//------------------------------// // Chapter One: The ordinary heaven of Max // Story: A Baker, a Princess and Murder // by SPanDXltd //------------------------------// "There. Done and done." Max connected the lose ends of the bandage together. "You've got to teach me that!" The Drakon exclaimed. "'Yup!" The human ruminated on this thought for a second. "Alright, then. Let's make a deal. I'll teach you this if you teach me that fire magic stuff that you do." Max smiled at both of them, making sure to smile extra hard at Spike. The stallion also turned eagerly towards the Drakon. If Spike had noticed, it would have warmed his old heart. He didn't, though. "What? Max, I told you that my brand of Pyromancy can't be taught! It's literally impossible for you........, oh." Understanding dawned on the Drakon, turning the frown on his face into an apologetic smile. His Pyromancy and Max's forced Chaos were both instinctual magic, not structured magic. Instinctual magic is an expression of the sum total of the user's being, powerful and exclusive. While a close approximation could be taught, it was far more practical to learn spells and base magic on a framework than on fickle instinct. If anyone, the Drakon should have been the most concious of this. Mac on the other hand, was completely confused. But he did understand that he wouldn't be learning Chaos. He would have protested, but then the hand returned to stroke his head, leading him to the conclusion that discretion is truly the better part of valour. Basically, he shut up and let the hand pet him. "'Oh' indeed." Max ruffled the stallion's mane. "So Mac, let's go over some ground rules. No heavy work, at all for the next week. That means no Apple bucking, plowing, lifting heavy objects and no.... I repeat, NO going into the forest. You aren't going to be much of a keeper if you wind up dead, okay?" Mac hesitated for a while, and then started to counter. Plowing could be postponed, but it was the start of fruit season and someone needed to get the Apples down from the trees. "Say yes." Before he could even begin however, he was instantly shot down. "........'Yup." Came the answer. "Good man. Now, I won't force you, but what hurt you this time?" The human's eyes narrowed slightly, giving the silent implication that the question was more of a demand than a request. ".....Spitter', Non magical. Ah' didn't know T'was there 'Til Ah' felt the burn." Mac conceded, looking somewhat ashamed. " Don't feel bad, Mac. If I came face to face with such a thing when I was your age, I would've been dead." The placating words did not console the stallion much. The three stood at around for a few seconds as each one debated what course of action to take. In those few seconds, Max realised that the sky was housing redder and redder by second, which meant it was almost 4:30, and he had left the ovens on. Which meant that if he didn't hurry up, he would be selling charcoal instead of bread today. "Oh would you look at the time!" Max started with a dramatic tone he inwardly cringed at. Reverting to his usual tone, he continued. "I'd love to chat, Mac but I've got to go look after my shop before Vinyl eggs it." The stallion took the hint, and began to walk towards the barn, the Drakon and the Human trailing after him. "Oh, and Mac, I might have got you the last customer for this season. You've got any applejack left?" Spike looked at Max with an expression of both and jubilation. He hadn't known for sure if he could gather the courage to ask, but Max forced to issue into the forefront. Mac, on his part, was mildly confused. " 'Yup, but 'Ah thaught Y'all didn't drink?" "Oh, it's not for me. It's for Spike here. So how'bout it, eh?" Max raised his eyebrows a little, giving a little smirk to the stallion. ".....Nope." "Yeah, that's great. So now we nego.." It took an embarrassingly long time, but Max finally caught on. ".. wait, what? Why not?" The unexpected answer threw Max off. He turned towards the stallion, confusion written all over his face. "Ah' ain't sellin' alcohol t'a no colt, Max." Mac said it like it was the most obvious thing in the world. This statement instantly cleared Max's confusion, and for a second he remained that way. Then, a curious change started to take over Max. Those not well versed in human facial expressions would have thought that he was as dying, if not for the sounds. Though Max was infact, dying because of Mac's statement and Spike's expression. Dying of laughter, that is. ...................................................... Max had to rush, but he did reach his shop before the bakery burnt down. This was because of two facts. One, he was lucky. Two, his ovens had timers on them. There was no way they would burn longer than the timer. The first point is still relevant, though, because he often incurs the ire of his next door neighbour Vinyl. As he entered the small market area where his shop was located, it was nearing 4:45. Sharp, sweet sounds of plucked lyre strings and the deep, mellow droning of the Cello resounded in the isolated little part of the market where Bread'N'Cakes was. The smell of freshly baked bread mixed with delicious sweet smell of boiling sugar from Bonbon's candy shop, all of it cast in the soft red light of the early morning Sun, valiantly trying to warm up the chilly deserted streets. Infact, to many beings, they might have well have stepped into a secret peice of heaven, hidden away on Earth. The beautiful smell spread throughout the square, forcing itself into ponies' homes, and attacking them in their beds. In the silence of early morning, creaks and moans were as loud as glass breaking, as the sleeping ponies tried placate their rumbling stomachs and fought a losing but long battle, to sleep a few more winks before morning turned them out of their beds. Max, on his part, was doing little to ease their discomfort. He pulled out the bread from the oven, mostly brown or white loaves to be consumed within the day, and left them on the front counter to continue their seige. Moving quickly, he shoved the more exotic varieties into the ovens, some to be left for the rest of the day. Finally, he properly opened up the shop, hanging the giant sign up and pushing Clark safely behind the counter, still all wrapped up. He walked in front of his shop, and gave a satisfied sigh. Then he turned his back to the shop and opened his arms wide, as if to catch a falling Pegasus. There were often two consecutive reactions to this. One, was of the the causal bystander, still half asleep and confused in the morning, drinking in the somewhat beautiful and quite handsome male striking a pose. Handsome enough for quite a few single mares (and married ones) to take with themselves to the privacy of the bedrooms and fantasies. The other was the shopkeeper's reactions, mostly mares, as they silently peered and stared just a little longer than they should have, though it was not only reason for staring. The completion of this ritual would signal the start of a new day. Atleast that's what they tell themselves. Max wasn't put off by the obvious staring. It was partly because it his own fault. A portion of his youth was spent in the pursuit of vainity, afterall. Perhaps it was a consequence of being an exotic male in modern Equestria. It didn't change that he could have moved away to a different part of town though. Instead, he stepped once right, a little behind, and left again. His hands rose higher, in anticipation for the catch, all the while looking at the erratically flying grey blotch in the sky that was descending towards him at an alarming rate. A grey bundle fell into his hands, about the size of a largish dog. A fluffy, plump dog at that. Mismatched golden brown eyes, sparking with life rose to meet his own, melting his heart. Again. "Hiya Max!" The grey Pegasus adjusted into a more comfortable position, unaware of the jealousy and the fantasies she was creating in her fellow mares. "Hey, Derpy. How's it going?" Before the mare could get too comfortable, Max set her down, to the relief of a few interested parties. With the schedule complete, life in Ponyville now started at the earnest, shops preparing for opening and the early risers starting to wake up. "Just give me a sec and I'll get the bread packed. Also, here are the specials for today. Flutters has asked for......"Max droned on about the specific requests made by his customers. As the only proper baker in town, Max supplied bread to nearly the entirety of Ponyville's 150 or so inhabitants. While he could do it himself, his disdain for using magic led him to defer the job of delivering said bread to the resident mail mare. Who was, incidentally, a very dear friend of Max. "Yep boss!" Derpy sat down heavily, raising a puff of dust, ears perking up. She had a bright , goofy smile, one eye pointing towards Max, and another towards kingdom come. Time had taught Max that her mismatched eyes didn't seem to affect her sight. Mostly. Unlike the average mare's , however, Derpy's eyes held no lust or want. Instead, they held a sort of adorable eagerness in her task. Derpy was the sort of pony to enjoy the act of living, simply by virtue of the fact that she WAS living. Though on that particular day, they seemed a mite too eager. "So, got all that Derpy? " Max handed the somewhat sizeable package to the grey Pegasus, who hefted it onto her back, fully expecting a request. "Yeah! Oh and also......ahh" Much to Max's surprise, the mare's cheeks began to take a rosier colour, one that he had seen very little before. "What?" It confused him. It confounded him immensely. And "Ummm.... c...can I get Sunday off?" The blushing intensified. "Please?" The mare continued smiling, even as her cheeks took the colour of ripe tomatoes. 'Now this is interesting. ' "Hmm, I don't know, Derpy. There just 'soo much' to do." The human didn't bother showing his smirk. It would go over the mare's head anyway. The look of dejection from the mare hit him hard before he could continue his teasing, stabbing him straight through the heart. It led him to reconsider teasing the bubbly mare. The blush didn't seem born of her request, but rather of the reason she wanted a request "Why?" He deflected the mare's emotions with a question, of which he already knew the answer. "Oh...Umm, well.... Umm... I-I have to .... go with..." A hand descended on her head, gently petting her. "Yeah, I know. Fine, take Sunday off." Max face broke into a smile as Derpy's rose in elation. It wasn't often that she asked for anything, but Max had yet to refuse her when she did. "Yay!" The Pegasus broke into an impossibly large smile. "Thank you, boss!" She hefted the bag onto her back , and took flight, obviously giddy with joy. 'Have fun on your date.' Max turned towards his first customer with a smile. 'I forgot ask her who she's seeing.' ...................................................... She was running down a cold hall way. "Hey, Celly!" The voice rang out, echoing through the chamber. It was Max. She ran faster, trying to catch him. "Hooves wide, and shields up. Always look for magic! DON'T STOP!" Starswirl was foaming at the mouth. "Hey, isn't....." She couldn't remember. She couldn't remember. "Hey, isn't t..t.." She couldn't remember what he said. She couldn't remeber "HeY, ISnT ....." She couldn't remember his voice. She couldn't remember. She was running down a hallway. "Hey, Celly!" There was light at the end of the hallway! She could see it! It was within reach! He was within reach! "Hey, Celly!" 'I can see him again!' She rushed as fast as she could, straight towards the light at the end of the hall. "STOP!" She was dimly aware of something dark, on the edges of her consciousness. Something trying to break in. "TIA!" She ignored it, and lept through the door of light. Beyond it, there was a monstrosity. Without form or shape, it was simply an amalgamation of destructive chaos. That was not the first thing she saw. She saw a human, face blurred, in it's claws. "Hey, Cel...." The claws closed. A spurt of blood erupted from them, freezing against her skin, wet and......... "MAX! Celestia woke up screaming, wet and very,very cold. "TIA!" A dark form was pinning her down to her bed. Celestia could sense magic already cast, and instinctively began to struggle. "Calm down, TIA! It's me! Lun...." Before the intruder could finish, Celestia's fore hoof shot out, smashing her in the face with enough force to shatter granite. The dark Alicorn took the hit on her cheek, skin breaking and bone cracking, blood dripping from the wound, but she still refused to move. She had managed to avoid dislocating her jaw, but blood began to flow from the wound. It formed little tiny rivulets to her muzzle, collecting itself in drops hanging of her chin, until the struggle dislodged a few large drops. Drops of blood splattered against Celestia's snout, the warmth breaking Celestia out of her stupor. Her eyes finally adjusted to the dark, focusing on her sister with a moment of sudden clarity. "L..Luna?" Celestia stopped struggling. "Yes! It is me, Tia." Luna let go of her sister, and moved next to her on the remnants of the once majestic bed, now burnt and ruined. Lighting her horn, she removed the icey slush that she had dumped on her sister to wake her. She held some of it against her aching face. The bleeding had stopped for the time being. "I.... I'm .... sorry, I didn't mean...."Celestia began, but she was immediately shushed by her sister. "I know." Luna fixed her eyes on her sister, silently demanding answers that she already had. If nothing, Luna would be able to comfort her sister by offering a listening ear. "I.. I... saw. I saw him..." Yearning and loss were etched across Celestia's face. The high of awakening was receding, bringing her dream back into focus. "You were having a nightmare, Tia. " Luna nuzzled her sister, ignoring the stab of pain. It crushed her to see her sister in suffering. Especially in this manner. Especially when she could make it better. Luna gently put her fore hooves around her elder sister, and enveloped Celestia in her wings, hiding the sisters away from the world. I will kill the bastard who dared do this. I WILL EAT HIS HEART! For the time, being however, Luna suppressed her anger. "I....I..." Words failed the Diarch of the Sun. Tiny sniffles and damp eyes gave way to undignified wails. Wails, of despair. And a deep, deathly yearning, many thousand years old, that refused to die. Hidden under the surface, it was forced out by sneaky magic. Luna just held her sister tight, ignoring the snot dripping onto her coat. 'Soon, Tia, soon. Just a few more days. You can see him again soon.' Luna strengthened the barrier around them, making sure that no sound escaped as a goddess cried like a mortal. ...................................................... "Are you sure, princess?" The young Commander trotted behind Luna. He had caught the newly returned Alicorn's attention. Not because of skill or power, but because of how different he was from everpony else. "I am positive, Sir Shining. I will handle him. Which cell?" They stepped into the elevator, Shining signaling for it to be let down, into the dark reachs of the castle dungeons. "Cell forty four. Princess, we have extracted what knowledge we could from her. You can do what you want." The stallion turned around, leaving the princess in front of the cell. "Selene, assist the princess." A shadow dropped down from the ceiling at his request. "Yes, sir." The nocturne bowed once to Luna, and disappeared back into the shadows. "I will take my leave, Princess. If you must kill her, please make sure it cannot be traced back here. Thank you." Luna, regarded his retreating form for a while. One of the five Commanders, Shining Armor had enough influence over the Guard to successfully pull off a Coup. So why was he helping? What was his aim? In Luna's experience, asking was not an option. 'Later, later. I will find out more later. For now, however.' Luna turned towards the cell. ...................................................... There was a hooded figure, standing right out the back of the bakery. Ponies didn't notice him, only instinct veering them from collision. 'I must..... I must go inside.' A black hoof took a step forward. And then it took three steps back. ' And what will I tell him? Sorry? I did all I could? I tried my best? I can't face him. I wouldn't dare. Not now. Not yet. I haven't done all I can. I need time. I just need a little more time.' The Siren turned away, and walked into a dark alleyway, sinking throught the shadow. "Just a little bit more time, friend."