As the next several days went by, construction on my new house had finally been completed and I was able to move into it not too long afterwards. I had to admit that I was quite impressed by the work that the crew had done on my new abode as it was quite large and incredibly crafted. I’d mentioned previously how the outside of the house had the appearance and size of a Gothic Cathedral much like Notre Dame, but the inside of it was equally just as lavish. 25 foot high ceilings supported by thick marble columns, a winding staircase that led up to the 2nd and 3rd floors, a grand master bedroom as well as 4 additional bedrooms, and 3 equally spacious bathrooms were just a few of the features this house held in store.
In the time that my home had been finished, I’d used a sizable chunk of my own bits to go towards buying furniture for decorating the rooms. A couch here, a table there, throw in a king-sized bed for good measure, just some of the basics to make it more homey. As grateful as I was to finally have a place of my own to live in after such a long time of having to rely on others when it came to whatever roof happened to be over my head, this home still felt much too large for just one person.
It wasn’t long after getting settled into my place that I thought back on when I’d been married to Savannah and the large beach house we’d once lived in. Even though that house we’d lived in was quite massive in size (dwarfed only by my new home here in Ponyville), it was still shared by the 2 of us as well as Ariel. Since Savannah’s murder and Ariel’s kidnapping, that beach house had become too large for me, yet, at the same time, too constricting. It was far less like a home or personal sanctuary and more akin to an elaborate, ornamental tomb that only seemed to drain me more than rejuvenate me the longer I stayed there.
This, combined with the loss of my family, had served as the primary catalyst for my attempted suicides that landed me in the nut shack these past few years back on Earth. When I was there, as disturbing as it was at times to be haunted by those ghosts of my past, it was somewhat comforting living in this crowded place. I’d briefly tried making friends during that much earlier period, but it never worked out as I would’ve hoped and I stopped trying altogether shortly after a few failed attempts. All of us had our own personal demons that we were dealing with at the time and I wasn’t exactly stable enough back then from a mental standpoint to really maintain any kind of lasting friendship with any of the other inmates.
Thinking back on those dark moments from my past, I was all the more grateful to be back here in Equestria among my true friends who wouldn’t judge me and had been forgiving enough to welcome me back to them, even though I didn’t really deserve it after how I’d treated them before. Now that I was here, I was determined more than ever to make sure that their forgiveness towards me hadn’t been in vain and to prove that I was the good friend that they’d once remembered me as when I first came to Equestria.
Over the past several days since I’d had lunch with Fluttershy and her parents, I’d been meeting with Starlight Glimmer during whatever freetime I had to brush up a little more on my magical abilities. Starlight had been more than willing to bring me on as her apprentice as there was still a pretty fair amount of time before the new school year was scheduled to start. She was a great teacher as she refamiliarized me with spells I’d long since forgotten like elemental attack spells, healing spells, repair spells, teleportation spells, and countless others. Even with these spells I practiced, I knew that I had far more to learn if I was ever to return to the same knowledge of magic that I’d possessed years ago.
At this particular moment, I’d just finished up my morning shift at the spa and was on my way over to Rarity’s boutique. She’d invited me to join her on her latest trip to the gem caves as she needed more of them to go towards creating an outfit one of her clients had ordered. Flying over Ponyville, I reached her boutique in no time at all before I gently knocked on her door. It wasn’t even 10 seconds before the door opened to reveal Rarity, wearing a headlamp as well as carrying one for me along with 2 sizable baskets with her magic for the gems we’d be collecting, each basket holding a pickaxe for each of us.
“David!” she greeted with enthusiasm at my presence. “I’m soo glad that you were able to make it here.”
“Ah’m pretty glad ‘bout that maself,” I replied with a smile. “It’s good seein’ ya Rare.”
“Likewise, darling. You all set to go?”
“Ah am if you are.”
“O.K. Let’s go then.”
And so we made our way over to the gem caves with Rarity leading me along. It was during this period of travelling that we struck up a conversation to pass the time.
“So how has yer business been goin’ since tha Gala ended? Have ya been able ta relax a bit more now that that’s outta tha way?”
“Somewhat. Of course, business never truly dies down. There’s still plenty of other ponies and creatures who put in orders after the Gala has already passed, but I will admit that it’s considerably less hectic than it was pre-Gala.”
“That’s good ta hear.”
“How about you, David? How have things been going with you since the Gala ended?”
“Pretty good. Fluttershy had me over fer lunch at her parent’s place 'bout several days ago ‘n it was quite enjoyable. Ah feel like Ah made a positive impression on both of ‘em.”
“I’m sure you did,” Rarity remarked with a smile. “Considering your feelings towards her, I’ll bet that leaving that kind of impact with her parents must’ve been quite an accomplishment for you.”
I blushed heavily at her comment before speaking back up.
“Is it really that obvious?”
“Pretty much. I’ve seen the way that you 2 act when you’re together and I think anypony else could clearly see that the 2 of you have feelings for each other.”
“Ah guess that’d be true. Unfortunately, Ah haven’t been able ta find what tha right time would be fer me ta come out ta her.”
“Well I wouldn’t stress over it too much. The stars will eventually align when the need arises and you’ll know in your heart when to break the news to her. Knowing Fluttershy, I’m sure she’s feeling quite similarly about when to tell you how she feels herself.”
I let out a small, timid smile at Rarity’s statement. I knew that she honestly meant well, but, as someone on the spectrum, telling me that I didn’t need to stress out over something was quite often counterintuitive. Oftentimes, I’d just wind up being more stressed out as a result. Thinking about that reminded me of a particular scene from the movie Inception when Saito was asking about the possibility of planting an idea in someone’s mind and Arthur gave an example of that concept: He’d told Saito not to think about elephants and, naturally, the first thing Saito thinks about is elephants, even though he knew the whole time that it was never his original idea to begin with.
The truth was that I knew all too well about how thoughts planted in people’s minds could manifest and change them, slowly but surely turning into that person’s reality in the process. I’d dwelt on the nightmares I’d had about Savannah’s murder and they came to pass like prophecies. I’d been told by shrinks that my pony friends who I’d spent time with years ago were nothing more than figments of my imagination and they began to slip from my mind over that period, giving way to fragmented memories that were nearly impossible for me to make any sense of at the time.
“Well here we are,” Rarity spoke up, drawing me out of my ponderings.
Focusing my attention back on our surroundings, I saw that this was indeed true as I quickly noticed the vast, open mouth of the cave that stood before us. Rarity then used her magic to turn on her headlamp while I put on my own headlamp before the 2 of us finally entered the gem caves together.
“Just be sure to keep it down while we’re in here,” Rarity whispered cautiously. “We don’t want to disturb the bats.”
It was then when I turned my light upwards to see the ceiling of the cavern crowded with dozens of the nightflyers resting peacefully above us. I couldn’t help but think of my first visit to Equestria when me, AJ, Rare, and the CMC went to the Castle Of The Two Sisters to find information about a terrible curse that had fallen over the land. On the way to the castle’s library, we’d passed through a hallway where countless bats were roosting on the ceiling up above. By the time we were finally leaving the castle, they’d all woken up and came flying out in such a mad frenzy, swirling around us as they left.
I’d enjoyed it quite a bit, all those bats flying amongst us like that, but apparently I’d been the only one to enjoy that experience. It could’ve possibly had something to do with the fact that bats are one of my favorite creatures. That being said, I could still respect Rarity’s wishes that we not have a repeat of that previous incident.
I quickly focused my attention back on our purpose for being there as I held both baskets with the magic of my left hand. The gem caves had a limitless supply of gems of differing shapes and sizes. Some were as small as pushpins while others were larger than my fist. Not only that, but they also came in a wide rainbow of different colors. Each of us took a pickaxe and went to work collecting the gems necessary for Rare’s order.
“So how many gems do we need ta collect fer that customer?” I posed the question.
“At least 3 dozen,” Rare replied, chiseling out a gem before placing it in one of our baskets. “The way I see it, the 2 of us should be able to gather 18 gems for each basket.”
“Got it. Ah’ve gotta 'dmit that Ah never knew one could find soo many gems in a single place like this.”
“It’s true. I take it that there aren’t very many places like this close to where you’re from back in your world?”
“Not really. There’s a few places similar ta this one scattered ‘cross tha world, but none of ‘em are very easily accessible. Here, it seems like anyone could jus’ drop by whenever they wanted to. That sorta thing would never fly back on Earth.”
“That’s quite a shame in all honesty. I can’t imagine what it would be like if a place like this had those kinds of restrictions. My business would most likely suffer as a result.”
“Ah can understand that,” I agreed as I dropped 2 more gems into my basket. “Even Ah hafta ‘dmit that life back on Earth can be far too complicated fer me ta follow most o’ tha time ‘n Ah’ve lived there fer tha pas’ 30 years now. Now that Ah’m back here in Equestria, things jus’ feel simpler ‘n less stressful.”
“Well, I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: all of us are beyond happy that you’ve finally returned to us after all these years,” Rarity stated, with a smile.
I softly smiled back at her before returning my attention to the task at hand. As I continued looking for the best gems I could find, I suddenly came across a small cluster of nearly several dozen gems of a beautiful shade of cyan that was right on the border between green and blue; all of these gems were no bigger than a pearl. Looking at this cluster before me, my mind was swiftly flooded with a sudden realization: that particular shade I’d only ever seen in the eyes of 2 individuals in my life, both of whom I cared very deeply about. It wasn’t long before my creative juices were flowing through my head as I was struck with an idea for my own little project, my mind racing at lightning speed as the project came to life all at once.
“David?” Rarity called out, snapping me from my trance.
“Oh uh… yes Rare?”
“Are you quite alright, darling?”
“Oh yeah. Definitely. Ah jus’ found some gems here that Ah thought might work well fer a li’l project of ma own. Check it out.”
It was then that Rare came over to where I was standing, looking upon the cluster I’d discovered. Upon seeing the tiny gems I’d found, her eyes swiftly lit up before she replied softly.
“Oh my! David, these are beautiful. You certainly know how to pick ‘em, don’t you?”
“Thanks,” I answered back. “As soon as Ah saw these gems, Ah was immediately inspired ta use ‘em fer ma own personal creation Ah jus’ came up with.”
“Well, it’s like they say: you never can tell when your creative muse will speak. You’re more than welcome to take those gems for your little project, whatever that may be.”
“Thanks, Rare.”
“No problem,” she replied before coyly posing a question to me. “Any chance you’d like to share what your project is?”
“Not quite yet,” I stated while carefully chiseling the tiny gems out of the rock. “Ah’d like ta wait at least until it’s finally completed before revealing it ta everypony else.”
“That’s quite understandable. You’re an artist who must be allowed to ‘art’. Whatever this project is, I greatly look forward to seeing it once it’s ready.”
I began pocketing the pearl sized gems I’d dug out while thinking out loud.
“Now all Ah need ta do is find a good sized chunk o’ marble. Hopefully, there’s some left over from when ma house was bein’ constructed. Starlight’s also been teachin’ me some magic that Ah think might help out with what Ah’m tryin’ ta ‘ccomplish.”
“I’m sure that it’ll all work out well for you, David,” Rarity affirmed before looking at our baskets. “Well it looks like we’ve gathered all the gems I need for my project. It was nice being able to hang out with you as well as chat for a while and I appreciate your help with collecting these gems. Good luck with your project and I can’t wait to see it finally unveiled.”
“Neither can Ah.”
And so, with those final parting words, the 2 of us went our separate ways to work on our own individual projects. My mind continued racing with the ideas I had for what I intended to create: a tribute to my loves of the past and the eventual future. Maybe this piece would be what finally allowed me to come up with the courage to tell Flutters how I truly felt towards her? I guess I’d have to just wait and see once my project was finished. All I knew for certain was that I’d take as long as I needed to for this piece to be perfect and nothing would stop me from completing it. I swore on Savannah’s grave I’d see it all the way through.
* * * * * * * *
It wasn’t long after my visit with Rarity that I’d managed to find a sizeable piece of marble from the construction site of my new home and was on my way to Twilight’s old castle to meet with Starlight about my project idea. I’d had a fair amount of time to think over the project I proposed and what I wanted it to look like. The project in and of itself would require a considerable amount of craft and skill to be fully realized as I saw fit. Fortunately, Starlight was just the pony who I knew could assist me in bringing it to life. I mean, I could still remember that one time in the show where she’d made a layered cake in just a matter of seconds through the simple combination of the ingredients needed. She hadn’t even needed to use an oven!
Carrying the large marble chunk with my magic, I flew off towards the castle while being very careful not to accidentally drop the piece. Only a few careful minutes later, I was outside the castle where I came in for a landing at the front door before knocking on it.
Tap. Tap. Taptap Tap.
It was nearly half a minute before the door finally opened to reveal Starlight standing in front of me.
“Oh. Hi, David,” she greeted pleasantly. “Are you here for your lessons?”
“Hey, Starlight. Somewhat. Ah’ve actually got a project that Ah need some assistance with tryin’ ta complete.”
It was then that Starlight noticed the chunk of marble I was carrying.
“Is that what the marble is for?” she questioned.
“Mostly yes. Ah’ve also got a sizeable amount o’ gems here ta go towards tha same project.”
Reaching into my pocket, I pulled out the handful of gems I’d collected from the caves. Seeing the gems I held, Starlight couldn’t help but comment.
“Wow. David, those are beautiful.”
“Ah know.”
“So what kind of project is it that you need help with?”
“Well, Ah’m lookin’ ta create a bust where one half of it is Savannah’s face ‘n tha other half is Fluttershy’s face. As fer tha gems Ah have here, Ah was hopin’ ta use ‘em fer both o' their eyes seein’ as they’re tha ‘xact same color.”
“Wow. That’s quite the undertaking,” Starlight remarked. “Well why don’t you come inside and I’ll see what we can do about this project you’ve proposed.”
And so the 2 of us made our way inside, Starlight leading me over to the castle’s throne room where my 7 friends (the Mane 6 and Spike) used to meet whenever there was a friendship problem. Entering the room, I saw the Friendship Map of the entire kingdom and beyond sitting there idly after years of not being used, a permanent fixture of a bygone period. It was then as we approached the map that I set my sizable piece of marble down on it before Starlight spoke back up.
“Using magic to craft something from marble is no simple task. I’m able to do it relatively easily now, but, when I was first studying magic, it took me at least a week or 2 of practicing before I was able to master the skill. On the bright side, once you’ve gotten it formed the way you want, incorporating your gems into the piece should be easy by comparison, even if it might require a little more precision when it comes to proper gem placement.”
“Good ta know,” I replied. “So do ya have any tips fer me in regards ta usin’ ma magic ta sculpt it tha way Ah want?”
“Concentration and focus are crucial. The ability to picture the finished product in your mind needs to be fully honed in if you want it to come out right. The project that you’re proposing has the added challenge of it being a half and half sculpture. Another factor is that only you have the mental image of how Savannah looked like so that part would be all up to you to create.”
“Got it. Now how do Ah start?”
“Clear your mind of everything except for the project at hoof. Now reach out with your magic to craft the image in your head.”
I then focused all my attention on my magic, hands outstretched towards the marble chunk with the vision in my head of how I wanted it to turn out. My hands made the movements of sculpting as I kept my eyes closed to allow for better concentration without distraction.
“Don’t be too disappointed if you don’t get it completed on the first try. It took me a good while before I was able to perfect it myself. Just focus on feeling the marble taking shape under your magic.”
I followed Starlight’s instructions as I continued using my magic to craft the piece. It was during this time that I began to feel a growing sense of strain from focusing my magic too hard, but I wasn’t finished yet. Fighting the pain that was coming over me, I pushed myself even harder to make sure that the task at hand was completed. After nearly a minute, though, I finally had to stop, struggling to catch my breath and nearly collapsing after the tremendous amount of exertion I’d put forth. Starlight was quick to notice my exhaustion.
“David! Are you alright?!?” she asked with concern evident in her tone.
“Yeah. Ah… Ah think… Ah’m O.K.” I panted. “How… how did Ah do?”
“Why don’t you see for yourself?”
Pulling myself back to my feet and turning my attention over towards the marble piece, I saw that almost half of the sculpture had been completed. This half being the half of Savannah’s face. While still relatively rough in some areas, that portion looked almost exactly like her when she’d come to Equestria with me shortly after we were married. Upon visiting Equestria and seeing how she looked in the style of the show, I’d noticed that she bore a striking resemblance to Krista from Attack On Titan. No. Not Krista. Historia, I remembered.
It was then when I was taken out of my thoughts by Starlight’s observation.
“I’ve gotta say, David, I’m quite impressed by what you’ve been able to accomplish with your project.”
“But Ah haven’t even finished half o’ tha piece.”
“Still, what you have gotten done is quite exemplary considering you’ve never done this before. All that half needs is a little bit of polishing and it’ll be all set for you to start working on the Fluttershy half. You’ve also gotta realize that you’re only just now starting to refamiliarize yourself with your powers, hence why you wound up soo exhausted just now. In time, you’ll be back to the same level you were at before; possibly even greater.”
“Ah ‘ppreciate yer affirmation, Starlight,” I replied with a smile while grabbing my project. “Ah’ll jus’ take this piece with me ta work on some more later on.”
“O.K. But make sure that you don’t overdo it. I don’t want you wearing yourself out on my account.”
“Fair enough. See ya later, Starlight.”
“You too, David.”
And so, with my project in hand, I left the castle to head back to my place. Overall, I was pretty amazed at the progress that I’d made on my piece. At this rate, I was positive that it would be ready before the week was up.
Not much longer now, my loves. I thought to myself as I continued on the rest of my day, thinking about Savannah, Flutters, and the tribute towards both of them that I was eager to finish as soon as possible. With the progress I’d made thus far, nothing was going to stop me now.
* * * * * * * *
Several days had passed by since I’d met with Starlight about my project and, in that time, I’d made great progress. I’d focused a good amount of my freetime on sculpting my bust until I was sure that it was absolutely perfect. It took about 4 more full days for me to get it properly sculpted with my magic (while also heeding Starlight’s advice to not overdo it all at once) after which I went back to Starlight for help on incorporating my gems into the piece for the eyes. Melding the gems into the bust had taken another 2 days or so as it required even greater skill and precision than sculpting had.
Finally, after nearly a week of hard work on my project, it was now officially ready. As it had neared completion, I’d informed my friends about the project that I’d spent all this time working on just so that they could show their support when I finally got around to unveiling it. Outside of my interactions with Starlight, I hadn’t really gone into specifics about the project around my friends, especially Flutters, as I wanted it to be a surprise. All I had told them was that it was a special project made out of love and that I would unveil it outside my home when it was finally finished.
Now, that day had arrived as I carried my bust hidden underneath a sheet out of the front entrance of my home. Stepping out the door, I immediately saw not only Rainbow, Flutters, Pinkie, Rare, and AJ, but several dozen other ponies, gryphons, dragons, changelings, and other creatures waiting to see my project. This overwhelming presence caught me off guard as I silently motioned my friends over to me.
“Where did all these creatures come from?” I posed the question to my friends after they’d come closer.
“Well,” Rainbow began, “we thought that you might appreciate having as much support here as possible so we told a few friends and they told a few friends and now here we are.”
“It seemed like a good way to help you bring back more of your confidence,” Flutters spoke up.
“Yes indeedly!” Pinkie piped up.
“I even brought over a pedestal for a proper display of your piece,” Rarity stated, using her magic to place a sizable column near me.
“Twilight ‘n Spike said they’d come by a little bit later ta see yer piece,” AJ mentioned. “They jus’ have some business ta ‘ttend to first.”
I couldn’t help but smile at how thoughtful my friends were in trying to support me in whatever way they could before speaking up.
“You guys are tha best friends a guy like me could ask fer.”
I then set the covered piece down on the pedestal Rare had provided before turning my attention back to the gathering before me.
“Ah greatly ‘ppreciate all of y’all fer comin’ out here ta see this piece that Ah’ve crafted over these past several days. It’s taken a long time fer me ta get ta tha point Ah’m at now after all tha hardships Ah’ve gone through fer ‘bout 5 years back on Earth ‘n yet ya’ve all been supportive of me durin’ ma period of adjustment here in Ponyville ‘n Ah’m beyond grateful fer that. Now, without further ado, Ah present ta y’all ma finished piece that Ah call ‘Love Across Ages’.”
And with that, I pulled back the sheet to reveal the finished bust. At the sight of the piece, everycreature there gasped in amazement. The bust was a perfect half and half split of Savannah’s face as well as Fluttershy’s with the pearl-sized, cyan-colored gems encrusted into it, making up their eyes. Savannah’s straight falling hair was contrasted by the swooping nature of Fluttershy’s mane and the latter’s muzzle was projected slightly further than the former’s lips, yet all of it worked out effortlessly; a finished piece I was genuinely proud of. It was then when I turned my attention over to Flutters herself just to see what her reaction was. Looking over at her, I saw a soft smile on her face as well as her eyes shimmering with emotion.
Before I could speak up towards her, though, I noticed that the crowd gathered before me was parting nervously as one pony made their way up to the front where my piece was displayed. The pony in question was a gray stallion who had a small tuft of a white mane poking out from underneath his black hat, a white tail to match, 2 thin lines for a mustache peppered with gray as well as 1 line composing his equally peppered goatee, rectangular glasses perched on his muzzle, a black scarf, and, what stood out the most to me, his Cutie Mark was of a painted canvas with an axe hacking through it.
All the while as I was staring at him, I couldn’t help but feel like I’d seen him from somewhere previously, but I couldn’t pinpoint exactly where. I knew for certain that I’d never seen him in the show… at least, not that I could remember. But if not from there, where else?
“Oh great,” I heard Rainbow mutter under her breath. “It’s Praiser Pan. Who invited that buttmunch here?”
Praiser Pan? Now I remembered him, but, at the same time, I had even more questions. From what I could recall, Praiser Pan had only ever shown up in the My Little Pony comic line. Though I’d never actually read any of the comics, I’d heard others within the Brony community state that the comics didn’t really count as being part of the show’s canon as there were several cases where the comics clearly contradicted things that had already been firmly established in the show. If that was the case, though, what was Praiser Pan, a character from the comics, doing here? Were the events in the comics somehow canon now? To what extent? Was this yet another lie that I’d been told after the comment about Twilight not outliving her friends?
I was drawn out of my ponderings by Praiser Pan himself finally speaking up in his nasally voice.
“What a sad day it is for ponykind when such amateurish pieces as these are passed off as actual art. Such a piece as this is nothing more than hand-me-down kitsch that would not even pass as being worthy enough for display in anything other than a county fair and even that would be considered generous. In all honesty, the pony who made this and anypony who actually likes and supports this piece should be ashamed of themselves and would seriously need to reconsider their own life.”
To say that I was incensed at his “critique” (if it could even be called that) of my work as well as his cheapening of both Savannah’s memory and my love for Fluttershy would’ve been putting it mildly. The level of venom in his insult of my piece, me, and my supporters was enough to make my blood boil to the point where Hell would look like a frozen wasteland by comparison. It was then that I began making my way over towards him, angrily popping my knuckles as I went, ready to give him a piece of my mind.
“How dare you insult him and his work like that!” Flutters spat out as she stepped between me and Praiser Pan, surprising me in the process. “He created this piece as an expression of love in remembrance of his late wife who was murdered long ago as well as expressing his feelings of love in the present and I will NOT have you shame him or anypony else with your venomous comments!”
“Excuse me?!?” he shot back. “Who are you to say what I can or cannot say about ones work? You are no critic and therefore have no power to condemn me for what I say. As for my comments, I’m simply stating my opinion. It’s not my fault if others are offended.”
Hearing the level of pompous stupidity in his statement was enough to make me facepalm myself I was that shocked by his ignorance. Instead, I decided to tell him how I really felt.
“No,” I simply began.
This caught his attention as he responded after a few seconds of silence.
“What did you just say to me?”
“I said ‘No’,” I answered firmly, ready to unload on his ass, not holding back anything. “I refuse to let you speak so shamefully about me or any of my friends. I’m not sure if you’re aware of this, but this isn’t the first time I’ve come across your defensive remark. I’ve honestly heard it used soo many times back on Earth that it would be hilarious if it weren’t soo pathetic.”
Everycreature gathered there let out a stunned gasp before I continued.
“Oh yeah. That’s right. It’s pathetic. All that you’re really saying with that comment is ‘I expect others to invest time and energy into hearing what I have to say, but I’m unwilling to spend that same amount of time and energy crafting a response that will connect with my audience or contribute something of meaning to society’. You call yourself a critic, but you’re a fraud. You don’t have any passion for art or a desire to see others rise to prominence, but are more focused on whatever keeps you in that high and mighty position that you somehow managed to obtain.
“Back home, I have a brother who used to do a lot of stand-up comedy work whenever he got the opportunity, but there was always this one audience member at his events that would always heckle him any opportunity he got. When I confronted him about this, he gave the sorry excuse that he felt like it was his life’s purpose to be my brother’s heckler. Well, guess what? That’s honestly a really shitty existence if you think your sole purpose in life is to tear someone down for no other reason than ‘just because’ rather than contributing something meaningful to someone’s life. I almost feel sorry for individuals like you and that heckler, but let me tell you something right now.
“You may not know me all that well, but I’m also an Author and, as such, I have a certain level of power in regards to what I write and what events can come about as a result. Now, I wouldn’t abuse that power, but individuals like you make it awfully tempting and, if you knew the kind of power I was capable of as a result, you’d probably watch your mouth a little more around me. So you can run and tell that, homeboy.”
This “power” that I’d been talking about wasn’t just the ability to alter a story’s trajectory, but also the ability to simply write a character out of existence. It wouldn’t be all that hard. Just write down the name of any character and say that they were now gone and that would be that. They’d vanish and no one would ever remember they’d been around. It was during that moment when I was briefly reminded of something that I’d discovered a few years ago back on Earth. This something happened to be a Marvel comic book item known as the “Continuity Stone” (or was it the Continuity "Gem"? I dunno. For the sake of posterity, I'm just gonna call it "Stone").
Anyone who watched a Marvel Cinematic Universe movie in the past decade most definitely knew about the Infinity Stones, hell the first 3 phases of the MCU were collectively titled “The Infinity Saga”, but not many people were aware of other stones that existed in alternate realities of the Marvel Universe. One of these was the Continuity Stone, famously wielded by Deadpool and holding the power to completely alter whatever was previously considered canon. My power as an Author, to a certain extent, I liked to consider as being comparable to having my own personal Continuity Stone… just in the form of a pen, computer keyboard, or other writing tool.
Actually, now that I thought about it, this power was much more similar to something I'd seen in Dragon Ball Super years ago. The instance in particular being when Beerus had used his own power to wipe the evil Zamasu from ever existing which is really saying something when you take into account all the instances in the Dragon Ball franchise where characters come back from the dead multiple times over. This was probably a much more fitting analogy of the power I possessed.
True to my word, though, I hadn’t abused my Authorial power in that way nor did I have any plans to do so in the near future. This had all simply been a scare tactic with the purpose of getting Praiser Pan to finally shut up.
And it worked. Praiser Pan looked at me with a fearful, stunned expression like he was about to wet himself before he finally spoke back up nervously.
“Oh… umm of course… I-I-I accidentally… misspoke.”
“Hey,” I replied in a much calmer tone than before, my Southern twang coming back to me. “No one likes a kissass. Ya need ta be able ta stand by what ya’ve said, but also think before speakin’ ‘n sayin’ anythin’ that could be potentially hurtful. It reminds me of a sayin’ Ah was taught long ago: ‘Say whatcha mean ‘n mean whatcha say, but don’ say it mean’. Do ya think ya could at least try ta do that?”
With an audible gulp, Praiser Pan slowly nodded at me before silently slinking away back to whatever hole he’d crawled out of. With him gone, I turned my attention over to Fluttershy who’d been standing next to me this whole time.
“Thanks fer standin’ up fer me, Flutters,” I smiled. “We make a pretty good team, you ‘n Ah.”
“Oh it was no problem at all,” she replied modestly. “I really liked the piece you put together. It was very well crafted and I loved your attention to detail.”
“Again, thanks fer that.”
“You’re welcome.”
We then stood there for a good several seconds in silence before I finally spoke up.
“So… Ah hope Ah’m not bein’ too forward here…, but would you… like ta go out with me… sometime soon?”
Her eyes lit up like the 4th of July at my proposal before replying.
“Why yes I’d love too. Would this Friday work for you?”
“Yup. Ma Friday’s wide open fer ya.”
“O.K. I guess it’s a date then.”
“Definitely. See ya then, Flutters.”
And so, with parting smiles, the 2 of us went our separate ways and the crowd eventually dispersed as I couldn’t feel any more happier that I’d finally gotten up the courage to ask my dear Flutters out on a date. At this rate, things could only go up from that point forward.