Tales of the Oppressed

by Terran34

10. A History Lesson (rw)

As always, the interior of the library is as immaculately clean as ever. I would be hard pressed to find even a single speck of dust lurking amongst the room’s many bookshelves. The lingering scent of toasted bread hangs lightly in the air, mixing with the scent of books to form a relaxing, homey aroma.

In contrast, Twilight Sparkle looks anything but relaxed. After she and I had retreated inside the library, she had ushered me to the central table, where cushions were already laid out for us. Beneath the horse head carving, in place of the stacks of books that are typically present, is a thick scroll of parchment bound by a red velvet ribbon topped with a golden horseshoe seal. Judging from the nearby inkwell with a quill still resting within it, Twilight had been recently writing something on that parchment.

“I...don’t suppose you want some tea first?” Twilight asks timidly. I recall the beverage that she’d made for me on my first visit here, and that it was a somewhat pleasant experience. That being said, after being greeted like this, the thought of waiting to hear her confession doesn’t sit well with me.

“I’d rather you get to the point. What did you do?” I return, perhaps more sharply than I’d intended. Twilight winces, her ears folding back. To inspire this kind of guilt in her, she must have done something particularly bad; something that she believes I’ll take issue with.

“Well...I...to be honest…” Twilight looks as though she’s trying to deliver the bad news in a softer way, but the words seem to be failing her. She sighs, and then she blurts it out all at once. “I told Princess Celestia everything!”

I blink, the meaning of her sudden confession taking a moment to register in my mind. When it hits me, my eyes widen, my hand falling to my side. I may not know much about Equestrian government, but I’ve learned enough by listening to other ponies that it closely resembles a theological diarchy, with the two ruling entities referred to as “princesses,” rather than queens.

Princess Celestia; Not only is she one of the two ruling entities of the entire country, she’s so deeply ingrained into Equestrian society that her name is often used in various verbal expressions, as well as on its own as an exclamation. She is often thematically accompanied by a sun motif, present on both Equestrian’s currency and in her seemingly religious title: the Solar Princess.

That means that one of the two most powerful ponies in the country knows of my existence. My eyes narrow at Twilight, earning a small whine from her. A small wave of anger courses through me, but it quickly subsides. I heave a sigh to relieve some of the built up stress her confession exacted upon me. I should be furious, but I remain calm despite the clear violation of my privacy.

“Be more specific. How much does she know?” I ask calmly.

“I told her that there was a human called Seth living in Ponyville with us, and that he had come from the past against his will. I also told her that you were searching for the one who sent you here,” Twilight explained. When she sees me frown, she immediately breaks down. “I’m so sorry! I know I shouldn’t have said anything without talking to you first, but I was afraid to approach you, and I just wanted to help…”

“Twilight.” I cut across her, but she continues to apologize and attempt to explain herself, bringing up several examples of arguments I’ve had in the past, her words coming faster and more shrill, until finally I had to raise my voice. “Shut up, Twilight! I’m not angry!”

Twilight cuts off mid sentence, gazing at me with surprise. “You’re not? But...I went behind your back to ask the princess for help! Why wouldn’t you be angry?”

“I told you; you were too worried,” Spike chided her with a shrug, the tiny dragon making his way over to the table to join us. “I guess Seth’s too nice to get upset over just that...right?”

Spike glances over at me after that last question, the dragon clearly looking for confirmation. I decide to ignore him despite his clear uncertainty and focus on Twilight instead.

“I should be. But it would be pointless to get angry with you. If there’s anything I’ve learned from being in this town for a few days, it’s that you ponies like to talk,” I reveal. A growing feeling of resignation is coming over me. Now that the country’s royalty knows about me, it’s only a matter of time before things get complicated for me. I wanted to be gone before that happened, but I underestimated how fast news could spread. “It was only a matter of time before the government learned about me, whether from you or from word of mouth. Honestly, it’s my own fault for thinking that you’d keep it from them; I did learn early on that you are Princess Celestia’s personal student.”

“I guess that does make sense, but I still feel bad,” Twilight concedes. “I really should have asked you before telling her about you.”

“You should have. But you didn’t, so here we are,” I reply rather coldly. “More importantly, what does this mean for me? Will they be sending soldiers to collect me? Or are they more subtle than that, and want me to come for a visit instead?”

“What? Why would they send the guard after you?” Twilight asks incredulously. “The princess finds your presence here interesting, and the existence of a time-snatching mage concerning, but she wouldn’t resort to something so drastic. Though, admittedly, she did ask if I could bring you to see her in Canterlot at some point.”

“I thought as much. I’ll be damned if they’ll let me leave once I arrive,” I comment, her words confirming my fears. Even in my time, if an ancient Sumerian were to walk around in broad daylight like I have, it wouldn’t be long before the government got involved.

“Seth! Who do you think the princess is? Do you think she’s some kind of tyrant!?” Twilight appears highly offended by my words. No doubt that as the princess’s personal student, she’s highly attached to her. I should have known that to begin with; if I don’t want to make this worse, I should try not to let my cynicism show.

“It wouldn’t surprise me. But I don’t want to argue about that. More importantly, did she know anything about Sombra?” I deftly switch the topic away from Celestia. “You did say that you would contact her to try and get into the Royal Archives.”

“She knows that you were brought here by a powerful mage, but I hadn’t given her his name just yet,” Twilight admits. She lifts up the scroll of parchment on the table with her magic, showing it to me. “In fact, I was about to send her another letter doing so as well as asking for permission to get into the archives like you said.”

“Why haven’t you, then?” I ask impatiently.

“Well...I felt bad about telling her all of this without asking you first, so I wanted to...uh...ask you first,” Twilight explains, setting the scroll back down on the table. “I’m sure that Princess Celestia will know who King Sombra is.”

“No doubt. But you might as well send it; I don’t know why you need to ask me anyway; this is for your own research project,” I remind her pointedly. “You’re just sharing the results with me. Isn’t that right?”

“Yes, the research project! Right, of course. Silly me,” Twilight stammers, looking anywhere but at me. My expression hardens, detecting the lie in her words easily. Of course she’s still trying to help me. I doubt she ever stopped. But at this point, I’ll hold her to that lie as long as I physically can. “Spike, send that letter for me, would you?”

“Already on it,” Spike returns with a slight smirk, the dragon lifting up the scroll.

“It’ll probably take a few days to get to her, depending on how far away...Canterlot...is from here. In the meantime, I’ll…” In the middle of my sentence, Spike summons forth a jet of green flame that incinerates the scroll so thoroughly that not even ashes are left behind. “What the hell? Weren’t you going to send that?”

“He did send it. Spike knows a simple spell that allows him to transport small objects directly to Princess Celestia through his flames,” Twilight reveals to me. She brightens up at my look of disbelief and confusion. “It works by the magical entanglement of two singular mana particles; any change in the condition of one particle is immediately reflected in the other. In the case of Spike’s flames and the parchment, it means that…”

“That’s all well and good, but I don’t need to hear the technical details,” I interrupt her with a wave of my hands. Twilight looks thoroughly put out, her mouth turning down into a disappointed pout. Her expression earns a snicker from Spike at her expense. “That being said, it seems like your magic operates on a set of rules of its own, in direct defiance to those of physics.”

“That’s correct!” Twilight brightens up in an instant, a bright smile crossing her face. Spike rolls his eyes and heads off to the kitchen, claiming that he was going to make tea. “You see, all magic is performed through manipulation of the base particles found naturally in nature; we refer to these particles as ‘mana.’ Unlike physical particles, mana can’t be said to have physical or chemical properties such as mass or volume. Instead…”

“How is that possible?” As much as I want to avoid a technical discussion, my academic curiosity is beginning to get aroused. “I only know of one particle that has no mass, and I’m not sure if it has volume. You’re saying mana works similar to light?”

“You’re familiar with photons? It’s true that neither photons nor mana have mass, but mana behaves so differently that we can hardly compare it to that of photons. I’m surprised you know that, however.” Twilight’s excitement is only growing, her passion for the topic evident by the gleam in her eyes and the gesticulation with her hooves. “But to clarify, there doesn’t seem to be a limit to how much mana can be present in a set area. However, the more mana that is present in a medium, the higher the chance that we’ll see a magical reaction. That’s why ponies have come up with a statistic we refer to as ‘affinity….’”

“Right right, too much, too fast,” I finally have to stop her; the number of questions rising from her explanation having grown exponentially to the point where I can’t focus on her words anymore.

“I’m sorry. I’ve been studying magic every since I was a little filly, and there’s always more to be learned!” Twilight apologizes sheepishly. “But if you’re interested in the subject, I can recommend several excellent reference texts for your perusal...but you can’t read. Right.”

“Right. But let’s get back on track. You said the princess wants me to come and visit her eventually. Can you be more specific? How long do I have, precisely?” I press, pushing my questions about magic out of my mind. The thought of meeting the highest authority in Equestria is weighing on me heavily. I curse myself for not thinking of this possibility beforehand. I only hope I’ll have enough time to get the clothes from Rarity and get out of town.

“How long? She didn’t give me a definite timeline. She does want to see you, but I assure you she won’t drag you out of town, if that’s what you’re worried about,” Twilight answers with an admonishing tone.

“I suppose we’ll see,” I respond, unconvinced. “Anyway, I’m assuming that because you had to contact the princess, you didn’t find anything further on Sombra in this library?”

“That’s right. It’s odd; over the years, there’ve been many powerful mages documented in our history books, but never once does King Sombra’s name appear. If he can use a time spell more powerful than even Starswirl was capable of, I can’t fathom that he’d never appear in our history, especially if he’s royalty. Assuming you’re certain that he is from our era,” Twilight reasons.

“As certain as I can be. Why else would I appear in this time as a result of his spell?,” I return with a shrug. “He didn’t strike me as the type to throw spells at random.”

“Was King Sombra his real name? Sometimes mages will operate under false names or pseudonyms,” Twilight queries. I freeze upon hearing that.

“I didn’t even think of that,” I admit, cursing my own stupidity. I only ever learned Sombra’s name from the computer in the school. “That’ll make my search much harder.”

“Not necessarily. I’m still convinced that if he exists in our era, he has something to do with the Frozen North. I’ve found mentions that remote villages up in that region have been subsisting on trade, but never was it made clear who they were trading with,” Twilight points out, lifting a series of books from the shelves with her magic. She presses a hoof to her chin, the mare clearly thinking hard. “If I’m right and there was a civilization there once, I don’t understand why it would be missing now from our records. I don’t think Discord’s influence stretched that far north, but I could be wrong. He was extremely unpredictable…”

“You say Discord like it’s some kind of name,” I observe, confused by her offhand comment. “Was there a pony called Discord in the past?”

Twilight winces. “Yes, but he was hardly a pony. He was more of an entity formed completely of magical entropy, or chaos. He reigned over all of Equestria about a thousand years ago, before our princesses appeared and made our government the way it is today.”

“I’m having a hard time picturing that. How can there be a creature made out of chaos?” I ask with a raised eyebrow. As ridiculous as this is sounding, it’s not as though I can dismiss her words offhand. I’ve learned that nothing about this world is the same as it used to be, though I haven’t been able to determine where and how everything changed so drastically.

“It’s difficult to explain. Discord typically appeared as an amalgamation of different creatures, and his fine control of mana was so far beyond anything we’ve ever been able to replicate; all he had to do was snap his fingers, and he could impose his will on the world,” Twilight answers. “He could twist and pervert the very nature of reality to suit him. During his reign, he turned our country upside down; both literally and figuratively. For example, one hill would be colored pink and black in a checkerboard pattern while our town hall rotated in midair, and another might be blue with white polkadots.”

“That sounds...wholly unbelievable, if I’m being honest,” I remark, a disbelieving sigh escaping me. “When you put it like that, he sounds like a god.”

“That...would be a rather apt description. There didn’t seem to be anything he couldn’t do,” Twilight admits with a wry expression.

“You also talk about him as though you were there,” I note with suspicion.

“Oh, well, I wasn't even born during his initial reign, but he escaped from his prison almost a year ago, and we witnessed his power first hoof before we managed to seal him away again,” Twilight explains. She chuckles at the resulting look on my face. “That probably doesn’t help the credibility any. He’s currently sealed away in stone in Canterlot, if you want to go see him when we visit the princess.”

“Yeah, pardon me if I’m not too enthused by that prospect,” I emit sarcastically before I can help myself, earning a laugh from Twilight in response. However, this Discord is raising several more questions. If he had that kind of power...that could explain why nature isn’t quite working right. “Though now that you mention it, I’m curious; where did this Discord come from? Was he always ruling you?”

“We’re not quite sure where he came from. History has it recorded that one day, he appeared out of the blue, claiming that the world had grown too boring. It gets fuzzy after that, because it was likely difficult to record anything during his reign,” Twilight reveals.

Despite all the questions I’m asking her, she doesn’t seem annoyed by them in the slightest. I probably shouldn’t be asking so many questions without giving her something in return for all this information, but it’s hard to suppress my curiosity. The more I learn about Discord, the more my knowledge of reality is starting to fall apart. If he stated the world had “grown too boring,” did that mean he existed before ponykind? But that would mean…

“That’s okay, I didn’t need my worldview anyway,” I mutter under my breath. As disturbing as that implication is, it doesn’t really matter for me in the long run. “That’s interesting. But we keep getting sidetracked away from Sombra.”

“I’m sorry. I got caught up in sharing our history with you. Usually this is all common knowledge, so it’s rare that I can have a discussion about it like this,” Twilight confesses. “I’m actually rather enjoying myself.”

“That’s good for you, but more importantly, I’m interested in that lost civilization you mentioned,” I bring the topic back on track quickly; Twilight’s happy expression is starting to make me uncomfortable.

“I’m not even certain that there is one. It’s just one hypothesis that I have. Honestly I could be entirely on the wrong track, and King Sombra has nothing to do with the Frozen North at all. It was a tenuous connection to begin with,” Twilight expresses with a helpless shrug. “Regardless, I’m interested enough to write up a research paper on the topic. Maybe I can gather up the girls and travel up north to see for myself, and do a spot of field research!”

“That’s a terrible idea,” I cut down her enthusiasm without mercy. Twilight recoils at the sudden vehemence in my voice. “Let’s get one thing straight here. Let’s say that you’re right and Sombra is hiding out up there. He will kill you and your friends without a second thought.”

“W-What?” Twilight stammers, her eyes growing to the size of saucers. “K-Kill us? But...I thought he was just a time mage! What...what kind of pony is this King Sombra?”

“A ruthless monster and a mass murderer,” I snap, my fingers tightening around my rifle. I can’t even imagine how Amaryllis or my family must have felt, faced with that kind of fate. This burning rage that I still feel...nothing will quench it except Sombra’s death. “You see...I have to find him. It’s…”

...all I have left.

Twilight gazes at me with new understanding in her eyes, as well as a hint of that damned sympathy of which I’ve grown tired. So involved are we in this awkward and emotional moment that none of us notices Spike’s approach until he’s right in front of us.

“So, is now a bad time for tea? Cuz between us, this is a great batch,” Spike cuts in, placing the platter containing three cups in his claws on the table. Distracted, I gaze at the tea set before us. After a moment’s hesitation, I grasp the nearest teacup and sip from it, finding it to be the same flavor as before.

“Thanks, Spike. I completely forgot you went to make tea.” Twilight gratefully accepts her own teacup, lifting it telekinetically to her lips. “Okay, so perhaps field research wouldn’t be the best idea. If you don’t mind me asking, what do you plan to do if you find him?”

That’s easy. It should go without saying what I intend to do with him. I hope to make him experience the pain and despair he put me through, and ultimately, kill him. I’ve never thought about taking the life of another living being before; in fact, I’ve been staunchly opposed to it all my life. Yet despite that, the idea that Sombra could go on living after what he did to my family and friend is too much to bear.

I’m not stupid. I know that Sombra is capable of feats of great strength as well as spells strong enough to send me to the future. There’s a chance I won’t even be able to hurt him when I do find him. Yet I can’t bring myself to care. All I know is that either he will die, or I will. There is no other alternative.

“I have a few grievances to address,” I reply in a dangerously calm voice. Twilight and Spike glance at one another, and then back at me, unsure what to make of my answer. “Beyond that, it doesn’t concern you anymore.”

Twilight’s expression hardens. “I think it does. Because frankly it sounds like…” she begins, but before she can finish her sentence, Spike suddenly releases a fiery belch. Green flames emanate from his open mouth and swiftly coalesce into the shape of a scroll of thick parchment. Like Twilight’s scroll earlier, it’s bound with a velvet ribbon and adorned with a seal. However, the seal is fashioned in the shape of a sun radiating rays of light. There’s no doubt whose seal that is.

“Mail’s here,” Spike remarks drily as the scroll drops onto the table. He then takes a long swig from his cup. “Being your messenger really parches my throat!”

“That was...alarmingly fast. I don’t think it’s even been an hour since you sent it,” I observe, feeling more than a little worried. It was to my understanding that governmental figures are extremely busy. “Even if you are her student, I expected a wait of at least a day or two.”

“There can be long delays between responses, but she’s been responding quickly to my letters about you,” Twilight reveals, grabbing the scroll with her magic and opening it up. My worries only deepen after hearing that. If that’s the case, the princess considers me a priority. “Should I read it aloud so you can hear it too?”

“Do it. I get the distinct feeling I’m not going to like what I hear,” I decide, leaning back against the table. I finish the rest of my tea and replace the cup on the platter, my heart rising into my throat.

“I think you should relax,” Twilight advises me, but her words might as well have fallen on deaf ears. There’s a very good chance that whatever this letter contains will determine my future. Twilight clears her throat, and then begins.

“Dear Twilight Sparkle; your revelation of King Sombra as the identity of the mysterious time mage is most alarming. He is indeed known to us, and his existence, as well as the fate of the city-state over which he ruled, has been a well-guarded secret for a thousand years. Due to this, it comes as a shock to both my sister and I that Seth’s arrival in our time is connected to King Sombra.

There will be no need for you to visit the Royal Canterlot Archives in this particular case. I apologize for the extremely short notice, but my sister and I will be arriving in Ponyville tomorrow at dawn to personally address this issue. Your loving mentor, Celestia.”

When Twilight finished reading the letter, her expression was neutral at first. Gradually, her eyes widened and she begins to look rather dumbfounded. “Princess Celestia and Princess Luna are coming here tomorrow!?” Twilight frantically looks around the room with increasingly visible dissatisfaction.

“Twilight...I know what you’re thinking. Now I need you to slow down and…” Spike starts to try and calm her down, but to no avail. Twilight bolts from her seat. Spike rested his face in one claw. “Oh no…”

“I must clean EVERYTHING!” Twilight shrieks in panic, and then she begins dashing around the room in a blur of lavender fur and magical auras, replacing books, dusting shelves, and other such menial tasks that really look as though they don’t need to be done.

“Too late,” Spike deadpans. He picks up the letter and glances over it himself, and then he looks at me. “The princesses are coming to see you. I bet you’re excited; just wait until you meet them. They’re incredible.”

“Excited...is not the word I’d use,” I finally say in a shaking voice, breaking out of my stupor induced by the letter. Panic starts to set in as I rush through possible solutions to my current predicament. Tomorrow is too soon. I don’t have any clothes to handle the north, and I haven’t kept my word to Applejack yet. But if the princesses get here, there’s no guarantee I’ll ever see the light of day again, especially if I unwittingly led Twilight to one of Equestria’s national secrets.There’s nothing for it. I’ll have to run.

“You’ll be fine. Princess Celestia is really nice. I don’t know too much about Princess Luna, but Twilight seems to like her as well,” Spike attempts to reassure me, though I don’t pay him any attention until his eyes glance back to the letter. “Hey, there’s more on here.”

“More?” I ask, giving Spike my full attention while I attempt to calm my rapidly beating heart.

“Yeah. Hold on, I’ll read it for you,” Spike obligingly says, holding up the letter to his face. “PS. As it is likely that Seth will still be present when this letter arrives, I address this portion of the letter to him directly. Make sure you read it to him; it is unlikely he will be able to read Equestrian.

Greetings, Seth. I hope you’ll forgive me if I save the formal introductions until we meet, but there are a few things I’d like to make clear to you; this is not a disciplinary visit, nor do I intend to hinder you or your quest in any way. I ask only that you remain calm until such time we are able to meet.”

“See, I told you you’d be fine,” Spike says with a smirk after he finishes reading. “She knew you’d feel worried!”

“I don’t buy it. I stumble upon a national secret and the government just wants to drop by to say hello? How stupid do you think I am?” I express. Despite the princess’s reassurance, my worries are hardly lessened. Spike opens his mouth to protest, but I cut him off. “Where is Ponyville in relation to Canterlot?”

“Huh? Well, I don’t have a map in front of me, but we’re about in the middle of Equestria I think. Canterlot’s maybe an hour from here on train,” Spike replied, confused. “Why?”

I dont answer for a minute, and then I take several deep breaths, a sense of grudging acceptance coming over me. I have to think realistically here. I’m a college student with no experience on traveling long distances, or in survival. I’m certainly not knowledgeable on how to do so undetected. If I’m this deep in Equestria, the chances of me making it to the north without being caught are essentially zero. The princesses have the resources of an entire nation. In the end, running wouldn’t do me any good.

“No reason. I guess I’ve no choice but to meet these princesses,” I concede, standing up from the table. I think I’m done here. I came here hoping to find more information on Sombra, and instead ended up being served to the princesses on a silver platter. I can only hope they’re at least half as benevolent as Twilight and Spike seem to think they are. “Anyway, I think I’ve been here long enough. I need to start heading back.”

“Already? You just got here,” Spike remarks with a raised brow. I shrug. I may not have been here for long, but I’ve accomplished what I came to do and more. I notice Spike hesitant expression, as if he wants to say something more. Eventually he does. “Well, you should come by again. I don’t have many male friends, and Twilight would love to have another egg...uh...well-read friend.”

“Don’t get your hopes up,” is all I say in response, visibly disappointing the small dragon. With that, I turn and head for the door.

“Seth, wait!” Twilight skids to a halt in front of me just as I’m reaching for the handle. “I’m sorry again for going behind your back, and thank you for coming by to talk with me.”

“Whatever. What’s done is done,” I reply uncomfortably.

“One more thing. The princesses will be meeting us here at dawn tomorrow. Please don’t be late!” Twilight cautions me with a pleading expression.

“I won’t.” Without another word, I open the door and step back out in the street, leaving the librarian and her pet dragon behind.

A wall of cold air hits me the moment I step outside, causing me to immediately shiver and tuck my fingers beneath my arms. I wasn’t in the library for very long, but it seems as though the temperature had dropped significantly in that short time. I’ve nowhere else to be today, so I quicken my pace, hoping to get back to my new place of residence as quickly as possible.

Pangs of hunger shoot through my stomach, reminding me that I’ve had little to eat apart today apart from breakfast and a few apples. I hope Vinyl hasn’t eaten yet; meals are included in my rent, so I’d be a fool to miss one.

I’ve always had a reasonably sound sense of direction, so it doesn’t take me very long to cross-reference landmarks in my mind and work my way through the darkened streets towards Vinyl’s house.

There aren’t any street lamps or anything of that sort, so before long it’ll get too difficult to see. It’s late, but not so late that there aren’t ponies in the streets. I’ve been in Ponyville for a little over two days now, but it seems my presence is still new enough to warrant the cursory glances of the few passing ponies I encounter.

A cold breeze whips through the narrow streets, coursing over me like a frigid river. I wince and shrink even further into myself, but it does little to assuage the chill seeping through my skin. The way this particular street is arranged allows it to function as a natural wind tunnel, resulting in my current state.

Something flying in the breeze catches on the back of the head. The unknown object is so light that I hardly feel it, but it’s enough to get me to reach up with one hand and grasp it in an attempt to get it out of my hair. It’s soft and silken to the touch. When I bring it in front of me to get a closer look at it, I find a length of satin ribbon colored a pale pink fluttering gently in my palm. For some reason, it seems rather familiar, but I can’t quite place where I’ve seen it before.

I turn around and glance for the source of the flying ribbon, but I see nothing in the streets behind me except for the odd passing pony - none of whom seem to be looking for a lost ribbon.

I shrug and continue on my way, throwing the ribbon into the nearest trash can. To avoid another wind tunnel, I cut through an alleyway and into a street that’s blocked from the worst of the wind by the archway of one of the buildings. However, my detour takes me into a slightly busier street.

I hear the fluttering of wings above my head, and then a small group of pegasi land on the street ahead of me. I catch a glimpse of an all too familiar rainbow tail, so I promptly duck back into the alleyway and press my back against the wall. A feeling of foolishness crosses over me an instant later. Why should I hide from Rainbow like I’ve done something wrong? Granted, every encounter we’ve had has resulted in a fight, but she’s not on her own this time. She has no reason to pay any attention to me.

With that in mind, I force myself back onto the street and resume my walk, finding myself to be far behind them now. I recognize two of the three ponies with Rainbow: one of them is Flitter, and the other is the messy-maned mare that was with her when I first met her. I believe Flitter called her Cloud. The third I don’t recognize; a mare with a lavender blue coat and a golden yellow mane.

Cloud appears to be attempting to comfort Flitter about something, judging from the way she has a single leg wrapped around her shoulders and is talking to her in a soft voice. They’re walking slowly, so if I keep up my current pace, I’ll have to pass them.

Eventually, as I get closer, I notice that something seems off about Flitter apart from the fact that she seems upset. It hits me a moment later: she’s missing the pink bow that’s typically in her mane. I immediately make the connection to the ribbon I’d seen earlier. I recall that she’s a weather pony along with Rainbow; no doubt it must have come undone while she was up there in that heavy wind.

Honestly, it’s not my business that she lost her ribbon. I may have seen it, but I’m not by any means obligated to help her. Considering that she and Rainbow have caused me no end of trouble, I have even less reason to go out of my way to help her. In fact, I might even go so far as to say this is karma for siccing the attack dog that is Rainbow Dash on me.

I pause and shake my head, disgusted with myself. I may have my issues with her and her pushy attitude, but that’s no reason to wish ill on her. All it takes is one more look at Flitter’s distraught face to spur me into action. Heaving a sigh, I pivot on my heel and head back to the alleyway trash can. I can’t believe I’m doing this.

Luckily, finding the ribbon is easy enough. The trash must have been taken away before I tossed in the ribbon, because the can is empty except for the aforementioned accessory. I pick up the ribbon, and after determining that it’s clean, I return to the street and make my way to the group of pegasi.

The unfamiliar mare spots me first with a gasp. She leans her head towards her friends, never taking her eyes off of me. “Don’t look now, but I think the human is coming,” she whispers to them. All three of them turn to look, surprise etched on their faces.

“Seth’s here?” Rainbow reacts first, her gaze falling upon me. Her eyes narrow, and she protectively steps in front of her friends, blocking my path to Flitter. “Great. What in the hay do you want? Here to snap at somepony else for no reason?”

“I am so not in the mood for this,” I sigh, picking up on her guardedly hostile tone immediately. I decide to ignore her and turn to the one I actually have business with. “Flitter?”

“Oh! Um...yes?” Flitter jumps at being addressed. She nervously runs a hoof through her mane and hesitantly meets my gaze.

“Hey, you leave her alone! You’ve already done enough!” Rainbow doesn’t seem like she’s going to let me get a word in edgewise.

“Shut up, Rainbow. I’m not even talking to you. Why don’t you keep your nose out of my business for once?” I snap at her venomously, causing her to recoil briefly. She looks like she’s about to shoot right back, so I quickly turn back to Flitter and produce the ribbon from my pocket. Her eyes lock on to it and a happy gasp escapes her. “Here. I noticed you were missing this.”

“That’s my ribbon! You found it!” Flitter gratefully takes the ribbon from my hand with her mouth, and then she passes it to Cloud, who starts to tie it back into Flitter’s mane. She looks up at me with a bright smile, her former melancholy and nervousness swiftly melting away. “I can’t thank you enough! I thought I’d lost that forever when the heavy winds took it away!”

“You...wait what?” Rainbow’s mouth opens and closes repeatedly, my gesture taking her completely by surprise. She looks between Flitter and me. “Did you just...help her?”

“You nearly did. I found it by chance, and I figured it must be important, considering I’ve never seen you without it on,” I respond to Flitter, once again ignoring Rainbow completely. All it takes is one look at her sparkling eyes and I start to regret doing this for her. “Well, you have it back now. So if you’ll excuse me.”

I take a step back and pass by the surprised and perplexed mares, but I don’t get very far before a pair of furry legs wrap around my waist in a hug, halting my progress. I feel her cheek pressing against my back, causing me to shiver somewhat.

“Really, thank you. I don’t know what I would have done if I couldn’t get this back,” Flitter expresses softly. I rub my forehead, my regret over helping her only intensifying. “It was a birthday gift from my family.”

“What are you doing? Get off me,” I extricate myself from her grip uncomfortably. “I don’t need you reading any further into this. I only gave it back to you because I happened to find it. So if you’ll excuse me.”

Flitter looks like she wants to say something further, but in the end she just nods and moves back to her friends, the four of them watching me as I make my retreat. As I go, I unintentionally catch the front end of their next conversation.

“I thought you said he was a jerk,” Cloud emits, much to my dismay.

“He is! Just wait until you hear…” Rainbow begins, but then I become too far away to hear the rest.

The moment Vinyl’s house comes into view, I quicken my pace and bear the frigid air just long enough to throw open the door and rush inside. Once I’m inside, I sigh in relief. The combination of the warmer air temperature and my efforts to warm myself through friction helps to bring the color back into my chilled skin.

I’ve been out of the house all day, so I decide that a shower would be a good idea so I don’t dirty the bedsheets. As I head towards the kitchen, I notice Vinyl sprawled out on her back over the arm of the couch in the living room. Her hooves are splayed out every which way, her mouth is wide open, and her shades are barely hanging onto her face. She’s clearly asleep. That being said, that’s one of the most undignified sleeping positions I’ve ever seen. One corner of my mouth turns up ever so slightly in a somewhat amused smirk.

As I’m walking up the stairs to the bathroom, it occurs to me that I won’t have anything decent to wear when I meet the princesses in the morning. Rarity won’t have any outfits complete by dawn, though even if she did, I wouldn’t have time to visit her. Therefore, all I have are these jeans, and they’re in desperate need of a good cleaning.

When I walk by the laundry room, I note the complicated dials and Equestrian writing on the machinery, and thus determine that I’ll have to wake up Vinyl after my shower. I pause a moment, coming up with a better way to handle this.

Backtracking down the stairs, I make my way to the couch where Vinyl is sleeping and call out to her. Unfortunately, Vinyl is out like a light, and repeated calls fail to stir her. Rolling my eyes, I reach forward and place my palm upon her belly just long enough to shake her into wakefulness.

“Wha-huh? Whassat?” Vinyl lurches awake with a start, her shades falling off of her face in the process. She spots me and my retreating hand, realizing what had happened. She clapped her front hooves to her face and shuddered. Despite her efforts, I can still see her eyelids drooping. “Oh, hey Seth. I’m awake, I swear.”

“I thought you weren’t going to do anything today. What got you so exhausted?” I ask curiously. “You looked as though somebody had knocked you senseless.”

“Bro, I was up at dawn, and I couldn’t get back to sleep after that. I tried doing some mixing to pass the time, and… well… guess I got tired” Vinyl explains unashamedly. She sets her shades on a nearby end table, and then she stands up and stretches out her body, not caring that I’m standing right in front of her. I turn my gaze as she does so. “Any particular reason you woke me up? I’m sure it wasn’t just to give me a belly rub.”

“I have an important meeting tomorrow, so I’d like to get my clothes washed. I woke you because I don’t have a clue how to operate your washing machine,” I explain to her, choosing to ignore her last sentence.

“Cool. I was meaning to teach you sooner or later anyway. Follow me and I’ll show you how to use it.” Vinyl nods understandingly, and gestures for me to follow her back towards the kitchen where the stairs are located. Before long, we’re standing in front of the laundry room, where the two machines that I assume are the washer and dryer are located. Just like all of the other seemingly modern-era technology that ponies possess, a crystalline orb is set into each of the machines on the control panel. “Do you mind if I ask you an awkward question?”

“If you want. I may or may not answer, depending on what it is,” I return, crossing my arms. For her to preface her question by asking if I minded… suffice to say, I’m a little hesitant to hear it.

“I promise I don’t mean this in a weird way, but are you like a stallion or a minotaur?” Vinyl asks, looking somewhat wry. When she notices my visible lack of understanding, she revises. “Let me try this. Your clothes won’t be done for at least an hour, and as far as I know that’s your only set. Do you need something else to wear while you wait?”

“Oh. In that case, definitely. Thank you for not making me have to explain that,” I reply, catching her meaning. Vinyl snickers at that. “Do you have anything I can wear?”

“A towel, maybe. I don’t think my pants would fit you, and I don’t even have that many; I just don’t like to wear them. They’re so restricting,” Vinyl suggests, indicating a nearby linen closet. I know it’s due to a difference in culture, but her words immediately make me uncomfortable. Despite what she looks like, she still sounds like a woman. “If it helps, I gotta make food anyway, so I’ll stay downstairs while you wait.”

“That works,” I affirm after a moment’s thought. I return my gaze to the two machines. “So what do these characters mean? I’m familiar with washers and dryers, but I don’t know your language.”

“Don’t worry, I got you. So basically, you can ignore half of these settings,” Vinyl starts to explain, using her hoof to gesticulate her words. “I don’t even know what they do, and I’ve never needed them. See, you got your casual wash here. Set the dial at this line here; literally always leave load size at super, my water bill’s not bad; and use cold water unless you want to wreck your dye. The soap’s on the top shelf here.”

“Sounds basically how I used to handle it back at college,” I emit wryly, thankful for the familiarity. “I bet you don’t sort your laundry either.”

“Dude, I have like, seven shirts and a jacket. Why would I do that?” Vinyl retorts with an amused grin. She then turns to the dryer. “This one’s easy. Set the dial here and hit start. Boom.”

“What about fabric softener?” I query. Vinyl responds by briefly lifting up a box filled with thin dryer sheets and giving me a telling look. I suppose that covers everything I’d need to know. In essence it’s not all that different from the machines in my era. “Thanks. I think I can handle it from here.”

“No prob. I’ll go and get dinner started then. Grab a towel from the linen closet when you’re ready to come down.” With one last nod, Vinyl retreats back down the stairs and into the kitchen, leaving me to my own devices.

I follow her instructions and load my jeans, boxers, and socks into the washing machine along with a small amount of detergent, and then I start up the machine. Interestingly enough, the crystalline orb in the control panel glows with a soft light as the washer hums to life. I peer closer curiously at the orb. It’s hard to describe at what I’m looking; the glow is similar to the aura that appears whenever a unicorn uses magic, which would support my theory that some sort of magical circuitry is involved in the machine’s construction.

Still thinking about the orb, I place my rifle in my room and then start up the shower, where I begin to clean away the day’s accumulation of dirt and sweat. The warm water feels heavenly on my exhausted body; it’s anyone’s guess how I haven’t collapsed by now. I take this time to relax, letting the water wash away my anxiety about the day to come, even if only briefly.

When I’m finished, I dry myself off and move up to the mirror. I wince at what I see. My hair is continuing to accumulate grease, and the shower isn’t doing much to resolve that problem. It might be a good idea to do some experimentation with pony hair products before the grease becomes too noticeable. Not to mention, although I typically have a hard time growing facial hair, I’d like to have some sort of razor I can use.

I suddenly realize what I’m doing and scoff, turning away from the mirror. My appearance doesn’t really matter anymore. Sombra won’t care if my hair is greasy, so I shouldn’t either. The most I do is neaten my hair by borrowing Vinyl’s comb, which looks like it’s never been used.

Using the towel with which I’d dried off as makeshift clothing, I step out of the bathroom and move to the washing machine, which appears to have concluded its cycle. After loading it into the dryer, I make my way downstairs to see what Vinyl’s making for dinner. As I descend, I can hear her humming to herself. Interestingly enough, her pitch is excellent and her tone is pleasant on my ears. I wonder if she adds vocals to any of her performances.

Before I step into the kitchen, I make sure the towel is fastened securely around my waist. The moment I step inside, Vinyl turns to look at me with those magenta eyes of hers. “Welcome back. I’m just about done here,” she greets me with the same relaxed tone as ever.

I glance at the counter to see a salad bowl filled with a strange mashup of flowers, lettuce, and fruit. Next to it is an opened loaf of sliced bread, as well as a pile of what looks like hay. The purpose of it all becomes clear as Vinyl places a clump of the makeshift salad onto the bread along with some hay to form a sandwich.

“Humans can’t eat hay, Vinyl,” I remind her before she can do the same to mine. She grimaces at that.

“Well I don’t envy you there. Hay can taste darn good if you make it right,” Vinyl expresses. She obligingly prepares a sandwich for me while excluding the hay and presents it to me along with a glass of water. “What kind of soft drinks can you handle?”

“To be honest, I’ve no idea what kind of soft drinks ponies even have,” I admit, accepting the food from her and moving to the table. I take note of the small can that Vinyl is carrying with her; I guess it’s not all that strange that ponies would have carbonated drinks. They were invented somewhere in the 19th century, after all. “I can’t afford to get sick if I can’t handle them, either.”

“That’s no fun,” Vinyl laments, looking at me oddly as she cracks open the can. Sure enough, I can hear the hiss of air escaping the opening. She sits down at the table across from me and munches on her sandwich. “So how was work with Applejack?”

“I can’t complain. I didn’t expect Rainbow to be there, though,” I reply, taking a bite of my own sandwich. The taste is odd and the texture leaves much to be desired, but it’s not altogether unpleasant. “I keep running into her and it’s beginning to get on my nerves.”

“Yeah, I heard you two don’t get along,” Vinyl replies with a knowing expression and a nod. “Mind if I ask why? She’s actually really chill, and I can’t think of a more loyal friend.”

“I can’t possibly imagine how you see that in her,” I respond with a hint of venom in my voice, causing Vinyl to wince. Noticing that, I take a deep breath. It’s obvious that she and Rainbow are friends, so it would be ill-advised for me to badmouth her. “I don’t want to get into it, but I just can’t stand people… or in this case ponies… like her, who think they’re all that.”

“I guess there is a bit of that, but… didn’t you dance with her at the Cake’s party?” Vinyl insists, touching upon the one topic that I would have given anything not to have to discuss. “Why would you do that if…”

“Can we please not talk about that?” I cut across her, causing Vinyl to recoil at the edge in my voice. “I don’t care for her. Let’s just leave it at that.”

“Alright, chill. Was just curious, is all,” Vinyl retracts with a perplexed expression and a shrug. “More importantly, what’s your day look like tomorrow? Got time for another gig?”

“I…” I pause, finding that question to be harder to answer than I’d initially thought. “I don’t know know how to answer that question.”

“What do you mean? You don’t work after six, right?” Vinyl presses.

“Normally I’d say yes, but I actually have an engagement in the morning...and I’ve no idea what the consequences of such will be. There’s a chance I might not be here after that,” I reveal to her.

“I thought you said you weren’t leaving until the snows came?” Vinyl asks with a raised brow.

“Yes well. That was until the princesses decided my presence warranted their immediate attention. They’re coming to see me tomorrow at dawn,” I retort with annoyance. Vinyl responds by dropping her drink on the table, her eyes steadily widening.

“The princesses are coming here? To my house!?” Vinyl’s voice abruptly rises in pitch. She stands up and places her two front hooves on the table as she looks around the mess that is her house. “Oh no no no...everything’s a mess, and I have those cords that need to get rolled up, and there’s dust everywhere…”

“Relax. I’m meeting them at Twilight’s library tomorrow. You don’t have to do anything,” I interrupt her before she can get too frantic. I wonder if all the ponies react to hearing about a visit from the princesses by wanting to clean everything they own. “My point is that I don’t trust that they won’t take me away somewhere. Celestia said she wouldn’t, but I don’t trust that.”

“Sheesh, don’t freak me out like that.” Vinyl relaxes back into her chair, a heavy sigh escaping her. She doesn’t seem at all concerned about the point that I just made. “Now you’re the one who should relax. I’ve never met the princess up close, but I hear nothing but good things about her; especially since we have her personal student in town. If Princess Celestia said she’s not gonna foalnap you, then she’s not gonna. Honestly, I’m a little jealous you get to meet her personally.”

“Good that one of us thinks so. I don’t trust authority figures. They’ve too much power and not enough accountability,” I counter in a bitter voice. Vinyl tilts her head at that.

“Princess Celestia has done nothing but do right by us, dude. Equestria has been peaceful and happy since long before I was born because of her,” Vinyl argues back, the mare starting to sound irritated. “Give her a chance before you start implying she’s a tyrant.”

“Twilight said the same thing to me. At the very least, she’s done something different if she’s got her ponies defending her so easily,” I admit.

Despite my misgivings, that alone is enough to warrant thought; politicians in my time were a dime a dozen. They all had different ideals they wanted to pursue, different policies they wanted to implement, and different offices for which they wanted to run. However, they all had one thing in common: people had vastly differing opinions on them, ranging from the fanatically positive to the fanatically negative. Yet Princess Celestia is spoken well of by all the ponies that talk about her.

“I guess we’ll see,” I finally concede, deciding that further argument on the matter is pointless. “To answer your question, I’ll be available provided I’m not detained.”

“You’ll be fine. You gotta tell me what they’re like up close when I see you tomorrow evening,” Vinyl assures me, her tone returning to normal. With that, the two of us finish up our meals and start to get ready for bed. “You go on and head upstairs. I’ll handle the dishes.”

“Okay. Then I’m heading to bed,” I respond. After checking to make sure my towel is fastened properly, I rise from the table and climb the stairs to the second level. It sounds like the dryer is finished, so I unload my freshly cleaned clothes and take them to my room with me.

I shut the door behind me, set the clothes down on the desk, and move to sit down on the bed. I don’t know if I’ll be able to get much sleep, but it’s refreshing to finally be alone for the first time today.

This world is surreal. I’ve been able to mask my feelings and just force myself through the day, but I can’t get over how weird it is. I’m living in a town filled with oddly shaped talking ponies. I sometimes have a hard time believing that any of this is real. If it weren’t for the burning rage I feel inside of me to keep me focused on my task, I honestly don’t know where I’d be.

I lay back and stare at the ceiling and think about what might happen tomorrow. My thoughts clash together chaotically and jump from one possible scenario to the next. I try to tell myself that whatever happens tomorrow will happen, but it doesn’t much help. As the imagined scenarios get increasingly more negative, I heave a sigh.

“I’m never going to get to sleep.”

Author's Note:

Took me several months to get this out, because I once again found myself without a job, so I had to run through that song and dance again. Also I had to move out of my parents house far earlier than I expected, so that's another thing.

So, when first writing this chapter, I realized that the original had a lot of useless filler in it. As a result, I did a lot of cutting and restructuring in order to get this chapter to flow better. One of the most notable changes is that I cut the Derpy scene, and instead replaced it with one for Flitter, to continue that particular subplot. That choice was fueled by my readers' desire to see more Flitter, as she went wholly forgotten in the original. I was also able to tie in some more Rainbow in the process.

Also, please join me in welcoming some new help! ScootalooFTW unfortunately had to step down from an editing position permanently, but in his place came scaredofbs, who I picked out personally to help me in my writing efforts! So far she's done an excellent job!

Thanks to Brave-Hooves, Insidiaphilia, and scaredofbs for editing this, and please don't forget to leave a comment telling me what you think!

If you'd like to join our growing community (which now has a minecraft server) on Discord, please don't hesitate to come join at https://discord.gg/YzuSAEC!

Comments

[Emperor of Jurai]

Seth bro, you are an odd duck. Don't know about most people but while I do wash my hair so I don't get thought of as some sort of disgusting person. I also do it cause...well I can't STAND having my hair greasy. When I think of how long he been without a bath an all that, bleh...odd guy and yes I'm odd to fixate on that.

But meh nothing else to really poke out, he still the anti-social bugger he always been. Even if he is thankfully showing he isn't a complete sociopath by helping out Flitter like he did. Guy could use some more lessons on social interactions but he isn't a total loss in this chapter. As for his Celestia mindset...ehh can't really blame him too much on his paranoid mindset about her and Luna. I mean when it comes to us humans, our leaders are...a mixed bag of nuts to be sure.

[QCosmic Derp]

Yes, banish the useless filler from whence it came!

You know, without all that filler, the chapter reads like, sharper you know? Very nice work. I can't wait to see how future chapters look!