A Pokemon Problem
(5) - Saying Goodbye
Second Sight teleported us to the mouth of the cave before I could do so much as not utter a single word. It wasn't like a Twilight Sparkle Teleport™ when a puff of smoke and a flash of light signalled both the departure along with the arrival.
No, the voodoo pony's version seemed to bend the very shadows around us, making everything go dark for a few seconds before gradually growing light again as the darkness crept away from us and retreated back to whence it came. It was a spooky experience; it reminded me of a time when my older sister used to tie blankets around me, leaving me to stumble around in the dark. Except I couldn't struggle and break free.
Huh. Speaking of family... now that was a depressing thought: If I couldn't find a way out of Equestria, I wouldn't see my family again. I'm sure my father wouldn't care, but my mother and sister would probably be worried sick.
Christ, what about everybody else? Ryder, Seth, Caleb, Cindy, Miranda... what about their families?
Well fuck. That's not good at all.
Regardless, I still had an angry shaman to deal with. The fact that Ryder did the equivalent of fainting—his big, white eyes had the classic black spirals on them, and he rolled down the hill like a giant marble—wasn't helping my situation in the slightest. As Ryder tumbled down the sight incline, only to be stopped by an outstretched hoof belonging to a certain dark blue unicorn, Second Sight glared at me.
"You communicate with spirits that I am not familiar with, levitate while using no magical source, and somehow managed to break out of my warded house."
What can I say? Beldum are awesome.
Raising a hoof sheepishly and almost falling over in the process, Morning Dew added, "Oh, and-um, I only found him when he... fell off of Foal Mountain."
Second Sight frowned. If I was capable of projecting worry through my singular eye, I would've.
"What are you?"
A Beldum. Oh wait, I can't freakin' talk, so quit asking me!
Second Sight trotted around me, slowly, observing every inch of my sleek, metallic body. I followed him with my eye as I did so. He gritted his teeth in annoyance. As he opened his mouth to speak and probably verbally abuse my poor, defenceless self, Morning Dew teetered, tottered, swayed, and then promptly fainted.
I made to fly and attempt to keep her up, but Second Sight beat me to it. Christ, that guy was a one man show. Locking away helpless Beldum, making Ghastly faint, teleporting around like nobody's business—who the heck was he?
Second Sight gave Ryder a nudge, causing him to roll into a tree and rest in a small divot formed by two larger-than-average roots. Lifting up Morning Dew telekinetically and placing her sideways on his back, Sight winced and then spoke directly to me, with a no-nonsense tone. As if he hadn't already been using that tone, but still.
"I know you can understand me. You and I are going to have a system of communication: blink your eye once to answer 'yes,' and twice to answer 'no.'"
I blinked once. Finally! He was kind of a dick, but at least he understood my limitations of speech.
"Can you communicate in any other way besides the blinking process we just established?"
I blinked twice. I could technically 'speak' for lack of a better term, but that was really just making whatever noises my body felt like it had to announce to the world.
Second Sight seemed to think for a moment before nodding, seemingly to himself. "Is what Morning Dew said about you true?"
I cocked my head in confusion.
"About you falling off of Foal Mountain."
I blinked once. There was only one mountain that I'd seen, and I had 'spawned' there, so I figured that was the one they were referring to.
Second Sight mumbled for a little while. I only caught the words 'lowest,' 'peak,' and 'four-hundred.'
After that, he sighed deeply, looked over at the pony draped over his back like some sort of fur coat, and then back at me. He stood a little more resolutely than before, like he had just made a difficult internal decision.
"I don't know what you are. I don't know where you came from. I don't know how you survived that fall," he began. "And that scares me. You—" he pointed a hoof at my floating form— "scare me. I've lived in this forest for my entire life, and yet you are unlike everything that calls this forest their home.
"I'm going to leave and return to my village; Morning Dew is going to come back with me. And you are not."
Unbidden by myself, I rose a few feet higher and an angry sounding metallic groan came from somewhere within me. Immediately, Second Sight's horn flashed red.
"Do not try me, creature."
I didn't want to try him. Calming myself down, I lowered myself back to eye-level with the dark blue unicorn.
"All I want is peace. Peace and solitude. You and your... familiar—" he spat the word— "if that's what the spirit is, are to leave and never return to Hollow Shades. If I see you again, I will make it my personal goal to remove you from existence."
I wasn't sure how, but I shivered. It didn't feel like an idle threat. I was pretty sure that Second Sight actually could remove me from existence.
"Blink if you accept my terms."
I hesitated. Sure, not getting blasted into a million smithereens should've been a good enough deal on its own, but I had other things to think about. Like how Morning Dew was the only pony that hadn't given me evil eye—pun not intended. How the hell was I going to find everyone else on my own?
My gaze drifted to the gaseous, spherical form of Ryder, eyes still spirals.
Hmm... I guess I wasn't quite as alone as I thought. I hoped that bastard would wake up soon: I had questions that needed answering.
I turned back to Second Sight and blinked. Once.
He nodded grimly. "Fair thee well, strange one, and hope that our paths do not cross again," he said, then began walking, slowly but surely, back towards the village—Hollow Shades.
I mentally sighed and turned to look at the Gastly in front of me. Grumbling, I let myself drop gently to the ground and prepared to wait until my best friend woke up.