//------------------------------// // 3 - The Power of Frisk // Story: An Undertale of Equestria // by David Silver //------------------------------// Cadance smiled at me. It was the smile of an experienced babysitter. "I think everypony should calm down. You wouldn't have asked if you weren't concerned. Tell me, Frisk was it? What made you worried about the coins?" She didn't sound accusing, or angry. She kept her voice harmless. I felt admiration for her building. She was trying to play me like the child I was, with kindness and caring. I still couldn't remember much, but I wasn't a child, not under it. She wanted to know my secrets. Should it be a secret? What was I hiding from? I held up a coin in clear view of the room. "I get coins when I 'defeat' any monster of threat." Cadance recoiled. "You see me as a monster? And a threat?" She blinked softly. "You defeated me?" Trixie went pale. "Familiar, watch your tongue. One does not 'defeat' nobility and brag about it." I shook my head. "Defeat in a different way. When I first came in here, I was a stranger, ugly by horse standards, and a potential threat myself. We were enemies." I smiled at her. "Now friends, I hope? I defeated you, and turned you into one." Cadance burst into soft giggles. "Oh, yes. If that's what defeated means, then we've both been thoroughly defeated." Shining Armor nodded in agreement. "I've never been so happy to be defeated before." Trixie gently nudged me in the side with an extended hoof. "What was that about monsters? We are ponies, not monsters." "Pony Monsters." On that, I didn't budge. Something... It insisted, they had to be monsters. Cadance gestured at herself with a hoof. "Are 'monsters' a bad thing?" I shook my head. "They don't have to be. All the pony monsters I've met so far have been nice. The monsters you want us to defeat may not be as nice." Shining suddenly sat up. "Wait! Are you going to try to make friends, uh, defeat, the shadows? They're dangerous! Please. We've tried to reason with them in the past, and it's never turned out well. The history books are full of warning stories from failed expeditions." His fear, and his worry for me. It made me... It filled me with... determination. I would succeed where their stories had failed. I felt suddenly replenished and ready to face fate. "Everyone deserves a chance. They want to be friends, they just don't know how to be." Trixie plucked me up with her magic and set me on her back. "We've taken enough of your time. Trixie must review the maps and brush up on the shadows before we enter their domain and banish them from your fair land." She turned away from them, only to look over her shoulder at Cadance. "We'll discuss proper payment after Trixie returns with tales of her triumph." They both nodded towards us, and we were allowed to go. As Trixie began to trot out, I looked at Cadance carefully. An alicorn, one of four known in the world. The second youngest and considered the kindest of them. Special talent: Love. Married to Shining Armor. Trixie trotted out of the royal hallway and the doors were closed behind us by guards. With a little sigh, she turned left and began moving again. "You are quite the curious familiar. Trixie can feel magic ebb and flow in you. She wonders if even you understand how you work?" I shook my head. "I'm figuring out some of it." She gave a soft noise as she nudged into a library and set me down. "Can you read?" Once she got a nod from me, she smiled. "Excellent. Assist Trixie in her research then. We need to know more about the shadows. Their weaknesses especially." With her half-buried in tomes that she flipped through with her magic, I was left to my own devices. I picked up a random book and blinked at it. This was not English. Despite that, the meaning of the book seemed clear to me, leaping into my mind without further prompting than flipping through. Each book provided a summary, and no more. I grunted softly in annoyance. The best I'd be able to do is find a book that looked interesting and bring it to Trixie to actually read it. So that's what I got to doing. A lot of them were about things I didn't know much about. 'How to Sharpen your Horn.', 'Proper Polish of Crystal Ponies', and 'A thousand Recipes for Crystal Berries' were just the start of the 'wisdom' to be found there. Some seemed more applicable, and I brought one to Trixie. "How about this one?" Trixie wrapped it in her magic and drew it over. "King Sombra's Fell Army. A study of oppression by Brightshine Amethyst." She smiled brightly. "A detailed look, from the view of one of the slaves of the time. It may have some useful information. Very good, familiar. You're already proving your worth." Her head tilted a little. "Speaking of which, let Trixie see some of your coins." I fished out a handful from a pocket and set them in a jumble at her table. She set down her book and turned her magic to a few of the coins, spinning them about in the air. "Standard bits. No magic, at least, left. That isn't to say there was no magic in their making. Trixie felt that. You realize, making bits with magic is very illegal." Fear suddenly spiked through me, but she just laughed. "Trixie is playing with you. We mean, yes, it is illegal, but you have no control over it. Princess Cadance wouldn't send you to jail for it." She snorted and rolled a hoof. "Did you see her? She looked ready to adopt you right under Trixie's nose. Too bad for her! I saw you first. You're Trixie's familiar." A shrewd expression suddenly went over Trixie's face. "Wait... Did you 'defeat' Trixie?" When I nodded, she leaned in closer. "Were you paid for this marvelous feat?" Considering back on it, there was no memory of the jingling sound after defeating her. Trixie took the news poorly. "What?! But you said, defeating any monster that could be a threat caused you to receive bits. Trixie is a powerful and awe inspiring magician! How does she not qualify?!" Cadance wasn't the first. I could remember the guard producing bits when defeated. Just not Trixie. "I don't know?" Then it came to me. "Maybe it was because you didn't want to fight. You were meant to be a friend from the start." Trixie seemed floored at the idea. "Meant to be..." Her face lit up with a huge smile. "Of course! You truly were drawn in by my powerful magic. I'm no threatening monster to you. I am your master, and you are my familiar." Everything seemed to be right in Trixie's world. "Er, not as a slave, before you think that." She made a little dismissive gesture. "In fact, in an act of generosity, Trixie frees you from further obligation today. You should explore the city and meet more ponies. How many bits do you have?" Without counting, the number came to me, and I spouted it out effortlessly. Trixie nodded. "More than enough to buy a few snacks and maybe a trinket or two. Enjoy yourself, and come back when you are ready, or when it becomes dark." She waved for the door, and out I went, free and independant again. It'd been a while since I had the power of self-determination again. I walked out of the castle and turned around to look up at its huge crystal... mass. It was huge! It filled me with... determination. I would protect it from those shadow creatures and set things to right. Spinning in place, a little shopping plaza came into view. That seemed as good a place as any! I walked there with a little smile, noting the horses around me seemed mostly alright with my presence. Maybe my coming from the castle had something to do with it? Or maybe a little person smaller than them in a harmless looking shirt and pants just didn't set them off. Something flickered up above. I glanced up and saw the sky twitch like a bad glitch a moment before it went back to normal. What did that mean? Putting it aside, I wandered up to the first booth. Crystal corn, or so the sign seemed to say despite being written in horse words. That sounded like something you'd chip a tooth on. The crystal pony behind the booth smiled down at me. "Hey there kid. Want to try one?" He picked up a napkin in his mouth and used that to grab a crystal corn on the cob, then offered it out to me. Who was I to refuse free food? I reached up with both tiny hands and accepted what felt like a huge corn. "Thanks!" As monsters went, horses were definitely one of the nicer kinds. I sniffed at it. It was like, well, corn, but sweet? I gave it a careful nibble and taste exploded into my mouth. It was delicious! It was also sweet and juicy despite looking like crystals. I started taking big mouthfuls of the delectable kernels as I wandered past. "Fanks," was all that came out around the crystal corn I was eating. Oh man, it was really good! The stand to the left of me suddenly exploded as a swarm of jet black beetles scuttled out of the ground. I felt the tension of conflict rush in, and the sensation of my body faded. I was in heart mode, but it was no gentle circumstance. These beetles would not be impressed passively and turn away. Their claws closed on at me, snapping and biting. I could barely dodge the first when the second grabbed me in a painful pinch, bruising my heart, er, my soul. I devoured the last of the crystal corn, or more specifically I imagined I did, and it vanished away. I was healed, just in time for the beetles to close in. I tried to jig out of the way, but they were too fast, and I was too inexperienced. They caught me between three mandibles. Everything went black. Was that it? No! I couldn't lose that way! I promised I'd save that castle, and the horse monsters in it! I was determined! I couldn't lose. Not like that! I looked up at the castle before turning away. With a spin, a shopping plaza came into view, and I began wandering that way. Wait. This all happened before. I could remember the missing, repeated, time. The beetles were coming. I quickly tossed a coin on the counter. "I'll take one please." I ran off with the crystal corn without eating it, barely getting out a thanks. I saw a merchant selling armor shaped for horse knights and rushed to her. "I'll take one of these, too!" She hiked a hoof up at the price listed on the sign. It'd take most of my money, but winning was worth it! I slapped several handfuls of bits on the counter and she nodded before gesturing at the rack of armor. Apparently I got to pick one. No time! I rushed in and dug around through the rack and came out with one that was shaped perfectly for me. Why would they even have that?! This wasn't the time to ask that. I quickly squirmed into it, and the booth beside me exploded with the black beetles. Out they came, the deadly trio. This time, I'd face them properly.