//------------------------------//
// To Follow the Beat of One's Own Drum. 
// Story: Equestrian Eeveelution. 
// by Symphonicdysonince 
//------------------------------//

Villhiem and I sat on a bench across from the former bakery. In the moon that had passed, construction ponies had cleared out the worst of it. A guardspony stood at the corner of the lot, keeping an eye on his charges. Queen Bitch and Silver Spoon were picking their way through what was left, cleaning out the lot, their orange hoodies standing out against the dull grays.

I don't know what had caused the silver grey filly to come forward, but I suspect Abes had something to do with it. Silver flinches each time she sees him. Of course, Silver coming forward caused a large media circus to spring up in less than a day. Now, due to their age, nothing that could be used to identify the fillies was allowed to be published, but everypony in town knew. I've heard rumors that the story was printed in several major papers.

The trial was quick, if only to spare the town the media presence. The fillies were tried as foals, but that brought up the issue of liability. Eventually, charges were laid, and punishments were given: The Rich and Silver families were to pay the Cakes ten percent of the damages each, and Silver and Queen Bitch were given twenty moons community service, starting with clearing the burnt lot.

Unfortunately, the Crusaders felt the ramifications from when it came to light just how they had copied the Magcargo recipe. Twilight was no longer able to teach them, and a pony was sent for from the University to finish their course. All reagents were to be held within the barracks until the University could send somepony out.

Of course, they had become schoolyard heroes because of their new cutiemarks. It was odd, seeing the near role reversal the Crusaders and Silver were experiencing. Thankfully, Villhiem, and the recent events leading to this reversal, had been able to keep their egos from getting too big.

The biggest surprise for The Pack came not from a pony, however. Once the truth had come out, we were all lined up outside the courthouse, each growling for a piece of the fillies. When we had our chance, Zann breathed a small flame -too small to be called an Ember- out into the area separating us from the guilty fillies. We all turned to look at him.

<<Let them go.>> He had said. <<They are, and will be, going through enough trouble from all of this as is. Our best revenge should be to live well.>> He then turned and hobbled away.

But that was then, and I had my own issues to deal with. Which led me to meeting with the Grass type canine overlooking the burnt lot.

<<How's Pluto?>> Villhiem asked.

I blinked out of my memories, before looking up at him. <<Hmm?>>

<<You were staring pretty intently at nothing.>> His gaze softened. <<You want to talk about it?>>

I smirked. <<Well, it's still a planet. A very small, cold one, but a planet nonetheless.>>

<<Harr, harr. It is to laugh.>>

I sighed. <<I had that dream again.>>

He cocked his head. <<The one with the odd monkeys?>>

<<No, the one where I conquered the Land of Frozen Yogurt in the name of Lord Neapolitan.>> I snarked. <<Of course the Monkey one!>>

Villhiem held a paw out in a calming manner. <<Pax, I was just checking.>>

<<Yeah, well that's the only... 'Pax'?>>

<<It basically means 'peace'. Though, in this case, more like 'calm down' or 'I surrender'.>>

I shook me head. <<Where did you even learn of that.>> I blinked, holding up a paw. <<Wait, don't tell me: Sweetie?>>

<<Sweetie.>> He nodded. 

We heard a rustling in the bushes behind us. We tilted our ears to better hear. "That's enough, Lyra. Let's just go for lunch like you said we would."

"C'mon, Bonbon, I swear that they're talking to each other! And not like normal animals, but like ponies, with a proper lang- Owowowowow!" 

We turned to see Bonbon dragging Lyra off by an ear. "Honestly, first your human obsession, now this. Why not combine the two? Call them Humans trapped in canine bodies?"

Villhiem and I looked at each other, before he shrugged. <<So, your dream. I assume the start and end were the same. What was the middle this time?>>

I returned to watching the fillies. <<I was hunting...>>

<<That doesn't sound so->>

<<Ponies.>>

<<-Bad. That sounds bad.>> He gave me a worried look. <<Anypony we know?>>

I nodded out at the orange clad fillies. <<Them, amongst others. The part that worried me, was that sometimes, Rainbow was among them. Other times, she was the one encouraging the slaughter. Then I tracked the survivors into the cave with the Chained Monkey, and then the Claws come, and I woke up. I could still taste pony flesh when I woke up. I think I woke up Rainbow when I was doing the technicolor yawn in her toilet.>> I sat on my haunches and started rubbing my tongue with both fore paws. <<I think I can still taste it. Oh... Oh god, I can!>> I dry heaved for a bit.

<<You okay now.>>

<<I think I need to bleach my mouth...>>

Villhiem hummed in thought. <<I think I have an idea. We'll need to go wake up Abes, have him look for a book on dream symbolism.>>

I gave my tongue one last rub. <<Why not just ask Yomega?>>

<<Two reasons.>> Villhiem explained. <<First off, you know he sees you as his second?>> I nodded. <<Well, what kind of a message does walking up to him and saying 'Hey, Boss, Mr. Pendrake, sir? Your second's been having dreams of merciless slaughter of mainly innocent ponies in the name of Khorne and Rainbows, you got a book we can use to figure out where to start?'>> He jumped down from the bench and stretched. Standing up, he booped my nose. <<Secondly, Abes has a direct line to the Princess of Dreams. If anyone can get to the bottom of this, it's her.>>

<<I guess...>> I hopped down beside him. <<I just feel bad leaving him out of the loop.>>

<<You don't mind not telling Conner or Vince.>>

<<They're not the Alpha.>> I sighed. <<If anyone deserves to know, it's Headmaster.>>

<<Your dreams and disassociation haven't caused any issues for us all so far.>> Villhiem shrugged. <<I see no reason to cause him undue worry.>>

I squinted at him. <<I thought I was the lax one...>>

<<You're too high strung at the moment, and I'm basically growing the Pokèmon version of pot out of my ass.>> He shrugged.

We started to walk around the charred lot. <<Also, I don't know what you mean by 'disassociation', but I do feel off some days.>> I slowed a bit. <<Like I'm existing a little to the left.>>

Our ears twitched, catching a murmured argument. "All you had to do was keep your mouth shut!" Queen Bitch hissed.

"And this isn't as bad as you're making it out to be!" Silver retorted. "Just some hard work, and then, when we come of age, our records will be scrubbed clean."

"And what of our reputation?! We'll be forever known here as 'Those Fillies who burnt down Sugarcube Corner'. No one at school will give us the time of day, if they don't just glare us off.  We've lost everything we've built up because of you!"

"Excuse me?!" Silver paused in her work. "This whole plan was your idea! You wouldn't even let me read the book! You just told me to write words down, and I did. You were the one who was supposed to read the fine print. Like you said you would! You screwed this all up!" She swept her hoof over the desolate lot. "And you want to know something? I could get behind teasing the Crusaders, not just because it was fun and made me feel better about myself, but it also made you happy! We're friends, and I wanted to enjoy spending time with you.

"But, somehow, picking on them became an obsession for you. You just had to make them feel lower and lower each time we interacted. And when they dared to find something that they could be better then us with, I felt happy for them! I thought that that would get you to finally get off their backs, and we could go back to doing the things we used to do! But, nooo!" Silver jabbed a hoof at the other filly. "You just had to find a way to upstage them. And I just had to tag along and help out, thinking 'just this last time, and then we can stop'. And we finally bit off more than we could chew. And all you can think about right now is to try to ditch?!"

"C'mo~on, Silver, we're above this. Mom always said that this kind of thing is 'a job for the help to do'. Let's just go, ditch the guard, and go have fun like fillies like us should be doing!"

Silver Glared at Diamond. "Fuck having fun! I'm doing what's right!"

"Ugh, there you go using that word again." Diamond rolled her eyes. "Do you even know what it means?"

"Not entirely." Silver admitted. "But I know it means for you to leave me alone." She started to move to a different area to work.

"You want to be friends, right. Then let's ditch and be friends." Diamond pleaded.

Silver looked over her shoulder. "You want to go, you go without me. I'm not going to follow your drum anymore."

"W-what?"

"Good bye, Tiara." Silver left for the far corner, leaving her former friend to silently cry.

Villhiem and I sat in shock. Neither of us moved for a while, not even seeing the world in front of us.

<<Did, did Silver just...?>> Villhiem tried to ask.

I nodded. <<She broke her decaying bond for the chance to grow something greater. Now she just needs to find it.>>

Villhiem stared at me incredulously. <<The hell you going on about?>>

I blinked at him, the world coming back into focus. <<What?>>

<<What 'what'?>> Villhiem poked me. <<You just started waxing philosophical on me!>>

I cocked my head.<<I did?>>

He scoffed, turning to continue to the library.

<<What?!>> I chased after him. <<Wait! What did I say?>>