//------------------------------// // Chapter 9 // Story: Angel of Gold // by Magna85 //------------------------------// My eyes, nose, and ears were suddenly assaulted as a fluffy pink wall appeared in my vision. My ears must be more sensitive than normal, because her voice grated on me so much that I almost had to cover them. And as for the smell, contrary to what I though she might have smelled like, she smelled like bubble-gum. Or at least, her hair did. Then I heard what must have been black speech. "Ohmygoshyou'renewtoEquestria!*gasp*Thatmeansthatyou'renewtoPonyvillewhichalsomeansthatIneedtoplanaWelcometoPonyvillepartyormaybeitshouldbeWelcometoEquestriaohwellIjustwannasayhiandaskifyoulikemeetingnewpeopleohIwanttointroducemyfriendstoyoubutPrincessCelestianeedstotalktoyouandMrScaryPantsrightthereandtheauthorisgettingirritatedsomynameisPinkiePiewhat'syours?" ... What...did I just hear? The girl in front of me was grinning broadly. Much more broadly than I thought possible. I looked towards Tim. He was staring at the pink menace, a confused expression on his face. Thankfully he did not flip out from the surprise. "Well? What's your name?" the girl spoke up again, thankfully not speaking in a foreign language. I hesitated briefly, shook my head and smiled while saying, "My name is Celedon. It's nice to meet you, um, Pinkie Pie." "Ooh, that's an interesting name! It's like Satori, but Greek!" she said. While I was focused on this insanity, the girl who had punched me before had flown forward to cover the mouth of Pinkie Pie. The girl was still talking, even through the hand of the rainbow haired girl. Slowly, the winged girl was able to drag Pinkie Pie back to their little group. Celestia and Luna blinked a few times before Celestia shook her head and said, "Anyway, Celedon, would you like to explain what I am seeing here?" I nodded and said, "Berserker, would you like to explain your position?" Tim jerked backwards, and said, "Wait what? What position?" "The fact that you were not in your right mind during the war?" I said, trying to remind him of what we had discussed. "Oh. Right," he said, sheepishly. Face, meet palm. "What? You do know that I just, like, woke up a few minutes ago, right? Don't I get a little lee-way in how much stuff I can remember in a short time?" he said, exasperated. I looked at him between my fingers, then sighed and said, "As you can see, the defendant was not in his right mind during the events one thousand years ago. I move to drop all charges, on the condition that he be allowed to prove his sanity as of current events. A second chance, if you will." Now I started to worry about one of them noticing my blatant manipulation. Also, I apparently turned into a lawyer. Celestia and Luna shared a glance, before Luna, surprisingly, came forward and said, "That is acceptable. We will give Berserker a second chance. But, as you said, he will be under a week long proving time. Any indication that he has returned to his previous mindset will result in summary sealing via Elements of Harmony." Color me shocked, that actually worked. "Huh?!" Tim said, surprised. "Th-thank you, your highness," I said, bowing. Thankfully, Tim recovered from his surprise enough to bow as I did. Literally everyone, besides the Princesses, had their mouths open in shock. "Don't thank us just yet. You still need to explain how you are able to control him," Celestia said, crossing her arms. "Your highness, I can explain that," Tim said, confident. My eyes widened at Tim's sudden surge of bravery. Here he was, under probation, and he was going to explain to royalty something that I didn't really know myself? "One, she is very shiny, so any simple minded being would automatically be attracted to her. Two, can't you just feel the kind aura emanating from her? I believe that, if she wanted to, she could control an entire army of dragons," he said. The princesses looked at each other, probably evaluating how useful a political tool I could be in that regard. Tim glanced back at me and winked. I probably would have blushed, if I could have, but not for the reason that everyone would have thought. I really need to get that cleared up with him as soon as possible. "Were you really that dull-minded without your sanity?" Luna asked. "Well, I can't really remember whatever battles you say I was in, but I do remember this overwhelmingly beautiful music breaking through my madness. It's still a little fuzzy, but all I wanted to do was listen to more of that music," Tim stated. I didn't think I did that well... "Really now?" Celestia said, intrigued. "Would I be correct to assume that Celedon was the one making this apparently wonderful music?" she asked. "Yes ma'am," Tim said. "Well then! Celedon, would you mind demonstrating?" Celestia said, smiling. I was a little paranoid that she might be testing me, but I didn't see any problem otherwise. Thus, I said, "No, I don't mind," and walked forward a few steps. I had a feeling Tim was doing this as a way to get back at me for not explaining myself to him, but whatever. I tried to remember the words that allowed me to summon that golden harp... I breathed in and said, Cithara ostendas. Again, the words hung in the air for an unnatural amount of time, before the same golden light appeared in front of me. "Oohs" and "Aahs" came from the surrounding group, and I could distinctly hear someone squeal with excitement. A quick glance confirmed that it was the girl in the purple clothing. I really need to go introduce myself to them, but I'll do that after this song. My arms once again felt like they were moving by themselves. I lifted my hands to the strings, and began to play. Light, quick notes rang out, echoing throughout the garden. My fingers plucked the strings expertly, allowing pure music to form in the air. As the song went on, I began going into the lower notes, and I could hear a few guitar chords interspersed with the harp. After a dozen seconds like this, I began to pluck a few of the higher strings with more force. A piano joined me for a few notes, before the harp returned to its solo. Guitar chords once again joined me, but my harp still rang out above them. All too soon, the song ended with the fading of my harp into silence. I had closed my eyes during the performance, and when I opened them, everyone was staring at me in awe. The Princesses obviously were more refined in their staring, but most of the guards and all of the group of girls were expressing some form of surprise or shock. A couple of the guards looked like they were about to clap, before their training kicked back in and they returned to their stoic expression. However, Princess Celestia herself began applauding, leading to everyone doing the same. During my performance, Tim must have moved closer to me, as he was sitting on the ground just a few feet away, staring up at me like before. Yet now I could see the pure awe on his face. A few seconds into the applause, I bowed deeply and the harp flashed out of existence. As I straightened back up, Celestia looked like she was trying to form words, but was still processing the music. After the applause died down, she was finally able to say, "Well, Celedon, I must say that I have never heard music of that caliber outside of professional music halls and concerts. I now do not blame Berserker for being woken up by your music." I smiled bashfully and accepted the praise with a, "Thank you," before turning back to Tim. He blinked and shook his head, coming out of the awe-inspired stupor. He looked like he was about to say something, before a blinding pain seared my head and reversed notes screamed through the air. It was unnatural, and it hurt. But then I saw it. A gigantic golden sphere, covered in feathers, floating above a snowy plain. Chimes in the air. Tim, screaming at the sphere with tears in his eyes, before throwing Arondight straight through it. Silence. Blackness. ... I was vaguely aware of someone calling for help. Huh, when did I fall down?