//------------------------------// // All Out // Story: Two Weeks // by NotARealPonydotcom //------------------------------// All Out ____________________________________________________________________ In the real world, the Moonstone looks a lot like a crystal ball. It is perfectly clear, save for the flaws that decorate the inside. Each one of these flaws is unique, a snowflake suspended in a single moment; put against a dark background, they give off the appearance of stars in the night sky, or maybe a midnight snowfall (with the name Moonstone, though, the former seems a more proper comparison). In the sphere's center is another flaw, or what looks enough like one, anyway; a minuscule white dot sits there, shining light through the glassy orb. In the dark, the Moonstone shines the silhouettes of the flaws onto whatever surfaces are around it, giving, say, a bedroom, all the look and feel of an observatory. It's smaller than in my dream, too; whereas I previously needed to hold it in both hands, in reality it's only about the size of a polo ball, maybe even a bit smaller. It would look wonderful as a Hearth's Warming tree ornament—even better, as its star. Right now, though, it's sitting in the middle of the coffee table in Rarity's living room. I'm sitting right in front of it, on a comfortable purple chair made of what feels almost like a cloud. I'm waiting for Rarity, who's preparing some tea for the both of us, despite the fact that I'm not thirsty. In fact, I had insisted on just telling her the truth right when I'd first woken up in her bed. She, however, insisted back that we both properly wake up—we both want our heads to be clear when we talk, she claimed. A stalling technique, if ever there was one. "Right," echoes Rarity's voice from the kitchen entrance. I don't look up from the Moonstone as she walks into the room and sets a steaming cup of tea in front of me. My focus shifts from the orb to the cup as she sits down; it's green tea. I smell jasmine. "I hope you don't mind jasmine," she confirms, sipping from her own cup. "I find it very useful when I'm trying to think clearly while under a lot of stress. I hope that you'll find it helpful as well." "Thank you," I mutter, taking the cup in one claw. I take a long, slow drag from it, trying to stall the oncoming conversation as much as possible. It's actually very tasty, and the warmth that trickles into my stomach eases the nausea I've been suffering from ever since Rarity brought me downstairs. Setting the cup down, I let out a hot breath and watch the small cloud of steam rise up from my lips. "So." Rarity's voice captures my attention. I focus my eyes on her; she's looking at me with a stern, but patient expression. "So?" "So, what exactly do you need to tell me?" She gestures to the Moonstone. "I suppose it involves this." I nod, but don't say anything. "Am I supposed to guess what it is?" "No. It's called the Moonstone." "The Moonstone? Not a Moonstone?" Another nod. "There's only one." I point to it. "And how, exactly, did it appear in a flash of light in your claws not twenty minutes ago?" "Princess Luna gave it to me." This surprises her. She probably thinks I'm talking about her Princess Luna. "Come again?" "Princess Luna gave it to me. She said it was the source of her magic." Rarity looks down at the Moonstone. "The source of..." She looks back up at me. "You've met Princess Luna?" Nod. "We've been meeting for a while, actually. I just didn't know it was her. I thought I was dreaming. Well, I was dreaming, but you get the point." "Actually, darling, I don't. You mean to tell me that you've been communicating with Princess Luna for... how long did you say?" "I didn't." A pause, in which Rarity tilts her head expectantly. "It's been a week, now." "So, ever since you showed up here." She's figuring it out all on her own. Good for her. "Mm-hmm." She stares at the Moonstone for a while, then sighs and sips her tea again. "Alright, I'll bite. What does it do, then?" "The Moonstone?" "Yes, darling." "It..." How do I phrase this the right way? "...It takes me home." That was not the right way. "...And where is home?" I take another huge gulp of tea, trying to ease my churning stomach. When that fails, I turn my head down towards it, hoping that maybe I can stare it into calming down. "Emerald?" Rarity bends her head down to try and look me in the eye. "You promised me, remember?" You're not the only one, I think, and smirk without meaning to. "Yeah, I did. I just wish the truth didn't suck so much." "Darling," she insists, resting a claw on my shoulder, "it would be better than lying again." I look up, into her sapphire eyes. She brought herself close; I think maybe she might be expecting me to kiss her. Instead, I mutter, "I don't think I agree with you." She huffs, and sits back on her couch, crossing her arms. "Tell me anyway. Where are you from, Emerald?" "My name's not Emerald," I suddenly spit out, a bit more harshly than I intended. She starts a bit, almost spilling her tea on herself. "A—Alright then," she stammers, once she'd gotten a hold on her cup again. "Your name isn't Emerald. What's your real name, then?" I just stare at her claw, wrapped around the teacup so tightly. It occurs to me that she might be just as unwilling to know the truth as I am. "I can't tell you. Not yet." We make eye contact again, and I think she sees how badly I don't want her to know my name, because she sighs again, sips her tea, and says, "Fine. We can save that for later." She sets the sup down and folds her hands properly in her lap. "Back to this Moonstone, then. You said it would take you home." "Yes." "Where is that?" "It's... hard to explain." "Oh, I'm certain. But, given that neither of us have any plans to be anywhere for the rest of today, you have plenty of time to regale me with the stories of your past." She leans towards me again, now with a deadly serious look in her eye. "I will ask you once more: where is 'home' for you?" "...Ponyville." "Speak up. You sound like Fluttershy." I grit my teeth and force myself to speak louder. "Ponyville," I hiss. "Never heard of it, dear." Never heard of it. Oh Celestia, she doesn't even make the connection. Something about the way she said it, maybe her deadpan tone or the disappointed look in her eyes as she spoke, is just too damn funny. It shouldn't be, but it is, and I can't hold it back. I laugh. Hard. It starts in chuckles, small ones that make my head shake. Then I'm grinning, and letting out more and more, until finally I rear my head back and let it out in huge, lung-emptying roars. I can see Rarity out of the corner of my eye, leaning back in her seat, eyes wide with shock. She must think I'm crazy. Heck, I think I'm crazy at this point—wasn't I just diagnosed with emotional instability by Luna, anyway? The laughter shakes my body, and my chest is aching by the time I finally get a hold on myself. Actually, I only half-get a hold on myself: the laughter still comes, but my attempts to stop it force it to only pass my lips in the form of wheezes that sound like they should be coming from a dying old drake. I clutch my chest as I wheeze and bend forward again, and my other hand reaches for my tea cup. I shakily bring it to my lips, and the jasmine soothes away the last of my laughter. I look back up at Rarity when I'm done; she's giving me the look of a dragoness afraid for her life, as I suspected. I give her a big, grim grin. "Sorry. I didn't mean to laugh like that." "I—I don't see what's so funny," she replies, and I almost go back into Laughtertown full throttle. "No you don't. Not just yet." "Oh." She shifts in her seat nervously; obviously, I've made her quite uncomfortable. "Sorry," I repeat, realizing how terribly this is all going. "I—I sound totally insane right now, don't I?" She gives me a small nod as confirmation. I notice that her claws are gripping her couch cushion very tightly. "I didn't mean to come off that way, this is just—" I groan and bring a claw to my forehead, feeling the beginnings of a migraine set in. "Look, I don't think there's any way for me to say this without sounding completely insane, but I want you to know that I'm really trying my best here to make it sound believable to you." "Make what sound believable?" Her voice is wavering. I move my claw away to see that she's staring at me with big, sad eyes. "You still haven't told me anything about who you are." "I told you my name—" "No you didn't!" she yells. Her eyes are shimmering. "All you've said is who you aren't! You keep skirting around my questions, Emerald, or whomever you are!" She shuts her eyes, and takes two deep breaths before continuing: "Now, let's try this again: You are from where?" "Ponyville." It sounds so alien when I say it aloud. "And that is where in Serpentia?" "It's not in Serpentia." She opens her eyes enough to glare at me. "Alright, then where is it?" "It's in Equestria." "Again, I'm afraid I've never heard of such a place—" "That's because it's not a part of this world." Her eyes open completely now. She's still glaring at me, but she doesn't look so tired anymore. Silently, she prompts me to continue. "Equestria is... from another universe." I pause, expecting some sort of response from Rarity—not a word. So: "It's a lot like this one, with a few... minor differences. Like, for instance, there're hardly any dragons around. It's all ponies, like Spike." The more I talk, the more I have to avoid her eyes and wring my hands to keep from stalling and stopping. "A-And, like, instead of Night Fury, we've got Nightmare Moon. Then there's, um, the Summer Sun Celebration, except that's pretty much the same in Equestria as it is here, and—" "Equestria..." Rarity breathes, loudly enough to stop me. She stares straight through me with clear blue eyes and whispers, "Serpentia..." "Uh... yeah." I try smiling. "Do—Do you understand what I'm trying to say?" Her jaw unhinges a little. Slowly, she nods, and leans back into the cushions of her couch. "Good. That's good. I'm glad we can move on." I try to take another sip of tea, only to find that I've finished it. I must have been taking larger gulps than I thought. I put the empty cup down on its saucer, and try to relax, just a little. "S-So..." Rarity squeaks out, "this"—she points a finger at the Moonstone—"is some sort of... transport... back to your world?" "Yes." "Equestria." "Yes." She stares at the orb, then at me. "And you got it from... Princess Luna?" "Yes. My Princess Luna." "Not a dragon?" "Nope. Alicorn." "A what?" "It's... like a unicorn with wings. And a lot more magic." "Ah." Sip. "And I presume she sent you here?" "Actually, I don't know how I got here. There are still a lot of unanswered questions." My headache spikes suddenly, and my claw drifts to my forehead. "What I do know is that it's partly my fault. Actually, it's mostly my fault. I made a wish on a shooting star—don't laugh—and it apparently sent me here. I don't want to believe that that's true, but... Luna showed me something that tells me it probably is." "So, you made a wish, and you just... appeared here?" "Um, I think so. I was kind of unconscious when the teleportation actually happened. I appeared in this clearing, out in the Everfree Forest. It was by a bunch of cows in a stable." "That would be the Apple Family's livestock." "Regardless of whose cows they were, that's where I showed up. Heck, there might still be an indent in the ground where I poofed in." "And this was a week ago?" "Just about, yeah. And... I had a message with me when I woke up..." "Yes?" "It... told me I had a time limit." Rarity frowns, but says nothing. "I—I was going to tell you..." No response. She just stares. "...I can only spend two weeks here. That's when the Moonstone is going to take me back to my world. So, in a week, I'll be... gone." Still no response. Rarity just looks at me with that small, disappointed frown. "Look, I promised you I wouldn't lie anymore, and I haven't. Everything you've heard from me is the truth." I feel like I'm scrambling to catch something before it falls over a ledge of some kind. "I really hate that it has to be this way, and I was looking for ways to get out of it, but Luna told me that there's nothing I can do. If I'd known right at the beginning, I wouldn't have..." I trail off because Rarity doesn't react at all. All I get is that frown. We spend a minute in silence, looking at each other. I'm waiting for her to start crying, or maybe she'll just yell at me, or even (Celestia forbid!) smile—anything that's not this. But she just stares, and frowns, and I feel squeamish and tiny and jittery all at once. Finally, she looks away from me and down at her tea. She finishes it in long, deep swallows, sets the cup and saucer down on her coffee table, and gets up. Slowly, she comes over to me, and as if by command, I stand up too. When she reaches me, she's not frowning anymore: now it's a small, somehow comforting smile. Without warning, she moves in close and hugs me, making me jump. I'm shaking like a maddrake, but I return the hug as best as I can. Rarity buries her snout into my shoulder. "Y-You believe me?" I stammer, staring at the Moonstone. I hear her muffled answer: "I think I do, yes." Her grip on me tightens, and she pulls her head away so that she can look me in the eye. "Only a week?" she asks. I nod, and she cups my cheek in her claw. Her smile grows only a smidgen bigger, and I think I see a sparkle in her eye. She turns and looks down at the Moonstone. Picking it up, she puts it firmly in my claw, gripping it tightly with hers. "Good." There's a rush of color. Then I'm not in the boutique anymore. "What the..." I'm standing in the street, and it takes only the time needed to spin around to see that I've been teleported outside Rarity's home. I don't realize what's happening until the dome comes down around the building, trapping me outside it. "Oh no." I walk up to the dome and put my hand on it. I get a shock, like the one between Spike and I, and a memory from a long time ago surfaces. I've seen this dome, only once before. It was years and years ago, back when Twilight and I were still relatively new to Ponyville. Rarity put this thing around the boutique after the Grand Galloping Gala fiasco, when she was all torn up about Blueblood and her ruined fantasy. For a whole week, nopony could get past it, and of course nopony ever left it. It was completely soundproof, but some ponies said they could see something happening inside the boutique. Most of them reported cases of flying furniture. When the dome vanished and Rarity stepped out, she was totally fine. Mention Blueblood to her, and she'd shrug it off like he was nothing anymore. As if she'd never even known he'd existed. "Oh no." She's in there now, crying again, because of me. Should I worry, though? No, because it'll be just like Blueblood. She'll only be in there for a week, and then she'll be fine. Only a week.