Chapter 8: Cherry on Top
Braeburn accompanied us back to Trotten and Inkwell was walking behind everypony, keeping to himself. He left all of his books behind but put the ‘The Land Beyond Nightmares’ in my saddlebag. Silver-Lined let me on his back again and he was walking alongside Braeburn and talked about the Canterlot Brothel. Elven Spices and Kiara were busy giggling with each other and Brass Tacks did the same as Inkwell, kept to himself and walked behind everypony.
We trotted across the ruins towards Trotten in the distance. The wooden fence had turned into a stone wall in progress. The workers greeted us as we walked past them and in through the large golden gates. There was a new banner welcoming us and below that, everypony in Trotten was lined up and was cheering. Zecora stood at the front. I trotted towards her and hugged her.
Spitfire moved to the front and began to speak with Soarin’ by her side. “Zecora told us about what happened at Appleloosa. First Manehattan, Canterlot, Cloudsdale, Appleloosa and now I’m told you went into the Wretched City of Fillydelphia?”
Then Spitfire turned to me, “And you! You saved Zecora!”
“Thank you Little Glace,” Zecora bowed, “for you have been my saving grace.”
I hopped on all fours again, excited and happy, “We got some of your spices and stuff from your workshop! Here!”
I opened my saddlebag for her to peek inside; she nodded her approval and then turned to Elven Spices, “Oh Elven by the way, I’m running your place if that is okay?”
Elven Spices didn’t look too particularly fond of Zecora but she gave her a nod and thanked her, “Perhaps you can, while I’m out.”
“Maybe you two can work together, you know, create the ultimates brews and potions and stuff!” I suggested.
Elven Spices gave me a look as if to tell me to shut up, but Zecora was all too joyful at the idea and galloped away into the Elven Spices Inn.
After the celebrations, the crowd began to disperse into their own areas. Elven Spices went into her inn, Kiara and Silver-Lined were sitting outside the Inn, Brass Tacks and Braeburn went outside to help build the wall and Inkwell sat with me. He was scanning everypony that walked in front of us.
“What’re you looking for?” I asked.
Inkwell shook his head as if breaking out of a trance and gave me an irritated look, “Nothing.”
I turned around to pick up my saddlebag and get Inkwell’s book when I remembered that Elven Spices had taken it into her workshop at the Inn. I told Inkwell to wait and I galloped towards the Inn. Everypony looked at me, cheered and then went back to their bottles and mugs. I stopped as I entered the kitchen, seeing a bunch of ponies with culinary cutie marks cooking away at fireplaces. Where was Elven Spices’ workshop?
Eventually I was pointed to a room at the back of the kitchen and I trotted inside. Elven Spices and Zecora were mixing up a concoction of boiling, pink goo. The room was decorated with pictures of Elven Spices and Brass Tacks. Books cluttered her desk and the bookshelves were crammed with books and ingredients.
“Hey there,” Elven Spices said, seemingly surprised, “what are you doing here?”
“My saddlebag, can I have it please?” I asked.
Elven Spices looked at Zecora and they both laughed. “He’s the cutest.” Elven Spices said before securing the saddlebag around me. I thanked them and galloped back outside.
Inkwell was outside talking to Dumb-Bell, neither of them had noticed me trotting up towards them.
“She’s a mare,” Inkwell tried his best not to sound quiet but he failed, “she has a light blue coat, a mane of lilac and golden eyes which shine like stars. She’s a Pegasus too, have you seen her?”
“No, sorry...” Dumb-Bell said.
Inkwell trotted away with his head hanging low.
“Inkwell!” I yelled, galloping towards him.
Inkwell didn’t stop, only slowed his pace so I could catch up.
“What’s up?” I asked.
Inkwell didn’t speak. He craned his head at a couple of mares then shook his head. It looked like he was about to cry and I hugged his leg. He kept on walking while I was attached and it was like a really fun ride! Inkwell tried to shake me off a couple of times but to no avail.
“Who’s this ‘mare’ you’re talking about?” I asked.
Inkwell sighed, “No one.”
We crossed the main street and I watched as he strained his eyes to peer through the muck covered windows. He seemed too timid to enter any of the buildings. We wandered around Trotten until we finally sat down for a breather. I handed ‘The Land Beyond Nightmares’ over to Inkwell but he pushed it away.
“It’s a gift to you from me. Foals don’t get to read a lot nowadays and I thought I’d give you the luxury to do so. You might like it,” Inkwell said.
My eyes glinted with tears of happiness and he smiled softly. I opened the pages, flicking through them with a huge grin on my face while bouncing up and down. But through all the joy and excitement that drove my body into an epic vibration, one thing bugged me; Inkwell’s mood. He’d look at every mare that walked past and then frown and look down or at me.
“Is she your sister?” I asked.
Inkwell shook his head with a pained expression, “No.”
“Girlfriend?”
“No.”
“Is she your-”
“She’s a friend! Just a friend! Stop it!” Inkwell yelled.
Everypony around us looked at him and he escaped back into his shell, staring at the ground with hard eyes and pursed lips. He tensed and was as still as stone for a while. Then a mare walked up to us. Her lilac mane was flowing and vibrant, her eyes were like liquefied gold placed in her iris and her coat was a beautiful light blue which gave off a healthy glow. Her cutie mark was of a mannequin with a cute little fedora. Her face lit up, tears streaming down from her eyes.
“I- Inkwell?” The mare asked in a voice as smooth as silk.
Inkwell looked up and as soon as they connected eyes they stood there, staring at each other. Inkwell also had tears streaming down from his eyes and I hopped off the bench. They shared a deep hug and froze for about five minutes before looking at each other again.
“Blue Bonnet,” Inkwell said, “thank Celestia, you’re still okay!”
“Ah thought ah’d never see ya again!” her accent wasn’t like Braeburn’s or anyone from Appleloosa, it was an old southern belle accent form Neigh Orleans.
They hugged each other again and something pierced my heart and reopened the hole in my stomach. These two shared something deeper than friendship and for some reason I felt envious. I tried to grab Inkwell’s attention but they were too busy talking to each other, smiling and laughing and sharing stories, I was left in the dark. I threw the book away at his hooves and he still didn’t look at me. I wanted to cry but all I felt right now was fury and I stormed outside the walls of Trotten.
Gallapolopolis, here I come.
* * *
Returning back to where it all began was a hard journey because I had to go back to where it all ended for me, the ruins. The exact spot of where everypony had been shot was empty aside from the deep red stain. I trotted around it and began to traverse the steps that everypony was taking last night. Going the opposite direction would take me right to Gallapolopolis.
There were a lot of pink clouds over the shantytown of Gallapolopolis. It was never a real town, just an illegal settlement that was left abandoned. I trotted inside, nopony in sight. There was a drizzle of chocolate milk which began to mat my mane. There had to be somepony I knew that didn’t leave, Ditzy Doo didn’t come with us, neither did Mr. Cake and a bunch of other ponies. They had to be still here.
Gallapolopolis was a small, tight-knit community. I used to play with the foals and talk to everypony. It was peaceful and everything until Mom and a lot of others decided that it was unsafe to stay and they had to migrate. Leaving Gallapolopolis was like leaving a family behind, so many ponies stayed while the others left. I wanted to stay, Dad did too but Mom insisted that we left. So we did.
Everything seemed like a distant memory. Actually, it seemed like a fantasy. I crossed the metallic playground and the laughter of foals echoed with the wind. The Cakes’ shack was all boarded up, as well as Ditzy Doo’s. Part of me wanted to knock on the doors and say hello, the other part wanted me to keep moving.
My shack was located at the heart of Gallapolopolis. It was larger than the others because Dad was one of the Founders. I wandered into the broken shack, entering darkness which hid many years of memories. The front room used to be filled with light and laughter when Dad had a bunch of friends over and Mom would be making stuff in the kitchen with Mr. Cake. Now, the front room was broken and shattered glass shards glittered and sparkled on the floor as the chocolate rain drizzled in.
The hallways were filled with pictures that were taken down and rested on the floor, face down. I lifted up one of the frames to find that my parents’ faces had been scratched out. I raced to other frames; my parents’ faces had been scratched out on all of them. Galloping into my bedroom, my toys were laid out as if someone was playing with them. I sat back on my haunches and fiddled around in my saddlebag. I took out Kiara’s zebra figure from Manehattan.
I sat there for a while, playing with my toys in the dark as the rain began to pour in. There was a crackle of thunder which sounded like party poppers which made me jump. I hopped on my bed, bringing the toys with me, and continued playing soldiers. A bunch of pony figures encircled the metallic zebra and one by one they attacked the zebra. I giggled to myself until a tear ran down my cheek. I stopped and sat there in silence, listening to the pitter-patter of rain.
Eventually I worked up the strength to walk again and I hopped down and galloped towards my parents’ room. There was a flash of purple lightning which turned into white light, casting colourful illuminations into the bedroom. Mommy stood there, smiling with Daddy. I galloped towards them and they embraced me. It felt so real, the warmth, the fulfilment and love but I knew it was my imagination and I began to pull away. I looked at their faces, remembering them instantly. I stepped back into the doorway, savouring and embedding their faces into my brain until it all went dark.
“Holy Chaos...” A familiar voice murmured behind me.
I turned around.
Discord towered over me, dumbfounded. He stepped forward, waving his claw where my parents were standing and then turning to face me, still surprised. I turned to run back but I ran into him. How did he get there that fast?
“How did you do that?” Discord asked.
I tried to push past him but he kept a paw on my head to keep me in place. Discord just laughed before putting his head against mine with a large ear-to-ear grin. In an attempt to fake Discord out I sat on my haunches and immediately pounced up and tried to run past him again. He was abnormally fast for such a large Draconequus. Then again I didn’t really know what a Draconequus was capable of or what it was.
“How did I do what?” I finally gave in.
Discord’s eyes widened in surprise. “You mean you don’t know? You made your parents appear right before our eyes! How? You made everything clean and clear again as if nothing had ever happened...”
I stuck my tongue out at him, “It’s not nice to delve into other pony’s minds!”
“Ah, but I didn’t,” Discord said, “you used your magic to recreate a memory, to rematerialise your parents’ exact faces from scratch when I tried my best to keep them hidden... only a pony with talents such as Twilight Sparkle can possibly, if not even do that sort of thing...”
“Y- You scratched the photos?” I asked.
Discord nodded and paced up and down the hallway and I knew that if I moved, he’d be right in front of me in a flash.
“This will be fun indeed,” Discord said before putting his head against mine, “tell me Glace, did you really know your parents?”
Discord moved past me like a snake and sprawled himself across my parents’ double bed. He placed a claw on a tiny book that Mom used to carry around everywhere. Every now and again Mom would write things in there that I couldn’t read because of her handwriting. It’s not that I couldn’t read, I promise!
“Look here,” Discord turned to a random page, “‘when will Glace realize the reality he’s stuck in? When will he open his eyes and acknowledge that Mighty Hooves and I aren’t his real parents...’”
I sat on my haunches, not aware of what he had just said. Discord gave me a look before rereading it.
“What does that mean?” I asked.
Discord cackled and rolled around on the bed, “your ‘parents’ weren’t your parents! Can you even remember life before my rule?”
I shook my head. “N- No... But I know my parents, don’t lie to me!”
“Aaw... Glace its okay, just think long and hard. Maybe you can recreate a memory from scratch!” Discord gave another cackle.
I didn’t like being patronized, I was a big pony. A big big pony!
“No!” I yelled, suddenly feeling cold inside and out, “NO! Don’t lie to me you stupid liar! You’re not going to fool me!”
A gust of crystallized particles flew out of my mouth in a flurry. It was as if snow was coming out of my very mouth. I wailed and screamed and threw insults all around the room as the icy wind from my mouth began to create snow and a strange cloud from above. Discord watched in utter amazement and fear. The clouds above began to swirl and the glowing eyes of ghostly stallions appeared in the haze.
“I hate you!” I yelled, “I hate you I hate you I hate you IhateyouIhateyouIhateyou!”
By the time I stopped for breath, there was a blizzard inside the tiny bedroom. Discord blew fire to melt the snow and ice but it just kept coming back. His utter amazement turned to utter fear as he squalled away through the ceiling, leaving me by myself in my winter wonderland which already had begun to melt.
The ghostly stallions neighed and whinnied as they disappeared with the dissipating cloud. My mane was wet with melted snow and ice and I began to shiver. The chocolate rain had stopped and the cotton candy clouds began to shift away. My breath turned warm again and I slumped down, reading the page of the book. The writing was all smudged due to the blizzard but I kept the book anyways... maybe somepony else could read it.
For the rest of the night I slept. I tried to explore the town a little more but I knew that nopony had lived here since we left. Discord probably got to them, hence the chocolate rain and cotton candy clouds which began to clear. If Discord felt so threatened by me, why didn’t he just kill me? Maybe the stories were right... he’s not quite strong yet.
* * *
I awoke with the book against my chest. My breath was still normal and my pulse was at its normal pace than yesterday where it was beating as fast as anything. Anger had consumed me, sadness had consumed me... did I really possess so much magical capabilities? The thoughts escaped out the other end as I heard somepony call my name from outside.
“Glace!” Silver-Lined’s voice called.
“Where are you?” that was Elven Spices.
I looked out the window to see Silver-Lined and the others with Braeburn, Inkwell, Soarin’, Spitfire, Dumb-Bell and other ponies. Quickly, I put what I could into my saddlebags; my toys, my old coloring book and an old photo album which was too dusty to look at. I trotted outside the doors and slowed to a solemn walk as everypony saw me exit the shack.
Silver-Lined was the first to reach me as he hugged me, upset and worried as I began to cry into his coat. Everypony gathered around us and I began to sob even harder as I was about to leave everything behind again.
“It’s okay Glace,” Silver-Lined whispered, embracing me, “it’s okay, we all love you. I love you.”
That was the cherry on top of it all.