Grey Rebl’s Comment
WARGAMES’s Comment
As far as Flash can tell, there is pain. A loooot of pain. His head is split down to his throbbing rib cage, his senses frighteningly numb on top of the cold draft on his bare chest, and his arms and legs feel as heavy as lead. The most he can muster is a groan, croaking as if his throat is dry.
"Ugh..." Slowly, he sits up, rubbing the bridge of his nose. Even though his eyes are barely open, everything just feels so bright. He blinks three, six and then two times in rapid succession, awkward and bleary, trying to adjust to the "brightness" as he starts to squint around the room.
“Oooh, what happened?” he groans as he rubs his eyes to adjust to the brightness.
Did I get drunk? He thinks as the light starts to focus. I don’t remember drinking anyth-
As the brightness comes into focus, he sees that it is an unfamiliar lava lamp casting a purplish haze.
“Where am I?” he says aloud and looks around the room which is decidedly not his.
Whoever it belongs to, they smell like that big hippie guy at school. And...
“Where’s my shirt?” he says in a bit of alarm at his exposed chest. To make matters even worse, he realizes he is also shoeless, and his pants are ripped and torn. After saying this aloud, he hears whispered voices from outside the dimly lit room
Just... What's happening? Did I have a good time or a bad time? He wonders at his state of undress. No wait…that’s right Sunset…
He sighs in frustration after remembering his relationship falling apart.
Right, she dumped me, I got sad, and Lyra said to go to the mall to cheer up and then…
His eyes widen at his last clear memory.
And then the voices returned!
He remembers the angry crowd, much worse than it had ever been, and being cornered in the fountain and…nothing after that.
Hearing the hushed voices again from the other side of the bedroom door, sweat begins to come to his brow as a picture begins to form.
All the pain, an unknown room, mysterious voices on the other side of the door.
“Oh,” his expression morphs into terror. “Oh God, I’ve been kidnapped haven’t I?” he whimpers as he sits up further in bed and looks to the door where the hushed voices still argue.
He fears them greatly.
The angry voices, why? Why now? He panics as he gets up out of bed and looks for an escape route. Unfortunately, the only window in this room is way too tiny to fit through.
And to make matters worse, Dr. Quacksalver doesn’t work at the hospital anymore. He was right all along to give me all those illegal prescriptions for cheap! Oh why didn’t I listen?!
Choosing to ignore the disbarred psycho who gave drugs to children, Flash’s instincts kick in as he looks for anything within this room that could be used as a weapon.
Down with Chrysalis’s Comment
In one corner of the room, he sees that whoever lives here really likes Breaking Bad. There are a collection of hats, posters of all the seasons, and even a signed picture from Heisenberg himself all near one dresser with candles on it, resembling a shrine.
Oh God, I’ve been kidnapped by an obsessed fanboy. What if they put me in a barrel?! He panics.
Unfortunately, none of those are weapon worthy, so he casts his eyes elsewhere. The lava lamp is out as it’s his only source of light, but he does spy what can only be described as a bong on steroids, which would account for the smell in the room. Unfortunately, it’s too near to the door and the voices.
Gritting his teeth in worry, Flash looks to the opposite end and sees a closet. As silently as he can, he opens the door and peers inside.
Grey Rebl’s Comment
Puzzling Frost’s Comment
Inside, he sees a lot of suits. Many different colors and styles for a variety of occasions.
Ugh, This doesn’t help me! He thinks before he hears several footsteps outside the bedroom door. Eeeping, he gets inside the closet and closes the door as he goes as far back as he can go.
Damn Damn Damn! He sweats as his back reaches the back of the closet. I just need something, anything to-
His hand brushes up against a familiar feeling instrument in the dark.
Outside the bedroom door, you B2 and Humbra all huddle and whisper.
“Ok, no doubt he’s gonna be skittish, so let’s take it easy on him agreed?”
“Oh you think?” Humbra grumbles. “If he starts screaming and carrying on though, I don’t know you guys.”
“Like anyone will believe that,” B2 points out.
“I need some sort of defense! If the cops get called, how’s this going to look? A scared half naked teenager is in my damn room!”
“…Ok wow, I didn’t even think of it that way,” B2 shudders.
“Well it won’t come to that,” you reassure. “Trust me, I’m best bros with his far superior pegasus version back home, so this will all work out.”
“You’re friends with a pegasus that’s more than half your age? How did that happen?” asks B2.
“He’s not, back home we’re around the same age. Plus he’s a guard that hunts one of my personas.”
“I still don’t get the logistics of this alternate universe,” Human Sombra rubs his temple.
“Neither do I, but we’ll worry about that later,” you roll your eyes. “Now, on the count of three, we go in. One, Two…”
You then gently open the door.
“Hey Flash old buddy old pal-“ you start before you are interrupted.
“YAAAAHHH!!!” Human Flash screams as he brings a sweet looking bass guitar down on your head.
*BONK*
“Merry Birthday,” you dawdle out as your eyes spin and you drop to the floor. As your stupid weak human skull throbs, B2 calls out.
“Whoa now, easy kid!”
“Stay back! All of you!” he threatens and swings the guitar wildly.
“Oi! Quit swinging Carnelian like that!” Sombra hollers.
“Never! You psychos let me out of here before I drop the bass on all of you!”
“Ugh!” you all groan at the terrible pun, but regardless, the scared teen holds the guitar in front of him like a sword.
“Flash, just calm down,” you order holding a hand to you noggin.
“Calm down? How can I? I got chased by a million people who wanted to kill me and then I woke up here without my shirt and shoes and…YOU!” he sputters as he sees your face. “You’re the guy that led the mob!”
“Uh, yeah, sorry about that, I kind of got swept up in the voices and-“
Down with Chrysalis’s Comment
“Well you can forget about whatever you sickos had planned he threatened. I am not going to be tortured by you.”
“What?” B2 says, “We ain’t gonna torture you kid.”
“Sure you aren’t,” he says unbelievingly. “The minute I let my guard down, you’re going to rush me, tie me down, flay the skin from my feet, carve a pentagram into my chest, eat my cheek muscles and use vice grips to mutilate my junk!”
All three of you stare dumbfounded at how quickly that came out of his mouth, and with such confidence.
“Jesus Christ kid, what the hell have you been watching?” Human Sombra says in disgust.
“Yeah seriously, lay off the horror movies,” B2 orders.
“It’s not horror movies, it’s real life. Haven’t you seen the True Crime channel?” he argues back swinging the guitar again.
While your first instinct would normally to wonder just how depraved humans can get, something else comes to you.
Didn’t I threaten to do the vice grips thing to Flash’s old commander way back when? You think remembering your first run in with Flash and Strong Head. Heh, Good Times.
You did threaten to use them on his horn as I recall, Selena adds. Though I suspect the human meant something more intimate.
As someone who knows very well what losing his horn feels like, I can confirm we value them just the same, Sombra points out.
“Oh don’t be such a drama queen,” you roll your eyes before you realize you’ve said that out loud.
“Drama Queen?! You led a lynch mob against me!” Flash shouts.
“Yeah, I know, but that was the voices, they aren’t really here now and-“
“I know what those voices say about me! And if you think I’m going to give you the chance to mutilate me, you’re sadly mistaken!”
Kersey475’s Comment
Shakily standing up, you hold your hands out in a calming gesture, keeping him focused on you.
"Look, I understand that, but it’s all going to be OK, Flash. No one is gonna hurt-" *crash*
"WHAT THE F/BUCK?!!!" you and B2 yell as Flash slumps to the ground after something made of glass shatters over his head. The culprit is Human Sombra who holds the remains of a bong.
“Why would you do that?” you reprimand.
"What? I panicked, okay?! He kept screaming and swinging Carnelian around!" Human Sombra justifies shakily.
*facehoof* Why is my human counterpart equally as stupid as my current jailer? Sombra laments
“Well good going numb nuts, you might of just killed him!” B2 says slapping him upside the head.
“It was justified!” Humbra declares as he takes his guitar from the groaning half conscious human. Rolling your eyes, you and B2 place the human back on the bed, away from the shattered glass where it can cut up his weak human skin.
“Alright, now we’ve officially assaulted the kid. Maybe we should just dump him outside a fire station and hope he doesn’t remember,” B2 offers.
“Nah, he’ll report us, and then I’ll get sent to a filthy hummie gulag! No thank you, we gotta figure out a way to talk this over with him. Now what do we say?”
“I don’t think we have time, he’s already waking up,” Humbra points out as his eyes flutter open again.
Master of Shadows’ Comment
“Oooohohoohoho, yoooou’rrrrreee dreeeeeaaaaming Flaaaash oooohohooohooho go back to sleeeeeep ohoooohoooho” you say in a spooky voice hoping above hope that it works.
Spoiler alert, it doesn’t. And as the two humans behind you facepalm, and your two mind buddies facehoof Flash reacts accordingly.
Puzzling Frost’s Comment
Down with Chrysalis’s Comment
Zapper frost’s Comment
He begins to scream as he curls up into a ball.
“No no, shut up! Keep it down!” you order, but he keeps going, having seemingly lost his mind.
“Ugh! Cut it out! We’re not going to hurt you anymore!” Humbra yells. And yet the screaming continues.
“Oh to Hell with this!” B2 declares as he steps forward and starts shaking the teen.
“Calm down! Get a hold of yourself!” he orders as he slaps the teen who continues to scream. Not being one to back down, B2 starts repeatedly slapping the scared teen across the face.
“This is for your own good!” he emphasizes as he keeps slapping him.
“So much for no longer hurting him,” Human Sombra deadpans.
“How did this plan become so bucked up?” you whimper as your counterpart continues his assault.
“The minute you unhulked him, threw him in my car and brought him here?” Human Sombra answers which only makes your eye twitch.
With things going downhill very fast, you subconsciously grip the magic stone in your undamaged hand as your annoyance hits a limit.
*Snap*
"FOR BUCKS SAKE SHUT UP BEFORE I RIP YOUR TONGUE AND SHOVE IT THROUGH YOUR SKULL!!!!" You, Selena, and Sombra shout together in unison. Unknowingly activating what your double would later call the LEGION Voice.
This otherworldly scary voice does the trick and snaps Flash out of his screaming fit. It also causes B2 to jump into Humbra’s arms Scooby Doo style.
"NOW STAY QUIET SO WE CAN HAVE A CALM RATIONAL DISCUSSION!" You three shout in his face. He nods very rapidly before putting both his hands over his mouth, while tears leak from his eyes.
Sighing, you let the anger fade a bit.
Thanks for the assist. I didn’t even know that would work, you thank your skull-mates.
That took a lot more effort for just a simple sentence than back home, Selena mentions.
Well it was worth it, someone had to be the voice of reason in this idiocy, Sombra grumbles.
And while Humbra and B2 look at you in curiosity, Flash whimpers a bit.
Kichi’s Comment
The Pony Spartan’s Comment
“Is…is this the final form of the voices?” he asks.
“No,” you shake your head, “No Flash it isn’t. I’ve got other voices inside my head than the ones you’re used to. Just trust me when I say, they’re not here now.”
“I…I…” he mumbles before you take a step back from him with your hands raised up to show no ill will. As you do, Humbra drops B2 onto the ground unceremoniously.
"I tried to make the voices stop," Flash says, nervously twiddling his thumbs "I did everything I could. Therapy, yoga, TV shows like My Little Gecko..." He then scoffs. "It didn't work. People still looked at me like I was garbage and said hurtful things, it rarely got physical.”
He then looks up to you and you see someone who is very tired.
"But then they stopped...Right out of the blue. I moved on, focused on school and sports, and even had a relationship.” He then sighs. “I got too big for my britches, I stopped taking the meds, and now they're back. Right in time for the first Fall Formal I’m going to be alone at…” he then looks up at you.
“You’re…you’re not going to hurt me anymore?”
“No Flash, I won’t," you reassure. He nods for a second before he asks.
"How do you know my name?"
Taken aback, you stutter, "Uh, you...well, you kind of yelled it a lot after the mob dispersed."
"I did?" he asks in confusion, which you notice and file away.
"Yeah. By the way, my name is Bugze, the bearded guy behind me is my twin brother B2, and the scary guy next to him is Sombra."
He looks at the other humans nervously and says,
"Uh...Hi?"
Sombra just nods, but B2 waves with a smile.
"Soo, did you two hear the voices as well?"
"Nope," Humbra answers.
"Yeah, we didn't hear jack, until you started yelling and thrashing the place," B2 says.
"Thrashing the place?" he asks, but you cut him off.
"Yeah, the voices were gone by the time they come around. I don’t know how or why, but those voices just kind of disappeared. I don’t even remember much from the mob myself, but they kind of faded away for some reason..”
“Well, at least they’ve backed off again,” he sighs. “Stupid voices, I don’t even know what a waifu is!”
“A waifu is Japanese slang for the practice of holding a fictional character in such hi regard, that it’s almost as if you’re married to them.” You all look to Humbra at his matter of fact explanation.
“What?” he asks at your looks. Instead of questioning that further, you turn back to Flash who seems even more confused, yet enlightened at the same time.
“Oh I get it, it’s like those weirdoes that have those anime girls on body pillows. Well, as far as I know I haven’t stolen anything like that. I don’t need fake women, I have a girlfriend…or I did anyway,” he says sadly.
“Oh, got dumped did ya?” B2 inquires in sympathy.
“Yeah,” Flash nods. “Sunset had been getting meaner and meaner, but I thought things could be fixed. I thought wrong. That’s why I was even in the mall in the first place.”
“Sorry for your loss kid,” B2 bows his head.
“Yeah, join the club,” Humbra says bitterly looking down.
…Well said, your Sombra agrees.
Oh my gods, everyling is being such a buzzkill and getting off track, you think in annoyance.
“Alright yeah, that sucks and all but do you remember anything after the mob?” you ask gingerly.
He just shakes his head. “No. I remember you dunking me in water and that girl with the ponytail was there, and then nothing but anger,” he says touching his head where thankfully no cuts are. You share a look with your human companions before you turn back to him.
“Right…Well Flash, you’re no doubt going to see this on the news, so let me just fill you in…”
Down with Chrysalis’s Comment
One Explanation Later
“So wait, you’re saying I hulked out, broke the mall, and you hadokened me back to normal?”
“Yeah, that’s a pretty simple way of saying it,” you nod at the flabbergasted human.
“And this was all because of that hand mirror I was holding?”
“Eyup,” you nod.
“Because it was magic...?” he says skeptically.
“Yes,” you say simply.
“…But magic isn’t real.”
“Well what other explanation do you have smart guy?”
“I don’t know, I was drugged?” he suggests.
“Drugs don’t turn you into this, not unless you’re juicing for years, but even still,” Humbra says as he shows him several pictures of Flash-Rager.
“But that thing doesn’t even look like me. I don’t have a goatee, and I’m certainly not green,” he argues.
“Kid, look at your pants, and look at Hulkified you,” B2 emphasizes.
“I…” Flash looks back and forth between himself and the picture.
“And look, here’s the part where I blasted you off into the wall,” you say showing the clip of you unleashing the plasmid.”
“But this can’t be real! How can you use magic? How could I?”
“I wasn’t using magic there, that was genetic modification. But as for how you can use magic…well, to simplify it, a thousand years ago a few magical sea horses got banished from another dimension where they were no doubt turned into humans. In their exile, they probably got married and had kids with the humans way back then, and now their ancestors have the capacity for magic in their blood. And after today, it looks like you’re one of them.”
He looks very, very confused at this declaration, as does human Sombra who gives a sidelong glance to B2 who just nods.
“…So the reason I turned into the Hulk is because I touched a magic mirror, which activated because you think my ancestors were magic sea horses? Is that what you’re telling me?” he deadpans.
“Bingo,” you nod.
“…Either you guys are insane, a cult or both,” he holds his head in his hands.
“Well whatever you think, that’s the truth kid. Even if everyone else thinks it’s a big publicity stunt, it’s the truth,” you declare.
“I’d be fine if it was just a publicity stunt. I only know a few songs from The Wanted, but those guys were cool. I bet they’re really confused about this whole situation though,” Flash says looking at more of the news feed. B2 and Humbra both share a look at that.
“Yeah, I’m sure they’re more than confused about everything that’s happened today,” Humbra says sarcastically, which Flash misses.
“But even still, even if I buy that I was that monster, why did you guys bring me back here?”
“Well…I felt bad about letting those voices get to me,” you admit. “Usually I’m good about ignoring those impulses, but instead I chased after you and tried to drown you. Then you Saddle-Ragered, and I had to hurt you again. I’m so sorry about that by the way, but yeah, we didn’t want you to get in trouble for something that was kind of my fault.”
Flash looks at your honesty perplexed.
“You’re really serious and genuine aren’t you?” he asks.
“Yeah, I am,” you say as you undo the bandages on your burned arm as final proof which he gasps at. The flesh is still blackened, red and blistered…but surprisingly it seems less so than it was earlier.
“Huh, looks like the aloe vera’s working alright,” B2 points out.
“Yeah…aloe vera,” you agree with a lie.
So, my healing factor does still work in this world, but just not as fast.
Well that’s a relief to find out. Though it will still be hours yet before that’s fully healed, Selena informs.
Better that than have to use evil human medicine.
“Dude…so it really did happen?” Flash mutters in awe.
“That’s what we’ve been saying,” B2 exposits.
“Then…wow ok, this is a lot to process.”
“Give it time Flash,” you pat him on the shoulder. “Now that you know the truth, maybe you can help us in the future, we are looking for your ancestors’ magic items.”
“You are? Why?”
“Uh…we’re kind of like treasure hunters you could say. Mostly to keep dangerous magic like what you had from falling into the wrong hands,” you partially tell the truth.
“Oh…alright,” he nods in understanding.
“So, on that note, do you happen to know if your family has any magical stones, or have you seen any extradimensional portals recently?”
“Uh…no?” he guesses.
“Eh, worth a shot,” you shrug. “Well, if you do see anything, let us know. B2 here will use his magiphone to get your digits and you can call us if you see anything. He nods again before his eyes go wide.
“My Phone!”
He then digs in his pocket, and surprisingly, finds an intact cell phone, albeit a bit cracked. Turning it on, he sees that he has many, many missed calls and texts.
“Aw Crud! Lyra and Bon Bon have been trying to contact me for hours.” You raise a brow at that.
“Did you say Lyra and Bon Bon?”
“Yeah, they’re my friends. Lyra’s the one that suggested I go to the mall in the first place, she’s probably worried…Actually, now that I think about it, I should probably get home before anyone thinks I’m missing.”
“Yeah don’t worry, we’ll give you a ride home kid,” Humbra informs as he reaches into the closet and tosses Flash a spare T-Shirt.
“Uh, thank you, I’m just gonna tell Lyra that everything’s alright and then we can go OK?”
“Cool with us,” you nod as Flash pulls on the shirt which has a silhouette of a bald human with a goatee.
"Oh, and sorry about hitting you in the head with the guitar," he apologizes.
"No worries," you smile and handwave. Flash then dials on his phone and starts talking to Human Lyra.
Hmm, real Lyra is such a human fanatic, I wonder if that means Human Lyra is a pony fanatic?
And while Flash talks to his friend, and you hear him reassure over and over that he’s fine and that he was hanging out with some friends, Human Sombra grabs his keys off the dresser.
Kersey475’s Comment
“So, we drop this guy off, and then what?”
“We start looking for magic objects of course,” B2 says.
“Besides that,” he handwaves. “I’m talking about the exposure.”
“Oh, right,” B2 nods.
“I look different enough as it is with this amazing look,” he gestures to his Heisenberg look, “And folks would only recognize you with a hood on, so we got to be careful.”
“Yeah, that makes sense,” you agree. “A fanfilly of B2 recognized me early on when I wandered into a fast food place when I had the hood on.”
“Right, maybe we should lay low and…” B2’s eyes widen. “Oh right, you threw away all our gold.”
“Yeah, sorry,” you rub the back of your neck.
“Eh, oh well. We’ve still got some in the bank, but that does mean we still gotta work,” he relents.
“Well as long as nobody knows who you are it should be fine,” Human Sombra mentions.
"In the meantime, we should probably post something on our band's site while attention's on us again, you know, so nobody goes looking around and finds out this magic stuff is real," B2 says.
"Good idea. I think I still have our Myspace passwor-"
"Whoa whoa whoa, you're still on MYSPACE? You gotta get with the times man!" B2 complains.
"Says the guy carrying around a Walkman," Sombra snarks.
"You leave Star-Lord Jr. out of this!" B2 says defensively, holding his Walkman close.
Rolling his eyes, Sombra pulls a trunk out from under his bed and opens it.
Kichi’s Comment
Puzzling Frost’s Comment
Inside, you see what you can only describe as a trunk of memories of his time as King Crystal in The Wanted. There are posters, shirts, dolls, and other memorabilia of the band.
B2 is taken aback by the sight, especially by the picture of him, Sombra, and a human woman in ornate armor and a helmet who is clearly humanized Nightmare Moon.
Hmm, it seems even my human counterpart can bring style and respect to that armor, Selena says impressed.
Yeah, but that begs the question, how was there a human version of you in this world?
…That’s actually a good question, she says as that inquiry dawns on her.
Your Sombra then gasps as he spies a lone photograph from the rest, of his human counterpart, with another female human with light blue hair. As dumb as you can be, even you can put two and two together about who the woman is, so you don’t say anything.
And while your counterpart, and you and your friends are distracted by the contents, Human Sombra rifles to the bottom, pulling out a ledger. His gaze lingers on the same photograph your Sombra saw for a second, before he closes the trunk. He then starts flipping through the pages of the ledger.
“The password is in here somewhere.”
“Right…hey Som?” B2 asks a little nervously.
“Yeah?”
“…Do you think Nimmy’s heard the news?” He looks up at that and sees the apprehension on B2’s face.
“I don’t know. I don’t even know if she’s still in the city or not. I haven’t spoken to her in years," he says sympathetically and B2 nods solemnly.
“Right…well I hope it won’t bug her if she does hear. The last thing she needs is that uptight sister of hers finding out. God that woman always scared me,” he shudders.
“Heh, you’re telling me,” human Sombra chuckles as he and B2 share a genuine moment.
“…Uh, maybe we should worry about the band stuff later,” you interrupt as you hear Flash saying that he’s heading home now.
“Right, right,” B2 says. “Besides, they’re probably not even in the state anymore, and it’s not like anyone we know would know where she was,” he says as he walks out the room to keep Flash company.
Noling except Human Cadence…I should probably let him know about that in the future.
Indeed…Selena says, sounding lost in thought.
“Ah, here it is,” Humbra says as he finds the right page.
“The password is IHARWD.”
“Eye Harwid?” you ask.
“It’s an acronym,” he rolls his eyes. “Based on one of my favorite poems, we even wrote a song on it.”
“Oh really? What is it?” you ask.
“I Have A Rendezvous With Death,” he says and a chill goes up your spine that you can’t quite understand.
“Oh, yeah I read that one on my Nook,” you say trying to shrug off the odd feeling of dread. “But yeah, human me’s right, let’s get Flash home before something bad happens. I know the pony version of the girl he was talking to, and she’s kind of loopy.”
Nodding his head, he leads you to the living room where B2 and Flash await.
As you all drive in Sombra’s car which isn’t quite a cart, but nowhere near an evil bus, you can’t help but feel something is coming, even if you don’t know what it is.
EQUSTRIA
POV CHANGE: Nightshade
It’s been awhile since you all ran away from Starlight Glimmer’s stupid cult town. Slendermane as far as you know is still following your group trying to collect Grandbuggy’s 20 bits that he absolutely refuses to give out. The good thing is, he only follows at a walking pace, and doesn’t seem to be in a hurry, or even threatening for that matter. He’s just kind of creepy and stalkerish is all.
“At least he’s more tolerable than daddy’s stalkers,” you conclude as you look out the window of the train.
“What was that honey?” asks Grandbuggy who puts down his newspaper.
“Nothing, just thinking about how faceless monsters are better than any of the mares that chase after Daddy,” you answer. Greta looks over at this statement.
“Mares chasing her dad?” she asks for clarification.
“Yeah, my boy’s got quite a few mares barking at his heels, I blame myself for my natural charisma and good looks that got passed on,” Grandbuggy says in all seriousness which causes Greta to snort.
“How many mares amigo?” asks Ahuizotl.
“Oh, I’d say at least a baker’s dozen worth, if not more.”
“And the majority of them haven’t even seen Daddy’s real face. They just like one of his disguises,” you roll your eyes.
“Hmm, either your father is a natural charmer, or something else is afoot,” Ahuizotl ponders stroking his chin.
“My bet is the charmer,” Grandbuggy says with a chuckle. “It’s genetic after all. Practically every female he runs across likes something about him, ain’t that right Bird Cat?”
Rolling her eyes at the nickname, Greta says, “I wouldn’t say that. I mean true his physique was nice, but you can’t base a whole relationship on looks.”
“Well whatever it is, they’re annoying. I’ve already got a Mommy, I don’t need any others,” you declare.
“Heh, you don’t have to worry about that from me kid,” Greta chuckles and ruffles your mane.
After re-smoothing out your mane, you turn to Grandbuggy and ask,
“So, how long until we get to the Rainbow Falls exchange thingy?” Grandbuggy gives you a smirk and he says,
“Well, if we stay on the train, we’d be there probably by the end of the day, but since we’re going to be taking a pit stop, who knows.”
“A pit stop?” Ahuizotl asks just as confused as you are by this news.
“Ayuh,” he nods. “After my blunder in taking us to Commie Central, I feel I gotta make it up to ya’ll, especially you kiddo.” This intrigues you and you raise your brow.
“How so?”
“Well, let me ask you this, have you ever been to Canterlot and just enjoyed it?”
“Canterlot?!” you ask with a gasp. “We can’t go there, Princess Celestia and Luna are-“
“Currently in the Crystal Empire for that self congratulatory Princess Summit,” he says turning the newspaper towards you. The article reads how both Princesses have left to accompany the newest princess Twilight Sparkle, and how many of the nobles have followed suit.
“Every single pony that could be a problem are currently in the Arctic,” he explains, “Which means, you can finally have an authentic Canterlot Experience without worrying about the Government.”
“…That’s actually genius Fix,” Ahuizotl agrees. “I’ve never been because the alicorn sisters are immensely powerful, but if they’re not around..."
“Would you be buying? I hear food there is expensive,” Greta asks.
“Yeah yeah, I’ll pay ya dang leech,” Grandbuggy rolls his eyes and she smiles.
“But Grandbuggy, what about Rainbow Falls?” you ask thinking of your mission.
“We’re still going kid. As I said, this is only a pit stop to enjoy some good food, and relax for a bit. We’ve still got quite a few artifacts to go, so why not treat ourselves for a day before the trek continues?”
“Well…I have always wanted to go to Donut Joe’s. Spike always talked it up, and it would be nice to walk around without worrying about Dad getting found out and having to run away…”
Yeah, you know what, that sounds nice. When the Sisters and Deadly Six are away, the Nightshade will play.
“Alright let’s do it. I guess I’ll be an Earth Pony for this,” you say as you magic away your wings and horn.
“That still fascinates me chica,” Ahuizotl says.
“Does it ever burn?” asks Greta.
“Nah, the green flame is actually like warm water,” you explain.
“And speaking of warm water, we can hit a spa as well,” Grandbuggy adds. “We’ll have a good time kiddo, we’ll eat some gourmet food, get pampered…” he then looks at you pointedly before he says the last option, “And maybe you can say hello to an old friend in the hospital.”
At first, you are confused by this statement. Which one of your friends would be in the hospital in Canterlot? Maybe Scootaloo is she hit a ramp at supersonic speeds, but other than that…
*Gasp*
The breath escapes you as you realize exactly who Grandbuggy is talking about. Someone you haven’t seen since a very bad day. Someone you haven’t had the chance to apologize to yet.
“Trixie…”
“Next Stop, Canterlot Station!” calls the ticket pony.
WHAT DO YOU DO?
