//------------------------------// // Ch. 18: Heart Over Matter or I Am // Story: Nothing Probably Goes on Forever Too // by TundraStanza //------------------------------// So many ups and downs My heart's a battleground I need true emotions I need more affection than you know Chapter 18: Heart Over Matter or I Am --- "The Windigoes are a herd of winter spirits that feed off the hatred and bitterness of the ponies that fight. The conditions of the land shall become as cold as their hardened hearts. That is why this feud between equine races cannot continue for any lengthened time. If they could listen to reason, perhaps the harsh blizzards could give way to the blessings that spring has to offer." She listened to her mentor speak these words of wisdom. She made it a habit of keeping a parchment and quill close by so that she could always remember his advice at a later given date. "Master," she posed a conundrum, "Surely there must be an alternate avenue to prevent the potential plague of hatred that haunts the households that binds bitterness to begin with." The swirly bearded mentor sighed, "There is a way to stave off their blizzards, but I advise against taking that path. For that solution, my faithful student, is an even more dangerous road to follow." "What is it?" the clever student asked. "It is the path of... the Quincy," he said looking away from his student, "Taking this path would allow a pony to temporarily wield arrows strong enough to cripple spirits." "However?" she asked fully aware that he was about to mention a drawback. "However, in doing so that pony would effectively surrender his or her soul to the cause eternally," he said gravely. Clover the Clever sat quietly where she had been standing, lost in thought about the idea of losing one's soul. --- She had come back to Princess Platinum's castle after the founding of Equestria. She needed to gather certain items before she would be ready to move on. In the process of packing sacks, she stumbled across an old anklet. This hoof piece was unusual in the fact that it was patterned with a blue cross. It was a forbidden artifact. Her mentor would have choice words if he ever knew what curiosity plagued her mind. "You must never put this on, young one," her mentor had said, "Once you do, you will be bound by the consequences that a Quincy must bear. The wearer will be forced to fire a continuous volley for seven days without rest. Though this will give that pony much power, it will also hinder their spirit." Clover the Clever was not crazy, but she was curious. Her mentor had often warned that too much curiosity could lead to a fast, fatal end. 'A fool rushes in where the angel fears to tread' after all. Still, she had time to spare. She wondered what a little extra power could possibly do that was so deadly. Convincing herself of her logical reasoning, she took the anklet and headed up the tower's stairs. --- It was day four and she still couldn't fully grasp what she was doing. Every minute or so, she would position one of her hooves in front of the other and pull back. An arrow, that was made of nothing but bluish-white light, would materialize and fire toward the horizon seconds later. She wanted to go to sleep, get nourishment, and rest. But her body would not respond to her will. The anklet must have been possessed or so she thought. When the seven days were up, she would find a cure somewhere in her mentor's written theories of magic and then destroy this thing for good. But until then, she had to endure the exhausting, repetitive motions that she was being forced to do. --- "Clover the Clever," fawned Platinum, "I love the new look." Clover was wearing white robes with blue highlights. The ensemble was complete with a blue cross on her white cape. "Uh, thank you, Princess," she blushed. --- Twilight Sparkle awoke with a start. She never went to bed. She was still at her study desk. Her candle had burned out hours ago. The early light of morning was just breaching the horizon. She sighed in disappointment, realizing she had probably spent a whole night studying and had forgotten to properly schedule an appropriate sleeping hour. "What was that dream?" she asked herself, "It felt so... real." She shook her head and smiled, "No, that's ridiculous. Dreams can't be real. There's too much in them that's illogical. For starters: magic with hooves? Every pony knows that inherent magic is channeled from the mind through the horn. There's little else besides amulets and talismans that can properly conjunct such a construction." Still, she had to wonder about that sentence she found in the new page of Predictions and Prophecies. She flipped through it again, but when she came to the last page, the strange extra pages were gone. It was like they were never there to begin with. Perhaps she had fallen asleep before even that. A Quincy's arrow must be fired from the heart, thought Twilight, Why would such an obscure phrase be in my dream? Her train of thought continued, And how do I remember that dream perfectly? Was that an actual event that Clover the Clever had been through or was something else going on? Twilight stopped and shook her head. "Maybe Spike is right," she said quietly, "Maybe I do over think things sometimes." --- "~All you have to do is take a cup of flour. Add it to the mix,~" sang Pinkie Pie. "~Now just add a little something sweet not sour. A bit of salt, just a pinch,~" I continued. "~Baking these treats is such a cinch. Add a teaspoon of vanilla,~" she sang. "~Add a little more and- What the crap am I doing?" I shouted as I shook my head in disbelief. "Aw, but that's my favorite song," pouted Pinkie. "Sorry, Pinkie Pie, but I just can't stand it," I stated bluntly. Then I looked at her. I wished I hadn't. "Not the puppy dog pout," I whined trying to block the sight with one of my hooves. It was no use. Those pleading eyes made it feel like I was upsetting Fluttershy. I took a deep sigh before I continued the last verse: Cupcakes! So sweet and tasty Cupcakes! Don't be too hasty Cupcakes! Cupcakes! Cupcakes! Cupcakes! "Yay!" cheered Pinkie Pie, "Let's do it again!" I think I had more dignity in Rarity's dresses, I thought. I distinctly remember you thinking you had lost your "manliness", countered Shirayuki. Not helping, other me, I thought back. --- "Hey, Scoots!" called Apple Bloom as her friend entered the club house, "Where have you been?" "Oh, you know," answered Scootaloo vaguely, "Around." "You're not going to... uh, never mind," the farmer filly quickly shut off her own sentence. "I'm not going to what?" asked the Pegasus filly tilting her head in confusion. "Uh, turn into a skeletal monster that we have to go break some weird lights in order to beat," finished Apple Bloom quickly. Scootaloo blinked twice before replying, "Oh, no, no, no. I'm doing much better now. I'll take my time and eventually I will figure out what I'm supposed to be. No more beating myself up, you can count on that." She flashed what she hoped was a reassuring smile. Apple Bloom seemed accepting of it. "All right," she said, "Did you happen to see Sweetie Belle on your way over here?" "I'm here!" called a familiar voice whose source came running in slightly weary. "So, what's the plan today?" asked Sweetie Belle after her breathing evened out. "Hey, remember that wicked song you did a while back," asked Scootaloo to Apple Bloom, "Maybe we could try for singer cutie marks." "Um, didn't we already try for those in that talent show?" pointed out the unicorn filly. "Besides," added Apple Bloom, "I didn't get one for singing in my solo act." "Well, maybe third time's the charm," said the Pegasus optimistically, "Hey, maybe Tundra could give us some pointers on music." "Hm, I guess it's worth a try," commented Sweetie before muttering, "Although, I'm still not up for the whole 'singing in front of a crowd' thing." "Great! Let's go find Tundra!" declared Scootaloo. "Cutie Mark Crusaders, go!" shouted all three fillies before racing out the doorway. --- "I'm melting. I'm melting," I groaned. "You look pretty solid to me," smiled Miss Literal. I had to face hoof so hard that I was sure I was losing IQ points. If I never hear that song again for the rest of my life, it'll be too soon, I thought through the migraine that I was sure I had. My ear perked up when it heard a motor-like buzzing noise. I used this excuse to go to the front door and look for the source. I'm not sure why, but I felt really glad to see Scootaloo propelling her scooter with wing power. Her best friends rode in the red wagon behind her. "Hey, you were right. She's here," said Sweetie Belle. "Howdy, Tundra!" called Apple Bloom, "Do you have some free time?" "We'd like your help in our search for song cutie marks," added Scootaloo. "Uh, sure!" I replied with enthusiasm. I turned my head back toward the kitchen door and yelled, "Pinkie, I'm going out for a break!" "Okay! See you next chapter!" was the reply I heard. Honestly, Pinkie Pie? I thought shaking my head, Where do you get these ideas? ...On second thought, don't answer that. I made sure to close the door before I galloped after the speeding scooter and wagon. --- So the four of us got to work. Sweetie Belle wrote some sample lines for the Crusaders to sing. Each of the three took turns singing the lines and I gave some feedback regarding the overall sound. Sweetie Belle's voice was crystal and perfect (no surprise there). Apple Bloom's voice, as I had learned working with her before, had an adorable southern twang that just made the lines more enjoyable. Scootaloo... well,... could use some work. At some point during song proposals and auditions, the topic of swords came into play. I learned that Scootaloo had obtained her new power. Though, I was kind of surprised that I didn't recognize the name of her Zanpaktou. I thought I knew a lot about Bleach, but I guess not. The details concerning her particular chain of events intrigued me. "Hey, Scootaloo," I pondered, "How would you like to try your hoof at heavy metal music?" --- It was the evening of a hot summer day. The slightly chillier air of night helped to relax the various ponies gathering around in Ponyville Park. Foals and younger children were advised not to attend the event in response to the warning that the content "may not be suitable for younger audiences". While the message was quite vague, the cautious parents took the advice to heart and stayed with their children indoors. The attenders were mostly young stallions and mares. Standing in the slightly darker backstage, I asked my partner, "You ready for this?" To this she firmly answered, "I was born ready." The conversation was left at that as we took our positions. Over the course of a couple weeks, I had figured out a way to reposition my center of gravity when performing passionate tasks with my front hooves. Now I had a perfect place for application. A single light shown on the left of the stage as I glided down with open wings. While I could still hear the audience wondering what was going on, I started strumming my new guitar. It emulated an electric guitar's sound almost perfectly. The curtain opened up and revealed a punk-mane styled Scootaloo. The light followed her as she bobbed to an invisible drum beat. Then, in a way no one thought was possible, she sang on key to the song. I see no, hear no evil Black writings on the wall. Unleashed a million faces And one by one they fall. Black hearted evil or Brave hearted hero, I am all, I am all I am. I... I... I am. Here we go buddy. Here we go buddy. Here we go. Here we go buddy. Here we go! Go ahead and try to see through me. Do it if you dare. One step forward, two steps back, I'm here. Do it... Do it... Do it... DO IT! Can you see all of me? Walk into my mysteries Step inside and hold on for dear life. Do you remember me? Capture you, or set you free? I am all, I am all of me. I am... I am... I am... At this time, Scootaloo called out her katana. I see and feel the evil, My hooves will crush 'em all. You think you have the answers, I laugh and watch you fall! Black hearted evil or Brave hearted hero, I am all, I am all I am. She then stowed her weapon into its non-solid existence. I... I... I am. Here we go buddy. Here we go buddy. Here we go. Here we go buddy. Here we go! Go ahead and try to see through me. Do it if you dare! One step forward two steps back, I'm here. Do it... Do it... Do it... DO IT! Can you see all of me? Walk into my mysteries? Step inside and hold on for dear life. Do you remember me? Capture you or set you free? I am all, I am all of me. I am... I am... I am... I am... I am everyone, everywhere, anyhow, anyway, any will, any day... I am... I am everyone, everywhere, anyhow, anyway, any will, any day... I am! I am! I am! I am! I am! I am! I am! Do it... Do it... Do it... Do IT! Can you see all of me? Walk into my mysteries? Step inside and hold on for dear life. Do you remember me? Capture you, or set you free? I am all, I am all of me. I am... I am... I am... Here we go! I am, I am all of me! My last note lingered until absolute silence rested on that stage. I looked up. Most of the ponies in the audience just stood with their mouths agape or their eyes wide open. I also noticed that there were fewer attendees than we had started with. Well, Crush 40's music wasn't made for everybody, I thought. That's when I heard one clapper and one set of hooves stomping. "Yay, Scootaloo!" cheered Spike. "All right, squirt! Way to go!" hollered Rainbow Dash. A few, somewhat reluctant hoof stomps joined hers. Heck, Rainbow Dash could easily win over a crowd when she wanted to. Scootaloo and I took respective bows. At least tonight wasn't a total loss. After all, my partner got approval from her idol. It was a good night. --- How Twilight Sparkle ended up in this situation, she would never know. One minute, she was stepping outside for air. The next she was surrounded by she-didn't-know-whats. They all had large teeth and white exoskeletons for faces. She could tell that much. Other than that, these creatures held nothing in common with each other except for their unexplainable desire to look hungrily at the lavender unicorn before them. Hastily, Twilight tried firing magenta magical bolts at the monsters. The bolts bounced off the creatures harmlessly. She barely avoided a giant fist by sidestepping haphazardly. She then cast another spell in her repertoire. In a pinkish-white flash, she disappeared and reappeared a few feet away. The librarian quickly galloped away from the mob. The skull faces would not have that and gave chase. A few were starting to gain on the unicorn as she kept up her galloping pace. As her quick, on-the-run calculations were presenting to her, she couldn't outrun the entire group forever. She didn't know what to do. Do not retreat. The strange thought caused Twilight to halt her hooves and slide to a stop. What am I doing? she thought, I need to get away from these things! Yet, her muscles refused to resume a gallop. Instead, she was turned around and forced to face the howling beasts. Concentrate. Don't let your aim falter. Let your heart guide your arrow. A flash of her dream crossed her mind's eye. She saw Clover the Clever's motions. Again, her body reacted without her direct thought. She stood up on her hind legs, front hooves held together in front of her. Can it really be? she thought, Well, if I must. This time, she willingly moved her right hoof back. What looked like an ethereal bow took hold in her left hoof while an arrow made from the same energy appeared simultaneously. Twilight was entranced by these new objects. Keep your eyes on the enemy. The foreign yet familiar thought made her shift her gaze to the creature that was closest to her. She squinted her eyes and looked only at the skull. A split second later, the arrow left her grasp. In the next second, the arrow made contact with the beast's face. One second more and the creature disappeared in a smoky shadow. It was a start, but more enemies were lined up to attack their prey. What if I pull further back? asked the unicorn to herself. She placed her limb next to the glowing bow. Then, she reached it back beyond the corner of her peripheral vision. A longer, thinner arrow appeared. Keeping her eyes on the monster in front, she released her right hoof's grip. The distinct whistling noise told her that the arrow was flying away. It pierced the entire line's worth of skull heads. Just as many disappeared into dissolving shadows. One staggering beast had stayed out of the line. It was this creature that charged forward now. Unfortunately for it, the unicorn it was interested in had already learned her method of defense. Another tug and another release sent a third and final arrow sailing through the air. The beast had no chance to escape its dissolving fate. The pack had lost. "Twilight!" called a friend as they galloped toward her, "Are you all right? I sensed a large pressure from this direction a while ago but now it's gone." Twilight Sparkle sighed in relief, "Yes, Rarity. I'm all right." "Goodness, darling, you look like you've just run a marathon," commented the alabaster unicorn on her friend's dirt and sweaty appearance. "I'm sure I do," agreed the librarian. A sudden vibration through her entire body interrupted her thought. By the look at Rarity's small irises, she had felt it too. "What is this?" asked a worried Twilight. "It's a spiritual pressure," whispered Rarity before raising her voice, "and it's coming from Sweet Apple Acres!" --- "Aaaaaaaah!" yelled Apple Bloom. Her body had been catapulted by one of the skull creature's punches. She landed gracelessly after a couple yards of flight. The four-hooked Fuji Kujaku sank into the earth beside her as it reverted to katana form. Her sister stood petrified and mortified at the sight she was right next to. "Apple Bloom?" called Applejack, "Apple Bloom, no!" But the yellow filly didn't respond. She was out cold. "Why? Why her?" asked the hatted pony to no one in particular, "She's just a little filly." The beast took no notice of Applejack's insistence as it slowly strode toward them. "Why did she get dragged into this?" breathed the orange earth pony before shouting, "Why couldn't it have been me?" She tried performing the motion with her hoof like she had seen Apple Bloom do before. No such luck came to the older sister. No magic weapon came to her aid. She slammed her hoof back to the ground in frustration. "You know what? Forget it!" she yelled, "Who needs a stinking sword?" She ran up and stood in front of her sister before addressing the beast directly, "If you want my sister, you're going to have to fight me first!" The beast seemed to stop just in front of her before obliging to her proposal. It reached out a fist to whack the nuisance out of its way. Applejack closed her eyes and braced for the impact. --- "Well, well. Somebody's in a hurry to die," said an older woman's voice. "Stupidity's a virus and it's spread to her," responded a younger boy's voice. "Wha-?" Applejack opened her eyes. This wasn't her farm anymore. She was in some section of Whitetail Woods that she had never seen before. Autumn leaves rustled in the wind. "Maybe she caught it from you," continued the older voice. "Yeah, just like she got her big butt from you," said the younger voice smugly. AJ turned around to see two figures joined by a chain. In the obscure lighting, however, she couldn't identify anything else about their looks. Though, she could see the taller one forcefully rubbing a noogie into the shorter one's head. "Ow, ow, ow! Hey, quit it!" cried the shorter one. "Excuse me," coughed Applejack, "but, just who are ya'll supposed to be?" This seemed to halt the little squabble between the figures as they turned their heads to face the farmer pony. "What?" asked the shorter figure, "Haven't you ever seen your inner power before?" "I doubt it," answered the taller figure. "Inner power?" echoed Applejack, "What are you talking about?" "It's obvious," scoffed the taller figure, "You were looking for a 'magic sword' before you came here, right?" "Well, we're it," declared the smaller one with pride. "But, ya'll don't look anything like a sword," pointed out the farmer pony. The taller one sighed, "A Zanpaktou's spirit is just as important as the physical blade." The shorter one continued, "And if you want to use our full potential, you'll have to remember this." Together they said, "We are..." but their voices were muffled as the next word was spoken. What did they say? thought Applejack, I couldn't hear their name. "Still can't hear our name, huh?" asked the shorter figure. "Well, you'll have to memorize it soon," chuckled the taller figure, "Otherwise your sister will die." The bearer of Honesty opened her eyes wide before turning her head up and screamed, "Apple Bloom!" --- Something dripped on her face. Slowly, Applejack opened an eye to see why. Then, she opened both eyes wide in shock. She turned to look at the fist that had been hurtling towards her. The fist was bleeding. The reason for it bleeding was something that was in her hoof's grasp. Is that... mine? asked the farmer to herself. She then blinked back tears in a look of renewed determination. She swept the curved sword in an upward motion. The skull-faced beast reared back roaring in pain. On impulse, Applejack lifted her left hoof just over her now horizontal blade. "Roar, Zabimaru!" she declared. Her sword glowed red as it lengthened, broadened, and grew spikes along its edge. Grunting, Applejack lifted the handle and swung it down in front of her. The long sword grew even longer as flimsier sections seemed to sprout between the spiked sections. Her swinging motion flowed through the weapon like a ripple. When the wave reached the end of the weapon, it hooked onto a section of the large beast. Red liquid spewed out of the new cut. It roared in discomfort while Applejack pulled back her sword to its original six-segmented state. She then leaped into the air before raising Zabimaru high. "For Apple Bloom!" she shouted as she took another swing. This extended the blade once again and plowed it right through the beast's face. The yelp of pain was silenced as the creature was engulfed by a smokey shadow. With the threat extinguished, Applejack's sword thinned out and shrank back to its default curved-blade appearance. She then ran over to her sister's side. "Apple Bloom," she whispered. She needn't have worried. The filly groaned a bit before blinking her eyes. "Applejack, w-where's the...?" Apple Bloom started asking. "I've taken care of it," breathed the older sister. "You saved me," realized the yellow filly. "Hey, what are sisters for?" asked Applejack rhetorically. In relief she nuzzled her little sister. A familiar poof sound of a teleportation spell interrupted her and she looked up to see the two unicorns gallop toward her. "Applejack!" exclaimed Twilight Sparkle, "Are you all right? We thought there was a threat over here." "Goodness, darling!" cried Rarity, "You're absolutely covered in blood!" Applejack moved a hoof and wiped the "cover" Rarity had mentioned off her face. "It's nothing, Rarity, really," insisted the farmer, "and Twilight, I've already dealt with it." "You dealt with it?" echoed the bearer of Magic, "So does that mean...?" "Yeah," confirmed Applejack, "Now, I've got them do-hickey powers too." "Well," paused Twilight, "at least you're okay." The farmer nodded. --- Black and white net. Twenty-two bridges, sixty-six crowns and belts. Footprints, distant thunder, sharp peak, engulfing land, hidden in the night, sea of clouds, blue line. Form a circle and fly through the heavens. Bakudo 77: Tenteikura. --- I felt something "click" in my mind and my eyes opened wide. Apparently I wasn't the only one. Rainbow Dash, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle all had the same expression. Spike, however, was only confused by our looks. --- Fluttershy had been pouring rations out for her animals. A sudden "jolt" to her head caused her to drop the box in surprise. --- Pinkie Pie was busy trying to get her favorite baby friends to laugh. Funny faces weren't cutting it. Madame Le Flour was nowhere nearby to offer her help. Even Pinkie Pie's sudden mind "click" didn't draw a smile from Pumpkin and Pound Cake. --- A sudden pulsation in their minds "connected" Apple Bloom, Applejack, Rarity, and Twilight to another entity. They held their eyes open in shock. My little ponies, I ask that you meet me at the library. I will be there momentarily. As quickly as the message had been brought upon them, the feeling of mind zapping ceased. The pupils of the ponies' eyes returned to normal. "That was Princess Luna!" exclaimed Twilight. "What do you reckon she wants?" asked Applejack. "There's only one way to find out, isn't there?" implied Rarity. Apple Bloom picked herself up before exclaiming, "Let's go then!" All the ponies galloped as quickly as they could to Twilight's abode.