//------------------------------// // Thirty-three // Story: Freedom Through Harmony: Book II // by Electricut //------------------------------// Chapter with color Thirty-three A young colt stands by the wall in his room. He doesn't seem to notice anything amiss, but it is likely due to him being totally absorbed in his work. Oftentimes days or even a week at a time can go by in which he forgets to contact any of his friends. Or eat. In the grand scope of things, completing the latest puzzle is often far more pressing. What will the name of this young colt be? Nope. Try again. Give up yet? One more try. Oh, wait, you thought you were getting an actual NAME? Yeah, no, that's not happening. He is THE DOCTOR. However, after many of his friends decided this name was silly and on-the-nose, they decided to give him a new one. And after enough sheer repetition, and Derpy giving him the cutest sad puppy-dog face he’s ever seen, he officially amended his name to DOCTOR WHOOVES, or just DOC. His room is in a perfect state of organized chaos, in which he, and nopony else, can find anything. Luckily, it is rare when anypony else is even here to try. Various ARTICAFTS of TEMPORAL CURIOSITY and otherwise unknown origin lay scattered across his various desks, floors and other surfaces. The prize of his collection is a trio of intricately carved FROGS, all of a different colored gemstone. He is not sure who could have made them, or what their intended purpose could be, but they sure look pretty. He really does love things like this- ANCIENT AND AMBIGUOUS ARTIFACTS- as well as the passage of time in general. As a result, one of the most memorable times in his life was three years prior, when a friend of his discovered a hidden TEMPLE in the wilderness of wood and mountain near his home. Nopony saw either of the two for weeks while they explored. The writing upon the walls was mostly nonsense to him, but he made sure to take lots of pictures, just in case. What stuck out most about it was the strange flowery device in the center of the temple which seemed to be on a countdown of some sort, and the large stone frog at the very top, the same design as his crystalline ones. Upon one wall of his room is tacked a chart of some description, meticulously drawn on a large sheet of parchment, beginning to crumble with age. This is one of the most curious things he’s ever come across, even counting the frogs. It seems to be some manner of ASTRAL CHART, graphing places not ever seen by pony kind. The area labeled Equestria and the group of stars around it is only a small blip in comparison. However, each of the other groupings on the map are in a different language, none at all comprehensible to him. His username is agelessTraveler. A tone issues from his computer, and he moves over to answer whoever is trying to reach him. guardianGuitarist began chatting with agelessTraveler at 9:30 A.M. GG: Bro. GG: What's up? AT: Ah, I was expecting a message from you, my friend. GG: Why, because of all your time travel nonsense? AT: No, merely because you always contact me at this time of day. I can only deduce this is your break time. GG: Yeah, it is. I've been up since like five in the morning, and this is one of the two breaks I get during the day. GG: Just enough time to send off a few messages and grab a coffee, before I have to get back to training. GG: The other one later is the one I use to actually get shit done. One of those break periods is what we'll use to play that game of yours. GG: Which, by the way, still hasn't arrived yet. Didn't you send it off like a week ago already? AT: Yes, it seems nopony has managed to receive their copies yet, save for the one delivered in person. GA questioned me about it as well... Quite curious... AT: Perhaps warranting further investigation. I believe I shall contact Derpy to check if this is recurring. Would you contact your sister for me? GG: I can try. No promises though, you know she's almost as bad as you once she gets going with something. GG: Talk to you tonight. guardianGuitarist ceased chatting with agelessTraveler at 9:41 A.M. Doc immediately opens up a new chat once this one ends. He had been looking for an excuse to talk to her anyway. agelessTraveler began chatting cross-eyedAngel at 9:42 A.M. AT: Good morrow, my dearest friend! AT: How fare you this morning? CA: AT! :D CA: ... CA: hi. Continued previously Doc nods sagely. A thief seems to have sabotaged his hard work, and he intends to find them and bring them to justice. He'll need a weapon, though, and in all the years he has been fiddling with modi and sylladexes, he never bothered setting a strife specibus. None of the artifacts lying around are of the offensive variety either, which makes sense. He can't imagine future Doc fancying violence any more than he does now. His trusty SCREWDRIVER catches his eye, his tool of choice for prying open sealed artifactual containers. He can't count the times he’s reached for it and accidentally poked a hole in his hoof. If that isn't a weapon, he doesn't know what is. He (very carefully) grabs it, then the strife portfolio that has just been gathering dust in the corner. Somewhat experimentally, he sets up the specibus to SCRWDRVRKIND, and places the tool within the card. CA: back CA: i got a boomerang. CA: i'm real good with it, so i think that should work, right? Continued previously Doc closes down the chat box and moves to equip his own modi. He, unlike anypony else he knows, sees it fit to use two separate modi at the same time, due to the nature of his preferred one, the TARDIS modus. This is his secret to acquiring all manner of artifacts from future Doc. The modus is constantly shuffling through any and all objects that have been or will ever be placed within it, provided a copy of that object removed directly from the modus does not exist at that time. Whenever he sees something neat, he promptly removes it from the modus and places it somewhere in his room. Any new objects he finds go into the TARDIS first, as well as any copies of objects he’s removed, so that past and future Doc can get to them when they need them. Any objects he obtained specifically by removing them from the TARDIS go into his backup modus, a standard stack/queue model. As he always does when you remember to, he takes a look inside the TARDIS to see if there's anything worth grabbing, but there doesn't seem to be much of interest at the moment. Just a handful of pens and a loaf of bread, nothing immediately necessary. He’ll let it float around for a while until future Doc needs it. Deciding he’s probably got everything he needs already, he makes his way through the hallway of his house. Technically, the house was the property of his TEACHER, the one who previously called himself the Doctor, but he hasn't been seen for years. In addition, before he left, he informed Doc that they'd probably never meet again, and left him in possession of the house and his few belongings. Therefore unimpeded, he exits the single-story house to search for the thief of this all-important game. Derpy Derpy rounds the corner, and again is just in time to see the strange white shape as it veers out of sight. She breaks into a canter and keeps up with him, time and again staying just far enough behind him to keep him in sight. After a minute it occurs to her that he might be leading her after him on purpose, and that there might be a trap waiting for her. However, she can't just call it off. She has to keep tailing him to see what he wants her to reach, and do everything she can to get the game discs back. Another turn drops her at the gates to an old storage shed, fairly large in size but empty and disused. She is able to see the white and green form of the supposed thief disappear into the darkness, and nods in determination and follows. Her eyes adjust to the darkness each at a different rate, but as soon as one of them gets used to the minimal lighting, she is able to see the stallion she was pursuing standing alone in the center of the room, facing her. Derpy can make out the faintest hint of a perfectly neutral mouth, though that is about all she can see of his face. As her friend had told her, he wears a pair of sunglasses that obscure his eyes. Oddly, he seems to be completely without a mane or tail, and his snow white fur is so slick it is almost nonexistent. Even stranger is the fact that there is a rather pointed horn atop his head, AND an equally white set of wings furled up on his back. Another Alicorn? No, that can't be, Derpy tells herself. If there was another Alicorn around, the royal family would know about it, and so would everypony else. One of those two things must be fake. As the two face off against each other, Derpy is able to make out a strange sickly green light that serves to slightly illuminate the room, though has no discernible source. The stallion chuckles slightly before he speaks, a hollow and condescending noise. Well, this is a turn of fate! I never expected a confrontation at such an early stage. Of course I probably COULD HAVE, but what's the fun in that? I'd rather let myself be surprised than know exactly what's going to happen in the immediate future. DERPY: hey! are you the one who stole our games? give them back! Hah! Why yes, it does seem that I did that. Are these the games of which you speak? He uses magic to levitate a set of saddlebags into the space between the two. His horn works, Derpy deduces. His wings must be fake then. From within the saddlebags, three manila folders arise, with the initials DH, FP and LW written on them in marker. An image that looks like eight green blocks- one smaller than the rest, one shaped like an 'L' and five normal squares, topped with a triangle that made it look like a house- is imprinted on the background on each folder. DERPY: yeah! give them back! get your own games if you're really that bored, but don't go stealing from the post office, or you'll have me to deal with! Ho ho! Oh, by all means, you can have them back. I've already gotten all the use out of them I needed. However... Before I give these discs back to you and we go our separate ways... Perhaps you'd like to play a game? DERPY: ... what kind of game...? As Derpy finishes speaking, she notices a green light forming before her, still with no source to be seen, but getting gradually more intense. It flashes black and white a few times, with tiny yellow lightning bolts arcing across the nonexistent surface. With a sudden flash, the light disappears... ... and leaves behind the most creepy-looking puppet she has ever seen. It has long, floppy orange arms and legs, ending in puffy white gloves and tiny shoes. It wears a backwards hat atop its head and an oversized blue shirt with text that reads simply 'CAL'. The round, sparkling blue eyes seem to stare deep into her soul. Derpy yelps in surprise at the thing and jumps back a few feet. The puppet, Cal, hovers in the air before her, seeming to cackle silently with his creepy puppet mouth. She freezes up for a moment, but then remembers what Doc had told her. She holds up the card for her boomerang, and grips it between her teeth. She will fight the puppet herself if she has to. However, just then, another idea comes to her. She has no idea if it will do anything, but if this stallion wants to play a game with puppets, then the least she can do is play along. "Smarty Pants, I choose you!" she yells, then retrieves the captchalogue card containing the doll, which launches forth and tackles Cal to the ground. A moment later Cal shakes her off and gets back to hovering off his feet, but as Derpy watch, Smarty Pants also makes a movement on her own. At first Derpy thinks she had imagined it, but then Smarty Pants springs to her hind hooves and faces off against Cal. The stallion gives an excited grin, and Derpy guesses that he hadn't expected this either, but is willing to roll with it. Whether he meant for it to be or not, this game has become a puppet battle. The two stare each other down, though they can't do much else since one has unblinking porcelain eyes, and the others' are buttons. At last, Cal retrieves a short but sharp sword in the same manner through which he had appeared- a flash of green light- and flails forward at Smarty Pants. The gift doll is ready too. With one hoof she retrieves her notebook and flips quickly to a page somewhere in the middle, which is covered in the tiny, messy handwriting of her previous owner. She holds up her other hoof, and a small area of fire leaps to life, though it does not light the cloth doll aflame. As soon as Cal comes within range, she punches at his chest, the added force of the fire spell sending the puppet reeling. Cal springs back to his feet, his shirt smoldering slightly, and hefts his sword again. He begins to approach again, this time more slowly and carefully, but still rather floppily. Smarty Pants won't catch him unawares again, and she puts the notebook back in her pocket and raises her hooves defensively. As Cal swings at her with his sword, a tiny shank pops out from her arm, displacing a little bit of fluff in the process, and she parries the strike. Where is Smarty Pants getting all these weapons from? Did her previous owner put them all on? And why? And how did Smarty Pants come to life like this without anypony using a spell on her? All these questions are left to bounce around in Derpy’s head as she watches the miniature duel progress, the two blades clashing again and again, neither ever able to land a hit and spill some fluff. Smarty Pants ducks and dodges around Cal's sword, occasionally taking a stab with her tiny blade and being promptly parried. At last, she manages to grab his sword arm, and slice down quickly to almost sever the already floppy limb. The sword clatters to the ground, and a few tufts of fluff spill into the air. She follows up with a second slash across his chest, slicing the text on his shirt clean in half. Cal flops to the ground, defeated, and the white stallion nods knowingly. Very well, I suppose a deal is, in fact, a deal. You can have your games back. Here. DERPY: why'd you even want to take them if you were just gonna give them back? unless... unless you took something from them! ... no, everything's still here... wait where'd he go? In the spur of the moment of getting the game copies back, Derpy seems to have missed the stallion exit through some hidden passage. He, Cal, and the sword are all gone, with the three game folders sitting on the ground before her. Smarty Pants, her mission finished, has flopped down upon the ground, once again lifeless. Derpy takes a moment to try to comprehend the situation, then decides it calls for a victory muffin. She pops both remaining cards out of her sylladex, then munches on the muffin while typing a short message to nopony in particular on her phone. CA: puppets. CA: that's really all there is to say on the matter. guardianGuitarist began chatting with cross-eyedAngel at 12:07 P.M. GG: Sounds like you found the stuff I set up miss Smarty Pants with. GG: I knew it wouldn't wear off just because she switched owners. GG: What happened though? She only comes to life in the presence of danger. CA: so it WAS you that made her like that! CA: how did she come to life? and why did you give a doll weapons? GG: Funny story actually. Back before I enrolled in the knight academy, I still did some combat to help protect the town. GG: But I could never find a wingman, and I really needed someone to cover my back. GG: So I got GA to put a 'come to life' spell on her and write down a fire spell for her to use, and my sister installed a little shank in her arm. GG: Surprisingly effective. CA: ... GG: IT MADE SENSE AT THE TIME. GG: So who'd she have to fight? Are you alright? CA: oh, yeah, i'm fine. CA: me and doc went on a hunt for a guy who stole the video game he wanted to play. CA: i found him first, and got the games back, but he had me play a game of his own first. CA: he brought out a puppet too, and smarty pants had to fight him. CA: i think his name was cal. GG: Lil' Cal? GG: And Smarty Pants beat him? CA: yup. she didn't even really get hurt that bad. GG: GOOD GIRL SMARTY PANTS. DADDY'S SO PROUD OF YOU. agelessTraveler began chatting with cross-eyedAngel and guardianGuitarist at 12:12 P.M. AT: Oh. AT: I was popping in to see how your search was going, but I can see you found him. AT: Good. I was afraid both of us had wasted two hours with this quest. It seems it was only me. CA: aw, i'm sorry about that doc. AT: Worry not, my dear, the important thing is that the games have been secured. Once we redistribute them, we can officially begin. AT: Oh, GG, I was meaning to ask, how are you contacting us right now? I thought you were back on the clock until later? GG: Call it a self-assigned break. GG: I found a thing. I think this is a bit more important than combat drills. AT: A 'thing'... Could you possibly be a tad more specific? What did you find? GG: I'll tell you as soon as I know. We've got some exploring to do right now. CA: we? GG: Oh yeah, TT is here too. Forgot to mention that. TT: hey GG: And also, GA is in a video chat with us. GA: hey guys, what's up? GG: Anyway, let's get back to business. I'll catch you guys tonight, provided the Battle Master doesn't catch me and chew me out for this. guardianGuitarist left the chat room gamingAvarice left the chat room AT: Well then, my dears. Derpy, I suppose you ought to send those other games off shortly. Once you're free, we can begin playing whenever you're ready. TT: hang on a sec TT: I wanna try something TT: Derpy can you move those games like two feet to the right TT: except for your copy CA: um... alright? TT: thanks TT: lets see here As she ponders her friend's words, one eye on the games and another on her phone, she detects a slight crackle in the air. A moment later, the games vanish. CA: :O CA: the games disappeared! TT: ha ha, it worked! TT: alright, dont worry about delivering them anymore TT: I got em here TT: Ill go ahead and deliver GA's copy too. he was gonna be the last one to join in anyway, right? AT: Er, yes, but how did you just do that? I thought you couldn't use magic to teleport things to you. TT: you cant TT: like GG said, we found a thing TT: ttyl techTitan ceased chatting with cross-eyedAngel and agelessTraveler at 12:23 P.M. CA: huh. AT: Quite. AT: At any rate, I suppose we ought to make our way back home. A grand adventure awaits us! CA: right. mom might be home for lunch, and she's probably wondering where i am. talk to you soon. cross-eyedAngel ceased chatting with agelessTraveler at 12:25 P.M.