Chapter 11: Masks
Chapter 11: Masks
::WARNING:: Chapter contains strong language at some points
Compared to waking up yesterday morning as a member of the fairer sex, waking up today and discovering I was no longer a biped, but a hooved quadruped was a far less bitter pill to swallow.
Even so my body felt incredibly awkward all over. I spent the first few minutes after Erin got out of bed just holding my new forehooves up and examining them. It got pretty boring pretty quickly to be honest. They were just hooves in the end, same thing I had on my legs. Hind legs now? Trying to sit up normally proved to be a bit of a mistake. Apparently sitting in an upright position was only comfortable for Lyra. I wonder if Meg can sit up like she could on the show now?
Grunting softly I roll onto my stomach and place my forehooves on the bed, slowly raising myself onto them. It’s not all that different from doing a push up or walking on my hands and knees. Only instead of a knee I have a hind hoof that’s made for walking like this. I manage to shakily rise to all fours before peering at my next obstacle. The edge of the bed.
I don’t know why, but the floor suddenly seems really far away. I creepy to the edge of the bed on my… Knees and elbows? I have no idea what the bendy parts of a pony leg are called. I’m going with knees and elbows. I creep to the edge and peer down at the floor that seems ten feet from me. I can do this. I flew a jet at supersonic speeds; I think I can hop from the bed to the floor. Getting back to my hooves I at first try to ease over the edge and get my forehooves down first. I soon realize that’s not happening.
I take the opposite route instead. Lowering my front half flat against the bed I gradually inch my hind end off and toward the floor. After what seems like an eternity I hear a satisfying ‘clop’ as my hind hooves hit floor. Silently congratulating myself on the small victory I begin pushing myself back with my forehooves until I finally reach the edge. A little nudge backward sends me away from the bed and lets my front half join the bottom on the floor.
“I wonder if Erin will let me put the mattress on the floor?” My next challenge presents itself swiftly as I find coordinating four legs to be a bit trickier than two. I try to remember how the ponies on the show walked but it was getting hard to picture it in my head with the weird sensations my body was sending me. For one thing my neck was crazy long, and crazy bendable. I could crane my head around and see my back half with little effort.
Gritting my teeth I began to inch forward. One front hoof, then the second. One back hoof, then the next. It was slow, awkward, and probably really silly looking but I was moving forward. Erin had left the door open for me. She must have seen how my condition had progressed and tried to leave as few obstacles as possible in my way.
Is it too soon for an ‘I love you’? Probably. I’ve never had a woman I wanted to say it to before. Feeling stupid in my current mode of motion I try to walk less ridiculously. Moving both legs on one side than the other seems to do the trick, but coordinating them is pretty tricky. Reaching the stairs my tail twitches from side to side as I regard my newest challenge. Tentatively I reach a hoof out, placing it on the first stair. Turning my body to the side I slowly get into a shuffle of one half moving to one step with the other following.
I let out a breath of air as I hit the floor and pause to take a deep breath. My ear twitches toward the hall behind me as I hear clumsy hoof steps. Not really in the mood to see anyone but Erin just now I shuffle my way out the front door.
She’s sitting on the swing watching the horizon of course. Not entirely sure of what to say I just give a simple “Hey.”
Erin looks back at me and smiles. Her smile does more to warm me up than the rising sun. “Hey.” She even pats the spot on the swing next to herself.
I start my clumsy shuffle walk toward her. “Try thinking of how they walk in the show. Front and back legs together on the same side right?”
I know she’s just trying to help. Giving me advice, good advice too. But I can’t ignore the irritation that wells up inside. “It’s easy to say, not so easy to do alright?”
She winces slightly and looks back to the horizon line. She doesn’t look back at me just says a very soft, “Sorry.”
Reaching the swing that suddenly seems a hundred feet high I sigh softly. I lift first one, then the other foreleg onto the swing and start to pull myself up. I notice Erin watching a touch worriedly but she doesn’t move to help me, no doubt not wanting to wound my already shattered pride. With a little kick of my back legs I’m up and on the swing. An awkward moment of silence passes. “No. No I’m sorry. I know you’re just trying to help.”
She silently wraps an arm around my shoulders. Are they still shoulders? I’m calling them shoulders. Erin pulls me in closer and I fall silent letting her enjoy the sunrise. I can’t stifle a content sigh as I rest my head against her chest. She’s always so warm and just being near her makes me feel better.
Once the sun has risen she looks down at me, giving me a tight squeeze. “You know what? You and Ellie should try to fly today. That’s something fun right?”
I tilt my head considering it. Almost on their own my wings flex and twitch. That actually DOES sound like a lot of fun. “I guess so…” Can’t seem too enthusiastic about being a girly pony.
“I was thinking of heading down the way a bit to see some girls that I went to school with. They live out on this commune their family’s owned forever. Apparently they went pony too. They’ve always grown tons of fresh produce so I was hoping to get some seeds for our greenhouse. You could come along if you like?” She starts getting to her feet.
The idea of being seen by anyone outside this house is pretty terrifying. “I’m not much in the mood for meeting new people. I’ll do the flying idea with Ellie I think.”
“Alright. I’m grabbing a shower and heading out. Do you want to join me or…?” Her coy little smile appears. How many different smiles does she have? It doesn’t even matter to me. Every one of them is perfect.
“You go on ahead. I don’t want to risk smelling like wet dog or something.” I say with a shake of my head.
She purses her lips in a faint frown. “Ok but you’re showering tomorrow for sure. I don’t want to sleep with a sweaty pony.”
I laugh a little now. “Ok, ok. Maybe I’ll try one tonight alright?” Then to my complete surprise she leans down and kisses me! Right on the muzzle! She even slips a little tongue. My mind’s whirling at this. Am I still attractive to her? Is she kissing me out of pity? Then I realize I don’t care right at this moment, and kiss her back.
She breaks it off too soon in my opinion and heads toward the kitchen, giving her bottom some extra wiggle as she goes. I don’t even try to hide my stare and just heave a happy sigh. I might have woken up as an orange talking pegasus mare this morning but suddenly I feel like the luckiest guy in the world.
***
“How are you doing that?”
Ellie casually trots ahead of me down the path in the back yard, prancing merrily about as if she’d been born walking on four legs. “How am I doing what?”
“That! You’re walking….trotting…whatever!”
She blinks and all of a sudden her legs seem to get tangled in each other and she falls face first into the grass. “Ouch…”
I stagger over and offer a hoof, helping her up. “What happened?”
She shrugs. “You started talking about it and I started thinking and stopped doing then thump.”
I blink slowly trying to process what she’s saying. “You’re telling me you walk just fine when you don’t THINK about walking?”
Her bright smile returns. “Well you didn’t THINK about walking when you had just two legs did you?”
My mouth opens and closes a few times. “I…but…that’s…”
She giggles. “Who cares about walking? We’re here to do some flying!”
Ellie canters ahead of me once more moving fluidly. I can’t help but smile and follow after her, trying to think of everything but coordinating my legs. Which of course is all I’m thinking about now and down I go.
Ellie swings back around and helps me to my hooves. “Don’t worry. You’ll get the hang of it! Everypony will.”
I roll my eyes. “How many episodes did you all watch last night?”
She giggles and shrugs. “A bunch. So! What’s first Captain?”
I straighten up a little at the use of the title, and fuss a bit with the goggles strapped to my forehead. I have no idea why Erin packed them for me but I’m kinda glad she did. It feels right wearing them. Of course getting them on in the first place had resulted in snapping myself in the head and face numerous times with the band but they were on now!
“Well first I think we should do a few stretches. Maybe some practice flaps and try to get used to the way the wind is blowing on our feathers.”
Ellie was nodding along with my words. “Or we could just fly!”
“I…well yeah but…we don’t know how…”
She hmms and trots lazy circles around me. Suddenly she drops into a crouch and springs upward into the air flapping her wings for all she’s worth. She even manages to hang a few feet above me before she lists heavily to the side and does an epic face plant in the grass. “…you ok?”
Her head springs up and she spits a mouthful of grass out. Then she gets a thoughtful look on her face and scoops a different bunch of grass INTO her mouth, chewing it slowly. “I’m good! And this is pretty good too! Kinda juicy!”
She makes me laugh again and I shake my head, grinning toothily now. “Alright. Let’s try flapping. We have to get our wings to move at the same time or we’re just going to fly in circles and crash again alright?”
Ellie nods and both her eyes focus on my wings as I spread them wide. It still feels a little strange, moving and flexing my wings. I sweep them up into the air, and then bring them down toward the ground in slow lazy motions. My fellow pegasus is soon mimicking my movements surprisingly well. Erin told me Ellie’s some kind of genius child prodigy or something so I’m sure if she puts her mind to it she can focus and be serious.
We’ve started to draw a small crowd as the rest of our housemates assemble in the back yard to watch us at work. We’ve been working our wings up and down for a few minutes now. “How you doing Ellie? Need a break?”
She shakes her head. “Nope! Let’s try goin faster!”
I nod. “Good idea.” I start to sweep them up and down in quicker motions. They’re definitely flapping by this point. Ellie’s doing a great job matching the pace and movements of my wings with her own. “You’re doing great Ellie! Keep it up!”
Ellie’s eyes roll in her head and both lock unerringly onto mine. Her grin has turned from silly and bubbly to fierce and determined. My own smile matches her as we begin to flap harder. I can feel the wind resisting my movements and the best way I can describe it to someone without wings themselves is like trying to swim. In the air.
We’re so focused on each other we barely notice the others are cheering and stomping their hooves on the ground suddenly. Our wings are pumping faster than ever and I realize suddenly I Can’t feel my hooves touching the ground. Chancing a glance downward I see we’re in the air! Only a few feet up but we’re still flying. “We’re doing it!”
Immediately I falter but Ellie offers a steadying hoof helping me keep my balance. “Stop thinking, and just do.”
I swallow and try to follow her advice. Just fly. Just flap my wings and stay in the air. Ellie’s leaning back, letting her lower half hang down and I adjust my posture to do the same. It’s actually a lot more comfortable hovering like this. Of course that’s how the ponies in the show did it when they weren’t moving forward to.
Feeling brave I tilt myself around to face the others. “How about it guys? We’re a couple of flying aces huh?”
I’m momentarily confused by what I see. Meg, Jules, Nikki, and Becky are all lying on their sides apparently asleep in the grass? “Ellie are you seeing these guys? We’re not THAT boring are we?”
I look over my shoulder. Ellie’s wings are flapping erratically. “Jake… m’not… feelin so hot…” That’s when I see the dart protruding from her flank. Her eyes roll back and her wings stop entirely as she plummets to the ground. It’s only a ten foot drop but she still hits the ground hard.
“Ellie!” I bring my wings in close ready to dive when I feel a sudden sting in my side. Already knowing what I’ll find I look back to see a dart sticking out, and a terrible numbness creeping over my body. I crash into the ground beside Ellie and weakly try to get up.
A pair of men with hunting rifles rise out of the thick grass from around the garage. “Hoo-ee that was a nice shot. Picked off botha the flyin’ critters.”
The larger of the two just grunted. “Whatever. Grab a couple and let’s get them to the van.”
My mind is screaming at my body to get up but I can’t so much as twitch my ear. “Hey! What are you doing?!”
I can’t see him, but I can hear Lucas yelling from the porch. He must have been inside eating or watching something on the TV. The skinny guy raises his rifle only to have it slapped away by the larger. “What the hell’s the matter with you? It’s just a kid. With a busted leg. I don’t think we gotta worry about him taking us down.”
“Yer lucky y’little runt! Get your ass back in that house if ya know what’s good for ya!”
I hear the back door slam, and silently pray that Lucas is calling Erin or… or somebody? The police maybe? She said everyone in town knows about Tom and Nikki so maybe they’d actually help.
The skinny guy just tosses Ellie and me over his shoulders like a pair of potato sacks. “Hmph. Course you grab the flying ones. Chicken horses don’t weigh a thing.”
From my position I can see the bigger guy hefting all four of the others in his arms in a big heap carting them toward a waiting van. Two more men help them maneuver us into large dog kennels inside. “Alright let’s get to this farm down the way. Three more there and that Terry guys gonna meet us with the last one.”
Terry?! Tom’s boyfriend Terry? Man I hope they break up after this. That guy was a tool all night too. If I get my hands…hooves on him I’ll beat the living crap out of him. Of course that’s a pretty dim possibility given our situation.
I feel the van start to move. Every bump in the road sends me rolling about the kennel bouncing my head off the floor or walls. The trip is mercifully short. I’m facing the back of the van so I can see them opening the doors. There’s a little wood and stone home with dozens of gorgeous flower beds all around the front. The two in the back hop out and stand by the doors while the two who shot the lot of us head up to the front door muscling their way in.
Cries of fear and alarm ring from the house. A minute later Erin comes racing around to the front door. I want to scream and rage as she stumbles and falls back, a dart clearly sticking out of her chest. A pony mare…Roseluck from the show I think comes stumbling toward the door, only to be tranquilized as well. The three come back carrying the pony mares in their arms.
I can hear voices soon. I recognize Terry’s voice, and soon Tom is in a cage with the rest of us. That’s when I see her. Erin’s gotten to her feet and is staggering drunkenly toward the van. To my horror the skinny bastard shoots her again and she tumbles face down into the dirt.
The doors slam cutting of my view of her as we move again. I feel my hope drying up, then there’s a strange flash from outside. “Uh….she’s up. And she’s running.”
“Running?” The driver frowns. “What the hell do you mean running?”
His skinny friend is looking a bit on the hysterical side. “I mean she’s runnin’! She’s haulin’ ass and she’s catchin’ us!”
“Don’t be a retard I’m going thirty five!” There’s a pause before he hits the accelerator and we lurch forward. “How the fuck is she running so fast?!”
“I dunno man but just drive!” They sound panicked. The van is accelerating more and more but they don’t seem to be calming down. Is she chasing them? She must be in a car right?
The two men in the back look to one another and nod. The first swinging the doors open. I momentarily forget to breathe as I see the woman I love running, on foot, after the fleeing van. Her violet eyes blazing with fury even from this far away I can see it clearly. Her pastel rainbow colored hair flailing in the wind as she charges after the men abducted us.
My brain sort of… shuts down. That can’t be Erin. That’s Princess Celestia’s mane on her head. I barely register one of the men hurling an empty kennel at her and tripping her up, causing her to go down hard.
Has Erin been changing this whole time, only slower? Or is it something more? Is there even a human woman named Erin Rockwell or has she been Princess Celestia in disguise this whole time? My head is whirling with questions and I keep coming back to one conclusion.
She’s been lying to me. Maybe for the past week. Maybe for as long as I’ve known her.
I’ve been hearing police sirens for a few moments now. The van swerves hard sending the kennels containing us tumbling about the back of the van. I wind up upside down inside mine. The men are screaming in fear now. The door is open and there’s some kind of scuffle going on. The one is firing his gun wildly at something I can’t see behind me. Suddenly a dart hits HIM and he keels over.
Erin surges into my view, all rage and fury. Her clothing is pretty shredded and I can see numerous scrapes all over her body, but they’re surrounded by a faint golden hue and already healing. She just leans right in between the driver and his terrified passenger. “Pull this thing over RIGHT now or I swear to god I’ll shove HIS head up your… Up your ASS!”
Wisely, the driver obliges. I can hear a lot of movement going on around me before Erin herself lifts my kennel and pulls me out. She looks…so sad. Sad and a little ashamed as she carries me outside, laying me on the ground. I follow her with my eyes as she goes back in, retrieving everyone else. Then she moves around to the front of the van and I can’t see her anymore.
The van drives off and I see a couple local cops have three of the four kidnappers handcuffed. They’re moving them to the cruiser a bit further down the road and securing them in the back seat. Finally they come back gazing down at us. “Well whaddo we do about them sheriff?”
The older officer, the sheriff I’m guessing scratches his head. “Mmm. Get ‘em back to the cabin. I’ll send Doctor Sween around to have a look at ‘em.”
The younger officer frowns. “The vet? Ain’t that a little…I dunno…insulting?”
The sheriff shrugs. “Son they look a lot more horse than human to me. Sween’s had to tend a few horses now and again. If he says they need to see Doc Conner I’ll have him go out too. Now get moving. Lying in the dirt like that isn’t doing them any good.”
The pair maneuvers us into the younger cops’ car. I notice the windshield is missing. Kinda wonder what coulda done THAT to a cop car. Of course that’s not the most burning question on my mind.
‘Where’s Erin?’ Would be that.
***
“Lady you know they’re gonna arrest you the second they see your crazy hair right?”
I frown at the man driving but can’t really argue with that. “Let me worry about that. You just worry about getting me to this center.”
He’s right though Erin. How exactly do you plan on getting us passed all the guards there are sure to be?
I sigh running my hands through my hair. “I dunno. I thought we’d try asking nice and if that doesn’t work just uh…force our way in? I don’t suppose my skin’ll stop a regular bullet now too?”
It likely will, yes. Luna and I are very powerful beings Erin. Only the strongest of magics can do us real harm. Unless your military is equipped with eldritch weapons strong enough to obliterate a star I suspect we have little to nothing to fear from them.
“Mmm. Definitely don’t think we have any star-exploding missiles, no.”
The driver is eyeing me warily. “Uh…who’re you talking to?”
I roll my eyes. “The pony Princess that lives in my head. What the heck do you care? You just have to drive me to this center then you can go on your way.”
He definitely looks more nervous than ever but what’s he going to do? He saw all the crap I just did. No way is he gonna give me any trouble.
You’re enjoying this just a bit aren’t you?
I huff. “Of course not! It’s crazy and dangerous and I’m going to be a fugitive or terrorist or something for this!”
Maybe, maybe not.
Her little sing-song tone set me on edge. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
Celestia chose not to answer now. I sigh and cross my arms. “So what’s your deal guy? You and your buddies just cruising around terrorizing already scared people?”
He frowns at my phrasing. “Look it’s nothing personal. We’re bounty hunters. Licensed and everything. There’s a five grand reward for every talking horse you bring in.”
“That’s a lot of cash for some innocent folks trying not to be stuck in some government quarantine lab.”
“Yeah well what if what they got’s contagious huh?”
I raise an eyebrow. “I don’t see you tooling around in a hazmat suit buddy. If there was something to catch, you’d have caught it.”
He suddenly looks alarmed. “Relax you idiot. They’re not sick, there’re no nanites or anything.”
“Well then what the hell is it?”
“Magic.”
Now he turns to stare again. “Christ you are crazy.”
I roll my eyes. “So a perfectly normal woman chased down your car going god knows how fast, leapt from car to car, smashed through bullet proof glass, had your cute little darts bounce off her skin, and you somehow think there’s nothing magical in that?”
He opens his mouth, and then shuts it. “Could be genetically enhanced.”
“Ever hear of anyone with super powers? In the military or anything?”
“It’d be top secret! You’re probably some government cover up.”
I frown. “If I was working for the government why would I be protecting the ponies?”
Again I seem to have stumped him. “…well we’re just about there.”
There’s a noticeable crowd as we draw closer. I see a bunch of protest signs and more than a few news vans. “Celestia, there’s a BIG crowd.”
Erin I have to apologize in advance. I need to be able to channel spells using your body. That means you need a horn and we don’t have time to let it grow naturally.
I frown. “Uhhh…didn’t you say that was a huge stain on our body and would be crazy painful?”
Yes. If you prefer I could take control and bare the pain for us.
My frown grows deeper. “No! No uh…thanks. I’ll handle it. Do what you gotta do.”
Very well. Brace yourself Erin.
I wonder what she expects me to brace myself ON, and then all coherent thought flees my mind. It feels like someone’s trying to ram a railroad spike from the inside of my head and out my forehead. I grip the dashboard in front of me screaming incoherently as a long horn bursts from my head with a small spatter of blood hitting the wind shield.
“Jesus Christ lady! Fuck this!” The van lurches to a stop and the driver jumps out, not that I much care right now.
Erin? Erin can you hear me?
The pain is easing away slowly. Too slowly in my opinion. “Yuh…yeah…”
I’m so sorry. If there was any other way I’d have never subjected you to that. If your negotiations go poorly however we’ll need some way of rescuing everypony and I need to be able to cast a teleportation spell.
My breathing is coming in ragged gasps, but slowly it eases as the pain fades from screaming agony to a constant booming in my skull. “Right…s-so…what’s the plan?”
I’d suggest a discussion with whoever is in charge. Calmly explain the situation and ask that the ponies be released.
“Right I’m sure that’ll go over just fine. Any chance you can do something about them recognizing me? There are news vans and stuff out there. If these people know who I am no one is safe back home.”
Not to worry. I guarantee no one will recognize you.
With no choice other than to trust her I step out of the van. All at once the people drawn by the sudden blood in the car recoil in shock and awe. I’m confused for a moment before I remember I have pastel rainbow hair and a giant horn poking out of my skull. I do my best to avoid eye contact with everyone as the people around me fall silent. The crowd hastily parts as I approach the gates of the large facility.
Passing a storefront window I almost trip and fall on my face when I see my reflection. My shredded clothes aren’t reflected in the image. Instead I’m wearing a gleaming silver breastplate with a large golden sun embossed on the chest. Thick gauntlets cover my hands and go up my elbows, while a pair of big metal boots extend beyond my knee to mid-thigh. A small crown is nestled in my hair behind my horn, and a shimmering golden mask covers the top half of my face. My reflection even has a long red cape flowing down her back.
I have to look down at myself to confirm I am indeed in a torn up t-shirt and jeans. “Jesus Christ I look like I came from a fantasy convention!”
I sincerely doubt you’ll be recognized now. And a strong appearance is important to making a good first impression Erin.
“Oh we’re going to make an impression.” I resume my march. The crowd has parted all the way up to the gates. The soldiers there already have their weapons trained on me.
“H-halt! You…you just…stop right there miss…uh…missy!”
I raise my hands and slow my approach, stopping just before the gates. “Hello!” I blink. “Hello. Hello? What’s wrong with my voi…oh that’s you too isn’t it?”
It’s actually MY voice, yes. Better safe than sorry I thought.
The men are regarding me with a mixture of worry and confusion. I clear my throat. “Hello. I’m ah…Princess Celestia. Here to see about the release of your prisoners.”
The two guards exchange a slow look. “You…you’re under arrest.”
I frown. “I am? For what?”
“For…” The speaker looks to his friend who just shrugs. “For having a horn!”
I tilt my head. “That’s illegal?”
“Uh…” The crowd is starting to take notice of our exchange. I notice all the signs are mostly about freeing the captive people. A few people are laughing at my baffling of the guards.
“It is if you have the hip tattoos. Do you?”
I blink. “You want me to take my pants off in public?”
The laughter really gets started behind me at the look on both men’s faces. The til now silent guard scowls. “Look just…just get in here! YOU stay here you jackass.” He scowls at his partner while he leads me inside. I even give the crowd a little wave as we go.
Very well done Erin.
“Well thank you very much.”
The guard frowns back at me. “Don’t be thanking me yet. You’re getting locked up with the rest.”
My mouth tightens into a thin line at that. There are several more armed guards waiting for us at the doors of the actual facility. One of the soldiers must be the officer in charge judging by his dress. “What the hell is all this? Who is this woman?”
My guide nods for me to speak. “Princess Celestia. Here to get the people you have locked up and take them home.”
He stares at me mutely for a moment. “Why the hell isn’t she cuffed?!”
Another man approached me grabbing my wrist and brandishing a pair of handcuffs. He moves to tug my arm around my back, and to my mild surprise and amusement he finds he can’t. I’m not even putting up much resistance; I just tilt my head to calmly regard him.
“What the hell are you doing soldier? Cuff this woman!”
“I…I can’t sir!”
Scowling the officer storms up grabbing my other arm. Like his subordinate he may as well try and drag a pair of full grown trees around. “So. The ponies. Please. Before you embarrass yourself more.”
Bristling with rage he steps back. “You…you will let us take you into custody or my men will subdue you!”
I raise my eyebrows now. “How exactly are they going to subdue me? You can’t out muscle me and I guarantee your guns aren’t going to do much.” I hope.
“This is a facility under the control of the United States Government! You can’t just barge in here and do whatever you want!”
I tilt my head frowning in an understanding manner. “I’m pretty sure I can. I’d rather do this you know…nicely but if you force my hand I’ll take action. One way or the other the ponies come with me.” I don’t wait for him to respond, I just start walking. “Can you find them?”
I can. Continue forward a short ways then take a right.
“Stop! That is a restricted area! Stop or we WILL open fire!”
That does cause me to slow. “…you’re sure about the bullets?”
Yes Erin, I’m sure. Your pain is my pain remember? I’d rather not die either.
“Right.” I start walking again. I can’t help but shriek as I hear the boom of a gunshot, and feel a sharp pain in the back of my right knee. With a yelp I topple over onto my side, arms flailing.
“Now get this woman….” The officer trails off as I roll on the ground cradling my leg.
“Ow! Oooooow you said I was bulletproof!”
Erin…Erin! Stop rolling about and look at your leg.
I suck on my lower lip as I do what she says. Looking down expecting a giant hole where my kneecap used to be I see… Nothing. No blood, no bone, no nothing. “That really hurt!”
Oh don’t be such a baby. It stung at best. Like a paintball. Remember when you did that with Nikki and your uncle?
I frown. “Oh yeah…” I get back up brushing myself off. Reflexively I flinch as I hear another gun shot, this one hitting me in the small of my back. “Eeeeeow!”
I do a hopping little dance now, one hand on my back and a little hop every time I put weight on my sore knee. “Knock it off! Can’t we do something about those guns?!”
Oh, yes I suppose so. Turn and face them please.
Still favoring my sore knee I do as she asks. It’s almost comical the look of horror on the guards’ faces. I feel a warmth beginning in my belly and spreading through my whole body, before it centers around my new horn. A warm golden glow sparks to life around it then bursts into a flare of light filling the room.
The men start shouting in alarm, then the only sound I hear is a bunch of strange clicking. When my vision clears I see the lot of them staring at their guns in confusion. “What’d you do?”
I simply rendered the firing mechanisms inert. Now shall we?
Leaving the dumb founded soldiers behind me I resume my trek into the facility. I encounter a few more guards but Celestia does whatever she did to the first groups’ guns to theirs as well. A few gets a little handsy but a gentle nudge on their backsides does wonders to dissuade them.
Finally we come to a large pair of sealed off doors. I run a hand along the heavy metal with a frown. “They’re in there.” It’s not a question.
You feel them?
I frown pressing my head close to the metal. My horn scraps against it unnoticed. “I do. They’re…they’re so scared. Terrified.” My hands are quivering. In anger I realize.
Erin calm down.
How could they do this to these people? Take them from their homes and just lock them away when they’re already scared and confused? The air around me is beginning to warp with heat. Sort of like when it’s a hot summer day on the black top and you can SEE the heat waves.
Erin listen to me, you have to calm down.
I grit my teeth and heave on the doors. They give slightly but don’t move inward. With a grunt I back up and ram my shoulder into them. They shudder now and bend in more. Screaming in fury I pound my fists into the metal. Each blow my hands sink in further and further. I can hear shouts of alarm from the other side as I hammer in the doors.
I know it’s difficult Erin, but you’re not feeling just your own anger but mine as well. And my emotions can run far hotter than you’re used to! Please for their sakes calm down!
I hear her voice but it seems small and far away. I’m vaguely aware of the molten metal that used to be a pair of doors running down my shoulders and pooling around my feet. Inside are a half a dozen men in lab coats. And several dozen ponies.
Ponies in cages.
My people. My subjects. Crammed into tiny cages like rabid animals.
The blazing corona of light around my body only intensified. My hair whips around my head as if I were in the middle of a howling tornado. Bright golden light pours from my eyes as the floor and walls around me begin to sag and melt into slag. The voice in my head is pleading with me but I ignore it. How could anything be more important than what these monsters have done to my little ponies?
Then I see them. The look in my beloved subjects’ eyes. It’s not love, or joy, or relief.
It’s fear.
All at once my burning fury subsides and I stagger forward onto one knee. The fiery magic I’d been emitting vanishes abruptly. I can clearly hear the screams of terror from every mouth in the room, not just human.
…Erin? Erin can you hear me now?
“Y…yes…I…I’m sorry.”
It’s alright Erin. You were feeling what I was feeling. Our bond is growing rapidly and I need to make a conscious effort to manage this.
“You…all that anger is you? You don’t…sound angry.”
I’ve had a very long time to practice hiding my emotions Erin. Now let’s get my people out of these cages.
I nod getting back to my feet slowly. Ignoring the fleeing researchers I move to the first set of cages, snapping the locks off easily. “It’s… It’s alright. Sorry about the uh… Big scary fire. I was a little cheesed off.” I smile in what I hope is a comforting manner.
I don’t know if it’s my sudden change in tone of Celestia’s curious influence on the ponies but they do seem to relax somewhat, climbing cautiously from the cages. I move from set to set freeing them all, some two dozen in total. “…now what?”
Ask them to gather together please. I plan to send them to your home in Thilton if that’s alright?
I clear my throat. “Excuse me everyone? In case it wasn’t clear I actually AM Princess Celestia. Sort of. To anyone familiar with the name I hope this brings a little relief. To anyone not, you’ll get a crash course soon. Now I’d like to take everyone someplace safe. If you’d rather stay I won’t force anyone to go.”
A brown coated earth pony stallion with an hourglass cutie mark steps up. “Ma’am I think I speak for everyone here when I say anywhere is better than being caged like an animal.”
I smile at his cute English accent. “Right then! Uh… Time for magic?”
Time for magic.
I feel the warm rush again as my horn glows softly. The golden glow sweeps about the room in a gentle wave. As it washes over the assembled ponies they vanish in a flash of twinkling golden light. “…us too?”
Not yet. If you don’t mind I believe there were some news reporters outside? I believe a message to your people is in order.
“Oh… yeah that’s a good idea.” I make my way back out of the facility doing my best to ignore the shouts of alarm from the guards. They make no move to stop me at least as I head back out the front door. The crowd whips into a frenzy as I reappear. I’m a little relieved when I raise my hands and they quiet.
One of the braver reporters approaches practically dragging her camera man along. She’s a young woman, probably in her mid-twenties. “Er… Hello miss? Would you be willing to answer a few questions?”
I shuffle a touch nervously. “W-well there was something I wanted to say. I was hoping you guys could get the message out for me? It might answer a lot of your questions too.” This seemed to catch everyone’s attention as the other news folk crowded around. I think Celestia could sense my nerves.
Take a deep breath Erin. Introduce yourself calmly and clearly. Probably as Princess Celestia would be best for now. Explain what’s happening with the people becoming ponies as clearly as you can. That’s all you have to do.
Nodding I swallow the lump in my throat. “Alright well! Hello everyone. I’m ah… Don’t laugh please. I’m Princess Celestia.” Of course there was some laughter and I had to shrug sheepishly at that. “I know, it sounds silly but it’s who I am. Or who I’m becoming anyhow. That’s what I’m hoping to tell everyone about today. As I’m sure you’ve all noticed, people are becoming ponies.”
There was another bit of laughter here and there, but the news people just looked more interested as I spoke. Even the soldiers gathering behind me were listening quietly. “I want to put everyone’s fears to rest. This isn’t some sort of plague, or nano-bomb or anything weird like that. It’s ah… Actually it’s a lot weirder. It’s magic.”
Now the laughter was back full force and the reporters went from looking interested to looking ‘this chick must be crazy’. “I know how it sounds, really I do. But I was in the hospital with a friend when he started changing pretty early on. I don’t know how much information is being released by the Doctor there assured me there was no medical reason for what was happening.”
This drew a few murmurs from the crowd. The first woman spoke up. “You really expect people to believe MAGIC is behind this? I have to admit your fancy get up there is impressive but I don’t know how magical it is.”
“O-oh well uh… I can do some magic if you like?” I look off to the side. “Right?” This raises a few eyebrows around the crowd but I need to make sure.
Yes. Anything in particular we should do?
I shrug. “Just don’t hurt anyone or anything.”
Of course.
My little side conversation with myself is drawing more attention. All the whispering stops as my horn begins to glow softly. Gasps and shouts of alarm rise from the crowd as the golden light races across the pavement. Most people dive out of the way but a few curious ones remain standing letting the light wash harmlessly over their feet. The shouts of alarm turn to shouts of wonder as a line of large, colorful flowers bloom right out of the street.
“Ta da?”
The crowd erupts with questions now. The roaring cacophony is making me feel dizzy and a little nauseous. Take a deep breath Erin. In and out. You have to remain calm and in control or our power could rage again. I don’t think blazing with the fury of the sun in a crowded street surrounded by reporters would be very good for our image.
I shut my eyes tight and take several deep breaths. “Please! Please calm down! I’d like to finish talking alright?!”
Reluctantly the shouts ease and quiet again. “S-sorry I’m not used to public speaking. Um… So yeah there’s some magic. I hope that’s proof enough. Anyway here’s the why of everything. A few years ago on a world completely different from ours this was this big… Dragon monster thing. He did some kind of spell that killed or I don’t know exactly, made a bunch of people there disappear. Except on that world the people aren’t humans, they’re ponies. As I understand it the victims of this spell were sort of... Reincarnated here as humans."
I definitely have the crowd’s attention now. “Well apparently we don’t have magic here on Earth typically. So these magical souls trying to inhabit non-magical bodies was hurting them. Over time the magic built up more and more and could have killed people. So instead of making these folks explode or whatever, the magic started reshaping them into a form that could handle it. Into their original pony bodies. At least that's the best guess their Princess has for me so far.”
“Now from what I’m told that’s about it for changes. People’s minds aren’t going to be rewritten or anything. Your sons and daughters, brothers and sisters, your friends and family are still who they’ve always been on the inside. They’re just a lot different on the outside. So uh… So locking them away and treating them like lab animals isn’t exactly fair. I hope my message today encourages people to do the right thing and let the pony folk go free. If not…”
I take a deep breath. This is the part that folks aren’t going to like. “If they’re not freed in the next few days I’ll be coming to free them myself. I’d really prefer this to all be settled peacefully but I have a responsibility to my former subjects. Any ponies that can hear this I just want you to know, your Princess is here. She’s back and she’ll be coming for you soon if you’re not set free by those holding you captive.” I pause a minute to let that sink in. “One more thing.” I turn to look into the cameras directly. “Markus if you and Luna can hear me, we’re coming for you alright? We’ll come for you as soon as we can. I promise. And if anyone gets in our way, we’ll make them sorry.”
The crowd starts to murmur softly. “Well! That’s uh… That’s all I have to say.”
The second I finish talking the crowd explodes with questions again. There are so many voices all screaming in my ears at once I couldn’t make any of the words out if I wanted to. I almost sob in relief as I feel the magic welling within me again. Gasping softly I look down to find my feet have left the ground. A bright shaft of golden sunlight springs into being around my body and then…
Then I’m shrieking at the top of my lungs as I’m whisked into the air in a flash. I’m moving so fast the ground’s already all but invisible beneath my feet. All I can see are clouds and sky for miles around. “GET ME DOWN GET ME DOWN GET ME DOWN!”
The light vanishes abruptly and I shriek again as I begin to fall. Then I land on… On the clouds? My eyes are open wide and rolling back and forth as I whip my head around, screaming all the while.
Erin! Erin calm down! Calm down this minute young lady!
The tone in her voice causes my mouth to snap shut instinctively; turning my shrieks to soft mewls of fear.
I suppose I should warn you next time we’re going to travel by sunbeam, but you seemed to desperately want to get away from that crowd. I thought a grand exit might make a good impression.
I try to speak but only a strangled squeak comes out of my mouth.
Oh! Oh dear how silly of me. I completely forgot your aversion to heights. Honestly Erin you can leap across racing cars and face down heavily armed men but sitting up on a cloud is too scary?
Now I try to respond angrily, or snippily. Another squeak is all I manage. I hear the immortal Princess giggle in my head as the magic builds up in me again. Mercifully there’s no travelling by SUNBEAMS this time. Just a soft pop as the sky around me disappears, and suddenly I’m sitting in my back yard. There’s quite a crowd of confused ponies milling about my back yard. I see a few of my friends walking here and there trying to put folks at ease but they look just as off put as the rest.
“Erin!”
I turn my head at the sound of Jake’s voice. A look of concern on his face as he awkwardly trots out to me. I feel relief flood my body at the sight of him. Jake’s here. Everything’s going to be ok now.
Then my eyes roll back into my head and I flop over onto my back in a dead faint.
***
I’m getting tired of the taste of my own blood. I mean blood in general I don’t have much of an aversion to. I’ve seen my own more than a few times. But tasting it? Shit’s fucking gross.
Hard to say which is worse. The physical torture or the torture of being alone in my own head. This might sound pretty fucking weird but when you’ve had someone in your head keeping you company since you were old enough to understand concepts like that, having them disappear all of a sudden can be a shitty experience.
The flash of pain going through my chest and stomach when I try to breathe in more than the tiniest of breaths is a good reminder that the physical torture might be worse. The bed the crazy fuck has me chained to could be more comfortable too. I know I’m in some kind of hospital or something. The bars on the door and window make me think it’s a nut house though. The thick metal restraints on my wrists and ankles keeping me stuck in this shit bed have been rubbing my skin raw for a while.
I glance up at the bag of glowing blue fluid fastened overhead. The IV is hooked right into my wrist keeping me pumped full of the shit that’s keeping me and Luna from connecting. I’m just about to give struggling loose another try when the door swings open. And there he is. The King Fuck himself.
Discord strides in cool as a cucumber and happy as can be. He has those stupid reading glasses I’m pretty sure he doesn’t need perched on his nose and he’s pretending to study a clipboard. “And how’s my favorite patient today?”
“Get fucked.”
Sighing dramatically he tosses the clipboard over his shoulder. “Honestly Markus, what would Luna say if she heard you swearing so much?”
“She’d probly say you should get fucked.”
A brief flash of irritation crosses the monster in human flesh’s face at that. “You’re pretty mouthy for someone with half a dozen broken ribs, some snapped legs and who knows how many missing teeth. Maybe it’s time for more dental work?”
I can’t suppress the trill of fear that runs down my spine at that, but I do a good job keeping my outward cool. “So what the hell d’you want now?”
“I thought we’d watch a little TV! It must get boring in here for you all the time with nothing to do.” He smirks a bit flipping on a TV that just appears out of nowhere. “Let’s see how all your little ponies are doing hm? I wonder if they’ll wind up in labor camps or just dissected?” He leers at me with that fucked up grin of his.
A grin I suddenly return as I see who’s on the news. “Probably neither I’d guess.”
Frowning in confusion he turns to the screen. “WHAT?!”
There’s my sister. Our sisters I guess. Wearing some fancy armor and a goofy ass mask. Smart now that I think about it. She probably doesn’t want the whole world knowing her face. She looks pretty impressive really, making some kinda big speech. Then she turns and looks right into the camera.
“Markus if you and Luna can hear me, we’re coming for you alright? We’ll come for you as soon as we can. I promise. And if anyone gets in our way, we’ll make them sorry.”
I’m grinning now. Grinning ear to fucking ear. I look over at Discord. He’s grinding his teeth so hard I imagine they’d be cracking. His fist clenches so tightly around the remote is shatters in his hands. “Uh oh. Looks like big sis is awake and pissed off.”
He rounds on me, eyes flashing with maniacal fury. “Who cares?! Let her come! She can have the room right next to yours!”
My grin doesn’t fade. “You’re scared. You’re fucking terrified of them aren’t you? Why else would you have gone to so much trouble to make sure Celestia never woke up? You sure as shit didn’t do to me what you did to her in here.”
He rounds on me, back handing me across the face and sending the whole fucking bed flying across the room. I brace myself as it slams into the wall and lands on its side. Coughing weakly I spit yet another tooth out. I’m gonna need fucking dentures by the time this is over. “I’m not afraid of anything! I’m Discord you little twit! Without the elements of harmony Celestia is helpless against me! Do you hear me?! Helpless!”
He’s still raging to himself as he storms out of my room. The door slams hard enough to break the hinges. I lay still for a while, until I can’t hear him screaming to himself anymore. Luna always told me I never think before I talk. Well I was thinking this time.
Smirking I maneuver my right hand out of the manacle that broke when the bed smashed into the wall. It doesn’t take too much messing with the other one to get my other arm free. Of course now comes the shitty part. My body screams in protest as I bend my waist toward my shackled feet. I can actually feel the bruised and broken ribs in my guts shifting around but I gotta do this. After what seems like forever my legs flop loose, shooting more pain up my body.
Oh yeah, those are fucking broken too.
Grunting I flop onto my stomach. By now the pain has gotten to the point where it’s an ignorable constant. I drag myself along the floor to the door. The broken door. Shaking my head at the stupid fuckers’ idiocy I crawl out into the hallway peering about cautiously. For once I have a bit of luck. There’s no one out there. Not only that but there’s a dust covered wheel chair propped against the wall.
Some agonizing moments later I’m sitting in the chair gasping for breath. I can’t help but take a few minutes to catch my breath. Now that the fucking IV is gone I can already feel a familiar warmth building in my stomach. We might not be able to talk but Luna’s already hard at work getting our body back in working order.
Glancing back and forth I see what I’m looking for. It’s at the end of the hall but there’s a red exit sign. Slowly I start wheeling myself toward it. Expecting Discord to leap out any second but he doesn’t. I’m about halfway to the door when I hear it. Sobbing. A woman crying.
It’s coming from the room to my right. “Fucking idiot is what I am.” I turn to the door and try the handle. It’s not locked and swings open easily. The room is almost identical to the one I was in. Only its occupant isn’t shackled to her bed. I can barely make out a woman huddled in the corner with her face away from me, rocking back and forth and sobbing softly.
“Hey. Hey uh… lady? I’m getting out of here. C’mon let’s go.”
Very abruptly the sobs stop. The rocking stops. Alarm bells begin to sound in the back of my head as she slowly turns to face me. A thick lock of multi-hued hair falls across her wide, wildly staring violet eyes. She tilts her head staring me in the eyes, and a wide smile starts to form on her tear streaked face.
The alarms start blaring as she gets to her feet and rapidly approaches. “Auntie Tia! I’ve been waiting for you!” Frantically I try to wheel the chair toward the door but an iron grip tightens around the handles. The abrupt halt cause me to flip out of the chair and land hard on the floor. I hear the wheel chair crash into the wall and shatter.
I manage not to scream as her slender hands grip around my ankles tighter than any manacle. “Why Auntie Tia… You have no idea how long I’ve waited to see you. To get my HANDS on you. Come inside. Let’s… Talk. Maybe I can find us some tea.” She giggles shrilly as she drags me by the ankles into the room.
I get one last glimpse of freedom before she violently heaves me against the wall and slams the door behind us. Through the new haze of pain I vaguely recognize her as Elizabeth, the office girl from Corddis’ fake practice. But her strength, and her hair… I realize she’s like Erin and I. She has a Princess inside her. A broken Princess.
She leers down at me eyes wide and wild. “Oh Auntie Tia.” Her hands flex open and closed as she lowers herself closer. “Oh sweet Auntie Tia… we’re going to have such fun you and I.”’
Jesus Christ I hope Erin gets here soon.
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... Wow. Just, wow. Great chapter!
...
Although... The next one sounds REALLY interesting.
2907894
Thanks! And I hope so. I've never tried writing something as unpleasant as the next one is going to be lol
YEAAHAHA!!! Another chaper!
I'm speechless. Mostly because english isn't my native language but still...
MORE !
I guess Elizabeth is broken Cadance?
2907962 If it's going to be as dark and depressing as my paranoia is guessing from your comment then i might just have to wait for the chapter after that so I won't have to end on a sour note. I'm a bit of a wimp when it comes to that, but only in the aftermath, if that makes any sense.
Or not. I might not, probably won't, be able to pass it up. Just please, happy ending, for the chapter? please?
Also MORE! This is great! Erilestia/Celerin is Badass. And I find it vastly satisfying that discord doesn't have as much control of the situation as I first feared.
Who wishes he could give you two thumbs up? This guy right here
So many ponies... I wonder how will Lucas handle that now XD
Another awesome chapter
2908010
Saturday as promised :o
2908167
She is, yes.
2908247
It's not going to END on a bad note, but the chapter itself is going to be creepy. It'll feature Erinlestia braving the asylum to rescue Lunarkus.
2908321
And that's just the tip of the pony ice berg!
2908412
Wait, is this a significant divergence from the original 5s/4 fic or is she just misunderstanding the situation?
2908992
To be completely honest I haven't read everything of the original fic. ^^; I didn't get to the point where it was explained what happened to all the ponies so I just kinda made something up lol
I should probably sit down and read the rest. I haven't read much of anything in the past month or two. Usually if I have any free time I spend it writing rather than reading.
2909258 They ARE the ponies reborn in new bodies. The human IS the pony and not two souls(but i'll pass on the princesses because your explanation works well enough) and as it goes on they remember their old lives and who they are/were but never forget their human selves. the princesses didn't cast any spell, and I don't believe the ponies died, just banished to human earth by discord, for some reason to torture them. however since I read this as an alternate take on 5sd4 instead of a "meanwhile some where else..." I'm just am going to go with writers choices on this.
2909258
The "Five Score Divided By Four" part comes from the curse Discord placed on them twenty-five years ago. They are turning back into ponies because the curse is wearing off (it had a duration of "five score divided by four", aka 25 years). Basically, Discord cursed them by altering their bodies and sealing away their memories, but since the curse is now wearing off they are regaining both (though as you pointed out both of their "lives" are just as valid and their old memories are not actually overwriting their new ones).
And writer's choice is fine since pretty much all of the spin-off fics contradict each other or the original story in some way. I just didn't realize your fic diverged on a such a fundamental level because on the surface the appearance was effectively the same.
2909427
Hm, interesting. I'll have to start reading the original and making some adjustments as necessary I think.
2909464
Did some rewrites to the dream in chapter 1, and Erin's speech in chapter 11. Should bring it more in line with what it's supposed to be.
Cadence rape
Hmmm, still looks like the Elements of Harmony are going to have to make an entrance eventually.
"One front hoof, then the second. One back hoof, then the next." I just wanted to point out that while Spitfire might be having trouble with the foot sequence at this point, excusing the error, the correct order for quadruped stepping is front-left, back-right, front-right, back-left. ... Oh, I think reading on, it seems Spitfire has found the correct sequence.
You going back a few hours to the time before the bad guys came confused me. You should have had some sort of header explaining the time difference, and change backwards in setting.
And also, why haven't they been accidentally calling each other by their pony names, which is what has happened frequently in the other stories by this point?
"The first swinging the doors open." This isn't a sentence, but I guess it's okay here.
"The til now silent guard" needs an apostrophe before "til": "The 'til now silent guard" - since you're abbreviating "until".
"I’d rather do this you know…nicely". There needs to be a comma after "this". "I'd rather do this, you know... nicely, but if you..." Get that pause in there. Oh yeah, have a comma after "nicely," too.
"A few gets a little handsy" - get, singular. "A few [guards] get a little handsy."
"I don’t know how much information is being released by the Doctor there assured me..." Change to "but the doctor there assured me" "doctor" doesn't need to be capitalized because it's not a name here.
"His fist clenches so tightly around the remote is shatters in his hands." Change to "the remote that it shatters"
Why is Elizabeth (Cadence) calling Markus/Luna "Tia"? He/She's not Celestia! What the heck? Call him/her Luna!
Holy shit!
Some very fun action in this chapter.
Dang, poor Cadance.
I don't know if I should feel sorry for Cadence, or be disturbed...
I start my clumsy shuffle walk toward her. “Try thinking of how they walk in the show. Front and back legs together on the same side right?” Wrong, actually.
They actually walk like this:
Front left and hind right, then front right and hind left.
Giraffes walk like what you thought. Not the ponies. Their legs are too short.
MUST…
CONTINUE…
i concur this seems-
Shut up your opinion is not important
I am sorry for Cadence, AND disturbed...
Oh shit
!! I can't believe he broke them to the point of insanity
.