Chapter 13: A Step Backwards
"FOUND HIM!"
Garrosh Hellscream hung his head ever lower, swearing that he felt physical pain in his soul at the sound of that gruff, tomboyish, yet somehow feminine voice. The orc was by no means in the mood to deal with the rainbow-maned Pegasus that got underneath his skin simply by being withing his line of sight; so, in the throes of desperation, he enacted the only defense his head-ache crippled mind could come up with on such short notice: Ignore her very existence.
The tactic began failing as soon as she flew in front of his face, her only view of it being the top of his head seeing as how it was directed towards the ground. He had almost spared himself of the sight of her. Her prism-colored tail however, managed to fall within his visual range. Hellscream's brow furrowed deeply at the gaudy sight as he remained silent and still, even when the cyan mare's hoof began tapping on his head.
"Hey, leatherhead! What are you doing here?" The Pegasus asked in a tone that denoted suspicion and distrust. Garrosh didn't blame her for the tone, but he also did not see a reason even to attempt to earn that trust in anyway. He may have admitted to her that had a nigh-unbreakable spirit, but he refused to treat her as a fellow warrior until she'd proven that her body was as strong as her will.
Still, he kept silent, as if a prepared victim of interrogation.
"Rainbow Dash! Would it bother you, perhaps, to use just an iota of manners?" Hellscream heard the poshly-accented Generosity berate her fellow element. It had only just occurred to the orc that he could only seem to remember the six mares by their titles, rather than their actual birth names. He knew Rainbow Dash by then, yes, and also the name of the Element of Magic, Twilight Sparkle, yet, apart from those two, his mind had gone completely blank. In light of this, he at least knew that when his tolerance of their foolishness reached critically low levels in a few moments, and he would inevitably be forced to speak to some of them, that he would simply refer to all of them by their elemental titles to avoid hurting any of their feelings.
It took all of Garrosh's might to not raise his head at his own thoughts. "Why would I care if their feelings are hurt? Am I fearing another incident with them crying hysterically? Yes, that must be the reason behind it." He almost shook his head to clear it, but reminded himself that he didn't want to acknowledge their presence with even a single move for as long as he possibly could.
"Would it bother you to not use words like iota?" Rainbow shot back at her friend, earning an almost stifled giggle from Fleetfoot, and all out chuckle from Charger. Garrosh allowed a small grin to form on his face, but it faded just as quickly as it came.
"Girls... really? Not now, please." Twilight Sparkle's unmistakably logical voice butted in before the Element of Generosity could grant Loyalty her retort, most likely saving everyone from yet another back-and-forth game of name-calling. Twilight, (or "Magic," as Garrosh would settle on calling her) cleared her throat rather loudly before turning her words to him, growing noticeably less comfortable.
"Well, umm... how was your first morning in Ponyville, Hellscream?"
"Damn it all... why must she ask a question that I wouldn't mind answering?" Garrosh groaned, allowing his plan finally to come to a grudging end. He raised his head and locked eyes with the Element of Magic, his face set firmly in a scowl, and his yellow eyes pieced through the pony he glared upon. Twilight's only reaction to his stare, doing much better that the last time, was her ears folding down against her head as if she were a scorned foal.
"My morning started pleasantly enough, Element, but it has continued to decline ever since I tried to make any progress in terms of my equipment." Garrosh growled before lowering his head once again. He heard hooves shuffling in place, as a nerves orc would shuffle his feet. He took note of the habit, giving a small scoff at the similarity's, even in such different races.
"Well... what sort of equipment did you have in mind? Ponyville has dozens of different shops for hundreds of different things! I'm sure we could help you find what you need." Twilight said with an enthusiastic gesture of resolve, her words almost sounding as rehearsed as a goblin's sales pitch. In fact, she'd managed to sound more ingenuine than if one of them were to be trying to sell him a faulty bottle rocket. It was far from the response Garrosh had expected, but the orc couldn't say he truly found any beef with it. Seeing an equine with a bit of pride and patriotism was most definitely new to the orc, but it was not unwelcome in its own way.
"I asked Ditsy Doo if this settlement harbored a blacksmith or forge of some kind, only to be forced to explain what I was even referring to. I highly doubt this place has what I seek." The Hellscream stated bluntly, a bit too peeved to be coating his words in sugar. He noticed the Alicorn cringe when he had said the word "blacksmith," though the reasoning for that only remained a mystery to him until she spoke again.
"Umm... what did you need from a blacksmith? If you don't mind my aski--"
"I mind..." Garrosh grumbled through his teeth. The nerve of this one, to even think he was going to answer a question as foolish as that one, especially one he'd already answered a dozen times over. She knew well what he wanted from a smithy, for he had only told her serveral thousand times at the Summit of Worlds that his people were a war-like race through-and-through. He felt unprepared without a sturdy weapon; he felt exposed without his tribal armor. As comfortable as his rough-spun overalls were, dearly did he miss the weight of iron on his feet, bone on his shoulders, and padded leather on his hands.
Yes, she already knew what he wanted, and her earlier grimace had spoken volumes of her level of trust in him. Garrosh cared not if she trusted him with a weapon in-hand; he did care if she endeavored to stop him from obtaining one.
"But, err... Ponyville has plenty of travelling merchants from other places, from all over Equestria in fact! I'm sure we could find one here that has something you'd like!" Twilight chattered, rubbing her forehooves together, another sure sign of anxiety. The orc noticed. He supposed that either this mare was far too easy to read, or he was getting better at deciphering body language.
"Ponyville," He still hated saying the town's ridiculous name. "is a town of farmers, Element; the only travelling merchants who would be here would sell reagents for farmers, and when last I looked, I was no farmer." He said, pulling his pack onto his shoulder by its sling as he went to stand up. "I've no interest in bartering for seed or lumber."
"B-but... t-then maybe we could try a train to Appleloosa," She pressed quickly, the forced, cheesy, commercial smile just barely leaving her face as Garrosh paced the edge of the platform. "or-- or Dodge Junction! I'm sure one of those towns has something!"
Garrosh suddenly ceased all movement, casting a glance over his shoulder to where the dubious mare followed behind him as he came to a realization. He realized that he'd been wrong about why Magic had grimaced a few moments ago. It was not the weapons that had her worried, nor was it the armor.
No, it was where he was going to purchase them that had her worried.
"Why does she wish me away from Canterlot?" Garrosh asked in thought, now profoundly suspicious as the furrow in his creased brow deepened. Though he racked his brain for an answer, he came up with very little to go on. "Perhaps she wants me to keep away from the other royalty." He suggested to himself. "No, then why would she be so concerned now if I've already met with them?" Now Garrosh knew that he had to go to city on the mountain, if only to see the reasoning behind Magic's awkwardly spurred actions.
"My plan to reach the mountain city was conceived when first I laid eyes upon it, long before you were even part of the equation, Magic." He spat as he continued to pace. "Your odd behavior and useless suggestions have changed nothing." The orc declared with brutal finality, abandoning what social manners he had to better get his point across. Though, even with his abrupt rudeness, Twilight, to his surprise, was not giving up.
"But, Canterlot's just full of a bunch of stuck-up nobles and libraries! They may not even have a blacksmith there!" She persisted, still trailing behind the pacing warchief, sounding almost like her rainbow-headed slouch of a friend. Even with that strange lapse in character, desperation was then very clear in her voice, even clear enough for the rest of her friends to notice if the concerned looks they gave her were any indication.
"Hmph... Your lies betray you, Element of Magic." He said with a sneer. "My guards have told me the bulk of your country's military force resides in that city. A blacksmith is there; of this I've no doubt." Though Garrosh carried on in a relaxed manner, his level of annoyance with Twilight was growing with her every audacious word.
"He is right, darling. Don't you remember wher--" Rarity had started to chimed in, only to quickly bite her tongue when Twilight fixed her with a double-crossed glare.
"Garrosh, please, I'm telling you, there has to be somewhere else we can-"
"Enough of this!" Garrosh bellowed, stamping his foot as he pivoted towards her, nearly breaking the platform for a second time. Every equine within a block of the train station flinched or swiveled their heads in their general direction. Charger, who was nearly right next to him, almost immediately began rubbing his ears in pain, whilst Fleetfoot, just a little farther away, merely blinked repeatedly, as if her hearing was gone all together. "I will go to the mountain city, element, and if you intend to stop me, you are welcome to try!" He continued loudly, his arms outstretched in a goading gesture. "This is the last we will speak of this; anything more of this matter will be settled in blood." He growled through clinched teeth, his piercing yellow eyes staring directly into Twilight's own deep purple ones. The death glare was enough to make Sparkle take a few steps back as she eventually tore her own gaze from it.
Garrosh gave a grunt of satisfaction as he lowed his hulking arms back to his sides, confident that his actions had silenced the annoying Alicorn for at least a good while.
The orc then took in a deep breath as he turned away, calming himself and closing his eyes, knowing then just how well he had to steel himself now that they all were present. For all he was worth, he did his best to enjoy the relative silence as he had been doing before the elements had shown up, taking specific notice of the distant sounds of the Ponyville's center market just down the road. The voices chattering, the wheels of rickety wooden carts upon solid earth, the barely audible tinkling of Equestrian currency being blithely exchanged. It all calmed the orc considerably, and after only a minute's worth of this, he finally allowed his shoulders to slouch and his muscles to let go of themselves and relax. It was a rare thing for him to do, in any environment.
Still, the lack of action between so many that were immediately around him was a tad concerning to him. Against his better judgement, Garrosh cracked his left eye to get a look at his guards briefly, seeing Charger sprawling himself out stomach-first on the edge of the platform, and Fleetfoot sitting on her haunches with her back legs over the edge, kicking at their odd angle every so often. Seeing his guards relaxed put him at ease, even if they did peeve him to no end.
"Tho... how'd you girlth even find uth?" The obvious speech impediment told Garrosh who had spoken, and he could tell just by the way she'd suddenly spoken up that the tenuous quiet was eating at her.
"Well... that's actually a really long story..." Rainbow Dash, the supposed fellow-Wonderbolt, answered first before any of the others could.
"Ugh, By all means, elaborate." Garrosh droned, his tone ladled with feigned enthusiasm as he cracked his neck side-to-side, taking their unresponsive silence indifferently. "We've much time to waste, we might as well wrench something from it."
"Oh! Oh! Can I tell the story?! Pretty please?!" The pony who spoke in that way couldn't possibly have been any of them other than the Element of Laughter. Garrosh decided against mocking her, or even denying her irritating request. No, he would relinquish and endure for now, just as he'd been doing since his first seconds on Equus.
"Why not?"
The Previous Night
"I'm going to be late!" The Warchief bellowed as he bolted from his seat at the summit table. The sudden deafening yell was enough to make everyone at the table jump in their seats, Twilight even dropped her notepad due to the suddenness of it all. Twilight barely had time to pick it back up before looking to the tent's exit, only to see the Warchief's foot go out of sight.
"Captain, see to him." Celestia addressed Spitfire quickly with a stern stare. Spitfire mumbled something under her breath, but nonetheless nodded compliantly and bolted out after the orc. Luna also wasted no time in leaning over to her own Bolt captain, whispering briskly, just quietly enough so as not to be deciphered by anyone else. Nightshade gave almost the exact same response to her orders as Spitfire. Grumbling much longer than the Wonderbolt captain had, she took off from her seat at the table to pursue her target and her counterpart.
"The rest of you, follow after your leader." Celestia instructed the Wonderbolt crew.
"Follow Nightshade, you three, posthaste." Luna ordered nearly at the same time as Celestia, not wishing her squad to be left out of any potential action or event.
Twilight had a team of her own, and she was not about to let one of the greatest discoveries in all of Equestria simply run away. "Come on, girls!" She shouted to her friends, resolve rampant in her voice as she sprung from the table with the full intent of darting after him, only to see that her enthusiastic determination was hers and hers alone.
Casting a glance across the table at her friends, she saw that Rainbow Dash had already departed shortly after the Wonderbolts, and that the still-blubbering Rarity, the still-sobbing Fluttershy at her shoulder, and the broken Pinkie Pie were not exactly in the ideal conditions to go chasing after a brown behemoth that could quite possibly outrun the Ponyville Express. This only left Applejack, and though one could easily discern that Garrosh's story didn't quite have the emotionally crippling affect on her like it did everyone else, she merely looked back to her Alicorn friend and shrugged in both confusion and exhaustion. She too looked far too tired for a night chase.
"Wha--- Girls!" She whined to those of them who still remained. "We can't let him get too far away, or leave Ponyville for that matter." She chided, and while Rarity worked ardently to regain her shattered composure, Fluttershy simply couldn't, and poor Pinkie didn't even seem to try.
"Alright, fine! I'll go by myself." Twilight huffed, feeling somewhat betrayed as she turned to face the tent's exit to beginning playing catch-up with the orc.
"That won't be necessary, Twilight." Celestia's voice made the young Alicorn cease all movement, even her breathing stalled for a second or two.
"B-but, Celestia, we really can't let him get too far; he could make a break for it!" Twilight pleaded with her mentor to be allowed to go after the orc, but in her heart she already knew that she was not about to condone.
"The Wonderbolts and Shadowbolts will make sure he doesn't. In the mean time, you and your friends should return to your homes, Twilight; the Elements of Harmony have been through enough today." The Solar Princess spoke calmly, if sternly as always to her student, fully privy to how persistent Twilight could be, especially in times such as these.
"We do believe we have all plied the Warchief quite well enough for now, Princess Sparkle." Spoke Luna after polishing off her fourth glass of wine that evening. "Worry not, for if he seeks to run or hide, the night will surely find him." She assured her, her features as forlorn and desolate as ever to match such a foreboding statement. As intimidating and formidable-sounding as it was, somehow Sparkle found little to no solace in their words.
"B-but, we didn't even get t--" Princess Sparkle started, but was not allowed to finish.
"Twilight Sparkle..." Was all Celestia said. It was all she needed to say. Twilight hated it when Celestia addressed her by her full name in the tone she'd just used. The young Alicorn gave a defeated sigh, not wanting to argue any further with her mentor. She also felt an all-telling chill role down her spine, remembering the last time Celestia had spoken towards her so firmly, it was not pleasant recalling the day she had panicked over just one, insignificant little week without a friendship-related report. That commanding, authoritative voice to which Celestia could so easily switch over was both awe-inspiring and frightening to the bookish Alicorn.
"Yes, Princess..." Sparkle lowered her head as if she were once again a sour foal before a scorning teacher. Celestia would most likely be that same teacher figure until the day she died. Being an immortal Alicorn, this probably meant that the two of them would be doomed to reenact these roles for a very long time.
"Go home, all of you. If what happened today is any indication, you will need all your strength and patience for the days ahead." Her features softening from their very slight scowl, Celestia then looked to Twilight specifically, her horn giving a few, noticeable sparks.
"You needn't worry about Hellscream, Twilight, he will be in Ponyville when you wake." Her voice rang out loud and clear in Twilight's ears, as if she were speaking face-to-face. "Those in need of friendship will always be drawn to you, my student."
A mind-melding spell, it gave the caster the ability to speak telepathically to whomever they so desired. It was an easy spell to master if one had the focus, and it was often referred to as a "radio" spell, for it was more often then not, used by the more magically adept Unicorn foals for a bit of secretive and mischievous fun. Twilight had seen Celestia use it before, and had been on the receiving end of it before, so it was as simple as breathing for the Princess of Friendship to respond with barely a spark from her own horn.
"Tonight was groundbreaking, Princess. Do you really believe I can teach him anything I've learned?"
"It couldn't hurt to try, now could it?"
Celestia gave a smile and a barely noticeable wink to the young Alicorn. Twilight didn't even try to hide the look of deadpan on her face. Though, after a few seconds, she smiled, and winked back.
"But not tonight, Twilight, sleep, and sleep well. Lessons in friendship can wait at least one more of my sister's nights."
"Understood, Princess."
"What'n tarnation are you two doin'?" Applejack suddenly butted in from where she still sat at the table, eyeing Twilight confusedly as the lavender mare very nearly jumped out of her skin. Twilight then realized that she and Celestia had simply been starring at each other in silence that whole time. She began sweating nervously, and was quick to start fumbling around with words for an alibi.
"Well, uh... you see, me and Celestia were just, um..." Twilight paused for much longer then she would have liked, but was then rescued by her teacher.
"We were resonating telepathically, Applejack." Celestia stated calmly to the Earth Pony, an amused smile adorning her. It was clear by from the sun goddess that she had no intention of lying to the Element of Honesty. Twilight briefly wondered if even Celestia could accomplish such a feat, but quickly cast the strange thought aside. She knew very well that her teacher had no reason to lie to any of the six of them. She chose instead to await Applejack's reaction to such a bizarre answer, and she just had to wonder what sort of alienating expression she would have on her face.
"...... well, shucks! Why didn't ya jus' say so?" Applejack asked Twilight with an enlightened grin. Happily content in misjudging her friend's reaction completely, the bookish mare merely shrugged, knowing things were none the more awkward between them.
"I suggest you all retire for the night, Elements." The sun Alicorn spoke as she turned to leave the tent, her escorts following readily behind, stopping only to allow her sister to silently exit before her. "I'm sure we will see each other again soon." And with that, Celestia left, leaving only the five mares in the tent, several silent guards to dismantle it, and several waiters to clear the table.
"Ah reckon she's right, ya know. We should all be gettin' some shut-eye; there's no tellin' when things'll get nasty again." Applejack struck up, dusting her hat across her knee before slapping it atop her head again.
"I concur; we must be ready for any encumbrance." Rarity curtly chirped, earning a nod of agreement from Fluttershy.
"I don't know how we're supposed to sleep after all we've just witnessed! This is History in the making, girls!" Twilight half-squealed with a wide smile, sounding almost like Pinkie. Her mind was not tired in the least, what with all the new information coursing through it. In fact, it was in overdrive. "Do you have any idea what Hellscream's stories mean to all the scholars of the world? It means that the multi-dimensional theory was right all along! Starswirl the Bearded himself couldn't even prove such a theory, and here's the proof, right here in Ponyville, and it's capable of intelligent conversation!" The Alicorn gave a foalish sqee and a hop at the level of her own words. The thought that there were millions upon billions of alien dimensions stretching across the fabric of time just waiting to be discovered was truly impossible for one mind to comprehend on its own. Still, her mind was attempting that same feat as she spoke with fervor. She could hardly take it.
"Dear, we all know you're very excited at the moment, but even Starswirl had to sleep sometimes, even in the wake of magnificent discoveries." Rarity said, placing a tender, calming hoof on Twilight's trembling back. Even though Twilight knew for a fact that Starswirl was always known to over-indulge in energy-level amplification spells in times of great work, (something of which she herself was unadmittedly guilty) she couldn't possibly deny the truth and wisdom in Rarity's words.
"'Sides, our brains ain't no good fer science if we're runnin' on fumes." Applejack spoke through a yawn. Yet more wisdom was found in the words of her friends, for the last thing she wanted to do in these unprecedented times, in her first-of-a-kind studies, was to make any form of mistake; the ramifications could be, as she figured by then, inter-dimensional.
That being said, Twilight took time to reevaluate her fellow elements' conditions. Rarity seemed no worse for ware at first glance, but her eyes were surrounded by subtle dark circles, small bags resting underneath them. She'd bet that if she gave her a mirror, the poor fashionista would be mortified.
Applejack looked fine, but this was once again at first glance. The punch and kick Hellscream had landed left two large bruises near her under-belly and fore-hooves. It almost seemed like she was shell-shocked. She looked very weary, very weak even despite eating, not unlike how she had looked during the Applebuck Season when her brother was injured, only without the massive delirium that had overtaken her. It was an unpleasant ordeal to remember to say the least. In short, she was probably barely going to be able to move tomorrow.
Fluttershy, for her part, was not physically harmed in any way, but the last few days had been her own personal nightmare. Twilight more than knew that. The poor thing had barely touched her food at dinner and looked as though a she hadn't eaten properly since the obvious loss of Applejack's pig, which despite the farmer's ardent words against the notion, she still believed to be her fault.
Still, even with how bad Fluttershy looked, or how great the toll taken upon the last three of them was, it was next to nothing compared to Pinkie Pie.
The normally jubilant earth pony had not spoken a word since Hellscream's story, and the reasoning behind that was clear. Pinkie Pie had always loved stories, of any kind, period. Tonight had been no exception. That was, until Hellscream's tale took that mournful turn. The loss of Anduin Lothar had not been kind to anypony at the table, but to Pinkie, the old human's bravery was to be rewarded with celebration, with laughter and rejoice, not pain, not such a gruesome death. It had struck her harder than it had anyone else, yet even so, even after hearing what her mind had viewed as so profoundly unfair, confused as to how any orderly universal existence could ever allow such a thing to happen, she persisted, stalwartly keeping up her ears for the continuum of the orc's Azerothian history lesson.
It was the death of Grommosh, the father of the orc who sat at the very same table as she, the condemner and savior of his whole race, that had crushed her already strained spirit. Pinkie herself had a father, and under normal circumstances, she would never even try to picture a world without him, without her precious family. Whilst the death of Lothar, such a good man, had been excruciating to bear, it was still little more than a part of the story, part of the fairy tale of some far away land, still not fully realized in the innocent earth pony's mind. The death of Grommosh, the parent of the orc into who's eyes she had just peered, of the orc who spoke to her, had not only made the story real, it made that unbearable pain real as well. Pinkie now knew that somewhere, in some horrid place, hundreds, maybe even thousands of dimensions away, a wise old man and a betrayed, battle-weary orc had given everything they had for their people, their family, their friends. Pinkie now knew that the father of a new friend was gone, and had been gone for a very long time. Both realizations were nothing but unjust to her, and her mind had no clear reaction to either of them.
Twilight Sparkle was no psychiatrist, but she knew Pinkie Pie's mind set, and how it worked... most of the time. She could see as clear as crystal the gears that were turning in her pink friend's head just by looking into her now blank, distant blue eyes. Pinkie Pie had gotten like this a few times before, and it was always very difficult to change her back. It was not a look any of the five other elements liked to see on their normally jubilant friend's face. Unfortunately, Twilight, nor any of the other mares had any idea how to snap her out it this time.
"Pinkie, darling, are you alright?" Rarity's simple attempt was not effective in the least, as Pinkie continued to stare blankly at the ground a few feet in front of her. Applejack tried her luck by waving her forehoof in front of Pinkie's eyes, but the action garnered no form of reaction from the transfixed mare.
"Maybe we should just take her home; I think sleeping would probably help." Fluttershy's nearly mute voice chimed in. So quiet was she, that Applejack and Rarity had not even heard her.
"Do you really think that will help, Fluttershy?" Twilight asked in a soft whisper, so as not to hurt her timid friend's ears, or even frighten her. The yellow Pegasus truly looked awful after the past few days' trials and tribulations, and the Alicorn had no desire to cause her any more discomfort.
"I'm not really sure, but anything would be better than letting her go home alone.... maybe." Twilight cringed at the slight rasp in Fluttershy's voice. It was something the bookish mare had never heard from the shy Pegasus before, and it was something she very quickly decided she never wanted to hear again. Nevertheless, her ailment aside, her idea was still good enough to try, seeing as how they had no other plan.
"You're right... I'll take her home myself; Sugarcube Corner isn't too far from Golden Oaks." Twilight spoke as much to herself as to her friends, who all gave her looks of concern at her proposal. Seeing this, the Alicorn was quick to explain the logic behind her impromptu strategy. "You all need your rest as well, and your homes are all the opposite way of mine and Pinkie's. It wouldn't make sense for any of you girls to travel all that way just to have to backtrack afterwards."
"Well.... we'd still do it if need be, sugar cube." Applejack defended, sounding just a bit begrudging.
"No, you all need a good night's sleep as much as Pinkie does; I'll be fine." Twilight Sparkle said firmly. She saw no need to cause her friends any more trouble if she could just as easily complete the task herself.
"Well, if you're positively sure you can do it without a bother, darling..." Rarity consented rather quickly. Twilight didn't blame her, for she hadn't exactly gotten the world's greatest sleep since Garrosh had shown up. This coupled with the temporary housing of the Wonderbolts and Shadowbolts under one roof, her roof, made her feel ever more sorry for the burdened Element of Generosity. By any compassion within her, her poor friends would have their rest.
"Then it's settled; you all head home and finally get some real sleep, and I'll drop Pinkie off on my way back to the library." With that, they parted ways, Twilight flashing them as confident a smile as she could as they bid each other good night.
It was a long, somber, and silent walk back to Sugarcube Corner for the elements of both magic and laughter. The two most talkative elements, Twilight with her intellectual lectures, and Pinkie with her happy-go-lucky chattering, were now reduced to keeping every single thought held in their heads from exiting their mouths, or at least in the former's case. Pinkie's consumed silence made Twilight feel both unnerved and worried. She wasn't even certain Pinkie knew she was trotting right beside her at all.
It was so unnatural, all of it, and it gave the Alicorn an upset stomach.
"P..... Pinkie?" Sparkle wasn't pleased with her attempt at conversation, but her mind couldn't come up with anything more elaborate after such a taxing day. Twilight briefly cast her thoughts back to what Applejack had said before about "running on fumes" and how right she was as she nervously awaited her friend's response.
The stricken earth pony said nothing; her ears had not even twitched at the sound of Twilight's voice. Once again it struck Twilight as unnatural, for any of their kind. A pony's hearing was always stellar, better than most other creatures one could run across, and they also couldn't truly control their ears' spontaneous reactions to touch and to sound. The fact that Pinkie's ears had stayed drooped without so much as flicking in Twilight's direction when she spoke, told her quite transparently that her friend was not even hearing her.
Twilight gulped, feeling viciously helpless as she allowed her own ears to mirror her friend's crestfallen demeanor. She had hoped to break Pinkie free of this state before they reached her home, but right then, it seemed impossible. So defeated did Sparkle cast her eyes to the ground in front of her, allowing the memory of her hooves to carry her to Sugarcube Corner. It wasn't very difficult to map Ponyville in one's head once living there a while, seeing as how the town was built using a circle-type shape, the decimated town square at its epicenter. Had this been a regular evening stroll not often taken by the librarian, she'd have found herself mentally pinpointing every building in the borders of the tiny town, but her mind was elsewhere this night, lingering on methods of returning life to her friend. As tired as she was, it was no wonder she ultimately came up empty on ideas. It seemed as though the Pinkie everyone in town knew and adored wasn't coming back any time soon.
It was then she was pulled from her gloomy thoughts by a realization: She was only hearing one set of hooves, and they were indeed her own.
Turning her head to where her friend had been beside her moments ago, she had to keep turning it to see where she had stopped. Silent, still, her head dipped low, her mane, as straight and distraught as ever, cast over half of her face, the only movement on Pinkie was the soft wind through its locks.
"Pinkie...?" Twilight uttered out again, hoping that she had returned to her senses, hoping that she was back, that she showed signs of being normal again. Quietly, she watched as her friend's hind legs buckled, sending her back half down to the ground with a small puff of the dirt road's dust. For the first time since the walk homeward, Pinkie showed signs of life as she raised her head, but to Twilight, it was anything but hopeful. Pinkie didn't look at her friend, nor follow the sound of her voice. Instead, with crystal clear tears in her eyes, she looked around her, as if first realizing where she was as one of her fetlocks caressed at the other pitifully.
Twilight knew where this was going, and she was powerless to stop it.
As Twilight habitually drew closer to her, Pinkie's front hooves went to her misty eyes, rubbing at them, sniffling through a runny nose, trying desperately to fight back tears, but Twilight knew at this point that they were both inevitable and needed. As she saw her friend's face make that all-telling grimace, the grimace that all make when finally letting go, the librarian outstretched her hooves, embracing the pink mare as one bitter, racking sob turned to two, and then to three. In a matter of seconds, the poor silent Pie was weeping uncontrollably into Twilight's shoulder, utterly inconsolable.
"I---I should've-- hugged him harder!" She cried out, her words strangled by her grief. "I sh--should've been there!" Sparkle could do nothing but cradle her, unable to murmur even a word to ease her pain, lest she shed tears of her own. "It's not fair!" Pinkie screamed into her shoulder with a heart-wrenching hysteria, finally coming to grips with how cruel their lots in life had been, how much she wished it hadn't ended for them that way. The mare's body quivered down to the bone as she wailed in Twilight's arms, Twilight herself now silently weeping, weeping for the story, weeping for her friend.
"You can't think about it, Pinkie!" She cried back to her, her own voice breaking despite her greatest efforts. "You can't! Not about what you could've done or what might have happened; you'll drive yourself insane!" Twilight's hoof found itself rubbing at the sobbing earth pony's back as she sat there with her, and she tried ardently to calm herself. "Please....." She implored in little more than a whisper. "You can only focus on what you do now."
There they stayed, in the night on Ponyville's dirt road, the both of them emotionally compromised. It seemed an eternity had passed before Pinkie's sobbing subsided, quieting back down to a sniffle again. After a few deep breaths to stable the nerves, Twilight opened her dampened eyes, as she was sure Pinkie did too. Content was she to sit there, silent as her friend calmed down completely. Only after she knew for certain that all her tears had ceased and her breathing was even did she dare to speak again.
"....I'm sorry I yelled." Was all she felt like saying, and to her credit, Pinkie actually responded as she returned Twilight's hug all the tighter.
"don't be; it's okay." It was unexpected but not unwelcome to the Alicorn's conscience. A few more long moments of silence passed between them.
"....do you feel better now?" Sparkle asked hesitantly after a while, only earning a simple nod that she could on her shoulder. "Good." She replied, allowing herself a smile.
".....Twilight?" Pinkie suddenly spoke.
"Yes?"
"... Do you think ponies would show up if we gave him a welcome party?" The earth pony's voice was soft and weak, and the question sounded weaker still. Twilight knew who "him" was; there wasn't even a question. A party for Hellscream sounded just like Pinkie, but she had a point. "Who would show up?" Twilight thought genuinely, for she truly had no idea who would, especially after the events of that day. The one thing she did know, however, was the answer she just had to give, regardless of any truth behind it.
"If it's one of your parties, Pinkie, nopony would miss it for the whole world." She spoke with a smile. Her pink friend met her gaze, and after seconds that felt like a lifetime to the bookish mare, Pinkie finally returned the gesture.
Little more was said between them apart from their good-nights, the final sound breaking the silence of the nightly air being the gentle closing of the door to Sugarcube Corner after Twilight made sure she'd be alright. Her hopes high, at least in the case of Pinkie Pie, she started off home.
"I still don't see why you didn't let me go... I wanted to see him, too!" Twilight found herself rolling her eyes at the childish dragon who spoke to her.
On her way back home, Twilight had been plagued by a plethora of deep and winding thoughts, thoughts of Garrosh and all he would affect in the days to come, how past, present, and future were to surely change, thoughts of her poor, distraught friend. Even though they'd parted ways safely, and even though she'd dare say that Pinkie's break-down was a needed step forward, a way to cope with her feelings, Twilight somehow still found herself unable to keep hers in check. She was worried sick about everything, and this is why upon trudging through the split doors to her cozy abode, Golden Oaks Library, it was all she could do just to slump against it as she slid down until her rump hit the floor
Here she was, more grateful than ever to hear the sound of spike's voice, even if her body language hadn't quite suggested it. To her, it was the sound of home, and still, even though she had already told him why she hadn't allowed him to tag along a whopping three times before she left for the summit, she figured a fourth time had all the bigger chance of sticking with her assistant. sighing tiredly, she set about the task.
"I already told you, Spike, he was able to withstand my magic blast, Rainbow's attacks, and Pinkie hurling herself at him out of her cannon..." Twilight Sparkle paused to let the information sink into the dragon. "Let's add to that the fact that he stallion-handled the Wonderbolts and an elite mercenary squad."
"But to do all of that.... he's gotta be so cool!" Spike exclaimed, outstretching his arms for excited emphasis.
"Cool-looking or not, I hadn't spoken to him before, and as far as I was concerned, he was very very dangerous." Twilight countered, turning to face the little dragon. She could just tell that he was still not convinced of her bountiful reasons for leaving him behind.
"Hmph, I'm not a baby anymore, Twilight, I could have taken care of myself..." He grumbled, crossing his arms in a attempt to look indignant.
Twilight chuckled, only seeing the gesture as cute, a complete opposite to what was intended. "Actually, if you look at one of the few documents there are on dragons, I'm sure just the illustrations in the book would say otherwise."
Spike said nothing, keeping a deadpanned look plastered to his face, earning yet more laughter from the Alicorn as she trotted for the bathroom to wash up for the night.
After barely half an hour had passed, Twilight came out, still drying her ears as she looked over to where Spike was sitting, eagerly reading away at Twilight's hard-earned field notes from the summit. "I assume you've already brushed, young dragon?" She asked, levitating her small sink towel back into the bathroom, all neatly folded.
"....Yes, Mother." Spike answered back sarcastically, the beginning of a mischievous smirk across his face as he peered over the notepad at her. Twilight couldn't help but smirk herself, admitting that what she said had sounded a bit exaggeratedly maternal for her tastes.
"Good... Come on; let's get some sleep, and hey, you'll be happy to know that I do plan on taking you to see him in the morning." Sparkle spoke as she ushered the dragon up the stairs. The two were quick to ascend to the library's upstairs bedroom, and were even faster to get into their respective beds. Twilight made a mental note to go shopping for a new bed for Spike, as the basket he was curling up into was getting smaller and smaller for the baby dragon.
Yes, she knew; she knew it was the incorrect way of thinking of it. She knew he was getting bigger, but Twilight didn't like to think about it.
"Good night, Twilight." Spike said, his voice muffled by both the pillow he had his face stuffed into and the yawn that he let out.
"Good night, Spike." She replied, using her magic to snuff out the candle that had been softly lighting the room. In the darkness of the room, lit only by the moon through the widow, there was nary a sound. Utter silence was all to be heard as time fell away to sleep; that was, before Spike's voice broke through it, clear as crystal.
"Hey, Twilight?" Spike's tone of excitement from earlier had all but left him, leaving only what the Alicorn believed was worry, was doubt.
"Yes, Spike?" She responded softly after a moment. It was not her fatigue that caused such a soft response, but her concern for her assistant.
"Do you think he'll hate me? ....You know, because of that part in his story... about his world shaking and stuff?"
"....The Cataclysm...." That was what Warchief Hellscream had called it. An event caused by the destruction of something called a World Pillar. The seas had risen, the land had cracked and split apart, mountains had fallen, resulting in countless deaths as their world swallowed them whole. Deathwing the Destroyer, even remembering the name sent a chilling shiver down Twilight's spine. Spike had a point, a very well-founded one, for Hellscream had explicitly voiced his distaste for all of dragonkind, mainly due to that one, horrid, insane mass-murderer. Sparkle felt the guilt-ridden sting of regret for allowing Spike to read that part of the notes she had thoroughly taken in the fray of his story-telling. If she'd have known that the idea that a single mad dragon could cause so much destruction would keep Spike awake with fear and doubt, she would have torn that section of the notes out without hesitation before she'd gotten home.
Still, Spike had asked that heavy question, and Twilight now had no choice but to answer it.
"He won't hate you, Spike. He may seem big and mean on the surface, but I think there's some good in him underneath it all. He won't dislike you just because you're a dragon, Spike." It was not her finest reassurance, but it had made her assistant go silent. Whether that was in a good or bad way, was yet to be known.
"....You really think so?"
"I know so," Twilight shifted uncomfortably as she spoke, so as to lay facing the meager sliver of moonlight seeping through between the curtains. For the second time that night, she'd confided something of which she was inconfident to a friend. She knew she needed to get to sleep quickly before she was forced to do it again. "Now get some shut eye, Spike, I'll prove I'm right in the morning." With that, she didn't hear another sound for a few minutes aside from the wind outside, brushing against the oaken walls of the library. The last thing Twilight's ears were able to pick up before she entered the realm of dreams, was a light snoring from off to the side of her bed.
The Princess of Friendship smiled at the familiar sound, even when she herself was fast asleep.
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I wanted to mention a mistake you made regarding Hellscream. Garrosh Hellscream is a powerful warrior, he has a lot of strength, he is definately heavier than a pony but Rainbow Dash could run circles around him without Garrosh being able to touch him. Also Rainbow Dash leveled a buillding and while Garrosh's skin is tougher than a normal humans he definately feel pain and can be dazed by a strong hit when it comes from a Mare that can reach the speed of sound. Also a huge mistake you made here is making Garrosh resistable to damage from spells. Garrosh is literally defenceless against a good spellcaster or someone with abilities like the stare. He is a formidable warrior but spells or spell like abilities do not follow rules. They do not care how powerful you are or how tough your skin or armor is. An Arcane Blast will literally damage Garrosh a lot and a Telekinesis will literally lift him up and he will be unable to do anything.
Well... i have to say, as someone who despised Garrosh enough that to say he wwas my most hated for a time... I must admit, this story gripped me well and did NOT let go. I find myself intrigued with every little development, and i even let out a few "aww"s involving Dinky.
you managed to do something in this that blizzard couldn't. sympathy, even a little for this guy. after the siege and the Klaxxi, something i thought i couldn't do.
7463081 You have no idea how much those words mean to me. They mean I am succeeding in redeeming a character that Blizzard couldn't seem to keep in one place. Garrosh went from killing a commander for the dishonorable tactic of bombing civilians, to dropping the Little Boy on Theramore. Blizzard ruined his character, and my goal in this story is to slowly turn him from his later personality (Which was out of his already made character by a few thousand miles) back to the way he was before the end of Cataclysm.
Your words have told me I am on the right path, thank you very much for you comment, Mr Wandering Eye.
7461490 All of those points are valid, but they are all things I had thought about when I wrote what I did. Yes, Garrosh is strong, and a punch from him would break the bones of an Azerothian human. However, Equestrian physics are very different from those of other words. Ponies can live through incredible things, including an anvil being dropped on their head. (Twilight Sparkle, Episode "Feeling Pinkie Keen") So, a punch that Garrosh assumes would take them down, is nothing more than a bruise to their "spoofed" bodies. It works both ways, seeing as how ponies never really fight each other, and the few times they do, their damage out-put paired with their bodies' physical pain resistance makes fights do nothing to their opponent. Their attacks are not powerful in the least, so an orc as tough as Hellscream would basically feel nothing. Excluding speed powered attacks, like how Rainbow Dash destroyed Applejack's barn, or why Garrosh did feel the pain of Pinkie launching herself using her cannon at him. Rainbow has yet to use a speed attack on him in the story, though.
The spell resistance of Hellscream is explained in almost the exact same way. Azerothian magic uses elemental magic, such as earth, arcane, or fire to name a few. All would hurt Garrosh, but Twilight's magic attack did nothing to him. Why? Because Azerothians have little other use for magic than war, while magic to ponies is a tool for everyday pleasures and luxuries. The magic types are also different for both worlds. Azerothian magic is powered by the element of the chosen spell, while Equestian magic is powered by either unicorn horn, friendship, or darkness. While unicorn horn magic is similar to arcane, which can hurt Garrosh, it is extremely weak in combat uses, seeing as how ponies have not needed to strengthen damage spells due to well over one-thousand years of peace.
As far as lifting him up, it can be done, but he is very heavy, and it would be difficult to keep him air-born for long. Twilight could do it, but she never seems to think about levitation for combat purposes in the show.
Dear God in Heaven, I am a wind bag... I hope that cleared up you problems with the story, and thank you for reading this far.
7463117
This goal of yours Blessed One, is quite the task. as someone who played Horde since launch of that game, i honestly felt bad things out of him even out of the start of the War in the North as you call it (htough by Ulduar i found him quite annoying). the events of Theramore, Pandaria, the Vale, Finally the Siege against his True Horde, in where the Klaxxi (creatures of great potential knowledge, that i enjoyed dearly- Seriously, i want more on the races that descended from the Aqir- like.. Twilight knowledge obsessed) fall , but HE gets away only to cause more war and strife? and then we as the playerbase don't get a accursed chance to be the one to claim the canon deathblow (THAT SHOULD HAVE AT LEAST GONE TO YREL AND DUROTAN IF NOT US *FUMERARGH*)? it's safe to say ive burnt VERY long periods of time explaining my distaste to rage about this character.
so to find myself hooked when reading this was a surprise. my glee at Ditzy, Dinky and Zecora, the voice of the greatmother in his head, and how it's adjusting his actions...and i think it hit me. I saw an interesting commonality *chuckle*. there's similar reasons for why i dislike Starlight Glimmer, mostly around timing of delivery for her Face-turn and lack of information about her bad times (and yet in season 6 some details continued to bug). usually i like rough, even flat out evil characters, and i guess for both something just felt wrong to me about how they were handled that others didn't. your on a good path to what your doing. so much of it is about delivery... and this feels gradual- good.
also- on twilights telekinesis. this seems roughly around S4 in the timeline, maybe even end of S3 with some differences. Twilights telekinetics are impressive (particularly her multiple item control), but her snap combat reactions are not, so i have to agree. lifting Garrosh in the middle of that situation might have even been the right move but it would have been trouble.
Ok thanks for the response. It's more clear now. One more question though. Are you sure Twilight can't hurt Garrosh? I mean she pretty much went on a Dragonball Z Fight against Tirek and I doubt Garrosh would manage to survive one of those beams or is this Twilight before Tirek historically? Also how come Fluttershy didn't try to use her stare that took down entire dragons and how come they didn't go get the Elements to Blast him?
Apart from those questions good job about trying to redeem Hellscream though you might need to try to tone down his arrogance in time.
7463890 Again, good points. Sparkle did do the whole "I'mma shoot a laser that is bigger than my whole body!" thing, but she was in possession of the power of all other alicorns at that time. The Stare is something that Fluttershy rarely, if ever, uses. (I'm not sure why) Not unlike how Twilight doesn't seem to think, "Hey, if I lift you up by your back leg and dangle you, you can't kill me!" The Elements of Harmony themselves? They are a fickle weapon that can't be used on just anything. Celestia's connection with them was lost for simply using them to defend herself from Nightmare Moon, so zapping a creature from another world could do anything from nothing, to having the effect of a nuclear bomb. I am so sorry I didn't cover those three things in the last, mile long comment.
Arrogance is something the ponies still need to work on with their new friend.
7463465 All of thee above is true, much to my chagrin. (Thank you, Blizzard) Garrosh was never a hero, he was never a knight of chivalry in gleaming armor, riding in on his wolf to save women and children from horses... Orc mounts ruin human stereotypes... Moving on. He was a warrior, a barbarian guided by a sense of honor, (Pre-Cataclysm Garrosh) not Dr Eggman. (Post Cataclysm Garrosh that Blizzard crapped out)
I know that I have a long way to go just to get him back to the Burning Crusade version of himself, (His original personality, after talking to Thrall) but I am a patient man. You saying I'm on the right track, has only given me more patience.
While the ponies must accept his arrogance you need to tone that arrogance a little. Garrosh must learn humility at some point and see that he should respect others. I hope he will learn it in steps.