~Day Unknown: The Conference AKA Counting Days No Longer Matter.~
January and February flew by in a flurry of absolutely nothing. The only "interesting" thing that's happened, is I now have a job here in Ponyville. Seeing as I have retail experience, I work at "Barnyard Bargains". Which is basically a pony Walmart. Just a bit smaller, and the building is shaped like a barn. No big surprise there. What's funny, in an ironic way, is the manager that trained me is none other than Xavier. We remember him, don't we? Apparently Mister, uh, Filthy, the owner of the store, arranged the whole ordeal of throwing Aura and I out of town. Xavier's lackeys were employees of Barnyard Bargains as well. Imagine my... Displeasure seeing them again.
They're afraid of me, and Xavier pleaded to Mister Filthy to not train me and have one of the other managers do it. But, he was the only one working that day. I just smiled at him the rest of the day we spent working together. It was fun watching him practically squirm under my gaze. Though I was paying attention to what he was trying to teach me. I had to tell him to calm down a few times. It was amusing.
We had our lunch break at the same time, and I asked him to join me outside. He seemed worried but joined me anyway. "You seem jumpy today." I said. "Any reason why?"
His mouth opened and closed multiple times, before he finally sighed and said. "Listen colt, I'm..." He paused.
"A pony. I know this. That's not surprising news to me." I gave a mischievous smile.
"Naw, I'm..." He paused again.
"A pegasus. This I know as well." I smiled wider. "This is a fun game." He shook his head and started to turn toward the entrance to the store. It was I that sighed this time. "Listen dude, don't sweat it." He stopped. "You're sorry for trying to kick us out of town. I know this." He turned around, but remained silent. "We're cool man."
"Really?" He hesitantly asked.
I briefly flashed back to what he and his friends did to Aura and I. "Not exactly friends. Obviously." He nodded and looked down at the ground. "But," He looked back up at me. "There may be a possibility of it in the future." He had this look on his face. Like he was surprised that I actually said that. "So," I said trying to change the subject.
"So?"
"So, how long have you been working here?"
But, on to current times. Not a whole lot is going on right now. Just some thinking. I do that a lot, ya know. Especially now-a-days. Working makes the weeks go by faster. Not sure I like it too much. And then there's the waiting. Waiting for your shift to end, waiting for your shift to start, just wears me down. Like right now, I'm supposed to go in at three and work til close. Luckily closing time is eight. It's eleven now, so I have some time before work.
Stop complaining! It's your fault you got the damn job.
No I just applied for S&G's. I didn't think I'd actually get hired. Plus It'll be nice to have some money.
It was stupid.
I think it was a wise decision.
You would agree with him!
Of course. It was a wise choice.
Really? How so?
Guys...
Stop fighting!
NO!
Don't yell Zeke.
This went on for a little while longer. And I've had it. "Augh, shut up! I call Conference!" I yelled out loud without meaning to.
"Zane?" I heard Twilight from the top of the stairs. "Are you okay?"
"Twilight!" I clapped my hands together and smiled. "You have just been presented with a unique opportunity!"
She stopped at the bottom of the stairs. "Umm...okay." She said blinking. She was clearly caught off guard. "W-what is it?"
"The Conference." I said matter-of-factly.
"What is this...conference?" She asked slowly with a raised eyebrow.
"It's where all of the different parts of my mind come together to solve what ever problems they have with each other, and discuss current issues."
She looked unsure. "Will 'he' be there?"
"Who?" I thought for a moment. "Oh you mean Zeke. Yeah, but so will Zac. And 'everyone' else. It will be safe."
"Do these conferences happen often?" She asked cautiously.
"Nope. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity." I paused. "Well, maybe not that rare, but still."
She still didn't look too excited. "Can I think about it?"
"Sure. But don't take too long. If this is happening, it needs to happen soon."
She just nodded and went into the kitchen.
After a few minutes Twilight walked out with a determined look on her face. "I'll do it!"
"Well, well. You seem excited." I said with a raised eyebrow.
"You're right. This is quite possibly a very unique opportunity. Not only are different species, but you also the only one in town that invites me into their mind." That's true, we've met with Zeke and Zac a couple more times last month. Zeke still doesn't like her.
"You should know how my mind works by now." I said a playful tone. She gave me a blank star in response. "What?"
"Nopony can figure it out! Not when one moment there's these 'zombies' you like thinking about, and then it suddenly switches little kittens!"
"There are many dimensions to my mind, dear TwiSpark." I said in a really bad Chinese accent. "It is hard to settle on just one." She just shook her head. "Well, anyway. If you would do the spell, we could make this happen."
She nodded her head. "Right." I sat down on the floor and closed my eyes. I heard the sound of magic starting up, and the faint tingling sensation as Twilight touched her horn to my head.
The Conference Room.
"Okay, now." I looked around and saw everyone was in attendance. "Everyone, this is Twilight."
"H-hi?" She received a multitude of responses. The only one that said anything was Zac.
"Twilight, this is Terrance." I gestured to this miserable looking guy. It looked like he hasn't gotten good sleep in several days. His green eyes were bloodshot with heavy bags under them. His hair was black and greasy, and he was shaking slightly.
"What does he represent? I've never seen him before."
"He represents my fear and worries, hence his appearance."
"Oh..."
"This is Sergei." I gestured toward a somewhat muscular man, wearing an olive drab Jacket of some kind. He had light brown-ish hair that was in a military type hair cut. He had brown eyes and a very stoic expression.
"Привет purple equine." He said monotonous voice.
"And..." I stood there staring, and after a minute or so I sighed. "Why is he here?" I pointed to a rather odd looking individual. His hair was done up in braids, and he was wearing all black clothes. Well...except for the tie-dye shirt he was wearing. He was wearing a fishnet under-shirt as well. His eyes were strange also. His left eye had a red iris with the rest of his eye blacked out. The other one was pretty much the same except the iris was light blue. He also had a collar with a leash attached.
Terrance shook his head rapidly, Zeke rolled his eyes, Sergei sat down, and Zac shrugged. "We don't know." He said.
"H-h-he just kinda showed up." Terrance said, scratching his face rapidly.
"Who is he?" Twilight asked.
I sighed. "Twilight, this is..." I rubbed my eyes. "Freak."
He looked at Twilight and smiled. "COME HERE AND LET ME TASTE YOU!!" He said before Zeke smacked him. "I just wanted to see if she TASTED LIKE GRAPE juice!"
"What!?" She yelled.
"Yeah..." I said sighing and everyone else shook their heads. Except Terrance, he nearly ran away at the outburst. "We don't like him very much."
"Why not?"
"He was a mistake,"
"Born from a nightmare."
"Y-y-you know the saying 'I am my own worst enemy'?"
Twilight nodded her head.
"Zane had a nightmare like that."
"And he just kinda stayed."
"What does he represent? If anything?" Twilight asked.
I shook my head and shrugged. "Not really sure." Twilight looked confused. I patted her on the head. "It's okay Twi, it's okay."
"Is meeting going to happen? Or should I go back to bed?"
"Oh right." I scratched the back of my head. "Why are you all arguing so much lately?"
They all looked at each other. "We don't really know."
"What?" I deadpanned. "So there's no reason for it?"
Zeke nodded. "Pretty much."
"Are you fucking kidding me?" I clenched my fists. "I get these massive headaches because of it, and there's no reason?!"
"P-please calm down.
"NO! I like this. It's fun!
Sergei just sat down and sipped on his vodka. Did he always have that? Zeke and Zac just shook their heads and sat down. Terrance was staying away from everyone. I rubbed my temples and looked at Twilight. "Can you believe what I put up with?"
"Not always, right?" Twilight asked.
"No. Not always. But it's been happening more often lately, and I'm tired of it." I took a deep breath and turned to the others. "Okay, we are going to stop this meaningless quarreling, and get along! You're all sharing the same space, so why not?" They just kinda looked at each other. "I not saying live in harmony, just shut the fuck up every once in awhile!" There was silence. "Are we agreed then?"
"Could have said it differently, but I agree."
"I was getting tired of the bickering anyway."
"Da! Agreed!"
"I just want it to stop!"
"Aw but it's FUN!! WHY MUST THE FIGHTING END!!"
I waiting until he was done before continuing. "Okay, now that that's over with." I shook my head. "What other problems do we have, and how high priority are they?" While they were discussing it, I turned to Twilight. "Pretty interesting, huh?"
"That's one way to say it." She said with a raised eyebrow. "Do all humans have... "She gestured to the room and occupants. "This?"
"Nope." I said with a shrug. "I'm sure I'm not the only one. But not a lot of people personify their emotions. At least I don't think so." She shook her head. "I guess I'm just special." I shrugged my shoulders again, and turned back to the group.
They nodded to each other. "The Changelings" They said at the same time. Except for Freak and Sergei, but they were nodding their heads.
"All of them or what?" I asked.
"Mostly the Queen."
"Maybe Wisp as well.
"But mainly Chrysalis. We can trust Aura.
"I hope..."
I nodded. "Alright, so we all share concerns about her motives here in town. What do you suggest we do?"
"We could talk to her?" Twilight suggested.
"Well, one of two things will happen." I said. "She'll either say that there is no reason to worry, which could be a lie, or, she'll attack. But that's if she is planning something."
"There's really no way of telling."
"So, what do we do?"
"KILL EM ALL?!"
Sergei punched Freak in the chest and shook his head. "Well, we could utilize Equality, or we can investigate this ourselves."
"But if we're caught, she will most likely start what ever she's planning earlier."
"Despite this, it's probably our best option."
"We'll have to play double agent." Everyone, including me, looked at Freak with a surprised expression. "Should be easy. Just hang out with them long enough. You have their trust already. Report to Grape Juice your findings. I go to bed." And he vanished.
I thought about what he said, and he had good plan. They already trust me, all have to do is act more like I did when I first came here. Then, Chrysalis might share her plans (if she has any, that is). "Gentleman. I think we were over-thinking this. This plan much more simple and may be the best way to get what we're looking for. There is no dead-line, so time isn't a concern. All in favor of..." I paused briefly. "Freak's plan?"
"It does seem to be best option." The others nodded, Twilight included.
"Okay. I'll start on this when I'm off work later." I stretched. "Anymore problems that need addressing?" They shook their heads. "Alright. We good to end this thing then?"
"Yes.
"Okay, meeting adjourned." They all vanished and I turned to Twilight. "So, did you learn anything?"
"I learned that you are even crazier than I thought." She shook her head and ended the spell.
I saw her walking towards the stairs when I woke up from the spell. "No letters to the Princess!" She stopped for a moment, but continued to walk. I shook my head and laid down. "My head hurts..."
