//------------------------------// // Chapter Two Part Seven // Story: Migraines // by SwiperTheFox //------------------------------// “It’s, uh,” he muttered, “Not what it looks like… really…” Twist ambled back on her hooves quickly. “Eh’ th’aw ‘et!” Twist yelled. “Oh, for Pete’s sake, Twist,” retorted the other foal, “You’re even worse than a broken record.” “Baat, if’ths TH’RUE!” Twist protested. Apple Bloom stepped down the grassy knoll and stood beside the two horses. “And so what if you found a grown-up that believes you. Big deal. It’s not like my sister, my brother, or any of us Crusaders have seen a THING. Any of us,” Apple Bloom went on. Twist seemed about to cry. Raspberry didn’t know what to think. He had enough brotherly instincts that he didn’t want her to feel too bad. “Hey, now wait a moment,” he said, and he stepped out between the two foals, “It’s no secret. All you need to do is head back through there.” “Alright, fine. Whatever you said, Mr. Blueberry,” Apple Bloom said, dialing up the sarcasm, “Because EVERPONY knows that an eccentric musician is the best pony to go to about monsters.” The red haired foal headed into the forest where Raspberry had just been. He rustled through his clothes, and then he pulled out the sonic device. “Well… I guess it’s going to be go time,” he whispered to himself. Raspberry stepped cautiously behind Apple Bloom. Twist followed in toto— clinging close to Raspberry’s side like a teddy bear. In just a moment, they found themselves deep inside the forest. “Well, this looks like a big fat LOAD of NOTHING,” Apple Bloom announced. Raspberry surveyed the area. He detected some kind of soft motions in the treetops several yards ahead. The foals appeared oblivious. Raspberry pulled out his umbrella and laid it on the ground. “Wesker… Twist,” he whispered. He held out the sonic device and aimed in the air ahead of him. The umbrella moved over and nudged Twist. She muttered something and then found herself lead away from Raspberry back towards the path. *Creak* Branches bent in the air somewhere on top of the three horses. They all froze. Raspberry pointed the device straight upwards. He squinted, but he couldn’t see a thing. “Gotcha!” two young voices screamed. Raspberry found himself knocked down again. He felt something gray and soft squishing his face. He saw out of the corner of his right eye Twist yelling, crying, and running as fast as she could back to the path. The umbrella bounced along close behind. “Get, get OFF!” Raspberry called out. He pushed forwards, and then he got back on his hooves. He tapped the sides of his head and jiggled himself. He saw two foals sitting right in front of him clapping. “Ha, ha, just look at that ugly little twerp run,” a gray foal said. She had a small spoon as her cutie mark and a very satisfied expression on her face. Her friend— a little pink filly with a smart looking crown— grinned from ear to ear as well. “Oh, applesauce,” said a weak voice next to Raspberry. Apple Bloom’s head then poked out of a gigantic pile of leaves that she had apparently sought refuge in. “You should have seen the look on your face, too,” the pink foal said, and she keeled over in laughter. “That stupid blank flank,” the grey foal said, “I can’t believe it. She’s a nice jumper when she’s terrified.” Apple Bloom took a deep breath and then blew the leaves off of her face. She said, “That… wasn’t funny. Not. At. All.” “Awwwww, did the blank flank have it’s widdle feelwings hurt?” the pink foal asked, pursing her lips, “At that country fried twerp had an opportunity to finally get a bath, if a lake of leaves count.” Apple Bloom grimaced. Raspberry thought that she had fantasized choking them with her bare hooves. He had already just about had enough. “Well, look,” he said, trying to put on a parental tone, “That wasn’t a very nice thing to do.” “You should have seen your face, too,” the grey foal said, and she started to chuckle. The friends tapped each other playfully. “Now, listen you,” Raspberry said, and he growled a little bit. “Listen YOU,” the pink foal said, “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you before, mister, and I don’t think you know who you’re talking to.” “What I think I know…” he said, and he gestured at them with his device, “Is that you two almost got yourself sonically disrupted.” “Come again?” the grey foal asked. “And this whole thing is more than a waste of time,” Raspberry went on, “Since I’m still not any closer to finding Tiara.” He glanced over at Apple Bloom. She shook her head while smacking a hoof to her face. “Boop!” the grey foal said, and she pointed onto her friend’s head. The pink foal pointed to herself. “Wait… boop?” Raspberry asked. I guess that’s her and Silver Spoon. I didn’t picture them so… bitchy. “Yep, that’s her,” the grey foal said, “Age before beauty!” Silver Spoon made a huge smirk. Diamond Tiara sniggered her face and then gave her friend a shove. “Hey!” “We all know that I’M the most beautiful one,” Tiara said, and she adjusted her hair. Her friend protested and gave a return shove. They then quickly became embroiled in an ‘Are not! Are too!’ battle. “Hold it! Hold it! Hold it!” Raspberry shouted. He turned back over to Apple Bloom. “Could you go find Twist and tell her everything is all right please? Thanks.” The red haired filly nodded and then trotted away. Raspberry turned back over at Silver Spoon and Diamond Tiara. “Tiara!” “Yes?” she asked. “I…” he began, and he paused. Oh my goodness, how the hell do I even begin with her? Especially now… Now that I know she’s not exactly one of those loving and tolerance ponies… “I… I need something.” “What something?” Tiara asked. She seemed genuinely curious. “So your family, or at least some members of your family,” he said, “Anyways, a pony came over here from Coltsville. She was named Tiara. She had been part of the prestigious Manechester family, a trading family, and she had this special jewel thing. She had wanted to keep it safe from being ‘used’ for bad purposes. This was a long time ago. Any of this ringing a bell?” “Ummmmmmmm…” Tiara said, and she puckered her face, “Nope.” “Dammit,” Raspberry muttered. Back to square one? Or… I guess at least I could see if I could talk to Zecorb or whatever her name was in Everfree Forest… “But I know that my dad would know all of that stuff,” she continued, “We come from a very respectable, very well off, and very prestigious family.” “Sure,” he said. She sensed an opportunity to brag, and she simply couldn’t resist. Tiara went on, “Oh yes! Our family has long and deep connections to major trading families in every single major city. From Canterlot to Hoofington to Coltsville and beyond! My family has had all varieties of gems and jewels passed on from hoof to hoof through the generations!” “Anything small, but with special scientific abilities? Something that passed in through another mare named ‘Tiara’? And anything related to where your own name came from?” Raspberry asked, and he saw the young filly struggling to remember. “What is this, a police interrogation?” Silver Spoon remarked. She nudged her friend. “Let’s stop wasting our time with this friend of blank flanks.” “No, no,” Tiara said, and she stepped over towards Raspberry. She looked up at him, and he saw that he had struck some kind of nerve. Her cynicism and bad attitude had somehow melted right out of her. “My name? I remember. It came, in part, from a friend of my grandfather. A good friend. A close friend. Someone as close as a sister. I remember… my grandfather would go on and on about her. They had all of these wonderful adventures. I don’t think I ever did see her.” “Oh,” Spoon said, and she seemed to withdraw. “When I was really little, I thought that she was almost like an invisible guardian— watching me and protecting me all of the time,” the pink foal went on, “How do you know all this? Why are you asking?” “I’m looking for something,” Raspberry said, “So, I really need to talk to your dad.” “Sure, I’ll show you where to go to get to our house,” she said. Tiara also winked back at Spoon— unbeknownst to Raspberry. The stallion did see Spoon nod back, but he paid it no mind. The horses went out of the woods and headed back into the town. They cut through some streets and then walked towards some farmland. Diamond Tiara realized that Raspberry had never been to Ponyville. She and her friend then went on and on about the history of the town, about how supremely awesome their families were, and about how ignorant and silly the other foals were. Raspberry began to zone out. “Alright, here we are,” Tiara said. Spoon smiled and tried to suppress a chuckle. The horses stood on a sort of plateau before a long path of nothing. Several small houses and barns stood yards and yards ahead. “Just walk right this way.” “Well, okay then,” Raspberry said. He stepped forward cautiously. The two foals didn’t follow him. “Are you sure this is the fastest way there?” “Oh, just keep walking, keep going straight. Our house is right there behind those houses,” Tiara said. She tried and failed not to smile. Raspberry kept walking. He measured each step carefully. He leaned back and said, “Seriously, whatever it is, just forget it. I seriously need to talk to your dad at your house.” “Oh, just keep going,” Spoon replied, “Just go straight.” Raspberry began, “Well, I don’t see why you both won’t come wi—” *Splat* Raspberry suddenly found himself two feet deep in something sticky and mushy. He tried to step forward, but the ground stuck to him like clay. “What the hell was that! I didn’t see a goddamn ledge or step or cliff or anything!” he called out. “HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!” the little brats laughed. Raspberry surveyed the ledge several feet above him. He bared his teeth. “The ‘Granny Smith Drop’ NEVER gets old,” Spoon yelled out from somewhere up above, “The suckers just keep going, and they can never see that the ledge ends and the ground begins!” “That wasn’t funny!” Raspberry called back. “Sure, sure it wasn’t,” Tiara yelled in between laughs, “Well, Mr. Raspberry— bye!” Raspberry tried to move, but each nudge seemed to sink him deeper into the muck. “Well, then, what kind of pony has a SPOON for a cutie mark anyway!” he hollered, “Seriously! A damn SPOON? What’s your special talent? Being a big fat PIG that sucks up whatever food you can get your hooves ON?" The grey foul groused back at him, and he smiled. Tiara also shouted something indistinct. “And you," Raspberry called out, "You think you’re the ‘most beautiful one’, huh? Really? I’ll give you ten years, tops, before you’re dancing around a pole. Ten years, tops, until you’re standing in a red-lit Coltsville window. TEN YEARS, TOPS!” “I think they’re out of earshot,” Sweetie Belle said. She had just walked up out of a set of bushes on the edge of the mucky pool. “Sure…” Raspberry muttered. “Do you want me to get a rope or something?” she asked, “And don’t worry. It’s sticky as anything, but it’s not deep. I doubt it would even reach your pants if you kept struggling.” “Struggling,” Raspberry repeated, and he did just that. He reached a boiling point. He paused, and he gazed at the white foals huge eyes. He looked over at her horn. “Oh, for pete’s sake. I’m a unicorn.” He shook his head. “I shouldn’t worry about this crap.” Raspberry closed his eyes, concentrated, and then grunted. He heard a huge splashing sound. “Ooooh, wow,” Sweetie Belle said. Raspberry opened his eyes, and he saw himself standing in the middle of an empty dirt crater. He smiled, but that immediately turned into a frown when he noticed that he sprayed the foal head to toe. “Oh, sorry,” he said, and he sped over to her. “I’m glad my sister didn’t see this,” she remarked, and she hopped a few feet into a nearby pool to clean herself. Within a matter of seconds, she seemed good as new. “So… where are we?” Raspberry asked. “Right beside the Apple family house,” Belle said, “And quite a ways away from Filthy Rich’s house.” “Who?” he asked. “He’s Diamond Tiara’s dad,” she said, putting her face to her hoof. Raspberry exchanged some pleasantries with her, and then they both headed over in the right direction. They chatted for a while as they walked. He decided to be more open with her compared to Derpy— and a whole lot more open compared to Tiara. He discussed his life in Coltsville as well as what he did in Ponyville so far. She blushed as he praised Rarity, and he blushed back when she informed him that Rarity was her older sister. She detailed some of the recent events from Princess Luna’s return as Nightmare Moon to Fluttershy’s career for Photo Finish to Twilight’s accidental curse of the whole town. She ranted a bit about her search for a cutie mark and the success that Twist, Silver Spoon, Diamond Tiara, and the other foals had had getting their own ones. She said that she believed the story about a train-sized monster, and Raspberry talked about it in depth. Before too long, they had appeared several houses away from an opulent mansion. “THERE you are!” Scootaloo called out, and she seemed to jump out of nowhere onto Sweetie Belle between house, “We’ve been looking everywhere for you!” “I’ve been busy,” she replied, and she pushed Scootaloo off of her. “There’s a horrible monster going about the town. It has forty eyes. And two noses, one on top of the other. And it breathes fire,” Scootaloo said, acting out each description. Belle pointed over and over again at Raspberry— standing there behind Scootaloo— but the orange pegasus paid no attention. “Twist AND Scruff are both worried sick. Snails spotted it around the school, and now he won’t even speak.” Belle rolled her eyes, physically grabbed, and then rotated her 180 degrees until she faced Raspberry. “Hello,” the stallion said. “Oh. My. Gosh,” Scootaloo said, “Why didn’t you tell us before that this monster was coming to town?” “I… you…” he muttered, “You didn’t… ask.” “I… I guess we didn’t,” the pegasus said. She leaned over to her friend and told her that all suspicious looking future visitors should be asked about potential monsters. She then turned back to Raspberry. “We’ve got at least four foals that have seen it with their own two eyes. But not a single adult believes us. Except you.” “Well, of course I’d believe it,” Raspberry said, and he rubbed his mane nervously, “I mean, after all, I did… give… ‘birth’ to it.” The foals’ eyes seemed to inflate to the size of beach balls. Scootaloo picked up a hoof and gently pointed it at Raspberry. “You… you’re… you’re…” she muttered, “You’re a… a… MARE?” Raspberry laughed. “Of course not,” he replied. The foals continued to stare at him. Finally, Sweetie Belle shook her head, and she said, “You must look awfully strange naked!” “Oh, it wasn’t like… the birthing… it wasn’t… I wasn’t what a mommy and a daddy horse normally do,” Raspberry fumbled as to how to explain, but then he dropped it and said, “Look, that doesn’t matter. There’s gotta be somepony that knows how to deal with those things. With odd ghosties and monsters and things of that sort. I was told by this one pony… Jetter! That was the name!” Scootaloo smiled. “She told me that there’s this one pony that lives in Everfree Forest named Z-something.” “Oh, my goodness, I can’t believe I didn’t think of that already!” Scootaloo called out, “And Zecora is here. She’s here— ALREADY! It should be easily to track her down and get to the bottom of this mystery! Let’s go!” The two foals sped off down the street. “Good, good,” Raspberry said to himself. They’ve got that lead, and I’m on this other lead. He moved towards the front door of the mansion. He glanced down. The welcome mat read ‘GET LOST’ followed by ‘Just kidding’ in much smaller text. That’s not a good sign… He took a deep breath, and then he knocked. Nothing happened. He tried opening the door, which had neither a knob nor a recognizable handle. No dice! Raspberry cased the outside of the house. He loved the landscaping and the exterior decorating. The bright white tiles running alongside the walls seemed to sparkle. Still, neither the front nor the front door would budge. He sat down at the backyard swing and kicked off. There’s got to be… some way inside… He swung back and forth a few times, and then he jumped off. He landed right in front of the kitchen window. He pressed his face against the window and didn’t see anything. “If only this was unlocked,” he muttered, “But, obviously, it—” He reached down, and then the window lifted right up. “Couldn’t be.” He plopped down onto the sink, and then he found himself lying on the kitchen floor. He got back up and cleaned himself off. Hmm… nice place… very nice... It reminds me a lot of Steve’s place over in DuPage County. He looked over at the back door, and for whatever reason he decided to open it up. It swung out for a few inches and then remained ajar. Raspberry then snuck around room to room. He saw gigantic pieces of furniture, two expensive looking table and chair sets, a group of miniature ships under glass, a huge toy train set, a long salt lick, and several homogenous bookcases holding a bevy of business, economics, and finance related material. He didn’t see any gems. But… would it really be that obvious? Seriously? It’s not like it’s going to be a ‘Spy Kids’ or Saturday Morning Cartoon thing where the big glowing object in the center of the room is the thing I’m supposed to pick up. Raspberry suddenly smacked into a large glass cabinet. He rubbed his head, and then he surveyed the variety of trinkets inside. Nothing looked familiar. He closed his eyes tightly and tried to remember. Think! Think! He stood up on his hind legs. “Dammit,” he called out, “Think! What was I thinking?” “Good question,” said a gruff voice behind him. Raspberry turned around, and then something hard smacked him upside the head. He tumbled onto the soft floor with a low groan. Everything went black.