//------------------------------// // 51 - Me: Me, Myself and I // Story: Synch // by sunnypack //------------------------------// The focus was on me, I guess. Last night had been a trying time, getting scared out of my wits by a griffon that literally plucked me out of a moving train, only to try and launch himself into the air, only to plummet to his immediate doom. I had been terrified, stuck halfway out the window o the train and when I scrambled back inside, I relayed the news to Luna who disappeared in a flash. I wasn’t really upset at the fact that the griffon had been trying to take me away, I was more aware of the fact that willingly or not, justified or not, accidentally or not, I had indirectly killed that creature. Over and over, the image of his shocked expression as his wings failed to move and his terrified look as he plummeted down to be dashed against the unforgiving ground, replayed itself in my mind as I tried to send myself to sleep. The next morning had been a slightly awkward affair, but I made light of it as we got down to business. Yet again, Emilia was right. I would feel better when I made up with my friends, they would help me get over rough times. Only an hour later we pulled into the Crystal Empire and I stood back in awe. When I heard the name Crystal Empire I had thought that the name was simply to do with perhaps a crystal mine, or how ‘the Big Apple’ were what people sometimes referred to New York as, or how ‘Newcastle’ did not actually mean a new castle, or how- You get what I mean. The Crystal Empire was a huge sprawling city (at least I think this is the main part of the empire, maybe we’re in its capital?) filled with crystal buildings, crystal castles, crystal food and even crystal ponies. That whole place was littered with crystals. The crystal ponies though, stopped what they were doing and were staring at me disconcertingly, like how my dog sometimes did when I walked past. Luna just chuckled at my misgivings and told me that the ponies would get used to me soon enough. Twilight and Pinkie flanked me and kept a watchful eye on any suspicious activities. Seems like they were taking Luna’s orders from last night seriously. Pinkie had a ridiculous Sherlock Holmes getup and was using a magnifying glass to peer at unsuspecting ponies as they rounded corners. After a few surprised yelps, Twilight decided that Pinkie should stop harassing the crystal ponies. Grudgingly, Pinkie subsided but kept the stink eye up around ponies that drifted nearby. Eventually she dropped the act although when she spotted crystal muffins. “Oooooooh! Crystal muffins!” she exclaimed, snagging one from the counter and devouring it, Twilight belatedly threw the required bits down for her friend as Pinkie ate various confectionaries left, right and centre. Luna had fixed her gaze on the Crystal Tower, the tallest structure in the centre of the massive city. Her critical gaze spotted a balcony from which two figures were indistinctly waving their hooves at us. I resisted the urge to wave back as Luna bowed her head slightly, acknowledging the couple at the balcony. Twilight had managed to drag Pinkie by the tail, again, how does that not hurt? We set off towards the tower post-haste. The tower was as dazzling as it was on the inside as it was on the outside. I gaped at the intricate structures composed of clear and tinted crystals giving off a hallowed feel. It felt like I was in some sort of ancient temple, with the guardians reluctantly giving entrance to the defiling infidels. Or at least that’s what I thought. The other ponies were having a blast of a time, completely at ease with such crazy surroundings. Such was the law of the universe. We were admitted into a meeting room of sorts with tapestries of crystals and hearts hung around the room, symbols of the Empire, I assumed. The room was dominated by a crystal table, for which fluted glasses and various plates and cutlery had been lain out in preparation for our arrival. I guess I was to dine with royalty today. The side entrance was opened in the brief pause as we waited on the rulers of the Empire. A white male unicorn dashed through the opening to approach and embrace Twilight. “Twily!” he beamed, gathering the pony into his arms, Twilight affectionately nuzzled the unicorn. Luna leant towards me, seeing my confusion. “That is Prince Shining Armor, Twilight’s elder brother”, Luna explained and my expression cleared. Bringing up the rear a light pink-coated mare with a tiara entered the chamber. She bowed to Luna respectfully before playing a silly hand-clapping game- I mean hoof-clapping game with Twilight. “How much of royalty does Twilight know?” I asked Luna suspiciously. “Oh, all of them, I think”, Luna replied casually. I gulped, suddenly regretting the times I teased Twilight excessively. Serves thee right, Luna thought snarkily. I shrugged. Worth it, I thought with a pleasant grin. Oh for the love of skies, does this creature need a lesson? Luna grumbled to herself. Shining approached me and I introduced myself as the human. He shot Luna a glance when I didn’t give a name but Luna just shrugged and flicked her tail in annoyance. The pink pony with the tiara approached me. “I am Princess Mi Amore Cadenza but you can just call me Cadance”, she said, making eye contact with me. As soon as she met my eyes however, her eyes widened and she took a step back. “Changeling?” she gasped in horror. Luna and Twilight gave me a wide-eyed look, then narrowed. Pinkie looked genuinely puzzled. Shining bent his head down, his horn gleaming with a spell. I threw up my hands in a placating gesture. “Woah, woah!” I exclaimed, trying to calm everyone down. “Let’s just discuss this calmly.” Shining glared at me, his horn still glowing with the fierce intensity of the spell, ready to launch it at me at the slightest provocation. His expression turned to confusion as a midnight black orb slid over my vision. “Princess Luna?” Shining shot at Luna. Luna raised a hoof, signalling Shining to stand down. Shining reluctantly took an easier pose but his horn only slightly dimmed, I took that to mean the spell was in some sort of standby mode. “Now, Princess Cadance, perhaps you would like to enlighten us as to how you came to the conclusion that our friend her is a changeling?” she demanded, rounding on the princess. Cadance looked a little less sure of herself but she stood by her convictions. “I felt no love from him, he was a bottomless pit…” Cadance explained, giving me a sidelong glance. “The only creatures that have no love inside of them are changelings.” Shining nodded. It made sense. Luna and Twilight relaxed. Pinkie still looked confused. “But Whitey’s Whitey”, Pinkie argued, as if that explained everything. I rolled my eyes but I was smiling. Shining and Cadance looked at each other as if saying to each other: what is going on? Through some unspoken telepathic communication, they stood silent, waiting for an clarification. Luna cleared her throat. “You have received the letter from my dear sister, have you not?” Shining nodded, Cadance didn’t. Luna put a hoof in front of her face. “Shining you did tell Cadance about the human?” Cadance turned reproachful as Shining scuffed a hoof in embarrassment. “Yes, the letter mentioned the null being a hum-“, he smacked his forehead. “I’m an idiot”, he muttered. Comprehension dawned on Cadance’s face. “This is the null being?” Cadance observed incredulously. “I expected something so calamitous a bit, erm, bigger.” I laughed awkwardly. Calamitous? Though true, it still hurt a bit. I tried to inject some humour into the dead silence. “I’m not dangerous enough for you, princess?” I jested, as Cadance gave me an apologetic look. “Ah, I’m starved! I could eat a horse!” I bellowed out intentionally. Pinkie giggled. Luna looked at me with a weird expression. Twilight was apparently immune to my teasing now so she just had a long-suffering expression. Cadance and Shining, knowing nothing about me, just had quizzical looks plastered on their faces.