//------------------------------// // 5.4 - Heartbond // Story: Quantum Vault // by WishyWish //------------------------------// July 15, 2015 Ponyville Wednesday Quantum wondered if the sun side of the mottled heavenly body hanging over Ponyville was getting closer. Either that, or podunk Equestrian villages had a habit for boiling in the height of summer. Quantum and the good doctor she was masquerading as thought alike – it didn’t take her long to find the futons he had set up in a dark corner of the lab for sleepless nights of inventing. They beat sleeping on the cold floor, but Quantum would be the last to test that theory. Derpy had a habit for draping herself spread eagle all over everything and snoring loudly as she slept. Quantum could get over the noise, but the clamminess of the humid night air combined with the terror of accidentally touching the ditsy pegasus, or mistaking her for a body pillow while the disease played on her sleepy mind kept Quantum up most of the night. The result was an unkempt, baggy-eyed, grumpy young unicorn with a strong desire for a cup of anything strong enough to kill the dull throbbing in the back of her head. Settling for a mug of hot water warmed on a windowsill by the scorch of the morning sun, Quantum watched her two companions – the potbellied little dragon and the lazy-eyed bubble mare – nuzzle one another like teddy bears and snore away. They looked absolutely ridiculous. They had nothing left except each other, but Quantum found herself envying them anyway. Quantum touched her cheek and wondered if she could ever again smile the way they did. Her ears flicked at the sound of the portal to the future opening. Eager for news from Hal about a possible way out of this mess, she turned…and nearly dropped her mug at the sight before her. “Hi Cutie,” Princess Twilight herself, devoid of her crown but levitating Hal’s control device, tilted her head in greeting and offered a wan smile. “It’s good to see you again.” “Y-your Highness,” Quantum swallowed. She made to take a knee, but the hurt expression on Twilight’s muzzle gave her pause. “You’re still doing that,” Twilight sighed. “Cutie, you used to call me ‘Twilight’. We spent so many nights of stargazing and studying.” The princess peaked her eyebrows. “Can’t you do that again? You know…” she ventured, “If I had had a daughter. I would have wanted her to be just like—“ Quantum looked away, guzzling the last of the water and letting out a lewd ‘ahhh’ noise as though she had just downed a fifth of turnip rum. “Princess. Where’s Hal?” Twilight’s smile evaporated, and she made no attempt to hide her dismay. “Hal’s fine. We have a plan, but…you’re going to need me on this one.” Quantum levitated the mug over to a table and didn’t look back. “I’m listening.” Twilight took to wandering around the room, examining the dated technological decor and trying to dismiss her feelings. When she came to a window, she couldn’t help but look outside. The sight gave her pause. “…” Quantum could only watch her sovereign and mentor. Twilight caught the look and simply bowed her head. “I’m sorry. It’s just…Ponyville has been my home for a long time. To see it like this, a-and to see…” She glanced over at Spike and favored him with a long, lingering stare. “…oh Spike. You always could keep a smile on your face.” She sighed, collecting herself. “I haven’t seen him like this in decades, but you know? If it hadn’t been for Spike, I would never have become what I am today.” Quantum said nothing. There was nothing to say other than ‘I’m sorry’, but she’d never much cared for that generic response to the pain of others. It felt like sending somepony a get-well card with a stamped-on signature. “A-anyway,” Twilight closed her eyes and took a breath. “We have business to attend to. In my first few years as the Princess of Friendship, I spent a lot of time building up the palace library.” She sighed, “Unfortunately over time, some books come, and some books go. I tried scouring every title I could think of for more information about what’s going on here, but I wasn’t able to come up with anything. However—” Twilight took a breath, “I distinctly remember coming upon a book of rare and bizarre disease epidemics sometime in my first five years as a princess. I gave that book away years ago, but it has to still be at the palace in this time period.” Quantum tilted her head, “You’re sure?” Twilight shrugged. “It’s the best chance we have. What’s happening to everypony is beyond anything we could hope to work up a cure for in the time available without guidance.” Quantum brightened. “So all we have to do is traipse over to the Palace of Friendship and raid it for this book? That’s about the easiest solution to any problem I’ve had to deal with yet!” She glanced back at the sleeping pegasus and dragon who were entwined in one another, “I’ll just get these two up and we’ll get going—” Twilight phased through some equipment and was suddenly between Quantum and the sleepers. “It’s not that easy.” The minty mare rolled her eyes and couldn’t hide her indignation. “Why does that not surprise me? What’s going to happen now? Am I going to turn into a plate of peach cobbler or disintegrate or something if I don’t pass go and collect two hundred bits on my way there?” Twilight furrowed her brow and fixed her student with a glare serious enough to quiet Quantum’s complaints. “I’ve been working with Tissy to learn all we can about this disease. One thing we can pretty safely assume is that the trauma from this kind of pain would sufficiently unhinge the host pony’s minds such that the disease can basically take over, reducing them to little more than the base components of their personality. Shypie is composed of Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy. That makes her kind and sweet, but she also tried to crush your muzzle and then stomp you to death in the name of laughter, so clearly the disease goes even deeper in perverting those base personality aspects.” Twilight levitated Hal’s control device up and began tapping buttons with her magic. “Our scans say there are definitely other ponies alive in this town other than Shypie, you, Derpy, and Spike.” “I’ve been here a couple days already,” Quantum offered warily, “I haven’t seen anypony else.” “They’re here,” Twilight insisted. “They’re in this town somewhere, and they all have the potential to be dangerous. We have to assume the worst, that nopony was able to escape this phenomenon.” Twilight paused, as if trying to steel herself from her own words. “And that means, if I was also a…’victim’…then you have a powerful alicorn princess somewhere in this town, who I guess would instinctively go straight to her books and start defending them like they were her children.” “So, what you’re saying is…” Quantum turned away, “…you’re my enemy this time.” “Possibly. We just don’t know. And because we don’t know, you need to be prepared. You should be treating this like a Daring Do novel, except that there’s no author guaranteeing your survival.” Twilight pointed at the sleepers, “Or theirs. Remember that you still have a reason for being here, and if you fail…well.” Quantum let out a terse, equine snort. “So it’s either risk being mutilated by a rabid…you, or guarantee myself several weeks of excruciating pain until I go crazy.” “Or whatever will happen to you if you stay here too long.” Quantum felt her demeanor erode with fear. There was still the white pony to consider in all of this. She trotted over to a table piled high with the random odds and ends Spike had been collecting. “You’re a powerful alicorn princess, in your right mind, with decades more experience than the one living here. I don’t suppose you can help?” “I’m not really here, Cutie,” Twilight replied somberly. “I’ll give you all the support I can, but my magic can’t affect anything in this spacetime continuum because I’m not a part of it. It’s like trying to reach into a dream and take something out with you when you wake up.” Quantum favored the sleepyheads with a short nod. “Alright. I’ll do it. But they’ll be safer here. Don’t worry, I…won’t put Spike in danger.” “Pssh, are you kidding?” Twilight grinned, “if I know Spike, he won’t let you go alone no matter what you say. And if you insisted he’d just disobey and follow you anyway.” The look she gave her old assistant was one of pure adoration. “I can’t say I’m not worried, but Spike knows the layout of the palace, and you need all the help you can get. Part of the magic of friendship is learning to accept the help and counsel of the friends you make. Spike is also unaffected by this condition, so if something were to…happen to you or Derpy, you may be relying on him more than you can imagine.” Quantum felt herself smiling. She shook her head violently, tousling her unkempt mane to dismiss the sentiment and sat before the window, facing away from her mentor. “…you should just leave me be. I’m a criminal, remember?” Twilight sighed. “And stubborn as a rock farm. You really are your mother’s daughter. First of all, we have no idea just what affect events that occur in this moment in spacetime might have on us. If you fail, our reality could be irrevocably altered. That makes this whole thing bigger than you. Secondly, you’re my student. And my friend.” Quantum was practically pouting. “I already told you I’d do what I did for my mother again. That’s my magic of friendship.” “I heard that already back in prison, Cutie.” Twilight glowered. “Now you listen to me, because you can say whatever you want, and claim whatever you want, and maybe I don’t understand why…or maybe I do understand why, because no matter what I or anypony else thinks of Trixie Lulamoon, she is still your mother…but I simply don’t believe a soul like yours is capable of what you claim to be responsible for. You still confessed to it, and I can’t ignore that, but…nopony deserves this fate. Not Pinkie Pie, not Fluttershy, not Derpy, not Doctor Hooves, and not you.” Twilight smiled softly, ‘resting’ her hoof on Quantum’s shoulder. “Now be quiet and accept my help. That’s an order from your princess.” Quantum was silent for a time. Finally, she meeped out a small, “…yes ma’am.” Twilight’s smile brightened. “Time to wake up your troops. They’re going to look to you for direction, and I know you can handle it. We’ll work out equipment and a plan. Everything’s going to be okay.” * * * * * Ninety minutes later, Quantum found herself back in the shattered streets of Ponyville; a heavy pack laden with adventuring supplies on her back. Her thoughts turned from the amusing lack of a fedora to worries that the book they were after might be a book of magic. Magic was…not Quantum’s forte, and she doubted either Derpy or Spike were any better at it. If it came down to magic, they’d have to rely on Twilight’s ability to impart years worth of practice and study into Quantum’s unpracticed horn before it was too late. To Quantum’s left hovered Derpy. The pegasus had an overly determined look in her lazy eye. Her jaw was wrapped steadfastly around the mop she had been polishing he lab floors with, which she was now brandishing like a spear. To Quantum’s right, wearing a hoofball mitt, trotted Spike. He had a bucket on his head and a pillow strapped to his chest. Twilight had been quite correct – attempting to talk the brave little dragon out of today’s chore had proved less than futile. Seeing a little of what her mentor saw in him, Quantum favored Spike with a smile when he wasn’t looking. “Doc…” Spike spoke up, his eyes darting around warily, “A-are you sure about this? I mean, Twilight has a lot of books. I mean a lot of books. Believe me, I know. How do you know this particular one is even there?” “It’s there Spike,” Quantum reassured. “But how can you be so sure?” Spike queried. “I mean have you ever been in Twilight’s personal library? She has books about the books that she has books about in there!” Quantum only smiled. “Then I guess I’m gonna need you that much more.” Pacified by the ego boost, Spike squared his jaw and added a spring to his step. The trio, followed by a fluttering hologram, moved on down the street until Derpy broke the silence with a cry. “Land ho!” “What?” Quantum turned sharply, half expecting to see an island over a sea of water in response to the ‘Derpyism’. Instead she found herself starting at a blasted structure that used to be a home. “So?” Quantum shrugged. “It’s just another ruined house. The street is full of them. We’ve got other things to worry about right now.” Derpy shook her head and pointed, deftly managing to speak through the spear-mop in her mouth. “That house moved.” “Th-the house moved!?” Spike yelped and was instantly grappling with Quantum’s hind leg. “Wh-what makes a house move? Is it the disease? Are ponies mixing with furniture to create horrible dragon-eating, lava-breathing, twelve story tall ponyhouse monsters!?” “Spike calm down!” Quantum and Twilight reproached in unison, both giving Spike the exact same glare, though only one of them could be seen or heard. Quantum continued, looking wary now herself. “It’s…probably nothing. Just your eyes playing tricks on you. We’re all on edge. Lets just move on.” Derpy puffed out her cheeks. “But Doc! There could be something really cool in there! Something that might help us on our quest to save the day!” She had her hoof hooked around the mop and was waving it around; stabbing at the air with a glee that made Quantum wonder just how much of Derpy was Derpy, and how much of her was mind-altering disease. “No.” Quantum ordered. “We don’t have time for wild horses to keep us away from our goal.” Derpy and Spike, the latter now looking bolstered by the former’s rousing words, both looked crestfallen. Twilight was tapping on buttons, and she finally spoke. “On the contrary, Cutie. I think you should go in there.” “What?” Heedless of the onlookers, Quantum whirled on the princess, “Why?” Twilight continued to poke at Hal’s device, somehow eliciting elegant tapping noises from it rather than the usual ostentatious beeps and boops. “Tissy says that if you don’t go in there, there’s a fourteen point eight two percent chance that the three of you will be ambushed on the way to the palace, and another seven point nine percent chance that at least one of the three of you will be killed in the fray.” “Those aren’t very good chances,” Quantum huffed. “No,” Twilight agreed, “But can you really afford to ignore an outcome like that, no matter how unlikely it is? Tissy also claims that if you do go in there, the likelihood that today’s adventure will succeed rises by thirty-five percent, irrespective of the other possible events.” Quantum made a face, “But that building has nothing to do with--” She cut herself off when she noticed her flesh and blood companions, who were yet again staring at her for talking to thin air. “I have an imaginary friend too!” Derpy sang and pointed at her empty shoulder. “His name’s Flamer! He’s a little baby dragon!” “Oh yeah?” Spike’s attention immediately turned away from Quantum. “Hey, if he’s a baby dragon, I could totally teach him everything he needs to know.” Spike puffed out his chest, “Cause you know, I’m kinda the dragon expert around here.” “Wait, Flamer?” Quantum sighed and let the two banter for a few seconds before breaking it up, “Alright fine, we’ll go in there. But be on your guard. We don’t know what to expect. Spike, you watch the rear.” Spike let out a ‘whew’ and nodded eagerly. “Derpy, you’re with me,” Quantum dictated, “But…stay at least a pony’s length away from me at all times, okay?” The troupe acknowledged their orders and all began to make their way into the wreck of the once cozy looking cottage. The decor was a mockery of what it had once quite obviously been – overturned couches; flowerpots and their contents dumped all over the carpets; singed holes in the walls from the raging fire that apparently consumed at least parts of nearly every building in town. Quantum scrunched her muzzle as she detected the smell of rotting produce from somewhere in the kitchen. A shuffling noise coming from the sitting room quickly commanded everypony’s attention. Quantum bravely held her foreleg out. “Stand back. I…” she cast a glance at Twilight, who smiled encouragingly, proud of her student leading from the front. “I…g-got this.” As she neared the room, she noticed the shuffling noises were covering a faint twanging sound, as if somepony were shortening guitar strings to only a few inches in length and then picking at them. There was some soft giggling as well. Quantum immediately thought of Shypie, but the voice was not the same, and the room was infuriatingly dark. Throwing caution to the wind, she lit her horn and used the glow of magic she was not supposed to have to investigate. There was a yelp and a crash. Quantum found herself on her rump faster than she could blink, and the single form in the room was ping-ponging off the walls like a scared rabbit in a locked hutch. “W-wait!” Quantum cried out, waving her forelegs, “Calm down! I’m not gonna hurt you!” Derpy paused in the doorway. Spike wasn’t able to get past her and could only watch from a distance. The bouncing form came to rest under an end table. It peered out from there, shrouded mostly in darkness, its eyes watching Quantum fearfully. The minty mare knelt down and held out her hoof. “Hey…” she began, “I’m not gonna hurt you. Come out. We’re friends here.” “Uhh, Doc,” Spike called, “Are you sure that’s a good idea? You said any of them could be dangerous!” Quantum only nodded. She knew what she said. But something seemed so non-threatening about this creature that she couldn’t help herself. She patted the ground before her and continued to call the form under the table like a puppy. Finally it moved into the light of the unicorn’s magic. Twilight gasped. The cautious pony that emerged from under the table was a mare. It had a swirling, unnaturally painted combination of colors much like Shypie’s on its coat. One was a shade of minty green that perfectly matched Quantum’s. The other was a very pale, almost grayish beige. The mare’s spiky mane and curly, flowing tail were a myriad of hot pink, moody blue, stark white, and powdery, grayish cyan. Her darting eyes wavered between blue and amber, and upon her flank was a cutie mark depicting a smattering of candies arranged haphazardly around a harp. “Lyra Heartstrings…” Twilight whispered, aghast, “…and Bon Bon…” Quantum tried smiling again, feeling sorry for thinking of this mare as a ‘creature’. She was just a pony…a strangely colored, scared looking pony. “Hi there,” she offered in the Doctor’s voice. “What’s your name?” The mare said nothing. She simply looked around, squinting at each face. Her fear gradually gave way to curiosity. Something inside her seemed to recognize the ponies she was looking at, and the familiarity had a calming effect. Derpy offered a cheery grin and waved a hoof as though she were bidding a casual hello to an old friend. Spike repeated the greeting. “Hiya! So are you like, Lyrabon or something? Or…oh hey, maybe you’re Bonstrings?” He scratched his chin, “…not that doesn’t sound right…maybe like Heartbon or…Heart…bond? Hey that actually sounds kinda cool. Heartbond!” Twilight had a look on her face as though she were living the word Spike just made up. She tapped at the control device. “Tissy doesn’t think she can talk. There’s no telling what sort of side effects the end-stages of the disease will have. She might understand you...and she might not.” Quantum felt like she was dealing with the stray cats she used to feed in the alleys around her modest Baltimare dwelling when she was a filly. She stood, encouraging the so-named ‘Heartbond’ to do the same. “Can you stand up for me?” Heartbond did so. When Quantum smiled at her again, she panted and grinned, her tongue lolling out the side of her mouth. Quantum held out an upturned hoof and slowly brought it to Heartbond’s chin. When the mare didn’t shy away, she began to scratch her there. “Whew,” Quantum smiled as Spike opened the ragged drapes to bathe the room in sunlight. “I guess she’s not dangerous.” Quantum took her attention off of Heartbond, surveying the room, until she realized her hoof wasn’t scratching anything anymore. The plinking noise returned. Swiveling her ears, she turned to find the new painted mare sitting on a stool picking at a large harp. The ragged harp was freestanding, but much of the frame was cracked or chipped, and all but three of the strings were cut. Heartbond was strumming repeatedly at the three remaining strings while pantomiming all the others. “Rote versions of their key instincts,” Twilight explained without being asked, her voice subdued. Derpy perched on the couch, Spike stood by, and for a time, the four of them sat in stillness, watching Heartbond play out a symphony in her own mind. The infected mare shut her eyes tightly, tousling her mane – putting her back into a performance that amounted to nothing more than muffled plucking. It went on that way until Heartbond rose from her seat, nabbed Derpy off the couch, and began spinning the mare in waltz-steps until Derpy lost her balance and went careening over a broken coffee-table. Heartbond continued to dance and spin, her eyes still closed..her forelegs wrapped around her own shoulders. “Lyra and Bon Bon were…really close,” Twilight cleared her throat politely and looked away. Quantum’s eyes went back and forth between the spinning mare and the ruined harp. Her eyes brightened so suddenly that it was like a light bulb going off over her head. “I...I can fix this!” “Doc?” Spike queried. But Quantum was already inspecting the harp. Heartbond stopped moving. Suddenly looking agitated again, she stood frozen, staring at her beloved harp. Quantum rubbed her chin thoughtfully. “I’m sure I can…if I can just…” Unable to resist the prospect of tinkering, she began to play around with the strings, seeing what she might be able to do to reattach them. “Cutie,” Twilight cautioned, “Do you know how to fix and tune a string instrument?” “How hard can it be?” Quantum huffed. Tab A, slot B, and….voila!” SNAP! The brittle frame of the instrument, unable to take the strain, snapped like a dry twig. The top half of the harp clunked uselessly onto the thin carpeted floor. “…hell.” Quantum muttered. There was a whimper to her side, and Quantum turned to find Heartbond staring at the fallen harp as though she had just watched her best friend die. Quantum’s eyes widened. “W-wait,” She tried to explain, “I didn’t mean…I can fix this!” She lifted up a piece of the frame and smiled, “Fix! …fix…?” Quantum lost her grip, and the piece of frame balancing on her hoof thunked back to the floor. Heartbond jumped at the sound…and the look she gave Quantum made the minty mare’s heart sink. It was a look of betrayal. Like the one Quantum’s mother nailed through her heart from a maximum security cell. With an anguished, feral howl and a flash of movement, Heartbond made as if to leap at Quantum…but simply crashed through the window and galloped away until her curly tail was swallowed up by naked walls and debris. Twilight tapped. “Well…the chances of ambush are down to zero point four five percent.” She paused, trying to keep an honest tone to her voice. “…good job, Cutie.” Quantum felt empty. She staggered over some broken harp frame parts and stuck out her hoof for support. Feeling an odd sensation, she glanced over to the end table. Her hoof had come down upon a thick book. It was decorated with cheap lace and labeled ‘Diary’. Quantum looked at Twilight. The two read.