//------------------------------// // The Great Reveal // Story: Able bodied // by The Sumareian //------------------------------// "Come on Able, The princess said this plan would work." Lyra for the fifth time in the last couple of minutes, looked up to the tree branches where Able was clinging to the largest one for dear life. "I doubt her plan involved me breaking my legs." Able glanced quickly down to the mare and looked back up. "Why are the trees here so tall?" Lyra shook her head at Able. She didn't want to admit it herself but as soon as they got to the park she wondered if the princesses plan would work, after all she and maybe every pony in Ponyville haven't had their plans go exactly as they wanted. Bon-Bon still wouldn't let her live down their picnic when Discord rolled into town with his storm of chaos. Still one a part of Lyra knew that she would have to trust Luna. After all, aside from the whole shouting thing which she seemed to have gotten under control. She seemed to be a genuinely nice pony, that and she was the only pony who had an idea on how to revel Able. The gentle rustling of grass made her turn her head. There trotting up was one of Lunas guards, thought her outward appearance wouldn't have suggested it since her soft pink coat was a stark contrast between the stone grey ponies who were watching her like hawks as she made toast. "Ms. Heartstrings." The mare said with a air of authority, "Is our guest...." She trailed off as she looked up to where Able was in the tree. "ready?" Lyra followed her stare to see Able still clinging to the branch for dear life as a huge spider slowly made its way on top of his head. Able, in a term he used once was 'about to piss his pants in fear.' "Help, me." Able managed to squeak out, as the arachnid slowly crawled onto his back. "You really are a big baby you know that Able." Lyra grumbled as she lit up her horn and harmlessly lifted the spider into the air. Able though now slightly relaxed still clung to his branch like a cat over bath water. "Well I see that, our guest is....well ready." The mare smiled, something Lyra thought all of the royal guards were incapable of doing. "We're still having some complications with the glamour spell for the princess." "Is it bad?" Lyra asked. "No, not at all. I'm guessing now she is regretting all those moon-pies she sneaks at night." She chuckled slightly. "I swear, the chefs in the kitchen need to tell her no one of these days." Lyra looked at the bushes where the princess and some of her guards were preparing for the plan. That in her opinion was a really complicated plan that might work, but she was a gambling pony and if it didn't there was always Ponyville since more crazy things happen there in two days than the rest of Equestria in two decades. ********************************** "Harper, calm down." Stormy stepped in front of the pacing stallion. Who for the last ten minutes was not only pacing but mumbling to himself about an angry mob with pitchforks and torches. "But Stormy, what if they don't react the way we hope? What if everypony decides to chase him and the ponies who helped him out of town? Where would we go, it's not like the princess would take us back to Canterlot with her." Harper side stepped around her and continued his rant. "I mean, really where could we go with him? We would have to build a cabin out in the wilderness. Fighting bears for a few berries, having to stay inside because of the weather." "Harper." Stormy turned his head to her and stared into his eyes. "Nothing bad is going to happen. The princesses plan will work." Stormy tried to reassure him. "Yeah, a human jumping down a well to save a little filly. They're going to welcome Able with open hooves." Harper said not trying to hide any sarcasm. Harper's ears flicked wildly as he continued on about how all the ponies would panic. Stormy glanced over to the tree where Lyra was sitting. She was causally sitting there, occasionally looking up to where she guessed Able was then turning her head back to the old well in the middle of the park. "Lyra is always getting us into these zany adventures isn't she?" Harper paused behind her, both of them knew it was Lyra's daring plan to get the mayor to send that letter out to the princesses. Harper forgetting his fervent rant trotted up next to Stormy and smiled sentimentally. Stormy leaned into his shoulder, she didn't want to admit it herself but she was a bit jealous of Lyra. She would always see the world differently than the two of them, and because of that she was always dragging them along just to find some made up thing that just popped into her head. "Seriously you two should just kiss already." Both of them jumped as one of Luna's guards quietly touched down next to them. "What?! No!" Both Harper and Stormy started at the same time, they both blinked as they registered a subtle warmth in their cheeks. "We're just friends, nothing more." The guardspony grinned at the two of them, his wicked fangs glinting in the afternoon sun. "The two of you are blushing." He giggled a bit. Both of them looked at each others faces and quickly and shyly tried to hide their embarrassment. This caused the guardspony to once again crackup and laugh at the two of them. "Oh, you two are a riot." He chuckled once again. "Okay, okay serious," He took a deep breath and slowly let it out." We're all ready to go, the princess will fall in about a minute or two and the commander told me to get you two in position." Harper felt his stomach drop, "Right now?" "Yes right now, though I'm pretty sure the commander would understand if you two love birds decide to show up late to the party, if you catch my meaning." He raised his eyebrow a the two of them. "Astra! I swear if you don't stop messing with those two you'll be galloping the streets of Canterlot until I'm sick." Somepony shouted from a nearby bush, causing Astra to stand at attention. "Ma'm." He saluted to the bush and curtly turned to Harper and Stormy. "The princess told me to tell you that this plan of hers will work." and with that he quickly sprang back into the air where he disappeared in a nearby grouping of clouds. Harper gulped loudly, at the prospect of the possible fiasco that was about to happen. He wasn't sure at this point if he should turn tail and run away, or hide and wait this whole thing out. "Well," Stormy used her wing to grab hold of his midsection. "No time to meet disaster and opportunity at the same time like now." Stormy nudged him forward, and the both stated trotting to what in Harper's mind might as well be exile. -- "Help, help!!" Lyra sat up, that was the queue after all. She looked up at Able, who was slowly and futilely trying to make his way down the tree. "Oh, my goodness. Somepony is down there." Lyra felt her ear flick, when she heard Stormy loudly announce the situation. Turning her head she already started to see a crowd start to form around the well. Lyra smiled to herself, if she had any idea what details Luna wanted to put in she simple had to wait one more second. "And queue the crying mother." Lyra pointed to the clump of bushes the pink mare had vanished to a couple of minutes ago. Like clockwork she burst out of the bushes, her mane only a bit frazzled a look of concern pasted all over her face. Had Lyra not known about the plan this at least to her would have looked pretty real. "Oh, shit!" followed by a somewhat painful sounding thud meant Able was now out of the tree. "You alright there Abe?" She looked back to see him rubbing his lower back with a sour look on his face. "About as alright as someone who nearly shattered their ass could be." he snarked as he got to his feet. Lyra, rolled her eyes before turning her attention back to the forming crowd. She was a bit surprised at how quickly it had grown, and really how many non ponies made up the group. Griffons and Minotaurs of all shapes and sizes were scattered about the crowd all looking with a hint of concern at the well. "Well this got interesting real fast." She said aloud to herself. "What do you mean?" Able asked as he knelled next to her,in an attempt to hide himself for a bit longer. "Nothing major really, just the crowd we are drawing to the well has a lot more non ponies than I thought it would." Lyra surveyed the crowd in hopes of seeing either Harper or Stormy, both of whom were standing near the well talking to a griffoness about something. "Not that the content of the crowd makes a difference, I just haven't seen this varied of a crowd in a good while." "So when do we know when to run?" Able looked nervously down the hill they sat on. Apparently Stormy somehow heard Ables question since she looked up at the two of them and flicked her left wing into Harpers side. Lyra personally regretted not paying attention to what the signal was because she knew that wasn't it, but if she waited any longer someone would get the fire department out here to "save" Luna. She decided the plan was a go. "Looks like we're up." she nudged him with her shoulder. All she was met with was silence, as she turned her head to see able almost completely motionless. "Don't tell me you got cold hooves." She hissed at him. All Able did was numbly stare at the crowd. "Come on Abe, its just like when you were little and you had to do that one thing for your school play." Lyra remembered him describing his hatred for the school plays he was forced into when he was little. Able continued to stare numbly at the growing crowd. Lyra looked at where Stormy and Harper were, both of them vigorously waving and gesturing to the two of them. She had to think of something, anything to get Able moving, then it hit her. "Hey, Able," She turned her head to him. "You remember that spider I took of your back. I think it had a friend... or two." She waited for Able to respond. -- "I think it had a friend... or two." All the thoughts of how crazy this plan was jumped right out of his mind as soon as he heard Lyra utter those words. He went from slightly nervous, to shit your pants and cry terrified right then. He tore away his eyes from the crowd to see the mare inching away in fear. He could only think of one thing to say. "Holy, shit." and with that he was sprinting down the hill in complete and total terror. Able grabbed at his hoodie and tore it off, hopping those eight legged monstrosities would be satisfied with it. As he felt the sleeve pass of his wrist he felt a slow careful and above all hair touch on the back of his neck, then another and another. Able wasting no time grabbed at the back of his neck, only for another furry poke to land atop his finger. There were two thing Able would admit to being afraid of and that was being on fire, and spiders. and at the rate of furry pokes he was getting he stated to wish he was on fire, that way at least the spiders on him would be dead. As he flicked his wrist down, in hope of knocking one of them off he suddenly felt himself falling forward. "Oh shit!!!" -- "What in Equestria was that thing?" Somepony in the crowd asked, as the crowd of concerned bystanders started to press closer to the well. Harper tried to scoot his way out of the crowd, still keeping his eyes on the mouth of the well where the faint sound of Able splashing into the water gurgled out. "Hey sis, didn't that thing look like that creature we saw in the forest." Harpers ears perked as soon as he recognized Holly's voice. "Shhhh. If it is we shouldn't go and start a panic, we should try and at the least get it away from the town." Evergreen furtively commented to her sister. "Yeah, but if it is shouldn't we at lea-." Harper stopped listening, as somepony shoved him in the side. "Hey ,watch it." He turned his head to come face to face with the pair of sisters. Both of whom stared back at him in surprise. Harper mentally kicked himself for forgetting that they had run into Able before, and they still thought we was some type of unknown monster. "Harper?" Holly broke the somewhat awkward silence. " What are you doing here?" "I was," Harper tried his best to remember the cover story he made up, in case somepony asked him. "Walking through the park, with Stormy. When we heard all the commotion." Harper managed to stop his ear from twitching. He saw his chance to see if the sisters were going to do something about him. "Oh my gosh, everypony look." Harper, and the sisters turned their heads to the well. There the little filly, or more accurately the princess who was disguised as a little filly climbed her way out of the well. Just as Lunas "Mother" came in and gave her an affectionate hug and a mock scolding, Harper saw Ables hand reach over the lip of the well. Everyone in the crowd gasped as he pulled himself out of the well. Harper felt his heart stop as, he saw a look of shock and horror start to spread across the faces of the crowd. As Able stood up and looked out over all the ponies, griffons and scattered minotaurs. Able looked like a colt with his hoof in the cookie jar, as he stared back to the crowd. "Holly, go get my crossbow." Evergreen whispered under her breath to her sister. "Like heck I will, the last time you went after that thing by yourself Harper here had to drag your unconscious flank back to his house." She hissed back to her younger sister. Harper, turned his attention back to Able. Again he felt his heart skip a beat, as he saw Luna inch up to him. He knew this was it, if nopony bought this part of Lunas plan he was done for. He swore that the world held it breath as she gently tugged on his pant leg. "Th- thank you, mister." and with that Luna hugged his leg. Harper waited for the crowds response, hoping to whatever higher power or powers that existed out there wouldn't let all these ponies panic. He waited for the panicked screams to start, but nothing happened. He looked up to see a few more ponies milling in place, before a slow clop started to echo over the quiet and somewhat shocked crowd.The slow clop quickly grew into a thunderous applause, as more and more ponies started to hoot and holler. "That actually worked?" Harper said as he looked at the cheering crowd numbly. He really couldn't believe that Lunas plan worked, let alone so well. -- "Way to go Abe, way to go." Lyra watched the scene unfold as the cheering ponies start to swarm Able looking him over with curious eyes. Admittedly she was a bit surprised nopony brought up the fact that he was human, but then again the comics she read growing up were more than a bit obscure. She, leaned back against the tree Able was in not ten minutes ago. Secretly she wanted to skip around the tree shouting yes at the top of her lungs until she passed out, but she was content to see all the ponies not in a full on panic. "Our plan worked out excellently, did it not?" Lyra jumped a bit, as the lunar princess trotted next to her. "Wait," Lyra pointed to the little filly that Able helped out of the well. "Aren't you there..." She looked between the two, completely confused. "Lets just say, our glamour spells are a bit more than rusty." Luna smiled, as she looked at the filly who gave her a friendly wave." However, it turns out we can still help ponies conquer their fear of the dark." she returned the wave. "Oh,what twas that saying? Small world, big acts of kindness, or something along those lines." Lyra smiled as a cool breeze brushed past the two of them. "I think you mean. One small kindness in a small world gives that kindness all it needs to grow into something big." She tilted her head up the the princess. "If I remember right, that's one of Starswirl the bearded's more noted quotes." "Indeed it was," Luna, knelt down next to her. "You seem vaguely familiar Ms. Heartstrings tell us do you reside in Ponyville?" "Indeed I do your majesty." Lyra nodded. "I was the mummy who challenged you to the candy corn eating contest last Nightmare night ." Lyra pressed her tongue to the three fillings she had to get a week after last years Nightmare night. "Yes, well." Lyra noticed the slight blush forming on the princesses cheeks, since after she easily out ate her in a matter of moments, she gave her prize to that little colt Pipsqueak. " Merriment aside. Its good to see a familiar face outside the palace." "Likewise.... Well minus the whole palace thing." She smiled warmly to the princess of the night who in turn smiled back to her. A loud scream snapped their attention back to the crowd. Lyra searched the crowd for Able after all he towered over the ponies by a full three hooves. All she noticed was that all the ponies were backing away from something. Lyra wasting no time sprang to her hooves and galloped as fast as she could to the commotion. As she pushed her way through the crowd, her mind was racing, wondering what happened, did Able slip and fall, did somepony cast some type of spell that could have hurt him or somepony else. As she burst into the circle, she saw Able laying face down in the grass with Harper and Stormy making their way to Ables side as well. "Did you two see what happened?" She looked up to see her cousin and friend galloped up. Lyra put a hoof on Ables shoulder to roll him over. Ables eye whited out eyes was the first thing that caught her attention, then his nose let loose a small stream of blood. Harper looked up and around before shouting. "Somepony call a doctor."