//------------------------------// // Chapter 13: The Voodoo That She... Did // Story: Life in Another Pony's Hooves // by HonorBound //------------------------------// I awoke with a start, going from lying flat to a full sitting position in less than a second. Gasping for air like it was a valuable commodity; I took note of my continued existence. Holy hell! I’m alive!? I examined my hooves and the white coat that was attached to my skin. Sweat covered my body like I had just suffered from a fever induced nightmare and the only way to wake me up was dumping a bucket of cold water on me. I raised my hooves over my head in a show of victory. And I’m still a pony! So… did I just dream all that then? I asked myself with a hoof to my chin in thought. Hey Blueblood, you’re a total douche-bag. … Huh. Nothing. That couldn’t of been a dream, though. That pain felt too real to be a dream, so what happened to Blueblood? For the first time since regaining consciousness, I decided to discover where I was and examine my surroundings. It looked like I was in some form of hovel. There were candles burning in alcoves that dotted the walls of my room. On the shelves were many bottles of different designs and colors. What space was left was designated for random masks that hung on the walls in a manner that gave the illusion that they were all looking back at me. Well considering I’m still a pony, there’s only one place I could really be. “Hi yah, Honor!” shouted a pink blur of pony that jumped into my vision at an angle that defied all logic and physics. “Holy Hell!” I exclaimed in startled surprise. In my pursuit to distance myself from my hyperactive assailant, I found myself losing balance, and falling off of my makeshift sleeping cot. Pain was instantly reintegrated into my noggin when I hit my head on the hard dirt floor. Is it too much to ask to be able to get out of bed without actually falling out of bed? Pinkie Pie loomed over my prone form and proceeded to babble on. “I’m so glad you’re awake. We all saw the princesses levitate you out of Twilight’s room all unconscious and unmoving, and Twilight was all tired with tears in her eyes, and we were all ‘gasp, what did you do?’ but you were out (not that that mattered too much, as you didn’t do anything bad) because what kind of love interest would you be if you did something like that? A bad one, that’s what, and you’re not a bad pony, because I know you, and I don’t know any bad ponies, so that means you’re not a bad pony, so something else must of happened, but what? The princesses told us that you were sick and needed immediate help, but didn’t go into any more details before leaving for some reason, so the girls and I turned to Twilight for answers. She didn’t tell us much, but she explained that the only way to save your life was to…” The door to my makeshift bedroom burst open and an enraged zebra marched in. “If I find you in here, Pinkie Pie, I swear to Celestia you will die!” The zebra stopped her tirade to blink a couple of times at me, and then composed herself. “Ah, it is good to see you are awake; I was unsure how much more of Pinkie I could take.” She continued to approach as she introduced herself. “Zecora, is the name I go by, I think you already know of Pinkie Pie.” “Yeparoonie!” Pinkie confirmed. “We’re great pals. He came to Ponyville yesterday, and then we partied and he made friends with my friends so now we’re all friends, and now you’ve met, and now you’re friends, so everypony’s friends! Isn’t that great?” “Um… yeah, we know each other.” I admitted to Zecora, giving a side glance to Pinkie who was nodding her head in an exaggerated manner. “Pinkie is a wonderful friend, one that I would gladly defend. She may be odd and generally insane, but she does not do so to be a pain. Now let us see how you are doing, let’s hope nothing foul is brewing.” The zebra closed in and began to examine me by looking deep into my eyes. “Are you feeling well?” she asked. “Please, do feel free to tell. I know many cures and remedies, though not all are taken with ease.” I looked from the rhyming zebra to Pinkie Pie and back again. “Um… I feel fine actually, but what happened to Blueblood?” Then I thought a bit more about what was more important to me. “Where’s Twilight?” I demanded maybe a little too forcefully. “Please calm down, all is alright. In the other room you will find Twilight. All her friends are here to keep her calm; you would almost think she was your mom. I don’t think she is having any fun, but you can go see her once we are done. Not all is lost, so there’s no need to pout. Now, could you please stick your tongue out?” “So, what happened?” I asked after she was finished looking into my mouth. “The last thing I remember is Blueblood going in for the kill and passing out.” “Twilight is the one you should ask. Now, please, let me finish my task.” The zebra focused her examination on various areas of my skull, only stopping when she came to my horn. “It would seem the entity has been suppressed, though this isn’t the end of your quest. He still looms in the darkest part of your pony mind. To be rid of him fully, there is something you must find. Twilight has explained to me your plea, and you should find what you need in the Everfree.” “What in Sam Hill is goin’ on here?” demanded an orange cowpony who apparently just entered the room. “Ya’ll are bein’ too loud for Honor to get his… Oh! Ya’ll are awake.” She turned her head back and called out, “Hay ya’ll, Honor’s awake! We can come see ‘im now.” Each of the remaining main six came rushing past Applejack in an attempt to see how I was doing. The first to arrive at my side was dear Twilight Sparkle, even pushing her way past Rainbow Dash in a frenzy to make sure I was well. “Are you alright? Are you… you? Is he gone? Please tell me I was able to save you in time.” I was touched that she was so worried about me. Even after all that happened in the library, she still worried about me. “Easy Twi, I’m alright. I’m still me.” I tried to comfort her. The purple mare visibly relaxed, and then, without warning, she punched me in the face with as much force as she could muster. “Good! Don’t you ever do something like that to me ever again. You stupid, stubborn human.” Rarity gasped. “Twilight! I realize you’re upset, but you shouldn’t resort to violence, nor should you call our prince names that none of us understand.” the white mare scolded. Rubbing the spot that Twilight had struck, I gave Rarity a confused look, and then moved the look over to Twilight. “You didn’t tell them?” I asked. “Tell us what, darling?” asked the white unicorn. “It wasn’t my place to tell them. It’s yours.” Twilight said in a condescending voice. “What are ya’ll talkin’ about?” asked the apple farmer. With a sigh of resignation, I decided to come clean now. Might as well tell them now, and get it over with. “I’m not exactly who I said I was.” I explained. There was a cacophony of (what!)s and (huh?)s in the group before everypony broke out into their own triad of questions and assumptions. “Ya mean ta tell us that ya’ll lied to us?” asked Applejack. “I knew it! I knew you were a spy! I knew it, and you still got me to trust you.” Rainbow Dash groaned in frustration. “I can’t believe I started to trust you.” she berated herself. “So, you’re not a prince?” Rarity started out a little depressed, but shortly changed her tone to be a bit more peeved. “You just said it to try to woo me, didn’t you? Well, I never! See if I ever give you the time of day again!” she exclaimed, turning her back to me. “Then who are you?” Fluttershy mumbled out, but was somehow heard by all of her friends in the room over the racket they were making. All eyes were on me for my answer. Well, here goes. “Well… I’m actually a creature from another dimension called a human, which Celestia saw fit to exchange minds with Blueblood. She did this, so he couldn’t bring harm to her or her sister ever again. Sadly, Blueblood out-thought them, and is now rattling around in my head and is trying to retake his body to enact his revenge on the princesses.” I explained. “All at the cost of my own existence, I might add.” All of the ponies looked at me in stone silence. After a few moments my explanation was met by a couple of different reactions. Rainbow Dash was the first to do something. That something was to completely burst out into laughter and fall over on her side. “Bahahaha. Oh Luna, oh wow.” she gasped. “That’s the funniest thing I’ve heard since Pinkie Pie said she was going on a diet!” “Do ya’ll expect us ta believe that?” Applejack asked. “Yeah, imagine my surprise when Pinkie only ate three whole cakes that day.” Rainbow proclaimed. “Hay! I’ll have you know; that diet worked wonders for my physique.” Pinkie pouted. And with that comment, Dash deteriorated into even more fits of laughter, clutching her sides in an effort to relieve the pain forming in her chest from not being able to breathe. “Ah was talken’ bout Honor, Rainbow.” Applejack deadpanned. Rarity decided, then, to put her two cents into the mix. “Why would you fabricate such a tale?” she asked. “Were we not meant for each other? Is this your way of telling me off? Was I not pretty enough? That’s it, isn’t it? I’m not pretty.” Rarity sniffed in an effort to hold back her tears. “You think I’m uglyyyyyy!” she wailed. Fluttershy rubbed the white fashionista’s back in a vain attempt to calm her down. Zecora and Twilight were the only ones not adding to the chaos in the room. However, it was Twilight’s words that eventually ended the cacophony of voices. “Everypony, what he said is true.” she stated. The room grew quiet while everyone contemplated what that meant, until Pinkie Pie spoke up. “Well, duh. Of course he was telling the truth, I mean, why wouldn’t he be telling the truth? He almost died last night because of that mean old Blueblood. Isn’t that proof enough?” All eyes were on Pinkie, confusion and astonishment on all our faces. “What?” she asked with an innocent tone only a child would normally be capable of. “Yeah, that reminds me. Twilight? How am I still alive?” I asked. “Blueblood was in the process on snuffing me out before I lost consciousness. What happened?” Twilight cleared her throat for her explanation, and opened her mouth to respond, but was beaten to it by the hyperactive pink pony in the room. “Oh! Oh! I know! I know!” Pinkie shouted as she waved one of her hooves in the air like she was a filly in school. “Thank ya kindly Pinkie, but maybe it’s best if Twilight tells us.” The apple farmer motioned for Twilight to begin her tale while the party pony groaned in disappointment. “Go on, sugar cube. Tell us what happened.” The librarian cleared her throat once more, and began to speak. “Well, after Honor declared that he would rather die than return to his dimension, I was left with few options. Time was short, and I didn’t know how to remove Blueblood before he destroyed Honor’s mind. Once Blueblood began actively hurting Honor, I had I fit of inspiration. I needed to stop time.” Twilight stated matter-of-factly. There was a collective groan from the bearers of the Elements of Harmony. “What?” Twilight asked. “Hehehahaha, that’s what you wanted to do when you thought the world was going to end.” Pinkie giggled. “So? It’s a practical short term solution to increase productivity in solving the problem outright.” Twilight stated. “Huh?” asked the group of ponies in unison. “It gives her more time to act.” I stated. Not being satisfied with that explanation, I continued over the murmurs of understanding from the other ponies in the room. “Though, I didn’t think that was possible. Even time travel has its rules that need to be followed. How were you able to stop time, while preventing yourself from being affected?” I asked, calling forth all of my knowledge of sci fi materials, and what happened in the ‘It’s About Time’ episode of the show. “Um… yes, that’s true.” The purple mare answered, giving me a curious look. “Time magic is difficult to actually cast. After an incident with my first time spell, I became interested in learning how to stop time.” “More like obsessed.” Rainbow Dash deadpanned. Twilight ignored her friend’s jab and continued on. “Lucky for you, there was a scroll in the deepest parts of the Star Swirl the Bearded wing of the Cantorlot Archives that explained how to stop time in a localized area. The tricky part was to figure out how to move the field along with your body at the same time.” “Okay, but that doesn’t explain what happened to Blueblood.” I stated. “I believe I can answer your question, if only so we can continue on our story’s progression.” stated the only zebra in the room. “Twilight came to me in the dead of the night; in a frenzy, she explained to me her plight. About the two souls that inhabit this pony we see, and his determination in not wanting to flee. I explained I could not help her fully, that what she needed would not come easily.” “So what happened? Ain't he alright? He seems fine now.” asked Applejack. “I did not intend to cause any confusion, what I did was create a short term solution. I created a potion specifically designed to target the unused places of the pony mind.” “You gave me brain damage!?!” I exclaimed in worry. “By Celestia’s good grace, that is hardly the case! There has been no damage to your brain, so please, allow me to explain.” I calmed down a little, and allowed her to continue with her story. “The pony mind is a complicated thing. I did not make my decision on a fling. I used a plant called Orchidinary. It helps make things more ordinary.” “Huh?” I eloquently asked. Twilight rolled her eyes. “While Blueblood was awake, the dormant parts of your mind were in constant use. Being that is not supposed to naturally occur, the potion that Zacora made reverted those parts of your mind to being dormant once more.” she explained. “That was well said, though I am surprised that he is not dead. The potion that he had taken was meant for him to also waken. If he did not wake by the end of today I would have thought that is how he would stay. Honor Bound, you are surly blessed, because the pony named Blueblood was successfully suppressed. Now here we are; no worse for wear. Though there is an announcement that I must declare. “What is done is not permanent. Pardon, I do not intend for this to be a determinant. All is well for a while. You have some time before things become hostile. Do not fret, there is a way in keeping this Blueblood away.” As Zecora spoke, she took some green powder from a small sack that hung from her neck, and blew it into the air in a dramatic fashion. The green mist turned and morphed, changing into the scenes that she soon described. “Past the mountains and caves; over rivers and forgotten graves, there is a temple both old and vast, something long forgotten from tales long past.” “OOoooooo, spooky!” Pinkie Pie chirped as she edged closer to me. Inexplicably, she held a bucket of popcorn in her hooves. Noticing that I was staring at her snack, she assumed I wanted some and offered it to me in a show of generosity. “You want some?” she asked. “Um… sure.” I answered as I reached in and ate some of the overwhelmingly sugary popcorn. The zebra witchdoctor continued her tale, completely ignoring Pinkie’s antics. “Deep in the temple most mysterious, there is an artifact that’s very curious. To prevent you from having a relapse, you may have to deal with some traps. I know this is not a simple stroll, but it’s worth it for a gem that can manipulate a soul.” “Whoa, whoa, whoa. Why is there a gem that’s capable of manipulating a pony’s soul? Not only that, but why is it just sitting in an abandoned temple in the middle of nowhere?” I asked in utter befuddlement. “That just seems incredibly irresponsible to me.” “I do not know the answer you seek, but this is the best choice to keep your future from being bleak. I am sure your friends will help you with this task, all you will have to do is ask.” she said, gesturing to the ponies in the room. I looked over to the mares in question. The popcorn Pinkie was holding, not a moment ago, was gone and she was waiting patiently for me to ask her and her friends for their help. Well… as patiently as Pinkie Pie could wait at least. Pinkie’s legs may not have been moving but she was somehow still jumping up and down in anticipation. Something everyone else seemed to ignore for their own well being. “Um… do you want to help me with…” I couldn’t finish my question before Pinkie jumped in and shouted, “YES! Oh this’ll be so much fun. We can all sing and tell stories while on our search.” Pinkie paused for just a moment before she gasped at some realization. “I can make this a search party! Oh, I’ve never organized one of those. I’ll need cake and punch and confetti, (You can never have enough confetti) and mmffmffff.” Pinkie was silenced once more with my hoof in her mouth. I’m beginning to wonder if she likes ponies shoving their hooves in her mouth. “Pinkie, a search party is something else entirely, and it’s usually not a good thing.” I commented as I removed my hoof. “Not that kind of search party.” She stated. “That kind is sad, this one is an adventure! Adventures are fun! This’ll be fun! Right girls?” “Sure as sugar, don’t worry Honor. You’ll have me along for any heavy liftin’.” affirmed Applejack. “It can’t be called an adventure without the fastest flier in all of Equestria, can it?” Rainbow Dash both agreed and boasted. “I shall accompany you.” Rarity stated. “After all, if there is a gem of that kind of power, then it just has to be gorgeous!” she sat for a moment until she realized that all her friends were glaring at her. “Of course I’m only going because my ability to find gemstones will be most advantageous to have, would it not?” Rarity tried to save face. The other mares clearly didn’t buy it, but they let it slide to prevent an argument. “And Fluttershy should come because we might run into a wild animal out in the Everfree.” Dash offered. The yellow mare in question made a loud, “Eep!” and huddled into as small of a ball as possible, while she hid behind her mane. To everyone’s surprise, she withdrew herself shortly after without any encouragement from anyone, and answered, “Um… I..I guess I c..could help… i..if you really wanted me to.” “Really?” I asked. “You don’t have to if you don’t want to.” I’m not one to force someone to do something they don’t want to do, especially Fluttershy. “I.. I’m sure. I.. I need to learn to be more a..assertive.” she stuttered. “Thanks. I’m sure things will be a little easier with you here.” I tried to comfort. The last pony was the one that mattered most to me. She was sitting behind her friends glaring at me. “You seriously expect us to just pack up, and risk our lives in the Everfree for some creature that we don’t really know?” she asked. She’s still on this? Okay, maybe I can tempt her with something. “Um… if you come along I can tell you about my world.” I answered. “And why should I care?” she demanded stubbornly. “Because, my people are easily more technologically advanced than you are.” I offered with the one thing I knew she couldn’t resist. Science! This got the reaction that I was looking for. Twilight gave a girlish squee and began bouncing around me in glee, repeatedly shouting, “Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes!” Zecora watched Twilight and I interact from a distance. She rolled her eyes at what she saw. “You know? I no longer care about your doom. Why don’t you two go find a room?” she stated in all seriousness. That got Twilight to stop hopping around and blush profusely. I was blushing slightly as well, but I didn’t mind the jab at all. Her friends only paused to take in what the zebra just said before bursting out laughing along with Zecora. Shortly after, I began chuckling as well, followed by Twilight a little later. Good feelings were had by all. It was what we really needed at this point. This wasn’t the way I wanted to tell everypony about myself, but as I looked around at all the happy and smiling faces surrounding me, it seemed that everything might just work out for the best after all. Once the sun came up, we would begin our trek through the Everfree Forest. Little did we know, this little adventure would change our lives forever.