A breeze past by as Maneshot and Clear Dawn walked in the Ponyville square. The sky was shining bright with Celestia's sun, and all the ponies were have a grand day. It almost seemed normal...
Except it wasn't.
Maneshot felt everypony was a ploy. A proxy to the Operator's army of puppets. It just didn't feel like what it used to back before the mess started. His senses were foggy. His mind was blank. The only thing he thought of was the screens in the Operator's sanctuary. The mission went on though, as they were heading off to Canterlot to discuss the situation with Princess Celestia. It may seem vague to to the princess, but with the information given to him by the Operator, he will surely
Maneshot was broken out of his train of thought by Dawn, who was walking to the 'Carousel Boutique'.
"I actually placed an order for Rarity on dress. Do you mind waiting here for me?" She seemed calm for their current situation.
Maneshot blinked, then nodded his head in approval. It was a good way to get his mind back into clear without being bothered.
"I should be back in a few minutes." With that, Dawn walked away.
Maneshot stood in the middle of the street, among the din of ponies who trotted past, talking about their normal lives, and explaining natural problems.
Maneshot's situation was NOT natural.
Maneshot seemed to pace in circles, which drew the attention of some ponies.
It can't be real... it has to be some sort of joke! Maneshot began to swerve.
This truly gained the attention of all the in the street. The din suddenly stopped, but Maneshot's thoughts were still loud and clear. The voice of the Operator soaring through his head."
Subject...
Maneshot's head was having a major migraine. The voice only made it worse. Vision's of the mark appeared in his mind, the face of the Operator was clear. Maneshot managed to open his eyes, only to be greeted by the horrifying view of not ponies, but maskies everywhere. A tint of red was visible. In the sky, the ground. The air tasted of crimson blood. The Operator's cutie mark was appearing on Maneshot's face, hoofs, all over his body. Maneshot couldn't hear his own voice.
We shall speak again...
"No..." Maneshot sputtered. All the maskies seem to be getting closer.
"No." Maneshot began to convulse.
"NOOOOOOOOOOOO!"
That was all Maneshot could bring out before returning to the world of Equestria, and back to the state of unconsciousness. The last thing he saw was a tall stallion overlooking outside the crowd.
_-_-_-_-_-_
A voice went through Maneshot's mind. It wasn't the operator, but the familiar voice of a friend.
"Wake up... please wake up."
Maneshot didn't want to. He had experienced to much. He only wanted sleep. His legs felt like jelly, and his mind seemed to have zero activity.
"I don't want you like this. Please... wake up."
He felt a weight lie on his stomach, unwrapping him in warmth. He felt happy by the touch. The soothing feeling of kindess and care that he had experienced not long ago. He felt his mind clear, his thoughts return. And most importantly...
He felt friendship.
Maneshot opened his eyes to a blinding light. It seemed to have come from a lamp by the side of his resting place. It was dim, but he still felt the sting in his eyes. However, he felt nothing but warmth and care by the Mare laying by the side of the hospital bed.
"Dawn..."
The pegasus looked up. Her eyes was sparkling from the tears collecting within her. She gasped, then fell upon the sickly unicorn, tears running down like a waterfall. She was clearly with him for the entire time he was here. The dry tears were noticeable, even as they were washed away from her face. Maneshot simply put a hoof on her head. While raising, he noticed the Operator's mark on his hoof. He didn't care. He just wanted to be with Dawn for now, crying with her. It was a peace Maneshot had not experienced for a long time.
It was an experience of peace he will never forget.
Clear Dawn was wiping away the tears, as much as Maneshot wished she didn't. It made her look beautiful. "I n-noticed that something was up when I saw a b-b-bunch of ponies g-gathering around you. You seemed to g-g-go insane...", she was on the verge of bursting to tears, "The next thing I knew, you were heading to the Ponyville hospital."
Time seemed to stop. Not like with the conversation with the Operator, but in a moment of realization. The Operator can control the minds of other ponies for a limited time while he has them under his control.
"Dawn..."
The violet pegasus looked to the fallen blue unicorn.
"Hes getting stronger."
The pegasus took note, and continued to grasp his hoof in her hoofs. Maneshot enjoyed the feeling of being cared, maybe even loved. He had little to no friend in his time in Ponyville. He only wished to adventure. He was always a lone wolf to everyone. He grew up alone, no mother or father. He never took anything from anyone. He mostly lived off the land during his younger years. He went into Ponyville occasionally to barter with the traders. That is how he met her...
It was raining that day. Maneshot was lucky to find one trader still open. He handed in some his treasures, which were a few gems, seeds, and even a brew he roughly made. He was about to leave ponyville before something caught his eye. A mare was stuck in the rain, confused. The violet pegasus was looking in several different directions, as if watching out for something or someone.
He walked over to her, asking, "Erm... do you need some help?"
The pegasus seemed to not notice him, as she continued looking around him.
Maneshot was beginning to be annoyed. "Look, do you need any help or not?"
The mare seemed to be out of her search trance, as you looked at the colt in front of her. He seemed to be confused by her actions, and chose to acknowledge his concern.
"Oh... um... excuse me. I was just searching for some place to get out of the rain, but I seem to be lost. I had recently broke up with my buckfriend."
'This mare seems to be lost, not mentally, but emotionally.' Maneshot thought.
Maneshot offered her to stay at his house, which he brought recently with some effort from what few friends he had. It wasn't exactly the best house in Equestria, as he had recently moved in, and it was barely furnished. The pegasus didn't seem to care, as long as it was dry, she was fine.
"So why were you outside when it was pouring? Didn't you notice that the pegasi had a day off?" Maneshot was truly baffled by her actions.
She seemed to be on the verge of tears. It was a sight Maneshot had never dealt with. The pegasus clearly did not want to talk about it. Maneshot understood.
"Thank you for taking me in... my name is Clear Dawn."
Maneshot liked the name.
"Maneshot."
Clear Dawn chuckled from the name.
And so friendship had started. Clear Dawn only remembers vaguely of the event, but Maneshot remember's it clear as day.
Maneshot raised himself on the bed, letting Clear Dawn remove him from her grasp. He looked around the room. The only source of light came from the lamp and the light of the moon. Luna's return did seem to make the night seem far more tolerable and easily as predictable. Before her return, all ponies we scared of the dark, unknown of what lurks in the shadows. Now, ponies have lost the fear of the dark. It brought mystical wonders to them, with the sky, the color, and the air.
Maneshot remembered his calm nights outside during the night in his youth.
Now he can only fear of what or who lurks in the night. The day wasn't as helpful, as the thoughts came racing back to Maneshot's head.
No, he thought, I have to stop. Doing this will only lead the Operator closer to my brain, bringing twisted thoughts in.
He decided to let go of the Operator, but he did not forget it.
Maneshot cannot forget it.
He tried to change the subject, no matter how dire the situation. "So... erm... hows the dress?"
Clear Dawn looked at him in disbelief. "How could you care about a dress when you are mentally sick!?"
Maneshot knew she was right. It wasn't the best time for a conversation, and nothing at the moment could light up the darkness in the mood. "I'm not mentally sick."
"But you were flailing your arms around like a mad mare! You were screaming for something to stop." Clear Dawn then became far more worried about her friends mental health.
Maneshot put his face into his hooves. He groaned in anger feeling that he can't get into his own friend. He then remembered Celestia. "The Operator is not going to leave us alone until either we submit, or we stop him. Our one final chance is Princess Celestia. Her living for thousands of years, she must know SOMETHING about this stallion." His head ached after his sentence finished. "If we don't get him out of our lives, hes going to hurt us. Physically, mentally, and emotionally." He got out of his bed, and walked out to the window, revealing the night sky above the Everfree. He looked into the the forest, seeing the silhouette of a tall figure.
Maneshot knew it was going stronger the more ponies he gathered. His ability to communicate outside the Everfree was the first step. Only Celestia knew when he will finally raid the town of Ponyville...
And only Celestia knew of a way to stop the Operator from doing so.