//------------------------------// // Ch. 16 // Story: A New Perspective // by portaljumper339 //------------------------------// A New Perspective Ch. 16 Nighttime had fallen by the time we reached the camp, and I was completely drained from the amount of blood I had lost. The wound was worse than it seemed at first, and refused to clot. After the first hour of walking, my hoof was drenched with my life fluid and the front of my cloak was soaked. "Hey, Silver," I said. "What do you want?" "I think I'm about to pass out. You know, from the blood loss and all." Even as I spoke, I could feel my head lightening up and my hoof steps growing dangerously misaligned. "If I do, would you be so kind as to drag me into the camp?" "I'd prefer to leave you to die, but that wouldn't fly well with Hazel." "Nice to see that you care so... so much... about my... well-being..." I slurred out before face planting into the dirt. Before the unconsciousness could completely overtake me, I think I heard Hazelnut scream, Silver Rush bark some orders, and the shuffling of multiple sets of hooves. It was when I fell asleep that I found myself in a new area of my psyche, rather than that same stone chamber. "Hey, Arcane, you there?" I called out to the void that surrounded my dream space. I heard a scuffling of hooves on the ground behind me, and whipped around to find, much to my relief, that Arcane was there. What destroyed my sense of relief was the fact that he looked about as calm and collected as a nervous fawn in a wildfire. "Woah, what's with you? You look like you've just seen a ghost." "It's... it's nothing, and I would emplore you to not bring it up again." "Fair enough. What I really want to know is exactly where we are. This isn't our usual meeting place." "The usual place has become... unsafe. With all the time we've been meeting there, He has started to catch on. I decided that we needed to get out before it's too late." "I can dig it, but that still doesn't answer where we are now," I said, getting a little exasperated at his usual cryptic behavior. "This is an in-between area of your mind, a sort of limbo like state, if you will. I'm trying to set up a new area for us to meet, but in the mean time we have to suffice with this. Now that I've answered your question, I need an answer; who are you with?" "How do you know that I'm with somepony?" "Please don't take me for a fool. I have been sharing your psyche and memories for some time, and I can pick these things up. Now, who are you with?" "Earlier today, I met up with another pony who lives out here. By 'met' I mean got caught in one of her animal snares. She's pretty rough around the edges, but I guess that's to be expected when you live in the wilderness. Later in the day, a huge storm had whipped up, and I found a filly hiding near my cave. I offered to take her home, which I did, but things went south when it turned out that her sister is the pony I had met previously. After nearly having my throat sliced open by one of her goons, and being slapped around by her for a bit, they escorted me back to their camp. The only reason I'm here now is because I passed out from blood loss," "Does this mare have a name?" "Silver Rush, not that I'm really concerned. As soon as I get patched up, I'm getting the buck out of here. I still need to find those soldiers of Luna's, and get an update. I hope that Fluttershy is alright without me, she can be so sens- hey, you alright?" Arcane had frozen up, eyes fixed on the floor in a wide eyed stare. It looked like he was muttering to himself, but what it was I couldn't make out. "Hey, Arcane!" I said, stomping my hoof on the ground to get his attention. "What? Oh, sorry, I was... remembering something. Anyway, you should probably leave here. I wouldn't want you to be kept from getting on with your mission, sidetracked though it is. Go on," he said, horn illuminating as a white door materialized behind me. "Wait, before I go, are you sure you don't want to talk about what's going on? I mean, we're always talking about me, but it would be a little selfish of me if I didn't ask about your problems." "What problems? I've been trapped in my own mind for seven years. All my problems have forgotten me. No, all we need to focus on now is how you can defeat that creature that holds my body." "Are you sure?" I asked, glancing backwards as I made for the door. "Positive, now go. I need some time alone." "Alright," I said, opening the door and stepping into the blinding light. Still, I couldn't help but think that he had some horrible secret he was hiding. Ever since he showed me that memory of his, I had had dreams of that hoof that was poking out from under the rubble of his study. I was beginning to think that that may have something to do with it. But I wasn't going to get any answers now, not while I was in this predicament. <===============> The pounding of hammers, the scent of freshly sawn lumber, the sight of ponies working diligently. It was like an endless symphony for a certain orange farm mare, and she wouldn't have it any other way. Sure, it was getting late, but that was a small annoyance at best. Applejack had decided to leave the reconstruction of Sweet Apple Acres to Big Mac and Granny Smith, instead choosing to help with the reconstruction of Fluttershy's cottage. It was the least she could do for her friend, even though she hadn't seen her out of her tent since the night that Evan had been taken. Rarity had been giving her and the others updates on Fluttershy's condition, but it hadn't helped much to know that she was being as reclusive as Rarity when her fashion show had failed. She couldn't help but snicker a little as the memory came back. That dress the she had concocted... "Yoo Hoo, Applejack!" called a voice from down at the bottom of the scaffolding she was currently standing on. Leaning over the edge, she spit the hammer out of her teeth when she saw who it was. "Howdy Rarity! What brings y'all around these parts? Don't you need to be worryin' over the boutique?" "I would, but I just wanted to stop by, say hello, and show a certain somepony around the construction area, if you don't mind." "Course not, but who is this 'certain somepony'? We can't just have anypony wanderin' around here. Somepony's liable to get hurt." This was the honest truth. More than once Applejack had had to dodge a falling hammer or drill. "Oh, I'm certain that she'll be alright," answered Rarity as another pony stepped out from behind her. Applejack's jaw nearly hit the floor, and she was quickly galloping her way down the scaffolding. With a resounding thud and kicking up a cloud of dust, she greeted the new arrival. "Fluttershy, well aren't you just a sight for sore eyes! How're you feelin'?" asked Applejack. "Fine, thanks to Rarity sort of kicking me out of my funk." "Well shoot, sugarcube, I knew you'd come around eventually. C'mon, you need to see what we've been doing," she added, guiding Fluttershy towards the half finished cottage. "You can come along too, Rarity." "Oh, believe me, I would, but I do need to see to Carousel Boutique. That and, well, you're kind of, oh how to put this gently..." "Filthy?" asked Applejack, arching an eyebrow. "Well... yes," answered Rarity sheepishly. "It's what happens when you do hard work. You should try it sometime." Applejack knew full well that Rarity despised getting dirty for anything, but they still shared in some good natured ribbing over it nonetheless. "The day that I get sweaty and grimy doing 'hard work' is the day that you learn to walk in high heels," retorted Rarity, smiling maliciously. "Anyway, I must be off. Fluttershy, feel free to stop by the Boutique when you're done here, and then we can do something about your hair." With that, Rarity set back down the dirt path that led back to town, expertly dodging a mud puddle along the way. Applejack shook her head in disbelief before turning back to Fluttershy. "Alright, let's see what you think so far." The two mares walked into the newly finished front door and into the partially constructed downstairs. "Oh my, it's wonderful Applejack! It's exactly how I remember it!" Fluttershy lit up when she saw the job that Applejack had done. Sure, there was still a hole where the ceiling should be, and there were piles of sawdust big enough to fill ten litter boxes, but it was still a valiant effort. "Thanks sugarcube. We did our best to recreate it exactly the way it was, so I guess this means that we succeeded." Applejack was also happy as can be to see that Fluttershy was happy again. "You succeeded splendidly. Why, I can already tell that that's where the kitchen is going to be, that's where the staircase is, and that's where..." She fell silent, staring longingly at the righthoof side of the room, where the bay window was going to be. "Sugarcube? You alright?" Applejack had started worrying again, already knowing where the conversation was going to go. "... That's where he used to sleep," she said, voice filled with emotion. Fluttershy had barely choked the words out before the tears started falling again, and her knees collapsed beneath her. Applejack got down on the ground beside her friend, laying a comforting hoof on her back as she lay there weeping. "It's alright, sugarcube, it's alright." "No," hiccuped Fluttershy, "no it's not. Oh Celestia, I miss him Applejack. I miss him so much." She wrapped her hooves around Applejack and cried into her shoulder. "Look, Fluttershy, I miss him too, we all do," she said, pulling Fluttershy away so she could look her in the eye. "But you need to put things in perspective. Did I ever tell you why y'all have never seen my parents?" Fluttershy could only shake her head. "Well, it wasn't because they didn't want me, or Big Mac, or Apple Bloom. They loved us all to death, but my daddy didn't work on the orchard. He was a high falutin' business pony, and he just happened to live in Ponyville. One day, when Apple Bloom was still a newborn, daddy got a letter saying that he was getting transferred to some city far away, one I'd never even heard of. He knew that Big Mac and I had gotten used to Ponyville, and he didn't want to tear us away from the friends that we had made here. So you know what he did?" Again, Fluttershy only shook her head, although she had stopped crying. "He decided to leave us here on the farm with Granny Smith, Apple Bloom included, and move away with mama. Before he left though, he gave me his old hat, and mama gave Apple Bloom her bow. He tried all he could to make it easy on us, but it didn't help. I cried for weeks after they left, and I even tried running away once to find them. But then a thought hit me; I realized that he was still out there, and I knew that he still loved me. Do you see what I'm gettin' at here?" "I... I think so, but could you say it?" asked Fluttershy nervously, as if what she was thinking was wrong. "It's the exact same thing with Evan! He still loves you, and he's doing everything in his power to deal with that cult so he can come back here and be with you. You still have that mirror he gave you?" "Mmm hmm." "Have you been checking it?" "Yes, every night before bed." "And what have you seen?" "I've seen him living out in the forest, mostly just getting food or looking at Twilight's necklace. I did see him crying a few times, though." "And why do you think he was crying?" "Because he, well, you know..." "He misses you, sugarcube. And if you know that he misses you, then why are you getting all worked up about him not being here? It's not as if he turned on his hoof and just dumped you, then went off on some adventure." "Well, I guess that makes sense. But I still miss having him here." "We all do, but we all need to do what we can to get over the fact that he's left, and channel that anger and sadness into something constructive." "... Like fixing up the town?" "Exactly," answered Applejack with a smile, before leaning over to pick up a hammer. "And I know just where you can start." Smiling weakly, Fluttershy took the hammer from Applejack and flew up to where a group of construction ponies were hammering together the beams that would form the floor of the second story. After throwing on a hard hat, she set busily to work. Smiling broadly at Fluttershy's renewed vigor, Applejack trotted back over to the ladder leading back up to her bit of scaffolding. She certainly wasn't going to let Fluttershy hog all of the fun, that was for sure. <===============> *beep... beep... beep* That incessant beeping was starting to really get on my nerves. Whatever was causing it, I desperately wanted to have it thrown down a well so that I could keep sleeping. After the day that I've had, I certainly needed it, and the bed I was in was surprisingly comfortable. Wait a second. Cracking my eyes open, I was nearly blinded by a large over hanging light. After my eyes adjusted, I took a quick look around. Canvas roof, rows of beds spread out on either side of me, some tube stuck just above my hoof and hooked up to a bag of clear liquid. I laid my head back on my pillow. Silver had kept her word, and had gotten me fixed up like she promised. Reaching a hoof to my neck, I could feel soft, fresh bandages wrapped around it. Through the wrappings I also noticed that there were stitches running the width of my neck. "HI!" came an over eager voice. "GAH!!" I yelped, swinging around to face the pony at my bedside. I didn't notice anypony anywhere nearby, leading me to think that maybe I had lost more blood than I thought. "H-hello?" I asked, still trying to calm my frantic heartbeat. "Down here, you knucklehead!" said the same energetic voice. Leaning over the railing, I finally found the source of the voice. "Oh, hey Hazelnut. What are you doing here?" Her happy smiling face pretty much said it all. "I'm here to see you, duh! How are you feeling?" "Better. At least I didn't die out there. Or just now when you scared me out of my wits." "Ooh, sorry about that. I was just waiting for you to wake up, and I guess I got a little excited." "Don't worry about it. Uh, you wouldn't happen to know what time it is, would you?" "It's about ten o'clock." "P.M.?" "No silly. You've been asleep all night. I was actually about to poke you awake." Ten o'clock? Great, another chunk of time that could have been spent getting to Luna's soldiers. I also needed to show somepony my map, see if they could point me in the right direction. Thinking hard, I tried to remember where I had left it. Let's see, I rolled it up and put it in my bag when I went to investigate the bush Hazel had been hiding in, as well as putting my necklace on. I still had it when I was attacked, and I had it when I passed out... "Oh no... oh no, no no no NO!!" "What? What's wrong?" asked Hazelnut. "Hazel, do you remember that bag I had with me when I was trying to get you home?" I asked, growing frantic. "Yeah, what about it?" Okay, I need you to think very, very hard. Did anypony take it off of me when they took me in here?" "Well sure, they had to when they checked that you didn't have any broken bones and stuff." "Listen, I had some very, VERY important things in that bag, and I really need to get them back. Where did they take them?" "I think sis took them back to our place." Oh great, the single most important artifact I own, as well as my only way to tell where I am out here, are in the hooves of a pony who absolutely hates my guts. Fan-freaking-tastic. Quickly pulling the tube out of my hoof, I threw off the bedsheets and got to my hooves. At least I wasn't too disoriented to walk, but my head was still throbbing from the blood loss. "Hey, where do you think you're going?" asked a doctor a few beds over. I didn't pay him any heed, choosing to march my way out of that tent to get back what was mine. Hazelnut was barely keeping pace behind me, her shorter legs struggling to keep up with my longer stride. "Hold on," she protested, "you can't just go marching over there and expect her to just give all that back." "Watch me." "No, really, you can't. She's in charge of any foreign objects that get brought in here, and she has to make sure that you don't have any tracking devices with you." "Listen, Hazel," I said, turning to the little green filly, "I know that I'm new here, but I wasn't planning on staying for long. I just need to be pointed in the right direction, and I'll be out of her mane before she knows it. She had no right to rummage through my stuff," I added, throwing open the tent flaps. The settlement I found myself in was pleasant enough, a loose collection of tents and ramshackle buildings nestled in the heart of the forest, with ponies bustling to and fro. One thing I did take notice of, however, was the large, monolithic structure that dominated a nearby hillside, probably some sort of ancient temple that they built the place around. "Where do you live?" I asked. Hazel pointed a hoof over to one of numerous tents, this one only differentiated by the impressive weapons rack sitting out in front of it. Looking down, I saw that she was giving me a very worried face, but my resolve didn't waver. Lifting my head high, I strode toward the tent. I rapped my hoof against the piece of metal she had propped up next to the tent flaps to announce myself. "Yeah?" called Silver from inside. Parting the tent flaps, I entered. "Hey, Silver, what did you do wi-" "Looking for this?" she asked, holding up my necklace with one hoof, not even bothering to look me in the eye. "Yes, and if you could be so kind as to return it, I'll be on my way." "Sorry buddy," she said, turning to face me, "but that's not how things work here." "What do you mean?" "This little trinket would be worth about three months of meals for everypony in camp to a wandering merchant, and seeing as how I did you the kindness of letting you in here without the screening process, as well as fixing you up, I think that this is adequate payment." She kicked my bag at my hooves, and I was fortunate to find everything, map included, where it belonged. "You can keep everything else, but I'll be holding onto this." "Silver, you don't understand, I need that necklace. You have no idea how important it is." "Oh, I think I know just how important this is." she said with a wicked smile. "With this, I'll probably be able to fix it with the elders to let me join the camp watch instead of being stuck on contraband duty." "It isn't even yours!" I exclaimed, getting frustrated at her arbitrary cruelty. "You can't just take something out of somepony else's bag and call it yours!" "Maybe that's how it works in Equestria, but out here, everything that isn't a personal effect gets shared among everypony. It helps promote solidarity and a good sense of community. You should be lucky I left all that food in your bag." "NO! Look, I'm not planning on staying, but I'm not leaving without that necklace, and I'll fight you for it if I have to!" I regretted those last words almost as soon as I said them. "Is that so?" she asked, raising an eyebrow. "Well why didn't you just say so? Hang on, let me get the arena set up. Now don't you go anywhere," she added, flicking me on the nose condescendingly. With insufferable smugness, she sauntered out of the tent, leaving my ego and my mind to wage war against each other. How could I be that STUPID?! She would kick my flank so hard that I'd wake up and my horseshoes would be out of style! I had thoroughly painted myself into a corner, except that this corner was filled with spiders and death spikes. Me and my big fat mouth. "Hey, what happened?" asked Hazelnut, parting the flaps. "Sis looked really happy. Did you get your stuff back?" "Everything except my necklace. And now I have to fight her for it." Her expression of terror said it all. "Oh no! She'll clobber you! She's never lost a single fight that she's ever gotten in!" "Any tips or tricks?" I asked, praying that there was some way I could get out of this with my pride intact. "Other than begging for mercy? None that I can think of." Well, that's just perfect. Head hung low and tail dragging limply on the ground, I walked out of the tent, Hazelnut on my heels. I felt like I was on death row. "Hey, you!" yelled a voice from behind me. Looking over my shoulder, I noticed that same pegasus that attacked me, Gale Force I think is what Silver called him, walking towards me, only this time his face was unobscured. It became pretty clear why he had covered it up. He was probably the same age as Mr. Cake, but had a much stronger build. He wasn't exactly handsome, per se, but he wasn't ugly either. He was a rich maroon color, and had a shockingly yellow mane and tail. The one thing that stuck out at me were two very nasty scars running down the right side of his face, one directly over his eye. "You know, it's not polite to stare," he said when he noticed that my gaze was transfixed at his scars. "Oh, uh, sorry," I blurted out. "It's just that you, uh, well..." "Don't apologize, I get it a lot. Newcomers always stop and take a good long look. I've just gotten used to it. Besides, judgin' by what Silver was nattering on about, I think you've got bigger fish to fry." "She told you?" I asked nervously. "Told me? She practically announced it to the whole camp! Went around, roundin' everypony up, saying that there was going to be a fight and she needed ponies to set the arena up. You've really stepped in it, let me tell you." "Tell me about it. Just out of curiosity, why are you talking to me anyway? You were ready to tear my throat out yesterday." "Thing is, I thought that you were trying to make off with little Hazelnut over there, and that was something I could not abide. It's a good thing that Silver stopped me, but you know what they say, out of the frying pan, into the fire." "I know the feeling," I replied, starting to warm up to him. "I had three little fillies that I would take care of and play with back home, and if anypony tried to do anything with them, they'd be in for a very rough time of it." "I bet. Anyway, seeing as how you're going to be fighting Silver in there, and she has her two quick knives, I thought I may as well help you out." Reaching into his bag, he pulled out one of those weird blade contraptions that Silver had. He quickly fastened it around my right front leg, which I quickly raised to examine the thing. "How does it work?" I asked as I casually flicked my hoof to one side. Without warning, the blade shot out of its sheath and knocked me on the nose, drawing a thin, shallow scratch that stung like the dickens. "Like that," answered Gale sarcastically. "Just be sure to have it pointed AWAY from you, or your going to get worse than just a scratch." "Point taken," I said, rubbing my nose with my other hoof as I re-activated the mechanism and the blade went back in. "Thanks, by the way." "Just want this fight to last longer than five minutes. And I'll be wanting that blade back. That is, if she doesn't kill you." "Do ponies often die in there?" "It's only happened a couple of times, but it was pretty nasty. Especially the cleanup," he muttered as he walked off. Well, ain't that just a kick in the teeth.