//------------------------------// // Rewrite: Chapter 3. // Story: New Life of a Crow // by Knight of Crows //------------------------------// Emily POV Not what I had in mind. Pinkie managed to move from one side of the room to the other instantly and gave Ryan the jump scare of his life, knocking him unconscious in the process after he fell back. With that said; "How in my creator's name did she move faster than my sensors can detect her??!! These cameras can replay footage at HD 4K quality at a high enough FPS that lightning would strike at a snail's pace!!" I more demanded an answer than requested one. "Your friend's unconscious on the floor, and you're more worried about Pinkie being Pinkie?!" Rainbow questioned my concern for Ryan. "He'll be fine! I know what he can endure, the worst he might get from that is a headache, and we have plenty of painkillers if he needs it. *groan* This is not going how I hoped!" It's been a long time since I've experienced frustration. "How did you hope this would go?" Rarity asked. "I was hoping you might get him to tolerate you, then eventually get him to give the outside world a chance as all of you help him look for his lover after getting him to push past the fear of finding her dead or never at all. Though that may very well have been thrown out the window now!" "We can still help him, I'm sure." Twilight said, unaware of what she was getting into. "Have fun with that." "I'm back, how long was I out?" Ryan quickly regained consciousness. "OhmygoshI'msosuperdupersorryforscaringyououtofyourchair!!!" Pinkie apologized faster than most would understand. "In English, please?!" He groaned, his hand on the back of his head. "She's apologizing to you." I answered. "Whatever." He started leaving, but was stopped by Rainbow. "Hey! My friend is trying to say she's sorry, and you're just gonna leave?!" She said after flying in front of him. "Your point? All of you are invading my home and you think you're in a position to make any sort of demand from me after that? I trust you have the mental capacity to remember your way out, or are you interested in a boot shaped reminder?" He looked at her as if asking if 'she really wanted to play that game'. "Ryan!" I got his attention. "What is it?" He asked, keeping his attention on Rainbow. "I don't ask for things from you often, please?! You know this is what they would want from you! Not only that, but these ponies are even willing to help! You can't just stay down here where your only company may as well be a voice in your head until one or the other finally expires." "..." "Well??" He moved past Rainbow and made his way down the halls to the recreational area with another bottle in hand. He wasted no time sealing himself inside and turning off the cameras, preventing me from hearing what happens in there as well. I'm certain of what's going on in there, but unfortunately, the people who designed this place gave the means of blocking me out for a set period of time. To the extent of privacy, I'm not against it. Right now though, he's likely just balled up against the door, holding his drink almost like a person of faith would if they were praying/ begging on the verge breaking. "Yeesh, what's his problem??!!" Rainbow asked no one in particular. "An actual human living right under out noses this whole time??..." Twilight said to herself, excitedly. "Well he's not going to be very talkative for a little while. So, now you know who I've been attending to all these years. I promise you, he would be much more pleasant if he weren't depressed to the point of trying, and failing because he can't get drunk, to drink away his problems." I tried to give them an idea of his mental/ emotional state if meeting him wasn't enough. "Why hasn't he tried asking for help? You said it was because he lost somepony he loved, right?" Fluttershy asked. "Technically three, she had multiple personality disorder, but it was a strange case in more ways than one. Magic aside, we think they were affected more than physically. As for why he hasn't asked for help? The lack of trust would be the simplest answer." I answered her. "How would he know he could trust anypony if he ain't never met'em?" Applejack asked. "The first problem being the closest we could ever find in basic shape to her was a dragon. The second being that when we were able to view the outside world, we, and by 'we', I mean 'he' happened to see reasons not to trust you. The only two differences worth mentioning between the current inhabitants of Earth are the presence of magic and you, ponies at least, having something akin to a God guiding you. Anything else can be attributed to the environment itself, the animal you're based on, or the government and any differences that can be expected from a monarchy. He likes to think he knows what to expect from others." I listed for them. "Well, that just sounds arrogant." Twilight commented. "If you knew human history, you would see it as basic psychology. Look, you've wasted enough of your time here for now, and he's locked himself up in one of the other rooms to- I have a few ideas of what he's doing and let's leave it at that." Ryan POV After shutting the door and turning off the cameras, I fell back into one of the chairs and pressed "random" on the remote to the music player. "Neither Misty nor her other selves appreciated this kind of music. 'It fit me at times' they said, but most of what he wrote just didn't suit them. Damnit! I'm so pathetic!!! They could be waiting for me, they could be dead, Hell, maybe even a new personality managed to take control and I'm still here!" "Raine, you were always the one to hold me back when I needed it, but you were always the most gentle and reserved otherwise." "Eris, you were always unrestrained, but you were fun to be around. You wanted to be in control, but you weren't so selfish as to get between us. Though I think you liked your magic a little too much. "Misty, you helped me see there were people worth the effort. You tried to avoid me whenever your strange case of a disorder threatened to show itself, but I accepted all of you. I learned to love you as I would come to love them. Please??!! Come back??!! Tell me where you are??!!" "I love you all. I need you." "Please?" I chugged probably half of what was in this bottle and chose to just lie there for a while. I eventually turned the cameras and all back on and Emily wasted no time before speaking. "This is new. Something change?" She asked as I downed the rest of the bottle. "Do you think they're out there?" "I found nothing suggesting they're gone, besides, they're not as durable as you, but they are eternal, and Eris can defend them if she needs to." "Yes, or no?" I simplified the question. "Like you used to joke so long ago with your games and such, 'show me the body'. She probably is, but you'd better have a good excuse for not going out sooner." "Do you think these ponies can be trusted?" "Well, they're more trustworthy than that supply of alcohol, and they didn't lie to us once down here. Give them a chance." She insisted. "... Fine...just...give me time to prepare myself." "You have nothing but time at this point."