The morning sun poured in through each of the many castle windows, basking the throne room in its warmth. Adorning each window was a series of stained glass figures, each one depicting a part of Equestria's history. The gleam from the light reflected off of the white marble floor, threatening to blind any who dared look at it for too long. A long red carpet trailed its way along the hallway, leading to a glorious throne of gold. On said throne sat a large alicorn of the purest white. She sat diligently on her perch, taking in every word of the finely dressed unicorn stallion that was speaking to her. A warm smile and an occasional nod was all she offered as the noblepony rattled off his complaint for the day. None of the complaints she got were ever new in the slightest.
"-and tho, your Highneth, I would thormally requesth that you decree a chanthe in the temperathure that Donut Joe ith allowed to thserve hith coffee ath," stated the unicorn, sporting a burned tongue and a mean lisp. The Princess blinked for a moment. Okay, never mind. This complaint was a first. For some odd reason, the noble chose to stick his tongue out at her, perhaps to oversell the amount of 'thuffering' he had been put through. The white alicorn wished to giggle at this, but she knew it would have been incredibly rude to the poor pony. Not any more rude than he was being for sticking his tongue out at her, but she highly doubted he realized what he was inadvertently doing.
The day so far had been quite similar, with ponies coming to complain to her about problems that they could have easily solved themselves without any assistance, much less that of the Princess. One pegasus came to complain that it was too hot outside, even though she happened to be the one who set the temperature at the local weather factory. Another pony, a unicorn mare, had wanted Celestia to change the meeting time for the weekly Canterlot Book Club so that she could go. An earth pony colt in an adorable little suit had somehow managed to get past her guards and came to ask her to turn the sun down. His reason? His ice-cream had melted too fast for him to eat. While cute, he still ate up time that could have been better spent waiting for an actual problem to arise. The Princess had one of her guards escort him out to go find his parents. Truly, this day was shaping up to be another monotonous one. What could possibly go wrong?
"Sister, we need to speak."
Princess Celestia turned her head slowly, her mane flowing in a similar manner to that of her younger sister, who was standing directly next to her throne. The Princess of the Sun hadn't even noticed her approach, or even enter the room at all. Despite her slight surprise, Celestia held the same calm expression she wore most of the day. The memory of her order flashed through the older sister's mind, bringing her some anticipated joy.
"Hello, Luna! Did you enjoy my order?" she asked with a warm smile on her face. The dark blue alicorn tilted her head to the side, completely lost. Celestia was too busy reveling in her sister's presence to notice her confusion. She had finally left her room! Her decree must have worked. All it took was to bring a fictional character back to life!
"Your...order? Sister, I am unsure of what order you are speaking of," said Luna. The white alicorn opened her eyes a bit wider to match her sister's confused stare.
"The order? To bring your favorite character back to life?" This caught Princess Luna's attention and provoked an immediate outburst.
"You ordered Twilight Sparkle to bring him here?!" she demanded, not noticing how loud she had become. The pony that had been previously complaining about coffee had gotten frightened and launched himself out of a nearby window, into the pond below. Celestia blinked at the scene for a moment before turning her attention back to her younger sibling.
"Twilight did...what?" asked Celestia, her confusion only growing. What was Lulu so upset about? What did Twilight have to do with any of this? Wait...she said Twilight had done something! The Solar Princess's pupils shrank at the implications of what her sister was saying. With the amount of disasters that had occurred in the years prior, nearly anything could have happened. "What happened, sister?!" Luna realized that she must have been mistaken about what Celestia had been talking about. And she had just spilled the beans...all of the beans. Like, every single bean that had ever existed had just been spilled. Even the ones that had been used as food.
"Oh, buck. Uhm, sister, something has indeed happened...but before you make any rash decisions to correct the problem, I must tell you what I need to tell you," Luna said. It was better to introduce the problem as something she had already been working on. Her sister's large violet eyes were starting to twitch. That was not a good sign...
"Please...inform us of what has happened, dear sister," said Celestia. Her voice was a bit darker and less warm than it usually was. It was almost...panicked. Luna couldn't blame her sister. Twilight Sparkle had some very...interesting blunders to her name.
"I am about to, Tia. But first, please promise that you will listen to all that I have to say." Luna gave her a stern gaze, letting her older sister know that this condition was non-negotiable. The Princess of the Sun looked at Luna for a few moments before sighing and nodding her head. Princess Luna took a deep breath before beginning her recounting of the events that had taken place in the last couple of days.
~~~~
Miles from Canterlot, a unicorn mare had been busy working her magic with a paintbrush. She gracefully moved the tip of the brush in gentle strokes, being extra careful not to hit the green grass next to the blue lake of the canvas she was using. The picture she was painting depicted the shot of nature that she sat in front of.
It was the most amazing piece of landscape she had ever seen! Not painting it would have pretty much been a crime against Equestria. The view was just so gorgeous...she could see a beautiful lake, sprawling hills of the greenest grass she had ever seen, and to top it all off, Canterlot in the background. The city sat proudly on the side of its mountain, daring any enemies to try to scale it.
She had been there since sunrise, trying to capture the scene in its earliest vision. Hour after hour, she sat there before her canvas. It had to be perfect. Not a single color could be out of place. She just had to add the finishing strokes on the lake and-
"TWILIGHT DID WHAT?!"
The sudden intrustion in her eardrums made the poor mare yelp and twitch. Her brush flew off to the side, out of her vision. She fell back and tried to hide from the sound for a few seconds before she noticed that nothing was trying to eat her innards. With a sigh, she sat up to regain her posture and continue her work-
-just to lay eyes on the thick blue paint trail, starting from the bottom right of the painting and reaching up to the far left. The painting was ruined. There was no covering up a line like that. For minutes, she said nothing. Her eyes just twitched on their own, her mouth open in silent shock. Then she lost it.
"BUCK. MY. LIFE!"
~~~~
Back in Canterlot, Princess Luna was struggling to regain her sense of hearing. She had forgotten the last time her sister had used the Royal Canterlot voice on her, but she was immensely humbled by it. By the Moon, she thought her voice was loud.
Princess Celestia was among those surprised by the sudden shout. She covered her muzzle with her hoof, thoroughly embarrassed with herself. Sure, Luna just told her something she was not ever expecting to hear, but that shout...everypony within a few dozen miles was probably startled by it! The Solar Princess's face bore a very dark blush to go along with the shame she was feeling at that moment.
At the far corner of the room sat a pile of fancily dressed ponies, all groaning and holding their ringing ears. They had been in line, waiting to see the princess when the vocal explosion had occurred. Princess Luna's shout had scared them, but only one pony had actually been sent flying. The window-diving stallion had also done so under his own power. He hadn't been flung from the force, but had merely been scared off. Princess Celestia's voice, however, actually sent the crowd flying through the air, to the wall farthest from the throne. Many ponies that had been buried were now trying to free themselves from the unwilling cuddle pile. Even the Royal Guards, who had been stationed at multiple points around the room, had been given an air ride. Oddly enough, their postures didn't change; they were still completely motionless, almost as if they were standing. The closest representation of their appearance would be if somepony took a statue of a guard and simply tipped it onto its side. The Royal Guards were truly disciplined.
"It has been many moons since I last heard you use the royal Canterlot voice, dear sister. It still holds the same intensity as it did over one thousand years ago. Have you been practicing?" inquired Princess Luna once she could hear herself once more. She had spent the last few minutes going 'mawp' to herself, trying to get the sweet sensation of sound to reach her once more. Celestia shook her head slowly, her still blushing face stuck with a shocked expression.
"N-no...that was...I apologize for that," she stated, once more regaining herself. The princess cleared her throat once before taking a look around at the damage. The nobleponies were mostly all upright, as were the guards. The guards, however, hadn't moved from where they had landed. So, there ended up being just a bunch of stoic ponies littered about the room, facing whatever direction they ended up looking in.
It was a scene of disheveled madness, one of which a certain chaotic entity would have loved to see. Fortunately enough, he was nowhere to be found. Must have been busy doing something. Princess Celestia winced at the sight of her shaking ponies. After a few moments, she remember just why she had risen her voice in the first place and turned to her younger sister.
"Just once more, sister...what did Twilight do?" she asked, not quite sure she wanted to hear the answer a second time. Princess Luna sighed and took another deep breath. Hopefully, this second telling of recent events would not provoke Celestia into trying to murder the eardrums of every being in Equestria...again.
"Like I said the first time, Twilight Sparkle somehow managed to create a living, breathing representation of Ryan Burbank, the character you were probably speaking of before," she said. Her voice was calm, but inside, the blue alicorn was nervous. She desperately hoped that her older sister would keep her promise to not do anything until she learned all of the details. Celestia's face managed to turn even whiter at her younger sister's words.
"But...he's fictional, is he not? How would she be able to do something so...impossible?" Princess Celestia was very close to shaking, the implications of this new problem running through her mind. To be able to create a character out of nothing but magic...what would happen if the enemies of Equestria were to hear of this? All they would need to create the most terrifying and dangerous creature they could imagine would be thoughts and magic! Luna broke her from her pondering.
"From what I could understand from when I spoke to her, she is a very avid fan of OtherWorld as well. When she witnessed the death of Ryan Burbank...she unleashed an Emotional Magic Pulse, sister. Twilight Sparkle was already vastly powerful, but for an alicorn to have an EMP...she somehow ripped the memories from the storyteller and stuffed them into a magical construct," explained Luna. Princess Celestia's face had been lowering the entire time her younger sister had been speaking.
"So...it's a magical construct? But...that episode was days ago! How is it still in existence? It should have faded by now!" Celestia tried to assure herself of this more than her sister. Luna just shook her head, her mane billowing around in the same sparkling glory it always had.
"That's why I mentioned the memories being pulled from the storyteller...sister, this magical construct is sentient. It has a self-preserving instinct that is keeping the spell together. And with the kind of magical power that comes from an EMP, from Twilight no less..." she halted, waiting to see if her older sister would figure out the point on her own. Princess Celestia's eyes grew even wider.
"It's...volatile..." she whispered. Luna sighed again and nodded slowly. In a flurry of motion, Princess Celestia's large white wings spread and she made to take off. The younger sister had been expecting a similar reaction and formed a blue barrier around her sister's midsection, holding her back. Celestia squirmed, trying to break free from the magical grip.
"Luna, let go! I need to protect my little ponies!" she shouted. Princess Luna held strong, pulling Celestia back towards her. After a few more feet of tugging, Celestia whipped her head around and their gazes met. The blue alicorn had a very stern expression of an emotion very close to disappointment.
"Tia, you promised you would listen. The situation is being worked on by both Twilight and myself. The construct is sentient, but the mind inside the body is very docile, I assure you," she tried to reason to her older sister. Celestia just shook her head and tried to take off once more. Luna's grip was starting to falter.
"How can you be sure? It's-"
"He. Ryan is a male," Luna said softly, interrupting the rant that Celestia had almost began. The Solar Princess looked into Luna's eyes once more, but this time with a hint of understanding.
"Luna, I know you like this character, but he is just that: a character. You don't know him personally," she said gently. She really wasn't looking forward to having to dispose of a being that her younger sister felt so strongly for. Luna's nervous shuffling caught her attention. Her large teal eyes were now darting to the sides of the room, refusing to meet Celestia's stare. What was up with her? "Luna, what's wrong?"
"Well...I actually do...know him...personally..." she chuckled shyly. Having him as a romantic partner for two years was personal enough, was it not? Celestia was reduced to a head-tilt once more. The nobleponies were standing around in a large mass, watching the two sisters as they conversed. It wasn't any of their business, but being shouted into a wall was also not their business. None of them really considered this situation very formal anymore.
"Sister, what do you mean? How could you know him personally?" she asked. Luna didn't answer right away. Instead, she used her magic to poof a large blue gem into existence. This gem was much smaller than any GemShow projection gem, but it still held the same trademarks that those possessed. On its side read 'OtherWorld: Seasons 4-6'. The nobleponies at the door all gasped and took off running. Both sisters blinked and turned their attention to where the crowd of ponies once stood. The room was now vacant except for the sisters and their misplaced guards. The regal siblings slowly turned back to each other and shrugged. Ponies were just sometimes like that.
"Aaanyway, I need to show you exactly who is inside this new construct that young Twilight has created. I want you to see that he deserves the time it will take to help him find a more permanent solution for his continued existence," Luna told her sister. Celestia shook her head, not wanting to upset her little sister. Celestia knew how devoted Luna could get to a cause once she found it worth fighting for.
"Lulu, please...watching him all the time on your gem projector does not mean you know him as a friend," she said, trying to keep any kind of condescending tone out of her voice. Luna shuffled once again, trying not to look directly into her sister's eyes. Celestia now knew she was hiding something.
"Please, sister, just watch this with me. It will answer your questions, I promise," Luna pleaded. Celestia sighed and looked out of the castle window, towards Ponyville. She didn't want to doubt both her sister and her student...she just hoped that nothing went wrong while they were discussing this new issue. A brief image of a smoldering crater replacing the rural town in the distance flashed before her eyes, forcing her to look away. She would trust her sister...but she was going to be very cautious with the impending problem.
"Okay, Luna, I-"
Celestia was once again cut off, this time by a storm of hooves moving back into the room. Both sisters turned around and blinked in surprise at the crowd of returning nobleponies. Now, however, their fancy suits and dresses had been replaced with what looked to be lounge clothes. One younger stallion even wore a night cap. A few ponies in the crowd wore saddlebags filled to the brim with popcorn and snacks. They began handing out the snacks to the rest of the ponies in a surprisingly calm and organized fashion. The sisters gaped at the scene, but for more than one reason. They were just unsure about why they had left, changed clothes and returned. But they were truly amazed by how civil these ponies had become. Normally, they just tolerated each other's existence while waiting in line. None of them truly wanted to be around strange ponies; they just wanted to have their time with royalty and leave. But now...they were all acting as old friends. It was almost...heartwarming to witness. Why had they started acting like that so suddenly? It was then that both Luna and Celestia noticed the ponies all staring expectantly at the OtherWorld gem. No...it couldn't be.
"You...want to watch, too?" Luna asked hesitantly. The ponies all smiled wide and nodded their heads, the snack wrappers crinkling noisily with their movement. This was a weird development, even to the ancient sisters. Celestia was especially confused. What was this show? It had quickly spread throughout her nation, bringing ponies together. Over the years, she noticed more and more of her friends and advisers getting sucked into it. She originally thought that its true power of unity had just been hyperbole, but now...she had witnessed a crowd of irate nobles change into a group of old buddies right before her eyes. They had only been gone for a few moments! How did they get dressed so quickly? Where had they been hiding the snacks? All of these questions were beginning to give the Princess of the Sun a headache. She turned to her sister and gave an exasperated shrug.
"I see no fault with it. Guards, would you kindly set this gem up for us to watch?" Celestia asked. The guards, who were all now wearing soda-drink hats instead of helmets, followed her request without any hesitation. The sisters blinked once more, this time at the guards. Where had they gotten those? Had the nobles somehow given them the hats? They hadn't even moved...too many questions. And Luna was the one who was supposed to have the secrets!
The ponies in the doorway all cheered and rushed forward, creating a large semi-circle around the spot where the guards had connected the recording gem to Luna's 'SuperShow' gem. The Princess of the Moon had done the honor of pasting little crescent moon stickers all over the poor projector. Everypony in the room noticed this and gave her an amused giggle. Luna blushed and pouted, stomping her hoof once to dispell the looks she had been given. The nobles caught on immediately and turned their attention back to the gem. With a crackle and a flash, the projection hummed to life.
"Welcome to OtherWorld. Which episode would you like to view?"
****
"Please get off of me," was all I could think to say to this strange new pony. He had sat there, drooling on my pants for at least a good minute before any of my friends could actually comprehend what was happening. Dash was the first to react.
"Hey, back off!" she shouted, flying forward and getting into the face of the odd stallion. He blinked awake and stared at Rainbow Dash for a moment before snarling at her. The prismatic pony was slightly surprised by his sudden aggression, but held her ground. What the actual fuck is even going on right now? Should I be prepping for a fight, calling the authorities or protecting my ass? Or all of the above? Through my shocked silence, I became aware of the rest of my new friends gathering around me. It was nice to know they would stand and guard me if need be...but still, what the hell is this guy's problem?
Rainbow Dash and Applejack took action by wrapping their legs around the chest of the stallion and yanking him from my lap. He gave a surprised yelp and tumbled backwards onto his rump. With the removal of the troublesome suited unicorn that had been straddling me, the mares all surrounded me in a protective circle. Fluttershy was standing towards the back, but she had an oddly determined expression on her adorable yellow face. Twilight stood directly in front of me, wings splayed out in a show of dominance. Aww! Once the stallion got back to his hooves, he gave another growl and started charging his horn.
"I am confiscating this object! I own the rights to OtherWorld, and I distinctly remember not giving anypony the rights to produce merchandise such as this! You six are breaking copyright law!" he shouted, lowering his head. Was this moron for real? He was charging his horn at a princess! And threatening her about laws! Holy shit, was this getting stupid fast.
"Ryan is not an object! He is as alive as all of us!" shouted Princess Stand-Your-Ground. The stallion snorted in aggressive laughter and took a step forward. The ponies around me tensed up, ready to fight at a moment's notice. I turned my head at an odd 'click' next to me. Oh my god, where the fuck did Pinkie get that cannon thing?! And it was loaded!
"Ridiculous! Now, if you have complaints, take it up with my lawyers! But I am not leaving without that!" he yelled once more, pointing his hoof at me. Rude. The girls looked at each other, still apparently not sure where all of this had come from. Rarity gasped in sudden realization, her eyes growing wide as she pointed her hoof back at the stallion. Rude?
"Time Warner! I am surprised at you! You seemed like such a gentlecolt!" she accused. This actually made the weird pony flinch and take a step back, as if she had just slapped him with her words. He had a look of...almost shame. Maybe Rarity meant something to him at one point? No, they couldn't have been an item; Rarity was much too refined for Spasm McDrools-on-Pants. This dude was clearly off his rocker. He proved my point by trying to dash forward to grab me again, but was intercepted by Twilight's magic. She roughly threw him back against the wall, keeping him secured there.
"Fluttershy!" Twilight called out, getting the attention of the yellow pegasus. "Go get the guards!" Fluttershy nodded in understanding and took flight, soaring out of the door as fast as her little wings could carry her. With that taken care of, we all turned our attention back to the stallion. He was currently going through a shit-your-pants freak out at the concept of being restrained. His eyes widely darted around the room until they settled on the alicorn who was holding him. Then his horn lit up in her direction.
This fucker did not just-
He did.
Buddy, you done fucked up. Nobody threatens my friends!
I shot to my feet and ran in front of the purple princess just in time for my vision to go white. My whole body felt like it just went into an electrical socket. My hair shot up straight, my teeth chattered, the whole shebang. I suddenly felt everything and nothing at the same time. My ears were ringing with a sound I remember from when...I died. Was I dying again? No, I can't! Not with my friends all here with me, they would be hurt from my body going off! With all my might, I forced my body to stabilize. Only then did I notice that I had fallen face-first onto the floor. Through the ringing, I could hear my friends crying out.
"Ryan!"
It was far away, but at least I could hear it. I struggled some more, forcing my hearing to even out.
"Ryan!"
Okay, that was pretty good. Just need to focus on moving my body...there it goes. One leg after another, come on. Let me see your war face! Groan. Okay, maybe later, body. Don't feel too bad, you did just get electrocuted to almost-death and all. Now I could hear a few gasps as I stood to my full height. I looked down at the...why was the stallion not being restrained? He was just sitting on the floor, gaping up at me. Why was he staring at me like that? I mean, yeah, he was staring at me before, but this was different. The earlier stare was one of greed and ownership. This one was...shock and awe? Something like that. I looked around and saw the same expression on every other face in the room.
"What?" came out of my mouth. That's what I meant to say, but not in the voice that came out. It made me freeze in place and replay the sound in my head a few times over. What the hell was that? It was like my voice, but another voice was in there, too. Two voices had came from my throat at the same time...creepy as shit. Oh, well, time to give this fucker a verbal bitchslap. I stepped forward and leaned down, wrapping my hands under his legs and picking him up in a manner very similar to how I would pick up a cat. The stallion just stared at me with pin-prick eyes, his mouth still hanging down. Good, he won't interrupt me, then.
"Ryan! Don't!" shouted Twilight from behind me. I turned my head in confusion and stared at the alicorn. What did she think I was going to do, eat him?
"Don't worry, Twi, just going to scold this pussnugget," I told her. She stared at me for a few moments, her whole body shaking. Wait...was she...MOTHERFUCKER MADE HER CRY! Oh, look! Not just her! The others were shaking in fucking shocked fear. They must have thought I had just gotten my ass fried. This nugget just signed his death warrant. I turned to look at him slowly, a murderous glint in my eyes. The stallion, Time Warner as Rarity had said, was shivering now. Oh, this was going to be delicious.
"Hey, Time," I spoke up, catching his attention. His shivering only got worse. "Ever hear the story about the asparagus plants?"
Well, that did it. Time Warner froze for a moment, looking at me with a slack-jaw. After a few moments of silence, he turned back on and proceeded to freak the fuck out. He squirmed with all of his might, trying his damn hardest to escape my grip. With the magic coursing through me, he stood no chance. I barely even felt him fighting.
"NO! LET ME GO! HELP!" he sobbed, tears of fear running down his bright blue face. Behind me, I could hear some shuffling. I guess the girls were diving for cover, looking for anything to cover their ears with. I didn't blame them. I smiled and looked down at the shivering stallion. Now he was in for it.
Just as I was about to begin my tale, however, I suddenly felt very...full. Inside I could feel my stomach area bloating. When I looked down, I noticed my hands glowing once again. That wasn't the only thing that terrified the fuck out of me though.
They were glowing two different colors.
My left hand was giving off Twilight's familiar violet aura, as it had before. But my right hand, on the other hand, was shooting out a bright blue color very similar to the color that the stallion's horn had became when he was charging his spell. And come to think of it...it was the same color that blinded me when I stood in front of Twilight. But that meant...
Oh.
Oh fuck. That was Time Warner's magic. What the hell was it doing inside of me?! Did...did I fucking absorb that shit? Ew, goddamn gross! Get it out of me, get it out of me, get it- what's that? I was getting a very...odd...feeling. Something was coming up my body through my chest. I was only vaguely aware of the room around me. I think my eyes had probably been glazed over for at least a few good moments. Maybe a minute? Time Warner was staring at me now, unsure of exactly what was happening. He had stopped shivering and his face was no longer producing moisture. It was at this time that he made the super amazing awesome decision of trying to hit me again with his magic.
"Let go of me, bucker!" he shouted as his horn shocker thing hit me once more. This time, it didn't knock me down or fry me to the point of almost dying. No, what it did do was to force that lump in my chest up higher. Holy crap, it's going to come out!
Higher! Oh god, it hurts! What the hell is going on?!
Dude, stop with the magic! It's just making things worse! I'm serious! I'm going to-
-going to...oh, jeez, here it comes...uh-
"BRAAAAAAAAAAAAAP!~"
*Crash*
...
That was epic! Did that super belch just happen? I must have set a record or something! I wonder if the girls saw that! I turned around to look at them, only to see them rushing behind where I had been standing. Where were they going? I followed behind them, through a newly opened hole in the wall. Shit, did Time do this? That guy better pay for this! Rarity didn't deserve for her Boutique to become Swiss cheese.
Okay, they were crowding around something. Why were they acting so frantic? What was...
...you know what, I'm getting pretty sick of this out-of-body experience shit. They were all crowding around me, which finally tipped me off to what was going on. Apparently that burp had somehow launched my mind clear from my body. My poor body had been sent flying back through the wall of Rarity's shop. Damn, sorry Rarity...I'll help fix that, I promise...
Twilight's horn lit up and for the second time this morning, I felt my consciousness being tugged towards my body. I didn't hear Mom this time, so I could focus on following her guidance back into myself. Now that I was paying attention to it, entering your own body feels fucking weird. It's like that weird sensation you sometimes get when a vacuum is on and something in the room matches its pitch. That weird double ring sound, if that makes any sense at all. Probably not, but whatever. Back to my own body time.
"Ryan!" was the first thing I heard as I woke up as my own self. It wasn't just one voice, however. This shout had come from all directions surrounding me. Just as I was processing what I was hearing, my body was assaulted by five fluffy bodies, all clinging to me. Aww, yes! I love the feeling of cuddles in the morning. I wrapped my sore arms around the mares who had been snuggling into me. Man, this world's physical affection was unfair. I could barely remember what had been bothering any of us when they were so warm against me...
"Oh, thank Celestia...what was that?" questioned Twilight. She had been holding onto my head, cradling it lovingly. I smiled up at her and did my best to shrug. It wasn't the easiest to move my shoulders when I had ponies piled onto me at all angles. I was just glad they were no longer crying or looking scared.
"I don't-" I stopped when I noticed that my voice had returned to its normal self. That was weird...I also didn't feel that odd feeling of being full anymore. Was that burp...was that Time's magic shooting out of me?
Wait a minute, Time! Where did he go? He has some guards to answer to!
At that very instant, Fluttershy flew back into the boutique with guards trailing her. The sight of the wrecked wall made the shy yellow pegasus squeak. She started looking around frantically before her large teal eyes settled on our pile. Her wings moved her towards us faster than I had ever seen her go. Uh oh, Dash. Looks like you might have some competition~
"What happened? Is Ryan okay?" Fluttershy asked, her eyes darting all over my body. Again, I was sore, but I don't think she could do anything to help me. Even with that cute little medical kit she sometimes had. Where did she even keep that thing? Pinkie Pie chose to disengage her face from my stomach to look up at Flutters.
"Oh, it was so weird! That meanie pony tried to attack Twilight, so Ryan rushed in front of her and took the magic hit! Then, it went into him or something and he started glowing blue and purple and he had this weird double voice! It was kind of scary, but it was okay because I knew it was Ryan and he wasn't scary! Then, Ryan picked up the meanie and started to tell him the asparagus story but before he could, the pony hit him again with magic and made Ryan do a super burp and he sent the pony flying through the wall! Ryan almost blew up again, but Twilight was here to bring him back, so it's okay! We don't know where the other pony went because he just kept flying once he went through the wall!" Pinkie explained in her own way. We were all staring at her in perplexed confusion. Sure, we had been there for it, but I still can't believe that shit even happened. What the hell is going on with me anymore? Just burping could cause me to go off? Christ!
And...wait, I did what now?
I put some effort to moving my head up, my gaze settling on the inside of the boutique. Oh, man. The whole room was filled with a blue smoke, similar to the discharge I gave off during the sneeze in the castle. That must have been what Time Warner's magical residue looked like. Still gross. Time Warner...Pinkie said that I had sent him...flying?
I looked farther into the room, at the wall I had been facing during my confrontation with Time. There, on the wall right in front of where I had let loose my magical belch, was a very new, oddly Time Warner-shaped hole in the wall.
Heh.
Hahaha.
Pfft.
"BWAHAHAHAAAAA!" I laughed, my body flailing around. Oh my god, that was the funniest thing I'd ever seen! It was just like one of those cartoon wall-holes! It even had the shape of his hair in the wall and everything. That's the goddamn best thing ever. Big-shot stallion comes waltzing into Rarity's home, tries to claim ownership over me, threatens my friends, and my response was burping him into orbit! I really wish I had a camera to witness that shit. That would have gone viral in, like, two minutes.
Fluttershy had spent the last several seconds letting everything that Pinkie had told her sink in. Apparently, my laughing brought her attention back to me. She gave me a look of concern before joining the pile. Ahh, this is the best. Just me and seven other ponies in a big ol' pile of snuggles and warmth...wait, seven? I looked down to see one of the guards in the pile with us, holding onto my leg. Okay, that's pretty darn cute, but come on, man. Do your damn job. You got a murderous blue projectile to find! Twilight seemed to think the same thing.
"Guards! We were just attacked by a bright blue unicorn stallion with a torn suit! His name was...um..." Twilight started.
"Time Warner," chimed Rarity. Twilight nodded in thanks and turned back to the guards.
"Yeah, that. Time Warner assaulted me and my friends and almost killed Ryan!" she shouted. The guards all looked down at me, some with expressions of shocked joy. I think I recognized the ones who weren't as surprised. The others must have skipped the party. I wonder if the one semi-humping my leg was one of the skippers. Well, that or just a very affectionate fan.
The guards looked at me for a moment longer before nodding at their Princess and scrambling through the boutique. After a quick look at the shape of the hole in the wall, they charged off in the direction that my magic residue led. Man, I couldn't even see the end of that thing. Time might have been actually sent into orbit. I...I hope I didn't kill the guy. I was mad, but I didn't want to kill a pony with my gas. That was a horrible way to go. Burped to death...heh heh.
I tried standing up, but the ponies on top of me refused to let go. Rainbow Dash flapped her wings a few times, stabilizing herself on my shoulder. Applejack had spread herself out along my legs, trying to kick the guard off...wait, why was he still here?
"Dude, go find Time," I told him sternly. In return, the guard held on tighter and looked up at me with a pout and a trembling lip. Nice try, but you're no Rarity in terms of pouting power. Pouwter? Nah, that's stupid. I narrowed my eyes at him, rejecting his attempt to remain clinging to my poor leg. He saw I wasn't budging and sighed, standing up. It took him a moment to figure out where his buddies had run off to. Now I finally had a free leg-
Goddamnit, Applejack. Now she had squirmed her way onto both of my legs. Come oooon!
"Uh, gals? Going to need to move sometime soon," I pleaded, looking down at the mares. They all snuggled in tighter, almost making it hard to breathe. Applejack lifted a hoof to her mouth in contemplation.
"Hmm...nah," she stated. With that, she settled back down and once again became part of my fluffy pony prison.
Oh, for fuck's sake.
I just hope they find that Time guy. He needs to be committed or something. Dude's a ticking time bomb with an attitude like that. I would know...
****
"Thanks, Lyra...thanks, Bon-Bon..." whispered Prime. The two mares had set him on the floor with a nice fluffy cushion to lay down on. Bon-Bon moved the blanket they had been using and put it around him. He had been shivering again, but it was not nearly as bad as when he had first fallen. In front of his muzzle sat a cup of hot tea, the steam drifting up and bathing the stallion's face with its soothing warmth. For awhile, he was content to just sit there and smell the cup, his eyes locked straight forward. Bon-Bon had seen ponies like this before. She knew that he was busy trying to sort out his own thoughts before he could share them out loud.
Lyra moved closer and pressed herself against him once more. He gave her a weak smile before lifting the cup up to his lips with his magic. After blowing on the steaming liquid, he took a small sip. His face brightened noticeably once the tea hit his taste buds. The small sip was followed by a larger one. Prime reveled in the feeling of the tea traveling down his throat, warming his body as it went.
"This is probably the best tea I've ever tasted!" he said happily. The two mares smiled at him. "What kind is it?" Bon-Bon was the one to answer this question.
"Oh, it's nothing special. Just a sweet tea I cooked up using some of the sweets from my shop." She tried to undersell it, but she couldn't keep the pride out of her voice. This tea was one of her new experiments, with Prime being the first outsider to try it. If a pony that had traveled all around Equestria said that her tea was the best, it must be really darn good. Prime nodded at her.
"Yes, I remember now. You owned a candy store. I remember buying a bag full of sweets last time I was here," he said, smiling at the pleasant memories. "They were all delicious, by the way. I even saved some to give out to some of the foals I saw during my travels." Bon-Bon blushed at this. This stallion, co-owner of bucking OW, was parading around Equestria, making young ones happy with her candy. No wonder she had started getting candy orders from far-away cities...
"That's right...thank you, by the way. Since you left with that bag, I've been getting so much more business. I just didn't figure out that it was you who was behind it!" she gushed slightly. Lyra giggled at how flustered her roommate was becoming. Prime Warner just smiled and flicked his hoof at her.
"Aw, it was no problem. You're the pony behind the candy, I just spread your influence a bit," he said. The two mares were beginning to understand just how good at his job Prime was. Even when he had been busy looking for ideas and spreading his own company's name, he found time to bring business to a candy maker in a small rural town hundreds of miles away. Just how many connections did this pony have? He must have had friends all over Equestria!
Lyra noticed that Prime's mood had once again soured. He had started staring into his tea, his eyes locked in place. He was no longer crying or shaking, but he was very distracted. Bon-Bon placed a hoof on his back in an attempt to comfort him. He flinched at the sudden contact before he could remember exactly where he was.
"S-sorry..." he said softly. The mares looked at each other, both unsure about exactly what to do. Bon-Bon had an idea, but it would require a lot of careful talking and not bringing up-
"Do you want to talk about Time?" Lyra blurted out. The room went silent. Bon-Bon stared at the mint unicorn, a look of horror frozen on her face. Leave it to Lyra to just rush in without a plan or any tact whatsoever. The cream mare was about to scold her friend when, to the surprise of both roommates, Prime nodded.
"Okay..." he said under his breath. That was...too quick. Had he been wanting to talk to somepony about it? For how long? Lyra and Bon-Bon shared a look before they both snuggled up against him. His head perked up a bit and his nodded once more, taking a deep breath.
"He wasn't...always like this," Prime started. Both mares nodded and motioned for him to continue. "He...he was the best big brother I could have asked for. Even when our mother...she..." He had to take a break to gather himself again. Lyra and Bon-Bon showed him the greatest of patience. "Our mother was sick through a good chunk of my childhood. But she always told us stories. Stories about her life, our father's life, stories she had heard from other ponies, a little bit of everything. We loved when she told us stories...it allowed us...well, to escape from the constant feeling that we were going to lose her soon. We had very few bits to our name...and mother knew that when she was gone, we would have nopony to look to. I think that was the hardest thing for her..."
"What about your dad?" Lyra piped up. Bon-Bon wanted to scold her again, but Prime was fine with answering.
"Dad left when Time and I were both foals. Not sure where he went, but we never really cared. For what he put mother through...well, it doesn't matter, now. He wasn't there to help us and that's what matters," he spat. Both mares were actually surprised with his new tone. So far, they had never seen Prime actually angry. He had gotten aggressive towards Time before, but that was in their defense and for no other reason. Now, he was seething against a pony he didn't even remember. Lyra wanted to deflect this new Prime.
"Prime...what was your mother's name?" she asked softly. Bon-Bon was actually surprised at this question. It had been sudden, but this time...it was heartfelt. Something to remind Prime about the good memories and not thoughts that brought about the harshness in him. The stallion smiled back at her.
"Olivia. Olivia Warner. Others called her Olive, mostly because that's what her special talent was. She grew olive trees and made oil from them. We always helped her, but...we still didn't make many bits from it. It just wasn't enough..." he told the two mares. They looked at each other in sudden realization.
"So that's where you got the name for your company," Lyra said. Prime smiled proudly and nodded his head. His disheveled mane swished with the motion, further tangling it. He was going to need a serious bath after this was over.
"Yep! She inspired me with her stories. Eventually...I learned to tell my own stories, and loved it. When Time and I eventually formed our storytelling company, we decided to name it after our mother. It just...it just felt right," he explained. His head started to droop once more. "She...she stayed with us until she died...I was eight and Time was twelve. We didn't have anypony to look up to...so we had to fend for ourselves. Those darned bit collectors harassed us to no end. I was too young then to understand what was happening, but Time...he took care of it. He learned to deal with them, learned to fight back. I don't know where he kept getting the bits he was finding...but it kept us with a roof over our heads. That was when...I lost my brother..."
"What do you mean?" It was Bon-Bon who spoke up this time. "Where did he go?" Prime just smiled sadly at her.
"Oh, he didn't actually go anywhere. It was more like...he changed. From dealing with those collectors, he learned...how to get what he wanted. After a few years, I didn't see any more of them around. I tried asking Time what he did to get them to stop, but the only thing he ever said was 'I took care of it.' Well, I eventually learned that he had put them all in the hospital. Crippled one of them, even. I never understood why they didn't try to get him in trouble with the law...I just assumed they were too afraid of him to dare. It seems to be that way with everypony we work with. He scares them and they do what he wants. That's why...why when I stood up to him today...I think he was seriously considering attacking me. If I wasn't his brother...I'd probably be dead or crippled right now..." Prime finished, his legs tucked underneath him.
"It sounds like you hate working with him..." said Lyra sadly. "Why don't you just...I don't know, leave and make your own company?" Prime looked down, in deep thought.
"I want to...but...I'm afraid of what will happen if Time doesn't have somepony there to try and talk some sense into him. What if I hadn't been here today?" he asked. The two mares shivered at the thought of a very violent stallion attacking them over something so petty. If he had hospitalized ponies as a young one...would he go as far as to kill?
"Listen...Lyra, Bon-Bon...I'm really sorry for the way my brother behaved today...I didn't want this to get so out of hoof. And I'm sorry for...well, the whole situation with Ryan, too..." He had mumbled the last part. Lyra looked at him with a confused head-tilt.
"Why? It wasn't your fault...Dream Catcher said that the President was the one who wanted me to kill off Ryan. The President is Time Warner, not you. It wasn't your decision," he tried to assure him. Prime just flinched and squirmed a little back out of Lyra's grasp. The roommates were growing worried for the poor stallion. What was he talking about?
"It...It may have not been my decision...but it was my idea..." he whispered. Prime was trembling again. He was trying to curl into a tight ball, maybe to escape into himself and leave the conversation. Lyra and Bon-Bon blinked at this new information.
"W-what...?" stuttered the mint unicorn. Prime just shivered harder and tried to move farther away from her. He didn't believe he deserved comfort at the moment.
"During an argument we were having...Time was talking about how he didn't think the ratings were high enough...he wanted to do something drastic and wanted my opinion on the matter. I just kept telling him that it was fine...OtherWorld was and still is the most popular show in Equestria. He wouldn't take that for an answer...threatened to make more time for it by booting other shows off of the gemline...then I...I told him...that he should just kill off the characters in OtherWorld...that would get his bucking ratings...I...I didn't mean for him to take it seriously...I just...I'm so sorry..." Prime was sobbing into his forelegs now. His whole body was shaking in unfiltered misery.
The mares looked between each other with wide eyes. Prime caught the look they were sharing and curled into himself tighter. They were going to hate him. They were going to throw him out of their house and would never want to speak to him again. It was all his fault, Ryan was dead and they hated him for it. They were-
-hugging him.
"Huh...?" he choked out in surprise. A mint colored body and a cream colored body were clinging tightly to his own faded blue body. He felt their warmth seep into him, their calming whispers...why were they hugging him? "H-how...why? You...you two should hate me! I'm a terrible pony..." he sobbed.
"Shhh..." cooed Bon-Bon into his ear. His whole body froze. That feeling...it was so familiar. It felt like something that he had experienced years before, back during a time he could barely remember. The soft whispers...who-?
"Mother..." he said to himself. "But...why? I killed Ryan!" The two mares just shook their heads.
"You didn't. You just said something sarcastically and your brother used it against us," Bon-Bon said soothingly. Lyra was on his other side, still hugging and listening to what was being said. She chose that moment to add to the flow of words.
"Besides, Ryan's not...uh...dead," she said, smiling shyly. Prime gave her a confused look.
"Well, we were trying to bring him back...but like you said, you can't because you don't remember him. Something about somepony stealing your memories?" he inquired. Lyra nodded nervously in response. Bon-Bon just kept holding onto the trembling stallion, knowing exactly where Lyra was taking this conversation.
"Yeah, well...it kinda has to do with that...see, the pony that took my memories...I don't know what they did, but somehow...they, uh...brought Ryan to life," she tried to explain. Prime Warner just stared at her, perplexed. After a few moments, he used his magic to clean his ears out.
"Um, one more time, please. You said that Ryan...is alive? Like, alive alive? In Equestria?" His voice was shaking now to match his body. Lyra just nodded, her hoof tracing circles on the ground next to her. Prime sat there, frozen in shock.
After a few moments, he came back to life. The stallion leapt to his hooves before running around the room, screaming at the top of his lungs. It wasn't noticed at first, but the tip of his horn had started leaking little smiley faces. Those faces littered the floor as he tore across it in his mania. He even accidentally knocked over his cup, the lukewarm liquid inside spilling out across the floor.
"WOOOOOOOO!~ That is AWESOME! WAAHAAAAAH!" he shouted as he had his special moment. Lyra and Bon-Bon couldn't help but laugh at the ridiculous display. It had been such a change in atmosphere from a few minutes ago. They barely even knew what emotion that should have been feeling at that point. So, they just chose to laugh. Their laughter was short-lived, as Prime skidded to a halt in front of them, panting heavily.
"Can-can I meet him?!" he practically screamed. The color drained from Lyra's face. He wanted to meet Ryan. That would mean she would have to show him where Ryan was. Ryan would see her. His murderer...the owner of his entire world, his family, and his love.
"Uhm...m-maybe...?" she responded. Prime just tilted his head, the hopeful smile still spread across his face. His brain chose that moment to give him another stray thought.
"Where is he, anyway? Canterlot?" he asked, looking at the two mares expectantly. They both got nervous looks and started shuffling from side to side.
"W-well, he's...kinda right here...in Ponyville..." Bon-Bon informed him. All the color drained from Prime Warner's face at this news. The smile was wiped away in under a second. He sat his rump down, still looking into Bon-Bon's eyes. The constant mood changes were starting to get to Lyra. Why wouldn't they just stay consistent for five minutes?
"He's...in Ponyville..." he repeated to himself. Both mares nodded slowly.
"He's in Ponyville...with my brother walking around..." he finished.
Oh.
OH.
The two roommates shot up to their hooves in alert. How could they have not noticed that until now?! Time Warner, the pony who had ordered the death of Ryan, was walking around in the same town as his victim. Who knows what would happen if they saw each other? Lyra and Bon-Bon ran to the door, ready to unlock it and go out looking. Prime Warner was still sitting, his whole body stuck.
"Come on, Prime! We have to find your brother before Ryan-" Bon-Bon never got to finish her command. Her voice was interrupted by a loud 'Crash!' from the left side of the house. The ponies in the room barely caught sight of the bright blue blur that smashed through the wall.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA-" shouted the blur in a very familiar voice. In an instant, the voice was cut off as it reached the other wall and smashed through that, too. From inside, they could here the shouting blur continue off into town, leaving a smoking blue trail behind him. It took only a few moments for ponies from outside to wander over to see what the buck was going on.
"-does..." finished the cream colored mare. Nopony in the room dared say anything. They all just let what happened sink in for a minute. There was no denying that the blue blur had been a pony. There was no denying that the pony was Prime Warner's troublesome older brother. There was no denying that whatever happened to have caused Time to fly through the house, the situation just got a lot more...complex. Why the hay was he flying through houses? Why the hay had he been screaming? The blue trail he had left behind was indeed the color of his brother's aura...but Prime knew that he never left it out in the open like that.
Something had thrown his brother through town.
Something was using the same color magic as Time.
Something had happened in town to have cause a confrontation.
...
"He found Ryan," the three ponies said at the same time.