//------------------------------// // Through the Eyes of Mortals // Story: I Wasn't Prepared for This // by canonkiller //------------------------------// Twilight shifted uncomfortably; her spine coiled differently against her new mattress. She disliked the down-filled lump, but Celestia had insisted it was relaxing, so she had accepted it. With a growl, she rolled over again, burrowing her face in the soft fabric. She snorted, ears pinning back as she glared around the cave. It had certainly been an upgrade; no discarded bones or spiderwebs hung around, and the glimmering facets of the crystals filled the room with a gentle, warm light. Her books had been transported to a shelf, and the delicate fabrics she had coated the cave with had been folded up and put away, a mirror hung on the wall behind her and a nearby cave held her kitchen supplies, as well as an enchanted vent to keep the place from smoking up. The clock on the wall ticked off another minute, and Twilight rolled over again. She wasn't really accustomed to any schedule at the moment, sleeping and waking when she felt like it. The Princesses tried their hardest to meet her every day - or night - but their schedules were busier than ever, and she was more often than not alone. She missed Spike. Whenever she felt lonely, he had been there. Obnoxious, and sometimes clueless, but there. She longed to just reach out and hug him, tell him none of this was his fault, tell him she was still here. "He must feel horrible." She thought aloud, a habit she had picked up since she had transformed. "I wish Celestia would let me go out now that I'm feeling better. My wings are aching with all of this... nothing." She tumbled off the mattress, dropping down into a crouch to stretch. Her back popped as she spread her wings, and she flinched. "I bet Rainbow never has cramps, that unruly speedster." She halted mid-bend, suspended awkwardly a few inches from the ground. "Rainbow... she would be disappointed in herself too, wouldn't she? The fastest Pegasus in Equestria, unable to catch one baby dragon..." She shook her head quickly, standing up straight. "That's it. I'm going back." "What?" Twilight turned around slowly, meeting the slightly-confused gaze of the Lunar Princess, still a bit disheveled from her trek through the tunnels. "You're going to Ponyville?! No, Twilight Sparkle, you cannot! Our sister said-" "I don't care what Celestia said! My friends need me!" She backpedaled, throwing on a fur-lined jacket and sliding her back claws into a pair of boots. "I need them!" "Twilight Sparkle! You're endangering yourself by going to see them! I forbid you to go!" "I'm endangering them by staying! Goodbye, Luna!" She charged past the Princess - narrowly dodging a trapping wing - and ducked into the tunnels, muttering a few words to vanquish their glinting light. Luna cursed behind her, stumbling, and Twilight gained ground. Breaking out into the open air, Twilight closed her wings in a sharp dive, hoping to break the treeline before Luna could see her. A few fearful seconds later, she blundered into the comparative safety of the branches and tumbled to a halt, positioning herself where she could see the cave. Luna soared out from behind the waterfall, circling a few times before flying back to the castle. Twilight let out a long sigh, and slowly climbed out of the leaves, soaring southward to the place she had come to know as home. ----- She landed gracefully on her own balcony, pressing a cheek to the old wood in silent remembrance. No noise emitted from within, and all of the lights were out. Suspecting Spike - and perhaps one of her friends - were asleep, she pushed the door open, careful to tilt it so the hinge didn't squeak. The beam of moonlight spread a dreamlike glow across the scene within. Dust lined the shelves, every book removed. Cobwebs hung from unused lights, and the bed-frame was empty save for a few scraps of fabric that must have caught when the mattress was removed. Spike's basket was gone, replaced by a less-faded circle in the wood panels, and the air inside was stale and thick. "Spike?" She called into the dark. "Spike?" Her voice echoed hollowly around the forsaken library. She felt her eyes water, and she leaned over onto a nearby shelf, sliding down to a heap on the dusty floor. Sobbing, she curled her wing over herself and waited for the dawn to come, or somepony to find her, whichever came first. ----- Sunlight streamed in, glaringly bright against Twilight's eyes. She hissed gently, unused to such a bright light. Color glowed around her, even under the blanket of time, but she was struck witless by it. The torches in her cave had done no glory to the spectrum the world had created, a series of shades she had forgotten despite the short time. Even more so was the noise, probably close to a hundred ponies bustling about outside. Market day, she dimly remembered. Sneaking up to the window, she tried her hardest to spot ponies she knew among the crowd below. There was the mailmare, Derpy Hooves - or was it Ditzy Doo? - trying to shove the letters in the wrong side of the mailbox. Her little sister, the Unicorn, bounced around her hooves, laughing and trying to get her to look at something across the road. A while away, the sofa salesman was hoofing out complimentary quills, and the stuffy waiter over at the restaurant she always forgot the name of was frowning at a mare who couldn't decide on her meal. Applejack's stand was there, but instead of the ginger mare's beaming face behind the counter, her stoic older brother watched the passersby. Apple Bloom was, as always, trying to get her Cutie Mark, and had unsuccessfully attepted juggling a few of the lesser apples. Now that she thought about it, the sky wasn't that clear after all. Clouds had gathered in large clumps, darkening with a threat of rain. A few weather Pegasi were attempting to clear them, but even she could tell they were disorganized. The more she focused, the more she could tell was wrong. Carousel Boutique had an unfriendly 'closed' sign against one window, and all of the curtains had been closed. Sugarcube Corner still had the chimneys puffing, but the sweet smells didn't punctuate the library like they normally did. She had enough patterns already to assume that Fluttershy's cabin was in a similar state. She growled, scanning the empty library. After fruitlessly searching for a blanket or a sweat, she pulled one of the faded curtains down, tying it around her neck and folding a hood over her face. She wished she had thought ahead and brought one of the Mare-Do-Well costumes with her, but she had enough to disguise her. With her back claws still hidden in her custom-built boots, she gently nosed open the door to the library. Attracting only a few odd glances for her attire, Twilight merged into the crowd, weaving her way over to Carousel Boutique. She paused in front of the darkened window, one hoof half-raised to knock. "She doesn't live there any more." Twilight dropped her hoof and spun, resisting the impulse to spread her wings. A mare, one she knew she had seen from somewhere, stood behind her. The other mare smiled sadly. "One of her friends... passed away. She couldn't bear it here, with her house so close," she waved a hoof at the library behind her, "and went to live in Canterlot." "One of her friends?" The mare nodded. "Yeah, a Unicorn by the name of Twilight Sparkle. She was nice, but we never really talked much. She was the Princess's student, and she didn't really socialize outside of her circle. Anyway, something went wrong at the ceremony, and she was..." "Killed." Twilight muttered. "You said circle?" "Oh, she had four other close friends. Most of them have drawn away now; it really hit them hard. Let's see..." she tapped a hoof absently, "there was Rainbow Dash, who led the weather team. She's still here, but she's not really here. Spends most of her nights with a bottle of cider, if you get my drift. Then there's Fluttershy, another Pegasus, but she moved back to Cloudsdale to help with the bird migrations and to train new fliers. Applejack used to run Sweet Apple Acres - an apple farm - but she wouldn't stop working because it kept the sadness away, and she ended up seriously injuring her back hooves. I don't know the details, only that she's been permanently lamed, the poor mare. And then there's... Pinkie Pie. Used to cheer up the whole town, crazy mare." She paused to laugh, a sound so hollow it may as well have been fake. "We think she went back to the rock farm, if she's still alive." "Oh." "Yeah." The pony took a step back, as if she realized how much she had said. "I'll... I'll just be going." Twilight lifted a hoof to stop her. "What was your name again?" "Roseluck." The pony smiled, before trotting away. ----- Twilight noticed immediately how decrepit the farm looked. Leaves piled haphazardly where the wind blew them, and the dirt path winding through the fields was spotted with old, rotting apples and broken branches. The trees seemed alright, but the apples were much smaller than they should have been, and twigs lay where they had shattered from bucking. The whole area stank like rotten fruit, too. Pulling the knot around her neck over her muzzle to block the smell, she started the trek to the farmhouse. Acres blurred into each other as she picked up speed, twigs snapping under her hooves and leaves billowing in her wake. She cantered up to the small house, skidding to a stop just in time to knock daintily on the door. As expected, it was Granny Smith who opened the door. She narrowed her eyes at Twilight, and the Princess started to take a step back. "Are you one of them fancy witch doctors?" "Yes?" Twilight replied tentatively. Granny Smith frowned, but let her in. "Keep yer mumbo jumbo out of my kitchen." Twilight nodded briskly, trotting into the house. "Will do, miss." Unlike the orchards, the house was nearly pristine, the only sign that anypony lived there being the pie half-finished on the table. Twilight mentally pinned it to Applejack's injury, and quickly trotted up the stairs to her friend's room, the door marked with a trio of red apples. She knocked gently, leaning in to the door. "Applejack?" "Go away." "Applejack, please." "Ah said go away!" "Appleja-" The door swung open, revealing the southern mare nearly aflame with anger. "Ah said ah didn't need your... your..." she blinked, watching as Twilight tossed her hood back. "Applejack, please, let me in." She stepped back hurriedly, and Twilight whisked into the room, shutting the door with a swift kick. "Does Granny Smith know you're in here?" "Kind of." Twilight admitted, shifting her hooves. "I told her I was a witch doctor. When she asked." Applejack's eyes narrowed at the lie, but she softened instantly as the reality hit. "Oh, Twilight." Twilight caught her in a tight hug as Applejack fell towards her. Without thinking, she unfurled her wings and wrapped them around her friend, feeling the pony flinch beneath them. Through muffled sobs, Applejack managed to choke out a question. "What happened to you?" Feeling tears running down her face as well, Twilight spend no time on replying. "I... I'll just show you." Applejack let go, hesitantly, and Twilight pulled the knot on her neck loose. The old curtain fell to the ground, she kicked it away, and she pulled off her boots to reveal her claws. Applejack had a hoof to her mouth, horrified, but wasn't fleeing. Or screaming. Twilight flexed her wings, the short claws on their tips brushing the walls before they were even fully extended. She was suddenly aware of just how monstrous she was to other ponies, and quickly folded her wings. Applejack's hoof stopped hers before she could re-tie her cloak, and she glanced up at the Earth Pony. "Why'd yah tell everypony y'all were..." "I didn't have a choice." Twilight replied. "Celestia said it was to protect me from other ponies who didn't like more Alicorns, but I... I couldn't stay away from you girls! You're my friends!" "Hey, hey, it's alright. I suppose you know half of us have left?" Twilight nodded. "Well, fate has it I know where they're all livin'. If you'll have me, ah'll come along and help yah find 'em." Applejack barely had time to smile before Twilight hugged her. "Thank you. Thank you, so much." "No problem, sugarcube. Let's get going before I start hyperventilating or whatnot 'cause yah ain't dead." Applejack nodded towards Twilight's disguise, and she hurried back into it, turning her attention away from her friend. When she looked up, hood folded down on either side of her horn, she couldn't stop a gasp. Applejack had her back legs supported by metal frames, her hooves steady on a connected board, wheels scraping below each foot. Metal bars and fabric bands ran up her flanks, connecting at a makeshift yoke around her neck. She shifted her back hooves slightly, the wheels grating in their sockets. "Ah guess ah should've warned yah." Applejack admitted. "Yah'll ain't the only one with a change, Twilight." ----- "So, where's Spike?" Applejack sighed, somehow scuffing a hoof on the dirt without compromising her gait. "Ah wish ah knew, Twilight." "What do you mean?" Twilight's ears flattened under her hood, and she turned back to her friend. "Where could he be?" "The dragon mahgration passed by a coupl'a weeks ago, and he went after them. Haven't seen hide nor hair of him since." She looked at the dirt, frowning. "Ah would'a stopped him, but... we were all such wrecks after you... left, none of us were in the right of mind to stop him. Since everypony else went after their dreams, we figured he should'a been able to too." "Were the dragons in the same pattern as last year? Are they going to the same ground?" "Ah haven't got a clue. Flutters left by then, and nopony know those dragons like her, other than you. So when Spike said he was ready to go be... well, a dragon, nopony thought twice about stopping him." Twilight shifted her wings, tail flicking impatiently. "I'm going after him. After I talk to the others, I need to find him. He needs me." "Twilight, have you ever thought that maybe... he was ready to grow up?" She halted then, patches of scale glittering under the dimming sunlight. "He can't be." "Maybe it's time to let go." "I can't let him go! He has to know it wasn't his fault!" Twilight shouted, wings flaring as she turned on her friend. "He's..." Applejack wound her into a hug as she quickly deflated, tears running down her muzzle. "He's the only normal thing I have left."