//------------------------------// // [FIXED] Episode 7: The Hooded Offender...Fan Club?!?!?! // Story: The Life of a Wanted Changeling Season 2: Debt to a Doctor (Comment Driven Story) // by Down with Chrysalis //------------------------------// Be careful. This one is already gray. You might not be able to trust anything she says or does. But since she's blushing, she might be a fan. And if she's a fan, she might help you figure something out. Aside form Discord and the Deadly Five, there's one party whose motives you don't know yet: the Doctor's. He said he would contact you in the hall of mirrors, but you haven't heard from him. Just what are you supposed to be doing? A pony that is actually likes you instead of instantly hating you? This could be interesting... and a little scary. Careful, Bugze, she could secretly be an assassin trying to get close... but then again, she could just be a fan mare... either way, you could get mauled... The mare continues to stare at you with big sparkling eyes. No seriously, her eye are sparkling and she looks like shes about to exploded in happiness. You can't help but think as you stare back, Careful Bugze, for all you know this could be a assassin sent to kill you by your ex-queen- The mare in front of you starts to giggle like a fanfilly. You tilt your head in confusion as you think, Then again she could be a fanfilly... of course that means I'm still in danger! You shiver in dread as you remember the time you went to a music convention in Manehatten that had *gag* Justin Beatbox there (you were on an official mission for the Hive, but you got sidetracked as usual). While you were there (dressed up as a supervillain of course), you happened to pass by where he was having a panel. You were planing to throw a pie at his annoying-voiced face when you heard this high-pitched scream coming from the room. You decided to take a peek to see what was going on and what you saw horrified you to this day, Beatbox being dragged into a crowd of screaming mares and fillies. While he was being dragged, mares would hop onto him and tear off pieces of his clothing and mane while shouting the creepiest of things like "I wanna bare your foals! and "Give me your kidneys!" You did what any reasonable stallion would do in that situation... you scream bloody murder and slammed the door before any of the fan mares could get out. You still have nightmares to this day about that experience... With that in mind, you can't help but think, Lady luck, if you have any respect for me left, please, please, let this mare just have a fever. Or she could just be grayed like the mares (given how grey she is, I wouldn't be surprised...), or even an assassin out to jam a hidden blade into my neck, just ANYTHING but a rabid fanfilly... As you're begging lady luck that this mare is anything but a fan mare, and random thought enters you mind, You know something, I know almost everyling's motive in this whole mess. The Deadly 5 want me dead, this lunatic Discord wants me to be his twisted evil friend (reminds me of a certain evil voice *cough*DFV*cough*), but there's one party's motives who I don't understand... The Doctor's. As you think this, you begin to pace back and froth while rubbing your chin with your hoof in thought, causing the grey mare to look at you strangely. I mean, he made me come out of hiding, give up my peaceful life in Appleloosa, and put my daughter back into danger, but he doesn't even bother to show up! I mean who does that?! And now, not one, but TWO evil beings are trying to be my friend and/or master! I swear the next time I see him I'm gonna- "Hey, Mister Offender, are you alright?" You angry mental rambling is cut short when your thoughts are interrupted by the gray mare. You turn to her and are about to respond rudely to her question due to your anger, when... you act all gently bugy around this mare since she isnt trying to kill you ask her what her name is see why she's blushing and why she isnt trying to kill you. Bugzy, you need to stay calm and buggy on! In this case, as the mare is not tring to kill you, (yet) u should be nice to her. Calm down bug, there's no reason to be mad at her... Unless she's a assassin, in which case then you can be mad, but for now act nice. Got it, deep breaths, deep breaths... After you managed to calm yourself down before you do something stupid... again. You then answer the mares question in a calm tone, "Uh yeah I'm fine hehehe, just thinking is all. Now I've got a question for you. Who are you and why aren't you trying to kill me?" She seems taken aback by your question, before she says in a overly excited tone... She realizes she hasn't introduced herself and begins stammering "Oh, yes. Well... I am Octavia. I was there when you saved everyone at the gala. I honestly thought we were done for when the ceiling began to collapse. You saved our lives... you saved my life." Her blush intensifies at that last part and she bats her eyelashes. She looks at you, takes a breath and proclaims O: "I'm a Huge fan of yours! In Fact, I'm Vice President of your Fan Club! I'm Octavia by the way, and it is an honor to meet you again after your Resurrection! (She Starts Shaking your hoof vigorously)" OK, you weren't expecting that, seeing as how you just fought four mares with her same coat color and everything You: Oh, Umm...That's nice? Wait! I have a Fan Club? O: Of Course you do, how could you not? You're the hero that Equestria Needs even if you're not the one it wants. I knew you would come back! The minute the weather started pouring Chocolate Milk I knew you would come back to save the day! She says in a fangirl squeal You: Um...(Seriously, that's a lot to take in. Though it is nice that you apparently have more supporters than you thought) O: OH will you please come with me? My Friends and I are all followers of you oh Great Hooded Offender! We will help you with anything you need. She leans in close to your face and says in a seductive Whispher O: Anything... Now you have a blush on your face as red as The Hick's Gigundo Brother, but luckily she can't see it with the Hood. You: Heh heh heh (you laugh nervously) Well OK, yes! Let's figure out this problem! Take me to my Fans! She Squees happily as she takes you by the hoof and drags you towards a house in the middle of town. She all but kicks down the door as she jumps through and proclaims. O: Everyone!!!! HE'S BACK!!!! You see gasps of surprise from countless hiding ponies. There's a White Unicorn with crazy shades on, a Green Unicorn with a Harp Cutiemark, an Earth Pony with a Candy Cutie Mark, A Violet Pony with a cutie mark of Grapes and countless others who all look to you in Awe You: ummm....HI? The all break out cheering "Kill you? Never! I'm Octavia. I was there when you saved everypony at the gala! I honestly thought we were done for when the ceiling began to collapse. You saved our lives... you saved my life." Her blush intensifies at that last part, before she quickly shakes her head as she stutters, "And... and besides, I could never kill you. I'm just became a huge fan when you saved me, I'm even the vice-president of the Ponyville faction of your fan club 'The Horde'. And sir, I must say it is a honor to meet you after your resurrection!" As she's saying this, she starts to shake your hoof vigorously (You think it could put Braeburn's to shame). After you finally stop your hoof from shaking, you guiltily remember the melee at the GGG and say, "Uhhhh, you do know that I was the nightmare psycho monster that attacked and destroyed the gala... right?" You look down in shame as you said this, but to your surprise Octavia giggles and says, "Of course I do, but I believe that you made up for it by saving us all from the ceiling when it was collapsing. Also, that Blueblood jerk made several uncouth passes at me, I noticed him leering at my flank the entire night, not to mention acting like a total jerk to my acquaintance Miss Rarity. Plus..." She blushes as she continues, "During the brawl, I was running for cover when this big Diamond Dog pounced on me. I felt so terrified and helpless, but you grabbed him off of me, slammed him into some Guards, then threw him into one of the ice sculptures. If you hadn't done that I...*shiver* I don't ever want to think of what that brute would've done to me..." She then began to rub her hoof on the ground while mumbling so low that you can't hear her, but you swore you heard her say "love" and "you". But you just shrug it off and say, "Oh, that's awesome I guess-wait. Fan Club!" you yell as you remember that "And it even has Factions!?" Of course, this is all coming from a mare who has the same coat color as the mares who, just a few minutes ago, were acting completely opposite of themselves, so I have no idea if I can trust a word she says. That and I know from that one gossip magazine I read back at Appleloosa that there were rumors of a fan club which was confirmed by all those ponies who went to my 'memorial', but I never thought it would be big enough to have factions! How is that even poss- Your mental rambling is interrupted when the grey mare, Octavia, spoke again. "Of course you do! The biggest faction of 'The Horde' is in Canterlot if I remember correctly. And how could you not have a fan club? You're the hero that Equestria needs even if you're not the one it wants. I knew you would come back! The minute the weather started pouring Chocolate Milk I knew you would come back to save the day *SQUEEEEEEEEE*!" You flinch at how high pitched her squeeing is, and you think in fear, Luna help me, she is a super fan mare! Lady luck hates me for sure. Suddenly, your vision is covered by grey as you suddenly find her inches away as she Ooo's and says, "It's true, your face really is covered in darkness." Seeing as your personal space is being violated, you say what any other pony or bug would say, "Uhhhhhhhhhh..." Octavia suddenly grabs your hoof again as she says excitedly, "Hooded Offender will you please come with me? My Friends and I are all followers of you and they would love to meet you in person! We'll help you with anything you need." She then suddenly leans in close to your ear and she says in a seductive whisper, "Anything..." *Splurt* Blood shoots out of your nose as she says that and a blush as red as The Hick's Gigundo Brother forms on your face. You quickly regain your composure as you say in a nervous stutter, "Heh heh heh well..okay, yes! Let's go meet the fans!" Octavia squees happily as she drags you to who knows where... 10 MINUTES LATER It appears that Octavia is dragging you towards a house in the middle of Ponyville. You're currently covered in soap because apparently Discord thought it would be funny if the ground was turned to soap. As you reach the door to the house (which, for some reason, is painted entirely black) Octavia all but kicks down the door as she jumps through (still holding your hoof like its her cello) and proclaims in pure happiness, "Everypony!!!! HE'S BACK!!!!" You get off the ground as you hear a bunch gasps as a bunch of ponies jump out of hiding. There's a White Unicorn with crazy shades on, the Green Unicorn and the Earth Pony with a Candy Cutie Mark you helped saved when you were in your "El Hunnko" suit, A violet earth pony with a cutie mark of grapes, a carnation unicorn filly who you guess is the daughter of the violet earth pony, and quite a few others who all look to you in Awe. You chuckle nervously at the sudden attention as you say awkwardly, "Uhhhh... Hi." The room suddenly erupts in shouts of happiness and awe. You begin to smile at this when... The unicorn with a wild blue mane by the name of Vinyl Scratch walks up and bows before putting you in a bone-crushing hug. "Aww yeah! What'd I tell you all? The legend never dies! He's back and he's gonna save us all!" Octavia manages to pry the eccentric mare off you, allowing you to breathe again. "Vinyl, it's rude to invade one's personal space like that." she turns to you "You know... unless you want that from us. We'd be happy to snuggle- I mean, give you support." Vinyl gets a cheeky grin on her face. "Tavi, do you have the hots for the Hood?" "Wh- what?! NO! Of course not, I just admire him and-" "Threesome later!" Vinyl yells as she drags the two of you into a group hug. The unicorn with the wild blue mane and the wicked shades (you want your own now, but in orange instead of purple) walks up and bows before putting you in a bone-crushing hug. Your face starts to turn blue and you think, Gak! Can't... breath... need... air. The neon blue-haired unicorn then says as you slowly run out of air, "Aww yeah! What'd I tell you all? The legend never dies! He's back and he's gonna save us all!" Octavia, noticing your now limp form, manages to pry the eccentric mare off you causing you to collapse onto the floor as you think, Air, sweet sweet air, never leave me again. Octavia gives a disapproving glare towards the mare as she says, "Vinyl! It's rude to invade one's personal space like that." She turns to you as you finish gasping for air and says, "You know... unless you want that from us. We'd be happy to snuggle- I mean, give! Yeah, give you support." You look at Octavia strangely as the now named Vinyl says with a cheeky grin, "Tavi, do you have the hots for the Hood?" Octavia blushes bright red as she says in a stutter, "Wh- what?! NO! Of course not, I just admire him and-" "Threesome later!" Vinyl yells, interrupting Octavia, as she drags the two of you into a group hug. *Spurt* You begin to blush as red as a apple as even more blood spurts from your nose as Octavia blushes even brighter and yells, "VINYL!!!" Assuming that these mares are probably are under the chaos influence and regretfully remembering your vow to Luna to be good, you regretfully reject/resist to take advantage of the threesome offer... Being a hero is so hard at times. Is she bucking serious! I mean, I've never even been noticed by mares throughout my life and now I have these mares throwing themselves at me! Besides, Octavia and Vinyl do look pretty cute- NO! Bad Bug! These mares are obviously affected by all this craziness and ain't thinking of their own free will! Remember your vow to Luna? (You know, before she threatened to kill your daughter... *snap*) You're a good bug now. You save ponies, you have self-restraint... you sort your recyclables. Yeah... good changeling stuff. "Uh, no thanks Vinyl. You see I got a, uh... thing that needs to be done later, so yeah I can't make it to that so... yeah." Vinyl lets you go and you see the disappointed look on her face, but she suddenly perks up with a mischievous smile as she asks, "Soooo... got a special somepony, H.O.?" You blush uncontrollably as all the mares in the room lean in to hear the answer. Luna help me... 30 MINUTES LATER The mare quickly explains herself to be Octavia, and to be al loyal member of the horde. Somewhat taken aback by meeting one of your fans, you exchange a bit of awkward conversation until Octavia asks what you're doing here. You explain how you were in debt to the Doctor, how he asked you to come to Canterlot, how you were roped into searching for Discord, and how you just beat up the mane six and ran away. "Well you're going to go apologize, right?" She asks. "Why should I. They'd probably just end up attacking me again," you reply. "But you've got to," Octavia tells you. "If you don't, they'll just go on forever believing that you're evil. You've got to forgive them for their crimes and hope that they forgive you for yours. And if they don't, tell them why they should." By the time Octavia has finished, a soap box has oddly appeared beneath her. As you process what she's just said, you're eyes shine with rainbow light. You suddenly realize that, though the mane six have been unfair to you, you did beat the tar out of them several times. Some of them needed to learn to be more open minded, but you'd just have to show them how. This epiphany completed, you resolve to find twilight sparkle and apologize to her. You thank Octavia for everything as you run away. After a brief party where you signed autographs, drank some punch, made the mares laugh with some of your stories, made them cheer by performing a few of your moves (most notably Falcon Punching a watermelon which somehow caused the pieces to land perfectly in several glasses as smoothies), patched some things around the clubhouse out of habit, and even learned a few things about your fans (Octavia is the cello player for a classically-trained four-pony musical ensemble, that Fluttershy is the president of the Ponyville faction of 'The Horde' (go figure), Vinyl is Octavia's foalhood friend and roommate, Lyra is a fan of "My Little Human" *shudder*, The earth pony with the candy Cutie Mark is Sweetie "Bon Bon" Drops and is Lyra's roommate, foalhood friend, and possible marefriend (you can't tell yet), and the violet earth pony with a cutie mark of grapes is Berry Punch and she's a mother and a high-functioning alcoholic (not a good combination in your eyes)), you are seen standing outside the Club House (that's what the name of the building apparently, and it magically is invisible to those who don't believe the Offender is a hero) with a sad look. You hear the door behind you open as Octavia walks out. She looks at you worried as she asks, "Offender, you okay?" You sigh in sadness as you explain how you were roped into searching for Discord, the events of the maze, and how you just beat up the mane six and ran away (You left out the Doctor part because even if she is a fan mare, there was no way she would believe that and Nightshade is a strict secret only shared with those you really trust). She looks at you with pity as she asks, "Well... you're going to go apologize, right?" You sadly reply... "Why should I. They all hate me anyway and would just attack me again." Octavia gets a determined look as she says, "But you have to! If you don't, they'll just go on forever believing that you're this evil menace instead of the hero that I... that we... know you are. You've got to forgive them for their crimes and hope that they forgive you for yours like The Horde did. And if they don't, just tell them why they should!" By the time Octavia has finished, a soapbox has oddly appeared beneath her. As you process what she just said, you suddenly realize that even though the Deadly Five have been unfair to you, you did violently trounce them several times. Some of them needed to learn to be more open-minded, but you'd just have to show them how. This epiphany completed, you resolve to find Twilight and apologize to her. You hug Octavia and say, "Thank you Octavia." Octavia only blushes bright red in response and remains frozen as you end the hug and mutter, "Let this work for once... please." You then proclaim, "HOODED OFFENDER, AWAY!" Before teleporting back to Twilight's house. After you teleport away, Vinyl walks out of the clubhouse, walks over to Octavia (still frozen and blushing fiercely) and asks, "Hey Tavi, where did H.O. go?" Octavia just faints as soon as she hears that. BACK AT TWILIGHT'S HOUSE "Ahhhhhhhhh!" *CRASH* "Ow." Your teleport worked cause you appeared at Twilight's house, unfortunately it teleported you above her house so you kind of crashed though the roof. You get up while rubbing your head as you mutter, "I really need someling to teach me how to use this stinking spell." When you get up, you see Twilight staring sadly at you. That would have been a good thing, but there's just one problem... Run into a grey Twilight She's grey. Luna no... I'm too late... What do you do?