//------------------------------// // Departure // Story: The Darkest Storm // by TheReaderAndWriter //------------------------------// 13. Departure. What followed that event was nothing short of the biggest and most joyful celebration the land had ever seen. Ponies were partying, hugging, laughing. Pinkie Pie was so overjoyed she was shaking with glee. Ponies from Ponyville and other nearby towns such as Cloudsdale had gathered here against their will before the rain ended. Now their presence just meant a bigger celebration. Within the hour banners were on display, the only thing that rained down was confetti and music and song filling the air. Before long, food and drinks were everywhere. The six walked down along with the princesses from the castle. Ivanhoe walked much further behind them. As they walked on the streets of Canterlot ponies celebrated them, Ivanhoe, however, stayed in the background, he didn't want and he knew he didn't deserve the attention. Spike came in from the crowd and embraced Twilight. "You did it! I knew you could do it!" he shouted in relief. "It was easy!" said Rainbow Dash with her usual confidence. Ivanhoe was just happy to finally being able to see colors other than red or black in the world. The music was so loud he couldn't even think. Ponies were dancing and playing, they were crying with joy. Ivanhoe saw everypony cheering. He decided to remove himself from the scene, after a while he found a donut shop. He walked inside and sat down near the desk. Everypony were outside and celebrated, in here it was rather empty and relatively quiet. A rather chubby but friendly looking unicorn walked up to him. "You want donuts, or maybe hot chocolate? It's on the house today!" "I'd love some tea, sir," said Ivanhoe. He was given a hot cup with a strong sweet scent. Despite the wonderful joy of the celebration Ivanhoe wondered if he was still going to die. "There you are, Ivanhoe," said a familiar voice. Ivanhoe looked around and saw Twilight Sparkle and Celestia standing by the door. "Are you going to end me now? Do you think I'll make it happen again?" "If you want to perish, then I'll do it...but there's no need for that now. The elements of harmony severed the link between you and him. You are free, creature. You won't die today," said Celestia. She still filled him with fear, maybe that was to be expected if he had been a part of Discord. Her marvelous still terrifying presence did not stop Ivanhoe from feeling joy sprouting up inside at the thought that he was going to survive. "Celestia, he might not be a real pony but he helped us. That has to be worth something," said Twilight to her mentor. "It's still not a pony, Twilight Sparkle. He is not one of us. He's an illusion," said Celestia. "You can keep thinking that, I won't let anypony's words change the way I think of myself," said Ivanhoe and took a sip of the delicious beverage. "Keep what you think of yourself to yourself then," said Celestia. She wasn't acting cold, or mean. She was just in a way telling him that she wanted as little as possible to do with something so 'unnatural'. "I will," said Ivanhoe. Twilight Sparkle walked up to the counter and looked at him. "Ivanhoe, I came here because I was curious. How did you know that him trying to kill you would remove the protection?" "I didn't. My plan was actually to make him doubt himself in his chaos-talent so much that his magic would fail and make him so weak he couldn't fight you anymore." "That's it? That was a terrible plan! Magic doesn't work that way!" said Twilight. "I didn't know that. It doesn't matter now, however. He's gone." "You were very lucky in that you managed to hit him where it hurt: his pride about his 'art'. It is as you said however, it does not matter. But Discord is never 'gone'. He always returns. Still, we won't have to worry about him for some time now," said Celestia and for once sounded a little glad in Ivanhoe's presence. "I'm not sure what I should do now...I'm free. No more quests, no more rain, no more chaos, no more Discord." "I wonder if I should really set you free in the world. Who knows what a drop of his power could do?" "I only know that I won't do anything, wherever I go. I don't have a talent, a home, or even a proper name. Ivanhoe Mane: 'I have no name'." "Well...you could stay in Ponyville," said Twilight. Both Ivanhoe and princess Celestia turned to stare at her. "Well, you did try to save the world, and you're a nice guy. In Ponyville I can keep an eye on you. At least that way we'll know where you are." "I wouldn't mind that," said Spike who suddenly popped up behind the counter. "Whoa!" said Ivanhoe and jumped back, spilling hot tea all over himself. He wasn't mad, he was just happy to be alive, not to mention it had been mostly his fault. "I'll...I'll have to think about it. Alone if possible," said Ivanhoe hesitantly. "Alright, I just came in here to give you this," said Spike and pulled out a flat box. He put it down on the counter. Ivanhoe opened it and looked inside, it was a cloak, no, it was a cape. "Rarity made it in like five minutes, she wanted to know if you could pull off a cape," said Spike. Ivanhoe tried to tell him no before Spike put it on Ivanhoe. "Looks okay with those pants. You're lucky you're tall," said Spike. "Why did she make this for me?" said Ivanhoe, nearly unable to speak in surprise. "Something about you trying to help me out and fixing the mess you caused." "I... She really does represent generosity. Tell her I'm very grateful." "I shall be leaving. I need to spread the news of Discord's defeat," said Celestia and walked out of the store. Twilight and Spike walked to the door together. Twilight turned around before she left. "Sure, it was your fault...but thank you, Ivanhoe. At least you weren't a coward. Plenty of ponies would run away from much smaller problems but you didn't run away when the world was ending. That still means something. Why didn't you run?" "You can thank my real father for that. He taught me a valuable lesson. When things get tough, you get tougher. Running away from your problems is never the answer." *** Ivanhoe didn't move from that spot for the entire day and it soon became evening. He carefully considered Twilight's suggestion about moving to Ponyville. At least it was a nice town. He suddenly heard Pinkie Pie shout in complete joy. He looked outside and saw Mr. and Mrs. Cake with their two foals. He shed a few tears of joy, so strongly did Pinkie Pie's happiness seem to affect everypony around her. Suddenly the door opened and Zecora walked inside. "Oh, hello Zecora." "Hello there, Ivanhoe Mane, I hear your life will never be the same." "Sounds about right." "It seems you lost my cloak. Did it keep you from getting soaked?" "Your cloak? Wait, it was you who put the cloak in my bag, wasn't it?" "Indeed it was, you needed some aid, I didn't want you to be alone and afraid." "Did you know about all of this?" "Very much, I saw you had a certain touch. I did find this, I think it is yours, I wish you well on your current course," said Zecora and left something on the counter. Ivanhoe looked and saw the old pendant he had bought several days before. He turned around to thank her, but she was already gone. Spike however came inside again. "I'm so bugged that I couldn't really do anything against that chaotic jerk again, next time I'm going to be stronger, and- and better," said Spike while trying to sound fierce. "Spike, I want to give you something." "Really?" "Yeah. You might not be able to pull off a cape, but this would look good on you," said Ivanhoe and handed him the pendant. Spike looked at it, and after a while he shrugged and put it on. It fit him alright, the green went well with his scales. "That's for giving me those dolls, and being such a great guy." "Cool! I can't wait to show this to Rarity! Thanks, Ivanhoe." "Are you having fun?" "Oh yeah! Tons! The food here is great! The music is awesome! Why don't you party too?" "I wouldn't really fit in. I don't really deserve to celebrate. I'm very happy for all of you, don't get me wrong. It's just that I feel guilty. Oh, but don't mind me, have a great day," said Ivanhoe and gave Spike a reassuring smile. "Well, okay. Bye!" said Spike, picked up some donuts and rushed out again as he saw Rarity walk by the windows. "Bye, Spike. Thanks for everything," said Ivanhoe just as Spike left the shop. Ivanhoe wasn't sure if Spike had heard him. Ivanhoe suddenly wondered if he could get the princess to reward him in a particular way. He ate a donut before leaving the shop to be bombarded with wonderful music. He needed to find any of the two. *** After about an hour of searching through the town, avoiding large crowds and trying not to get distracted he finally found her in a beautiful park. Just as always he feared her, but he approached anyway. She looked at him without any real expression. "What is it?" "Celestia, I want to ask you something. A favor." "Why should I comply?" "No reason at all. I'm just asking you, you don't need to do it, or even listen, but here goes: I want you to remove the mark Discord gave me," said Ivanhoe. Celestia seemed honestly surprised. "You want me to remove it?" "It's nothing but a lie, and it makes me feel even more like a lie. I don't want to be marked with a red x my entire life. I just want my flank to be blank." "It won't be pleasant," said Celestia immediately. "Nothing has been pleasant today. I can deal with one more thing." Celestia's horn lit up and Ivanhoe's pants were removed by magic. A sudden burning pain spread along his coat, and after a few short but very painful moments it was over. Ivanhoe's flank was just simply brown. He put on his pants again. "Thank you," said Ivanhoe after calming down and walked off after a respectful bow. Celestia walked her own way without saying a word. *** After a while of walking he came to the little stone bridge he had heard Big Macintosh under. He could see him laughing with his family. Ivanhoe was quite jealous, but happy for them. He looked into the shallow water. He could see he looked absolutely ridiculous and tired in his getup in the reflection. His gray short mane looked terrible too. His brown coat was dirty, sweaty and roughed up. His eyes looked so tired, that yellow color just reminded him of everything that had happened, and which thing that had created him. Seeing that he was very dirty he just shrugged and put his clothes on the bridge and jumped into the water where he just cleaned himself up a bit. Getting to see natural, cool, clear water was a blessing. He almost longed to see natural rain again, but for the moment he didn't want to hear the sound of rain for at least a week. While bathing, he loved the way the water felt against his coat. Eventually, he got out of the river and dried himself off a bit. It was getting darker. He could see Luna raising the moon in the distance, on top of a hill. It still felt odd to him to see her perform such a feat with such ease, that much hadn't changed. Ivanhoe didn't know what he was going to do next. *** He went to the local library on a whim, it was a very old building but smaller than the one in Cloudsdale. He realized something and he wanted to try it out. He went inside and took out the first book he could find. He started to read and didn't stop until dawn. Once he finished it, he sighed with relief. He still enjoyed reading about adventures, it was hardly his talent, but it was a hobby. At least that was still true, his life still had some structure in it. Ivanhoe smiled as he put the book back into the shelf. The story hadn't been very well paced, or even that good, but it was what it was: the first story he had ever read. There were plenty of things he was unsure of, mostly about his future, but whatever happened he was going to make the best of it. He was going to face each thing as it happened. He had a proper life to call his own...so what was he going to do with that? *** The party kept going for a total of three days, at the end most ponies just slept, mostly in the streets because they were so exhausted from the nonstop celebration. Ivanhoe however, was on his way back to Ponyville. Pinkie Pie on the other hand, or hoof, or claw, or whatever, was still dancing in the middle of the streets, filled with energy. "Come on everypony, the day is still young! And we can still go on for at least-" then she just fell over asleep. Ivanhoe couldn't keep himself from laughing at how funny she was. She sure could brighten up his day. He walked over and got her up on a bench and pulled a nearby blanket over her. He then continued towards the station where he got on the train to Ponyville. He sat down right next to Derpy Hooves. "Hello, Derpy. Thank you for staying with Spike." "No problem," said Derpy. Her voice sounded really weird, but fitting somehow. It was very charming. "I take it you found your voice?" "It was hiding under a flowerpot." "What." "Those blue flowers are really clever at times." "I- I bet," said Ivanhoe. He suspected that there was a good story somewhere there, but he didn't really feel like caring. These three days he had felt very little, except guilt, at least the guilt was almost gone, seeing everypony happy again had helped him. *** The train stopped at the Ponyville station. Ivanhoe got off and started to walk towards the Steady Stables Inn. The streets were quite empty, ponies were probably all inside, with their families. When he got to the inn he noticed it was completely deserted. He tried knocking on the door but nopony opened. He tried to open it, it was unlocked. He was here to acknowledge a debt he had. He walked over to the counter and picked up a pencil in his mouth, the taste still disgusting to him. He wrote down something on a piece of paper. "Don't have any money, will pay you back sometime. Sincerely, Ivanhoe", said Ivanhoe as he wrote it and placed the paper on the counter. He was about to leave, but then he noticed something behind it. It was Ivanhoe's old bag. He wasn't sure who had gotten it there, but that didn't matter now. He walked behind the counter and picked up his bag. He found some of his money in it. He edited the note and placed the sum he owed. "Might come back sometime. Sincerely, Ivanhoe." Ivanhoe put on his bag and walked out of the inn. He had decided on Twilight's suggestion. He was leaving Ponyville. He didn't actually know when he would come back, maybe never now that his dept had been paid. Ivanhoe walked out of the inn and went back to the train station. He ran into Fluttershy on the way there. "Hey, Fluttershy, thanks for saving my life." She acted really shy and spoke with a very gentle voice. "Thanks for trying to save everyone. At least your heart was in the right place, if you have one. I think you do though." "Thanks, have a nice day. Goodbye." "Bye." Ivanhoe kept going and he eventually met Applejack. "Heya there, Ivanhoe. Going somewhere?" "I guess. When did you all come back?" "Yesterday, Pinkie's still at the Canterlot party, I think." "She is." "I bet she's having loads of fun." "Probably. I have to go now. Bye. I hope I haven't made your life miserable because of all of this." "Oh, don't be silly. It's the thought that counts. You helped us out in the end after all. I'll have to bake you a pie as thanks sometime." "Make sure there's lot of whipped cream," said Ivanhoe and kept walking, giving her a grateful smile as he went. As Ivanhoe kept walking through Ponyville he saw the Cakes out in the sunshine sitting on a bench. They looked so happy together, a real family. Ivanhoe didn't stop to chat. He just sort of felt ashamed for making them go through that terrible nightmare. He didn't stop to chat when he saw Twilight, Spike, Rainbow Dash and Rarity either. They were close friends, but they weren't his friends, except Spike. This moment when they talked and laughed again was their moment, not his. *** Ivanhoe finally reached his goal. The train was going to leave within a few minutes. He frankly didn't know where it was going. He had decided to just go with the flow. In the wake of this averted catastrophe he felt surprisingly empty. He prayed that emptiness would go away. Maybe he could go to the land of the Zebras? Or go to the outskirts of Equestria? It didn't matter where he went, he just hoped he could find himself there. He stepped up on the train and opened the door, but before he could go inside he heard a voice. "Ivanhoe." Ivanhoe turned around to see Windy standing there. Ivanhoe didn't wonder why she was there. She could've seen the note, she could've just seen him by chance, it didn't matter how, not now. "Windy." "Where are you going?" "I don't know, to find myself, I guess. I'm not a pony from Marehaven. I'm a thing just a few days old. Who am I? I'm Ivanhoe Mane, but what does that mean?" "Can't you find yourself here in Ponyville?" "Here? Where everypony knows I'm not a real pony? No matter how nice they are or how much they try they will never stop looking at me like I'm something not quite like them. I'm sure of it. To them I will always be the pony who almost helped destroy the world." "No. The ponies here are so kind. They will respect you, they won't mind." "But I will. Even if they don't dislike me, being here I would never stop thinking about what I almost helped do to the world, what I did to them. I need to get away from it all." "So you're running away again," said Windy disappointed, she even sounded a little angry. "No. Running away is supposed to be an easy solution, but leaving this nice town is actually hard. Here I feel safe, everything I really value is pretty much here now, but right now I just don't belong here. Besides, I won't learn anything here. Unless you can tell me who I am." "You're... You're Ivanhoe." "But what does that mean? Do I still have a purpose? Am I really an individual, or am I still a puppet? Do I think, or do I just act like it? If I don't have a purpose in life, can I find one? I used to think that I was just like everypony else, but now when that belief is gone it's driving me insane. Can you tell me what it means to be me?" "I don't know." "Neither do I, and that's why I'm leaving. I need to know. I could be just as normal as you, or I could mentally, even physically be a monstrosity. I need to know which one it is. If I could know, if I could experience how it is to be a normal pony for just a moment, then I would know with certainty. But that would be simple, and there is no simple way." "Will you ever come back?" "I hope, but I don't know. I don't know where I'm going or what will happen. I can just hope for the best and deal with my problems as I face them." "Well...so this is goodbye then?" "Yeah. Thank you for everything, Windy. I wish I knew you better and I'm sorry you were pulled into all of this." "I got into it on my own. It's nopony's fault." "But it is, mostly mine. You were so nice to me though. You saved my life at least three times in a single week. I want to go and make sure that what you saved is actually worth something. You are my closest friend. Goodbye, Windy." "Ivanhoe...goodb- see you later." "Yeah...see you," said Ivanhoe and after a short silent moment where they just looked at each other he went inside the train car and closed the door. *** Windy could see him walking through the train's passenger car and sitting down with his head against the window. Windy would miss him, she was also a little jealous. He would go out into the world. Who knew what he would see out there? She wished she could go and see it for herself as well, but unlike him she had a life here in Ponyville. Windy felt really miserable as she turned around and walked away. She wished she could've gotten to know him a little better as well. Lost in thought she bumped into somepony before she could even take five steps. She shook her head and looked up. Two ponies, a pegasus and an earth pony were standing in front of her. "There you are, dear," said her mother. "We've been looking all over for you," said her father. She felt a burst of joy as she embraced them both. "Mom! Dad! I was so worried!" "We heard you had a hand in almost destroying the world," said her father. He didn't sound angry or even stern. He was actually in a good mood. "It's... been a very busy week," said Windy, slightly ashamed and very embarrassed. "So was that the thing? The fake-pony? I hear ponies are calling him all kinds of things," said her mother. "Yeah that was him. He's a friend." "I know. Is he leaving?" "Yeah, he's leaving. He needs to find himself." "I see. Will he be coming back?" "Probably not soon...but I think he will," said Windy. "Oh well, what can you do? Come on, dear. Let's go home to the inn. I think the garden could use some work. Maybe you can create a painting out of it, I brought your painting equipment," said her mother and dropped a big bag on the station floor. "Why did you bring that all the way out here?" "Oh, you know. One never know when it could be needed," said her mother with a sly little smile. Windy heard the train's whistle. "The train to Phoenix City is about to leave. All aboard!" yelled the conductor. Windy could see Ivanhoe giving her one last look through the window. He was about to face the world all alone. Who knew what sights he would get to see? "Didn't you a few months ago say you wanted to visit Phoenix City? The buildings there are supposed to look wonderful, they could look nice on a canvas," said her mother mother with a knowing smile. Windy thought it over, but in the end she decided on impulse. She grabbed the bag with her mouth and jumped on the last part of the train as it was leaving the station. She looked back towards her parents. "Take your time, dear, and make sure to paint all kinds of things!" shouted her father to her as the train went further and further away. With teary eyes Windy waved for all she was worth until they were no longer visible. She got inside and saw Ivanhoe leaning against the window, oblivious to her, or any, presence. She sneaked up to Ivanhoe and sat down right next to him. He still hadn't noticed, he was focused on the landscape and he was clearly very tired, his eyes filled with melancholy longing. Windy decided to pick up a block from her bag and started to sketch a little portrait of him, just so she could mess with his head if he didn't turn around until it was done. That would be hilarious. *** It took about an hour, but she was finally done with the sketch. She had to keep herself from giggling because he still hadn't noticed her, he had actually fallen asleep. He stirred a bit and turned around, falling towards her. She caught him and let the poor guy sleep, leaning on her side. She was feeling sort of tired herself, and before long they were both sleeping against each other. Two friends exploring the world together just asleep as the train took them far away from her home. She would return one day, but for now she would explore the world, just like she had always wanted. She would also be there and support Ivanhoe as he searched for himself. She smiled in her sleep. A week ago she never would've expected to have such an adventure, or to leave Ponyville like this, completely unsure about the future. Whatever problems would come her way, at least she would deal with these problems together with a good friend. *** Somewhere else entirely, in an endless cold darkness, an entity which was filled with disappointment floated silently. A voice sighed within the black void. The echo of it lingered unnaturally long. He didn't lament his situation, he was neither scared nor desperate. He was just very, very bored. "Dearest Princess Celestia. Today I learned a lot, not of friendship, not about love, or anything that you hold dear. Today I just learned something about what I can do, and more importantly what you think of me. Let me tell you that creating life, is surprisingly easy. Creating life that deserves to live, is hard. One needs the talent to do it, one needs to have a keen eye for detail, one needs to have the drive. There needs to be a just right environment and there needs to be just right parental figures in there... It's not that he's not a pony that disturbs you, is it? You don't mind that it was I who created him. You could tolerate him perfectly well if circumstance was different, you might even have found him pleasant. The reason he so easily creeps you out is the fact that you know that his 'mother' was based on you and that his 'father' was based on something kinder, but still like me. He represents something that makes you sick to your stomach. It makes my stay in stone a little more tolerable, knowing that somewhere out there I have created a fascinating creature that you can't stop thinking about every waking second. Enjoy your stay out of stone. Out of the two of us, you're the one who will be the most miserable. Your childhood friend, Discord."