//------------------------------// // the Fourth Chapter // Story: The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Pone // by the Horse Writer //------------------------------// “Five… Six…” The rest of yesterday was quite uneventful. Well, as uneventful as it could be, given the situation. After a little walk around the town, -I was not lost!- I had returned to the cottage I was currently residing in. It had felt odd, to say the least, to reside in someone else’s home; especially so as there was no room to breathe, seeing as the homeowner most definitely liked her animals. “Seven… Eight…” Speaking of animals, I learned much about their care that afternoon. As freakishly sapient as they were, the critters still had a need for some outside help. After that repetitive yet surprisingly relaxing act, I could confidently say I had adapted to all of my new appendages. All, except one, who had continued to elude me. “Nine… And… Ten!” I collapsed on the ground, the late morning sun more than a nuance to my thirsty mouth. Luckily for me, a bottle filled with crisp, life-saving juice sat beside me. “C’mon, that was just one set!” my rainbow-haired coach called, coming down from a hover slightly above the ground. I took a long gulp of water and stood up. “Hey, you try to work out in this untrained body.” “Sure buddy,” Rainbow rolled her eyes, “Keep making excuses.” I groaned. “Ugh, Why do I even have to do this?” “Ya’ said you wanted to fly, right?” she rhetorically asked, “Well, that’s how you fly.” “But we’ve just been doing push-ups! With wings, I might add…” “Chillax, this is just the warm-up. Plus, you really do need to familiarize yourself with your wings.” She clapped her hooves once, asserting; "All right, on the ground!" I sighed, giving in to her strict orders. I was never a sports-inclined person, but when I lowered to the ground again, I swore I could understand just why do people do sports. And who knows, perhaps a little exercise would be good for my mind. *** I was wrong. Exercising is shit. I was panting heavily, my entire body aching; though the sorest part was by far my newly acquired wings. Perhaps because of my inexperience, or perhaps Fluttershy’s apparent superficial use, but the wings were hurting as all heck. Rainbow, though, did not seem to care, as the concept of a break was seemingly alien to her. That is, a break for me; I have heard much yesterday about her famous bouts of laziness. Unfortunately for me, they did not appear today. “Y’see, it’s all about this part here,” she unfurled a wing and pointed toward its base. “It's what gives your flaps power.” I simply nodded, still sweaty and aching. Although I had wanted to cut this session early, it still felt important to me to learn more about my new feathered appendages. And now, we had finally gotten to the good stuff. It was still hard to focus, though. “Welp, how about ya’ try it out?” she asked, snapping me out of my stupor. Oh, finally! I thought, energy mysteriously returning to me. I spryly lowered my stance, giving my body the stability needed for a balanced takeoff. As Rainbow had said earlier; "You're either balanced, or your flight's gone…ast." Sharply, I unfurled my wings, -still weird to say that- and slowly gave a few tentative flaps. It had felt odd, to say the least. It was similar to flapping your arms around, but… not like it at all, I suppose. "Take it easy, now," Rainbow said from the side, watching with folded arms. "Don't worry," I brazenly responded, "I've got this." Feeling confident, I lowered my wings, their tips almost reaching the ground. Slowly, I raised, then lowered, and so forth. Picking up speed, I began feeling lightweight, and suddenly- I had stopped feeling the ground. Oh my fuck, I thought giddily. I’m actually flying! “Yeah, you go!” Rainbow encouraged, raising a hoof in triumph. Nevertheless, I had forgotten in my hubris the most important lesson of all: orientation. A short twist and a bump on the head later, and Rainbow offered her hoof to me. “Pfft,” she snorted as she helped me up, “that was like watching a newborn foal try to fly!” I shot an irked look at her. “Well, let’s see you try to walk on two legs!” “I betcha I’ll be faster than you, even as a human!" I miffed at her, though it was not long before my expression lightened into giggles, which quickly became guffaws. The pegasus by my side joined shortly, and we both just merrily sat there, laughing like there was no end. The thought penetrating my mind, repeating back and forth inside my head, was crystal clear: I’ve flown! *** “And you’re sure this wouldn’t hurt?” Twilight raised her gaze from a control panel of some sort, belonging to the machine I currently stood in. “As I said before,” she began, perhaps slightly annoyed at my constant questions, “this scan is totally safe. You won’t feel a thing.” I still had my doubts, but I decided to drop them. If she says it’s fine, then it’s fine… I was still anxious, though. This apparatus was not designed to induce calm, that’s for sure. Its tube-like glass structure towered over me, with two strips of metal on opposite sides going all the way up. “All right, I think it’s calibrated.” Twilight said, “Are you ready?” “Ready as I’ll ever be.” I answered, and braced myself for whatever was coming as the unicorn pressed a button on the control panel. A high-pitched whirring filled the chamber as a previously unnoticed metal ring slowly rose from the ground. It only ascended for a few inches, however, before stopping entirely. “Is it…” I raised an eyebrow, “Supposed to do that?” Twilight seemed engrossed in the console, though she did nod in affirmation. “Yes, it’s working fine. You see, the ring is the magical scanner part of the machine.” She appeared to enter teacher mode, “It essentially works by graphing one part of your body, -a “slice”, if you will- then moving up to another slice.” I hmmed. “So kind of like an M.R.I?” Twilight simply deadpanned at me. “It is an M.R.I.,” she said. “Huh?” I was confused; aren’t M.R.I.’s those large tube magnets? I decided to clarify; “As in Magnetic Resonance Imaging?” I asked, hoping I remembered its name correctly. Now it was Twilight’s turn to be confused. “Wha- no, as in Magical Resonance Imaging.” she put a hoof to her head. “We keep finding more and more small coincidences like this.” she sighed, “Between our universes, I mean.” I simply nodded. And so, we quickly lapsed into an awkward silence. whirr… pshh… And, slowly but surely, the ring rose again. I groaned; “Ugh, how long is this gonna take?” “It should be pretty quick, overall.” Twilight answered, “No more than fifteen minutes.” It seemed that my small quip revitalized the conversation, as Twilight began talking; “So… I heard Dash taught you some flying?” I was slightly surprised; “How did you know that? We’ve done it just this morning!” “Oh, Ponyville’s a small town.” Twilight giggled, “News travels fast around here.” “Huh. Can’t say I’m used to such a small town. I lived my entire life in the city, y’see.” whirr… pshh… “I have to sympathize with you, really.” she smiled, “I’m a born canterlotian myself!” she proudly said. I stayed silent, shaking my head in acknowledgment. It was then that I tried to recall, what was that she asked me again? Oh, right, I remembered. “Anyways, yeah, I met up with Rainbow earlier. She attempted to show me how to use my wings, and such.” Twilight brightened. “Oh, it’s good to hear you try to make the best of your situation!” “Eh, it isn’t like I managed to actually fly.” I toned her down, “Just managed to flop around, that’s all.” Though I do have to admit I’m proud of even this little. But I’ll never tell her that… “Don’t underplay yourself like that,” the unicorn reassured. whirr… pshh… The ring was now up to my midsection. Twilight lit up as she returned to the console, seemingly excited about… something. “Oooh, the first results should come in now…” she pressed a few buttons on the control panel, and suddenly, a long paper with many graphs and numbers emerged from a slit in the console. Twilight furrowed her brow. “I think…” she trailed off, “I think that’s normal…” she put the paper down. “Wait here, I’ll go fetch a control output.” Not like I can go anywhere… I grumpily thought as I watched her go to a cabinet on the other side of the room. With Twilight gone for the moment, I was left alone with my thoughts. At least that’s something I’m used to. whirr… pshh… And the constant, looming presence of the ring did not help. I can’t place exactly why I felt wary of this ring. Perhaps because of its slow yet nonstop ascent; perhaps because it's nearly at my eye level. I could only just speculate. “Aha!” came a cry from the other side of the room, shaking me from my thoughts. “You found it?” I called. “Sure did, though it was a struggle..” Twilight returned, and then, under her breath; “I should organize this place sometime…” I let her quip pass. “So, how is it?” Twilight grabbed the previous output, -my output- and placed them side by side. A few seconds of comparing data later, Twilight nodded. “Yep, just as I thought. All normal so far.” I released a breath I hadn’t realized I had. “Phew, that’s good.” then, “That is good, right?” Twilight placed a hoof on her chin. “Well, it means that you are probably safe, at least magically speaking.” “I sense a ‘but’ there.” “But it also means that we still have no idea what is the cause of all this.” All of sudden, Twilight facepalmed -facehooved?- “Wait, the scan’s not complete yet.” she said, “There is still a chance that something would pop up.” “Oh, yeah.” I was somewhat conflicted about this; would I want something to show, even if it meant there was a chance of endangering me and the body I was residing in? It was silent for a few moments before I began talking; “Soo… How much time is left until it’s finished?” Twilight thought for a second. “Well, there are two slices left, and each one’s about two minutes, so not long.” she then gazed at the console, “In fact, the next slice should start right now!” And just in time, I had heard the now-familiar sound emanating from around me, as the ring grew to cover my head. whirr… psh- “Gah!” Fuck! Searing white pain erupted from my brain and swallowed me whole. I quickly felt my legs give away, as all my senses seemed dull and far away. Through fluttering eyes, I could see Twilight frozen in shock, then dashing to the console. The door opened, though I was only somewhat aware of my surroundings now. “Dave!” Twilight called, “Are you alright?” “Twilight, you lying fucktard...“ I quietly croaked, before fading to unconsciousness. In retrospect, I am very glad she hadn’t heard what I said. *** The world was dark; I had little energy to care, though. I felt as though I had just slept for centuries, and simultaneously pulled two all-nighters. Coming to, my brain had begun to realize that it was not, in fact, unconscious anymore. I could feel I was on my side, resting on something soft, even if the knowledge of what exactly that something is was lacking. The next feeling that returned to me was from my arm, which had become numb from being rested on. Almost unconsciously, I had rolled over, freeing my arm from its confinement. My movement had not gotten unnoticed, however. “Look, Twi, He’s awake!” came a voice from too close to me, making me slightly flinch. Staccato hoofsteps introduced themselves to the mix of senses in my waking mind. Resigning, I tiredly open my eyes. Through half-lidded eyelids, I saw the unicorn my stirring mind recognized as Twilight, approaching me. “Dave! are you okay?” she worriedly asked, as she sat down on the floor next to me. I simply groaned in response. “Augh…” I drowsily sat up on the cushioned object I found myself on. “Urm… I guess?” I answered, “Kinda nauseous, though.” I took in the room I was currently in. It was the library’s familiar first floor, the low sun from behind the window signifying it was late afternoon. Damn, must have been out of it for a few hours… I noticed I was on a beanbag, Twilight and Spike sitting beside me. They both looked quite worried, and, probably freshly so, relieved. “Oh, that’s good to hear. I think.” Twilight's brow furrowed. “Do you need a bucket?” I shook my head. “I’m not that queasy.” I coughed. “On second thought, some water would be fine, if you could.” “Oh, sure!” Twilight smiled and nudged Spike, who stared at her for a moment before conceding. “Ugh, fine…” he muttered before he stood up and stepped over to the kitchen. “So,” I began, “what happened, exactly?” The unicorn rubbed the back of her head. “I’m not too sure, to be frank.” she pondered over the question, “When the scanner reached your head, you just, kind of, lost consciousness. It seemed like you were in pain, too.” “Yeah, I remember this part.” I had decided not to mention how unexpectedly painful it was. “No memory loss, I see. That’s good.” Twilight said. Just as she was about to continue, however, Spike emerged from the kitchen, holding a jug of water and some cups in his claws. The dragon sat beside Twilight and me, and placed down his carried objects. “Thanks, Spike,” I said, and poured myself a glass of water. Ah, as good as 3 am water, I thought as I relished the feeling of the cold water hitting my parched throat. I nodded to Twilight, signaling her to carry on. “Anyways,” Twilight continued, “after Spike and I made sure you were fine, I checked the scanner. You see, although I aborted it when you collapsed, it has still managed to scan some part of your brain. And more importantly, it has outputted what it scanned.” “And what I found… Well…” Twilight’s expression grew grim, “I’m not sure how to say it lightly…” I quickly became worried. “Just… You can just say it. Trust me.” She sighed. “Well, alright. You…” she hesitated, then, “...Have chaos magic in you.” My worry was hastily replaced by confusion. “Is this supposed to mean anything to me?” I raised an eyebrow. Twilight chuckled, more from nervousness than relief. “Sorry, sorry. “It is an untame form of magic,” she explained, “Not much is known about how it functions, seeing as it's a forbidden class of magic. It is known, however, that nothing good comes out of it.” I placed a hoof to my mouth. “Should I be worried?” I questioned. “You should be on your guard,” Twilight said, “but I’m not sure if you need to be worried, you understand?” I nodded. “Huh. You think that’s why I fainted just now?” “It’s likely the case, seeing as chaos magic is unstable.” she put a hoof to her chin, “When I think about it, it’s probably the reason you are here in the first place!” Twilight sighed again, seemingly exasperated. “What I don’t get is just how and why it entered you.” I thought for a moment, then, “Well, it must have been in Fluttershy’s mind before I came here, right?” at Twilight’s nod, I continued; “I mean, have there been any major incidents involving chaos magic?” Twilight pondered on my question for but a second, before facepalming. “Duh, Discord!” “Who?” “Discord, Big bad guy. The ‘Lord of Chaos’, as he calls himself.” she said, “But it couldn’t have laid dormant for two months, could it?” Oh, my. What was that? I confusedly thought, before shrugging it off. There are more important matters at hand than some odd voice I imagined. “Unless you’ve got a better idea, it seems it could have stayed there for so long,” I replied. Twilight seemed to calm down from the frenzy she got into. “Yes, I suppose so,” she said. “Still, something is missing…” We both lapsed into silence. Mulling over the new information, I gazed at the seat Spike took, -whom, I’d admit, I kinda forgot about- when I realized he was gone. Looking around, I noticed him sitting in a corner, reading a comic of some kind. Heh, I remember my comic book phase, I smiled. With the little cheer-me-up past, I quipped; “Well, at least we’ve got a lead. And a good one at that.” Twilight hummed in agreement. Twilight had begun to say something, but I found my thoughts distracted by another voice; Twilight! Twilight! Okay, what? I definitely couldn't have imagined that! “...So I believe that it-” “Sorry to interrupt, but did you hear that?” I asked, slightly worried that I was going insane. Twilight raised an eyebrow. “Hear what?” “I don’t know, there was a…” I began saying, before trailing off due to… well… You… You can hear me? My eyes opened in fright. “Um… Yes?...” “Are you alright?” Twilight worriedly asked, though I couldn’t hear her, as the voice in my mind spoke again. Oh, thank Celestia… The voice seemed familiar, though try as I might, I couldn’t put my finger on why. Urm… Can I ask, um… who are you? and why can’t I move? And that’s when the coin dropped. “Wait, Fluttershy?!”