//------------------------------// // Chapter Two: Part Seventeen // Story: The Misadventure Of: A Bunch Of Silly Ponies That Just So Happen To Not Be Applejack // by OCisbestpony //------------------------------// Chapter Two: Part Seventeen Colgate's eyes slowly focused as she came to once more. What hurt more was not so much the unbelievable headache she had, but the fact for some reason, the universe at large seem bound and determined to cause her as much cranial damage as was possible! She was getting rather tired of it. Not to mention the passing out at seemingly random moments. 'What', she wondered, 'have I done to deserve this?' She shook her head, and attempted to focus her magic. Despite a causing a mild headache (adding onto the one she already had), she was pleased to see light fill the room as her horn began to glow brightly. She let out a sigh of relief. At least that much was fine; at least she had her magic. She yelped as a sudden surge of magic filled the room, and the floor near her began to glow brightly. Not being a foolish pony, she scrambled out of the way. She spun and assumed a defensive position as the magic began to fill the space and figures began to form. She grit her teeth and grabbed a barrel, ready to strike at a moment's notice. Then, all at once, the magic simply exploded, sending her and her barrel flying back. It was at that moment when she decided that from this day forth, she would forever wear a helmet. Fortunately for her, luck seemed to favor this time. Though she had been sent tumbling among many a tumbling barrel, she found herself unhurt, though under what seemed to be a pile of the blasted things. Also rather luckily, two barrels next to her remained standing, and now held all of the weight that would have otherwise been crushing down upon her. Before she could fully come to her senses after what had just happened, she could hear a voice. “Bon-Bon, Berry, are you guys alright?!” a familiar, though panicked voice asked. “I-I'm fine” coughed another. That was Berry! “Horseapples...” came a third. “BERRY! HELP!” Colgate bellowed, her own voice a mix of panic, delight, and hysteria (though not too much hysteria. She wasn't going crazy after all). “I'M TRAPPED!” “COLGATE?!” Three voices shouted out in unison. “YES! I'M HERE! HELP!” she cried once more. “W-WHERE IS SHE?!?” Berry's own voice cried. Colgate was taken aback by the sound of it. While she was only slightly hysterical herself, it seemed that Berry had fallen completely into it. Her voice had been not only shrill, but full of unbridled terror and fury. She suddenly heard barrels crashing and the protests of two ponies. “B-BERRY! WE DON'T EVEN KNOW WHAT'S IN THESE THI-” Bon-Bon's voice shouted over the furious crashing of barrels being tossed to the side. “SHUT UP! HELP ME!” Berry shouted with such force that Colgate jumped slightly. In response, she suddenly heard the sounds of the 3 friends heaving and hurling the hapless wooden vessels as one. At least, that's what she assumed the sounds of frenzied barrel tossing meant. “HOLD ON COLGATE, WE'RE ALMOST THERE!” Colgate's heart began beating faster and faster. On the one hoof, she was excited to be reunited with her friends. On the other hoof, Berry did sound pretty crazy. Suddenly, the barrels around her shifted, and light suddenly flooded the little space that was her prison. Assuming that a trickle is equal to a flood. “WE GOT Y-huh?” Berry shouted. “H-Hey! Where is she?” Then it dawned on Colgate. They had removed the barrels just to her left, missing her little spot. “Uh, guys? I'm right here, just a little to the right … er … left, I guess. Which way are you facing?” Colgate asked. The last barrel blocking Colgate was removed with relative ease. And as the light hit her face, she saw the faces of her three friends. One of which had tears running down it. “Colgate!” Berry cried. “Ber-” Colgate also cri- And then Berry gave her a mighty, mighty hug. She lifted her up off the ground, and Coglate found that her lungs suddenly could not work. Try as she might, she simply couldn't breath. It was about then that she had begun to lament the color of her coat, as her face begun turning blue from lack of oxygen. “OhmygoshColgate!I'msohappythatyou'realright!I'vebeensoworriedaboutyou!I-I'vegotsomuchtotalkyouabout!ImeanI'vebeensoworriedandIreallywan-” Thankfully, it was right then that two things happened. One: Both Lyra and Bon-Bon pealed Berry off of Colgate, using a combination of magic and brute force (which, to their surprise, was what it took to get her off), and Two: Colgate passed out. Thankfully, it was only for a moment. In fact, she recovered in time to catch her own head (with her magic) before it hit the ground. She thanked her lucky stars, righted herself, and got to her hooves. “Berry, it's good to see you too.” Colgate said, with a couple of tears in her eyes. Though, in all honesty, most of those tears were from lack of oxygen and hug-pains, rather then from the warm fuzzies filling her heart. She then looked at the two struggling to contain Berry, “It's good to see you guys too. Oh colt, we've been through an adventure, haven't we?” “Heh, more like a misadventure if you ask me!” Lyra chimed. “Lyra!” Bon-Bon chided her. “What?” Lyra asked. “It's too soon to call it that. Besides, we don't know yet if this truly is an unfortunate event.” “That's for sure.” Berry said, now a bit calmer. “First we come across this crazy castle, then attacked by bandits, and now a rescue mission! By Celestia, we've been through a lot.” Berry sighed. “But at least we're in good shape now. Let's get that teleporter open and let's get out of here!” Teleporter … teleporter … ZECORA! Where was she? Colgate's head shot from side to side, but she could see no sign of her zebra friend. “H-Hey! Where's Zecora?” “Zecora?” Bon-Bon asked, raising an eyebrow. “Yeah, she was here just a moment ago! She said that the teleporter was a one-way, so she's gotta be around here somewhere!” Colgate exclaimed. “Hold on a minute, did you just say that Zecora was here?” Lyra asked. “Huh? Uh, yeah. Yeah I did, why?” Colgate asked, caught somewhat off-guard by the question. “What is she doing here?” Bon-Bon asked. “I'm not sure.” Colgate answered, “She said something about following us to get a sample of Berry's drink or something.” “Wait, she followed us?” “That's what she said.” Colgate shrugged. “Are you sure about that?” Bon-Bon questioned. “Well, that's what she said. She said that she followed us out of the Everfree and even hopped onto the train.” “And followed you across the badlands?” Bon-Bon asked, clearly suspicious. “Uh, I guess so. What are you getting at, Bon-Bon?” “I just find it strange that she would do that, that's all.” Bon-Bon answered, “And you said she wanted Berry's drink? Why would she want that?” “I don't know Bon-Bon! I'm not Zecora!” Colgate's patience was running surprisingly short. “Alright, chill.” Lyra interjected, “We're on your side, remember?” “Sorry.” Colgate flushed slightly. “It's just that I don't really understand what's going on. Well, I kinda get what's happened, I just don't understand why.” She let out a breath. “Well, she said something about being curious about it. She hoped to take some home for testing, I think.” “Testing...” Bon-Bon crossed her front legs, and rested her chin on one of her front hooves. “Did she happen to mention anything else about it?” “Not that I can recall.” Colgate said, shaking her head. “I see...” Bon-Bon replied, frowning in thought. “So, where'd she go? I don't see anypony else here.” Lyra said, glancing about the chamber. “Is there a way out?” Berry asked. “Well, there are some steps that lead out of here.” Colgate answered, “Perhaps she went that way.” “Steps?” Bon-Bon asked, raising an eyebrow. “Yeah. There's a set of steps that head up to a den where a dragon's sleeping.” Colgate pointed to said steps, but the path that was once there was now gone. It seemed that whatever happened when they teleported in, knocked the barrels in the chamber every which direction. Her jaw dropped a bit. Not only was the path gone, but dozens of the barrels had burst open, and the entire chamber was filled with scrolls. Some had unrolled, others had broken in half, and others had been torn to shreds. Her eyes shot to over where the desk had been, and saw, to her horror, that it too had been destroyed. Remains of it littered the ground, and the papers it held had not been spared. “Wait, did you say dra-” “Hey, what's up Colgate?” Berry asked, unintentionally interrupting Lyra. “T-The room … what happened?!” She replied, a bit in shock. How was she going to give these lists to the authorites if they had been destroyed? Even worse, what about the desk? She just knew that at least somepony in Equestria could read them, and hopefully figure out what exactly had been done to all of these poor ponies, and hopefully figure out how to reverse it … if it was possible. She shook her head of such thoughts. “What? Something's up with the room?” Lyra asked, also looking around. Bon-Bon said a soft 'hum' to herself. “I suddenly get the feeling that this room wasn't always like this, judging from your expression. And the fact that you claim that there are stairs in that direction,” Bon-Bon pointed said direction, “and all we can see is smashed and disorganized barrels, tells me that explosion did all of this.” There was a collective 'Ya think?' feeling in the air, but fortunately, all of the ponies in the room were classy enough to avoid saying as such. “Yeah … I was wondering about that.” Lyra said, putting a hoof to her chin. “About what?” Berry asked. “Teleportation magic isn't supposed to involve an explosion.” Bon-Bon said as she looked to the ground, as if to investigate something. “Yeah. It was really weird. Like, I could feel my magic working fine, then, all at once, it was like I used way too much. Kinda like … um … pouring a drink I guess.” Lyra's gaze went from Berry, to Bon-Bon, then to the floor. “Oh! Like when someone tips the bottle!” Berry smiled. “Yeah...” Lyra said somewhat distantly. “Lyra,” Bon-Bon began as she stepped away from the spot they appeared on, “is the spell still here? I'm not seeing any markings or anything like that.” “Yeah … I see what you mean. Hey, Colgate.” Lyra looked up at her. “What do you think?” “Uh...” She looked from side to side. “Well? I mean, you're a unicorn, right? So, what do you think? Can you feel or sense anything?” Lyra said, a little confused at Colgate's somewhat evasive manner. “I, uh...” “Yes?” “Well, um...” “Yesss?” “I … never made it to advanced magics...” Colgate admitted. It was true. She was an average unicorn, and showed no more talent for magic then any other. Sure she could do the basics, like levitation, and basic object manipulation, but she really only learned one or two more advanced spells. And those were directly related to her career. “Uh huh...” Lyra nodded, clearly not quite understanding. “And that means...?” Colgate swallowed. It was an embarrassing thing to admit, but she had tried for the class, but had not been accepted. “It means … that I know nothing about teleportaion magic.” “Uh huh. They didn't teach you about it in Magic Kindergarten? Or even when you were at Canterlot University?” Lyra raised her eyebrow. “Well … they did, but I, uh … wasn't paying attention...” Colgate admitted, blushing as she did so. During those times her head had been amongst the stars. When she was in Magic Kindergarten, she would often think about the constellations and the movements of the various lights in the sky. In all honesty, the only spells she really learned were those that they were forced to practice. This lead to her needing to take Magic 101 when she began her studies at Canterlot. And while she passed the class with little difficulty, she had decided that by that time that she had neither time nor patience for academia that did not pertain to her major. And since most of Magic 101 was theory, she often let her thoughts drift to her other classes. “What?! Why?” Lyra asked, clearly confused. She was not the only one. “It's a long story, but to keep it short, I didn't really see a need for it. I mean, I learned the basics in Magic Kindergarten, and then I was busy with more important things by the time I took 101.” Colgate said with a shrug. “B-But I thought all unicorns knew about that kind of stuff!” Berry said. “Only ones with a fancy, expensive, formal education.” Lyra said with a none-too-pleasant glare. “Wait, what?” Colgate was very surprised by this sudden, nasty turn in Lyra's demeanor. “Lyra...” Bon-Bon said, placing a hoof on Lyra's shoulder. She closed her eyes, and let out a breath. “Sorry. It's just that...” “Lyra grew up very poor.” Bon-Bon finished. “Well, not super poor, but not enough to afford any sort of formal education, ya know? Like, my dad and I, we would take walks around Canterlot, ya know? And I remember seeing all of these rich fillies and colts running around with their fancy books. And like, I remember one time I tried talking to one of them, ya know? Yeah … that didn't end well.” Lyra let out a sad sigh. “The colt in question teased her about the fact that she didn't know any real magic.” Bon-Bon explained. “I-I'm so sorry Lyra. I had no idea.” Colgate said, hoof raised to her mouth. “Well, it happened a long time ago. And it's not your fault.” Lyra smiled at her. “So don't feel bad about it.” “There was one good thing that came of it.” Bon-Bon added. “Yeah. It gave me a reason to hit the books!” Lyra's smile grew a little brighter. “Well, what about your parents? Didn't they teach you magic?” Berry asked. “I've never known my real parents. And my adopted dad was an Earth pony. So it's not like he could do much other teach me how to read.” Colgate was horrified, “You've never known your real parents? Lyra, that's terr-” “Not a big deal, trust me. My dad was worth hundreds of unicorn parents. He was about the best father a pony could ask for. Seriously. Like, he...” Lyra trailed off. A distant look filled her eyes, and Colgate could see tears beginning to form. Lyra shook her head. “Anyway. So, like, he fed us alright, and we lived in an alright place, right? But he couldn't afford to send me to school. So, after that colt made fun of me, I began collecting the old school books from the kids who got an education. I read 'em all. I just kept reading and reading and reading.” She let out a chuckle, “I remember my dad coming home late sometimes from work, and he would ask me what bedtime story I wanted to hear, and I would say something like, 'I wanna read the one about floating things!' and he would be like, 'But you just finished reading it, it's right over there.' and I would be like, 'it has hard words, so can you read it with me again?' And then he would just laugh, get in my bed, curl next to me, and read it to me until I fell asleep.” she smiled. “He did that for a long time. Funny thing was, he didn't understand half of those 'hard words' himself. But that didn't stop him from tryin' to help me learn. Stallion … I miss the guy.” she gave a slight shake of her head, her smile growing all the while. “Wait, your dad is dead?” Berry's eyes had gotten suddenly large. “What? No! Not at all. He's fine. A little old, sure, but he's doing just fine.” “Oh, but you said...” “He lives in another part of Equestria, Berry. I don't get to see him much these days, and neither of us write much.” “You could always pay him a visit.” Bon-Bon suggested. Lyra nodded. “Yeah, I thinking I would after this was all over. So, anyway, sorry about that Colgate. It's just that, I kinda figured that since you'd gotten and education, you'd know this kinda stuff.” “I-I didn't know that there were unicorns who never got to go to school.” Colgate replied. “Yeah. But it's fine. It's all old news now anyway.” Lyra made a dismissive gesture with her hoof. “So, what about higher education? You never even went to university?” Colgate asked, still a bit surprised by this sudden revelation. “Nope. Never went.” “Then how did you know how to use that teleporter?” Berry asked. “Oh, that? Well, One: It's actually pretty easy. Well, that teleporter was pretty easy. I'm pretty sure they rigged it so that even an Earth Pony or Pegasus Pony could activate it, not to mention a unicorn. So, it wasn't hard or anything. And Two: I just bought the old textbooks off the unicorns going to the University.” Lyra shrugged. “Oh. That makes sense. So, why did it explode?” Berry asked. “Gold Powder.” Bon-Bon said, scraping the floor with a hoof. She then brought it to her nose, and she gave it a small sniff. “Yep. Gold Powder alright.” “Are you sure Bon-Bon? That stuff's pretty rare.” Lyra asked. “Wait, what is it, and how do you two know about it?” Colgate asked. “Well,” Lyra began, “it's kinda a way for non-ponies to use Equestrian magic.” “The subject usually applies it to a surface, allowing them to manipulate it as if they were a unicorn for a short time. So, if say the user wanted to lift a broom, they would sprinkle a small amount of the powder on it. If they needed to use something like this teleporter, then they would cover the area with it.” Bon-Bon said matter-of-factly. “However...” “If it comes in contact with a unicorn's magic...” Lyra's eyes got large as a thought seemed to dawn on her. “It causes the unicorn to loose control of their magic.” Bon-Bon finished. “So, wait, you're telling me that's what happened? Somepony put some magic dust on the ground and that's what made the spell explode?” Berry said with an eyebrow raised. “Who would do that, and why?” There was a long pause. “Colgate,” Bon-Bon began, “I hate to say it, but I think Zecora did this.” “What?! No way! She'd never do anything like that!” Colgate objected. “Why would you say something like that?!” Berry also found the idea absurd. “Because the spell is gone. Completely.” Lyra said, looking to the ground. “I actually think that it was a two-day, and I could see somepony like her using something like Golden Powder to get in and out.” “Well, perhaps she made a mistake? I mean, she's not a unicorn, right? So maybe she didn't realize it was a two-way!” Colgate simply couldn't fathom the idea that somepony like Zecora would something like this, at least, on purpose. “That's possible, but the fact that she used the powder to leave tells me that she wanted us to be trapped here.” Bon-Bon said, glancing towards the recently covered passage way. “Maybe she didn't realize she wouldn't need the powder?” Berry ventured. “I doubt it. This is Zecora we're talking about here.” Lyra said. “Well, maybe she didn't leave! I mean, I passed out, perhaps somepony else came through and threw it down behind themselves, or perhaps she got captured or something and whoever caught her used it.” Colgate ventured. “Well, it's possible somepony else coulda come through, but if somepony already here had done it, don't you think they woulda taken you too?” Lyra commented. “I-I suppose so...” “Well, the fact is that we're now trapped, correct?” Bon-Bon asked, looking to Lyra, who then nodded. “So, that means we have one choice. We find this exit Colgate was taking about and see if we can get out of here, wherever 'here' is.” “Oh, that's easy!” Colgate smiled. “It is?” Bon-Bon raised an eyebrow. “Yeah, we're at Deadmare. At least, that's what Zecora told me.” Colgate said with a bit of new-found doubt. Bon-Bon gave a small 'hum'. Then, looking once more to the exit, said, “I see. Well, let's hope Zecora is the honest zebra you think she is...”