//------------------------------// // Chapter 5 // Story: Nom's Mom Bomb // by kudzuhaiku //------------------------------// According to Chalcedony, the Bonds of Embarrassment, as they were known, were the strongest bonds of all, and one simply did not break them, lest one wished to experience a lifetime of unending embarrassment. The blind filly was happy now, but she also seemed to be a bit quiet and rather withdrawn, even though she was clinging to Chartreuse’s side. Still, something about her embrace was reserved, as she lacked her usual enthusiasm. Even worse, Chartreuse missed Chalcedony’s usual enthusiasm; she kept thinking the most troubling of thoughts about her friend and longed to feel her wandering touch whilst they cuddled on the couch together. It was wrong, she knew it, but try as she might, she could not corral her thoughts. Nomination’s voice was in good form tonight, sounding almost like a cheerful, inviting fire burning away in the grate, and each word was scented with just a hint of smoke. An open history book lay on the floor in front of him and he lay on the floor with his book with one foreleg pressed down upon it to keep it open. He read of the Solanum family, one of Equestria’s great families who were very much like the Apples or the Pies, that is to say they were ubiquitous. The family had direct bloodlines to Princess Celestia, were of great prominence, held immense importance in the Unicorn Range region, and were responsible for Equestria having an abundance of potatoes. If everything tasted like potatoes, they were the ponies upon which the blame could be rested. Chalcedony had the appearance of a crystalline body, she was even somewhat translucent at this point, so full of love was she, but this was more illusion than anything else. Still, there was something about her friend that Chartreuse found appealing and her stray thoughts wandered to strange places while Nomination read aloud. A crystal pony was a sort of love-lamp, of a kind; a kiss, some affection, some adoration and they would glow ever brighter. But what might they do when swept up in a whirlwind of amorous bliss? How might they glow during a heated moment of amatory exploration? They made for unique partners because one could see the effect that one was having during heated, enamored acts. One could go racing for the glow… “Did something or somepony just die?” Chalcedony blurted out. “That was me, sorry. Istanbullian food—” “Not you, Nom! No! Him!” Chalcedony shivered, a violent shuddering reaction that made her teeth clatter. Then, quick as a flash, she was on her hooves, she bounded across the room, hit the launcher, and was shot upwards. At that moment the door banged opened and the savage tundra wind appeared, causing the candles’ flames to flicker, sputter, and then disappear. The curtains flew in a gale and then He appeared, saying, “Don’t be afraid.” Somehow, Nomination was gone too, though Chartreuse wasn’t sure how it had happened. His book lay on the floor, its pages flapping about, and the only thing left of Nomination was a few stray hairs. With her home now in some disorder, Chartreuse turned a stern glare upon the cause of this chaos and gave him a feminine sniff of disapproval. “Master, your dramatic entrances are inapropos.” “Night terrors should be braver,” the cloaked figure in the doorway replied, and then, at last, he shut the door behind him after the last of the candles blew itself out. The twinkle of round steel goggles glinted in Chartreuse’s horn light and the goatee that hung down from the cloaked figure’s chin was like a hole cut into the darkness. With an annoyed flick of magic, Chartreuse relit the candles and was tempted to turn on the electric lights just to be a pest. She stood, lifted her saddlebags, and grabbed her hat off of the decorative end table while Dim was rummaging around in his own saddlebags. He pulled out a package, which he held out to her, and which she placed into her own saddlebags. Then, Dim held out something else for her. “Here you go. A precise magical implement. I crafted it for you.” Eyes narrowed, Chartreuse peered through her glasses, still annoyed, and from upstairs she could hear Chalcedony’s laboured breathing, which was a dreadful distraction. Her eyes traveled the length of the iron rod that Dim held and after a moment, she remarked, “That’s a fireplace poker.” Clearing his throat, he replied, “To the untrained eye, perhaps. But this is aligned cold iron. It used to be a fireplace poker. I have since aligned the iron in such a way that it naturally conducts a positive thaumaton charge. Be mindful, my apprentice, it feels peculiar to hold.” When she took the fireplace poker into her magical grip, she quickly discovered what her master had meant. It vibrated in the most curious way and the tip of it, the business end that was a bit pokey and had a hook protruding from the side of it, that end wanted to swing around to point at her. The thrum was pleasant, in an odd sort of way, and comforting. “It took me forever to align each of the iron molecules into a face-centered cubic structure and then fill the void within with a positive salt-purified thaumaton. Be mindful, the end result should be potent. Non corporeal entities will be drawn into the material realm.” Mindful of her surroundings, Chartreuse gave her poker an experimental swing and found it to her liking. “We have business to attend.” “Yes we do,” Dim replied while he gestured at the door. “Let us be going.” This felt good, walking through the streets, shrouded in the night. It was a kind if shivery pleasure, a heady rush, a feeling of power. Chartreuse knew how she looked with Dim, wearing her conical hat and her cloak. There was a sort of romance here, a difficult to define love of the moment, to be a wizard and walk the darkened streets without fear or hesitation. Dim was smoking his pipe, as he was wont to do, and the scent of cloves and sweet cannabis trailed along behind him. Chartreuse walked beside him, as was expected of her, and though she was smaller she dared not lag behind, even by a single step, or else there would be a lecture. In general, lectures were to be avoided. There were many that claimed that Dim was a difficult teacher, a harsh teacher, but Dim was a fair instructor; all one had to do was obey his instructions wholly and completely. If one did that, there would be no lectures, no unpleasantness, no… one would be treated as an equal, and that was exhilarating. But to be treated as an equal, one had to keep up and not fall behind, even if it meant trotting double-time. “You scared poor Chalcedony almost to death—” “She wanted to be scared,” Dim replied before Chartreuse could finish. “Soon, my apprentice, the ponies of the day will be frightened of you as well. You will appear and they shall flee from you, as is proper.” “Well, I should hope not,” Chartreuse huffed while she gave her master a sidelong glance. “I do not wish for that to be, what I want—” “What I want is for you to be honest and not to lie to me,” Dim interjected, his voice as cold as the icy night air. “Do you need a reminder to keep an honest tongue?” “Master, no, I do not.” Chartreuse lowered her head, but kept her pace up. “You revel in the night. Were you not just taking pleasure in our outing? Your emotions betray you, my apprentice. Were you not just caught up in the glamour of what we do? This is not the behaviour of a pony of the day. Your eyes are filled with brightness and joy, and not terror and trepidation for the task ahead. Your very demeanour betrays you and this dishonesty does not become you.” Lips pressing together, Chartreuse contained her emotions and held back her reply, lest she say something out of place, a word misspoken due to errant emotion. It was almost as if she was transparent and her master could see right through her. Times like this were the times when he was his most terrifying, because it seemed as though he could peer into her very soul. It was impossible to keep secrets from him. “Though it is nice to have a little fun once in a while, we must never abuse this innate fear that the ponies of the day have of us, my apprentice. This is the natural order of things. We represent the fear of the unknown. They fear us in the same way they fear what we will face tonight. This is a sacred fear, for it drives them into the light and keeps them there. By keeping them in the light, we keep them from the dark that might devour them. We save them from themselves. Where most would be at home, secure in their beds, we roam these streets in search of prey.” Once upon a time, a sweet little filly by the name of Chartreuse had been a pony that rather liked being secure in her bed, venturing out during the day to go to school and to work in a fashionable boutique when school was finished. Oh, she was no stranger to violence, having grown up in Canterlot with the endless siege of the rats, but Dim had just pointed out one of his dreadful facts, one of the many reasons why so many disliked him. Now, that sweet little filly, she was out after dark, searching for trouble. Chartreuse was actually out on the prowl, preparing to fight monsters found beneath the bed. At some point not that long ago, the world had turned topsy-turvy. “Come, my apprentice, we are almost at our destination.” This family had done quite well for themselves and their home reflected that. The tower was a good size, had a carriage house constructed of wood beside it, and everything had already been repaired after the recent unpleasantness involving the ice orcs. A low wall surrounded their property and it seemed as though every light in the tower was on. It was strange, having to do this at night. During the day, shadowlings were insubstantial, intangible, and very nearly impossible to interact with. It was said that alicorn level magic could affect them, but alicorn level magic was rather rare. At night, they grew stronger, but also manifested more into material reality, meaning that, with  the right magical training, one could interact with them. For a unicorn though, it meant facing these imps when they were at their most dangerous and posed the greatest threat. Before Dim could reach the door, it opened and a crystal unicorn mare poked her head out. Each breath she took was visible, shooting out of her nostrils in great snorts, and the expression upon her face suggested that she was tired—as well as troubled. Dim paused, lifted his hat in greeting, and then dropped it back down upon his head. “I’m so glad to see you,” the mare said, her voice cracking. “Do come inside. Come in out of the cold. I’ve been anxiously awaiting your arrival.” Tilting her head back, Chartreuse looked up at the upper windows and then suffered an involuntary shiver. This house was unclean. A jumble of emotions assailed her as she approached and she worked to pull herself together before Dim took notice. If he did—and he just might—he would berate her right in front of these ponies, which would be awful. Gritting her teeth, she tucked her tail between her legs and screwed her courage to the sticking place. The two foals were miserable, their faces pinched with terror, worry, and fatigue. Looking down at them, Chartreuse saw herself, the pony that she once was… a pony she was no longer sure existed. The colt, a crystal pegasus just like his father, was younger and smaller than his sister, but was still somehow the protective one of the pair. His sister, a crystal unicorn like her mother, was weeping with fear—fear which the shadowlings feasted upon and grew strong. While Dim spoke in low tones to the father, Chartreuse pulled out the package that Dim had given her earlier, when he had arrived, and from this package she pulled four cookies. Special cookies, formulated by Dim himself, cookies loaded with herbal tranquilisers and mood boosters. Holding them up in the air with her magic, she waved them around, trying to entice the two foals. “Be brave for me, and I’ll give you these cookies,” she said to the pair. The colt stiffened, his wings fluttered, and his fuzzy little ears pricked. No glow could be seen coming from him, not even a slight glimmer, and Chartreuse knew this was a bad sign. These rude little imps were disrupting the magic of the Crystal Empire by messing with the ponies that generated the magic. Rude little imps would be dealt with in due time. Alas, the filly had no bravery, but clung to her brother and shivered. Lowering the cookies, she gave them to the foals while Dim continued his questioning. Every hair along her spine beneath her cloak stood up, but rather than just be terrified, which she most definitely was, Chartreuse also had an unladylike amount of anger. Why, if she strained, she could almost hear Rarity’s voice whispering in her ear, reminding her that a lady held her temper—until she didn’t. “Eat these,” Chartreuse said to the foals. “Share them. Two each. Don’t be greedy, or I’ll tweak your ears.” “We’ve been hearing them under our bed,” the mare said to Dim, embarrassed. Lifting her head, Chartreuse took stock of everything she knew. Most adults convinced themselves that monsters beneath the bed didn’t exist, and as such, most adults were poor targets to feed upon. For an adult to succumb and become vulnerable to shadowlings, well, that was a bad sign, and Chartreuse knew it. Looking upwards at the ceiling, Chartreuse’s unicorn senses told her to run away, and fast. Controlling her fear, Chartreuse stayed rooted to the spot while allowing her anger to override her fear. The pony that had once taken so much pleasure in the day died just a little more and the pony that took secret pleasure in the allure of the night gained some strength. Chartreuse had some vague awareness that she stood at some threshold, some barrier, and that going forwards meant never being able to go back. “Is it safe for her to be here?” the pegasus stallion asked in a voice left raspy by fear and exhaustion. “Mine apprentice?” Dim removed his hat, put his pipe away, and cast a sneering glance in Chartreuse’s general direction. “Mine apprentice is very safety coloured. Look at her and tell me that is not the colour of safety. We are the ones in danger, for we do not have the colour of safety.” Blinking, the pegasus stallion appeared to be quite confused by what Dim had said. “In fact, because I am so poorly protected, I’ll be sending mine apprentice to the above floors… alone. Those foals have been ensorcelled and are in need of an examination.” Dim smiled, and it was a sight that caused the blood to curdle like milk left out in Princess Celestia’s sun. “Are… you sure that’s safe?” the mare asked. Before Dim could respond, Chartreuse stepped up and spoke for herself. Whipping out her iron implement, she held it out for inspection and said, “I can handle myself. I’m armed.” “That’s a fireplace poker,” the pegasus stallion said while he stared at the iron implement held aloft by Chartreuse. “To the untrained eye.” Chartreuse found a little more of her courage, and Rarity’s voice offered some comfort, as well as a bit of showmareship. “This is aligned cold iron. A weapon of superiour enchantment created by my master. Shadowlings are imps, a subspecies of mephits, which are a type of infernal demon. All demons bear a severe allergy to iron, and this iron has been purified.” Backing away, the crystal pegasus did not argue, but his eyes remained on the iron bludgeon that Chartreuse bore. The mare too, backed away, and then sidled closer to her husband. Dim was snickering now, rather rude, really, but Dim was Dim and not much could be done about him. Chartreuse was ready and was positive that she could take whatever might be lurking beneath the bed. “Wait… before you go…” It dawned upon Chartreuse that she alone could hear Dim’s voice right now and she could sense his magic upon her ears. “You do not have to go up and face them alone. A choice awaits you, Chartreuse, a choice like the one you made when you chose to follow me out onto the tundra to take the fight to the ice orcs and rescue Flurry. This choice, once made, will have severe repercussions. You will lose more of what you once were and what you are becoming will gain strength. There may be no going back for you. If you choose to not go up there alone, I swear, I will not think any less of you. You were born of light, do not be so hasty to give in to the allure of darkness.” Chartreuse—a filly that hadn’t even had a chance to sort out her sexual orientation, but had some painful awareness of her attraction to Chalcedony—now had the task of looking deep into her soul, an on the spot check of everything she was, as well as everything she would be. This was unexpected, and she was caught off guard. This was an on the job hazard that she was ill-prepared for. “You tred a dangerous path, Chartreuse,” Dim said, his voice a whisper within her ears. “When you followed me onto the tundra, that was your first steps into the damnation of the night. When you fight with monsters, it leaves a stain upon the soul, Chartreuse, a stain that cannot be removed. It cannot be scrubbed away. This stain is a brand… it’s like a cutie mark, but it can’t be seen… by most. It sets you apart and leaves you different. You become the unspoken other. To fight monsters, you must first become more like them and make their strengths your own.” Chartreuse swallowed and felt a cold sweat bead up along her neck. “It will consume you… it will shred your soul and lay it to waste… but it will also make you stronger. Such is the price of strength, the price of power. Not even Celestia is immune and she only pretends to walk in the light, for the sake of the day dwellers. She lives a painful lie, appearing white and pure so that the ponies of the day might know peace and feel secure, but she and her sister are one and the same. Wait for me, and do not so carelessly give yourself over to the night, my beloved pupil.” Tea or coffee? Colts or fillies? Night or day? The painful questions of life. Gnawing her lip, Chartreuse could feel the pressure. No matter what others might say, think, or believe, Dim had a sense of kindness, he could even be gentle, but he kept it secreted away. Even Nomination had some doubts about himself and gave voice to them from time to time. Right now, Chartreuse was feeling her companion’s angst, and it was now her own. During the ice orc invasion, Flurry had been captured after some great act of stupidity. Dim had been tasked with recovering her, and others had joined him. Sunburst had gone with, but not because he wanted to, no, poor Sunburst honestly had no real choice in the matter. He went because he had to do so and though terrified, he had done his duty. Chartreuse had gone because she wanted to go. How could she not? Dim and Sunburst both were going into danger… and she had followed them. She had followed them into a swarming sea of tens of thousands of ice orcs. She had followed them into absolute and utter madness. Sunburst was a hero because he had overcome his terror to do the right thing, and Dim was a monster because he did it for the sake of the fight. Dim only needed a reason, an excuse, a justification no matter how flimsy it might be, and he would set the world ablaze. Rarity’s voice suggested setting hoof onto the tundra had been an act of insanity… And Chartreuse, in a moment of great pain, admitted to herself that she had a crush upon her former employer. For all she knew, her crush on the fabulous fashionista Rarity might have made her gay, but she had no understanding of how these things worked. Everything was just a jumbled, confusing sense of attraction, just as the night had its own glamour and allure. No more delusions, no more denial, it was time to face life on her own terms… and make a choice. “I don’t know how this ends,” Chartreuse said to her master while she tightened her telekinetic grip on the iron fireplace poker. “But I wish to be a wizard. For me to do that, I feel that I must go up there alone and see what I am capable of. If you coddle me, I’ll never find out what I’m made of.” Dim sighed, then said, “Very well then. We all face the damnation of the dark in our own fashion. Go then, my apprentice, and find your harrowing glory.” Armed with her wits, her courage, and a fireplace poker, Chartreuse set off to find herself.