//------------------------------// // Chapter 43 // Story: Refined Starlight in a Broken Vessel // by the-pieman //------------------------------// After what feels like several lifetimes and a century later, I’m released from the hospital. I don’t need the casts as the salve has healed me so I’m mobile on my own, but the ‘soul-tearing’ that the demon did is still affecting me, leaving me... basically human until my Core recharges. It’s not dead, but I wasn’t far off when I described it as running on fumes. So, all the while on the train ride back to Ponyville, my palette of gifts stored on said train, I’m avoiding any form of power-usage. I also note how hungry I am, as well as how many nights at the hospital I spent actually sleeping rather than just zoning out. I’m like, 90% human at this point. I can still use powers, but it’s weak as hell. Can’t speed up, can’t grow ginormous... The best I can do is manipulate coal a tiny bit. Everything else causes discomfort, nausea, and in extreme cases, pain. Life’s a bitch. Cricking my neck and getting up once the train enters the station, I step off the train and am greeted by the Element Bearers, Apple Bloom and the CMC frontline center, and the rest of the tiny crowd is what I assume is my little local fanbase. Not exactly a “hero’s reception” given... well there’s no real celebration or flags or anything, just a bunch of ponies happy to see me. The biggest greeting I get is when I’m heading back to the library. A few ponies are helping me carry the various gifts I got, and some random ponies adding their own tiny donations to the pile and waving hello. Okay, I admit it, I kinda missed Ponyville after Wunderland and my little recovery vacation. I get about halfway to the library when the palette I’m carrying suddenly gets a shitload lighter. I turn and I see a big green tube basically carrying the palette along like a conveyor belt, and Myrna sorta sidles up to me, hands tucked into her hoodie. The huge gorgon gave me a smile from under her hood. “So, I heard from a trio of little birds that you wanted to talk with me?” “Oh, right, yeah. Let’s get to the library and set this stuff down. I have a few questions I wanted to ask you.” I say, staring at her just ‘carrying’ the entire mound of presents on her tail/back/whatever all by herself. The other ponies had dispersed. “You... don’t need a hand with that?” “Hmm? Oh, no, not really. Snake muscles are really strong, and, well...” she points at the girth of her tail. “Yeah, there’s a lot of muscle to go around back there.” she says, chuckling. “You’re getting used to the ah, changes then?” I ask. She does look quite a bit more comfortable than when I last chatted with her. “Y’know, I really am. When I first got here, I was so... so scared I’d lose myself, but other than the whole ‘likes the sun more’ thing, I don’t feel any different. Well, that and when I get hungry, I get really hungry, but still.” “Speaking of, I’m not exactly a Herpetologist, but I know a bit about snakes. Twilight or I could probably see how much of you is... changed.” Myrna laughs. “You’re just trying to get a closer look at me, aren’t ya?” she shoots back, a teasing note in her voice. “Let’s save that discussion for later.” I say, nudging her arm as we approach the library, drawing further laughter from her. I begin taking stuff down off of Myrna’s back and take it inside. I come out for the next armload. “You got a quadrate bone?” “A what now?” she asks, blinking as she also begins moving stuff off her back and stacking it nearer the door. “Can you open your mouth big enough to, say, swallow a VW Bug?” I clarify. “That’s the part of a snake’s mouth that lets it eat things whole without taking bites.” “Oh! Idunno about a VW Bug, but there was a moment where I accidentally scared Sweetie Bell pretty badly; she saw me eating a particularly large turkey, and she said she thought I’d been eating a pony, curled up.” I quirk an eyebrow as I grab the last load. “Wait, cooked turkey, or..?” She heaves a sigh. “Cooked, yeah, but I was eating it at night by the pond; I get hungry at weird times of the week.” “Take it you have a snake’s metabolism at least. So anyways, I guess we can save the science for later. I figure I should get to know you since we’re gonna be stuck here for a while.” I say, before clarifying. “In Ponyville, or at least Equestria, I mean.” “Oh? You gonna try to whip out the ol’ date-o-meter?” she asks. “I’ll have you know I have an entirely different way of how I rate-and-date girls.” I warn. “If you want some of this, you’ll need to earn it. As of now, consider yourself officially friendzoned.” I then take the chance to boop her nose. She jerks her head back, going cross-eyed for a moment, before puffing out her cheeks and giggling again. She just seems so bubbly today. “So,” I continue. “Assuming I’m catching you at the right time, wanna find somewhere to eat? I find myself getting hungry again and hospital food from the big city is great and all, but I’m getting real tired of the twenty-five flavors of salad.” “Oh? You not fully back to super-hero status?” she asks, sounding a bit concerned. “Nope, Phil’s being a real stickler, more than usual.” I say as I begin rummaging through my spread-out presents, looking for a specific box. “Phil?” she asks, sounding confused. “Kingdom Hearts joke, don’t mind it.” “Oh! The satyr from Hercules!” she says, face brightening up. “Yeah. To be clear, I’m physically one-hundred percent by now, but my star core is fucked up from that fight.” “Oh, owch... well, yeah, I know a couple places. Depends on if you want meat, which narrows it down to one place, or if you don’t mind going vegetarian for the day, which opens an awful lot of possibilities.” “I’d kill for a ham sandwich right about now.” I say, somewhat exaggeratedly. Either way, I find the box I’m looking for and grab it, gesturing for Myrna to lead on. “Oh, right now? Alright.” she says, before sliding towards town, leading me through the marketplace. The ponies in town are happily hawking their wares, a few stopping to wave to me or Myrna in passing. All in all, the day’s going pretty well, slightly overcast as it is, and she brings me to an out-of-the-way restaurant. It looks a little fancy, but there’s what looks like an outdoor patio being built with a big pit underneath that I have to question. “Well...” I begin as I inspect the place. “It doesn’t look like a standard Ponyvillian place. This part of some kind of chain, or one of those ‘foreign cuisine’ places?” “Little of one, little of the other. The guy who set this place up is a Gryphon, and he’s got a bunch of dishes that are, basically, german. I don’t mean they just look it, I mean the menu looks like it’s in german mixed with french, but the food’s amazing. It’s also the only place I’ve ever been to that’ll sell you a ten-person platter of fish even if you’re alone.” “Yeah, griffons are carnivorous as I recall, meaning most of this stuff is meat-based as well.” I walk in as I continue talking. “I can understand this working somewhat in an Earth pony town, but probably wouldn’t even be allowed to exist up in Canterlot.” “Apparently, his brother has a pretty good shop, but he has to sell everything in teeny tiny amounts so that it’s ‘avant garde’. The chef here prefers to make real amounts of food.” she says, before simply ducking her head into the doorway, and I realize that her shoulders are broader than the frame of the door. That, and I didn’t have to duck, meaning that the restaurant proportions are apparently meant for access by a larger species, making her ducking even more surprising. She is big. I set the box in my hands onto a table to claim it, looking around, thinking aloud. “So if this is gonna be in Germanic-French I’m probably just gonna get something simple to understand...” Myrna chuckles. “Well, first of all, we’re gonna wanna sit outside.” she says, as a pony in a waiter’s outfit comes up, his face lighting up as he spots the gorgon. “Aah, Myrna! Back for your weekly meal?” he asks in a joking tone; it seems she’s made more friends than just with the element bearers and a few others. “Oh, it’s with a friend; Anthony’s here with me.” she explains, nodding in my direction, and he whirls, looking surprised. “Heh, yeah. And if we can get one of the translated menus? He hasn’t had the time to memorize one yet.” The waiter nods, then scurries back into the restaurant, Myrna motioning for me to follow her outside. I grab the box and as I walk outside and see myrna setting up by the unfinished patio, and I still have to wonder about that pit under it. “Popular around here, aren’t you?” I joke as I set down the box again. “Oh, yeah, a bunch of the earth pony construction workers fancy a good source of protein, and group lunches are so much easier to buy for fifteen ponies than fifteen individual lunches. And since I’ve been helping them out, I started chatting with the staff, and I met the chef... he’s super-nice, by the way, but his accent is both atrocious and inconsistent, I need to warn you. He had three different instructors in the language, and, well... yeah.” she says, curling up on herself and using her body as a cushion to lay on. I take my seat, and after a minute or so we’re given our menus, mine in what is listed as ‘Equestrian’. I sigh and begin looking through it, searching for something that looks interesting. To my surprise, there’s actually a decent series of good-sounding dishes, all of them with the description underneath and a useful little warning if it contains meat, contains fish, contains dairy, or if it contains nut products. Good to know both dietary and allergy issues are taken into account here; I hadn’t seen those warnings in other restaurants around Ponyville. A dozen or so different foods ending in ‘wurst’ over two pages of the seven-page menu, and the serving sizes range from two people to... fourteen?! Dayum, that’s a lot of food. Sides are ordered as part of getting a meal, drinks are considered part of what you’re paying for when you get a meal, even the dessert is part of the price. Potato dumplings, thick noodle dishes, potato fries, au gratin, baked potatoes... okay, most of the sides are potatoes or noodles. The desserts, though, are much more varied. Everything from pancake-like stuff, sweet cakes, pies, more cakes, more things on a stick than you could shake that stick at... If I get stuck as a normal human for a long time, I’m gonna end up being the fattest star in existence afterwards. Either way, I pick out a ‘small’ plate of what seems to be a sausage-based dish in some form of spicy sauce. Eh, nothing ventured... While the waiter is relaying our orders, I take a breath and figure I might as well try my hand at small talk. “So, how do you feel living in Ponyville?” “It’s pretty good, actually.” Myrna’s reply seems fairly rote, but my question was pretty standard. “I think I’ve really been helping out here. Most of the ponies can’t afford things like slate roofing, or clay roofing tiles, both of which help prevent fires. Thanks to a certain group of small children, those are apparently rather common these days.” That and tree sap. “Yeah, a few little birds told me you’re getting along with the Crusaders.” I say, recalling their reactions. “Any particular trouble dealing with them?” Myrna laughs at my question. “Hardly! Though they do present the problem of needing to be caught more often than not; I’d never before known just how many things you can do with a catapult that will, apparently, get someone a cutie-mark, even if it doesn’t work for those four.” I blink. “They made a catapult... of course they did.” A sigh leaves my mouth. “Guess my suggestion of them having a lemonade stand didn’t satisfy them enough.” She chuckles, still visibly amused by all this. “Oh, I think your suggestion only exacerbated the problem. They tried using the catapult to deliver lemonade.” She pauses for a moment to giggle some more. “It worked as well as expected; after about six tries they kept it in a covered container when launching it!” I facepalm “These kids man... This is one reason why I’m never gonna be a dad.” Myrna feigns a shocked expression. “But they’re such angels! How could you ever see them as anything but great? How dare you not want a million of them.” she says with a teasingly pompous voice and a haughty ‘hmmph!’ “Because with my luck, they’ll end up like me, that’s why.” I explain, rolling my eyes. “I mean, don’t get me wrong, I really like the Crusaders, but they’re just so... Idunno. It makes me feel like I need to... I’m not really sure but I get these ‘big brother’ type of protective urges around them... And I’ve never been a big brother.” Myrna smiles a little more broadly, starting to edge into the creepy side of things, and says, “Well, I think that’s a far better recommendation than you seem to realize; dads do need to be protective and all.” “I’m just worried I’d screw up somewhere and I can’t bear the thought of having a kid be the thing that’s screwed up. I mean... I just don’t see myself doing a good job in the long run.” I sigh. “Anyways, onto other things. I’ve been thinking a bit about... things.” “Oooh~?” she leans forward, propping her head up on her hands. “Well, I know I’m not exactly man of the year or anything, and most of my heroic accomplishments amount to me beating the crap out of people and landing myself in the hospital. I want something... more in my life, but I can’t figure anything out.” I explain, and I try to focus on her eyes rather than her teeth, which still creep me out. “Well, do you have any actual hobbies here? I don’t just mean ones from before you got to this world, I mean ones applicable here.” I hang my head. “Mostly I played video games. Other than that and reading comics I didn’t have a whole lot going on.” I remember the presents she sent me. “Speaking of comics, where’d you get inspiration for your gifts?” She blushes at my question. “Well, I basically made the ones I liked and hoped for the best.” I study her facial expression for a bit, before I figure she has no reason to lie about this sort of thing. “Well, they just happen to be my favorites and I don’t really see how anyone could know that without taking a blind guess, mind magic aside.” “Seriously? I expected Batman, he’s everyone’s favorite, but not enough people are Spider-Man fans.” “I like the idea of a guy who gains moderate-to-incredible powers but still has to manage a normal life at the same time, starting from the bottom heroically and socially and having to fight his way to the top, and making it, with pretty much everything going against him. He’s by far one of the most admirable characters from a completely human standpoint. That and he can do some fricken’ awesome moves.” Myrna nods. “My personal favorites were the story arcs where he overcame his own weaknesses - both the ones in his powers and his personal ones - with clever devices, smart planning, and a whole lot of skill.” she comments, eyes starting to wander off in though. I nod. “I like it when a character grows and changes as the story continues, like a real person changing over time to deal with newer and newer problems. Like when he started bashing Spider-Man at school to hide his identity, and now he’s... well, I don’t know where he is now, given I’ve been ‘gone’ for so long.” I stare off in my own direction. “I have friends but... I don’t wanna lose touch, y’know?” “Yeah, I understand, sorta...” she says, looking to the side with a darker look in her eyes. I decide to change the subject. “So where exactly do you stay at nights? I can’t imagine it’s very comfortable outside at night.” “Hmm? Oh, I’ve been sleeping in a few of the trees, and sometimes the lake.” I stare for a few moments. “Compared to broken bricks and twisted steel, being able to sleep on something that respects your spine is amazing.” “Yeah well, when your spine is several feet long and almost entirely prehensile...” I say. “I finally got a bed my size to sleep in and when I do bother to sleep I always wake up sore.” She barks a laugh at my comment. “I’m actually no more flexible above the waist than anyone else, Anthony. As for the bed... try sleeping in a tree. If you can find a comfy spot on the branches, they’ll cradle you all night.” she suggests. “Oh! And speaking of friends, I met this nice lady who makes carrot cake, homemade. Oh, I haven’t had carrot cake in almost fifteen years, but hers are so good... You make any friends around here that bake, other than Pinkie?” “She’s the main one. Pretty sure Applejack bakes too, but we’re mainly acquaintances. Not sure about the others.” “Applejack’s the one out on the farm, right? Younger sister of Big Macintosh? Elder to Applebloom?” “Yeah, I don’t see her much but her sister is great, so most of what I know about her I hear from her family. AJ always gives me this odd look.” “Huh, weird. I’ve only talked to her once or twice, and after she knew I wasn’t gonna turn her to stone or anything she warmed up to me. That said, I see her brother and sister way more often. I’ve been sleeping in the bad orchard by the Everfree for the most part, and he’s the one that tends to that, usually.” I nod. “So speaking of the Everfree, you ever do any exploring in there?” “Eh, a little. I’ve actually gotten a decent job with a construction company that does a ton of business out here. They normally have a hard time getting solid stone foundations set up, and I’ve been a big help on that score.” Her expression turns proud, “I can anchor something directly to the bedrock without damaging the stone or putting any kind of stress fractures in it or anything.” “So you’re pretty strong, good. My main reason for asking is that there’s a hive of Changelings out in the forest.” “A hive of... changelings? Like the kids stolen when faeries leave their own kids?” she asks, sounding confused. “Nah, they’re... uh... I’m not sure really. They look like ponies but they’re all insectoid. I inadvertently saved their lives and now I’ve basically been appointed as on-call bodyguard for the new queen, but so far I haven’t been called in for anything.” “... Huh.” she says. I can’t blame her; having heard what I just said, I don’t really know what to follow it up with either; it sounds like something out of a fantasy novel, except I’m not married to the Queen. I change topics. “Anyways, I uh... yeah. You’ve been here for a while.” I suddenly come up with a question. “Have you met the princesses?” “I’ve met one; Celestia. She seemed really nice, though she was pretty concerned about the ‘turns people to stone by accident’ thing I’ve got going. Thankfully, she said she’d just have someone act like a case manager and keep an eye out for me. Idunno who it is, though.” “Twilight’s my... well, keeper is the more appropriate word in my case. She studies me, follows me around sometimes, generally watches me.” “Ah, gotcha. I asked to have whomever it is keep it a secret. I know someone’s watching, and I’ll be more than happy to just assume everyone here is generally nice.” she pauses. “And even though they’re all pretty nice, have you noticed that there’s only weirdos in this town?” she says. “Like, back on Earth, every city had weirdos, but Ponyville is nothing but crazy people. Even by pony standards.” “It’s Ponyville. If you’re odd and just don’t really fit in anywhere else, you’ll likely end up here. It’s a weirdness magnet according to locals. Especially since Twi and I got here.” “Oh, that I can believe.” she stops, looking over my head as the sound of clip-clopping hooves approaches. “Ah, there’s lunch.” She licks her lips with her narrow tongue, and my plate is set before me... I think I may have ordered too much. My plate is on one side of my half of the table, then a pot of the spicy sauce, then a pile of potatoes, a stack of sauerkraut, a full-sized pickle, and pitcher full of iced water is set down in rapid succession. Myrna’s plate is even bigger and more loaded, and has a little flag in it with a smiley face drawn on it, evidently from the cook. “I’m gonna need a box.” I say.