//------------------------------// // Of Tropes and Liars // Story: INTIMUS // by The Amateur //------------------------------// An utterly one-sided conversation.         Milky Way skipped on the trail, spouting random comments about the jungle and anything from there. Any tad bits I managed to make out rarely fit any previous context. One moment, he was questioning how a novel would appear inside the head of a color-blind pony; in the next instance, he was thanking us once again for saving him. It was as if every thought that crossed his mind just exited out through his mouth.         I was thankful though to pull my thoughts away from the sundry sounds of the shrubbery lining the trail. Every so often, there would be some call from a jungle bird or the suppressed rustle of a disturbance on the grass. I found myself looking backwards more often than looking forward - the ground we covered wavered as if a heat wave was rolling through it. Already, I could spot the edge of the world where a void chipped away at any details we had passed.         Daring Do was more silent than ever before, trotting with careful precision in every step. Her eyes were attracted to even the slightest noise that was not coming out of our loquacious acquaintance. My makeshift spear was pinned to her side by her good wing in a prime spot that would allow her to draw it in a moment’s notice.         Still, when it was just the both of us, Daring at least spoke a few sentences to me - mostly in the form of orders. Now, she was not even uttering a word or grumbling something underneath her breath. It could just be a way to avoid having to contend with the one-pony conversation practically dancing the few meters separating us from the monolith.         Maybe it was her way of getting back at my act of defiance earlier. Here I was, a stallion with not enough sense to back away when a panther was right in front of me, ignoring Daring’s advice and believing it was a good idea to free a complete stranger in a place where everything was a predator. Honestly, it would have cost me nothing - no shame or guilt - to leave Milky Way entangled. It would be cruel to do so, but I cannot recall ever being a saint. Why did I free him? I do not know anymore about him than what he claims to be. However, he seems like a genuinely amiable pony, especially compared to Miss famed Daring Do. Admittedly, he is a little too talkative for our situation, but it was a better alternative to reticence. Was that it then? Was it just for company? One thing was for certain, Daring Do was the kind of pony that was used to having others listen to her... but not used to anything different. “...Just one more time, I can’t thank you two enough for getting me out of those vines! They had me constricted like chains, and they were tough as chains to chew through too! Tasted like over-salted hay fries. Bleugh. Now that I think about it, cooks do that on purpose, right - make abundant, cheap food that only makes us hungrier so we come back for more? But hey, it’s a salty hay fry world; somebody’s got to pay for another’s luxuries. Did I mention how thankful I am for that rescue? I think I did. Yes... yes I did,” Milky Way confirmed with himself and ceased talking for the first time since we untangled him. Daring leaped on this opportunity. She held up a hoof and brought all of us to a stoppage on the trail. “I hate to interrupt your personal revelations, but you still haven’t told us who you are yet.” Our companion blinked twice. “I told you. I’m your professional cartographer and assistant in the quest for the Sapphire Stone!” Milky Way replied with a title drop. There was no noticeable doubt in his voice. “Well last time I checked, astronomy was not required for becoming a cartographer, so why do you have a telescope for a cutie mark?” the adventurer asserted. Something clicked in my mind, and a fool I was for not figuring it out myself. The evidence debunking his lie was right in front of us the whole time! How did I not pick that up? The falsified cartographer should have expressed shock or some anger at being revealed - at least a lapse in his composure or something. Instead, the accused paused and looked at his rump before shrugging his shoulders. “Oh. I’ll have to make sure to change that next time I lie about my identity. Clever filly you are to figure that out!” Daring deliberately narrowed her stare on the stallion in question. “What did you call me?” The question came out as more of an order - imposing implied threats that would make a drill sergeant proud. The spear quivered slightly against her side as uninjured wing muscles tensed. Milky Way appeared not to have even noted the change in Daring’s voice. “A clever filly. It’s hard to find those nowadays; although, I’d expect being an archaeologist might even help a mare achieve the same level of wit as any average stallion.” He spoke every word eloquently with oblivious bravado. The silence that superseded the comment was like irksome sawdust, making breathing an even more laborious task. Wait... was he? “So, in your opinion, males are superior to females in every way, yes?” “Well, of course! Dominant sex and all. And mares are, just plainly put, dumber and weaker - no offense to you, Daring. I’ll admit, you have quite an exceptional swing!” Milky Way complimented, before turning around to check his flank. A sizeable area of his coat was already a darkened red. Daring snorted without even eying the bruise. “Hmph. Maybe I need to swing harder next time. It seems that bat was not enough to enlighten your chauvinistic flank on gender impartiality!” That one pulled Milky Way right from nursing himself to becoming light on his hooves. “Wait a second, Daring! I meant what I said in a good way!” “How so?” Our acquaintance opened his mouth but closed it immediately. After a few seconds, he began, “Um, well what I meant by the whole ‘archaeologist’ thing is that you’ve got a good eye! And lots of brains! Heck, you could be as smart as me.” “That’s a low bar to jump over.” “Ouch!” Milky Way imitated a blow to the chest, displaying artificial pain in a facial expression that resembled something like a pressing need to relieve oneself. “You stung me bad, Daring. I don’t think I can make a counter to that!” “You aren’t weaseling out of this one! You insult an entire gender and expect to go free with a mare armed with a spear?” Just for display, she reeled the weapon from her side with one smooth rustle of her good wing. A hoof gripped the spear and pulled it out in front of her so that the blunt end thumped against the jungle floor. Things were getting out of hoof. I needed to get Daring to calm down... without getting stabbed in the process. I took a couple of steps forwards, keeping two or three meters from the pair of arguing ponies. “We don’t need to threaten him, Daring. I-I think he understa-” “Quiet probie!” She shouted and shot me a dismissive scowl. My mouth froze around the final syllable.         “His name is Intimus,” Milky Way suddenly interjected. Two pairs of startled eyes turned to the speaker, mine included of course. But with a quick dart of my pupils, I managed to catch Daring, on a rare occasion, gaping.         Daring seemed fazed for a moment - almost as if she just realized how crazy her whole attitude was. Alas, it went as soon as it came, and she regained her footing with a firm reply: “I know that.”         “Then why not call him by his name?”         “...It’s just a nickname. What does it matter? It won’t make him forget who he is… at least whatever he still remembers.”         “Still, it’s all he has. You could at least be decent enough to call him by his first name.” Milky Way chose his words carefully, never diverting his focus from the makeshift spear in Daring’s hoof.                  “Okay, okay! Intimus! And shut your trap, Milky Way. I’m not through with you.” The adventurer turned and gave me a softer, but all the same stern, gaze. “Intimus, honestly, don’t tell me you trust me this guy.”         “I mean… Of course I don’t trust him, but we shouldn’t be so ready to lunge at him with a, um, very - pointy - piece of glass. I don’t think he would pull out a knife and try to murder us.” It was a speculation but also a reasonable point. There was just no way somepony as ludicrous as Milky Way could suddenly become a cold-hearted murderer. He followed up with something hurriedly muttered that I could only guess was confirmation of my conclusion. Daring raised an eyebrow. “You just don’t believe anypony would betray you, huh?” Her voice had been brought down several volumes until it was a whisper. It was nearly out of earshot, but I did not dare to misunderstand the question. With a roll the eyes and a prolonged sigh, she continued, “This is the kind of gullible logic that will get you killed, Intimus. Nothing is certain here in the dream.” Admittedly, she was probably right. All of the evidence seemed to portray our new companion as a hostile in disguise - or at least a detrimental distraction. All of my logical reasoning told me trusting Milky Way was a bad idea, but there was just something, whether it was my foolish gut instinct or a familiarity I could not recall, about him that told me otherwise. But in truth, that peculiar feeling alone would not have convinced me to drag him along. Between waking up without a clue of who I was and narrowly escaping a pack of jungle predators, I have only met two sentient individuals who have not attempted to kill me (well Daring only held me down for one mortifying minute). Considering how neither of them were really all too keen on making friends, I was not entirely willing to throw away a chance at becoming amicable with someone as spirited as Milky Way. Goodness, Intimus. You are pathetic.         “Does he seem like the kind of pony that would stab us in the flank when we’re looking the other way?” I offered. The adventurer snorted at the question.         With not a skip in confidence, she replied, “One can be superficially charming yet a cold killer at heart.”         “Do you suspect everypony you meet of being a murderer?”         “Well considering that Milky Way isn’t even supposed to be here, I have my suspicions.” She gave a sidelong glare to the mentioned pegasus; he ceased any bored shenanigans he was busying himself with. Daring turned back and swiftly propped up the spear in clear sight of Milky Way. “        After all, he lied to us, Intimus. He’s hiding something - obviously it has to do with why he appeared at a convenient time and place.”         “How about all of this stuff that is just lying around us? I’m pretty sure food cans aren’t native to the jungle.” Daring retorted, “Those are only there because your subconscious likes to dump random bits of your imagination into one dream.” “Aren’t you and Milky Way just figments of my imagination?” The broom stick handle of the spear creaked a muffled scream as the mustard hoof clenched around it squeezed. Daring’s right eye twitched for just the slightest moment, more conspicuously than before, and her mouth forgot momentarily to close when she was not talking. Tiny disturbances in her complexion rippled across her facade of detachment; they ceased as suddenly as they began. After her guise was recomposed, she struck back with renewed vigor. “Why are you protecting him? What’s convinced you into believing that he’s here to help?” A dozen of plausible but laughable reasons jumped to mind. My mind hesitated for longer than a moment. “I don’t know,” I finally conceded. Daring sighed, this time not out of frustration but as if some grievous burden on her back had been alleviated. “Well then, we can afford to cut him loose.” Shockingly, the response came as casually as an invitation to lunch! She was only trying to protect us, but this was another pony - somepony who might actually treat me as more than luggage - we were going to leave for dead! “But we could at least ask him a few questions! I-if he’s hiding anything from us, we can back him into a corner and make him reveal his secrets. We might just find out what, um - Ahuizotl is up to!” It was a long shot, but mentioning Ahuizotl appeared to be my best shot at convincing my guide that Milky Way still had some value to us. Just as I hoped, Daring’s eyes lit up in recognition, the not-so-happy recall variant, of that name. She replied with reluctance teeming every word, “Fine, but make it quick, probie.” “Intimus,” Milky Way interjected. Daring swung around with stunning velocity to deliver the white pegasus a purely baleful scowl. She whipped out her reply just as quickly: “I got it! Intimus! Okay?” Before steam came funneling out of her ears, Daring held herself back and repressed her outburst of rage until it was little more than a forlorn expression of irritation. She cleared her throat of strident notes and continued, “we’re going to squeeze some truth out of you, Milky Way. I wouldn’t even think of lying, if I were you.” She tapped the ground a couple of times with the spear as a reminder of said weapon. With that out of the way, Daring nodded to me to begin asking my questions. “Alright, are you a spy?” My first question hardly seemed to penetrate Milky Way’s guise. He threw himself into an exaggerated state of quizzicality. With a hoof tapping on the chin of his muzzle, Milky Way looked for an answer in the canopies of towering trees. His mouth slanted from one side to another as he developed an answer in his mind. Wait, was he mocking me?... Yes, he was mocking me! Finally, his mouth plateaued, his eyes flashed forwards to stare at me, and his hoof froze mid-way through his repetitive tapping. Milky Way gathered himself and spoke, “Hmm... nah.” I turned to face Daring for some kind of assistance, but an apathetic frown came as a response - as if to say “This is what you wanted. Now convince me with the time I allowed you to have.” She broke eye contact and stood stone still, watching the trail behind us with unbreakable focus. I could not afford to ask blatant questions; they were too easy to dismiss. I needed to get past Milky Way’s frivolity and get some real answers out of him. I supposed it was time to change my interrogation method. Milky Way must have noticed my lapse into deep thought, because he immediately brought me back to reality... er, the dream. “C’mon now. Don’t go off into wonderland on me.” “Just give me a moment... okay, what do you remember before you landed here?” I could have sworn Milky Way’s trademark grin grew in exponential size when he heard the question. His response came as enthusiastic as ever: “The most I actually remember is drifting along without cause or need from one dream to another. It’s sort of like opening books to some random page and jumping right in! Of course, Daring Do can probably explain more about that than me.” The mare mentioned expelled an unmuffled grunt. “Tell me more about these dreams, Milky Way.” “Sometimes, I find myself wandering aimlessly in a large crowd as just a familiar face in your dreams. Other times, I’m right next to you believe it or not.” In the middle of his sentence, I glanced over at Daring Do. The scowl she wore seemed to imply she had some kind of suspicion but no significant reason to act on it. “All of a sudden, I go from background pony to the main character just slightly out of the spotlight. Afterwards, it becomes you and me in whatever absurd situation we find ourselves in. And a vivid imagination you have indeed, Intimus! Whole worlds have been created by your sleeping, dreaming self.”   Thus this world had been constructed by me. It was just a reminder of my subconscious state, yet the fact that I had designed everything here still left me wondering how such a minuscule individual like myself could have the powers of a god. Nevertheless, it was not the answer I was looking for. My inquiry continued: “If you are so prevalent in my dreams, how can I be sure you are somepony I trust in real life and not somepony I fear enough to obsess over?”         “Well… I don’t know how I can actually prove it. All I can tell you is that I’m your perception of the real Milky Way, so how I act is entirely - okay maybe just majorly - left up to the way you see me!” Milky Way replied with an answer that was unsure in itself whether to distinguish itself as an obvious lie or an awkward truth.         “That’s it!” The literary heroine interjected into my questioning. “We’ve wasted enough time for this. You’re free to leave, Milky Way. Fly off or something, but just stay away.”         Milky Way started towards us. He began, “I know it’s hard to see any reason why, Daring, but you have to believe me-”. In a heartbeat, the jagged end of the spear’s glass tip was inches from Milky Way’s neck. Our vague incomer froze in the middle of his walk, locking his eyes on the weapon primed to take his life.         “Not another step forward!”         “C’mon Daring... Just put- just wai- that’s not fair for him.” In my haste, words scrambled out of my mouth without even the slightest care.         She shot me a hostile, challenging glare from the corner of her eye. If the lunging position her body was fixed in was anything to go by, Daring could very well close the distance between the spear and Milky Way within the time it takes for me to advance one step. Without one lapse in her threat, she brought up an old blister: “Weren’t you supposed to get some information about our enemy from him?”         Now I was the one with a spear thrown right in my face; albeit, I was not taking it as literally as Milky Way. “Well, I mean, that was partly my goal...” Curse my instinctive honesty for ceding such a weak statement.         From there, Daring could read me like a plotted cliche. “And I’m guessing your main goal was to prove to me this male chauvinistic dolt is trustworthy?”         “...Yeah.”         A long, unsuppressed sigh found its way out of the adventurer’s impenetrable shell. “You’re the only one here who can get answers, Intimus. Him and you will have one more question to convince me of his trustworthiness, but the answer I get better be without any of his usual subterfuge.” Daring’s hoof reinforced her firm grip on the spear, and with a subtle nudge, the piercing tip overcame a couple of inches further towards Milky Way.         Watching the hapless stallion flinch in expectation of the death blow, I just could not hold myself back any longer. “Daring!”         “Now, ask him, how he knows your name.” The adventurer was motionless, poised to follow through with her threat.         “But-”         “Ask him... how he knows your name.”         “How can we tell if his response is the truth?”         “I’ll be the judge of that. Question him.”         There was no other option but to comply. With nothing to show after all those futile pleas, the act of facing Milky Way took all the stallion bravery I had in me. The words were juggled around in my mind, yet any attempt to sugarcoat the question returned less than pleasing results. I turned my eyes to a growing crop on the ground and asked, “How do you really know my name?... Be honest with me, Milky Way.”         The crop did not answer and neither did Milky Way, for a minute anyways. The answer Daring wanted was finally delivered after a full sixty seconds of listening to jungle cacophony: “The Alchemist.”         “Celestia be my witness,” Daring uttered. My head snapped up to see the archaeologist turn her whole body away to stare idly towards the ground, taking the spear with her. Milky Way collapsed onto shaky fours, refreshing in the renewed freedom of motion. His face expressed a foreboding similar to the one Daring held. Yet considering how he acknowledged to knowing the Alchemist earlier, I probably should have seen this coming.         And with every answer, there came the questions. I sorted through the mess in my mind and chose the most pressing: “The Alchemist? What’s wrong with him, Daring?”         Daring searched the soil and formed a scowl that was soon accompanied by a low growl. “If he’s here because of the Alchemist... It means that stubborn stallion feels he needs insurance. And for me of all ponies! He’s definitely getting second thoughts about our deal.”         ‘Our deal?’ I hesitated on whether or not to inquire further on those two words; Milky Way continued his confession in the meanwhile.         “The Alchemist told me where to find you two, and all the information I would need to gain your trust,” Milky Way admitted reluctantly. Perhaps unable to help me directly or unable to trust Daring Do, the Alchemist must have sent our companion to make sure things were running smoothly - armed with pre-determined answers to my questions.         The realization dropped a weight right into my stomach. The effect was similar to being inflicted with an airborne nerve contagion, from which my mind became a breeding ground for hazy thoughts and alien feelings. A speaker from the back of my fog-shrouded conscience was telling me to have nothing to do with the polar white stallion before me, and I listened to that alien voice. It told me to abandon that familiar inclination I had earlier, and I complied. How could I have been so foolish to seek a friend in a complete stranger? When I looked up to stare at Milky Way, he met my eyes with huge golden saucers for a brevity before losing the will to answer my unspoken accusation. Despite how adversely I saw him now, I could not blame Milky Way for turning away; a revealed liar always finds it difficult to speak truth to his naive suspect. “So, those details about your memories… were they…?” my subconscious inquired with my voice.         The response came quick as a wink. “No, they’re true! I think.” Milky Way bit his lip just as confirmation of conflict within his own sanctuary of mind. Daring’s cynical perspective of other ponies suddenly sounded a lot more appealing. He recovered soon enough and countered, “But that just proves that I’m an ally, yes? So… if we could just, uh, forgive all around and, ah, continue the adventure?...”         The sheepish smile from our cohort was greeted by the return of the makeshift spear, stuck right up to Milky Way’s throat again. Instead of staring with wide eyes and a neglected open jaw, he snorted at the renewed death threat.                  “Seriously? I’ve been smacked in the rump by a bat and threatened with a really sharp piece of glass attached to a broomstick, what, twice now?” Milky Way complained. However, his frown paled before the purely caustic glare that has become as much of an accessory as her pith hat.         Daring gladly explained what was already known: “So you’re not our enemy, but you’re still a spy. You lied to us yet again, Milky Way. Did you really expect us to just forgive and bring you along?” If she was trying to shame the stallion, her efforts were ineffective. Milky Way merely gazed with a lower brow than usual and patiently lowered the spear with a hoof.         For a moment’s pause, our ally collected his thoughts and responded, “I unrightfully deceived the both of you. Daring, I know you despise me ever more because of my association with the Alchemist, but I can tell you right now from the bottom of my heart that he has no intention of breaking a promise - or a business deal.” Daring rolled her eyes towards the depths of the woods, yet surprisingly, she expulsed no grumble or contemptuous snort. Now, Milky Way shifted his attention to me. His impregnable stare softened and lowered his physical barriers so I could peer into his head, revealing all of his thoughts. Even when he noticed my expression had become estranged, his eyes never relinquished their radiance - like that of the sun once it broke out of the clouds. I could barely catch my own face in the reflection off his pupils; apathy most certainly must have dulled the light in my eyes. “I, uh, can’t say that I have any real memories. That - lie - I told you; that lie was just given to me by the Alchemist just as a way to keep you from suspecting I was here for any reason other than to help. I don’t know if they’re even true or not, but I do know what purpose I have here. “My purpose is to make sure, first of all, that you actually survive this whole ordeal. Then, I will help you remember who you are, because that’s what the real Milky Way would do.” He stopped and chuckled at some entertaining idea. “Heh, that’s an incredibly cheesy speech if I ever heard one.”         As hard as I might try, it was difficult to find more reasons to ignore the familiarity I felt towards Milky Way. He had blatantly lied to me two times already, but he had good intentions behind the deception. Maybe I was just pathetic or just as gullible as Daring thought I was; nevertheless, Milky Way was somepony I could trust in this nightmare.         “I forgive you,” I answered. Daring Do threw her hooves up and sat on the ground. Her monochrome mane fell over capitulating magenta eyes. Now her scowl just resembled a slighted line from cheek to cheek. When her forelegs touched ground again, she sighed once in a thousand times more.         “So, that’s it huh? No amount of debasement or ‘reveal of the liar’ is going to change your mind about bringing him along?” she spoke with a dejected kind of venom, as if she already knew what the answer was going to be.         And the answer was a respectful shake of my head. I tried to do it in such a manner that did not further insult the adventurer. Daring’s eyes wandered from the void behind us to the temple we were just paces from reaching. They tossed one last futile dagger at Milky Way, who shrugged it off, and finally landed on me.         “Okay then.” As if a fresh new battery had been inserted into her body, Daring Do propelled herself off the ground back on all fours. Her trademark grin, oozing with ego and reckless anticipation, returned to grace her facade as the protagonist. “Now, we’re going to have to move fast to make up for lost time! But first, a few ground rules to keep both of your hides intact when we enter the temple. One! No sexist comments or I’ll throw you into the first dart wall booby trap.” Milky Way rubbed his leg and pivoted his muzzle the other way. “Two! Listen to everything I say. Don’t question it. Just listen… And three!” For this next regulation, our leader brought a hoof to her chin for several seconds to concentrate. When the train of thought was refueled, her eyes lit up.         “And three! Don’t. Touch. Anything.” That was one way to nail home the moral. Without so much as asking if we grasped everything she said, Daring made for the clearing where the ancient edifice stood.         From the outside, the temple looked like a layer cake of several colossal pieces of stone - precisely cut to various sizes from largest at the bottom to smallest at the top. The sloped surfaces were defaced by various blotches accumulated from weathering over time. As though the ominous, feline face engraved on the pyramid was not enough to raise a few alarms, the staircase ascending further into its dark interior checked all the boxes for this bad idea.         It seemed like the perfect vacation spot for the fearless Daring Do. Milky Way and I were galloping just to maintain the distance between us and her. We were halfway out of the woods when she reached the first step. She turned around and beckoned us forward with one spasmodic foreleg before sprinting up the staircase into the shadows. There is no way we were going in there, and I am sure Milky Way would agree. But when I turned to share my list of reasonable excuses for not venturing inside the temple with my colleague, my worst fears were realized. He had that look: the look that only faces looking for trouble would wear as a look. Milky Way smirked right at the feline face engraved on the death monolith. I only gawked at him.         He unfurled his wings and met my pleading eyes. Without so much as a lapse in his smile, he exclaimed, “Well c’mon then Intimus! We can’t let ‘her’ take the lead!” He hopped and beat his wings. His form blurred and shot at the staircase, halting temporarily to re-adjust the angle of his ascent. One blink later, and he was consumed by the edifice as well. There was no way I was going to do it. Nope. Nothing could make me wander inside THAT thing with no idea of what to expect! Nothing at all! My right foreleg betrayed me and advanced. Its left counterpart soon joined in. One appendage after another began moving without orders - committing the ultimate mutiny any soldier (well body part) of misfortune could achieve. I need to stop right now. My two allies right now are possibly getting themselves mangled in some unthinkable trap! They could be dead! It would be a very scarring sight. The temple staircase filled up my peripheral vision; the first stone step was just inches away. Even if it might not be real, the sun out here is refreshing (ignoring the mosquitoes and the humidity and the other maladies that accompany them)! Inside, there is no natural heating, only the pitch cold rooms of some cramped monument built who knows how long ago. There are just so many good reasons why staying outside is better! My hooves carried me up the first half of the staircase. Still a chance to go back! Daring and Milky Way would understand; after all, they can grab the sapphire-whatever-it-may-be and get back here in one piece! Just. Stop. Moving. And these confounded legs eventually did obey. Except, they chose to start listening once I was right behind my two guides - inside a tight, narrow, confined, five ponies wide, slim hallway with elementary torch lighting. And just for good measure, the exit was a fine quarter of a kilometer away. On a brighter note, the insulation here is not half bad.