//------------------------------// // 2 - 17 // Story: Four Hooves // by destinedjagold //------------------------------// “So Sienna wasn’t with Jay when he returned to collect the items you got for him?” “Nope,” Moon Gaze replies, sitting on the table by his empty soup bowl. “No clue why. First time I saw those two, I thought they were mates.” He shrugs. “I guess I was mistaken.” He stares at the mare. “You sure you and Jay aren’t mates?” Twilight nods her head. “Pretty sure we aren’t.” She rubs her chin with a hoof. “I wonder why she left. I should ask Jay or Reykan later, whoever wakes up first.” “I’ve said it before, love, but I’ll say it again,” Xana says as she puts down her empty bowl on the table. She smiles at Twilight. “That food...soup, was it? It was heavenly.” “Aw... Thanks!” Seri chirps, smiling at the kangaroo. “It’s a wonderful feeling to know that you all love my koking!” “Cooking,” Twilight corrects her. “Heh,” Moon Gaze smirks at the avian. “I can clearly see why Crazy Jay wanted to return. Food here’s wonderful, though they look weird and feel hot and weird in the mouth. Still...” He shrugs. “Too bad he’s sleeping.” “Seri left him some.” Seri blinks. She turns to Twilight. “...I was supposed to leave some for Jay?” Twilight frowns at her. She shakes her head. “And we can’t wake him until the poison’s completely out of his system. He should wake up on his own.” Seeing as everyone is done eating, Twilight asks Seri to clean up the table as she trots toward the stacks of gems. “I’ve been wondering about those gems,” Moon Gaze says as Seri takes away his empty bowl. Her horn glowing, Twilight envelops the many gems with her magic. “Hm?” “Why do you have so many of them?” the rodent asks, sitting up properly to have a better look as Seri places all the empty bowls inside the empty pot. “Did you mine all of them on your own?” “No,” Twilight replies as she begins to scatter the gems on the library floor. Her ears droop. “I uh...kinda sorta stole them from the unicorns.” Moon Gaze blinks. “...Kinda?” Xana asks. Seri waddles toward the kitchen, carrying the pot with her wings and careful not to step or bump on any of the gems. “As for why I have...or took so many,” Twilight continues, still scattering the gems, “I need as many gems as possible to amplify my magic so I can fix Equestria. Or at least see the past of this version of Equestria so I’ll know what caused this change and fix it.” Silence, save for the quiet magical hum from Twilight’s horn and the gems. “Uh,” Xana breaks the silence a few seconds later. “You lost us at ‘Equestria’, love.” “The first one or the second one?” “You lost me at ‘amp fly’,” Moon Gaze squeaks. “What does that mean? And what do you mean ‘you’re going to fix Equestria’? Why? What’s wrong with it?” “Everything!” Seri chirps from the kitchen. Twilight pauses what she’s doing. She turns and faces the two creatures sitting by and on the table. “Oh, right... You don’t have a clue what I’m talking about.” Moon Gaze rolls his eyes. “Oh! Oh!” Seri excitingly pokes her head from the kitchen. “Twilight! Do that shiny glowy showy thingie on the table!” “Shiny glowy what now?” the rodent asks, blinking. “Maybe later, Seri,” Twilight replies to the avian as she returns to her task. “Aw...” the swan pouts. “I can tell you two a short version of the story if you want?” Twilight asks. Moon Gaze and Xana blinks at the busy mare. The duo looks at each other, shrugs, and return their attention to the mare. “We’re all ears, love,” Xana says. “So let me get this straight...” Moon Gaze says, his upper body hanging above the kangaroo’s pouch. He rubs his aching head with his small paws. “This land that we live in, Equestria, is not Equestria, and you’re trying to find out how to fix it.” “Mhmm,” Twilight nods her head as she places a small pot with water on the table. She blinks. “Somehow, I get the feeling that Jay’s going to be impressed by how you summarized it all in just one sentence.” “I’ll take that as a ‘yes’...” Moon Gaze groans. “So what exactly are you doing now, love?” the kangaroo asks as she curiously leans her head towards the pot to have a better look. “Hopefully it’s something that’ll turn me back into a pegasus.” Twilight shakes her head. “I’m sorry, Moon Gaze, but I’m going to have to ask you to wait a little bit longer.” She flashes the pouting rat a small smile. “But don’t worry. I still remember how to make the cure.” “I can hardly wait...” Moon Gaze sighs. Reminding herself where she put Jay, Twilight turns and eyes the sleeping stallion by the stairs beside Reykan. Using her magic, she unstraps the saddlebag from him and levitates it towards her, ignoring Moon Gaze’s quiet comment about how freaky Twilight’s magic is. Placing the saddlebag on the table in front of her, she levitates the bag’s contents out, sets the bag aside and places the contents in front of her. “Can I have my gem back?” Moon Gaze quietly squeaks. His gem levitates toward him and Xana places it inside her pouch, careful not to squish the rat in the process. “Thank you,” he said, now standing on the gem and can now easily poke the upper-half of his body out of the kangaroo’s pouch. Horn still glowing, Twilight pulls two jars from the kitchen, flying above Seri’s head who’s waddling out from the other room. “What’d I miss?” Seri asks as she sits beside the kangaroo. “You missed the headache,” Moon Gaze says. “Unless you already heard the crazy mare’s crazy Equestria tale.” “Oh, I’ve heard it thrice already,” Seri smiles and nods at him. “Four times if you count her earlier retelling of the story,” she says as Twilight opens the two jars. Moon Gaze and Xana blink at her. She blinks back. “What?” she asks as Twilight looks and smiles at the ingredients inside the jar. “You’re crazy,” the rat says. The swan chuckles as Twilight mixes the ingredients inside the pot. “Well, I’ve been with ‘the crazy mare’ longer than anyswan, anypony, anycat, anyone, so that makes me ‘the crazy mare’s crazy swan!’” Xana looks at Twilight who’s using her magic to stir the contents of the pot. With a frown, she turns back to the smiling swan. “What Twilight told us... This Equestria being not real?” She shakes her head. “I gonna be honest, I’m having a hard time understanding it.” “More like impossible,” Moon Gaze grumbles. “If this isn’t real, then why does it feel real?” He looks at the mare, then back at the swan. “I don’t understand it.” “Oh, it’s quite easy to understand,” Seri says, turning to fully face the kangaroo and the rat. “Look at the sky.” The duo looks up, blinks, and frowns at the swan. Seri smiles at them. “What do you see?” “Not the sky,” Moon Gaze replies. Seri nods her head. “Right. So imagine the sun is up and shining. What’s the sky like?” “Blue?” Xana shrugs. Moon Gaze nods his head. “Unless a wild storm’s happening.” “Right,” Seri confirms. “What if we change the sun with the moon. What happens to the sky?” “...Black?” Xana offers, blinking. “Again, unless there’s a wild storm,” Moon Gaze chimes in. Xana frowns at him. “...Then it’ll be a blacker sky.” “With lightning.” “Say there aren’t any storms,” Seri says. “They’re still the same sky, right?” “Obviously,” Moon Gaze says. “But there was a difference, even though it was still the same sky, right?” Seri asks. Xana mulls it over. “Wait,” Moon Gaze says, rubbing his forehead. “...What you’re saying is...Equestria, our Equestria, is still the same, but different, too?” “Yes!” Seri chirps, ruffling her feathers. “Someone, or something, took the sun and replaced it with the moon! Or the other way around. And Twilight is going to find out who or what did it!” “...Huh,” Xana smiles at the swan. “You’re better at explaining it than the unicorn, love.” “There!” Twilight suddenly says, smiling and catching the attention of the others. She stops channeling mana from her horn and turns to Xana. “I don’t think I answered your question yet. Sorry about that.” Xana blinks. “What question, love?” Twilight gestures with a hoof at the pot. “You asked what I was doing. Sorry if I wasn’t able to answer you earlier.” The kangaroo shrugs. “It’s okay, love.” She looks at the pot and blinks, noticing the once crystal-clear water inside is now purple in color. “So what is it?” “It’s a potion,” Twilight replies as she stands up. “I was making a potion, and now it’s done. Well, almost. It’ll help me see the past. All I need to do now is to cast an alicorn-level magic to turn it white.” “Alicorn?” Moon Gaze asks. “And then we drink it, right?” Seri asks, eyeing the liquid inside the pot. “Mmm... Looks like one of those delicious drinks you sometimes make, Twilight. Dews, right? Or pee?” Xana blinks. “...Purple pee?” “Juice, Seri, and no, it’s not,” Twilight frowns at the avian. “And this isn’t tea, either...” She blinks. “And ‘we’?” Seri nods at her. “Why not? It looks plenty enough for all of us!” Twilight rubs her chin with a hoof. “Actually, not including the sleeping duo, it’s not enough. Buuuuut...” She takes a step back, eyeing the pot on the table. “You gave me an idea. But before that...” Taking a deep, deep breath, and exhaling, Twilight closes her eyes and lights up her horn, enveloping all the gems scattered on the library’s floor with her purple magic. Moon Gaze and Xana are looking at the glowing gems with worry and discomfort, but Seri smiles a reassuring smile at them, making them feel somewhat reassured that nothing bad will happen to them. Strands of magic start to stretch out from the gems, worming through the air and heading towards Twilight’s horn. Seri coos, looking at the many strands with starry eyes. The other two are fidgeting with their ears droop, nervous about what is happening and what is about to happen. The strands connect to Twilight’s horn, and slowly, the purple aura from her horn is becoming whiter and brighter. Seconds pass, turning into minutes. Twilight grunts from the magical strain, her horn shining brighter and brighter, painting the entire library in bright white light and deep black shadows. Sweat runs down her face as she grinds her teeth in concentration. “...A-almost...grr...g-got it...!” Moon Gaze hides inside the kangaroo’s pouch. Xana takes a step back. “I...I-I feel strangely...warm...and positively wonderful, but...” And then another. “...I think we should run.” “No no no,” Seri says, eyeing the end of one of the many magical strands in the air. “I think it’ll be over soon!” Moon Gaze pokes his long snout out of the pouch. “Y-yeah, us, will be done for.” Sensing the last of the magical strands fuse in her horn, Twilight then squints her shining as white eyes open. Both light from her eyes and her horn then suddenly turn black, oozing with green, mist-like energy and purple, bubble-like auras. Seri, Xana and Moon Gaze shudder violently, their features drooping, suddenly fearing for their lives. “Thundercrap! She’s gonna kill us!” Moon Gaze squeaks in fright. “I don’t want to die as a rat!” “W-wow...” Seri shivers all over, pulling her head back in fright. “...W-why does it feel like we’re all going to die so suddenly?” Xana wants to run, but she can’t find the will to move as she stares at death right in front of her. Without warning, Twilight suddenly fires a black beam towards the pot, making Moon Gaze and Seri yelp in fright. Enveloped by a powerful negative magic, the pot shakes on the table, the liquid inside bubbling and sizzling as the purple color evaporates. Black to purple, the aura on her horn vanishes as Twilight collapses on the floor with a tired grunt. Nervously, Seri and Xana crane their heads to see if the mare is okay. “...I-I’m okay,” Twilight breathes out. Moon Gaze pokes his head out of the kangaroo’s head. “What was that just now—?” His eyes grow wide as he and the others eye the white liquid inside the pot. “...Why does that...water-holding rock thing feel so...dangerous?” “I know, right?” Seri nods her head in agreement, too afraid to touch or even look at the pot. “...Drinking it sounds like a bad idea now.” “No kidding.” Slowly, Twilight rises to her hooves. She wipes the sweat off of her head as she stares at the others across the table. “S-sorry about that. I underestimated how...negative dark magic is.” She shakes her head. “I didn’t mean to scare you guys. I’m sorry.” “N-n...” Xana smiles a nervous smile. “...It’s alright, love. No harm done, r-right?” “So what is it, Twilight?” Seri asks. Twilight eyes the pot. “It’s a special potion that will help me see the past.” “See the past, huh?” Moon Gaze says. “I wouldn’t mind seeing my sexy pegasus self again.” “I’ll help you return to normal,” Twilight tells him with a gentle smile. “I promise.” Moon Gaze blinks at her, failing to notice the heat on his cheeks. Seri notices it however, and smiles a wide smile. “E-er, okay,” the rat manages to squeak quietly. He looks elsewhere. “...I feel weird. I blame the magic earlier.” “Magic,” Seri says. She snickers. “Sure, sure...” “Hm?” Twilight blinks at her. “What’s so funny, Seri?” “Oh, nothing,” Seri shakes her head with an amused smile. She then gestures the pot with her head. “So... We get to drink it and see the past?” Xana blinks at Seri. “I thought you said it’s a bad idea.” “No,” the mare shakes her head. “I’ll be the one who’ll drink it.” Seri pouts. Twilight lights up her horn. “Buuut, I’ll let you guys see the past, too.” She smiles at them as the gems on the floor glow in purple aura. “That is, if you want to help me investigate.” “Sure,” Xana nods her head. “Whatever ‘investgate’ means.” “Twilight wants us to help her check what changed Equestria,” Seri explains to the kangaroo. “Ahh,” Xana ahh’s, nodding her head in understanding. She shrugs. “Can’t be too hard.” Moon Gaze shrugs. “Why not? I might as well help the mare who’s going to help me return to being a pegasus.” He glares a soft glare at the mare. “As long as there won’t be any more freaky killer magics involved.” “No promises,” Twilight says as the purple glow on the gems die down. She then levitates the pot towards her. “I suggest we all sit down.” She sits down, the pot levitating in front of her muzzle. Seeing the others sitting down, she takes a breath to prepare herself, exhale, then drinks the white liquid. The others wince, feeling the negative energy oozing from the drink. Stifling a burp, Twilight places the empty pot back on the table. She fails to stop herself from shivering. “Well, it should start any seco—” Bright white light suddenly flashes from Twilight’s eyes and muzzle. A second later, the gems glow white as well, swallowing the entire library with the intense light. Twilight winces from the brightness. She takes a breath. She blinks, waiting for the whiteness to fade in her eyes. Her ears twitch, hearing many echoes... Echoes of hoofsteps... Multiple hoofsteps... From far, far away... Are they hoofsteps? They don’t sound like hoofsteps... Echoes of droplets of water, falling down puddles and surfaces. Is it raining? It isn’t a strong one, she notices. Echoes of muffled voices. Many words and many sentences, clashing with each other. She takes another breath. Finally, Twilight’s vision slowly, slowly returns to normal. She blinks. Thrice. She finds herself sitting on a pavement, in a city, full of tall, tall buildings. Taller than any buildings she has ever seen in Equestria. The clouds are thick and gray in the sky, and it’s raining. Carriages of weird designs on the roads run and stop through the traffic. She sees no drivers. And tall, silhouetted and two-legged creatures are walking on pavements and across the streets, and through her. Twilight flinches as soon as she realizes that mysterious and unidentified creatures are walking through her. She then remembers that she cannot touch anything, nor can she be touched by anything. She takes a deep breath to calm down. She ruffles her feathers and— She freezes, her eyes growing wide. Momentarily forgetting the strange creatures around her, she slowly looks over her shoulder. Her purple wings are folded on her sides. A loud splash. Her ears twitch. She turns her head towards the noise. One of the strange creatures stands on a puddle in front of her. It isn’t silhouetted. Twilight can identify clothing. She identifies shoes, long, very long pants, and a shirt behind a long-sleeved hoodie. The creature has a head. A small head, anatomically reminding Twilight of monkeys. But the creature has no fur protecting its skin. Is that maybe why its wearing clothing? Twilight then realizes something... The creature is directly looking at her. Staring at her. She freezes in fear, ignoring the silhouetted ones walking by and through her. It’s impossible, she mentally tells herself. Nopony... No creature should be able to see her. It’s looking at her with small and bored-looking eyes. It then slowly opens its small mouth, making her flinch. “Twilight?” the creature says, with a male voice. A familiar male voice. He blinks a slow blink. He then slowly shakes his head. “You shouldn’t show yourself in public.” He slowly looks around. “If the government sees you, they might catch you and experiment on you...” Twilight blinks. She then releases a breath she didn’t realize she was holding. She gulps. “...Jay?” The creature slowly looks back at her, shrugs, and walks away. “...Can’t help you, Twilight, if they catch you. I got...” Twilight gasps as the silhouetted creatures suddenly disappear, the surroundings suddenly change into a forest, and sees Jay change into a brown pony. Jay, the brown stallion, stops his trot, and slowly looks over his shoulder, staring at her. “...a lot of problems of my own already... Like...” The green, tree-filled surroundings disappear, and Twilight finds herself back in the raining city, staring at the two-legged Jay. Jay slowly turns his head towards the direction he’s heading, and walks away. “...looking for a way to get home. I’m sorry...”