Lost Fate

by Fluxxdog

Chapter 16: Sanity is Overrated

Chapter 16: Sanity is Overrated

DINK! DINK! Cantrip’s side ached. He’d been out of the hospital for two weeks and the doctor told him to take it easy. Yet, here he was, on a stone slab, enchanting picks and carving sigils. DINK! Summer was in full swing and nothing was slowing him down.

“Howdy pardner!” Cantrip looked behind him. Applejack had just crested the hill behind him. “Ink Nose asked me to keep an eye out for you. Come on and have some lunch!”

Well that was unexpected. Ink Nose was on her way to the Canterlot Archives today to return some research material and (hopefully) pick up more. It was nice of Applejack to help keep an eye out, especially since he could work through meals without realizing.

Then he smelled it: Fresh apple fritters. His stomach was angry at him for forgetting about it and said so loudly. Applejack chuckled at him, “Yeah, I figured you’d be a might bit hungry. Twilight would get the same way sometimes.”

“Mye it must mi mave a…” Cantrip swallowed, a bit embarrassed at his lack of manner. “Sorry. I was hungrier than I realized. I just have a lot of work to do. Chiseling stone isn’t easy.”

“Just what are ya doing anyway? Don’t look like any statue.”

“It’s a complicated spell assembly.”

“In other words, way over my head.”

“Not at all. Think of it like a wagon. You have the bed, an axle, and wheels, right?”

“So basically the sum of the parts.”

“Right, but a step further. Think about the wheel. If one of the spokes were to break, the wheel could break under the weight, right?”

“Yeah. So you’re making sure all the spokes are fit fer use, right?”

He pointed to the sigils he was carving. “Each one of those should make sure that magic wagon will keep going.”

“Well, I still don’t like it. I don’t mind Discord and all, but I still have a ways to go to trust him.”

“Trust me when I say that I understand. He didn’t trust any of you until the whole Tirek incident.”

“What’re you talking about?”

“When we were he explained it: He was never a chance. He was just having his fun and someone told him to stop. He didn’t like that, and then he gets turned into stone. He breaks free, and someone else turns him to stone. Then he’s released and they attempt to ‘reform’ him. He really did appreciate Fluttershy giving him the first chance he had. It was the only one he had. But nobody else would give him one. So he would play nice. A truce.

“Tirek came along with what sounded like a better deal. None of you really seemed like a friend to him, save Fluttershy. So why should he care about anything other than himself? As soon as he saw Fluttershy, for the first time in his life, he felt guilt. Genuine guilt. He didn’t like it. Then Tirek betrayed him. Used him as a bargaining chip. When Twilight demanded her friends be returned and counted Discord among them, he realized what the chance was that he was actually given. It was the first time he was truly repentant.”

Applejack just shook her head. “I never knew he felt like that. Maybe I’ve been a might harsh on him, but he does have a way to go to earn that trust.”

Cantrip grabbed his fourth fritter and gulped it down. “Well, I better get back to work. Thank you for lunch, Applejack.”

“Shucks, not a big deal. Just make sure you’re not out here too late or Ink Nose will tar and feather me.”

He nodded and got back to chiseling. DINK! DINK! DINK!

---

“CAN I CAN I CAN I CAN I CAN I CAN I CAN I CAN I CAN I CAN I CAN I CAN I CAN I CAN I CAN I CAN I… Wait, what did I want to do?” Pinkie had forgot what she was asking.

Sledge just facehooved. “‘Glad-You’re-Better’ party for Cantrip?”

“What? He isn’t back to full health yet! How can you ask me to throw him a party if he isn’t all better? He wouldn’t be able to enjoy it to the maximum! Shame on you, Sledge!”

“No, you asked if you could throw one for him.” Why they insisted on sending Sledge to deliver the apples to Sugarcube Corner, he didn’t not know.

“Oh, right. Sorry. So how is he? Is he better yet? Can I throw a ‘Glad-You’re-Better’ party for him yet? CAN I?” Sledge threw a hoof over her mouth.

“No. He’s still healing. It’ll take some time before he’s one hundred percent.”

“How do you know? Maybe he’s at one hundred and ten percent!”

Sledge turned his side towards her and pointed to his scar. “That’s how I know.” Pinkie’s hair flattened a little. “Bad injuries take time to heal. Sometimes they don’t heal right and you’re never at a hundred percent again. Give him time, Pinkie.”

“Okay. I’m sorry. It’s just that things have been a little dour lately. And I like dour things as much as I like sour things. Not very much at all.”

Sledge smiled. “Just give it time, Pinkie Pie.”

---

“No time no time I’m late I’m late I’m late!” Lookout was never late for work! All this time she had been fine with Rainbow Dash keeping her on schedule. Today, she didn’t wake her up. But Dash wasn’t anywhere! Did she not wake up? In her panic, she flew as fast as she could.

“Alright, let’s get a thick bank over there. We’re gonna have a nice storm in a couple days, so don’t let them get too high. And where’s Thunderlane? I told him to take those clouds over to Sweet Apple Acres! He should be back by now!” At this point, Lookout came up to her and just narrowly avoided crashing in to her. “Hey Lookout! What’s up?”

“What’s up? WHAT’S UP? I didn’t wake up this morning! Here it is just before noon! I didn’t mean to sleep in so late…”

“Uh, Lookout?”

“…I mean I have a clock but I never set the alarm because you always wake me up…”

“Lookout!”

“…but I thought maybe you couldn’t get me up and I was being too…”

“LOOKOUT!”

Lookout shrunk back. “I’m sorry. I know you’re mad.”

“I’m not mad. You had today off.”

“What? But… you’re here and… what?”

“I told you, each week check the schedule. I decided it was time to start putting you on your own schedule. You had today off.”

Lookout was completely lost. “My own schedule?” She looked at her wing. It wasn’t twitching. “You mean… my own…?”

Rainbow Dash just facehooved. “Look, Twilight said I should start shaking things up with you. You need to start planning things out yourself. I mean everything you do, I tell you to do. It’s about time you start being a little more independent. We’re gonna start with your work schedule. We’ll have different days off, start you slow. Soon, I’m not going to wake you up anymore. You’re gonna be responsible. Eventually, you’ll be ready to move out of my house.”

Lookout suddenly didn’t know what to do. “But… but…”

“No buts, kid. You need to be your own pony.”

First the first time since she got out of the hospital, she started to shake. Her wings started to falter and she started dropping.

“What the? Cloudchaser! You’re in charge!” Rainbow Dash dove down to catch her. Lookout’s wings looked like they were trying to work, but they couldn’t get a proper beat. Dash caught her and lowered her down to the ground safely. “Kid, you okay? Lookout? Aw man, where’s your medicine? I’ll go get it!”

Lookout just grabbed her. “Please. Please don’t leave.”

Rainbow Dash didn’t do the mushy stuff and she could tell that’s exactly what was going on here. “Uh… okay?”

After a few minutes, Lookout stopped shaking. “I’m… I’m sorry. I don’t know what came over me. You just mentioned me leaving and everything went… wrong.”

“Wow, you are needy.”

Lookout let go and blushed. “I’m sorry, I just… You know what my family was like. I might as well have never had one. You’re the closest thing to a family I ever had.” Lookout hung her head. “I guess I just didn’t want to think about letting go.”

“It’s cool. I get that. But family isn’t just ‘oh I’ll take care of you’, it’s pushing people in the direction they need to go. You need to be on your own eventually. But it’s gonna take time. Twilight asked me to take you in for a month as a favor. Everything after that, I did because I wanted to help you become awesome.” Lookout looked up at her. “Well, not as awesome as me. Nopony could be as awesome as me. But you’re pretty good.”

Comments

[Sunlight Blaze]

(To open this one up, Discord would SO agree with that chapter name.)

So we skip ahead with...another time lapse, showing that Cantrip has been released from the hospital TWO WEEKS BEFORE THIS SCENE TAKES PLACE!?!? Okay, these time lapses are getting annoying! And something else I should point out: I think we've steered away form the main plotline for long enough! What happened to finding the location of that scroll? What happened to stopping the evil who was trying to frame Discord? Why are we going about mundane plotpoints that have nothing whatsoever to do with the main story!?!? (Story: -2)

So, Cantrip is chiseling sigils into this stone slab, when Applejack comes up with some apple fritters for lunch. (speaking of which, I need to get some lunch myself...*ten minutes later* Okay, back to the story.)

So, what exactly is he doing? Are these sigils going to help them find the scroll by focusing some kind of magic?

“It’s a complicated spell assembly.”
“In other words, way over my head.”
“Not at all. Think of it like a wagon. You have the bed, an axle, and wheels, right?”
“So basically the sum of the parts.”
“Right, but a step further. Think about the wheel. If one of the spokes were to break, the wheel could break under the weight, right?”
“Yeah. So you’re making sure all the spokes are fit fer use, right?”
He pointed to the sigils he was carving. “Each one of those should make sure that magic wagon will keep going.”

......Okay, thanks for explaining how this spell assembly works to us simpletons, but what exactly is this supposed to be? What's it for?

“Well, I still don’t like it. I don’t mind Discord and all, but I still have a ways to go to trust him.”
“Trust me when I say that I understand. He didn’t trust any of you until the whole Tirek incident.”
“What’re you talking about?”
“When we were he explained it: He was never a chance. He was just having his fun and someone told him to stop. He didn’t like that, and then he gets turned into stone. He breaks free, and someone else turns him to stone. Then he’s released and they attempt to ‘reform’ him. He really did appreciate Fluttershy giving him the first chance he had. It was the only one he had. But nobody else would give him one. So he would play nice. A truce.
“Tirek came along with what sounded like a better deal. None of you really seemed like a friend to him, save Fluttershy. So why should he care about anything other than himself? As soon as he saw Fluttershy, for the first time in his life, he felt guilt. Genuine guilt. He didn’t like it. Then Tirek betrayed him. Used him as a bargaining chip. When Twilight demanded her friends be returned and counted Discord among them, he realized what the chance was that he was actually given. It was the first time he was truly repentant.”
Applejack just shook her head. “I never knew he felt like that. Maybe I've been a might harsh on him, but he does have a way to go to earn that trust.”

Huh......never though of it that way before... This is the first time I've seen a writer look sympathetically at Discord's point of view of how it all happened. Not even the writers in the actual show thought to explain this! (Writing: +1)
...........That first line, though...I'm not sure if this is Applejack being flat out honest that she doesn't yet fully trust magic, that she admits to not trusting Cantrip completely yet, or if this is just a random change of subject that requires some editing.
However, you completely avoided my question: What is that Spell Assembly for?.......So, you're NOT going to answer? You're NOT going to explain this?.................(Writing: -1)

So Cantrip gets back to work and AJ leaves.

Then we flash to....

“CAN I CAN I CAN I CAN I CAN I CAN I CAN I CAN I CAN I CAN I CAN I CAN I CAN I CAN I CAN I CAN I… Wait, what did I want to do?” Pinkie had forgot what she was asking.
Sledge just facehooved. “‘Glad-You’re-Better’ party for Cantrip?”

I'm not questioning it; why should you? (Very good portrayal of Pinkie's hyperactive-ness. [Writing: +1])

So Pinkie Pie wants to throw a "Glad-You're-Better" party for Cantrip, but Sledge says that Cantrip isn't completely better, using his own scar to make a point that sometimes you never fully recover.

But Pinkie isn't asking to throw a "Glad you're one-hundred percent" party, though..."Better" is a term used for comparison; since Cantrip is conscious and on his hooves again, that's "better" than being out cold with a few broken ribs from being slammed into the wall. (We still have no idea what caused that! That's kind of an important detail!)

Then we flash to Lookout feeling better, and she's late for work; apparently Rainbow Dash didn't wake her up.
And we see in a few moments that R.D. did this on purpose; she's trying to teach Lookout to be her own independent pony.
And Lookout takes this the wrong way, and shows that she actually likes living with Rainbow Dash as a family. Rainbow understands and gives her a better idea of what families are supposed to do.

“It’s cool. I get that. But family isn’t just ‘oh I’ll take care of you’, it’s pushing people in the direction they need to go. You need to be on your own eventually. But it’s gonna take time."

Now that's a meaningful message right there, particularly for young adults who are coming out of high school or college and have yet to figure themselves out. You can't just live forever with your family; eventually you'll have to move out and be on your own.

....So why is this chapter called "Sanity is Overrated"? So far, most of the chapters just seem named randomly...