//------------------------------// // Chapter 6: Forgiveness // Story: Refracted Love // by Silentpegasus //------------------------------// Chapter 6 Forgiveness Geode found himself walking through the crystal lined streets of his former home. He kept his head low and broke into a gallop. He saw a mob of shadows approaching him. Geode turned around and high tailed it in the opposite direction. He darted down an alley hearing the shadows in hot pursuit. He then came face to face with a large brick wall and all route’s of escape was cut off. The colt heard the crowd converge on him. He ducked as one of them threw a tin can at him. Soon the rest of the crowd picked up items and started hurtling things at the colt. Geode dodged one item after another and heard them clang and crash into the wall behind him. “Freak!” One of the stallions yelled. “Why don’t you just go away!” Geode was then hit in the head by a metal can. The colt staggered backwards. “He’s a monster don’t even look at him.” A mare said as she stood in front of her two foals. “Freak, why don’t you just die!” Geode felt another object collide with his head. The colt curled up in a ball on the ground and held his hooves over his head in fear as the mob converged on him. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Geode woke up in a cold sweat and his heart pounding. “Geode? Are you okay?” The colt looked beside him to see the lavender mare looking at him with a worried look on her face. “N-nothing. Just a bad dream.” Twilight put a hoof to his head. “Geode, you’re not okay. I know a night terror when I see one.” She said in a nervous tone. “It’s just a bad dream.” He said in a low tone. The mare sat on his bed and looked at the colt. “Geode....please I want to help you. AJ came by yesterday and told me that Applebloom saw you crying.” She said in a sympathetic tone. Geode’s mind lurched as he remembered the incident. “You have enough on your plate. I can handle things on my own.” He said as he hung his head. “Please, I know I’m not the best at showing it, but I’m worried about you.” The crimson colt let out a sigh and looked back at the mare. “Back when I was in the Empire no pony talked to me. They just....ignored me like I was some type of freak.” He said as he hung his head low. “Even when I tried to play with the other foals they would yell at me and run away.” Twilight put a hoof to her mouth in shock. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t put this on you. You have enough to-” He was cut off as the mare wrapped her hooves around him and brought him close. Geode froze in the mares embrace. “That’s all over now. I’m here for you. You don’t have to do everything on your own anymore.” Twilight said as tears trickled down her cheek. Geode was still stunned at the mares action. The colt felt a sharp pain in his head but ignored it. The colt nervously returned the gesture and wrapped his hooves around the mare. Twilight ran a hoof through his mane and smiled. Geode felt his tears flow over uncontrollably. “You okay Geode?” “Y-yeah. I just need some time.” He said as he broke the embrace. “That’s fine. I’m gonna make some breakfast. Come down when you’re ready okay?” She said with a warm smile. Geode nodded as the mare left the room. As she closed the door the colt grabbed his head in pain. He laid back down on the bed and tried to sift through the memories. Faust Damn it! Why is this so hard? Remember what they did! They didn’t know. He thought as the pain faded and he trotted down stairs. Twilight levitated the plates onto the table as Spike cooked on the stove. The mare smiled as the colt took his seat at the table. “Hey Twilight, I’m really, really sorry about what I said yesterday. I was out of line.” Twilight gave him a smile. “It’s fine. I shouldn’t have been so hard on you about you defending your friends.” “Not sure if I can call them my friends, on account of how I told Applebloom off yesterday.” He said as spike put the plate of pancakes in front of him. “Thanks Spike.” “No problem.” The dragon said. “Maybe if you apologize they’ll stay your friends.” She said as the group started to eat. Geode shrugged and dug into the pancakes. As they ate Spike noticed the gem hanging around the colt’s neck. “Hey Geode, what’s that crystal?” “Just something my mom gave me.” He said with a shrug. “Never seen one like it before.” “It’s from the Crystal Empire so it’s not too surprising.” Twilight added. “True, I’d better find a gem book in this place.” Spike said as he finished his stack. Geode soon finished his and walked back upstairs to grab his coat. As he reached for it he hesitated and decided to leave it hanging up on the back of his chair. He trotted back downstairs and exited the large tree. He put a hoof to shield his eyes from Celestia’s sun.The red colt trotted down the dirt road and thought how he was going to apologize to the filly. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Princess Cadence trotted through the crystal line streets as she approached the grand library. As she walked inside several ponies gasped and bowed their heads. Cadence smiled and quickly made her way to the front desk where an elderly mare sat behind. The mare quickly got to her hooves and bowed to the pink Alicorn. “Good morning your majesty. How can I help you?” “Good morning to you as well. I need to look at your personnel records.” “Might I ask why?” “I’m trying to look up something about a friend of mine and I’d like to see his medical and psychological records.” She said with a smile. “I see. Let me get my assistant, he’s in charge of those records.” She said as she trotted behind a book shelf. Cadence waited patiently until the mare returned with a dark blue crystal stallion with bright red eyes and a white mane. “I understand my services are required?” He said in a cheerful voice. “Yes, I’m looking for the records of colt name Geode.” That stallion looked at her in confusion. “I don’t know anypony by that name. Let’s check in the archives and we’ll see if we can dig something up.” The Alicorn nodded and followed the stallion deep into the library. The two arrived in front of a massive steel door and stopped. The stallion with drew a key that fitted into the lock and he gave it a turn as he pushed the door open. “I know I should have asked this sooner but, what’s your name?” “It’s Stone Hammer your highness.” “Thank you for doing this for me Stone.” “Think noting of it. I’m here to serve you milady.” He said with a bow. The two trotted past dozens of racks filled with files until they stopped. “You said his name was Geode?” The mare nodded. “Any other information about him?” “Well, he’s a colt, his coat is deep red, he has a black mane and he’s a Unicorn.” The stallion froze at the description. “Did you say a red unicorn colt?” “Yes, why?” The stallion narrowed his eyes and raised an eyebrow. “If you don’t mind me asking, what’s your interest in him?” “He’s staying with a friend of mine and she’d like a copy of his medical record.” The stallion bit his lip. “So he’s out of the empire?” “Yes, why?” She asked in a suspicious tone. “I know who you’re talking about, but we have no files on him.” The Alicorn looked at him in shock. “What? Why?” “You must understand that during Sombra’s rule several files and documents were destroyed, or went missing. His file must have been in that mix.” Cadence looked at him in disappointment. “I’m sorry ma’am but it’s the truth.” “I understand. Thank you for your time.” She said in a defeated tone. The mare gave him a smile as she left the room. The stallion returned the gesture and waved goodbye. As the door closed the stallion’s face turned to anger and he slammed a hoof into the wall. “That bitch!” He said under his breath. He quietly returned to his desk and jotted something down on a note. After he finished writing he trotted over to a pigeon and tied it to it’s leg. “You know where to go.” He said as he opened the window and the bird took flight. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Geode trotted up to the farm house and gulped as he snuck by the large red stallion. As he approached the door he let out a sigh and knocked three times on the hard wooden surface. The door opened to reveal an elderly green mare with a grey mane. “Well, howdy there sonny. What can I do for ya?” “Is Applebloom home?” “She sure is, she’s just brushing her mane. She’ll be down in a few minutes.” She said in a calm tone. “C’mon in. Make yourself at home.” Geode nodded and followed the mare inside and sat on the couch. The mare sat in an old rocking chair. “So what’s yer name then sonny?” “It’s Geode.” The mares eyes lit up and a smile crept across her face. “So you’re the young colt mah granddaughter hasn’t stopped talking about.” Geode felt his face heat up. “She talks about me?” He asked in a nervous tone. “She sure does. Almost every night at the dinner table she eventually brings you up.” She said with a smile. “GRANNY!” The two looked up to see the blushing yellow filly making her way down the stairs. Geode thanked Celestia that his dark red fur hid his small blush. “Mind telling me why you’re here?” She asked in a flat tone. Geode gulped and got to his hooves. “Can we talk?” “We’re talking right now.” “I mean in privacy.” “Ah don’t-” She was cut off as the green mare got to her hooves and walked out of the room whistling a small tune. The yellow filly sighed and looked back at the colt. “Fine.” “I came here to apologize.” The filly looked at him in confusion. “I shouldn’t have snapped at you like that. I was just....” “Stressed out?” She asked. “Yeah. Look when I left the empire I mostly wanted to escape my problems. I guess I’m just scared that my problems will follow me here.” He said in a low tone. “Not to mention you surprised me yesterday with that stunt you pulled.” “What stunt?” The filly asked as she raised an eyebrow. “You know when you found me yesterday. When you.....Dang, what’s that thing called?” He asked as he scratched his chin. “You mean when ah hugged you?” She said as a small blush appeared on her face. “Yeah that thing.” He said as his face grew brighter. “It’s been a while since anypony’s ever done that.” “Really? How long are we talking here?” “About a thousand years.” He said in a low tone. “I understand if you don’t want to be my friend anymore. I’ll just-” He was caught off guard as the filly wrapped her hooves around him and brought him into a hug. Geode blushed brightly at the motion and returned the gesture. Applebloom felt her face flare up as she ran hoof through his mane. Wow, his mane is REALLY soft. She thought to herself. “Awwe.” The two instantly broke apart as they heard the voice coming from the kitchen. The two looked over and saw a mirror that held their reflections. “L-let’s get out of here Geode.” Applebloom said as she tried to hide her blush. “Right behind you.” He said as the two foals dashed out of the farm house. Back inside Granny smith held the mirror and quietly giggled to herself as Applejack walked through the door way and looked at her grandmother with a confused look on her face. “What’s up Granny?” The orange mare asked. “Oh nothing dear, nothing at all.” She said in an innocent tone. “Have you seen Applebloom?” “She just left with that little red Unicorn colt.” She said with a giggle. “Well, I’m glad those two are getting along.” “Oh trust me missy, they are.” She said with another giggle. The mare raised an eyebrow at the mares words. “Let me just say this, she’s gonna need some advice later on and I hope you’ll be there for her.” “Of course! I love mah little sis and I’ll help her in anyway I can!” “Good to hear.” She said with a smile. The two foals hurried off the farm and towards the club house. The two walked along the dirt road and avoided eye contact. Geode felt the filly’s gaze on him and thanked Celestia again for his dark red coat. “So Geode, what do you do in your spare time?” “I read mostly. Not much to do around the library.” He said as they entered the club house. The two looked in confusion as they saw Rumble and Sweetie Belle rubbing their heads in frustration as Pip and Scootaloo were quarreling with one another. “NINJAS!” Scootaloo yelled. “PIRATES!” The Earth pony fired back. “NINJAS!” “PIRATES!” “Okay, what the hay is going on here?” Applebloom asked. “They’re fighting over which is better, Pirates or Ninjas.” Rumble breathed out. The two foals were now pressing their foreheads together and growling at one another. Geode let out a sigh and separated the two. “Easy you two, Pirates and Ninjas are equally awesome. The two have as many strengths as weaknesses.” “Pirates are invincible!” Pip yelled. “They may be strong in numbers but they lack stealth. Appearing on a massive ship waving a flag is like broadcasting to the world that those ponies are up to no good.” “HA!” Scootaloo said. “Ninjas also have a main weakness. While they are extremely stealthy they lack strength and are considered very underhanded. Pirates at least have their own code and Ninjas use dirty tricks to get their way. Pirates are at fault there as well.” The foals looked at him in amazement. “If put in a fight the two would probably cancel each other out and they would both cheat to win.” The foals looked at him in surprise. “Just my opinion though. I can’t deny that Pirates and Ninjas are great and it’s very enjoyable to see their adventures.” The red colt finished as the foals jaws dropped. “Good point.” The orange filly said as she let out a sigh. “Aye, ye be speaking words of truth.” Pip said with a nod. Sweetie Belle and Rumble let out a sigh of relief. “Look guys. I’ve been treating you poorly and I’m sorry. Can you forgive me?” He asked in a sincere tone. The foals looked at Applebloom who had a wide grin on her face. The foals grinned at him and nodded their heads. “It’s alright we all get stressed out sometimes.” Rumble said with a smile. “Hey....you guys wanna see something awesome?” Geode asked. “Yeah!” The group shouted. “Fine, just don’t tell anypony about it.” “Got it!” Sweetie Belle chimed. “Promise?” “Cross out hearts, hope to fly stick, a cupcake in my eye.” The five foals said as the did a series of hoof gestures. “What was that?” “That be a Pinkie Promise lad.” Pip answered. “Pinkie Promise?” “Once you make it you can’t break it.” Scootaloo said as the colt shrugged. “Good enough for me.” He said as he led them out of the club house and into the streets of Ponyville. Geode talked with Rumble up front along with Pip while the CMC hung back and whispered to one another. “So do you guys have your project done?” Applebloom asked. “Yep, Rumble is so cool.” Sweetie Belle said with a sigh. “Sound like somepony is crushing.” Scootaloo said with smug look on her face. Sweetie Belle’s face turned bright red. “Oh yeah?.....Well, what about you and Pip? I’ve seen how you look at him.” “SHHH!” She said as she covered her friends hoof with her own. “He’ll hear you!” “Settle down you two.” Applebloom said as she stepped between her two friends. “Oh stop acting all high and mighty Applebloom. We both see how you act around Geode.” The yellow filly’s face turned bright red. “H-he’s just a friend.” She stammered. “Then why are you blushing?” Sweetie Belle asked. The three fillies huddled up and hung back from the colts. “Are you guys coming?” Rumble asked as he looked at the fillies. “Um...ah just remembered ah gotta help Applejack with ah.......something.” Applebloom said as she rubbed her mane. “Y-yeah same with us. See ya!” The orange filly said as the three galloped away from the colts. The three bewildered colts looked at one another in confusion. “Dude, fillies are crazy.” Rumble breathed out. “Aye.” “No argument here.” “Still, Sweetie isn’t so bad.” The blue Pegasus said with a grin. “She be a siren out to steal yer soul.” “Oh yeah? Well, what does that make Scootaloo?” The Pirate immediately shut his mouth. “You leave the lass out of this, she be a fine deckhoof.” “You both sound ridiculous.” Geode said as he face hoofed. “What about Applebloom huh? I saw how you looked at her.” Rumble said as the crimson colt blushed. “Ugh! What’s happening to us?” “It’s these fillies. They’re driving us insane.” Geode added. “Aye we were alway on the same side, us against them.” Pip said as he looked at the blue colt. “No matter the them we were always us.” Pip said as the colts stopped walking and let out a collective sigh. “Guys we are WAY out of our element here. Who do we know that could help us out?” Geode asked. “Aye, we be going off the edge of the map.” Pip said as the colts thought for a moment. Rumble’s eyes shrank at a realization. “OH! My brother can help us! He’s had mare friends before.” “Good thinking. Tis why ye be my first mate.” He said with a smile. “Turn East towards the shore.” He said as he started to walk off. “Um Captain, my house is that way.” Rumble said as he pointed in the opposite direction. “Mind if I come along?” Geode asked. “Prate folk only.” Pip said with a grin. Geode let out a sigh and looked at the two. “Permission to join your crew?” The earth pony raised an eyebrow at him. “Captain.” The red colt breathed out. “Welcome aboard. Ye could be.....the black powder pony.” Pip said with a grin. “What?” “In charge of the cannons.” Rumble explained. “Sounds good to me.” He said as the three sped off towards the blue colt’s home. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The three fillies trotted inside Carousel Boutique as the yellow and orange fillies held their heads low. “You sure about this Sweetie Belle?” Applebloom asked. “Trust me girls, if there’s anypony in Ponyville who knows about colts its Rarity.” She said as they made their way upstairs. “Rarity?” The filly asked as the group walked into the sewing room where they saw the white mare sitting at her sewing table. “In a minute Sweetie I must finish this design for a client.” “But we need your help and-” “I said in a minute.” Rarity said in an annoyed tone. “C’mon Crusaders maybe Rainbow Dash knows how to deal with colts.” The orange filly said. Rarity stopped working as her ear twitched at the sound and instantly dashed in front of the door. “What’s this about colts?” She asked as she glared at the fillies. “We’re have a little trouble.....understanding them. We were gonna ask you but since you’re too busy-” Applebloom tried to say. “NONSENSE! This is far more important than some silly design.” The mare was visibly giddy as she pulled a large couch out of nowhere and sat on it. “Oh my little sister has finally started to like colts!” She said with a loud giggle. “Now tell me all about your troubles.” The fillies looked at one another and nodded. “Let’s start at the beginning.” Sweetie Belle said. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ After stopping at a costume store in town the three continued to make their way towards the blue colt’s house. Geode let out a grunt at the black bandana tied around his neck. “Why do I have to wear this thing?” “It shows that yer part of my crew.” He said as he pointed to Rumbled red handkerchief. Geode groaned as the blue colt stopped in front of his house. “We’re here.” He said as he knocked on the door. A light blue Pegasus mare with a white mane answered the door. “Oh there’s my little Rumbly.” She said with a smile. “MOM!” He yelled in embarrassment as the other two colts let out a small laugh. “Nice to see you Pip.” “Tis always a pleasure lass.” He said as he tipped his hat. “Who’s this?” “This be Geode our new recruit.” Pip said with a grin. “Hi.” He said with a small wave. “Hey mom, is Thunderlane around?” “Yes, he’s in his room. Why?” “We need to talk to him about-” Geode immediately grabbed the Captains mouth. “We’re learning about the weather and Rumble mentioned that he works for the weather team. So who better to ask about the weather then someone who works with it.” He lied with a grin on his face. “Nice to see you’ve taken an interest in your studies. Come on in.” She said with a smile. “You be planning a mutiny!” Pip whispered to the colt. “Hey keep in mind that Rumbles mom WAS a filly. How can we trust her?” Geode said back to the captain. Pip was about to protest but found no argument. The small blue colt knocked on the wooden door in front of him and waited patiently. The door opened to reveal a tall dark Pegasus stallion with a white mane. “Hey lil bro, what’s up?” He asked in a cheery tone. “Can we talk to you in private?” Rumble asked as he checked his corners. “Sure. These your friends?” “Yeah.” He said as the colts trotted inside. The room was decorated with a few mare posters laying on their backs on large couches, beds and various other surfaces. Other posters were of Pegasi in a tight blue uniforms. “So what’s troubling you?” The stallion said as he sat on his bed and opened up a magazine. “The local sirens be driving us mad and almost caused friendly fire amongst the crew!” Pip said. Thunderlane looked at the colt in confusion as Geode face hoofed. “Um...translation.” “The fillies are driving us nuts and we don’t know why.” Geode said in a flat tone. Thunderlane closed the reading material and looked at the three with a grin. “Well, well, well. Looks like my little bro is finally starting to take an interest in fillies.” He said with a smug grin. “Yeah, I figured you’d be the best one to ask.” The blue colt said with a grin. “You came to the right stallion.” He said with a grin. “Gents, take a seat and I’ll teach you my tools of the trade.” The colts shrugged and took a seat on the floor. “So tell me which fillies got your attention then?” “He be infatuated with the lass of Belle.” Pip bellowed. Thunderlane took a moment to process the colts words. “Sweetie Belle? As in Rarity’s sister?” The blushing blue colt nodded. “Dude. Props.” He said as he hoof bumped his brother. “What about you guys?” “Well, Pip likes Scootaloo.” Geode said with a grin. The fuming captain glared at the red colt. “Geode has a crush on Applebloom.” Rumble said defending his captain. Thunderlane looked at the colts in bewilderment and stuck out his hoof. The three bumped it and gave a small grin. “Wow, you three know how to pick em. Tough break.....What’s your name?” He asked as he looked at the red colt. “It’s Geode and why is it a tough break?” The colt asked as he raised an eyebrow. “Applebloom has the two most protective siblings in Ponyville. Rarity can be a hoof full but she won’t threaten to kick you into Appaloosa.” He said in a calm tone. “Scootaloo’s fine, I work with her dad he’s seems level headed.” “So what do we do?” “Aye our compass be pointing in all directions!” The captain answered. Thunderlane scratched his chin. “This may take a while. Get comfortable.” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Across town the CMC had just finished explaining their situation to Rarity who was waiting eagerly for them to finish their tale. “So that’s when we came here.” Scootaloo finished. “Oh that is just so precious!” Rarity cooed. “So what do we do?” Applebloom asked. “Well, I suggest you make yourself presentable.” “What about that look you give them?” Sweetie asked. “Oh the look.” Rarity smiled as she bit her lip. “That will drive any stallion wild. Only use it in an emergency.” Applebloom and Scootaloo face hoofed and quickly got to their hooves. “Where are you two going?” “I can’t take this much sappy in one day. I’m going to find Rainbow Dash.” “Right behind you.” Applebloom said as she followed her friend out the door. “Meet back at the club house when your done.” She said as the door closed behind her. Sweetie Belle looked back at her sister who was smiling at her. “Now pay attention Sweetie Belle. This look is a sure fire way to get any colt or stallion to swoon over you.” “Okay, let’s do it!” She said with a smile. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ As Rarity was teaching Sweetie Belle the ‘look’ Thunderlane was transferring his collective knowledge into the three confused colts. “Also never lie. For the love of Celestia NEVER lie to them. Fillies are smarter than you, they will find out and when they do...oh trust me, heads will roll.” Thunderlane said as he shivered. “Bro, your scaring us.” Rumble said in a nervous tone. “Sorry. If you get anything from what I’ve said it’s this; Fillies and mares are crazy. You need to be careful at all times.” He said as he looked at the clock. “Sorry bro, I got to head out.” The stallion said as he got to his hooves. The three colts looked at one another in confusion. The three colts walked outside and looked at one another. “Well, that sure cleared somethings up for us.” Geode said in a sarcastic tone. “Aye, your brother made no sense. Starting to make me head hurt.” Pip said as he looked at the blue colt. “Sorry, I didn’t know what he was saying either.” Rumble said with a sigh. “Look guys, let’s just keep our heads level and this whole thing will just blow over.” Geode said with a groan. They sky turned dark and it started to rain. “C’mon guys let’s head for shelter.” The colts nodded and made their way back towards the club house. The red colt opened it to see the three fillies conversing with one another. The six foals instantly blushed and avoided eye contact. Sweetie Belle got to her hooves and trotted up to Rumble. “H-hi Sweetie Belle.” He said as he felt sweat form on his head. The White filly let her hair down, pushed her lips together and batted her eyelashes. Rumble gulped and felt his heart rate double. “You know Rumble. I always thought you were kinda.......cute.” She sad in a soft voice. Rumble stood there with a bright blush on his face and stiff a board. “Rumble?” Sweetie said as she waved her hoof in front of him. “I think you just broke him.” Scootaloo chimed in. A sudden bolt of lightning snapped the blue colt out of his trance. The foals let out a yelp and quickly got back inside the club house. Pip looked out the window to see that the small sprinkle had turned into a massive storm. “There be a storm a brewing like the kinds I never seen.” “We gotta get out of here.” Geode said as another flash of lightning struck nearby. “We need to find some real shelter.” “Like what? The town and the farm are too far away!” Applebloom exclaimed. “If we can’t go through the storm then we’ll go under it!” Geode said as he walked towards the door. The foals looked at him in confusion. He opened the door and pointed to a rock across the field. “If we can make it to that rock then we’ll be fine.” “Are you crazy?” Pip yelled. “It’s better than staying here. We are in a tree after all.” Geode exclaimed. Another crack of lightning struck a nearby tree branch sending it to the ground smoldering. “I don’t know about you but I’m getting out of here.” “I’m with him.” Rumble said as he walked over to him. “Wait up lad! This captain stays with his crew.” Pipsqueak said with a smile. The three fillies looked at one another and reluctantly followed them outside into the storm The foals stayed close together as they made their way through the howling winds. The foals heard another crack. The foals looked up to see another branch fall from a nearby tree. The burning piece of wood was headed straight for them. Geode’s horn flared on instinct and two large rocks shielded them from the burning branch. The colt continued to lead the group towards the rock against the rain, wind and lightning. The foals soon reach the rock and watched in confusion as the red colt tried to push a rock aside. “What in the name of Celestia are you doing?” Rumble yelled. “Hang on, almost got it.” He said as he slowly levitated the rock aside. “What use could moving a big rock possibly-” She was cut off as the rock came lose revealing a good sized hole in the ground with a ladder going straight down. “Be?” Scootaloo said in a weak voice. “C’mon!” The colt said as he directed them down into the hole. “No way, no how am I going down there!” The farmer exclaimed. Another bolt of lightning struck a nearby tree which made them jump. “Ah take that back.” She said as she hurried down the hole. One by one the foals made their way onto the ladder and started to descend. Geode used his magic to levitate the rock back on top of the hole. As he climbed down the long ladder. He heard somepony scream and four other voices cry out. Geode picked his back hooves up and slid down the ladder until he reached the bottom where the other five foals were resting on a mattress. The red colt helped them to their hooves and looked around, but saw nothing but darkness. “It...its pretty dark down here.” Sweetie Belle said in a scared tone. “Hang on a second.” The crimson colt’s horn started to glow and a bright red light stared to shine from it. The ponies looked around and saw that they were in a massive tunnel network that seemed to go on forever. “Welcome TO MY LAIR!” He said with a smile. “W-where are we?” Rumble asked. “About a mile below the field outside the club house.” “What...how did.....when?” The Captain stuttered. “Remember that awesome thing I wanted to show you guys this morning?” The foals nodded. “This is a little project I’ve been working on since I got to Ponyville.” “You made this?” “Yup.” “Won’t the water seep in?” Scootaloo asked. “Not if you have hydro sealing charm like I do.” “Hydro what?” Applebloom asked. “I made this place water proof.” The foals let out a collective ‘oh’ at the word. “C’mon, we gotta get moving.” “To where?” “The library. Twilight has some weather needle that absorbs lightning. We’ll be safe there for the time being.” He said as they started to trot down the dark tunnel. Geode led the way with his horn creating a sphere of light that enveloped the foals. A few times Applebloom heard a small rock come from the walls and grabbed the red colt’s hoof on instinct. Geode blushed at the action but played dumb. “Hey why are there purple jewels on the side?” Rumble asked as he saw an Amethyst pushed into the side of the wall. “It’s how I now where I’m going. Purple goes to the library, yellow to the field and so on.” He said with a smile. The foals entered a larger room and saw a ladder on the other side of the open space. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Back in the library Twilight was reading a book by the fire place.as she heard a hard knock on the door. The purple mare got to her hooves and opened the door to see the six foals soaking wet and shivering. “Can you let us in? We’re freeing out flanks off out here!” Scootaloo exclaimed. Twilight quickly brought the foals inside. The six foals immediately went towards the roaring fire and and basked in the warmth. “Spike go get some blankets.” Twilight said as she put a kettle on for tea. “On it.” The dragon said as he hurried upstairs. The foals shook themselves dry and sat on the couch. “Where were you six?” Twilight asked as she levitated them each a cup. “We were out in the club house when the storm hit. We needed to find shelter so we came here.” Geode said as he sipped his warm beverage. “Why didn’t you go to the farm?” Spike asked as he came down the stairs carrying six large blankets. “That involves going through the orchard and last time I checked thunderstorms and trees don’t mix.” Geode said as she shivered. “Oh. That makes sense.” Geode made the zipper closing motion over his mouth at the other foals who nodded. Spike gave them each a blanket which they gladly accepted. Twilight quickly wrote a note and made it vanish in a puff of smoke. “I sent a message to AJ, Rarity and Rainbow letting them know that you’re here and will come pick you up.” Twilight said with a smile. The foals gave her a friendly nod as she returned to her reading. The group of ponies huddled together and whispered to one another. “So Geode, how did you build that tunnel system?” Rumble asked. “How do you think? I dug it.” “But, you’ve only been here for two weeks. Something like that would have taken months to build.” Applebloom said. “I’m just good at it. It’s not even done yet.” He said as he sipped his drink. “So that’s why you were covered in dirt yesterday?” Applebloom asked. “Yeah, I just finished that tunnel we went through.” “How did you get that good at digging?” Rumble asked. “When you’re sealed away for a thousand years you need to find a way to keep yourself busy or you’ll go crazy.” “So you dug. For a thousand years?” Scootaloo asked. “Yup. Made tunnels all over the Empire.” He said with a laugh. The door suddenly swung open to reveal a white mare with a purple raincoat and hat. “Oh Sweetie thank heavens!” She said as she ran over and hugged her sister. “Are you alright?” “Yeah, I’m fine.” She said with a smile. Rarity then noticed the three colts in the room. “Oh yeah Rarity this is Pipsqueak and Rumble.” She said as she pointed to the two colts. “Hi.” Rumble said with a smile. “Pleased to make your acquaintance lass.” The pirate said as he tipped his hat. Rarity gave him a weak smile and turned her attention back to the blue colt who looked at her in confusion. “Oh Sweetie you undersold him when you told me he was cute.” She said with a smile. The blue colt instantly blushed along with the white filly. “RARITY!” She whined. The door opened again to reveal Applejack and Rainbow Dash soaking wet. “Applebloom!” AJ said as she rushed over to her sister. “Are ya okay?” “I’m fine sis.” She said as the orange mare wrapped her in a hug. “Ah went to go get ya from the club house. I was worried sick when I saw that you weren’t there.” “Sorry, but Geode said that it wouldn’t be safe there. Being that it was in a tree and all.” “Good thinking.” She said as she looked at the red colt. “Do you need an escort home Pip?” Twilight asked. “He can stay at my place. My mom won’t mind.” Rumble said as he, the Captain and Scootaloo mad their way towards the door. “I’ll take Scoot’s home.” The cyan mare said which caused the filly to smile. As they left to leave Geode trotted up to them with a grin on his faces. “Hey Captain, Scootaloo.” The foals looked back at him in confusion. “You’re both wrong, Knights are way cooler.”The foals were about to argue but left it be as they ventured out into the storm. Rarity levitated a rain coat over to her sister and the two made their way out the door. Twilight gave the two farmers each a rain coat and gave them a nod. “Thank ya kindly Twilight.” “It’s no problem the weather is supposed to get worse.” She said with a smile. The two farmers made their way to the door and out into the pouring rain. The yellow filly hung back for a second and waved the red colt over. Geode got to his hooves and walked over to the filly. “Ah just wanted to thank ya for getting us out of there.” She said with a blush on her face. “N-no problem.” He said as his face brightened. The filly leaned her head in and gave him a quick peck on the cheek. The colt’s eyes shrank and his right eye lid started to twitch. A long awkward silence fell between the two. “So.....see you in school tomorrow!” she said before she raced out the door leaving the stunned colt standing in the doorway. Geode snapped out of the trance and looked back to see Spike with a smug grin on his face. The dragon was about to say something but was stopped as Geode raised a hoof. “Not a word.” He said in a stern tone. The dragon nodded and gave a small chuckle as the two walked over to the dinner table. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Deep in the Crystal Empire archives several cloaked ponies sat a t a long table with the moonlight shining through a window. The surrounding corridors were lit by candlelight illuminating the stone pillars. The cloaked figure at the end of the table slowly sat up. “Why have you called this meeting Quill?” He said as he coughed. “My apologies, but I have information that could put a hold on our plans.” The hooded ponies looked at one another in confusion. “‘He’ has left the empire.” “What?” “Cadence was looking for his file and she mentioned that he left the empire.” “What should we do about her?” Another figure asked. “She is just a fly. The colt is the real problem.” The dark figure said as he stood up. “Find him. Then bring him back here.” He said with a loud cough. “Send out the scouts.” The hooded stallions bowed their heads and raised their left hooves. “For the Order.” The ponies quickly dispersed and left the dark and damp hallways.