18. Cursed (rw)
I yawn loudly and stretch my back, remembering once more why I shouldn’t stay up late. Work today is particularly grueling, not helped by Rainbow waking me up at some ungodly hour this morning and shooting out the window, saying something about getting everything she needed for winter ready. Apparently, tomorrow will mark the first snowfall of the year. For the Applejack family and myself, that means kicking our efforts into overdrive to finish the last harvest before the temperature drops into the negative.
“Whoo-ee! That’s all the apples bucked and stored! Now we don’t need to bother with the apple trees part from basic maintenance for the rest of winter,” Applejack declares with a huff of exhaustion and pride after she bucks the last apple tree in the field. “Thanks for all the help, Seth. Because of you, we can finish our preparations before the snow instead of in it.”
“So what happens now? I imagine there’s not much use for farming help during the winter.” I ask worriedly.
“You’d be wrong, sugarcube,” Applejack tells me. “There’s still plenty to keep us busy during the colder months. Peas, garlic, onions, and carrots; those are all year round, and I know Golden Harvest could always use an extra hoof with her carrots.”
“Huh.”
“Then there’s general farm maintenance we can do. Keeping the animals warm, cleaning out the gutters, making sure no debris gets covered up by snow and gets dangerous-”
“Alright, I get it. Looks like there’s no chance of me being without work,” I say with relief. Without my job here at the farm, I wouldn’t be able to afford living with Vinyl anymore. “Guess you’re stuck with me a while longer.”
“Heh, pleased to have you,” Applejack replies with a chuckle. “Now let’s get back to the barn so we can finish up for the day. You sticking around for dinner today?”
“No thanks. I have stuff to take care of,” I wave her off, like always.
With an extra bag of bits jingling from my belt, I make my way back to town towards the schoolhouse. I’m still tired, but the work helped shake off some of the drowsiness. Not being able to read Equestrian has been bugging me for a while, and having to painstakingly dictate an entire script to Vinyl was the last straw. If I’m going to live in Equestria, it’s time I learned the language. I’m sure Twilight would be more than glad to teach me, but I’m more than tight enough on bits as is, and I’m not taking charity as an answer.
As I pass along the path to the schoolhouse, I note the two guards posted on either side of the street. I do my best to ignore them as they inevitably turn their gazes to me and keep them on me until I’ve passed out of their line of sight.
Once I arrive at the schoolhouse, I peek through the window at the door and see that class is still in session. With that in mind, I lean against the side of the schoolhouse, out of view from the front doors and any windows. About half an hour later, the school bell rings and the door slams open to let out a tidal wave of cheering foals.
“Don’t forget to complete your assignment on the different species of Equestria, everypony!” Cheerilee calls out from the doorstep. She waits until at least a couple foals verbally acknowledge her before stepping back inside.
As I move to follow, I spot several fillies hanging out under a barren holly tree. Diamond Tiara and her friend, Silver Spoon walk purposefully towards Apple Bloom, self-assured smirks on their faces.
“Apple Bloom, can I talk to you for a minute?” Diamond Tiara asks in a honeyed voice. I wince but ignore them. No doubt the conversation to follow won’t be pleasant for Apple Bloom, but now that I’m not involved, it really isn’t my problem. I ignore them and step into the schoolhouse, the clack of my shoes on the hardwood floor echoing through the empty room and alerting Cheerilee to my presence.
“Oh, good afternoon, Seth. I was hoping you’d drop by to see me again,” Cheerilee says brightly. She pushes aside the folder she’d just opened and gives me her full attention. “How are you doing on this fine Wednesday afternoon?”
“It could be worse, I suppose,” I reply with a suppressed grimace.
“Good, good. What brings you to my schoolhouse?” Cheerilee asks curiously. She suddenly lights up. “Did you decide to come speak to my class?”
“That depends on a few things,” I answer cryptically, causing her to look perplexed as she waits for me to continue. “How often does your class cover spelling and grammar? Reading comprehension works too.”
“Well, language arts is scheduled for Mondays. I try to keep up a curriculum where each school day focuses on a specific subject, so I have enough time to go thoroughly in-depth on each one,” Cheerilee explains as she pulls out a timetable for me to see.
“Makes sense. Not like my school ever did anything like that,” I muse with a nod. “Would it be possible for me to sit in on Mondays, then? I can’t read or write Equestrian.”
“Of course! Although you should know that my students are well beyond an elementary level of reading and writing, so you may be out of your depth,” Cheerilee explains. I close my eyes for a few moments and sigh. “Regardless, I’m glad you’re interested in learning our language!”
“I don’t have much of a choice. My own language is illegible here, and I’m tired of relying on others to read things for me,” I say with a shrug. Cheerilee nods understandingly. “Is there any chance I could get some of your time after school hours?”
“Well, I do offer to tutor students after hours if they need it, but I would need to come up with a curriculum for you, and ultimately, helping you means I wouldn’t be able to help my students as much,” Cheerilee replies regretfully. This leaves me the perfect opportunity to play my hand.
“I can compensate you for your time. I don’t have the bits, but I can speak for your class instead. It might take some time to learn Equestrian as well, so I can put myself at your disposal to help with the tutoring load as well, if necessary,” I suggest. I hear an inner voice inside my head moan loudly about having to deal with rambunctious, good for nothing kids, but I squash it down before the rest of me can agree with it.
“Oh! That would certainly be a fair trade!” Cheerilee turns towards her desk and opens a drawer. She clicks her tongue and fishes through the assorted mess of papers, pencils, crystal orbs, and headphones within to pull out what I assume is her planner. She cracks it open and scans through it briefly. “What sort of education have you had? I’m afraid I’m unfamiliar with your culture’s educational policies.”
“I’ve had plenty. Five years elementary schooling, three years middle school, four years high school, and three years of university,” I say, listing off each education group with my fingers. her eyes widening as I do so. “That includes all the core topics, and I was just delving into advanced calculus and chemistry when...when I came to Equestria.”
“That’s quite extensive! You’ve had almost as much schooling as me!” Cheerilee marvels with a wide smile. I blink at that, but quickly reason that a middle school teacher wouldn’t need to go through many years of university to get a teaching license. “So you should be just fine then, provided you can handle foals.”
“It should be fine,” I assure her, even if I don’t quite believe it myself. “Do we have an agreement?”
“We do! I’ll need some time to put together a lesson plan for you, but I’ll have something ready for you by next week!” Cheerilee beams at the prospect. “I’ll also need to work you into my lesson plan for next week, so you can give my students insight on your culture. How does Tuesday sound? Those are our history days!”
“I’ll need to clear it up with Applejack, but I think I can manage that.” At last, I have a way to learn the Equestrian language. Maybe I can pick up reading again and see what fine messes Equestrian literature has to offer. “In any case, I’ll drop by again Monday afternoon to finalize things.”
“I’ll see you then! I look forward to working with you, Seth!” With an agreement in place, Cheerilee flashes me a smile and goes back to her papers. My business concluded, I straighten my clothes and walk back out of the schoolhouse towards Vinyl’s house, hoping to get some guitar practice down before dinner. Or sleep. Sleep is also good, I think to myself as I suppress another yawn.
The late noon sun shines upon the town, the overhead trees casting shadows that lengthen and plunge the schoolyard into a cool shade. The songs of the birds steadily fade as they retire for the day, the area growing still and serene. In the play area, a swing gently creaks back and forth, caught by a soft breeze that weaves between the barren tree branches and ruffles my hair.
There is no one in the yard except for Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo, Diamond Tiara, and Silver Spoon. As I walk past their little group, I pick up on their conversation.
“Huh? What about the tools you got me the other day?” Apple Bloom asks in confusion. They must be talking about a group project.
“It was really hard to get them,” Diamond Tiara explains with a pout. “I had to ask daddy, and he had to ask his friends to get them shipped in. But don’t worry, I know the perfect way for you to pay me back.”
I stop in place several meters away from the small group of foals. The image of a young girl with short blonde hair and piercing blue eyes flashes through my mind.
“Seth, would you mind doing me a favor? I have a lot on my plate, and I could use your help.”
I force myself to keep walking. What goes on between Diamond Tiara and Apple Bloom is none of my concern.
“I ain’t doing that species assignment for you. Do it yourself, like everypony else!” Apple Bloom responds incredulously.
“Yeah, nopony should be that lazy!” Scootaloo snaps back.
“It’s not even that hard of an assignment!” Sweetie Belle protests.
“Again, Janna? Your plate is always full, and I’m sick of having to manage it for you. Find someone else to do your work.”
I bite down on my lip as old memories push forward like a flood. My chest tightens as I try to reign back my emotions. There’s no way this could be happening again. Not in the open where I can hear it. I just need to take a few deep breaths to ease the pressure rising in my chest. This isn’t my business regardless.
“I could do it myself, but me and Silver Spoon are busy on the weekend, and I don’t want to make daddy get somepony else to do it.” Diamond Tiara’s eyes gain a sinister gleam like she’s a hunter who’s cornered her prey. “Besides, you needed those tools, didn’t you? They’re not cheap, you know. Surely a simple favor isn’t too much to ask”
“Why would I need to ask someone else when I have you, dum dum. Always ready to help me out when I need it. You haven’t forgotten everything I’ve done for you, have you?”
“I suppose not, but...I’ve got my own homework to do too,” Apple Bloom says, faltering exactly like how I used to.
“I’m sure you can handle it. You’re a smart pony,” Diamond Tiara assures her. An annoyed expression crosses Tiara’s face when Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle start whispering to Apple Bloom. “Do you know what would happen if I went and told my daddy? It won’t-”
“-be pleasant if you refuse.”
Diamond Tiara’s voice merges with the voice from my memories, and something inside of me snaps. The pressure in my chest exponentially grows as I turn on one heel and storm across the yard towards the group of fillies. My feet feel as if they’re moving on their own, dirt clouds stirring with every stomp. My eyes harden and my body chills as if someone is pumping ice through my veins. If looks could kill, I’d be wanted in all fifty-one states.
Diamond Tiara notices my swift approach behind the three crusaders in her direction. She first furrows her brow in confusion, then alarm when she sees the intense glare I’m emitting. The panic steadily builds when I don’t slow down in the slightest and the aura of rage and hostility I’m releasing gets stronger.
“Seth? W-What are you d-doing!?” Diamond Tiara stammers, her ears flattening and eyes widening. As I push through the three surprised fillies to reach her, she backpedals towards the stump of the tree, trying to put as much distance between herself and me as possible. “Stay away!”
Everything, from the setup, to the favors, to the ultimatum. It’s the exact same. I won’t let this happen again. Not to someone else.
“You… I won’t let you…!” I’m so angry I can hardly form a sentence. Tiara trembles beneath my gaze like a leaf in the wind as my vision flashes green. “You’re going to leave those girls alone right now!”
“H-Huh?” Diamond Tiara stammers. After a moment, she manages to recollect herself, gazing up at me with defiance despite her fear. “St-stay out of this, you ape! You better go away before I get my daaaaa!”
With a guttural cry of rage, I slam my fist into the trunk right beside her head, my fist clenched so tightly I can feel fingernails digging into my palm. The impact manages to shatter the bark, buckle the trunk, and knock Diamond’s tiara off her head.
“Who the hell do you think you are!? You can’t just order ponies around like you own them!” I snarl into Diamond Tiara’s flushed, terrified face. The fist-sized hole in the tree trunk behind her wipes any semblance of bravery she possessed. “I don’t care whose daughter you are; you have no right! You think I’ll just stand here and watch while you make those fillies’ lives a living hell!?”
“Seth, please. Thanks, but we’re okay!” Apple Bloom calls, the filly bravely walking up behind me.
“Shhh, Apple Bloom! I don’t think we should get in the middle of this,” Sweetie Belle hisses quietly at her friend.
“Get away from my friend, you jerk!” Silver Spoon yells in a wavering voice, her hooves shaking like sticks about to buckle under pressure. My vision flashes green once again and stays that way. I snap my face towards where I heard Silver Spoon speak, causing her to scream and bolt the opposite direction.
I grunt and clap a hand to my head, squeezing my eyes shut as a sudden onslaught of cold pain shoots through my body. When I reopen my eyes, my vision is back to normal. I note Diamond Tiara trying to wriggle away.
“I’m not done with you.” She freezes once more, whimpering pathetically and trying to make herself as small as possible. “Do you think that because your family is so rich and powerful, that puts you above everyone else!? That you can wield your father’s influence like a weapon to get whatever you want!?”
I hear Apple Bloom calling out to me again, but I don’t pay her any regard.
“You may think you’re invincible now, but when your supposed ‘influence’ crumbles away from beneath you, you’ll have nothing. On your own, you are nothing,” I hiss, not letting up despite my struggle to keep whatever’s in my chest contained. “The world doesn’t owe you a thing, brat.”
“You...you can’t talk to me like this!” Diamond Tiara finally finds her voice, though it’s taking all she has to force the words out. “I’m gonna tell daddy, and then you won’t be talking so tough!” Diamond Tiara grabs her tiara from the ground and gallops away, leaving me, the three crusaders, and a very confused schoolteacher who has just poked her head out the door, her headphones hanging around her neck. I collapse into a seated position while Cheerilee makes her way towards us.
“What’s going on out here?” Cheerilee asks. On the opposite end of the field, one of the guards I walked past on my way to the schoolhouse approaches our group, his eyes fixed on me.
“A filly ran up to us saying her friend was in trouble. Is everything alright?” the guard asks. He glances over to where I’m resting, trying to catch my breath and calm down. “Is the human causing trouble?”
“No!” Apple Bloom laughs forcefully. “No, everything’s fine! Seth and I were just...uhh…”
“Having a discussion!” Scootaloo chimes in. “About...”
“The human book series! He really doesn’t like them, but we do,” Apple Bloom finishes. Sweetie Belle remains notably quiet, the filly watching from the side with visible discomfort. “Everything’s fine, officer!”
“That must have been some discussion. This poor tree took quite the beating,” Cheerilee peers around me look at the sorry state of the tree, strips of bark still falling to the ground. She looks at me with a raised brow. “What possessed you to do such a thing?”
“He uh….kept telling us he didn’t have any magic!” Scootaloo puts forward with a nervous chuckle.
“Yeah, but the books said he did, so we asked him to prove it,” Apple Bloom says.
“Turns out he’s right, but he’s also really strong!” Scootaloo looks at the tree sheepishly.
There’s an uncomfortable silence as Cheerilee and the guard alternate between looking at me and the three fillies that has me squirming in place. Finally, Cheerilee nods understandingly, but the guard’s eyes linger on the fist-sized hole that was hiding behind my back.
“Of course, that makes sense. I imagine the books aren’t very accurate after all. Strength over magic…sounds like us earth ponies!” Cheerilee observes. She gives me a disapproving look. “Now, just because there are a lot of inaccuracies doesn’t mean you should fight over it. We can like different things, regardless of their flaws.”
“Right! We’re sorry, Miss Cheerilee!” The three ponies chorus together, effectively.
“That’s much better. Apologize to them as well, Seth.” Cheerilee orders me. I swallow my pride and give a mumbled apology, my breath finally steadying itself to a level where I can stand up. “There! Now all is well. Thank you for your help, officer.”
The guard narrows his eyes. He stares at me for several seconds. “I will be heading off, then. Keep out of trouble, human. We’re watching you,” he says, trotting back to his post.
“You all run along now. And try to get along!” Cheerilee says, turning back to the schoolhouse. The three fillies look to me.
“Are you alright? I ain’t never seen anypony so mad before,” Apple Bloom says softly.
“That was pretty scary,” Sweetie Belle says with a gulp.
“...even if it was a little cool,” Scootaloo adds, only to get sharply nudged by Sweetie Belle. “Well, it was! Seeing Diamond Tiara get hers never gets old...except for maybe the almost hitting her part.”
“I mean, sure, she was being a little nasty, but that was going too far,” says Apple Bloom.
I can still feel a chill within me unrelated to the temperature. I can only describe it as drinking a bucket of ice-cold water and feeling it travel down to the pit of your stomach.
“Seth?” Apple Bloom repeats.
“Shut up for a moment,” I snap, causing her to wince. I hold up the fist I used to total a tree. It doesn’t even look bruised. My hand is completely and totally unharmed.
That’s not normal.
“Look. I’m sorry you had to see any of that. But I don’t have time to explain,” I tell the crusaders in a shaky voice. “There’s someone I need to see right now.”
“Where are you going?” The three fillies trail along behind me as I break into a brisk walk towards town. “Hey!”
With that, I leave the trio behind. My mind drifts back across the almost two weeks that I’ve been here. I’d almost forgotten about the strange pressure in my chest and its effect on me, in the wake of all the emotions I’d been feeling at the time.
One thing’s for sure, this isn’t a disease. No physical disease that I know of comes with symptoms like these, and even if I was starting to lose it, having a mental breakdown wouldn’t result in something as ludicrous as super strength. That leaves ‘magic’ as the only possibility—and I know just the pony to turn to for answers.
“Seth! Thank Celestia, I was hoping you’d come by again,” Twilight greets me at the door with a beaming smile not even seconds after I’ve knocked. If I didn’t know better, I’d say she’s been waiting by the door all day.
Her smile falters when she picks up upon my haggard state. “Are you alright? Did something happen?”
“I think there is something wrong with me. Can you help?”
“Yes, of course. Please come in.” Twilight ushers me inside and into her living room, closing the door with a snap. She brings out cushions for us to sit, where I attempt to calm myself down. She gazes at me with a concerned frown. “Do I need to send for a doctor? You look very pale.”
“I don’t think a doctor can help. This is magical. It has to be.”
Twilight blanches at my words and starts checking over my body, occasionally using magic to move one of my limbs. In order to get to my back, she has me move my rifle to the side. “It’s true that you don’t seem to be hurt in any way, but magical injuries can manifest in many ways.”
“Everything alright out here?” Spike walks out from the upstairs bedroom, a comic book clutched in his claws that drops to the ground when he takes a look at me. “I’ll get started on the tea. Ginger, or chamomile?”
“Ginger. And bring me a damp towel,” Twilight orders without looking at him.
“You got it,” Spike says, scampering down the stairs towards the kitchen.
“Magical afflictions can be incredibly dangerous, especially if humans really don’t have any magic as you said.” Twilight levitates several books down from their shelves. “We can start by ruling out some of the common ones, but I’ll need you to tell me everything you can.”
“I can pay you for the trouble.” I lift up my bag of bits, but Twilight pushes my arm down with her magic.
“Right now, your health is more important; we can discuss payment later.”
Bereft of any other choice, I explain to her what I’ve been feeling inside of me ever since I arrived in this era to the best I can remember. I describe the pressure in my chest, my observation that it only seems to surface whenever I’m angry or stressed, and the frigid cold I feel when it gets particularly bad.
As we talk, Spike returns to the room with a boiling kettle of yellowish tea, a jar of honey, and the wet towel that Twilight requested. The tea has a surprisingly sharp spice to it that I drown out with a generous dose of honey. It isn’t the most pleasant of beverages, but it does wonders to help calm me down. By the end of the first cup, I can barely feel any pressure in my chest.
“I can’t say I’ve ever heard of an affliction like this before.” Twilight dabs the towel against my forehead, wiping off any errant drops of sweat. “If you’re feeling well enough, could you come into my basement?”
“Your basement?” I question flatly with a raised eyebrow.
“This isn’t something I can diagnose by just looking. I have some instruments set up down there to detect, measure, and identify mana. At the very least, it’ll confirm for you if what we’re dealing with is, in fact, magical,” she explains with a nod.
“That begs the question of why you have such instruments in the first place—this is supposed to be a library.” Now that I’m calming down and able to think, I’m having second thoughts about coming here. I’m not sure I can afford her help, but I need to get rid of this thing before it gets rid of me. Whatever deal I make here has to happen on my terms.
“This library is also my home. Research is a regular pastime for me, and how better to research the intricacies of magic than with the proper instruments.” Seeing her expectant gaze, I rise to my feet and wait for her. Once she sees I’m ready, Twilight leads me to a doorway tucked in the corner by the stairs and back wall. “Spike, I need everything on magical afflictions and curses that we have.”
“On it,” I hear Spike call out as Twilight opens the door. Beyond the doorway is a dimly lit stairwell leading underground. Twilight’s horn briefly lights up, and the stairwell is flooded with light from a series of crystalline orbs set into the walls at regular intervals like torches.
“C-Curses? You think this might be a curse?”
“We can’t rule it out. It’s best to be as thorough as possible when researching—cover all avenues if you will.” The stairwell continues further downward, ending with a chamber that appears to be situated away from the base of the tree, likely a precaution in the event of a collapse. “I’ve already formulated several possibilities based on what you’ve told me. To narrow it down, where exactly in Equestria did you originally emerge? I don’t think you’ve ever told me the where—only the how.”
“You’d be right. If it’s important, I woke up in the Everfree Forest.” Technically, it’s not a lie; the remnants of my university are certainly somewhere below the forest.
“The Everfree Forest?!” Twilight’s eyes widen as she stares at me with horror. That’s...I can’t even imagine what you must have gone through—-being a human without any magic. There are all sorts of horrible things if you wander off the beaten path.”
“No kidding. There was something out to get me from the moment I woke up to the moment I reached the town,” I retort.
“How did you make it out? Did you know there’s a dragon in the area?” Spike questions with a stack of books precariously held in front of him. I slowly turn to look at him without a word.
“I mean an adult dragon,” he says with rolling eyes.
“I ran as fast as I could in one direction. That’s all there is to it,” I reply with a shrug, even as my insides churn at the thought that I could have run into a full-grown dragon during my mad dash in the dark.
As we descend, the stone wall on my right side falls away to reveal a mostly unremarkable room. One wall is taken up by a long, wooden desk that Spike goes to dump the books onto, and a mounted bulletin board, upon which various slips of paper are pinned—some depict various ponies resembling scientists or magicians, some are sheets of unintelligible Equestrian writing, and others display various measurements of an unknown subject.
What does stand out is the multitude of odd instruments littering the opposite end of the room. All of them sport a metallic sheen with various buttons, lights, and screens covering the surfaces. Various wires trail around the room, connecting the devices from one to the other, which are all hooked up to a crystal power source in the back corner of the room.
“Could you take a seat for me?” Twilight indicates a chair situated in the middle of the room that looks eerily like one you’d find at a dentist’s office. I gingerly set my rifle aside and climb onto the chair, unsure of what to expect. Twilight uses her magic to gather several smaller instruments and cords. “I’ll start with my most likely hypothesis, and we will go from there. Assuming this is magically caused, there’s any number of things in the Everfree Forest that could have caused it.”
“What kind of place is the Everfree?”
“One of the most dangerous places in Equestria. Everything from powerful monsters to chaotic curses dwells inside. Some trees are capable of defending themselves from harm through perception filters, animation, or even something as drastic as transformation. The flora can cause ponies to experience side effects ranging from blocking the user’s magic to removing their depth perception. Others attack you directly through toxic gas or vines. Of course, none of this takes any of the local fauna into account, such as timberwolves, cockatrices, manticores...”
My jaw slowly goes slack as the list of dangers grows longer and more elaborate. “Stop!” I finally say as she’s describing the constellation monsters in intricate detail. “I get it, I shouldn’t be alive.”
“I’m sorry. But you are very lucky to get out with no sustained injuries,” Twilight apologizes sheepishly. “First order of business, I want to take your vitals. I’m not a doctor, but I know the basics. I don’t know what’s normal for humans, however; so you’ll have to help me.”
The thought of disrobing even a little in front of her makes me uneasy, but I know that this is standard procedure for something like this...and I didn’t even have a real shirt for the first week since I arrived in Ponyville. I remove my jacket and shirt, which Twilight places on the desk with her magic. “Do what you need to do. Though there’s still the matter of compensation to discuss later.”
“I really don’t want to take your money, Seth.” Twilight frowns and gives me the answer that I knew she would. “You came to me in need of help. Please let me give it to you.”
“You’re doing me a service, and I will not incur debt with you. I don’t know how I can make that any clearer to you,” I remind her with a hint of exasperation. Spike notes the changing atmosphere in the room and back to one corner of the room, anxiously glancing between us.
“But that doesn’t make any sense! I’d never hold you to any kind of debt; I don’t get why you’re so worried I will.”
I cross my arm and look at her exasperated. “Twilight, you know more about magic than most of the unicorn population, to the point where if other ponies knew you were doing it for free, you’d never have a moment’s rest. You’re the scholar equivalent of a medical specialist, and if they offered their services for free to anyone who visited like you’re doing right now, they’d be out of a job.”
“I also told you before that I’d happily use my magical expertise to help any of my friends!” Twilight shoots right back.
“I’m not one of your friends.” The moment that statement leaves my lips, Twilight looks crushed, as if hearing my words physically hurt. “You declaring yourself my friend is not enough to change that fact.”
“I…” Twilight lets out a small whimper. “I don’t understand. Is there something wrong with me in particular, that you won’t let me help?”
“Excuse me? What are you talking about?”
“You seem to be such good friends with Rainbow Dash, Vinyl Scratch, and Pinkie Pie. Is it just me that you don’t like?”
“You’re making a looot of assumptions there.” I note her unconvinced face and uncross my arms with a sigh. “Look, even if you and I were friends, I’d still pay you. It’s a matter of principle and I adamantly refuse to take charity as an answer.”
“It’s not charity! I’m just trying to do you a...favor,” Twilight halts mid protest, a spark of realization passing over her. Her body slumps. “Fine, I give up.”
“Pardon?”
“You win. It doesn’t matter how much I argue, it’s clear you won’t believe me. I’ve thought and agonized over how I might prove myself genuine, but I can’t do even the smallest thing if you won’t give me a chance.” Twilight throws up her hooves, defeated.
I remain silent and wait for her to finish.
“But I guess it doesn’t matter. I’m still going to help you, but we’ll do it your way. So far, you seem to respond well to equal exchange, as long as the terms are agreed upon upfront and benefit both parties. Am I right?” Twilights words are short and clipped, her lips set in a firm line. When I give her a terse nod, she continues. “Then in exchange for my services, you’re going to let Pinkie Pie give you a welcome party.”
I stare at Twilight for a few seconds. “What.”
Twilight’s lips curl into an amused smile at my monotone response. “A welcome party! She loves to hold them for anyone who comes to live in Ponyville, and so far you’re the exception. She’s held off until now because I asked her to take your feelings into account...even though it was like trying to stop a train with telekinesis.”
“But how does this benefit you in the slightest?” I retort. “I can see how that would benefit Pinkie Pie, but not you.”
Spike chooses this moment to interrupt. “You don’t know Pinkie Pie very well. You haven’t seen how she gets when she can’t throw a party like she wants to. She becomes…” Spike pauses a moment, brushing his chin with the tip of his claw. “Insufferable. Trust me when I say letting her have her way would be a relief on my, and mostly Twilight’s, part.”
I throw up my hands in annoyance. “I suppose, but this just sounds like a ridiculous excuse for a party. Who even throws welcome parties for people they haven’t met?”
“Who knows? You might enjoy it! But even if you don’t, such is the nature of payment, wouldn’t you agree?” Twilight says, her smile turning smug as she notes my hesitation. “What do you say? Do we have a deal?”
“A welcome party sounds like a terrible idea, but I suppose it does make for a good compromise. But I’m adding one extra condition.” I give Twilight a moment for her to process what I said. “Not one word of what happens here to the princesses. I’m not having a repeat of the other day where both of them come to see me.”
“That’s…” Twilight looks pained upon hearing that, but she relents with a sigh. “Alright, I promise I won’t tell the princesses—but if at any point I find your condition is life-threatening and I haven’t the knowledge or skill to handle it, I will. Because your life is more important than anything.”
“I suppose that’s the most I can expect from you. Fine, it’s a deal.” My response earns a sigh of relief from Twilight. “Do what you’re going to do. When is this party going to be?”
“As soon as Pinkie can put it together! Oh, I already can’t wait,” Twilight gives a giggle at my less than enthused expression, but then she lifts up one of the books that Spike brought her and gets serious.
“Yes, it’s safe now. I’ll need you to write down my findings as I read them off,” At last, Twilight starts attaching the electrodes to my body using my guidance. “This device will detect the presence of any type of mana. Depending on the measurements, I will cross-reference them to determine its origin. I’m going to let it run while I take your vitals.”
“Okay,” I say. Twilight then produces what I easily identify as a stethoscope. She puts it on and places the end of it on my stomach and starts to listen. “Twilight, my heart is up here.”
“Right,” Twilight sheepishly adjusts the position of the scope to the correct location of my heart and starts to listen, quietly counting under her breath the number of beats. Her eyes widen in surprise. “Your heart beats very fast. I’m counting an average hundred and ten beats per minute. That’s way higher than the pony average of thirty-six to forty-two beats per minute in rest. Is that normal for you?”
“For humans, anywhere from sixty to a hundred is within the normal range. My heart rate has always been a little faster than average, though.” Twilight notes that down in her little notepad. I turn my gaze to the machine to which the electrodes are connected. “Not to be annoying, but does it always do that?”
Twilight gives the machine a cursory glance to see the display running wild. The machine beeps frantically as the amplitude of the waves displayed increases and decreases drastically at irregular intervals. Twilight drops the thermometer she’d just retrieved which Spike dives to catch before it breaks, her eyes going wide.
“This is…” Twilight zips to the machine and starts tapping several buttons upon its dashboard. As a result, paper with the measurements displayed upon it feeds out from a slot in the side of the machine. “I’ve never seen mana readings like this!”
“You’re saying there's mana inside of me?!” The mare doesn’t answer, too busy scribbling frantically on her notepad. “Twilight, give me something before I have a panic attack!”
“I’m sorry—I’m just trying to take as many measurements as possible!” Twilight gathers the papers produced from the machine and stacks them neatly on the table before dashing back to the machine. The readings start to fluctuate further, reaching higher peaks as the pressure worsens in my chest. “Seth, you need to calm down! I think you’re making it worse!”
“I’m trying, dammit!” I force myself to take several meditative breaths. As a result, the readings start to calm, returning back to what they were before. “What does this mean?”
“There’s definitely mana of some type inside of you. I’m not sure what to make of all this just yet, but the readings are highly volatile,” Twilight explains. She lifts up some of the papers and shows them to me. “Sometimes, it’s at a level that a foal unicorn could produce, while other times, it’s higher than anything I could cast.”
“Okay, but what does that mean?” I demand, taking great pains to keep my breathing even.
Twilight bites her lip. “I just don’t know. But I do know that you need to stay calm. It seems like it gets worse whenever you’re stressed.”
“You’re sure that humans don’t have magic, right?” Spike asks. The dragon has been listening to us this whole time, but understandably hadn’t had anything useful to contribute.
“Absolutely sure. I could not be any surer,” I smack my head against the back of the chair. “Great. Because life wasn’t bad enough without me having to rein myself in even more than I already am.”
“Hold on, I’m not finished. I’m going to try and extract some of this mana so that I can study it,” Twilight decides. Spike winces as she produces another strange device from within one of her filing cabinets. I can’t make heads nor tails of it, but judging from the suction cup at the end of one of the cords, I can only assume it won’t be pleasant. “This should be enlightening on its own, too. Curses tend to have built-in defense mechanisms to prevent dismantlement.”
“So...what you’re saying is that I should be grabbing the book of counterspells and the book of defensive charms,” Spike says in a deadpan tone. Twilight glances sheepishly at him. “Alright, I’ll be right back. Bring some more tea while I’m at it.”
“This is safe, right?” I ask nervously, watching Twilight set up the machine and connect it to a stoppered glass beaker. “This won’t hurt?”
“If I’m correct and this is a curse, it’ll probably lash out at me—I’m the one trying to remove it. It should be safe for you, but I can’t promise it won’t hurt at all,” Twilight explains to me while inching closer.
“You said ‘should’. I don’t like ‘should’.” Her explanation only serves to make me more nervous. The way she’s talking about a curse makes it seem almost alive.
Twilight lifts up the suction end of the machine. “Magic isn’t an exact science, Seth. Anything could happen. All we can do is minimize the risk.” She hesitates before attaching the device to me. “If you want me to stop, I will. I won’t do anything you’re not comfortable with.”
“I’m comfortable with none of this. As if getting brought to your time wasn’t bad enough, I take literally one step outside and get cursed,” I grumble. Fantasy books always make magic out to be something wondrous, but in reality, it’s nature’s other way of saying how much it hates you and wants you dead. I note Twilight looking at me with concern. “Stop looking at me like that. Do what you’re going to do. It’s either do nothing and risk dying in some terrible way or hope you’ll figure something out without me dying in the process. At least this is quicker.”
“I hope I can figure something out too.” Twilight gazes at me for a few more seconds and then attaches the suction cup to my chest. With a crank of a lever, the cup seals itself to my skin, causing me to wince.
“I brought everything I could find!” Spike slams a stack of thick books down on the floor and then dusts off his claws. Spike stares at the pipe attached to my chest. “That doesn’t look comfortable.”
“It isn’t,” I assure him.
“On the plus side, you have a cup of tea to look forward to after you’re done.”
Twilight lifts up the books from the ground with her telekinesis and opens several of them at once, eyes darting between the various pages. She nods to herself, and then her horn glows brighter as she screws up her face in concentration. A series of magical effects occur one after the other as she starts to cast spells: arcane circles appear in the air around her, colored the same as her magic aura, before disappearing. For a brief moment, her body is outlined in magenta, before that too dissipates. Two constructs made of magenta-colored light appear in the air a few inches above her, one hovering on either side of her. They consist of multiple magical circles stacked atop one another such that the construct ultimately ends up with a spherical shape.
“There. Nightbreeze’s standard barrier spell, Owlstar’s magical defense system, and a mix of River Reed’s preemptive counter charms,” Twilight recites. She nods, looking satisfied. “I’m ready. How about you, Seth?”
“Just do it,” I say, eyeing the floating spheres of magical energy.
“Okay. I’m flipping the switch. Brace yourself!” That’s all the warning I get. Twilight turns on the machine.
The machine starts up with a whir and immediately I feel a powerful suction coming from it. It’s as if the machine is reaching past my layer of skin into my mind and pulling something out, and that something doesn’t like it at all. The machine which has been recording the mana readings goes haywire, the readings spiking dramatically and reaching the very top of the display.
“Aaaaargh!” It feels like my entire body is rebelling against what’s happening. My sternum turns as cold as though of ice pressing out on the edges of my chest.
“I’m sorry! Just hang in there!” Twilight anxiously calls out to me.
I close my eyes shut as the feeling intensified, and then I hear several things happen at once. I hear Twilight yelp, and then a loud crash, followed by the sound of objects clattering to the ground. I hear the tearing of rubber and the sound of frantic beeping. Then, the suction cup is torn off my body, the entire machine hitting the floor. With that, my body calms down, and the entity returns back from where it came from.
“Twilight! Are you okay!? What just happened!?” I hear Spike call out to her.
“I’m fine...my barrier spell protected me.” Twilight picks herself off of the floor on the far end of the room, where her desk had been broken and the shelves had fallen from the wall, their contents scattered all over the floor. Yet clutched tightly in her hooves is the beaker to which the extraction machine had been connected. “Wow. I can’t believe it. I’ve never seen a curse lash out so destructively!”
I sit up straight to take in the sorry state of the room. The machine that had been connected to me is completely destroyed, the very pipes rent asunder and the suction cup in tatters. The electrodes attached to my skin are seared at the ends and now rest on the table or the floor. “Here’s to never experiencing that ever again. Do you get what you need?” Twilight gets to her hooves and approaches me, presenting the beaker to me with a proud expression.
“We did it! We’ve got some of the mana!” Twilight sounds ecstatic, despite the destruction our attempt had wreaked upon her lab. I glance at the beaker and promptly turn pale at what I see.
I’ve seen a lot of unicorn magic up until this point. I’ve seen them lifting objects and manipulating them. I’ve seen short-range teleportation. I’ve seen it used in technology to amplify sound. I don’t have a clue how it all works, but it’s all had one thing in common: it’s always been some shade of pastel, typically corresponding with the unicorn’s eyes.
The pulsing orb of mana trapped within the beaker is as black as night, with a greenish glow emanating from its extremities. Just looking at it gives me an instinctive feeling of nausea and wrongness.
“What the hell is that doing inside of me?” I demand, my voice rising in pitch.
“It’s definitely a curse of some kind. Only a curse would have reacted the way it did,” Twilight starts to explain. “The moment I engaged the machine, mana that looked like this started to rise from your body, and then it lashed out at me, breaking my countercharms like they were nothing. My barrier was fine, but that was impressive! We’re lucky we even got this little bit!”
“Lucky, she says,” Spike remarks, handing me a cup of ginger tea. “Drink that. Calms the nerves.”
“Stop getting excited. This just makes me more anxious,” I point out to her, cold sweat lining my brow. I take a long draught from the cup. “Now what do we do about it?”
“Curses are notoriously hard to break. Sometimes impossible, once they’ve been triggered,” Twilight reasons. Spike gulps at that. “This one is strange, though. You say it aided you.”
“My hand didn’t break, even though it should have,” I repeat to her.
“If I had to guess, I’d say it’s another defense mechanism. Whatever the effects of this curse, it must need you in one piece, and therefore forms a symbiotic relationship with the host.,” Twilight carefully sets the beaker of dark mana down next to the intact measurement machine.
“That’s not ominous or anything,” Spike comments dryly.
Twilight shoots him a brief glance before turning back to me. She takes a breath. “Okay. Here’s what I want you to do.”
“I’m listening.”
“I’m going to need some time to study this mana. If I can get it to trigger, I can see what the effects are, and then I’ll be able to narrow down the exact name of the curse,” Twilight explains. “I’ll need you to find a way to avoid triggering it on your own.”
“How!? I don’t even know what it does!” I remind her.
“By staying calm. Assuming anger and stress are what causes it to stir, the curse might take it are being in life-threatening danger and react accordingly,” Twilight answers. “In that case, you just have to avoid getting angry or stressed.”
“Now that’s the funniest thing you’ve ever said,” I retort without a hint of amusement in my voice. “‘Don’t get stressed.’ Twilight, I’ve been stressed from the second I arrived in Equestria.”
“I know it’ll be hard. But I just need a day or two to figure this out,” Twilight pleads. “Just...take some time to do something you enjoy. Or find some way to unwind. If it helps, I can talk to Applejack and get you some time off of work.”
“Don’t do that. I can’t afford to go without work,” I cut her off there, sighing heavily. “It’s fine. Working on the farm isn’t all that stressful. It’s quiet and repetitive, which is honestly something I need.”
“Alright. Just try to stay away from any known stressors,” Twilight advises me.
“So basically all of you ponies. Got it.”
“Hey!” Twilight gives me an angry pout at that, even as Spike snickers behind a claw. “Seriously. That’s the only advice I can give you for now.”
I get up off the table. I don’t feel like I’ve learned anything about what’s inside me except for the fact that it’s a curse of some kind, and it needs me alive. That’s probably more disconcerting than the thought that it might kill me.
“I’m going to do my best,” I say in dull acceptance. I glance at her, noting how she’s already starting to clean up the area and prepare several more odd instruments of a type I don’t recognize. “You’re not going to tell the princesses, are you?”
Twilight freezes. She returns my gaze, a frown on her muzzle. “I was, and still am, considering it. As I said, it seems to want you alive and unharmed for the time being. I’m concerned about how it lashed out at me, but that was only because I was trying to remove it. I think both you and the townsponies will be okay as long as you can keep yourself under control.”
“Why do I feel like I’m a child being told to be a good boy? I’m twenty-one, damn it,” I complain indignantly.
Twilight giggles a little at that analogy. “It does sound a little like that, doesn’t it?” She takes a moment to straighten herself up. “Okay. I think that’s all I need from you to get started. I hope to have results within the next day or so.”
“I can only hope.”
“Seth!” Twilight calls just as I walk out the front door of the library. I pause and glance back at her. “If it gets any worse, I want you to come right back to me. No exceptions! Understand?”
“I will,” I tell her with a two-fingered goodbye. Once she closes the door, I take a leisurely stroll toward Vinyl’s house.
“Don’t get stressed. You have got to be kidding me,” I repeat to myself grumpily as I stride through the darkening streets of Ponyville.
Eight months later, have another chapter! So a lot of changes have been made here, such that I've actually written out the next two chapters already (though they've yet to be edited.)
Probably the most notable change is the Diamond Tiara scene. Looking back at the original, I read through some of the comments and found myself agreeing with those who said it was too violent (and being disturbed by those who believed fervently that she deserved it). Because it was too violent. Seth isn't a violent person and never has been. I've been building him out to be this character that talks a good game but shrinks from physical confrontation. So, although the scene did make sense to write, it went too far. I dialed back the violence but kept the core of the scene while helping build up to the climax that is to come.
That said, I also shifted the Twilight examination scene back to this chapter, because this new Seth wouldn't just not ask any questions like he did in the original. I'm actually really liking the way his interactions with Twilight are turning out this time around. Without that one scene with Pinkie, he might actually not hate her for the entire story.
But yes, I hope you'll look forward to what is to come. In the meantime, please thank my two editors, Vayne Hellslinger and Brave-Hooves for putting up with my rabid impatience to get this chapter out while helping make it the best it can be.
Lastly, please leave me a comment and let me know what you think of the rewrite! Comments give me life. 
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Loving the Rw been with this story forever just never left comments because my English is trash.
10078337
They still give me life.
Woot new RW chapter my day is better now :)
I like the chapter rewrite, it feels more fluent now, it doesn't seem to have the choppy raging nonsense feel anymore, mostly because I like the way the story is written.
I might end up missing the original chapters, but I kinda forgot what happened in most of them anyway, either way, keep up the good work and good luck to you, Vayne and Brave-Hooves.
I gotta say, love the rewrite. Seeing this story pop back up again is almost nostalgic for me - I came in sometime during the final third of it, and spent more than one night not getting much sleep due to the "one more chapter" excuse. Can't wait to see more of these!
Ok so I just spent the last day reading the RW and I have to say as someone that read the original back when you fist wrote it I like this version way more! Obviously I liked the original story enough to read it all the way through but I never really liked Seth, as a person he seemed over the top and simply not someone that could have functioned in the real world, with this version of him I can actually imagine a person getting this bad after what happened to him, at least I think I remember what happened but it's been a couple of years
He is obviously a damaged guy but shows some hope in this one, where as before he just seemed to hate the world and everyone in it, except his family and friend of course.
Anyway I just wanted to say I'm loving it and can't wait to see more!
I'm looking forward to the next chapters. Frankly, since the first appearance of the oppressed in the ruins of the university under the forest, I believe that they are, in fact, proto-ponies, ancestors of our beloved anthropomorphic equines. The idea that a time-travelling, malignant wizard king destroyed, or perhaps warped, the human race is powerful, and having the last human learn to be, well, human, from the twisted descendents of a magical genocide is brain catnip to me.
Honestly, this is one of my favorite stories of all time, and the fact that it was getting rewritten having escaped my notice until now is a travesty. This rewrite takes an already excellent story up to the top, and I'm sorry to hear that you're feeling unmotivated, I know how that goes. I'm also feeling kinda guilty cause my internet is terrible, so I download all my stories to read them, so I'm not counting to the viewer numbers. Just know that I read your story in it's old form about four times, and the original cliff side scene many more times because it was inspiring. The new cliff side scene takes everything good about the old scene and adds yet more depth while still retaining a coherent character. Please keep up the good work and know that I'm anxiously waiting for more of this story!
Well done, just found this story and the rewrite is excellent, however....
it are being —-> it as being
Keep up the good work!
glad I drug myself through the grumpy-seth bits, his character is finally starting to warm up, and now a good plot point to pick up the first bit, this is exciting! :)
Huh, so basically he has the magically equivalent to Venom (marvel movie "Venom" symbiote). I wonder if it's sapient or if it might be Sombra himself in a body stealing sort of curse?