XXX Four Days after Transformation XXX
27 stirred and growled in pain. Her eyes slowly opened and shortly after, her HUD came up with a message.
Transformation complete!
Multiple minor injuries and Reactor Breach sustained to reactor, SELF-REPAIR has been successful in repairing all injuries and Reactor Breach has been secured by using scavenged parts…
All abilities (Teleportation, Active Camouflage, Auto-Sentry, And Promethean Vision) and scanners (Offensive and Defensive) are at 100% operational…
Warning: Weapons (Binary Rifle, Suppresser, and Hardlight Blades) are unavailable in this form…
27 sighed, her insides felt like they were ripped out, rearranged, and forcefully put back inside her… Oh wait… that is exactly what happened…
27 tried to stand on her new appendages, only to have a tidal-wave of pain hit her mind. She groaned in pain and fell back down to the dirt. 27 growled in frustration.
‘Come on 27, up… UP!’ she demanded herself. She placed her hooves under her and pushed up. The pain was excruciating, but she banished the pain from her mind, she had faced hoards of darkness, she will not be taken down by this pain. She has felt worse after all.
She stood up to her new height of 4 feet, 8 inches, and the pains of a new body then became tolerable, thankfully. 27 turned to observe her new features, and took in the sight.
She had a steel grey coat. Her main was messy and short, and slightly darker then her coat, but with a thick red stripe running down her mane. Her tail though was long, but not long enough to touch the ground, thankfully, and it also had the same thick red stripe as before. 27 lifted a hoof and felt the top of her head, her horn was there and was sharper than most. 27 moved her hoof down her face to her left eye, and sure enough, the scar was still there. But at least, it was the only scar that made the transition. She also didn’t have one of those marks on her flank like the other ponies, this mark most likely important, so she decided to get one soon as well.
27 sighed. The pain had subsided exponentially, but it still lingered in the back of her mind. 27 turned around to face the mound where her ships hatch was located, and spent the next half hour moving dirt over the hatch. 27 then turned to leave the forest and began to walk to Ponyville.
27 walked past the foliage, feeling it brush up against her new fur, and the humidity, all feeling things she had never felt in a long time. The only thing she could feel was pain when in her promethean form, only because the Forerunners kept her mind, spine, and nervous system. That was all that the Forerunners let her keep. But now, she can feel the heat, the cool breeze, the grim foliage brushing against her. She grinned; she has been waiting too long for this.
27 cleared the forest and found the main road and continued to walk on it. 27’s grin turned to a smile when a realization hit her. The war, her war, was finally over. The Flood is gone forever and is finally extinct. Maybe this world could be her new home. She could then claim her reward promised to her by the Forerunners: an end to strife and everlasting peace.
27’s smile faded away. Everlasting peace, there is no such thing. Besides she is now an instrument of war, even in this form, her HUD gave that clear evidence. So what does a soldier do in this situation? 27 didn’t know. She sighed.
‘One thing at a time…’ 27 thought and continued her march to Ponyville.
XXX ten minutes later XXX
27 stood on top of a hill overlooking the town, surveying the sight. A breeze tugged at her fur, as if urging her forward. So she tugged on. As soon as 27 walked up to the first set of houses, 27 spotted a pink mare, the same pink mare that helped the others beat the unidentified creature. 27 walked up to the mare to put her observation and communication skills to the test. 27 was no more than six meters away when the pink mare spotted 27, and gasped, closing the gap in a second.
“Hello!” the pink mare greeted with a warm smile. 27 recoiled at the mare’s speed.
“Um… hello” 27 replied, but quickly recovered and smiled back.
“My name is Pinkie Pie! You must be new here, because I know everypony and I mean everypony!” she exclaimed and was about to go on a rant until 27’s chuckle cut her off.
“Well Pinkie Pie, it’s my pleasure to meet you. My name is 27” 27 extended a hoof. Pinkie’s smile grew and she took 27’s hoof and shook it.
“27? Not the oddest name I have heard, and I have heard a lot of weird names!” she said. 27 chuckled again.
“I bet…” 27 said, grinning.
“So why are you here? Are you on a business trip? Oh! Are you visiting family or long lost friends?” Pinkie questioned. 27 shook her head.
“No, I’m just a soldier looking for a place to settle down” 27 said, not seeing any point in hiding that bit of information. Pinkie went ‘oh’.
“So you’re looking for a place to retire?” she asked. 27 nodded her head.
“Yes… A place to call home” 27 said with a smile. Pinkie smiled and seemed to become overjoyed.
“Okay, do you have a place to stay?” she asked. 27 shook her head.
“Not yet…” 27 sighed.
“Well… I do know Vinyl and Octavia are looking for a new roommate, and Lyra and Bonbon might have room for you too. Or you could build your own home here, but that cost a lot of bits!” Pinkie informed her. 27 smiled and nodded.
“Thank you for the information! I will be sure to check out the locations” 27 said.
“Oh! One more question!” Pinkie exclaimed, “Ice cream or cake?” 27 was confused, she knew what these treats were, but why would… oh… 27 smiled.
“Surprise me” 27 said with a grin. Pinkie’s smile grew large.
“Okie Dokie Lokie!” she proclaimed, and zoomed off. 27 then realized she never got directions to Vinyl and Octavia’s or Lyra and Bonbon’s home. She was about to shout to Pinkie, before she turned around and returned.
“Vinyl and Octavia’s home is at the North East edge of town, you can’t miss it! Lyra and Bonbon’s home is actually in a two story shop called Sweetie Drops on the main street, again, can’t miss it! By for now!” and with that, Pinkie zoomed off again, leaving 27 both confused and pleased. 27 then laughed after reflecting on what just transpired. She was then shocked.
‘I laughed… I just laughed! Oh ancestors that felt so good!’ 27 thought with a smile. God, this must be what it’s like to be alive again. It felt good. 27 watched Pinkie run off and around the corner and out of sight. 27 then turned and began to walk down the main street.
“This might be better than I thought” 27 said as a small grin etched on her face as she entered the heart of the town.
As she walked down the road she had received odd looks, but most of which were warm and welcoming. 27’s head looked from right to left, looking for the shop Pinkie Pie described. Her HUD then flashed a proximity warning.
“LOOK OUT LADY!” a high pitched voice called out. 27’s combat subroutines engaged war emergency power, and jumped to face the voice, ready for combat, only to be greeted by a sight she didn’t expect.
Three children, or fillies, were rocketing at her. The first was on a scooter, and bore an orange coat and a dark pink, almost purple, main and tail. Her small wings outstretched to create drag to stop the scooter. The other two were on a red wagon being pulled by the scooter. The one in the front of the wagon was also a girl, a unicorn, and had a white coat with a neatly curled pink and purple main, her green eyes wide in horror. And the last filly was female as well, but an earth pony, and bore a tan coat and crimson main and tail, with a large pink bow tied to her head.
27 had three choices: one; allow them to run her over, two; jump out of the way and let them pass, or three; run the risk of getting hit by an estimated combined weight of 165 pound going at 23 KPH and catch them. She had 2.3 second to decide.
27 made her choice. She grounded her rear hoofs and stood up on them, her front hoofs out stretched in front of her. The scooter slammed into 27 with all its might and 27 didn’t budge, but the filly on the scooter hit her head on 27’s soft chest and fell on her hunches.
“Ow…” the orange filly groaned. Concern crossed 27’s face and she got back on all fours. She reached out a hoof to the fallen filly.
“Are you okay?” 27 asked. The pony nodded and stood up with 27’s help.
“Yeah… sorry about that lady…” she said in shame, looking down. 27 couldn’t help but smile.
“No harm has been done… by the way, my name is 27, not Lady” she said, a small amount of humor evident in her voice. The filly looked up at 27, confused.
“27? What kind of a name is that?” she said. 27 chuckled.
“An odd one” she replied, “So… do you mind telling me what just happened?”
“Scooter’s brake broke…” the white filly answered, as she and the other filly finally recovered and hopped out of the scooter. 27 turned her attention to the other two fillies as they joined the other in a line.
“Are you two all right?” 27 asked.
“I’m fine” the white filly said.
“Ah am good” the tan one answered, and 27 took notice to her ascent.
“Good… now what are your names, and were you three doing when the scooter broke?” 27 asked.
“My name is Sweetie Bell!” the white one exclaimed.
“Scootaloo!” the orange pony said.
“And ah am Apple Bloom! And we were serch’en for our Cutie Marks!” the tan one proclaimed. 27 arched an eyebrow.
“Mind telling me what a Cutie Mark is?” 27 asked. The three fillies gasped.
“You don’t know what a Cutie Mark is?” Sweetie Bell asked as the others gasped. 27 shook her head.
“I don’t” she replied.
“A Cutie Mark is a symbol on someponies flank that represents their special talent!” Apple Bloom stated.
“How don’t you know that?” Scootaloo asked.
“Let’s just say I’m not from around here” 27 suggested. The three girls looked confused and looked at each other for conformation between each other before looking back at 27.
“But… don’t you have a Cutie Mark?” Apple Bloom asked. 27 shook her head.
“No, I don’t” 27 said, beginning to worry where this line of questions will end up.
“Why? Somepony as old as you should have a Cutie Mark!” Sweetie Bell said. 27 smiled, but not out of joy, but to hide her sadness.
“Well… I couldn’t explore for my special talent when I was your age because I was very busy” 27 said, lying down to get to their eye level.
“Busy with what?” Scootaloo asked.
‘War…’ 27 wanted to answerer truthfully, she hated lying to anyone, but she felt that she had too. 27 smiled.
“Now that is a story for another time young one” 27 said, hoping that they would drop the painful subject. The girls ‘aw’, causing 27 to chuckle, they have much to learn. 27 looked back at the fallen scooter and stood up to inspect it. 27 found the bake has been tightened to the point it won’t respond. She turned to the fillies.
“Did you tamper with your own brake?” 27 asked, turning to Scootaloo. She shook her head franticly.
“No, but we replaced the old brake with a new one” she explained. 27 nodded.
“I see, but your problem was the brake is on too tight, making the brake stiff and unresponsive…”
“What is un- unresponsive?” Apple Bloom asked. 27 sighed.
“It means that it can’t work properly” 27 said, “If you just loosen it, the brake will work just fine…”
“Told you…” Sweetie bell said to Apple Bloom, who smiled oddly and looked anywhere but make eye contact. 27 chuckled.
“It isn’t your fault, you didn’t know what you were doing” 27 said, she then reached down and twisted the bolt with her hoof. It was difficult without her claws, but she did it, and moved the scooter to give its brakes a test. The test was successful and 27 gave the fillies their scooter and wagon back.
“There we go… all fixed. Now you best get moving back to your families before they begin to worry” 27 said, but not as a suggestion, for one reason or another to the fillies, it had the air of an order, an order they need to follow. The fillies nodded, and hopped in the wagon and scooter.
“Thanks 27 for the fix, and we will!” Scootaloo said, “After we get our Cutie Marks!” she then proclaimed. Then, all three lifted their hoofs and yelled:
“GO, CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS, YAY!” and with that, they were off. 27 laughed at the fillies antics; truly they were a sight to behold. Now, she need to get back on task and carry out her objective and find the Sweetie Drops store. 27 walked down the street, now receiving much warmer expressions and smiles from the groups of ponies that witnessed her deed, even receiving the occasional ‘good afternoon’. 27 would acknowledge others by returning the greeting or nodding in their direction.
27 smiled as she walked down the street, today was the best in her life thus far! The ponies were nice but kept to themselves, the community was small, and they were ready to hand out complements to her. They were so polite as well! 27 has never been treated like this, but then again, they think she is just another unicorn, when she is really a weapon of mass destruction with sentience.
27 was lost in her thought to the point she almost passed the store she had spent the last ten minutes searching for. The shop looked almost no different than the other two story houses that lined the street, the only thing giving it away was a large sign giving its position away. 27 crossed the street and opened the door.
DING!
The door’s bell sounded off as she entered. 27 looked around the interior to find to her right was a long glass counter, displaying a multitude of delicious looking chocolates and sweets, behind it was a desk with a cash register and some papers with a quill. At the far end on the side with the desk and behind the counter was a door. The door swung open to revile a white earth pony with dark blue main and tail with a thick, rose colored stripe running down them both.
“Hello!” the mare called out to 27. She hopped up and placed her front hoofs on the counter.
“I’m Bonbon” she introduced herself, “I own this shop, do you need any help picking out chocolates for a lover, or are you here at your own leisure?” 27 chuckled.
“Neither, I’m afraid…” 27 said, and stood on the other side of the counter, face to face with Bonbon. “I am actually here because someone- somepony told me you and a ‘Lyra’ was looking for a new roommate?”
“Ah!” Bonbon exclaimed with a smile “I take it Pinkie told you this?” 27 cocked her head to the side a little.
“How did you know?” 27 asked. Bonbon laughed.
“It is something Pinkie would do” she started, “We are not only looking for a new roommate, but I am also looking for a new employee. You see, Lyra has a job playing harp and guitar at this bar while I work this shop alone at the same time she works”
“I just need somepony to manage the register while I make the chocolate in back” Bonbon explained. 27 nodded, knowing where she was getting at. Bonbon leaned forward a little.
“Before we think about letting you move in, Lyra and I would actually like to get to know you better!” she exclaimed. 27 nodded.
“I don’t see any harm in that…” 27 said. Bonbon smiled.
“Great!” she said, smiling, “I’ll get Lyra, you just find a place to sit, and I’ll be right back” with that, the pony turned and walked out through the same door she entered. 27 turned around to find that the wall behind her was lined with booths, specifically built to hold a pony’s frame. 27 moved to the closest one and sat in the booth facing away from the entrance. It didn’t take long for Bonbon to return, this time with a friend.
Her friend, Lyra 27 presumed, was a mint colored unicorn. Her hair was as messy as 27’s, as well as her tail, both of which were a mint color with white accents. 27 watched the two mares sit on the opposite side of her, Lyra on the right, Bonbon on the left.
“Hi, I’m Lyra” the mint unicorn said. 27 smiled.
“Hello Lyra, Bonbon… My name is 27” she said. Lyra grinned with amusement as Bonbon looked confused.
“27? That is your name? That’s odd…” Bonbon asked. 27 chuckled.
“I get that a lot” she said with a smile.
“Okay… what are you good at?” Bonbon asked.
“Well… for starters I am a good fighter. I used to be a soldier, now I am just looking for a place to call home” 27 started, then frowned “unfortunately, I have been separated from society for a long time, so I don’t know what is normal or odd for ponies. But, I am an extraordinary quick learner and a good leader, so that is hopefully something…”
“Okay…” Bonbon said, taking what 27 said into consideration.
“What do you think about fillyfoolers?” Lyra asked out of the blue. This question seemed to make Bonbon recoil for one reason or another. 27 adopted a confused look.
“Excuse me?” 27 asked. Bonbon became worried.
“I’m sorry about Lyra; it was rude of her to-”
“It’s quite alright, but…” 27’s confused look came back, “What is a fillyfooler?” the two mares were silent for a full thirteen seconds.
“You don’t know?” Lyra asked.
“What is it?” 27 pushed, becoming curious.
“A fillyfooler is a mare that loves other mares” Bonbon said. 27 chuckled, much to the relief of the two mares.
“I get it now, are you two in a relationship?” 27 asked.
“Well…” Lyra began, before looking down to hide an obvious blush “Yeah…” 27 laughed, causing both mares to look at 27 in confusion.
“There is nothing to be ashamed of! You two love each other, right?” 27 asked.
“Well yeah, but-” Bonbon started.
“Then don’t let me stop you…” 27 interrupted, smiling at the couple “I am glad you two are so fond of each other, so I won’t stand in your way…”
“Thank you” she said. 27 nodded.
“Did I answer all your questions?” 27 asked. Lyra shook her head.
“Not yet, just a few more” Lyra said.
“What are your magical abilities or spells that you know?” Bonbon asked. 27 leaned forwarded a little.
“Well, I only know a few, but they are handy for combat and scouting, not for a shop in town…”
“Mind telling us what they are anyway?” Lyra asked. 27 shrugged.
“Sure… I can teleport extreme distances if I know where I’m going, I can summon a small drone, go invisible, some personal shield spells, Some telekinesis, I can detect movement from 75 meters away, and I can summon weapons” 27 said. The couples eyes were wide, amazed at her magical ability.
“I only know levitation and minor manipulation spells, were did you study these spells?” Lyra asked.
“I was taught them when I was a soldier” 27 said.
“Soldier, were you in a war?” Lyra asked. 27’s smile and happy demeanor faded away. She looked down, trying to avoid eye contact and slumped back in her seat.
“Yeah… I was…” 27 said.
“How long of a war, and which one?” Lyra continued asking. 27 remained silent as she unconsciously raised her hoof and traced the long scar over her right eye.
“Too long…” 27 mumbled. Lyra finally got the hint that this was a personal topic, and backed down.
“Sorry… It’s just the Royal Guard are usually open about their past and battles…” Lyra said, looking down, “I’m sorry” 27 looked back up with a sad smile, but the memory of the graveyard of ships still lingered in her mind. How many died because of the war? How many screamed her name before perishing? How many dead?
The number is literally incalculable…
“You didn’t know” 27 said, “My turmoil is my own… I will learn to live with my choices” 27 sighed, and donned an honest smile.
“But the past is behind me forever, it won’t be a problem…”
“Okay… One more question…” Bonbon said, and turned to Lyra with a warm smile. Lyra looked up and smiled back, and nodded to her partner. Bonbon looked back at 27, and gave her the same warm smile.
“When can you move in?” she asked. 27’s smile grew a little.
“Now actually…”
“You can move in now?” Lyra asked “But, don’t you have any belongings?” 27 shook her head.
“Not even one bit?” Lyra asked.
“Not even one bit…” 27 said, “I didn’t get paid during the war…”
“Why?”
“I didn’t want the money because I never thought I would use or need it” 27 said. The two mares looked at each other in confusion, exchanging glances, before looking back at 27.
“So you could move in at this moment?” Lyra asked. 27 nodded in conformation, and Bonbon smiled.
“Then why don’t we show you to your room?” she stated, then gestured 27 to follow. 27 and Lyra got out of the booth to follow Bonbon up the set of stairs to the upstairs. The stairs led up to what 27 assumed was the living room. In the center of the room was a couch facing a fireplace and in between the two was a coffee table. They passed it and entered a hallway to the right and entered the first door to the right.
The room was small, with a snug looking bed in the far corner with a night stand baring a candle. Against the left wall was a bookshelf, filled to the brim with books. And next to the door was a desk with another candle on it sitting next to paper and an ink well. The window at the opposite side of the room overlooked the main street outside.
“This actually used to be the guest room, but I guess it’s yours now” Bonbon stated. 27 nodded and walked in the room, taking it in.
“Thank you, but when do I begin work?” 27 asked.
“Today is Friday and the shop just closed, so after the weekend and Nightmare Night is over” Bonbon answered.
“Me and Bonbon need to run some errands 27, so just make yourself at home” Lyra said. 27 nodded with a smile.
“I’ll be here” 27 said. The two nodded and closed the door behind them. With her advanced hearing, 27 heard them walk down the stairs and exit the building. 27 sighed and sat on her hunches on the bed.
‘Getting a place to stay was easier than I thought it would be' 27 thought. 27 looked to the bookshelf and looked at the books and began to read the titles. Daring Do: and the Quest for the Sapphire Stone was a book that took her attention. 27 got up and grabbed the book and turned to the first page.
‘This seems interesting’ she thought, and began to read the book, ‘Daring Do and the Quest for the Sapphire Stone, by: A.K. Yearling …’
XXX 3 hours latter XXX
27 set the book on the table after reading it for the fifth time with a grin. She rather enjoyed the book, the author, A.K. Yearling had talent. She looked in her H.U.D to look up the local time, 7:04. She looked out the window to see the sun nearly kissing the horizon. 27 sighed.
‘I wonder if Lyra and Bonbon would mind if I would go explore the town a bit…’ 27 thought. She shrugged and walked up to her desk and reached for the quill, only to hit a metaphorical wall.
‘Right, no claws…’ 27 thought. She sighed, and grabbed the quill with her mouth. Writing in standard was hard with a mouth, but she managed.
Went for some fresh air, will return soon…
-27
27 put the quill back in the ink well, careful so not to spill it. She picked up the note with her mouth and walked toward the door. She nearly flew down the steps and left the note on the counter, and left through the front door.
As she walked onto the street, she realized that the street was empty. No one- No pony- was out. How odd.
27 shrugged it off and began to walk down the road. Still, not one pony in sight. 27 looked from left to right at the empty homes and shops, none of which looked touched or damaged. That was when a scream pierced the silence of the road.
27’s training kicked in and activated her combat sensors. She sprinted to the west, the direction of the scream. Sprinting at full speed, she made it to the Ponyville Park in less than minute, a 312 meter dash. She skidded to a halt at the top of a nearby hill to overlook an odd sight.
It looked like half the town was here in the park, each one fighting each other.
‘Ancestors, it’s like the worlds largest bar-fight down there…’ 27 thought. A Pegasus then took to the sky from the middle of the carnage, carrying something in her mouth. The object that this Pegasus was carrying seemed to grab the attention of the mob on the ground. 27 engaged her 10x magnification, and was surprised as to what it was.
It was a doll in poor condition, parts of its main was gone, and patches of its coat were mismatched.
‘Half the town is fighting for THAT!’ 27 thought, disgusted. Out of habit, 27 scanned the area.
Warning!
Unknown energy signature detected around the doll!
27 slouched and sighed.
‘You’re shitting me…’ 27 thought grimly. This is getting old, fast. 27 turned her attention back to the grey and yellow Pegasus with the doll. Two more Pegasus rose out of the crowd to intercept the doll carrier. The doll carrier spotted the danger, and sped out of the way, but the other two were faster, almost too fast, and the three Pegasus slammed into each other, sending the doll flying. 27 tracked the dolls trajectory, and watched it fall to the ground less than a meter from 27.
27 arched an eyebrow and plucked the doll from the ground with her hoof. As she lifted it from the ground, the doll made a squeak, much like a dog’s chew toy. She turned it face up to observe it’s details, and she remembered. This doll reminded her of the one that bounced off her hull so long ago…
‘It feels like yesterday the war ended’ 27 thought, ‘D-did we even win? I mean yes, we fired the Halos, the flood is dead and gone, but what about the other races? The Humans, the Sangheili, the Lekgolo… were they even saved?’ 27 sighed; this was not the time for these types of thoughts.
“THAT UNICORN HAS THE DOLL! GET HER!” a female roared over the crowd. This snapped 27 out of her trance and looked up to the crowd, now trying to reach her. 27 did the only logical thing in this situation, she ran with the doll in her mouth.
27 spun around, sprinting at max speed, her powerful hoofs pulling her forward and out running the crowd. But a shadow loomed over her head. 27 looked up to see a blue Pegasus with a rainbow mane and tail looking at her sternly.
“Listen up!” the mare said “You can give me that doll the easy way or the hard way!” 27 arched an eyebrow.
“Why do you want it?” 27 asked, oddly muffled by the doll. The Pegasus’ patience was running thin, she could see that, but she answered anyway.
“So we can take it to Twilight to un-enchant it!” she yelled. Un-enchant, is she serious? But this mare is her only lead. She nodded, and jumped, taking the rainbow manned mare by surprise.
“What are you-!?” she exclaimed, but never got to finish as she was engulfed in a bright flash of light.
XXX
27 and the Pegasus with a rainbow mane rematerialized in an ally way. The Pegasus touched down as 27 walked to the edge of the house and peered around the corner. She peeked around for any pony. Seeing nopony, she spat the doll on the ground and turned to the Pegasus.
“What’s your name?” she asked. The rainbow Pegasus scowled.
“You’re asking me that now?” she asked.
“Well what do I call you then? Do I need to come up with a nickname?” 27 asked with a grin. The Pegasus sighed.
“It’s Rainbow Dash…” she said. 27 smiled.
“Well then Rainbow Dash, mind telling me why the whole town wants that?” 27 asked, gesturing to the doll, but Rainbow Dash avoided looking at it for too long. She looked at 27 oddly.
“You’re not affected by the ‘want it-need it’ spell?” Rainbow Dash asked. 27 didn’t know what this spell was, but assumed it would be best to play along for now.
“I guess I am…” 27 replied smiling, but as quickly as the smile appeared, it disappeared, “We need to dispose of this hellish thing… you said you had a plan?” 27 asked as she picked up the doll.
“We need to get that thing to Twilight, she can reverse the spell” Rainbow Dash said with unmatched determination. 27 looked at her in a new light, and nodded.
“All right… lead the way” 27 said, and she smiled.
“Try and keep up!” Rainbow Dash challenged, and took off. 27 just sighed, turned, and followed the Pegasus. She wished she still had her wings.
Rainbow Dash flew a good two whole meters above the deck, and she led 27 through the town with wild gestures and sharp turns. 27 did keep pace with her, but by sprinting at her fullest, and 27 began to wonder how fast Rainbow Dash could go. Rainbow Dash then took a left at a road that led them back to the park 27 originally got the doll. 27 followed closely behind, head lowered as to hide the doll in her mouth to the best of her ability.
Rainbow Dash led 27 to the top of a nearby hill, where a tree stood alone, as if a silent sentinel. At the base of the tree were five other ponies, all of them were the same ones who took out that odd creature. 27 ran up to them with Rainbow Dash to her right as she landed for the final three meters.
“We got it!” she exclaimed to her allies on the hill who looked back with smiles on their faces, until their eyes landed on 27, who looked around, seeking for any threats. 27 spat the toy out of her maw, and it landed at twilight’s hoofs.
“Rainbow Dash said one of you could fix this?” 27 said. The velvet unicorn who 27 noticed as Twilight got up to the doll quickly. Her main was unruly and she bore an expression of panic.
“I can! Oh, I just need to before sundown!” she exclaimed, but the stetson warring mare beside her looked worried, and pointed to the horizon.
“Ah, Twi’, I think it’s too late” she said. 27 looked to where the pony pointed just in time to see the sun disappear behind the mountains. 27 momentarily wondered why it was so imperative that they fix this situation as if it were on a time table, but she didn’t need to wonder long.
“TWILIGHT SPARKLE!” a female voice boomed from the heavens. 27’s head shot up to a bright flash of light above her head. From the center of the nearly blinding light was a pony with a set of wings and a horn. Her white coat almost blended in with the light, and her flowing main and tail reminded her of a nebula, neatly arranged into lines of pink, blue, and green. A golden crown and chest plate, along with her composure made her status clear.
‘An Alicorn!’ 27 thought, completely surprised. Why would someone as important as her come down here? That was when 27 realized something, the way her mouth was twisted into a frown and her eyes seemingly burning through Twilight. This Alicorn was upset, and that may prove to be an understatement.
“Whoa, Nellie” the stetson warring orange pony stated, then taking her hat and pressing it against her chest as a sign of respect to the Alicorn. That was when the Alicorn’s horn was incased in a golden light, and the light around her seemed to intensify until it was so bright that 27’s HUD had to darken itself so she could see, but even then she had trouble. As soon as it became too much, the light disappeared, reviling the ponies of Ponyville stunned and dazed, but out of the spells influence, and soon, they dispersed to their homes.
As soon as they were gone the alabaster Alicorn landed before the six ponies and 27. The Alicorn looked down on Twilight with a frown. Ten painful seconds of silence later, the Alicorn finally spoke.
“Meet me in the Library” she said, and took off for the said destination. Twilight sighed, and looked down in shame as her friends came up around her, all with concerned expressions, but 27 hung back, wanting to observe the outcome.
“Good bye, girls” Twilight said with a sorrowful note, she turned back to face them with tears welling up in her eyes.
“If you care to visit, I’ll be in magic kindergarten…” she continued, and turned to leave “back in Canterlot” and then she left in the same direction the Alicorn did with her head low. When she was out of earshot, her friends turned to each other with concern.
“Magic Kindergarten?” a Butterscotch Pegasus asked in sadness and confusion.
“Canterlot?” Rainbow Dash asked her friends.
“We’re never gonna see Twilight again!” Pinkie exclaimed, panic smeared across her face. She sat down, and placed her face in her front hoofs. 27 couldn’t help but feel sorry for them as the stetson warring pony came up to pinkie and placed a hoof on her shoulder.
“What are we gonna do, y’all?” she asked. That was when the white pony with the neat purple mane lost it.
“Of all the worst things that could happen, this is the WORST… POSSIBLE... THING!!!” she exclaimed throwing her hoofs in the air. 27 recoiled, al little extreme, don’t you think? Apparently her friends had the same idea, and gave her odd looks.
“What?” she questioned, “I really mean it this time…” she said with a small smile, the others just shook their heads.
“We need to convince her to have Twilight stay!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed, trying to get her friends back on topic. The orange mare frowned.
“How?” she asked. Rainbow Dash shrugged sadly.
“I don’t know how, but we need to!” she said with determination. 27 grinned a little, and stepped forward.
“Then tell her” 27 said, gaining the groups attention, “Tell her why she should stay, and why she is so important to you all…”
“What are you still doing here?” Pinkie asked with concern, “You should go home and rest” 27 smiled.
“And miss this?” she asked with a small grin.
“I’m sorry, but who are ya?” the orange pony asked. 27 smiled.
“Names latter, first, you have a friend to save” she said, and gestured to the direction of the library. Rainbow Dash perked up and began to hover.
“That mare’s right! Come on everypony, we got a pony to save!” she said, and took off to the library with unmatched speed. The others stood and took off after her, 27 hot on their tail, wanting to see the outcome of her very small push.
XXX
Rainbow Dash was the first to the door, fiddling with the handle with everypony else behind her catching up at an alarming rate. She flung open the door and barreled through. 27 was directly behind the group, just now running into the library.
“Wait!” she exclaimed, jumping in between Twilight and the Alicorn.
“You can’t punish her!” Pinkie Pie yelled, running with the others.
“It wasn’t her fault!” the orange pony said. 27 stayed behind and closed the door quietly behind her and stood against the wall, out of the way.
“I’m listening…” the Alabaster Alicorn said, raising an eyebrow. She briefly looked up to 27, who was sitting against the wall with a small, nearly unnoticeable smile.
“Please, your highness, we all saw Twilight was upset…” the Butterscotch pony started, but other Pegasus picked the ball.
“But we thought that the thing that she was worrying about wasn’t worth worrying about…” Rainbow Dash said with a frown.
“So when she ran off all worked up, not a single one of us tried to stop her!” the stetson pony added, looking down in shame.
“As Twilight’s good friends, we should have taken her feelings seriously and been there for her!” the white unicorn said, shaking her head.
“Please don’t take her away from us just because she we were too insensitive to help her!” the butterscotch Pegasus said, looking down. The Alicorn looked around at the group of ponies that she towered over, all of whom looked down at the ground or at her with pleading eyes. The Alabaster pony looked back to 27, her smile now slightly larger than before. The Alicorn’s fake but surprisingly well conceived scowl was replaced with an honest smile.
“Looks like you all learned a pretty valuable lesson today…” she said, addressing the group, who nodded to their princess.
“Mm-hmm” they all hummed.
“Very well, I’ll forget Twilights punishment… on one condition…” the Alicorn said as she easily leapt over them and landed near 27.
“Anything!” The group exclaimed, wanting desperately to keep their friend.
“From this day forth, I would like you all to report to me your findings on the magic of friendship, when- and only when- you happen to discover them” The Alicorn decreed, looking specifically at twilight for the last bit. The mares cheered in victory, their friend was staying!
27 watched the Alicorn turn to her, and she felt a lump form in her thought. But she swallowed it when she saw the smile on her face.
“Did you have a hoof in this little pony?” she asked. 27 smiled back.
“No, but I did give them a small nudge” 27 said, then raised an eyebrow; “You weren’t really going to punish Twilight, were you?” The Alicorn’s smile grew.
“No, but they didn’t know that” she said. 27 chuckled.
“I suppose not…” she said.
“So what is your name, little pony?” she asked. 27 gave a slight bow.
“27, at your service your highness” she said. The Alabaster Alicorn raised an eyebrow.
“27? That’s-”
“-An odd name?” 27 finished for her with a smile. The Alicorn chuckled.
“Indeed… well, I best be off 27, do keep an eye on the six girls, they can be quite a hoof-full” she said with a grin. 27 nodded.
“I will do my best” 27 said with a small smile. The Alicorn smiled and nodded, then turned, and walked up the stairs. 27 assumed she went up there to get to an elevated platform to take off. Twilight however had other ideas, as she then took off after her.
“Princess Celestia, wait!” She called out. 27 smiled.
‘So that was Celestia?’ 27 thought, ‘I thought she would be taller...’ She then chuckled at her own jest, and decided to follow Twilight and her friends up the steps.
“How did you know I was in trouble?” Twilight asked Celestia who was now standing on the railing of the landing platform.
“Your friend Spike made me aware that you were letting your fears get the best of you. I commend him for taking things seriously” she said. Twilight turned around to see Spike standing at the doorway, listening to the conversation.
“Now, if you will all excuse me, I must return to Canterlot. I’m expecting some mail...” Celestia said with a smile. With that, she took flight, and disappeared in a flash of golden light.
“Y’all heard the Princess! Spike, take a letter” The orange mare said smiling. Before he could, Twilight walked up to him, and pulled him into a hug which he returned. The group then made their way down the steps into the main room of the library. Spike took up position behind a desk, and wrote down the following as the others sat in a semicircle. But 27 however, sat against to wall again, out of their way.
“Dear Princess Celestia, we’re writing to you because we all learned a little something about friendship…” The orange mare started.
“We learned that you should take your friend’s worries seriously…” the butterscotch mare said, but quickly handed off to the other Pegasus in the room.
“Even if you don’t think that she has anything to worry about…” Rainbow Dash said.
“And that you shouldn’t let your worries turn a small problem…” the white unicorn started, but was interrupted by Pinkie Pie.
“Into an enormously huge, ‘entire town in total chaos, princess has to come in and save the day’ problem!” Pinkie Pie said, making an overenthusiastic pose for every point in her sentence.
“… Singed: your loyal subjects” The stetson warring pony said. As soon as Spike finished, he then quickly began writing something else, but it was his mistake he read it aloud.
“P.S. Obviously, Spike did not have to learn a lesson because he is the best, most awesome friend a pony could ask for! Unlike everypony else, he took things seriously and…” Spike was going to continue, before Twilight looked at him and shook her head. Spike chuckled nervously.
“Uh, yeah… I’ll just…” he trailed off in his sentence as he drew a large x through the part where he mentioned himself as the mares laughed at his discomfort. They began to laugh so hard some actually began to roll around on the floor. 27 smiled.
‘So alive, so naive… so much to learn’ 27 thought, ‘I wish I could have that back… be care free… forget the war…’ she sighed, and closed her eyes ‘Too bad I can’t’ she frowned.
“Excuse me?” 27 heard somepony say. 27 opened her eyes and was met with the sight of the white unicorn smiling at her.
“I would like to thank you for giving us that little push for twilight” she said. 27 donned a smiled, trying to bury her memories and feeling again.
“It was my pleasure miss…?”
“Rarity, darling” she said, and proceeded to wave her friends over.
“Girls! We have the new pony here, why don’t we introduce ourselves formally?” she suggested. Pinkie seemed to enjoy that idea and proceeded to bounce over.
“Oh I nearly forgot! You already know me! Pinkie Pie, party extraordinaire! I still need to set up your party! I got all the supplies; I just need to get it set up somewhere! Oh! I know! How about here in the Library! We could have streamers and cake and ice cream and party hats and party cannons!” Pinkie said, and would have continued if the stetson warring earth pony had not shoved her hoof into Pinkie’s mouth.
“He he… Sorry ‘bout that, Pinkie gets all excited when a new pony enters town… I’m Applejack by the way” she informed with a smile.
“You know me too!” Rainbow Dash said, she then took to the sky and hovered above the others “Rainbow Dash, fastest flyer in Equestria!”
“I- I’m Fluttershy” the butterscotch Pegasus introduced, so quietly her own friends standing next to her could barely hear her.
“Ah, sugar, I don’t think she heard you” Applejack said. 27 smiled.
“Fluttershy… that is a fitting name…” 27 said. Twilight seemed surprised.
“You heard that?” she asked, 27 nodded. Twilight just shrugged.
“Well, I’m Twilight Sparkle, and this is Spike” she introduced, and Spike nodded to 27.
“What’s up?” he asked with a smile and a wave. 27 smiled.
“It is good to meet you all… My name is 27” she introduced with a slight bow of her head.
“27? that’s-” Rainbow Dash started.
“A weird name?” 27 interrupted with a chuckle, “I get that all the time…” The girls each gave 27 a smile.
“Well, welcome to Ponyville, 27!” Twilight exclaimed. 27 smiled.
“Thanks, it’s good to retire here…” 27 said with a tired expression.
“Retire? But darling, you look barely past 18 years!” Rarity asked. Pinkie smiled and began to bounce.
“27 was a soldier Rarity!” she exclaimed.
“Whoa” Rainbow Dash said and flew up to 27, and proceeded to point at 27’s scar running down the left side of her face.
“Is that where you got that wicked scar?” she asked. 27’s smile and happy demeanor began faded away.
“Yes…” 27 said, trying her best to remain optimistic.
“How did you get it? Was it like in some epic battle?” Rainbow Dash pressed, excitement blinding her to 27’s discomfort.
“There is no such thing as an epic battle in war Rainbow Dash” 27 said sorrowful “Only bad ones… and worse ones…” Rainbow Dash pulled herself back.
“Oh” she said, now understanding “Sorry if I stirred up some bad memories”
“No problem, Rainbow Dash” ‘My whole existence is a nightmare anyway…’ she added mentally, but smiled for their sake.
“Please, just call me Rainbow or RD, everypony else does” she said with a smile. 27 nodded and smiled back.
“OH! I need to throw a ‘happy retirement party’ too!” Pinkie exclaimed. 27 grinned.
“Any reason is reason enough to throw a party, huh?” 27 asked her, and Pinkie nodded emphatically.
“Yep!” she exclaimed, and 27 swore Pinkie started to bounce higher. 27 chuckled and sighed.
“Well, I best get going to Lyra and Bonbon’s house” 27 said “after the massive fight for that doll, I best check up on them and make sure they are alright…”
“Is that where you moved in?” Pinkie asked. 27 nodded.
“It is” she said and finally stood, and stretched.
“We should stop by and give you a tour of town!” Pinkie suggested, still bouncing.
“That might be a good Idea to do before tomorrow’s Nightmare Night” Twilight said. 27 raised an eyebrow.
“What is Nightmare Night?” 27 asked. The girls looked at her with confused expressions.
“Nightmare Night is only one of the best, scariest nights of the year!” Rainbow Dash said, doing a flip in the air. Applejack shook her head.
“You only like it ‘cus you like to pull pranks…” she said, rolling her eyes. Rainbow Dash smiled sadistically.
“Me? Why I’d never!” she said. The others laughed along with Rainbow herself. 27 just chuckled; these mares are quite silly at times.
“So it’s a holiday?” 27 asked as soon as the mares came out of their laughing fit.
“Yes ma’am!” Pinkie said jumping up and down.
‘The way their describing it reminds me of a human holiday… Halloween I believe they called it…’ 27 thought, and she nodded to Pinkie.
“All right… I guess I’ll see you tomorrow for the tour” 27 said and turned to leave. She opened the door to the cool outside and stepped out.
“See ya tomorrow!” Pinkie shouted at 27 threw the open door, and then closed it behind 27. 27 smiled at Pinkie’s mischief, and she silently hoped that it never faded away. 27 walked down the main street once again, looking at the houses as she passed them. Some homes were dark and others still had lights on the inside, giving the impression that most of the inhabitance had fallen asleep, while others are still preparing to fall asleep.
Eventually, 27 looked up from the dirt and homes, to the planet’s brilliant moon and its escorting stars that twinkled in the night sky. The sight forced 27 to stop.
‘The nights here are beautiful’ 27 thought. As she appreciated the night, 27 observed a shooting star burn up in the atmosphere in a brilliant golden light, and then watched it wink out of existence. 27 turned her attention to the stars, some were close, some were far, and some were brighter than others, all unique. All had their own orbiting bodies, and 27 briefly wondered where she was in the universe. In the end, she decided it didn’t matter, her job is done and she couldn’t possibly sacrifice anything more then she already had. 27 closed her eyes and sighed.
‘Perhaps there is rest for this soldier after all…’ 27 thought. With that thought in mind, she smiled, and continued her trek to Lyra and Bonbon’s home … silently wondering what the next day will bring…