“Thank you for the transportation Mr. Lulamoon.” Twilight said as she stepped out of the carriage. She was still impressed by his stamina and speed. Not to mention the fact that he had gotten them to Manehatten in less than a day while pulling their weight, Rarity’s luggage included.
“You’re welcome,” the sky-blue stallion acknowledged as he unhooked the cart full of luggage from his carriage.
Looking around, Twilight began getting nervous. Having slept through most of the ride, it didn’t take her long to realize that they were in the bad part of town. Rows of buildings and alleys ranging from rundown to decrepit with the building in front of them being the only exception.
Rainbow leapt out of the carriage and got a better look at the surroundings herself. Her brow furrowed and she lifted into the air so she could stick her head into the carriage window. “Umm...Fluttershy, are you sure that this is the correct address?”
“Indeed, I can’t possibly imagine wanting to meet anypony living in such squalid conditions. It’s filthy and the residents seem so uncouth,” Rarity said, as she prepared to exit the carriage.
There was a loud squelching noise the moment Rarity’s hoof met the ground causing the ivory unicorn to freeze as if turned to stone. Shakily, her head turned downwards to see the overturned trash can and more importantly the squishy trash she had just stepped in.
Behind her, Applejack, Fluttershy, and Pinkie exited the carriage, Applejack closing Rarity’s jaw, which had dropped in disgusted horror, as she passed the unicorn.
Ignoring her shock-frozen friend, Rainbow repeated herself. “Seriously, are we in the right place?”
“I..I don’t know. I’ve never been here before,” Fluttershy replied, shrinking a little under her friends gazes.
Applejack adjusted her hat. “Ah think I remember taking a wrong turn near here when I was trying to find mah Aunt and Uncle Orange.”
“You mean the time when you wanted to be a city pony? Before you found your cutie mark?” Twilight asked.
Applejack nodded in confirmation. “Yeah...It’s just as scary as when ah was a filly too.”
“Aw come on! It’s not that scary,” Rainbow said with bravado as she waved her hoof dismissively. She then flew to the door of the building. “Here I’ll just walk in and if anypony wants to mess with us I’ll say-”
The door suddenly opened knocking Rainbow back and a griffin walked out followed by a sky-blue unicorn.
“Fine, I’ll escort your ass to the market-” Gilda began to say to Trixie but stopped short. She stared wide eyed at the cyan pegasus who mirrored her shock. “Dash!”
“Gilda!”
Fluttershy eeped and hid while Trixie instantly recognized the arriving group of ponies. “Twilight?”
“Trixie?”
Hearing his daughters name, Mr.Lulamoon turned his head to confirm it. Upon seeing her, he smiled. “Trixie.”
“Dad?”
“PI~NKIE!” the pink pony shouted, appearing in a small explosion of confetti between the two sides.
“Pinkie.” Everypony said in an exasperated tone.
Gilda’s beak tightened as she glared at the pink party pony who had appeared, once again, to cause her ruin. She opened her mouth to tell them off, but stopped herself when Sugar, Edge, and Aurora arrived.
Edge and Sugar’s eyes were wide in surprise at their guests. Sugar especially as she recognized the disguise of her childhood friend, Mimzy.
Aurora on the other hand simply looked confused and curious.
“Mimzy!” Sugar blurted out in confusion and worry.
Mimzy turned quickly. He didn’t know the form, but he would know that voice anywhere. “Razor!”
“Razor?” Aurora commented as the small pink pony named Mimzy rushed over and hugged Sugar.
“What are you doing here?” Rainbow yelled after recovering from her shock.
“I could ask you the same!” Gilda replied with no small amount of venom in her tone.
Trixie on the other hoof was glancing between her father and Twilight’s group. “Dad, what are you doing here?”
“I’m about to head back home,” Trixie’s father replied, despite the fact he looked completely exhausted.
Applejack rubbed her temples from too much going on. “Trixie and Gilda? This can’t be good.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Gilda and Trixie shouted indignantly.
“Well both of ya came to Ponyville and caused all sorts of-”
A chill went up everypony’s spine as a hard, authoritative voice cut through the noise. “Who is causing all this ruckus?”
A tall, slim yellow unicorn walked out of the Weary Bray with a cigarette in her mouth. Gilda and Trixie recognized her as the mare who had served them their drinks.
Angel’s ice-blue eyes slowly went to each individual as if reading their entire life with just a glance. That is until her gaze fell upon one buttercream pegasus currently hiding behind her mane. “Fluttershy?”
Fluttershy peeked out of her mane and instantly her face brightened. Flying forward, Fluttershy wrapped the mare in a tight, loving hug. “Auntie Angel!”
“Fluttershy, why are you here? What’s happened?” Angel asked, her voice taking on an air of surprising warmth as she crushed her cigarette with magic and threw it away.
“Umm...well...you see…” Fluttershy stumbled for a proper answer. Releasing the hug, she began with gesturing to her friends. “Auntie, these are my friends. The ones I mentioned in my letters.”
Angel gave the group another appraising look before letting out a sigh and nodding to her niece. “I told you to only visit me if it was an emergency. I don’t like the idea of you being in this side of the city.”
Twilight regained her composure and proceeded to try and salvage their bad first impression. “M-Mrs. Angel.”
“Miss,” Angel responded curtly, her voice losing the warmth shown for her niece.
Twilight gulped and continued. “We’re sorry for the sudden appearance ma’am but it is an emergency.
“How so?”
“We need a place to stay.”
A shiver went down Twilight’s spine. Angel’s expression never changed until now, where her eye suddenly twitched in either annoyance or irritation at their ‘emergency’. Taking a deep breath through her nose, Angel spoke again. “I’ll give you enough money to afford a hotel in Upper Manehatten for a couple of days. Would you like a penthouse suite at the Hipton or is there another hotel you’d prefer.”
“Sweets!” Pinkie exclaimed excitedly.
“P-P-P-Penthouse!” Rarity stuttered, the mention of the famous Hipton hotel and penthouse suite in the same sentence knocking Rarity her out of her stupor...and into a new one.
Twilight was just as shocked but recomposed herself. “That’s really generous of you but you don’t need go that far.”
The lavender unicorn suddenly found Rarity shaking her psychotically after her refusal. “Twilight! Upper Manehatten! Penthouse! Hipton!”
“Rarity calm down! We don’t want to impose for something so expensive on Fluttershy’s aunt.” Twilight told her friend before Applejack came to the rescue and separated the two. “Besides, we only need a simple place to stay until we find Mark.
Angel’s eyes narrowed. “Are you referring to Marked Defiance by chance?”
Twilight visibly shrunk a little under Angel’s harrowing gaze, but pushed through to give her answer. “Y-Yes. How do you-?”
“Wait, Mark? What about Mark?” Gilda interrupted at the mention of the tactician.
“You know him?” Rainbow asked.
“Of course. That dweeb dragged me-”
“And saved me-” Trixie added quickly.
“Into helping him,” Gilda finished, tapping the hilt of her sword, impatient for an answer.
It was Twilight and her friends’ turn to be surprised. “Help him with what?” Twilight inquired suspiciously.
“Save his friend’s friends. It’s too bad that we could only save Edge here-” Gilda said, pointing a thumb and looking to where Edge, Sugar and Aurora arrived. Only now Aurora stood there alone, sucking on a packet of tomato juice as she watched the drama play out. “Where’d they go?”
Trixie looked around. “Sugar? Edge?”
Everypony looked around for the two missing ponies, only Rarity, who had recovered from her shock, realized that there were actually three missing. “Wait, where’s Mimzy? Did the dear wander off?”
Twilight’s eyes widened as she came to the realization that ‘Sugar’ and ‘Edge’ must have been changelings. Realizing this, and the fact that two familiar figures were in front of them, Twilight did the first logical thing that came to mind. Shot a blast of magic designed to reveal changelings and break mind control.
Trixie was quick to put up a magic shield and deflect the blast. Gilda...not so much, as it hit her head and momentarily knocked her back. “OUCH! What the hell was that for?” She growled, charging to Twilight and picking her up by the scruff of her neck.
“I was making sure that you aren’t under changeling control,” Twilight yelped, as she was lifted off the ground.
Gilda took a moment to process this sudden turn before dropping Twilight and taking a step back just as Rainbow flew in between them. “What are you talking about?”
Twilight rubbed the back of her neck tenderly. “Crystal is a changeling and I think that Edge and Sugar are as well.”
Gilda’s beak began tightening into an angry scowl before she uttered several profanities and rushed back into the building.
Knowing that look from her former friend, Rainbow followed in suit, flying next to her. “What’s up G? What do you know?”
“Thirty minutes ago, Mark went to get Crystal and hasn’t come back!”
Mark stared blankly at the wall as he laid in the hardened slime. He didn’t know how long it was since he was trapped, but he didn’t care. Not about time, not about anything.
“There is no Crystal. Only me. It was always me.”
The words resounded in his head. A constant echo to remind him how everything he knew was a lie.
“Everything? Now you’re just being a fucking drama-queen.”
Mark glanced up to see Brain standing over him. "Where have you been? You’re supposed to help me get through this! Hell, I made you so that I never went through bullshit like this!"
Brain rolled his eyes. “And you’re lashing again. Don’t you have anything better to do? Like realize that your little psychotic break has made you hallucinate me?”
“I don't care about that. Crystal's...I...I have to save her,” Mark said, his chest tightening almost painfully. He slowly wiggled to see if he could get out of the slime, but it was to no avail. “That changeling was just a distraction! Crystal’s gotta be-”
“And now you’re going through denial again. We both know that she wasn't lying. Crystal Orchid was her all along, so grow up.”
Mark glared at Brain. Even though it was obviously all in his head, that didn't stop the fact he could see and hear him. “What? So you want me to just accept the fact that I believed a lie for most of my life? That I was just some slab of meat to serve her food needs?”
Brain rubbed his chin in thought. “Well...Actually...That could be a step in the right direction.”
“FUCK YOU!” Mark shouted to himself.
“Use your indoor voice please, you're disturbing the other occupants of this establishment,” Brain responded with an arrogant smile.
Mark grit his teeth angrily but complied by lowering his voice. “Are you trying to piss me off?”
Brain brought his face close to Mark’s in a taunting manner. “Yes I am. Whatcha gonna do about it?”
“Erase your existence from the face of the fucking planet, then get my friends, find that bitch, and flay her alive!”
Instead of backing off, Brain began to laugh in Mark’s face and started poking him in the cheek. Mark didn’t realize how he could feel the pokes until he noticed that his horn was glowing. He was doing it to himself, or more accurately, Brain was making Mark do it to himself.
“Stop it.”
“No. The reason? Because first of all, you do you really think you’ll treat your friends like friends in your current state? Second, do you really want to hurt her?”
“Yes to all that!”
Brain sat next to Mark, looking at him with pity. “Really? I’m your subconscious and you’re treating me like crap. If you can’t treat yourself nice, how do you expect to treat others nicely? Then going back to the matter of Chrysalis, you really intend to answer deceit with violence?”
“...No…But she still has to answer for everything! And I intend to get those answers one way or-”
“So now you’ve gone from killing to torture,” Brain said through a sigh and a shake of his head.
“No! I meant...I was…” Mark started grinding his teeth and trembling. He began to re-think his answer, bringing the room to silence for five minutes while Brain looked to him expectantly.
“I hope you don’t intend to grumble all day. I’d prefer an answer sometime tod-”
“I DON’T KNOW! I DON’T KNOW WHAT I’M GOING TO DO AND I DON’T KNOW WHAT’S REAL ANYMORE!” Mark started shouting again, before he began sobbing again.
Brain frowned sadly and scooted next to Mark. "Again with the drama. Now why don’t we get to the root of this. You’re smart, you know what it is."
Mark sniffled. “She lied to me.”
“Yes she lied. She lied when you were kids and she lied when you two were reunited,” Brain admitted, nodding in agreement.
“Exactly! That’s why-”
Brain stopped him short, taking on a stern tone. “That’s why you should have stopped being a bullheaded dick and listened to her when she tried to explain herself. When she put down her defenses to tell you the truth for once. Instead you had to let the shock affect you to the point where you no longer saw a friend in need. Just a changeling and a stranger.”
“She is a stranger. Everything I know about her is a lie.”
“And how sure are you about that?”
“Absolutely positive.”
"Alright then, pop quiz, what do you know about changelings?"
Mark raised an eyebrow as he gave the obvious answer. “They replace ponies to steal love from their significant other.”
"And based on those feeding habits, do you think it’s detrimental to your health?"
“It has to be.”
“And yet you would allow a vampire bat pony to feed from you for awhile.”
“That’s different.”
“Not really if you think about it. I mean Aurora fed on you physically while Chrysalis fed on you emotionally in practically the same way I think. Anyways, next question, what do you know about Crystal?”
Mark’s face scrunched up into a sour expression. “She’s a lie.”
Brain pinched Mark’s cheek in annoyance. “Humor me you stubborn prick. What did you think you knew about her?”
“She was rude, manipulative, arrogant, secretive...caring...smart...my friend…” Mark choked down another small sob at the memories.
Brain’s form shifted and morphed until it was a copy of Crystal’s. Mark would have started yelling at him in anger again had Brain, in Crystal’s form, not been looking at him with a warm and caring expression. Smiling at Mark’s restraint, Brain spoke again, his voice also an exact copy of Crystal’s. “And did she ever look like she was pretending to be anyone other than herself?”
Mark continued laying there, stuck in the slime as he stared at Brain. Not only because he didn’t have much choice, but because he was stunned. She was secretive whenever he got too close, but never once did she try to get him to love her. To trick him into being her literal meal ticket. In fact, she always seemed a hoofs-length away.
“Don’t worry, I just plan on staying close to you until I'm ready to leave. I'll be out of your fur in no time.”
“The fact that you're a tactician convinced Sugar that we needed you.”
“Maybe you fall into a category of your own? What would you say about that?”
More memories came to him. How she never hid her disapproval for stupid things he’d done. The worry in her eyes when he’d nearly died from a lucky hit from a bandit. Her smug grin when she thought herself superior which happened to be most of the time. None of it was fake. He knew that he didn't have concrete evidence, but that didn’t stop him from knowing it was all real.
"You have every right to hate me Mark. You really do."
“You’re one of the few to manage getting close to her. Close enough that the both of you are going to end up hurt.”
It finally made sense to him. He finally understood. He had the necessary revelation to think normally again and could find the proper response to all of Brain’s questions.
“........FFFFFFFFFFFUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCCCCCK!”
“There you go,” Brain said, smiling as his form slowly dissipated into air.
With newfound determination, Mark began struggling and wiggling to get out of the slime again. ‘Dammit, how could I be so stupid?’
‘Something I ask myself everyday.’
‘What am I going to do? I said such horrible things.’
‘I know, I was there. How about the first step, apologize.’
‘I gotta find her first.’
‘That’s step zero point five. Which should be simple given the fact she only left twenty minutes ago and you have connections you can exploit.’
‘Well then focus on step zero point four, getting out of slime-stuff for dummies.’
There was a loud crash as the door was suddenly kicked down. He couldn’t turn his head to see who it was, but given the fact that the shadow from the doorway looked bird-like, he had a good idea to identity of the intruder. “Gilda, your timing is perfect.”
“Mark are you okay?” Gilda asked, prying her claws through the slime and underneath him until she could lift him out.
Though the outer shell had hardened thanks to Chrysalis’ spell, the portion underneath felt awfully similar to chewed bubble gum and pulled at his fur as he was lifted. “I’m-owowowowowowthatfuckingsmarts- fine,” Mark said, trying to brush off anything still on him and trying to get the blood flowing in his legs again.
“In that case I’m gonna go kick her ass!” Gilda said, leaving the room before Mark could tell her that Chrysalis was gone.
“What happened? Where is she?” Called a familiar raspy voice.
Mark turned to the doorway. He’d know that voice anywhere but couldn’t understand what it was doing here. Even as the cyan pegasus flew into the room and almost knocked him down. “Rainbow?”
His surprise only increased as Twilight and the rest of the girls rushed into the room, followed by Aurora and Trixie. “Mark thank goodness we found you!” Rarity said, going up to give a hug, but stopping herself once she saw his current state.
The tactician couldn’t help but smile at seeing some familiar faces. “Girls? What are all of you doing here?”
“We’ll get to that later. Is Chrysalis still here?” Twilight said, her horn beginning to glow from a spell as she looked around the room.
“So you know too...” Mark mumbled to himself. “No, she’s gone and she won’t be coming back.”
Twilight let out a sigh of relief. “What about you Mark? Are you okay?”
“I’m…” Mark hesitated as the guilt from earlier weighed heavily on him. “-Actually, I’m not fine. I need to find her. I need to set this right.”
"Set what right?" Twilight said, looking to Mark with some suspicion.
"I need to apologize to Cryst...er...lass?" Mark started scratching his head and began mumbling to himself. "Damn I just forgot it, what the hell was it again?"
“Chrysalis?”
“That’s the one,” he said with a cheeky grin before Twilight blasted him point blank with a spell. “OW!”
‘OW! I’m in your head and even I felt that one!’
Mark waited until the dizziness subsided before he confronted his attacker. “Twilight, I know there are times you want to hurt me, but what the hell was that for?”
Twilight’s eyes widened. “You’re...not under her control?”
“Nope, I don’t think I ever was. I’ll have to ask her when I see her next.” Mark said, rubbing his aching head. That ended quickly as another spell hit him and knocked him onto his back onto the slime again. Luckily, most of the sticky parts had hardened already, unfortunately, that wouldn’t stop whatever stickiness left from painfully pulling his fur if when moved around. “OW! AGAIN, REALLY?”
‘That one felt like a kick in the crotch...Your brain crotch.’
Rainbow flew up to Mark’s face looking more than a little angry. “Mark are you crazy? We just saved you from her and now you want to find her again?”
“Yeah pretty much. Although technically, I was only saved from that stuff on the floor,” Mark looked to the slime he was once again laying in. “Nevermind.”
“She’s the one who invaded Canterlot during Shining and Cadence’s wedding!” Twilight shouted.
“Yeah...I’ll have to talk to her about that,” Mark responded without much thought as he tried wiggling back out of the stuff without causing himself too much pain.
Twilight frowned. “Are you even listening? She’s pure evil!”
“I don’t think she’s evil,” Mark said, unwilling to back down under Twilight’s glare.
Twilight was fuming as she opened her mouth to say something else to convince Mark. However, Applejack beat her to the punch with a more important question. “Why the hay do ya want to find her?”
Mark immediately dropped his happy-go-lucky facade, as he looked to his friends with a pained but completely serious expression. “Because believe it or not she’s my friend. I’ll be damned if I let this mistake haunt me for the rest of my life. I don’t care if you don’t want to help, but I’m begging you to not get in my way.”
Third time’s the charm. Twilight blasted Mark in the head so that he’d be released from Chrysalis’ deep mind control. Mark was none too happy. “WOULD YOU STOP THAT?!”
‘Oh Celestia that hurts! I-I think...I think I’m gonna-urp-gonna barf.’
‘You can’t barf you’re my subcon-’
Mark visibly shivered and gagged in horror as Brain interrupted with painfully realistic puking sound in his head.
“Well you are still talking crazy,” Rainbow said with a shrug, not noticing Mark’s inner plight.
Mark started turning a little green as he felt like puking himself. “No-urp-No one asked you Dash.”
Rarity was the first to notice. “Mark, are you okay? You’re turning an awfully ugly shade of green!”
“Twilight, I know that spell was one of your modified ones. What did the original do?” Mark managed to say before he had to force his food from earlier to stay down.
“Purges the body of substances. Why?”
“Joykill mushrooms,” Mark whispered in response before painfully prying himself out of the slime. He then ran to the window, opened it, and proceeded to empty the contents of his stomach onto the street below...as well as any unfortunate passers-bye.
“AH! WHAT IS THIS?”
“MY EYES! IT’S IN MY EYES!”
“AND JUST BECAUSE WE ARE NOT OUR SISTER DOST THOU THINK WE’D FALL FOR SUCH A SCHEME?”
The brown pony shrunk from Luna’s volume. “Y-Your Highness, I didn’t mean to offend. It’s just a tax-”
“ENOUGH! BEGONE FROM OUR SIGHT AND DO NOT BRING THIS UP AGAIN WITH US OR OUR SISTER.”
“Yes Princess Luna!” The noble pony squeaked before scrambling out of court as fast as his legs would take him.
“Princess Luna, you accidentally used the Royal Canterlot Voice and the royal We.” A tall bat pony in sunglasses said quietly as she stood to the side of the throne. She gestured to her fellow guardsponies. “As much as it helps to keep us awake during the day, our ears are still sensitive to sounds.”
“I apologize Grimshadow. It is hard to remember when we- I mean, I, get riled up like that. Who do these nobles think they are? A tax decrease just for being wealthy? The nerve,” Luna said with a scowl. “If you could get a tax decrease, what would you do with it?”
“Ma’am, I prefer to stay out of politics.”
Luna sighed and slumped into the throne. “You and I both. How long is Celestia going to be attending that war council in Cloudsdale?”
Grimshadow raised an eyebrow. “I thought it was just a meeting. Isn’t it only a war council when we’re actually at war?”
“Ah, you are correct,” Luna said, lightly blushing at getting the two things confused. “But this is still too long for a simple meeting.”
“I attended one of the meetings before you returned. Lieutenant Bastion and General Ironwing disagree on just about every subject when it comes to Equestria’s safety. That’s the reason the meeting lasts so long.”
As Luna awaited whoever was next, she let her mind and eyes wander. Looking out the window, she noticed that the sky was beginning to get overcast.
‘Odd’, she thought, ‘the pegasi had scheduled to move the rainclouds tomorrow not today.’
Luna yawned and took a sip of her tea. She glanced to her side to see that Grimshadow was suddenly looking around with her ears twitching incessantly.
“What is the matter Grimshadow?”
The Lunar Guard stopped moving her head around, but kept her eyes going from place to place to search for the source of the noise. “Princess Luna, can you hear that?”
“No I’m afraid I cannot. What is the matter?”
Grimshadow looked to a fellow Lunar Guardspony who was acting similarly, and signaled him to investigate. “It’s probably nothing, but I’m sending Starstreak to check it out.”
Luna nodded in understanding as Grimshadow resumed her previous position at Luna’s side. The only indication she still heard it was from her twitching ears. It was a little unsettling to not know what was bothering her guards, but Luna trusted that they’d get the matter dealt with.
As another pony approached the throne for an audience, Luna sat up in attention with practiced grace to address her subject’s concerns. “And what has brought you here today, dear subject?”
The mare didn't respond at first, merely observing the entirety of the throne room. When she finished, she gave Luna a satisfied look. “Well ma’am, it’s a very important matter.”
“Yes?”
The mare grinned wickedly and narrowed her eyes. “It’s the terms of your surrender.”
Luna raised an eyebrow at the pony’s odd behavior and unexpected request. “I am sorry, I do not think I heard that right.”
At that moment, Starstreak burst back into the throne room in a cold sweat, “CHANGELINGS! CHANGELINGS ARE INVADING!”
“Time for phase two,” the pony said, as green flames suddenly surrounded her and she lunged at Luna.
Mark sat there thumping his head in a steady rhythm.
‘Twelve’ *thump* ‘Fucking’ *thump* ‘Hours.’ *thump*
‘Well sulking over your failed efforts isn’t helping.’
“Mark, what are ya doing?”
‘See, Applejack agrees with me.’
Mark lifted his head gave the orange mare a humorous but weak smile, “I’m seeing how long it’s gonna take me to make a dent in this wood. I gotta say, it’s taking awhile.”
“Pony feathers Mark, it’s been well around half a day. She probably up and left the city by now.”
“No. She’s still in Manehatten. I can feel it and I know a pony who can help get the information I need. I just got to pay her first.”
Applejack looked Mark straight in the eye. “The train’s gonna be leaving at noon tomorrow and if ya ain’t on it with us you’re gonna have to walk back to Ponyville on your own.”
On your own.
That phrase seemed to echo in Mark’s head as he was reminded of what’s been happening since he started his search.
His friends from Ponyville had their own reasons to not want to search for Chrysalis. Twilight, AJ, and Rainbow because of their dislike and distrust of her, opting to leave the search and arrest to the city guard, which they did. Not to mention the fact that Twilight scolded Mark about trying to find Chrysalis whenever she was brought up in conversation.
In the meantime, Rarity felt that it was their duty to pay back Ms.Angel’s generosity by insisting she and the others help around the Weary Bray. That, and the ponies Mark had puked on were apparently having the worst day of their entire life even prior to getting puked on. Then for some reason, Angel gave the two ponies the arrangements for Penthouse suites. The same suites that she had offered Twilight and friends previously, which meant that they now had nowhere else to stay but the Weary Bray.
Gilda and Trixie were a different story. Gilda, after getting into a yelling competition with Rainbow for some reason, had flown the coop and left to deliver that message of hers to Canterlot. The only goodbye she gave Mark was a “See ya dweeb”. Trixie was acting “Great and Powerful” again and said that searching was beneath her. However, Mark could tell that the real reason was because she too scared to possibly face a Changeling Queen without Gilda to protect her.
Pinkie and Aurora were the only ones who sincerely wanted to help him. Unfortunately they were utterly ineffective at it despite their efforts searching literally any nook and cranny whether it was a garbage can, cupboards, underneath tables, in Mark’s ears...Then there were the fliers they made that basically portrayed Chrysalis like a lost pet and which they were scattering throughout as much of Manehatten as they could.
Mark thumped his head on the bar again, harder this time. “Thanks AJ. But I still have to find her,” he mumbled sullenly.
“It don’t look like she wants to be found Mark.”
“Of course not. That’s what’s making this search so damn hard.”
Ms.Angel, came up to the two ponies and set down two mugs of apple cider. “Marked, please don’t do that to the bar. You’re wearing out the wood,” she said, lifting Mark’s head up and using a wet cloth to lightly dab the spot underneath his horn that he’d been hitting. She gently set his head back down and attended business elsewhere.
“That pony’s kinda strange, isn’t she?”
“Mark, first of all ah don’t talk about somepony behind their back. Second, what’ya mean?”
“Well, she’s treats everypony just about the same except for me and Fluttershy.”
“Ms.Angel is Fluttershy’s aunt.”
Mark raised his head so he could look down the bar to where Ms.Angel was. Currently she was talking with a mare in a cloak. “That, I understand. Why she treats me the same way she does her niece is what I don’t understand.”
“It don’t sound like our business.”
“No it isn’t,” Mark said through a sigh, his thoughts wandering to something else. “Applejack...Am I a bad pony?”
“You’re arrogant, annoying, and you drive just about everypony crazy with the exception of a few,” Applejack stated immediately as she took a swig of the apple cider. She grinned after recognizing the taste, it was her family’s brand from Appleoosa. Applejack then gave Mark several hard pats on the back. “But you definitely ain’t a bad pony. You’re my friend and ah hate seeing you just sitting here all sadder than a snowman in summer.”
Mark smiled weakly at her words. “Hey AJ, thanks for coming to my rescue. You and the others. I know that Twi sent you here to convince me to go with you, but I need to set things right, even if it means staying in this city and searching for trouble.”
Applejack sighed and ruffled her hat. “Ain’t no stopping you, is there?”
Mark responded with a good-humored grin and chuckle. “Do you even know me?”
From behind them, the two ponies heard a familiar voice. “Mark are you packed?”
Applejack spun around in her barstool and leaned back against the bar as she addressed Twilight. “Sorry Twi but he ain’t coming.”
Twilight’s eyes widened in clear surprise. “What? I thought you said you’d convince him!”
“Ah can do a lot of things Twi, buck a tree bare of apples, buck a bad guy to the hospital, buck the-”
“Bucking me,” Mark interrupted with a cheeky grin which faltered in pain after the orange mare kicked his leg.
“Mah point is that, as foolish as he is, ah can’t convince somepony to do something when it’s going against their nature. ”
Mark snorted. “My nature? Really? You can tell a pony’s nature just like that?”
This time Mark received a harder and somewhat friendly punch in the shoulder. “Yah know what ah meant,” Applejack said, her expression a mix of annoyance and amusement. Her point made, she turned back around to face the bar and get another swig of apple cider.
Still nursing his aching shoulder and leg, Mark turned his attention to Twilight to get a word in before he left and before she could start scolding him again. “Honestly Twilight, I don’t know how long this it’s gonna take me to find her. And no offense, but when I do, I’m not sure yet whether I’m gonna tell you since you’ve got that intense, if not justified, chip on your shoulder.”
Ignoring Twilight’s words of protest, Mark left his seat and headed for the door. He slowed however as the pony Ms. Angel was talking to caught his attention again. He found it odd. The mare in question, a pretty, red earth pony, was wearing both a sweater and a heavy wool cloak making her look more than a little shady since all that was seeable was the mare’s face.
Normally Mark would’ve normally ignored something like trivial like this, but the fact that the mare was wearing something she clearly didn’t want to left him feeling like something was amiss. It didn’t help when a blue pegasus stallion bumped past him hard enough to cause him to spin.
The moment that the mare noticed the stallion, she froze and nearly fell out of her seat. “B-Balty! How did you find me?”
Mark maintained his balance in time to see the anger on “Balty’s” face before the stallion hid it behind a disarming smile. “Babe, you didn’t have to go out of your way to hide. It was so inconvenient to trouble a few of my ‘friends’ to find you. Any problems we have we can work out at home,.” He leaned against the bar and turned his head to Angel. “Hey, get me a quick drink for the road. Something with a kick. You know what? I’m feeling generous so get something for her too.”
The mare trembled but gathered up her courage. “N-No...I won’t! I’m not going anywhere with you! It’s over Cobalt.”
“That hurts babe,” Cobalt said his smile and tone turning cruel and venomous. “Come on. Lets. Get. Going.”
Angel stood there preparing the glass and hoping that she’d either get him to leave peacefully, or that Plum would get here in time to intervene. However, the voice she heard next filled her with a deep sense of apprehension.
“The lady said no,” Mark stated before placing himself between the mare and the stallion. He didn’t always do the smartest things, but Mark knew enough from their exchange to put the pieces together.
Cobalt appraised him with a frown before glaring back at the mare. “So that’s how it is. You come and meet up with this little boy-toy of yours. You think I’d just sit on my ass while you go sleeping around like a whore?”
“Th-That’s not it Balty! I don’t know him! I’ve never met him! He’s just-”
“Somepony who thinks you should leave now,” Mark interrupted.
The tension in the air was palpable as Mark and Cobalt glared at one another.
“You think you’re something scary? Do you even know who I am?” Cobalt taunted.
Shots had been fired and Mark intended to respond in kind. “Somepony not worth calling a man. Do you think I can’t see it? Nopony in their right mind wears that much clothing in the summer. I bet that if I lifted her sleeves I’d see the bruises. That if she took her cloak off, the world would see the way you treat her. You’re nothing but a thug who-”
Mark saw it coming, but couldn’t react in time before Cobalt’s hoof made contact with his face and he was sent flying back a few feet. Plum having heard the ruckus, rushed over just in time to catch him before he hit the floor.
“MARK!” Twilight and Applejack screamed, running to their friend’s side. Rarity and Fluttershy who had just arrived from upstairs, and everyone in the Weary Bray’s tavern, watched on in shock.
“You sure talk big for a pony who’ll crumble after one hit,” Cobalt said with a cruel grin.
Plum and Applejack yelled a war cry as they charged at the blue stallion. Their efforts were stopped however, as a magical yellow aura held them in place. The first place they looked to was Mark but knew it wasn’t him since he too busy getting back up with the help of Fluttershy and Twilight. Knowing only one other yellow unicorn, they turned to Angel whose horn was lit up.
“I’ll handle this,” Angel stated to the two.
“But boss he-”
“Ms. Angel ah can’t just-”
“I’ll. Handle. This,” Angel repeated.
To everypony else, Angel sounded as reserved as before. To Applejack and Plum whom she was looking at, the malice and bloodlust in Angel’s eyes gave her words a entirely different meaning.
Turning her head Angel’s eyes softened as she looked to her niece who had just helped Mark stand back up. “Fluttershy, can you and your friends please take Marked to the nearby clinic to get his nose checked out? It’s down the street where all the red lights are and at the first stop take a right.”
“Ay’m fine. Ay jusk neeg a wet crof,” Mark dismissed as he tried to stop the profuse bleeding coming from both his nostrils.
“Then take him to the restroom.,” Angel conceded. “Please hurry, he’s getting blood on the floor.”
“Okay Auntie.,” Fluttershy replied, grabbing Mark’s hoof and quickly pulling him along to the nearby restroom. The crowd of ponies parted to make way for the two and resumed watching to see if anything else was going to happen.
There was a small clatter as a shotglass landed on the table, only then be quickly filled with some rum. “Your drink,” Angel said, her gaze was locked not on the the victorious looking Cobalt, the terrified mare, the crowd, nor even her niece’s friends. Rather, she was fixated on Mark and Fluttershy, waiting until the moment was right.
That moment came once Angel saw them enter the restroom and heard the click as the door shut.
Cobalt, just finished with his drink, set the shot glass back down onto the bar and reached his hoof over to the cloaked mare to grab her and be on his way again. Then everything would be the way it was supposed to.
That was until his head suddenly slammed into the bar with the empty shot glass caught in-between.
For the first time in a long time, Plum witnessed Angel’s face twist into cold anger as she used her magic to grip Cobalt’s mane and lift his head back up before slamming it down again. And again. And again.
Roughly around fifteen collisions later, the stallion’s face was a mess of blood, glass, and tears.
Angel walked out from behind the bar so calmly and casually that onlookers were only reminded about what just happened when she grabbed the stallion by the neck with her hooves and threw him out of the nearest window.
And impressive feat, given that the closest window was approximately halfway across the room.
The matter settled, Angel returned to her place behind the bar and pulled out a cloth and spray bottle to clean up the mess she made.
“Please don’t tell Fluttershy,” Angel asked in her usual tone towards a speechless Applejack, Twilight, and Rarity.
Gulping, the three turned away from Angel and started whispering to each other.
It was also simple to deal with the crowd. The moment she glanced at them, they immediately went back to what they were doing before as if nothing happened and the bar’s normality returned for the most part.
Angel brought her attention back to the red mare with the sweater and cloak to continue their conversation from before.“If you need a place to stay, I can offer you room and board.”
The mare squeaked in surprise and fright. Trading glances between the recently broken window and Angel, she gulped. “I-Is he alive?”
“He won’t die,” Angel stated without any hint of remorse nor pity as she continued wiping the blood and glass off counter. “And if you decide to stay here, I can guarantee your safety until you’ve paid back those debts you were telling me about.”
The mare looked hesitant. “Wh-What’s the catch? Nopony just offers shelter and safety for free.”
“I’ll ask you to work here from time to time.”
The mare’s lip began to tremble. “You...you won’t make me do anything bad, right?”
“Hah! Don’t go worrying about nuttin doll,” A freckled waitress said while expertly balancing an order on her back. “I was in your horseshoes two years ago and now I only work here cause Miss Angel needed a couple of hooves to help out around the joint. That and Plum’s just yummy ta look at.”
“Mint, please stop eavesdropping and go deliver those stir-fried cucumbers before they get cold,” Angel ordered, levitating the trash bin and scooping fragments of glass into it.
The waitress gave a mock salute and complied, though not before getting one last word in to the cloaked mare. “Almost everypony workin’ here’s got a story just like yours doll. Walking in 'ere, looking for somepony to help. Don’t worry, boss-lady’s the nicest and toughest bitch in this whole damn city, you’ll be fine.”
Angel’s face was knit in a stern frown as the waitress walked away giggling. “I apologize about Mint. She talks too much when she should be working.”
The cloaked mare sniffled and removed her hood revealing a black eye and a bruised cheek. “Please don’t apologize, just...Thank you.” The mare sniffled and tried to wipe the tears that started streaming down her face. “Thank you so much. Nopony else...I didn’t think...”
Angel knew that the conversation was done, or at least put on hold when the mare broke down into sobs of relief. That being the case, Angel poured the mare a drink and left her alone for the moment.
Looking over to the window, she saw that Plum was currently examining the damage to both the window and the unconscious stallion outside until he realized that she was watching him.
Trotting over he began scratching the back of his head. “Boss, should I go get an ambulance cart? I don’t like that guy but...well...damn.”
“Do whatever you want,” Angel responded curtly as she finished wiping the counter clean and she put away the cleaning supplies.
The moment she closed the cabinet Mark and Fluttershy returned, the former with pieces of rolled up toilet paper stuffed in his nostrils.
For the first time ever, Plum witnessed his boss look worried as she ran up to the young tactician. “Marked, are you okay? How are you feeling? He didn’t hurt you badly did he? Do you need ice?”
Mark backed away. Surprised and uncomfortable at Angel’s sudden invasion of personal space and unexpected change of character. “Umm...no. My nose isn’t broken and as you can see, I’ll just keep it plugged till the bleeding stops.” Mark said, looking around for the pony that caused his bloody nose to begin with. Noticing that Cobalt was gone and that a window was broken, he smiled at Plum. “I’m guessing it was taken care of.”
Plum hesitantly nodded, eyeing his boss. “Yeah. It got taken care of alright.”
“Dammit. I was hoping for a chance at payback before you kicked his a-,” Mark coughed, remembering Fluttershy was literally right next to him. “Kicked his flank outta town.”
“M-Mark! Please don’t pick another fight. I don’t want to see you get hurt again,” Fluttershy said frantically and with no small amount of worry.
Fluttershy found a small cup of lemonade floating in front of her. “It’s okay Fluttershy, he’s gone now and I’m certain that pony will reconsider his actions next time,” Angel said comfortingly to her niece before looking straight at Mark. “And that Marked won’t instigate the other party. Right?”
“No promises,” Mark responded with all honesty.
It was clear Angel didn’t like that answer as her only response was in the form of a very disapproving frown. “Why? What do you plan on doing now?”
“Now that jackass-mc-jerk-face is taken care of, I believe I was on my way to pay for some information,” Mark said, strolling towards the exit once again as if nothing had happened just awhile ago. He was stopped however when Twilight stepped in his way.
“You’re still going? You just got hurt!”
“It was just a punch.”
“My point is that it’s obviously not safe on your own!”
On your own.
Once again the phrase echoed in his head and left a bitter taste in his mouth.
“Yeah, I’m on my own. Like I was when I was a little brat, like I was when I watched those closest to me disappear from my life, and like I am now!” Mark cried out angrily, though he did manage to keep the volume below a yell and not attract too much attention. Taking a deep breath he continued. “I’m happy that you’re worried about me. That you care for a friend as flawed as me. But if you bothered to put your personal feelings towards her aside, you’d see that I’m doing the same thing!”
Without letting the conversation continue, Mark ran past a shocked Twilight and exited the bar.
“Wait-But-She’s…” The word ‘evil’ hung on Twilight’s tongue as she watched her friend run out. Her ears drooped and she sighed. As much as she hated Chrysalis, maybe Mark wasn’t wrong about her either. Even Mimzy had admirable things to say about the Changeling Queen.
Twilight jumped out of her thoughts when she felt an orange hoof patting her back.
“Don’t worry sugarcube. Wait here, Rainbow and ah will make sure the varmint gets back safe and sound, ” Applejack said before she turned her hat and started trotting after Mark.
Outside the bar, Applejack picked up a stone and threw it at a low floating cloud. The stone disappeared into the cloud and a surprised shout followed. Rainbow looked down and searched for the assailant that interrupted her nap. “What the heck! Who threw that?”
With a wry grin, Applejack waved to get Rainbow’s attention. “Come on sleepy head, we’re gonna go wrangle ourselves a changeling.”
“Are you sure you’re alright Mark? You want me to change the tissue?” Aurora asked, flying on Mark’s right and within his personal bubble. He was used to it by now.
“You just want an excuse to taste my blood again. Don’t you?”
Aurora blushed and couldn’t meet Mark’s eyes. “Nuh uh...that’s just...a bonus.”
Mark rolled his eyes. She was as bad at lying as Applejack. “Aurora, you’re a bounty hunter and a bat pony with a very acute nose, shouldn’t tracking down changelings be easy for you?”
“Even if I had some of their blood I don’t think I’d be able to track their scent in this city. It’s stinky. Speaking of blood, what happened again?” Aurora asked, pointing at Mark’s nose.
Mark wiggled his snout and pulled out the blood soaked rolls of toilet paper. “I just fell is all. Besides it looks like the bleeding stopped so I don’t need these anymore,” Mark said, tossing them into a nearby trashcan and ignoring Aurora’s groan of disappointment. “Still, funny running into you and Trix in the market.”
Trixie appeared on Mark’s other side, acting like...herself. “Do not call me ‘Trix’! You may refer to me as the Great and Powerful-”
“Pony that’s too afraid to go shopping on her own in the big city,” Mark interrupted, chuckling when Trixie started pouting and turned her head away from him.
“So where are we going exactly?” Aurora asked, still flying almost directly against Mark’s side.
“I bumped into an old acquaintance of mine. She's more than capable of getting the info I want for a price and now I’m going to collect,” Mark stated, pulling out a bank note and waving it like a fan.
Trixie’s eyes narrowed with mischief and she quickly snatched the banknote out of Mark’s grasp. “Hah, so even the oh-so-smug tactician has to pay an informant. Let’s see here, ‘On the account of Penned Gambit: the beneficiary Marked Defiance charges-” Trixie’s jaw dropped and her eyes almost popped out of her head. “Five thousand bits!”
Mark shrugged before he snatched the banknote back. “My informant’s an opportunistic entrepreneur. However, she’s as reliable as they come.”
Aurora’s eyes sparkled with wonder and greed. “Where’d you get that much?”
Mark’s face darkened with a wistful frown for the briefest of moments. His grin quickly returned before anyone could notice. “I acquired it and that’s all I’m going to say on the matter.”
“Ah come on! Please!” Aurora begged. Mark continued to walk on without giving a reply. “Please!” He continued walking and even attempted to whistle. “Pretty please with an AB positive blood-soaked chocolate chip cookie on top!”
Mark gagged at the imagery and conceded before the vampire batpony got any more detailed. “It’s not mine but I didn’t steal it. I’m allowed to access it whenever I need it. Now stop asking!”
“Why?”
“Because I said.”
“Why?”
“Because I don’t wanna say.”
“Why?”
“Because it’s stupid.”
“Can I have some?”
“No.”
“Why?”
“STOP!” Trixie shouted, knowing that the two would just keep going on and on.
“Why?” Both Mark and Aurora asked in unison.
Trixie’s eye started twitching as she just stared at the two like a crazy mare. “Mark. How long until we get to-”
“We’re here,” Mark said rushing over to greet a light red mare behind one of the stalls. “Hey Banana, what do ya got for me?”
Trixie’s annoyance was temporarily forgotten as she felt something oddly familiar about this stall owner.
The mare whipped her ponytail over her shoulder and leaned on to her stall, with her hoof resting on her chin. “I’ve got lots of things Mark, but call me by that nickname again and I might forget that I’m giving you a discount for them,” she replied with a wink.
“Good old Cups said there’s a medicine for that,” Mark retorted, taking a similar pose on the stall and sliding the banknote forward. “So what have you heard?”
‘Banana’ leaned towards Mark, and took the banknote. “Some interesting things. Some infamous mercenary’s been drinking all around the city and getting kicked out of every bar, the quadrennial military meeting in Cloudsdale started, Sapphire Shores is rumored to release another hit this year, and the usual news and gossip. However, I think the rumor you’re looking for is the one where some ponies recently entered the sewers and haven’t returned yet. Some say they were already eaten by Bisstink but honestly, I think that’s silly.”
Mark raised an eyebrow. “Bisstink? What does that have to do with anything I asked?”
“Bisstink? What’s a Bisstink?” Aurora asked.
“It’s short for Big Stinky. An urban legend about some monster, with the stupidest name ever by the way, that supposedly eats ponies who get too close to it’s lair in the sewers,” Mark said sounding disappointed as he got off the stall and sat down on the ground.
Since ‘Banana’ never led him wrong before, Mark started thinking and voicing his thoughts out loud, hoping maybe it’d help him find some hidden meaning in Big Stinky’s legend. “It’s been searched for but never found. Only evidence is it’s weird slimy drool and the victims supposedly hear a buzzing or hissing before it…”
Mark’s face lit up in revelation and he leaned towards the mare exuberantly. “How many ponies did you say entered the sewers recently?”
The mare winked again. “About four. From what I heard, one of them was a black pegasus with a bad attitude. Just like a certain friend of yours.”
“You couldn’t have just led with that?” Mark asked with a frown.
“Where’s the fun in that? Besides, you should use your brain more.” ‘Banana’ giggled before she disappeared under her stall only to reappear with a glass jug of some kind of blue liquid. “In fact, I just so happen to have a potion that increases your intelligence right here in case you couldn’t figure it out.”
“What a coincidence,” Mark deadpanned.
“Of course. My sisters and I have to know all sorts of possible customers and what they might be interested in.”
Trixie suddenly gasped loudly, startling the two at the stall. “It’s you! Mark, this is the pony who sold me my book!”
“The one that went ‘Fwoosh! Pthoo!’ and then crumbled into dust?” Aurora asked, putting as much emphasis on her exploding sound effects as possible.
“Wait, seriously? Anna’s the 'Secret Seller' you mentioned?” Mark asked, giving Trixie an incredulous look.
The mare leaned further over the stall and stared hard at Trixie before returning to her original position and shrugging. “Never met you before in my life.”
Trixie pointed at the mare accusingly. “Don’t give me that! You said that magical tome had lifetime use and I could get a refund if otherwise.”
Mark raised an eyebrow. “That true Anna?”
“Of course not!” Anna replied, beginning to get fussy herself. “I never offer refunds!”
Mark scratched his head. “Then who sold Trixie a fire tome?”
“It’s a firework spellbook and it cost me a whole week’s worth of show’s to pay for it!” Trixie shouted angrily.
Anna closed her eyes in thought for awhile before opening them when she realized what had happened. “It was my sister. She’s the one who sold you that tome, isn’t she?”
Trixie glared at the red pony with eyes full of skepticism. “Oh so you just happen to have a sister who looks and acts exactly like you?”
“Nope,” Anna admitted.
Once again, Trixie pointed an accusing hoof at Anna. “Aha! So you are-”
“I’ve got many, many, MANY, more sisters,” Anna interrupted with a smile. “We’re a pretty big family.”
“So a whole family of Annas?” Mark asked curiously, putting a hoof in Trixie’s mouth to stop her from going on an angry rant.
Anna just shrugged. “Pretty much.”
Trixie spat Mark’s hoof out of her mouth and spit to get the dirt flavor out. “Family reunions must be interesting.” Trixie commented, not bothering to hide her dubious tone.
“Like you wouldn’t believe.”
Mark used his cloak to wipe his hoof. His attention was still on Anna however. “You wouldn’t happen to have a fire tome for sale would you? Trixie’s been wanting another one after hers...well...died.”
Anna’s eyes lit up as she returned to her ‘Merchant’ mode. Going into her stall, she rustled around until she found what she was looking for and placed it onto the table. It was a red tome with a large flame image on the cover. “Sorry, no fire tomes. I DO however have an Elfire tome.”
Mark tilted his head. “What’s the difference?”
“Buy it and find out!” Anna replied with a wink.
Trixie pushed Mark out of the way and eyed the merchant with suspicion. “How much is it worth?”
“One thousand two hundred.”
Trixie sputtered. “Th-That’s too much! That’s double for what I paid-”
Mark had already jotted the necessary info onto a slip he had gotten from the bank earlier that day, and placed it onto the stall. “Deal but I wanna give it a test run.”
Anna took the slip of paper and pushed the tome into it’s new owners hooves. “Here ya go! A pleasure as always,” Anna said as she began packing up her stall. Noticing the glow, she saw Mark was already going for an attempt to test it. “Just be careful, Elfire tomes pack much more of punch than-”
There was a flash of light before a large pillar of fire appeared in the middle of the street causing ponies to scream and run around in a panicked frenzy. By the time the pillar disappeared, the entire street was empty except for Mark, Trixie, Aurora, Anna and the other now empty merchant stalls including the ashes of the one Mark had hit accidentally.
“Oops,” Mark said, coughing up the same black soot that now covered the entire front side of his body and quickly shoved the tome into Trixie’s grasp and pointed at her. “She did it.”