69. A Friendly Gathering
A cool night breeze blows through the darkened streets of Ponyville, ruffling my hair and chilling me. Ugh, I keep forgetting it's still winter for another month or so.
Vinyl accompanies me outside for a few seconds, on her way to grab the cider for our little hangout. Concentrating, I flare my magic and blast off into the air, leaving Vinyl behind.
Now, I haven't a clue where Rainbow is. Last time I saw her, she was working on...that cumulus cloud over there. Except now it's bigger and darker, which means it's about to rain I suppose. I think it would be rather relaxing to sit back and drink cider while listening to the rain outside.
Actually, now that I'm looking at it, I can still make out pegasi flying around it. That must mean they're still working on it. I figure I'll find Rainbow there, so I soar over to the cloud and look around.
Sure enough, there's Rainbow hovering just above the cloud, snapping out orders to several other pegasi. I recognize some of the other pegasi as well. I can see Flitter and her sister Cloud Chaser, for instance. “Cloud Chaser, what are you even doing? Keep weaving that fast and we're going to get lightning!” Rainbow scolds the light blue mare, her two front hooves crossed. “The Board will not be happy if there's lightning when it hasn't been scheduled.”
“I know, sorry,” Cloud Chaser replies, annoyed. She does slow down though. I honestly have no idea what these ponies are doing. They're creating the weather supposedly, but as I don't know what that entails, all I see are a bunch of ponies flying around a cloud.
“Am I interrupting something?” I ask after flying up to Rainbow. I'm bored of waiting around, so I figure I'll just talk to her directly. Rainbow jumps slightly, startled at my sudden appearance.
“Whoa, where did you come from? I thought you were still in Canterlot,” Rainbow replies, turning to face me. She smiles when she sees me, and then she gives me a friendly punch on the shoulder. “Anyway, I'm nearly finished up here. What's up?”
“So there's a lot to talk about. But most importantly, you free after this? Vinyl and I are meeting up at my new house for cider and I'd rather you be there too,” I answer.
“Aw sweet, cider! Sounds awesome. Just let me finish up here and I'll...wait, did you just say new house!?” Rainbow exclaims with shock. I nod smugly, chuckling a bit at her double take. “When did you get a house!?”
“Today. Celestia got me a house in exchange for those ruins I mentioned,” I explain. Understanding dawns on her face, and then she grins at me excitedly.
“That's awesome. Yeah, I'm totally down for some cider. I want to see your new place. Just hold on a sec,” Rainbow decides. She turns back to the weather ponies. “Would you lot hurry it up? I got places to be now!”
“You just said to go slower!” Cloud Chaser complains, speeding up again...which then results in the cloud sparking slightly with electricity. “Yipe!”
“Cloud Chaser! I said hurry up, not mess it up!” Rainbow scolds her once more, and then she soars down to the cloud, working the cloud until the sparks of lightning disappear. “This is how you start a rainstorm!”
As I watch, Rainbow weaves around the cloud a few times, and then she lands on top of the cloud and slams her hooves on it a few times until the cloud starts to weep with rain.
“There! No fuss, no muss. Just a simple rainstorm,” Rainbow declares, looking proud of herself. Next to her, Cloud Chaser is giving her a flat browed expression. “Right, girls, you can take off for tonight. This rainstorm should run its course just fine without us.”
The other weather ponies make varying sounds of acknowledgment before flying off in various directions. Finally, it seems like Rainbow's free. “Done?” I ask, just to make sure.
“Yup! Let's get going. Now that you mentioned it, I'm really craving some cider,” Rainbow affirms, licking her lips. “Race you there?”
“How would that work? You don't even know where I live,” I point out with an amused smirk. Rainbow pauses, and then she facehoofs, knowing that I'm right. “Just follow me. I'll lose to you in a race later.”
It takes me less than a minute to pinpoint my house from the air and land on the street in front of it. Rainbow lands a moment later and takes a moment to look at my house. “Eh, mine's still better,” she eventually comments, earning an incredulous expression from me.
“Of course it is. It's made out of fucking clouds and has rainbows everywhere, yourself included,” I retort as I'm unlocking the front door. Rainbow appears to take that as a compliment, considering how she's preening. Way to go, Seth. She doesn't need any help stroking her own ego.
“Hey, wait up!” Oh, and Vinyl's here now, cantering up to us with a barrel and a few cups hovering in the air next to her. I assume that's the cider, considering all the faint sloshing I hear from within. Vinyl reaches us, panting slightly. “S'up, Rainbow? Wait 'til you see Seth's place. It's totally rad.”
“Hey Vinyl. I'll take a look around once Seth opens the door,” Rainbow responds, poking me in the back. “Hurry up.”
“I'm going, sheesh,” I complain, and then I finally push the door open and walk inside. “Let's go to the sitting room upstairs. We'll have all the room we need up there.”
“Aw, let me look around first!” Rainbow protests, sticking her head into one of the bedrooms. “Is this your bedroom? Why is it so small?”
“I'm headed upstairs. This barrel is heavy,” Vinyl grunts, pushing past me so that she can clamber up the stairs. She knows her way around the place because she helped me set it up, so I'll let her be. As for Rainbow...
“Would you stop sniffing around in there?” I say exasperatedly, noticing Rainbow sticking her head in the closet of the bedroom. To my annoyance, she ignores me and slips inside the closet entirely.
“There's nothing in here,” Rainbow remarks from inside the closet. Just as she's about to leave, I slam the closet door shut, trapping her in there. “What the...hey!”
I can be a dick and block the door with one of the dressers, but that would be a bit too much, even for me. Instead I just back off and let her figure out where the doorknob is in the dark.
“What was that for?” Rainbow demands, managing to open the door and come out. Welp, not going to make the obvious joke there. I'd like to think I'm above the level of those kinds of juvenile jokes.
“You're being annoying. We came here to drink cider, not sniff around closets,” I respond, poking her on the snout. She goes cross-eyed staring at my finger, hilariously enough.
“I wasn't 'sniffing around.' I just wanted to see what you have lying around,” Rainbow defends, though she does follow me out of the room when I leave. “You don't have much.”
“I literally bought all of my furniture today. I don't have many possessions apart from my clothes, effects, and rifle,” I remind her.
“Now that you mention it, where did your rifle go? It's weird not seeing you wear it all the time like you used to,” Rainbow asks curiously. Without a word, I reach out my left hand and pump it, forcing the rifle to materialize. “Whoa...”
“Yeah, early on in my training with Rose, when I figure out I could manipulate my rifle with my magic, I found out I could summon it and dismiss it pretty easily,” I explain to her, pumping my hand again to make the rifle disappear again. “It's much more convenient than carrying it around everywhere.”
“Where does it go when you're not using it?” Rainbow questions, sniffing my hand where the rifle used to be. I promptly bat her on the head lightly to make her stop. “Hey!”
“Quit sniffing me. It makes you look like a dog,” I remark, earning a growl from her. “Seriously though, hell if I know. The more you question magic, the less it makes sense.”
“Would you two quit smooching and get up here? I mean, come on, the real bedroom isn't even down there!” Vinyl calls from upstairs. Rainbow and I look at one another, and then back at the stairs.
“She's so dead,” I mutter, a sentiment that Rainbow agrees with. Together, we charge up the stairs, searching for the offending unicorn that made yet another joke that makes me want to murder her.
Vinyl is sitting on the couch, the barrel of cider on the coffee table in front of her. She looks up when she hears us enter the room. Her eyes widen when she realizes that we're not stopping, the both us on a beeline for her. “Uh-oh,” she echoes, and then she proceeds to bolt from her seat.
She's at a disadvantage though, which she realizes when she looks up and notices both Rainbow and I flying over her. The both of us bear Vinyl to the ground, making her yelp with distress. “Oh Celestia why!?” Vinyl cries out as our weight pins her to the ground.
“Sweet justice, aw yeah!” Rainbow declares, and then she and I exchange high fives. “What kind of punishment should we give her?”
“Aw come on, it was a joke!” Vinyl complains, wriggling in vain beneath us. Wordlessly, I reach a hand down and touch Vinyl, looking to see if she's ticklish. To my delight, she squirms uncomfortably, which confirms it. “Stop that. What are you even doing?”
Rainbow and I don't even need to look at one another. Vinyl screeches with alarm as both Rainbow and I descend upon her, tickling the fuck out of her. “Payback's a bitch, isn't it?” I quip as we proceed to make Vinyl's life a living hell for the next few seconds.
A few minutes later, the three of us are resting against the wall, panting and chuckling in equal amounts. Vinyl's mane is now all disheveled from our bullshit and her shades are lying on the floor several feet away from her, but she looks like she thoroughly enjoyed herself. “That's so not fair. Two against one?” Vinyl remarks, retrieving her shades with her magic and replacing them on her face.
“All's fair in war,” I return, leaving out the other half of that saying in case Vinyl makes another joke.
This was fun, but on the other hand, Vinyl's jokes leave me a little more unsettled than before, thanks to that conversation I had with Pinkie and Rarity. I look at Rainbow, hoping that I'd be able to glean something from her.
Rainbow is just chuckling and resting her head against the wall. When she notices me looking, she smiles in a friendly manner. I look away, inwardly scowling. I'm being stupid. Pinkie and Rarity are full of shit, so I shouldn't let that ruin this night I have to spend with Rainbow and Vinyl.
“Okay, I don't know about you, but I'm thirsty. Are we done? Can I get some cider now?” Vinyl asks jokingly. “You're not going to try and tickle me to death again are you?”
“I'm thinking about it,” I remark, causing Vinyl to bolt over to the couch and hold a pillow between the two of us. “I'm kidding, you dolt.”
A few moments, the three of us are sitting on the couch in a line, not even bothering with the other seats for now. I'm sitting in between Vinyl and Rainbow, holding an empty cup. Vinyl opens the spigot on the barrel and fills up her cup, before bringing it back to her with a satisfied sigh.
“Oh, before we get started, how much is all this cider worth?” I ask Vinyl, taking out my bag of bits.
“It was about twenty bits. There's enough cider in this thing for twelve cups,” Vinyl reveals, slapping the barrel. “It's a good deal, especially because a cup of cider is usually two bits.”
Without another word, I fish out that amount from my bag and pass it to her. She accepts without protest and puts them away. “Here.”
“Hey, Seth, want to put on some more music?” Rainbow asks next. I pause for a moment, noticing how Vinyl perks up at that.
“I don't see why not,” I finally say, wondering why the hell I hesitated in the first place. I know Rainbow likes my music, and Vinyl's a goddamn musician. Of course she'll enjoy some music.
Vinyl watches with avid curiosity as I take out my phone along with the orb that amplifies sound. Let's see, Vinyl's tastes are usually electronic, but she's a fan of rock as well. I think I can work with that. Let's go with some older stuff. I'm thinking old 1980s. Hah, calling the 80s old has never been more accurate than it is right now. Anyhow, I click on that and let the song play.
“This is human music?” Vinyl asks curiously, her snout wrinkling a bit. She knows a little herself, but probably none from this genre, and I doubt she's heard human vocals. The song immediately starts out strong with a rousing drum line that seems to strike Vinyl's fancy, considering she's bobbing her head. “I like it. Didn't think you were a fan of female vocalists.”
“Darn right he is. You should have heard that one song he played. That mare sounded so metal!” Rainbow comments for me before I can answer. I assume by mare, she's talking about Lzzy. Of course, I could correct her, but I'm too lazy right now. And suddenly I'm picturing a ponified Lzzy. God, that would be so funny.
“That's awesome. We mares have got some chords!” Vinyl brags, nudging me. “You should hear me. I don't do it that often though.”
“More like never,” Rainbow remarks, to which Vinyl shrugs and nods.
“Anyway, now that that's out of the way, we can just kick back and relax,” Vinyl says, doing just that while taking a sip from her cup. Damn these unicorns and their telekinesis. Just like teleportation, that's not something I can do. No, instead I actually have to get up and fill my cup, like Rainbow does. “Now that we're all settled, why don't you tell me about these human ruins you mentioned? You said you came to our time in them?”
“Yeah. Some kooky guy in armor showed up one normal school day, whacked me with some spell, and then here I am,” I reveal. For some reason, that gets both Rainbow and Vinyl to look at me with shock. “What?”
“You never told me that much!” Rainbow accuses me, pointing a hoof at me. “I always assumed you found like...a portal or something. Somebody sent you here?”
“Oh, I thought I mentioned that. No, it was definitely somepony from this time. I don't know what he wanted, but I apparently messed up whatever he was doing,” I explain. I do make sure to leave Sombra's name out of it though. Celestia said his whole existence was a national secret. He's dead now anyway, so it doesn't matter what his name was. “So now I'm here. Something happened while I was transported, so now my whole school is underground.”
“I mean...that guy must have been a real jerk,” Rainbow replies, looking unsure. “I wonder what he wanted anyway?”
“I really don't know...but I also don't want to talk about him,” I state firmly. It's not that I wouldn't share it with them. It's just that I don't want to dwell on the guy that murdered my entire race and then proceeded to die before I could go after him. Rainbow and Vinyl seem to understand that, thankfully. “I should probably tell you, Vinyl, that I'm not going to be around for a while once Celestia sends an expedition down there.”
“Neither am I,” Rainbow chimes in. Right, I almost forgot that she was coming with me. I'm grateful, but personally I think she'll go stir crazy within the first month.
“Hold up, are you two going with them?” Vinyl asks in shock, lowering the cup of cider from her mouth. When we nod, she sighs. “Why? Isn't that a job better left to the experts?”
“Firstly, I'm the closest damn thing to an expert on humans that we've got,” I remind her wryly, even though I know that's not what she means. “That's not it, though. I'm going down there for my own reasons.”
Vinyl appears to understand exactly what I mean without me having to elaborate. When she asks her next question, she looks completely serious. “Mind if I tag along too?”
“What?” I utter, wondering if I'd heard right. “You're kidding, right? It's in the middle of the Everfree. It's not safe. The only reason I'm letting Rainbow come along is because she was right next to me in Battle of Canterlot, so I know she can take care of herself.”
“You're bringing civilians anyway, right? Those kinds of expeditions come with scientists, archaeologists, and those kinds of ponies. What'll one more hurt?” Vinyl insists.
“Why do you even want to go? You don't seem the kind that would enjoy digging around in old dusty ruins,” I question, abandoning that earlier logic because Vinyl had me there.
“Probably for the same reason Rainbow does. Going back to these ruins means something to you, right?” Vinyl guesses, looking over at Rainbow, who nods in agreement. “I wanna be there to support you.”
“If by 'support,' you mean standing around ankle deep in dust, then sure,” I retort, making Vinyl frown. “Whatever. It's your decision. Do what you want.”
There's an awkward silence after that, broken only by the sound of my music. Rainbow is looking at me disapprovingly for some reason. She probably thinks that I don't want Vinyl there. That's not the case though. I wouldn't mind her being there, but I feel she'll just be miserable from being down there for who knows how long.
“So who are you going to be working with? As the only human alive I think they'd want to give you a position,” Vinyl asks curiously after clearing her throat. Finally. That silence was getting to me.
“I'm working with this crazy mare,” I respond, remembering Opal and that goddamn statue whose name I'm not even going to think of because of how stupid it is. “She acts like a damn foal half of the time and hoards human stuff in her room like a dragon hoards gold.”
For some reason, that description gets Vinyl to look at me with interest and a little suspicion, except it doesn't look like it's directed at me.
“Are you kidding me? Was her name White Opal?” Vinyl asks curiously, a strange tone in her voice. I raise an eyebrow at that. What are the chances of that? What's Vinyl's connection to Opal?
“Yeah, that was it. Why, do you know her?” I reply, sipping from my cider. Vinyl nods vigorously.
“That's my mom, bro! Head of the CAD,” Vinyl exclaims, looking at me with wonder. I look back at her in shock, as does Rainbow. Suddenly everything makes sense. Vinyl mentioned at one point during a gig in Canterlot that her mother was an archaeologist...and now I see why Opal's voice sounded so familiar to me. Holy shit. And...I was a dick to her. Fuck, I'm a total idiot. “Wow, I didn't think this expedition was so important they'd send her!”
“That explains so much,” I groan, resting my face in my free hand. I do find it funny how she looks nothing like Vinyl at all. Before I continue, I set my cup aside. “Your mother is nuts. Have you seen her collection?”
“More than I'd like,” Vinyl admits, chuckling a little bit. Okay, and now I feel the need to ask, as much as I'm probably going to regret it.
“Do you...know about the...the...” I try to ask, hesitating even to say that dumb fucking name. Vinyl seems to understand, because she puts on a disturbed expression.
“...Mr. Book?” Vinyl supplies for me, her face falling into her hooves with an exasperated sigh telling me just how much she knows. “Yes...yes I do.”
“Goddammit Mr. Book,” I groan, following suit. The two of us then start to chuckle, which eventually turns into full blown laughter at her mother's expense.
Rainbow looks at the two of us, looking utterly confused. “Okay, I get that this Opal pony is your mom, but I feel like I'm missing something here. Who's Mr. Book?” she demands, wanting in on the joke no doubt.
“The dumbest fucking thing,” I manage to get out before I go back to laughing. Vinyl claps me on the back with a hoof.
“At least now I can share the misery of Mr. Book with someone else,” she declares. “I mean, it's amazing that it's in such good condition after so long, but I could tolerate it much more if Mom hadn't given it such a stupid name.”
Just as I'm recovering from my bout of laughter, a golden glow appears above my head. That's all the warning I get before a large, extremely heavy bag filled with bits appears in midair above me...and falls right onto my crotch.
“FUUUCK!” I scream in an overly high pitched voice, lurching forward in my seat. White hot pain erupts from the point of impact. Oh Jesus Christ, this makes Chrysalis's final attack feel like an ant bite in comparison. As I'm standing, the bag falls to the ground, and I lean over, holding my poor aching crotch with both hands. “Oooow, son of a bitch!”
Rainbow and Vinyl look bemused for a few seconds as I'm writhing in pain before they put two and two together. And then they proceed to start laughing uproariously at my expense. Rainbow actually falls out of her seat because she's laughing so hard.
“Thanks...for your....support...” I grit out, falling to my knees, hands jammed between my legs. “Fucking...I hate you...so much...Celestia.”
At this point, Vinyl and Rainbow are laughing so hard they're practically crying. So great is their mirth, neither of them seem capable of staying upright.
Finally, the pain becomes more manageable and I can return to my couch, my crotch throbbing painfully. A vein twitches in my forehead when I see that Vinyl and Rainbow are still finding this way more funny than they should. “Okay, I'm fine now, more or less. Stop laughing!”
“Dear Celestia...your face!” Vinyl cries out, holding her chest and wheezing. “I can't breathe...!
“I've never heard your voice...go THAT high before!” Rainbow chimes in, wiping tears from her eyes. “The more I remember it, the funnier it gets!”
“Oh, shut up. It's not my fault Celestia decided to send my payment through magic mail rather than bringing it to me herself,” I grunt, glaring at the offending bag of money with all of my hate. “A little warning would have been nice. You know, a little letter saying, 'hey, Seth, stand up and move someplace open so this ten ton bag of bits doesn't smash your balls!'”
My words just sends the two mares into another bout of merriment at my expense. With a groan, I untie the top of the bag to see my payment in full, consisting mostly of 100 bit coins. Excellent. Piano money.
“Wow, what's all that money for?” Vinyl inquires after she's composed herself enough to form a coherent sentence. “Is that for the ruins? I thought you got this place because of that.”
“I got more than that. The ruins I woke up in are massive, worth far more than this little house and this amount of bits,” I explain, setting the bag aside. “I thought Celestia was going to give it to me personally. That didn't happen.”
“Yeah, I saw that,” Vinyl says dryly. She then adopts a mischievous expression. “Do you want Rain...ulp!”
I stare at Vinyl, who has just stuffed a hoof into her own mouth to keep from continuing her own sentence. I wonder if she went insane sometime in the past five minutes. “Um...what was that?” I ask suspiciously.
“Nah. Just figured that joke was too bad, even for me,” Vinyl explains, removing her hoof. “Also I realized I'm too close to you to make a quick getaway.”
“Not to mention I'm right here. You were about to make another joke about me, weren't you?” Rainbow accuses, shoving Vinyl playfully. “You really need to cut that out.”
“As long as it annoys you, not gonna happen,” Vinyl quips, much to both Rainbow and my exasperation. “Anyway, I'm getting more cider.”
“Me too,” I agree, refilling my cup and returning to my seat.
With that, the three of us return to relaxing, listening to my music and making small talk, avoiding the subject of the human expedition for now. That's fine with me, as I'd much rather talk about something not as personal as that is to me. Besides, they're the closest thing to my brother's definition of “bros” that I'm ever going to get, now that Amaryllis is gone. I don't even care that they're mares, because they act enough like males for me to classify them as such. It's rather great, because the female stereotype drives me crazy.
We keep going until close to midnight, when the cider at last runs out and we're left with an empty barrel. “Why's the cider gone? I want more,” Rainbow whines, shoving her cup against the spigot in vain. “Can we get more?”
“You kidding me? I'm not going out there. It's still raining,” Vinyl remarks, looking out the window. “Nah, we'll get some more another time. I'm hoping this isn't the last time we chill over cider.”
“Of course it's not,” I tell her as if it should have been obvious. Really, haven't you two figured out that you're literally the only things keeping me sane? Especially Rainbow. She's basically the reason I'm as strong as I am right now. “But I need to go to sleep. I had today off, but I've got to go back to work tomorrow morning.”
“Yeah, me too actually. I gotta clean up what's left of these clouds after the storm's over,” Rainbow admits. “Mind if we crash here, Seth? I don't wanna fly through the rain to get home.”
“That's why I have a guest bedroom,” I remind her. “You and Vinyl can sleep in there. It's got its own bathroom and all the essentials, so you should be fine.”
“Awesome. Let's all get some sleep,” Vinyl says to me, standing up and moving over to the hallway with Rainbow. I grab the bag of bits and tag along with them for a bit until I reach my room, where I part with them and enter my own bedroom. Their room is downstairs, while mine is just across the hall. “Wake me up when you're about to leave!”
After bidding them good night, I enter my room and set the bag down in my closet. I'm not particularly worried about anypony getting in here to steal it. According to the way Granny Smith reacted to that theft in White Tail Woods, it isn't that common. I also have the strength to beat any thief into the ground.
After stripping down, I throw myself onto my king size bed and sigh with contentment. Yes, I got a king sized bed. I mean, why shouldn't I? It was Celestia paying for it after all, and I like having space to move around in my bed. I also run into the issue where the blankets are too damn small for me, and my feet stick out the other end. I hate that feeling with a passion.
It isn't long before I drift to sleep, weary from the day's events.
My phone's alarm wakes me up bright and early, just as I'd expected. It's really nice being able to use it for at least this much again. This baby has always been my alarm clock, communication device,, camera, and music device all at once. Suffice to say, I'm pretty attached to it.
I grab a set of clean clothes from my dresser and take them with me into my master bathroom. I leave them hanging over the edge of the bathtub before I move to my shower.
As usual, it takes me about an hour to get cleaned, dressed, and ready for work. Even though I'm likely going to just get filthy with sweat again because it's farm work.
Vinyl said I should wake them before leaving, so I head down the stairs and to the room they're sleeping in, wondering if I should prank them again like I usually do. Eh, it's a work day. I don't really have time to prank them.
I settle for knocking on the door loudly. “Wake the fuck up! I'm leaving!” I call into the room. I'm only waiting for a few minutes before Vinyl opens the door, rubbing her eyes with a hoof. Rainbow is behind her, looking equally tired. “Come on, out of my house. If I'm not here, no one is.”
“It's too early for this,” Vinyl groans, though she does follow me, lifting her shades back onto her face with magic.
“I should probably get going myself,” Rainbow murmurs. She looks up at the sky, which is overcast with gray clouds. “Yeah, those need to go. Ugh, I hate it when the rainstorms unravel like that. No one likes stratus clouds.”
“Eh, unless the temperature is at the point where it's unbearable, I don't mind what the weather is,” I state, reaching for the front door.
Before I can open it, there's a knock from outside, which takes me by surprise. Who the fuck is at my door at this hour of the morning? I open it to find out, and to our collective surprise, Celestia is standing there, looking as radiant as ever.
“Gah!” Vinyl emits, once again startled at the sudden appearance of the princess. “I mean...hello, princess.”
“Celestia. Isn't it a bit early for you to be making house calls?” I comment, stepping outside. I motion for Rainbow and Vinyl to follow me. Once everypony is outside of my house, I lock the door.
“Good morning, you three,” Celestia greets us cordially, dipping her head slightly in respect. “I must say, I didn't expect to see you with guests so soon, Seth.”
“Well yeah, like I'm really going to sit around alone at home when these two are free,” I snap back at her. My rude comment makes her smile with happiness for some reason. “But I doubt you came here to ask about my company.”
“That's right, I didn't,” Celestia confirms. At that point, Rainbow takes her leave. With a quick farewell to the three of us, she takes to the air, no doubt going to find her team. Vinyl leaves as well, realizing that this must be a business discussion. “I wanted to ask you to come with me into the Everfree Forest.”
“You what!?” I demand, wondering if I'd gone crazy and was hearing things. “Why are we going into that forest hell?”
“To better prepare for the expedition, of course,” Celestia explains. When I still don't look satisfied, she continues. “To clarify, I'd like you to show me exactly where the entrance to these ruins are.”
“How will that help you?”
“Because the Everfree is so dangerous, we'll be airlifting in our ponies by airship. As such, I'd like to have exact coordinates to which I can direct our pilots,” Celestia continues. “To that end, I've brought along several pegasus scouts with me to Ponyville; the ones who pulled our chariot, if you recall.”
“I think I get what you're trying to say. So they'll mark down the coordinates once we find the place?” I ask, her plan starting to make sense. That's actually really smart of her. It's a good thing she and I are so strong...not that I'm on the same level as her of course.
“That's right. If you'll lead me to the ruins, I'll send up a burst of magic, and then we'll have our coordinates,” Celestia finishes, satisfied that I understand her request.
“I suppose that's fair. Not sure I relish going back into the Everfree so soon...but then again I doubt anything in there can take us,” I admit. Celestia giggles slightly. Yeah, she knows she's overpowered. “But can it wait? I have to go to work.”
“I believe Applejack will understand if you're slightly late,” Celestia assures me, somehow knowing who it is I work with. Of course she does. Why wouldn't she? “Especially if I return with you to the farm.”
“Fine, whatever. You're probably in a rush anyway,” I say, resigning myself to traipsing through that damn forest for however long it takes for me to find my old school. “Day Court calling you back to Canterlot?”
“Unfortunately, yes,” Celestia admits, grimacing somewhat. “I plan to leave for Canterlot as soon as I get the coordinates I need.”
“Let's get going then. The longer we wait, the later the both of us will be,” I reason. Actually I just want to get in and out of that forest as soon as I can. I think I can guarantee without a doubt that something will try to murder us at least once while we're in there.
With one last nod, I fall in step beside Celestia, and the two of us take to the air a moment later, heading for the outskirts of town.
It isn't long before we're standing before the Everfree Forest. It's gotten a bit brighter out, so the inside looks much less intimidating. Even though I know nothing in there can hurt me, I can't help but feel a slight chill running down my spine after we take our first steps into the forest.
Celestia angles her head to look at me, perhaps noticing my uneasiness. “If I recall correctly, you said you played with Octavia?” she asks. I raise an eyebrow. I remember mentioning that to her, yes, but why does she feel like she needs to bring that up now, when we're in the goddamn Everfree? “I can't help but be curious.”
“Yeah, that was back when I was in Canterlot a few months back. You know, after you wrecked my shit,” I remark dryly, getting Celestia to look a little sheepish. “I met with Octavia after the concert. You left before I did that, so it's no wonder you didn't know.”
“I see. She's quite the remarkable mare, isn't she?” Celestia responds, smiling. No doubt she's spoken with Octavia herself a few times, considering the role Octavia played in performing Celestia's piece.
“That she is. She was really annoying at first. I tried to tell her I respected her, but she actually had the nerve to ask me if I really respected her, or just her ability to play music,” I retell. I remember at the time I'd been really frustrated with her. As I recall the events, the fact that I'm in the Everfree starts to trouble me less and less, until I feel like I'm just on a walk. “She ended up booking a practice room for me, where she then proceeded to show up and play one of her favorite songs with me.”
“That sounds like her. She's very unique for a pony of her station,” Celestia agrees. By that, I think she means that Octavia isn't a total bitch. “I wish I'd have known of your musical interest beforehoof. I would have introduced her to you sooner.”
“Well, I have her mailing address now. I can play with her whenever I want,” I say with a shrug. I think back then, I'd have been too...too what? Have I changed that much since Canterlot? Wow...it's surreal when I look back at my past actions and then for the first time in my life, I wish I could have done something differently. “As soon as I get a piano, of course.”
“I'll forward you the mailing addresses of several reputable sellers,” Celestia promises. Just as I'm opening my mouth to protest, she cuts across me gently. “And before you say anything, that isn't a favor. That money you spend on the piano goes back into my treasury eventually.”
“...Fucking mind reading horse,” is all I can say, because she nailed my thoughts exactly. She really needs to stop doing that. My remark gets Celestia laughing, while I just shake my head and groan.
Finally, we near the end of the path. There, I can see the first place I ever visited in Equestria: Zecora's hut. Man, it's been a while since I've seen this place. “I'll have to greet Zecora once we're finished here,” Celestia comments, glancing at the hut. “It's simply been too long.”
“It should be in a radius around here,” I say, returning to the topic at hand. I try to recall my desperate run through the forest that night. “I remember...the first thing that I saw of this hut was the window, glowing at me in the dark.”
There's two windows: one on either side of the door. Which means I could have come from either direction. But...I remember that when I saw the window, I had to skirt around the trunk of the tree to the left...which means it was the right window. I orient myself so that I'm facing the window on the right. Sure enough, I get a feeling of deja vu.
“This is it,” I alert Celestia. I turn around and walk off of the path, doing my best to go in a straight line. Unfortunately, any underbrush that may have been disturbed back then has long since regrown, so I have to push on and hope I get lucky.
Celestia follows me closely, casting her gaze around. It looks like she has her guard up. Good idea. Even we can get hurt if we're taken by surprise before we can bring up our magical defenses.
“Looks like there's a clearing up ahead,” I observe after several minutes, noting a gap in the trees. I walk into the small clearing...only to stop when I see what's standing there in front of me. “What the fuck is that?”
There's a large monster similar in shape to a lion in the clearing, standing over the bloody carcass of what I'm assuming used to be an animal. I don't think the carcass was a pony, because it's too large of a body to have been a pony. A long and thin scorpion tail waves in the air above the lion's back. It looks up upon my intrusion, and it growls menacingly, its hackles rising.
“Manticore,” Celestia identifies as she too steps out into the clearing. “It's a deadly predator of the Everfree. It paralyzes its victims with a powerful toxin, and then moves in for the kill.”
The manticore starts to circle around us, looking for an opening no doubt. I'm about to summon my rifle when Celestia steps in front of me.
Celestia meets the gaze of the creature, her eyes narrowing. My own eyes widen and I step back, my mouth silently forming the words “oh shit,” as I feel Celestia's magic filling the air. Her body starts to glow, ribbons of light streaming off of her body.
The manticore pauses...and then nopes the fuck out of here, dashing away from us and leaping into the underbrush once again. Celestia powers down, smiling with satisfaction. “There. No predator will trouble us if it is clear they are not in control,” she comments. “I am glad I did not have to ki...what is so funny?”
Oh yes, this is funny as hell. I'm leaning down on my knees, laughing my ass off at the sight I just witnessed. “Oh my god...that manticore totally wanted to eat us,” I chuckle. “Then all you had to do was show a little bit of magic and he was like, 'NOPE NOPE FUCKING NOPE!'”
Celestia purses her lips, trying to look severe, but she fails and ends up giggling anyway. “That's certainly one way of putting it,” she comments.
Once I compose myself, the two of us continue on, stepping over the manticore's abandoned meal. It smells disgusting, but I guess that's to be expected.
I happen to look down...and then I notice that the body's leg is hanging down a hole...the very same hole we're looking for. I know that because I can see the building's upper floor from here. I quickly power up, and then use a small amount of magic to kick the body into the trees and away from the hole.
“Celestia. I found it,” I say simply. My previous humor became like dust in the wind the moment I saw this place. I don't know how I feel right now. Part of me wants to jump down there right now, while the rest of me wants to run away and never come back. I start to question whether this was a good idea.
Celestia joins me by the hole, peering into it herself. She actually looks shocked at what she sees. “I'm amazed. You weren't kidding when you said it was mostly intact,” she marvels. Unfortunately for her, she's too large to fit into the hole. The hole is barely large enough for me, after all. “This will need to be excavated. As such, this clearing needs to be widened significantly.”
“Right. I'll leave the details up to you and your crew. I don't have much experience with this kind of shit,” I respond. Celestia nods understandingly.
She straightens back up, and then her horn sparks with golden light. A beam of her magic shoots up into the air, soaring high above the canopy and causing a small explosion. No doubt anypony flying around there can see that for miles.
“I believe that concludes our business here,” Celestia declares, much to my relief. I back away from the hole. The memories from that place give me the chills, even now. I wonder if Maka's bones are still down there.
I hope they are. I want to give them a proper human burial.
So I actually had a guy mention the similarities between Vinyl and Opal. I'll admit, that wasn't planned on my part until recently, when I decided that it just made sense. So Opal is Vinyl's mother. Now there is one more pony that understands the horror of Mr. Book. 
Now then, there's one more chapter until I actually plan to start the expedition. Also, I think next chapter will be more interesting to you, for those of you that have been railing for one particular event to happen. 
Anyway, leave your comments, and tell me what you think!
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I somehow doubt that Sombra is dead.
As in dead dead and not coming back dead.
I cant wait for the next chapter now! i have an idea of what event you may be talking about, but i don't want to say.
and it is good to see that Seth is also seeing he has changed, was beginning to wonder if he didn't notice that.
*thoughts going through mind while typing: OHMYGOSHOHMYGOSHOHMYGOSHOHMYGOSH
post the next chapter already*
Hmm. I'm just picturing that when they do get digging they go up to him when they find new things. 'Is this something useful?'
'No that's just a pencil.'
'What about this?'
'That's just some damaged running shoes.'
'What about this? Some sort of history showing the human body?'
'No that's, WHERE DID YOU FIND THAT PORN?'
5278450 Yes. Take all of my yes
5278477 Thank you, you know I would be honestly surprised if Terran used this scene right here, I would. But it'll be funny as well.
5278482 Dude that would be hilarious.
Also, you are everywhere.
5278484 Well I travel a lot around stories. Some interest me, and some I keep coming back to. Sometime I have something witty, and sometime something strange. It usually depends on the mood and story.
5278491 Yeah. I mostly see you on HiE stories, though that could be because I rarely read anything other then HiE, I never really like non-HiE stories.
5278516 While it's true there not much beside HiE, there are a few good stories in Fimfiction that deserve to be noticed. Sometimes crossovers, and other times alternate universe. But I won't deny that I'm somewhat a HiE type of guy, I'll read a story without it, but it comes down to what I feel like what's worth reading to me.
5278530 Same thing for me. It has to be something that interests me for me to read it.
5278539 yep.
fucking Mr. Book
5278482
You know, I just might. It wouldn't be the first time I've used suggestions that commenters have made
5278379
I thought he was sealed in a glacier or something?
I'm wondering who the "Oppressed" are. This is suppose to be "Tales of the Oppressed" right, but for the past 69 chapters we haven't really seen anything to do with them other than they were Sombra's monster foot soldiers or something.
I'm wondering if they're the ancestors of modern day ponies? I'll have to go back and read the earlier chapters to refresh my mental picture of them.
5278450
A fucking package of Twinkies that is still edible.
5278864
They are not the ancestors of modern day ponies. They are undead, and cannot procreate. However, Tales of the Oppressed is a title that is both literal and allegorical at the same time. It both refers to the undead human things, and Seth himself. He believes himself in the beginning of the story to be "oppressed" by society, when in fact he is oppressed by his own preconceptions of society.
TLDR; Literature class stuff.
5278834 Well thank you, plus we all might get a kick out of it,
I have never once been happier to be woken up at 2am (which was 2 hours ago where I am).
Awesome, this was a fun chapter
Starting off Seth goes to find Rainbow. Rainbow's work ethic gets portrayed in various different ways in people's fanfics. I quite like this approach, with her being rather bossy and egotistical, but with the skills to back it up. Up till now, Seth hasn't really bothered to observe her in the workplace (at least from a reader perspective. He may have done so during the month of chilling in Ponyville during his training) so seeing how the Pegasi operate certain clouds probably would have been vaguely interesting for him if he hadn't been as excited to show off his new house. Also no reaction from Flitter or the other Pegasi about Seth flying, so they may have observed him doing so before now. Anyway, Rainbow was certainly surprised and excited to learn about Seth's new place, causing her to quickly finish up her work and get going. I wonder what the other Pegasi make of this, as they seemed confused about her change in directions (that or they were just a little pissed she couldn't make up her mind... possibly both
).
Once Rainbow arrives at the house she get s brief look around before her 'sniffing' gets her pushed into a cupboard. First time she's randomly sniffed something before. I'm assuming it's a pony trait (having large noses giving them a wider range of smell, and perhaps being able to identify markings in some manner like an animal) that he has up to this point missed or simply not bothered adding to his journal. The two are interrupted by Vinyl who makes another one of her SethDash shipping jokes and promptly gets tickled into submission. It's a very fun scene for the three friends, only slightly tainted (in Seth's head anyway) by Rarity and Pinkie's comments. Evidently this may be another issue relating back to whomever 'Janna' is. Man I can't wait to find out what she did to cause him so many problems.
After their fun, the group settles down for some cider and music, getting Seth to give a brief discussion on the ruins and his arrival into Equestria. He can likely talk to Rainbow about Sombra if he really wanted to due to her being an Element of Harmony, but with Vinyl it is still classified. Still the girls pick up fairly easily that it's not a subject Seth wants to pursue and drop it without issue. Seth has definitely changed since the beginning of the story, but the others have changed as well (at least when relating to him). Rainbow can be stubborn when she wants to discuss a topic and Vinyl can easily pick up Seth's mood and social cues, but they both now have a better understanding about how Seth works and know when a topic is not worth pursuing.
After this brief discussion, Vinyl asks to be a apart of the expedition. Seth agrees though he doesn't make it clear that he has no issues with her being there, coming off more that he just doesn't want to argue with her. Rainbow obviously didn't seem to happy about it, so this may come up again later. It seems though that he does genuinely want her there (or at least doesn't mind her company. Rainbow he definitely wants there, as his best friend and confidant. They'll be seeing some very personal things to Seth and he has a very small circle of trusted friends). We also get confirmation that Opal is in fact Vinyl's mother. After Seth's last interaction with her, Vinyl's presence is likely going to make things awkward. Although:
Opal: Vinyl don't anger Seth he's very volatile and not very friendly
Seth: Sup Vinyl, meet up with me and Rainbow later, we're gonna chill at my place for a bit
Vinyl: Sure thing Seth see ya later
Opal: ... Vinyl you tell me how you did that or you're grounded missy!
After that we get another awesome bit of comedy with Celestia's payment crushing his junk. Seriously $50 000 in gold pieces, fuck that would hurt. I like that it took Rainbow and Vinyl a few seconds to figure out where the bits hit. Stallion's are sheathed so that wouldn't have hurt, but they didn't realise that immediately. I can just imagine Seth sitting there groaning in pain while Rainbow and Vinyl ROFL about
. After they calm down, the three finish their night and head for bed. No comments were made, but judging by Vinyl's reaction last chapter, I suspect both are a little touched he has a spare room just for them. With the frequency these three hang out, I can see that room getting some decent use 
.
First thing in the morning we have Celestia show up. She seems happily surprised that Seth spent the night with his friends, likely expecting him to revel in his preferred isolation. His rude reply didn't even faze her as it confirmed he was happy to have them and likely would have them over again in the future. After having spent the night in the library with Twilight, I suspect whatever private conversation Celestia was having with the librarian the day before took place, and was likely about Seth's character. Celestia seems to really enjoy seeing Seth's progress. She seems further impressed when Seth mentions his interactions with Octavia, who he doesn't see as a friend, but likely sees a little bit closer then an acquaintance due their passions for music. Were she living in the same place as Seth and in regular contact with him, It's likely she could reach friendship level, but the distance makes this seem very unlikely.
Seeing the Manticore nope the fuck out was hilarious. Also surprising this was the first time he has encountered one. He's seen a few canon creatures and a few non canon creatures, but it only just occurred to me while reading this that he had yet to see one. Be interesting to see what his opinion of a cockatrice would be
.
Overall a fun chapter that gives us more friend bonding and feeding us a few interesting facts. Also:
Very interested to see what this is. Can't wait for more
5281123 your. Comment. Was. sooooo looooong but I agree with it.
Can we get a nice little picture of old Mr. Book?
You could say that trapping her in the closet
"Pulls out glasses"
Was like a rainbow in the dark
"Puts on glasses"
Yeahhh!
derpicdn.net/img/view/2014/6/27/662450.jpg
This!
6547687
And then she came out.
I don't see the problem with Mr. Book, he seemed like a pretty chilled guy for a double amputee.
What next? Mr. Book ranting, "You die! You die and you go to gell!"?