//------------------------------// // Ch. 4 Looking the Part // Story: C-R-O-W-N-E-D S-O-U-L // by Mordy //------------------------------// C-R-O-W-N-E-D S-O-U-L By: Mordy Ch. 4 Looking the Part Every once in a while I have this dream. A very strange one that feels kind of surreal. It isn’t a nightmare, but it isn’t exactly pleasant either. It always makes me wonder, but it gives me a headache just thinking about it, so I don’t. It always starts off the same, at least from what I can remember. I stand in complete and total darkness. An endless abyss without a beginning or end. Yet I am not alone. I’m staring up at someone… or something. I can never remember what unfortunately. Whatever it is, it speaks to me. We talk to one another, yet no words are spoken. A silent conversation only heard between the two of us. Terrifying emotions grip at my being. Ones I cannot understand or handle, yet the other presence calms me. It feels as if I don’t avert my gaze, it shall always protect me. Therefore I look onward, free of emotions that would do me more harm than good. The pain just… fades away… I woke up with a jerk. I looked around with a slight blurry eyed panic before I calmed down and remembered where I was. Humming slowly filled the air as I noticed Fluttershy was setting up breakfast for her and angel bunny. A third spot was also being placed for what I assumed to be for me. Fluttershy had already taken care of her chores and could now focus solely on me… oh, and the little fur ball. I would need to keep an eye on Angel. He might cause me some annoyance if he keeps trying to tell Flutters about my other eye. With a shake of my body and a few hops I was able to get over to the table. My final two jumps were onto the chair then the table. I had to resist the urge to start laughing boisterously when I saw Angel in a booster seat, holding a fork and a knife. It came out as a few muffled snickers, earning me an annoyed glare from the rabbit. “Good morning friend!” Fluttershy sang out as she set out Angel’s food first, a salad with many various greens and vegetables. Unfortunately, the little bunny looked at it with disdain and pushed it away. Ugh… spoiled little… Fluttershy the doormat just looked down sadly. “Oh no, what’s wrong Angel?” I wasn’t going to put up with that rabbit throwing a hissy fit. So, while Fluttershy was focusing on the Angel I opened my large eye in a menacing glare letting that little pile of fluff that I wasn’t going to tolerate his insubordination. It had the desire effect as the rabbit swallowed with fear and began to eat his food. This made Fluttershy happy as she turned her attention to me. Of course, by the time she looked at me I had my eye closed and just looked cheerfully at her with my two white ones. The mare smiled back and proceeded to bring over my own salad and glass of orange juice with a bendy straw in it. She patted me on the head and said, “Okay, now you can eat up to regain your strength.” She paused for a moment and blinked at me. “Umm… how… do you eat?” Fluttershy was in the middle of asking that question when I went up to the glass of orange juice and placed the straw against me, just below my eyes. Suddenly the liquid was sucked up and into my being, disappearing into the abyss of my body. This just earned me a bunch of blank stares from both Fluttershy and Angel. I quickly drained the juice dry and upon finishing I belched, causing my body to vibrate and ripple for a moment as I made a cheerful noise. I looked at the two and noticed their confused stares and made a giggling sound, resulting in even more confusion. “Uh… excuse you?” Fluttershy managed to say as she found her words. I decided to go for broke and dove into my salad at where my mouth would have been, devouring my meal in the process. Each bite was like eating with an invisible maw. The leaves and vegetables disappeared into nothingness with each unseen nibble. “Oh my, you are an interesting one…” she commented as she watched on in fascination. After breakfast, we left Fluttershy’s home with me sitting on the pegsi’s back and Angel holding onto her head. The bunny kept his eyes on me and I guessed he only wanted to go so he could protect Fluttershy if I tried anything. Not that I could really do anything in my current condition. I was still recovering, but I was far better off than I had initially been. As Fluttershy walked slowly through the streets of Ponyville she would hide herself behind her mane as we got odd stares. It was just her being shy, but everyone was really just staring at me. I was something they obviously hadn’t seen before which came as no surprise. However, once they got their fill of me they turned back to whatever mundane task they had been doing. It was about ten minutes or so before we approached the town’s library again where Applejack and Rainbow Dash were already on their way there. It was getting closer to noon so I assumed AJ had finished her apple bucking early and Dash… well dash might have been slacking off or had finished her weather duty in ten seconds flat. “Oh, hey girls. I wasn’t expecting you here already,” Fluttershy said in her usual quiet voice. “Yeah, we were wondering if Twi managed to figure anything about… Hey, what’s he doing with you?” Dash asked as she pointed at me with her cyan hoof. Applejack tipped her hat up. “I was wonderin that too. I thought Twilight was mighty curious about learnin more about that critter?” “Oh, I just thought he would be better off staying with me for a little while. Isn’t that right?” She turned to me and petted me with her hoof while cooing as Angel glared enviously at me. Fluttershy then walked up to the library and knocked on the door. “I also came back to see if Twilight learned anymore about our friend from that sample she got.” The library door opened and everyone cringed. Twilight’s hair was a wreck and she had a nasty twitch in her eye. It looked like she hadn’t slept at all and everyone was hesitant to enter the library when she silently motioned for us to enter. We begrudgingly did so against our better judgment. The library practically reflected Twilight at that moment. Books were strewn everywhere along with pages upon pages of notes. It was like a tornado had passed through followed by a hurricane then a stampede for good measure. “So… how’d your research go?” Rainbow Dash asked sheepishly as she rubbed the back of her head. Twilight stared at Rainbow Dash for a moment making the mare wilt under her gaze. Then the death glare turned to me and I shivered, causing Fluttershy to wrap me protectively in her hooves and wings. Twilights twitch returned and she gritted her teeth. “I was up all night. I looked through every possibility and I found NOTHING! I ended up with even more questions than I started with!” Hey, don’t blame me! “Nothing at all?” AJ stupidly asked, causing Twilight’s annoyance to turn to her instead. This made the earth pony back up a bit in defense. Twilight kinetically brought over the vial of dark matter over with her magic and she held it up. “I can’t fathom what this stuff is. I tried to look at it from every angle and I couldn’t see anything. It’s literally like looking into nothing! I tried to use a microscope and I couldn’t see jack. The only thing I learned is that the stuff can’t reflect light. In fact it’s like any light that shines onto it just… disappears!” “Is that why you had that light show last night?” a tired Spike asked as he descended down the stairs, dragging his feet with each step while scratching his belly. “Well… yeah. No matter how bright or powerful the light was it wouldn’t illuminate the substance. I’ve never seen an element like it and I can’t even examine it!” Twilight fumed. Yeah, that’s dark matter for you. Even the most advance scientist of my time struggled to try and prove its existence. Heck, this stuff is from another universe entirely. Probably doesn’t even follow the same rules as mine. Rainbow Dash floated to the ground. “So, where does that leave us?” she asked as the others trotted closer to me and Fluttershy. Twilight hummed for a moment. “I suppose I’ll have to examine him a little closer. Maybe perform a few little experiments to see if his… skin? Yeah, I’ll go with skin. To see if his skin holds the same properties as that liquid.” What’s she gonna do? Strap me down and shine a bunch of intense lights at me? As I lay strapped down to a table in the library’s basement with a bunch of magically enhanced super crystals ready to shine down upon me, I couldn’t help, but wonder if this was somehow my fault. Sure, I had thought of the idea, but I never spoke it out loud. It felt as though the universe had decided to have some fun at my own expense. Note to self, get back at the universe. I wasn’t paying attention when some slick shades were placed over me, covering my eyes and making the room a little darker. I looked off to the side to see RD gliding back to the group who were waiting patiently for the experiment to begin. “Oh, good idea Rainbow! Wouldn’t want his precious eyes to get hurt,” Fluttershy swooned as she fawned over how adorable I looked in the shades. Angel just showed his back to me while sticking his nose up. Rainbow looked confused for a moment. “Oh… I thought he would just look cool in them.” The response earned an eye roll from me and Applejack. Twilight trotted over with some crazy looking safety goggles that had their lenses tinted green. “Okay girls, please put these on,” she requested as she magic them over to the other mares and bunny. Each of them slipped the contraptions on and AJ had to ask, “Uh… are you sure this is safe?” “Absolutely!” Twilight said reassuringly as she and Spike slipped into what looked like biohazard suits. We all just stared at them, my eyes being the widest. What the hell is she about to do me?! Twilight noticed our stunned faces and she waved a hoof dismissively as she got herself in place. “Really, nothing to worry about… although you might want to stand behind that,” she stated, pointing to a metal wall with a little window in it to peer through. The girls glanced at each other for a moment before they made a dive behind the construct. I did not like where this was going at all and hated that they were letting Twilight go through with this. Could be worse I suppose. “If you girls start tasting purple, don’t be alarmed. Though, you might want to see a doctor. Just in case,” Twilight suggested while smiling sheepishly. This just earned her some fearful stares. Twilight trotted over to check the straps on me one last time before she started to speak, “Okay, you might feel a little bit of pain… all of you,” she rectified, telling the others as one of my eyes began to twitch from the madness of this situation. “Umm… Twilight,” Fluttershy began. “I’m starting to have second doubts about this.” “Too late!” Twilight activated the lights and I instinctively shut my eyes as the light show began. There were a few gasps and I wondered what they were seeing that was so interesting. What they saw was just a blackened void that outlined my shape. The lights were extremely intense, but no matter how bright they got, they could not illuminate me. My being was able to completely block off the light and create pitch black shadows that were only slightly less dark from the stray strands of light that did not hit me. Twilight turned the lights off and wrote some notes down. “Well, we can definitely say that the stuff came from him, but I’m not any closer to learning about what he is.” She pondered for a moment as she came up to me and tentatively touched me with her hoof. “Not even slightly warm…” she muttered. Fluttershy was quick to get me out of my bindings as she held and rubbed me. “I think that would be enough experimentation for now.” “But... we have just begun!” Twilight started, but she wilted under Fluttershy’s determined gaze. Twilight hung her head in defeat. “I suppose that will suffice for now.” Fluttershy smiled and carried me back upstairs with everyone else following. I was now super glad I ended up with the animal lover instead of that mad scientist. I’d have to find a way to get back at Twilight for that little treatment later. I was set down on the nearby table as Twilight let out an exasperated sigh. “Guess we’re no closer to figuring out what he is.” “I still say he’s an alien,” Spike quipped. Everyone rolled their eyes and Applejack chuckled. “Twi’s right sugarcube, you do need to cut back on them comics.” Twilight smiled at AJ and then grinned as Spike. “Tell you what, if it turns out he is an alien, I’ll buy you a year’s supply of gems.” Spike’s eyes went wide and he licked his maw. “I’m holding you to that!” And I will make sure she regrets it! There was a sudden knock on the door and before anyone could even answer it, Rarity barged in while humming. She carried a few bags with her magic and quickly trotted over to me and set them aside. “Oh, this is going to look splendid on you!” Rarity announced in a sing song voice as she nosed through her bags. Didn’t take anyone long to figure out what the mare was up to. “Oh great, you’re gonna dress him up in some lame outfit?” Dash groaned and Rarity huffed at the mare while she stuck her nose up indignantly. Twilight didn’t want to get in the middle of this, but Applejack was quickly drawn in. “I have to agree with Rainbow on this one. I’m not sure dressing him up is the best thing to do.” As long as she stuck to the same color scheme and my specifications, I won’t complain. “Oh, I’m sure whatever you made will look wonderful,” Fluttershy complimented while backing away a bit to make some room for Rarity and me. One love sick dragon spoke next. “Anything Rarity makes looks great,” Spike said with heart shaped eyes that only looked at the marshmallow mare. “Thank you Fluttershy, Spike. At least somepony has faith in me!” The generous mare shared a very generous scowl at AJ and Rainbow Dash. There was suddenly a blur of fabric as I became a living mannequin for the mare. I quickly became dizzy as I was told to hold still and was dressed expertly by Rarity and her dazzling display of artistic magic. The room was still spinning when the mare finished and collective gasp was heard as they saw my new attire. I was now clad in a regal blue suit that came with a white cape with gold trimmings with a little pit of purple. There were gold-trimmed cog designs and it came with a white scarf that had a blue buckle woven within. I was now the spitting image of Magolor in his original form. The only difference was I had pitch black skin with white eyes and I was missing my gloves. Overall, I was very satisfied and quite comfy to boot! Much to everyone’s greater surprise was when Rarity actually pulled out the missing set of white gloves. Twilight just shook her head as Rarity set them next to me. “Rarity, as wonderful as the clothes are, why did you make mittens to go with them?” Rarity rarely made hand wear, but it was usually for customers of other species, even if they were uncommon. “I’m not entirely sure darling. Somehow the whole attire felt incomplete without them.” Rarity pouted as she looked at my gloves and then back to Twilight. Twilight focused on Rarity and face hooved. “I don’t even… why even give them to him in the first place? Not like he’s going to magically be able to–“ her words died in her mouth as she pointed to me and her jaw unhinged. My gloves were now floating next to me, acting as fully functioning hands as I practiced gripping them. They felt similar to my old soul form hands, minus having five digits and claws. However, it was nice to have a functioning floating appendage again. When I noticed the shock looks on all the mares faces, I simply waved at them. “What the… how many more secrets do you have?!” Twilight fumed and turned around muttering angrily to herself. Oh Twilight, if only you knew… After muttering something about me being comparable to a rubuck's cube she then grumbled, “Next thing we know he’ll start floating around!” As soon as she said that, like the good evil little troll I was, I began to use some of more fair reserves of magic to float over to the distraught mare and pat her lightly on the back. More jaws dropped and I eagerly awaited for Twilight’s response. Twilight stared half lidded at the wall and deadpanned, “He’s floating right now isn’t he?” “Eyup,” AJ said in her best Big Mac imitation. Twilight screamed and started pulling at her hair. I was going to drive her mad at this rate. “Oh come on! This is getting ridiculous!” “I’m telling you, he’s an alien,” Spike suggested again while reading one of his comics that more than likely had an aliens in it. “Alien wizard I say!” Twilight and I jumped into each other’s arms or in her case forelegs, at the sudden appearance of Pinkie Pie who was now right next to us. We weren’t the only ones who hadn’t spotted her entrance. “Pinkie dear, when did you get here?” Rarity inquired when she finally noticed the pink menace. Twilight let go of me as Pinkie started to poke me lightly. “Just now!” she giggled as she said that. I started to lightly push her hoof away every time she tried to do another poking deathblow, but it hardly deterred her. It was a few seconds before she stopped and started to bounce. “Oh hey girls, have you gals named him yet?” “Oh my, we haven’t even given him a name!” Fluttershy said with a squeak. “How about Shade?!” Dash suggested as she lazily floated around. “As if,” Rarity sniffed as she waved her hoof dismissively. “I think something like Onyx would be more suiting for such rare black gem as he is!” What am I, a Pokémon? … Don’t answer that. All of them started to throw out names and I quickly realized that if I didn’t want to end up with something that would make me cringe every time I hear it, I would need to implant a name inside their heads that would befit me. “Ooo, let’s call him Kirby!” Pinkie shouted excitedly. And I best do it fast! It was a few more rounds of the name game before I decided on a one that I’d like. I was about to toss it into their heads when Pinkie started to jump up raising and flailing her hoof like she was a student in class. Twilight pointed to her. “Yes Pinkie?” “Why not Yami?” The girls looked at her blankly and Applejack asked, “What made you think of an odd name like that?” “Cause that’s what Yami here wanted it to be, silly!” Pinkie pointed at me while patting me on the head. What scared me was that was the very name I was going to put into each of their heads. I may know that Pinkie broke the fourth wall sometimes, but that didn’t mean I knew how she did it and to what limits there were. Fluttershy trotted over to me. “Well little one, would you like your name to be Yami?” I was still reeling in from Pinkie suggesting the name, but I shook it off and held up one of my floating glove hands to give the thumbs up sign. Fluttershy smiled and it was settled. Yami would be my name… at least until I was ready to reveal myself and I eagerly looked forward to that day!