//------------------------------// // So, how does one go from single to four girlfriends, anyways? // Story: Aether, Heir of Chaos // by Arcane Anonymity //------------------------------// Lavender and Topsy were gobsmacked, while, as I said, Cinnamon and Dusty opted for turning red. The others... well, Pinkie nudged Topsy with her elbows in a conspiratory manner, Rarity hid her mouth behind a daintily-raised foreleg, Applejack nudged her hat upwards and decided to gawk, Twilight gasped slightly, and Fluttershy - what else - said 'oh my' at butterfly volume. Celestia was shocked, and Luna... well, she giggled. It was a 'knowing' giggle, like she could see the outcome already. Of course, I am not who and what I am by being entirely predicable, so the following... increments surprised her properly. "That's right." I said, a lot more confidently than I felt - how did I avoid stuttering at all, I don't know yet. "I could see that- well, you like me, and they like me, and I have this feeling, maybe it's my pony instincts, but I want to see where it'll take us." "Oh." "Can I treat you girls to a movie?" I smiled - it was one of the few things I could do, since my cooking skills were basic (and largely meat-related), and I didn't trust myself with complicated magic just yet. Goggles gave me the experience of a stabbing, and that was just from forcing an enchantment I actually understood. The decision to watch Kung Fu Panda was because it... it was like it resonated with them. A guy totally out of his depth, trying to find his place in the world? I wonder... who does that sound like? "What's it like?" Topsy asked. "To be, you know, changed like that." The piano started playing, as if reading my mind. Or reacting to an unconscious signal... "It's like forgetting the words to you favorite song." I didn't even feel the change into a mare. It happened suddenly. But the song's true: I had all these aches, both of old injuries and the normal soreness of the day-to-day... and they were gone. I felt some imaginary analogue of them, but that was my new chaotic powers protesting against lack of movement. I barely feel real hunger anymore, only these... echoes that remind me that I haven't eaten. I'm aware many others would have gone mad just from that - either swallowed by anxiety over their 'loss' of humanity, or a hugely-swollen ego over being a god. To me, those little reminders of humanity were a big part over my... lack of enthusiasm over living. I wasn't distant or anything on purpose, but I rarely spoke up and had a hard time reading moods. It's tiring. Still, that... blandness meant that, if I had no choice but to do something, then I'd do it. Maybe I won't like it, but I'd do it. Even if it means having to... eh, well, I'm here for a reason. Onwards. ***** Neat. Kung Fu Panda. I should point out that Fluttershy had trouble preventing herself from laughing. "He- snerk - he sounds like Rainbow Dash after getting her cutie mark!" She snorted and giggled as she bit her lip, making Dash blush and look away for a moment. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't laugh! But he does!" Even Dash couldn't keep a scowl on her face when the bar swole up, packed to the rafters with ninjas, only to explode afterwards from it. Po made... an impression. He was a little awkward, but that is just part of the charm - he's just like anyone else could be. "That's Mister Ping." I said, as Po's father was revealed to be a goose carrying something, rather than a panda. "So, his name is 'Po Ping'?" Luna asked, then smirked. "Yup, that makes his name mean 'precious peace'." "Not exactly the name of a kung-fu warrior." Dash muttered. "Is that so?" Celestia asked with a knowing smirk of her own. Lavender made an undecipherable face. Still, it was plain to see that Po wanted somethig... more. Then there's the brief scene where the Furious Five try to ambush their teacher, and he defends himself with only a flute. "Whoa." A pretty general reaction. Master Oogway reminded Twilight of Celestia herself, as she's also... odd. Harmony and focus do that to people, making them stand out when in the middle of disharmonious events. He made Topsy giggle, as he was being 'harmonious, but a total goofball all the while'. "Those waters are the 'Moon Pool'." I said, as Oogway managed to get Shifu to settle his mind to see the answers to his problems. Luna was interested. The talk about finding destiny in the path taken to avoid it reminded Celestia of the days before Nightmare Moon, as she had felt troubled by something... without realizing she had to pay more attention to Luna. Po being clumsy in the restaurant made Cinnamon and Dusty cringe a little. Pinkie's eye twitched. It was difficult not to feel for him, as he didn't have the heart to tell his father that he wanted to go to the festival-slash-tournament to enjoy it, rather than as a salesman. "Those are a lot of steps." Was the general consensus. "He's not exactly in the best of shapes." Lavender commented. Effectively, as he had to stop for a breather when he had only ascended seven steps (albeit while dragging a non-stair-friendly noddle cart packed to the top with noodles and noodle accessories). "How old is Oogway, anyways?" Dash asked, earning a smack from Rarity's tail. "I dunno, thousand plus years?" I replied, and everypony in the room turned to the princesses - and Luna turned to Celestia. As expected, only Celestia and Luna caught the meaning behind Oogway's words to Shifu about bringing peace to him right away. Twilight took a little more time, but was the first of the others to realize that the little red panda really needed to take things more calmly. Rainbow Dash was chewing on a cushion at seeing Po just barely missing everything in the tournament. She could relate, a little, to that kind of anxiety. Lavender then thought about making me train flight with a machine that spews fireworks. Topsy said she'd provide the fireworks. Tigress was about to face her opponent, when Oogway 'sensed' the Dragon Warrior among them. "It is hard to believe he is cut to be a warrior." Rarity commented. "A little, maybe, but just look at the lot of you." I said, and Fluttershy curled up behind her mane. "Don't be like that, you know you're great to be a heroine precisely because you started so small." "Indeed." Celestia smiled warmly - seriously, I think she was heating the place. When the fireworks rocket-chair failed to ignite and Po fell down, defeated, it was almost painful to be around so many sad mares. Then they do go off, and stuff happens. They thought Shifu was being too mean, even if he had reasons to doubt that Po could solve their 'problem'. The scene with the prison was... situably intimidating. One thousand guards, a huge cavernous prison, and crossbows everywhere? And then Tai Lung snatches a feather. "I don't think Oogway meant the destiny thing as that... immediate." Topsy said, while everypony else grimaced. Still, Po fanboy-ign over everything in the Hall of Heroes was funny, specially managing to cut himself by looking at a sword. I did feel a little uneasy; maybe it's just that dang sharp. More Shifu 'meany-ness', and the princesses were reminded of a few... messy spells. The training scene was impressive, and Lavender joked about taking the fire field and using it to train the Day guards that are a little... less that active. Then Po managed to get sent flying into every training exercise in the hall and get pummeled and set on fire for good measure. The night scene was disheartening, but Oogway- "He can see right through everything, can't he?" Dusty said, as she, Cinnamon, Lavender and Twilight looked at Celestia. The girls remembered the thing with the paper planes, smiling... Tai Lung breaks out in an impressive display of skill, strength, and ruthlessness. The creepy tenderness he used to smooth the goose's feathers made them shiver. The morning training was hard to watch, but Celestia, Luna and Lavender looked oddly proud at seeing Po's determination. The group sees that Viper is the most sympathetic, and Mantis is also a little understanding. Tai Lung's backstory made Celestia cry. I am grateful that she only learned of Sunset Shimmer's alternate's situation after that, or else she would have felt even worse - she knew just how bad things could turn out, having lived through many nights where she worried about being a good teacher to Twilight and the other students of her school. It broke her heart, seeing Shifu having to fight Tai Lung, since it was too much like her having to fight one of the many foals she mentored - Twilight being the most like a daughter to her. Again, I am thankful that Sunset Shimmer in this world is both one of Twilight's contemporaries, and just a unicorn with a few attitude issues. Celestia has given her a lot of time, too, although not on the level she has Twilight. Everypony just embraced Celestia, Luna and Twilight the hardest out of them. The following scenes, with Oogway, were uplifting, then bittersweet as the old turtle vanished. Twilight and Lavender took it hard. The kitchen scene was funny, reminding Celestia and Luna of pony sages that manage to use their own magic - and that of the environment - to replace calories. Po admitting that he doesn't like being himself hit them hard. This is a species that has incredible revelations about themselves at Elementary school age. Also, Troubleshoes is literally against the show's own Canon; an impossibility inside a contradiction, and in this world, a changeling that was in charge of caring for the young that got hopelessly lost in Equestria with only a bare minimum of knowledge about it. (And really terrible luck.) The scene where Po trashes the kitchen with surprisingly-good moves was enlightening. Celestia knew what to do then. Then there was the trek to the Pool of Sacred Tears, and the mood started going back upwards. And then Po gets good, like, really, really good. Celestia approved, smiling widely. When Po gets the final dumpling, only to discard it, it was a sign of confidence and of stopping using food as an emotional crutch. The battle at the bridge was amazing, but Tai Lung just had more tricks up his sleeve. The girls were happy that Shifu and Po were getting along, but the state of the Furious Five was sobering. At first the scene with the scroll was building up the tension, then it got confusing... but, strangely, Rainbow Dash was able to get it the fastest, just a second ahead of Celly and Lulu's own looks of comprehension. Shifu's willingness to sacrifice himself to give the others the chance to escape stung Celestia. Deep. She wouldn't have allowed Twilight to go after Nightmare Moon if she could have helped it, but she didn't want to risk something worse happening if she had faced the crazed mare. Heck, the only reason she allowed Twilight to go after Sombra in this world was because I managed to convince her that Sombra would react quite strongly if he so much as felt either sister getting closer. Although my... insurance, including my ability to disregard distance, helped her make that decision. The realization, about the truth of the scroll, was a little surprising. Rainbow couldn't believe that a noodle cook had that kind of secret special wisdom nugget... neither could a few of them, but Cinnamon was reminded of her parents, and Celly and Lulu nodded sagely. The last battle between master and student had them hold their breaths. Again, certain ponies took it the hardest... Po arrives to save the day, though, and the ensuing battle had them cheering on the guy. "Tai Lung can't get it." I said. "All his life had been built around having others validate it, so something like that was too much - he rejected that." The last scene with Shifu made them cry... until they realized he wasn't going to die, that is. ***** The girls thanked me for sharing that. Twilight even let the book thing go, for the time being, saying that maybe I should get settled some more. It helped that I gave her a few books, although they would only last a day or so. Still, Cinnamon asked if I really wanted... well, you know. I just... felt it all fit, you know? I'm no Cadence, but I had this... feeling that we all fit with each other. We do, by the way. I should sleep. Although I'm due for a few visits before that.