it to the library, using his magic he cleaned the rest of the blood off his coat, and thought of a way to pass the time before Applejack arrived.
Back at the party, Applejack had gathered her close friends. Twilight and Rarity were standing next to her, while Pinkie led the rest of the ponies out of the door, her usually fluffy and vibrant mane and tail now a straight, dull style. Rainbow Dash sat nearby, trying to calm Fluttershy down after an outburst of anger and tears at Applejack for hurting her new friend.
"Ah know you're all a might' angry with me right now, but once we talk to Oakleaf we'll have this all sorted out y'hear?" Applejack looked over at Twilight, specifically. A look of regret in the orange mares' eyes. Twilight placed a hoof on her shoulder before a quick reply, "We are all confused right now, AJ. But don't worry, i'm sure everything will be fine." The lavender unicorn managing a reassuring smile before the 6 ponies headed out of the door towards the library.
"Come on, Fluttershy. I'm sure it was just a misunderstanding." Rainbow held a hoof over the still sobbing, yellow mares' shoulder as they walked.
"B..But how could it be? Didn't you just hear the anger in his voice? A...And h..his c-c-coat..." Fluttershy struggled to reply, but knowing she had to be strong with her friends, she wiped her tears and continued onwards.
As the 6 mares reached the entrance to the library, they heard a guitar playing and stopping as Twilight opened the door. Quietly they reached the door to the basement, Twilight didn't have a guitar in her home, so she wondered where the noise must be coming from. The six friends made their way to the top of the staircase, they saw Isaac holding a guitar fashioned from the wood of the library and some of the materials lying around.
"Damn it. Heh, always hated tuning these things...." Isaac said, oblivious to the six ponies watching from a mere dozen meters away. Applejack was about to say something, when Twilight held a hoof up and signaled her to listen to the colt. His body facing the wall, Isaac always hated performances, keeping to himself whenever he used to play in his room. He finished tuning the guitar and after a few test plucks of the strings, began a song of his own, mixed up a little just in case anypony wanted to hear it in the future.
"He said son, have you seen the world? Well, what would you say, if I said that you could? Just ready your horn, you'll even get paid., I said that sounds pretty good."
"Black, metal shoes, spit-shined so bright. They cut off my mane, but it looked all right. We marched and we sang, we all became friends, as we learned how to fight."
The six mares were stunned as Isaac's singing was more than tolerable. Each one judging the song in a different manner as the chorus kicked in.
"A hero of war, Yeah that's what i'll be! And when I come home, they'll be damn proud of me! I'll carry this flag, To the grave if I must! 'cause its the flag that I love, and a flag that I trust.."
"I kicked in the door, I yelled my commands, The fillys they cried, but I got my man. We took him away, a bag over his face. From his family and his friends..."
"They took off his clothes, they pissed in his hoofs. I told them to stop, but then I joined in. We beat him with stones, and batons not just once, but again and again."
Rarity and Applejack held their mouths agape, about to leave out of pure disgust for the song. But before they could do so, Fluttershy locked them in a gaze, and made it so that they stayed until the end. They all leaned closer as the chorus kicked in once more.
"A hero of war, Yeah that's what i'll be! And when I come home, they'll be damn proud of me! I'll carry this flag, to the grave if I must! 'cause it's the flag that a love, and a flag that I truuuust!"
"She walked, through cast spells and haze. I asked her to stop, I begged her to stay. But she pressed on, so I lit up my horn, and I fired away..."
"And the sparks, jumped through the smoke, and into the sand, that the blood now had soaked. She collapsed, with a flag in her hoof, a flag white as snow...."
The six ponies heard the sadness in the colts voice, and listened how his voice became angrier as he said the last part of his song.
"A hero of war? Is that what they see? Just medals and scars, so damn proud of me! And I brought home that flag, now it gathers dust. But its the flag that I love, it's the only flag I trust..."
"He said son, have you seen the world? Well, what would you say, if I said that you could?"
Isaac let the tears flow freely from his eyes for a moment, he placed the guitar on the side of his bed as he lept up and began to walk upstairs. Instead he met a familiar yellow mare step down the staircase to him and hold him in her hoofs. Isaac could feel her tears land on the side of his body as he brought the mare up to face him.
"It...It was a wonderful song, Iridescent. But please, we need to sort this out....." Her words clung to him like a leech, sucking away at his sadness. His coat changed back to its original color as he felt like his usual self again, as he looked up at the stairs. Isaac led Fluttershy forward before glancing back to the guitar, smiling to himself before heading back up the stairs. As he exited the doorway, he saw six mares from the party including Fluttershy. Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Twilight, Pinkie Pie and of course, Applejack. He scanned each of them individually before lighting up his horn.
Princess Celestia looked over the horizon as she watched her sun set over the rolling green hills of Equestria. Her room barely lit up as the contemplated what lay ahead in the future. She turned to see the door to her room open slowly, and watched closely as Luna walked next to her as she gazed over the hills.
"Beautiful night isn't it my sister?" Celestia said, calmly. Her glowing white coat seemingly making the room brighter.
"Tis' a wonderful night. Not what we should be experiencing at a time like this." Luna replied, her gaze set solidly on the horizon. "We should be preparing, you know it could happen any day now." Celestia placed a hoof on her sisters shoulder, Luna's gaze remaining unchanged.
"Fear not my sister, we have much time before it happens, and either way, I have complete trust in Isaac. He will not fail."
"But his rage, what if that becomes the better of him?" Lunas expression now worried, and both sisters looked toward the distant Ponyville.
"He will not succumb, I know this. And even if he does, I shall interfere and put a stop to it."
Celestia turned to the horizon once more, away from flickers of light in the distance. As the sun dissapeared over the hills, she stepped back inside from her balcony, and sat on her carpet next to her fireplace. As Luna retreated out of the room to the roof of the castle where she looked over Equestria during her night, Celestia thought to herself and looked into the red and yellow of the fire, its heat filling the room. She closed her eyes for a second before looking out the window once more.
"I hope I am right, for should Isaac fail, we will be powerless to stop him..."
Isaac lifted his head as he concentrated his magic, the six mares taking a step backwards as his green aura filled the room. A cloudy image was born in the center of the room, separating Isaac from the rest of the group. Twilight could not imagine the pain Isaac must be in right now, accessing his own memories and displaying them, uses more magic than Twilight would ever want to control. But strangely enough, Isaac seemed fine through the mist. His posture was calm and his eyes closed lightly. The cloud cleansed into a white sheet that faded into an image of a busy city area, the six friends felt their minds leave their bodies as they were sucked into the image.
"Isaac, hey Isaac! come on man, lets go!"
The image displayed in front of the mares was a view from Isaac's own eyes. A 15 year old representation of his human self, to be exact. The mares felt the screen shake as the image moved itself to the top of a large hill, overlooking the huge city that dwarfed Canterlot. The figure, found to be Isaac's brother, led them to the top of a hill where he saw many other human figures sat on the grass, beckoning and waving to them. The mares looked on as the image of Isaac with his friends faded away. And looked on in horror as there was a white flash, replaced with the same city, burning with explosions around every corner.
"Isaac! Damn it Isaac leave them it's too late!"
The mares stared as Isaac's view switched between that of his brother, and his friends from the previous image, now in mutilated piles. Their bodies burnt and filled with bullet holes. Explosions could be heard nearby and the screams of the Cities population fleeing gunfire. Everywhere Isaac's eyes led them, the mares saw death, pain and destruction. The image followed Isaacs' brother around the covered side of a large bridge, where the elder brother motioned for him to stop moving. to their side, they saw a mass of soldiers stepping across the wide bridge, towards the city. As the last of the soldiers seemingly made their way past, the brother looked over the boundary. Only to be grasped by the neck and held in the air by a hidden trooper. The soldier threw Isaac's brother to the ground where others moved back and took turns kicking and punching.
"Come on assholes! That the best you got!?"
It did not occur to Isaac until now, that what his brother was doing, was a distraction. one soldier kicked his brother in the ribs, while another held his on his knees. A third soldier pulled a gun to the bothers forehead, the mares looked on in horror as the Isaac's view saw his brother look towards him, and yell.
"Isaac, Jump!"
The soldier looked back towards a stunned Isaac, then back to his brother and immediately pulled the trigger, silencing him. Isaac's body turned and ran to the edge of the bridge over a flowing river, covered in red blotches due to the blood of a million innocents. The mares felt a slight pain in their shoulders as the image of Isaac fell forward, blood spurting out of a hole in his own shoulder. And the screen went white once more as they hit the water.
The mares stood silent as the world around them faded to show the library, and in the corner of the room they saw Isaac. Now shivering and whimpering in the corner of the room, his forelegs held between his knees, and his eyes red from a constant watering. Applejack strolled slowly up to the terrified unicorn, and held him in a deep embrace, tears now falling from her own eyes.
Isaac sat, trembling in the corner of the room, his eyes stayed completely black for a few moments until the iris morphed back into view. His blue eyes returned, now bloodshot from the constant crying and terror he felt while showing his memory. Applejack sat, holding him in her hoof as she tried to calm down the terrified colt. She looked over to her friends who looked back at the sobbing mare with sorrowful expressions, their moods slowly changed to fear as they looked over to Isaac. Applejack stepped back as the unicorn's coat grew darker, his eyes grew wide, as if seeing a scarring image. Then he immediately passed out, almost smashing his head on the cold, wooden floor were it not for Applejack's hoofs around his neck.
The world around him was dark, and Isaac felt himself hurled into nothingness as his body left him. He allowed his mind to wander into the darkness as he saw a shimmer of light. He felt himself dragged towards it, the light made out to be a tunnel, and as it came closer, he pulled away. Eager to get out of the dream, he felt his eyes snap open as he thrust his body off the ground. He awoke to find himself sweating and gasping for air, with a familiar feeling of a hoof wrapped around his.
"Shhhhh...Its ok, you're going to be fine." Isaac turned to see Fluttershy, her kind eyes causing life to flow back into his soul. He let out a sigh of relief, and lay down on the bed.
"I'll go and get Twilight, she'd be glad to hear that you're up." As Fluttershy ascended the stairs, he couldn't help but catch a glimpse of her flank as she glided up the spiral staircase. His trance broke as he realized what he was doing as his subconscious yelled in his ear.
"The hell is wrong with you? Pervert."
Isaac shook his head and rubbed the sleep from his eyes. He was at the door to his room when it suddenly slammed in his face, knocking the colt a few steps back and dazing him. Twilight gasped as she stopped the colt from falling off the edge, the purple aura of her magic encasing him and lifting him into the main room. "You gave us all quite a scare last night, Fluttershy refused to leave you for a second." An obvious blush crept up on the pegasus' cheeks as she tried to conceal it with her mane. Isaac stood awkwardly in the position Twilight placed him in, he stammered for something to break the silence.
"Ummmm..Thanks, I guess...."
"N...No problem, it's fine, really." Fluttershy's blush only deepening as she replied. She paused for a moment before her eyes opened wide as she glanced out the door. "Oh my! Angel must be worried sick! Sorry Irrie but I have to go!" Isaac stared at the mare as she galloped out the door, then over to Twilight who was chuckling and giving him a cheerful smile.
"Irrie?" Isaac was puzzled at the new name, Twilight continued to let out a chuckle as she explained.
"Well, Rainbow thought Iridescent took too log to say, so she thought of a nickname. Fluttershy actually thought it was pretty cute."
"She....Did?" Isaac's ears perked up at the mere mention of her name, and instantly tried to hide the blush creeping up on his face. Twilight gave him a sly smile as she walked towards him.
"Don't worry, I won't say a word. Hey Rarity and Rainbow Dash took the time this morning to tell everypony about the misunderstanding last night, so you can get acquainted without the funny looks."
"What about Applejack? Is she alright?" Isaac's concerned tone took Twilight by surprise. She sighed as she replied to his question.
"Applejack....Was shaken up by the whole thing, she feels responsible for your passing out, and Big Macintosh won't let anypony see her."
"Who's Big Macintosh?" Twilight rubbed the back of her neck before replying.
"Ummm...I think it's better if you see for yourself."
After a quiet breakfast, Isaac and Twilight headed off into town, but Isaac decided to make amends with Applejack before anything. As they headed through the town, Isaac was stopped by two mares who looked as if they were hiding something. One was an aquamarine unicorn with a mint colored mane, with a lyre for a cutie mark. The other was a light brown colt, with a messy, dark brown mane and tail, with an hourglass mark. Twilight stepped up two greet the two mares, but was stopped before she could open her mouth as one of them held a hoof to stop her.
"Hey, Oakleaf, we're really sorry about last night. We all are." The brown earth pony began, looking at the floor.
"We shouldn't have judged you for what we saw. We still don't know the whole story, but if Applejack trusts you, then so do we." The other concluded, looking up and smiling at him.
Isaac turned to Twilight, who simply closed her eyes and nodded in agreement. As he said his thanks, Isaac couldn't help but notice as he caught a glimpse of the aquamarine mare looking at his flank. She noticed he was watching and gave him a seductive wink as they went their separate ways. Twilight and Isaac continued to converse as they passed other ponies in the town who, instead of giving him accusing looks, were now waving and smiling happily to the pair. A huge sigh of relief swept over Isaac as he waved back to the random residents of the town. They walked for a few minutes longer up a long road before they stopped at the entrance to a huge apple orchard.
"Here we are, Sweet Apple Acres."
Isaac stood, mouth agape at the huge orchard in front of him. His eyes scanned the masses of trees that spread for a good few hundred meters, and looked over at Twilight, who simply rolled her eyes at him then continued up the road.
"How many ponies work on this farm? It's huge!"
"Only Applejack and her brother, Big Macintosh. But her little sister helps out sometimes too."
Isaac held his mouth agape for the rest of the journey, admiring the strength Applejack had in maintaining the orchard, even with her parents gone. As the pair made their way past a barn, they turned a corner to a rather large, country-style home. Isaac fell silent as he spotted a huge red colt standing at the entrance to the house. He was almost twice Isaac's size and could easily crush him with three hoofs tied together. The red colt made his way towards Twilight, who didn't look in the least bit worried.
"Hey there Twilight, come t' check on mah sister?" The soft, calm voice from the towering earth pony was somewhat a relief to Isaac, who was still almost frozen in fear. Twilight poked him in the side a couple of times with her hoof, then giggled and looked back over to Big Mac.
"Yes, is she alright? She and Irrie had a bit of a fight at the party, we sorted it out but we just want to help her feel better."
Big Mac's eyes grew wide with surprise, then he adopted an almost rage-filled expression as he went closer to Isaac, Who was now sunk almost to the ground and shaking. The red colt's words came out slow, but highly intimidating. "You're the one who talked ill of our parents?"
"T...Talked ill of them?...I....We got in a fight and she just kept.. P-pushing me to explain m-m-my past..." Isaac was now almost half buried in the soil when Big Mac reared up in an aggressive stance. Twilight gestured at Isaac to run, but unfortunately he was still frozen in place as the huge earth pony turned around and readied his rear hooves.
"Ah may not be able to show you what losin' yer parents is like, but ah will show ya the pain of losing something else."
Isaac squeaked as Big Mac brought his hooves back, ready to plow a shattering buck into the unicorns face. Twilight screamed as she looked away from the seemingly inevitable attack, but for a few moments, no noise was heard. No bone-shattering crunch, no screams of agony, nothing. Isaac was still stuck on the spot with his hooves in front of his face, Twilight let out a sigh of relief as Isaac opened his eyes. A familiar green aura surrounded the lower half of Big Macintosh, who was struggling to throw his hoofs into Isaac's face to no avail. Twilight decided to speak up and break the awkward situation of Big Mac attempting to beat Isaac half to death.
"Big Macintosh, Applejack isn't upset about that. We already sorted that part of the argument, it's a long story but please, we need to see her." Twilight kept a serious expression locked on her face as Bic Mac ceased his struggle. Isaac released his hold of the red pony's lower half, and stepped back behind Twilight as he contemplated his next move.
"All right, y'all can see her on one condition." Big mac replied, now looking right at the grey colt.
"And what's that?" Isaac said, still worried but pretending to show confidence in his voice.
"Ah get t' buck ya t' the front door."
"All right that seems...Wait, WHAT?!" Isaac looked over at Twilight, tugging her mane with his hoof, a fearful look in his eyes with Twilight could only smirk at. She looked over at Big Mac and said the unthinkable.
"Deal." Twilight kept a steady pace walking towards the door as Isaac called out her name.
"Oh thank god, wait....Deal!?"
"T...Twilight? Hey, come on this isn't funny.....Hello?......Help?" He looked up at Big Mac, now a sly, almost evil smile on his face. Isaac closed his eyes and readied himself for the next event to unfold. Twilight continued to walk towards the door, humming happily to herself as a green and grey blur shot past. And slammed into the wall next to the front door. Isaac groaned heavily as he peeled off the wall and flopped onto the porch. Bic Mac, satisfied with his work, went on about his daily business. The front door opened without effort, strange as the house was nearly deserted save for the quiet sobs coming from upstairs.
"Oh no, she sounds terrible. Isaac, i'll wait down here, she'll want to see you more than anypony right now." Twilight said, quietly. She walked outside and sat by the front porch, as Isaac slowly ascended the stairs. As he reacehd the source of the crying, he slowly and quietly tapped his hoof on the door. Expecting a "go away" or a "get lost" he was greeted by a different reply.
"H...Hey there, Irrie......" Applejack's voice was clearly damaged by the crying that had ensued the past few hours.
"How did you know it was me?"
"Oh come on now, everypony in town heard yer screamin' from Bic Macs' buck. Ahm surprised ya aren't in hospital right now...."
"Of course." Isaac thought to himself before placing a hoof on the doorknob. "So...Uh...Can I come in?"
Before Isaac could turn the knob, however, the door swung open to reveal a red eyed, smiling mare. Her orange coat stained with fesh tears, and her mane tasseled and knotted. He was about to say something when Applejack threw her hooves around his neck, hurling him to the ground. Isaac chose to ignore the slight pain as he returned the gesture, although clueless as to what to say next.
"Ah was so worried about you, we thought you were gone when your coat went dark again.....You, you just passed out in mah hoofs." She said between sobs, her face still buried in the stallions neck.
"It's alright Applejack, i'm fine..."
"You better be, or ah'll never forgive mahself." She turned to look Isaac in the eyes, a faint blush creeping up on her cheeks. Although Isaac, clueless as how to respond, gave an even larger blush that covered his whole cheeks in a deep crimson.
"So...A..Are you gonna be alright?"
"Ah will be now. thankyah, Irrie. I'll get back t' work on the farm soon. And....Did your coat just change color?" The two ponies held their embrace for a few more minutes before getting up off the hard wooden floor. Isaac went back downstairs to meet Twilight, now with a giddy smile on his face. Twilight giggled as she noticed the large blush still clear on his face.
"Well, looks like you've got your work cut out for you."
Isaac stood still, puzzled as his memory worked through the days events. He suddenly remembered two images. Fluttershy, running with a blush on her face from just this morning, and Applejack's tight embrace as she held him moments ago.
"Wait, you mean she...?" He stammered as Twilight smiled as she nodded her head.
Isaac stood on the spot as Twilight made her way out the door towards Ponyville, his eyes wide as he thought of the recent events. He then looked back at up the stairs towards the mares' room, and took a deep sigh before thinking to himself. "If Applejack likes me....This is gonna make things a lot more complicated..." As he exited the house, Isaac trotted up to Twilight who now had her sights on the local tavern. Smiling back to Isaac, she decided to treat herself and have some fun.
"Feeling thirsty?"
"Hey, anything's better than another treat from Big Mac."
Isaac took confidence in his movements as he made his way into the bar with Twilight a few steps behind, the bar came as a slight shock to Isaac. instead of the usual smoke-filled, run down taverns he spent his free time at during the war, this one was vibrant, filled with smiling ponies and above all, fun. He smiled to himself for a few moments as he made his way into the bar, but something pinged in the back of his mind. He noticed a dozen of the ponies in the room were staring at him, he looked around with a quizzical look on his face before rolling his eyes and breaking the sudden lapse in volume.
"Yeah yeah, I don't have a mark yet. Deal with it." The colts immediately took the hint, returning to their drinks and conversations. Most of the mares, however, blinked for a few moments before analyzing his blank flank, as if just realizing the lack of a cutie mark for the first time. They continued to murmur as Isaac took a seat at a table with Twilight, who sheepishly raised a hoof to wave at some of the ponies. As they sat down at their table, Twilight quickly jumped into conversation after ordering their drinks.
"So, what do you think so far?"
"The bar? Or Equestria in general?"
Twilight stammered for a second before responding. "I..Uhhh, both?" Isaac couldn't help but chuckle at the situation he put the lavender unicorn in. Looking around the bar, he noticed a few of the mares still looking at him, before he made contact and they looked away while smiling.
"The bar, I am loving, but it could use some music. The last time I was in a place even remotely like this, was when my militia took a break in one of the abandoned towns. The atmosphere is great. It's fun, colorful, friendly, even if some of the mares can't take their eyes off my blank flank." Isaac said with a smile on his face, which quickly disappeared as Twilight sat there, giggling at him.
"What's so funny?"
"I don't think your lack of a cutie mark is what the girls are so interested in, Isaac." Twilight said, still laughing in her seat.
"You can't be serious...." Isaac looked over his less-than-muscular body, then back to Twilight with a quizzical look plastered on his face. "I don't even have any muscle..." He groaned as Twilight helped herself to an even bigger laugh.
"It isn't that funny....
Before Twilight's laughter could die down, Isaac took the time to gaze out of the nearby window. Scanning the trees and perfect sky, the buildings and eventually the large structure in the distance. Ignoring Twilight's taps on his shoulder, he pondered to himself, hoping Celestia could hear him.
"What do you want from me, Celestia? Why save me?"
It took Isaac a moment to bring himself back to reality, blinking as he turned to the lavender mare who was desperately trying to get his attention. "Isaac? Isaac!?"
"I...Huh? What is it?"
"I said what you didn't answer the rest of my question." Isaac noticed the mare who now looked extremely agitated, she clearly didn't like to be ignored. So Isaac decided against letting his mind wander. He opened his mouth to speak, before looking back out the window. "Everything here is....Too peaceful. Like nothing bad ever happens here. It's unwise to let your guard down like that." Twilight stood upright at the comment, immediately stepping up to reply.
"We've had our fair share of bad times and scares in our history. Multiple times in my time, but we've pushed through and got back to where we are today." Isaac seemed more than satisfied with the answer, returning to his drink. He was about to engage in further conversation if not for Twilight speaking up once more. "Hey, where did you learn to sing like that anyway?"
"Sing? I'm not a good singer, I just always sung when I felt like it. Easier than sitting in the silence I guess. I never wanted to perform in front of a crowd or a group, so I just kept to myself." The colt contemplated the multiple times he practiced in his room, writing his own songs and never letting anyone see him.
"Oh come on, you're a great singer. And don't forget, you have six mares to back you up on that." Twilight grinned as the colt shared her expression. He was about to thank her but once again, he was cut off as a purple mare approached them from behind the bar.
"Oh hey there Twilight, who's your friend?" The mares overconfident voice sounding innocent and curious as she looked over to Isaac.
"Oh hey there Berry, this is Iridescent, he's new here."
"Uh, please, call me Irrie." Isaac said calmly, feeling at ease as the mare sat between the two ponies enjoying their drinks.
"Well, it's nice to meet you Irrie, my name's Berry Punch. Now I don't normally beg but," Her voice suddenly turned to a whisper as she pulled the two unicorns' heads closer to her, "I couldn't help but notice I got about ten more customers in the five minutes you've been here. So if it's not too much trouble, it would help if you came back more often." Her voice now directed almost solely at the squeamish colt. As Isaac scanned the room, sure enough there were quite a lot more ponies (more specifically, mares) in the tavern as there were when the pair entered.
"Oh you have got to be kidding me." Isaac cursed under his breath as he ignored the mares eyeing him from across the room. Some giggling like schoolgirls to each other, some winking and turning back to their drinks. His concentration changed to the ongoing conversation between Twilight and his new friend.
"Hey Berry, did you end up finding someone to replace the DJ for Friday night?" The purple mares' smile suddenly drained as she slouched in her seat.
"Nope, Vinyl is still sick, and nopony else is able to work. And the Friday night music night is what gets me most of my bits for the week."
Isaac couldn't help but feel sorry for the distraught mare as she placed her hooves on her head. Unable to take anypony else being sad, he did the only thing he could to help. Gathering up almost all of his courage, and tossing aside his rational thought, he took the plunge.
"If you like, i'll perform for you, if you need me to." Twilight stared, wide eyed at the colt who just moments ago admitted to never performing in front of a crowd. Berry gave a more suspicious and wary look at the nervous unicorn, who seemed to regret his decision and sunk back into his chair.
"Can you sing?"
"Yes."
"Can you play an instrument?"
"Just guitar and piano..."
"Fine with me, you're hired."
"Alright, thanks any......Wait, what?"
"I....Said you're hired?"
Isaac took a moment to absorb the information and process it in his now blank mind. Before turning to Twilight, who had a similar look of surprise on her face. She shook her head and got her bearings, leaving Isaac frozen on the spot. She got the information from Berry, times, where to set up. Isaac only heard the last few words of the conversation before zipping back into reality. "So, any song is fine?" To which Berry nodded.
"As long as it isn't too foul, an easy mood night will be a welcome change to the usual style we have here."
Isaac shook Berry's hoof with a huge smile upon his face, and she then left the two unicorns to finish their drinks. Twilight kept giving sly smiles at Isaac until they left the tavern, at which point he became fed up and held a hoof on the mares shoulder, "Alright, what is it?"
"You just admitted to NEVER singing to anypony besides yourself, now all of a sudden you're eager to perform?" Twilight's smile faded into a look of curiosity as she waited for his answer. Isaac looked at the ground, before moving slightly closer to Twilight.
"All my life I have hidden, and ran away from things I should have faced. Now is my chance to restart, Besides, I want to make a good impression."
"On Fluttershy?" Twilight teased, leaving Isaac holding a hoof to his face for a moment, before setting it back down on the path and smirking.
As the pair made it back to the library, something occurred to Isaac that had passed his mind until this moment.
"Hey Twilight, please tell me you have showers here....."
"Of course we do, why?" Twilight realized how her question was so simple, her and Isaac both realizing he hasn't had a proper wash since Fluttershy cleaned him two nights ago. "Upstairs, to the right of my bedroom.", Isaac quickly hurried to the shower room, and flicked on the hot water. He let the warm water coat his body for a good ten minutes before deciding to turn off the water, realizing Twilight went out somewhere, he stepped out onto the balcony and sat down on the single chair to the side, letting the sunlight dry his coat. After a few seconds, he noticed a small group of mares walk past near the library. He decided to ignore them, until he heard a sharp whistle from below.
"Lookin' good Irrie!"
"...The hell?"
As he looked over the balcony, he saw a group of around five mares giggling to each other before continuing on their journey, a few meters behind her, he saw a familiar lavender unicorn. Unfortunately she was staring at him as if he had done something terribly wrong. "Oh god, IRRIE! PUT A TOWEL ON!!!" Deciding not to argue, he placed a towel over his back and stepped back down the stairs.
"Isaac, you can't just step outside after having a shower!"
"Why? it's not like we wear any clothes anyway..."
"That's not the point Isaac. Look, just...Put on a towel next time, okay?"
Isaac sighed jokingly before responding, "Fine...." His attention drifted from the grumpy mare to the large package she was holding with her magic. "Hey, what's in the package anyway?"
"Oh, I took the liberty of buying a suit off of Rarity, seeing as you WILL need to look good for Friday night." The mere mention of the job on Friday sent shivers down Isaac's spine, he shook off the feeling as Twilight took out the suit. A smart ,black tuxedo with a clever green bow tie to match his mane. He asked Twilight if he needed to try it on before she placed a barrier between the suit and Isaac.
"Don't worry, Rarity took the liberty of....Measuring you after you passed out." Isaac looked horrified at the thought of the mare analyzing him in his sleep.
"Hey, look at it this way. You won't have to visit Rarity and spend hours getting ready."
"Yeah, I guess....But still it's a little weird..." Twilight chuckled at the panicky colt, and looked back outside. The sunset came quickly to her and she then realized that she fell far behind on her studies with the new arrival. She said her goodbyes to Isaac and headed up to her room. Isaac looked back towards the staircase and noticed a paper and quill on the desk, he suddenly felt the need to write to the Princess. After a few minutes, he finished the letter as Spike entered the library, the small dragon struggling to reach the doorknob. As he entered Isaac eagerly made his way towards him.
"Hey Spike, could you post this for me real quick?"
"Sure Irrie, glad you're feeling better."
"Thanks, I..." His words were suddenly silenced as the baby dragon blew fire onto the note, sending it off into the distance. Isaac soon shrugged this off, not coming close to the strangest thing he had seen all week. The two residents made their way to bed after saying their good nights. As he climbed in bed, Isaac looked over to his guitar on the wall, and wondered what the next few days would bring. Closing his eyes, he felt himself drift off to sleep as darkness encased him once more.
Darkness surrounded Isaac's' now human body, just like it had the past nights he was here. And at the end was the all too familiar white spot, an exit to a dark tunnel. He felt his body compelled to follow, but he couldn't shrug away the fear and doubt of going any closer. He suddenly heard muffled voices, calling out to him, but too distorted to make any sense. Isaac's fears were put to the test as the shimmering light made its way towards him, growing in size and filling the area around him with light. As the voices became clearer, the light stopped advancing. Standing between the light and dark of his dream, Isaac found the white light covering the left side of his body, darkness the right. The voices made out into multiple different tones, changing on which direction he looked. When Isaac looked into the shining white light, he heard the familiar voices of his new friends.
The voices faded away as Isaac turned his head to the other side. As he looked into the darkness, he felt nothing but pain. He closed his eyes to concentrate on the sounds of his deceased friends, blurring out the gunshots and screams.
"You left us!"
"How could you just abandon us!"
"You had the chance to save us!"
"Murderer!"
Isaac felt his body grow cold, he closed his eyes and held his hands on his skull, desperately trying to get rid of the sounds of his friends accusing him and screaming at him. He turned back to the white light, relaxing himself as he moved towards the sounds of his new friends calling his name. He let out a heavy sigh of relief as he heard the one voice he needed to make him feel calm, her first words to him echoing through his mind.
"Shhhh...It will be alright."
Isaac's worries disappeared almost completely as he heard Fluttershy call out to him, he looked back for a second at the darkness, before turning so that he could hear the yellow mare calling his name again. He felt his body revert back to a pony, his hands became hoofs as he charged towards her voice, the world became brighter as he fell back into reality.
Isaac awoke in a daze, and in complete blackness. He switched on the single lamp on his beside table to find himself exactly where he left off, the guitar hung up on the wall, the room still filled with equipment and other things. He quickly got up and made his way to the ground floor of the library, to his surprise, he was up before anypony else. The sun had barely come over the horizon, and he could hear Spike's loud snores. Considering himself lucky he couldn't hear Spike from his room, he wondered how Twilight got any sleep at all. After a quick shower, he moved back downstairs and grabbed his guitar before making his way out of the library, eager to get as much practice in as possible.
Isaac adjusted the leather strap on the guitar, hoisting it to his side. He looked around the town to find it completely deserted, not surprising due to the time of day. The sun rose behind him as he felt the rays warming his back from the cold air. They day brought only a few clouds to the sky, and a slight breeze in the air. Isaac looked around the town, hoping for a place to practice without waking anypony up. He spied a small clearing near Sweet Apple Acres, and hastily made his way towards it. He plucked a few strings to see if anypony could hear him from the tree lining, after no response was heard, Isaac set about his morning practice.
"Hmmm, should probably get something to eat first."
Isaac reminded himself that even with a new body, food is something he still needed. Having skipped breakfast as to not wake his two roommates, he decided to nab a couple of apples off of the nearby trees of the orchard. He made his way towards one of the more fruitful trees, but before he could grab one of the juicy, red treats, he heard a couple of familiar voices coming closer to his position. Remembering his training, he took cover behind one of the larger trees and hid his grey body in the cast shadow.
"Oh come on now Applejack, he wasn't even hurt."
"Ya know that aint the point, Macintosh. He didn't even deserve it."
Ah know, i'm sorry AJ, but it's all in the past now, no point cryin' over it."
"Ah suppose, still, consider yerself lucky he didn't get hurt." Applejack had a distinct serious tone in her voice that caught Big Mac off guard. But even he could tell that badmouthing Applejack's new favorite plaything or teasing her would be the wrong move to make.
"Alright AJ, ahm sorry, come on, let's get back t' work. Ah wanna finish up this half o' the orchard before Friday night." Applejack's ears perked up at the mention of the music night, wondering what made her brother so interseted.
"Why so eager Big Mac? Ah thought everypony was gettin' tired of Vinyl's music."
"Yeah, but now they're bringin' in some new pony for a run, as well as a new band." Bic Mac said with a fresh smile on his face, but Isaac couldn't help but overhear from behind the tree as the two ponies walked past.
"New band? Well, at least I won't be completely on my own..." The unicorn thought to himself for a moment, before hearing the two ponies part ways, Bic Mac headed in the opposite direction to him, with Applejack turned slightly left of his direction. Breathing out a heavy sigh of relief as the two farmers stayed away from his position, he slid down the tree trunk to enjoy a much needed meal.
"Enjoying yerself? Yah know, it's rude t' sneak onto other ponies' property, and listen in on conversations." The familiar voice made Isaac jump from his seat, and fall over in a panic.
"Oh crap...."
"Hey, hey I can explain....Wait, how did you know I was here?"
"Well, trees don't normally have green hair pokin' outta the sides of 'em." Applejack let out a chuckle before she continued. "And yer lucky Big Mac don't have as keen an eye as ah do."
Isaac wasn't sure whether to respond with humor or seriousness, but the quick hug from the orange mare quickly changed the subject.
"What're ya'll doin' out here anyway?"
"Well, it's kind of a surprise. But come back after work and i'll tell you all about it."
Applejack couldn't help but feel left out as the grey pony turned to walk away, heading back to his practice spot with his breakfast held up by his magic. Applejack spoke up to the colt, now walking away with a cheerful smile plastered on his face. "Promise you'll be here in 8 hours?"
"8 hours? I've never worked that long in my life!" "I promise, don't worry i'll be here."
As Isaac walked back to his practice spot near the other end of the farm, Applejack caught a glimpse of his flank. A huge blush rose to her cheeks as she felt completely unable to look away, shaking her head, she felt relieved that the stallion was now too far to see her rosy cheeks should he turn around.
"He might not be the toughest stallion in town, but there's something 'bout him that is drivin' me nuts...."
Applejack shook away her thoughts of Iridescent, and regretfully returned to work. After a few minutes she swore she could hear a tune in the background, but quickly dismissed the thought and got back to bucking the ripe apples off the trees to be harvested. But her mind couldn't help but wonder what Irrie was going to tell her when she finished work, the excitement making the day feel like it was moving even slower than it already was.
Celestia was up before down, ready to take the day into her own hoofs, she passed her sister who was retiring for the day to rest. She looked over the still dark horizon and lifted the sun over the hilltops with ease, her horn glowing with a yellow aura, almost like a beacon in the night sky at the top of the large castle on the edge of Canterlot. The princess had finally raised the sun over Equestria, and upon sensing her work was done, went about her daily duties around the castle. However, when she passed her royal bedroom, she noticed a letter placed on the table next to a large mirror. Celestia slowly made her way towards the familiar parchment, instantly recognizing the paper Twilight uses to send her reports every now and again. But having just sent a report to Celestia a few days ago, the princess was confused as to why another had been sent so soon. Upon opening the parchment, she smiled as she noticed who the letter was from, and she continued to read the letter with a smirk.
To Princess Celestia,
I just felt the need to let you know I have arrived in Ponyville safely after a slight setback. Twilight has been a wonderful host for me and I have already become acquainted with most of the townsponies and Twilight's friends. My first night here didn't end in a pleasant fashion, but everything has been more or less fixed now, if not for one small problem. I don't particularly enjoy your sense of humor, everywhere I go I see mares glancing at me. Some even winking and/or whistling at me. Some of them didn't even notice my blank flank, so I know it's not because of my lack of a cutie mark. Did you do something to me? Or are these mares just naturally attracted to skinny unicorns? I await your reply, and for the record. Thank you, for everything you have done for me.
From, Isaac Oakleaf (A.K.A : Iridescent)
Celestia felt a great sense of relief as she saw that her subject had reached town safely, with Twilight and her friends watching over him, Celestia was sure that Isaac would complete his task, even if he didn't know of it yet. the white alicorn made her way to her sisters room, where she was laying in bed. Celestia tossed the letter onto Luna's bed and left the room. Luna promptly read over the letter, smiling to herself and feeling a similar sense of satisfaction. The night-princess placed the letter down on her bedside table and dozed off into a long sleep to fill the daytime.
Celestia sat herself on her throne, beginning to read through the mail, requests and issues she was to attend to piled up next the large chair in which she seated herself in. Until one of her guards made it into the throne room, requesting an audience immediately.
"My princess, It has begun." The guards panicked expression only deepened when Celestia stood from her seat with her eyes wide.
"Very well. Set an audience with Shining Armour and the rest of the royal guards."
"At once your highness."
Celestia made her way towards the window, a look of sadness crept up on her. She stared out of the large window across Equestria, her eyes narrowing at the tiny dark patch in the distance. However, the princess stayed confident that Isaac would realize his true potential before the time came. And she was also confident that Twilight and the rest of the elements of harmony would stay at his side through all of it.
Isaac sat practicing his skills and tuning his guitar for the next few hours. He left promptly to go and get lunch back at the library, getting the usual looks and smiles from the mares in the town, Isaac shrugged off the feelings of aggravation and headed inside his new home. Inside he found Spike struggling to throw himself from under a pile of books from a shelf at the end of the room.
"Hey Irrie, a little help here?" Spike said, awkwardly. After a rather large laugh from the colt he pulled the books off the flailing dragon and placed them in neat piles next to him.
"Where's Twilight?"
"Twilight? She went to go and see Fluttershy, something about a thing going on at the tavern I think."
Isaac quietly cursed under his breath. "Of course she did..."
"What?"
"N..Nothing! Hey i'm just gonna go grab something to eat, then head back out. Are you gonna be alright with all these books?" Isaac motioned towards the large piles of books he had just pulled Spike from under, Spike's arms dropped as he sighed.
"Yeah, should be fine. I've handled WAY worse." Isaac couldn't help but chuckle at the dragons confidence, and after a quick meal, left the treehouse to continue his practice. The day continued quickly for Isaac as he recited numerous songs, preparing himself for Friday night. The notes and words just came along naturally to Isaac, only feeling the need to restart once or twice. A few more hours passed when he saw a beautiful yellow mare in the distance. Fluttershy was walking alongside Twilight back towards the library, and Isaac was sure he saw Twilight look over at him. And he even thought he saw her smiling at him, but the distance between the two made it impossible to tell. Isaac then felt reminded of something, and he jumped up with his guitar strapped to his side as he charged towards Sweet Apple Acres. When he reached Applejack's meeting place he saw the orange mare sat down with a saddened expression.
"I'm late aren't I?"
Applejack perked up at the sudden voice of the colt, now coming to sit down by her side. "Only about 10 minutes..."
"I'm sorry, I lost track of time."
"Nah, don't worry 'bout it none. Look at that, you even came to sing for me." Applejack replied, noticing the guitar strapped to the unicorns' side, a cheeky grin showing itself from the obvious joke.
"Sorry ma'am, but you'll have to wait until Friday night to hear it." Isaac couldn't help but laugh at the aggravated pony, but she soon realized what he meant.
"Wait, you're?...."
"Ummm...Surprise?" Isaac felt a blush creep up on him as he turned away to look at his guitar. Only to be brought into a hug from the equally flustered mare. Expecting a squeal of delight from a recent fan, Isaac found himself listening to a single sentence before holding Applejack for a few more moments.
Isaac decided to let go of the orange mare before anything went further. Slowly dropping his hoof back to his side, he leaned back and smiled at Applejack, who seemed a little upset at the sudden break in their calming moment. Applejack invited the unicorn to dinner, but Isaac refused.
"Sorry Applejack, I have...Plans meeting a friend at the tavern." Isaac stammered, hoping the white lie would be able to convince the mare. Unfortunately for him, the element of honesty is as good at noticing a lie as she is bad at telling them, instantly seeing through Isaac's worried expression, her face turned into a scowl.
"Yah know ah don't like liars, Irrie. Tell me what's really goin' on." Applejack said, sternly. Her expression unchanged as the colt now looked straight downwards, chipping the ground with his hoof. Sighing, Isaac looked back up at Applejack.
"Alright, I don't want to make you angry anymore, so i'll just come out and say it. I was going to go and see Fluttershy, see if she wanted to come and watch on Friday."
"Why would ah be mad if ya asked her......Oh..Ah understand." Applejack immediately became glassy eyed after the sudden realization, she turned away from Isaac and closed her eyes to prevent herself from letting any tears out. "But ah thought...Ah mean...Ah thought ya..."
"I'm so sorry Applejack, I didn't mean to lead you on like that." Isaac raised a hoof and placed it on the distraught mares shoulder, he was about to say something if not for the figure moving towards him.
"Stay away from mah sister!" Isaac instantly recognized the figure as Big Macintosh, their previous engagement flashed in his mind before he realized the situation he was in. He quickly dashed behind a nearby tree and listened to Applejack's pleas.
"Don't hurt him, Bic Mac! It aint his fault!"
"He hurt you didn't he? Tell me what he did AJ!" Applejack tried to respond but Bic Mac ran right past her, and right towards the tree Isaac was attempting to hide behind to no avail. With a mighty buck, the huge red colt smashed the apple tree into pieces, splinters showered both ponies as Big Mac turned to face the cowering pony. Isaac let out a sharp yelp as Big Mac grabbed him by a hoof and pinned him up against another large tree, the force of the red colts hoof on his ned causing him too black out temporarily. the unicorn attempted to use his magic, but the pressure of Bic Macintosh's hoof on his neck rendered him unable to concentrate. The grey unicorn felt himself slipping away as he heard the orange mares pleas for her brother to stop.
"He didn't do anythin' Bic Mac, stop! It wasn't his fault!"
Applejack's screams to her brother turned to a yell as she turned her back to her brother. "Ah said LEAVE HIM ALONE!" Big Mac felt himself thrown to the side as her sister slammed her rear hoofs into his side, the mixed feelings of the air filling his lungs and the fall from the tree trunk was too much for Isaac, who struggled to look up at the teary-eyed mare as she held him in her hoofs. Her quiet sobs turned into cries for help into town as Isaac closed his eyes and lay still, his breathing carried on in sharp gasps for a few seconds before stopping.
---------------------------------------------
"Ahhhh...My head, what the hell Big Mac."
Isaac's eyes opened as he found himself in the familiar darkness once again. His body was still as a pony but this time, no white light could be found for him to escape into. He rubbed his eyes with his hoofs so his vision would be clearer, in the distance he saw another pony, a vision of himself. Followed by his six new friends, the Berry Punch, and almost everypony he had met in the past few days filled the space around him. Finally, a light shone bringing forth Princess Celestia, and another alicorn, her colors the opposite of Celestia's, her coat a deep blue and her mane and tail just as dark. Isaac was about to ask what was going on, when the blue princess shone her horn and lit up the area around him.
"Who are....?" Isaac began to speak up, before an image burned into his mind, "Oh no...Please, please no..." In his mind he saw a burning Ponyville, the townspeople screaming and running from an unknown figure. He the vision turned to show himself facing the other being, Isaac felt a cry of agony as he saw himself collapse, his horn broken and bleeding. And his friends in the background fading away, one by one. Isaac closed his eyes to rid himself of the image, only to be shown another vision of Celestia and the other alicorn. He looked up and Celestia gave him a sad smile as she spoke.
"Find strength in your friends, they will guide you for your ascendance." And with Fluttershy's kind eyes gazing on him, he pulled himself out and back into reality.
"Fluttershy? Come on, time to wake up." The mare groaned quietly before regaining consciousness, her eyes still half closed due to the glare of the lights. She suddenly jumped and remembered where she was, and shrieked as she looked at the grinning mare looking down to her. Isaac's smile faded temporarily, worried that he would scare the kind yellow mare away again. Instead he was greeted by a warm embrace, she lightly pecked Isaac on the cheek before turning away, blushing heavily.
"I...I'm glad you're ok.."
"Nice to see you too, Fluttershy."
"When they brought you to the hospital, I was so worried. They um.... Said they didn't know when you'd wake up..."
"Didn't know..." A look of surprise came across the colt's face, he glanced around the room, desperate to find how long he was asleep. "How long was I out?"
"Oh...Ummm...About 2 days..."
"2 days...That means it's Friday..OH CRAP MY PERFORMANCE!" Although reluctant to leave his hold of Fluttershy, Isaac panicked as he fell out of bed, scanning the clean room to find a clock or anything that could tell the time.
"It's ok...Your performance doesn't start for a few hours..." Isaac let out a loud sigh of relief as he turned back towards Fluttershy.
"Well, at least I still have a bit of practice time...Wait, how do you know i'm in the band?" He saw the blush rise to the yellow mares cheeks as she stammered.
"Oh, I umm.... Twilight told me... So I though I might come and watch, if you're OK with that...." Isaac rolled his eyes and smiled to himself.
"Of course she did." "I'd love it if you came to see, I actually have a little surprise in store." The pairs matching eyes met for a brief moment, and Isaac decided to make his way out of the room before he was stopped by a White mare with a pink mane that rivaled Fluttershy's.
"Well, I see you're up. My name is nurse Redheart, I hope you're alright to perform tonight..Iridescent, was it?" Isaac looked over at Fluttershy, who simply hid her rosy cheeks behind her mane.
"Just how many ponies know about this?" Isaac seemed agitated by the number of ponies who knew about his new workplace.
"Oh don't worry, only Fluttershy and I have any knowledge. But there will be a lot of ponies to see the new band." the white mare looked curious as the unicorn let out a rather loud groan.
"I've never even talked in front of a crowd before. How the hell am I supposed to sing in front of one?!" Isaac's worries were put to rest as a familiar yellow hoof placed itself on his shoulder.
"It's ok Irrie, i'm sure you'll do great..."
"Thanks Fluttershy, i'm gonna head to the bar early for some practice. I'll see you later?" A blush rose on both ponies cheeks as they parted ways. As Isaac left Fluttershy in thee hospital room, nurse Redheart strolled towards her and gave her a cheeky grin.
"Well, he's quite the catch for you Fluttershy." The yellow mares blush only deepened as she looked over the the nurse. Her eyes widened significantly as she gave her response.
"No, I...He doesn't....Do you think he?"
"Fluttershy, I see situations like this all the time, take my advice. Go for it." The blushing mare let out a squee of joy, and let her wings carry her outside, a giddy smile on her face as she headed back home.
Isaac wasted no time in retrieving his guitar from Twilight's library, he found the place empty which was curious. He slowly grabbed his guitar and left the house, hiding the instrument in a wooden rectangular case, which he made with a quick flash of magic. As he reached the bar, he peeked through the window to check how filled the place was. Funnily enough, the usually vibrant and laughter-filled bar was almost empty, save for Berry Punch and a couple of ponies which Isaac didn't recognize, setting up the large staging area. Isaac quickly made his way inside, smiling at Berry who waved at him from across the room. Isaac's eyes widened slightly as he noticed the piano and electric guitar on the side of the stage, but he slipped out of his trance as Berry made her way towards him.
"Hey Irrie, come for some early practice."
"You just read my mind, Berry." Isaac glanced over to the two colts, one was tuning a large bass guitar, the other tweaking a symbol on a drumkit. "Who are your friends?" Berry took note of the slight humor in Isaac's voice and playfully responded.
"Oh just some guys I picked up a while back, the one on the right is Golden beat. He's one hell of a drummer, just give him something to start with and he'll play along perfectly." Isaac nodded to the focused Bright yellow colt with a white spiky mane, who simply smiled and got back to his work. Isaac noticed the two crossed drumsticks for his cutie mark. "The other is String Soul, he knows every bass technique there is. The guy'll learn a song off by heart in 10 minutes." Isaac took not of the silver pony, his long red hair reaching almost to the floor, and a cutie mark of a golden bass guitar.
"Great, because I have a song of my own I want to play." The two colts looked up at the mention of a new song, they both nodded to each other before looking back to the unicorn. String Soul spoke up first, his surprisingly deep voice startled Isaac slightly.
"Well, we'd better get started. Always good to learn a new song, we didn't catch your name?" Soul's smile seemed innocent, so Isaac calmly shook his hoof while he answered.
"My names' Iridescent Oakleaf. And yes, I have no cutie mark, its...Kind of a long story so i'll explain another time,"
"Fair enough, we all got secrets. Come on, let's get practicing." Isaac smiled at the two ponies eagerness, he quickly opened his wooden case and pulled out the papers containing the notes for his song, along with the guitar he fashioned himself. Berry left the three ponies to practice for the next few hours.
3 hours later
Isaac peeked out the window a few minutes before showtime. Scanning the room, he was astonished at how many ponies had showed up to watch, in the front row he saw Applejack, Fluttershy and their other friends, along with many of the other ponies he had met before. He pulled back from the stage to see the two other band members looking at him.
"You ready?" Beat said, eagerly. Fiddling with his drumsticks as he sat at his drumkit, ready to play.
"We're about to find out." Isaac said blankly, he picked up his acoustic guitar and stood at the front of the stage. Adjusting his microphone, he saw the room go black. The spotlights ready to shine their light onto them, Isaac took a deep breath before listening to the silent room. He plucked the first notes of his song as the crowd sat silently in anticipation.
"Honey you, are a rock, Upon which, I stand. And I come here, to talk. I hope you understand."
The crowd suddenly erupted into cheers as the spotlight slowly shone it's light on Isaac, he heard more than enough wolf whistles and squeals of delight from the mares as soon as he started, the crowd listened in as Isaac continued.
"That blue eyes, Yeah the spotlight, Shines upon you..."
"And how could, anybody, deny you.."
"I came here with a load, And it feels so much lighter, now I met you. And honey you should know, That I could never go on without you..."
"Blue eyes...."
Instinct told Fluttershy exactly who the song was intended for, she let out a squeal of delight as Isaac looked over to her and smiled. Closing his eyes again, Isaac returned to the song.
"Honey you, are the sea... Upon which, I float... And I came here, to talk.. I think you should know..."
The spotlights slowly grew larger as they covered Beat and Soul, their queue to join in on the song. More cheers were heard as the song got into full sway, Isaac also spotted Twilight give a glassy eyes Fluttershy a nudge.
"Blue eyes, You're the one that I wanted to find! And anyone who, tried to deny you, must be out of their mind!"
" 'Cause I came here with a load, And it feels so much lighter since I met you! And honey you should know, That I could never go on without you!"
"Honey you, are a rock... Upon which, I stand...."
As the final notes left the air, the bar erupted into a series of shouts, cheers and applause. Isaac placed his guitar next to the piano and stepped back to the microphone.
"Thankyou very much!!! We're gonna take a short break, then we'll be right back with you." Isaac stepped down from the stage and moved towards his friends, only to find them moving away. Eventually only he and Fluttershy were left alone in the small area, the yellow mare slowly took a hold of his hoof and led him out of the door. They stopped just outside the main entrance, they stared deep into each other's eyes, completely mesmerized. Isaac decided to break the silence,
"Umm...Enjoy the show?"
"More than you know...." Fluttershy adopted a slightly seductive tone as she brought her mouth slightly closer to his.
"I..I guess i'll..Have to play more oft..........." Isaac's words were stopped as he felt himself paralyzed from the yellow pegasus' gorgeous eyes, he paused for a moment before closing his eyes as the pairs lips connected. The world stopped turning as Fluttershy brought her hooves around the colts neck and pulled him into a deep kiss.
Time felt slowed to a complete stop for Isaac as Fluttershy pressed her lips against his, the passion and emotion in the kiss sending him into a state of complete bliss. He felt the heat of the mares cheeks and the warmth of her body as she pulled herself closer to him, the two were lost for a moment as they held each other in the night, the light from the tavern illuminating both of them. Isaac suddenly felt a shiver run down his spine as the once grey coat turned into a brilliant white. Fluttershy pulled away at the sight, not bothering to cover the large blush on her face.
"You look good in that suit..."
"I try too look my best." Isaac replied as he pulled away, still holding onto Fluttershy's hooves.
"Thankyou, Irrie.... You..You should probably get back to the band." The feeling of disappointment Isaac felt was hidden by his oafish grin, a side effect of one of the best moments in his life.
"OK....But i'll see you after the show, right?"
"Of course, and i'll be in the front row waiting." The couple made their way into the bar, only to be stopped in their tracks at the sight before them. Everypony in the room stood dead silent, staring at them with mixed emotions. Some of the mares scowled at the sight of Fluttershy with their new favorite colt, but they quickly showed empathy for the yellow pegasus as Isaac pulled her close to him and headed down towards the front of the stage. a few other of Fluttershy's friends nodded to him in approval as the unicorn led the mare forward as she rested her head of his shoulder.
"Isaac, your coat..It's.." Twilight said, with her eyes wide and a huge smile on her face.
"As glorious as Celestia herself!" Rarity squealed as she charged up to the pure white colt. Although his hair still a brilliant green, Isaac's coat seemed to shine in the light, a symbol of his true happiness. Rarity stood staring, dumbfounded at how good the colt now looked in the suit she made for him. Isaac continued walking until he got to the front of the stage, letting go of Fluttershy beside Applejack. He couldn't help but feel a ping of guilt for the orange mare, her stetson hat pulled down slightly lower to hide herself from Isaac should he look at her. Isaac heard the crowd start to cheer as he picked up the electric guitar, winking at the yellow mare who just made his night perfect.
Applejack couldn't help but feel happy for Fluttershy, despite the fact that she had been the one Isaac chose and not her. Feeling anger towards her friends for something so selfish was something the orange mare felt incapable of doing. Isaac rallied the two other band members to continue playing, and as the songs continued, Applejack felt the need to speak to Fluttershy.
"Havin' fun?"
"Oh, oh yes, this night has been wonderful." Applejack smiled at the soft voice of her friend before continuing.
"Hey Fluttershy, how....How long have ya wanted t' be with Irrie?" The question came as a brief startle to the pegasus, who was now stuttering for an answer.
"Oh my, I, um...Well... Ever since I found him in the woods, really... He's much less scary than most other colts..And I feel like I can be myself whenever i'm around him..."
"Ah see, so ya really care about him?"
"More than anything right now Applejack, but....Do you think we're moving too fast?" Fluttershy blushed and hid behind her mane, to which Applejack immediately moved to one side.
"Ain't nothin' wrong with a kiss, sugarcube. And you move at whatever pace feels right for ya." The two mares looked towards the stage, where Isaac was now in full swing of a much more upbeat, louder song. They couldn't help but laugh and cheer at the pure white colt, sweat dripping down from his green mane as he poured his all into every syllable. The night went on perfectly, song after song played to their full glory from the band. Every now and again Isaac, Golden Beat and String Soul took breaks from the music to mingle with the other ponies. Isaac went to Fluttershy and her friends each time, save for the one break where he decided to do a bit of crowd surfing, only to be swarmed by a majority of his female fans, his magic quickly carrying him out of their way.
Isaac was purely exhausted by the end of the night, he put everything he had into his last song for the night and jokingly collapsed on stage. He found himself once again being held in the hoofs of his new fillyfriend, after a short break, he made his way towards the microphone and signaled everypony to be quiet.
"Well, this has been one hay of a night huh!?" he lifted his head upwards slightly to hear the roaring cheer of the ponies who had thoroughly enjoyed their night.
"Now, I have to say, I couldn't have asked for a better welcome! Now, Berry Punch where are you!?" He scanned the mares around the room until he came across the purple mare enjoying a drink, before being hoisted into the air by the ones around her.
"Now, I have a request. If you ever need a little change from your usual music nights, call me up, because I'm here to stay!"
The entire room erupted with cheers and screams of delight once more as Berry Punch took a hold of the microphone, "How...Hows next Saturday for you?" The band nodded to the bartender and each member shook her hoof before making their way off the stage. Isaac laughed as he saw Golden end up getting swarmed by a dozen mares, his gaze teetered over to Soul who had taken a seat by the corner area with a grey pegasus with blond hair, he couldn't help but chuckle at the mares eyes, who were widely off center. But Isaac was never one to judge on relationships, she he shook it off and made his way over to his own mare. the white colt made his way over to the blushing mare, her pink mane now frizzy due to the dancing and cheering that took place over the last 2 hours. They immediately held each other for a few moments before sitting down at a table along with Fluttershy's best friends.
"You were totally awesome tonight Irrie!" Rainbow cheered, still jumpy despite being at the front of the pack during the dancing. Her athletic body seemingly unchanged by the long party.
"I am never really one for events such as this," Rarity said, calmly. Her stylish mane seemingly unchanged by the event, "But this certainly was a night to remember."
The seven ponies continued to converse for another hour until most of the ponies had left, their bodies exhausted from the night, the friends decided to head back home. Twilight looked towards Isaac, clearly tired from the evening.
"Hey Irrie i'm heading back to the library, i'll leave the lights on for you, ok?"
"Sure, i'll be there soon." Twilight turned and headed home, as did the rest of the ponies. The excitement and fun seemed to be too much for one particular pink mare, who was now being carried home by Applejack. Soon Fluttershy and Isaac were left alone in the dark, the stars shining onto them as they continued walking.
"Do, umm...You need me to walk you home?" Fluttershy turned and smiled at the colt, the blushes now easily visible on his gleaming white coat.
"I'd like that, Irrie... Thankyou." The pair continued to walk for some time, enjoying the beautiful silence as they reached Fluttershy's cottage. Isaac nervously took a step back from the mare when they reached the front door, Fluttershy felt the need to reassure the almost shaking colt. She slowly walked towards him, placing a hoof on his shoulder before pulling him into a tight hug. Fluttershy couldn't describe the happiness and bliss she felt whenever she was with Iridescent, his mane tickled her cheeks as she whispered into his ear.
"I had fun tonight, i'll see you tomorrow, okay?" Isaac held the mare close to him as she spoke, but regretfully let her go. She kissed him on the cheek before slowly making her way into her house, closing the door softly behind her. Isaac felt overwhelmed with emotion as he danced clumsily towards the library, he wandered into the room and continued to sway across the floor, ignoring the Purple mare on the floor above him.
"Someone had fun tonight." Twilight thought to herself as she watched the colt make his way downstairs towards his bed. carefully removing the suit he wore the whole evening, he flopped down onto the bed and fell asleep instantly.
The mysterious silhouette spoke in a deep, intimidating voice. The black figure sat on a large, dusty throne at the end of a long hallway. The torches lit the room dimly as the abandoned castle revealed itself, the walls were ancient and covered in symbols, a few seconds past before the figure repeated himself.
"Is. It. Ready?" His voice stern and loud, the figure was about to step up until a hunched, brown earth pony appeared out of the darkness at the other end of the room, the torchlight too far away to distinguish any facial features. The oddly-shaped pony fondled with a series of notes and stones, before carefully placing them on the floor.
"Y..Yes master. We can begin momentarily." The brown colts voice was shaken and out of touch, as if his throat was blocked slightly, and his teeth were too big for his mouth. The stones placed out on the floor had multiple symbols on them, unrecognizable to most ponies. The scrolls that were placed beside them were written in a language completely unknown, and included the symbols that the runes had carved into them.
"Excellent, we can begin shortly...."
"But sir, what about the two princess's, they know what we are planning." The brown colt began to shake as the unicorn stood up from the throne, he was almost twice the size of an average earth pony, and his horn glowed a deep black aura as the stones around the brown colt began to rotate.
"It matters not what knowledge Celestia has of our intentions..." The unicorn stepped out of the darkness, revealing dark red eyes, a terrifying black coat, his horn sharpened and damaged and a fiery orange mane stuck out in spikes along his back. "When we finish our ritual, Equestria will be powerless to stop us. And we will rule this world."
Celestia and Luna sat at their spots in the meeting area as multiple ponies made their way inside, Shining Armour and Princess Cadance took their seats next to the two Rulers, followed by multiple leaders and guards from several points in Equestria. Celestia raised a hoof to silence the muttering of the guards.
"I trust you all know why I have summoned you here, i'm afraid the rumors are true. The runes of Calasfa have been stolen." Murmurs of concern and confusion filled the room, Celestia once again silenced the other ponies. "As you know, the runes hold magical power deadly if used by the wrong hoofs, i'm afraid the Leviathan will return. Soon." The room suddenly erupted into panic and arguing.
"How will we protect our land!?"
"We will not survive this!"
"We need to leave Equestria!!!"
"SILENCE!" Luna's voice echoed throughout the room, immediately bringing a stop to the rambling and panic. Celestia thanked her sister, before explaining her plan.
"I understand, and share, your concerns. But fear not, the colossus cannot be destroyed by anything from our world, and so I have taken it into my own hoofs to take something from another world." The guards and leaders all stood silent, listening to the princess explain, but Shining Armour was much more curious than the other ponies.
"Your highness, what do you mean when you took something from another world?"
"I have the ability to reach through realities, Shining Armour. I took a being from another world. And he is now living in our land, as one of us. His potential will soon be learned, and he alone is able to defeat the Leviathan."
The ponies soon shouted out against the princess, one guards question caught Celestia's attention. A small, orange unicorn holding a large spear spoke up to the princess' "But...How will we know where the Leviathan will strike first?"
"I have thought about this thoroughly, and you need not worry. We must depart, return to your cities, and keep your eyes open for any events." Celestia's calming tone prompted the guards to leave the room, Shining Armour and Cadance were about to leave until the Solar princess spoke out to them.
"Shining Armour? Cadance? Stay here for a moment please, I wish to discuss something of great importance." The two made their way towards Celestia, and what they heard next would strike fear in their hearts and send panic into the deepest parts of their minds.
"I'm afraid I have terrible news about your sister...."
The night passed quickly for Isaac as he found himself opening his eyes to the dark room before him. Although he assumed it must still be early, he blinked a few times before springing out of his bed. Noticing the unwashed suit in a heap on the floor, he remembered the passionate kiss from Fluttershy he had received last night. Smiling to himself, he eagerly climbed the stairs, tripping slightly as he made it to the door. Deciding not to wake his two roommates he carefully opened the door and stepped inside, to his surprise he saw Twilight and Rainbow in the center of the room, sitting next to each other and reading.
"I never took you for a reader, Rainbow." The cyan pony jumped into the air at the sound of Iridescent's voice, hovering in the air with her wings as she held the book firmly to her chest.
"It's not mine! I was just....Choosing a book! For a friend!....I swear!!" Isaac chuckled lightly at the panicky mare who was darting her eyes around the room, she eventually let out a sigh and drifted back down to the floor, her eyes gazing on the wooden floor. Isaac suddenly felt like he struck a nerve, putting a shoulder on Rainbow, he reassured the upset pegasus.
"It's alright Rainbow, I won't tell anypony." Isaac's attention shifted to the reason why he was so surprised to see them. "You're all up a little early aren't you?"
Twilight and Rainbow looked at each other and ten turned back to the white colt, his expression now as confused as the two mares who laughed lightly at him. Twilight was the first to speak up as she pointed to the wall behind him.
"Ummm..I don't think we're up early, Irrie." Isaac turned to look at the clock, his eyes widened and he nervously began jogging on the spot as he stared at the large, wooden clock on the wall.
2:15
"Oh no! How could I be up so late!? I'm never up late!"
"Irrie, you put more energy into last night's party than everypony else put together, even Pinkie collapsed of exhaustion."
Isaac suddenly remembered last night, he put his all into every song he sung that evening. His mind drifted to the memory of the passionate kiss he shared with a certain yellow Pegasus. Remembering why he was so eager to get up early, he panicked even more at the fact that every second he wasted was one that could be spent with Fluttershy. Out of the corner of his eye he spotted Rainbow and Twilight laughing almost hysterically, after a few seconds the cyan pegasus spoke up.
"Oh chill out, Irrie. It's not like Fluttershy'll be mad just 'cause you overslept for a couple of hours." A large grin on her face, she began laughing again as she spotted the blush rise up on Isaac's face, easily noticeable due the his new white coat. He quickly ran up the stairs and towards the shower, turning on the hot water as he daydreamed about what his first day with a new fillyfriend would be like. The hot water covered him and sent him into a stage of relaxation. The shower would have lasted more than the 5 minutes he spent in the bathroom if not for the excited mood he was in. He quickly put a towel over his back as he made his way towards the balcony. He ignored the cold from the dreary day as he stepped outside, letting himself drip-dry as he looked over Ponyville. The town was much quieter than usual, most likely because of the party last night and the cold of today, his eyes drifted over to the huge apple orchard where he spotted a familiar orange mare in the distance. Isaac couldn't help but admire the mares dedication to her work, he could see her bucking the trees and harvesting the many trees despite the cold weather.
"Does she ever just take a break?" Isaac chuckled to himself until the cold finally got to him, and he brought up a barrier around him to shield him from the wind. The green aura surrounded him and he continued to observe the world around him, the trees around him swayed in the breeze, and the clouds making the day feel earlier than it was. Isaac was so focused by observing the world he didn't notice Twilight open the balcony door behind him, he turned and jumped a little at the mare shivering in the wind. He decided to warm her up and cast his spell so that it covered her.
"Thanks, aren't you getting tired from that?"
"No...Should I be?"
"It depends how strong your magic is, but usually casting spells takes a lot of energy out of unicorns."
"Huh...Well anyway, i'm gonna go head over to Fluttershy's. I'll see you later!" Twilight was about to speak up before Isaac vanished from her sight in a green flash, she looked around for a few seconds before she looked in the sky. Her cries for help brought almost everypony in town up, although her yells were soon silent as she saw Isaac now hovering in the air, his distinct green aura making him easily noticeable in the air.
"Calm down Twilight! I'll see you later!!!" Twilight felt her eye twitch as she saw the white unicorn slowly drift across the sky towards Fluttershy's cottage, the purple mare simply stood, completely astounded at the sight of how little energy Isaac seemed to be using to simply carry himself away like that.
"He is just full of surprises" Twilight thought to herself as she headed back into the warmth of the library, shrugging off Isaac's magical ability remembering how she once managed to fend off an Ursa Minor.
Isaac found peace in the skies above Ponyville, using his magic to both fly and shield himself from the incoming winds. As he reached Fluttershy's house, he nervously shook on the spot as he reached out to knock on the door, he felt a bead of sweat drip down from his still damp mane. "I've hardly ever been this nervous in my life, what the hell's wrong with me?" As he knocked on the door, he found himself greeted by a familiar white rabbit. "Hey Angel, is Fluttershy home?" The rabbit gave him an intimidating stare which, despite his size, still made the colt uneasy. Angel rolled his eyes and pointed to the Everfree Forest, Isaac looked into the dark treeline and then to the bunny, a quizzical look on his face. "Uhh...Are you sure?" Angel just pointed to a small path leading into the vast forest and slammed the door, it would have knocked Isaac off his feet if he had been just an inch closer. Feeling aggravated at the rude creature, Isaac shook off the petty reaction and headed in the direction of the forest. Several minutes passed before Isaac found himself next to a large, tribal hut. Completely lost, Isaac felt the need to ask for directions. He noticed the door was open slightly, and slowly made his way inside, only to be knocked off his hoofs by a startling voice.
"Who is this colt, so very alone, to simply walk into my home?" Isaac found himself lying on his back, taring into the eyes of a very peculiar looking pony. Her coat was a mix of black and white stripes, her mane a sharp Mohawk colored in a similar style to her coat. She wore two large earrings and a golden, ringed neck brace. His trance was broken when the mare narrowed her eyes and cast him a suspicious stare.
"What? Oh, sorry. My names Iridescent, i'm looking for someone."
"I have the answer which you seek, come inside and take a peek." This was admittedly one of the stranger things Isaac had encountered in his few days here, but he found himself ecstatic as he walked into the room to find Fluttershy, sitting patiently at the table. Isaac ignored the strange masks and objects around the room and headed straight to where the pegasus was seated.
"H...Hey...."
"Irrie? What are you doing here?"
"I um...Wanted to see you, but when you weren't home Angel pointed to the forest...So..." Isaac paused, his mind went completely blank from just seeing the mare again, he stammered for a brief second before the striped pony interrupted.
"Your nervousness is easy to see, speak from your heart, that is the key." Isaac paused for a second, he then looked back at Fluttershy. Taking a deep breath, he managed to speak normally. Understanding the privacy that was needed, the strange mare exited the room, leaving Isaac alone with Fluttershy.'
"I really wanted to see you again, Fluttershy. I've been wanting to know you ever since we met, and, ever since last night... I've wanted to spend as much time as I can with you. If you want, we can...Ummm... Hang out...For a bit?" Isaac mentally facehoofed himself a thousand times over, feeling like a complete idiot. He was about to say something before he felt Fluttershy wrap her hooves around him. All of his worries seemed to fade away as he let Fluttershy lean in closer, the same feeling of passion from last night returned and Isaac felt like nothing else in the world mattered. He returned the hug as the blushing mare whispered into his ear.
"What do you mean i'll lose my sister! We can't just abandon them!" Shining Armour let tears of anger run down his face, his reaction unmoved Celestia, who began to explain in her usual, calm tone.
"I'm sorry Shining Armour, but if we let Ponyville know about the leviathan. It is more than likely that Isaac will not reach his ascendance if he knows of his task." Celestias voice was stern and loud, but completely unmoved the colt who was now shouting. Cadance stood by him every second, saying nothing, but staring angrily into the Princess' eyes.
"I don't care! You'd risk letting an entire town get destroyed!? You'd risk killing my sister and your student!?"
"If we warn Ponyville and Isaac, Equestria WILL fall." There was no lie in the princess's voice, if Isaac found out about the task he had to complete, it is more than likely he would not be able to stop the Leviathan. "Isaac must reach the final stage if he is to put a halt to the events to come. As we speak Blood Horn is raising an army, and in a few days, the Leviathan will be summoned. You must understand this, Ponyville must fall for the rest of Equestria to survive."
Shining Armour fell to his knees, tears streaming down his face and dropping onto the ground. A few minutes passed before he gave Celestia a deep scowl and left the room, returning to his home at the other end of the castle. It was late at night, but the Captain felt like doing anything but sleeping. Looking over thee lights of a distant Ponyville, he contemplated how he was going to deal with the events. After much thought, he grabbed his saddle-pack and filled it with essentials. Maps, Documents and other necessary equipment. He was about to head out the door when he heard Cadance follow him down the stairs.
"Where are you going, Shiny?" Without looking back, he stared into the distance and headed out the door. His reply stern and focused, he answered his wife's question.
Blood Horn sat on the worn out throne of the castle hallway, the runes encircling him and glowing slightly brighter with every hour that passed. The large unicorn had been working on the ritual for the past few hours, the night passing slowly as he concentrated. The magic being used to activate the ritual was well beyond that of any normal pony. But Blood Horn had been taught in the darkest arts of magic for his entire life. The ritual long and difficult, but fortunately for him, it would be ready in a matter of days. The sound of hoofsteps alerted Blood Horn to his servant's presence.
"My master, Our army is ready."
"How many have we rallied for our cause?"
"We have the Changeling Queen's full support. Her army was weakened by her last assault, but she provides her full force. We also have the savages of the west, and lastly we have the tribal natives. All of these factions wish to have a portion of Equestria to themselves, master."
Blood Horn raised an eyebrow at the surprisingly low numbers, but quickly returned to his meditations. "The army we have gathered is nothing but a tool, an assistant, if you will. There numbers do not matter, we could take Equestria with the Leviathan single hoofed if we wished. Once we take Equestria, we will quickly dispatch of our so called army."
"B..But my lord, are you sure it is wise to live on this world with so little numbers?" The brown servant stammered, cowering in fear as the large unicorn stood up from his throne.
"Equestria will supply us with our servants and slaves, we do not NEED numbers."
"Of course my lord." The servant quickly left the room, leaving his master to his ritual. Blood Horn felt a sense of pride as the runes glowed ever so slightly brighter, bringing him one step closer to his goal. the black unicorn looked up into the night sky, a devilish grin on his face as he thought to himself while he continued his meditation, preparing for the great victory that lay ahead.
"My dear Celestia, ponies pray to you in times of need. But who will YOU pray to when your world burns?"
Fluttershy and Isaac held each other for the next few minutes, no words needed to be said so they both enjoyed the blissful silence. Unfortunately Zecora had to enter the room at some point, a small smile on her face appeared as she saw the couple in her home. "I have returned to make my brew, but you both should head home too." The zebra's voice startled Isaac, he immediately let go of the yellow mare and stumbled over. He heard Fluttershy's giggle from next to him and he quickly regained his footing. Outside he noticed a dark cloud approaching Ponyville, and just as he noticed it, the cloud spat out a large spray of lightning. Thunderstorms never scared him, but Fluttershy didn't feel the same, she jumped and hid under a nearby table, whimpering from the loud noise. He looked over at Zecora who now had an empathetic look on her face, she turned to her cauldron which was now starting to bubble, "I would allow you to stay, but this dangerous brew must be made today." Isaac shrugged off the almost irritating rhymes and slowly made his way over to the cowering pegasus and reached his hoof out to her.
"I...I don't want to go out there..." The mare was almost crying now, Isaac decided he'd had enough, hoisting the mare onto his back, he cast a protective barrier around the the yellow pony. The green aura illuminating the room, Fluttershy blushed as the colt held her on his back, but was brought back to her scared state when a loud rumble of thunder appeared overhead.
"It's alright, once we get outside i'll place a sound barrier around us. You won't be able to hear anything, so just close your eyes and we'll be home soon." Isaac's calming voice made the yellow mare feel that much safer, she held onto the unicorns body tight as he headed outside. Fluttershy held on even tighter as she heard the door open, expecting to be showered with freezing rain and loud noises, but instead she felt warmer than when she was inside. She opened one eye and smiled as she saw Iridescent's green glow surround her in a bubble, she looked down and noticed the spell stopped just past her body. Isaac, meanwhile, was soaking wet and muddy, his body more than determined to get his fillyfriend home safely. Fluttershy felt bad for the colt pushing through the storm, but also felt overjoyed that he cared so much for her.
"Don't be scared Fluttershy, i'm here." As they exited the Everfree forest, Isaac looked up to the sky and saw that the storm wasn't going to die down anytime soon, luckily Fluttershy's house wasn't too far from the forest entrance. Isaac pushed through the wind and rain which was getting worse every second, he heard the mares muffled voice through the barrier,
"Irrie? are you sure you can keep this spell up?" Her voice was quiet and soft, but Isaac could still hear her voice despite the raging storm.
"We're about to find out, were almost home. Don't worry, you'll be alright." He spoke between gasps as the freezing raindrops pelted him from the front, but Isaac didn't care, he would do anything to make sure Fluttershy was safe. Isaac then realized he cared about her more than anything in the world, and he would do anything to make her happy. A few minutes of paced walking brought the pair to the door of the cottage, Isaac opened the door and levitated the mare, placing her inside the cottage.
"I'll see you later Fluttershy." Isaac was about to leave when he heard Fluttershy's voice call out to him.
"Irrie? Can you um....Stay with me tonight?...I mean, if that's okay with you..." Isaac felt a huge grin creep up on his face while he slowly entered the pegasus' cottage. As he closed the door behind him, he noticed that the cold water was still dripping freely from his mane and coat.
"Oh....Oops?" Fluttershy let out a soft laugh as he quickly went to a closet door and took out a large towel, quickly wrapping it around Isaac, she noticed the huge blush on his cheeks. Isaac had no idea what was going through his mind, but every time he was near Fluttershy his heart soared, he felt his hoof move out of control and lightly wrap around the yellow mares' own. Fluttershy gasped at first, jumping when his hoof connected with hers. But she quickly moved closer to her coltfriend, Isaac closed his eyes, feeling bliss in the mares warm embrace.
"Thanks..." Isaac couldn't find any other words to say, but he knew he did something right when Fluttershy held onto him just a little bit tighter. Isaac peeked open once of his eyes and looked out towards the storm still raging overhead, feeling tired from the long journey out of the forest, he decided to let go of Fluttershy and walk towards the couch.
"Umm.. Is everything alright?" Isaac looked back to the mare, his matching eyes staring deep into hers.
"Yeah, everything's fine. I'm just a little tired is all..." He was about to continue but an extremely loud bang of thunder made him wince in his seat. In the blink of an eye, a yellow blur whizzed across the room and Isaac found himself holding a shivering Fluttershy in his hoofs. Using his magic, he shifted the couch so that it was facing a dark fireplace, and lit a warming fire in the home. He felt Fluttershy move close to him, resting her head on his shoulder, he kissed her on the cheek and stroked her mane. Before staring out the window at the raging storm, the night coming quicker than usual due to the sunset being blocked by the dark clouds. The lightning lighting up the room in small bursts, Fluttershy moved as close as she could to Isaac, burying her face in his chest as she relaxed.
"Stay with me, Irrie. Don't leave." Fluttershy pleaded, Isaac felt a tear drop onto his coat as he stroked the mares flowing pink mane. He kissed her on the forehead before closing his eyes.
"I'm not going anywhere, Fluttershy. I'll stay as long as you want me to." The pair felt the warmth of the fire heat them up as they closed their eyes and drifted off into a deep sleep.
-------------------
Cadance stood silent as her husband exited the room, despite the danger of what was to some she couldn't stand by and let Twilight and her friends die. As captain of the royal guard, Shining Armour had the authority to rally all forces in a time of need. But Cadance had almost no authority when it came to politics, but despite that, she still felt the need to do something. Looking outside at the storm, she thought deeply about her next move and after a few moments, grabbed a dark cloak from a hanger on the wall and headed out into the night.
As she looked out into the night, she noticed thunderclouds slowly making their way across the dark sky. She easily slipped past the two guards lazily patrolling the area outside of her home, and after a few scares and one bribed guard, The disguised alicorn finally made it to the train station. There she saw the conductor beckoning travelers to buy a ticket, when he saw Cadance, he was none the wiser as she quietly payed for her ticket and hopped onto the train. A few minutes passed before the train shot off into the night, as it rounded a cliff, Cadance looked out of the window to see the storm passing over a distant Ponyville. She feared the thought of losing her sister in law, and who lived in the town. How could the princess be so close-minded, there had to be another way to save Equestria. It was times like this she needed her Shining Armour, but Cadance understood the importance of what he was doing. A secret, last ditch effort to save everyone.
"It won't be long now, hurry Shining. Please."
A few more hours passed until the train finally stopped in Ponyville. The storm drenching her cloak, Cadance would normally stay out of this kind of weather, but she would go through a storm a thousand times worse than this if it meant a chance to save the town. Ponyville was unfamiliar to Cadance, but Shining once told her about how her sister lived in a library, laughing at the fact it was inside a tree. After a few minutes of wandering, she found the treehouse. She would have laughed knowing her husbands story were true, but the current situation kept any kind of smile from reaching her lips. She knocked on the door and was greeted by a familiar purple dragon.
"A little rainy to be outside.....Cadance?" The dragons eyes widened at the sight of the alicorn.
"Hello Spike, it's good to see you again. But i have to speak to Twilight, urgently."
"Sure, i'll just go get her, come on in."
Cadance stepped inside and hung her cloak on a hanger while Spike hurried up the stairs. A few moments later Twilight came rushing down the stairs, a huge grin on her face. "Cadance! Sunshine sunshine..."
"Not now Twilight, i'm sorry. But there is a matter of great importance, where is Isaac?" Twilight's upset expression changed from sad to curious when she heard her new friends name being mentioned, she thought for a moment before responding.
"He's probably over at Fluttershy's house, stay here tonight and i'll take you in the..." Cadance shook her head and interrupted Twilight's offer,
"Sorry Twilight, but we have to go now." Twilight was about to object, but the concerned and serious look in her sister in law's eyes made her understand that whatever Cadance wanted with Isaac, it was extremely urgent. the purple mare led the focused alicorn out of the door and into the stormy night.
One long, wet trip later, the pair found themselves outside the small cottage on the edge of town. Cadance wasted no time in knocking, immediately throwing the door open and letting the cold winds and rain inside. The sudden chance caused Fluttershy to yelp out of her seat before clinging onto Isaac for dear life, Cadance closed the door after Twilight made her way in the room, still shivering from the cold. Isaac was about to call out to who was in the house, but Twilight's voice made it abundantly clear. "Irrie? I'm here with Princess Cadance, she has something important to talk to you about." Isaac took a deep sigh before heading over to Twilight.
"Alright, what is it?" Isaac was immediately taken aback from the sight of yet another alicorn, assuming she was related to Celestia, he narrowed his eyes slightly before continuing. "This isn't good is it?"
"Not in the least. Twilight, you and Fluttershy find the rest of the elements, i'll go and find the mayor. We'll meet back at the library in 15 minutes." And with that one sentence, Cadance left the room, heading back out into the storm. Twilight looked towards Fluttershy who refused to leave the house due to the storm, with a sigh, Isaac lifted the still-startled mare onto his back, casting his barrier around her once again. The mare kissed him on his cheek, but he was too focused on figuring out the events to notice. Without a second thought, the three ponies headed out to gather the rest of the so called "elements".
"What did Cadance mean by elements?" Isaac shouted to the purple unicorn over the bangs of thunder.
"It's a long story. But the short version is, Me, Fluttershy and a few others are known as the Elements of Harmony, we harness the magical energy of friendship and are able to channel it between us. It's saved Equestria more than once.""
"Okay, that's a lot to take in, come on, lets get to the others!"
A few minutes passed before all the elements were together, speeding through the storm towards the library. Although Applejack and Pinkie Pie came along without much reasoning, Rarity refused to go outside into the storm, forcing a struggling Isaac to hold both the mares onto his back and encasing them both in his barrier. Rainbow Dash was up in her cloud home above the storm, so while the others took shelter in a nearby shed, Isaac teleported himself above the clouds and reappeared below with a still dazed Rainbow mare. She was largely irritated being awoken from her rest but jumped back into action after a brief explanation.
When the seven ponies finally reached the library, Cadance was already waiting with the mayor in a still confused state. They dried themselves off quickly and sat in a circle of the library. the alicorn wasted no time in explaining the situation.
"Now, I understand that you are all confused as to why you're here. I'm afraid I bring extremely grave news, there is a chance that Equestria will fall."." Large gasps and murmurs of panic erupted in the group. Only Isaac remained silent, still staring Cadance right in the eyes.
"Please, be silent. I bring even worse news simply by being here. But please, you must listen, we only have a short time to prepare." The room fell almost silent, only the storm outside and the soft sobs could be heard from Fluttershy, Isaac holding her close in an attempt to calm her down. Pinkie Pie vibrant hair fell straight and changed to a dull color.
"Eons ago, there was a being known as the Leviathan. A monster of gargantuan proportions, that almost wiped our entire world from reality. It is now known that it is going to return, along with an army of unknown strength. Shining Armour has gone against Celestia's orders, as have I, in order to save Ponyville."
"What d'ya mean, save Ponyville? What about the rest of Equestria?" Applejack said, looks of worry and fear. Cadance sighed heavily and closed her eyes before continuing.
"Celestia said that the only way to defeat the Leviathan was bring in a force from outside our own reality, Isaac, you were brought here for a reason, to become the hero you were born to be and save us. But Celestia believed that you would be unable to realize your full potential if you knew about the danger. The Leviathan would come across Ponyville as the first area where it's destruction begins." Isaac immediately let go of Fluttershy and stood up, anger fueling his eyes as he yelled out to Cadance.
"That bitch! She decided to just leave all of us to die!?" The others in the room also spoke out in defiance.
"Isaac please, you have to understand. Celestia is right in the fact that you will not be able to defeat the Leviathan if you know about it. Which is why Shining Armour is forming an army from everywhere in Equestria. While the Leviathan crosses a valley beyond the Everfree Forest, I have come to make sure we evacuate Ponyville, so that no innocent lives will be lost."
"So you want me...To fight a giant...Monster....While a battle destroys Ponyville?"
"I'm afraid so..." Isaac looked around the room and thought to himself, he then looked back at Cadance and frowned.
"You do realize the huge hole in your plan, right?"
"How do you mean?" Isaac gave Cadance a scheming grin as he responded with his proposal.
"It's obvious....The Leviathan has to head across a valley to get here, right? So, we ready our army, and meet the Leviathan halfway."
"Isaac, we don't know exactly when the Leviathan will get here. We don't even know if Shining will have the army ready in time."
"Hey, if this 'Shining Armour' is as good as you say he is. He's got a better chance at rallying the army than anypony else."
The room stayed silent for the next few moments, each pony in the room looking at the ground. Still struggling to take in the news, Mayor Mare was the first to speak up after the momentary absence of noise.
"I can't believe this, We must evacuate Ponyville, find ourselves a new home..." Her distraught tone and quiet weeping spread to everypony in the room, only Isaac stood unmoved by the events, thinking to himself as he watched the mares panic among themselves.
"I'm not going to let another world burn. I've lost too much, suffered for too long..."
"Stop!" Isaac's voice filled the room, all of the mares instantly went silent, Isaac closed his eyes before turning to the mayor.
"Get everybody out of Ponyville, get them somewhere safe. We need as much time as possible to prepare." The ponies around Isaac quickly made themselves useful, helping each other off the ground while Isaac moved over towards Cadance. "Cadance, are you able to contact Shining Armour?"
"Yes I....Why?"
"Tell him tho rendezvous with his army just outside Ponyville, next to the Everfree Forest." Cadance paused for a second before getting up, looking Isaac straight in the eyes, her expression changed from sorrowful to curious.
"What are you going to do then?" Isaac paused for a second before walking towards the exit. looking over his shoulder at the rest of the ponies in the room who were also wondering the same thing.
"To build a bomb."
And just as quickly as the commotion began, it was over, and the library was quiet once more. The rest of the ponies looked at each other for a few moments, before the Mayor decided to speak up. "I....Alright, Twilight? You and your friends gather everypony in the center of town. We don't have long to get the townspeople to safety." Twilight nodded and gathered her friends, only something was amiss. Twilight looked around the room before coming to a sudden realization.
"Where's Fluttershy?"
Isaac wandered aimlessly through town, thinking hard as to how he was going to defeat this so called 'Leviathan'. He made his way over to a secluded area, just outside of town, he sat down and held his head in his hoofs, the pressure and bad news finally getting to him. He wept for a few seconds before feeling a familiar hoof on his shoulder, he rubbed his eyes and found himself pulled into a tight embrace from the yellow mare. The fear and self-doubt finally took its toll, and Isaac buried his face in Fluttershy's pink mane, tears falling freely from his eyes. The pegasus kept a tight hold on him to try and stop his shivering, but his cries only made her feel as upset as him.
"I don't know what to do Fluttershy....I can't lose another world, I can't...Lose you..." Isaac wept as he held onto his fillyfriend, he eventually stopped his crying and slowly let go of the mare, remembering the moments he and Fluttershy spent together. As short as it was, the time he spent with her were the best days of his life. And the thought of losing everything again struck something deep inside him, collecting his thoughts, he gently kissed Fluttershy before figuring out what he needed to do.
"Fluttershy, I need you to stay with me while I do this. I don't know if i'll survive the battle, but I want to spend every moment before then with you..."
"Of course....I'll...I'll stay with you until the call comes..."
Isaac gave Fluttershy a small smile before letting go of her, he moved a few paces to his side before setting down again on the grass. He closed his eyes and relaxed himself before lighting up his horn, focusing of the space in front of him.
"Fluttershy, I'm going to pour a lot of magic into this...So....I need you with me.."
The yellow mare sat down beside him, holding a hoof over his back, she lay her head on his shoulder and looked in awe at the sight unfolding in front of her. As Isaac closed his eyes, his horn glowed its familiar bright green light, and a few feet in front of the couple, a small sphere of white began to form. As the minutes passed, the small glow became slightly larger. Isaac kept his concentration solely on what he was creating, not noticing the mare that began to feel her eyes close as she drifted off into a deep sleep.
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Just under an hour had passed before everypony in town gathered just outside of the town hall. The voices of the ponies questioning why they were here drowned out almost all other sounds, however, they soon fell completely silent as Mayor Mare exited the large building along with all but one of the Elements of Harmony. She coughed for a second before stammering to the crowd.
"Att...Attention everypony...I'm afraid I bring terrible news.." More than a few worried murmurs colored the air, though they were once again silent as the Mayor continued speaking.
"A terrible event is about to unfold here in Ponyville, and i'm afraid we will need to evacuate the town..." The crowd instantly erupted into cries and angry yells.
"We can't just abandon the town!"
"Where will we live!?"
"Why do we have to go!"
"What of our homes!?"
The cries continued for many minutes as the mayor fruitlessly attempted to calm the townsponies down, they continued to shout and call out to the mayor until another pony took the stage. Emerging from behind the building, Princess Cadance took the podium and spoke in a loud but also calm manner. Upon noticing the Princess, crowd went silent once more, allowing her to speak.
"My dear citizens of Ponyville, it is with a heavy heart that I bring this news to you. There once was a being, known as the Leviathan, that almost consumed Equestria eons ago. It was stopped, but in a few days it will return. We will stop it, but at a cost. We expect Ponyville to be destroyed in the coming battle, i'm sorry, but evacuation is the only way to keep you all safe."
The expected cries and screams of panicking townspeople never came, instead the crowd fell silent. Some even leaving to retrieve their possessions and pack their belongings. A few of them stayed behind, offering to help with the evacuation. Most, however, were seemed to be looking around the crowd for lost possessions. At least until Berry Punch spoke out to the crowd.
"Where's Iridescent? Irrie!?" Twilight took the stage this time to address the issue, some ponies began to shake their heads slowly as a tear dropped from the purple unicorns face.
"I'm so sorry everypony, but Iridescent is not who you think he is..." Large gasps were heard from the crows as Twilight continued.
"Iridescent was originally from another world, he has been selected by Celestia, and is the only one who can defeat the Leviathan. He is preparing himself, and will be at the front of the charge...."
Loud cries and weeps of both shock and sadness broke out in the crowd, mostly from Berry Punch and some other mares. at the back of the stage Rainbow Dash was holding a hysterical Applejack in her hoofs, trying her best to calm to earth pony. The new colt they all came to befriend, now likely to be gone forever.
"I'm so sorry everypony....I'm so sorry..." Twilight said quietly into the microphone, her quiet sobs drowned out by the Princess who once again took the stage.
"I understand how you must all be feeling. But please, we must ready ourselves. Gather your belongings, only what you need." After a few moments, the ponies gathered in the town separated, and went back into their homes, readying themselves for the next few hours.
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A few hours had passed, and the ponies had all gathered just outside of town, large carriages containing multiple families' possessions, hauled by the bulkier colts. Surprisingly Rarity left most of her belongings behind, understanding the seriousness of the events to come. Applejack would have helped out, but the fear of losing Isaac, despite the fact they weren't made to be together, made her collapse and weep under the thought. Her heart and mind knew she had to be strong for her friends, but her body refused. As the ponies began to move, Applejack saw Isaac on thee top of a grassy hill next to Fluttershy, and a glowing orb in front of them. Beckoning Twilight, the pair separated from the main group, where they made her way over to a clearly distraught Berry Punch.
"Hey sugarcube, Ah know we aren't supposed to wander, but Irrie's over there if yah...Y'know, wanna say yer goodbyes..."
Berry wiped her eyes and looked up to the spot where Isaac lay with Fluttershy, she put on a weak smile and nodded. Together, the three ponies walked away from the group, up the grassy hill towards the white colt. As they got closer, they saw Iridescent was creating something with his magic, with a sleeping Fluttershy resting beside him.
"Irrie?" Applejack asked, afraid of the way the colt might react. He slowly opened his eyes along with Fluttershy and, while keeping the magic flowing to the orb, slowly walked over to the trio. Applejack was the first to speak, stuttering between a hidden sob. "I....We...We know what's goin t' happen, and...We wanna say our goodbyes.." Fluttershy looked at the glassy-eyed ponies, and left Isaac to have his last moment with them.
"I'm sorry, I didn't want any of this to happen. I couldn't save my world, but I can save yours. I....." He was put silent as all three mares tightly hugged the white unicorn. Their tears matting his coat as he stared at the ground, wishing he could live without conflict, without loss, and without pain. After a few moments of momentary silence, Twilight noticed the orb grow slightly bigger.
"Irrie....What is that?" Looking back to the orb he was forming, he swallowed hard before his reply.
"That....Is where the news gets even worse... I call it a 'Soul Bomb', the clue is in the name. I'm pouring almost all of my soul into this, using almost all of my magical abilities. I have tuned it so that It will destroy whatever life form it's closest to....." The mares stood in awe at the ball off green light, illuminating a small area around it. Berry responded with confused question.
"Why is this bad news?"
"Because even if I survive the battle....I'll lose my soul, i'll still be here, the same body, the same mind....But I don't know what i'll feel with only a fraction of my soul left."
"Will you still care about us?"
"I'll try. But i'm sorry, I don't know what will happen to me afterwards..."
And with that, Fluttershy calmly walked back to Isaac, bringing her face close to his. She couldn't stop the tears from falling, but she could take away some of the pain. Pressing in closer, she pulled the colt into a deep kiss. Time once again seemed to stop for Isaac as he felt Fluttershy's lips pressed against his, ignoring the fact that three other mares we're watching. Isaac was forced to pull away as he heard a loud horn in the distance, and from across a large field, he saw a sight to behold.
"My sister, are you sure this is the right decision?" Luna asked her sister from across the room, who was still awake despite the sun had already sunk beneath the hills. Looking over her balcony at a dimly lit Ponyville, she responded coldly.
"I see no other solution, I deeply regret leaving Twilight and the rest of the town to the Leviathans' wrath, but it is the only way Isaac will be able to save the rest of Equestria." Celestia sighed as she turned back inside, setting down by the nearby fireplace. Lighting it quickly with her horn, she began to cry. Though no sounds were heard, the tears came down her face freely. Luna sat down beside her sister, comforting her as best she could. But both of the Princesses knew that the day would come soon, and their magic would be powerless to stop it. Not even the Elements of Harmony could stop something as powerful and destructive as the Leviathan.
"My sister, if we told Isaac, there is still a small chance that..."
"No. If we tell Isaac, it is more than likely he will not reach the final stage. I will not risk Equestria over one town, as cold as it sounds. I still care deeply for Twilight and her friends, but I just cannot choose them over our land."
"I understand... If only there were another way to stop this madness." Luna and Celestia both stared aimlessly into the fire, readying themselves for the future. Luna was about to leave the room after a few moments, until a guard came rushing into the room, panting and sweating.
"Your highness's..I...We...." Celestia stood instantly and raised a hoof, silencing the worn out colt.
"Calm yourself, take a breath, and tell me what is wrong." After a few moments and long breaths, the guard repeated himself.
"Princess, we have received word that Shining Armour and Princess Cadance have disappeared. They are not in their home and nopony can find them."
The princess's eyes grew wide as Celestia stomped her hoof, though only guessing what the pair were about to do, she seemed confident in her action. "Find them! We cannot allow them to warn Ponyville. This is how it must be done!"
"Your highness, we have looked everywhere, we know they haven't caught a train, and flying would make them easily spotted. They are out of Canterlot."
Knowing the pair would be long gone by now, Celestia looked back over to a distant Ponyville and thought to herself.
"Please don't find him, Shining Armour. You do not understand what you will unleash on us all....
Unknown Location, same time as Ponyville evacuation
"My lord, are you sure it is ready?" The brown assistant cowered behind a pillar as the runes slowly shone a brilliant white, as he spoke Blood Horn opened his eyes, his face with an evil smile as he replied.
"It is ready...Just one more thing, come here, colt!" The assistant hastily stumbled over to Blood Horn, looking more worried by the second. The crumbled area was filled with a bright light as Blood Horn spoke, the light from the runes emanating off every surface.
"Y...Yes, my master?"
"There is one more thing that must be done. Prepare."
The room was filled with a flash of red light as the screams of the brown pony could be heard throughout the halls, a maniacal laugh followed as Blood Horn sliced the assistants head from his body, the blood flowing into the air and mixing with the levitating runes. The white light now changed to a blood red as the ground beneath Blood Horn shook, his laughter continued as a gaping hole in the ground emerged. And the Leviathan slowly lifted itself out with a deafening roar.
"IT'S MINE! EQUESTRIA! IS MINE!!"
Blood Horn stepped towards the towering beast, his wicked grin still on his face as he stood in awe at the Leviathan. The runes still circled him as he took control, and made his way towards the monster, eager to begin his conquest.
What Isaac saw in the distance was a sight to behold, over the grassy hills not one kilometer from Ponyville, a few dozen ponies in the distance made their way towards the town. Quickly followed by another dozen, then another hundred, and another thousand. All led by a single white unicorn with gleaming silver Armour. The ponies evacuating the town looked on as the army marched towards the town, though not in an orderly fashion, each had their eyes set on the town. A few more minutes passed as the townsponies watched the army of unicorns, pegasi and earth ponies alike entered the town. Isaac finally noticed the soul bomb had reached its final stage, as a hard outer shell encased the glowing energy. Hoisting it onto his back, he made his way back down the hill with the other four ponies who were beside him.
"Shining Armour!" Twilight called out as she ran to meet her brother, giving him a tight hug as she met her older sibling for the first time in months.
"Twily, it's so good to see you. Only, I wish it was under better circumstances..." The white colt's joyful expression faltered as he looked back to his new army, after a few seconds he noticed Cadance was not around. "Twilight, where's my wife?"
"It's alright, she's helping to evacuate the town."
"Good, make sure she's somewhere safe." Shining looked past her sister, into the Everfree forest, before noticing the green maned unicorn make his way down the hill. Upon seeing the orb on his back, Shining made his way over to Isaac.
"Are you Isaac Oakleaf?"
"Yeah, Shining Armour, I take it?" Isaac looked at the colt with an almost blank expression on his face, he looked over the crowd before giving Shining a smirk. "Looks like you've been busy."
"As captain of the royal guard, i'm entitled to gather Equestria's forces in times of need. And we'll support you against whatever enemies we face in the coming battle." Isaac changed his view so he saw the hundreds of ponies still making their way into the town, each with at least some form of armor. The pegasi seemed to be using mostly bows and spears, the earth ponies hauling in with blades attached to their front hooves, pointed upwards on a slant. Shining Armour beckoned Isaac to follow him as he moved further into the town, the army already pitching tents and campsites around Ponyville.
"Just...Give me a second, alright?" Isaac said, his smirk relinquished as his eyes went glassy, turning back to Ponyville's residents watching the event unfold. Isaac told the four mares who followed to come with him, walking slowly to the townsponies, all of which had their eyes set solely on him. As he reached the center of the large massing of carts and carriages, stepping up onto a pile of boxes for use as a makeshift stage.
"Uhmm... Attention everypony. I'd like to say a few things." Though the crowd was already silent, Isaac felt the need to pause before continuing, taking a deep breath, he spoke.
"I'd just like to say that, I know that I most likely won't be coming back from this. But i'll fight to the bitter end to make sure you are all safe, the past few days i've spent here have been some of the best of my life. And I consider you all my friends....And, I guess that's it..." As Isaac stepped down, he heard nothing, no applause, no cheers, no noise. After a few seconds of walking, head down towards the ground, he felt a hoof reach his shoulder. The unicorn turned to see Berry Punch, as well the elements, standing a few hoofsteps behind him, smiling. Behind the mares he saw everypony in the town start to gather round, tears in all of their eyes. He took a few moments to say his goodbyes to everypony he met, with more than a few tight squeezes from a bawling Pinkie Pie. As the ponies ended their embrace, each of them slowly moved to the side to allow Fluttershy to make her way towards the colt.
"Fluttershy...." He found the words impossible to leave his mouth, clenching his eyes shut, he whimpered slightly as he tried to stop tears from flowing. He was about to give in until he felt the mare press close to him, still stammering, he continued.
"I...I don't want to....I can't....I....." He felt himself grow much calmer as he heard Fluttershy's voice call softly to him.
"Shhh....It will be alright." She stroked Isaac's roughed up mane and lightly pressed her lips against him. After a brief moment, Isaac slowly pulled away and replied.
"I'll try...No...No I WILL come back, you'll see." He gave a weak smile as she hugged him one last time. The townsponies slowly started to continue their journey away from Ponyville, Fluttershy said her goodbyes, as did all of the ponies. As they walked on, he noticed Berry Punch still waiting to say something. Slowly, she spoke up to Isaac.
"Make sure you come back, OK? You still have your Saturday shift to go through." She managed a comforting smile as the colt gave her a quick embrace, finally heading off back in the direction of the camp.
The ponies slowly made their way across the open land past the Town, the large green field making them easy to spot from miles away. A few minutes of walking and Fluttershy was already looking back towards Ponyville, sighing as every step made her think of Iridescent, and worry if he really will come back. A few more hours of walking had passed before the sun finally began to set on the horizon, and the ponies had begun pitching their tents. The massing of tents and carriages made the setting look like a miniature Ponyville, and in the distance the residents could still see a distant Ponyville still dimly lit by the fires and lights the army was using. As Fluttershy looked on over the hills, she couldn't get the thought of Irrie out of her head. She suddenly jumped as she heard a voice behind her.
"You're thinking of going back aren't you?" Twilight said over the pegasus' shoulder.
"I....Yes..." She dropped her head down low, knowing her friends would keep her anywhere near the imminent battle to come.
"Fluttershy, I want you to know that I want to see my brother again as much as you want to see Irrie. And all us decided that, if you need to, we can go back."
Fluttershy's eyes widened as she could not believe what she was hearing, a small smile appearing on her face as Twilight left to gather her other friends. She looked on in the direction of Ponyville, still barely visible in the night. She thought to herself while lying down on the soft grass, "I'm going to be there with you, Irrie. Until the very end."
"Alright, could all the generals please meet me outside the town gates, that goes for you too, Isaac." Shining Armour commanded, in an emotionless tone. Around a dozen of the ponies who were engaging in multiple activities made their way over the the front gate. As Isaac passed he saw weapons being stored and sharpened, unicorns testing their magic and pegasi practicing their aerial movements. Though in all of them, he also saw fear, doubt, worry and panic. He had seen this multiple times in his past life, soldiers wondering if they would ever return from battle, the loss of friends, family and homes all but ruined their spirits. And the mere mention of the coming battle and the threat of the Leviathan was beginning to do the same to these ponies. After a few moments of walking beside the Captain, Isaac found himself beside the other generals. Each wearing golden-colored armor, worry almost undetectable in their battle-hardened faces.
"Alright, Isaac. You have your plan, let's hear it." The generals looked on in awe as the white unicorn placed his soul bomb in the center of the circle Its hardened shell illuminated by the glowing power underneath.
"By Celestia, what IS that?" One stunned general blurted out, Isaac did not face him, only staring deep into the translucent surface of the bomb.
"This will defeat the Leviathan. That's all you need to know, but what I need is for you to clear the path. We still don't know how.." Isaac stopped as an exhausted pegasus made his way towards Shining Armour, still panting, he spoke quickly.
"Sir, reconnaissance has reported in."
"What have they found?"
"Sir, the eastern post has detected a Changeling army of over just under 300, the northern post detected Tribal warriors, only 100 strong, and the western post detected an army of savages well over 500 in colt-power." The colt slowly retreated back towards the camp when he noticed the gathering leaders were in complete silence. Once he had left, one general pointed out to the rest.
"Only 900 strong? Our army is almost twice that!"
"Yes, but we all know the Leviathan is our biggest threat. Isaac, care to explain the rest of your plan?" Shining repeated, now all eyes were fixed on Isaac for a moment.
"Yeah, sure. All right, we know which way the.....What the hell is that?" Isaac looked towards the sky, his eyes squinting to get a better look at the distant object, now closing in on the town with surprising speed. Upon hearing a thundering voice, he looked back to Shining, now obvious they were thinking the same thing.
"SHINING ARMOUR! HOW DARE YOU DEFY US!"
"Oh Shit."
The remaining generals scattered into the town as the army took cover both inside their tents and buildings, some even choosing nearby bushes to hide themselves from Celestia's booming voice. Isaac remained unmoved and even though fear was obvious in his eyes, Shining Armour stood his ground.
"I couldn't let you allow Ponyville to be destroyed! I wouldn't have you responsible for my sisters death!"
"She knew this was coming?" Isaac thought to himself as the two Princesses made their way over to the two colts, anger burning in their eyes.
"Don't you understand what you have done!? I told you that it was the only way to...Luna? What is it?" Celestia's rage filled voice faded into one of curiosity, as Luna wandered away, Celestia noticed the orb in the middle of the grassy area, glowing a faint green. She slowly faded into a trance as she followed her equally gobsmacked sister. They two surrounded the orb, looking over it with astonishment, but their trance was short lived as Luna took on a saddened expression before speaking to Celestia.
"My sister...I believed there was another way, but this...."
"Is impossible..." Celestia finished her sisters' sentence, looking back to Isaac, she sighed and spoke to him in a calm tone. "How did you do this? Even with your power, you should never have been able to create this...Monstrosity."
"I knew the stakes, and I did what I had to do to ensure our survival."
"But...You know what this will do!..You can't..." Celestia pleaded, she finally sighed and gave in. The lack of options for Celestia made her realize that this was now the only possibility of success. Even if the consequences would be great. "If...If this is how it will be, then we will fight. Both of us."
The Princess's made their way into the camp, taking shelter in the library, the sun had long since set, and everypony needed as much rest as possible before the battle. The night passed slowly for Celestia, still awake despite the distinct weariness she felt from the day. Luna was outside as usual, attending to her normal duties watching over the night. Looking out of the window, she noticed Isaac sleeping soundly on a patch of grass outside the Library, seeing the colt shivering in the cold night air, she slowly stepped outside. Careful not to wake the colt, she lifted him up and brought him inside, setting the orb in the corner of the room and the unicorn upstairs. Isaac found much needed comfort laying Twilight's bed, Celestia took a short trip around the library before coming to a wooden door she didn't notice when she first entered the tree house. With curiosity getting the best of her, she quietly open the furnished door, and using her magic to light the area, she made her way down the curved staircase. When she reached the bottom, she found nothing but old equipment and used parchment, but as Celestia looked around the room, she saw a small bed with a wooden guitar laying next to it. And a small framed picture on a white desk.
As she lifted the picture and brought it to her face, Celestia found herself isolated and sitting as she took the time to observe the frame. It was a simple picture but brought much emotion to the princess. Inside the framed photograph lay a smiling Isaac with his arm over Fluttershy, with Twilight and the rest of her friends grouped next to them. There were also a couple of ponies Celestia didn't recognize, but as she put the picture back onto the table, the Princess thought to herself in the darkness.
"How could I have even thought of tearing this away from you. I can't stop the events to come, but i'll do my best to ensure you stay as you are now."
The princess made her way back up the stairs where she lay back down on the couch, looking up towards where Isaac was sleeping, she finally sighed to herself and let sleep take over. Drifting into a much needed slumber.
As the sun slowly rose over the horizon, Isaac awoke slowly. Though confused about how he ended up in the library, he quickly shrugged it off and headed downstairs. He found Princess Luna sleeping quietly on the couch, he couldn't help but smile at the all powerful Princess taking a power nap. He wandered outside to find the familiar sight of the army in full activity, all sharpening weapons and checking armor. Isaac spotted Shining Armour readying his silver metal plates, upon noticing the colt moving towards him, Shining stepped up and spoke first.
"Princess Celestia has ordered us to move out in the next few hours. We're heading through the Everfree Forest, setting up camp at the top of the valley, there it's a straight downhill to where we'll be fighting."
"Alright. I'll go make sure everything's ready." Before Isaac could leave, Shining Armour beckoned him to follow, leading him into a small tent.
"I had this made especially for you, if you're going to lead this battle, you might as well look the part." Shining made a small smirk as he lifted a brand new set of armor. A silver saddle-plate with pointed shoulder plates, with sharp lines tinted green to match his mane. Isaac looked in awe at the new set as he tried it on, a perfect fit. And even though it didn't matter, he thought he looked badass. Isaac thanked Shining Armour and as he headed out of the tent, he was met by a legion of around 100 ponies, each saluting in different armour, but all of them had a small tint of green to signify their allegiance.
"These are your soldiers now, Isaac. Take care of them."
The sun was just making it's way over the horizon, it's rays beaming down over the temporary campsite. Twilight awoke quickly, rubbing her eyes and readying herself for the day ahead, she quietly exited her tent before making her way over to the other end of the camp where Fluttershy lay sleeping.
"Fluttershy? Wake up, we need to get the others." Twilight said softly, Fluttershy tossed around for a second, getting herself acquainted to the new light entering the tent, but after getting her bearings she sprung up and almost fell over out of eagerness to leave. Twilight calmed her down as the mare already began to exit the camp. "Wait, we need to get the others first. You get Rainbow Dash and Applejack, i'll get Rarity and Pinkie Pie." The two went about their objectives before heading out of the camp. Fluttershy met Applejack first, already awake and looking out over Ponyville from under a nearby tree.
"R..Ready to go Applejack?" Fluttershy said in her usual timid tone, Applejack nodded, still with her eyes set on Ponyville. Turning back to Fluttershy, she rubbed her eyes before responding.
"Everythin'll be different after this. But if Isaac comes back from this, promise me ya will take care of him."
"Of course Applejack, i'd do anything to make sure he's safe." The two shared a quick hug before heading back down to the camp, looking for Rainbow Dash. A few more minutes had passed before the ponies met each other at the edge of the campsite, the other ponies in the town still fast asleep due to the time of day. As the six met together, Twilight had arrived carrying a very familiar wooden box.
"We won't have much time before the army heads out, so we'll need to head now. And i'm sure you all remember these, it's likely we'll need them at some point." Opening the box, she took out each of the necklaces that symbolized the elements of harmony. After passing the golden amulets to each pony, Rainbow Dash spoke up, glassy eyed.
"This...This is going to be one hay of a fight, huh?" She managed a weak chuckle before placing the the lighning bolt-shaped amulet on around her neck. She forced back her tears as she felt Twilight's hoof on her shoulder.
"It's okay, Rainbow. Everything's going to be fine." Rainbow sniffed before nodding in approval, the six then began walking across the open land, cutting across the wide area in the hopes of finding the army before they headed into the Everfree Forest. The walk would take them around 4 hours at least, but they were confident they would make the journey in time.
"What about Berry Punch?" Twilight asked, wondering if they should wake the purple mare from her rest.
"Berry Punch?" Fluttershy questioned, curious as to why they should take somepony without any way to defend themselves.
"Berry Punch obviously cared about Irrie, not just because he brought customers to her bar." Twilight thought back to the wonderful evening were Isaac played in front of everypony, cheers of joy and applause ringing through the crowd as he sang.
"I don't know Twilight, even if she didn't have to fight, I think the whole ordeal would be too much for her." Rainbow piped up, both for the sake of getting a move on and keeping Berry safe. The friends made their decision and moved on further away from the camp. Readying themselves for the long journey ahead.
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"My....Army?" Isaac said as the soldiers saluted and headed off to ready themselves, dumbfounded, but also honored to have a force under his command.
"It's not much, but they'll keep you safe until you reach the Leviathan, but it all depends on you destroying it."
"Why would they throw their lives away to protect me?"
Shining Armour sighed before continuing, looking at the armored colts, their green tint a symbol of their allegiance. "Because each of these soldiers has something to care about, something worth fighting for. And they'll fight to the death to protect it."
The words hit Isaac hard, the soldiers reminded him too much of his former self. He saw the fear in their eyes, but also the determination and courage to fight, the soldiers only reminded him more of what his task was, and the consequences should he fail. Collecting his armor, he placed it inside a sack and hoisted it around his waist. In the corner of his vision he saw Celestia talking to Shining Armour, planning their offensive on the Leviathan, he walked back towards the library to retrieve his device. However, before he could do so, the same guard from earlier this evening crashed down into the ground in between Isaac and Shining Armour. Rushing over to the injured pegasus, the group found him to be shaking, multiple cuts and bruises along him.
"What happened?" Shining Armour commanded, his voice catching the attention of everypony in the area. The wounded colt simply shook, his eyes going up to Shining fro a moment before he stared into nothingness.
"Its.....Here.....Just, passed the valley..." Shining's eyes lit up, as did Celestia's, Isaac stood unmoved. Hearing enough bad news made him grow almost accustomed to hearing it.
"Get every recon party back here now! We are leaving!" The captain commanded to his generals, he turned back to see the colt now looking up at him, holding a large gash in his lower body.
"No...No point, sir. All gone.....Leviathan....All is lost..." The pegasus took one last breath before shutting his eyes, collapsing on the ground, the horrified look in his eyes stayed as his heart stopped. Shining looked at the colt before closing his eyes with his hoof, then steadily walked up to the middle of the camp.
"Alright everypony! We're moving out! Double time it!" The entire army quickly set about their work, dousing fires, packing up tents and weapons, and readying themselves for their trip to the valley. Isaac simply looked on as the ponies whizzed past him in order to get ready quickly, he decided to take one last trip to an area he had completely forgot about until now. After maneuvering through the masses of soldiers rushing through the town, Isaac found himself just outside of Fluttershy's cottage, the house was empty, a result of the yellow mare taking most of her animal friends with her, the rest retreating to the forest. As he came across the site, he noticed a few pink hairs entangled with the grass. Lifting it up with his magic, Isaac thought to himself and gave a slight chuckle.
"Seems more than just under a week..." Isaac felt a tinge of sadness flow through him as he gazed on the spot where first appeared in Equestria, wishing all of this would disappear. But he couldn't give up, not now. Not after everything he has to fight for, turning back towards the town, the colt promised himself he wouldn't let this world fall.
"Alright, we're going to head through the Everfree. everypony keep together, once we get to the valley I don't know how long we'll have before the fight. Let's move out!" Shining Armour led the army across the small field and into the Everfree, each section of the army slowly disappearing as they headed into the depths of the trees, Isaac barely had time to catch up before the last pony was submerged in the forest. Around 15 minutes of solid walking brought the army to the halfway point of their journey, the sun giving way to light grey clouds that dimmed the area around them.
"So how far until we reach the valley?" Isaac asked, keeping his voice down as to not attract unwanted attention.
"It should be about another.....Wait...Whats...?" Shining Armour was cut off as he heard a deafening roar in the distance, though far away, the pure volume of the unknown beast felt like it was but a few meters away.
"Shit...The one thing we don't want to hear, and we're heading straight for it."
-----------------------
Fluttershy and the other 5 had finally arrived near Ponyville, looking over the town as the last remnants of the army made it past the treeline into the forest. "Fluttershy! There he is!" Twilight squealed, pointing towards the green-maned unicorn making his way over to the treeline, carrying a large sac as well as the bomb on his back. Fluttershy couldn't help but grow a smile as she hurried over to meet him, but was suddenly stopped by a hoof in front of her.
"Easy there, sugarcube, if we go over t' him, they'll just send us back home."
"But...What do we do?"
"Ah say we bide our time, wait until the right moment to see him." Applejack said quietly, as the last of the soldiers entered the forest, the six stayed out of sight, but close enough so that they still had a trail to follow. A few more minutes passed as the six became slightly closer to Isaac, he was now barely in their view, but still couldn't hear them over the sound of conversing soldiers. Without warning, the deafening roar caused Fluttershy to jump into a nearby bush, shaking and whimpering at the sudden noise. The rest of the ponies were equally shocked, Rainbow ended up jumping into Applejack's hoofs before sheepishly backing off, Pinkie Pie hid behind Twilight's tail while she held a hoof over Rarity's mouth to stop her squeals of fright.
"Quiet everypony, they'll hear us..." Twilight hissed, looking out to see that the crowd had continued onward after the temporary delay.
"Come on now, sugarcube." Applejack called out to a whimpering Fluttershy, still cowering inside the bush.
"I can't...Too scared..." Applejack smiled softly and lifted the terrified mare onto her back, continuing the journey. A long while later the three found themselves at the edge of the treeline, the gaping valley just under a kilometer ahead. Through the treeline Fluttershy could see the army already preparing on the top of the hill leading up from the open area below, putting on armor and sharpening weapons, the ponies all wore the same types of colors, some gold, some silver. Each with a different color tint to signify their sections. Fluttershy looked all around the treeline, but saw no sign of Irrie among the masses of ponies.
"Fluttershy, over here!" Rainbow called out, beckoning the five other friends to follow her up a small clearing. Once at the top they found themselves over a small cliff edge, a dozen meters above the crowd. From there Fluttershy immediately spotted Iridescent talking to no fewer than 100 ponies, each dressed in gleaming silver armor, tinted with a hint of green the same color as the stallion's mane. The six ponies lay down on top of the grassy cliff, unnoticeable by anypony below. Twilight began to get a little worried when Applejack and Fluttershy were caught staring at Irrie for at least the past five minutes, she was about to say something but her priorities changed when she saw a horrific sight by the bottom of the valley.
---------------------------------
"Alright everypony, gather around me." Isaac commanded his forces with the same confidence as he did before he 'arrived' in Equestria, the many ponies of Isaac's military division quickly surrounded the white unicorn, his specially crafted armor shining despite the cloudy weather. Setting the soul bomb in the center of the area, he began his speech.
"Now, I know how afraid you all are today, i'm just as scared as you are. But we have to do this, you all know what's at stake here." Isaac took a brief pause for the soldiers to quieten down before continuing.
"Now, we know the army we're about to face isn't even half our size. But that's not the biggest threat by a longshot. The Leviathan will most likely be placed behind the main army, our forces can easily push through with a little help from the back archers. But this bomb is what you're protecting as much as me, the plan might seem a little selfish, but it's the only way to win this thing." The shouts of opposition and argument that Isaac expected were not heard, only nods of approval and reassuring responses followed.
"Hey, we all know what we're in for. We signed up willingly knowing the risks, and we'll be damned if we abandon our posts for a way to keep us safer as individuals." One colt spoke out, his bulky form and heavy armor showing his high rank in the force. Isaac simply smiled and continued.
"Now, i'll need you all to keep me, and this bomb, safe from harm." Grabbing a stick, the colt drew his tactic in the dry dirt in front of him. "I'll need the Earth ponies on the outer layer, keeping anything from getting further in the layers, use your shield to form a solid barrier around us. The pegasi, you poke spears through gaps in the shields, and fire arrows from the middle layers. Lastly the unicorns, you guys have the mos important roles. I'll need you all to fire artillery strikes into the crowd, while also forming a protective barrier around us all." Isaac left the drawing in the ground so the rest of the ponies could get a good look.
Stepping back slightly, he looked into a nearby water hole, in his own reflection he saw a revelation. Inside himself he saw a fighter, a soldier, someone who will fight for what he believes in. And would gladly give his life to keep it safe. The shiny, metallic gleam of his armor shone in the light, and its jagged and sharp edges making feel pain just from looking at it. He looked over the faint scars on his body, still clearly visible. Looking up, he gazed over the valley, its base was nothing but dirt. No green grass, no water, just one large plateau of soil. Surrounded by hills and mountains, he was about to turn back when he noticed a large shape appear from the other end of the valley.
"Oh no....How the hell...?"
"Battle stations everpony! Get into formation!!!!"
Isaac looked on in horror as the ginormous figure made its way around the corner of the valley, he stood completely still as the army readied themselves for the incoming danger. The dark beast was easily over 500 meters high, it's sheer size sending a shadow over the entire valley. It looked in similar fashion to a squid, but with 5 large claws digging into the ground and elevating it from the ground and causing it to stand vertically. A sleek black skin on the Leviathan gave it an ominous sheen, and 3 giant eyes, completely red and each one the size of a full-grown dragon. Under the legs Isaac noticed several large teeth in a circular fashion, shifting with each movement of the gargantuan monster. Isaac felt fear strike through his heart as he gazed at the Leviathan, its giant legs lifting it's body from the ground and causing it to go even higher. It's spiked outer body easily intimidating, and it's sheer size dwarfing any other living thing. The unicorn shook at the mere thought of how he was going to get near the Leviathan, let alone kill it.
"Isaac! Let's go, come on!" Isaac left his trance of the Leviathan as he heard Shining Armour's voice, beckoning the colt to follow him towards the rest of the army heading towards a large flat area near the bottom of the hill. Isaac took a last quick look towards the Leviathan, he could make out the rest of the opposing army a large distance in front of it. Heading down the hill, he checked his armor to make sure everything was in place. Isaac took a spot inbetween Celestia and Luna, who were both in the center of the front line. Luna wore dark blue armor, and Celestia wore armor out of modified pure gold. Behind Isaac, his entire battalion was waiting behind him, ready to form their strategy the moment they got close to the enemy.
Shining Armor stood next to Isaac for a moment, handing him a small metal device, "Hook this up to your ear, it'll let us communicate through the battle. Celestia and Luna have them, too." After hooking up the device with ease, Shining Armor made his way in front of the line, trotting up and down the area whilst speaking. "Alright, Attention!" Shining Armor yelled out to the army, instantly the murmurs throughout the crowd were silenced as Shining Armour walked slowly along the front line, amplifying his voice with magic as he spoke.
"My friends! I stand with you today in the face of danger!" Shining took a brief pause before continuing. "The coming battle shall decide the fate of Equestria! But we stand strong! Together as soldiers, comrades and friends!" He listened for the cheers and battle cries of the army before continuing once more. "They will attack until our last city falls, but we will not fall! This day we fight! This day we succeed! As long as there is one pony left of the field of battle, we are not beaten!"
Isaac thought to himself while still listening to his leaders speech, the ponies behind all readying themselves for the charge. Battle cries were heard once more as Shining pointed his hoof forward.
"For the Princesses!"
"For my friends...."
"For Freedom!"
"For a new life...."
"For Equestria!"
"For Fluttershy."
"Attack!!!!"
The army instantly let out a tremendous battle cry as they began to charge down the hill, Isaac made haste alongside the two princesses and led the attack just behind Shining Armour, the hill was large but not very steep, so the soldiers could easily make their way down. The opposing army led the opposition although the Leviathan kept its distance a few hundred meters behind, although the sheer size made it feel as if it was in the very center of the battle. Isaac noticed the opposition begin to equal his speed and move into a charge, fear stuck him right through the heart, but Isaac also found strength in his determination to stay alive, and to save his new home. As the two forces became closer, bolts of magic and arrows flew through the air, unicorns creating conjoined barriers to keep the forces safe, but some got through and brought down a small amount of soldiers. A final cry from Shining Armour was heard before Isaac's group formed around him, and both armies collided with the Leviathan bringing a mighty roar in the background.
"Oh my....That's....A big....Monster..." Fluttershy squeaked as she curled up into a ball, her mane covering her eyes so she couldn't see the Leviathan in the distance. Twilight and the rest looked on as the army brought themselves into formation, Isaac, Princess Celestia, Luna and Shining Armour all at the front of the mass of soldiers, Isaac's bladed armor easily recognizable as well as the large orb stuck to his back. Fluttershy took her eyes away from the walking, squid-like creature at the other end of the valley and focused on the speech being given by Shining Armor, the armies cries startling her slightly as they yelled in a synchronized fashion. A few drops of rain matting her coat as she watched the soldiers ready themselves. The six friends looked on as Shining Armor led the charge down the hillside, towards the dead plateau, and towards the Leviathan.
"Come on! We have to get down there!" Twilight commanded, already heading down the hill at a steady pace.
"Surely you cannot be serious!" Rarity exclaimed, looking at the rest of her friends to do something. Applejack nodded and ran towards Twilight, placing herself inbetween the lavender mare and the battlefield below.
"Hold on now, we can't just go runnin' in there." Applejack expected more of a fight from her friend, but logic and reason always gets the best of her as Twilight was forced to think twice.
"But what can we do? The elements are supposed to protect Equestria! How can we do that if we can't even fight?" Twilight felt a tear run down her cheek as Applejack embraced her, holding her friend close as she beckoned the rest of her friends to follow. Rainbow Dash picked up the still Fluttershy as she lay scarred by the sudden battle taking place below them. Twilight quickly regained her bearings and followed Applejack around the valley, as heading straight through would attract a lot of unwanted attention.
"So what's the plan Applejack?"
"Yeah? Whatta we do AJ?"
Applejack took a deep sigh before responding. "Ah honestly, have no idea. Ahm making this up as ah go along, once we get closer to the fight, i'll think of somethin'."
"It's alright Applejack, everything will be A-O-K!" Pinkie squeaked, bouncing up and down near the back.
"Pinkie, how can you be so happy? Can't you see what's happening?" Fluttershy said, quietly but sternly, Pinkie only smiled and spoke in her usual tone when she responded.
"Don't be so down Fluttershy! Once this is over, we're gonna have the best victory party ever!"
The mares chuckled quietly as they made their way around the side of the large area, though their smiles we're short lived as they passed a soldiers body, brought down by a flash of deadly magic, then another, and another, and another. Soon they were passing a body every few moments as the battle raged on across the land. "Twilight, can ya see him?" Applejack yelled, her voice almost drowned by the shouts and cries of the battle, and the Leviathan's roars as it got ever closer.
"No I can't...Wait, there!" Twilight pointed towards a mass of green and silver armor, surrounded in a piercing white bubble. Inside the center lay Isaac, pushing with way through with the soul bomb, and his personal army fighting off the enemy and blocking arrows and spells.
"Come on Irrie...You can do it." Fluttershy said quietly to herself, praying that the colt would somehow hear her voice. As the battle raged on, the six mars stood and watched helplessly as the armies collided, and the Leviathan moved ever closer to the fight.
"Shining, how are we holding up!?" Isaac yelled into his earpiece, hoping the transmission would get through, a few seconds passed before he heard a response.
"We're definitely more than a match for these guys! Celestia's locked in a duel with Chrysalis, the Changeling queen. I haven't seen Luna in a while, and I just lost a dozen colts fighting off a battalion of savages!" Shining yelled back between grunts as he shot spells at incoming hostiles, Around him Isaac saw his army fending off wave after wave of enemies, some unicorns were hit by a series of arrows that pierced through a gap in his shield. Some survived and were fleeing the the inner layers of the circle. Isaac noticed the hole in their defense and promptly brought up barriers in the spaces. But the strength that went into making the soul bomb could only last so long, and Isaac was soon feeling the effects of using too much magic.
"The Leviathan's getting closer, how long until we finish them off!?"
"We should be done within about 5 minutes, the Tribal forces ran off as soon as we started targeting them. I doubt they'll be coming back!"
"Perfect! Listen, once their forces scatter, you pull the army out!" A few more seconds delayed Shining Armor's response, a crackly reply was barely audible as Isaac pressed onwards.
"Argh! Dammit, Luna's been hit! Get her somewhere safe, now! Isaac, what do you mean 'pull out'!?"
"Nopony can take down this thing but me! I'm not going to let you waste lives distracting it, that's an order!" Shining paused for a few seconds whilst taking down a group of changelings, grunting as he got grazed by a claw. He took a second to look back up at the Leviathan, it was almost at their position, and as it took another step, flattened a group of savages, changelings and ponies alike.
"Alright, but this better work!" A few more minutes passed as Isaac's army pushed through the last blockade of forces, finally reaching the Leviathan, he stood near one of it's gigantic legs as his forces felt it's presence strike fear in them. Meanwhile, Shining Armour had met up with Celestia, who had dealt with Chrysalis and was now aiding Shining Armor's forces as they fought the last remnants of the opposing army. Spell's still sparking through the air, and the clashing of blades as they smashed and slid against one another. Shining looked around and spoke to Celestia.
"They're scattering! How much longer!?" Celestia gave a quick reply after sending a large amount of savages through the air.
"Has Isaac made it to the Leviathan?" She looked around until Shining Armor pointed towards one of the Leviathan's massive legs, noticing the green and silver coloring of Isaac's forces, he heard a crackly response through his communicator.
"I'm here Princess, get everyone out! now!" Celestia nodded to Shining Armor as he made the call to retreat. The hundreds of fighting soldiers quickly sprinted out of the main battleground, carrying wounded and injured towards makeshift emergency rooms. Shining noticed that Isaac's forces we're still underneath the towering beast, which was now very slowly raising one of its huge, clawed limbs.
Back over at the center of the valley, Isaac noticed that the army was falling back. Taking this opportunity, he quickly ordered his forces towards their starting point. But not before calling out to the fastest runner in his legion. After quickly removing the blades off of a certain soldiers forelegs, Isaac attached them to his own and told the scared colt to run, as fast as he could back to the main army. After he had left, Isaac took one last look towards the battlefield before noticing one of the Leviathan's legs rise up into the air. Taking this opportunity, he quickly boosted himself up with his magic and latched onto the towering beast's leg and began a fast climb.
"Fluttershy! Look!" Twilight cried out as she saw her brother lead his army away from the Leviathan, with Isaac's forces following close behind. Looking around, she couldn't see Isaac in the group anywhere. Becoming very worried, the six mares looked around every part of the battlefield, searching for their missing friend. Rainbow Dash spotted the black beast raise a leg, and on the bottom of one of its claws, she spotted Isaac, his silver and green armor clearly visible on the Leviathans' pitch black limb.
"Look! There he is!" Her friends quickly looked towards where Rainbow was pointing, mouths agape as they saw the colt scaling the monster, his soul bomb still firmly attached to his side. Despite the danger of battle being no longer present, the six ponies still had no idea how to deal with the current situation. So they simply sat, and watched as their friend climbed, slowly but surely. Towards his goal.
"Fluttershy, ah'm sorry, but I don't...."
"It's okay Applejack....It's okay..." The two mares huddled together as they watched as the event unfolded, they sat for a few seconds before Twilight began to move in the opposite direction, towards the army. Which was now tending to wounded and watching the same point of interest.
"Twilight? Where are you going?" Rainbow asked, curiously.
"We have to do something, I'm going back to help the injured, then we'll figure what to do next while we're there."
The six took one last glance that the Leviathan before making their way back towards the remaining forces of the army. After a brief run towards them, they finally made it back to the other end of the valley, where Shining Armor spotted them. Angry and tired from battle, he made his way over to his sister and, while she expected a talking to and a yell from her big brother, was instead greeted by a tight hug.
"What are you doing here? I told you to stay with the others..."
"We had to help somehow Shiny..Please, let us help." Shining Armor showed no desire to resist the help, leading Twilight and her friends into a nearby tent, they immediately set to work on healing the wounded soldiers. Fluttershy, meanwhile, stayed outside. Staring off into the distance at the Leviathan, moving ever closer to them. She thought of Isaac, and cried at the thought of losing him. She felt Applejack place a hoof around her shoulder as the two looked off towards the other end of the plateau.
Isaac held on for dear life as the Leviathan hoisted one of its bug-like legs into the air,before slamming back down on the ground with a deafening crash. Digging his blades into the thick skin of the beast, he continued to climb higher up the leg, occasionally taking a break due to the sheer size and difficulty of the task. Each time he slammed his blade it took almost his full strength just to pierce the Leviathans body, the blade only going a few inches deep, not even drawing blood. From his viewpoint he could see the rest of the army at the other end of the valley, tending to wounded and readying themselves should this all go downhill. Isaac's soul bomb still strapped to his back, it's near-weightlessness making his trip a little easier. But with no idea where to place the bomb, he aimed for the beasts' eyes.
"Shining....Shining how long until the Leviathan reaches you?" Isaac said between sharp breaths, the familiar crackle of his communicator brought a response a few seconds later.
"Judging by the distance, about 5 minutes, give or take a few. But we'll fall back if you need more time."
"No, I can do this. I need to." Looking down towards the ground, Isaac noticed how far he'd come in the past few minutes. Being almost at the joint of the massive leg, Isaac found confidence, and pushed himself to the limit to travel further. His forelegs aching, his fear of losing almost overwhelming him, Isaac thought of everything he had to lose and promised to himself that he would succeed. He had finally made it to the main body of the beast, and upon seeing the red eyes, hastily made it towards the bulging, demonic circles. But unfortunately Isaac saw that the Leviathan was looking right at him, all three eyes focused on him and he found himself frozen on the spot, his blades still inside the thick hide of the monster.
"Shining....You may want to take a few steps back..." Isaac said into his communicator, but a crackly response was not what met his ears. Instead, a deafening growl struck him, Isaac turned around to check his surroundings, and found another large leg sprout out of the Leviathan's body. With a yelp, Isaac was grabbed and hoisted into the air, the jagged limb slicing into his body. Isaac screamed in pain as he was disoriented and flung around, one of the blades strapped to Isaac's hoofs flung off and descended towards the ground below.
"Come on! Come on!!!" Isaac yelled to himself as he attempted to get his bearings. After a few more seconds of dizziness, the colt found himself staring into the circular, gaping maw of the beast, its multiple jagged teeth shifting and bumping into each other above him. And he was helpless as he found himself thrown upwards into the mouth, the teeth instantly clenching shut behind him, creating a pitch black area around him as he landed on one of the large teeth.
"Ah, dammit....Shining. This is gonna take a little longer than I hoped..."
"Twilight! You and your friends need to see this!" Shining Armor called out to his sister as he stood beside Celestia, both of them with scratches and cuts from battle, and their armor chipped and damaged. Twilight stared back at her brother before calling out to her friends, who were all helping around the site. Upon exiting one of the large tents, Twilight looked on in horror as a large limb sprouted out of the Leviathan. Noticing Isaac who was now almost at the eyes of the beast, she called out in vain as the tentacle grasped the unicorn and thrashed around.
"Irrie?...... No!!" Fluttershy screamed, being held back by a terrified Applejack. The mare felt completely helpless as she saw her coltfriend get thrown around as he was scraped and scratched by the jagged limb, looking around, she saw that the others were in just as much shock as the limb carried Isaac towards its gaping maw. And cried out in horror as he was thrust upwards, the teeth clearly visible as they extended, and swallowed the white colt whole.
"Isaac!?..... Isaac we can't wait much longer! Isaac!" Shining called into his communicator as he looked over to a hysterical Fluttershy, Twilight holding her close as the other mares stared at the beast taking another step, the ground shaking as it's leg slammed into the ground. Shining made his way over to the yellow pegasus, her eyes bloodshot from crying. He gave her his best reassuring smile as he placed his hoof on her shoulder.
"He's still alive Fluttershy. He's in there, and he'll get it done." Fluttershy wiped her tears away as she glanced at Shining Armour, then smiling back as she heard the news that he was still alive.
"Shining...I'd like to talk to him...If that's okay.." The timid mare felt reassured as the colt took off his communicator and connected it to Fluttershy, holding a hoof on her ear, she talked into the device, praying for any kind of response.
"Irrie? Irrie it's me...Are you there?" Fluttershy waited a few seconds before her expression changed to sadness, fresh tears falling as she began to lose hope. Her pink mane wet with the light rain that still fell from the clouds above.
"Fluttershy? Is that you?!" The yellow mares ears perked up as she beamed and spoke back to her coltfriend.
"Irrie! Are you okay!?"
"I'm fine....It stinks in here though, ugh..." She chuckled lightly as she heard the witty response, but her smile faded when her next response came.
"Irrie...If one of us doesn't make it, I...." She found herself stopped as a crackled reply interrupted her.
"No. Fluttershy, I WILL see you again. I promised that I would come back, and i'm going to keep it." Fluttershy didn't change her expression, she simply looked towards the Leviathan, which edged closer with every second. She found herself surrounded by her friends and other allies. The army seeming to form once more, Celestia, Shining Amour and her friends stood next to her as the army formed behind her. Every soldier able to walk stood by each other as they prayed for Isaac to return safely.
Isaac lit up his horn as he continued onward inside the beast, it's foul stench filling the air as he walked around, looking for a way out. He narrowed his eyes at a small passageway to his right, and with no other option, followed it deeper into the Leviathan. Shifting through the passageway, he made sure his soul bomb was attached, after confirming this. He shone his light through the tunnel, and appeared on the other side of a large chamber. As the unicorn made his way into the new area, he saw a red light at the other end of the cave.
"So, you're Celestia's champion?" An ominous, deep voice was heard from the other end of the chamber, Isaac wanted to plant his bomb then and there, but felt drawn towards the source. As he got closer to the red glow in the distance, he noticed a large pony, surrounded by spherical rocks with strange symbols.
"Who the hell are you?" Isaac was terrified, but stayed strong as he conversed with the dark figure. The area felt instantly darker and more eerie as the colt looked up, two fiery red eyes almost lit up the room as he opened them.
"Oh who I am doesn't matter, nor does this conversation. I am the future ruler of Equestria. That is all you need to know." The colt's look of confidence and evil faded for a second when he noticed the glowing green orb attached to Isaac's back. "Now, what have we here?"
"Let me ask you something first, then i'll tell you." Isaac spoke with confidence in his voice, despite the fear inside of him. "Why are you doing this? Why kill so many, let loose this...Beast, let it run rampant?"
"So naive, just like Celestia." The figure laughed maniacally as he continued. "The Leviathan is under MY control. I do this for my own reasons, you might call it...Greed? Evil? A desire for power? All of these are my reasons, but it matters not. I will have this land, and I. Will. Kill. Celestia."
Isaac was taken aback by the fact that the reasons were so simple, and not some complex plan. The white colt pondered to himself for a moment before the bellowing voice of the figure spoke up once again.
"Now. Answer my question. What are you?" Isaac let a smirk slide across his face before bringing the soul bomb in front of him, standing up on his back legs, he lifted the orb into the air before throwing it into the wall of the chamber.
"I'm just a soldier, but sometimes. That's all it takes." And with that he turned tail and ran back out of the chamber. Blood Horn looked around in a panic as the Leviathan let out another deafening cry as its insides began to burn where the white unicorn threw his soul bomb. Isaac, meanwhile, was almost back at the mouth of the beast when his heart began to burn. He let out a wail of pain as his chest felt like it was on fire, but just as quickly as it arrived, the pain disappeared. Isaac had made it to the floor of teeth that blocked his exit, and desperate to leave, began smashing his hoofs on them in an effort to move them. However, he paused when he heard a cry of rage from the figure he had met earlier, and the flesh around Isaac began to burn and disappear in a flurry of red and orange ashes. He saw the light of the outside creep back to him as dozens of gaping holes burnt their way through the Leviathan. Unfortunately for Isaac he came to a sudden realization. The teeth had also disintegrated. And with a yelp, Isaac began to plummet towards the ground.
"Look! There!" Rainbow cried out upon noticing a large flash appear in the side of the Leviathan, it's deafening roar causing the army to hold their ears, some even grunting and collapsing due to the sheer volume. Everyone was so mesmerized by the display of fire and ash from the burning monster, only Fluttershy saw Shining Armour turning and holding a hoof up to his ear.
"Isaac, Isaac what do you mean, 'help'?"
"Shining? What happened?" Fluttershy's soft voice made the captain jump, he took once glance at the mare before looking back towards the Leviathan, and from it's underside he saw a small blip appear, a small blip with gleaming silver-green armor. Shining called out to Celestia, who had also seen Isaac. The two began to charge towards the fiery being, quickly being followed by Fluttershy and her six friends. Most of the army looked on as the small group ran into the distance, but the remnants of Isaac's entire remaining unit looked at each other before following.
"Celestia! Do something!" Shining called out to the princess, who instantly spread her wings and bolted towards the falling colt, dodging falling pieces of black flesh as she flew straight at Isaac, who was now silent and had his eyes closed. Believing the fall to be his end, he braced himself for the impact, only to feel himself in the hooves of a very familiar alicorn.
"You took your time." The unicorn said between sharp breaths, Celestia smiled as she landed back next to the main group, Isaac shifted his way out of the alicorns hoofs and landed on the ground. He was about to collapse from exhaustion, but upon seeing Fluttershy, his heart soared as she grabbed him and pulled him into a tight embrace.
"Told you i'd come back." Isaac said with a smirk, too busy enjoying his reuniting with his mare to see Celestia's look of deep confusion. After a few more seconds, Isaac let Fluttershy go as he turned to Shining Armour, only to see him staring at the princess, still stunned by something.
"I don't understand, you should be...."
"Dead?"
"No....The bomb you made, rips the soul in two. You should just be a shadow of your former self.."
"A stubborn enough pony can survive just about anything. Besides, I've got a lot to live for now." Isaac smiled as he turned back to Fluttershy, blushing deeply after seeing her coltfriend again. Isaac heard a cheer as his army celebrated their victory in the background, the other five mares smiling happily at him, one or two even going a bit glassy eyed at the meeting. The group was about to leave when Isaac noticed a shifting in the pile of ashes formed from the remnants of the Leviathan. He turned to hear a sharp, terrifying voice.
"DIE CELESTIA!!!" A split second later, a red bolt of magic flew out of the ashes, narrowly missing the princess. The ashes quickly gave way to a large black colt, several cuts ran along his body, and his orange mane blackened and singed from the heat of the bomb. Shining Armour moved a few meters closer to the colt, shouting towards him.
"Give up Blood Horn! You've lost!"
"No! Equestria is MINE!" Blood Horn fired another bolt straight towards Celestia, the red beam slicing through the air. Isaac made a split second decision and, lighting up his horn, dove inbetween the bolt of magic and the Princess. The two colts locked in a duel. Isaac's green beam emitting from his own horn met in a flash of white light. The army looked on, stunned by the display and not knowing what to do, they watched on as the pair fought. Isaac's magic rivaled Blood Horns', but the power he put into making the soul bomb and the climb up the Leviathan took most of the energy out of him. Blood Horn laughed as he overpowered Isaac and sent him flying to one side, Isaac let out a wail of pain as Blood Horns' beam met his horn, and broke it in two. The blast caused by the fight had sent sparks flying and a loud shockwave across the valley, knocking everypony down.
Isaac lay helpless on the ground as Blood Horn moved closer towards the first pony in sight, which happened to be Fluttershy, she lay shaking on the ground as the black colt readied his magic to begin his slaughter, but he found himself knocked to one side by a sudden force. Isaac made his way over to Blood Horn, but another strike of pain flowed through him as he saw Blood Horn about to kill the yellow pegasus. He looked towards the fallen colt with such anger and such rage that he had never felt before in his life, and as the blood dripped from his the shattered remnants of his horn, Isaac's rage got the best of him.
"You. Will not. Hurt. My. Friends!!!" Isaac screamed to the air as his white coat suddenly became a pitch black, Isaac had his eyes closed while the process began to change him. Celestia beckoned everypony to move back as dark clouds surrounded Isaac,
"Get back! Get back!" "I was afraid of this." Celestia thought too herself as the colt changed in front of them. The healed scars now reopening as blood poured from the wounds, and two large gashes appeared that forced Isaac to scream sprouted a pair of large, demonic wings. Isaac opened his eyes to Blood Horn who stood still, completely stunned by the event taking place. Isaac opened his eyes to reveal crimson retinas surrounded by completely black areas that where once white. Blood Horn was about to charge up his magic to finish the job, but was instantly thrown off his hooves, a result of a rage-filled Isaac slamming into him.
"What...What are you?!"
"I'm just a guy. Who got a second chance." Isaac stretched his red and black wings and took off, flying straight at Blood Horn. The evil pony attempted to fire another bolt, but was instantly taken into the air by Isaac, smashing him in the face again and again as he flew higher into the air. Isaac managed to hear Shining Armour call out on the communicator.
"Isaac! What are you doing!?" Isaac thought to himself for a few moments before replying.
"I'm making sure he never hurts anyone again."
"But he's finished! Let us take him back to Canterlot!"
"I can't do that, Shining! I'm finishing this! Now!" And with that, Isaac threw Blood Horn towards the ground, divebombing after him as they fell. Isaac pushed himself closer with his wings and grabbed hold of the large colt once again, before thrusting the jagged remains of his horn into his chest. Blood Horn let out a wail of pain as the two inched closer and closer to the ground. A few more seconds passed and Isaac heard Fluttershy call out to him as they hit the ground. Isaac heard a couple of satisfying cracks as Blood Horn crashed into the earth below, blood pouring from the wound Isaac caused. Isaac felt like it was finally over, until he realized one of the cracks, came from him. The bones in his spine became cracked and broken, and Isaac felt himself slip in and out of consciousness. Looking over to his right, he saw Fluttershy grab a hold of him and bury herself in his chest.
"It's over....No more fighting..." Isaac felt his coat change back to the grey color he had began with, his demonic wings still present, and his horn still broken. Fluttershy sat crying next to him as he stroked her mane.
"Please don't go, Irrie....Please..." Fluttershy sobbed as she looked at the dying colt, he continued to stroke her mane, coughing up blood as he spoke.
"Hey, it's alright...We had fun though, didn't we?"
"I..I don't want you to leave me....I want more time...." Isaac turned to face Fluttershy, a sad smile evident on his face as the other ponies watched. Some crying, some smiling back at him. But all of them clearly devastated.
"I love you, Fluttershy...I....I...." Isaac felt his world go black as he tried to finish his last sentence, all of his energy drained from him as he tried to speak. As his heart stopped, Fluttershy cried deeply as she shouted at Celestia.
"Help him! Please help him!" Celestia felt there was nothing she could do, but the look in the crying mares eyes told her that she had to at least try and save him. Lighting up her horn, she placed it on Isaac's chest, jolting him with magic. No response.
"Hey Fluttershy, are you alright?" Twilight asked, entering the small house on the other end of Ponyville, Fluttershy had just finished tending to her animals and was about to go out for lunch when the Lavender mare entered. Turning around, Fluttershy smiled at her friend before placing a photo down on the table in front of her.
"Oh, hello Twilight. I'm..Fine.."
"You we're thinking about him again, weren't you?" Twilight had a sad look on her face as she wrapped a hoof around the yellow pegasus, her pink mane hiding her true expression. Twilight looked over at the photograph that was placed on the table, a smiling Isaac blushing as he was kissed on the cheek by his fillyfriend. The short time they spent with Isaac was one of the best experiences of their lives, everypony was devastated when Isaac didn't wake up. And it took days for Fluttershy to even step outside of her house again. The yellow mare sighed before responding.
"Yes, I miss him, Twilight...I miss him so much."
"I know, we all do. Come on, we'll get some lunch. And then we can go and see him if you like?"
"I'd like that, thanks Twilight." The pair slowly stepped outside of the house, the day was perfect. Rainbow had made the days sunny for the next few weeks whenever she was allowed in an effort to make Fluttershy feel better, but not even the sunniest of days could make her feel better. It was only a month or two ago when the yellow mare began to feel like her old self again. Applejack was equally distraught, but she knew she had to keep going for her family and friends, and recovered much faster than her friend.
"Come on, Fluttershy. Let's go and see him." Fluttershy smiled to the unicorn as they left the house, closing her door, the two ponies headed off into town to begin their brand new day.
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"Alright hold up! You really think that's the end of my story? Nah, we're just getting started."
