Chapter 86: A Relapse of Old Ways
*Thousands of Seconds in the Future*
Ah, the wonderful countryside of Equestria. It is Autumn now, with beautiful colors all around. Nothing could disturb this serene—
"Cease thy games wretch! Stand and face us!"
This serene peace. Ponies frolick, birds chirp, leaves crunch, and Princess Celestia chases a rapidly moving bubble of water through Ponyville.
Wait, what was that last one?
"We shall let thee sit amidst the scorching heat of our sun for thy transgressions!"
Meanwhile, in the mind of the pony currently being chased, one mantra loops endlessly.
‘Oh buck oh buck oh buck oh buck oh buck...’
Most ponies in his situation, would not question how this situation came to be. Wise ponies would focus simply on questions like "Where can I hide?", or "How much longer can I run?". Sadly, the stallion known as Coral Pump was not a wise pony, elsewise he would not be running for his life.
*Earlier That Year*
Coral hummed an upbeat tune as he walked to the Kitchens to fetch Princess’s Celestia’s morning coffee. As he walked into the kitchen, he spotted another pony. While this would not be of any note at any other time, nopony was ever in the kitchens around at this part of the morning. Typically, the cook would finish preparing the mug and laying out the various dishes, then leave an hour or so before Coral walked in. Yet this mare was certainly not the cook unless she’d run afoul of poison joke. Her coat was navy blue, her mane only a shade lighter. All these details were filed away in Coral’s mind, not to make their significance known until it was far too late.
Coral grabbed the coffee, careful not to apply too much force to the telekinesis. "I haven’t seen anyone else around here at this time of day before. Who are y—?" He was cut off by a flash of midnight blue light, as the mare teleported away. "How odd," he mused, exiting the kitchens to bring the Princess her coffee.
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Princess Celestia wasn’t ready for the morning. Oh sure, she had raised the sun, letting the servants know she was awake. but she didn’t want to get out of bed. No, nothing could rouse her, for on this day she would make a stand! On this day, she would sleep in, and the nobles could but...
‘Is that coffee I smell?’
One cup of coffee and no small amount of grooming later, Princess Celestia was ready to attend court. Something was nagging at her, however. The nobles and even her guards occasionally sent disbelieving glances at her.
‘No, not at me; above me. What’s going on?’
Inbetween petitions, she chanced a look upwards. What Celestia saw baffled her, for a large pillar of swirling red and green floated above the throne, extending two yards into the air.
"What?"
‘How did this happen? Everything went normally. Woke up, had coffee, had bath, began holding court until meal time. Although. The coffee certainly tasted odd today. A bit like, key lime, or poison J—’
You could practically see lightbulb flare.
"Coral!"
Be it out of rage or fear, the next few minutes were a blur for both the alicorn and the hapless unicorn. How they went from running through the castle to racing across the countryside would remain a mystery for eternity, but the results were the same. Trails of flame criss-crossed upon the land, clouds of steam and smoke following in their wake.
Eventually, Coral was caught and thoroughly reprimanded. His punishment was somewhat lessened when he mentioned the strange mare seen in the kitchen earlier that day. Coincidentally, Luna woke up the next morning to find her mane dyed pink.
Coral subsequently died and no more was heard of him ever again.