//------------------------------// // Chapter 1: New Home, New Friends, New Beginnings // Story: The Pony of the Mind // by Crazy-Eyed Sharpshooter //------------------------------// Chapter 1: New Home, New Frends, New Beginnings The sun shone bright over Ponyville one warm summer day. The birds were singing, the light summer breeze blew throughout the happy little town, and the ponies were out and about, enjoying and taking advantage of the beautiful day they had been given. That is, except for one colt. Near the center of the town, a few moving carts stayed for a few moments before leaving the house. It was a rather large looking house that seemed to be suited for a upper-middle class family. In the living room, a beefy pitch black earth pony sat reading a newspaper. "I gotta say, for a small town, they sure do have quite a bit to talk about. Don't you think so, Clair?" He turned to the kitchen, where a light pink unicorn mare was placing plates in the cabinet. Clair looked back and smiled, saying "Indeed Ob, I think this move would be really beneficial for all of us." Moving briskly to the couch, Clair nuzzled her husband's cheek. "My sweet Ob Sidian..." Sidian returned the affection, smiling slightly. "My dear Clair Voyance..." "UGH!" The two rolled their eyes, smiling a little. "Our beautiful daughter, High Price." A firm stomping came from the basement as a curly-maned magenta unicorn entered the living room, huffing. "I can't believe we left Manehatten for this hole!" "Now Price, this move was necessary. If we stayed, we would not have taken advantage of this wonderful community." High Price looked away and thought, Yeah, because of my stupid brother... "I heard that, young mare." The teenage mare froze, completely forgetting her mother's magic. "Ugh, whatever. I'm going out." "Can you take your Psi with you? He hasn't left his room for a while!" "But mooooom!" she whined. "He's going to make me look stupid!! Do I have to?" "Well, it's either that, or be grounded for 2 weeks for insulting your brother." "What?!?" "3 weeks..." "Okay okay, fine!! I'll... Go get him..." she grumbled, trudging up the stairs. She walked down the hallways, passing through a few rooms until she reached the farthest door, which had a scribbled sign reading "Do Not Enter! Level 3 Bio-Magic Mutation!" Opening the door, she saw the room of her younger brother, Psi Onyx. It was very plain, with a desk, a bed, and a chair facing a window. Psi was currently occupied on the chair looking down at the citizens of Ponyville, eyes darting across the street. "Hey, squirt. Get your goggles. We're-" "You want me to go with you into town so you can try and make new friends in this hole, right?" Price flinched. "Stop! Reading! My mind!" "I didn't. I just overheard you and mom talking." he gave a little smirk eyeing his big sister. "Well, then... C'mon. Let's go." He turned back to the window, smile dropping. "I don't want to..." "Too bad. You're going." "I don't want to." "Okay, I don't have time for this..." High Price began to focus her magic as Psi began to shimmer with a reddish-pink aura. However, the young dark grey colt stayed in place. High began to struggle until her horn fizzled out. "Please, Onyx? What do I gotta do to get you to come with me?" "... Gimme 10 bits?" The young mare rolled her eyes and pulled out her bit purse, taking out 10 gold coins and tossed them towards her brother, who did nothing. Instead, the coins were coated in a rich, steely aura, as they floated slowly into a levitating coin sack. Snatching it out of the air, Psi turned to his sister, pushing down his brown-and-black goggles to his eyes. "Let's go." ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The two wandered into the shopping district, which was filled with ponies either doing some shopping, socializing with one another, or getting something to eat. "Alright, shrimp..." Price muttered, stretching her hooves. "I'm going to see what's what in this town. Meet me here in around... Eeehh, I don't know, Three hours. Otherwise-." "Otherwise I can walk home, yadda yadda yadda. I got it." Suddenly, Psi was grabbed turned turned by her sister. She whispered in his ear. "If you use your stupid powers and we have to move, I will kick your flank into next Tuesday." She suddenly smiled at him and waved as she trotted away. "Byee~" Remember, Psi. Next. Tuesday. Psi let out a sigh and began to walk through the minuscule district, looking around. There were tons of ponies everywhere, each saying various things and, thanks to his mind, thinking various things. Just walking through the area made her head hurt. Ugh, I wish I could control this damn brain... It hurts to even think... He rubbed his temple slowly, trying his best to look around. He saw a number of fillies and colts entering a very sweet-themed looking shop. Focusing on nearby ponies, he eventually got what he was looking for. "Sugar... Cube... Corner..." He panted, wiping the sweat from his brow. Walking towards the place, he suddenly felt a huge presence inside the building. Woah... he thought. That was some heavy stuff... I wonder if... He focused really hard on pinpointing the source of the massive energy. He focused hard on it, inching closer and closer. The next thing he knew, he was on the ground, dazed and confused, a flurry of colors dancing in front of his face. Oh... Geez... Confusion... "Hhhhheeeeeyyyy...." A voice passed through his ears slowly. Can't remember... Where I am... "Yyyyyyooouuuuu alllllrrriiiiighhht?..." Focus... On... The voices... "Hey! Can you hear me??" "Huh? What? Where?" He looked around and saw three fillies looking down at him. "Oh. Uh... Hi. Give me a moment." He got up slowly, removing his goggles and revealing his black pearly eyes. "Sorry, I was, uh... Distracted." "Yeah, what happened?" The orange pegasus to his right said. "We heard some bang noise, and when we looked outside, you were on the ground. Did someone hit you?" "Oh, uh... No, I don't think so..." Psi rubbed his forehead, seeing a small amount of soot. "Huh. Maybe someone did. I know I didn't rub ashes on my face." The white unicorn giggled. "Well, it sure looks like they went with a bang!" Psi snickered a moment before coughing and looking up. "I'm Psi Onyx, by the way. Ponies call me Psi." "Howdy, Psi!" The green earth filly said. "I'm Apple Bloom! This here's Sweetie Belle..." She motioned to the white filly, who smiled and waved. "And Scootaloo!" She pointed to the orange filly, who waved with a smile, saying, "'Sup?" "Well... It's really good to meet you all. Are you guys uh..." he stammered a moment. "D-Doing anything?" "We were about to get some milkshakes," Apple Bloom spoke. "Wanna join us?" "S-Sure. Uh... That sounds nice." Psi smiled awkwardly, following the three into the sweet shop. The one thing he noticed before entering was a surprising lack of voices, only the sound of ringing in his ears. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "So, you're from Manehatten?" "Mhmm." "Have you ever heard of Babs Seed? She's my cousin." "I... Don't think so. Sounds kind of familiar, though." "Where did you get your cool goggles?" "Oh, I uh... got them from my dad. He runs a stone mining and shipping business." "Wow!" Scootaloo whistled. "But... What's with the tint? Doesn't that make it hard to see in the dark?" "Oh, well..." Psi unscrewed the ends of the goggles, taking off the tint lenses of them. "They're detachable. I use them when it's really bright outside, like today." "Wow!" Scootaloo took the lenses, looking through them. "These might really be useful if I used them when I'm on my scooter." "Oh, you have a scooter?" Psi took a sip of his milkshake. "Yep. I'm the fastest around." "Heh, I bet." Psi looked at the clock on the shop and jumped up. "Oh no! I'm late! I was supposed to meet my sister for us to walk back home!! She probably left already!!" The girls looked at each other before grinning in a determined manner at Psi Onyx. "We'll get you there!!" Apple Bloom shouted. "Really?" The colt looked at the three. "How?" ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Psi was holding onto dear life as Scootaloo drove her scooter, with a red wagon attached to the back where the other three were riding. The orange filly kept accelerating as Psi looked around, pointing to where they needed to go. "Left!... Right!... Keep going!... LOOK OUT!" Scootaloo suddenly hit a small rock, causing the wagon to jump up. Apple Bloom and Psi managed to stay in, but Sweetie Belle was sent flying into the air. Scootaloo came to a screeching halt. "Sweetie Belle!" Just then, Psi jumped out of the wagon and held his hoof out. Sweetie Belle fell straight down, only to be caught by something very light. When she opened her eyes, she did not see a pony catching her, but instead a translucent dark grey aura in the shape of a dragon claw. She looked forward and saw Psi desperately holding his hoof out as he slowly lowered it down to the ground, the aura fading as soon as it reached the ground. Psi took several deep breaths. His face was covered in sweat, his breathing was rather fast, and he looked extremely exhausted. Sweetie Belle blinked. Did... she thought. Did that just happen? The CMC quickly ran over to Psi to check on him, Sweetie Belle being the first to speak up. "Psi, are you okay?" she asked. "Did... Did you catch me using magic?" "I... I..." he started to say before running off. "I'm sorry!!" He dashed with such speed and desperation, it was clear that he didn't want to be seen at that moment. He ran so fast, yet his mind was clear as day, quickly filling with the thoughts of surrounding ponies. I can't believe it... he thought. I thought I could stop it this time!!... Why can't I control myself?? What's wrong with me?... Psi... A separate voice entered his head. You're home. The colt stopped for a moment and turned to his left. Sure enough, there was his new house. Not wasting any time, he burst through the doors and ran straight into his room, not bothering to give his parents any attention. He looked at his door decoration and shed a tear before slamming it shut and laying on his bed, hiding his head under the pillow.