//------------------------------// // A Tenuous Pact // Story: Secrets of the Everfree // by ancientdragonduelist //------------------------------// David yawned as he stretched out on the floor. Things were honestly a little boring right now. Then again, he was happy for the rest. The last 36 hours had been pretty damn crazy. Waking up in some random castle in the middle of a creepy ass forest, getting attacked by a bat-winged lion, stopping a wooden wolf from eating a few miniature ponies… Yeah, he was perfectly fine with a little boredom. As he lay on the moss-covered stone, David’s thoughts began to drift. He started wondering how Jessica was doing. The little booger had probably managed to sneak out again; it had been two days already. Not even the man of the house ever managed to keep her grounded for more than a day. With any luck, one of her friends would be in the mood for a sleep over. If not… David’s face tensed up as he fought the surge of rage. He couldn't let his anger issues take over, not now. It had surprised the trained soldier when Nick had snapped, but it had scared the living daylights out of the little ponies. If he let the anger overpower him now, they’d probably run off into the forest and get themselves eaten. David couldn't have that on his consciousness; the ponies were too darn cute. Not that he would admit that to anyone but Thomas or Nick. “Um…Hello?” He looked down to the alcove. The three little ponies had finally come out, more or less. The orange one was trying to look tough and unafraid, but its hooves were shaking. The white pony didn't look particularly scared, but she had something in her mouth. The yellow pony kept straining back towards the alcove, stopped only by the fact that the unicorn had her by the tail. Seems it hadn't been a unanimous decision to come talk to the big bad human. “Sup?” he replied, nodding his head in greeting. There were several moments of awkward silence. “Uh…” the orange pony started, self-consciously scratching the back of her head. “What?” David probed. “We were wondering...” she said, almost looking away in shy embarrassment. “If, you know…” the little white pony added, after spitting out her friend’s tail. “You’d, you’d help us get home?..” the yellow one finished, giving him the puppy eyes for good measure. Her friends were quick to join. David grinned. Such adorable and pleading looks would've broken Thomas’ will in no time, and Nick would've been close behind. He however, had a younger sister. To him, ‘the look’ had lost its effect a long time ago. Instead, some of his big brother instincts were kicking in. “I have a question for you.” David countered. He leaned in close and put on what Jessica called his ‘stern face’. “Why were three young ponies out in the middle of the woods with no adults around?” The Cutie Mark Crusaders blushed a deep red at his question. They had thought this human would be angry or brooding, like the other had been. Instead, they felt like Big Mac had caught them trying to dodge chores. Apple Bloom in particular, since her friends had both pointed at her when it became apparent the human actually wanted an answer. “Well?” he asked, cocking an eyebrow and making this extremely weird sound with his claw. It sounded like mini-Applejack at a full gallop. Some part of Apple Bloom’s hyperactive mind noted that the crazy green mare who played a Lyre would give anything to spend an hour with this human. Maybe it’d be worth some cutie mark training. The rest was shrinking rapidly into a corner at the human’s questioning stare. “Uh…Well, we didn't have anypony else because…” the hard look became too much for the little pony. She broke down. ”We couldn't wait! Mah sister is dying!!” “Who’s dying?!” a surprising loud voice boomed, over from the fireplace where Thomas had been eating. Shortly after, the perpetrator of the shout appeared, covered in the soup Nick had invented last night and breathing hard. “Mah sister, Applejack!” Apple Bloom wailed, as the hopelessness of her situation began to sink in.Though Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo quickly rushed to her side, tears were beginning to fall. Thomas looked at David. He didn't look like the quiet, caring, somewhat sad person he usually was. There was a fire of determination within him, one that David himself felt on occasion. He knew that once this will took hold of you, it gave you a new strength. And you never really took no for an answer either. “Get Nick, we’ll all need to be here when she starts talking.” Thomas said calmly, not leaving any room for argument.” “Poor guy’s been up all night, might not be a good idea to wake him.” David pointed out, so he wouldn't have to face the Native Alaskan’s wrath alone. “Her sister is dying. Are you about to let one of the few people capable of helping save her sleep in?” Thomas asked, manipulating his friend with ease. There was a few moments of relative quiet as David tried to think of a counter-argument. “Screw your ability to read minds Thomas.” David casually shot as he went to fetch his exhausted friend. “Love you too brother” was his reply. David stomped up the lone intact staircase, readying himself for a storm of verbal abuse. Despite what had happened last night, Nick was not a violent guy. He would slit the throat of a chicken without a second thought, but he had gotten in exactly two fights with humans so far in his life. One had been over a playground swing. The other was when he found out about Bridget and the wannabes. Man, David still wondered how they all survived that night… The 18 year old ex-soldier sighed as he came across the occupied sleeping bag. Past experience had proven that Nick could go deaf at will, so yelling at him to wake up would be about as successful as trying to teach proper military cleanliness to Jessica. He’d have to do this the hard way, and it was going to be loud. Shaking his head, David grabbed the sleeping bag and started pulling it to the stairwell. The occupant was quick to respond. “Hey, what the hell is going on?! David, if that’s you, I swear to God I’m going to shove my knife up your ass!!” “Shut your dirty trap Nick, there’s kids downstairs.” David replied, totally unafraid of the threat. Nick knew how to use his knife, but wouldn't use it on his friends, no matter how what they put him through. “Hey, I worked my goddamn ass off all night, why the hell am I being drug downstairs?!” “Don’t ask me, ask pretty boy. By the way, I’m gonna knock your teeth out if you swear in front of the ponies.” “They might be cute, but they a’int your sister’s friends dude. Get that through your head.” Nick growled from within his bag. “I will once you apologize for yelling in their face.” David said. Nick finally went quiet at the last comment. David knew his friend was feeling insane levels of guilt for scaring the ponies last night. Nick probably would've apologized by now, except that Thomas had warned him it was too soon. If there was one thing Thomas was better at than them, it was Social Skills. Neither Nick nor David could ever quite figure that one out. “OK, you ready to come out yet?” David called over his shoulder. “What do you think?” came the reply, which was open to interpretation. “Got it.” David said, and started down the staircase. A short string of curses later, Nick was out of the sleeping bag. “You’re an asshole, you know that?” he mumbled, rubbing a few bruises. “Just following orders.” David replied, his personal catchphrase. Then he punched Nick in the gut. “No cursing” “Up yours.” was the wheezing reply. “Good enough” David decided, and helped guide his rather battered friend downstairs. They found Thomas talking to the ponies. “What are the symptoms Sweetie?” they heard him coax, gently giving them bits of an apple. “Well, there’s…” Sweetie Belle started, assuming he had addressed her by name. “He didn't mean you!” Scootaloo interrupted. “Whoa, calm down girls.” Thomas soothed, gently separating them. “Anypony who knows may answer me.” David and Nick each raised an eyebrow. Anypony? Thomas must be pretty damn good at acting. “I do! I do!” Sweetie Belle called, bouncing with excitement. “Okay, tell me about this Plague” he said, leaning back to listen. “It’s...” the naïve little pony faltered. “It’s pretty gross. Sick ponies just start puking everywhere. It doesn't even matter if they ate anything. After that, they get something called the trots.” “The Trots?” Thomas inquired. “Diarrhea.” Nick broke in. Thomas and David gave him a look. The Cutie Mark Crusaders were rather surprised, and scared, to see Nick and David behind them. In fact, they looked ready to run for their lives. “Helped cure a sick barn for my friend once.” He stated. “Don’t worry; he’s not going to hurt you.” Thomas soothed. He could tell the fillies were one wrong word away from running for their lives. “Yeah, sorry about last night. I just wasn't myself.” Nick nervously said, scratching his neck and looking away in embarrassment. Much like Scootaloo had done earlier. Thomas knew the ponies weren't really reassured, but that apology was the best his friend could do. He’d have to redeem himself to them later. “Anyways, back to the Plague?” Thomas prompted, knowing that things would get out of hand if they started in on why he had shouted at the ponies in the first place. “Right…” Apple Bloom muttered, keeping her eyes on the scary human. “Well, whenever somepony uses magic near the infected pony, they start puking and don't stop. Like, at all.” Sweetie Belle said. “That’s all?” Thomas asked. It sounded a little too pleasant, if this was the disease he thought it was. “It’s pretty gross when they die.” Scootaloo threw in, shuddering from a bad memory. “You don’t wanna know what happens.” “We've seen worse.” Nick stated. “Let me guess, they puke and puke until blood coats the room?” “EWW!!” The girls squealed in disgust. They couldn't even picture that. Well, except for Scootaloo. “Anyways,” Nick started, oblivious to how disturbing his last statement was. “It sounds like a simple case of cholera to me. With a lot of water and no “magic” around, it should work itself right out of her body. Though if pony immune systems are weaker than ours, a little Penicillin should give her enough of an edge to win the fight.” “Say whut?” Apple Bloom asked. “With a lot of water and a little medication, Applejack will be fine.” Thomas clarified. The moment those words left his mouth, Nick had a pony in his face. “Are you sayin... you can save mah sister??” Apple Bloom demanded, staring directly into Nick’s soul. “Uh… yeah…” he said, not quite knowing what to do. There were a few moments of silence as the little Earth filly processed his words. Then five different sets of ear drums exploded. “Yaaayyy!!” Apple Bloom squealed, bouncing around the room in absolute joy. Nick immediately took several steps back. He wanted no part of a hyperactive pony. While Thomas chased Apple Bloom around the room, David started thinking. They’d heal the sick pony of course, it would be cruel not to. Still, perhaps the cure of a deadly plague would be worth something to the town. If they were really stuck in a world of magic and ponies, maybe those magic ponies knew a way home… A well-dressed Earth Pony approached the entrance of Sweet Apple Acres with a bit of a hitch in his usual stride. This was outside his jurisdiction; usually Unicorns would be the ones coming to inspect patients. Unfortunately, the older mare who had shown up at the hospital was insisting that one of her granddaughters had caught the ‘Dark Plague’, and Unicorns were strictly forbidden from approaching patients suspected of having the deadly disease. Whenever a spell was cast nearby somepony suffering from the Plague… things got messy. He honestly didn't believe this was a real case of “VooDooFlu”, the informal name given by the ponies that had to deal with the badly mutilated bodies of dead patients. While it was true that VooDooFlu had decimated Ponyville more than a decade ago, it would be fairly unusual for such an epidemic to return so soon. Honestly, the young doctor had been ready to dismiss the claims that it had returned, until the old mare had shown him exactly how much willpower she still had within her old frame. He doubted she would actually force “shove that scalpel up his plot”, but disagreeing had seemed like a very bad idea at the time. An involuntary shiver passed through the pony when he reached the front door. Crazy as the old mare was, there was a chance she was actually telling the truth. If she was, then Ponyville was in very serious danger. He’d have to quarantine the patient, make sure the disease didn't have a chance to spread. The doctor hadn't been there for the last epidemic, but he’d seen the pictures, read the reports. Another wave of the Dark Plague would massacre the tightly packed citizens. Gathering his courage, the stallion knocked on the old wooden door. The Doctor really wasn't sure what to expect from the older brother of the Apples. He rarely went to the marketplace, the only place where the farmers and doctors interacted. He had heard that “Big Macintosh” was big, but quiet. The stallion did not disappoint on those fronts when he opened the front door. Big Mac was huge! He looked as if he could win a fight against a Manticore with ease! Yet, he also looked… vulnerable somehow. Something was afoot that he couldn't deal with. That was a bad sign. Big Mac ushered in the Doctor without a word. There was a quiet tension in the air. The Doctor wanted to ask his host a few questions, but didn't feel as if it would be a good time. The silence weighed heavily in the room, to break it would carry untold consequences. It was the epitome of awkward silences. This lasted for a few minutes, until the sound of a dry heave from down the hall broke the peace. Before the Doctor’s brain had finished processing the implications of that sound, Big Mac was up and moving. By the time the higher-class Earth Pony had gotten to the bedroom, Applejack had already thrown up. Her brother was getting the full…ugh…bucket away from the side of her bed and moving a clean one to its place. The Doctor had seen his share of gore over the years, and the vomit in that bucket nearly made him empty his own stomach. Even then, the most unsettling thing wasn't what was there. It was what wasn't there. “Her vomit seems entirely liquid. There’s no food chunks in there at all.” He noted to Big Mac, who was nuzzling his sister. “Same as last time.” The quiet Stallion grunted, after tucking Applejack back into bed. “A’int no rhyme or reason to it, just pukin’ your guts out.” “That isn't all, if I remember correctly.” The Doctor added. “Doesn't the patient start to suffer from extreme diarrhea soon after?” Big Mac swore under his breath. Without missing a beat, he gently pulled his sister out of bed and moved her to the outhouse. Not a moment too soon either, for as soon as they got there, Applejack whispered in her brother’s ear. He nodded, left her in the outhouse, and went galloping back to the barn. Apparently the diarrhea was setting in. “You’re doing a good job of caring for her.” The Doctor mentioned to Mac after he came back from the barn with a cot in his mouth. The Stallion barely even acknowledged him, giving a half-hearted nod on his way to the outhouse. The Doctor hid his smile. He’d been working with the families of sick ponies for years; he knew how well some could hide their anxiety. This sturdy farm worker wouldn’t show it, but he scared silly to lose his sister. He’d bet anything Big Macintosh had smiled when the Doctor was out of sight. Still, even as Big Mac disappeared into the outhouse, the Doctor’s own anxiety flared up. This was VooDooFloo, no doubt about it. He’d have to disinfect himself before returning to Ponyville. Dear Celestia, the town wasn’t ready for another wave of the Dark Plague! The foals could be orphaned, the school shut down… What if Mayor Mare got infected?! Or Cherrilee?! Or… Big Mac found the Doctor hyperventilating when he came out of the outhouse with Applejack on his back. The massive Stallion rolled his eyes. All that schoolin, and look. Broke down like a nervous schoolfilly. With a bit of a sigh, he rolled Applejack onto the emergency cot and slowly trotted over to panicking pony. He put one hoof on the unicorn’s shoulder and waited. Granny always said touching somepony helped relieve stress. Apple Bloom had been a little young the first time she heard it, and they spent the rest of that day explaining the difference between friendly touching and inappropriate touching. Thank Celestia she didn't need to have “the talk” yet. Before long, the tremors that were wracking the Doctor eased. “Sorry…” he mumbled. “Something, something just came over me there.” He said. Big Mac nodded. “I better get back to the hospital. They need to know what’s going on.” “Anythang you got ta help?” “No…Nothing you haven’t thought of already. You’re doing everything right. It’s like you've been through this before or something.” Big Mac nodded again, though this time it was more of an acknowledging gesture than anything. “Well, good luck.” Before he left, the Doctor locked eyes with the red stallion. “We will do everything in our power to cure your sister.” With that, he was gone. “Big Mac?...” He was instantly at Applejack’s side. “Ah think ah know what I got…” “Don’t you worry none, ahm sure them doctors…” Big Mac trailed off, not even he believed his own words. Applejack laughed softly. “Ya never was very smooth with words.” Big Mac just hugged his sister tightly, tears leaking from his eyes. “Will ya take care of Apple Bloom for me?” she asked, voice shaking as she held back her own tears. “Poor filly a’int ready to be on her own.” “Ya a’int leaving us, not yet.” Big Mac whispered. “Yur friend’s need you, We need you… Ah need you…”\ “Oh Big Mac…” Applejack cried, and buried her muzzle in her brother’s mane. Lyra was humming happily on her way home that day. That crack of the air she had heard yesterday from the forest was one of the strangest things that had happened to Ponyville… well, maybe not the strangest. For some reason, ever since that Summer Sun Festival, monsters had decided this was the ideal place to hunt ponies. Nightmare Moon had been the first, followed by an Ursa Minor, Discord, even a stampede of baby bunnies! Ever since she and Twilight first moved here (separately of course), it seemed like Tartarus itself was banging on the door. Still, the strange thing about that crack is that there was no magical way to produce it. Lyra had run straight into the library and nearly forgotten to bow to Twilight. It was so strange; having to bow before a pony you had more or less known since fillyhood. Twilight hated it too, she never failed to get embarrassed and insist it wasn't necessary. Everything was just so confusing, and nopony quite knew what to do. Still, she and Twilight had a long, in-depth discussion on that crack, and reached the same conclusion: Whatever had generated it wasn't magical. Naturally, Twilight had Spike immediately write a letter to the Princess. Lyra asked if she could include her own theory, on the off-chance Twilight was feeling open-minded. The condescending look told the mint-green pony more than she needed to know. Twilight offered to let her add her comments after her own report, but Lyra declined. The eccentric unicorn knew that nopony really respected her opinion anymore. Once, she had given a report on humans at a town meeting… since then, whenever she found herself talking with other ponies, they would smile politely and agree with what she happened to be talking about, then gossip behind her back about “that naiive Canterlot unicorn”. No, if she wanted to get the Princess’ attention, she’d need to write her own letter. Mailing it was out of the question. Though Derpy meant well, and did her job with remarkable speed, mail tended to get lost from time to time. Lyra knew she had to get her idea on what was happening in the forest to the princess while it was still fresh. If they got there late, she would be written off as a crackpot theorist, desperately trying to use strange circumstances to advance her theories. Lyra would have to be one of the first responders if she wanted any chance at being taken seriously. Which is how she ended up she kidnapping Spike. It didn’t start out as a kidnapping! She had simply offered to buy him a gem cupcake at Sugarcube Corner at first. He enjoyed it a lot, and agreed to a short walk afterwards. When nopony else seemed to be around, Lyra asked the baby dragon if he could write a letter for her. He said no, only Twilight could use him to contact Princess Celestia, unless it was a friendship letter from a bearer of harmony. She tried everything, begging, bribing, reasoning, blackmailing; but the baby dragon would not cooperate with her! Eventually, things got a little… out of hand. (HANDS!!) Lyra’s thoughts were nearly interrupted by the front door. Thankfully, she noticed before she got her horn whacked. Unicorns are the most sensitive of the ponies. All of their natural magic is focused in the horn, and any pain the horn feels is transmitted straight to the brain. Even a light flick on the horn is enough to cause pain; running into the door would’ve given Lyra a headache for an hour. She knew, it had happened before. Thank goodness Bon-Bon was such a caring friend. Speaking of Bon-Bon… “Hey! Bon-Bon! Where are you?!” Lyra called. She was just dying to tell her housemate all about the day. Bon-Bon was the only pony who really listened to her stories and theories. Everypony else would pretend to listen, others would blatantly turn away and ignore her. She tried not to let it show, but it hurt Lyra’s feelings every time she figured out somepony didn’t really care what she was saying. Wasn’t she a pony, same as them? Still, it never bothered Lyra too long. Bon-Bon was always there to make it better. Right on time, Bon-Bon emerged from the living room. Something felt… off though. Lyra’s best friend in the entire world, sometimes her only friend, wasn’t smiling. She had her head down, and her eyes were closed. Lyra forgot all about what she had been about to say, it didn’t matter now. Nothing did until Bon-Bon was happy again. “Hey, what gives? Are you all right?” Lyra asked, nuzzling her friend just behind the check, where she knew Bon-Bon was a little ticklish. The Beige-coated Earth mare visibly tried to resist what she knew Lyra was doing, but couldn’t hold back a twitch of the corners of her mouth. Lyra grinned, knowing she had gotten her hoof in a crack, and started tickling Bon-Bon’s belly with her tail. Her friend starting shaking, trying to hold onto whatever was making her feel bad, and failing. A grin was starting to spread over her face. Lyra giggled, and whispered “The Tickles don’t stop until you smile” in Bon-Bon’s ear. Bon-bon tried to push Lyra away, but failed; the shakes were getting to be too much for her. Finally, the dam broke loose, and Bon-Bon started giggling as bad as Lyra. The Unicorn was overjoyed she had fixed the problem, and playfully tackled her roommate and friend. They tussled around like fillies for a while, laughing the whole time. No matter how bad things were, the two ponies always found a way to keep each other smiling. It couldn’t last forever though; eventually the mares had to stop. When they did, it was with exhausted panting and playful pokes. There are some who say their love goes beyond friendship, neither Lyra nor Bon-Bon ever listen. Their lives are as intricately linked as a spider’s web, but they will never cross that invisible line. You don’t need to be in love to love each other. After the tickle fight, for lack of a better term, both ponies found themselves fairly hungry. And few candies are as good as Bon-Bon’s. “Hey Bon-Bon, what was that earlier?” Lyra asked around a mouthful of caramels “What was what?” Bon-Bon replied in a thick Canterlot accent. She had become quite adept at mimicking voices throughout her life, and switched voice to voice without even realizing it sometimes. “That long face you had on, I thought you’d heard that the Cake’s were buying us out or something.” “Oh.” Bon-Bon went quiet for a moment. When she started again, it was in a Los Pegasus accent. The one she used whenever there was bad news. “Um, Lyra, there’s something I need to tell you.” “What? Did the Princess order more candy than we can make? Are the Diamond Dogs trying to integrate into the Griffin clans?” “Lyra…The School of Gifted Unicorns isn’t supporting us anymore.” There was a pause, in which Bon-Bon looked like somepony had died, and Lyra just looked confused. “So? Who needs those closed-minded muttonheads? I don’t need their permission to look for humans!” “Lyra, if they aren’t funding you, you can’t cover your half of the rent anymore. You need to find a job now.” “No I don’t! I make a few bits playing my Lyre in the park sometimes.” Bon-Bon gently laid a hoof on her friend’s shoulder, giving her lifelong friend a sad, but understanding look. “You and I both know that won’t be enough. Do you want us to lose the house? What if we never see each other again?” Lyra’s voice started getting higher and more frantic. ”But… The humans… All my work…” “It’ll have to be left were it is Lyra. You won’t have the time with a job.” “But I’m so close! I can feel it! That sky crack, it had to be from a human!” Lyra was getting desperate. At this, Bon-Bon hugged her rapidly despairing friend, and softly began a mantra in her ear like a mother soothing her foal. “It’s okay, it’s okay…” Lyra finally broke down. She leaned heavily into Bon-Bon as sobs wracked her fragile frame. “Everything was finally coming together…” the mint-green pony murmured through her tears. “I was finally going to prove to everypony that humans are real...” “I believe you Lyra.” the Carmel earth pony whispered. “I always thought they were an old pony’s tale, but you convinced me that humans once walked Equestria’s soil.” Lyra was still crying, but her friend’s words brought a smile to her tear-soaked face. “I just wish everypony else could see it.” She whispered back. The two ponies nuzzled each other, finding happiness in not being alone. They would face this conflict, and together, they would move past it. The professors at Celestia’s school might have crushed Lyra’s dream, but with Bon-Bon around, they could never extinguish her heart. As hard as it would be, the PFFs (Pony Friends Forver) would survive. Right at the moment, there was a knock on the door. The two mares were too distracted to care much at first, but the knocking persisted. Eventually, Bon-Bon tore herself away their embrace and headed to the door to tell off this intruder distracting her from comforting Lyra. The heart-broken unicorn slid to the floor, sitting like a normal pony the first time in a very long time. The pony at the door turned out to be Princess Twilight. “Oh for Celestia’s sake! Why does everypony keep bowing to me?!” Twilight yelled when Bon-Bon fell to the floor. “EEEEE” Twilight hissed, failing to keep her frustration down. “Just. Call. Me. Twilight.” The young Alicorn hissed, giving Bon-Bon a decidedly creepy look. The beige Earth Pony decided she had had enough fun fooling around with royalty. Nopony had ever forgotten that Smarty Pants incident. “Yes Twilight.” Bon-Bon quickly replied. “What brings you here?” “Well, although Spike has a rather interesting story, he burped up a letter for Lyra. I figured it would be only right to deliver it to you.” The purple mare said, putting a scroll with the royal seal in front of the Earth mare. “Really?!” This was a very strange move for Celestia. “Yes. Spike said he had written a letter for her, but he also said a lot of other things. Things that I really don’t want to believe.” Twilight finished with a shudder. “Well… Thank you for bringing the letter Twilight. It will mean a lot to her.” Bon-Bon finished. Twilight was a good pony and all, but she probably shouldn’t be looking too deeply at Lyra. There were things that mare did nopony could understand. They never hurt anypony, but it was best if they stayed between her and Bon-Bon. “No problem. See you around!” With that Twilight left. Bon-Bon fell to the floor with a sigh of relief. She and Lyra were going to have a very talk about what had happened earlier. It could wait though. There was a good chance that this letter would be giving Lyra something she needed right now. Whatever it was.