Shackles and Friendship
Chapter 16 - Ponies aren't so innocent after all
Edited by Noxxels.
AN: Sorry for the delay, had to convince America to take me in.
The front door swung open violently, nearly dislodging the small bell above as it rung loudly signalling our arrival. I almost doubled over the sack of apples I was carrying as Twilight kept pushing me through with both front hooves on my back hurrying me in to escape the eyes of the townsfolk outside until we were well within what I assumed was Rarity's place of business and home. Immediately after Twilight used her magic to close the door and pull down the blinders on all the windows.
"Oh my gosh that was so embarrassing! By Celestia how could you scream something like that in the middle of town?! As if nearly burning down the library wasn't enough now everypony's going to start spreading rumors." She fell to the floor out of breath, hoping somehow the floor would swallow her up. "Are you even listening to me?"
"Oh my god this is so good. The hell did she put in these? Aahh dammit who gives a crap." I mumbled while grabbing another fresh apple from the sack. In all my life I've never tasted an apple like this before, especially not from that artificial crap they try to sell off as juices and drinks. It had just the right balance of sweet and sour that brought out the refreshing taste of apples. Even more amazing was the texture, it was firm enough to give a wonderful snap and crunch as I bite into it and yet it was still tender and full of sweet, wonderful, natural juice that flooded my taste buds.
"Twilight is that you? Oh wonderful! You brought your friend with you." Rarity was making her way down the stairs wearing glasses followed by several tools of her trade which were wrapped in the same translucent light-blue aura as her horn was.
"Sup." I replied, or tried to. What came out was just somewhere between sputtering and grunting while I continued to stuff my mouth with my newly discovered addiction.
"Lovely, another who shares Applejack's mannerism." She let out a heavy sigh. "But enough of that I-Twilight why are you drenched in sweat dear?" Rarity trotted towards Twilight, both puzzled and irritated at her less than presentable condition.
"Didn't you hear him scream several minutes ago?" Twilight replied while still trying to catch her breath.
"That was you!?" Rarity screamed pointing a hoof at me, I shrugged. "Well, clearly somepony needs to learn some civility. Come Twilight, let's get you freshened up." Twilight followed Rarity up the stairs while giving me another irritated look before disappearing to the second floor. Had I been thinking clearly I might have realized that allowing two females to talk alone in private and getting ideas was a bad idea, instead I was too busy moving on to my fourth apple to care.
After several minutes and another apple down my gullet the two mares descended the stairs with Twilight looking much happier.
'Too happy. Something's wrong here.'
"Rodney stop eating already you're going to spoil dinner. How many have you eaten?" I lifted my left hand holding four apple cores for Twilight to see. "I only bought twelve and they were supposed to last a week!" Much to my dismay, Twilight lifted the apple sack away from me before I could grab it. "Besides how do you think Rarity will feel if the clothes she made for you no longer fit?"
"Please Twily I doubt a few apples would do that much. Although it does raise a question, Rarity how did you manage to get my measurements? I know for a fact you have no experience in making anything for a human. The staff back at the castle merely mimicked my original clothes."
"Rodney I have spent an entire day watching you clean Twilight's kitchen, that might not sound like much but I've been in the fashion business all my life. Seeing you toil and flex as you work has given me more than enough to start with." I'm not sure if it's just me being me or just me high on sugar from the apples, in any case I wasn't about to ignore such a perfect setup.
"Is that what you were doing? You have no idea how relieved I am to hear that."
Rarity raised an eyebrow at me quizzically, "What ever do you mean?"
It took quite a bit of effort to hold back my smile, though by now I'm starting to get used to it, "Well you see Rarity, I did notice how you were eyeing me up and down while I was working. At first I thought it was simple curiosity, after all I am the only human in Equestria." I got up and started to walk towards her. "But then I realized you're not just looking at me, you were also looking at me."
"I'm sorry dear I still don't follow." Rarity was glancing to Twilight somewhat nervous as I continue to close in on her.
"Think about it, a female looking intently towards a dirty and sweaty male as he continued to labor about." Rarity's eyes slowly widened while her pupil shrunk as the dots connected. "I must admit I'm not used to such attention from someone before, that's not to say that I find it uncomfortable, I already had half the mind to start stripping." I wasn't really sure if she understood that last comment considering ponies were almost always nude, but it didn't matter. With her face flushed and beet red Rarity had tried several times to speak out and defend her honor, but every time all that came out was incomprehensible blabbering. "And seeing as how you enjoy watching me work I thought you might have been one of those dominating types. A pity really,"I stopped in front of her and leaned in to whisper in her ear, "truth be told I've always been interested, care to satisfy my curiosity?" I was expecting her to continue stammering and blabbering on and maybe start scooting away from me, instead....
"The depends, exactly how far do you want to go?" As if Rarity's sultry voice wasn't enough she actually bit and nibbled on my ear. The sudden sting and wetness caused me to jerk back on reflex with too much force making me tumble backwards several steps before landing hard on my ass. Rarity started to laugh out loud in a less than ladylike manner, followed by Twilight soon after. "Please darling, did you really think you were the only one who knows how to play this game? Did you like my acting? Mother always said I had potential in the acting career." Both mares continue to laugh with Twilight enjoying it a bit more to see me eat my own medicine.
'I really can't handle that one.' I slumped to the floor and waited for the laughter to die off.
'Well at least we know one thing.'
'Which is?'
'These ponies aren't so innocent after all.'
After the laughter turned to snickers which turned to the sound of heavy breathing as the two mares try to catch their breath, the three of us eventually made our way to the back of the store to pick up my clothes and what appeared to be a green vest shirt for Spike. Now I may be a manchild, but even I could appreciate the quality and effort Rarity invested into my new threads. Although a bit more elaborate the pants and shirt were still considered simple, unlike the ones from the castle staff these fit much better and didn't have any stitching sticking out at odd places underneath. However Rarity decided to get a bit more creative when it came to my hoodie, in fact I'm not sure if I can still call it that. From the chest up it looked like a hoodie but it extended down all the way until just below my knees making it look like a trench coat. What's more, each piece of clothing had designs and colors that worked with my chains to make them feel like they're also part of the attire, while still keeping the same color scheme as before. How she managed to make two clashing accessories work together is beyond me, but then again I don’t have much fashion sense so what do I know.
"Sooo? How does it feel? Do you like it?" I was a bit surprised to see her actually care and worry about what I think, I guess that's what you call professionalism, or maybe she's just like that.
"Rarity this is amazing! I actually don't look like a convicted criminal." 'really?'
"Rodney!" Twilight yelled.
"Sorry Rarity, I didn't mean it like that. I'm just surprise you actually managed to make someone in shackles looks presentable, more than presentable actually. It actually looks cool."
"Cool?" Rarity let out a heavy sigh. "He's Applejack and Rainbow Dash all in one."
"BURP! Sorry, apples are acting up." I said while patting my stomach, Twilight just face hoofed.
Rarity gave me an unapproving glare, "Definitely more Applejack though. But enough of that, Twilight could you please come with me for a minute?"
"What for?"
"Well I have this idea of enchanting certain cloth with simple illusion spells to see if there's any potential. Problem is I have no idea where to start."
"Of course I'll help, but I can't stay long. Spike should be on his way back home soon."
"It'll just take a minute I promise, please?"
"Well if it doesn't take too-"
"Marvelous! Come now I already have a test project ready upstairs." Rarity started to pull Twilight away.
"Wait Rarity you don't have to-Rodney wait in the front and don't do anything till I get back!" Twilight shouted.
"What am I going to do? Burn the the buildi-nevermind forget I said anything." But before Twilight could reply, both unicorns disappeared up the stairs. I waited for a second before making my way towards the apple sack, but before I even got close it was wrapped in purple aura and flew up the stairs. "Really Twilight!?" I shouted. With a grunt I picked up Twilight's saddlebag and the cupcakes before making my way to the front of the store.
It wasn't long before the boredom started to suffocate me and I started to wander about the store hoping to find something interesting to pass the time. Unfortunately that idea didn't work out. There was nothing that caught my eye considering my lack of interest in fashion. I was about to give up and mess around with magic when my eyes fell upon a light purple chest decorated with what looked like a giant emerald gem in the front. In most cases, I wasn't the type to snoop around a female's drawer or anything, but since these are ponies I doubt I'll accidentally find any underwear.
'Let's see what's behind door number.......oh sweet lord these ponies are loaded.' For a brief moment I was blinded by the sudden flash of brilliant colors before realizing what it was. 'These can't be real can they? They gotta be fakes.'
'Normally I would agree, but seeing as we're inside a fashion store for ponies...'
'Point taken, but I still doubt their real. Look how big some of them are!'
'One problem, they don't have anything that comes remotely close to creating artificial gemstones.'
'Magic then?'
'The only logical explanation.'
'You realize how crazy that sounds?'
'Which? The magic part or talking-with-a-voice-inside-your-head part?'
I continued to explore the chest while contemplating the state of my mental health when I saw something moving inside. At first I thought it was the lights reflecting off the many gems playing tricks on me, yet despite any movement some of the reflected lights were, in fact, moving. It was only after moving away some of the larger pieces of gems that I found the cause. It was a ruby, considerably small compared to the rest but still considered unnaturally large in my world, and it was glowing. Again, for the second time, I thought it was merely the lights playing tricks on me, but after closing the lid to cut the light it kept giving off a red glow around it. What's even more interesting was how the light coming from the gem was moving by itself as if alive, I picked it up and brought it closer to my to peer deeper into it.
'Oh my god. It's burning.' There really isn't much you can describe it, there in the very center of the gem was a burning fire. It's flames licking and dancing about making the light it generated dance with it, only after several moments did I realize how warm it was. Not only was it giving off light but warmth as well, the fact that it was generating them both simply out of nothing defied the common laws of nature.
'So it is mag-wait! SHIT!' Suddenly the fire inside radically faded and before I could do anything, it winked out. The ruby stopped glowing, it stopped giving off heat and even lost some of its luster.
"Rarity's going to kill m-AAAAAAARGH!!!" I fell to the floor writhing about as blinding pain jolted through my head. Every heartbeat felt like my brain was growing twice its size, every beat ending with mind breaking pain. I didn't care how loud I was screaming, how I was kicking my legs out, randomly hitting and breaking any unfortunate objects near me, all I could feel at the moment was pain. I wasn't aware how hard I was clutching my head, didn't feel my nails biting in and drawing blood, I had imagined trying to dig my way into my head and wrenching out my brain to stop the pain. The world around me was muffled and gray, I could see and hear ponies running towards me but they felt so far away.
[Moments before.....]
"...so in order for the illusion to last a night it needs another magic source?"
"Correct, cloth is a very inefficient material for holding magic, silk even more so. I'm not entirely sure of other materials but I still doubt any of them could be used effectively with enchantments." Although it had taken longer than either mares intended, both were too engrossed with the challenge to notice, especially Twilight who had turned into one of her lecture moods and was having the time of her life.
"I guess I could have a battery gem stored under the folds, or maybe even use it a part of the dress."
"That would work but then you have to cast a spell to feed the enchantment with said energy source, and that spell requires a focused mind to maintain. I don't think anypony is willing to wear something that's going to give them a headache, especially for an entire night. Plus battery gems are notoriously expensive, the only other viable materials are some metals. But I also don't think anypony wants to wear a dress laced with heavy metals. You also need more metal to hold more magic for more powerful enchantments." Twilight suddenly imagined seeing a poor mare wearing laced metal armor to the Grand Galloping Gala which caused her to giggle a bit.
"I guess it really is impossible, and here I was hoping to be the first pony to make one." Rarity had heard over several small talks and a few magazines of ponies experimenting with spells to create dazzling effects. But nopony were ever successful, at least not to a point where it becomes efficient enough to be worth while. The actual weaving and enchantment wasn't much of a problem though it still requires some skill, it was trying to keep the enchantment active long enough to last a dinner or a party. Rarity had tried using a simple 'glimmer' enchantment and it only lasted forty-five minutes, to have even more consuming and complex enchantments last an entire night is close to impossible.
"Sorry Rarity but I don't really see this ever taking off as it is. Maybe somepony in the future will figure it out."
Rarity's head sank as she let out a sigh in disappointment, "And I was lucky enough to find a fire ruby to use too. At least it'll make a nice-"
AAAAAAARGH!!!
Both mares jumped up in fright by the sudden scream originating from down below, both mares stared at each other in a second of hesitation before running down the stairs. As Twilight and Rarity made their way downstairs as fast as possible, the screams were now joined with the sound of tumbling objects and breaking glass. It sounded like Rodney was fighting something and losing badly. Fearing the worst, Twilight started to gather magic in her horn, prepared to weave it to any spell she would need. Both mares soon stood at the base of the stairs looking about the destruction, expecting somepony or something to come out and attack them. Luckily neither saw anything remotely dangerous except for Rodney who was still screaming and thrashing about on the floor surrounded by broken furniture, gemstones and glass, some were stabbing into him yet he didn't seem to care. His hands were bloodied from the many small wounds around his head and he had several bruises either from hitting the floor or one of the furniture around him.
"Rodney what's wrong!?" Twilight ran up to him only to have one of his legs kick her in the sides, sending her off with a grunt.
"Twilight!" Rarity ran to Twilight's side. "Twilight are you ok?"
With another grunt Twilight got up on her hooves, "I'm fine Rarity, it just grazed me. Don't worry it looks worse than it is, it's Rodney I'm worried about."
"What' wrong with him? Why is he hurting himself like that?" Rarity was afraid but not for herself, whatever's happening it was happening to Rodney.
"I don't know! Oh Celestia I don't know!" The smudges of blood on the floor were getting larger as the human continued to bleed from his many wounds.
"We need to stop him from hurting himself!" Rarity's horn started to glow brightly as she attempted to restrain Rodney to the floor. Rarity's spell started to form around Rodney's legs but just as it appeared it quickly vanished. "Why isn't it-"
"AAAAAAARRGH!!" The screams suddenly intensified and Rodney's started to thrash ever more violently, even starting to pull small bits of hair from his head.
"Twilight it's getting worse! We need to get him to Ponyville Hospital!" But Twilight didn't move, she just stood there staring at Rodney.
"I know what's wrong." Twilight said under her breath, Rarity could barely hear her over the screams.
"Then do something!" Twilight bolted forward with a limp towards Rodney. "Twilight wait- you-he's going to-"
But instead of trying to hoof handle him as Rarity thought, Twilight suddenly stopped just barely out of the human's reach, "Rodney listen to me! You have too much magic in you! You have to get rid of it! Rodney! Can you hear me!?" Twilight feared there was too much pain and little room left for Rodney to concentrate, most likely Rodney would attempt to release raw magic in desperation which easily harm somepony or himself. There is another way, but she swore to the Princesses she would only do so with their blessing. "Listen to me Rodney! Focus! Remember the training, use only harmless spells! Choose one that requires least amount of focus but uses a lot of magic!" There was nothing else she could do without breaking her oath. If Rodney chooses to release pure raw magic there’s a chance he himself might not survive the explosion.
A sudden force hit Twilight like a wall sending her hurtling towards a large ponysized triple mirror, luckily Rarity was quick enough to envelop Twilight in her magic and stop her mid air only several feet away from impact. Rarity ran up to Twilight a second time but just as she reached her something caught her eye, "Twilight are you...you. Oh by the stars." Twilight shook her head to clear her head before turning towards Rarity whose jaw was slack open in awe, Twilight followed her gaze and she too couldn't believe what she saw.
A miniature sun, that was the only way to properly describe the scene. A giant ball of azure fire was forming around Rodney as he hovered in mid air just a few feet above the floor. 'This is it.' Twilight thought. 'I should have taken it off while I still had the chance, now it's too late.' A flash of blue in the corner of Twilight's vision caught her attention, she turned and saw one of Rarity's gems floating in midair next to her surrounded by azure fire. 'Why is it floating?' Slowly more azure fire erupted out of nowhere at random around her, everything that the fire licked started to float up and hover in the air.
"Twilight what's happening!" Rarity's cry jolted Twilight out of her confusion. She turned back towards Rodney and saw that the ball of fire had grown to twice its size, and was still growing at a frightening pace.
"Rarity stay near me!" Twilight's horn glowed and a large translucent purple sphere surrounded the two mares, the fire that was caught within suddenly died, causing several object to fall back to the floor. Both stood still as the more and more objects continue to float and hover all the while the ball of fire continue to engulf everything in its path. Soon the two mares could see nothing but azure fire surrounding them yet never going pass the purple barrier. And then Twilight felt it, at first she believed it came from all the floating objects around them, but another tremor came and much stronger than the last.
Then Carousel Boutique started groan and shake.
[Outside....]
"Get everypony not in the effort to steer clear!" shouted Mayor Mare. A large number of ponies darted back and forth from the burning building, pegasi in the sky and earth ponies with buckets. The only one that stood still were unicorns that decided to help with their magic, controlling the water and even throwing dirt over the building. "Where is the emergency weather team?! We need more rain clouds!" There were already a large concentration of black clouds above Carousel Boutique which came remarkably fast thanks Ponyville's one and only Rainbow Dash. However, despite the heavy downpour it did nothing, the fire just kept growing and and spreading as if nothing happened.
"Nothing's working! Are you sure this is a normal fire?!" shouted a black pegasus.
"What'd you think Thunderlane?! 'Course it ain't normal! It’s blue for crying out loud!" shouted his companion.
"You two can it! Thunderlane stop complaining and start jumping!" Rainbow Dash flew in with her trademark rainbow colored trail behind her carrying another large rain cloud with her. With it she pushed a white depleted cloud below Thunderlane away, he immediately started to jump on top of the new rain cloud causing a heavy downpour on the building. This was his fifth already and still it did nothing worth noticing, the building on fire kept burning.
Rainbow Dash started to hover around the building, she too had her suspicion about the real nature of the fire. For one how come the building still looked normal, second 'where the buck is the smoke and heat?' Rainbow Dash made another attempt to peer inside the building, no one knew where Rarity is nor Twilight. Several ponies mentioned seeing Twilight going in but the fire was too thick to see through and nopony, Rainbow hoped to Celestia those ponies were wrong.
Suddenly she heard something groan and thought it was Rarity, but it was a deep rumble and it didn't sound like something anypony would make. Another groan and this time it was deeper and louder than before, Dash's eyes shot wide in fear when she saw the top of the building start to shake. "EVERYPONY CLEAR OUT!! IT'S GONNA FALL!!"
The effect was immediate as everypony nearby started to gallop in frenzy to get as far away from the building as possible, all except Rainbow Dash. 'I'm not taking any chances!' she reared up and with a giant beat of her wings, lunged through the air towards the nearest window.
She didn't even make it halfway before several pegasi caught her mid flight, "Are you crazy! You can't go in there! It's suicide!"
"Let go! I'm not leaving them hanging in there! Celestia dammit! LET GO!" Rainbow bucked and thrashed as far as she could but none of them let go. "They're inside! I know they are! You gotta let me-NOOOOOO!" Carousel Boutique let out another deep rumble before it started to tip dangerously to the side. Rainbow Dash closed her eyes awaiting the inevitable sound of of impact, the sound of wood and glass breaking that would steal away her two best friends. But after seconds which felt like minutes no such sound was heard, in fact she could hear nothing at all expect the sound of wings flapping around her.
Slowly Rainbow Dash opened her eyes only to have it shot wide open and jaws agape to what she saw. The building was still on fire and it was still tilted, however it had tilted towards the opposite side from before and yet somehow despite the damage the building still looked relatively intact.
"How is it..." Rainbow's eyes darted downward to the base of the building and her jaw fell even further and for a moment even forgot to flap her wings causing her and several ponies still holding her to fall a few feet. "It's floating....it’s actually floating." Still engulfed in blue fire Carousel Boutique continue to tilt from side to side as it floated several meters above the ground like it was sitting just barely over a cliff except it never fell, it just swiveled and tilted towards another side.
Suddenly the fires started to disappear and the building floated back down towards the earth, when it was only several feet above ground it went free fall and with a deafening crash touch the earth again creating dust clouds and scattering debris, several seconds later more crashing sounds followed from inside the building. Silence fell upon the town of Ponyville, all that gathered either to help or to watch, now stood still all staring with slack jaws. Suddenly the silence was broken by a voice that nopony other than Rainbow Dash recognized.
"HOLY SHIT THAT HURTS!!"
AN: Well this was certainly an exciting chapter to write. If anyone is a bit confused with what happen don't worry I'll go back and add more information in the next chapter.
And as usual give me comments and critics please, anything that turns you off with my writing and such. I can't promise to immediately get better or anything but I won't know unless someone tell me.
Again thanks to Noxxels for editing the chapter, things are working out smoothly.
Pinkie: I like him.
Oh you're back, so how was it? Enjoy yourself?
Pinkie: Noxxels didn't let me throw a party, said it wasn't his place.
You-you didn't do anything right?
Pinkie: Of course not silly willy! That's just for you.
Thanks? I guess. So what did you do?
Pinkie: I threw him a party of course!
*facepalm* 'Course you did.