//------------------------------// // Chapter 2: The One Where The Plot Thickens // Story: Wish I May, Wish I Might // by JC Borch //------------------------------// Death is like an empty space, feel no thoughts of fear The future cries as Mother Nature sheds a tear The world becomes a prisoner, a victim of its crime The pony race is now a race against time CHAPTER 2: THE ONE WHERE THE PLOT THICKENS 2013, Royal Equestrian Timeline “Apple Bloom, I don’t think this is such a good idea,” Sweetie Belle said worriedly. “Yeah, I mean, even as a prank, this is going too far,” Scootaloo added anxiously. But Apple Bloom wasn’t listening, or perhaps she didn’t answer because she held a can of petrol in her mouth. She was backing up across the floor, dragging a line of flammable liquid after her. Round and round she went with her two friends nervously following her, looking around them, afraid of every little noise they heard. When she was satisfied, she finally spat out the red can. Excess petrol slowly gurgled out and pooled around the can. It was the wee hours of morning and no one was inside the bowling hall. Lanes and floor and walls had been coated and the fumes were getting rather intense. Scootaloo shook her legs as she accidently stepped in some of the petrol, making gag reflexes at the stench. “You’ve done good, Apple Bloom. Now burn it... burn it all, poing!” It was only yesterday that Apple Bloom had found the bracelet around her right arm. Though she couldn’t see it in the darkness, she still looked at it and smiled wickedly. Ever since she had equipped it, a spirit had begun talking to her, planting ideas in her head. She loved to hear the disembodied voice, talking to her in that sweet female voice. She wasn’t condescending like Applejack and Big Mac and she treated Apple Bloom like the big mare she was. “Apple Bloom, can’t we just go home? Please?” Scootaloo asked, getting more and more eager to just abandon this whole thing. “Don’tcha want yer cutiemarks, girls?” Apple Bloom asked and looked up at them, still grinning like an undertaker. “The grownups will be so mad at us,” Sweetie Belle said and got an increasingly pleading tone to her voice. “I don’t want a cutiemark like this.” “Pfft. Babies,” Apple Bloom said and rolled her eyes. Unconsciously, she dragged her left hoof over the bracelet and polished it with her coat, like someone would scratch an itch and barely register it. “Come on, we don’t want to be caught in the fire.” The three fillies hastily moved towards the door, at least two of them happy that this would be over soon. Once they got to the glass door entrance, Apple Bloom turned toward Sweetie Belle. “Now all we need is a spark,” Apple Bloom said nonchalantly, like asking for money. “Forget it. Every time I try and use a spell, something’s catching on f...” Sweetie Belle looked up at her friend with horror in her suddenly big eyes. “I don’t want to start the fire! This was your idea.” “Well how else do ya wanna start it? We don’t have hands, so lighters and matches are out,” Apple Bloom answered and grabbed the white unicorn, shaking her violently in the progress. “Guys,” Scootaloo said and looked behind her, but Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom were too busy arguing. “What do you want with hands?” Sweetie Belle asked and slapped Apple Bloom’s hooves away from her shoulders. “You’ve been acting very strange since yesterday. Are you sure you’re all right?” “Perhaps Ah’m not all right, but that would be because mah best friends are a chicken and a dictionary!” Apple Bloom retorted and shoved her face angrily up against Sweetie Belle. “Guys, seriously,” Scootaloo said loudly. “I think someone’s coming.” They stopped their quarrelling, for now. Such heated exchange of minds would have to wait to another point in time where a shape wasn’t forming in the early morning light on the glass doors to their privacy. Apple Bloom flushed with rage, but rather than acting out on it, she fled. The shadow forming in the hall from whoever was visiting the bowling hall this early was getting bigger, but the chance of successful escape hadn’t run out yet. Neither Scootaloo nor Sweetie Belle wanted to be caught in a petroleum soaked bowling hall either and they too vamoosed right behind Apple Bloom. The unicorn barely even noticed the fillies fleeing from the scene. She would discover the mess left behind, but unable to properly describe the ponies she had seen escaping, the case would go cold. *** 2020, Royal Equestrian Time “Are you awake, are you, are you, huh? I know you’re awake, darling, I just saw you blink so you have to be awake!” That energetic tone was not exactly the first thing Maxwell wanted to hear right after having died. This ache in the bones, every fibre and nerve alive with prickling pain, it could only mean that he had recently regrown his limbs and most of his body. He hadn’t been this sorely beaten in a while. “Rarity! Stop badgering our guest.” Another female voice. Well, it seemed that Maxwell had no business snoozing here when the fairer sex demanded his attention. He opened his eyes with a smile and saw two unicorns by his bedside, both of them young adults. The room was a large wooden circle, like the bottom of a carved tree. There were a few other beds down here, but his was the only one occupied. The room was otherwise empty save for a few chests by the foot ends. The cheery unicorn that had woken him, this Rarity, was bluish white with dark blue hair and a red stripe running through it. Her cutiemark was three solid, blue gems and she had a bright smile on her face, tiptoeing across the floor and giggling. The other one was less amused however and looked like a kindergarten teacher who had been doing her job for too long. Her coat was light pink, her hair almost completely white save for a broad purple streak. Her cutiemark was six purple stars, spread out on each flank. She stood next to Maxwell’s bedside and looked down at him with tired eyes. “We meet again, Maxwell,” the unicorn said in a somewhat annoyed tone. “Again?” he replied curiously. “Look babe, I remember all my scores. I know you want to impress your girls by saying you’ve tried the Max, but -” “Dammit Maxwell, this is no time to be goofing off!” Stars said and slammed her right hoof loudly into the floor. “What are you doing here? I told you to come to Ponyville BEFORE all this happened!” Maxwell simply frowned up at Stars and stark horror washed over her face. “Oh no... oh no, no, no, no, no!” Stars said and paced around frantically. Rarity thought it was game and bounced after her until Stars stopped up abruptly and knocked Rarity to the floor. “You really don’t know who am I?” Stars asked frantically and jerked her head back towards Maxwell. “Sorry, love, I’m new in town, you see,” Maxwell said and got out of bed, turning on his most charming smile. “But what do you say we get acquainted, you and I? Your friend over there can join us too if you like.” “Ooh, I love making new friends!” Rarity said and jumped up and down ecstatically. Her horn glowed and various streamers and balloons popped out and filled the room. “NO!” Stars said and glared at Rarity. “You, up to the others, serious business!” “Okey dokey lokey,” Rarity said and skipped up the stairs that ran along the edge towards the door. Stars gave a weary sigh and sat down on the bed next to Maxwell’s. She took a moment to compose herself, breathed in heavily and then continued her conversation. Maxwell was now sitting as well on his bed opposite her. “My name is Twilight Sparkle and I will keep this as brief as possible. I know how short your attention span is.” “I wonder if you ponies have mammaries,” Maxwell said and stroked his chin, looking interestedly up and down Twilight’s exposed belly. “Concentrate when I talk to you!” Twilight said, just angrily enough to make Maxwell sit up straight and look at her properly. “I contacted you not long ago since this whole problem is due to something from your universe.” She put an accusing tone into the last two words. “I told you very specifically to come here in 2013 and prevent this situation from ever happening, yet, here you are now.” “You probably talked to me in the future,” Maxwell said casually. “I’ve lived for a long time you see. What’s so wrong with this universe anyway? Seems pretty sweet to me, apart from all the ponies.” “What’s wrong with it?!” Twilight asked and her voice climbed again, as did her arms flailing about her. “Everything is wrong with this universe! People and buildings from all manners of universes are making not just Ponyville, but all of Equestria their playground!” “Calm down, babe. Tell Maxwell your story, from the start,” he said, his gaze slowly wandering across her body. Twilight glared at him, her horn glowing faintly. Maxwell’s bushy eyebrows responded by spontaneously catching on fire. He quickly clapped his eyes, but Twilight carried on unfazed. “Seven years ago, a young filly named Apple Bloom found an artefact from your world. It changed her. She became menacing, violent even. We tried to stop her, but she lashed out at us. She decided to change the world at her own whim, and the artefact allowed her to do so. She pulled things, small objects at first, into our world, but she wasn’t satisfied. She took larger and larger objects; tools, machines, even houses and factories and lastly people as well... Maxwell, are you still paying attention?” “Wha- huh? Yeah sure,” he replied and scratched his ears. “Young girl finds powerful artefact, it changes her and she abuses its power.” Twilight cleared her throat and moved on, the next part closer to her and she spoke with more feeling and less recital. “Celestia tried to stop her, so Apple Bloom decided this world would be better without her.” “Celestia?” Maxwell asked. Twilight did not look happy at being interrupted, but she knew that Maxwell was an outsider and unaccustomed to their history and ways. “The princess of Equestria, the land you’re currently in. She has powerful magic at her disposal and she controls the raising and setting of the Sun. Where was I?” “Celestia tried to stop Apple Bloom,” a soft third voice said. Twilight was so focused on telling her story that she didn’t realise the voice didn’t belong to Maxwell. “Ah yes,” Twilight said and continued. “Not even Celestia could stop Apple Bloom, so she asked us to help her by using the Elements of Harmony... a powerful magical tool,” Twilight interjected sharply. Maxwell raised his hoofs in defence, not even daring to ask who “us” was. “But there was nothing we could do. We had allowed Apple Bloom to become too powerful, and just as we faced our demise, Pinkie...” Twilight looked like she was about to cry. She bit her lip and looked away, taking a moment to wipe her eyes. “Pinkie Pie took control of the elements somehow. She sacrificed herself for us and exploded, sending Apple Bloom into a rift in time and space. A disaster had been prevented, but we had lost a good friend... well, not lost in the strictest terms. You see, Pinkie is still with us. We absorbed her.” There was silence for a moment, and Maxwell simply stared at Twilight, neither of them moving a muscle. Finally, Maxwell leaned closer. “That is without a doubt the single most ridiculous thing that I have ever heard,” he said. One would think Twilight to get mad or fly off the handle, but she had a serene look in her eyes as she stared back at Maxwell. “Your future self said the exact same thing,” she said. She closed her eyes and then hardened her face again. “It doesn’t matter whether you believe it or not. You’re here, right now, and none of us can explain why. Before you tell me your end of the story, I think I had better introduce you to the rest. They are no doubt anxious to hear how you will resolve this.” *** 2013 RET Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo stopped breathlessly. They had been running as fast as their little legs could carry them from the bowling hall, and they only halted now because they could run no longer. They collapsed at the foot of a galloping stone mare in the square around town hall. “Scootaloo... I think... something’s wrong... with Apple Bloom,” Sweetie Belle said between pants and leaned back. It was early, early morning and no one was out and about. Well, except for the pony that had interrupted them at the bowling hall. It was also cold and the two fillies shivered slightly. “You don’t say,” Scootaloo remarked and fell flat on the ground. “Ever since we went searching for that star, she’s been acting so weird.” Sweetie Belle gasped, and then said: “You don’t think she found the star and got her cutiemark?” “Did you see a cutiemark on her flank?” Scootaloo retorted. “Well, no... but what if she’s just trying to hide her mark from us? She might be afraid that we’ll get jealous?” Sweetie Belle said optimistically. Scootaloo simply rolled with her eyes, a feat that went unnoticed in the dim morning light. “Yeah, she’s trying to hide her mark from us by burning the bowling hall.” “It was just a suggestion,” Sweetie Belle said and pouted. Neither of them said anything for a while, instead allowing strength to return to the limbs. “Sweetie Belle?” “What?” “What do we tell Rarity when she notices that Apple Bloom is missing?” *** 2020 RET “What is this, a convention of circus freaks?” Maxwell asked cheerfully and looked around the room. It appeared to be a library and the initial assumption that he had been placed in a hollowed tree became apparent. Most of the wall space had been dedicated to the storage of books with only a window here and there, a door and further stairs upwards. Four other ponies where gathered here, one of which Maxwell had already met. Rarity was sitting in a corner and humming to herself, rocking back and forth to the internal melody. “I told you,” Twilight said and stepped into the room. “We’re not quite ourselves anymore. We don’t even look like ourselves.” “You look like your mother!” Rarity commented, finding that fact so hilarious that she fell backwards, snorting with laughter. “Yes, we’ve established that four hundred times by now, Rarity,” Twilight said irritably. The middle of the floor had a nice purple rug, and Maxwell was surprised to feel the softness of it. His hooves didn’t look that hard but he could easily gallop across even hard terrain without injuring himself, yet also feel the texture of this little carpet thing. “Maxwell! I swear, you’re worse than Pinkie!” Twilight blurted out and then quickly looked away. She cleared her throat and then began her introduction. “Maxwell, I want you to meet the current wielders of the Elements of Harmony. Applejack over there is the element of honesty and gained Pinkie’s resilience and cartoonish immortality.” “Well howdy Maxwell!” a gamboge earth pony said. She had corn blonde hair tied with red hair bands and had three apples as a cutiemark. She sat underneath a window opposite the cellar door, stretching her neck more than physically possible to check what was going on outside. “Fluttershy, who gained Pinkie’s insatiable appetite, is the element of kindness.” “Uhm... h-hello,” an overweight yellow earth pony said and looked away bashfully. She had light purple hair and three purple flowers on her bulky haunches. She lay on a large bed of red pillows next to Applejack, her gut oozing out and spilling over the pillows. “Rainbow Dash up there is the element of loyalty and got her unstoppable energy.” “I haven’t slept in seven years!” a light purple pegasus said. She had blue hair and two bolts of lightning in the colour of her hair as her cutiemark. Round and round she flew under the library ceiling. It was really dizzying to look at, so Maxwell pried his eyes away from the hypnotic sight. “Rarity, the element of generosity, got her bubbly personality as you can tell.” Rarity looked up at the mention of her name, but quickly lost interest in favour of watching Rainbow Dash spinning right round like a record. “Very well, but what about you then?” Maxwell pointed out as Twilight had not yet explained her own powers. “I am the element of magic and I got her power to be anywhere at any time,” Twilight said gravely and looked at Maxwell with hard, serious eyes. “I have travelled to universes the likes of which you couldn’t imagine, counselled with the greatest of minds about this situation and I have searched the tiniest crevices for hints, but I have turned up nothing. Believe me, Maxwell, when I say that you are our only hope.” “Please, Mr Maxwell, Ah beg of ya... Apple Bloom is mah little sister. Please, save her,” Applejack said with pleading eyes. He could feel the eyes of the others staring at him, all of them weary from their distress and hopeful at his arrival. He hated to disappoint them, but he sighed and spoke. “The only way to get that artefact off of Apple Bloom would be to...” But Maxwell wasn’t allowed to continue. A white unicorn suddenly materialised in the middle of the library, making them all take a step back. He was of slender built, like Luna, but his coat was like newly fallen snow and his blonde hair shone like the Sun and held back with a red hair band. He had a self-satisfied smile on his lips and stood like a photo model in front of cameras. There were no cameras, of course, only very puzzled eyes looking at him. “Nya, Maxwell, don’t begin talking about things you don’t know about,” the unicorn said playfully and flicked his hoof. “Lohengrinn, I was only going tell them that we would have to...” “Shh,” Lohengrinn said and put a hoof up to Maxwell’s lips, then looked around him and saw that they were all staring at him. “I know I’m fabulous, darlings. You can look all you want, I don’t mind! I almost envy you that you can view my splendour.” “What in tarnation is going on here?” Applejack asked very puzzled and a little frightened as well. Lohengrinn turned his delicate head towards the earth pony and smiled sweetly. “I am Lohengrinn,” he said with his silken voice and bowed slightly. “I will be explaining this situation to you, since neither Maxwell nor you have any idea what’s really happening.” “We know exactly what’s going on,” Rainbow Dash said from up above. Lohengrinn craned his elegant neck and looked up at the blue pegasus. “Apple Bloom tried to get her cutiemark with catastrophic results.” “Hmm-hmm, that’s certainly a way to put it,” Lohengrinn said and nodded his head. “But none of you know the powers she’s dealing with.” “Ooh, ooh, I know!” Rarity said and got up, jumping up and down around Lohengrinn. “It’s the armband, isn’t it? It is! What do I win?” “Aya, calm down,” Lohengrinn said with little effect. “When little Apple Bloom picked up the armband, she inadvertently sealed a contract with the spirit within. I am unfamiliar with its motivations, but it’s certain to be something clandestine.” “How come you know all this?” Rainbow Dash asked with suspicion in her voice. “How do we know you’re even on our side?” “Twilight did say that you were supposed to arrive seven years ago,” Fluttershy stated timidly. Lohengrinn looked at her serenely, to which she blushed and hid her face. “You don’t think we have our misgivings, little lady? You are strangers to us, but so is this land. I believe we can both benefit from a mutual agreement. We will take Twilight’s word that she came to us in the past asking for help, so nothing has changed since then. You still need our aid and we are more than willing to give it.” “Well... I-I suppose we could trust you for now,” Fluttershy said and peeked through her hoofs. “But, uhm... if you don’t mind me asking, what do you intent to do?” “Haha, it’s very simple, really,” Lohengrinn said with a girlish laughter and straightened his hair back. “If I can get close enough to Apple Bloom, then I will be able to fight with the spirit.” “You?” Rainbow Dash asked in disbelief. “Fluttershy could kick your flank!” “Aya, it is true I don’t look like much, but my symbiosis with Maxwell makes me far more powerful than any run-of-the-mill spirit.” Rarity approached Lohengrinn with big, curious eyes and looked him up and down. “Darling, don’t tell me that you...?” “Nyahaha, you finally seem to have understood,” Lohengrinn said and smiled at Rarity. “Maxwell is to me what Apple Bloom is to her spirit.” Those still capable recoiled in fear like Lohengrinn had just pronounced his intentions to murder them all. The see-through spirit, however, simply tossed his hair back and forth. “The bond between humans and spirits is fickle,” Maxwell said with a grin and wrapped an arm familiarly around a disapproving Twilight. “The spirit will almost always be stronger than the flesh, but sometimes their powers align and helpful contracts can be made. It is my job to hunt down those that, willingly or not, become entangled with the ghosts of the dead and end up possessed.” Twilight removed Maxwell’s arms with her magic. Silence hung thickly in the room as the ponies inside contemplated the words, before Lohengrinn picked up again a few moments later. “The benefits of a contract are too tempting for humans to resist, and they foolishly stumble into what they think is a treasure trove, only to discover a lion’s lair. Maxwell however was chosen from birth to wield me. His and my power aligns naturally, and he has gained immeasurable strength in the process. As long as there will be people alive, so will he exist to protect them.” “Then, uhm...” Fluttershy said. “What happened to Apple Bloom?” “The question, my pudgy pony, is not what happened but why it did. A spirit will always choose a slave, or a master, that resembles itself in some way. Out of innumerous possible candidates, this spirit crossed universe and chose Apple Bloom specifically which we can use for our own advantage as well,” Lohengrinn explained calmly and went over to Maxwell where he placed his front hooves over his back, staring in turn at the remaining wielders of the elements. “Then why here of all places?” Twilight asked almost angrily and stared into Lohengrinn’s eyes. “I can’t say,” Lohengrinn said and shook his head. “Perhaps it was the first universe it entered, perhaps Apple Bloom is its perfect host or perhaps it came here by coincidence. It doesn’t really matter, does it now? We only need to get me close; we can worry about the rest afterwards.” And with that, Lohengrinn had said what he wanted. Once again he slowly vanished into thin air, leaving no trace of himself other than the memories of all that had seen him. “When we fought against Apple Bloom last time,” Twilight said and then directed her attention towards Maxwell, “the elements were just barely enough to restrain her for a small amount of time. Since we can’t use the elements, you will have to do it alone. I don’t know if you have noticed, but most of us are more or less incapacitated.” “I can’t do that,” Maxwell said and smiled at her in hopes of making her understand. “I can’t hold things with these hoofs, you see, so I would never be able to wield my sword expertly enough to survive. You must have seen how it went with that thing in the tunnel.” “True,” Twilight said and went over to Fluttershy. Her belly was cluttered with papers, a few books and a single quill in an ink bottle. Twilight grabbed the quill with her mouth and began to scribble down a few lines on the only blank piece of paper available. “I know someone who could teach you, however.” Twilight placed the quill back in the bottle and grabbed the paper instead. She crossed the floor again towards Maxwell and deposited the scroll in the bag slung across his back. “Her name is Cheerilee,” Twilight explained sternly and looked up into Maxwell’s blue eyes. “That paper will tell you how to get there. Do not run off. Ponyville is a very, very large city and you will get lost if you stray. And... if anyone asks, don’t use your real name. Blend in and don’t cause any trouble.” “Yes, mother,” Maxwell said with a grin. Though Twilight had slowly begun to calm down, her temper was rising again. “But what would you have me call myself then?” “How about Emerald Shine?” Fluttershy suggested enthusiastically. “I think it would be perfect, since you have such a shiny emerald as your cutiemark.” “Yes, go with that,” Twilight said with her focus still on Maxwell. “I don’t know how difficult it is to learn hoof holding, so you pay attention. You won’t be of any use to us until you can hold your sword.” “Ha, no worries! I, Maxwell the Holy Avenger and Protector of Peace, have never failed a mission before,” he said with a boastful laughter. Twilight and Applejack traded nervous glances. “Ooh!” Rarity said and bounced up and down. “We have to have a party to celebrate our new friend! There will be cake and diamonds and balloons and games and music and...” “No! No parties,” Twilight said and slammed her hoof into the floor. Rarity made a whimpering duck face, to which Twilight sighed and looked away. “You should go before I hit something, Maxwell. Forgive me, we’re not quite ourselves, and don’t forget your instructions. The sooner we can get things back to normal, the better.” Maxwell waved a hoof at them without looking back. He was right, it was a tree, standing on just about the last patch of grass in town. Everything else was covered in pavement or roads or buildings. Ponyville looked completely different in the day and a carpet of smog loomed above the city roofs. Tall chimneys protruded from brick factories like a dad with his pipe, sitting in his comfortable red chair with today’s newspaper. But this was not an image of comfort; it was a cold drizzly day, probably afternoon. There were no comfortable chairs, only hard wooden benches where ponies waited patiently for the bus; a place where newspapers blew about in the chilly wind and tumbled down the streets along with empty plastic bags. No one smiled here either, nor did anyone offer direct contact or any interaction. They stared out in space and grunted for communication, to express their dismay with the weather or that the bus was late. No one noticed Maxwell, walking down the road with the little paper Twilight had given him pressed to his face. No one cared that he looked new to the city and probably needed some directions. He put away the paper, giving up on the neat handwriting. No way that Maxwell could decipher all those curves and loops. He would have walked through Misery Metropolis, as Ponyville had come to be known, for ages and never gotten anywhere, had it not been for a lithe voice in his ears. Lohengrinn had seen the paper too and knew the tale it told. Rather than recounting it and running the risk of Maxwell getting lost anyway, the spirit simply told him where to go. “Take a left up here,” “Just continue ahead for a while longer.” Although he walked, the city never seemed to change. It was the same tall brick buildings in various depressing colours. Even otherwise vibrant colours like red or yellow had somehow gotten boring to look at. Here and there, a white plaster building with thatched roof broke the monotony. They were possibly relics from a better time where the city was quieter and cleaner, a time where car horns and car tires and car engines didn’t compete with jackhammers and drills and all sorts of machinery. “Why did you interrupt me?” Maxwell suddenly asked. No one around him noticed, not that they would have cared. “You know the only way to deal with a spirit is to kill the host.” “Yes, ordinarily, but this is not an ordinary case. You heard them, it has manifested as an armband this time, not a weapon. I do not comprehend the significance of this yet, but I think we can forgo our usual methods.” “Then why don’t we do this in all our cases?” Maxwell asked, his voice rising. “Are you telling me that I have killed people needlessly?” “No,” Lohengrinn explained quietly. “The ones that we have, uhm... dispatched have all been hopeless souls beyond redemption; thieves and murderers craving immortality and power. A little girl whose biggest aspiration is to run and play is a poor conduit in a traditional term, too innocent and untainted. This spirit chose her for a reason that goes beyond what we could normally expect. As I said, no ordinary case.” Maxwell looked up into the dark sky, but might have been a blanket of thick chimney smoke. As always when his partner began using big words, his mind went blank. There was little sense for him to find and so he filtered Lohengrinn out, almost bumping into two darkly clad figures, one a tubby earth pony, the other a nimble pegasus. The earth pony looked as if he was about to berate Maxwell, but the pegasus continued ahead, leaving his partner no choice but to follow. There sure were a lot of strange ponies in town. Old Ponyville was a relatively small area that despite its name contained little of what could be characterised as old. The school was one of those few things, a churlish red building of wood with a slanted tile roof in a darker shade and a small belfry to ring in its students. A large area had been fenced in and contained a grassy playground and backyard. It looked curiously out of place, as did all these relics, like existing in a little bubble of its own. A large sign had been placed in a flower pot just outside the doors, its surface simply displaying an opened book underneath a silhouette of two ponies with a heart between them. Maxwell took the instructional papers under his scrutiny again, comparing the drawing on the sign with the one on his paper. “Close enough,” he finally exclaimed and put the paper back again. The inside was no less quaint and looked almost bigger than it appeared from the outside. A hallway granted access to rooms here, and Miss Cheerilee sat behind her desk in a room on the left. The black board contained a few mathematical scribbles and what looked like a planet. Three rows with four seats sat on the stamped earth floor and the walls were lined with books and instruments. “Parent’s night isn’t until Tuesday,” Cheerilee said without looking up from the papers that she was going through. “I am not a parent to any students here, rather, I wish to be taught,” Maxwell said and smiled at the gorgeous beauty in front of him, a mature earth pony mare with purple coat and a soft mane in lighter shades of her coat. She looked up at him with her green eyes. “Oh dear me, I thought...” She couldn’t finish her sentence, having never seen an earth pony as large as Maxwell. “I am Emerald Shrine and I wish to learn how to hold things with my hoofs,” he said and bowed to her. “Emerald Shine,” a soft voice sounded in his ears. “Ah, Emerald Shine,” he corrected and smiled sheepishly. “You’re not from around here, are you?” Cheerilee asked in a tired voice. “No, I am not. How did you know?” Maxwell asked, genuinely surprised that his masterly disguise had failed him. “Just a hunch,” Cheerilee said and turned towards her papers again. “I’m very busy going through these essays, so perhaps we can arrange a later date.” “Actually, I was hoping that we could start now,” he said and flexed his eyebrows alluringly. “Twilight asked me to learn as quickly as possible.” “Twilight?” Cheerilee asked and looked up again. “Goodness, I haven’t heard that name in seven years. I thought she was... never mind, how is she?” “A little uptight, needs to relax more,” Maxwell said nonchalantly. “What do you say you and I get to know each other better?” “That sure sounds like her,” Cheerilee said relieved, disregarding his advances. “Very well, I won’t ignore a plea from an old friend. Have a seat, Mr Shine.” “Mr Shine? Oh, right, me!” She got up from the desk and quickly walked out of the room, leaving Maxwell to try and fit down on one of the kiddie chairs. By the time she returned, Maxwell had resigned himself to sit down on the floor instead, the sad broken remains all too telling of his massive size. She carried in her mouth a metal rod, a wisp-thin stick of metal, which she deposited on the table next to Maxwell. “Now, it may not seem like it, but the pony hoof is actually very malleable,” she explained, passionate in her teaching. “This allows us to remain unhurt when galloping hard over rough terrain and at the same time feel the soft grass. Knowing this, ponies have adapted and learnt how to properly hold things over centuries. Like so.” Cheerilee demonstrated her words by pressing her hooves against the stick. Although it looked like she hadn’t done anything, her hoof picked up the object and she confidently held the stick in front of Maxwell, even waving it around. “You see? Not too hard,” Cheerilee said encouragingly. “I doubt that you will get it right on your first try, but with a lot of practise, you should be making progress in a matter of hours. Your turn.” She put the stick back on the table, and Maxwell gazed at it with curiosity. He pressed his hoof against the stick a few times, but it wouldn’t stay attached despite his best attempts. “Whoops,” and “Almost got it there,” he said, deeply concentrated and focusing all of his mental capacity towards this small task. “Remember, it’s a mental challenge more than a physical one,” Cheerilee said optimistically. “Think of your hoof as clay that you want to sculpt into holding the stick.” *** 2013 RET “Girls, breakfast time!” It was morning in the Carousel Boutique and Rarity was coming up to the bedroom to wake the Cutiemark Crusaders. Even if she didn’t live here, Sweetie Belle was visiting often enough to merit her own bed in Rarity’s chamber. It was a small bed, but wide enough to accommodate multiple visitors. It was, strictly speaking, not here specifically for Sweetie Belle, but a guest bed that Rarity had in storage for occasions such as sleepovers. “Where’s Apple Bloom?” Rarity asked and noticed that only two heads were poking out from under the covers. “She wasn’t feeling well. / She had work to do back at the farm,” Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo said in unison. They looked at each other surprised. “She had work to do back at the farm. / She wasn’t feeling well,” they said again, switching in their excuses. Rarity raised an eyebrow in suspicion. “She felt a little hot,” Sweetie Belle said. “So she went back to her farm where Applejack had work for her,” Scootaloo finished and nodded in agreement. “That’s odd, I didn’t hear her leave at all,” Rarity said and tapped her chin. “Well, you always sleep with your eyes and ears covered,” Sweetie Belle pointed out. “And she was very quiet. Didn’t want to wake you up,” Scootaloo added. “Hmm. Well, I guess I’ll just have to remove one plate from the table,” Rarity said and crossed the room for the door again. Both of the remaining crusaders sighed in relief, after which Sweetie Belle jabbed an elbow into Scootaloo’s side. “Ow! What was that for?” she asked in a hushed voice and looked at Sweetie Belle angrily. “I thought we agreed that Apple Bloom was ill!” Sweetie Belle stated affronted. “No way, I told you that farm work was a better excuse.” “How is that a better excuse? What work could she possibly do on the farm when it’s not even light?” “I don’t know! Milk the cows?” “The Apple family doesn’t have cows!” “Girls, are you coming down or what?” Rarity asked from downstairs. The two fillies quickly jumped out of bed, their quarrel laid aside for now, and went downstairs to the kitchen in the back of the shop. It was with some apprehension that they ate their breakfast this morning, a meal fortunately prepared without Sweetie Belle. It was the thought of what Apple Bloom had done and how she had changed that weighed heavily on their minds and for the first time in their short relationship, the two crusaders were quiet for more than five minutes. Rarity noticed the sombre mood and put her cup down on the saucer. “Girls, is everything all right?” she asked. “Just worried about Apple Bloom, Miss Rarity,” Scootaloo said and without much gusto took her spoon and fed herself from the cereal bowl. “It’s not serious, I hope?” Rarity asked concerned. “Of course not, but uh... we had plans for today. You know, important crusading stuff,” Sweetie Belle said and nodded and prodded Scootaloo. “Oh, yeah, we uh... wanted to try uhm...” Scootaloo’s eyes darted across the room. Truth was, they were running out of ideas for their crusading and she could not come up with anything. “Porcelain... painting.” “Porcelain painting?” Rarity asked surprised, not realising Scootaloo had just named the two first things she saw in front of her. “Yeah, you know, Scootaloo did such a fine job of making the props for the talent show last year, that we thought we might all try some painting,” Sweetie Belle said as matter-of-factly as she could muster. “Well you’re not getting any of my porcelain,” Rarity said and took the cup of tea up to her mouth again, her horn glowing from the task. “I’m sorry Sweetie Belle, but you must understand that it’s very fragile, not suited for your little hoofs yet. Although... I may have some old mugs in the basements.” “Uhm, that’s okay sis, we’ve gathered some in the clubhouse,” Sweetie Belle said and finished her buttered toast in one final, big gulp. “I think we better be going too,” she added and quickly downed her glass with orange juice. “But girls, I took the day off so we could spend some time together,” Rarity said. “There’s a fair in town just for today, so perhaps you could wait with your porcelain painting for tomorrow?” “We’d love that. Thank you, Miss Rarity,” Scootaloo said and jumped down from her seat. “We’ll be back soon, sis,” Sweetie Belle said, and together, the two fillies were on their way again, leaving Rarity with the dishes. *** 2020 RET “Mr Shine, please, go home” Cheerilee said in despondency. “But I almost got it, teach!” Maxwell said and poked the stick again. “Oh! Oh! Aww,” he said and dropped it down on the floor. It rolled away from him and crept under her desk. “Look, you’re not going to learn how to hold things anytime soon and I have essays to go through. Why don’t you go home and practise?” Cheerilee said and went to pick up the stick. “But I can’t return to Twilight empty-handed! I need to be able to hold my sword if I’m to stop Apple Bloom,” he said and got up on his hoofs again. Cheerilee was silent for a long moment, standing with the metal stick in her hoof and looking at the blackboard. “Seven years ago, I almost had to close this very school,” she finally said, her voice filled with lament. “Half of my students had disappeared or gotten killed. It was only the sudden surge of outsiders that got me enough new students to keep the school running.” “I see,” Maxwell said half-heartedly and scratched his ear. “Oh, listen to me reminiscing!” Cheerilee said and giggled. She turned to face Maxwell and placed the stick on her desk. “Listen, if you’re looking to quickly be able to grab things, I might know someone who can help.” Cheerilee took the pencil she had been working with prior to Maxwell’s arrival and found a blank piece of paper. Wriggling her mouth around, she scribbled down a few words and then handed the paper to Maxwell. “Her name is Lyra Heartstrings. She has an apartment in Old Ponyville that might be hard to find, so stick to my directions,” Cheerilee said and beamed. “Thanks, sweet legs,” Maxwell said and winked at her, then hastily proceeded outside. The time he had spent inside could not be seen on the weather. The sun had been permanently forbidden to shine on Ponyville and a thick cover of smoke and dust held up their end of that contract. Still, it was lighter now than before. Without a clock, a safe guess would be around midday. Old Ponyville was like a small island in the middle of the town. Access to Old Ponyville was through back alleys and dark tunnels, a good forewarning about the things to come. Maxwell moved between buildings, mostly because proper streets didn’t exist. It was like someone had raised an entire city and given little thought to the design. Houses and homes were pressed up against each other, in places allowing only for a lone pony to walk, in others small vehicles to drive around. The apartment where Lyra lived was as anonymous as most anything around here. Dirty looking hobos warmed themselves to fires started in large metal barrels while a mare with a red bandanna vandalised a wall with a spray can, muttering to herself and not even realising that her can was empty. The inside wasn’t much to speak of either. The paint was flaking off the walls and the floor was covered in several layers of grime. Cardboard boxes littered the ends of hallways, most of them empty, some containing small pieces of memorabilia. The hallway he was looking for even had a musty old couch, where a strong-looking stallion sat and enjoyed a smoke. Both of his arms had been replaced with golden augmentation. Maxwell knocked on the appropriate door which creaked open at his touch. He found Lyra inside on the floor of her sparsely furnished home with a sleepy look on her face, several bottles of pills scattered around her. She was a mess, her mint green coat containing several unidentifiable stains and her cyan mane and tail unkempt. Most interesting of all, however, was a metal frame that surrounded her, a sort of exoskeleton that gave her the appearance of having hands and feet. She didn’t notice Maxwell entering, not even looking at him as he spoke. “Excuse me, young lady, but the door was open,” Maxwell said in his usual good mood. “What do you want?” Lyra asked detachedly and stared blankly into space. “I have heard from a common friend that you can help a fellow who needs to quickly be able to grab things.” Lyra raised a metal hand and flexed the fingers, then pressed the fist against her skull, tears streaming down her eyes. Then she extended the hand towards Maxwell. “You can have it if you want. I’m tired of Neuropozyne and pain and all this misery,” Lyra snivelled. She dropped her hand and grabbed a pain bottle, promptly throwing it against the wall. It was made of plastic, though, and simply bounced off. “I’m grateful for your offer, Miss, but I doubt it could fit on me,” Maxwell pointed out, considering he was twice Lyra’s size. “Doesn’t matter,” she said and relaxed on the floor again. “One size fits all, they say. Very flexible.” “Very well, but surely I can do something for you in return?” Maxwell said gratefully and crossed the floor. “Just get it out of my sight. It cost me everything that I held dear,” Lyra said unhappily. She folded her arms and pressed two indentations, one on either side of the exoskeleton. The frame loosened and released its grip on her and allowed her to step out of it, leaving a somewhat humanoid casing on the hard wooden floor. “You sure I can just have it?” Maxwell asked and poked the metal cautiously. “Whatever,” she said and slid down the opposite wall, an errant sliver of sun penetrating the cloud clover and lighting her face for a moment before it too was blocked out by the roiling sea of pollution up above. Carefully, Maxwell entered the exoskeleton. His hind legs slipped into the corresponding holder and adapted to his shape, wrapping itself around his form flawlessly. Confident of his success, Maxwell lay down completely and allowed it to do its thing, enveloping him snuggly. Once it was done adapting, which took only moments, Maxwell had again regained a human posture. He stood up and walked around the room, swinging his arms around and whipping his tail. “Haha, I’m standing up and no one can stop me!” he exclaimed. “I don’t think this is a good idea,” Lohengrinn said into his ears. “You have no idea of the pain you would be in right now if I didn’t stop it. I don’t think I can keep it up in the long run if I’m to control your fatigue and regeneration as well.” “Well then, we just won’t use it unless we really need it,” Maxwell replied and turned back towards Lyra. “How can I repay you? Let me guess, you want to spend a night with me, right? Don’t feel ashamed to admit it, everyone does.” Maxwell took Lyra under her arms and lifted her up in the air like she was a ragdoll, her head falling listlessly to the side, her eyes devoid of any sort of spark. “Come now, Miss, there’s no need for this teary-eyed despair! How I about I help you find what you lost, eh? Whatever it is, nothing is ever so far gone that we can’t retrieve it.” “I had a friend once,” she said in a quiet voice. “I haven’t seen her in years.” “There you go!” Maxwell said optimistically and placed Lyra back on the floor. Her knees buckled under her and she collapsed once more on to the floor. “Hmm. This might take a little more work.” He tapped his metallic chin holder in contemplation, and then finally scooped Lyra up under his arm and carried her off, her arms and legs dangling carefree under her. “Where to, Miss?” “Old Ponyville,” she said in her quiet, uncaring voice. Without putting much heart into her directions, it was up to Maxwell to retrace his step back into the old part of town. Ponies had by now seen many strange things. A large pony in a human exoskeleton carrying another pony around with him under his arm like so much luggage didn’t even make them a bat an eye. By the time they entered Old Ponyville, Lyra seemed to perk up a little. She lifted her head and looked around, and her guidance became livelier. She didn’t object to being handled this way either and was quite content with Maxwell taking them both around town. Her directions eventually lead them a broad street with what appeared to be original buildings lined up on both sides with plenty of air between them. When they arrived at the right house too, Maxwell dropped Lyra down again and allowed her to ring the door bell herself. She rang it a few times and finally resorted to hammering on the door. “Bon Bon! Bon Bon, open up!” Lyra called, but there was no response. “Bon Bon, I’m... I’m sorry, all right? Please, just let me in!” “Lyra?” The house on the left was inhabited by a yellow earth pony with curly orange hair. She had opened a window in disbelief over recognising a voice she hadn’t heard in many years. “Carrot Top!” Lyra said. “I mean... Miss Harvest. Where is Bon Bon?” Miss Harvest smiled at Lyra, especially at seeing her without that ridiculous contraption on her back. “You may still call me Carrot Top, I don’t mind. We’ve missed you, even Bon Bon.” “Really?” Lyra asked hopefully, her mood increasing more and more and her personality slowly returning to normal. Carrot Top nodded and flicked her hoof. “Naturally, she doesn’t show it, but I can tell on her. There are many things that mare doesn’t like, but you are the one thing she always ends up talking about.” “Then, where is she now?” Lyra asked excitedly and bounced up and down. “You just missed her,” a younger mare said and came up next to Carrot Top. She had the same colour scheme as Carrot Top, except for creamy hair that flowed down her shoulders unhindered. “I think Miss Bon Bon just went out for dinner with her boyfriend.” “Oh no!” Lyra bit her lip in anxious contemplation, then looked up at Maxwell. “Downtown!” she commanded and stretched out her right hoof dramatically in the air. It took Maxwell a few seconds to realise her intention, and some of the effect was lost when he finally picked Lyra up again. Maxwell looked back at Carrot Top and smiled charmingly. “Perhaps when all this is over, you and I could find something to do?” Carrot Top proceeded by shutting her window again. “All right then,” he said and chuckled and adjusted his grip around Lyra’s belly. “So where are we going now?” he asked as he went back up the street again. “Hmm. Bon Bon doesn’t really like any of the changes, so we should look for a restaurant that still serves traditional pony food,” Lyra said after wracking her brain. “Is there any place left that serves that?” Maxwell asked curiously as they moved away from the industrial quarters to a more consumer-based area, where old buildings were fewer. “Oh yes, there should be plenty,” Lyra said and wagged her tail enthusiastically as they went down the road and crossed into a pedestrian area with shops and restaurants and banks and cafes. “Maybe over there!” She pointed with her hoof to a sign that contained some sort of shrubbery with three clover-like leaves on it. The building it advertised had green woodwork, but looked otherwise like all the other old buildings here with white plaster and slanted straw roof. It was bigger too and had a large area with plenty of tables and bales of hay for sitting. As they got closer, Lyra began to fidget violently in his arms, something that he was oblivious to. “Maxwell, thank you for bringing me here, but I would appreciate it if you put me down now,” Lyra said and looked up at Maxwell with her big, seeking eyes. Near the entrance sat an earth pony mare sipping on a bottle of fizzy drink through a straw. She had an off-white coat with a curly blue and pink mane and tail. Opposite her sat a yellow unicorn wearing a black coat and built-in shades. A waiter stood in front of their table with a bill. “Madame, you ordered fries with your meal,” the waiter said frustrated, a white earth pony with a blue mane slicked back and wearing some kind of uniform with a little red bow tie. “I didn’t put those on my plate,” she replied bitterly and looked up at the waiter. “I never asked for this,” this yellow unicorn said and pushed his bowl back. The two looked at each other intently for moment, as if time had come to a standstill. They stretched their necks over their table slowly, awkwardly, she closing her eyes and missing his head. They retracted a bit and tried again, but he accidently poked her forehead with his horn. “Bon Bon!” Lyra exclaimed and darted past the tables and shoved another waiter aside. “L-Lyra?” the earth pony mare said and looked up, making the yellow unicorn fall headfirst into his soup. Lyra stopped up just short of the table, where the waiter still stood perplexed. She looked at her best friend with tears forming in the corners of her eyes. Bon Bon was caught in the moment and she too couldn’t hold the tears at bay. She wiped her eyes and jumped from her bale of hay to embrace Lyra in a warm, loving hug. “I... I’m so sorry, Bon Bon. I can’t believe how selfish I was,” Lyra said and sniffed, but Bon Bon rubbed her head affectionately up against Lyra. “I didn’t think I would ever see you again,” Bon Bon said with her eyes closed and her voice filled with happiness. “When you used all our savings on that contrivance, I thought that I had lost you forever. What are you doing here?” Bon Bon held Lyra out an arm’s length to get a good look at her. “I was just sitting in my apartment when Maxwell here came by and insisted he would do something for me!” Lyra said and smiled excitedly back at Maxwell. “Just glad to be of help,” he replied and winked at them. He slowly went to their side and helped ponies up on his way, being in no hurry. “Hey, maybe you’d like to do something later? I’m sure that we could figure something out.” Maxwell flexed his eyebrows attentively to which Bon Bon gave him a disapproving glare. “Bon Bon, there’s something you must promise me,” Lyra said unexpectedly, to which Bon Bon could only nod in surprise. “There’s something strange about New Ponyville. That place just seems to suck the soul out of you. Promise me that you will never, ever go there.” “I don’t even like the place,” Bon Bon insured with a smile and stroked her chin. “Let’s just go home, Lyra, you need a bath. I’m not even sure what I smell from you.” They left Maxwell standing with his hands on his side and a broad smile and feeling really good about himself. The yellow unicorn from before had wiped his face clean and now stared down at his soup with little interest. Having come all the way over to the table, Maxwell saw his chance for a free meal and swiped the bowl. “You don’t mind, do you? I haven’t had any breakfast.” The question was rhetorical of course as the soup was gone past his lips before his words could leave them. By the time that the coated unicorn opened his mouth to say another thing, Maxwell was already gone. The waiter looked from Maxwell’s back to the unicorn in disbelief, hoping that someone would say something. Finally, the unicorn sighed and put a plastic card on the table. Maxwell, however, was focusing on other things. He could finally walk around like a human again and with a clear conscience. He was naturally eager to return to Twilight, to show her and the others that he was ready to take on Apple Bloom. He strolled down the streets and music started playing from somewhere to accentuate his newfound swag. An old stallion approached him on the sidewalk not far from the cafe. At first Maxwell thought him to be a human due to his clothes and general appearance, but he had hooves sticking out of his white lab coat and a fur on his face. He walked hunched over with a single-button remote in his left hoof, stopped up and smiled up at Maxwell. “That exoskeleton is a dead end,” the old stallion said and looked up at Maxwell with a troubled look. “Hmm?” Maxwell exclaimed, initially having overlooked the old stallion. “What do you know about it?” “I invented it and I know that it will fail you when you need it the most. You should not rely on it,” the old stallion said and shook his head. “Say what you want, old man, but I need to be able to hold things. Now stand aside, citizen, I have places to be,” Maxwell said cockily and lumbered forward, his movements a bit awkward and stiff still. “You can’t even beat me with that thing,” the old stallion lamented. “Is that a challenge?” Maxwell asked delighted and turned around. “I’d gladly show you how wrong you are!” The old stallion pressed the red button on his remote, surrounding himself by an electric field. Passersby stopped up or stood back, curious to see what was going on. The old stallion charged forward with the vigour of a spring hare and dove headfirst into Maxwell before he could react. He tumbled backwards and rolled down the streets before banging into a streetlight. “Blimey,” Maxwell said surprised, got up on his feet again and ran towards the old stallion. “All right, old man, you asked for this. Don’t blame me if you break a hip.” Despite Maxwell’s words and his initial eager, he stopped up just short of the old stallion when he saw him lying on the sidewalk. The old pony coughed and a green mist escaped his lips that enveloped Maxwell and made him recoil sharply. The old pony kicked himself up into a standing position and planted both shoes into Maxwell’s abdomen in the process. Maxwell was getting riled up and punched at the old pony who simply sidestepped him and slipped away into the background. He pressed the button again, this time with only Maxwell to see it. Everypony else had left the stage and quickly retreated to safety. The two combatants were now using the entire deserted length of road as their playground. Once the old pony was done, he charged in again. Maxwell was waiting and embraced himself for another impact, but he hadn’t expected the doctor to uppercut him so hard that Maxwell was sent flying. He landed with a sickening crunch on the hard pavement, his exoskeleton giving a short fizzing sound before pooping out. “Let’s just call it a draw,” Maxwell said, too beaten to move. The outer frame opened by default and allowed him to step out of the exoskeleton at his leisure. “Use the Elements of Harmony,” the old pony said with a tired voice and sat down with his legs crossed next to Maxwell. “The Elements of what now?” Maxwell asked curiously. “Hang on, I think Twilight mentioned those... hey, where’re you going?” But the old pony was done being social. Without moving a muscle, the doctor darted across the road, still sitting with his legs crossed, and left a little cloud of dust. “Even if I wanted to use this thing, it’s busted,” Maxwell said with mourning in his voice, like losing an old friend. “I think he was right though,” Lohengrinn said. “That exoskeleton was straining you too hard.” “Hmph. Very well, but... what am I supposed to tell Twilight?” Maxwell asked wryly. *** 2020, around the same time Apple Bloom stepped into the dark room where a table was filled with silhouettes, the exact amount and definite shape indeterminable. She closed the door again so that a small dingy lamp was the only light source left. “Ah hope ya can guess why Ah have summoned ya’ll here,” Apple Bloom said sternly and looked around the room with an intense gaze. “Yer all the toughest villains that Equestria has seen. Ah failed in my conquest last time, so Ah’m not leaving anything to chance.” “This is ridiculous,” a pointy-hatted silhouette said. “The great and powerful Trixie is not a villain.” “Shut up, dweeb,” a winged silhouette replied. “Ah will not ask ya of yer silence more than once,” Apple Bloom sharply and the room fell quiet instantly. “Good. Let us move directly ta the plan and not waste anymore time. Though missing a party member, the Mane 6 is still out there plotting and scheming. You,” Apple Bloom said to a unicorn silhouette with light streaming through holes in her horn. “Ah have a special task fer ya.” Apple Bloom smirked, and the silhouette laughed. Leave a comment, tell me what you would want to see in the future.