//------------------------------// // Chapter Five. // Story: Astral's Thunder // by Bolted Sky //------------------------------// "Alright, so the four of you have just been announced as contestants in the Arena of Honor. From the other side enters what looks like a normal Pony. Now, from the way he's dressed, you can tell he's a nobleman. Following him is his personal army of fifty slaves. What do you do?" Spike asked in his best narrator voice. Pumpkin, Pound, Flurry Heart, Spike, and I all sat around the table in the basement of Sugarcube Corner. Our original place was Twilight's Castle. But since I had officially been booted out, the Cake's place was the best alternative. "What kind of nobility is he?" Asked Pumpkin. "Role perception." Pumpkin rolled her D20. She then begins looking over her character sheet. "... Five... With modifer." She said, not happy. "What did you roll?" I asked. "Dude, she rolled a two." Said Pound. "Yeah, you don't know nothing." Spike said with a grin. "Do I know what family they're from?" I asked. Spike thought for a minute. "Role perception." I rolled my D20 and got a nine. Not too terribly high. Fortunately, I had a good perception modifier. "I got a thirteen." I announced. "You're very familiar with the way he's dressed. It's very similar to how members of the Ponymill Clan dress. They are a very large, minor noble family. They are also known slavers and keep many slaves for themselves. You know that this guy having such a huge number at his beck and call is very consistent with this fact." "You also know that the Ponymill Clan likes to... experiment with their slaves. In particular, they like to test out different spells on them to see what their effects are." "Aww, this dude's a caster? Heads up, we have a caster on our hooves!" Pound shouted. All of a sudden, Varsity barged into the basement. Everyone was startled at first, but then grew irritated. "Did no one teach you to knock, dude?" I like Pound. He's the kind of pony that'll say what everyone else is thinking. Varsity turned to look at me. "Dad wants you home. Now." He said. "This is very rude, you know. We're in the middle of..." spike said before he was interrupted. "Nopony cares about your stupid loser Club! Dad wants that thing home right now!" Varsity snapped while pointing a hoof me. "The only 'thing' I see is the brain you don't use." Said Flurry Heart. "You can't see a brain, stupid!" Varsity shouted. "Well no one can see yours, that's for sure." Pound said just loud enough for everyone to hear. The whole room erupted in laughter. Everyone except Varsity and Myself. I waited until the laughter died down. "What does he want?" I asked. "Don't know, don't care." Classy. "I wanted to know what Field wanted, not a summary of your personality." Everyone started laughing again. Well, everyone except Varsity and I, though I did give him the most smug grin I could muster. "Sorry, guys. I'll have to cut it short tonight." After a chorus of disappointed "awww"s, we all said goodbye. Varsity went to leave and I got up to go after him. As we make our way to the top of the stairs, pumpkin shouts after us. "Hey, Varsity?" "What do you want?" He asked, getting impatient. "Would you like to go on a date sometime? There's a special somepony that likes you an awful lot." "Why would I ever want to go on a date with you?" "Oh no, not me. Betsy!" she said excitedly. "Who?" He asked, now confused. "Betsy! Applejack's prized pig. I think you two would be perfect for one another." As she shut the door behind us, laughter could be hurt again, now even louder than before. I couldn't help but laugh myself, although I quickly stopped when Varsity gave me a death glare. I still smiled on the inside, though. The next day was was nothing unusual. Just Field being a jerk to me for no apparent reason. Nothing new there, folks. Nothing new there. "Why haven't you done your chores?" Field asked. "I did." I said flatly "Not the dishes. You haven't vacuumed the floor either. Why have you done those?" He asked. "Because they're not mine. Their Varsity's. It even says so on the chore list on the refrigerator." I said, confused. "They're yours during hoofball season, boy! My son has to focus on training. Besides, your mom agreed this was best." He said. "Seriously? I already do most of the housework. I now have to do the few chores HE'S supposed to do?" This outburst was met with a hard hoof to the face. As I lay there holding my nose, I Look at the vacuum that has been placed in front of me. "Get started! If they're not both done in an hour, you'll get hit again!" With that, he left. I got up as he left. When I heard the door shut, I began sobbing hard. After a few minutes, I calmed down enough to do what needed to get done. I began vacuuming the floor which took me about half an hour. After that I began washing dishes. As I finished up I heard a commotion outside. I put the dishes on the rack to dry and went outside. I saw mom running plays with Varsity. Apparently she got home early that day. I looked over and saw Field watching. Varsity tried to get the ball the goal. He was doing pretty good. He almost got to it only to be tackled by Mom. The two of them went for a tumble only to end up in an impromptu wrestling match. It ended when Mom had Varsity in a headlock and begin ruffling his mane. She let go and they both plopped down on the cloud. "You know, I'm not much for sappy stuff, but... I'm glad you guys are here. It's nice." "I know what you mean. I feel the same way." said Varsity in a rare instance of sincerity. "Hey hey, don't you to get all soft on me." Said Field, walking over. None of them had noticed that I was listening. "Hey, what can I say? It's true. I really like having you guys around. Plus, it's nice to have fellow athletes in the house." Mom said, blushing. "Hey, you're an awesome mom." Said Varsity. This caught mom off guard. She was totally at a loss for what to say. "The kid's right, you know? And you know what? I think you'd make a wonderful wife too." Said Field. Mom was even more caught off guard, as was I. After a couple of minutes, she finally responded. "You know? I think I'd like that." She said as she smiled at Field. It was a smile that could brighten an entire room. Ironically, it was one that also made my heart sink. "And you're an awesome son. In fact, I don't think I could ask for a better one." She said as she looked back at Varsity. I couldn't take anymore, so I headed back inside the house. Unfortunately, I heard them began talking again. I should have kept going, but curiosity got the better of me. "I'm sure Astral would throw a tantrum if he heard you say that." Field said. What a jerk. "Hey, be nice." Mom said. "Hey, you exactly what I'm talking about. I don't hate the kid. I just think he needs some straightening out. Celestia knows you've tried." Oh yeah, like you straightened your own bully of a son out? "I know." Wow, Mom. I guess I should have known you would agree with him, but still. "I mean, I love Astral. I just can't... Connect with him, you know? Plus, the way he's been acting lately... It makes me wonder if he even WANTS to be a part of this family." You know, I thought at this point I would be numb to it all. I thought I would be used to it enough to not let it bother me so much. But hearing my mom say that about me, to say how she really felt about me to the ponies she could trust, I almost literally felt my heart shatter into pieces. I ran up to my room as fast as I could and cried myself to sleep. Before I drifted into unconsciousness, a thought crossed my mind. "Maybe I really don't want to be a part of this family anymore."