//------------------------------// // Chapter 4: The Wine // Story: Autumn Nights // by AutumnHeart52413 //------------------------------// Chapter 4: Red Wine Ditzy stepped into the large dining room. It was filled with many small round tables, and had one long table running down the middle. Chandeliers hung from the ceiling, giving off a warm glow. Large windows stood at the end of the room opposite to her, tightly shut and partially covered by its curtains, hiding the full moon that shone so brightly. She walked over to the long table to see that food had already been placed, sitting neatly as it awaited its consumers. Jackle sat at the end, near the windows, and looked small compared to the gigantic room. He wore a black top hat with a short cape to match. His white bow-tie and hoof-cuff-links made him look worthy of The Gala in Canterlot. He appeared to be a little uncomfortable sitting by himself, but once his eyes caught sight of Ditzy, it disappeared, and he gave her a warm, welcoming smile. “Sorry I’m late, I got a little lost,” Ditzy apologized. Jackle gave a short laugh and smiled. “That’s alright,” he said. “It’s a big house. I’ve gotten lost a few times myself.” He gazed at Ditzy’s outfit. “You look lovely this evening.” He admired. She looked down at herself and blushed. “T-thank you,” she murmured. “You look very nice yourself.” He responded with a nod. “Come, sit.” He gestured to the chair across from him. She nodded and took her seat. There was a large variety of food placed about the table, still hot and delicious, as if it had just come out of the kitchen. There was food from their end of the table to the middle, and Ditzy wondered if she would even be able to eat all of it. There were potatoes, casseroles, pastas, salads, veggies, loaves of bread, creams, butters, sauces, and things that she never knew existed. Her stomach threatened to growl again, she couldn't wait to serve herself. “I see you’re hungry,” he grinned. “We can serve ourselves in a moment, but would you mind if I say grace first?” Ditzy shook her head. “No, of course not, go ahead.” They clasped their hooves and bowed their heads as Jackle thanked he heavens above for the food. He spoke with words that sounded olden and unfamiliar to Ditzy. Well, he defiantly is old fashioned, Ditzy thought to herself, But he looks so young, is there something I’m missing here? He soon finished with an Amen, and Jackle turned to Ditzy with a smile. “Go ahead,” he invited, “help yourself.” She thanked him graciously and began to serve herself. Once her plate was covered with as many exotic foods she could reach, Jackle reached over and grabbed a large glass bottle and a couple of golden, royal chalices. “Would you like some wine?” he asked as he popped off the cork on the top. “No thanks,” she answered, “I don’t really drink.” “Are you sure?” He poured himself a glass. “It’s been aging for generations, and I’ve been waiting to share it with a guest.” The wine was a sharp, red color which glistened like ruby in the candle light. The beautiful drink within the royal chalice looked fit for Princess Celestia herself, and she couldn’t resist. “Alright then,” she concluded. “I’ll have a little bit.” Jackle grinned and poured her glass half full. The food was the best she had ever had! She had an interesting pasta on one part of her plate that was covered in a wonderful cheese sauce that just danced in her mouth, and it went beautifully with her garlic bread, which was well seasoned and buttered. On another corner of the plate was a mixture of cooked vegetables that had an unknown but welcome flavoring added to it. A baked potato sat in the middle, cooked to the perfect temperature and filled with melted butter and cheddar cheese. A small bowl of soup sat next to the dish, and although it was not yet touched, it would soon deliver as much delight as the other food. The wine was the most enjoyable, to Ditzy’s surprise. It was cool and refreshing, and lacked the usual bitterness of alcohol. As it passed her lips, the smooth, unadulterated liquid would fill her with pleasure and comfort. She finished the glass before anything else, and Jackle was happy to refill it for her. “So, tell me about yourself,” said Jackle after a few moments. She blushed a little and responded. “Oh, there’s not too much to say, really.” “Well,” he started, “what is your profession? You are a mail-mare, correct?” She smiled. “Yea, I work for the Ponyville Post Office.” “Ponyville?” He gave her a puzzled look. “Where’s that?” Ditzy returned his confusion. “It’s the town right outside the forest. You've never heard of it?” “No, I haven’t…” He looked down and added softly, “I've never had a visitor before.” “Never?” She understood why, this place was in the middle of nowhere, and she just now remembered how creepy the outside felt. She had been treated so kindly she had forgotten how scared she felt before. Jackle shook his head. “In fact, you are the first pony I've seen in quite some time.” “Oh,” she looked away. “Well, Ponyville has been around for at least thirty years or so, you must have seen it before…” “Yes, well..” he started, “there’s an interesting thing about my house…you might have noticed it as you were looking for the place…” “What about it?” She asked as she took another sip of her wine. “Was this place hard for you to find?” he asked. She shook her head. “Not really, it only took me a little bit. Why?” “It wasn't?” Ditzy could hear the surprise in his voice, and for a split second he looked just a little bit hopeful. “Not for me, but I do know my friend Twilight couldn't find it,” she continued. “That’s why she sent me.” “That’s odd…” he trailed off. “How come you could find me, but she couldn't?” Ditzy thought this over, but failed to come up with any explanation. “I don’t know why, but what does this have to do with you not knowing about Ponyville?” “Well, the magic that has been keeping ponies out also keeps me imprisoned inside,” said Jackle. “I haven’t been able to travel much farther than the lawn for as long as I can remember.” “Oh my,” Ditzy cried. “That’s terrible! What kind of spell is this, anyway?” He sighed. “It’s supposed to protect me.” “Sounds more like house arrest to me.” Ditzy felt pretty sorry for him. She wanted to help, but she had no idea how to. “Do you know much else about the spell?” “Well, when I came here, I saw an open book on the front table,” he recollected. “There was a poem on it, and it wasn't until later I found out that the poem was the spell.” “How did it go?” Ditzy asked. He paused for a moment, as if trying to remember. Shortly after, he spoke; "A Pony, lost and withered away, Now has a new place to stay, Quiet and safe through night and day, But dark and lonely, to his dismay. A Pony, his heart bleeding, Could feel his past life receding, Knowing he would live without meeting, Knowing he would live without a beating. A Pony, with eyes lost, Saw the price and payed the cost, A Pony with a heart that's true, Shattered everything he knew. A Pony shall be left grim, Until he finds one just like him." Ditzy sat quietly and listened as he spoke. The mysterious words had intrigued her, and some of it sounded a little familiar, but she was halfway though her third glass, and the events of her day were beginning to fade. Her numbness prevented her from pondering this message any further, so she just shook her head and responded with an absent, "That really sucks, huh..." "I've been wondering about that spell for eons. I've been able to comprehend most of it, but I've always thought that the ending just contradicted itself." He said. "How do you mean?" "Well, it said he would 'Live without meeting,' yet, it stated he would be "Left grim until he finds one just like him." I didn't understand it, but maybe..." He trialed off. His eyes flashed with some new realization, but Ditzy hadn't noticed, for she had finished her glass, so he put the thought aside for now and filled her once more. "Well, lets change the subject," he smiled suddenly. "What is Ponyville like?" She looked a little passed him. "Oh, it's just a small little town, nothing too special." She replied indifferently as she took another sip. The food on her plate was mostly gone, but she hadn't touched since she got to her second or third glass of wine. "The ponies there are nice, and so is the apple orchid next door." "You don't seem too enthusiastic about the place." Jackle replied. "Is something wrong?" "Oh...well...you see..." She was debating whether to reveal what her klutziness had gotten her into back home, though it was already written all over her face. She blushed, and Jackle seemed to understand what was going on. He nodded. "Not the nicest of ponies to you, are they?" He predicted. She nodded and took another sip. "Yes, I know what you are feeling." He sighed. "The ponies of Canterlot weren't very fond of me either." "How come?" Ditzy couldn't imagine why such a generous pony would be cast aside like her. She put her lips to the chalice once more only to find it was empty, and Jackle refilled it again before continuing. "I was too smart for them, or at least that was what I liked to tell myself." He joked. "I was always into books and legends and such. I would spend hours at a time studying and trying to comprehend magic spells, dispute myself being an earth pony." His voice became more solemn as he continued. "The others, especially the unicorns, would mock me, and would tell me how unicorn magic was too complicated for a simple earth pony to comprehend. They would often kick me out of the library in my younger days, telling me to get back in the fields. Nopony had any faith in me, and they never realized what I could do." He gazed absently for a moment, "Well, maybe one did..." "I've got that exact same problem back home!" Ditzy nearly shouted in exasperation, partially due to her surprise, and partly due to the alcohol, which was taking a strong toll by now. "These ponies think that I'm an idiot just because I can't really see straight, and I can get a little clumsy at times. They all avoid me because they don't want to be affiliated with any destruction they think I'll cause." She paused for a moment, then added, "Hell, I probably just got my mail job because the boss felt sorry for me. The truth is that none of them care enough to get to know anything about me." "They just look at the surface," he spat. "not a damn thing has changed, has it?" "Apparently not." she scoffed. "The meaner ones would even get into mean names, like Cock-Eye or Derpy Hooves." "Well, at least 'Derpy Hooves' sounds a little cute." He responded. "They called me a Peon and a Muggle-Muffer." "A what?" Ditzy asked, nearly dazed by now. He gave a short laugh. "Muggle-Muffer is a very...err... derogatory term for an inferior earth pony that foolishly covets unicorn magic. I was at quite the disadvantage in Canterlot, because earth ponies were in the vast minority to uptight unicorns." She nodded, and peered into her now-empty cup, and Jackle filled it without question. This was her seventh glass. "I guess pony-racism did exist long ago, but I've never seen anything like that in Ponyville," she almost slurred. "My...my roommate is an earth pony, and my boss...he's a unicorn... They both seem to hate me equally." The room was turning fuzzy, though she didn't feel faint quite yet. "Both don't really know me as they should..." "Well, I'd like to get to know you," Jackle started. Ditzy looked up and gazed at him with astonishment. "Those other ponies are missing out. I can see for myself how lovely you really are, Ditzy, and..." His voice died down, but his eyes were still locked with hers. "I..." she began breathlessly. "...I don't know what to say...T-That means a lot." To her, that stallion was the only thing in the universe for this one moment. It was as if the rest of the world had become invisible, and Jackle was her light. She wanted to break him away from this dark prison and live with him in Ponyville, for she could live her life happily with him by her side. She wanted to bring him into the light, to return the joy he had just given her. She wanted his love, for they both knew that it was the one necessity that they had been deprived of for so long. He spoke, and she was shot back into reality. "You don't have to go back to all that, you know" She gave a short chuckle. "Oh, don't be silly. I will have to go to go home eventually." She knew well that while she loved Jackle dearly, she couldn't just leave everything she knew. Yes, there were some jerks, but she still liked Ponyville. "No, you don't," his face was hard, and Ditzy realized that he wasn't joking. "You can stay here, with me, forever" The cloudiness of the alcohol subsided as the weight of his proposal sank in. "I'm sorry, but I can't stay here forever. I've still got responsibility, I have to help my roommate pay rent, there's lots of mail to be delivered, and I have ponies too look after. I love you, I honestly do, but..." "Then stay with me!" he burst out. Fear painted his face, he could not loose this chance. "Why would you waste your time with ponies who don't care about you?! Those...in-greats don't deserve your beauty. They can find somepony else to enslave..." His desperation turned to wrath as he rose from his seat. The features of his face were becoming sharper, and she watched in horror as his form grew several feet. His ears pointed at the tips like a bat. His muscles protruded from his now-greasy-looking coat. His clothes tore and fell to the ground, his irises turned to red slits, his teeth sharpened. His fangs glistened gruesomely as he growled, "Stay here....With ME!" The room shook as he shouted that last word. Terrified, Ditzy let out a scream and sprang out of her chair, but the dizziness struck her instantly and she tripped and kicked the table behind her with her hind hoof, launching the chalice into the air above her. They fell together in slow motion, it seemed, and everything else was covered by a black veil of darkness. She watched as liquid inside the glass sloshed about ungracefully, turning duller and blacker as it descended. She felt her limbs grow numb, and her mind began to shut down, but her vision was perfect. She saw this scene in high-definition, and could hear voices emerge. "I told you she wouldn't last the night." rasped the voice of a young colt, a familiar voice she had tried her best to forget about. "Yes, dear..." sighed the mare, "But it serves her right for letting my poor Jackle down." This wasn't a taunt. The ghost's voices were sorrowful. They didn't want this ending. She could see the colt in the golden reflection of the chalice, and his image shocked her. The young earth pony was covered in blood, and his possibly-tan coat was spotted with ugly rips and tares. His black mane and tail was matted and and well soaked. His eyes were piercingly black, save for his tiny, white pupils, and shadowy streaks were flowing out of them like tears. "We warned you." She and the cup hit the ground hard. The images vanished instantly, as with her vision. The cup lay on it's side, undamaged from the impact, releasing a black sludge that slowly seeped from the edge. Ditzy couldn't move, and her conscious was slipping away. She felt something pick her up, and before she passed out, Jackle hissed into her ear. "I promise, you will never want to leave...."