Chapter 2
“You built your Heaven”
I stared at Twilight as she sat on the throne, looking at me with cold eyes. I couldn't believe what she said. She didn’t know me? How was that even?
“Twi, I know you’re mad,” I said, looking at her, “but, how can you not know me?”
“Simple,” she replied, “I don’t know you. We’ve never met before, and if you continue this insanity I will make sure you cannot speak again.”
“Is this some kind of prank, Twilight?” I asked. “Rainbow has come up with far better pranks than this.”
She suddenly stood and spread her wings wide. “It is you who are insisting on this habit called pranking! I know not of this Rainbow or you!”
“Okay, I know you’re mad at me,” I said, shaking my head, “but how can you not know Rainbow Dash?”
“I have never met the pony you speak of!” She suddenly glared at one of her guards and ordered, “Get Captain Blueblood in here, now!”
The guard turned to comply with the order. I then looked at her and asked, “Okay, where’s Shining Armor? I’m sure he'll vouch for me.”
“Must you insist on continuing this jest?” Twilight said, looking at me. “I don’t know a Shining Armor either.”
“He’s your own brother, Twilight!” I yelled.
“I have no family, hybrid” she replied, looking at me as if I'd grown a second head. “I was raised here, in Canterlot, my whole life.”
This can’t be happening. How could she not know? How could she just forget about her own brother? This doesn’t make any sen-
“Your highness, I have returned!” I heard a posh voice speak behind me.
I turned to see… oh you can’t be serious!
Blueblood! Prince stuck up, no good, dirty, rotten, filly napping, Blueblood was clad in Shining’s armor! How the hell did this happen?
“You seem to have failed your job captain,” Twilight said, glaring at Blueblood. “This Hybrid has gotten past the defenses that you said were absolutely fool proof.”
He looked at me for a minute and said, “I know not how this filthy commoner got past my defenses. Magnus said he was in the stained glass chamber?”
“Just what are you doing here, Blueblood!” I yelled. “You should be in prison!”
Blueblood sniffed and glared at me, “I don’t know what you are talking about.”
“You seem to have forgotten me! I was the one who stopped you in your plot to kidnap Sweetie Belle to get back at Rarity! How a pampered pup like you got to be captain of the guard is beyond me!” I yelled.
He glared at me and replied coldly, “This fool spits false accusations of things I never did, your Highness. Permission to execute.”
“Stay your sword, Blueblood,” Twilight said. I sighed in relief that somepony was willing to listen. “This pony is obviously not in the right mindset,” she continued dashing my hope.
“Perhaps he is one of Applejack’s rebels sent here to distract us before a real attack,” Thane suggested.
“This is all insane!” I looked earnestly at Twilight “You do know me! You know Applejack! Rainbow! Rarity! Fluttershy! Pinkie Pie, for hoof’s sake! I know everything about you Twilight! You used to knit when you were younger! You had a doll named Smarty Pants! I even know how you love Alder Pony!”
Twilight shook her head furiously and a bolt of magic hit me in the chest from Blueblood’s horn. He glared at me and snarled, “You are upsetting her Highness with your lies.”
“I know her,” I said, growling low as I stood on my hooves.
“Take him away!” Twilight cried. “Get him out of my sight!”
I wasn’t about to get locked away without answers. I noticed that Thane had Blackbird. I used my magic to quick draw it and fired at his leg. Thane let out a cry of pain as I turned tail to run. Twilight couldn’t focus her magic in time for me to escape out the door and around the corner. I heard an alarm go off as I ran.
Just what was going on? Twilight didn’t remember me or our friends? Blueblood was captain of the guard? What bastard thought that was a good idea? This is messed up!
I had to find the others! Celestia! Luna! Anypony would be great!
I never thought in all my years as a crime fighter I would end up as a criminal. I rounded a corner and saw more guards. They fired magic bolts at me which I dodged. Spotting a window I levitated a nearby vase and threw it at the windowpane, shattering the glass. I looked down and saw I was just below a balcony. How was I supposed to get down?
I looked back and saw the guards had caught up with me. They both fired at me and I leapt from the window to avoid the bolts. I looked down as I passed the balcony. I swore loudly as I watched the Canterlot buildings slowly getting closer. The city looked more crowded than normal. Many of the buildings were different as well.
But that wasn’t the point, the fact of the matter is I was getting uncomfortably close to the ground. This time Rainbow wasn’t there to sa-
I closed my eyes and braced myself as I crashed through the glass ceiling of a mansion. At the last minute I put an aura of magic around myself. As I hit the ground, my aura broke. It took the brunt of the blast but I still felt the pain as I rolled into a wall. I put a hoof to my side and prodded it gently, wincing. I must’ve cracked a rib from the fall. That fall dampening spell that Twilight showed me ages ago really came in handy here.
“My goodness! Darling, are you alright?” I heard a familiar voice ask.
I looked up and saw with wide eyes that Rarity was standing in front of me. She looked older though, in her thirties by the looks of her. Although with Rarity there’s a margin of error thanks to her natural looks.
But she could’ve looked like a hideous troll and I still would be glad to see her. “Rarity!” I exclaimed with a smile.
“Yes, I am Lady Rarity,” she said, returning my smile but then looking concerned. “Darling, you took a terrible fall there. What were you thinking?”
I wasn’t about to tell her exactly why I ended up in her room. She wouldn’t believe me. I leaned against the wall and said, “I fell from the terrace above.”
“The palace?” Rarity asked, raising an eyebrow. Then she shook her head. “Never mind that, you are injured.”
Rarity spent the next five minutes patching me up, putting bandages on me and using a pair of tweezers to get some shards of glass out of my coat. Luckily I wasn’t hurt too seriously. Rarity set me on a couch and said, “I should call the hospital. The Doctors there are far more fluent then I in this field.”
“You’re a lifesaver Rarity” I said, leaning on a pillow. “You are definitely deserving of the Element of Generosity.”
Rarity raised an eyebrow, then giggled. “I doubt I would be hero material, let alone the owner of a mythical device.”
“Mythical?” I asked, sitting up as best I could. “Rarity, don’t you remember how we and the others fought Discord?”
“I’m sure I wouldn’t forget a stallion as young and handsome as you are, darling,” she said with a smile. Then she gave a concerned look. “Did you hit your head?”
I put a hoof on my face and groaned. “I just wanna wake up from this nightmare. Where’s Spike?” I asked, looking at her.
“Spike?” Rarity said, “Was he one of our ‘friends’?”
I looked at Rarity dumfounded and exclaimed, “You can’t be serious!”
“You’re not making sense,” Rarity said, shaking her head. “I don’t know a Spike.”
“How could you forget about him!” I yelled “He’s a dragon who was in love with you! You were in love with him as well!”
Rarity shook her head “I seriously doubt I would ever fall for a dragon. Such an idea is ludicrous. Besides, it would make my husband quite angry if you go spouting out such things.”
“Husband?” I asked, my jaw dropping.
“Blueblood, yes,” she said, my jaw further dropping at how casually she said it. You have got to be kidding me!
“Blueblood? Whiny prince Blueblood is your husband?” I said, dumbfounded.
“Yes, although I do not know how he became a prince. He certainly isn’t related to her majesty. Nonetheless, we married seven years ago.”
Seven years? I wonder…
“What else happened seven years ago?” I asked, looking at her.
Rarity put a hoof to her chin and replied, “Lots of things. I closed up my shop in Ponyville and decided to come here to Canterlot. I knew I wasn’t going to get any good business there. After all, who would want to buy fashion from a farming village?”
“Rarity, it’s your home” I said, utterly devastated at how casual and carefree she’s taking this. She closed Carousel Boutique? It was her pride and joy, how could she just close it and move here?”
“After that I met Blueblood and he seemed to have genuinely changed from when I met him at the Gala. I can’t quite remember how I got lucky enough to venture there, but we soon married within a couple of months.”
I then thought for a moment. Seven years, was when she closed up her shop. I still can’t believe she fell for Blueballs. How could she just forsake Spike like that? I then decided to test this. “Does the name, Rainbow Dash, ring any bells?”
Rarity, slowly shook her head. “I’m afraid not, darling. Was she a friend of yours?”
Neither Rarity nor Twilight remembered her? Just what the hay happened seven years ago?
“You’re asking an awful lot of questions,” Rarity said. “Judging by your attire, you must be some kind of investigator.”
“Yes, Rarity!” I said, smiling as she got something right. “You know me! My cousin is your apprentice! I sometimes watched your little sister who has a crush on him.”
Rarity smiled and giggled. “I had not seen Sweetie in a long while, but I don’t remember her having a crush on any colt. Nor do I remember having an apprentice either.”
She doesn’t even remember Cross?
Just what the hay is going on here?
I slumped against the couch and said, “I’m sorry for wasting your time, Rarity.”
She shook her head and replied. “Don't worry, dear. I’m sure you’ll find your friends eventually. Or whatever you're looking for.”
“Thanks for patching me up,” I said, getting up off the couch and heading for the door.
“But darling, your injuries,” Rarity said, walking up beside me.
“I’ll be fine, Rarity. I’ll just walk it off,” I said. Then I felt Rarity’s hoof on my shoulder. She turned me and I stared into her blue eyes for a minute.
A slow, all too familiar smile came to her face. “You know, darling, you’re quite the handsome stallion.”
I shook my head and said, “We’ve been over this before.”
She blinked and asked, “Whatever do you mean, darling? I just met you. She then gave that sultry smile again. “Perhaps we can get to know one another better…”
RUN!!!
I broke out of Rarity’s embrace and ran. “K thanks, bye!” I ran outside of the house and down the street, not looking back.
_____________________________________________________________
There was once a book I had to read in college called 984. In it, Equestria had gotten taken over by a totalitarian dictatorship. Everywhere were posters of “Big Sister is watching you” in the cities and the government ran everything. It was banned from some colleges for being anti-monarchal or whatever.
I definitely got that vibe from his place. All around there were nobles chatting and going about their daily lives. Children ran past my feet and off to play. I couldn’t help but notice, almost no pegasi or earth ponies were among the crowd. I broke through the crowd a bit and looked on the walls. So many propaganda posters were there, one showing Twilight standing over…Applejack?
The caption read Put down the voice of the inferior.
What a cruel message.
“Come on!” I heard a colt cry as he ran past with his friends “The fair’s about to start!” I watched them run towards Canterlot’s center. A fair’s in town? Well, best place to hide in plain sight I’ll bet. Maybe I’ll just find a roller coaster or something to ride all day and make my escape when the sun goes down?
I walked through the crowd and overheard a noble couple talking to one another. “I just wish those earth pony brutes would learn their place. They’ve been causing terrible damage all around Equestria.”
Her husband shook his head “It’s that damn Applejack. She’s the one riling them all up. Pegasi are getting all riled up too.”
Applejack is the head of some sort of rebellion? Just how bad are things here? I looked around and saw that everypony here was all smiles. Blissfully denying any sort of trouble as they headed for the fair.
I arrived at the gate and ponies began moving through the turnstiles. I saw they were all paying with violet coins. Did Twilight abolish bits or something? I didn’t have any money li-
I felt a tap on my shoulder. I looked to see a small unicorn colt with a messenger bag. He said, “I was told to give this to a guy in a grey trench coat, sir.”
“For me?” I asked, raising an eyebrow. I picked up the letter he gave me and opened it.
Dear Private Eye,
Whatever you do, do not pick #47.
Lutece
I don’t know anypony named Lutece. What an odd name. I slipped the letter into my trench coat and looked at the kid. “You run off now. I’m afraid I can’t pay a tip.”
“It’s alright, sir, not many can these days,” the colt said with a sigh. “Ever since earth ponies stopped workin' the mines nopony can really pay for nothin'.”
“Some kind of protest?” I asked.
He nodded. “Nasty business, it’s that pony Applejack’s fault. First she got the farmer’s to stop workin', then the miners. Soon nopony will be able to have anything if it keeps up.”
I gave the kid a long look and said, “It’s probably not just their fault. Think about it.”
I left the colt and turned around. There stood a pair of ponies who looked nearly identical. There was a stallion and a mare, both blond with tannish coats. They were clad in clothing that I remembered seeing my great grandparents wear in old photographs. The stallion also had a board on him, one side said heads, the other tails. I noticed the heads had a lot more tallies under it. The stallion spoke first, “Heads?”
The mare spoke in turn, “or tails?”
I noticed almost nopony was noticing them. Most of them just walked on by as if they weren’t there. I shook my head. “Come on, I’m kind of in a hur-“
The stallion suddenly used his magic to toss a violet coin at me. I caught it in my hoof and he said again, “Heads?”
His partner said, “Or tails?”
I eyed the coin; it depicted Twilight on one side, and a picture of Canterlot castle on the other. I noticed the mare had a tray in front of her. I shrugged and called, “Heads.”
I flipped the coin and it landed on its side. It stood perfectly on its side in the tray. The Stallion looked at his partner and said with a grin, “Well, that’s interesting.”
“A variable in constant,” the mare said with a sly smile, “and you said it was folly.”
“Only because I try to have constants,” he replied with a smirk.
“Lives, lived, will live, dear brother, but some don’t always get to live,” she said, as the pair started to walk off.
What an odd pair. I noticed that the Stallion tossed the coin at me. He looked back and said, “A tip, for an interesting result.”
I looked at the coin. Then I looked back up again and the pair was gone. What? Just who were they?
The sign on the front of the fair said that one coin was required for a ticket. Well, may as well see what the party was about. I paid the ticket to a very eager sales pony up front. He let me in through the turnstile.
I can only hope I can find somepony who knows what’s going on.
______________________________________________________
I entered the fair to find it abuzz with activity. Many different ponies were playing all sorts of games, eating junk food, and riding rather primitive looking rides. I leaned against a booth and took it all in.
There was not a single earth pony or pegasus among these ponies. There had to have been at least a couple that lived around here. There had to be.
I then heard singing coming from nearby. I walked over and saw a large crowd of ponies standing in front of a stage, again they were all unicorns. A unicorn was standing on the stage, leading the singing. He had to have been in his forties, clad in a suit and top hat. Wait, I know him. Roland!
The bastard that tried to kill Phantom back in Trottingham? Who Fancypants cut across the eye? What was he doing free?
“The seventh annual raffle has begun!” he cried, the crowd cheering around him.
“Mister! Mister!” I heard a mare call. I turned and saw a pretty young unicorn hold a basket in front of me. It contained a set of baseballs, they all had numbers on them. “Pick one, sir!”
“Sorry, I don’t have any money,” I said honestly.
“Don’t worry it’s free on raffle day,” she said, holding her basket up before m.e
I reached in and looked at my pick. “47?” I said out loud.
“Could be a lucky number,” she said with a smile and went about passing more of the baseballs out.
I eyed the baseball for a minute as Roland continued. He cried, “Bring me the bowl!” I watched as a young unicorn mare took the stage. “Now, this one needs no magic to look absolutely gorgeous, am I right?” The mare giggled as she held out the basket.
I’m so glad Moongale never married this bastard. I would’ve killed him myself. But how was he free? For that matter, why was Blueblood still around?
Roland used his basket to pick a slip of paper from the bowl. “And the lucky number is… number 47!” he cried to the crowd.
The mare from before called out, “He has it! The guy in the trench coat and hat is the winner!”
Uh oh…
I looked at my baseball and then up at the crowd. Everypony was cheering “First throw! First throw!”
What was I going to throw it at? Some kind of target?
I watched as the curtain on the stage rose and I gasped at what I saw…
There, tied to a pole, were Fluttershy and Big Mac! They were bridled cruely to it and had harnesses on their heads. Big Mac struggled and pulled at his bridle but he couldn’t get free. No…
Fluttershy was just as bad, her wings looked broken and her eyes flooded with tears. They couldn’t speak…
That bastard did this to Fluttershy and they are celebrating it?
Roland looked at me and said, “Well, aren’t you going to throw it? Or do you like your coffee earthy these days?” He laughed as Fluttershy and Big Mac struggled to get free.
There is no way in hell he’s getting away with this…
I gave him a look and tossed the ball in the air. “Actually, I think I wanna throw it at something else,” I said, seething inside.
“And what might that be?” he asked, with a laugh. “We have more of them if you really need it. We wouldn’t want more hybrids coming around and tainting pony lines, now would we?”
“Funny, you just made my decision for me, you bastard!” I then threw the baseball with all my might and hit him in the face. The crowd gasped as he fell to the ground. I stood on the stage, looking down at Roland, snarling, “Be thankful I didn’t use bullets.”
“There’s only one reason why a unicorn would protect them,” Roland cried. “You’d have to be a hybrid yourself!”
“A hybrid!” the crowd cried, panicked. I ignored them and used my magic to cut Fluttershy and Big Mac loose.
Big Mac removed the bridle. “Thank ya kindly, Ah don’t know who ya are, but thank ya”
“Get out of here and thank me later!” I pulled out Blackbird and fired into the air. “I’ll hold them off!”
Big Mac took Fluttershy on his back and took off. I watched them go as pair of guards grabbed me. I struggled in their grips as one came up with a sword. “Better put this one down, not sure how a hybrid escaped, but we’ll make sure nopony makes a habit of it.”
“You bastards!” I yelled “How can you agree to this! They didn’t do anything wrong!”
“They tried to mix the tribes, a crime that cannot be tolerated,” the guard answered simply. “It’d be best if that chicken bitch had decided to stick with the other chickens!”
He didn’t… That bastard did not…
Yes he did…
My horn glowed, a violet lined green color and the stallion’s eyes grew wide. “What the hay! What happened to his eyes?”
My horn fired a blast of green magic that sent him flying. I then used my magic to knock aside the other guards. I glared down at the leader and said, “Never insult Fluttershy like that again. I’ll strangle you next time.”
Then I turned and ran, not sure exactly what came over me.