Chapter 10
Antony sighed. He sat down and gestured for me to do the same. I settled down across from him. Sunlight streamed through the window, showing dust motes swirling in the air. I looked at Antony, who had his eyes closed. I looked at him, I really looked. He had a pale grey mane, and a darker grey coat. He had a scar slashing down over one eye, leaving a hairless streak. His cutie mark was the impression of two crossed swords. I realized how much this power meant to him, and that him sharing it with me was no easy thing. I pawed at the floor under my hoof, suddenly feeling awkward. Antony’s horn glowed, and he summoned a brilliantly ornate sword, thin and curving. When the sword fully materialized itself, Antony’s horn stopped glowing. I expected the instrument to fall to the ground, but instead it stayed put in the air. Antony opened his eyes and gazed at what he had created. He smiled, like how a mother may smile at a newborn child.
“Edwin, there is a special term for what I am. They call me a Bladesinger. This is because when the swords I summon move, they hum.” Antony explained. The sword in front of him wiggled, and hummed a wavering note. I looked at the sword, my spine tingling at the raw capability of it. Antony looked at me while the sword stayed stock still in front of him. His eyes seemed serious.
“Edwin, what is this?” He asked, gesturing to the sword. I looked at him with eyes full of confusion.
“It’s a sword, isn’t it?” I said, feeling stupid for stating the obvious. Antony made an amused humph. The sword moved up to his face, making a soft, high pitched hum. Antony admired and inspected it as he replied.
“That is where you are wrong, Edwin. Certainly, it looks like a sword. Of course, it can bite like one. But, Edwin... This is no sword.” Antony stated, his voice even. The sword set itself back between the middle of us. The sword hummed a flat note. I was more confused than ever.
“Then... What is it?” I asked, honestly wondering what it could possibly be.
“This is the part of me that emerges when I fight. This sword is everything that I fight for. It is me. It is everything I love, everything I care for. A physical manifestation of what it takes to defend what we love. It is, in essence, love.” Antony spoke, passion burning in his voice. I was surprised by the raw emotion he showed. He probed me with his eyes.
“What is it that you fight for, Edwin?” Antony asked. My mind flipped through a million different responses. My mind flashed to a picture of Luna, but I pushed it out. I was at a loss.
“I... I do not know.” I said, ashamed. Antony sighed, getting up.
“Then I am afraid I cannot teach you, Edwin. You must know what you fight for, before I can tell you how to Manifest. If you find out, come tell me. I have a feeling that you could find me even if I do not wish to be found.” Antony dissolved his sword as he stood. He walked over to the door.
“Edwin... Get some sleep. From what I understand, you almost died today. That, and you’re looking at that damn blanket like a blind pony seeing the sun for the first time.” Antony smiled at his little joke, and walked out of the room. The door latched behind him. I sighed, getting up off of the floor. The window was sickeningly bright as I walked past it. I looked out, and saw Luna. She was sniffing a sunflower. I smiled. Thinking that she would be safe for a few hours, I decided that it would be best to go see my blanket. I spied the little bugger in the opposite corner from where I was. I walked over to it, passing the window for the second time. I looked out again, and saw Luna. she wasn’t sniffing at a sunflower anymore, but had her nose smooshed up against the glass.
“Fred! cohm awt ahn luk aht dah flowars!” She shouted, her flattened nose distorting her words. I looked at her face, filled with joy. I smiled.
“I’ll be out in a minute.” I replied, trying not to laugh.
Luna was waiting for me under a lattice arch covered in ivy. She looked at me, and smiled.
“Come here Edwin! Come look!” She replied, bounding off into the courtyard. I followed her as best as I could. She looked back at me as she rounded a large hedge. I followed her around the edge, when suddenly there was a sharp, aching pain in my back. I looked behind me to see an Angelic, holding a dagger that was buried between my ribs. I flinched as he twisted the knife. I fell over, completely unaware of what was happening. I could see Luna dissolving, turning into the unicorn Angelic that tried to kidnap Luna.
“No...” I said, hot blood spurting out of my mouth. I coughed. The pain was incredible. I spewed blood everywhere, coughing even harder. I could see the real Luna in a fold of the hedge, whimpering and bound with ropes. I felt a pain deeper than the dagger pierce me. I failed her. I watched a lone tear, pale against her deep blue coat, flow down her face. The edges of the world grew dark.
I woke up screaming, my face buried in my blanket. It was worse than all of my other dreams... It was so vivid. I scrambled to my hooves, afraid. I looked behind me to see if there was a knife sticking out. There wasn’t. This dream was the most horrifying thing I ever had to face in Equestria.
But it was also my greatest blessing.
I looked out of the window, to see the time. It was dusk. I thought for a moment, wondering what to do next. I smiled to myself, contemplating. I closed my eyes, and concentrated. I felt a slight breeze. I opened my eyes to see myself on top of the cliff that held the Palace. I looked around, trying to find her. I managed to see a small blue blur, streaking across the sky at amazing speed.
“Quite a sight, innit?” said a very small voice behind me. I turned to look, and saw a small orange filly with purplish hair. I looked at her, amused.
“She is.” I assented. I trotted over to where the small filly was sitting. I sat down next to her. She looked at me, amazed.
“You’re pretty big for a pony. You get in a lot of trouble, dontcha?!” She said, enthusiastically. I looked down to see the orange pony. She was a puzzling creature.
“Maybe too much.” I said somberly, thinking of dragons and Angelics. She looked at me again, this time at my flank.
“That’s a pretty funny cutie mark. How didja get it? Huh? What does it mean?” the filly asked, prodding me with her hooves. I looked at her, a huge grin spreading across my face. This little filly was so outgoing that I couldn't help myself.
“I’ve always had it. And it means that I have a big job to do.” I tried to be as vague as possible without lying. She stared at me, disgruntled.
“Whaddya mean, you’ve always had it?! Nopony is born with their cutie mark!” She objected loudly.
“Well, I’ve had mine as long as I've been a pony.” I said, telling the truth.
“What’s your name?” I asked, trying to stay away from what I was. She didn’t need to hear that. Her smile brightened, and she puffed up.
“I’m Scootaloo! And I’m going to grow up and be just like her!” she shouted, pointing up to the sky. I looked and saw the pale blue mare fly in to land.
“How did you show up like that, anyhow? One moment there was nothing and then POOF! You were there!” The orange filly asked, curiosity lighting her eyes.
“Um...” I tried to find a way to dance around that one. Lieutenant Dash finally walked up, saving me from an awkward reply.
“Scoot, you messin with this guy?” the rainbow mare asked playfully. Scootaloo stuck her tongue out at her. Dash laughed, the noise of it bounding off into the open air.
“Dash? Do you mind if I talk to you for a minute?” I said tentatively, glancing at Scootaloo. Dash turned to look at the foal.
“Scoot? You remember those exercises I taught you?” Dash asked of the foal.
“Yep!”
“Well go do ‘em. I’ll be back in a minute.” Dash said to the orange filly. Scootaloo shot off to a pile of rocks over too the side. Dash sat down, sighing. I looked at her, curious.
“Is she yours?” I wondered aloud.
“No, but she might as well be.” The mare said, looking over to Scootaloo with affectionate eyes. I remembered the way Antony looked at his sword.
“What is that supposed to mean?” I asked curious. I sat down beside her. She shuffled on her haunches. She looked sad as she responded.
“Scootaloo’s parents died when she was very young. She was sent to live with her aunt and uncle, my parents. I was off at Flyer's school for the semester, and when I came back, she never left me alone. One day, she just came with me to Ponyville. She lives with Twilight when I am gone for my guard stuff, but I bring her with me sometimes after my shift. Like today.”
“I’m sorry.” I said.
“It’s fine. It’s worth being a guard, in my eyes. I feel that by me doing this, I can make a world where she can grow up safe.” Dash sniffed. I looked over at her. She was looking at the sunset.
“Sorry. It’s just that... I’ve never really killed anything before today.” She managed to say. Her eyes were brimming with tears. I looked at Dash, feeling ashamed. This was something private to her, I felt.
“It is not something to be proud of, Dash. But, this is what we do. To defend what we love.” I tried to reason with her. She looked over at Scootaloo.
“Yeah. It’s just that... They’re ponies.” Dash said, her voice breaking.
“They aren’t. They just look like it.” I reasoned. She broke into sobs. I noticed that she was absolutely inconsolable at this point. It never did occur to me that pones were peaceful beings. The whole of my life in Equestria, I was bidden to fight. It never did effect me, and I thought nothing of the mindless violence of which I was a grisly instrument. I decided to leave.
“I’ll see you again sometime, Dash.” I said, closing my eyes.
“Thanks for coming to see me, Edwin. I’m... sorry.” The mare said through her tears. She struck a chord of sadness inside of me as I closed my eyes. I thought of Antony. I felt the cool breeze, and I heard a quiet squeak. It reminded me of Fluttershy as I opened my eyes.
I was embarrassed to find Antony and a plum-colored mare laying on a rug. Her face was bright red. Antony had his mouth closed on her ear, completely still and staring at me with wide eyes. I tried not to smile.
“Am I interrupting something?” I asked, red-faced. Antony, with his teeth still on her ear, nodded. The plum pony nodded as well.
“Do you want me to come back later?” I asked. Antony carefully shook his head, his lips firmly latched to the mare's ear
“Tomorrow, if you please, Mister Shell.” The plum pony replied to me, still red-faced. I turned around and almost ran out of the door. When it closed behind me, I fell to the ground and laughed. I rolled around, trying my hardest not to make any noise as I shook with laughter. My eyes were teary as I got myself off of the ground. I tried to brush the dust off of my coat. I looked around, not exactly knowing where I was. I seemed to be in the yard of a small cottage. The cottage had a small flower garden in the front of it. There was a narrow dirt path leading away from the door. I looked in the opposite direction from where I was facing and I saw the tardis. I walked up to it to see if the Doctor would let me in. I looked at the doors of the great blue box, which had no handles. I pushed on one trying to see if it would open. My hoof met a firm resistance. I stepped back to look at the box. It was tall and imposing. I could feel something, too. Othello referenced it the first time I saw him in the Nether. There was a... Feeling, an emotion radiating from it. It was indiscernible, but it was there. I tried to figure out how to get in the tardis. I thought about the doctor for a while. The pale brown colt with an hourglass cutie mark. A piece of dust got in my eye and my eyes smarted. I managed to get it out, but when I opened my eyes again, I was in the Tardis, looking at the Doctor. The doctor was facing away from me, his front end buried in an open panel in the floor. I could hear the familiar whining of his pen. I looked at him for a while. He did nothing.
“Hello, Doctor.” I said. The humming stopped. His back hooves scrambled to try to get out of the hole in the floor. He struggled for a few minutes, trying to extricate himself. I watched on, amused. He finally manages to get out of the hole holding the pen in his mouth. He looks at me like I’m a seagull that just spoke swahili.
“What in the bloody hell are you doing in here?!” The Doctor exclaimed, spitting out his pen onto a pile of springs. He looked at me incredulously, demanding an awnser.
“It WAS an accident, if that consoles you.” I replied. The Doctor looked at me like I just got that much more crazy.
“Edwin, nobody ever enters the tardis on purpose when I dont want them here, let alone on accident. Tell me how. And tell me now.” The Doctor said, not even smiling at his rhyme. He reminded me of the Doctor that I punched in the Nether. I gulped.
“I was thinking about you and dust got in my eyes” I replied, knowing that this was a terrible excuse. The Doctor looked at me, and shrugged. He turned back to look at the hole in the tardis
“Wishful thinking can get you farther than most, Edwin. But you musn’t keep yourself immersed in the Flow. You have to get out and do things yourself every now and then.” The Doctor said as he leaned down to pick up his pen. I watched him, relieved that I got off with a reprimand. I did as I was advised and closed my connection to the Ghost powers. The Doctor leaped up, holding his pen in his mouth.
“Well, Mister Shell! The Doctor is in!” he shouted, leaping up to a chair, holding a hoof aloft.
“The whole of pony creation lay before you, and what is it that you will do?!” The Doctor asked, his playful eyes demanding a response. I thought about this. My smile widened as I figured out what I wanted to do.
“You know how Luna was banished to the moon for a thousand years?” I asked.
“Of course I do. Why? What could you possibly be planning?” The Doctor said as he kept his hoof up.
“Let’s go. about... Ten? Ten years after.” I said in a knowing tone. The Doctor burst out laughing. He leaped off of his chair, rushing to the controlls. He was about to pull a lever, when his hoof paused in midair. He slowly turned to me.
“There is an old saying from a place quite dear to me. Words of great power and wisdom, a consolation to the soul in times of need.” The Doctor spoke, his tone grave.
“What would that be?” I asked.
“ALLONS-Y!” The Doctor shouted as he threw himself on the lever.