//------------------------------// // A Cure for Boredom // Story: Cause and Effect: Discord's Truth // by Coltsguy //------------------------------// I woke up to the most uncomfortable feeling in my neck. It had gone incredibly stiff overnight. I was hesitant to get up at the time since I knew this day was going to drag on, but the pain in my neck would definitely keep me up anyway. I hesitantly rose to a sitting position and bobbed my head back and forth and all around. Hearing some satisfying cracks in my neck, I slipped my shoes onto my feet, grabbed my hat, and rose to my feet. The first thing I realized was that Twilight wasn't there. Neither was Spike. I went and checked my watch. It read 3:18 a.m. “Somebody please find me a clock. I hate not knowing what time it really is.” My pleas going unheard, I looked around at all the books in the library. Feeling a bit curious I walked over to the closest shelf and began scanning over them. I didn't really see anything interesting, but I figured it would at least be enlightening on some of the things that went on in their history. I decided on 'Prestigious Ponies of the Pre-Equestria Era' and pulled it from the shelf. I went to read it and stopped on the table of contents. I couldn't read a word of it. It's all chickenscratch. What the hell is that about? Why is the inside chickenscratch, but the cover is perfectly legible? How does that make sense? I would think that the inside would be written the same as the cover, but then I'm a sane person. Who knows what these ponies do? Sighing, I put the book back on the shelf. Now what was I going to do for the rest of the day? I didn't really want to go outside, but I knew I'd be getting hungry soon. Besides, I don't think I have any of the local currency that they used on the show. I could try and create some, but I doubt they will think too highly of counterfeiting. Wait. Could I do that with magic? I know I could fix breakfast by moving all the stuff around with magic. I knew I could create the items to fix it with or place it upon. However, was I capable of creating actual food out of thin air? I knew Discord could do that, and I had his magic. At least I think that's what I surmised from Celestia. She said it was chaos magic and I did receive that odd coin from Discord. I guess there was only one way to find out. I looked at the table and concentrated on it. Some Cheerios and milk would be fine. I wonder how they would like Cheerios? It's basically oats. Horses love oats. It stands to reason that the ponies would like it as well. Damn it. I'm not concentrating. A bowl of Cheerios. A pitcher of milk. A bowl of Cheerios. A pitcher of milk. A bowl of Cheerios. A pitcher of milk. I continued with that for quite a bit. I had no idea if it would work, but I believed my reasoning was sound. Concentration was the key to magic. Wait a second. Regular magic was like that, but what about chaos magic? Its very nature makes it unpredictable. I was able to use spells through concentration, but I had also slipped into some spells naturally. What if that was actually a different way to use the magic? I thought about it for a bit and decided to try it out. I let the magic coalesce in my left hand and then snapped my fingers. There was a small flash on the table and instantly, sitting on the table was what I asked for. A bowl of Cheerios and a pitcher of milk. I walked up to the table to check on them. It was a good-sized bowl. A quick taste test and I determined that they were indeed Cheerios. I then checked the milk. It also tasted fine. This was awesome. I had some control over it. Of course, I then realized that I had no glass or spoon. I then tried again. This time, there was a glass and a spoon. Also, there was no Cheerios or a pitcher of milk. “Let's give this one more shot.” Another try later, and I got a bowl full of Cheerios and a pitcher of milk. Accompanying them was a spoon and a glass. All of it was about as tall as me. I quickly sighed and decided that I would just take it as is. I reached into the bowl and scooped out a handful of Cheerios. I then started to eat them dry. They weren't as good dry, but at least I was eating something. I thought about trying to slurp up the milk, but I didn't think I would be able to do that without making a mess. After the fourth handful of Cheerios, I snapped my fingers again and the whole shebang disappeared. After a quick check of waving my hand through the place where they were to make sure I didn’t just make them invisible, I weighed my options for the day. I really didn’t want to leave the library. However, I couldn’t just stay in there for my entire stay in Equestria. I could turn invisible before leaving, but I’m not sure how they would like that. Plus, if nobody could see me, then I could have them running into me without knowing what’s going on. I walked over to a window and looked outside. There were quite a few ponies out during this time of day. Once I was outside, the stares would begin. I really did not like that. It’s one of the main reasons why I don’t like leaving my house. It’s only fine then because I’m not the attention grabber of any person. However, when you are the only person anywhere you will get attention no matter what. What to do? I really didn’t like any of my possible choices. The fact that I was really uncomfortable around strangers ended up driving my decision in two directions. Either I could stay in here where it was safe, or I could leave under the cloak of invisibility. I could work on practicing my newfound magical abilities inside. Unfortunately, I also had problems focusing on tasks; even ones that I was interested in. Leaving meant that I was vulnerable to the ponies that were just outside. The invisibility would help, but that would only go so far. “Argh! I am overthinking this way too much! Stay or go. How about which will be less boring?” Upon hearing that, it helped me with my decision making. Staying inside would leave me to practice, but it would only be a matter of time before I became bored from it. Leaving would provide less for me to do, but I would be able to observe the happenings around town with the option to fix anything going down. It wasn’t really a great option either way, but I knew I would get bored one way. Steeling my resolve, I got ready to leave. I remembered that I still had something I needed to do. I quickly created a piece of paper and a pen with my magic and left a note on the table. It told Twilight that I would return by around nightfall. It was a little hard to write with the giant pen, but I managed to do it eventually. With the note left and the pen blinked away, I activated my invisibility spell and made for the door. After waddling my way through the doorway, I closed the door and took a look around. It was definitely not boring. There were quite a few ponies making their way around town. It was a shame that I never really paid much attention to the background ponies. It was a minor problem, and one I could rectify with a nice walk around town. I really had no destination in mind, so I just picked a direction and started walking. It felt pretty good to not be stared at. Every time I remembered that public apology it made me shudder slightly. It was odd to think about, but the fact that Spike had lit me on fire was actually a slightly better thing in my mind between the two. I would rather not have to do either one again, though. During my walk, I took note of all of the ponies around the place. Every color imaginable to the brain appears on those ponies. I was intrigued by the cutie marks that each of them have. It’s actually rather generic. Most earth ponies have some form of food, Pegasus ponies seem to have some sort of weather pattern, and unicorns seem to have varying degrees of some sort of profession on them. Honestly, I was expecting a little more variety than was shown here. Then again, Ponyville was more of a cross section of all of Equestria. After about an hour of this I realized that maybe staying in the library may have been the better option after all. Everywhere I looked all I saw was the same thing. Sure when you see this on television, ponies everywhere looks like it could be fun. In reality, it isn’t the same thing. They aren’t doing anything different than you would see people doing. Buying groceries, eating meals, chatting with neighbors; it was all the same thing. After hearing about how much some mare wanted to pay for some fruit, I came to the decision that I just wanted to head back to the library. Nothing was happening around here that would interest me. That was when something finally caught my eye. It was subtle, but it looked like one of the ponies was watching me. I wasn’t sure at first, so I started walking in different directions every few minutes. The cover the marketplace offered was very helpful. By hiding behind some of the stalls from the pony’s line of sight, it allowed me to make sure that its gaze was actually on me and not making guesses at it. I continued this for almost twenty minutes. I honestly found it a little humorous how I could see the time on my watch when I hit the illuminate button despite the fact that I was supposed to be invisible. Despite that fact, the rest of me was perfectly invisible. How was that pony able to see me? I needed to find out. I soon found an alley between two houses. I decided to duck in there and wait for the pony. It didn’t take long. The pony came into view at the end of the alleyway in less than a minute. I then got my first good look at it. It was actually a colt. It was an earth pony that had tan fur and a brown mane with a streak of black down the middle. Its cutie mark was a magnifying glass with a horseshoe underneath it. It looked around a bit and then its gaze fell upon me once more. I decided to confront him. “I find it a bit curious as to how you are able to see me. My invisibility spell was perfect. Or so I thought.” “Your spell is quite impressive,” the colt said with a British accent. “I almost thought I had lost you twice.” “A bit of an odd choice of words.” “Perhaps it is because you think that I can, in fact, see you. However, that is not the case.” “It isn’t?” I asked with a little confusion in my voice. “Of course not. I was following the tracks you made in the ground. There were a few times when I knew where you were by things moving on their own in response to your touch as well. I had to focus to keep tabs on you a few times, but your trail made it obvious where you went. It was quite an intriguing trail; one that had me work upon my sleuthing ability for the first time in quite a while.” “Sleuthing ability, eh? That’s not something I would see many ponies having as their special talent.” “Indeed. It is a bit of a rare ability. Even more so for an earth pony such as myself. On that note, allow me to introduce myself. My name is Case Cracker.” “That’s an interesting name.” “It’s from my parents. My father was named Rice Cracker and my mother was a bit eccentric. I think it came out swimmingly.” “It certainly seems that way. Everything around here seems like odd coincidences.” “Ah, so you’ve noticed it too have you?” “You mean the name thing?” “Indeed. I’ve found it to be quite the odd occurrence. It is one the many mysteries that I am currently looking into. One of which is you.” “I’m no mystery. I know exactly who I am and how I got here.” “Ah, perhaps you do. However, my dear boy, do you know the why?” “Not yet. Although, I was told it would be a journey. Perhaps I will find out on this journey.” “Ah, quite so, quite so. It does sound utterly fascinating to me.” “It feels like you have enough on your plate right now, though. I can handle working on this one. I do admit that the name thing sounds intriguing to me as well. How is it that every pony here seems to have a special talent that is associated with their name? One would think that they would know their special talent from birth if that was true.” “That is the very thing that I am trying to discover. Unfortunately, I have made no progress on the matter.” I decided to give a little thought of my own. “I’m sure that whatever the reason for it is, that it will be a very significant discovery. Perhaps you should ask a few ponies to give specific names to their children to help with that? It may give you some long term information that could help you out.” “I am not sure about that. It sounds a little invasive.” “That’s why I said to ask. After all, it never hurts to ask, right?” “I suppose I could ask a few couples about it.” “That’s the spirit!” “Say, I didn’t get your name.” “I’m Seth. The human.” “Oh, well I didn’t know because you’re still invisible.” I looked down and realized that he was right. I had forgotten to drop my spell. “Ah. That would explain that. Although, I would have thought you knew it was me.” “I wasn’t absolutely sure. I wasn’t there for your public apology so I didn’t know what you sounded like and there are other beings that can use magic with your size, though not very many.” “Interesting. Well, I have to go talk with Twilight Sparkle and some of her friends, so I’ll have to end this conversation here.” “Ah, a shame that is. Well then, I hope I get the chance to talk to you again in the future.” “As do I, Case Cracker. You seem interesting to talk to. I’ll see you later.” “And I hope to see you for the first time!” I chuckled at that and walked out the other side of the alley. I didn’t look back to see if he followed me, but I assumed that he did not. It was certainly a strange conversation. Enlightening, but strange. There were some ponies who did notice strange things about the world they lived in. True, it was only one pony, but one is merely the beginning of things to come. After walking out of the alley, I looked around to see about heading back to the library. A few glances around and I realized that I couldn’t see it from where I was. I considered teleporting to the library, but I hadn’t learned how to do that yet. I bet I could figure it out, but I didn’t want start teleporting randomly all over Equestria, especially if I had no idea where anyplace was other than Ponyville, Canterlot, and a few other small places. A couple minutes of deliberating later, and I decided to see if I could find anyone I knew who could point me in the direction of the library. Another five minutes of aimless wandering and I noticed the mayor walking by. Perfect. Or not. I wasn’t paying close enough attention and then noticed that she was being flanked by three other ponies that were busy having a conversation around her. I would interject, but I’m a giant wuss when it comes to trying to get people’s attention. Instead of trying to get her attention, I merely started to follow her and wait for an opportunity to speak to her. An hour and forty minutes went by and I realized just how much work she did around town. I kept listening to the conversations that went on amongst the group. Many things were discussed such as budget, education, infrastructure, and so on. Along the way, she stopped at a few buildings to collect information on the happenings of the town. I wasn’t interested at first, but I decided that there might be things I need to know hidden away in what she is talking about that could help me out in the long run. The only problem will be remembering them when I need to. I was content to keep following them, but I found a new place to go to instead. Sugar Cube Corner. Well, at least it was somewhere I knew. I broke off from the mayor’s entourage and walked up to Sugar Cube Corner. The door to the building was open so I let myself in. Inside, I could see the Cakes tending to the store. It was not very busy. The first time I was here, I actually didn’t get a real good look around. This time, however, I took in a bit of the place. There were only three ponies in the store and all of them were seated at two tables. Everywhere you looked there was some form of pastry, whether it was cake, donuts, pies, muffins; you name it and they had it somewhere in their store. Some of it was even built into the architecture. It was a tad odd with no Pinkie Pie there to throw things off of the norm. It didn’t last long. “I think that this may be the best party I’ve ever thrown ever!” My attention was drawn to the entrance. Pinkie Pie was walking inside with another pony following just behind her. “You say that every time that throw a party, darling. True, they are always wonderful parties.” “I know! And this one will be the best one ever! Well, at until the next best party ever. Then that one will be the best party I ever throw!” “Yes, yes I know. It will be quite the little soirée.” Ah, and that would be my first look at Rarity. Of course I’d seen her plenty of times on television, but the difference between television and twenty feet away from you is always quite different. It’s like seeing a snake. If you see a snake on t.v. you think it’s neat and maybe get a little information about it from there. If you see a snake on the ground twenty feet in front of you, you get a much different reaction along the lines of ‘don’t panic and it won’t mess with you’ or something along those lines. Of course, that rule applied to Pinkie Pie whether she was on the t.v. or not. A living conundrum. I subscribed to the t.v. version of her, but that still made her unstable and unpredictable. “Just remember, we’ll have the surprise party for him here and then when that’s done we’ll head over to Twilight’s place and see about what he wanted to talk about.” That grabbed my attention. “Yes, I know Pinkie. I’ll be sure to attend.” With that, Rarity turned and left the store. Following that, a smile crept up on my face. Pinke Pie was throwing me a surprise party. A surprise party that was no longer a surprise to me. I had two options: turn the surprise back on Pinkie and laugh or get Pinkie in on a new plan to surprise everyone else for the party. Both plans were outright awesome in their own rights. Getting the drop on Pinkie Pie would be epic. It would also have a success rate that would probably be pretty low. Of course, pulling it off would make me a legend. Having Pinkie Pie in on it meant that I could get more elaborate. Her love of parties would get me backed easily enough. Not to mention that surprising her friends at my surprise party would be awesome. Weighing the options, I finally made my decision.