Scootaloo - 18th of Midsummer ‘15 EoH - AfternoonScootaloo - 18th of Midsummer ‘15 EoH - Afternoon
A thousand million lights stretched out in every direction. They were every color ever named, and every color yet to be named. They were still, in motion, and sometimes transcended such simplistic ideas. They were alone and entangled, forming points, clusters, and constellations.
They formed a whole which undulated and heaved chaotically, yet each light itself moved in a precise order with it’s peers. The chaos was imaginary, the outcome of millions of thousands of points of lights all moving differently. Every part simply influenced every other part, and their ordered movements added up to the chaotic cacophony around me.
There was no fear. No anger. No worry. Only curiosity.
This place felt like home, not like my actual home, but the mythological version of home. The place of joy, wonder, and one’s oldest memories. It felt safe.
I reached out and touched one of the lights, it’s pale yellow glow twinkled, responding to my touch as if it were a pet, delighted to see me come home. It’s companions twinkled as well, moving towards me just a little, and in turn, changing the entirety of the chaos within the whole.
I smiled, watching the waves flow through the light’s patterns. It was better than any fireworks show I could imagine. Nothing but the light in the darkness, moving and undulating in all it’s complexity.
I gently touched another light, this one on it’s own, and watched as the green speck drifted away, pushing other lights out of it’s path, it’s wake rippling through the swarm in a way that I simply understood. Of course those patterns would emerge. They had to, it was only natural.
Yes, it made sense. If I were to brush the red and gold swarm aside, the whole would heave up and to the left. But what would that-
The patterns shifted, folding and rolling in upon itself. I hadn’t done this, what had? Perhaps I bumped something?
The movement stopped, leaving behind a large flickering flame like patch of whiteness as the whole returned to it’s orderly chaos.
The flame didn’t seem to notice me, it lurched and rolled as if damaged, moving past me to prod at a patch of silvery lights. The lights around it moved, waves flowing from it as it kept prodding the silvery, slowly dimming patch of lights.
I wasn’t concerned, or afraid. Such emotions felt silly. I was simply intrigued. What was this? Could I move it too?
I reached out and gently touched the flames.
“‘Ey!” The flames objected in a drunken slurred female’s voice. “I’m talking to my friend!”
I blinked.
The darkness vanished, replaced by the world I remembered. The small dusty, junk filled room in Lily’s clinic I had been in…however long ago simply appeared, replacing the space that had been, but the lights remained. They still hung in the air, but not obtrusively, I only really sort of knew they were there, they only appeared when I focused on them.
Shaking what felt like a lifetime of morning grogginess out of my head, I only vaguely became aware of the pale, almost totally white earth pony mare in front of me. Her fur and mane were almost the same shade of white, both of which were different from each other, but would vanish into a snowstorm. The only color on her was her black eyes and the yellow in her shield held in an aura cutiemark.
“‘Ey… Lily… c’mon. Get up.” She slurred, poking my coltfriend with a hoof as he lay slumped on the floor for some reason. “You gotta come meet my marefriend. She’s cul! Ciul? Er… uh… She’s astounding!”
Finally shaking myself out of the stupor I asked. “Who are you?”
The mare turned, wobbling as she moved, and attempted to glare at me, but only managed to make a flirtatious eyebat combined with a disapproving frown. This was not the drunkest I’d seen somepony, but it was close.
“Ma’am!” She barked. “I’ll fight you in like, a decade. Okay?”
As I tried to process what she just said and why, the pale mare turned back to Lily and prodded him again. “‘Cmon… Stop sleeping. We’re at Butterscotch’s Pub, and she’s asking about my friends and we like, are only barely friends so I forgot stuffs about you and i need to know things… For raisins.”
“Reasons,” I autocorrected.
“Ugh, for whatever sundried fruit ponies do things for!” The mare grunted before her hind legs failed and she fell over onto her plot.
That’s when I realized that Lily was not just laying on the floor because why not.
With a yelp I jumped forward and put a hoof to his neck to check for a pulse. “You never told me you could hurt yourself doing this!” I exclaimed in shock, searching for a spot on his silky soft neck where I could feel his pulse.
I found it after a few dread filled moments. It was there. But weak, and irregular.
“Oh hey, help. Cool!” The pale mare hicked. “No like… I tried pokes. He’s not getting up to pokes. We have a bucket of water? It’s cool you're helping. So like, you’re gonna give me that decade? Cuz… Marefriend. She’s waiting… ‘n stuff.”
“Go be drunk somewhere else!” I hissed as I rolled Lily onto his back.
“I can’t… Like, she doesn't believe that I have a male friend that looks like a mare. So I gotta bring him to the bar,” the mare said as she struggled back up to her hooves. “He’ll go, he’s cool… Just like, wake him up quick.”
How the buck did she even get here while being that drunk?
“He’s not asleep, he’s bucking dying! GO get some help!” I demanded angrily, before doing my best to remember how you did CPR.
The drunk mare waved one hoof and sputtered. “No he’s not! If he was I’d know. I’m like.. You know… Oh… Wait… I don’t do that anymore… Shit.”
Ignoring the incapacitated drunk mare I set both hooves on Lily’s chest and gently pushed down three times. That didn’t feel like what you were supposed to do, but time was of the essence here, right?
“Uh…” The mare stammered. “Just like…zap him okay.”
“I’m not a unicorn!” I growled.
“Well duh,” She grumbled. “So like… Are you my replacement? You know, for the whole death job?”
“My coltfriend is dying! Ether shut the buck up or go get help!” I shouted angrily.
The pale mare triple blinked. “Coltfriend?”
I ignored the drunken albino as best I could and did another round of chest pushes. “Come on! Get up, you can do it. Please don’t kill yourself trying to do something for me!” I pleased, tears starting to flow down my cheeks.
“Wait… Like… Oh. So you don’t know? How?” The drunk mare asked in surprise, one eye dilating larger than the other. “I’m too drunk for this… Hold on.”
I snapped my head up to demand she go get help, only to yelp in alarm as she literally seemed to vanished into a fold in space, like the universe itself just drew a sheet over where she had been standing!
“Ah! What the buck?” I yelped, jumping back and pulling Lily into my arms protectively.
A second before I could react further, the room’s door flew open! “Heard yelling, what’s the prob- Oh shit!” Sky exclaimed literally as soon as the door opened. “Medical Emergency!”
If I could have described the chaos of the next ten seconds, I could probably have described the entirety of the world. Between the vanishing, possibly hallucinated drunk mare, the half a dozen assorted ponies and changelings flooding the room in a frenzy of activity. Worried orders, sounds of furniture moving, it was all a blurry mess.
Why didn’t you tell me you could hurt yourself? I would never have let you do it if you had. What was the risk to me? Getting a condition you could fix? But this? Why?
He laid there limp in my lap. A soft wad of almost totally still soft fur. Barely breathing. Why didn’t you tell me? I can’t have you die because of me!
“Ma’am,” someone said, “let go of h-”
The sharp crack which cut off the speaker almost simultaneously aligned with the splintering of wood. It took me a full second to realize I had punched someone. It took me another second to realize I had punched them through a wall into the hallway!
“Eep! I’m sorry! I didn’t even know I was going to hit you! Are you okay?” I asked, realizing my left hoof was still extended in the straight arm punch I’d reflexively thrown.
The room stayed silent as the battered changeling pushed herself up, sparks of green magic regenerating cracks in her shell. “Ow… Bucking ponies… With their stupid questions… ‘Are you okay?’ I just went through two four by fours!”
“Ayna, cool it! She’s already stressed enough,” Sky ordered. “Scoots, I know you're panicking, but you need to let him go. We have to do first aid. Okay?”
I bit my lip and slowly let go of Lily, allowing Sky to gently set him on the floor. “For the future, Scoots, never move an injured person. You don’t know what’s wrong. You could hurt them more, okay?”
“Okay,” I acknowledged, before turning back to Ayna. “I’m sorry. I didn’t even know I could do that.”
“No, it’s fine, I get it. I’m just pissed at that stupid bucking question. It’s a button issue. Also, stop working out, you don’t need it anymore,” she groaned, spitting out a line of green fluid.
I flinched again. “Super sorry.”
How had I even done that? I’d boxed with Applebloom a few times but I’d never managed to do more then knock her over.
An electronic beep jerked my attention back to Sky as he glanced at a watch-like device on his wrist with a frown. “Okay, so, I don’t know what this means. Anyone here have medical training?”
A taller changeling quickly grabbed his watch with her magic and pulled it off his pastern gently, but quickly, to check whatever was on the screen. I felt completely helpless, unable to do more then watch and dread the news.
Suddenly a hoof gently touched my shoulder, giving it a reassuring squeeze. “Trixie understands your pain. It will be okay,” Trixie soothed gently.
“He channeled too much mana at once,” the changeling said finally. “He’ll need to be force fed a nutrient slurry or two, but only if we can stop him attempting to digest himself to replace the lost mana.”
“Great! How do we do that? I only brought a basic medical kit,” Sky replied.
“I don’t know, changelings don’t use calories for mana!” The changeling admitted with an apologetic shrug.
“Fuck!” Sky cursed, the foals version of buck making me blink in surprise, and thankfully preventing me from falling into despair at the news.
“Wait,” Trixie asked. “He’s burning from over channeling? Is his horn fine?”
“Uhhh…” The changeling tapped a few watch buttons then nodded. “Yeah, it looks fine. I think. I’m just a nurse I don’t exactly-”
“Trixie trusts you,” Trixie said as she let go of my shoulder and stepped forward. “Trixie should be able to give him some mana, old soldier's trick… Trixies are expected to burn out in combat.”
Trixie closed her eyes, bent down, and touched her horn to his as her aura started to shimmer into existence. She kept her aura shining for five seconds then stopped, taking a step back in surprise.
“That’s it?” She exclaimed in shock. “That’s his entire mana reserve? That wasn’t even two percent of Trixie’s power! He must be a master of energy efficiency!”
“Is he okay?” I asked pleadingly.
The nurse tapped more buttons, and nodded. “Yes, he does not seem to be self-cannibalizing… But he will need medical attention and a few days of bedrest. We should take him to Ponyville Gen-”
“Buck that!” Sky objected. “We’re taking him to the Hive. He’s my brother, he gets a doctor I trust.”
“Uh, security might object to that,” the nurse said with a slight frown.
“He’s been there before. It’s fine. Scoots you can keep your mouth shut right?” Sky asked giving me a serious look.
“Uh, yeah,” I replied with a confused frown. “Why?”
“We Emeralds may be allied with Equestria, but we’re also kind of instinctively want to stay hidden. So we ask ponies who visit to keep quiet about all specifics of our hive.” The changeling I punched explained.
Sky looked over at her. “Speaking of which, you invited Trixie over for dinner… Did you get permission for that?”
“Uh… Point. I’ll do that,” she admitted with a shy blush. “You go ahead, I’ll stay back till I have clearance. Trixie, you don’t mind answering a few questions, do you?”
I had a million questions, but unfortunately for me Sky superseded them by grabbing my right hoof tightly.
“Hey, seriously, don’t let go. I have no idea what would happen if you did,” he informed, fishing a thick brown leather bracelet out of his saddlebag. “Right, first live trial run of the VM,” he muttered, slipping the bracelet on. “You guys finish up here, I’ll check your work in three hours.”
“Uh, what are you doing?” I asked with a tinge of fear.
“Using a prototype portable teleport device to get us to a real doctor as fast as equinly possible.” Sky informed, flipping a cover on the bracelet open with a wingtip as he grabbed Lily with his other hoof.
“That doesn't seem-” I started to say.
The world exploded into a fern shaped shower of purple sparks! A loud pop accompanying their sudden appearance, which lasted for mere seconds. The sparks drifted away from the three of us, revealing a hospital room I could only describe as a sci-fi movie set.
It had things I recognized as medical equipment, but the entire room was designed in an odd way. No traditional materials, all steel, plastic, modern…. Sterile. It just wasn’t something ponies would build. But I guess that made sense for a changeling hive.
“-safe.” I finished.
“Sky!” A female voice exclaimed. “No teleporting into my medbay unless it’s an emergency!”
“Do you not see the deathly mana burnt pony to my left?” Sky demanded irritably.
“Oh! We’ll get him to a bed,” the voice said, stepping into view.
She was a short, scrawny, extra-glossy green shelled changeling. She had a short cropped mane and tail with no real styling to them, glass-bottle-green eyes, and a painted on cutiemark in the shape of a red cross on each flank. The most interesting thing about her was a teal sash running from her right shoulder, under her left arm, and wrapped around her barrel that had a small arrowhead shaped pin clipped to it.
“Um… What should I do?” I asked suddenly noticing lightly scorched fur on Sky’s pastern. “Uh, Sky, your thing vanished.”
“Hmm?” He asked looking down and immediately glaring at the scorched fur. “Well shit... It teleports you but not itself. Oh that’s just stupid!”
“Really stupid...” I agreed.
“It’s Ayna’s cloaking blanket all over again!” Sky grumbled, “Fuck it, I’ll deal with that later. Right! Medical things... T’ilk, Yri’la said we need to get him-”
“An intravenous drip of protein and bed rest,” the nurse replied, levitating Lily up onto a very utilitarian bed with practiced ease. “What about you ma’am. Family, or are you also injured?”
“Uh… I don’t know? He was casting a spell on me when I we collapsed. I feel okay though,” I explained as best I could.
“She’s also his marefriend,” Sky added.
The unpronounceably named changeling nurse nodded to herself. “Alright. Let me check to see if anything is wrong with you.”
“Okay,” I said uncertainly. “What do I need to do?”
The nurse picked up a small pad with her magic, tapped it’s face with a hoof, frowned, tapped it again, and then again. Finally with an exasperated sigh she held it out to Sky. “If you could have someone fix this later, that would be great. Hold still miss, I’ll have to do this by hoof.”
As the Nurse retrieved a stethoscope, Sky tapped at the pad himself. “Huh… Yeah it’s not registering her as being a lifeform. Weird. Probably residual magic from whatever Lily was doing. It’s picking everyone else up just fine.”
“We were trying to improve my control over my weather magic,” I explained. “Last time I used it I gave myself a stroke.”
Sky winced. “Ahh. Yeah, messing with not totally understood bodyparts is not a good idea.”
“He didn’t tell me it would be dangerous for him…” I lamented again, ears drooping.
“Eh, he’s a bit of a derp,” Sky said with a shrug. “Probably just spaced it.”
I felt a cold disk of metal press against my barrel as the nurse started to check my vitals.
“Uhhh… You don’t by chance have Situs Inversus do you?” The nurse asked, giving me a concerned look.
“And that would be?” I asked with a frown.
“It means your heart is on the other side of your barrel. It’s a rare condit-” She trailed off as she moved the stethoscope to check the other side of my barrel.
With a concerned frown, she gently placed a hoof on my neck. “I can’t feel or hear a pulse… Are you light headed? Dizzy? Nauseous?”
I shook my head. “No I’m fine. Can we please get Lily everything he needs?”
Sky snickered. “So a half cup of remember better?”
I shot him an angry glare. Thunder rumbled overhead, making me smile at the dramatic irony.
“Sheesh,” Sky said rolling his eyes, “I was joking. You know, to lighten the mood. He’ll be fine… Unlike whoever just made whatever that was fall over in the warehouse just now.”
“Uh, that was thunder,” I said with a frown.
“Like hay it was. We’re in a desert. Underground. Two kilometers deep. No way we’d hear thunder this far down if there was any,” Sky said with a dismissive hoof wave. “Some idiot probably knocked over a pile of crates.”
“I assure you, your mate will be fine, ma’am,” the nurse promised. “I inserted a feeding tube and gave him a mild sedative while you were talking just now. He just needs a day or two to absorb it and some rest. Is she cleared with security?”
“No, but he is, so she’s covered as family,” Sky informed. “You can go anywhere with a green stripe on the wall, you know, if you want to leave this room that is. I know I wouldn’t if it was Pinkie.”
I nodded firmly. “Yeah… I’m going to stay here.”
Sky nodded and turned to leave. “Well, I should go see who broke what and if I need to fix it. I’ll come back later to see how you’re doing.”
“Okay… Uh, how will we get back when he’s better?” I asked quickly.
“Same way we got here, only without the crappy doesn't teleport with you hunk of junk…” Sky grumbled, ears falling back in annoyance. “Anyways, see you later Scoots.”
As Sky walked out the cool auto-opening doors which I really wish Ponyville was allowed to have, the nurse tapped my shoulder. “I’ll be doing a full medical exam on him, to make sure I won't need to do anything else. Do you know if he has any allergies to medications?”
I shook my head. “No I don’t. We’ve only been a couple for a week.”
Her wings twitched in surprise. “Realy? That’s amazing! Your love for him tastes, well, refined. More like an older couples.”
“It does? Is that weird?” I asked, eyes widening a bit. “Oh no that doesn't mean anything bad, does it?”
She quickly shook her head. “Oh no, not at all! Some people bond very quickly, others take time. My mother once saw actual love at first site for example. It’s just rare for love this tasty- er, refined to develop so soon.
“Back on topic, he’s gelded, was that recent? Is he on any medication for-”
I shook my head. “No, he’s not gelded. The piercings just tuck everything up.”
She frowned. “I’m not sure that would work… Unless he’s smaller than normal.”
“Well, that’s what he told me. He said it happened while drunk.” I relayed, frowning myself as I realized something. “You know… Sky is right. He is a bit of a derp… Uh, maybe you should check.”
“They’ll show up on a cat scan if they are there. And if they don’t, uh, we just don’t tell the poor colt. I don’t want to be responsible for that sort of psychological damage.” She said dismissively, “You mentioned drinking, does he drink a lot?”
“Not that I know of,” I said, feeling a bit frustrated at the sudden barrage of quest-
“Nah, he only drinks socially,” A mare’s voice suddenly said from behind me.
The nurse and I yelped. As I spun around, the Nurse demanded. “How many other ponies did Sky teleport here with?”
As I turned around I found myself face to face with the same pale white mare from before!
“You! I didn’t hallucinate you!” I exclaimed, pointing a hoof accusingly. “How did you vanish like that!?”
She raised an eyebrow at me. “Uh, same way you teleport… Obviously.”
“I can’t teleport, I’m a pegasus. Obviously!” I retorted. “Are you still drunk?”
“No, I slept it off. Is Lily okay?” She asked with actual concern.
“Are you related to him?” The nurse asked, a bit hostile.
“Well, we are best friends. So I’d like to know what’s wrong with him and if he’ll be okay,” the pale mare said in an honest tone.
“He incurred a deadly level of mana burn, but he should recover fine. Please leave my medical bay,” the nurse demanded.
“Yeah, fine, I’ll go… But first, before you medic things, Lily’s got chimerism going on. He absorbed his sisters in utero, so you should be aware that he’s a blend of like… Five genomes. Plus whatever tinkering he’s done on himself via biomancy. I’m not a doctor, but that seems like an important thing to know.” She said casually, reaching behind her ear into her mane and retrieving a pack of cigarettes.
“That’s actually extremely vital to know. Thank you. Light one of those in here and I’ll run you through with a scalpel,” the nurse informed.
The pale mare waved a hoof. “Yeah yeah, I’ll be out of your mane in a moment. So… You,” she pointed to me, “your name is?”
“Scootaloo. I’m his marefriend,” I said, giving her a dirty look. “Also seriously, smoking in a hospital? Not cool!”
“I’m not going to light it! It’s just kind of reflex to smoke while I talk. Sheesh!” The mare grumbled. “Also, given your tone there, I should probably say I’ve never slept with him, nor do I want to. Besides, I’m dating somepony awesomer. Anyways, we apparently need to talk… Mind if I teleport us to the surface?”
“I really, really don’t want to be teleported by technology again,” I said shaking my head no.
That really had not felt safe at all.
“Uh, okay? Look, can I talk to you or not?” She asked in a serious tone.
“Fine… Let’s just take-”
Space seemed to fold in on itself. The lights I had seen upon waking up flickered into existence for a brief moment, following the folding space, and gently pushing me and the mare up until we were standing atop a large sand dune. It had taken place in literally no time at all, but I had still seen every part of it.
“I- wha- how?” I exclaimed, wings flaring in shock and surprise.
“I only look like an earth pony,” the pale mare informed. A silver lighter appearing out of nowhere to light the cigarette she had retrieved earlier. “It happens to be the shape I feel at home in.”
“What are you?” I asked, taking a half step backwards.
“You don’t need to be afraid of me, I’m no threat to anypony. Except for assholes,” she soothed. “My name’s Dusk. As for what I am… Your accent is Equestrian, so this explanation will work. You can think of me as Discord’s great great great great great granddaughter. And no, I’m nowhere near as powerful as he is. We’re just the same type of being.”
I had, several, questions. But first... “How the buck did Lily befriend you?”
“He attempted suicide and I talked him out of it. Then we went for drinks at a nearby pub, got smashed, and I can’t remember anything after getting into a hoof fight with a mirror,” Dusk answered. “Go ahead and ask them all.”
“Discord has a family?” I asked, wondering why the hay that hadn’t been my first question.
“Eh, sort of. It’s more like an evolutionary family. We’re related, but in the same way that ponies and zebras are related through a common ancestor. There’s a few thousand beings like us… But most of us don’t ever interact with mortals. We have jobs that focus on larger scale things, or just don’t care,” she replied, taking a drag on the cigarette and instantly sputtering. “Holy crap this brand is terrible!”
I nervously shuffled my hooves in the sand, my next question filling me with a bit of dread. “So um… the Old Religion… It’s right then?”
Dusk laughed. “Ha! Nah. We made that up. Your species was young and mom thought she might be able to steer equinity onto a certain path, so she made the whole religion up. So well… It’s gods are real, but the rest is bullshit. You don’t have to worry about being trapped in tartarus for all eternity.
“When you die, your body simply rots, and your soul, all of the memories and experiences that make you, you, they get their own little mini reality. It’s karmic. The afterlife is only as good as you were. Nothing you do will make it better except for being a kinder person.”
“But what is kinder? There has to be some standard of morals or ethics!” I pleaded, needing to know.
“Oh yes, in fact there’s a trillion trillion different ones, all equally valid.” Dusk said simply.
“There are? How?” I asked with a confused but hopeful frown.
“I’d rather not get into the details of my former job,” Dusk sighed. “Basically, you are your own measuring stick. Sometimes, I would judge based on my own feelings and standards, but usually, a mortal's heart knows if it’s being good or not. Even if they themselves do not consciously notice their moral state.”
“So uh… Do we have to worry about a hundred Discord like beings just attacking?” I asked, watching her throw the cigarette off into the sand with a look of disgust.
“Nah… They seriously don’t care. Like, at all. They care for you about as much as you care for bacteria. Except for me because I like you guys and find your company enjoyable, my brother because he’s a sadist and likes to torment other things and yes I’m working on stopping that, Discord because he doesn't have to have a reason being Chaos and all, and apparently you.” She said, locking eyes on me as she finished speaking.
“Uh, what?” I asked, taking another half step back.
“You’re not a pegasus. You’re not one of my former kin either, you’re like me. Halfway between mortality and immortality. Maybe you’ve never met another of our kind before. Focus on me, you should see my aura. Mortals are simple ovals of light, immortals are like holes in space, and we, are like white fire,” Dusk said firmly. “Or, in other words, I can literally see you are not a pegasus. So cut it out. Who are you, what are you doing, and why does it involve my friend?”
My brain refused to accept what she was telling me.
“I’m a pegasus you crazy pony!” I barked. “I was born in Ponyville, raised by totally evil jerks, ran away at twelve, and lived in an alleyway for most of my life until Rainbow Dash adopted me after learning I lived in a box under her house because she always kept the rain from falling on her place! Do you want me to show you ID, or are you the kind of crazy that doesn't accept evidence?”
Dusk took a deep breath, and slowly let it out. “Alright… Maybe I was mistaken. Maybe you were a pegasus at some point. But you are not one now, and I can prove it.”
“No you can’t,” I said rolling my eyes.
“Yea I can,” Dusk said with a smirk. “Could a pegasus make it rain in a place like this?”
Could a pegasus make it rain? Yea sure, but not in a desert like this. I could feel the dryness with my tongue.
“No. Well, maybe if they went really high up to gather water vapor,” I conceded.
“Right. But you can. Right now. Right here… Assuming I’m seeing you correctly,” Dusk said, retrieving a second pack of cigarettes from her mane.
Rolling my eyes I opened my mouth to object.
“Humor me,” Dusk said in a pleading tone.
“Fine… What do I do?” I asked with a sigh.
“You know those lights you can see?” Dusk asked. “Push them. You’ll know how. The knowledge is simply a part of you.”
I blinked. “How do you know about the lights?”
“Because I see them too. I also know what they actually are, and once you understand I’m telling the truth, I’d be happy to teach you. Because apparently, some how, a random mortal becomes a minor weather god,” Dusk grunted.
Weather god? I stood in stunned silence for a few moments. We had been trying to work out a way to improve my weather control… Alicorns were basically gods, and magic turned a normal pony into one. Had Lily done something similar by accident? Did I have power over the winds and rains like no pegasus ever had?
Yes. I did.
I could feel it, now that I thought about it. That’s what the lights were telling me, and what their movements meant. They were every single last individual factor leading up to what the weather was like in this place and why. As if every single part of an impossibly complex machine were labeled for easy use.
But could I actually make it rain in a desert?
Yes, easily! All I had to do was ask.
I closed my eyes, and asked for rain. The sky darkened almost immediately, thick gray clouds forming in what had been a clear sky, and within a minute, a pleasantly warm shower began to sprinkle the desert sands.
“Wow…” I breathed.
“Yeah. You’re lucky you have a cool domain,” Dusk sighed.
“How much can I do?” I wondered, looking up at the rain and asking it to stop.
“Judging by your power level, the weather within about four klicks of you is yours to command. In all, pretty weak for one of our kind… A natural spirit would be able to control all of the world’s weather at once. But you weren't ‘born’ as one of us, so well... Who knows.”
“Lily was trying to improve my weather control. It had to be an accident. Maybe he stumbled onto something like the alicorn transformation!” I exclaimed excitedly.
“If he did,” Dusk mused, “then it wasn’t just his own magic fueling the transformation. He’d need a god’s help… Or perhaps divine magic had affected you in some way and was still in your system. Whatever the reason, if he did it, I doubt he will be able to reproduce it… Or would want to. Work like that is why he’s in that hospital, isn’t it?”
I nodded slowly. “Yeah… He hurt himself helping me.”
Dusk turned her head as if looking for someone before stepping closer to me and whispering. “He’ll be okay. I used to be the Goddess of Death, and he was my friend when I had the job.” She hissed.
I blinked, decided to skip over the ‘Goddess of Death’ part for sanity’s sake, and went with: ”Uh, I don’t know what you mean.”
“Dying is a part of life,” Dusk explained. “But death is a different state of being from life entirely. Not everything that is dead is ‘lifeless’. Viruses for example, do not count as alive, yet act like living things. There is overlap between the realms of life and death. Each can touch upon the other slightly, as long as it’s within the rules. Which means, I found a loophole to hide my one friend in my entire very very long life in. If he dies, he’ll be okay in a week or two tops.”
“Still confused,” I admitted, ears drooping.
“Well, to take the metaphysics and put them in a way you might understand; I shredded his file. If he dies, whoever has my job now has no idea of when he’s supposed to die, and by the rules of the universe, will have to send him back. He’s got three or four deaths before they figure out,” she giggled.
“You mean to tell me you gave him extra lives? Like a bucking videogame?” I demanded eyes bugging out of my skull.
“Yeah. It’s only fair. He did absorb his sisters in utero after they died. So really, if you think about it it’s only fair to give him a few extra shots since they died before they got to live,” Dusk chuckled. “What? I do that to a lot of people. Sometimes just to fuck with my brother, sometimes because they’ve earned it, and in Lily’s case…
“I’d never had a friend before and as an immortal, his existence is going to be very brief to me. So I quadrupled it because I could. Just don’t tell him, I’d rather he die of old age four times than use them to take bullets… Mortal lives are short, and I’ll miss him a lot.”
I sat down, unable to wrap my head around the fact that I was talking to a being that could just twist the way the world worked like that.
Dusk stepped over and took a seat beside me. “Look… I know it’s a lot to take in right now.”
“You can say that again…” I muttered to myself.
“Look… I know it’s a lot to take in right now,” Dusk repeated.
I gave her a sideways glare. “Seriously?”
“Yep!” She giggled.
“What do I do?” I asked.
“Now that you’ve gained power over nature itself?” Dusk asked.
I nodded.
“Well, if you were like me, I’d say do your job. But you don’t have any feeling pulling you to ensure some part of the universe is working properly, do you?” She asked.
I closed my eyes and did my best to calm down. Trying to feel for any such ‘pull’. Opening my eyes a moment later, I shook my head. “No.”
“Awesome!” Dusk exclaimed happily. “You’re free!”
“Free?” I asked with a frown.
“Fun fact. Most gods are not free to choose what to do. Most of us are bound to one task. You are free to choose, and that means you get to live just like you were before, if you want. You could go through life simply treating your new state of being like a simple power increase, or anything else you wish.”
“Well… The whole reason I asked Lily to improve my weather magic was I wanted to protect Ponyville and be a hero like my moms,” I said after some thought. “I guess that’s what I’ll do.”
“Well there you go!” Dusk said standing up. “Now you have the power to do that and do it well. Your domain is weather, but we all have a few shared abilities. I can teach you how to use them over time. For now, work on controlling the weather, and do remember this one thing. We can still die.”
I blinked. “We can die?”
Dusk nodded.
“But we’re gods, right?” I asked frowning.
She nodded again. “Yes. But we are the lowest tier. It’s possible to destroy us, and while mortals can be resurrected, barring extremely good luck and prep work, we can’t. We’re powerful, immune to time, disease, and conventional weapons, but enough force will destroy us.
“Hell, enough force might destroy upper tier gods too. The ocean eventually turns rocks to sand and whatnot. My point is, yeah, you're powerful now. A thug in a bar in Las Pegasus who decided to threaten your marefriend, he’s literally no threat to you. But say, if you pissed off Twilight, she could kick your ass into the ground.
“The word god is misleading because of cultural notions your kind has. It’s best to think of yourself as a hornless alicorn with weather powers instead of unicorn magic. Got it?”
I nodded slowly. “I think so. You’re saying that I can still die, it’s just harder to be killed?”
She nodded, stepping away as if to walk off. “Exactly. Just remember that, and work on getting to understand how to make the weather do what you want. I’ll stop by in a week or so, and we can work on other things.”
Oh my gosh! That changeling I punched reflexively! What if I accidentally hurt other people?
“Wait!” I exclaimed, jumping up. “I accidentally punched a changeling through a wall. Do we have super strength? How do I not hurt somepony? Oh bucking Luna! What if Lily and I are having sex and I just break him?”
I cringed at the thought. I might legitimately never be able to ever even cuddle with anypony ever again!
Dusk laughed. “Yeah, we’re as strong as an alicorn is. Or at least I am, you could be a bit more or a bit less. Don’t worry, you have to want to use that strength. It’s like how you can pick up an egg without breaking it. You probably were just really mad at that changeling and wanted to hurt him or her. What did they do?”
“She asked me to let go of Lily when he was lying there hurt,” I said slowly.
“Ah, well, no shit you wanted to punch her then. Any lover would be pissed at being told to let go of a hurt mate,” Dusk said reassuringly. “Trust me. You’ll be alright. I’m dating a pony, and after uh… Twenty eight hours or so of fun thus far, she’s perfectly intact.”
“Oh,” I said sighing in relief. “Good… It would have sucked to never be able to touch anypony ever again.”
“Yeah it would. Oh! Derp! You don’t know how to teleport yet,” Dusk chuckled to herself. “Here, let me put you back by Lily.”
Space warped again, moving me back into the medical bay next to Lily, making the poor nurse jump as I materialized next to her.
“Ahhh!” Her wings snapped into action, sending her buzzing up to cling onto the ceiling.
“Sorry! She didn’t give me any warning that I was going back…” I apologized.
“Ugh! I swear that nopony who can teleport has any sort of consideration for the people they materialise next to!” The nurse grumbled, letting go of the ceiling and flying back to the ground. “Just… Just stop suddenly appearing out of thin air and sit next to your mate, or use the damn door! Okay?” She begged.
I nodded and moved to Lily’s side to sit next to his bed. “It’s okay. I don’t know how to teleport.”
“Good,” the nurse muttered. “Because I have Apperateophobia… Here, hold this up like this so I can start doing the CT scan.”
She passed me a long thin glass rod with a few arcane sigils carved into one end. With a nod I held it up like she indicated, and continued helping her make sure Lily was okay. Even with everything that had happened today, making sure he would be alive and well and snuggleable still felt like the most important thing in the world right now.
The rest could wait.