//------------------------------// // A Potpourri of Events // Story: The Game of Shadows // by Zytharros //------------------------------// A Potpourri of Events I awoke to the same sounds I heard after saving Applejack from a falling Canterlot several months prior – the beeping of the pulse monitor. I wondered how long I had been there. Was it a week, like last time, or was it a couple days? Hours? Looking out the window, I could see it was nighttime, so it had to have been at least several hours. I had fainted around noon, after all. This time there was nobody in my hospital room… just me, a pad of paper, and a pen. I noticed a small note written on the pad, so I picked it up. I couldn’t hold onto it long, however… my magic gave out on me and I dropped the pad into the middle of my lap. It looked like my group would be staying in Fillydelphia a little while longer than anticipated. I leaned back, unable to keep my energy up very well. A nurse came in and noticed that I was awake. She greeted me warmly. “How long have I been out?” I asked. She checked the clock. “About thirty hours or so,” she answered. “What can I do for you, Zytharros?” So I’ve been out for a day and a half, I thought. My time’s improving. I might make it up in a couple hours next time. At the last thought I smiled sarcastically. “Did the hospital also receive two mares by the names of Rainbow Dash and Boomdrop?” I asked. She nodded. “They’re over in the next room. What happened, anyway? You three were all pretty banged up. Boomdrop was… well, she needed a body cast, for one.” I grimaced. “I would rather not talk about that right now, if that’s okay.” Suddenly, a bright flash illuminated my room. A tall pony with star-studded hair that flowed in its own wind appeared in front of me. With a quick flick of the wrist, the nurse quickly bowed and left. “Our sister tells us a lot about you,” she spoke in a controlled bellow. “Thank you for protecting our subjects.” I smiled. “You’re welcome.” “We are Princess Luna,” she introduced with a great flourish in her language. “It is an honour to meet you. We regret that we were unable to meet with you on your last visit.” I nodded. “That’s okay. I’m just a normal human… with an alicorn shell… and some pretty wicked powers, if today was any indication.” Somehow the headache in my head had gotten worse. I could focus past it, but it was difficult. Random whispering also crossed my mind at times. Luna’s flair for the dramatic continued. “We came to check up on you for our sister and ask how you are doing on your quest to restore the Elements of Harmony.” “Tell Princess Celestia we will make it back to Ponyville in fifteen days with Rainbow Dash. We had planned to leave earlier, but we ran into some trouble with a gang called Black Silver.” Princess Luna frowned. “We know about Black Silver. We have already… dealt… with them. There are far larger problems in Equestria right now than personal grudges. Megahorn will not interfere with royal business!” I relaxed. “That’s good.” “Is it true, though, that you, Zytharros, are becoming a danger to the cause, as Derpy claims?” she asked. “She and Sweetie Belle are very concerned.” I nodded. “Unfortunately, I’m going to have to confirm this as true. Crystal Fist’s in my mind, working on breaking me like she did the others.” “You have wonderful strength,” she declared. “The fact you could pull off that kind of pony soul manipulation was remarkable, especially with something on your mind as you did.” “To be frank,” I commented, dumbfounded at the realization that I had just… waltzed into Rainbow Dash’s brain like that. “I just… I don’t know what I did. I simply reacted.” “We don’t know, either. Most ponies have one or two things. You seem to be able to bend the fabric of this dimension to your whims just by imagining it happening.” Luna said. “This may be why Crystal Fist is after you, specifically.” I groaned in frustration. “Why is she doing it so slowly, then? I hate slow happenings…” Luna simply gave me a look of helpless concern. I looked at my bed, listlessly taking in the little doodle at the bottom of the note. “We are trying to do our best as well,” she said. “My sister is waging a war within herself as well. Let us hope one of us is strong enough to overcome her evil.” I nodded. “Let’s. If Celestia were to go down…” Luna turned away sharply and stomped a hoof. “Let us not speak of that! We must maintain our positivity!” I smiled. “Agreed.” With that, she vanished. I sat back and thought about what was going on inside me again. I closed my eyes and felt a small sprout – a dark, disturbing sprout. It felt like one… no, two of those things Rainbow and I had battled had taken residence in my mind. No… it had merely transferred hosts. The one I tore in half had slipped into my mind. I facehoofed. If this was going to happen every time, I might as well give up now. For me to save all the Elements like that… my will would be overrun in a matter of just a few battles. Crystal Fist was a far more cunning enemy than I had realized. Then it struck me. This had been her plan all along. Just as this second evil had taken residence inside me, Crystal Fist had taken Tangerine Hopes. It had been slow, deliberate, and subtle. For her to have worked on me since our first encounter was not entirely inconceivable, even on Earth as I prepared for my child’s birth. Had she been watching me, even there? What did she have planned? Was I being used as a carrier across dimensions? What was going on? I was doomed – what about those around me? A demented voice cackled its way into my head. “You’ve figured out the scheme… You know you won’t last… Give in to me now, before I take everything you love away from you.” I growled and mumbled, “Crystal Fist, I may not make it, but I’m going to go down fighting. Tell me… how long, exactly, have you been toying with me?” She replied, “Since you set foot in Canterlot that very first time. Each step is a test of your character and skills, and I must say you’ve performed admirably… for a simple human thrown so suddenly into Equestrian hell. I’ve been harassing the inhabitants of this country for a year, becoming able to do things that Nightmare Moon, Discord, and the Changelings could only hope to have accomplished.” “Like what?” I asked, fearing the answer. I knew she smiled by the way her voice brightened. “Taking over a human form and breaking through the Fifth Wall. I know Discord’s flipping out in his statue as we speak.” She chuckled. “It always makes me happy to see him squirm. I wish I could see his face when I actually do it – take over you, Celestia, and Earth, that is.” “You’re still holding onto that dream of dimensional domination?” I asked. “Pathetic.” Crystal Fist chuckled. “It’s pathetic only to one with a corporeal form. Even those who have the power to take over entire universes are still limited to universes within their fixed perspective.” She broke into full-on hysterics. “Not I. I can take over anything I please whenever I want however I want because I am above physical form. I am spirit, nothing more.” “Then-” I began. She cut me off. “You will know more of our mission when you become a Sentinel, like Rainbow was. Until then, adios…” I felt the black presence fade from my mind. I would have to ask Rainbow Dash what Crystal Fist’s mission was when we got out of here. I closed my eyes and lifted a silent prayer to my Hero – a simple rhyming prayer I had learned as a young child. It calmed me a little, but not enough, for when I tried to get back to sleep, I could not. I looked down at the note in my restlessness. To my friend Zytharros, This is the fourth time you’ve saved me from doing something I regretted. I can’t believe how uncool and disloyal I have been to you, and yet you still saved me when I needed you the most. Thank you so much. You have shown me a side of loyalty I could never hope to match. You are awesome beyond awesome. As of now, I owe you more than twice my life. This is not something I’m going to take lightly, either. If you need anything in Equestria, and I mean anything at all, even of… well, myself, let me know. I will do whatever you need done without hesitation. I swear on my own life, you will never be left hanging in Equestria again. I only hope I can be half as loyal as you. You don’t mind if I give the title of “coolest pony in Equestria” to you… do you? From the second-coolest pony in Equestria, Rainbow Dash. Short, but succinct and to the point, just like her conversations. I smiled as I set the pad of paper off to the side. That “second-coolest” bit… I could care less about coolness, but for Rainbow to say something like that… Rainbow Dash physically writing she was not the coolest pony in Equestria… that said a heck of a lot about the impact I had on her. The tears that smeared some of the words said even more, though, and I started tearing up myself. I was keeping that, taking it home with me, and putting it with my Rainbow Dash figurine. For now, though, I still couldn’t sleep. I tried sitting up, but quickly collapsed back on the bed. I lost whatever energy I had possessed. It wasn’t long before I slipped into a coma. It was almost two more days before I was allowed to leave. A routine circuit of vigil-keepers kept me company during the day. Sweetie Belle was the one most likely to visit, often accompanied by Rainbow Dash and the other Cutie Mark Crusaders. True to her word, Dash kept herself busy by serving my every whim and wish. Whatever I wanted, she got for me – a new quill, a milkshake, a Daring Do book, it didn’t matter. She spared no energy, expense or expedience, duty-bound to carry out whatever I desired. She even fought with the kitchen staff once, demanding I get a special omelette I had asked for, and rearranged the very weather outside my window so I could have some shade when I got too hot. Reflecting on the situation and comparing it with the note, I realized if I had asked for sex, she very likely would have given me that, too, but again I was bound to my wife for that and didn’t broach the subject at all. I truly felt bad for receiving that kind of dedicated service, even if she felt like I was owed it. Just as I was being discharged, I got some amazing news from Rainbow. Apple Bloom had finally got her cutie mark. “What is it?” I asked excitedly, anticipating something construction-related. I filled out the forms necessary to leave. Dash smiled proudly. “It’s a hammer within a diamond of four large nails.” I chuckled. “Interesting execution, but exactly what I thought its direction would be. How’d she do it?” “Emerald Thunder, Razortongue and Apple Bloom were trying to design the portable skate park for Scootaloo so we could take it on our journey,” Rainbow animatedly remembered. “They had figured out everything except for how portable they could make it. Apple Bloom worked all through last night trying to figure out how to make it portable and durable, and when we woke up this morning, she had done it! She built Equestria’s first one-hundred-percent portable, foldable, movable half-pipe! She even painted it Wonderbolts blue!” She squee’d in her old fan-maniac delight. “It was the most awesometastic thing I had ever seen!” “I thought you didn’t like the Wonderbolts,” I said, curious as to what changed her tune. Rainbow Dash blushed. “Yeah, well, they kinda came and apologized. We’re staying at Fillydelphia Stadium now in their suites as they’re off on tour. I didn’t know Canuck Chuck had been harassing them, and that’s why they were on edge.” “So how do you like my new friends?” I asked. “A former gangster, a crazy pony with a mouth like a buzzsaw, a smiling idiot, and a guy who can fly circles around any pegasus in Equestria…” Rainbow said. “You really met some weird friends.” “No different than a party pony, a shy recluse, an athlete, a bookworm, a workhorse, and a fashionista getting together,” I said. “Differences make life spicy, after all, and rainbow spicy is best spicy.” I winked at Dash, smirking. Rainbow laughed, both at the realization and at the allusion to the weather factory adventure we had shared on my previous visit. “I guess our group is pretty weird, too.” “Weird? No,” I said. “You can’t have a group of friends that are all interested in exactly the same things all the time. That would be boring and weird.” “I guess,” Dash said, continuing to smile as we left the hospital. We took off and flew for the stadium. I was still a little tired, so I flew slower than normal. Rainbow and I talked about various things on the way, like the Wonderbolts and their stunts, airplanes and their stunts, some other stunt circuits around Earth and Equestria, and a little about what Crystal Fist had envisioned. We passed by Canterdam Castle, now a mere, scorched-out shell of the stately home it once was, in the middle of a burned-out, once-beautiful courtyard. I chuckled. I imagined Megahorn getting a wicked licking from Celestia for burning down her childhood residence, one that had been my home in Fillydelphia for a few weeks now. I also briefly wondered if one of Celestia’s sergeants under Shining Armor was named Optihoof Prime or some other similar name… I laughed. The reference would be lost in this world, but that would be crazy if it were true! Rainbow looked at me, concerned. “What’s so funny?” I looked at the cyan and rainbow pegasus and shook my head, still mildly laughing. “I wish you knew about giant metal robots called Transformers… Megahoof reminded me of the Decepticon leader Megatron, so I thought there may be an Equestrian Guard equivalent to Optimus Prime of the Autobots.” “The only one I can think of with a name close to that is Optimal Buck,” she said. “Then again, I don’t know too many of the guards. Buck happens to work with me in weather on his days off.” I exploded with laughter, collapsing on a nearby rooftop. “No way! There’s actually a parallel there, too! I can’t believe this!” Rainbow just smirked, seemingly missing the humour. Then again, this was Earth-origin humour and some things would be lost. Having had my moment, I took off again, with the multicolor-coifed pegasus in pursuit. A few more minutes of flight, plus a couple brief and necessary rest stops, had us floating down into the stadium. Canuck Chuck was busy lapping the edge of the stadium. “Six hundred eighty-four… Six hundred eighty-five…” he counted. Rainbow’s jaw dropped. “That can’t be right! How long can that colt keep this up!?” she shrieked. “Well, he flew for forty hours straight trying to find Boomdrop,” I said. “Forty hours?!” my astonished partner exclaimed. “No rest?” “None,” I said. “At that sub-sonic pace, too.” “Celestia…” Rainbow said as she nearly keeled over, fainting. “It’s hard enough for me to go three hours at that pace.” She spied a chance at competition. “Hey! Chuck!” The fast-flying fury stopped cold. “’Sup, Dash?” he asked. “Want to race?” she said with a challenging sneer. “Distance or speed?” Chuck said, landing and matching the sneer. “You pick!” Dash said, taking off into the sky. I chuckled, letting the two most competitive ponies in our team have at each other. I walked over to a napping Sweetie Belle and ball-playing Scootaloo and Apple Bloom. “Zytharros!” Scootaloo said, the biggest grin I had ever seen on her shining, scuffed face as I caught her eye. “You’re out of the hospital!” Apple Bloom let out a short cheer, which awoke Sweetie Belle. The noteworthy filly brightened as soon as she saw me, running up and nuzzling my leg in a wordless greeting of relief. I returned the gesture, wrapping my wings around all three of the Cutie Mark Crusaders in a giant hug. “How have you all been keeping?” I asked, releasing the grip. “Great!” Apple Bloom said, delighted in my presence. “I got my cutie mark!” “Rainbow Dash told me all about it,” I said, smiling proudly. “Let’s see your handiwork!” We trotted over to the half-pipe. It was about five feet high, painted in Wonderbolts blue with two lightning flares on the side, and four small red flags on each corner. Apple Bloom showed off her cutie mark proudly, and Scootaloo wasted no time in showing me some of the new tricks on her scooter. As I watched, I noticed Sweetie Belle looking kind of sad, left where we had first talked. I pulled my attention away from her friends and sat beside her. “It’s wonderful you have your cutie marks,” I said. She sighed. “Yeah, I know…” I looked at the depressed filly in surprise. “You’re not that excited?” She looked at me and stomped a hoof. “What good’s a cutie mark if you’ve got no one to share it with?” she asked. “We need to get home to save our friends!” “We will, Sweets,” I said, looking at the sky. The sun was beginning to dip behind the distant mountains. “It’s a little late to start our journey now, and I think we have some resupplying to do after that fiasco with Black Silver. We’re aiming to finally leave for home the day after tomorrow.” She snorted. “This waiting sucks.” I put a wing around her. She cuddled up to my leg. “I know, Sweets, but patience is something we all have to have.” We lay down on the grass. “For now, we should enjoy ourselves. This may be the last day we have to spend time in peace for several weeks.” She looked up at me, those cute green eyes registering uncertainty. “Do you think we’ll save Rarity?” I couldn’t say… and I no longer could say if I would survive long enough to see that. I hoped we would, so I gave the best response I could, one I hoped would brighten the filly’s mood. “We will, Sweets,” I said kindly smiling, though I felt a look of uncertainty creep into my eyes. She didn’t notice. She simply nodded, expressionless. “Ah, don’t you worry, Sweetie Belle!” Scootaloo said, striking a pose I thought was almost cheesy in her attempt to look tough. “We’ll get everyone back, especially now that we have the coolest pony in Equestria with us!” She admired her idol as she flew around the arena, racing a colt who had as of late taken her heart as well. Without hesitation, she shouted, “Wait for me!” and bolted off on her scooter. Apple Bloom walked by and sat beside us, looking at her friend in a concerned manner. “We’ll get ‘em back,” she said, her twang softening a little as her voice softened. Sweetie Belle still wasn’t so sure. I hugged Sweetie once more and stood. “I’m going to grab a bite to eat.” A small buffet was set out by the Princess’ employees, who were still in charge of taking care of us while we were in Fillydelphia as per Luna’s orders. Salads, grain cereals, potato burgers… it looked all so inviting, but only one thing crossed my mind… What I wouldn’t give for a giant steak… It was odd for me to think about steak. It wasn’t my favourite red meat dish, by any stretch of the imagination, but I still craved it. I hadn’t tasted meat in so long, it seemed the most inviting and most meaty of all the meat dishes I thought of. I proceeded to set myself up with a plate and some food. Luckily, they had gotten the hint I was a cheese freak, so I took a large helping of the solid dairy product. I flew into the stands onto the roof of the dome and ate alone with my thoughts, looking over the brightly-lit city. After a few minutes, I heard a loud thwangg!! Derpy Hooves came crashing down beside me from high up one of the many metal flagpoles surrounding the stadium. “Hi, Zytharros,” she said, correcting her orientation. “What’cha doin’ up here?” “Just thinking,” I said, nibbling on a piece of cheese. “’Bout what?” she asked. “Nothing specific. Just thinking.” “Oh,” she said. We sat there in silence for a bit, temporarily mesmerized by the lights and sounds of the city outside our second fortress. In the distance somewhere construction crews repaired the Canterdam Castle. A small blaze of gunshots were fired, but nothing approached our area. “Cities,” I said. “So much life, and yet so devoid of it.” “Huh?” Derpy asked, throwing me a questioning look. “A city has a lot of evidence of the dominant life forms of a planet,” I said. “However, it is usually absent of some of the reminders of that life’s origins. Sure, you have birds and crows and rodents, but the larger competition’s been weeded out at some point, pushed into either adaptation or elimination. The greenery present has no shortage of victims itself. Each tree is carefully selected, placed, and planted to appeal the best to a given neighbourhood or a given use. All others that are out-of-place with the designer’s plans are cut down and removed. The grass is trimmed, sometimes to exacting specifications. Plants are carefully placed to appeal to the visual couture of the day, while the native vegetation is often excluded from the process, often because it will eliminate anything around it. Eventually, with enough care and attention, a garden blooms in fiery, vibrant colours. Yet in other neighbourhoods, ‘green’, when not synonymous with money, is considered wasted space... only gray remains in these places of pavement, stone, and lifeless deserts of so-called civilization. Those that live in areas like this will do anything to add colour to their environment.” I looked to my left. “As I looked over the city, it occurred to me that this stadium is right at a nexus of these points. That way-” I said, sweeping my left hoof over the city “-is where progress occurred without consideration for the natural environment. There is very little greenery there. However, that way-” this time, my right hoof swept over the other side and I caught Derpy’s eye “-is where nature got its voice heard. There is usually a lot more graffiti where greenery is absent or takes up less than about, say, forty percent of the visual space.” I closed my eyes in a bit of a melancholy state, imagining my farm. “If only people paid more attention to nature and less to the green in their wallets…” Derpy’s mood dropped and she looked down. “I didn’t understand half of what you said, but I can see the point,” she said. “Too much gray and not enough green and people go nuts.” I chuckled a little. “That’s the long and the short of it, yes.” Leave it to the bubbly ditz to laymanize my thoughts. “So, how have you been lately?” I asked. She smiled. “Just happy to have you back,” she said. I smiled. We returned to looking over the city as our evening closed. Hopefully Boomdrop would be better soon and we could head off to Ponyville to save our remaining five friends. That night, as everyone slept, I looked up at the stars. “Twilight…” I said to myself, thinking about the grape mare. We had never greeted each other properly before she was taken over. Each of the faces of the other four passed through my mind, and I grew angry. Applejack… Pinkie Pie… Fluttershy… Rarity… I didn’t know if I could save you all, but, dammit, if I died doing so it would all be worth it. Boomer, get better, I thought. Sweetie Belle’s right. This is too long to wait. Crystal Fist was getting under my skin. She had managed to piss me off to the point I could never forgive her for her actions – something nopony – or human – had ever done before. She was beginning to reflect on her entire race as well – a thought that, given my general disdain for racism, absolutely disgusted me. I furled my brow, recalling the chorus of Evanescence’s “New Way to Bleed”… I feel it coming over me I’m still a slave to these dreams Is this the end of everything Or just a new way to bleed? The dark lullaby of my ensuing hum lulled me to sleep a black dream of death, anger and murder.