//------------------------------// // Chapter 6: Color of Deception // Story: Get Him! // by TJHoofer //------------------------------// Chapter 6: Color of Deception “You’re human!?!” Alex couldn’t believe his eyes. Right in front of him, barely visible by lantern light, stood a human. A human GIRL! She appeared to be about his age. The shock of seeing her exited him so much it caused him to bump his head on the ceiling. BUMP! “OUCH!” “Careful! The tunnel isn’t that big.” she said, supporting him as he wobbled from the dizziness. “I just can’t believe it!” Alex said cheerfully while painfully rubbing his head. “A human girl! Like me!” The girl cocked her eyebrow in confusion. “I-I mean the human part, not the girl part!” His face was blushing ferociously with embarrassment, which made the girl giggle. “Yes, I’m a human. Just like you.” She then glanced up and noticed dirt crumbling off the ceiling as pony hooves above could be heard. “Come on, we should get to safety before they realize we’re down here.” She grabbed Alex’s arm and quickly led him into the tunnel, using the lantern to guide their way. “Wait a sec! Who are you? How did you get here?” asked Alex. “My name is Violet, and the same way you did.” she replied. “Violet..? Wait, you got sent here by that light too?” “Yes.” Alex knew that light had something to do with it. “We have to hurry. If they’re searching the alley, they’ll probably find the entrance to the tunnel.” Alex followed as Violet continued leading him down the tunnel. “Where are we going?” “Someplace safe, where nopony will find us...” “What?” The girl suddenly stopped, causing Alex to crash into her with his nose. “I-I mean, where NO PONIES will find us!” She looked away in embarrassment. “Sorry… I’ve been here so long it’s rubbed off on me…” “How long..?” asked Alex while rubbing his nose. Violet let out a tired sigh. “Sigh! Too long…” Their pace had slowed down now. Violet led the way while Alex followed close behind, with Violet’s lantern their only light source. As they continued through the dark tunnel, Alex saw the tired look in her eyes in the dim light of her lantern. It was clear to him that she must’ve been through a lot. He could relate. He had been in Equestria barely a day, and already he was sick of it. Still, he was curious to know how she’d been able to stay under the ponies’ radar for so long. From what he understood so far, no pony had ever seen a human before. If what she said was true, wouldn’t they have known about her as well? “Boy, you sure must have been very lucky!” he complimented Violet, who looked at him curiously by that remark. “Before I came here, no pony had ever seen a human like me before. How did you manage to hide without being found out?” The girl stopped again, causing Alex to bump into her again. “Could you warn me before doing that?” Violet just stood there silently for a moment as if she were in deep thought. She then let out another tired sigh. “I… I wasn’t that lucky…” She solemnly answered as she began to tell her story. “I was at home reading. Suddenly there was this light and… and somehow I woke up to find that I wasn’t at home anymore. Searching for help, I was spotted by a pony. A unicorn… I thought she wanted to help me. But… she tried to grab me. I ran away and she chased me. She nearly had me with that horn of hers…” she choked as she trembled. Alex understood how she felt. After encountering Twilight and Rarity, he knew how helpless he was in their magic. He was only lucky those times. “She would’ve had me if I hadn’t fallen down that hole in the forest. She never found me after that, but I dared not go back out. I followed the tunnel and found this network of tunnels beneath the town. I’ve been living down here ever since.” She glanced up. “Sometimes I sneak out to find food and drink, but I’m always afraid they’ll find me one day…” she shivered. Violet then calmed down. “But that doesn’t matter now. What matters is that now you’re here and I’m not alone anymore.” she suddenly hugged him, making Alex cheeks blush. Feeling calm and relaxed with her arms around him, Violet eventually broke away. “Come, we’re not that far from my hiding place.” She continued down the tunnel, stopping only when she realized that Alex wasn’t following. “Are you coming Alex?” Alex, having been captivated by Violet’s story, snapped out of it and quickened his pace to keep up with her. There was a short moment where there was no talking. He was curious about this girl. While he was happy to finally come across someone of his own kind, there was something about her he quite couldn’t put his finger on. Suddenly, he stopped. “What are you doing? We’ve got to get moving!” “How did you know my name?” “What do you mean? You told me earlier, remember?” “No I didn’t. I asked for YOUR name. I never told you mine.” Violet froze. It quickly dawned on her that he didn’t tell her his name. She just stood there with her back turned against him. Alex got curious. “Well?” “I… I heard them talking about you…” “Who?” “Twilight and that dragon Spike… I was helping myself to some leftovers behind the café when I overheard them talking about you. After I saw you running by, I overheard her talk about some kind of plan to capture you. I knew then I had to reach you first before they did. I was only lucky that you hadn’t already been caught by the others…” she turned around. “This is not a trick. You have to believe me…” Alex sensed something still wasn’t right. This all seemed a bit too convenient. “Where are you from?” he asked. “What?” “I said; where are you from?’” “What kind of question is that? From Earth of course! Like you.” she answered. “I know that. I just want to know which city you were from.” “City?” “Yeah! You see… I’m from-” ***** “What are you doing?” A pony couple on their way to the market found themselves staring at Pinkie Pie as she was lying on the ground in the middle of the road, with her ear pressed against the dirt. She tilted her head up and looked at them. “What? You’ve never seen a pony listen to the ground before?” asked Pinkie grinning. She pressed her ear back against the ground. The couple continued to trot along, pretending to ignore what they had just seen. “Aw shoot! I missed it!” ***** “-Where are you from?” “I… I… Ehm…” Violet nervously bit into her index finger. “Don’t you know where you’re from?” “Of course I do!” she spat, making Alex flinch a bit. “Look, this is stupid! Why are you asking me this? We’re wasting time here and we should get to safety! Is it really that important for you to know where I’m from?” “Well, yeah…”Alex crossed his arms. “You say you’re from Earth? Fine! But if you can’t tell me which city you’re from, I won’t take another step!” “What?” “This just doesn’t feel right.” He continued. “If I was trapped here as long as you, I would never forget the city I lived in.” Violet was starting to get really nervous. She could feel sweat running down her forehead. “And on top of that you’re acting weird. So I’ll ask again. What city are you from?” “I… I can’t…” she became more and more nervous. “Alex please, it’s too embarrassing…” “Violet… Just tell me.” Violet breathed heavily as the pressure became too great. There was no way around it. She had to tell him. She put down the lantern and calmed down. She bit her lip as she worked up the courage to answer him. “I’m from… Sigh! Manehattan…” Alex smiled. “See? Was that so hard?” Violet now just blinked, looking slightly confused. “Wow, you weren’t kidding when you said you’d been here a long time…” he chuckled lightly, trying not to offend. “I mean, I would probably feel embarrassed too if I suddenly began to speak in ‘Pony-Talk’.” Violet stared deadpanned at him for a moment. “Yes!” she nervously laughed. “Pony-Talk! Embarrassing… ” She blushed as she rubbed her arm. Alex picked up the lantern and handed it over to her. Violet took the lantern and just looked at him as he smiled at her. “Well then, ‘Violet from Manhattan’.” He winked. “Lead the way.” ***** The tunnel seemed to go on forever. Violet was strangely quiet most of the way, eagerly leading Alex towards their safe haven. Alex felt tired as he suddenly dropped down and leaned against the wall. Violet took notice and stopped. “What are you doing? We can’t stop now!” “Just a moment…” Alex huffed. Violet seemed to grow impatient. “But we’re so close now. You can’t just…” “I just need a quick breather. I’ve been on the run ever since I got here. I just need this moment…” He then looked at Violet and patted his hand on the ground next to him. “Please, sit with me.” Violet looked at him for a moment before she let out a tired sigh. She reluctantly sat down next to him but kept her eyes locked in the direction they were headed. Alex silently looked at Violet. Even in the dim light of her lantern, he couldn’t help but find her so incredibly pretty. “Thank you…” “For what..?” “For saving me back there in the alley. If it hadn’t been for you…” “It was nothing, really.” Violet replied, trying to act aloof. “You would’ve probably done the same…” “I would!” he said, earning Violet’s direct attention. He took her hand and gently clenched his other hand around it. Violet just stared at him in bewilderment. “Believe me… I wouldn’t hesitate for a second. Even if it was someone else entirely, I still wouldn’t hesitate. And I’m really glad you didn’t.” Alex suddenly leaned his head close to hers. “What are you doing?” Violet pulled her hand free and scooted away from him. When Alex saw how she backed away from him, he immediately seized and mentally slapped himself. He had only just met her. No matter how grateful he was, he was apparently scaring her. He backed off. “I’m sorry…” he quietly said. “I just… I just wanted to thank you…” “You already did.” “No. Not like that. But…” “But what?” Alex nervously bit his lips and said nothing. Curious, Violet scooted back over to him. “Go on. But what?” Suddenly, Alex saw his chance and leaned over to her. Before Violet could react, Alex quickly planted a kiss on her cheek. Violet froze, her pupils shrank and for some reason she began to blush greater than ever before. “…like that.” he smiled. Violet touched her cheek and just looked at him in utter surprise. Alex now felt ashamed for his actions. He only wanted to show her gratitude, but now feared that she took this unwarranted action the wrong way. “I- IM SORRY! I didn’t mean-” “Don’t be…” said Violet, smiling at him and still blushing. “You’re welcome.” They sat staring at eachother for what seemed like forever before Alex finally felt more relaxed and stood up. He reached out his hand to Violet and gestured her to take it. “Shall we go?” Violet stared at him before smiling again and took his hand. He helped her up on her feet and then they both continued through the tunnel, with Violet still leading the way. “You know…” Alex said. “I’m really glad I met you, Violet.” Violet glanced back at him. “I really thought I was the only one trapped here. That I was all alone… But now that I’m with you, everything seems brighter now. I just know we’ll be the best of friends…” Violet’s expression suddenly changed after he said that. Alex never noticed it, but if he had, he would have seen that it was a moment of slight regret. ***** It wasn’t long before they finally reached their destination. The tunnel led into a large, dark room. Alex was glad to finally stretch himself as they had been walking hunched for quite a while. “It’s up here.” Violet proceeded up a flight of stairs. Alex followed close behind. It wasn’t long before they approached a wooden latch. Violet opened the latch and light peered through it. Alex was slightly blinded by the light and briefly stopped before he felt Violet pull him by his jacket. “Here we are!” As Alex’s finally got used to the light, he took in his surroundings with amazement. From what he could tell, they appeared to be inside a large tree. Looking more closely, he noticed several shelves filled with books. It felt more like a library than a secret hideout. He then looked at Violet. While in the tunnel, he never really got a good detailed look at her in the dark. But now in the light, he could really see how pretty she was. Standing there smiling. With her dark blue hair with pink and purple highlights and purple eyes. Wearing a schoolgirl uniform with a bowtie and complete with a lavender skirt with a star… “Say... You look just like…” He then noticed he was standing on a red ‘X’ on the floor. “What the..?” “SPIKE! NOW!!!” Alex turned around and saw the little purple dragon pulling a lever, sending a large cage plummeting down on him. He didn’t have time to move and fell back as the bars slammed down around him. BANG! “Hahaa! We got him!” Spike happily cheered. “YES!!! IT WORKED!” Violet cheered as she jumped up and down, clapping her hands. Alex was bewildered and confused. He looked at Spike and then at Violet. “Violet? Wha-?” Violet was suddenly covered in purple aura and her human figure faded, only to be replaced by that of Twilight Sparkle in a pony-sized schoolgirl uniform. Alex’s jaw dropped. He had been tricked. “Good work, Spike! This cage is perfect!” Spike proudly held his chin up high. “And thank you so much. Your digging skills were a real help.” Alex glanced to the right and saw a large dog (or at least something that resembled a dog) standing on its hind legs, its large arms for support as it stood hunched over, wearing a slightly torn and filthy vest. “A pleasure Magic Book Pony.” It said in a gruff voice. “And your promise?” “Of course!” Twilight grinned. “I always keep my promise, even to Diamond Dogs.” She turned her attention to Spike. “Spike, the gems please.” “What? My gems?!” Spike uttered in surprise. “But Twilight, that’s my…” “I know Spike, but after all that work he did digging that tunnel, I think you can part with some,” Spike tried to protest, but gave up and begrudgingly went up the stairs. He came back with a heavy bag, walked up to the Diamond Dog, opened it and handed out a gem. “Sigh! Here you go…” “Thank you dragon!” the Diamond Dog said, reaching out its paw, only to grab the bag instead. Spike grumbled at the greedy Diamond Dog, but shrugged as he took solace in that he still had a gem he could snack on. He licked his lips and opened his mouth wide. "Almost forgot!" Before he could enjoy his snack however, the dog snagged it as well, causing Spike to painfully chomp down on nothing but air. With his payment in full, the Diamond Dog turned to Twilight. “Pleasure doing business with you. Good bye Magic Book Pony!” The dog smiled and bowed. He then tore up the floor boards beneath him and dug himself out of the library. “You know, there was a front door!” Twilight shouted after him, realizing he was already gone. She frowned. Hiring a Diamond Dog to dig the tunnel probably wasn’t the best idea ever, but they rarely asked questions. She quickly waved it off as she closed up the hole and repaired the floor with her magic, knowing her plan had worked to perfection. Spike however was completely forlorn for the loss of his gems and tears slowly welled up in his eyes. “Don’t worry Spike. When I’m famous, you’ll get all the gems you want.” “Really?” “Of course!” she smiled. “Now stay here and keep a watch on our friend while I finish packing my quills and change out of this.” She trotted up the stairs to her room as Spike threw a salute. “Yes, Sir- I mean, Yes Ma'am!” Alex, having watched and listened through the bars of his cage, slumped back against the bars and hung his head low. He couldn’t believe he had been so stupid. He should have seen it the moment he saw her. The way she acted, the way she talked and how she kept urging him onward. He had to give her credit though; it was a really clever plan. Playing on his fear and loneliness… “Pretty impressive cage, don’t you think? I made it myself.” Alex hardly acknowledged Spike’s boasting as he listened from inside the cage. “You’ll really like Trotholm. I’ve heard they’ve famous for their oatballs.” Alex finally glanced at him with a half-curious look. “They’ve also got lots of places to see.” He listed the names on his claws. “Let’s see… There’s Trotholm Palace, the great carousel at Green Pasture. Ooh! Ooh! And then there’s Neighricsson Globe! I’ve only seen pictures. I can’t wait to go! Aren’t you excited?” As cheerful as Spike sounded, Alex was too depressed. Spike noticed this and began to look concerned. “Hey… Are you okay?” “I’m ready!” Twilight yelled as she cheerfully trotted down the stairs without her school uniform, equipped only with a saddlebag of books, quills and various research papers. Suddenly she remembered something and slapped her forehead. “Silly me! I completely forgot the train tickets.” she looked to Spike. “Spike, could you please run upstairs and get them for me? I’ll just make our friend here ready for the trip.” Spike took one more concerned glance at Alex before going up the stairs. Twilight went through a trunk and magically levitated a large blanket. “Perfect!” She trotted over to Alex. “I hope you don’t mind, but I must cover you up so nopony (especially Pinkie Pie and Rarity) sees you until we reach Trotholm.” As she was about to cover him up, she too noticed the depressing state he was in. He then glanced at her and she saw the sadness and anger in his eyes. Twilight’s smile quickly vanished as the guilt finally made its presence felt. “Look… I’m really sorry about all this.” Alex just looked away. “But this is the only way I can get you to come with me. You must understand, I’m only doing it because-” “I thought I had a friend…” Alex muttered sadly. “…?” He then glared at her again. “You lied to me…” Twilight eyes widened and her mouth dropped as the words stung her. “You lied to me and played me like a fool. I really thought I had a friend…” Twilight remembered the moments in the tunnel. She tried to say something, but felt a large lump in her throat. She never wanted to hurt him in any way, but now she had done it in the worst possible way. She had pretended to be a friend and betrayed him so casually. “I should’ve seen it… I really thought you were a girl from Manhattan. Why didn’t I see it?” Twilight blushed. “Ehm…” She didn’t have the nerve to tell him it was only by random luck she chose that city. The mere idea of both cities sounding so conveniently alike really baffled her. It even made her more curious to learn more about his world. “How did you do it?” he asked. Twilight tilted her at the side, unsure about the question. “How did you become Violet?” Twilight was silent for a moment before answering. “It was a simple Trans-Morphing spell.” She sighed. “I only had to picture you in my mind. Then it was only a matter of casting the right spell and let it mold me into a female version of your kind based on your anatomy after I scanned you in the forest. The result was the Violet you met in the tunnel.” Alex didn't ask anything else. It didn't matter anymore. “I’m really sorry about tricking you like this, Alex.” Twilight’s eyes started to well up. “I only hope you can forgive me. For I promise I’ll make this up to you once we get back from Trotholm.” Alex didn’t say anything. He knew her words wouldn’t mean a thing once the Government Ponies (if there was such a thing) came to take him away. Alex lowered his head and hid his face beneath his folded arms. Twilight raised her hoof and tried to say something but found herself unable to. She knew she had hurt him badly, but it couldn’t be helped. She covered him up with the blanket and sighed. This was a once in a lifetime opportunity for her, and Alex had to realize that his participation would not only change her life, but also his. She dried the tears from her eyes as she took a deep breath. 'I know I’m doing the right thing!’ She thought to herself. 'Whether he likes it or not, he’s safe with me. And I promise I’ll make it up to him somehow…' She then suddenly found herself touching her cheek, the one that Alex had kissed. Her ears dropped and she sighed once more. “I got the tickets!” Spike yelled as he came down the stairs. Twilight shook her head and pushed her sad thoughts aside. Her work needed to be finished. “Good job, Spike!” Twilight smiled as Spike jumped on her back. She used her horn, and her magical aura enveloped the covered cage. “Now let’s hurry and get to the station. The train leaves in only a few minutes.” Using her horn, she levitated the cage and trotted quickly out the front door of the library and closed it. Alex didn’t really know what to think or believe, as he still sat there on the floor of the library. Did what he witnessed just actually happen? A smile crept across his face as the realization hit him and he chuckled. 'Maybe next time you should remember to lock the bottom part after you trap someone...' Alex opened the door of the library and looked around for any sign of Twilight or other ponies. Seeing the coast was clear, he leapt out of the library and made his escape. “So far so good.” Alex whispered to himself. “Looks like Twilight will be heading off to Trotholm with an empty cage if I’m lucky. Snicker! Serves her right tricking me like that. Making me think she was human. Making me think she was my friend. Making me-” SCREECH! Alex suddenly stopped. His body was shivering. The pupils in his eyes shrank as cold sweat ran down his forehead. A very disturbing thought just made him realize something. “Oh my Lord… I KISSED A HORSE!!!” ***** Twilight hurried to the train station, with Spike hanging on by her mane and the covered cage in tow. She suddenly heard the sound of a whistle as they approached. “The train is about to leave! Hang on Spike!” She picked up her pace, galloping as fast as she could to reach the train. “We’re almost there..!” “HI TWILIGHT!” CRASH! The resulting collision caused Spike to be thrown off Twilight. After tumbling around on the ground, Twilight slowly sat up, feeling groggy as she narrowed her eyes on the dizzy pink pony beside her. “Owie…” “Pinkie Pie!? What are you…?” CLANG! Twilight saw stars as the cage collided with her head at full speed. The resulting collision caused the blanket to be thrown off as the magic ceased and the cage tumbled to a rough stop on the ground. “OH NO!” Fearing for Alex’s wellbeing, she quickly shook off the pain, pulled herself up and raced towards the cage. “ALEX! ARE YOU AL-” she stopped and gawked at the cage as she quickly noticed it was empty. “Wha..? WHAT???” She levitated the cage and examined it from top to bottom. “Hey Twilight…” Pinkie said as she shook swirling cowbells off her head. “I’m so glad I found you. I was going to visit you when I saw you running. Were you going somewhere? If you were going somewhere, you should have told me. I’ve would’ve have thrown you ‘Good-Bye-and-Come-Back-Soon’ Party. But if you didn’t tell me, then you should’ve, because going away and not tell anypony is impolite. But you are my friend so I forgive you. Why are you carrying a cage and blanket?” CLANG! Twilight dropped the cage and her left eye began to twitch. She bit her lip and her face became contorted with rage. She started fuming and her face turned bright red. “Oh that’s right!” Pinkie continued. “I almost forgot. I wanted to see you and ask if I could borrow that-” “SPIKE!!!” Spike, having been thrown into a luggage cart during the collision, struggled to pull his head out one of the damaged suitcases. POP! After pulling his head free, he was suddenly enveloped by Twilight’s magic and pulled towards the angry mare. Pinkie just stood silently by and watched. “Spike..?” She hissed through her gritted teeth as she showed him the cage and scowled. "Did you forget to lock the bottom part of the cage?” Spike, hanging up-side-down, looked at the cage. He then pulled out the blueprints from behind his back and looked them over. His eyes widened and he chuckled nervously. “Eh hehe… Ops..?” “GROAN!” Throwing an incredibly annoyed fit, Twilight dropped Spike on his face and galloped back to the library. Spike quickly picked himself up and ran after her. “THAT’SOKAYI’LLTALKTOYOULATER!!” Pinkie yelled as Twilight vanished into town, with Spike struggling to keep up. Twilight couldn’t believe her lousy luck. Twice Alex had escaped her, and was probably far away from the library by now. She had to get him before anypony else did. She galloped through town, looking frantically down every corner and alleys, inside barrels and garbage cans, beneath food carts and even inside the local mailmare’s mailbag. “Hey Twilight, what’cha doing?” Twilight stopped to a halt, causing Spike to crash into her hind legs as she looked up at the cloud above her. She had no choice now, and this pegasus was the only one she could rely on to find him. “Rainbow Dash!”