//------------------------------// // Between a Will and a Rarity // Story: Attack of the Puchus // by ZemaBato //------------------------------// Chapter 2: Between a Will and a Rarity Darkness was all Space Butler saw. So this is what death was like, he thought. I figured it’d be a little brighter than this. Maybe an angel or two.. *Beep* He lay there, pondering what he’ll do now, if there was anything he could do. After all, he figured, the dead don’t really do anything. *Beep* He heard it that time. What was that beep from? Surely, a black void of nothing wouldn’t make noise. *Beep* Then, he remembered. The chaos with his masters, known to him as the Puchus. He then remembered that he blew them all up, along with himself. How did he survive? *Beep* Someone found me, he thinks to himself. It wasn’t a person, and it definitely wasn’t those accursed things. It, or she, had white fur, and a purple mane that was as vibrant as his jacket. There was a horn too, and she was talking to him. A unicorn, perhaps? *Beep* He begins to stir, slowly but surely. As he brings himself to consciousness, a name pops into his head. The name of the mare that helped him. “Rarity…” Slowly, he opens his eyes, finally awaking. Then he gasps, for all he can see are stars. *** In the seeming black void of space, there are stars. Trillions upon trillions of stars as far as the eye can see. Some are by themselves, while others have gathered into a galaxy. It was the beauty of space in all its glory. There was nothing that could spoil this image. That is, until you notice the arms. “I am the Great Will of the Macrocosm,” the cosmos soothed. It was a melodic voice, full of concern and something else. “Space Butler, you cannot give up now.” The injured butler is wide awake now, staring back at what appears to be the universe itself. In the corners of his eyes, however, he notices the medical equipment that’s monitoring him. Strangely, he couldn’t hear the beeps of the various machines. All he could hear was the Macrocosm. “Fret not, Space Butler,” she swooned. “I will reset the story for you, so that you can have the happy ending you deserve”. Space Butler shivered at that last remark as he stared into the Great Will. Was that a blush he was seeing? “Now, let’s get you out of here,” she beckoned. He reaches up, embracing the Great Will. *** At Ponyville General, Rarity steps off the 4th floor elevator. The nurses working the night shift were shocked to see the fashionista come in so late at night, and even more so when she brought a strange creature with her. Being the professionals they are, they ignored how strange it looked, and did their best to get the man stable. After a good night’s sleep (Rarity needed her beauty rest after all), she was back to check in on this newest patient. Turning the corner, she is just down the hall from Space Butler’s room. He was placed on a floor that didn’t have many ponies, so that he didn’t scare any by accident. Rarity agreed with it, showing concern not only for her fellow ponies, but for the man she only met a night before. She was only feet away before the doors to Space Butler’s room burst out into the hall. Rarity stepped back. Closing her eyes and opening them again, she couldn’t quite believe what she was seeing before herself. Stuck against the opposite wall was… A piece of Princess Luna’s night sky? With arms?? “Oh my! What is going on here?!” The fashion-savvy pony didn’t have time to ponder, as Space Butler runs right up to the swirling mass of stars, in a hospital gown clearly meant for the bigger minotaurs. “Good morning to you, Miss Rarity,” Space Butler says as he grabs the Great Will by the arm. His eyes were focused on it. “I’m sorry, but I’ll be back in a little bit, Miss,” he states. Sticky situations doesn’t mean he stops being a proper butler. Rarity looks on, unable to comprehend what’s going on. “S-Sure thing, dear.” Looking at the end of the hall, Space Butler notices a window leading outside. Not wasting any time, he drags the Great Will of the Macrocosm with him. “You might want to cover your ears, Miss Rarity,” he yells. With his free hand, he reaches into the gown, and pulls out… an assault rifle! He points it at the window, and unloads the entire magazine. All that’s left is a giant hole. Dropping the gun, Space Butler reaches back into his gown. As Rarity watches, she sees him place a block of clay into the mass of space. Stopping at the edge of the hole, he puts his all into his arm, and flings the Great Will into the sky. The pristine mare is only shocked for a second, then panics as the man runs right to her. “Get down, milady!” he screams, before taking her down to the floor. He pulls out what appears to be a metal rod. As he pressed the button at the top, she realized what it was. A detonator. *BOOOOOOM* A giant explosion rocks the hospital from above. Looking out the hole, all the butler sees is smoke and a few falling embers. Looks like the explosives worked. Satisfied that the Great Will of the Macrocosm is gone, Space Butler dusts himself off, then offers a hand to the unicorn that saved his life. “O-oh, thank you, dear,” she says. Now that she was on all 4 hooves, she remembers that they are in a hospital still. “Are you okay, Space Butler? I didn’t think your injuries would heal so soon.” He looks at her, a small smile on his face. “No need to worry, Miss Rarity. Yes, I am still injured, but it’s nothing this old man couldn’t handle. Besides,” he takes a look around. “We didn’t want that particular menace here anyways.” “What was that… thing, anyways? It reminded me of Luna’s night, itself!” “I’ll tell you all you want to know, Miss,” he states. He then gestures to his room. “Would you mind heading back to my room? We can both sit down, and I’ll serve some tea.” “Why yes, that would be lovely, dear,” she says, trotting off behind the butler. Luckily for Rarity, she didn’t notice the chaos happening behind her as the hospital staff attempted to figure out what just happened. *** Sitting down in a comfortable chair (she didn’t quite know how Space Butler got that), Rarity enjoyed a nice cup of earl grey while Space Butler rested on his bed. She certainly wasn’t expecting the events of just a few minutes ago. “So,” she begins, “what was that… thing.. that attacked you earlier?” “Miss Rarity, there is nothing more to worry about from that thing,” he says, noticing her blue eyes looking right at him. “But if you persist, that was the Great Will of the Macrocosm. She wasn’t attacking me; it was quite the contrary. She wanted to rewrite what happened.” Rarity was left with her mouth gaping. “But why would you refuse such help? Wouldn’t you want to be back where you were?” The butler sighs. “It’s not that simple, Miss Rarity. The Great Will is a helpful being, but there’s almost always a catch. I would get back where I was, but I’ve no doubt I would be her play-thing for God knows how long.” “Play-thing?” she asked. “Indeed, milady. She is, in essence, a cosmos. She’s always looking for someone to fill in that empty space of hers.” He takes a look at Rarity, seeing the acknowledgement of understanding in her eyes. “Besides,” he continues, “I wouldn’t want to go back to that horrible place, anyways.” Space Butler goes quiet, the flame of anger gleaming off his glasses. Rarity wondered how that happened, but disregarded it. There were other matters she wanted to find out. “Why don’t you want to go back?” she asks. “Was it so horrible there? Won’t there be people you will miss?” The injured butler ponders this for a moment, before he answers. “I will no doubt miss those I left behind.” He sighs. “But compared to where I was, this place is Heaven itself.” The mare trots to his bed, grabbing his hand with her hoof. “Please tell me what happened.” He looks away, breathing a sigh of defeat. “Very well, Miss Rarity. I’ll start from the beginning.” *** I come from a long line of space butlers. We have served important people from all over the galaxy. Our reputations were legendary among the elite. Of course, as you saw earlier, I am not just any butler. I spent a number of years in the Space Defense Forces, serving the generals and proving myself on the battlefield. As a result, I have become proficient in most firearms, as well as a variety of explosives. If my guns didn’t get you, my C4 did. During my time in the SDF, I took a young protégé under my wing. While not striving for the same life goals as myself, Nabeshin had the same talent for weapons as I did. We bonded quickly, and he was one of my best friends, both on the battlefield, and back home. Oh, the stories I have are wonderful. But.. *ahem* they are not appropriate for a lady such as yourself. Anyways, with my time in the service up, we parted ways. Because of my pedigree, I was a valuable asset to any person in need of my services. And I eventually became the butler of the most prestigious family; the Hyatt clan. You wouldn’t believe how happy I was to serve Miss Hyatt. She was everything in a master that you could hope for. Kind, caring, never took advantage of me. She was a dear to serve, and I was happy to be serving her. Then… then they showed up. The Puchu. Horrible little demons, the lot of them are. They fool you with their looks, with their charm. You would think of them as nothing more than a yellow stuffed teddy bear, but that’s how they get you. One look at them, and their cries of “Puchu~!” and you’re trapped under their dastardly spell. That’s how they got me. One look was all it took. They were… sooooo cute! It was unbelievable. Sadly, there was nothing I could do to resist once I was under their spell. They imprisoned Miss Hyatt, locking her up in this cryogenic prison. Then, they started conquering. Everywhere they went, they took over. Those who tried to resist, they didn’t survive to see the devastation they caused, thanks to their dreaded rug dusters. Their cuteness spread across the entire east end of the galaxy, with me as their “faithful” servant. For years, that was my job. That was my role. Then one day, it all came undone for them. They were at their next target; Earth. They were performing their preparation ritual, when disaster struck our ship. A laser blast from the surface of the planet struck the port side, and the ensuing chaos was enough for me to break free of their trance. Using what little time I could, I did my best to get Miss Hyatt off that accursed ship. Somehow, my old comrade Nabeshin showed up. We had a little trouble with the Puchu, but it wasn’t enough to stop us from continuing. Unfortunately, things didn’t quite work out. I had been shot by the Puchu. Staying behind to keep the Puchu at bay, I trusted Nabeshin to take Miss Hyatt to safety. I don’t know if he was successful or not… Making my way down the hall, I was surrounded by dozens of Puchu. Leaving me with no other choice, I did what I had to do to rid the galaxy of their evil ways. I took out my detonator, and blew them to kingdom come, along with myself. At least, I thought I did. *** “After the explosion, I woke up in that crater, with you looking over me.” The butler took a moment to smile at Rarity. “I must thank you, for rescuing me like you did. If it was anyone else, I’m certain I wouldn’t be here right now, or worse; I’d be with the Great Will.” He shudders after that thought. “Oh, you are very welcome, my dear,” the fashionista replied. “I’m always willing to help those in need. Though I can’t help but wonder, what exactly are you?” The butler smiles. “I guess I am a rarity here myself, no pun intended madam. I am what you would call a human.” Noticing the confused look, he continues. “We are descendants of apes. Although, we are far far more advanced than apes ever were.” “I… I think I understand,” she replies. “I thank you. But tell me, what will you do now that you’re here in Equestria?” “Equestria?” he ponders. “It appears I have my own questions. As for what I will do, I’m not entirely sure.” He looks at Rarity. Noticing how she carries herself. Then, an idea pops up. “Milady, if you don’t mind, I request that I become your faithful servant.” Rarity gasps. This man, who she only knew for a night, now wants to be her butler? “Are.. are you sure, Space Butler? You can do whatever you want, dear.” “I am sure of that, Miss Rarity,” the butler retorts. “But, there is no job I love more than that of a butler, and I would have it no other way than to be honored by being your butler.” He sits up, and bows slightly at her. “W-well, if you insist…” she smiles nervously, “then I’ll accept. I’ll be glad to have you as my butler, er… Space Butler. Is there anything I could do in return, though?” He ponders for a second, then turns to look at her. “If it wouldn’t be too much trouble, could you find someone who can make me a new suit for when I leave this hospital? I currently don’t have anything to wear besides this gown.” Rarity looks at him, a wide smile spreading across her face. “My dear, you happen to be talking to Equestria’s premier fashionista!” She flicks her mane before looking at him once again, the smile stuck in place. “And I’ll be happy to make you a new suit.” *** Over in Canterlot, A royal guard is patrolling the maze next to the castle. It was another boring day for the stallion, as nothing ever happened in the maze. If he was lucky, he’d find a couple trying to find a moment of alone time. As he continues his route, he notices something off to the side. Glancing at it, he feels a need to take a closer look. Coming up to it, he can see it more clearly; a yellow stuffed animal. The guard wasn’t quite sure, but it looked a little bit like a bear. As he kept staring, he felt a compulsion. He had to take care of it. He must take care of it. It was so cute… Being as careful as he can, the guard places the doll onto his back, taking it to his quarters. As he trotted along, only one sound could be heard. “Puchu~”