Edited by:
BlazinBlade7
PieisGood4U
fireshadow11
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I awoke surrounded by darkness, a thing that is becoming a worryingly frequent occurrence. Seriously, this has got to be the third time this week this has happened. Did I actually die this time or is it another cop out on behalf of the universe?
“Hello Ace.”
Cop out it is then, cheap-ass universe. Can’t even kill me properly.
I turned to see the stunning figure of Lady Luck standing there, her beauty nearly blinding me. I managed to resist the urge to drop to one knee and speak in flowery poetry of her ethereal beauty, mostly because I was very angry at her.
“Hey, mind explaining what exactly happened back there? That wasn’t very lucky at all.” I demanded, a mistake I fancy.
She strode towards me, with each step she took I could feel the pressure upon me increasing. The sensation that I had no right to demand anything of her, that I should be begging forgiveness for my transgressions. As she approached she appeared to get larger and larger, to the point where she towered over my and I was left trembling in her shadow.
“You would dare to question me? Me, who has given you everything! All that you are, all that you could be, is beholden entirely to me!” I cowered away from her, not ashamed to admit that the force of the angry goddess' voice terrified me.
She looked down upon my pathetic form for a moment, her eyes still blazing in fury. Then, unexpectedly, she let out a sigh. All the anger vanished from her eyes and her shoulders slumped. She also began to shrink, from the size of a behemoth to being slightly smaller than I was. Kneeling down next to me she wrapped her arms around me, holding her arms around me and rocking me back and forth. I imagine this is what having a mother feels like. I felt secure and comforted. Even though she was the one who had caused my terror she still managed to console me.
Luck really is fickle.
“I hate rules.” She said softly to me, her voice lacking the powerful majesty that it held earlier. “Hate them all. Luck shouldn’t have to abide by rules, it should be free and wild. But, it is an inevitable fact that there are rules everywhere. The best we can hope to do is bend them slightly. This game that the gods are playing, in which the lives of mortals are used as a counter for who is winning, it too has rules. These state that outside deities cannot directly affect their pieces or the game.”
She took a long pause here, looking thoughtful.
“I may have bent the rules slightly here. I can’t make it so that arrows will never hit you or that swords will break when swung at you but I can make it so that they are unlikely to hit you.”
She stepped away from me and I rose shakily to my full height. Gone was the comforting motherly figure, in its place was the fiery, passionate god. She looked at me again, scrutinizing me under a piercing gaze.
“Would you like to see just how lucky you were back there?”
Once again she didn’t give me a chance to respond, instead casually sweeping an arm to one side in a grand gesture. Where she had indicated the air seemed to shimmer, eventually forming the shape of a large square. The lines of the square continued to become more pronounced whilst the interior formed into liquid metal, its quicksilver surface rippling as it was created.
When the magic had fully completed its works a large mirror hovered in the void and, with another wave from Lady Luck, its surface changed and began to show images...
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The show had just begun and I could see myself, which is an unusual experience in and of itself. The other me had just got the crowd's attention with the flashy introduction followed by the trick with the dust. Now the entire crowd was watching me, all of them looking up in wonder.
The next part of my act began, the version of me up on the screen beginning with a simple backflip. To the crowd below it probably looked perfect, but to my professional eyes I could see that something had gone wrong. The screen satyr had overdone the flip, sending him slightly too close to the edge.
Which placed him in entirely the wrong position for the next trick.
As I watched, the other me grinned at his crowd before leaping into the air, flipping once and landing on his hands. However, his current position meant that his right hand, the one closest to the edge, slipped over slightly. His balance, a necessity during this trick, was lost and he began to sway around desperately. Both the crowd of ponies and I stared in horror as the magician slipped off the edge of the building, tumbling wildly through the air.
I flailed out, but the balcony that had once saved my life was too far away. My copy slammed into the ground at high speed headfirst, a stomach turning ‘crack’ echoing outwards from his point of impact.
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“Ouch.” I said, wincing slightly. It was a strange thing to watch yourself die.
“Another.” The goddess beside me stated, waving her hand once more.
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This time I was facing off against Velvet on the roof, her face angry and her horn charging a spell. Just like what I remember, Velvet shot off a bolt of flame heading directly for my face. Well, for my alternate self’s face at least.
This is getting a bit confusing.
The other me raised his hands to try and ward off the blow but, unlike myself, he didn’t react quick enough. He managed to catch most of the fireball but some flame slipped through the gap in between his hands. The small tongue of flame reached out and licked at his...my hair, the magical flame instantly setting it ablaze.
My copy screamed as he began to slap at the conflagration, desperately trying to put out the flame. He didn’t even see Velvet’s next attack coming, a bolt of pure force that sent his burning form flying from the rooftop.
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“Do we really have to watch this? That one was just gruesome.”
Lady Luck glared at me, evidently still feeling that I hadn’t learnt my lesson.
“Another.”
I let out a sigh and turned back to the magical screen.
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The other me hung from the edge of the building, Velvet standing over him. He was desperately clinging to the roof whilst the Changeling raised one perforated hoof above him. Rather than dropping down to not give her the satisfaction like I did, this version of myself decided to hold on til the bitter last.
The hoof shot down like a meteor, slamming into the top of my alternate self’s head with a crack and sending him tumbling into the void, too far out to reach the balcony that had saved my life.
Below him, the ponies weren’t moving quick enough, many of them gawking at falling satyr. One mare in particular, a unicorn, was standing directly underneath him when he landed.
The results were not pretty.
The weight of my other self landing on her head at such high speed drove her to the ground, her neck twisted at a wholly unnatural angle. She died immediately, unlike my alternate copy, who was left screaming in pain from the unicorn horn impaling him through the gut.
It took him quite some time to die, and Lady Luck made me watch all of it.
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“Please...no more...” I begged her, but the goddess ignored my plea.
“Another”
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Velvet stood over the prone form of my other self, a grin of vindictive triumph plastered across her muzzle. She gleefully raised one hoof into the air before slamming it down onto his head with the same sickening crack that I remember.
That looked like it really hurt.
She raised the other hoof and joyously slammed it into the copy's face a second time. Repeating this action over and over again, the grin on her face growing with each blow. Panting in exertion from the beating that she was giving out, she prepared for the final blow. She reared up into the air, hooves placed to crush the head of the other me.
Neighing in delight, she brought the heavy edges of her hooves down upon his skull, causing it to bounce against the floor like a ragdoll. Blood poured from the thick crack that she had left in his skull. She reared up again and slammed her hooves down into the same spot, widening the crack and sending fractures out from it. She did this again and again, until all that was left of his head was a bloody mess. Blood and brains were spread all over the cobbled square and had left Velvet’s chitin armour covered in sanguine.
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“Enough!...That’s enough, I’ve learned my lesson.”
“Have you?” She asked, walking over to look me in the eye. Her stare seemed to pierce straight into my soul. She sighed, returning to the motherly personality.
“Why do you think I chose you to be my champion?” She questioned.
Huh, I honestly hadn’t thought why she had chosen me. Surely there were more capable humans out there? People who were stronger, faster, smarter than I was. Soldiers or scholars or tacticians. People who could lead others and command effortlessly. Who always knew what to do and could do what needed to be done. So why me?
As if hearing my internal question, my Goddess spoke up again.
“It’s true, I could have found someone better at direct combat than you are. I chose you because you play the fool but you definitely aren't one. You are deceptive and cunning. You are a thief, Ace, and that is exactly what I need. The rules of this blasted game state that I can’t use my full powers to save you all the time, so I need someone who doesn’t take chances. So far, you’ve disappointed me.”
Disappointed her? I thought I’d done quite well really. Considering the circumstances.
“You never should have been in that circumstance to begin with.” She said, reading my mind again. “Why do you insist on directly confronting your foes? Do you even realise how much of my power it takes to save you each time you do something stupid like that?”
I was about to confess that I didn’t, not having knowledge of magical power in relation to divine intervention. Before I could speak, she waved one hand and dismissed my thoughts.
“You must understand the nature of my powers. In things where probability is an important factor, such as card games and other such gambles, I have a lot of control. War, however, and all that other nasty fighting business is the domain of other, more brutal, gods. I am a far more subtle creature and I expect my champions to follow my lead in that respect. I want you to be more careful in the future, more stealthy. I have arranged for something to come your way that should help you with this. A lot. Use this gift well.”
I nodded my head, eager to do anything to prevent this terrifying bipolar god from getting angry with me.
“Um...well...if you don’t mind telling me but...do you have any other advice?” Damn it all, I sound like Fluttershy right now. Well you would be nervous too if you had the world’s most fickle goddess watching you.
“Only this, listen to your elders.” She said with a smile. “Now go, my champion...and good luck.”
She tapped me lightly on the head with one hand, the slight touch somehow making me tip back and fall.
And fall.
And fall...
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I awoke to the sound of a really annoying alarm clock, the noise cutting through my skull and exasperating my headache. It went a bit like this:
BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!
Oh it’s a heart monitor...does this mean that I still have to wake up?
BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!
Quiet you.
I lazily reached up with one hand, my movements sluggish as if I was trying to move through custard. After a certain amount of searching I managed to find the pads on my chest that linked up to the monitor and quickly tore them off.
BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP!
Oh sweet merciful Christ, that’s even worse! It’s like a knife being scraped around my eye sockets. Why would anyone do this? Why would they design a piece of hospital equipment to make such a distressing sound? This isn’t comforting at all! I am not at all comfortable right now.
I hate hospitals.
Thankfully somepony decided then would be a brilliant time to slam my door open to allow a gaggle of nurses and doctors to burst into my room, each one clucking at each other in incomprehensible medical jargon. I’ve never had much to do with medical types, they are often too fond of their own voices for my liking. Plus they love to spout various long words, often in Latin, to make themselves sound smarter. Therefore I decided to adopt my usual strategy when dealing with know-it-alls.
I ignored them.
“Would you all just shut up for a minute!?” I shouted over them, causing the ponies to immediately clam up and stare at me. “Alright, who is the most doctory doctor here?”
“That would be me I guess.” Said a unicorn stallion, stepping forward to my bed.
“Brilliant! So tell me, what’s up doc?” What? I couldn’t resist. Besides, Bugs Bunny, if he exists, would probably be proud of me.
That’s a point. I’m in a child’s cartoon world right now. I wonder if the Looney Tunes world exists somewhere.
“Well, the fall caused an injury to your spinal cord, resulting in temporary paraplegia. The blows to your face broke your nose and dislocated your jaw, as well as causing a fracture in your skull. Needless to say Mister Ace, you are lucky to even be alive, not to mention the possibility of brain damage.”
“Yeah, I always was a lucky one. Now, I believe that I have some visitors?”
“Yes...How did you know that?” He asked, looking at me oddly.
Lucky guess combined with divine assistance.
“Maybe that blow to the head gave me psychic powers.” I said sarcastically, drawing some glares from the hospital staff. The doctor left, grumbling something under his breath about snarky idiots.
What can’t anyone take a joke around here?
The medical ponies left, slamming the door shut behind them a tad too forcefully to be an accident. A few moments after they had left the door opened again, a blue face topped by a spiral horn poking its way round the barrier.
“Summer! Good to see you! How is my favorite saviour?”
“And what about me?” Another voice rumbled from behind Summer, Iron Will stepping into the room to follow the unicorn mare. Clutched in his hands was an unassuming brown bundle of cloth.
I was more surprised by who followed him. Zende, Steel Mane and...
“Ahh! It’s her! Get her away from me!” I shouted, beginning to panic.
“Ace! Ace! Calm down! It’s not the Changeling. This is the real Swirling Runes, you remember? The one you saw Velvet keeping prisoner?” Despite Summer’s testimony I continued to eye the mare warily.
“I’m very sorry for everything that’s happened...” Runes said softly. “It’s...it’s all my fault.” Her eyes were watering as she hung her head in shame. Steel Mane wandered over to her and threw a foreleg around her shoulders, drawing her in close. She looked up at the captain and smiled shyly at him as he wiped the tears from her eyes with one gentle hoof. I stared at them, their obvious behaviour making the entire room very awkward.
“So...how long has that been going on? In fact, how long have I been out?” I asked.
“It’s been about a week youngster.” Zende stated in his usual gruff tone.
A week?! Damn, it really didn’t feel like a week. They must have had me on some really good drugs.
“Aye, for a while there we almost lost you. I told the docs though, I told ‘em ‘There ain’t no way Iron Will’s friend would give up. Now you do everything you can or Iron Will’s gonna have to get SERIOUS!’ That got them moving post haste.”
Well that was nice of him...wait did he say ‘friend’? Does he...does he really consider me to be a friend?
“Yes, Iron, you were very impressive. Though I’m sure we’re all just glad that you’re alive.” Summer said, rolling her eyes at Iron’s macho behaviour.
“So, what did I miss? Other than the whole Steel and Runes thing...I don’t need to hear about that.” At the mention of their names the couple in question, who had managed to get lost in each other's eyes and would have probably been stuck like that for a while if it weren’t for my heroic intervention, looked up at me.
“We arrested the Changeling.” Steel said, coughing nervously and going into business mode. “She’s being escorted to Canterlot for questioning. As for the enchanted necklace she used...” He trailed off and looked over at Swirling Runes.
“Well...I felt really bad about what happened to you when you tried to help me. Then I suddenly had this really great idea...it was strange really. It just popped into my head...” She stared off into the distance, as if trying to remember something. She then shook her head and got back to what she was saying. “Anyway, I had the town tailor come in and take your measurements and make you this.” With that she lit her horn and levitated a package from inside her saddlebags and handed it over to me.
I looked curiously at the package for a moment before ripping open the brown paper like it was some kind of christmas present. With its coverings shredded around it the item inside was revealed, and what an item it was.
It was a brown coat, its length coming down to just below my waist, and made of a thick weave. It had a wide collar that could be popped up to provide partial protection against any bad weather and, I noticed, it had a very nice black lining on the inside. To many it would have looked like a simple, practical coat. The kind that would be popular in most frontier towns where practicality was valued far more than elegance. To me, however, it was the most wonderful coat in the whole world. It was the first present I had ever received.
It felt great.
“Do you like it?” Runes asked eagerly.
“It's...beautiful, thank you.” I said honestly.
“That’s not the best thing about it.” She said, her voice excited. “I reversed the Object of Desire enchantment that I had placed upon the necklace and applied it to the inside of your coat. If you flip it inside out so that the black side is showing then it activates a powerful See-me-not spell.”
“See-me-not?” I asked, curious and excited. Though nowhere near as excited as Runes was to show off her hard work.
“It’s a mental illusion spell, ranked at challenge grade five.” She said, as if she were reciting from a textbook. “It affects the perception centres of the brain, feeding them false information and telling them that the spellcaster isn’t really there. They could be looking right at you and, even if they know that something is there or that something should be there, they won’t know what it is. It won’t affect anypony intelligent enough to override the mental persuasion, or those perceptive enough to see through it, but it should work for most ponies.” She frowned here. “Or nasty old Changeling Generals.”
“Wow...that’s amazing Runes. I can honestly say that I’ve never got a gift so fine ever before. Truly I cannot thank you enough.”
She blushed at the compliment scraped her hoof on the floor in embarrassment.
“It’s the least I could do after you helped my brave Steel save me. Especially as you got hurt doing it.” She trotted over to me and threw her forelegs around my neck, squeezing me tight into her soft fur.
My first pony hug...it feels so nice.
Sadly the moment had to be ruined as simultaneous and very deep coughs came from two of the other beings in the room. Iron Will was coughing to get my attention before pointing at Steel Mane. Steel Mane was coughing as a polite way of telling me not to hug his mare for too long.
Such polite people...ponies...beings.
“Though I’m not sure it will measure up to that gift, and I certainly don’t want a hug from you, I also have something for you.” Iron said, handing over the smaller of the two bundles he was carrying.
I once again tore into the packaging, the taste of how awesome it is to receive a present just making me want more.
I suppose this is what Spike must have felt like.
This gift, although just as practical as Runes', was distinctly more dangerous. As promised, Iron had made me a weapon from the remains of my broken horn. The curving blade, designed for slashes but also quite capable of stabs, was made from a grey metal I found to be quite familiar, though I couldn’t place where I knew it from. The handle of the knife was made from my own horn, cleaned up and with streaks of metal running down it to strengthen it against another breakage.
“The blade is made from the same metal as those anti-magic rings back at the mine. I may have held onto a handful of them, not a lot but enough to forge that little blade.” Considering the size of Iron’s hands, a handful was quite a large amount really. “It’s not designed to absorb magic, but it can deflect it. I had to mix it with steel to strengthen it though. Whatever that anti-magic metal is, it’s not a hardy one.”
“Thanks, Iron. It’s perfect.” I said, holding the blade loosely in one hand before taking some practice slashes with it. Iron hadn’t been boasting when he claimed about his skill with a forge. The knife was perfectly balanced in my hand, despite the unusual materials that went into its creation.
“Aye, she’s a beauty ain’t she? I suspect you'll end up having to use her quite a lot, considering how much trouble you manage to get into. Although they'll have to try and get past me first.” Iron stated with a grin.
“Yeah...wait, what? You want to come with me?” I asked, rather surprised by this.
“Well, we can’t exactly let you go off and cause trouble on your own can we?” Summer said. “It wouldn’t be safe. No, for the good of Equestria I must accompany you on your travels.”
“I second that.” Steel Mane toned in. “Corporal Summer Storm, until further notice you are officially assigned to the duty of protecting and caring for the ‘satyr’ known as Ace. May Celestia help you.”
“You’re serious? You both want to come with me?” I asked, Iron and Summer both nodding without any hesitation. I managed to swallow the sob that threatened to leap from my throat, although judging by the looks on their faces I hadn’t managed to fully hide my joy.
Companions. Friends. Something I had never had before. This was all so new...so wonderful! I felt like leaping up out of the bed, dancing round the room and singing my head off. I managed to restrain myself from doing so...barely.
“But where will we be heading?” I asked, wondering if my new companions knew of a good place to go.
“I believe I may be able to help with that.” The largely silent Zende spoke up. I was almost ready to dismiss his words, regardless of what he actually said, when Lady Luck’s words came back to mind.
Listen to your elders.
I suppose this is what she meant. I acknowledged Zende with a nod and indicated he should make his point.
“I’m not sure how much you heard back in Steel Mane’s office but I’ll explain it again. After talking to the other refugees I found that we were all connected. We had all been hired as explorers and merchants by the East Equestrian Trading Company, one of the largest shipping companies in Equestria. They have offices all over the place but are mainly based in Maneapolis, Manehatten and Stalliongrad. The closest being the Maneapolis office, which is the one that hired me.” He shook his head sadly now. “However, the suspicions of one foolish old zebra aren't enough. If you could go there, if you could find some hard evidence of their crimes, then we might be able to stop them. Will you do it?”
I pretended to consider his offer for a bit, even though I already knew what my answer would be. Lady Luck had as good as ordered me to do what Zende wanted, not to mention the alluring chance of annoying some rich, heartless businessmen. I honestly couldn’t resist such an opportunity.
“Alright, I’ll do it. But what are you going to do now Zende?” Despite how much I might dislike, though some might call it fear, him. I was still concerned for the old zebra.
“Oh I think I might stay here, settle down. Try to keep these young idiots from destroying the town.” He chuckled, indicating Steel and Runes who had once again got lost in each other's eyes. “Besides, out here on the border my skills may finally be appreciated. I’m sick of you youngsters taking my potions for granted.” He glared at me here, causing me to shrink under his death glare.
“Okay okay! I’m sorry I didn’t appreciate your work Zende. You are a genius and deserve to be hailed as a master of your craft. May they build great statues of you from which birds will one day shit. Better?” My attempts at mollifying the zebra went unappreciated, he simply huffed and turned away. “So, when can I get out of this damn bed?” I asked Summer.
“Anytime you want. The docs kept you under a bit longer than necessary to make sure that you were fully recovered. Other than being slightly woozy you should be as good as new.”
“Brilliant, then let’s blow this popsicle stand. We have an evil corporation to take down.”
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Almost half an hour later the three of us stood at the edge of town, supplies packed ready for the trip. It had been a long and tearful goodbye, one that I had found particularly awkward. I had never been much good at saying goodbye, I mostly try to leave without having to say it.
I adjusted the satchel of supplies that Steel had given me, making sure it was comfortable against my new coat. In the tradition of all great people, I had decided to name my magical item. Whilst other people in history had given their items great or heroic names I had decided to call mine something far more meaningful to its purpose.
I had gone with the Turncoat. Not a name to inspire trust I know but the name is more literal than it is metaphorical.
I looked left and right, observing my companions. Iron had a confident stride, his back straight and chest puffed out, a grin on his face. Upon his broad back was the majority of our supplies, all kept in a oversized backpack. To my right Summer had a pair of saddlebags nestled across her back, her face looking up at me with a smile.
“Maneapolis?” She asked.
“Maneapolis.” I confirmed, taking my first step towards adventure, my friends by my side.