It has been quite some time since we went to the museum. About a week and a half to be precise. Since then I have taken Twilight and the others out for Twilight to do her scanning, and to show them more of the city. However, I do not think she has found anything conclusive, as she does not seem to have any leads right now. Or none that she can act on at any rate.
Though for now I am not thinking about that. Today shall be a great day, and I won’t allow such thoughts to ruin it! And the fact my package has arrived makes it all the better. It almost makes me forget that after we head out today I will need to head to work.
I immediately open the newly arrived package, a wide grin covering my face. “It is here. Finally. At long last it is finally here! I have waited for it! I have been wanting it for so long, and now I have it! And it arrived on the perfect day!”
“What day would that be?”
“Why Twilight, the day I take you, the other ponies, and myself to see The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug!”
Fluttershy gasps, and I notice she actually begins to shake slightly. “You, you mean the film with the big, huge, fire breathing d-dragon? Micah, I d-don’t know if that’s a good idea.”
“Fluttershy, it’s ok. It is only a movie, it isn’t real. And if any time during the movie you wish to look away, you can, I promise,” I state with a friendly smile.
Skittles flies towards Fluttershy, placing a hoof comfortingly on her shoulder. “Don’t worry about it Fluttershy, it’ll be fine. Besides, you did go up against that huge dragon before, remember? You made it go away just by scolding it.”
As Fluttershy calms down a bit, Twilight is the next to speak with a smile. “I think that sounds like a wonderful idea. I would love to see a film such as that.”
“Good. Oh, by the way, you know your wizard in Equestria, Star Swirl the Bearded?” I ask her as I open the box, and grin from ear to ear upon seeing the contents that lay inside. Everything is as it should be.
Twilight raises an eyebrow before answering. “Yes. Everypony knows about him. He is one of the greatest wizards ever. Why do you ask?”
“Because I am going to dress up as my world’s most famous wizard who is even greater than Star Swirl,” I declare proudly as I head off to my room to change.
Twilight gasps, and tugs on my pant leg with her magic to get my attention. “What?! Now just hold on there Micah, Star Swirl the Bearded was one of the greatest magical minds in all of Equestria! Your wizard is just a fictional character! I’ll have you know that he-”
“Twilight, I was joking, alright?” I say as I place a finger over her lips. “I was just joking. I was just nerding out a little bit is all.”
Twilight grins sheepishly as she backs up. “Oh. Heh, sorry about that.”
“No problem. Oh, Rarity? Do me a favor, and don’t say anything about my costume when I come out. It isn’t made to look fancy,” I say to Rarity as I once again move towards the bedroom door.
Rarity smirks as she speaks, “I make no promises Micah. None at all.”
Smiling still, I head to my bedroom to put on the costume. “Well, at least cut down on the remarks, ok?”
I do not wait to hear a response and instead shut the door behind me. I don’t want to wait another second. Now that I finally have this outfit, I want to try it on. Oh boy oh boy, I feel like a little kid on Halloween! The package even came with the staff!
First I strip, not wanting to wear my regular clothes and this. I would be overheated in no time if I wore everything normally. Underwear stays on though of course, and a tank top as well. Other than that however I don’t need anything else. The costume will take care of the rest.
Alright, here are the leggings, time to slip those on. Thank G-d those fit well. I was a bit worried at first they wouldn’t. Now the first layer for my torso, a long thin tunic; that goes on nicely. Next is a slightly thicker tunic of the same grey color as the first one. You know, as I put more and more of this on, I realize I will be boiling in the theater.
Now the robe itself. It, like everything else, looks exactly as it did in the movie. This is definitely worth every single penny spent, no question. I am going to look awesome in this. Just as awesome as Gandalf is.
I turn to look at myself in the mirror, and I definitely approve of my look. Now I need my beard and wig and scarf and hat, and my costume is complete! I will be the perfect wizard!
After some time I am able to get the beard and wig on. My goodness this stuff is really itchy. Can’t wigs and fake beards be made with something that is a little more comfortable? Well, at least it won’t come off easily; that definitely helps.
Now, at last, the finishing touch, Gandalf’s scarf. A very small thing, but for any true Hobbit fan dressing up as Gandalf, you absolutely must have every single detail correct. And no honest Hobbit fan can forget the hat. And the hat is a perfect fit, as it should be.
And in the package lies the last thing that any true Gandalf costume needs: his staff. Just as long as it is in the film, and recreated perfectly. It even feels that it is made of sturdy materials, and it even has the little stone Gandalf uses for light in the film! Awesome!
“Micah, darling, can you please come out? You are taking quite some time, and I would like to see what you look like,” I hear Rarity state from behind the door.
I chuckle slightly as I take a last look at myself in the mirror. Hm, I wonder how many Hobbit or Lord of the Rings quotes I will be able to say.
With staff in hand, and one final glance in the mirror, I fling the door open and speak with my best wizard voice. “A wizard never takes too much time, my dear Rarity! He arrives precisely when he means to!”
Everypony looks at me, and each one does so with a shocked expression. Rarity however changes from shocked to purely analytical very quickly. I cannot say I am exactly surprised by that though. Whenever anything involving clothes occurs, she is a stickler for every detail.
“Hm. Rather plain looking. Just grey, grey and more grey. You should really spruce it up with some more color, and maybe make it more form-fitting as well. When you are covered up like that we cannot hope to show off your positive features. You look more like a homeless fellow than a wizard, I must say,” Rarity states as she circles me, taking in every detail of my outfit.
Quickly, I raise my staff and pound it back down onto the ground as I don a more angry expression. “Do not take me for a mere homeless man who lies upon the street! For I am Gandalf, and Gandalf means me!”
Everypony steps back as I speak, and for a moment Fluttershy looks slightly frightened. That was not what I was going for. I probably should have done something else.
“Um, sorry about that Fluttershy. Didn’t mean to scare you. I was just trying to get into character. I’m, well, a bit of a nerd about this,” I state as I sit down in front of her.
“It’s ok. I was just a little surprised is all. Your costume is rather nice though,” Fluttershy says as she flies up and around me, examining my costume.
I get back up to my feet, smiling from Fluttershy’s compliment. “Thanks Fluttershy. I have been waiting for this a long time. And now I finally have it. Ever since I saw the first movie, I just knew that I had to dress up as my favorite wizard for the next one. I had no choice.”
“Micah, you are such an egghead,” Skittles says as she perches on my staff. I don’t know how she does that so easily with no claws, but it is impressive.
“Bite me. So, Twilight, would you like to join me in seeing what is sure to be the cinematic highlight of this year?” I inquire of her with a wide grin.
Twilight’s grin easily matches my own, if not surpassing it. “Of course! It will also give me more time to do more scans while we watch the film. And please, Micah, don’t give us any spoilers about what might happen. I want us to be surprised.”
“I shan’t do that Twilight, you have my word. So, if everypony else is ready, we shall head to the theater to see The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug!”
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Oh my goodness I am finally here. It is really happening, I am going to see the film. Finally I am here at the theater. My smile has only gotten bigger, if that is possible. As I have been waiting in line, some of the other customers have backed away from me a bit. Maybe it’s because I have been trying to see if there are any other Hobbit/LOTR nerds in line nonstop.
Though my happiness and excitement is cut down somewhat by the drone of the fellow at the ticket counter. “Good evening. What movie and how many tickets for the movie?”
While I wish I did not have to deal with a boring employee, there is one good thing about this. I now have a chance to do more Gandalf quotes, and I have the perfect one.
As I lean on my staff, I say, in my best old man voice possible, “What do you mean? Do you mean to wish me a good evening, or do you mean that it is a good evening whether I want it or not? Or perhaps you mean to say that you feel good on this particular evening. Or are you simply stating this is an evening to be good on?”
The young man stares at me blankly. The sort of stare that you only see amongst those who are stuck in a dead-end job and almost seem robotic in their mannerisms. I’m glad I never ended up like that in my time at the bakery.
“One ticket for The Hobbit it is. Enjoy your film, it starts in ten minutes,” the young man drones on as he prints out a ticket and hands it to me, after I give the required amount of cash.
I don’t bother saying ‘thank you’ as from what I can tell he most likely wouldn’t have even acknowledged me. Instead, I just walk into the theater, staff and ticket in hand.
“Micah, you have to let us out of here soon. It is way too hot in here. I don’t like being stuck on your head like this.”
“Now you know how Rarity and I felt when we were at the market, Rainbow Dash. Not the most comfortable thing, is it?”
“Ladies, please be quiet until we are actually in the room where they are playing the film. I don’t want anymore people staring at me than those who already are because of my costume,” I state quietly as I already see I am the only one in the theater right now who is wearing any sort of costume.
Thankfully the ponies all stay quiet as we walk through the lobby towards the spot where the film will be playing. I am very, very glad that Pinkie Pie can’t see everything around us. If she could see the sweets for sale she would probably go insane.
We arrive in the correct theater where the film will be shown. As expected, the room is all dark, but thanks to my staff I can still navigate with no difficulty.
“And he said, ‘Let there be light, and there was’.” With a push of a button on my staff, light pours forth from the top of it. So far it works just as it was advertised.
“Are we going to watch the film soon? It won’t take much longer will it?” Twilight asks as I use the light to help me find my way to a seat in the back where nobody will be around us.
Eventually I arrive at the seat and gladly sit down. Thankfully this one is next to an air conditioning unit. “It shan’t take much longer at all Twilight. Just do me a favor and don’t talk all the way through it, alright?” I request of her and the others as I take a look around to ensure nobody is here, and lift up my hat.
Everypony immediately jumps down. Twilight and Rarity each occupy a shoulder, and Fluttershy decides to curl up in my fake beard. Pinkie Pie decides that she would be the most comfortable on my arm, with Applejack right next to her. Skittles, like in my apartment, decides to use my staff as a perch.
I take a look at all of the ponies, glad to see them all smiling, even Fluttershy. I suppose she has calmed her nerves. That is definitely good, since now she can actually enjoy the movie.
With a wide smile, as the movie starts and I turn off the light, I declare quite gladly, “Rarity, Skittles, Twilight, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy and Applejack, my friends. This will be a night to remember.”
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
“I am fire. I am DEATH.”
This film has been well worth the wait. I have utterly adored every single moment of it. Even the pairing of Tauriel and Kili I like. I thought I would hate it but since they handled it well enough and the actors did a good enough job I actually love that pairing.
And thank G-d the ponies all love the film as well.
Applejack and Skittles enjoyed the action scenes the most. As far as I could tell they loved the barrel sequence the most. Can’t say that I disagree with how much they liked it; that sequence was amazing. The way it was put together was great, and it was wonderful to see Legolas back in action again.
Twilight, no surprise, likes Gandalf the most out of everyone. She was very intrigued by the way the film showed him using magic. While she says that Star Swirl is superior, she does understand why I think Gandalf is an amazing wizard, even though he is fictional.
Pinkie Pie, hell, I don’t know what she liked most. She seemed to enjoy every part of it equally. There were a few moments when we were watching it when I had to cover her mouth because she almost got everypony spotted.
Rarity mostly mentioned the different outfits she saw and which ones she liked and disliked the most. The basics of it were, ‘elven clothes good, Laketown bad’. But at least she enjoyed the film too.
I was the most worried about Fluttershy however. But, thankfully, she did not get as scared as I thought she might have been. Sure, she buried her face in my beard when Smaug first appeared, but at this point she no longer does. Though she does hold my fake beard tightly.
“This entire film has been amazing. I can’t believe we’re going to see the attack on Laketown by Smaug! I have been waiting my whole life to see that on the big screen!” I state ecstatically as I stare at the screen, seeing Bilbo Baggins now speaking.
“What have we done?”
And then… black screen.
Wait. What? No. No they did not. Peter Jackson you better not have done what I think you’ve done!
My jaw drops. Were this a cartoon it probably would have hit the floor. “They, they couldn’t have. There is no way, they wouldn’t do that!”
Skittles flies down in front of my eyes. “Micah, what gives? Why did it just end? Is the story over?”
I bury my face into my hands, not listening to Skittles one bit. “Peter Jackson you damn tease! I’ll have to wait until next year to see the attack on Laketown!”
“What? You mean there’s going to be more?” Twilight inquires as I feel her walk onto my lap.
“Yes. Next year there is going to be more. I just, I, why? I knew that it would be split up into three, but why did they have to split it up like this? It just sucks,” I say, and pull my face away from my hands. “Well, at least it was a great film. We better get going now though.”
The ponies all groan or sigh, though they do not protest. I gather them all under my hat like when I got in here and start walking out. I still can’t believe they ended it like that. I mean, yeah, it means we get a whole other film, but I have to wait an entire year for the next part with Smaug and Laketown! What the hell?!
Twilight speaks up next under my hat, bringing me out of my inner monologue. “Micah, you really shouldn’t be so upset. It is just a movie. Sure, it is annoying, but you can see the next part next year.”
“You don’t get it. I have been wanting to see these films for years. Ever since I read the book as a kid I wanted to see the entire book as a film, and now I can. And the part we didn’t see was the part I wanted to see the most! Now I will have to wait until next year to see that!”
Apparently I am speaking rather loudly as just about everyone in the theater is staring at me. Most days I would feel embarrassed, but not today. Nope. I think my frustration is rather justified.
“What? Have you never seen a man talk to himself before?” I ask everyone staring at me. Thankfully they all look away as my eyes meet theirs.
I think for now I will just get home. After I get back and change I will head off to work. I hope my boss won’t be such a pain once I arrive like he has been the last few weeks. I still don’t know what happened to him to make him such a jerk.
My thoughts however change the moment I step outside. It is cold enough now that I can see my breath when I breathe. It is a good thing that I got all these clothes on otherwise I would be extremely cold right now. The weather in this city can change in an instant. At least it isn’t freezing, but still. Some consistency would be pretty nice.
I hear Twilight speaking from under my hat as I continue walking through the cold air. “Micah, if it’s alright I think I will do some more scans while we are out.”
“Sure, I don’t see why not. Just let me know if we could be in danger, aright? I doubt we will be but still, it would be nice to know,” I state as we near a street corner.
Twilight speaks up as I assume she starts her magic. “Will do. Scanning now and-OH. I, I think it might be wise to hurry up Micah.”
One of my eyebrows raises curiously, surprised at the fast result as I arrive at the corner. “What? Your scan is positive? That was fast. You know that I would be far more willing to walk at a quicker pace if you told me what it is that you are--”
WHAM!
Note to self, don’t walk and talk any longer. It does not work well. Specifically, it ends with me walking headlong into someone and then falling flat on my tuchus. Not exactly an enjoyable experience.
Once I gather my senses I look at the young man I collided into. It looks like he got hit as badly as I did.
As I rub my head, feeling the already forming bump, I say, “Agh, sorry about that, I didn’t mean to--”
“Son of a bitch! Watch where you’re going you--what the hell?”
The eyes of the young fellow would give Pinkie Pie a run for her money. Though, that begs the question, why are his eyes bugging out like that?
Following his gaze, I see exactly why his eyes are like that. And I wish so much that this didn’t happen. My hat is laying on the ground, and right next to it are the ponies. Every single one of them, just as shocked as I am, and they are all looking straight at the young man.
‘Shit’s about to go down’ would be the understatement of the millenium.
Slowly I move my hand towards my staff. I hope I won’t have to hit this guy but I just might. “Okay, look, nobody needs to know about this, ok? Just... just turn around and walk away.”
He looks to me, and then to the ponies once more. For a moment I think that he might actually leave. Though that thought is fleeting. His eyes narrow and I can tell what he is going to do.
He’s actually going to try and take them.
With a surprising amount of speed he gets to his feet and lunges for the ponies before I have the chance to react. Everypony quickly tries and move out of the way, and most of them can, save for two.
Skittles flies after him while shouting, “He’s got Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie!”
As quick as I possibly can I scoop up Twilight, Rarity and Applejack and run after that bastard. If he thinks that he is going to get away with Fluttershy and Pinkie he is very, very mistaken.
Continuing to run as fast as I can, I shout at Twilight, “Twilight, can’t you use your magic?! I can only run so fast!”
Twilight responds, but not with words. As I glance down at her, her horn glows and a dark purple beam shoots out from her horn. Twilight’s aim is true as her magic hits the bastard right in the shoulder, burning a hole in his shirt. He stumbles which allows me to catch up somewhat, but he soon gets back up again.
I follow him as fast as I can as he turns down an alley. “How did he get back up so easily? He should have been dropped from that! Any normal person would!”
“He’s not a human Micah! Be careful!” Twilight shouts as I round the alley, and see him trying to climb a fence.
I have no idea at all what the hell she means by ‘not a human’, but I sure as hell am going to find out after all this. I’m not going to wait another moment. And she damn sure better not try and avoid it again.
As Skittles continues to try to get him to stop, Twilight fires off another blast of magic. The beam hits the young man, or whatever the hell he is, in the leg, causing him to drop and loosen his grip on Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy that both of them are able to run or fly towards me.
I place the ponies nearby, and move myself between the kidnapper and them as I slowly move towards him. “Who the hell are you and why did you try to kidnap my friends?!”
I can hear him groaning as he gets up, and see him rubbing his wounds. Once he gets to his feet, his eyes meet mine.
“I am serving my liege, as a good soldier is supposed to do,” he says as he continues to rub his wounds.
Before I have the chance to say a word Twilight speaks up, loudly and angrily. “Enough! Tell us where the others are! Now!”
Twilights words are, not surprisingly, ignored by… whatever this person really is. All he does is grin for a moment, before he does something I definitely did not expect. He bursts into green flame!
I shield my eyes from the bright flames, but not so much that I cannot see anything. What I can see though both confuses me, and, I must admit, scares the crap out of me.
The creature is actually transforming. I don’t know how this is physically possible, but it is. What used to be human arms and legs have been turned into pony legs. Or, some disgustingly diseased pony legs. These legs are riddled with holes from what I think is called the shoulder all the way down to the hoof. Even its wings are rather revolting, as they are bug like.
What catches my attention the most however are the teeth. Those teeth are sharp as knives, if not more so. If it wanted to that thing could probably bite my fingers off with absolutely no trouble. Even the teeth seem as if they are sick and disfigured, as they are yellow and twisted.
Lastly, even the eyes are bug-like. They appear like the eyes of a fly, making the beast as a whole appear all the more like a bug.
My eyes wander over all of that in no more than a few seconds, as I pay a lot more attention to its horn. Not because it stands out a lot, but because it is glowing exactly the same as Twilight’s horn did before she shot off a bolt of magic.
Twilight shouts loudly and says the very words that I was thinking. “Micah get down!”
I do that the moment the words leave Twilight’s lips. I get down as fast as I possibly can, and see a green bolt of sorts go right through the air where my head used to be not a moment ago. Thank G-d for Twilight speaking up there and snapping me back to reality.
As I hit the ground I see a purple beam, most likely from Twilight shooting towards the creature. It flies out of the way, its wings buzzing as it heads straight at us. Or, as I suppose is more accurate, straight towards me.
Immediately I try to swing my staff at him though he just ducks right under it, and lands right on top of me. The moment his hoofs hit my abdomen I feel just how heavy this thing is. I don’t know what the ponies weigh normally but my goodness this thing weighs a lot!
My goodness, seeing this creature up close like this… I don’t know what caused these creatures to look like this but they are even more hideous in person. Now that it’s this close I see even the fur looks different. Though my eyes are drawn to its mouth.
Or, more the teeth that are inside of its mouth which is moving down towards my face very, very quickly. I raise my arms up, stopping the creature from reaching my face as its jaws now open, furiously snapping at the air between its face as mine. With all this going on I can feel my heart pounding away as fast as it can go.
“Somepony help!” I scream, as its teeth slowly get closer and closer.
As it gets closer towards my face, I am extremely thankful to hear Skittles. “Get off of him!”
Skittles flies into my view, and she aims straight at the eye of the creature and hits him perfectly. It lets out a shriek as it tries to hit Skittles with its hoof, and its horn once again glows green, preparing to use magic once more. Though I don’t know whether or not it will use magic against me, or the ponies.
But it doesn’t matter right now. Skittles was able to distract it enough that I was able to swing my staff at its jaw and I hit it dead on. Twilight follows up with a beam of her own magic striking the creature right in the face, knocking it back and all the way off of me.
I get to my feet and ready my staff to hit it again, but realize quickly that that was a bad idea. No sooner do I get to my feet than I see the back hooves of the creature kick me right in the abdomen.
CRACK!
I clutch my abdomen in pain as I fall down onto my back, and try gasping for air to refill my now empty lungs. If you have never been kicked or punched hard enough to have the very air knocked out of your lungs, I’m telling you now, it hurts. Add to that what feels like a broken bone of sorts at my abdomen, and right now I feel like crap.
But as I look up I get a bit of relief. The creature has actually turned around and is flying away!
Twilight though does not seem as relieved as I am however. “Get back here!” she shouts, as she fires off another beam of magic straight at it, just barely missing as it flies over the fence and gets away.
Twilight sounds pissed as she continues to shout. “Oh ponyfeathers, he got away!”
“I’ll go after him. He won’t hide from me!” Skittles shouts as I get back up into a sitting position, groaning all the while.
“Ugh, don’t even bother Rainbow. He’s a changeling, you won’t be able to find him. He probably already changed form and is heading back to his hive,” Twilight says, pounding the concrete ground with her hooves in anger.
Twilight, Skittles, and the other ponies all start talking and arguing, all the while I keep holding my abdomen. Damn, what the hell did he do when he kicked me? It hurts like hell!
“Oh my, Micah, what’s wrong?” Fluttershy inquires as she lands on my shoulder, her ears flat and eyes showing her worry.
“I-I don’t kn-know. My s-stomach hurts p-pretty bad. I h-heard a cracking sound,” I state as I prop myself up against the alley wall. “What d-do you think happened?”
Flying down from my shoulder to my stomach, Fluttershy looks up at me. “I’m going to check something. Tell me if this hurts, ok?” I nod in the affirmative, and she begins to prod my lower ribs. While it is tender, it doesn’t hurt too much. Maybe it isn’t as bad as I--
“GAH! Careful Fluttershy!”
Fluttershy immediately flies back and begins to shake slightly. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to hurt you, sorry!”
“N-nevermind Fluttershy. I might have o-overreacted a little bit. B-but what d-do you think is the problem?” I ask, and take a deep breath to try and calm down, and stop stuttering.
Fluttershy, still shaking, flies a little bit closer to me. “Well, um, I’m not sure, but I think one of your ribs is hurt pretty bad. It-it might be broken.”
“Well that’s just freaking fantastic now isn’t it?” I say, glad that my stutter has gone. “Sorry for snapping, Fluttershy, I just, why the hell is that thing here?”
I hope that at least Fluttershy will tell me what the hell is exactly going on, but she doesn’t say a thing. She just looks away. And the other ponies are all still speaking amongst themselves. Oh yeah, thanks a lot, ignore the guy who was kicked in the stomach and nearly had his face bitten off!
“Maybe you can do more of your scans Twilight? That might work to find him again,” Skittles suggests to Twilight.
“Rainbow, I already told you that won’t work!”
“Twilight, I think that’s it time to answer some questions,” I say through gritted teeth.
“I think we need to just get out of here and head back to Micah’s apartment.We shouldn’t stay outside anymore ton-”
“HEY! TWILIGHT! GET OVER HERE!”
Finally that gets the other ponies attention, and they all snap around to look at me. Each pony walks or flies over here, with Twilight in the front of the group, her head down.
“Micah, I know you are upset and I will tell you-”
“Upset? That is one major understatement! In case you didn’t notice I got kicked in the gut by that thing! Not to mention how it almost ripped my face off!”
Twilight backs up a few steps, though Rainbow flies straight at my face. “Hey, she said she gets why you’re upset! Besides, she was going to say she’ll tell you what you wanna know!”
“Rainbow, back off. If I want to be upset, I am going to be upset,” I say as I keep my eyes on Twilight. “Now, Twilight, I have some questions, and you damn well better answer them as I won’t wait another second. What the hell was that thing, and why is it here?”
She had better answer all of my questions now. After this, I deserve it.
“It’s a changeling. One of many. We know they are able to transform into ponies and humans, and they should able to transform into other creatures as well. They are very, very dangerous,” Twilight states, her expression far more serious than normal. “Their leader even defeated Celestia with her magic.”
Ok, I was not expecting that at all. Changelings. Actual changelings. And they have a queen that is actually able to beat Celestia? How strong would someone have to be to do that?!
I try and get up, to move closer to them but quickly decide against it as my rib still feels too much in pain for that. “Alright, next questions. Why are they here, and why did I not see them in the show?”
“I do not know. It would seem that if it would cover what happened, it might not have arrived to that point yet. As to why they are here, it is sort of a long story,” Twilight states, shuffling against the ground with her hoof.
“Tell me. We are not going anywhere until you do,” I say, my eyes narrowing.
Twilight sighs, presumably readying herself before she speaks. “Before we came here, there was a wedding. It was between my brother Shining Armor, and Princess Mi Amore Cadenza. Cadance was my foal sitter when I was young, and when I met her again I immediately knew something was off.”
Rarity speaks up next, stepping next to Twilight. “She was the only one. I thought her behavior was nothing to be worried about. I should have listened to you, Twilight.”
Twilight smiles at Rarity for a moment, before continuing her tale. “Eventually, at the wedding rehearsal I confronted her, and of course she denied everything. Though everypony believed her. My friends believed her, Celestia believed her, even my brother did. And… and I did as well. Though I quickly learned I shouldn’t have.”
While I am angry, the more that Twilight talks I do feel a slight amount of pity for her. To be outsmarted like that, for a pony like her would be humiliating. And I feel that as I hear more of this tale it shall only get worse.
Still doesn’t make me any less pissed off however.
“To shorten it, I was imprisoned below Canterlot Castle, where I found the real Cadance. Eventually we broke out, and stopped the wedding, but not before her entire swarm of changelings invaded Canterlot. She almost succeeded, but thanks to my brother and Cadance, she failed.”
I was going to ask her her exactly how the changeling queen was defeated, though that is a conversation for another time. For now I just want to know exactly what got them here.
“She knew that she had to act fast, and she used a type of magic that is very rare, and extremely dangerous. She used a mass teleportation spell, that affected her, all of her changelings, and caught us in it as well. Such magic is very, very dangerous because it can at times be unpredictable.”
Applejack interrupts her, glancing at Twilight and then to me. “When we first got here, we were up in the air. If Twi, Fluttershy and Rainbow weren’t here, we would’ve been turned into pancakes from hittin’ the ground. It’s a darn good thing that--”
“Wait wait wait, back to you Twilight,” I say, interrupting Applejack. “You said, ‘all of her changelings’? Exactly how many changelings were there?”
It is not exactly comforting when you ask something like that and the pony you are talking to doesn’t answer. “Twilight, I asked you a question and I really, really don’t want to wait any longer.”
Twilight takes in a deep breath before staring straight at me. “It was an uncountable amount. They were flying through the sky, they were on the grounds of the castle, they were everywhere. And, now they are here.”
Uncountable? An uncountable amount of creatures that can change shape into just about anything, and they are here in Seattle. For all I know my own family could be amongst them. My brother, Solomon, my sister Deborah, and my parents. They could have taken anyone, even-
“Leah.”
Oh no. She might be one of them too. Meaning that if she sees me again, and if she is one of them, who knows what she’ll do?! If she is like that thing she could take me out easily! Especially if the ponies aren’t with me when that happens.
But what if it is the opposite? What if she hasn’t been taken yet? Or what if she isn’t a target right now at all? If she isn’t I have to warn her. But if I go to warn her and she is a changeling, then I’m screwed.
Oh, curse me for being in love!
I get to my feet, ignoring the pain in my abdomen as best I can. “I have to tell Leah.”
Rainbow at once flies straight towards me. “Whoa whoa whoa! Come on Micah, it’s too dangerous! She might be a changeling!”
“Rainbow, shut up. I am going to go to her now. I know it’s dangerous, but I am her boyfriend. I can’t take the chance of not helping her if she is not one. I just have to do this,” I say as I start walking, staff in hand, each step causing me a bit more pain in my abdomen.
I look at Rainbow as she flies back to Twilight. “Twilight, come on, tell him that it’s a bad idea. You know how dangerous it is!”
“Of course it is dangerous. But there is a chance that his girlfriend is not a changeling,” Twilight says, then looks towards Applejack. “And while I’ve never had a special somepony, I’ve come to understand now how important it is to somepony who does have one.”
I stop at once upon hearing those words, as Twilight and the others walk towards me.
“I don’t know exactly what will happen. But I’ll be there with you, regardless,” Twilight says, and smiles slightly.
Everypony else nods in the affirmative. Rainbow does so last, but she does eventually do so.
“Know this. I still am pissed. And it will take quite some time to forgive you,” I say, as everypony’s smile vanishes. “But I would definitely prefer you be with me when I speak to her than not be there.”
Smiling once more, everypony trots towards me, and I pick up all of them. As I do, though, Pinkie Pie feels the need to add in her two cents.
“Hey Micah, if your special somepony is a changeling, does that mean when you were kissing her that you kissed a changeling, or does it not count since she was a human?”
I swear I feel my eye twitch at the thought. Not just because of what Pinkie said, but also considering Leah and I have done a lot more than just kiss since the ponies arrived. That would mean I-I slept with--
“Never bring that up again Pinkie. Ever.”
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
It took quite some time to walk all the way to Leah’s place, since I have no car and the busses don’t run this late, but at least I am here now. However, now that I am here, I can’t help but feel a sense of dread, a creeping feeling throughout my body.
I need to know whether Leah is one of those things or not. I can’t just walk away. I can’t call the police either, as they won’t believe me. Some of the police might even be changelings. I wish this could be easier.
“Micah, when you speak with her, I will do the scan. That way we will know for sure. And if she is a changeling, don’t worry. We’ll help you,” Twilight says from under my robe as I continue walking towards her home.
As I’m about to voice my appreciation of that, I notice someone coming out from Leah’s door. At first I can’t tell, as he is turned away from me but once I can see his face I know exactly who he is.
“That’s my boss! What is he doing here? He shouldn’t be here. He doesn’t even know who Leah is,” I say, and move into a small alley as he walks by. Once he does walk by I step back out, and Twilight speaks up once more.
“Micah, I just did a short range scan. I-I think your boss is probably a changeling,” Twilight says as she peeks her head out for a moment.
Damn it all! Now the very person I work for is a changeling too?! And he was in Leah’s house! Crap, this isn’t looking good.
Though, I still head towards Leah’s door. “Twilight, you said that if anything happens you’ll help out right?”
“Of course Micah. You don’t need to worry about that, I promise,” I hear her say softly as I ready myself to knock on the door.
I allow myself a very relieved breath, and then knock, each knock seeming far too loud too me. It’s most likely from my nerves. Saying they are a little frayed right now would be an understatement.
I hear Leah’s familiar voice behind the door. “I’ll be right there!”
Oh man. Almost time. Ok Micah, ok, when you see her, just be blunt about it. Don’t beat around the bush at all, just be up front and forward with her. And besides, if anything goes wrong, I got Twilight and the others right here with me.
The door opens wide, revealing Leah with a most confused look. “Who the hell are you?”
“Sorry about that, forget about the wig and beard,” I say as I take off the fake beard and wig. “Hope you recognize me now?”
Immediately Leah changes from being confused to being happy, a very prominent smile on her face. “Let me guess, you just got back from The Hobbit, right?”
“That’s right. Um, may I come in? There’s something I need to tell you,” I say, trying to hide my nervousness.
“Yeah, sure. I will have to go soon, but you can come in for a bit.” As Leah turns around she immediately heads towards her living room. And, as often happens when I am around her, I find myself looking downwards. Really, I don’t think it is humanly possible for someone to move their hips like that accidentally.
And Leah seems to have taken notice. “Easy there Micah, you can wait a little. I don’t think you came here just to stare,” Leah says with a smirk as she sits down at the couch, placing her truck keys nearby. I guess she was going to head out.
“You are correct, I haven’t,” I declare as I sit down next to her, laying my staff down next to the couch. “Leah… What I’m going to tell you is going to sound very weird. You might not believe me, but I swear I am telling the truth.”
I worry at first what she is going to do but thankfully she just does what I expect her to do. “It’s alright Micah. You can tell me anything,” Leah says as she gently brushes a bit of my hair behind my ear.
It is amazing how a simple thing like that can help to calm me down. And now that I am calmed down a bit I notice that Twilight hasn’t tried to stop me, nor has she even moved. Maybe everything is alright!
Smiling, I go for it. “Alright. On the way here, I ran into a creature. It first looked human, but it turned into a pony-like creature. It was all black, had bug-like wings, and its body was riddled with holes. On top of that its teeth were--”
I am stopped by Leah placing her fingers over my lips. Her expression quickly changes to absolutely neutral. “Wait. Was it just recently? And did you tell anybody else about this?”
I move back a bit, groaning from my rib acting up once more. “No, no I didn’t tell anybody else about this. You are the first. I would not have gotten here if I didn’t--”
“Shh, Micah. I don’t think that you should talk about this anymore,” Leah says with a smile. Ok, I don’t know why, but her eyes are looking weird.
What the hell is up with her? “What? Seriously? That’s all that you have to say about this? Not, ‘what the hell?’, or ‘Micah you must have been drinking’, or anything?”
“Not at all. I think you should just relax and forget about all of that. Don’t you?”
At this point I just want to leave. But for some reason, I can’t. All I can do is just look at those eyes. Those beautiful, strange eyes. Those… those green eyes.
“Just forget about it. And, when we are all alone, don’t call me Leah. I have another name I would prefer you use when you address me,” Leah says softly as she sits on my lap, her hand under my chin, angling my face to keep my eyes locked with hers.
But at this point, there’s no need for her to do so. Those eyes look so beautiful. So otherworldly. Even the eye shape is looking different than that of a human. I can’t imagine looking away from them.
Slowly, she leans her beautiful face down to mine, so close that nearly all I can see are those perfectly-made emerald eyes. And then, she speaks ever so softly.
“Call me Chrysalis.”
Suddenly, everything seems different. One moment all I could see were those beautiful eyes, and then next, I saw a bright flash.
“Wh-what? What the hell happened?” I say, rubbing my eyes, and no longer feeling any weight on my lap.
I hear Twilight shout at me as my vision returns. “Micah, you need to get out of here!”
Now that my vision is back, I can see what Twilight did. Leah, no, Chrysalis, is on the floor, her hand over her eyes. And as I see her, I feel like an idiot.
What the hell was I doing?! Why didn’t I get out of here when her eyes were going all weird?! It was as if I couldn’t look away. I didn’t even want to look away from her. And who is Chrysalis? Obviously she is a changeling but I don’t recall Twilight mentioning that name before.
Though Twilight is right, I’ve got to get out of here. But if I just run out I am going to get caught by her easily. There has to be something else I can do, anything!
Wait a second. Her truck keys!
As Chrysalis gets back up, I grab my staff and the keys, and run outside as fast as I can. I have not driven for a long, long time. Maybe its like riding a bike, once you learn you never forget.
I hope.