//------------------------------// // 9. Fear // Story: Radiance // by flamevulture17 //------------------------------// [Fear] The sun slowly began to peek through the windows as it climbed above the flat horizon of the South Pacific. The old, worn-out blinds split the light onto the polished hardwood floor, which amplified the individual rays that funneled throughout the glass of the window and illuminated the entire lounge of the lone fishing station. Microscopic dust particles twinkled like hundreds of fireflies floating in the limelight of a movie theater. As the brilliant yellow hues intensified upon the faces of the sleeping occupants, one of them continued to grumble in its sleep. Stanley scrunched his face and shuffled in the couch chair. His head wobbled back and forth along the armrest as a lucid dream had him fighting for his life in an alien invasion in some obscure battlefield in a futuristic setting. The external heat from the sun began warming his face, warping the dreamworld as his senses threatened to break the surreal dream apart. Everything twisted and turned as if melting from intense heat that distorted and twirled the very structure of the world around him. He was too lost in his dream to end it too soon. He didn't want to go just yet and leave mankind to fight the aliens without him. He was in the middle of a skirmish when something appeared in his line of sight of his delusional world. The creature—a blue pegasus pony—hurled itself directly at him and- The dream ended. Stanley shot his eyes open, immediately closing them after a brief attack of sunlight pierced his sensitive vision. His upper body jerked out of the awkward sleeping position he found himself in curled up in. The scruffy blanket that covered his torso slid to the floor as he secured an upright posture on the comfy chair that contoured to his shape. The rapid heartbeat pounding in is chest forced him to slow his breathing to a more calm state to ease the pulses that pounded at his head. For a few short moments, Stanley sat silently with his eye closed. He took a few deep breaths as he tried to remember the dream he had. Not so much the dream itself, but what happened just before it was rudely interrupted. He wanted to ignore what it meant, but it seemed like there was no denying the events of the day before that started to seep into his subconscious and manifest into his dreams. Either that, or he going crazy. He finally recomposed himself after thinking about the strange dream. He could always forget it ever happened, but this one was quite the jolt when it was cut off. A single bead of sweat trickled down his right temple. He quickly wiped it away with a shaky hand and stretched his limbs and popped his finger joints. Stanley scanned the brightly lit room, hoping it was just as he left it. Nothing within his immediate vicinity had changed, except for one crucial thing. Besides the empty cans of soda on the glass table at the center of the room, the rainbow pony he was looking for was nowhere to be seen. His first thought was that she fell asleep like he did, but was unsure. She was not in the exact place he'd expect to find her. However, the sofa obstructed a large portion of the room, so it was only fair to assume she was behind the couch. In order to answer his own question, he got out of the chair and slowly walked to the sofa to check, careful not to step on the purple pony curled up in a ball. When the pegasus was not there to greet him, then he began to worry. He had a feeling she had to be somewhere close by doing... things. Who knows what kind of things. Dangerous things. Evil things. Stupid things. Stanley had no idea what these mythical ponies did in the morning. He tried setting aside his growing concerns for something more important. He stepped towards Kate on the other sofa and crouched next to her head and put two fingers on the side of her neck. He was both relieved and confused. Her pulse was strong. Like really strong, as if she was awake, but it was apparent that she wasn't. He sighed and headed to the kitchen to grab something to rid the bitter taste in his mouth. The noise he created caused another soul to shuffle in her sleep. The sound the door made when Stanley left the room woke a very refreshed Twilight Sparkle. Despite the solid surface of the floor she slept on, her psyche and physique had gotten the rest they needed. She cracked her eyes open and yawned as she stretched her legs. Shortly after getting to her hooves, she noticed the room was void of the two humans and Rainbow Dash. Cadence and Kate were still asleep, which lifted any anxious thoughts regarding the side effects of her malfunctioning mind spell the night before. Nothing seemed wrong with either of them. Twilight walked next to Cadence and caressed her mane. The threads of her hair were a bit frizzy, but nothing that a simple comb couldn't fix. She secretly thought of using the same cognition spell on the princess just to make sure she wasn't sick, but quickly decided against it. Preforming that type of magic on royalty without prior consent was not only strictly forbidden, but an act of treason Equestrian law. Twilight looked up from Cadence and craned her head to face the light shining through the window. Even with the blinds blocking some of the light, Celestia's sun felt warmer than she remembered. Perhaps it was because it was no longer the sun that her powerful mentor rose every morning. That thought sent a shiver down her spine. No longer did she have to think alone when the door at the end of the room opened up, revealing an exhausted bed-ridden human with another one of those metal soda cans in his hand. “Good morning,” she greeted with a warm smile. “Hm?” Stanley croaked as he took a sip. His demeanor was nothing short of the usual morning exhaustion that all ponies were known to exhibit after waking up, which meant he woke shortly before she did. The way he looked at her when he entered didn't lighten the mood. “I hope you slept well,” Twilight chimed, using the most polite voice she could muster. “Never been better,” he joked, passing the unicorn to enter the lobby at the other end of the room, but stopped directly in the doorway. Stanley noticed the front door was open, half assuming his cousin Lucas had begun working early, and half assuming something else entirely. “What's wrong?” Twilight cocked her head. “Where's your finger-biting friend?” he asked. “She better not be wrecking anything.” “I assure you she's not. I know Rainbow Dash all too well to know she wouldn't go so far as to destroy your property over a small misunderstanding.” “Small misunderstanding?” Stanley contended. “If you ask me, she hates us.” “She doesn't hate you, she just... needs more time.” Twilight stumbled over her words. It was tricky to come up with a suitable reason for her friend's attitude. Hopefully Rainbow would come to her senses sooner or later and view the humans the way she does. They are intelligent and advanced creatures from another world, not monstrous manticores that lived in the wild. Is it really that hard to comprehend that key fact? Stanley chose to trust Twilight's word that Rainbow wasn't up to some mischievous activities elsewhere around the isolated manor. He returned inside the lounge and headed back to his chair to relax a little. “If she really wants to fight, we could take it outside and duke it out there,” he laughed. No matter how convincing his challenge was, Stanley was lying through his teeth. His chances of winning a one-on-one fight were slim to none to a creature like her. “Duke what out where?” said a voice from behind. Stanley immediately sat up and snapped in the direction of the voice, almost dropping his drink. Upon sighting the vibrantly multicolored pegasus known as Rainbow Dash in the lambent room, his dream resurfaced in his short term memory like a buoy shooting above the surface of the ocean after being forcefully submerged. He snarled at her. “What are you up to now?” Stanley got up, set his drink on a nearby shelf, and started walking towards her. “You better not be wrecking this house.” Rainbow stood her ground as the tall human stopped a foot away, towering over her like a minotaur with a bone to pick. The man stood almost twice her height, rivaling that of even Princess Celestia, the tallest pony in Equestria. They glared at each other for a second until Twilight broke the ties. “Where did you go, Rainbow?” Rainbow Dash never took her large fuchsia eyes off of Stanley's own. “Flying around,” she replied. “How do I know you telling the truth?” Stanley accused. “Oh, so you're callin' me a liar now huh?” Rainbow retorted. “No no! We are not doing this now!” Twilight jumped between them, forcing the pair apart. Stanley stepped away and sat back in his seat. For once in his life, he doubted himself. He obviously refused to let his fears be reflected in his facial expressions and stature, but the idea of fighting another human being—or in this case, flying pony—did not turn out good in his head. He merely wanted to scare the pegasus into submission, which proved to be futile after so many attempts. To fake his persistence, Stanley continued to stare at Rainbow Dash, who glared back with just as much distrust. He really wanted to do something about her attitude, which seemed to improve a little bit, but not enough to redeem what she did to him. If she was really determined to keep her two pony friends safe, she should have already realized that they were already safe. The generosity of their hospitality made sure of that, thanks to Lucas. At least it's better than sleeping outside. She should be grateful. Stanley heart beat faster the longer he stared at Rainbow Dash. The more he thought about it, the less he actually wanted to resort to violent action to settle the ill conflict between them. Though, if it came down to a physical brawl, he hoped it wouldn't hurt too much. He didn't have life insurance if it went too far. Perhaps he needed to understand her perspective to get a better sense of why she was acting so aggressive, which could offer a solution to avoid such a serious conflict later on. After about a minute of consultation and contemplation, the back door opened behind Stanley. “What's going on in here?” asked a groggily Lucas, rubbing the sleepiness from his eyelids. As soon as he entered the room, Rainbow turned to leave. She insolently flicked her tail upon excusing herself out of the lounge, then out the front door of the lobby. “What did I say?” “Is she always like that?” Stanley asked Twilight, ignoring his cousin's intrusion. “Not usually, no.” “Is there anything you can do to change her mind? I can't keep doing this. She can't go on like that forever. I'll agree to lighten up if she does, too.” Twilight was somewhat surprised by the shift in his tone of voice, which wasn't what she was expecting. Although, her judgment was one-sided, based on the attitudes he expressed from the night before. It sounded more earnest and mature this time around. “I'll see what I can do.” “One more thing.” Stanley said. He glanced at Lucas who was now standing beside the chair. Twilight stopped before leaving the room. “Yes?” “I just want to ask one question. Are you afraid of us?” Twilight didn't reply right away. She honestly couldn't give an genuine answer. A question like that required more time to formulate a truthful response. Her reluctance to look at Stanley came down to the decision on whether or not to listen to what her emotions were telling her. She lifted a hoof to rub the back of her neck nervously. “Maybe a little,” she slowly murmured. Stanley nodded his head slowly. This confused Twilight, unfamiliar with the vague gesture. She quickly shook off the uneasiness from her shoulders. “Look,” she continued, cutting the conversation short. “I'll talk to Rainbow for you and give you a detailed answer when I've gotten through to her. Sound fair?” “Sure,” Stanley agreed with a nod. As Twilight exited the lounge and made her way outside the building to find her friend. Lucas turned to face his incredulous cousin. “I told you not to do anything stupid.” Stanley shook his head and got up to leave as well, shoving Lucas out of his way. “Whatever man.” He dragged his feet along the carpet. “I'm starving.” Stanley walked over to the table and grabbed his digital camera. He then departed the room to head straight for the kitchen, letting the weight of the door shut flush out any noise that disturbed the equanimity of the lounge. Lucas simply stood where he was pushed without an active thought about they way his cousin acted more fairly. He sighed and motioned over to the sofa to check Kate's vitals. Her heartbeat seemed to reflect his own, strong and healthy. After feeling her pulse, he left to join Stanley in the kitchen. “I could use some grub, too,” he said out loud, swiftly leaving the room. It's gonna be a long morning, he thought. “Rainbow!” Twilight trotted further towards the end of the wooden porch. The weather was clear and calm without a cloud in sight. The weather still baffled her on how a storm wrecked havoc over the land less than twelve hours prior without so much as scratching to the outside of the building with a few blemishes. The vibrant grass fields surrounding the building glistened from the dew drops like tiny prisms that were sprinkled all over the ground. Beyond the field was the boat house that had protected her and her friends from the storm, and the shifting surface of the sea extended for miles without end. The view was unlike anything she'd seen in Equestria. It was difficult to look away. “Rainbow Dash!” Twilight called a second time. The unicorn didn't have to wait long before her friend answered back by landing right in front of her, touching down on the dirt path that ran from the edge of the porch to a white fence a few yards away. The pegasus craned her neck, giving it a loud pop. “You called?” she said as she walked up to the porch, looking up at the purple mare. “Where did you go?” Twilight asked. “Around.” Rainbow twirled a hoof in the air. “No Rainbow,” the unicorn grunted, getting more upset with her by the second. “I need you to stop being so vague and tell me what you've been up you.” “Ugh fine, I was just flying around to stretch my wings and check out some sights. I'm not doing anything bad if that's what you're asking. I found a huge boat near where we landed on the beach over there. So what are you out here for anyway? Are those hornless minotaurs giving you trouble?” “That's that I came to talk to you about.” “The tall hornless minot-” “Don't call them that, they have names.” Twilight almost shouted in Rainbow's face for having to correct her again. She managed to control the irritation that itched in the back of her mind that threatened to manifest into an loud outburst. “I need you to be completely honest with me, what do you have against these humans?” Rainbow Dash never looked away from Twilight's piercing gaze. She could tell her friend was not playing around. The last time Twilight was this upset was about a month ago when she tried to break into the library to pull a prank on her. However, this was way different. “I don't know, I just don't trust them.” “Why don't you trust them?” “You see what they did,” Rainbow hinted. “And can you tell me exactly WHAT they did?” Twilight challenged. “Well... you know... sneaking up on us.” Rainbow was confident she had a good point. “I had to do something.” “No, Rainbow. No you didn't.” Twilight narrowed her eyes at the pegasus and walked down the steps to meet her at eye level. “They were just curious, as any intelligent and sentient beings are. They were simply investigating their property and happened to find us here.” “But what about that dull spear they had with them. It gave me the impression that they were hostile and knew we were there.” “Maybe, but do you honestly think they wouldn't take the necessary precautions. I know you had good intentions to think they were not friendly, but upon seeing us, I could tell they were shocked. What you did was not acceptable. Attacking them without any second thoughts only heightened their fears. Anyways, did it ever occur to you that they were generous enough to take us in and shelter us from the storm even if it meant giving up their own safety for our own?” Rainbow looked down at the ground and pawed a hoof in the dirt, feeling a shard of regret poke at her mind. The corner of her frown started to twitch. “Yes,” she flatly said. “Not only that, but you continue to cause them hurt when they were willing to help us out and gain our trust. We can't do that if you keep acting like this.” Twilight's words seemed to work their way into her friend who appeared more dejected with each word. If anything, Rainbow knew what she had done was wrong. Twilight could see the uneasiness flood those magenta eyes. “The Rainbow Dash I know would be more considerate of her surroundings and not assume too much to repeat her mistakes.” Twilight paused to let the speech sink in. “Remember when you insulted Rarity on her dress making skills because the dress she made for you for the Gala was not exactly how you wanted it? Even though you didn't really mean to hurt her feelings, she wouldn't talk to you for weeks. Remember that?” Rainbow looked away, surprised that Twilight brought up that unpleasant break in friendship that was more heartbreaking than being rejected by the Wonderbolts for the fifth time. “yes,” she whispered. “Please don't put me in Rarity's position. I'd hate to have to shut you out for any more than half of what she went through. I had to comfort her everyday before she regained her confidence.” “What if these... humans... are just pretending to take care of us so they can catch us when we least expect it?” Rainbow countered with her own slap of speculation, trying her best to justify her behavior. “If you really think that's true, then why did they start fighting each other? I believe they are no more of threat to us than they are of themselves.” Twilight shuddered at the thought, even though it wasn't too far from the truth. “You saw how they argued with each other. I feel like they can get along better, but our presence has only added to their stresses. We are already a burden to them as it is for just being here. Maybe we can help them with their problems, but we just need to give them our trust first. I don't want you to shatter our chances of befriending the humans when we need them the most.” Rainbow look up with a sad look in her eyes. “I just want to go home.” Twilight smiled, feeling the same level of homesickness. “I know, so do I.” Twilight paused to sigh. “But right now, we can't go anywhere until we know where we are and until Cadence wakes up. Think of it this way, the humans could be the scientific discovery of the century. I have a feeling they think the same way about us. They know what we are, but claim us to be just a myth. I have good reason to think we are not on the same planet anymore.” Rainbow's eyes went with at her final words. Another planet? Aliens? Her misguided fear, overprotective paranoia, and regret were replaced by the same interest that Twilight held since laying eyes on the new creatures. Upon reading the many Daring Do books, one of her favorites was Daring Do and the Kingdom of the Sapphire Skull. Despite the negative review by disappointed fans regarding the latest addition to the series, she was fascinated by the idea of alien creatures from other worlds. Her brief fangirlish thoughts were quickly shadowed by a doubt. “Wait wait, they don't look like aliens. They're more like an ancient Equestrian race in those of old stories. I hardly think they're harmless. I was just trying to protect you. The shorter one just gets on my nerves a little bit.” “Stanley?” “Yeah, him.” Twilight looked at Rainbow with a sympathetic smile. “Look, I know how far your loyalty extend, but we aren't exactly in danger anymore and this isn't the time to go around provoking everything you see. We just need to show them we come in peace and see if we can gain their trust without anypony getting hurt.” “If it makes you feel any better, I will do my best to get us home.” Twilight continued. “Fortunately for us, Cadence in an alicorn, and with out magic combined, we shouldn't have a problem getting back to Equestria. I really need you to be a little more merciful, for both our sakes.” Shortly after a howling silence and a light breeze brushed up against the coats of the two ponies, they heard a familiar scream coming from behind them. As soon as the sound hit Twilight and Rainbow Dash's eardrums, they instantly reacted by throwing themselves onto the porch and blazed their way through the front door. 3 minutes prior The silence inside the lounge was enough to hear the beat of a fly's wings from several meters away. In such a peaceful and calm setting, the two souls lying across from each other began to stir. As exhaustion washed over them, neither had the energy to open their eyes, trapped within a dark plane that separated them from the outside world. Katherine was somewhere, she didn't know where. It was too dark. Was it a dream? Or was she awake and it was just too dark to see? Her consciousness slipped in and out of reality as if she woke up and went back to sleep in mere seconds. It didn't feel like a dream, but more of a state of limbo. It felt like she couldn't move anymore than a few muscles before her entire body screamed in pain. And scream painfully it did. The blistering feeling finally pulled her out of her drifting awareness. She wanted to open her eyes, but they wouldn't comply yet. She could feel a soft cushion material underneath her and the warmth of bed sheet spread on top of her body. Her sense of touch was weak across all areas of her hands and she felt an unusual sensation creep up her back and up to her forehead. The strangest part was when that same tingle moved beyond her forehead, hovering a few inches above her skull. When it dissipated, she was able to think again. The last thing she remembered was arguing with Lucas and trying to rest her eyes in the cabin of her boat. Shortly after, she felt weightless and everything went black. Kate soon gained the use of her arms, but with sore results. It was like her entire body had worked itself to death. The rest of her body was still asleep, so all she could do was wait for her brain to start giving them commands. She didn't have to wait long. She took one long breath, but when she exhaled, it came out an unfamiliar snort. Her eyes shot open the instant the sound entered her ears. The brightness of her surroundings caused her to tightly squint in order to handle the onslaught of light. After a several moments of trying to adjust to the light, it took longer than normal. She brought her hands to her face to rub her eyes, but as they met her face, she hit herself with more force than she intended. Kate huffed after lightly punching her own face, but upon bringing her palm to her eyes with more caution, she quickly noticed that her hand would not open. In fact, she could not feel her fingers at all. Her mind struggled to stay afloat as she swam in swirling whirlpool of her panicking thoughts. Her entire body was now operational, allowing her to roll over and drop to the floor with a thud. The moment she tried to stand up, she fell back to the floor on her fists. Trying one more time, it became apparent that the ends of her arm did not feel like fists she was familiar with. They were more like hard gelatin molds attached to the ends of her shortened arms. For some reason, her posture felt more natural on all fours. If that didn't scare her, the moment she opened her eyes again to view her arms sent all of her emotions exploding all at once. Kate stumbled backwards upon seeing a completely foreign set of limbs where her long tan arms used to be and let out a shriek from a voice that did not belong to her. Lucas and Stanley stared at each other with wide eyes. “Did you hear that?” “Sure did.” Cutting short their delicious morning meal of canned soup and toasted bagels, both men hurried out of their chairs and darted out of the kitchen and into the lounge. The exact moment they entered, the purple unicorn and blue pegasus also ran in to investigate the same cry that originated from the lounge. All four pair of eyes fell on a startled pink alicorn pony who was stumbling beside the sofa she had previously occupied. Twilight ran to the frightened pony's side, trying her best to calm her down with her voice. “Cadence,” she cooed, wrapping a foreleg around the pony's back. Upon contact, the princess flinched. “Cadence, it's okay, look at me.” The moment the pony turned her head to Twilight, her eyes nearly shot out of her skull and forcefully pushed her away and fearfully staggered away across the floor, kicking up dust from the floorboards that sloshed in the air. “No no no, y-you can't be real,” gasped the alicorn, inhaling the dust and coughing. The navy-blue blanket was still dragging along the floor while hanging off her back as she tried to get away from Twilight. “What?” Twilight muttered as she noticed the confusion and fear in Cadence's expression. “No, we are safe here. I'm glad to see you're okay.” “W-what are you?” she stuttered. “Please, Cadence, settle down. Everything is alright, these two creatures took us in last night.” The alicorn's heartbeat pounded in her chest as the small pony continued to speak to her. Her body began to jitter and shake from the strange and unfamiliar sensations of her physical form. Reluctantly, her unblinking gaze followed the direction of the unicorn's hoof that pointed behind her. She slowly turned her head around where two bemused humans stood, silently staring at her. Rather than another shriek of terror from the royal princess, the men noticed the her distressed expression turn to one of relief. “Stanley? Lucas?” the pink pony said, crawling closer to them. “What is going on?” The moment it uttered their names, their hearts skipped a beat. They started backing away in shock as the pony princess struggled to crawl over to them. Reaching to the rifle that had been propped up near the door since first contact, Lucas felt uneasy when the pink mare invaded his area of comfort and approached them. She called them by their names, too. There no way he imagined that little detail. He pointed the rifle at her. “Stay back,” he demanded. “How do you know who we are?” Stanley hid behind his proactive cousin, unsure of what to do. He couldn't comprehend the way she said his name like she knew him. “Don't tell me you two idiots are serious?” the pony snarled. “This better not be one of your stupid pranks. And don't point that thing at me.” Lucas knew only one person in the world who gave him that sort of attitude, aside from Stanley. He lowered the barrel of his weapon and crouched. “How do you know our names?” he asked. “Come on, Lucas, I've had enough of your silly games. Take this stupid costume off of me.” “What are you talking about?” The pony sighed and glanced at the man behind Lucas. “I'm gonna kill you for this, Stanley.” The navigator continued to stare at the pink pony with his mouth agape. He did not respond and remained silent as she spoke to him. “Cadence?” Twilight echoed from behind. “Are you alright?” The mare returned her gaze toward the purple creature that spoken to her. She didn't have to study the creature's figure before looking back at the humans. “What's all this?” she asked, pointing at Twilight. “You guys have really outdone yourselves into scaring the hell out of me. Now help me up.” The pony shifted her weight on all four of her hooves trying to find a center of balance that was most comfortable. However, she was not satisfied with remaining on all fours, trying her best to stand on her hind legs with little success. Neither party wanted to move to help the princess to her hooves. They were more confused than ever. Seeing how she was acting, Stanley had an idea. “Kate?” he croaked. “What?” “Is that you?” “Are you blind? Of course it's me.” Stanley chuckled and put a hand on Lucas' shoulder. For once, this was an opportunity to mess with Kate's mind. “Relax, dude. Can you see the Princess needs help?” he walked over to the pink pony and stooped down to his knees. “Need some assistance, your Majesty?” Before she could comment on the charming remark, Twilight also walked over to lend a hoof. When not-Cadence noticed, she jolted her body away again, slamming her horn onto Stanley's forehead. “GAH!” he yelped, covering left his eye with a hand. “Watch where you point that thing.” “What's that thing still doing here?” she beckoned, ignoring what had poked him in the face. “Her name is...” he paused, snapping his fingers for the right word. “I forgot.” “Twilight Sparkle,” the unicorn replied. “I'm sorry, but I'm still confused. Do you remember who I am, Cadence?” Not-Cadence ignored the fact that a small lavender unicorn was talking and continued to think of it was part of Stanley's prank. She didn't care about her brief humiliation as long as she had the power to punish her employees when this was over. “Can't say I do. And stop calling me that.” “It's your name, isn't it?” “No, it's not.” “I'm sorry, but if you are not Cadence, then who are you?” Twilight was sure of the answer, but needed confirmation that her assumptions were correct. “Kate.” She paused and turned her head, flipping the conversation. “Hey Stanley, how did you get this robot pony to look so real.” “That's because she is real.” The conscious manifestation of Kate in the body of Cadence looked at Stanley with a blank face and glared at him with her lilac eyes. Her first instinct was to call him out on his lie, but he looked dead serious as he spoke. Unlike his previous attempts at playing small tricks on her, this was far too extraordinary and expensive for either Lucas or Stanley to pull off. Besides, what happened to the boat and the storm? How did she get here? The station was never this serene. This has got to be a dream, she thought. The fear and pain, however, contradicted anything she could think of to explain the situation she found herself in. While thinking about what that meant for the “costume” she was dressed in and the talking purple unicorn by her side, she shook her head, refusing to believe what eyes were seeing. She opened her mouth to speak. “Wait!” interrupted the lavender unicorn before the Cadence imposter could articulate a single syllable. “If you're the Kate human in the body of Princess Cadence, than that must mean...” she trailed off as she slowly glanced over to the sofa where the physical body of Kate began to groan beneath the blankets.