Chapter 21-
Center Stage
The sun rose on the court yard used as the training grounds, every able-bodied resistance fighter lined up in rows as they waited for someone to appear on the hastily built wooden stand at the head of the arena. They’d all been briefed early this morning by their captains, telling them that a “special” training course would be held today and that it was mandatory for all field operatives to attend.
And then, two figures stepped up to the stand, one a man wearing intricate black armor with a somewhat worn red cape, and the other being a woman in a sports bra and sports shorts. The man cleared his throat.
“Good morning, everyone. I am Octavius, Knight-Scholar of Equestria and head of the Order of The Thornclad Truth. I am here to instruct you all on two forms of magic from my homeland. Miracles,” he raised his right hand which held his talisman, a bolt of crackling lightning appearing in it before fading as he let it fall. “And Soul Magic.” He raised his staff and it glowed an ethereal blue before dissipating as he let his arm fall into a more relaxed pose.
“I’m Mia,” Mia said simply. “I’ll be teaching ya some more elemental crap.”
“Quite. Now, before we get started, are there any questions?” Octavius queried.
At least a fourth of the hands in the audience went up immediately, mostly from griffons and minotaurs.
“I figured as much. You’re all probably wondering why I am teaching magic when some of you are not unicorns, correct?” Octavius queried.
The hands in the crowd went back down as murmurs of agreement ran through the crowd. Octavius smiled.
“The reason you are here, and why I am teaching magic, is because this magic is not for unicorns alone. Soul magic is known for being personal, and only requires that you study each spell intensively. Miracles simply require memorization of a tale of the Gods, and, should you have a strong faith, you can perform them. Tis as simple as that,” Octavius explained.
Most of the crowd silenced itself, but some of them were still obviously hesitant.
“Good. Now, a few staff members shall begin passing out scrolls detailing spells and staves for Soul Magic as well as tales and talismans for Miracles. When you receive them, try to recite them as quickly and thoroughly as you can. Study them, and you will most certainly be able to perform them,” Octavius explained as a number of faculty members did just that. “I will give you all some time to look them over. When you are done, come meet me in the field just over there to practice.” He pointed to a small field that had been arranged for the practice before he left the stand.
As the beings in the crowd began to take the offered materials from the service members, it seemed as though a majority of them were still hesitant on the idea of learning the new magic. Some gathered in groups to try and help each other decipher the incantations, some sat alone and read earnestly, and still others made blatant jokes about the whole ordeal. But the most reclusive of the crowd were those that straight up refused the materials, not wanting anything to do with the “witchcraft”. Most of these gathered in the back of the crowd, looking at the others with scorn.
Before long, a lone griffon made her way out of the mass and towards the practice ground. She looked a bit younger than most of the training field’s occupants, and as she nervously approached the field with her staff clutched in her talons those at the front of the crowd fell silent to watch, some reaching over to tap their buddies and point in her direction. Within moments, the front portion of the crowd had fallen silent to watch the stone gray griffoness.
Octavius quickly noted the change in the volume of the chatter and turned his gaze from the front of the crowd towards her.
“You there! Young griffoness!” he called to her.
The young griffon flinched as she looked up at the armored figure. “Y-yes?” She said shakily, her nerves growing as he and, unknown to her, the crowd behind her watched.
“Come here! You shall be my assistant!” He informed her, beckoning her with a gauntleted hand. The griffoness didn’t answer, only stepped over to him, keeping her eyes on him.
“Good! Now, first, what is your name?” he asked her.
The griffoness gulped and opened her mouth, choking out her name. “G-G-Gabby…,” the young griffon answered, her voice betraying her. Octavius smiled and rested a hand on her shoulder.
“Calm, young one. Be calm. There is nothing to fear here,” he assured her, before turning to the crowd. “Now! We shall start with the first spell, Soul Arrow. Raise your staves and focus on drawing your will, your very essence, into the staff and outwards from it. If you cannot do this, look over your scrolls again or come to me for further guidance!” He turned away from the crowd, raising his staff as it glowed a light blue before a medium sized bolt of blue magic rocketed out of it, hitting a tree and leaving it covered in blue crystals. He turned back to the now surprised crowd. He turned to Gabby. “Miss Gabby, would you care to repeat what I just did for the class?”
“U-um, okay,” Gabby answered nervously before stepping forward, taking a deep breath. “J-just raise your staff,” she started, raising her staff to aim at a target. “Draw on your will.” Her staff lit up. “And throw it out.” A bolt of magic, slightly larger than what should’ve been possible for the griffoness, shot from her staff and slammed into the target she had been aiming for, crystals spread over it. Octavius clapped at this.
“Splendid, Miss Gabby, splendid!” he congratulated before turning to the rest of the crowd. “Now, I want you all to line up side to side and do the same!”
A lot of the crowd stared at the griffon in surprise or awe, each of them taking a moment to process what they had seen. Soon, confident individuals began to line up and take their turns firing off their spells. As more and more individuals walked away successful, more followed suit. Octavius couldn’t help but smile at this, and as he watched, a new memory rushed to his mind.
Octavius came back to reality when a student from the crowd had poked him in the head. He turned to them and stopped their next poke with a hand.
“Apologies, class. This old Hollow tends to daydream. Let us continue!” he said as he brought out his talisman instead.
“Now, this may not work for all of you, but those with a strong faith, whether it be in religion or otherwise, will find this to be most rewarding. Now,” he clapped his hands. “Miss Gabby, why don’t you recite the tale of the Dragon Slayer for us? Oh, and apologies to those of you who are dragons, this tale is from my world, where we had a number of different dragons, so please withhold your comments until the end.”
“O-okay,” Gabby answered, stepping forward with a little more confidence. She readied her materials and took a quick peek back at her scroll before taking a deep breath and recited the tale. “-And lo and behold, the monstrous drake lay dead at the Knight’s feet!”
All at once, a bolt of lightning crackled in her hand, slightly startling the griffoness as she flinched a bit from the yellow electricity dancing in her palm. At her surprised flinch, it disappeared, but the effect remained. She had done it.
“Astounding, Miss Gabby! Very well done!” Octavius praised. He turned to the rest of the now amazed crowd.
“Now, all that is required for Miracles is channeling your faith into your talisman as you recite the tale! Whether tis done in your mind or verbally, it matters not as long as you recite it at the same time you are channeling your faith! Now, line up once more and try it for yourselves!” Octavius instructed.
The members of the crowd gave each other a few looks before stepping forward and attempting the Miracle themselves. As before, not all of them could perform the task, but what was different was that those that couldn't started to outweigh those that could. Octavius hummed in thought as he watched this, and as the few bolts of lightning struck tree after tree, he resolved to speak with Chris about arranging something to give the people of the resistance faith.
“Alright, that’s enough for now! Practice each Miracle and spell among yourselves until I return with Miss Mia!” Octavius announced as he walked away from the field and towards where Mia was waiting.
She was napping, leaning against a wall. Octavius sighed at this, walking over and shaking her awake. He got a face full of fire for his troubles.
“Gah!” He cried, immediately trying to pat out the flames.
“Where’s the fire?” Mia asked jokingly, sending a smirk at him. He finally stopped the fire and shot a glare to Mia.
“That was not funny, Miss Mia,” he said sternly. She simply rolled her eyes at him, before water dumped on him from above.
“Cool off,” She said through snickering. He simply stared at her.
“Just… Go teach everyone how to use your abilities,” he said in exasperation. She stuck a tongue out playfully, before walking over to the group. As she approached, the chattering halted and the gathered rebel fighters watched her walk towards them.
She strutted a bit towards them, her tail slowly waving behind her as she did so. Someone, one of those that had been sitting far in the back and refusing the lessons, suddenly let out a whistle, letting everyone on the field know his thoughts.
“Oh good, a volunteer!” Mia said with an evil smirk, motioning that one forwards. The unfortunate pony, the green and blonde pegasus known as Straight Arrow, blanched at her signal while some of his cohorts smirked and pushed him forward.
The stallion stumbled for a second before looking back with a frown. He straightened up and fixed his green and black leather jacket and the strap holding his bow and quiver, looking towards Mia with an unwavering gaze as he approached her.
“Alright there, whistler, tell me this. Would you rather attack or defend?” Mia asked.
Arrow gave a little snort. “Attack,” he said simply before he pointed at his stored arrows with his thumb. “Kinda don’t have a choice there.”
“Of course you did,” Mia said with an eye roll. “But, if you're sure… ”
“Get ready for a world of pain, little colt,” Octavius finished for her.
“Could everyone stand back a bit? I like to teach by doing, and just for you all, I’m going to go into a form I don’t need too often to give you the best… experience,” Mia said with a menacing smirk.
The entire crowd took several collective steps back, shattering Arrow’s confident facade. He looked to either side at the crowd nervously, eyes wide as he turned them back to Mia. She also took a couple steps back, more like a couple yards, before jumping high into the air. She glowed and curled into a ball, a blinding light going over the area.
“By the gods…” Octavius breathed.
Arrow’s eyes shrank to pinpricks as his ears, and wings drooped down, knees starting to knock together. What was in front of them was, to those who’d know, what looked like a Charizard the size of a castle, with arms that actually fit it’s longer body, and essentially made them all look like ants, an inferno at the tip of it’s tail, because that could not be called a mere ‘fire’.
The crowd took several more steps back, some letting out gasps and shouts of surprise or fear. For his part, Arrow didn’t move, but whether that was from fear or from the awe in his eyes was yet to be determined.
“Alright, now since you seemed so keen on attack, I’ll be teaching you some ‘area of effect’ skills. Luckily for you, there’s a whole section of the abilities I’ll be teaching just for archers.” The giant dragon that Mia now was rumbled, looking down at the pegasus. “I want you to take an arrow, notch it, and point so it would normally land somewhere on my back. Before firing, I want you to focus whatever magic your most used to into the arrow, and imagine it splitting into many more, however many you feel you can manage, at the apex of it’s climb. If you do it right, a storm of arrows will fall on me, instead of one.” The dragon instructed.
Arrow gulped before he scrambled to take out his bow and string it, whipping one of his signature green pointed arrows out and putting it to the string. He raised it up to aim at the sky before grabbing on the magic he had used for years to channel the wind and direct his arrows. In his head he pictured a scene from years ago. A single arrow going into the sky alone… only to be followed by hundreds more. With that picture in mind and his innate pegasus magic focused to his arrow, he let it fly.
At first, he thought it wouldn’t work… before a couple dozen arrows fell down with the one, impacting Mias hide… and bouncing off. “Congratulations.” The dragon rumbled as she chuckled.
Arrow took in several breaths before a wide grin split his features. “Wow…,” he muttered, putting a leg back to steady himself.
Mia glowed, before returning back to her normal size and form, clothes miraculously still on her. “Not bad. Though, really, it shoulda looked like this,” Mia said. She mimed notching an arrow, and an ethereal bow and arrow formed in her hands. She shot it up, and when it came down, there were thousands of arrows falling with it, which bounced harmlessly off a Protect barrier Mia threw up.
Arrow flinched and threw his arms up as the projectiles rained down, but his ear twitched as he heard the arrows pinging away. He slowly straightened back up again and looked in wonder at the arrows around them. “Uh…,” he muttered, giving a nervous chuckle. “Yeah… I don’t think I can do that….”
“Just gotta build your magic up,” Mia assured with a smirk. She turned to the crowd then. “Now, who wants some Elemental attacks?”
Some of the more efficient mages nodded and a murmur slowly ran through the gathered participants as they agreed. “All right, everyone who wants elemental attacks, come forwards,” Mia said, sending the pegasus back. Many a volunteer stepped forward, eager to learn, Gabby joining them once more as Arrow walked back towards his group.
They waved him over whilst throwing whispered negatives towards the lesson as a whole, but before he could reach them, Arrow stopped and looked over his shoulder at the gathering mass. He looked towards the gang he had been so quick to join and back to the lineup, several moments passing before he gave a determined smirk and turned to join the lesson once more.
“Back for more, eh?” Mia asked with a smirk. “Alright. Now, all of you, I need you to, using whatever magic you're most familiar with, gather it in your hands, pointed at me. Imagine fire, burning and bright, forming in your hands feeding off the magic. Once you have that image in your mind, shout ‘Fire!’, and a fireball should shoot at me.” The flaming tailed teacher instructed.
Some of the crowd shared looks with one another before they each lifted their hands and began to focus, Gabby and Arrow included. For a few moments, not much happened before all at once, the crowd shouted “Fire!” Only about two-thirds of the crowd managed to pull off the attack, Gabby not among them whilst Arrow’s sped on fast and true.
Mia closed her eyes, letting the fire wash over her. “Great job!” She said with a smirk, clapping. She didn’t notice her clothes were now ash.
“Miss Mia!” Octavius cried, rushing over with a blanket and throwing it on her. “Be more aware!”
Most of the crowd looked away to give her the privacy she deserved, Arrow included, having learned his lesson from before. Though, there were still the few off-center remarks and dirty jokes rolling around the training field, most of them coming from the group in the back.
“Welp, while I go get more clothes, you all do the same thing on that gracious group in the back that just volunteered, except now focus on wetness for water, shouting that, and then electric tingling before shouting ‘thunder’. I’m sure you all know what happens then,” Mia said, a bit of a blush on her face as she wrapped the blanket around herself.
Arrow was one of the first to turn towards the group and glare, hand already starting to rise up and flare with magic. The group took notice as lights started to shine on them and their eyes widened at just how many of the crowd were aiming different versions of the elemental strike at them. A shout of “SCATTER!” had the group disbanded and scrambling away at record speeds, a singular ball of lightning following after them just for good measure. Arrow smirked as he lowered his smoking hand.
Back with Mia and Octavius, Octavius was leading her to Chris so he could help them find clothes for her. She couldn't help but notice that he was grumbling to himself about her indecency. Mia looked away a bit, feeling ashamed.
Finally, Octavius found Chris and walked up to him.
“Young Chris, do you happen to have any spare clothes? Miss Mia went and let her old ones get burned off,” Octavius asked.
Chris turned and looked up at Octavius, glancing for half a moment at Mia before giving a kind smile. “Don’t think I have anything that’d be comfortable for you,” he answered. “But Rarity’s always happy to make up a quick get up.”
“Thank you,” he said, nodding his head in appreciation before heading off to find Rarity. Mia stayed close at his heels, using him partially as cover in addition to the blanket.
As they walked away, Chris went back to looking through the data sheets he had gotten from the overnight he had pulled studying the differences in Delta and Astra’s AIs. And honestly, he was more than a little surprised. Both showed signs of much higher intelligence than most of the people, or beings as the case may be, that he’d ever met. But not only that, but there was an obvious difference in their thought patterns when they were further or closer together. He just had to figure out what that was all about….
“Hey, Chris.” The young man was suddenly shaken from his thoughts as Cobalt and Firefly stopped at his table, the thestral being the one to have snapped him out of his trance. “What’cha working on?”
The young man blinked for a moment before he shook his head and glanced at the papers on the table. “Uh… oh, these are the readouts from Astra and Delta last night,” he answered as the two ponies took seats across from him.
“Sounds like fun…,” the stallion said slowly, sharing a look with Firefly who only shrugged as they sat.
“Yeah, for me it is,” Chris said with a small chuckle before giving the pair his full attention. “So, what are you guys up to today? More training?”
“Actually,” Firefly spoke up, twirling her fork in her hand as she did so. “We were going to just kick back today and relax.”
“Really?” Chris questioned with a quirk in his eyebrow and a mischievous grin. “And how’d you get the ol’ pain train to let you off the hook?”
Cobalt scoffed a bit at that and rolled his eyes. “Just because I want us all to be at the top of our game does not mean I don’t know when to take it easy,” he said in his defense, before taking a bite of the mashed potatoes on his tray. “Besides, we have two zords now. What do we have to-”
“Don’t finish that!” Firefly and Chris cried at the same time, the ranger scooting his seat back and starting to reach across the table as if to hold it over the thestral’s face. Cobalt’s eyes widened and he looked between his teammates before clearing his throat.
“Oookay…,” he muttered, poking at his potatoes again. The trio fell into an awkward silence for a minute or two, Chris sinking back into his seat as the ponies ate. Eventually, the young man cleared his throat and drew the pair’s attention.
“So,” he began, tapping the end of his pen against the table before looking up. “You guys aren’t going to be up to anything that’ll keep you from suiting up if we get called out, are you?”
The ponies looked at him for a second before sharing a glance at one another, quickly looking away as a blush formed on Firefly’s cheeks. “Nothing’ too strenuous,” Cobalt answered with a hasty chuckle, rubbing the back of his neck. “I was probably just going to get some chores done around my room. Place is starting to feel like a pigsty.”
“Uh, yeah,” Firefly added, banishing the heat in her face. “I’m probably just going to hang out and find something to read. Been a while since I just sat.”
“Now that you say something, it really has been…,” Chris muttered, eyes glazing over for a second before he shook his head. “Anyway, sounds like you guys are going to have a good time.”
Cobalt gave a snort of laughter. “Oh, yeah, cleaning up dirty socks for several hours,” he said before spinning his spoon in the air. “Woo-hoo.”
Chris let out a chuckle as the two started to get up from their seats. “You guys enjoy yourselves the best you can,” he said as they turned to leave.
“We will,” Firefly replied, flashing a smile at the man. “Try not to work too hard, yeah?”
“Yeah,” Chris replied in a low tone as the winged ponies turned and made their way out of the cafeteria. The ranger watched them go, his gaze going off into the distance as he did so. “Yeah…” After a while, he dropped his eyes back to the papers on the table before him, thoughts racing between three different subjects that all tangled themselves together….
In time, Octavius and Mia returned, Mia wearing clothes instead of a blanket this time. Octavius approached Chris.
“Young Chris, do you think it would be possible to have a celebration, of sorts? To lift the spirits of the Rebellion?” Octavius queried.
“Hm?” Chris questioned, looking up from his notes. “Oh, um, yeah, I think that would be okay. We’d have to take it up with Artemus, but it should be more than doable… but if you don’t mind my asking, why?”
“If soldiers have no faith in their cause, they are no longer soldiers,” Octavius began. “They are the civilians.”
“Armed civilians, but still civilians,” Mia commented.
Chris nodded his head at that. “I see your point,” he said, getting to his feet. “I’ll go talk to Artemus and see what we can do.”
“Wonderful! We shall remain here to await your return,” Octavius said. Chris smiled and gave a nod before heading off to go see Artemus.
A few hours later, in the auditorium usually reserved for speeches and gatherings, music played and different colored lights flashed while the people of Equis enjoyed themselves for the first time in a very long time.
Octavius was in a corner by a large keg, a tankard of a glowing, golden liquid in his hand while he watched the people of the Rebellion with a genuine smile. He had kept his armor on, and would occasionally lift the faceplate to take a swig of his drink.
“Having fun there?” A familiar voice asked him. Octavius turned his head to see Mia in a beautiful red dress that hugged her curves, with just the right amount of makeup on her face to make her seem even more beautiful. If Octavius could blush, he would have.
“O-Oh, hello there, Miss Mia!” He greeted. “Yes, I’m just fine.”
She raised an eyebrow. “Are you sure? You’re kinda chugging that stuff,” She said, gesturing to the drink he had.
“What, this? This is just Estus. Undead, Unkindled, and Hollows alike treasure it. It heals our wounds and is normally in a Flask, but every now and again we make soup from it. It doesn't really do anything for us, just gives us a slice of normalcy,” Octavius explained.
Mia nodded a little. “Okay,” She said, taking his explanation.
The party continued for a few more minutes before Chris walked up to them. “Y’know,” he said as he came to a stop. “This was actually a great idea.” Octavius grinned beneath his helm, raising his tankard.
“To a brighter tomorrow,” he toasted.
Chris smiled and raised the plastic cup he was holding. “To hope,” he answered.
Mia just toasted, not having anything to say.
Chris took a drink from his cup before speaking up again. “I should really thank you guys for all the help you’ve given us,” he said, looking to each of them. “God knows we needed it.” Octavius took a drink from his own, lifting the faceplate before lowering it again after he was done.
“Like I’ve said, a knight’s duty is to help others. I am simply glad to be able to do so,” Octavius answered.
“It’s no problem,” Mia said with a casual shrug.
Chris gave a little chuckle. “If there’s ever anything you need, call me,” he said. “We’ll be there faster than you can say ‘Displaced’.” Octavius chuckled.
“I’ll keep that in mind. Just be aware you’ll be dealing with horrors no machine could ever concoct,” Octavius said.
“I wonder how my dragon form would do there…” Mia hummed.
“I think I’ll be able to handle myself,” Chris answered with a small, confused glance at Mia before looking back at Octavius. “Besides, thanks to the Astro Megaship, I’ve started on something that gives us the extra firepower we need.”
“True,” Octavius agreed, taking another swig before standing up. “Well, unless there is a speech for us to make, I believe it is time I returned. My quest must continue, after all.”
“It’s been fun though,” Mia said with a stretch.
Chris nodded. “It really has,” he answered, extending a hand to Mia. She extended hers back with a tilt of her head. They shook for a moment before Chris turned to Octavius and did the same. Octavius smiled and shook firmly.
“Well, I suppose it’s time to go back,” he said, taking his staff from the side of his chair. “It was wonderful to meet you, Chris. Feel free to have your scholars, or what have you, study the Estus in that keg. You might find the contents useful.” With that, he grabbed Mia and slammed the bottom of the staff on the ground, and they erupted in blue, magical flames, before disappearing, the flames dispersing soon after.
Chris blinked as the flames died down, wondering what the knight-scholar had been talking about before a small bit of pressure on his arm got his attention. “Everything alright, Chris?” Sweetie asked, looking at him with mild concern.
The ranger just gave a smile in response. “Yeah, Sweetie, everything’s just fine,” he answered before turning and starting to walk her back towards the rest of the party. “Our friends just went home is all.”
“Oh,” Sweetie said before an awkward silence fell over them.
Chris let his gaze meet the floor for a few moments before he looked back up. “Sweetie?”
“Hm?” The unicorn hummed, looking up at him and getting caught off guard by the sincerity in his eyes.
“You know I love you, right?” He asked softly, the mare’s gaze looking over his features.
After a moment, she gave a little breath and smiled sweetly at him. “Of course I do,” she answered, before sharing a kiss with him. The two held the moment for several seconds before they parted. Wordlessly, they smiled at one another before turning and rejoining the party. The man didn’t even give himself enough time to register the unicorn’s unease.
The pair danced together for several minutes, the unicorn and human moving to the songs that came on until the off-white mare took a step back and shook her head. “What’s wrong?” Chris asked, concern permeating his voice and expression.
“I’m sorry, Chris,” she said quietly, backing up again. “It’s just… I can’t get the other day out of my head. Every time I see you, I think about how angry you looked… the sound of your voice. I… I don’t know if I can stand it. I’m sorry.” Sweetie Belle turned and started to walk off quickly, leaving the young man to process what he’d been told.
But the only thing that registered in his mind was Sweetie walking away. Shaking his head, the young man dismissed his thoughts and shot forward. “Sweetie, wait!” He cried out, just managing to catch her arm softly. The mare stopped in her tracks, shoulders hunching and ears falling back as she tensed. Chris stood there for a moment, eyes glued to the back of her head before he let go and gave a little sigh. “Just… stay for a little while longer.” He let his gaze fall as he waited for Sweetie Belle’s answer, waiting for her body to ease.
After what felt like an eternity, the mare let out a breath and her shoulders relaxed. Without turning to look at him, her head nodded. The man’s eyes raised up once more, a determined look crossing over his face before he turned and started to make his way across the room. What he was planning was extremely experimental, and he wasn’t even sure it would work, but, as he made his way to the mix-table, he knew that Sweetie was worth the risk.
“Excuse me,” he said as he came to stop next to the white mare that manned the turntable, the unicorn looking up with her purple-tinted shades. Chris stopped in his tracks as he felt the intense stare coming from the other side of the glasses, the young man feeling himself involuntarily gulp. “Uh, sorry, Vinyl, I, um, I just wanted to make a request.”
The spiky maned pony looked him over for several seconds more before turning back to her station and flicking a few switches. “First off,” the unicorn started, turning her full attention to the man before her, removing the single side of her headphones from her right ear while simultaneously removing her shades to look at him with piercing red eyes. “Nobody calls me Vinyl unless I say so. Second, what makes your request more important than the last fifty I got?” Chris let another gulp roll down his throat as the mare seemed to stab at him with her scratchy voice. The man weighed his options and, taking his life into account, took a moment to reevaluate the unicorn. She wore a sleeveless, maroon button-up, the top few buttons undone to show off a bit, black and orange striped sleeves running from the base of her thumbs to just under her elbows. Her thigh-length, cut-off shorts were held up by a black belt with a belt-buckle resembling a mixtape, showing off her stockings that ran up to stop a few inches from her jeans and matched the sleeves on her arms, all while the toes of her black hightop converse glinted with the same metallic light as the charm on her necklace that resembled a speaker jack.
“I, um,” the ranger stuttered after taking in the mare’s unexpectedly intimidating appearance. “I just....” He stopped and let out a breath, looking towards the floor. “This may be my last chance to make amends….”
The unicorn quirked an eyebrow before twirling her shades in her fingers and replacing them on her face, looking out across the hall. “...Tallish, white unicorn,” she started, turning back to him and sliding her glasses off her face again. “Purple and pink mane?”
“How di-”
“Because she looks like a kicked puppy, jackass,” the mare growled, stepping towards him and forcing him to step back. She stared up at his face for a moment or two before she let out a huff and straightened up, crossing her arms. “You’ve got one shot to make this worth my time.”
Chris blinked a few times before he let a small, relieved smile spread across his face. “Thank you so much, Vi-”
“What’d I just tell you about that!?” The pony questioned hotly, turning her fiery gaze on him again and freezing him in place. “If you’re going to call me anything, then ‘DJ Pon3’ or just ‘DJ’ will work just fine. Now, hurry up and do what you’re gonna do!”
“R-right!” Chris responded, skirting around the mare before he lifted his wrist and morpher, looking for a jack-in cord. Picking one up, he went to plug it in, hesitating a moment and letting out a breath. “I’m honestly not sure this is going to work.”
“Whatever, just get on with it!” DJ muttered irritably. “And don’t break any of my equipment, ‘cause if you do, I swear to Celestia I will stomp you! If doubt that… just ask Dash how it feels….”
A cold sweat actually broke out on the man’s brow as the color drained from his face. He looked back to the jack in his hand, and, with a steadying breath, pushed it into the plug-in on his morpher. There was a soft squeal that went unnoticed to everyone in the room except himself and the unicorn beside him. Standing up, he threw a quizzical glance over the setup. “Did it work?”
“We won’t know unless you get to what you’re doing,” the blue-maned pony muttered in response, her shades pushing up as she pinched the bridge of her snout.
“Right,” Chris said before he let out a breath and lifted his morpher, swiping at the screen for a few moments. “Do you have a mic-” A microphone promptly bounced off the side of his head, which he caught with one hand as he rubbed the spot with the other. “I deserved that….” He took another breath and waited for the current song to start to die down before he tapped the screen on his morpher and loaded his song. Thank gott the morpher transformed from my phone.
As the first notes began to play, Chris Scott opened his mouth and began to project his voice into the mic, carrying the words on a soft, warm tone. As he sang, he closed his eyes, letting everything else go except the image of the mare he loved as his voice reached a crescendo. He opened his eyes as he sang the chorus, gaze only focused on the off-white unicorn at the back of the room, her eyes going wide in surprise. He watched her as he sang through the chorus, the mare reaching up towards her chest.
He closed his eyes again and took another breath before starting the second verse. He felt the lyrics play through him, his heart reaching out to Sweetie Belle as tears started to form at the corner of his eye. His mind changed some of the lyrics involuntarily, changing ‘children’ to ‘hope’ as he went. He fought against his constricting throat as he started the chorus over again. This time he sang louder, held onto the notes longer and his voice grow sweeter.
He didn’t open his eyes again, only squeezed them closed tighter as he threw himself into the third and final verse, laying all of himself out for the mare, his Sweetie Belle to see. He let his tone emphasize his words, letting the music do the work as the lyrics ended. As the final tune faded out, he let out a heavy breath and opened his eyes. His hand fell to his side as the entire room stared up at him, but his gaze only stayed on Sweetie as he took a shaky breath, tears falling from the purple-maned pony as he watched. A pat on his arm drew his attention back to DJ as Sweetie had been reaching for a handkerchief. “You can give me my booth back now,” she said gruffly, avoiding eye contact as she held out her hand even as her tight voice betrayed her.
Chris blinked for a moment before he cleared his throat and lifted his wrist to unplug his morpher. “Y-yeah, sure thing,” he answered, handing the jack and mic back to the unicorn. “Thanks, DJ.” The mare mumbled something as he left, going back to throwing out energetic party beats as Chris made his way around the room to Sweetie Belle. The unicorn sniffed and moved the cloth from her eyes as he approached, hands stuffed deep into his pockets as he came to a stop.
For several moments, he simply stood there waiting for her to say something. And eventually, she did. “I… I didn’t know you could sing,” she said softly, finally looking towards him.
The ranger let out a soft, nervous chuckle at that, rubbing his head. “To be honest, I didn’t either,” he confessed, looking back towards her, his small smile fading a little. “But it was worth trying.”
“Why?”
The question stumped the young man, making him stop for a second. “Why, what?” He asked in confusion.
“Why was it worth trying?” The mare elaborated, stepping towards him with her eyes wide and searching.
Chris took a moment to process the question before he gave a little sigh and stepped forward to stand in front of her. “Because,” he started quietly, bringing his hands up to rest on her arms. “You’re everything I love and care about in this world. And nothing is ever going to change that.”
Sweetie Belle stared up at him for several seconds before she gave a soft, genuine smile as fresh tears welled up in her eyes. “I love you, too, Chris,” she said softly, wrapping her arms around him as she buried her head in his chest. Chris returned the hug gently, pulling the mare closer even as he felt her tears start to stain through his shirt, a happy smile growing on his face.
On the other side of the base, Sam floated in a dimly lit room, the light of the capsule in front of him doing more to illuminate his surroundings than the actual dim bulbs in the ceiling. The orb said and did nothing as he hovered in the one spot, taking in every detail of the tube’s occupant as he done many times over the past several days. Long brown body, red-scaled serpent tail, a goat’s hoof and a dragon’s talon, a lion’s paw and the claw of an eagle, wings of a blue bird and a bat, an antler and a spiral horn topping the gray, snaggle-toothed head.
Discord had clearly seen better days. The draconequus’ body was pockmarked with burns and scars, an especially nasty and knotted scar running from his shoulder to the opposite hip. His lion paw was missing a few fingers and the end of his tail had either been cut off or blasted, if not both. A large burn ran over his eagle arm, the flesh looking inflamed and melted while one of his ears stood torn and mangled in comparison to the other, the snaggle-tooth chipped at the end.
“He really hasn’t healed all that much, has he?” Sam suddenly spoke up, not bothering to turn around as the same silver-maned, and blue-coated mare that always came to get him stepped out of the shadows.
“No, he hasn’t,” Trixie agreed, stepping up next to him. “Then again, that is the point of the stasis chamber.” The mare’s origins as a stage-magician showed in her outfit, the white-collared, purple sleeveless shirt providing a sense of class and style while black, tight-fitting shorts and sheer pantyhose covered her legs. White gloves and heels stood out drastically to the purple and star-spangled cape that draped over her shoulders. The black and red Alicorn Amulet glinted from where it rested, adding a soft, red glow to her predominantly violet eyes.
“And if he were to be taken out to be healed,” Sam continued, the sound of a sigh escaping him. “His wounds would kill him before the mages could heal him.”
“That is the sad truth,” Trixie murmured as she let out her own breath.The pair sat in silence for several moments before the mare spoke up again. “Trixie never asked but… why do you come here on your spare time?”
The ball of energy didn’t answer right away, only began to slowly bob in the air slightly. “...I use him as a reminder,” the orb finally answered, coming to a stop. “A reminder of the enemies we face and what they’re capable of. What could happen to all of us if Chris and I fail? And… I also wonder… why?”
The blue unicorn tilted her head in confusion at that. “What do you mean?” She questioned, looking at him quizzically.
“I mean…,” Sam began again, trailing off for a moment. “Why did he go after King Mondo and his forces? He must have known he was outmatched, Discord’s smarter than that. Not only that but back home he was always portrayed as selfish and self-centered. So, why? Why would he rush into a fight like that?”
“Maybe it was that selfishness that drove him to act as he did,” Trixie suggested with a shrug. “But in the end, who could possibly know what was going through the head of the Lord of Chaos?”
The sound of another sigh echoed from Samson’s orb. “I guess you got me there,” he murmured quietly before he seemed to twist in the air and started to float away. “Who knew what he was thinking….”