//------------------------------// // Chapter Six: A Pinkie Promise // Story: Reflection of Nightmares // by Cold Spike //------------------------------// Phoenix trudged through Ponyville as slowly as she could. She never once saw Applejack or any of her other friends and she was quite thankful for that. A few ponies had stopped her in town, asking if she was alright and she shrugged them off the best she could. She could help herself and she was doing just fine. Aside from a splitting headache, and the constant nightmare-ish daydreams, things were alright. Her wings were also aching constantly, but that was to be expected from a knife wound. By the time she had reached Twilight's castle, she was panting for air and had to take a quick break, resting on a bench. “I think I need some water or something…” she muttered. “Young miss, are you doing okay?” Phoenix blinked and looked around in confusion. “Up here, miss,” the pony replied. She glanced behind the bench and spotted the guards from earlier, the same guards which she had been so rude to before. Nervously she stood up and cantered over to the front gates. “Uh, yeah, I need to see Twil-- Princess Twilight and stuff…” One of the guards inspected her Cutie Mark Crusader scarf and nodded. “We’ve been instructed to allow you to pass freely so long as you have that scarf on. But… um…” “So, I can go in?” “Well, yes, b- but, i- it’s um…” one of the guards said rather lamely. The pegasus on the left sighed. “What he means is, miss, you’re quite the mess. Do you need assistance?” She grumbled something and for the first time, she actually looked the two in the face, taking in their features. Twilight’s first guard, the one on her right, was a unicorn pony with a bright white coat and a red mane and tail. The second, a pegasus, was nearly dark grey with a white-ish colored mane and tail. Both were stallions and both were giving Phoenix quite the odd stare. “Pardon, miss?” Grunting a bit, Phoenix looked both in the eyes and gave the most sincere smile which she could muster. “I’m gonna head on inside, okay?” Reluctantly the two stepped aside while the pegasus slowly opened the door for her. “Very well. Welcome to the Castle of Friendship.” She smiled at him and trudged inside, though the guards said one final thing in unison, “If you need to clean up, a bathroom is on the right.” Blushing and nodding, she hurried off to the right, away from trained eyes. I better just do as they say, I don’t want Princess Twilight to think something is up… she thought bitterly. She quickly found the little filly’s room and glanced around. There was crystal everywhere from the floors to the ceiling to the very stalls themselves. Marble finished off the sinks and everything, every single little detail was pristine without a single spec of dirt. Unlike herself. The mirror painted a rather grim picture of her features. She had dirt mattered in her coat in various places along with dark sweat stains. There were deep bags under her eyes, something she couldn’t do much about. Not to mention the fresh bandage on her wound. Overall, she looked quite typical and Phoenix was well used to this. Sighing, she began to do a hasty cleanup job, washing her face in several spots and wiping herself clean from all of the matted dirt along her coat. Her face was splashed again several times and she figured that was enough. “Looking good.. heh,” she muttered. “Time to face the music.” She had only been traveling through the castle for a few minutes when she heard the distinct voice of Princess Twilight. “--it didn’t make sense at first, but I was able to narrow down almost everything that we might need,” Twilight said. Phoenix entered the main room and coughed to get her attention. “There you are!” Scootaloo said. “What took you so long?!” “Uh, got sidetracked, s- sorry,” she stuttered. “What’s going on?” Before Twilight could say anything, Sweetie Belle blurted out a response, “Twilight figured out how to send you home!” Phoenix's eyes twitched in response, she stared unblinkingly. “R- really?” “Yeah and--” “Sweetie Belle, perhaps I should explain first?” Twilight suggested. Sweetie blushed and nodded. “Sorry, I got excited, heh…” “Right, to explain further, I can’t send you home just now, but thanks to Spike, I was able to locate quite a bit more information on the mirror and how it operates. Many of the ancient scrolls we found talked about its origins which, while fascinating, didn’t help matters much until we came upon this tome,” she exclaimed, levitating an ancient looking parchment just before Phoenix's eyes. “The most important aspect on the mirror’s function has everything to do with the main gem, the largest one at the bottom,” she stated. Phoenix looked over and found what she was talking about with a quiet nod. “That gem powers everything, the others are for a multitude of functions, specifically coordinates.” “But, uh, how would you know how to “tune” it? I mean, I think my mirror is messed up, remember?” She smiled which shocked Phoenix down to her very core. “That shouldn’t be a problem. In addition to the notes found on the mirror, we were able to locate some unique spells, one of which should be able to lock in my mirror’s coordinates onto yours. Well, using you, anyway.” “...Me? What do you mean?” “Yes, the spell won't be ready for around two days, but it will home in on your magical signature and from there I can simply tune the mirror’s runes to match that of your own! The mirror should activate with a simple spark of my magic and you’ll be good to go.” Deep in thought, the filly merely nodded in understanding with a far off look in her eye. Better go tonight, then. I don’t see too many guards… come to think of it, the only two I’ve seen are out front. Seems like she stores the thing here in this circular room? Shouldn't be too difficult to get to. I can jack the power stone that she mentioned and break it for good measure, then I’ll-- “Phoenix, are you alright? You haven’t really said anything… um a-and I think your bandage is leaking,” Twilight said, breaking her thoughts. “What?!” Phoenix looked back and, sure enough, her wound had begun to bleed yet again. She groaned while watching blood pool around her feathers. “Here, I think we have a first aid--” Twilight tried to get out, she had been reaching for the back of Phoenix's feathers when the filly flinched back in alarm. “I’m okay! I’m fine!” The Crusaders looked on in confusion, glancing up at Princess Twilight for any answers. Twilight chewed on her inner lip and slowly nodded. “I just want to help, I know it hurts, but if we don’t clean that up and rebandage it then you could get an infection…” Phoenix grunted and started to slink away. “I’ll be right back…” Twilight watched her leave, presumably to the bathroom while the mare sighed. Phoenix practically slammed her bag on the marble counter and began rummaging around for the first aid kit. She was so sure that her patch job would be fine. Hastily she tore off the gauze and discarded it all while inspecting the wound. “It hasn’t healed much…” she muttered, shaking her head in frustration. The filly hissed in annoyance, using alcohol rubbed onto some cloth while pushing it in deep. Next, Phoenix used a pair of scissors to cut out some gauze before getting to work, again. “Those look like they might need stitches,” a familiar voice said behind her. She whirled around and faced the last pony she expected to see alone, Sweetie Belle. “...What do you want?” The orange pegasus asked rather irritably. “Uh, well I wanted to check on you. Twilight said it was a good idea and, well, she’s not wrong…” she replied awkwardly, looking everywhere but her serious wound. “Y- you just look like you need a bit more help than a first aid kit.” The two waited in silence for a few minutes, then the pegasus scoffed. “Whatever. This will be fine,” she stated confidently while wrapping the wound in thick gauze and taping it up, again. “I- it doesn’t… wel- well, uh…” “What?! Spit it out!” Sweetie flinched back in surprise before shaking her head. “It doesn’t look fine, you don't seem fine and, well, you look like you’ve had a really bad day.” Angrily she slammed the medkit closed and packed everything away. “Maybe I did, so what? You wanna hug me or something?” Sweetie’s face screwed up in concentration, looking like she had just been trying to solve a rather difficult puzzle, only to hit a serious roadblock. “Uh…” The angry filly rolled her eyes and began to walk out of the bathroom; she’d had enough annoyances for one day. “What’s it like, where you’re from, Scootaloo?” For perhaps the fifty millionth time in one day, she froze in her tracks. “What? What do you mean?” “Look, you’re not like our friend. I mean you look like her and talk like her, but you’re… I- I don’t mean to be rude, but you’re pretty different.” Scootaloo chewed the inside of her mouth, trying to think of a coherent response to that. When nothing came out, the unicorn continued. “Twilight explained it like going on different paths. She said that our Scootaloo took a different path than what you did and that’s why you don’t know us, well, where you’re from. But I wanted to know, what else is different?” “Who cares? Twilight said she’s sending me home in two days. Why do you need to know so badly?” “Well, we just wanted to makes sure you were okay. You seem tense and you’re always annoyed or scared or quiet… or bl- bleeding.” Why does she care so much? Is this some kind of ploy?! “Just, I just wanted to know how different it is over there. And maybe… maybe you’re afraid to say and that’s okay, but my big sis always tells me that bottling up things never leads to something good.” The Phoenix soldier squinted her eyes in suspicion while the young school-aged filly gave a hesitant, albeit nervous smile back. Something in her head snapped, it was incredibly vague and could hardly be considered a vivid memory. Something from a time so long ago. She remembered absolute fear and huddling together with the nearest ponies she could find, a few fillies her age. Suddenly Phoenix stared right into Sweetie’s eyes. “I remember you…” “Huh?” “I was out at the town meeting f- for the Summer Sun Celebration and Princess Celestia was supposed to show up. I remember it getting suddenly dark and… and dreary out. That never stopped, of course,” she quickly replied. Sweetie Belle quirked an eyebrow at her but remained silent. “I was huddled in a corner, looking for my mom and.. and I remember being next to you,” she finally uttered, a far off look in her eyes. “You hugged me and I think I hugged back… heh, I didn’t see you after that. Well… not for long, anyway.” The filly vaguely recalled Sweetie Belle, her Sweetie Belle, being in the same school as her, after Canterlot fell. I never saw her again after I broke out. She didn’t make it to the Shining Phoenix… I wonder what happens to the sister to the “Elements of Harmony”? she thought with a shudder and a twinge of fear. She wasn’t sure if that meant the Sweetie Belle of her realm would be better off, or worse. “Heh, that was so long ago,” Sweetie Belle said with a shake of her head. “It was a pretty scary night.” Then she giggled and took a seat next to Phoenix. “A night that lasts forever, how silly.” Phoenix's face screwed up for a second and she coughed, somewhere between a bitter laugh and a sneeze. “Yeah… silly,” she said in a dead, monotone voice. “Maybe when you get back, you can come find me, uh, well your… me? Whatever and however that works. I was always shy and I doubt I made any friends if we never saw each other after that night.” “Yeah… maybe.” Automatically, Phoenix stood up and started to calmly walk away, though she didn't get very far. Sweetie’s magic had taken a firm hold of one of her hooves. “Are you sure you don’t need to go to the hospital for that? They’re really nice there and stitches aren’t so bad.” She wanted to say yes; medical treatment in a mismanaged military base was scarce and many were expected to go at their own for most situations... A little knife wound did not count for that unless it was fatal. Still, they’d easily be able to tell it was not a minor injury from flying or a stunt or something, but an honest to goodness combat wound. They’d want to know everything… She kept having to remind herself why that couldn’t happen until the mirror was out of commission for good. They’ll just send me back if they find out what I am… what I’ve done… “I’ll wait a day or two and see if it gets better. If not then I’ll go to the hospital, I guess and--” “Do you promise?” “Huh?” Sweetie’s cheeks puffed out in a pout and she never let up on her magic. “Promise me that you’ll go to the hospital if it doesn’t get better. Pl- please?” “Uh.. o- okay. I promise,” she said. Just saying it felt odd, she was actually making a commitment to another filly that she’d seek help? There wasn’t anything in it for Sweetie Belle, as far as she could tell, beyond making sure that another filly got treated and got better. She doesn’t even know me… she’s insane. “No! Not like that, I mean a Pinkie Promise!” “...What?” “It’s a special kind of promise. Nopony can break a pinkie promise, ever. Or, well, sort of. It’s the fastest way to lose a friend at least.” Both fillies ears flicked in random directions, where both could swear they heard the sound of a mare’s voice screaming the words forever. Phoenix sighed and slumped onto her haunches. “Isn’t it enough that I promised already?” The marshmallow filly would not be deterred, she crossed her hooves and pouted. “No. Now, are you my friend or not?” “I… uh… um…” the soldier replied rather intelligently. “Uh… y- yes?” she stuttered. “Good, now, hold out your hoof and repeat after me,” she said in the most serious tone imaginable for fillies their age. “Cross your heart,” she started while doing just that with her hoof, “hope you fly, stick a cupcake in your eye!” her chant was finished off by pretending to stick a cupcake on her left eye. Feeling quite silly, she repeated the motions and carefully recited exactly what Sweetie Belle had said. The unicorn beamed happily and leaned in to give the pegasus a gentle nuzzle. “See, that wasn’t so bad, right?” Blushing, she nodded while feeling an odd, alien feeling overcome her. It tingled her body and made her feel welcome in Sweetie’s- no, in her friend’s presence. Without thinking, she nuzzled back while feeling strangely giddy. “We better get back to Twi, c’mon!” Sweetie ran off before Phoenix could reply. Grunting in pain, she donned her saddlebag and went to leave, but frozen and looked in the mirror. She was smiling, even if it was just barely, the reflection in the mirror was a well earned, genuine smile. “...Oh, I don’t think he meant anything by it. Harry is such a sweetie, though I’m certain he’d apologize for scaring everypony, well, you know if he could talk.” “T- that voice,” Phoenix muttered just under her breathe. “Hmm?” Sweetie said. “Is that--” “Ah, there you are,” Twilight said, waving them over. Standing next to Twilight, in the middle of the map room, was a cream colored pegasus mare who regarded Phoenix with extreme curiosity. “Fluttershy, I’d like you to meet Phoenix. And, Phoenix? This is our Fluttershy,” she exclaimed. “Oh, well, uh, it’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Phoenix,” she replied while offering an outstretched hoof. Her mind going blank, Phoenix reluctantly reached out to offer hers. “Uh, yeah, s- same,” she stuttered. “How do you like it in Ponyville, uh, well, our Ponyville that is? T-Twilight was just telling me that yours might be a tad different and I just hope that’s not too scary or anything…” Fluttershy said in the softest voice that Phoenix could ever imagine coming from her, of all ponies. When she finished, she was nervously pawing at the ground leaving the filly to stare in shock. “Uh… y- yeah, it’s different. Not by that much but… definitely different.” She nodded with a very hesitant smile. “Well, if it ever becomes too much for you then you’re welcome to come over to my cottage over near the Everfree. It’s very peaceful there and a nice place to relax.” “Uh, thanks?” Twilight and even the Crusaders seemed to want to say something to the filly’s response but held their tongue. Fluttershy smiled and waved before departing, leaving Phoenix be with her thoughts. Of which she had none, her mind had simply shut down on itself. She was vaguely aware of an orange hoof waving in front of her face and other ponies calling out to her, but she didn’t respond until sometime later when a strange appendage, a claw if she wasn’t mistaken, poked her in the side of the rib. She yelped, nearly jumping out of her skin while looking around in shock. “Told ya it would work,” a new void muttered. Her eyes landed upon a purple drake, a baby dragon to be specific. Other Phoenix soldiers had heard tell a strong rumor about a crazed, bloodthirsty dragon that the dark Queen controlled, one with purple scales. This is where it came from…? “You okay? You kind of spaced out on us for a while…” Spike said while rubbing the back of his head. Phoenix simply nodded, not knowing what else to say. Twilight gently nudged him forward. “Oh, uh, I’m Spike by the way,” he explained, offering her his right claw. The orange filly flinched quite dramatically, but seeing as everyone was staring, she eventually gave the effort to bump his fist. "Um, Phoenix,” she replied awkwardly. Despite this, Spike was undeterred and simply smiled at her. “Neat name! Anyway, just wanted to make sure you were alright and stuff…” he exclaimed while waving one of his claws behind his back. “Y- yeah, never better.” It was a bald-faced lie that nopony bought, least of all Spike, but nopony seemed to know what to say, except Twilight. “You seem tired, maybe you three should walk her home,” Twilight suggested while gesturing to the Crusaders. “Yeah, it’s getting late anyway,” Scootaloo replied with a quiet yawn. Phoenix glanced over at a large stained glass window, only just noticing Luna’s moon dimly shining through the room. While everything seemed incredibly alien to her, she couldn’t deny that the large celestial object was a stark reminder of her doomed home. She felt quite disturbed at how normal and familiar the thing was compared to everything else in her new home. “Yeah, we should get back,” Phoenix muttered. The fillies trudged along through the darkness, occasionally chatting amongst themselves. Phoenix hadn’t spoken since the castle and seemed to be deep in thought, again. “You know your bag is pretty neat looking, I don’t think I’ve ever seen one like it,” Sweetie Belle commented while glancing at Phoenix. “Though it could use some… sprucing up?” The bag in question had certainly seen better nights. It was nothing more than a standard issue Shining Phoenix saddlebag, though she could certainly see why the other fillies would find it special when compared to theirs. Aside from the detailed silver phoenix adorned as the clasp, it had many more compartments fitted on either side of the bags when compared to theirs. “Um, thanks?” “No, I mean it. My big sis works on clothing all the time. I’m sure she’d be happy to fix it up for ya!” Sweetie even reached out for it, but Phoenix was quick and ripped it well out of her reach. “N- no thank you,” she mumbled. The other filly hesitated but quickly nodded and the issue wasn’t pushed beyond that. They kept on trotting, though Phoenix could hear two of them muttering to one another. “Um, so, how’s your back doin’?” Apple Bloom questioned. “Ow!” Whipping her head back, Phoenix found both fillies were giving her very obvious nervous smiles while Apple Bloom was rubbing her side in pain. Resisting the urge to narrow her eyes suspiciously, Phoenix merely shrugged. “It’s doing fine, thanks.” “Uh, good… good,” the farm filly said awkwardly. “Erm, ah guess this is your stop!” “Finally, I can’t wait for dinner,” Scootaloo said her stomach grumbling for perhaps the third time in the last ten minutes. “Right, see ya both in class tomorrow!” Apple Bloom said with a wave. Sweetie Belle hesitated for a bit and whispered over to Phoenix. “Remember our promise…” she warned. “Uh, r-right.” A bit of a nervous itch made its way into her voice as a fresh bout of pain pulsed, creeping through her spine. Sweetie smiled and began to trot off. “Good, see ya both tomorrow!” “C’mon! I think I smell dinner cooking!” Scootaloo exclaimed while practically dragging Phoenix toward the house. “I’m coming, sheesh,” she grumbled, yanking her hoof back. Scootaloo snorted and kicked the door open. “Mom! Dad! We’re home!” “Pumpkin!” Her father said happily and then grunted in pain as Scootaloo nearly tackled him to the ground in a comforting hug. The filly in question happily bounced from hoof to hoof while talking a million words a minute about her day and what had gone on throughout all of it. Phoenix watched awkwardly from a distance, her eyes unfocused. She could remember a time when she would of acted just like that from day to day, but now just seeing somepony else do it filled her with regret. Days spent playing on her own when she could have had that much more time with her family before they were sent away. Not wishing to stay still for long, Phoenix darted past them into the kitchen. “Uh, what ya making?” she asked Pale tentatively. “Hmm?” the mare in question glanced behind her for just a moment before doing a double take. “What happened to you?!” Phoenix blinked then instantly remembered the current state of her bag and her body. The filly chuckled nervously while looking away. “Um, roughhousing… and playing,” she forced out rather lamely. Pale squinted her eyes in only a manner befitting a concerned mother and silently shook her head. “Come over to the sink,” she commanded. Phoenix hesitated but quickly compiled when she repeated the message, albeit a tad annoyed. Evidently, her cleanup job in the castle restroom hadn't been as thorough as Scootaloo’s mother would have liked. Pale had started by first removing her bag and setting it aside, though she glanced at the offending thing for quite a while before silently shaking her head and looking away; her bag had certainly seen better days. She took a solid five minutes to wipe off dirt, dust and other particles all in her feathers and coat. Phoenix stood stoic and silent while a mix of emotions surged through her mind. Finally, she inspected the blood around and wound and confirmed that the bandage would at least hold tight. “And that should do it. Honestly, you could give my Scoots a run for her bits in the getting roughed up department.” Phoenix blushed upon hearing this and looked away. Suddenly Scootaloo and her dad popped into the kitchen. “When’s dinner?!” they both asked in unison. The stallion looking every bit as childish as her daughter, giving puppy dog like eyes in order to beg. Pale groaned and shook her head. “Not yet. Now out you two. OUT!” she said and pushed the two out into the living room. Sighing, she returned and froze in her tracks. Phoenix was leaning on the counter, carefully mixing her dish with a wooden spoon. The filly was carefully manipulating her feathers, rotating the spoon in soft rhythmic motions. “I think I remember how to cook this stuff. Been a while,” Phoenix called back. She turned around and saw Pale just looking on in shock. “Uh, s- sorry,” she stuttered and jumped down to the floor. “I like cooking,” she admitted rather bashfully. Pale blinked and shook her head. “No, it’s alright. Sorry, but if I saw my Scootaloo cooking food. I’d think she’d sprouted a second head!” The filly blinked and looked away. “I guess we're kind of different, huh?” Pale continued to stir the dish, seemingly deep in thought. “Well, how’d you learn to cook? I’m curious.” A soft almost warm feeling of pleasure washed over the filly’s body. It was an odd and alien comfort she hadn’t felt in ages, or perhaps what felt like an eternity. Phoenix smiled and leaned on the counter, watching her mo- watching Pale cook. “Well, I had to learn to cook. I--” she stopped herself before she said anything stupid. She often did missions on her own, out in the wilderness. Being self-sufficient and learning to take care of one’s needs were one of the first lessons she learned in the Shining Phoenix. But, of course, Pale didn’t need to know this. “I mean, um, my parents were always out a lot. So I just sort of learned to take care of myself,” she finished rather lamely. “Are they like us? Your parents I mean.” Phoenix hesitated. Were they? They certainly looked and seemed to act like them. She remembered her father always being a massive goofball and Pale being a kind and caring mother. Which seemed to pretty much fit the bill. But was that really a fair thing to compare? She had been in the new strange house for a single day and barely spoken to any of them. Really, it was like meeting a stranger that you’ve somehow known about your whole life. Things couldn’t get stranger than that. The filly shrugged. “I guess so. S- sort of.” The mother tilted her head but figured a simple nod was enough. “Dinner’s almost ready. You should let them both know…” she said, pausing as the two children over in the other room started wrestling with zero disregards for the noise they were making. “Just as long as we both grab a bowl full first,” she finished with a wink.