//------------------------------// // Chapter 52: A Chance Encounter. // Story: My Little Fantasy // by GuyWhoWritesThings //------------------------------// Chapter 52: A Chance Encounter. It's... warm. Cadance's magic, that is. Its light-blue glow extends from her horn, wrapping itself around my arm and making its way upward. Soon, my entire body feels enveloped in its embrace. In another context, it would be a comforting experience, but the splotches on my exposed arm and the Cadance's effort-scrunched face serve as reminders as to its true purpose. She wills her magic across me, the spell intertwining itself in whatever ways she's developed in her short time working alongside Princess Luna. The intensity of the glow begins to build as time passes, obscuring my vision bit by bit until I feel like I'm swimming, then going further still. Seemingly all at once, the blue becomes white as the magic boils over with an audible pop, leaving my ears ringing slightly as the room slowly comes back into focus. Sound comes back before vision, tired panting the predominant noise to hear. As my vision clears, the noise's owner comes back into focus as well – an exhausted Princess Cadance. She's clearly pushed herself to the limit in order to do... whatever she's done, but my brain is still reeling too much to properly take stock. Trixie's isn't though. “Dusk, Cadance... I... I think that did something!” Did something. Yeah, blew my brain into an incoherent mess is what it di- I finally get enough of my bearings back to pull up my left arm and give it another once-over, quickly seeing what the 'something' that Trixie's talking about is. The black splotches... they're not gone, but they're faded, now merely appearing to be darker patches of skin. “Aha!” Cadance cheers, taking a step back, looking pleased with her work. I clench my hand open and shut a few times. Everything feels normal. “How do you feel, Dusk?” Trixie asks, leaning in from her seat at the bed. “Let's find out.” I answer, pushing myself from the chair to my feet. The pains in my chest and arm are still present, but that's not surprising in itself. I reach for the Starmetal Buster Sword with my right hand, grasping the handle and spinning it casually in my grip so the blade goes from floor-facing to ceiling-facing. “Interesting. I definitely feel stronger than I was just before.” “That's good, isn't it?” Cadance asks, causing Trixie and I to give her inquisitive looks. “What? I only really get to test this spell on stuff like a chupacabra and a timberwolf. It's my first time with test subjects that can actually report things!” “It's leading me to think Princess Luna was wrong about one thing.” I reply, causing Cadance to be the one to take up the inquisitive look as I continue. “For me to feel stronger so soon means Jenova's infection must be attacking my body aggressively, unlike Princess Luna's hypothesis that it might merely be my body's immune system draining my strength to fight against it. Its not like your spell had any healing element to it, Cadance, based on how my chest and arm still feel, so if it were my body being naturally drained, it wouldn't recover so rapidly.” “Hey, Dusk, speaking of healing elements...” Trixie trails off as she closes her eyes. I know exactly what she's thinking as the gentle breeze of a Cure spell trails its way along my body in an attempt to refresh and revitalize it. “Anything?” I set the Buster Sword against the wall and slide my right arm under my cloak, pressing against the bandaged area of my left arm that was punctured during the fight in the burrows. I wince and suck in air through my teeth, having applied a bit more force than I probably should have, the sight of the reduced discoloring of the splotches getting my hopes a bit too high. I shake my head. “Still nothing.” So, even with Cadance's help, magical healing is null. I'm guessing that means my body's natural healing is also still null, but that'll take more time to determine. Ah, well, baby steps it is. “Its progress, at least!” Cadance, despite the failure of our most recent test, is beaming positivity. “We've proven that you're just as receptive to the same treatments as the creatures that Aunty Luna captured. Its not perfect yet, but we'll get there!” She nods before continuing. “It also sounds like you narrowed down some of the guesswork that Aunty Luna was making as well, which I'm sure will help in one way or another.” “Hopefully.” She does have a point – any progress is progress, even if its not quite the progress we want just yet. “I should warn you, however.” Cadance's cheer and positiveness is cut away for seriousness. “The effects of the spell I used, despite taking quite a toll on me, are only temporary. This 'Jenova' thing, its infection, whatever it is – I still don't entirely understand where one ends and the next begins – can bounce back very quickly. It'll only take half a day for the symptoms to start returning, and by the next day you'll be back where you were before, if your progress mirrors that of the others I've used my spell on so far.” “So basically, you'd have to use that spell on me every day, in its current state.” I simplify her explanation back to myself, putting my own damper on the room's positive attitude. “Yes, but with time and a little bit of luck, I'm sure we can improve it.” Cadance replies, starting to let the seriousness flow away and her positivity to return. “Plus, it means you two get to hang around me a bunch, and everypony knows Mi Amore Cadenza is the Alicorn Princess to be around!” I sit back in my chair, leaning back and crossing my arms, amused. “Is that so?” “It is.” Cadance nods. “My dear Shiny already gets jealous over how many unofficial Cadance fanclubs pop up among the Royal Guard, though I find it quite flattering.” She lets a hoof raise to her chin, thinking. “You know, if you're looking, you could always join the Royal Guard. Shiny says you're ex-military where you're from and that you're something else when the going gets rough. You'd probably land yourself as a Princess' personal guard pretty quick.” “Not interested.” I reply. “I'm ex-military for a reason. I'd like to keep it that way.” “Understandable.” She nods. “Then, I have another offer.” Her horn glows, pulling the door open. A tray containing three drinks and a box with a familiar-looking branding float their way into the room. “Breakfast?” “Donut Joe's!” Trixie bounds to her hooves even faster than the first time Cadance was the bearer of all things donut-y. Cadance levitates one of the cups over to Trixie, the latter taking it in her hooves and sniffing in the distinct aroma of coffee. “Hope neither of you mind cream and sugar.” “I'm not sure loading Trixie with caffeine and sugar is the best idea.” I quip, earning myself a stink-eye from the mare as Cadance passes me a cup as well. “Thanks.” A few seconds later, Cadance has passed out the accompanying donuts. And with that, the gorging begins, a ravenous Trixie tearing into her share of the baked treats with a passion that borders on terrifying, eyes twinkling in excitement. “My, I think the last time I saw anypony this excited was back when Twilight would get a new book as a filly.” Cadance comments with a giggle, biting into a donut of her own. I sip at my own coffee. “Remember to breathe, Trixie.” “Shut u-” Trixie's protests get cut off in a coughing fit as she smacks a hoof against her chest. “Don't you dare say a word.” As I continue to work at my share of the Donut Joe's, a new idea enters my head, looking back to Cadance. “Hey, Cadance, you wouldn't happen to be on a certain shortlist to get into a certain holding area, would you?” “Hm?” Cadance turns to me, raising an eyebrow as she sips at her coffee. “Princess Luna showed us her little setup she has last night, but when I tried to get in there today, nothing I tried would get them to let me in again.” She pulls her coffee away from her lips after hearing my explanation. “Well, what do you want to go down there for? It's nothing all that interesting, really. Its honestly a bit depressing seeing all those creatures caged up like that.” “Just... curious.” I answer measuredly. “You know how Luna is, vague about everything. I just want a better idea of what I'm in for, and see just how extensive her operation down there is.” Cadance mulls it over as she chews on a donut, replying after a swallow. “I suppose that makes sense. Let me guess, you want me to try and get you two in there to poke around?” “You just have a built in detector for telling when someone's up to no good, huh?” “You could say that.” She shrugs. “It comes naturally with a career in foalsitting. Though, in this case, I think its okay to cause a bit of trouble for Aunty Luna.” I smirk. “Good to hear.” Cadance tips her head back, drawing a long sip from her coffee cup. She then flings the cup with her magic, landing it squarely into a trash bin near the door. “Shall we? No time like the present, right?” “Nice shot.” I get up, grasping the hilt of the Buster Sword with one hand and carrying my half-finished coffee with the other. “Let's get going, then.” My gaze soon falls on a certain azure mare, who returns it blankly for a moment. “Oh, right, going places or whatever.” She finally says as she jumps down from her perch on the bed, holding the remains of her own coffee in one hoof. I guess its not surprising she can walk fine on three hooves, considering I've seen her go for short stints on just two. “Normally you're the one whose excited for snooping and adventure.” I can't help but prod at her, given her uncharacteristically zoned-out state. “Yeah, well, its not often I get a morning with my precious Donut Joe's!” She huffs. “So excuse me, but I'm going to enjoy it while I can.” Trixie then makes her way for the exit, and after trading a pair of shrugs, Cadance and I soon follow. “So,” Cadance is quick to start small-talk as we traverse the halls back the way we came, our original escort instructed to return to his post and informed that we'd be delivered later, “how'd you two end up together, anyway?” I sigh, shaking my head. “Didn't we just-” “Not like that.” She giggles. “I mean, how'd you meet? You're a bit of an... unexpected combination, in more ways than one.” I glance over to Trixie, who's usually all too eager to jump right in and field these questions herself. However, she simply takes another sip of her coffee. Once she catches my eye, she simply waves the hoof holding her coffee at me dismissively, turning her gaze back to her cup. That's new. “Well,” I shrug, “a bit of fortunate coincidence, I'd suppose. We were in similar circumstances, both needing a bit of direction. It led us to traveling the same path for a time, and here we are.” She turns her head to look back at me, eyebrow raised. “And you call Aunty Luna vague?” “I never claimed I wasn't.” That line elicits another round of giggles from her. “Fair, I suppose.” The clink of spears crossing pulls us from our conversation, as we arrive at our target. “Persistent, aren't ya?” The nasally-sounding guard quips as we close the remaining distance of the hall between us, though the eyes of him and his guardsmate soon move from myself to my pink companion, compelling them into a respectful bow. “Princess Cadance, ma'am!” “Ah, yes, my subject did mention he came to you before about inquiring entry.” Cadance says, ignoring their greeting, her voice measured. “Well, I must request you allow my subject and his companion to accompany me into the subject hold. We need to perform tests that simply cannot be done elsewhere.” “Ah... right.” The two look between myself and Cadance a few times before finally bowing, stepping back and holding their spears at attention. Cadance's horn glows, slowly pushing the double doors open and revealing the torch-lit, stone hallway. With a nod to each of the guards in turn, she leads us into the breach of Luna's 'subject hold', as she put it. “Come, let us work quickly.” We follow, with Trixie being the one to break the silence as we make our way to the stair well, after enamoring herself with her coffee for so long. “You've got that serious, Princess-ly tone down pretty well when you want it, Princess Cadance. Someone in my line of work can appreciate that.” “You think?” She replies, turning to Trixie with a cheery grin as she leads us down the stairs. “You won't believe how long I had to spend in front of a mirror practicing that stuff! It still feels a bit weird ordering ponies around like that, though.” As we follow her down the stairs, I find that, while my wounds make going down the stairs still not the most pleasurable experience, especially while carrying the Buster Sword, I no longer view their existence as a crime against humanity. Small victories. “I can always take over for you if you like, Princess Cadance.” Trixie gives her mane a characteristic flick of her hoof, even while going down stairs, without missing a beat. “Aspiring Princess of Humility, at your service!” “Are you sure you don't mean Princess of Hubris, Trixie?” I cut in, before polishing off the rest of the coffee I'd been carrying from breakfast. “Yeah, and who asked you, anyway?” She fires back with a huff. “You two are absolutely precious, you know that?” Cadance quips over her shoulder. Trixie bites her lip at Cadance's ribbing, choosing to stew silently the rest of the way down the stairs as we reach a familiar hallway of metal doors. As we enter the hall, Cadance shivers. “This place always gives me the creeps.” “I can't imagine why.” I comment as I walk forward, sliding open the view-port on the first door to get another look at the infected chupacabra. Its writhing, squirming against its bonds in its cell, an act that quickly causes me to shut the view-port and move onto the next one. In the next cell are a number of pink and blue bunny-like creature with black antlers, deep red eyes, and sizable fangs, their bodies wrapped in similar metal bindings to the chupacabra. Its hard to tell why they're being kept at first, until I see the missing spots of fur, revealing the sickly, tell-tale blue flesh of Jenova's more standard infection. “Not pretty, is it?” Cadance asks from behind me as I move onto the third door, the usual cheer in her voice completely evaporated. “It makes me wish I were more like Twily. It pains me to make such slow progress on pushing the infection out of them.” Those kinds of feelings are ones I'm all too familiar with. “You're doing the best you can. It's not worth beating yourself up over it. Take it from someone who knows.” I slide the third view-port open and my eyes widen at what they have the gall to shove in that cell. This creature is massive, easily taller than myself, body in multiple layers of restraints that its muscles are visibly fighting against even if it's merely sitting in the center of the room. A feline head is wrapped in a red mane, bat-like wings protruding from its broad back as pawed limbs ripple with strength. On this one, the primary place of infection is a lot more obvious – a blue, splotchy, scorpion-like tail that's barely visible over its mane. It makes my body shudder and the hand holding my coffee cup subconsciously reach for my chest. “I suppose so.” Cadance answers as I close the third view-port. “I should warn you, the next one is... particularly gruesome looking.” I pop open the fourth view-port, despite her warning, and meet an unsettling, yet familiar sight. Much of its body, including the entirety of its head, have been rebuilt by Jenova's flesh, leaving only the scantest bits of wood along its body to remind of its original form. Its striking eyes glow green, and three whip-like tentacles protrude from its back, bound against it along with its limbs by circular, steel bindings. Its been quite a while, but its unmistakable – the timberwolf I encountered alongside Twilight and her friends on my first night in Ponyville. I step back reflexively from the door as its eyes lock on mine, and it growls through a locked-down muzzle. Oh boy, it remembers me. A sound catches my ear under the guttural growl, though, one I can't quite pinpoint... until the binding on its maw snaps, flinging the two halves across its cell as they clang against the walls. The binds around its body soon follow suit, snapping against the strain of powerful legs and thrashing tentacles as it rises to all fours. “Back up!” I yell to the two ponies to my right before tossing my coffee cup down and dodging to the left, spinning the Buster Sword into a battle-ready position despite the tight corridors. The metal door bends with a thud, causing Cadance's head to whip back to Trixie. “Go back up to the guards where we came in! Tell them Subject Four is going berserk again!” “But-” Trixie goes to argue, but a second slam against the door silences it in her throat as she turns and runs back up the stairs. With a final, metal-crunching impact, the door flies off its hinges and smashes into the opposite wall, the warped form of the once-timberwolf angled directly for me, piercing green eyes locked on mine. It leaps from the crumpled door with a surprising speed, any attempt to strike it from the air impractical at this close a range as I raise the Buster Sword up for defense instead. Its body impacts the Starmetal blade, easily barreling me off my feet, jaws snapping down at me as I use all the strength I can tap into to try and push the beast away. Its three tentacle-like limbs lash out wildly, striking the walls and leaving gashes in the stone. The timberwolf must not know how to properly control them, else I'd be horribly skewered right about now. Its body is soon encased in the blue of Cadance's magic, its weight slowly lifting as Cadance struggles to pull it away. Its... surprisingly powerful, however, and even with the reprieve from the infection Cadance's magic gave me, wrestling it back is causing my chest and arm to scream in pain. The clopping of multiple sets of hooves rings out from behind Cadance, echoing down the staircase. It looks like Trixie didn't take long to rouse the cavalry, but the timberwolf quickly snaps my attention back to it with a bite that comes a bit too close to my face, its weight pressing heavy against the Buster Sword again. Thinking quickly, I grab the underside of its jaw in my left hand. Its weight leans in further, claws scratching against the Buster Sword's Starmetal, with only one arm's worth of resistance, but I only need a precious second as one of the Green Materia in the sword glows, the wisps of green Lifestream energy trailing their way to my palm. The Fire spell in my palm soon explodes, nowhere to go with my left hand pressed directly against the timberwolf's jaw, ears ringing as the beast is finally blown backwards, stunned enough for Cadance to finally get a firm grip on it in her magic. As I'm able to collect myself and raise up on my elbows, I see Trixie finally bounding down the stairwell, flanked not only by two bat-pony guards but two unicorn from the standard Royal Guard as well. Cadance tosses the stunned timberwolf back into its cell, with the two bat-ponies immediately grabbing the bent door and jamming it back into the frame, holding their weight against it. The unicorns, in turn, begin the work of reshaping and repairing the door. Cadance's horn, meanwhile, glows a shimmering blue as she engages in the task of holding the timberwolf itself back, her face skewed in concentration as sweat beads from her brow. There's a single flash of blue from around the frame of the door, then a second, and then a third. The cynic in me finds the sight disturbingly similar to someone administering electrical shocks. Finally, the door is back in place, and clangs of metal emanate from inside the cell as the two unicorns work to re-bind the timberwolf once more. Panting, I lean myself against the wall, using both it and the Buster Sword to draw myself first into a proper sitting position, and then back up to shaky feet. “Yeah, Luna, perfectly safe.” I quip sarcastically under my breath. “Dusk! Are you alright?” Trixie asks, peering up at me with concern while Cadance and the guards finish re-securing the timberwolf in its cell. “Just peachy.” I reply, panting, still feeling the sarcasm. Seeing her face fall, I give her a thumbs up with the arm I'm not using to lean on my Buster Sword. “Don't worry, he didn't get a bite out of me.” She sighs with relief. “Good. I was worried. I mean, right now, even a small wound can be a huge problem, so...” She lets her worry wash away with a playful grin. “You know, that thing was really pissed at you, Dusk.” “Yeah,” I look back up to the door, which now has both view-ports closed, “I mean, I only bludgeoned it into an ungodly mess with a pipe, I can't imagine why it'd be mad at me.” That line gets Cadance to turn her attention back to me, an eyebrow raised. “You have history with that one?” “A little bit.” I confirm for her. “Met it on my first night in Equestria, not long after I met Twilight Sparkle and her friends. Didn't have memories or a big sword back then, so when it decided to run out of the Everfree Forest with its buddies to chow down on some ponies I had to beat it back with a metal pipe that Pinkie Pie pulled out of her mane somehow.” Cadance raises her hoof, a question on her lips, but I head it off. “Don't bother asking how. I've come to learn no one understands how anything Pinkie Pie does actually works.” Cadance nods. “...Well then. I'm sorry, about, well... that... happening.” She says awkwardly, motioning to the now-fixed door, the four guards taking up a formation to watch over it for the time being. “Its fine.” I assure her as I get myself back together properly. “I think that was all the info I needed on Luna's little project down here. I just needed to confirm it was dumb and dangerous.” “Even still,” Cadance replies, “we need to try and fix them, if we can. Its not their fault they're like this, after all.” “How many times has that one gotten out like that?” Trixie asks, changing the subject slightly. “You told me to say that it was berserk again, so this has happened before, right?” “Yeah...” Cadance's eyes glance at the door, then back to us. “That one is really difficult to control and more resistant to my magic than the rest despite it simply being a timberwolf. Every so often it lashes out, but its never gone quite that mad before.” “It's probably because its infection is far more progressed than the rest.” I theorize. “Like I said, it was the first one I saw once I arrived in Equestria, and I arrived in the Everfree Forest, which is the timberwolves' home if memory serves. So its likely that the timberwolf was one of the first creatures infected since it was weaker and nearby, assuming that Jenova started from roughly the same point I did.” “Maybe...” Her thoughts trail as another set of hooves make its way down the stairs. Our heads turn to find another of the Royal Guard, who walk up to Cadance, beckoning her with a hoof into a private conversation. After sharing a few terse words, the two part, the Royal Guard heading back the way he came. “My apologizes, again.” Cadance bows her head to us slightly before resuming eye contact. “Aunty Tia just asked me to come see her. It's apparently an emergency. We'll have to continue things tomorrow, most likely. You two know the way back to your room, yes?” “We'll be fine.” I assure her as she moves to follow the guard out. “Thanks.” “So sorry, again!” She yells over her shoulder, waving a hoof until she begins to disappear up the stairs. We soon follow, and as we traverse the stairs, Trixie turns her head back to me. “So, looks like our day's shot. What do we do now?” “I'd like to say 'kick Luna's door down', but I doubt we'd get far.” I grumble, though loud enough that I know she can hear. “Not unless you want to start a war with the bat-ponies.” She flashes me a playful grin in an attempt to lighten the mood. “I have an idea, but you're not gonna like it.” “What is it?” She shrugs. “Why don't we just... veg out for the day? We're getting walled here, anyway, thanks to royal bureaucracy.” “You're right.” I assure her. “That idea sounds awful. Cadance has me feeling as good as I'm probably going to get since our fight with Jenova and you want me to just lounge with it?” “Well, what else are you gonna do?” “...” “Exactly!” She flicks her mane back to emphasize her 'victory'. “It's not my first choice either, Dusk, but let's both be honest, a lot's been happening, and you need to decompress a bit. You can spend the day to organize your thoughts into something coherent instead of that conspiracy theory mess I'm sure is going on up there, and we can try to get hold of Princess Luna tonight. It's not going to do us much good to be fretting right now when there's not much we can do, anyway.” She stops at the top of the stairs, turning to face me with a confident smile. “Trust me, Dusk. I'm a workaholic, and if I tell you that you need a break, you need a break.” “...Fine.” I finally acquiesce. Maybe Trixie's right. “I knew you'd see things my way!” She declares, turning on her hooves and leading the way back to the main castle. “Plus, now we can at least make full use of that fancy room Princess Luna set aside for us. I'll even tell the guard that a side effect of Cadance's spell was to make you absolutely ravenous so he can earn that paycheck carting up more food than we know what to do with! Might as well live like royalty while we have the chance!” I can't help but laugh to myself as she continues on in her plans to abuse the castle help for all they're worth as some kind of petty revenge for being stonewalled. Never change, Trixie.