My Little Pony Tales: Quest To Babylon
Chp. 7
That Explains A Lot
"Ace has your sisters?!" Starlight asked Melody, sitting in the musician's bedroom. "How do you know?!"
"I saw them there." Melody answered, blanket over her body, tea in her hooves, sadness in her voice. "Ring-a-ding and Ting-a-ling were sitting there in the stands, before Ace came over to me."
"Any idea what he wants with them?" Patch questioned.
"No, but I have to get them back, and soon." Melody replied, sipping her tea in her shaking hooves.
"But how?" Bright-Eyes asked her. "Ace has got dragons scattered all across the field, and they're not gonna let any of us anywhere near him, or your sisters."
"True, but Ace doesn't realize something." Star told the girls.
"What's that?"
"The dragons in there? I know them just as well as he does, because they come from the same place I do." She answered.
"Hey, quick question, why's he called Virtuoso now? Also, what's Virtuoso mean?" Patch asked.
"When ponies or dragons join Babylon, they have the option to change their names, as part of starting their new lives as Babylonians. It's really part of a tradition, in a way, although they don't necessarily have to." Star answered the first question.
"Virtuoso means someone who excels in musical technique or execution." Bright-Eyes answered the second.
"Okay... Wait, but then why would they change Ace's name to that? He has nothing to do with music, apart from his feelings for Melody." Bon-Bon announced, looking at Melody, who seemed even sadder than before.
""Well... About that..." Melody muttered, before another pony's voice stopped her.
"Virtuoso: noun. A being with exceptional knowledge or skill in a specific area." The voice said, correcting Bright-Eyes.
"Yeah, that makes more sense. Thanks." Bon-Bon said to him.
"You're most welcome." He said to them.
The girls turned to see who was now in the bedroom, four of them having no idea who he was.
"So, is this another friend of yours, Star?" Patch queried. "Or do I gotta smash his face into pieces?!"
"You again?" Bright-Eyes, Bon-Bon and Star all said together.
"Who's he?" Melody asked. "And how did he get into my house?"
"My apologies, but I can't give you my name as of right now. To answer you other question, I got in here because Walker helped me in." He informed the girls, before something appeared right behind him.
As the girls tried to get around him, the thing stepped out of the wall, and placed its hooves onto the floor.
"Hello again, girls." Walker said to them, walking stick still in hooves, and his face still covered up.
"You too?!" Patch said to him, starting to get tired of seeing the same pony.
"What do you want now, Walker?" Starlight asked him, walking up to him.
"That may not even be of your concern, young lady." He told her, somehow knowing who he was talking to. "But, all you need to know, is that your former friend Virtuoso, or as you used to call him, "Ace", is trying to have Ring-a-ding and Ting-a-Jing go through the same transformation that he did, to turn them into those same scaled beasts that you saw him as."
Nobody said a thing for a whole 15 seconds after Walker told them this. It was quieter than a graveyard at midnight at the moment, with the majority of the ponies not even trying to compare what they're currently feeling to how Melody is.
"...What...Did...You..." Melody tried her hardest to spit out, terror overcoming her entirely. Suddenly, her breathing started to become more and more difficult, as she had to place her hoof on her chest to prevent collapsing.
"I believe that your comment may have been a little to advanced for her young mind, Mr. Soul." The other one said to him, turning to look at the musician.
"Ring...Ting..." Melody's face began to turn pale, thinking about what could be happening to them right now.
"If you are struggling to understand, then allow me to narrow this down, miss Lyric..." The much smarter pony said to her, causing her to look back at him after being referred to by her second name. "Your juvenile siblings, who are currently in the custody of Mr. Auxron, Virtuoso, and other members of the second dragon faction of Babylon, are right this minute being transferred from their equine case to their contemporary ophidian, and you adolescents are absent to bar the process."
This is really what did it. Melody couldn't take anymore, and she passed out where she lay on the bed.
"Melody!" The girls called to her, getting no answer.
"Ironic." He continued to speak with them. "For a girl who tends to use the adjective "rad" a majority of the time, she certainly can't take much until she collapses, can she?"
"Why are you doing this?!" Bright-Eyes demanded to know, squaring up to him. "We've never done anything to you!"
"Incorrect again, Bright-Eyes." He replied, adjusting his glasses. "You THINK that you and your friends are innocent, but you are far from correct. As I'm sure that Ursa has already told you, we each have our own reasons for going after you six."
""Six"?" Bright-Eyes quoted, unclear. "Don't you mean seven?"
"Give it time, and my wording will become clear to you, young lady."
The girls looked at each other.
"Anyway, you had better be concerned for yourself, Bright-Eyes, because MY target happens to be you."
"What did I do?!" She exclaimed in shock.
"In life, I've learnt that support can expand from being a minor choice of encouraging words, to become a large quality of a threat, and yours is one that I need out of the way."
"Wait, so just because I support something, I'm a bad guy?!"
"Of course not; that would be preposterous." He said.
Now the girls were just lost.
"What?!" They asked.
"I would explain..." He continued, before adjusting his glasses "But I've been here for long enough, and I believe that I have already gotten what I came here for."
"Wait, what?" Patch asked him, looking at her friends in confusion. "But, you haven't really done anything."
"That is what you think, Patch. I'll see you all again."
With that, his horn lit up, and he disappeared from the room in a matter of milliseconds.
"By now, I'm sure no introductions are needed." The blind pony stepped forwards, a few seconds later.
"What do you want with us, Walker?" Starlight asked him.
"You have to ask? I would've thought that my master's sister would have told you by now."
The six girls looked over to Star, who looked confused by what he just responded with.
"The five magics that keep this world in balance?" He questioned them.
"What are you talking about?" Bon-Bon asked him next.
"So you haven't told them?" Walker queried Star, not having any idea where about in the room that she was.
"Told us what?" Sweetheart questioned, looking over at Star.
"You see, there are five different magics that keep this world alive. They consist of-"
"Neutral, Rainbow, Ghost, Dragon and Mythical?" Starlight cut him off.
"So you HAVE told them?" Walker asked.
"Just her." Star responded.
"I see. Favoritism much?" He asked, smiling under his mouth scarf.
"I tried to tell them all separately, before Ace cut me off when I was speaking to Starlight."
"And it was later that you tried to tell them all at the same time, when your friend miss Bloom abandoned you because she felt like you didn't need her, right?"
"Hey! That's not what happened and you know it!" Starlight told him. "Besides, how would you know? You weren't there."
"By this point, you girls should probably realize that the answer to 'How do you know?' is usually 'I'm a ghost', so it shouldn't take a lobotomy doctor to figure out the answer to your question."
"You're a ghost as well?"
"Worse than that, Starlight." Star said to her. "He's Walker Soul: head of the ghost ponies, and S.I.C. of the Goth faction of Babylon."
"That is correct, child. Now then, I'm here to claim something that you have. The Neutral Gem, Starlight. Where is it?" He demanded to know.
"I'm not telling you." Starlight firmly said, as he tilted his head slightly, and looked at the bed, causing Starlight to worry for a second.
"It's under the bed." He said, using a tone as if he was giving an answer to them, as opposed to asking the question.
"But, how-" Starlight began, before remembering the answer. "Don't tell me... Ghost?"
"Partially; the same way that I found the key to the door, containing your little shrine to Ace." When he said this, her eyes widened.
"That was you as well?" She asked, gaining a small nod in response.
"Being blind for my life, I've learnt how to detect people and objects by their emanation, rather than how they look. Hence my name: Walker SOUL."
"Got it..." Starlight said, ready to pounce him, when he made his move, although relying more on Star to help, due to her having magic and all.
However, she and the other girls got curious when he didn't move towards the bed. In fact he didn't move at all.
"Well?" Patch asked impatiently. "Are you gonna make a move or just stand there?"
"Patience, child." He answered, just toying with them. "I'm a pony of wits, not of brute force. I need to think my options over, before making a move."
"Grr..." Starlight grunted, still unsure of what he was going to do next.
"Let's see here... This way's a good place to strike..." He said, looking to his left. "But, there's always here..." He followed up, looking on the right.
"Leave, Walker!" Starlight demanded, shooing him from her room.
"Very well then, We'll leave now." He said, getting his cane out, and heading for the door.
'"We'll"?' The girls thought on his quote, looking around the room. They only just noticed the pink mist from the room, before getting a conclusion and turning towards the bed.
"Stop her!!" Starlight yelled, as the girls tried to get under the bed, to catch the suspect.
"Come along, Kindred~" Walker said, as if instructing a dog for a walk. Suddenly, the six-year-old looking girl popped out from directly through the bed, and joined his side.
"Coming, Mr. Walk- Ooof!" She grunted, after being tackled by someone behind her.
"Gimme that!" Patch demanded, trying to get the gem out of her hooves.
"No! It's not yours!" Kindred Silence responded, soundly like she was about to cry, like any six-year-old would after having something taken off them.
"Not yours either, squirt!" Starlight responded to her, taking the gem from her. "Got it!"
Unfortunately, she really didn't got it, when she felt something go through her that made her feel worse than anything she had ever internally felt before. Even more sickening was what it actually was. Walker. He was going right through her, as a ghost, and came out of her chest, holding the gem.
"Could've fooled me." He said, popping out off her completely, and dropping his hooves back on the floor.
Before he could make his way to the exit, the feeling of someone climbing onto his back stopped him, and knocked him down.
It was Sweetheart, grabbing onto him and pulling him down. They both fell on the floor, and he dropped the gem, which Bright-Eyes picked up.
"Give it back!" Kindred said to her, grabbing onto her mane and yanking down hard.
"Oww!!" She yelped, dropping to the floor and trying to get the younger girl off of her hair. "Get off me!"
"Gimme the gem!" Kindred yelped back, pulling harder. It seemed as though the girl had some kind of personal grudge against Bright-Eyes about something as well. Then again, when the person you like likes someone else, that's to be expected.
"Ow! Here!" Bright-Eyes shouted, as she threw the gem over to Bon-Bon.
It landed in front of her, and she tried to pick it up. But when she brought it up to eye level, it was immediately shot out of her hoof by the feeling of a stick being thrown her way.
"Whoa!" She exclaimed, as the gem slammed into the wall along with the stick, which turned out to be Walker's cane, courtesy of him throwing it at her.
Bon-Bon then jumped over to it and tried to get it again, until she saw somepony else dive for it as well.
"Mine!" Kindred yelled, as she lunged for it, causing the two to begin leg wrestling for it. The pair now stood on their hind legs, and pulling it back and forth.
"The gem... Belongs... With Starlight!" Bon-Bon told the filly in between pulls.
"It's... Mine! So... I can... Give it to... Guardy!" Kindred responded in her annoying, soft, high-pitched voice.
Just then, Kindred felt some one grab around her waist and pull her away from the gem.
"Why not go down to the Watch Store?!" Patch sarcastically asked her, trying to yank her off. "I'm sure your boyfriend will love it just as much!"
As they were arguing and struggling, the other girls rushed over to help. However, they were quickly stopped when the presence of something grabbing each of their tails, and throwing them back in to the wall behind them.
"A commendable effort girls, but I'm afraid that in the end, righteousness ALWAYS prevails." Walker said, as he now had one of his legs in the wall, using some kind of Ghost magic, which apparently kept the girls where they were.
Even worse was that now his other leg started to disappear as well, and then reappear moments later where the other girls were, and he knocked the gem upwards, causing the three girls to fall backwards.
Being on top of Patch gave Kindred the advantage, as she then jumped up to grab the gem while it was still airborne. That was, until Patch grabbed her hind leg and pulled her towards herself, which resulted in Spirit knocking the gem to land on top of Bon-Bon.
She then picked it up, and saw that Walker's hoof was now heading for her again. Seeing this made her hold the Neutral Gem close to her, instinctively trying to protect it.
Just as he was about to grab it, something happened that none of the girls expected: Bon-Bon actually started to glow.
Her mane, her eyes, and her whole body started to glow brightly. It was similar to how Teddy, Ace and Lancer did when they girls saw them earlier, but this time the colors that she emitted were her own: her mane and eyes glowed light purple, and her body glowed bright yellow.
Then, the light charged from her right into the gem she was right now treasuring.
"What?" Walker exclaimed in a surprised tone, despite not seeing what was happening, but instead feeling the "soul" of the Gem instead. This appeared to be telling him exactly what was going on.
"But she's not a-!" Kindred yelled as well, gasping at the sight.
"Wh-What's happening to m-" Bon-Bon tried to ask, before the light expanded from the Gem and charged into Walker's body next to her.
The light seemed to be some kind of an attack, confirming that what the young baker was holding was much more than a fancy piece of jewellery.
The split second before the beam made contact with him, the elder pony reached out his hoof, in a motion for it to stop. Surprisingly, this actually worked, and he caught the beam in it, holding it in place until it all gathered into a sphere.
It wasn't a perfect counter, however, as he seemed to be knocked back a foot or two. Nevertheless, he came to no harm.
This new attack of hers was quickly followed up when Bon-Bon looked over to her friends, and the Gem fired at whatever he was doing to hold them there.
Once again, despite this being done without her acknowledgement or intention, it complied to what she wanted to do, and the impact of this next shot worked better than the first, as the force that was holding them forced itself off them.
The six girls dropped to the floor and looked on in surprise of what was happening.
"Bon-Bon, how are you doing that!?" Starlight asked her.
"I really don't know!" Bon-Bon replied, as the gem lit up again.
'I might.' Walker thought to himself, as he placed his front hooves down. 'But I thought that would be impossible for someone like her.'
Without giving him the chance to continue his inner monologue, the Gem then fired back at him again.
This time, his whole body was the target, but he was still ready for what was coming.
His torso opened like a blooming flower, forming a large hold for the beam to pass through.
"Hmm..." Walker grunted, as he repaired his own body with the same magic that split it apart.
"Do it again, Bon-Bon!" Patch yelled to her, wanting to see the power again.
"Patch, I don't know how to sto-" Bon-Bon was cut of, yet again, by the gem firing another ray of its light. Difference this time was, the Gem had a new target.
"Mr. Walker!" Kindred exclaimed as she realised what was about to happen. Before she could lift dodge, she saw that the light was coming her way, and she naturally screamed in fear from the agonizing impact she was about to receive.
As the same light expanded from the magic rock, something changed about it, besides having a new victim.
Instead of firing straight at the phantom before them, the light burst out all around, getting in the eyes of everyone in the room.
"Ouch!" Bon Bon yelped when the light struck them, implying that something else struck her too.
When the light began to fade, everyone saw what had caused this change in reaction. Their hearts skipped a beat and their eyes widened when they saw him, accompanied by the sound of seven girls gasping.
"Lancer/ En Guarde!" They all shouted, as he fell from his hind legs to his knees, with his fore legs dropping to resting on top of them.
The gothic young stallion had his back legs stretched out away from each other in a crouching position, with what looked like some kind of weapon in his front hooves.
A long baby blue spear kind of weapon, looking like it was just swung.
"Are you alright, Bon Bon?" He asked the filly, clearly weakened by the hit.
The filly in question, still unsure what to make of the current situation, couldn't form an answer to his simple question. He hoof was still shaking a little and hurt from the unseen attack, probably brought on by the lance he was wielding, but she wasn't even concerned with that right now.
The colt offered a hoof to help her up, looking unsure if she would accept it or not.
The answer was yes, as she placed her own hoof on his, to which he lifted up so she could stand back on all of them.
"Lancer..." She began as they let go of each other.
"..." He didn't reply to his name being called.
"You protected them..." Starlight stated as she walked over to them slowly.
"Of course I did..." He responded, before looking behind himself at Kindred and Walker. "You two had better go now; you-know-who's waiting for you."
"But we can't just leave you here, Guardy!" Kindred said to him.
""Guardy"?" Patch quotes in a low audio.
"I'll be fine. They wouldn't hurt me if they tried." Lancer said, now standing on all fours again, turning around to face the girls. His eyes still rolled back to focus on them. "Now get going."
"B... But, Guardy..." Kindred stuttered, the fear in her voice out on display.
"Kindred, knowing that the ponies I care about is safe is what keeps me going." He said to her, returning his eyes back to the girls around his age.
"He's right, my child." Walker agreed. "If Phoxjes wants us, then we need to get back."
"... Okay." She reluctantly agreed.
The pair of spooks took each other's hooves as they began to fade away from the room.
"Hey, wait!" Patch demanded as he began to run towards them.
She didn't get very far, as the same lance that the colt held pointed to wall adjacent to him, blocking her from advancing.
"Lancer, let me-"
"Don't try it, Patch." He interrupted her. "I don't want to force anyone to do something they'll regret anymore than you do."
Heading to his words, the group of fillies looked on as the blast mist that had just returned started to disappear entirely.
When they fully vanished, the Gem she held lit up once again, and fired its way towards Lancer. But this time, he was prepared for the impact. His horn lit up in its violet aura, and something else came into view.
It turned out to be some sort of black hole, no doubt a magic given to him from the Babylon. The light was quickly sucked into it, and they both disappeared a moment later.
"Put it down, Bon Bon!" Lancer ordered her.
Not wanting to hurt someone that she actually cared about as a friend, she obliged to what he said, and dropped it onto the floor, causing the glowing to fade.
An uncomfortable silence crept over them, as he looked over the room at the girls, and they all looked at him.
"Lancer..." Starlight repeated as she analysed the young Goth.
"Hello, Starlight." He began.
"What... Happened to you?"
"It's a long story. I... I missed you all."
"Missed us?" Sweetheart quoted after him. "T-thanks, but it hasn't been that long, has it?"
"Maybe not to you..."
"Lancer, that was a really noble thing you just did for that girl just then." Starlight told him.
"Maybe, but they would have done the same for me." He responded, putting his leg down to the floor again. "And you would have done the same for your friends, right?"
"Of course we would." Bon-Bon followed up. "I swear, I didn't mean to attack you like that!"
"It's okay, Bon-Bon. I'm sorry I had to attack you, too." He responded, holding the lance back into view.
The weapon in question began to fade in the same black mist that the two phantoms from before used.
"But I couldn't let you hurt them like that. I know it wasn't your fault or what you were trying to do, but something like that won't matter to them."
"Psh, who cares what those two think?" Melody interjected. "If that want to pick a fight with us, we'll be ready and waiting for them and-"
"They're not who I'm talking about." Lancer stopped her. "There's someone much worse than them."
"Oh yeah? Who?"
"I can't tell you. Not yet, anyway."
"That doesn't matter!" Sweetheart exclaimed. "Lancer, those ponies are trying to ruin Coltonville!"
"Not exactly..." He muttered.
"Come again?"
"Walker and Kindred have no interest in this town or what happens to it."
"W-what?" Starlight pondered.
"So then what are they doing here?"
"Apparently, it's on a need-to-know basis, and right now they think we don't need to know."
"But this is important! You saw what they did, they're trying to get this Gem for themselves!"
"No they're not." He bluntly replied.
"Yes they are! You saw them-" The girls' leader argued, before she was cut off
"I am."
An air of silence waved over the group at the answer he gave.
"YOU are?!" Starlight exclaimed, looking puzzled.
The young stallion gave her an affirmative and saddening nod to answer her question.
"But you can't be!"
"I can, and I am. I know it's hard to believe, let alone accept, but it's the reality of what's happening."
The girls looked over at each other once again, checking out each others reactions.
Whether their "friend" here was telling them the truth and he really was one of the factors behind all the trouble they were in now, or if he was just covering up for what the others have done so far remained to be seen.
"Alright, let's go with what you're saying." Patch suggested. "Let's say you're the one causing all the trouble for us."
"Well, I didn't say that-"
"Why are you doing it? What did we do to you?"
"It's not as simple as that, Patch. It's not like that time with the lemonade stands when Teddy and Ace talked me into doing it. This is a lot more serious."
"I'll say it is!" Bright-Eyes interjected, walking up to the colt she knew better than the rest of them.
"Bright-Eyes..." He murmured as she got closer.
"Patch raises a good point, Lancer; even if something like this IS your fault, there has to be a phenomenally good reason for it."
"There is. In fact, there's a few reasons behind why I joined them." he replied, lifting his front right hoof to draw attention to the symbol imprinted on it.
"So, what is it?"
"I already said, he told me I can't tell you right now."
""He" who?" Sweetheart questioned.
"My leader."
"Yeah, we guessed that much, genius." Patch retorted. "Give us a name."
"... Phoxjes."
""Phoxjes"?"
Once again, he nodded, looking more nervous than guilty as he did.
"Okay, what does Foxy want with us?"
"As far as I know, nothing really, but it's not my business."
"Figures. You came here and gave us more questions than answers."
"What about Teddy and Ace?" Their leader asked now. "What do they want with the school?"
"Or my sisters!?" The miniature melodious mare snapped.
"I can't vouch for what they or their friends have done or for their reasons, but I also can't interfere. Even with Walker, I can't help him take on Bon-Bon when that time comes. All I can do is hope for the best for you all."
"Me?" The yellow girl asked. "Why me?"
The Goth pointed at the Gem.
"Because of that. Because you were able to use that against him, he's definitely going to keep an eye on you... Or, more literally, have me do it for him."
"So what's your point, rich boy?" Melody asked him, barely recovered from whatever it was that Ace and/or his dragons did to her the previous afternoon.
"My point is, now that the Greasers and the Dragons have marked their territory, you guys are gonna have the whole town to watch, if you want to stay up to date with everything in the upcoming days."
Giving a confident glare to him, the group readied themselves for the thoughts of what might be coming their way.
"I know it sounds easy on paper, but it's gonna be a lot of work to keep up with all of us in town, as well as the others you'll have."
"What others?"
"Didn't I tell you? Each of the Babylon facti-"
The boy cut himself off when something he had around his neck and inside his short began to glow, similar to how the magical stone on the ground did.
"Hey, that looks like..." Bon Bon started, picking said Gem up again.
"It's time for me to go. I'm sorry; I wish I could say more, but I have to get back to the mansion now." Lancer finished, as he started to fade away, similar to how Walker and Kindred did before.
"Hold on a minute! You didn't tell us who the "others" are!! Or what about Clover! Is she safe!?" Starlight exclaimed.
Before answering and/or fading, the boy turned his head slightly to the side of the room.
"Yes, she is."
"Where is she? Do you know that?!"
"If ever you can't find her, she'll most likely be at her safest place. Good luck."
That was the last thing that Lancer said before vanishing completely.
"Glad that's over." Sweetheart told the girls, slightly relieved that her rival wasn't as brutal as the likes of Stonefort and Walker.
"It was definitely strange." Someone's voice acknowledged with the girls from the bedroom door. When the question was asked, all seven of them turned to see their friend arriving to see them.
"CLOVER!!" They all exclaimed in unison. The six girls rushed over to hug their favorite dancer.
"Hey girls." She said, with a somewhat forced smile on her face, her eyes darting back to the door behind her. They pulled away to look at her face.
"Clover, we're so sorry if we hurt your feelings. Where have you been all this time?" Bright-Eyes asked, seriously concerned for her.
"You didn't hurt my feelings, as much as you made me feel unneeded. But that's in the past, now." Clover replied.
"So where have you been staying since then?" Patch asked next, reminding her of the follow-up question.
"I've just been staying with Meadowlark." Clover answered, a hint of guilt in her voice as she did.
"Your sister?" Starlight questioned. "I thought she and Cheval were still on their world tour."
"They were, but there was a change of plan, and they had to come back to Coltonville, and they ran into me."
"Did you tell them what had happened? About the Babylon, the shop, the princess, anything else that's happening?"
"Um... Not exactly." She reluctantly said.
"What? Why?"
"I... Well, I guess I didn't need to." The young ballerina replied, looking back in a way that would make her look ashamed of something.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------FLASHBACK----------------------------------------------------------------------
After the Q&A session with their new Alicorn friend taking place in the bedroom back at the house, a lone filly found herself walking down the streets of the otherwise quiet town.
"Am I really just not important?" Clover asked herself, trotting through the town by her isolation.
It was evening, approaching night time. The roads and sidewalks were lit well enough to see, but that was not a scenery that would last, and she knew it.
But that was not her concern currently; she had something else on her mind.
"I know I haven't been completely helpful all the time, but still, it's not like the girls to just exclude me like that." She continued her self-monologue.
The few ponies that passed her by, although not looking like it, seemed to have no interest in her. At least she could assume she was safe.
But given what had happened a while back, there was no telling what was behind each corner, especially where Babylon was concerned.
"Coltonville's never had a crisis like this. A real invasion, ponies lustful for revenge and wanting to take it out on us. But because of that, do my friends just think I'm not going to be a support at all?"
"It's not mentally healthy to think like that."
"I guess not, but I can't help it." Clover responded, still looking down. as she walked. "I know the girls all want to say their ideas, but it shouldn't have to be- wait, who said that!?"
The filly snapped behind her, looking at who had just addressed her.
If she was expecting a Babylonian, she would have been scared, especially if it was one of those Greasers from the previous night.
But, for once, luck was on her side.
The sight of the beautiful young adult mare walking towards her was welcome beyond words.
"M-Meadow-" Clover began but failed to end.
"Hello, little sister." The taller mare greeted her. "Are you okay? What are you doing out here by yourself?"
Her sister. Her older, talented, more popular and overall better-than-her sister, stopped walking and stood right in front of her.
"Meadowlark, I..."
Clover found herself at a loss for words. But alas, she tried to form them together in a cohesive way.
"I... I was just... I'm, uh... W-what are you doing here?"
Her sibling simply gave a light chuckle at her blabbering response.
"I was on my way home, and I saw you out here." The older mare answered, moving closer to face her family. "What about you?"
"Oh, I..." She tried to think of something. While her options were obvious, the one to choose was not. Tell her the truth, or make something up and hope she didn't catch on?
Meanwhile, Meadowlark just stared at her longingly.
"I was, um..."
"Clover, you don't need to feel ashamed." The mare informed her. "I won't tell anyone, if you don't want me to."
"Well, that might not be your choice." She finally answered. "I mean, if mom and dad found out about what's been happening..."
"They won't be shocked, I'm certain." She responded. "Especially if they've seen this before."
"It's not just another misunderstanding or a small problem, Meadowlark! It's hard to explain, but there's this Babylon thing that has these guys from years agao that hate this town and now they're back to try and take back what they think is theirs by attacking and harmin-"
"Clover, Clover, Clover!" Her sister stopped her, gently placing her hoof on her sibling's shoulder. "Calm down; I believe you."
"I know you do, but there's not a- wait." The filly stopped herself, looking confused, yet relieved. "Did... Did you just say..."
"I believe you. Trust me, I do."
"Oh..." Clover stated, looking down in an way that she couldn't describe if she wanted to. "But... You haven't even heard the full story."
"There's no need." The taller pony replied, taking her hoof off her. "I can't explain why right now, but you don't need to worry about it. Babylon won't be a problem for you, the same way it wasn't for me."
"For... For you!?" The feeling of fear suddenly returned to the young mare. "You've met the Babylon before!?"
"You could say that." Upon answering, she turned her head away, seemingly in regret. "Some of them more than others, I'll admit."
"R-really? Like who?" She asked.
"Hmhmhm..." She chuckled quietly. "Well, I remember this one pony that I had some certain negative history with, named Lucky."
"Lucky?" She quoted. "I've heard that name somewhere before..."
"Have you? Yellow coat, black hair and beard, maybe wore leather?"
"That's it! It was the pony that started off the fight between Teddy and Patch at the school! Wait, you've met him?"
"Sadly, yes, but you don't need to worry about that. And if you do what I did, then you won't have to worry about any of Babylon giving you trouble."
"What do I have to do?" She cautiously asked, concerned for what might be coming.
"Clover!!" Someone had called out to her from the distance.
Someone they both knew.
"If you want me to answer that..." Her sister began to answer, before her eyes shut, and her hoof was moved to feel her heart.
Clover's eyes widened in awe when she saw what she saw.
"You'll have to become what you were meant to be."
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"What do you mean, you didn't need to?" Patch asked her, suspicious of her previously given answer.
"I mean I didn't need to tell her." The dance fanatic answered again. "There's not a lot else to say apart from that."
"But wouldn't it be better if everyone we knew was aware of what's happening?" Starlight suggested.
"True, but we don't want to cause a panic."
"I guess..."
"Plus, those Babylonians are mad at us, not them. I don't want to risk them getting hurt for something that's our fault."
"But Clover, it's NOT our fault!" Bright-Eyes said to her.
"We don't know that for sure, Bright-Eyes." She replied. "I mean, it's not like those Grease guys just destroyed the school or the dragons took over the soccer field because they felt like it."
"So what are you saying, that we should just let them do what they want to the town?"
"No, I'm saying we should only let the ponies that we actually think can help us know about the Babylon and all."
"Like who? The police?"
"Maybe. It's better than trying to take them on ourselves, isn't it?"
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"Oh, dear me." Walker said, rubbing his head, walking into the mansion that he and the other Ghosts of Babylon called their sanctuary.
It looked exactly as you'd expect: a old, abandoned, white mansion, with arcs leading to the outside on the ground, as well as leading to the balcony on the floor above, followed by a broken fence made of the same stone material as the balcony. Naturally, there were a few statues out in the front, right on the edge of the brick path that the two were currently treading on. Even the path was so old and wilted that grass had grown in between the bricks, and was half the size of Kindred. The steps leading up to the front door had practically broken from age, with gaps forming everywhere around them. Additionally, there were two extra buildings connected to the mansion's property. Then one on the left was some kind of shed, with gardening tools and equipment, barely visible from the darkened windows, and 8 padlocks on the door handle, seemingly rusted from age. The one on the right was a small greenhouse, containing nothing but dead plants and smashed pots through the shattered glass. Even the sky above the mansion never seemed to move at all, so that the grey and black clouds hanging above stayed there forever.
Because of all of this, the Babylon ghosts resided here, as their sanctuary. Them, and the crows resting on the rooftops.
"My head is in severe agony. I was afraid that things may turn out like this. What about you, Spirit?"
"... Guardy." Kindred whispered, through her sniffles and tears. Her mascara was carried with them, creating two black lines streaming down her face.
"I understand that you are worried about him, but remember, En Guarde was once their friend, so they would never risk intentionally hurting him." Walker reassured her, as the pair walked up the broken stairs.
He moved his hoof from his damaged ribcage, and put in through the door, passing right through it and inside of the mansion. He began to make his way through the corridor. Kindred did the same, and walked towards the sitting room on the right. Just as Walker was about to put his hoof on the door to same kind of personal room, Kindred caught his attention.
"Mr. Walker!" She yelled, in a rather irritating high pitched voice. He even cringed when she said it, but this time he didn't have to hide it, because she wasn't here to be offended.
Not wanting her to do it again, he quickly put his hoof back on the ground, right before all four of them started to sink into the ground, followed by his body, tail, neck and face, until they were all gone.
Being a ghost, she could detect his presence when inside of a wall/floor, or possessing an object, or even a person. Therefore, she could sense that he was approaching her direction, and she went back into the room.
A second later, he showed his head from the floorboards and stood on the ground again.
"What's the matter Kin-" Walker started to ask, before he turned around, showing off a camera effect of seeing someone else sitting in a chair behind him.
"Hey kid. Hey old-timer. Where's the newbie?" Another goth asked them, sitting properly on the old chair. Although old, the chair still held firm. It was white, with green ivy vines on it, matching with the pink flowers on the end. It looked like something that you'd see in your grandma's living room.
The pony was relatively young, but not as much as Kindred or Lancer, looking more like a teen. He had a red coat with a dim yellow flat side-combed mane. He was wearing a black hoodie with black jeans, and sported black eyeliner on his eyes.
"Still at the child's quarters. Miss Prima should be with them soon as soon as he leaves." Walker replied, before a question came to mind. "Self, how did you get in here?"
"That crazy ghost let me in, Walker. Phoxjes sent me here; he wanted to know what happened at the girls house or something, but... Whatever."
"I see..." Walker responded, before taking a few steps to the side, and taking off his facial wear. He hung his hat, face scarf, cane and sunglasses on the coat hanger in the corner, and moved back to where he was.
The camera angle was never showing his full real face, and instead just stayed focused on his body clothing, and when he stood still, the camera only looked at the back of his head. His black hair was still held up to be slicked and spikey at the ends.
"Un- ah!" He grunted, silently. "Unfortunately, it was not- uff- not as we hoped for. One of the chil- ah!" Walker tried to get out, despite the damage still aching in his body.
"You look and sound injured, man. You should take it easy, or something." Self stated, before standing up.
"I will... Be fine." Walker said, as if he didn't know what he was saying. "My condition aside, in terms of the magic being used by one of those children, what I suspected is, unfortunately, true."
"So one of those kids can do magic tricks?" He asked, still unimpressed. "Great, just what the world needed: another stuck-up showoff."
"Yes, well, this particular stuck-up showoff can be dangerous to us if she can continue to use the gem."
"So, she might wanna put up a fight against us?" He asked, now somewhat interested. "Heh. Let her come at us, then we can maim her. That'll be fun."
"As Phoxjes has told you many times Self-Deserted, you can't just maim everything in life and solve your problems like that."
"Oh... Well then, in that case, she's all yours. You know anything 'bout this kid?"
"I wouldn't have returned if I didn't." Walker answered.
"That's not creepy(!) What's the name?"
"Another pony named Bon-Bon." The blind pony responded. "Or, as per the name that she will be given, if she sees the light, Savory Trend."
""Bon-Bon"? Isn't there some girl called that in Equestria too?"
"It's a long story..." Walker said, looking outside of the window. "I just don't understand how, or even why, she was able to possess the power of that relic."
As he was pondering this, Self turned to the other ghost currently in the room, after hearing her sniffles. She still looked miserable. Even more than usual, bearing in mind that they were all goths.
"What's wrong with you? Besides everything?" He asked the little girl. In comparison of the two, he was probably 3X her physical age, and possibly her chronological age as well.
"I.. It is, s-sir." She tried to hold back her tears. "It's just... En Guarde..."
"The new guy? What about him?"
"He's... He's still there!!" She weeped, burying her face into his hoodie. "I don't wanna lose him!"
"Yeah, I get it." He said. "He's new and probably gonna get himself in hot water pretty quickly, only to en-"
"It's not that!" She continued to sob. "I can't lose him to her!"
Surprised, it took Self a second to understand what she meant.
"You like him in that way?" He asked. She answered by sobbing harder.
"It would appear so, and right now, she is concerned that because he is still with the girl that he, supposedly, still has feelings for, she will return the feelings for him, before Kindred can have him return the feelings." Walker answered for her.
"...Right. Well, I don't really care about what happens with you two, just try not to-" He started, before something literally popped out right next to him.
"KINDY'S IN LOVE WITH GUARDY!?! NO WAY!!" The new pony shrieked. Judging from the fact that half his body was coming out from the inside of a tea table, it was fair to assume that he was another ghost.
Like the others, he was dressed as a goth, made clear by his pitch black skull T-shirt, ripped black jeans, eyeliner and skull hoof rings. His coat was a light shade of grey, his mane was black, and it looked like he just dipped his hoof in a tub of hair gel, and went crazy with it.
When he popped out of the table to shout what he had just learnt, Kindred held back a scream, whereas the teenager just looked annoyed, not by the scare, but by being interrupted.
"That's NOT your business, Havoc!" Kindred snapped at the hyperactive ghost, in a tone which she was trying to defend him.
"That's so-o-o-o-o-o cute!" He continued to annoy her. "~Kindy and Guardy, kissing in a grave~ ~Lifted in the hooves, of her handsome knave~"
Kindred blushed harder and cried less at what he was saying to her.
"Shut your mouth, Decay." Self told him, causing the hyper pony to be quiet.
"Heh heh. Sorry, boss. But I just think it's adorable that this kid found love already." Turmoil said, as he held her in his hoof. "Just think about it: the two of them, going out and getting on each other's nerves, going on expensive dates, popping the question and waiting awkwardly as she can't say anything, getting married at an expensive wedding, having kids and growing a dysfunctional family, moaning about how annoying those kids are, having to take them to school every morning, filling out reports about bullying, having to go see the teachers about fighting, not fitting in with the rest of the kids, inevitable expulsion, trying hard to find them another school that'll take them, watching them going through changes, arguing about everything, getting into fights with each other, threatening to leave each other, leaving each other, dealing with teenagers, arguing about who your kids can and can't date, watching them move out and live somewhere else, never seeing your family again, and all the other wondrous horrible things that come after love."
The other three ponies were just looking at him, mulling over all of the bad details he just listed, and the way that he said them, as if they were something to get excited about.
"I love Guardy, Decay." Kindred told him as she broke free from his grasp. "And there's nothing that you, Mr. Walker, Mr. Deserted, master Phoxjes or Sea Buried can do to change that!"
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The birds cried out to each other, as the wings and feet danced in the lake, knowing that their sanctuary was here. The lake which they resided in spread for what looked like a mile.
Even so, it was more like a pond than a lake. A waterfall on the right, a stone statue of a wings-spread swan on the left, and a whole flock of the birds right there in the center.
At the brim of the water body, stood a former school bully, looking across to adore their freedom. That's where this pretty place got its name from: Free Lake.
Teddy admired the birds, dancing in their flock, the leader in the middle of the rings. Despite his attitude and his fashion sense, he liked this place. Partially because of the show that the swans put on for any visitors, also because of the idea of freedom for everyone, but mostly because of one certain swan that he looked to see.
As if on cue, he heard the sound of rock stairs being climbed behind him. Knowing that this lake's owner was usually the only visitor other than himself, he grew a smile and turned around to see her.
"Greetings, Ursa." The pitch white mare greeted him, a warm smile on her angelic face.
"H-Hi, Swan, heh heh." He weakly got out. For "Whatever" reason, he seemed to be getting flustered at the sight of the prim and proper mare.
"I take it that you're enjoying the show, as usual?" She asked him, sitting next to him at the brim of the water.
"Yeah, until you came along." He responded, causing her to look at him in confusion. He looked back at her, and continued. "Now, I'm loving the show."
"You flatter me, Ursa." She said with a smile. "As you arrived, did you bring...?"
"Yeah, I got it right here." Ursa answered before she finished, picking up what looked like a heavy brown bag. The label said "Swan Food."
"I knew that you would. You'd do anything for me wouldn't you?" She rhetorically asked him, getting a smile and a blush in reply.
"So, uh, want me to feed the swans, then?"
"If you wouldn't mind."
"Okay, open up then." He said to her, getting a chuckle out of her. He laughed a little as well, before expanding his wings to fly above the lake.
'I've heard that one before, several thousands of times.' Swan thought, before looking at him in the air. 'Still, I want him to be happy, no matter what it would take.'
He tore to bag open at the top, flew a lap around the lake, dropping a majority of the food in for them.
'But...' She sighed, still keeping her thoughts in her head. 'He can't be happy, as long as that young lady Sweetheart is working against him. He trusts her, and she still has feelings for him. I have to stop her, before she can manipulate him into leaving Babylon.'
He then landed on the brink again, and dropped the bag off.
"S...So... How'd I do?" He asked, out of breath from carrying the heavy bag, and still getting used to flying.
She still smiled warmly at him.
'No matter what it would take...' She repeated in her head, before showing him her gratitude. It always helps when you know who the person that likes you is.
Her glossy orange lips pursed together gently, and moved to his forehead, making soft contact, before releasing.
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Teddy just froze for a second after the kiss, not even breathing. Then, barely a moment later, he collapsed from happiness and exhaustion.
Swan merely laughed at this, and gently lifted him up to place him on the nearby bench to rest.
'Never washing this head. EVER.' He thought to himself, practically passing out on the bench.
Swan looked back at him and smiled, before stepping down the natural flat rock stairs to the exit of the lake.
'Poor thing. He'd give anything to see his departed mother.' She thought, looking up at the sky. 'That's something that only we can provide.'
She left the resort for the birds, and faced the handsome stallion waiting for her.
"Why, miss Lady." Illiux pretended to be surprised. "I had no idea that your heart was THIS easy to win over."
"I wouldn't think so either, sir." Swan replied, blushing that he knows what she just did to him. "It will take more for him to win me over. Although, he has already suffered through life as it is."
"Indeed." Illiux agreed. "I can entirely relate to not having a mother to stand by you. I only hope we can persuade him to stay, even after he gets what he desires."
"Has miss Starlight's little shop been bought yet, master?" She asked in a polite manner, as usual.
"They have until Wednesday, dear." Illiux answered her.
"Oh, how unfortunate for them. Where, pray tell, are they supposed to get the money from?"
"They're not, of course. The plan was to make sure that the young ladies are so busy getting caught up in everything involving the colts that they focus more on that, rather than what I'm trying to do."
"I see. And, what of miss Prima?" Swan questioned him, as the two began to walk away.
"That is not my concern. She is designated to join the Skylords, and therefore it is Calsuricxs's responsibility to persuade her for her greater destiny. Him, and his S.I.C., Rockerfella."
"Excuse me?" She questioned, to which Illiux looked puzzled. "Calsuricxs and responsibility in the same sentence? Something I'm missing?"
Illiux chuckled, before turning back to her.
"Humor aside, Swan, I require you to go to that Coltonville again tomorrow."
"Oh? Something regarding that young Lady, Sweetheart?"
"I believe you mean Softer Soul, and yes, it is."
"Excellent. It is about time to reveal why I care so much about that young stallion." Swan said, looking back for Teddy.
"The same way that he cares for you?" Illiux asked, still looking as polite as ever. She looked at him, slightly annoyed at the question. after a few seconds, the two began sharing a laugh.
"Sir, I don't toy with his feelings for me. And neither should you."
"Very true, dearest." He replied, as they continued to walk out of the park, easily mistaken for a happy couple.