//------------------------------// // Ch. 3: Holy Spirit // Story: Fill 'er up! Straight! // by TundraStanza //------------------------------// Holy Spirit --- I literally have no idea what I'm doing. Well, that's not entirely true. Physically, I know that I am trotting back to the house that I was dragged from earlier. I have to know that Piña Colada is okay. She's Berry Punch's little sister if I recall correctly. The least I can do is make sure she's safe. But metaphysically, I have no idea what my next move is. Twilight Sparkle is galloping off to who-knows-where to figure out how to find the newly formed Berryshine. I'm glad that she already cleared me to pass the guards outside the holding cell. I want to follow her, but I'm no Element of Harmony. The downside to being in the body of a background pony is the fact that they're usually in the way of the important events. So first things first, I decide, Go check on Berry Punch's sister. With a short-term goal in reach, I quicken my pace until I'm standing in front of the door that I remember getting pulled out of. I'm not even bothered that my hoof can turn the doorknob so easily as I enter the house. I hear someone sniffling. "Piña?" I call out. The sniffling stops and a familiar filly scampers into view. "Sis!" wails Piña Colada. Tears are streaming on either side of her face. She runs up and embraces me. "Oh, Big Sis," she sniffs, "I was so worried." "Shhh," I exhale. I gently stroke her mane. It seems like the right thing to do at the time. "There, there," I quietly say. It takes a few minutes, but I think I manage to finally calm her down. "What happened, Sis?" she inquires, "Where did those guards take you? Why?" I have to break the news to her eventually. I take a deep breath and let it out before I start to tell her. "Piña, what I have to say is going to be long and a bit confusing," I say as gently as possible, "Can you listen without interrupting until I tell you that I'm done?" "Mm-hm," she nods as I wipe away some of her tears. "All right," I affirm, "The first thing I have to say is that I'm not your sister. I'm the pony that you found asleep earlier today." I can see her tense up a bit at the statement, but she nods for me to continue. "The guards took your sister and I over to the holding cell for testing, under the suspicion that one of us was a changeling." Again, she shivers but she isn't running away. That's a good sign... I think. "Twilight Sparkle came in and tried some sort of spell to scan us. I guess it was a 'true identity' spell of sorts. When she used it on me nothing happened." I'm not sure, but I think Piña Colada relaxes ever so slightly knowing that I'm not a changeling. "When she used it on your sister, however, something neither of us expected happened." Now she's tense again and her eyes stare at me in anticipation. "Berry Punch..." I pause because I still don't believe it, "She turned into a unicorn and teleported out of there." Piña Colada opens her mouth in shock. Yeah, that is a perfect reenactment of my earlier reaction. "So, Twilight ran off saying that she needed to find her and I came back to make sure you were okay," I finish. She's still silent. Maybe she's expecting a Berry Punchline. (I mentally facepalm at my brain's pun.) "Okay, I'm done," I let her know. She closes her mouth, but her eyes are still staring in shock. "My sister..." she pauses, "is a unicorn?" "Yeah," I affirm as I reach up a hoof to scratch my neck. "And... she's out there somewhere... all alone." I can see her shaking. I want to help her, but I don't know how. Although, I'm beaten to the punch by her initiative. Piña shakes the water from her eyes and stomps a hoof. Her eyes take a narrow, determined expression. "I'm going to find my sister," she decides. She starts to trot toward the door. "Wait!" I lift a hoof in her direction as I shout. She stops and turns her head to look at me, but I can see it in her eyes. She's all set to go and no pony is going to convince her otherwise. What can I say to her? I mentally ask myself, 'It's too dangerous'? 'You're too young'? 'You shouldn't go'? Finally, my mouth decides automatically what to say. "I'm going with you." What?! Why? "I feel partially responsible for her arrest," I reason, "I want to make it up to you two. The least I can do is help you find your sister." You're crazy. I ignore my argumentative thoughts and await Piña Colada's response. "All right," she nods, "Thank you." So this is it then. A filly's journey to find her sister begins. Traveling with her is her assistant that looks just like her sister. What obstacles lie in her path? What odds does she face? They are no matter. Look out world! Here comes Piña Colada! *Gurgle* Gurgle? I raise an eyebrow in confusion. Piña blushes slightly and avoids eye contact with me. "Was that your stomach?" I ask innocently. She nods slowly still not looking at me. *Urgle* I feel the rumbling in my tummy too. I guess it has been quite a bit of time since I last ate. Upon hearing my stomach growling, Piña and I share a few chuckles. "Let's get something to eat," she suggests as she goes further inside the house. "Sounds good. Sounds good," I concur as I follow along behind her. As if reflecting the cutie marks of this house's residents, I see Piña take out a coconut and a bunch of grapes from her refrigerator. I shrug off the irony by telling myself that I've seen weirder things happen today. Seriously, Berry Punch turning into Berryshine? Who (besides Pinkie Pie or Discord) can top that? I have my fill of coconut milk and pre-wine, juice sacs and let out a satisfied belch. Though, I quickly launch a hoof to cover my mouth. "Excuse me," I mumble. Wouldn't want to be a bad influence on my little sister, I think before double-tracking my thoughts, Wait... my little sister? What am I saying? She's not my sister. A slightly higher pitched burp interrupts my train of thought. "Excuse me," chuckles Piña Colada. I can't help but smile as well. --- ~Just eat it (Eat it) Eat it (Eat it) Don't you make me repeat it Have a banana Have a whole bunch It doesn't matter what you had for lunch Just eat it~ --- Now that lunch is over, our journey can begin. Youngest adventurer since the Cutie Mark Crusaders, Piña Colada bravely marches out the door. I make it my responsibility to accompany her in her quest. It is a quest that will quite possibly change the course of progress for all of Equestria. It may be the difference between some pony's life or death. We are going to search for her sister Berry Punch. What are you doing? Uh, I'm narrating the course of events. Dramatic narration is so last year. Humph. My logical mind takes away all of the fun. It's what I do best. Actually, the little filly scampers a bit in front of the house. It's at this moment that a rather important detail comes to mind. "Where do we even begin looking?" I ask. In a way, I'm directing the question at both of us. Piña stops in her tracks and turns to look at me with genuine surprise. It didn't occur to her either until just now. We really don't have a good starting point for this impromptu search party. "Um," she puts a hoof to her chin before putting it back down, "Hmm." I look down at the ground and then up to the partly cloudy sky. I'm trying to get my thinking juices flowing. But there's no such luck, at least not for me. "Hey!" Piña exclaims, "Why don't we go check with that Miss Twilight? She was with you when Sis disappeared, right? She might have a clue!" That... I think, Actually sounds like a good idea. Why didn't I think of that before?" I nod, "Okay, can you lead the way to the library?" "Sure!" she replies. With that Eureka moment, she's off running again. I do my best to keep up. Even though I'm used to traveling on four legs, I'm still breathing heavily as I gallop. --- After a few turns and straightaways, the giant tree with doors and windows is within eyesight. Just in front of the place, I stop to catch my breath. Am I really that out of shape? Piña Colada trots on up and knocks on the lower door. A couple seconds pass before the door opens as one piece. (How does a three-sectioned door open as one unit?) "Can I help you?" asks the guy I immediately recognize as Spike. "Is Miss Twilight here?" asks Piña. "Yeah, but she's kind of busy right now," he answers. "This won't take long at all. I promise," she smiles sweetly. "Well... all right," he decides as he opens the door fully, "Come on in." "Let's go, Berry!" she calls to me. In between heavy breaths, I nod and trot in after her. The slightly cooler atmosphere of indoor air helps to relieve some of my fatigue. As I take a panning look through the library that doubles as a house, I let out a short, quick whistle. This place is bigger on the inside then it is on the outside. My slow gaze around the room is halted when I catch the sight of Twilight Sparkle. She is darting her eyes back and forth between two books. I doubt she even realizes that any pony came in. "Miss Twilight?" chirps Piña Colada. "Do you have a minute?" I add. The book on Twilight's left drops as she looks up in surprise. "Oh... it's you," she coughs as she recognizes me from earlier today. She clears her throat before asking, "What brings you here?" Piña wastes no time in getting to the point, "You were one of the last ponies to see my sister before she disappeared. Do you know where she is?" "Um," Twilight visibly sweats a little, "Isn't that her over there?" She points a hoof in my direction. To this, I answer her with a shake of my head. "No," I reply, "She's talking about the unicorn that teleported away." "That wasn't Berry Punch," Twilight insists, "I don't know who that unicorn was." "I'm afraid that was the real one," I retort, "because I'm not." "But...but, you have to be the real Berry Punch!" she stammers, "Otherwise my guise breaker spell would have revealed your true form. I've been in Ponyville long enough to know who is an earth pony." "Does that 'guise breaker' spell work on humans?" I deadpan. "Well, no. Humans are immune to magic. But what does that have to do with anything?" she looks at me funny. I sigh, "That would explain why I didn't feel your spell do anything to me." "What do you mean?" pipes in Piña. "A couple days ago," I exposit, "I was a human being. After I had one too many, I woke up the next day in this form. Today, I woke up in Equestria." Twilight starts mumbling but at a volume I can still hear her say, "The only magic that can work on a human is by way of the spirits." "What?" ask Piña and I. She's confused while I'm shocked. "There's an old story lost in the pages of Predictions and Prophecies that speaks of the select few humans that can enter Equestria," Twilight elaborates, "It speaks of how the demon-possessed beverages will cause most to feel pain, suffering, amnesia, and depression. But three shall be chosen by the pure-spirited liquids to access the peaceful haven." This is rather thorough, I think with eyes wide open, and a bit too convenient. "I think I might of made a mistake trying to use additional magic on you during that interrogation," she continues while taking a seat in regret, "My spell may have attached to the spirits that had given you your new body and accidentally channeled them into the other Berry Punch." At this point, she laments, "Oh, what have I done?" I don't know what you've done, Twilight. In fact, I'm still trying to wrap my head around the fact that you've conveniently already read about something regarding how I got here in the first place. Plus, the prophecy says 'three' shall be chosen. In that case, who are the other two? Not to mention, what is the connection between the spirits that are drinks and the spirits that are more... mystical? Is that sort of magic all it takes to change a natural born earth pony into a unicorn? Confound these ponies. They drive me to... I stop that train of thought with, Nah, it's too easy. "So..." interjects Piña Colada reminding us of her existence, "Is there any way to find my sister?" "Yes," Twilight stands up with a sort of restored determination, "I believe there is. I decided to study the contents of this book full of different locator spells. This one here..." she taps a page in her levitating hold, "is complicated, but it should be enough to at least move in the right direction." "What's it do?" I ask. "By focusing on the essence of a pony's hair," Twilight explains, "it should provide a real-time guide to the owner's location." "Where are we going to one of Big Sis's hairs?" inquires Piña. "From right here!" grins Twilight as I suddenly feel a quick and irritating yank. "Ow!" I yelp. In Twilight's magical hold floats a lock of hair from the mane that rests on my head. "Won't that just point back to me?" I inquire while rubbing my head on the sore spot. "It shouldn't," disagrees Twilight, "You're not the original owner of that mane." "How does the spell tell the difference?" asks Piña for me. "Because magic is finicky and intelligent like that," Twilight answers cryptically. Unicorns and their magic, I mentally groan as I shake my head. The hair seems to float in the magenta aura that is Twilight's magic. She closes her eyes and starts to focus. At least, I think she's focusing. Her teeth are clenched and she's letting out sounds of struggling from her mouth. Soon the hair is spinning around rapidly. After what counts as ten seconds, it slightly puffs out like an arrow. It points in the direction of the door that Spike is still holding open. Sorry, Spike. This wasn't as quick as we thought it would be. "I've got a lock!" Twilight determines, "She's twenty-point-three-four kilometers that way!" "Really?" asks Piña Colada, "Great! Let's go!" I'm about to question the feasibility of traversing that distance without a plan. Before I can even form a word, Twilight and Piña are already galloping through the door. The former makes a quick request for Spike to look after the house while we're gone. Sighing in defeat, I run to catch up with the other two ponies. Why are they always running? When this is all over and done with, I think, I'm getting a margarita. For some unexplainable reason, my right hoof lifts up while I'm still galloping and smacks my cheek. I blink a few times as it returns to running with the rest of my legs. "What just happened?" I ask no one in particular. And I quote, "If I ever ask for more than one refill of ale again, I'm going to slap myself so hard that I'll still feel the pain of that slap ten years later." "I wasn't wishing for a refill!" I argue with my mind, "That was a plan for just one drink." Sure it was. I hear the sarcasm dripping from my thoughts. Sometimes, I am my own worst enemy.