//------------------------------// // Spring: The Point // Story: Earth-Chan in Equestria // by zack black //------------------------------// "Mmm, well... I do not think I follow.  I can guess it has something to do with the name. Not going to lie, it is sad to hear that because I was really warming up to it." The hues of Earth-Chan were mixing in a collage of green and red, mistakenly festive if judged by an amateur. But, Unity was a step above. If there was anything he prided himself in lately it was his ability to learn the emotions of the one he held so dear. Her colors told him he was wrong, but even his understanding had it's limits. Why was red so predominant? It was clear that he wasn't quite as skilled at reading her as he wanted to be, but that could and would change. He did all this for that very purpose. As all knowing as he undoubtedly was, even the Universe had to humble itself in it's knowledge. This moment was impossible, therefore nothing could prepare him. There was no predictions to go on. No past to draw from. He was going at this blind. And it thrilled him to no end. "On second thought, guessing games are just as foreign as manners. Maybe if I could get a small hint I cou-" "That's just it! Nothing about this is a game!!! You just keep rambling... You haven't even noticed!" "Noticed..." What an odd claim. Those particular words never crossed him. The accusation in of itself was confusing. He was the definition of omnipotent, yet here this planet turned pony dared to challenge everything Unity was. As amazing as the anomaly presented itself to be, it fundamentally bothered Unity in a way that he couldn't quite describe.  What was this feeling? Nothing stood out yet, but he couldn't shake something brewing in his very being. Just a small bubbling sensation of... of anger? No, too tame and unimposing. Maybe thinking wasn't the answer here. He needed to feel this out, play along, and try listening to what his creation meant. Quite the heavy accusation to start with, but this was all a part of the discovery, he had to keep an open mind. Silence reigned for what felt like an eternity before Earth-Chan glowed a golden sheen of exasperation and let out a scoff. "Really? Look! Look at me! Look at what's happening!!" Look at her, and tell what was happening? Well nothing, he'd stopped time for this. She knew that, meaning clearly this meant something more subtle, right? Maybe... her appearance? He had created her body in a moment of passion hoping to fit his image of her into a condensed pony form, but with the lack of time and the amount of strain he'd been under during the process he figured the final result was admirable yet rushed. She had an honest, slender shape with just the right amount of muscle to complement her independence and audaciousness. Maybe he'd fluffed her up a bit too much, but what was the point of making her a pony if not to fluff her? Plus, earth pony. Earth-Chan. The race picked fit like a glove! He simply refused to believe she had any bodily insecurities, but at the same time, that wasn't very open minded. If he was wrong then he was ignoring a simple problem and leaving it to stew. If he wasn't, he'd bring focus to her appearance just by mentioning it which might lead into an insecurity out of the blue. This was so punishing! Everything felt like a wrong direction. It'd been so easy to be neglectful, but now taking someone else into consideration like this. It almost made too much sense as to why he'd secluded himself from the other creations. The implications of every wrong move were torturous! But, this was different. This was Earth. This was worth the struggle. He had already made that decision. Choosing to Ignore the eternal loop of body shaming for now, Unity tried a different angle. If not her body then maybe her predicament had the answers. There was more than one way to cue in on subtleties, the Universe was no fool. The scratches Earth-Chan had gotten from the other critters were regrettable, but at the same time, it was all a misunderstanding. One Unity was sure would fix itself with enough time. If not, he could always tweak the charm he left on the Earth. It's strength had seemingly risen in the first few days, but it was a work in progress, just like everything else about this situation. So, with that unfortunate pain in mind, one had to acknowledge what was actually physically happening. The scene: His beautiful Earth was off alone from any ponies or small critters having just played a fun, albeit aggressive, game of chase as was her usual tendency. She was slumped against a tree to catch a breath after having finally given her friends the slip. Before she could continue her new game of hide and seek a few local pups had come to greet her. All of them seemingly entranced by Earth's charm. The biggest of the pack had taken first dibs as was pack mentality, and was now going in for a hug. "..." Where was the issue? He'd broken it down to its most basic level, and still this situation seemed cheerful if not a little tiring. It could probably be the animal cuts, and he lamented the effect they might have on her stamina, but once again, those were products of a misunderstanding. The critters had merely snuggled the wrong way. He was sure their comprehension would improve quite soon. Last he had checked, every animal on Equis had an above average sense of intelligence. Mixed with the charm he'd used there should just be a small learning curve before things ironed themselves out. The charm hadn't been of his own creation, instead borrowed from a quick clairvoyance of the knowledge accumulated from Equis itself , although indeed added upon he was sure he had casted the spell precisely as instructed. Magic wasn't something he manipulated all that often, it's mere practice coming far too close to breaking his own laws of physics. Still, with creation came a realm of impossibility that was constantly challenged and expanded on. His connection with Earth delved into that very realm, so frankly he had no reason to hesitate anymore. Even with that new open-minded view his knowledge of the subject was limited. Another strike to his overall pride as an omnipresent being, but one he had to accept if he held any chance of amending the spell in the future. A few more adjustments to some finer details were in order, but for all his worth, Unity couldn't find the issue and that bothered him greatly. His emotion from earlier beginning to rise more predominantly. There had to be a title to this emotion. If only he could pin it down. He'd spent an immeasurable minute thinking though, perhaps a question was appropriate. "What is it that I am looking for, Earth?" Another fluctuation of color. The primary color, of course, red. Unity had gotten it wrong again. It stung, but not as much as the sudden lash of disapproval that followed. "A clue! How about that! You didn't even notice the pain, the danger, all the tears, Nothing! You call yourself a father?!!" What were tears? "Y-You don't even care! Not even a shred of guilt!  All that you've done... You jerk..." ~You don't even care~ ~You don't care~ ~Care~ CARE!!!!! Oh... the emotion. That's right. It did have a title. Frustration. That was not a word she should be using against him. Not now, not ever. She had no idea. How could she, he had no intention of telling her. Yet, he felt smacked dead in the face with such an accusation. Such a heinous, disgusting accusation. If she could have felt the fear, the uncertainty of it all. The pain of giving up some cycle just to gain the displacement big enough to edit the very reality he'd created. It took lives to do this... it took blood. It took enough to stain his own conscious. Enough to taint the stability he'd kept for all these billions... Trillions of years! "Pardon, I do not care?" After all that had been done? The worst possible accusation... How could she come to such a horrid conclusion. It broke his heart just as clearly as it broke his restraint. "I do not Care?!" For the second time in all of his cycle, a sense of injustice washed over Unity, spreading throughout all of his galaxies in a wave of unbalance. It was alien to have emotions take control, even as forethought was abandoned for a mere few seconds. Something equivalent to a cry of betrayal festered up and lashed out in the form of an all mighty echo. "How could you possibly... I did this because I care! You were in pain, I healed it. I did everything possible and fixed it!" "You call bringing back the dead fixing it?! You robbed me of my peace, for what?" Earth-Chan's own echo rising in brightness, her red coloring shined brighter by the second as she finally gave her inner anguish a voice... and it was loud. But so was his. "For a second chance! If nothing were done, you would have disappeared and..." "And what if that's what I wanted?!" The very possibility mortified Unity. He'd ignored this outcome for the sole purpose that it trembled him. To want death meant the sacrifice he'd made was pointless. The cycle compromised for nothing. Even just the thought that he'd watched his Child, so sweet and innocent, turn down a self-destructive path while doing nothing to stop it... implying the notion that he'd been too late to save her. Absolutely not. Besides, that wasn't the Earth he knew. His Earth was just an unfortunate ball of blue riddled with misunderstandings, robbed of friendship for no explicable reason. She was naive, filled with hope, but still terribly sad. She was sweet, kind, and gentle, acting with only the best intentions. Unity's Earth was just upset. For all it's worth, she deserved to be upset. Those humans tortured her very mind and soul. She still needed to heal. Earth didn't understand what she had said, she was angry, everyone says things they don't mean when they're angry. Explaining it properly like that helped Unity relax, regaining what little restraint he could to soften his echo back to a normal volume, albeit shaky given the uncomfortable subject. "You do not know what you want." "...But, neither do I honestly. Is that not crazy?" "Of course it is! Y-You... where do you get off telling me what I know! You don't even know me!" "Oh, Earth...Earth Earth Earth. At this point, all I know is you. All I want to know is you. I am trying so hard to learn." "Then maybe you should listen for once." He'd been listening in on every word spoken, it was obvious context had flown over his head, but he would likely never discover where or when. He couldn't get caught up on past mistakes, he had to keep moving through this, bumbling along until he figured out what he could do to help this planet. His planet. "I mean, sure.... whatever you have to say, I am more than willing to hear, Earth." "Then I'll be clear." "I...hate you." "..." ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Earth-Chan let out a startled yelp as a massive force of wood came crashing against her and knocked her down to the ground, just barely smashing against the tree behind her and somehow missing an oblong root that had exposed itself from the forest floor. As close of a call as that might have been, she immediately found herself pinned. It was abrupt, but made sense given her predicament. Unity, the celestial consciousness, had doomed her to this fate. She had said her part though. There was a bitterness left over from such harsh words, yet she had no regrets. She knew why now. A selfish vision of justice from a being that just couldn't get it. Fine, let it end again. She was ready, just like last time. What could being eaten alive bring to the table that burning alive didn't? She was dead either way... and really wasn't that what she deserved in the first place? The canine above her leaned in for his first bite. And took a taste instead. "Blegh." The darn wolf had managed to slobber her, some of it getting in Earth-Chan's mouth. "ehegh, r-really? What the heck?" The pony was quickly shushed with another lick or two. They were so rapid and distracting it was really a bother just keeping count. Soon what was one or two quick laps turned into a saliva bath as the alpha wolf began to groom her face with affection. This was so different from the other critters it was surreal. What was arguably a much more lethal environment, one would assume death was knocking, instead seemed to add up to a cuddle hunt. In comparison she'd been attacked by the other critters in what she had thought was a favorable situation surrounded by helpful ponies and friends. So, why? What was different? Species maybe? But, these were carnivores. The herbivores had been a much bigger threat! What’s more, how the heck did a giant moving slab of wood have a tongue?!! Another few seconds of constant licks followed before Earth-Chan worked the courage to try and push away. The wolf, for once, showed some mercy and pulled away, still pinning her to the ground, but at least giving her room to breath. Even with such a new discovery of peacefulness something felt wrong about having her belly and throat still fully exposed to a predator. Being a creature of prey meant there was an inherent feeling of fear logged deep in her gut screaming for her to scamper. She probably would if she could. Once given the space she needed she got a second look at her captor. Along with her new perspective she couldn't help but gain a little bit of an infatuation with the animal above her. So powerful and threatening, yet docile enough to respect her wishes to not be licked. He was cute, if you were willing to overlook those fangs and claws. To top it off, there was the subtle flicker behind him, which after careful watch reveal to be his tail wagging. The big lug was starting to resemble a dog more than a menacing wolf. "Um... eheh, would you mind letting me up?" The wolf tilted it's head in acknowledgement that at least heard her, but other than that he didn't budge. The gap in understanding would not be crossed in just a few seconds, which was unfortunate because this big guy was heavy. "P-Please? I think my legs are numbing. It's kind of new one for me, and really quite concerning..." With a bark, the wooden canine tilted his head the other direction. It was adorable, but not helpful in the slightest. Leaving no room for communication, the pony opted to try and wiggle. With a small shimmy of her hips, she began slightly rocking herself beneath his weight. Not so much moving, but relaying a clear desire to move instead. Suddenly, as if finally coming to some kind of understanding, the wolf got the hint and released his hold on Earth, getting up and backing away to give her even more space. The term 'good boy' came to mind now that all sense of threat was abolished. Even her instincts to flee were starting to quell as she noted that none of the pack surrounding so much as budged from their spots, instead deciding to sit in place and watch the interaction. Slowly but surely, Earth-Chan got back to her hooves. Her coat had suffered a few new splotches of dust and dirt, but besides that and the still plentiful scratches she'd gotten from earlier she was fine. With more freedom to move came with some confidence in the situation. Something she hadn't had in a while.  Now that she could walk, it was her decision not to. Earth decided she wanted to return some affection and approached. Her step was still careful, not wanting to push her luck too much. Even so, she reached out with her head and gave the wooden wolf a nuzzle, muzzles coming cheek to cheek with each other. In return, the wolf nuzzled back, even adding another lick to the fray flicking her ear with his green muscle. "Heh, well Mr. Wolf... I'd say this is one of the better first impressions today." Moving her head back she gave the wolf a small smile. "Any idea where I'm at?" The wolf barked cheerfully in answer. Just as Earth-Chan's heart began to melt, a cataclysmic beam shot from the side and engulfed the wooden wolf in his entirety. There was neigh a coherent yelp before the beam of energy quickly subsided leaving nothing in its wake. The only things left of the once friendly alpha in front of her was nothing but a set of wooden paws, smoldering at where the wolf's ankles use to be. Earth-Chan kept her smile for a second, not really registering at all what had just happened. It was too fast to acknowledge. Before she could even blink away the initial shock, two more powerful beams shot from the side of her vision. Suddenly a loud bark of fear was emitted, sparking Earth-Chan from her stupor, only to come to a heavy realization that she was now alone in the clearing. Nothing but the smell of burnt wood and chard remains were left. Slowly turning her head towards the source of the beams she was met with a tall purple figure, frowning at her. The pony couldn't find her words, just staring off in horror at what had happened. "Look, thank me later. But, that won't keep them down long believe it or not. We gotta go..." Still, the pony could do nothing but stare in shock, her mouth agape with both fear and surprise. It took her all too long to realize the figure emerging from the woods was another pony. A pegasus it seemed, her wings tucked to her sides. One addition threw Earth off just as much as the display of brutality though, that being that this pegasus had a horn atop her head, budding out from beneath her purple multi-hued mane. She was a slightly taller size, giving herself a sleek elegance that contrasted heavily with her deadly prowess. She was pretty, imposing, and currently staring at Earth-Chan with quite the glare. "You're going to just stand there, aren't you?" With a scoff the pegasus' horn began to glow a color that resembled an echo in essence. It encompassed her appendage and lead to a lot of nothing happening for a short few seconds. Then, without warning, Earth-Chan was lifted into the air. Feeling scared as she was once again pulled away from her bug-eyed stare, the pony began to frantically squirm, trying to get out of the grasp of whatever was picking her up.... only there was no resistance. There was no presence. Nothing but the faintest of glows, one resembling the exact same glow coming from the pegasus' horn. It didn't take a genius to put two and two together. That's right. She was being abducted. "Starlight! I found her, lets head back to the others!" The slender mare called over her shoulder before looking back to Earth for a split second. "Let's go straighten this out, hmmm?" Still in some kind of hurry she quickly spun around and began galloping back into the woods, a floating Earth-Chan following her closely in tow.