//------------------------------// // frwydr yn y goedwig // Story: Being of Two Minds // by cosmofur //------------------------------// It wasn't a battle, it should not be confused for one. Ponies, the cultists, were running in circles, stomping up dust and debris. Randoms explosions of purple light thundered overhead creating a continuous cacophony of noise and kept anypony from being heard, from giving orders, from taking control of the mayhem. Every few seconds a flash of rainbow light, and suddenly whatever pony that seemed most in command or most ready to attack, would be smashed aside. At no time would the attackers allow themselves to be clearly seen, their quick motion, their noise and thunder, scared the cultists and soon there was no more efforts to fight back, no more efforts to take control. The cultists ran into the woods, to hide under brush and behind trees. Scared of what they couldn't see. Parker found himself alone, standing in torn up field near the towns center. Thankfully Banyan had been rushed away in one of the early rainbow streaks, at least for now Parker was not worried about the colt, confident he was safe. For a brief time Parker considered running as well, but he had no place to run to. He didn't want to trip across on the cultists, and anyways his injuries wouldn't let him move that fast. He chose to wait, fretting and uncertain. There were several long beats of time, when he could see no movement. It was oddly peaceful and quiet, the shouting and explosions having died down. Parker looked side to side and stared up into the tree branches, but couldn't see any more sign of the attackers, until suddenly from behind them there was a yell. “Yahoo! That shows them! No one lays a hoof on Rainbow Danger Dash!” In a flash of movement, suddenly a Columbia blue Pegasus was right in front of Parker, holding her hooves up in a makeshift victory dance. “Don’t show your dirty hooves here again!” Rainbow continued to taunt the unseen cultists. Just then a second pony, purple in color and bearing a horn, stepped out of the bushes and admonished the Pegasus, “Rainbow! Don’t do that! We just got lucky, they outnumber us and we just startled them. They’ll probably be back soon.” Parker looked from one pony to the other. He knew these ponies and while the cultists may have scared him, he had been explicitly warned to stay away from the Mane Six. Should he care? He wasn't sure, he was clearly far off the original mission guidelines. Twilight turned her attention from Rainbow and towards Parker, “Mr Red Wood? Is that you?” she asked. Parker felt a strange surge of recognition but couldn't explain the source, it was the first time anyone had used Red Wood’s name in front of him, but it was clear Twilight was trying to talk to him. He blinked several times, trying to process the meaning then considering how to answer, finally he told himself. “When the shit hits the fan, and all else fails, then as a last resort try honesty.” Parker nodded to Twilight, “Not exactly but close.” Then he paused to confirm, yes this version of Twilight Sparkle had both horns and wings, she was an Alicorn. “Princess.” Twilight looked surprised, “Oh no! I”m sorry, did I miss pronounce it? I know you backwoods ponies sometimes have strong accents, supposed to emphasize the oo sound in the Wood? Princess Celestia didn't say how to pronounce it in her letter, let me get a quill to correct my…” Despite her comment to Rainbow Dash about the Cultists returning, it looked like Twilight was about to take out paper to write notes on. Suddenly Rainbow shot into into Parker’s face, “Wait a feather now! If your not Red Wood, then who are you? Are you one of those cultists? Are you a “ Parker face hoofed and finished for Rainbow Dash, “A Spy?” Twilight put a hoof on Rainbow’s shoulder and pulled her down, “Come on Rainbow, Equestria has very few enemies, why do you keep accusing new ponies of being spies? It a silly thing, you’re not going to get a spy to admit he’s one, just by asking!” Parker gave a soft cough, “Actually Twi..um..Princess,” he caught himself, from sounding too familiar with what should be a stranger to him. “In this case she’s right.” “Whoo! I got one! I got a spy!” Rainbow did a flip in the air excited, “Wait! If you’re a spy why did the Princess send us to rescue you?” “Yes I want an answer about that as well!” Twilight glared at Parker. Parker held up his hoofs in a calming gesture, “OK I’ll tell you everything but first did Banyan get away safe?” “Oh the colt?” Rainbow nodded, “Yes I have him safely tucked away on a high branch in one of these trees, I’ll get him.” She was off again in a flash. Twilight looked over Parker a bit more nervous now, “You’re not a changeling are you?” Parker shook his head, “No, nothing like that. I think we need to get the kid and get out of here, this whole town isn't safe if the cultist come back.” Rainbow was already on her way back with Banyan and had heard the exchange between Twilight and Parker. “Those lame cultists? They were pushovers! We’ll scare them off again if they come back!” Parker bowed his head low, “I’m afraid they are very dangerous pushovers.” he stepped a few feet closer to the nearest house and brushed away some dirt and leaves on the ground. Exposing the body of the Mayor. Both Twilight and Rainbow gasped, while Banyan ran over and hid his head against Parker’s side. Without thinking about it Parker nuzzled Banyan to comfort the colt. Twilight knelt by the Mayor’s body, her horn glowed for a moment as if she was trying to aid him, but during their panic many of the cultists had stampeded over the body. There was was far too much damage to have hope for him. Tears started pouring down her muzzle. “How could they!” She cried and shook in a way that broke Parker’s heart. He still didn't know exactly how close this world was to the TV series and it looked like this world’s Twilight Sparkle did not have a lot of first hoof experience with deadly violence. Rainbow Dashes reaction was much more restrained, she bucked the air in frustration and then glumly asked. “How many?” She gulped then finished in a whisper, “How many dead.” Parker told her, “I don’t knew, their leader said something about taking away all the mares and fillies, but he didn't mention the boys, I mean colts and stallions.” Rainbow said, “We’ll have to do a house to house search to find them and … oh no, we need more ponies! Somepony has to find out where they took the fillies! You Red Wood, you start searching the houses on that side of town and I’ll…” Wiping away her tears, Twilight stood and said “No! Rainbow, the Princess’s orders were clear, we have to get Red Wood and his Son away from here, the flight of Pegasus that are following us will have to do the search.” “Those slowpokes bucket heads with all their heavy armor? We left them far behind! they won’t be here for at least an hour, maybe two! Twi! The cultists will get away!” Twilight took out some paper from her saddlebags and started to write a note,“Sharp Wing is at the head of the Pegasus flight group, I’ll pin this note on Red Wood’s door where they’ll find it and have his team start the search. We’ll have to hope the Cultists won't get too far.” “Just one quick search Twi!” “No Rainbow! The Stone Heart Cultists want Red Wood for some reason and once the cultists realize they outnumber us, they’ll be back. Besides, we have to get Red Wood to a doctor, look at all those wounds!” Twilight pointed hoof at Parker’s back. Parker turned his head and was surprised at just how beaten up his back was. The excitement and adrenalin had made him forget his injuries for a few minutes. Twilight told her multi colored friend, “Don’t go far, but find us something these two can fit on for the trip back. If there’s no wagons around, you’ll have to fetch us a small cloud and we’ll use a cloud walking spell.” Twilight came over to Red Wood, and using her magic started cleaning out and closing his wounds. “I know the basic first aid spells, but it’s not my specialty, you’ll need to see a trained doctor for some of these larger gashes.” She told him. When the worse of the bleeding had stopped, and the larger wounds taped up, she added, “We may have gotten distracted, but you’re going to explain to me what you meant by ‘spy’” Parker started to speak, but Twilight cut him off. “Not now! After we get out of here, I’m not sure how deep the cultists are into this woods and I don’t think we want them to overhear whatever you have to say.” “Will this do Twi?” Rainbow called as she pulled a small git, a two wheeled wagon from the side of the Major’s house. “Thanks Rainbow!” Twilight smiled and gave the wagon a shot of her magic, it floated a few inches off the ground. “Everyone get on board.” With some reluctance Parker climbed into the little wagon and helped Banyan up. There was no real seat, but the floorboard had a weathered cushion and there was enough room for two ponies sit on their hunches. Twilight adjusted the tack on the git, so Rainbow and her both had room to extend their wings before the junior Alicorn and Pegasus hitched themselves up. “Hang on to your saddles! Your flying the Rainbow Express!” Rainbow called out loudly, then more quietly nodded towards Twilight “Try to keep up this time Twi.” “I’ll try Rainbow, but no more Rainbooms!” Twilight told the Pegasus. Parker asked, “Rainboom? You both can do rainbooms?” Rainbow laughed, “Twilight doing a Rainboom! That’s rich! No way can princess egghead do a rainboom on her own! But I did one earlier and pulled twilight along, or we would have been here way too late! I would have taken the whole guard flight too, but they all chickened out!” “Rainbow, you can’t pull that many Pegasus along in a Rainboom! You barely could get me though.” Twilight objected. “Could to!” Rainbow objected. “Just had to keep things cool with the guys!” Parker let his mind wander as the two friends started arguing over how much a show off Rainbow was or wasn't, and turned to Banyan who was looking over the side of the wagon, eyes wide. “First time flying?” He asked. Banyan nodded to him, looking again at the landscape below. Parker also looked around a bit, though all he could see was miles of unspoiled forest, there were no visible roads or buildings. They were too far from any city to see any sign of civilization, even from this height. Tiredness started overtaking him, the high from the adrenaline was quickly turning into a crash. Not seeing a reason to stay awake and seeing as a good excuses to avoid any more unwanted questions, he let himself relax and started to drift off to sleep. As sleep first started taking over, and he was about half way between awake and asleep, he found himself envisioning a large empty white room, the only thing in the room was a standing mirror. In that mirror he saw his reflection and took a moment to examine his new body. “I got yellow eyes?” He thought to himself, “Wait, I haven’t seen a mirror since I awoke, how do I know I have yellow eyes? Wish the Medic AI was here, it could explain things better.” Before he could think of anything else, his reflection seemed to startle and moved on it own reaching out to Parker, “Who are you?” it asked. It was a measure of how tired Parker was, as this strange behavior didn't waken him, nor did the dream state last long, he settled down deeper into a dreamless stupor without answering his strange reflection. Back behind them, many miles now, the Leader of the Cultists, stepped out of the bushes and back into the original clearing. He bucked the air several times, and swore like sailor pony. “Drat that fool!” He yelled out, “How could the Visitor be so uncooperative! The Oracle was clear! I know the oracle spell works, it’s always works!” He walked back over the site of his failure several times, he couldn't stay here long, once he spotted the Alicorn and that rainbow feathered obscenity, he knew he couldn't fight them directly. Not with his current group of dolts. The Visitor was going to give him the edge, the power to confront the Alicorns, demand his rightful place of power. Now the Visitor running off with that feathered monster and the Alicorn, probably ‘grateful’ for being ‘rescued’, it was so unfair! On his third ranting pass through the clearing, the leader noticed the glowing red embers on the ground. They were in the outline of a pony laying on the ground. Curious he picked up a pinch of the dust with his magic. As he lifted it up, it changed color from dull red to a glowing blue. “Whoa there!” That was the same color light as the ‘waterfall of light’ was there still some magic in it? Could he somehow use it? He lifted more of the dust up with his magic and more and more of it started to glow brightly. “Strange it reacts to magic” he said out loud. “Can I help you?” A voice asked out of the air. “Who said that?” The Leader asked, surprised. “I did.” A ghostly head started to form in the air in front of the Leader. “I appears you have recharged my power store. I am a medical unit assigned to …” The face seemed frozen for several seconds, before reanimating. “I appear to have sustained some damage, I can’t find my mission files. I’m not sure what I’m supposed to be doing here.” The Leader asked “Where did you come from?” Again the face seemed confused and froze, “I have only partial records left, I came from somewhere else, I was here to help someone, but I can’t recall who. I suppose you can call me a visitor from another world. I was injured and lost and you saved me. I am a Doctor perhaps I can help you?” The Leader blinked several times then broke into a smile, “So you’re the Visitor? I am very glad to meet you, my name is Rock Charmer and I think you and I will do great things together.”