//------------------------------// // Chapter 35 // Story: The Mask Makes the Pony // by kudzuhaiku //------------------------------// Just as Doctor Sterling came into the room, so did Wicked, and Flicker found himself grabbed in powerful, dangerous feeling magic. Before he could protest, he was dragged out of the room, his hooves scraping over the stone floor, and the door was shut behind him. Wicked dragged him down the hall, opened the door to the walk in supply closet, tossed him in, came in himself, and pulled the door shut. Flicker found himself in close quarters with Wicked and he didn’t know why. “Yer my boy and I’m damned proud of ye!” Blinking, Flicker had no idea what was going on. “It was only a matter of time before they noticed ya, and now we get to work together!” “Sir?” “Don’t ye dare start with that ‘sir’ shit!” Wicked bellowed, his mood changing like a dangerous feral thunderhead spotting a peaceful pony picnic. “I’ll not ‘ave that coming from ye, Juniour Agent Lima.” At these words, Flicker snapped to attention and did so in such a way that a seasoned veteran of the guard would be proud. But not Wicked, no, the older stallion with a wooden leg just started laughing, ignoring Flicker’s confusion. Wicked got right up into Flicker’s face until they were almost nose to nose, snoot to snoot. “I’m Special Agent Charlie ‘Orse, Canterlot Operative in Chief. When I got the news, I damn near choked! It was only a matter of time before they got to ye, Lad. Cutie marks and talents for killing are rare, Lad, real rare. They’s’s uncommon as ‘en’s teeth, they is. And S.M.I.L.E. always tracks them down. I was young when I was noticed, I was. I ‘ad funny skills for a candlemaker.” Flicker blinked, but made no reply. “Killing monsters is a rare talent, it is. Ponies aren’t natural killers, they ‘ave to learn it, and it’s ‘ard for them. But there are a few ponies, like yerself, ye get a mark for killing… and once you ‘ave that, killing most anything isn’t much of a stretch. Like killing a rabid bear instead of a big rat. Yer gonna go places, Lad. We just need to get ye sorted out.” “Sorted out?” Flicker asked as the wheels inside of his head began to turn and process the situation. “Aye, sorted out. I think having some friends around will be good for ye, Lad. I feel like this is my fault. There just wasn’t any applicants, ye ken?” This got a slow nod from Flicker. “If anypony asks, I just chewed ye out for running through that garden party with a chainsaw… for shame, Mister Nicker, for shame, ye chainsaw wielding psychopath.” Wicked began chuckling, and then without warning, he grabbed Flicker by the neck, pulled him close, hugged him for a short time, then let him go as he whinnied. In a whisper, Wicked murmured into Flicker’s ear, “I’m actually proud of ye for that, I am.” “Thank you, Wicked.” “Just don’t do it again!” “Right.” “Lad, I am going to give you two ‘undred gold bits, and you are going to go and donate a fine for your reckless, crazed be’aviour… and yer gonna act real sorry about it, ye ‘ear?” Wicked smirked down at the colt and there was warm affection in his eyes. “I’ll be good, I promise.” Flicker blinked once and looked up at Wicked. “So, what was in that crate they hauled in? Why do we have visitors? I’m guessing they are visitors.” “Soon, Lad, soon. All in due time. For now, back to your room so the doctor can ‘ave a look at ye.” Wicked’s smirk transformed into a reckless grin. “NO MORE SCARING THE RUNNY PISS OUT OF THE PONIES OF CANTERLOT WITH A BLOODY CHAINSAW, YE LOOPY PSYCHOPATH!” And with that, Flicker found himself being dragged back to his room, his hooves scraping on the floor, as Wicked fought a difficult battle to keep from chuckling. Had Flicker a sense of humour, he might have smiled, but the best that he could muster was to play along with the charade. When Wicked shoved him back into his room, Flicker felt the eyes of his companions and Doctor Sterling upon him. Piper’s legs were bare and exposed. They were looking better, but there was still a lot of healing to be done. Flicker figured that silence was his ally, and the less said the better. He had a secret to keep. “We heard shouting,” Doctor Sterling said as he looked up from his work. “Mister Nicker ‘as earned ‘imself a fine, ‘e ‘as for that little chainsaw stunt.” “Wicked, really?” “Guests pissed themselves and filed a formal complaint!” Wicked bellowed in reply. Huffing a bit, Wicked continued, “Two ‘undred gold bits. Another donation is in order. Thick ‘eaded little shit ‘as to learn.” Sighing, Doctor Sterling’s ears drooped. “Mister Nicker, shall we make another visit to the Weeping Sister Hospital?” Doing his best to look dejected, Flicker nodded and reminded himself, the less said the better. “Yes.” “Wicked, the poor colt almost died—” “Sterling Shoe, not another word.” Growling a bit, Wicked turned tail, grunted, and then he stormed out the door, leaving the four ponies and one cat alone together. When the door was slammed shut, Flicker winced from the sound, which helped everything look more convincing. He looked at the other ponies in the room; Doctor Sterling looked disappointed, Hennessy looked, well, Flicker couldn’t make out what Hennessy’s expression was, and Piper looked a bit miffed. “The Weeping Sister Hospital is going to get a lot of bits from me because I have no intention of changing how I am.” Flicker shuffled a bit on his hooves, let heave what he hoped was a convincing sigh, and then gave himself a gentle shake. “I don’t care what Wicked says, I didn’t have a sword and the chainsaw seemed like a good idea at the time.” “So did two sticks of dynamite,” Hennessy drawled in deadpan. Flicker’s glower was real and it matched the sun for fury and intensity. The corner of Flicker’s eye twitched and the corner of his mouth down below jerked into a lopsided, convulsive scowl. It was quite a terrifying look by any standard, had Princess Luna been present, she might have ‘borrowed’ it for her special nightmares, but Hennessy seemed unconcerned. “He’s kinda cute when he makes that face.” “Mister Walker… there is nothing I can say to reply to that.” Doctor Sterling let out a snort, lowered his head, and continued his examination of Piper’s legs, looking over her many stitches and bites. Humming to himself, the doctor began to rebandage Piper’s legs when he was satisfied that things were healing well. Knowing he would be examined next, Flicker snatched up an alchemy textbook, then went over to the table and sat down, all while still displaying his fearsome glower power. Unconcerned, Hennessy came over, took a seat beside Flicker, and then just sat there, smiling, and looking pleasant. “You know, if you keep making that there face, it could get stuck that way,” Hennessy drawled, completely unconcerned for his own safety. Flicker felt that his change of bandages had been a waste, seeing as how they had been changed just this morning, but Doctor Sterling insisted on having a look. He kept his nose in his alchemy book, ignoring Hennessy and Piper as they studied and goofed off. Still, he was distracted, and this wasn’t helping him at all. He needed to pass his candle exam. There was a knock at the door, and then before anypony could say anything, it opened. An earth pony mare stepped though, looked around the room, and focused upon Piper. She smiled, she was beautiful beyond measure when she did so, and stepped into the room. With a friendly twinkle in her eye, she waved. “Hiyas! My name is Doctor Amber Harvest and I just popped in to say hello. I’m here to speak with Piper, but you two nice looking colts can stay. Wicked wanted me to share a few words with Piper. I hope I’m not bothering you or interrupting anything too important.” “Doctor?” Piper responded. “What’s your specialisation?” Amber beamed, glad to have a chance to talk about what she did. “I have a doctorate in grain fungus studies. It’s not glamorous, but eh, it’s a living.” “Grain fungus?” Piper asked. “The dancing plague is commonly caused by the ergot fungus and the chemical ergotamine.” Flicker put down his alchemy book, still opened to the page he was reading, and leaned against the table as he continued to recite relevant data. “Ponies afflicted by this plague become hysterical, hallucinate, have fits, and will sometimes begin to dance. Ponies rarely die from the ergot fungus itself, but they do die from exhaustion, stroke, dehydration, exposure, and heart attacks while under the influence. There are also other diseases caused by rat urine and feces getting into grain supplies.” Amber turned to look at Flicker and began to study him, her eyes curious. “He’s a ton of fun at parties and social gatherings,” Piper said as she pointed at Flicker with her hoof. “In fact, the last party he attended, he brought a chainsaw and a live rat. Now he has to pay a fine.” Laughter spilled out of the earth pony standing near the door and Amber began to squeak as she tried to regain her composure. She pranced in place on her hooves, which clicked and clattered against the floor, all while her tail slapped around her hind legs. When her eyes became moist, Amber wiped them with her foreleg, her sides still heaving. Still giggling, Amber pulled herself together enough to speak. “Piper, I came by to tell you that what you are doing is special. We don’t have nearly enough mares doing this job… this is a rough career and it can be really, really tough for a filly. Some bad things have happened recently, but they’ve never happened to me. I grew up in the guild, I was just a wee little thing roaming the streets of Fillydelphia begging for food when Stodgy and Dodgy found me.” Amber paused, gnawed upon her lip for a bit, and then smiled. “They lured me into following them with sweets, took me back to the guildhall, and then tried to hide me in a closet because they felt so bad for me and wanted to keep me, like they had found a stray or something. They were both about your ages. Those two were really, really nice to me, but we all got found out. Stodgy and Dodgy took a flogging for breaking the rules, and then for extra added punishment, they were made to look after me. So I grew up with two special guys that kept me safe and looked after my happiness.” “That’s incredibly sweet,” Piper said in a shrill, somewhat nasal voice. “I owe them everything.” Amber’s voice became a little scratchy and her smile quivered as her eyes glimmered with remembered joy. She looked at Flicker, then at Hennessy, her eyes glittering with moisture. “The two of you have a chance to be something special to young Piper here. One day, she might be the one talking to some filly that has just joined the guild, and she’ll be able to tell a story about having two brothers in the guild that she can trust.” “So you grew up in the guild and became a doctor?” Hennessy looked thoughtful and he turned to face the window, so that he might stare out of it. “See, I ain’t knowing what to do as an earth pony. No fancy magic.” “I have to work harder to be useful sometimes, but I spend most of my time in the lab staring down into a microscope. When I’m out in the field, I’m usually the pack pony. I can’t do much with a sword, but I’m a recognised master in several forms of hoof to hoof combat. I’m also an accomplished scuba diver with almost eight thousand hours logged, most of them in flooded sewer and drain lines, hunting for rats with a harpoon gun.” “And you owe it all to your brothers?” Piper asked, both eyebrows raised and her ears perked. “I do.” Amber nodded. “They taught me how to read, how to write, how to do math, and now, the two of them, they’re teachers in the Fillydelphia guild, and all of the skills they gained from looking after me are now used to help to train new apprentices. Everything works out when you do good for the sake of good.” Looking thoughtful, Piper closed her book and put it down on the floor. Her tail curled up around her backside and her hind legs in an almost cat-like manner as she focused upon Amber. It was obvious that Piper was having deep thoughts, and she remained silent for a time as Hennessy continued staring out the window. “Look, Piper… it’s going to be really rough. You’re going to be beat up. I’ve heard that you’ve already been chewed on and I’m real sorry about that. At some point, you’ll probably be on fire, or burned by chemicals, all kinds of bad things are going to happen. Training is going to stink a lot. None of this is going to be easy and they will not go soft on you because you are a filly. Only the strongest mares and stallions survive in this business. We’ve made it an artform to purge weakness and burn away the chaff. Ponies walk away quitters all the time. But if you trust in your guild brothers, they can help carry you through the worst, and I have no doubt you’ll be able to carry them through some rough spots too. You’ll have a better chance of surviving if all of you stick together.” “A lot of apprentices have quit,” Flicker said in a near deadpan. “I don’t think they understand that the problems they face are temporary and that quitting is permanent. Once you’re gone, you can’t come back. It’s over.” “Yep.” Amber’s voice was squeaky and her smile bright, with perfect square teeth. “All discipline is optional. The door is always open and a pony is always free to leave. I’ve thought about it a number of times in the past, I’ll admit. Stodgy and Dodgy picked me up a few times and set me straight. I’m a better pony for having chosen to stay.” Piper, her lower lip quivering a bit, looked down at her bandaged legs. “I’ve already thought about leaving. I’m scared. Having the rats swarm and climb all over me did something to me. There’s been a few nightmares and I’ll confess, I’ve been wondering if it is worth it. He’s kept me going”—she pointed at Flicker—“just by being who he is. I respect examples over words. As for Hennessy”—she looked at the earth pony colt staring out the window—“well, Hennessy is the friend I didn’t know I wanted.” “Piper, I think you’re going to be okay.” Amber’s smile became like a sunbeam, bringing a little more light and warmth into the world. “I want power and magic,” Piper admitted, her voice becoming a little hoarse and scratchy. “Not just showy magic or useful magic… I’ve already figured out that I’ll have access to spells here in the guild I would never have access to otherwise. I want to find the edge and keep going. I want to know what I’m capable of.” The filly licked her lips and her pale green mane tumbled down over her face as the spell she was using to keep her mane coiffed wore off. She pointed at Flicker with her hoof. “I want to be like him… everypony is just a little afraid of him, and for good reason. He’s not even grown up yet and already, he’s found the edge and now he’s seeing what he’s capable of. He’s going to do things with his life”—Piper’s voice became huskier—“wonderful and maybe terrible things, and I want to be there to watch. I want to be doing those things with him.” “Ambition is something that this guild strives to cultivate and something we reward, Miss Pie,” Amber replied, her warm smile now having become something else, something almost dangerous. “It is one thing to be a successful mare in this outfit… but to want to climb atop the heap… that takes guts, Miss Pie. You can’t do it alone. As for quitting, you’ll never get what you want if you quit.” Still staring out the window, Hennessy wickered, then sighed. “Miss Pie… I would love to be your penpal,” Amber said as she shuffled on her hooves, “and I’d love to sponsor you as you go through the guild. If you ever need a mare to talk to, I’m just a train ride or a telegram away.” “Thanks.” Piper’s eyes moistened a bit and she smiled. “Hey, how about we all go and have a spot of tea?” Amber suggested. “It’s been a long trip and I’m feeling that old earth pony emptiness.” “That sounds wonderful.” Hennessy looked away from the window and smiled. “Food is always good.” “I could go for a bite.” Flicker closed his book. “Me too.” Piper grinned. “Thank you, Amber… I’m feeling better about things..” “Good, because after you see what we’ve brought here for study, you’re going to feel a whole lot worse…”