A Second Chance

by Shadowstep

Chapter 7: Quest Added

The Ranger smiled at me as she let go of my hand, her scars twisting along her smile and making her look rather.. unpleasant. I returned her smile, best I could, and picked up my badge. The three golden lines with the white star engraved on a small metal emblem, I fastened it to my shirt, right above the heart. She then handed me the patch, the yellow arm patch with the black bear standing in it’s hind legs above a red star. The white text spelling out ‘Ranger’ below the bear. This I would put on the left shoulder pad of my Patrol armor, but for now I stuck it in a pocket.

I turned to Jesse, giving him a small smile. “I’ll wait for you outside.” he nodded and stepped up to the Ranger’s desk, smiling casually at her as I passed him on my way to the door. Pushing it open and stepping out into the small waiting room, it looked trashed, it always did. No matter where you went no one could ever keep it clean, empty bottles and coffee cups spread out all over the place. There was even a turned over coffee pot on the table, I sighed. Walking over to the table and turning it upright again, a muffled sloshing coming from it. I blinked, opening the lid and leaning in, taking a sniff. Recoiling in disgust as the horrid smell hit my nostrils, this.. ‘coffee’ must be months old. I shuddered and put the pot back down, someone else could deal with that.

Just as I was about to turn for the bench I felt someone grab my shoulder, acting on drilled in reflexes I snapped my hand around the hand of whoever it was and pulled it forwards, putting my other hand under the shoulder and bringing the.. lavender creature around through the air, slamming it down onto the table, putting my lower arm over it’s throat and raising my fist for a blow, I froze, staring down into the large purple eyes of... “Twilight?”

oooOOOooo

“Twilight?” I blinked, looking around. Twilight was laying on the table in the center of the library, dazed. The chair I was sitting in had been flipped over, rocking slowly back and forth on the floor. The pony let out a choked whimper, making me pull away the hoof I had over her throat and took a few steps back, watching her sit up and cough violently as she rubbed her sore neck.

~PTSD, nothing to worry about. Until you snap and kill someone.~

“Twilight, I-I’m sorry.” I offered weakly, walking over to her and putting my hoof around the shaking mare, rubbing her back. These ponies were definitely not used to violence. But they seemed to be used to compassion as she relaxed slightly at my touch. At least she stopped shaking. That’s when I heard another whimper, turning my head and spotting a butter yellow pegasus. Her long pink mane seemed to go on forever, curling up slightly right above her hooves. She was rigid, unmoving. She seemed to believe that if she didn’t move, at all, I wouldn’t see her.

“Uhm, hi?” I gave her a disarming smile, I hope. Unfortunately it seemed to have been a demon’s grin since she yelped, collapsing into a ball on the floor, hiding behind her hooves, and hair, and wings. Shaking violently. I sighed, Twilight pushed my hoof away as she slipped off the table, rushing over to the pegasus and stroking her mane. Whispering into her ear, she seemed to know what to say, since the mare calmed down.

~Is it just me, or is she almost too adorable? And together? That’s almost weaponized cute right there.~

“Shut up.” I muttered.

Twilight looked up at me, her eyes locking with mine. I could see that she was shaken, shocked even, and a resolve. I'd probably get hit by some sort of spell if I showed any further sign of hostility, so I adopted a calm look. “I’m sorry.” I said again, it seemed to make her relax a bit more, so I gave her an apologetic smile. “In between dreams and consciousness I have a hard time controlling myself, and I’ve been having rather vivid nightmares lately.” That seemed to peak her interest; I could see it in her face. She had questions, and lots of them. Then something caught my eye, someone else’s. The mare on the floor was peeking up at me through her hooves, but as soon as she noticed I had noticed her she let out a ‘meep’ and hid back under her hooves.

I bent over, picking up the chair and putting it back next to the table. I got a little worried as I saw a long crack in the wood where I had slammed Twilight into it. I glanced over at her; she didn’t show any signs of pain.

~She might still be going on adrenaline, what will happen when it settles?~

Did I just put another pony in the clinic? Redheart was going to kill me, well, not kill me. But scold me, which is even worse. I went around the table to pick up the books I had knocked off of it. Putting them back on the cracked wood. I was going to have to replace her table, somehow. There was a loud ping, I blinked and looked around. Neither Twilight or the yellow mare seemed to have heard it.

Then I glanced down at the flashing Pip-Boy, I had a new… quest? Luckily the Pip-Boy only has three large buttons and a few wheels, so I could operate it with hooves. I clicked down to the journal page, noticing the new ‘quest’. It read, “Repairing Burned Bridges.” Then a little box under it, it was checked. “Apologize, a lot.” Then it read, “Replace broken table.” That one was unchecked. But, then something at the top caught my eye. I noticed another quest. Which was marked as the main one. “Visitor From Another World.” With a checked box as well, “Find out where the hell you are.” And an unchecked one. “Optional: Find a way back home.” And, a finished quest.

I cocked my head as I read it, “Cutie Mark Crusader Pony Saviors, yay!” With the three marks filled, “Find the missing fillies.” “Optional: Defeat the Lupus Major.” “Get the fillies to safety.” As well as the reward, “Ponyville Fame Gained.” And a new.. perk, “Cyclops: Lost your eye, your depth perception is down the drain. Permanent – 2 to your Perception. Although you got bragging rights for a wicked scar, + 10 to Speech and Unique Dialogue options to certain ponies.” I scratched my head, this thing was confusing.

~Well, it is connected to our brain… I mean ‘me’. So it could be stealing your thoughts.~

“True, I suppose.” I mumbled, stacking the books on the table. Then I felt eyes on me, I turned my head and found both ponies watching me. The Cute one looked confused, not scared. I felt relieved about that, Twilight though, Twilight looked intrigued. She had more questions. Wonderful. I suspected telling her I hear voices wouldn’t shorten the list.

~Voice.~

“Huh?”

~Voice, singular. I’m the only one in here.~

I stood there, silent, for a moment. Glancing between Twilight and the crack in the table. The silence quickly becoming uncomfortable. That’s when the door to the library flew open once again, the room instantly becoming freezing. In through the now open door stepped the classy white unicorn.. lady? Yeah, lady. A white and pink scarf wrapped around her neck. She spotted me and lit up.

“There you are!” she chirped and trotted over to me at a brisk pace, wrapping her hooves around me and giving me a bone crunching hug, which I had not expected he to be able to deliver. “I wanted to thank you for saving my sister, but I didn’t know how to, so. I did what I do best, ta da! I know it’s a little late for a Heart's Warming Eve gift, but I wanted to give you something.” she pulled out a large present from nowhere, dark red paper and a green bow adorning the top. I blinked, taking it out of her hooves slowly.

“Thanks?” I offered as I took the bow off, pulling off the sticky tape and very gently tearing off the wrapping paper.

~Yay! We got a cardboard box!~

I stifled a snort, didn’t know how she would take it. Then I opened the box, my eye widening and my jaw dropping. I grabbed onto it and the box fell to the floor, my old duster unfolding to it’s full length. It looked, new. It was repaired. But, there was no sign of repair, no new threads or ugly miscoloring. It also seemed smaller, and shaped differently. I slipped my hooves into the sleeves, cracking a smile as I noticed it had been resewn to fit my equine body. Draping it over my shoulders and back felt wonderful, like something about me was right again. The leather was darker, smoother.

“I had to get a special permit to work with it.” the mare said, “Leather is not exactly.. common.” I turned to her, giving her an earnest smile as I put my hooves around her. Giving her a rather tight hug, but I must’ve failed to keep my strength in check as I heard her croak. “You like it then?”

I parted the hug, giving her an apologetic smile. “I love it, thank you.”

She smiled warmly at me, and I blinked. She.. was, adorable. I looked around the room, my eyes getting caught on Twilight and the pegasus. Everyone was adorable!

“My name is Rarity.” she cooed, causing me to look back at her.

“Reaper.” I said simply.

She blinked, her smile getting a little weak. “Lovely name.” Then her warm one returned, “My sister wants to see you, she’s back at the boutique. I can show you the way if you want.”

I nodded, “Alright, lead the way.” with that she turned around and waved at the girls,

“Bye girls, don’t forget our spa appointment, Fluttershy.”

“Oh, I won’t Rarity.” the yellow mare, ‘Fluttershy’ piped up. Her voice hit me like a brick wall, a very.. small, quiet and soft brick wall but a brick wall nonetheless. If my heart wasn’t frozen solid in a block of ice it would’ve molten instantly. Rarity then grabbed my hoof and led me out of the library into the biting wind again, luckily my trusty duster kept the wind at bay. Letting me bask in warmth.

As we got outside she let go of my hoof, not wanting to risk slipping on any stray patch of ice, and trotted along the shovelled path through town. Walking through the town at this hour was very different, those snow forts were now occupied, with several strike teams attempting to break through their walls. Colts and fillies getting pummelled in snow as they got within range of the fort’s defenses. I chuckled quietly at the sight, reaching down and helping a small brown and white colt out of a snow pile. He mumbled his thanks and rushed back onto the front line. Quickly joining the casualties of the snow war.

Rarity giggled as the colt got taken out by a hail of snowballs. Some foals had even set up a frontline base camp behind a stall. They were actually sending out ponies to flank the fort while setting up a full frontal assault as a diversion. Soon the fighting had spread into the fort, there were snowballs everywhere and barely any missed their marks. I was actually impressed.

We stood and watched the battle from the sidelines, after about ten minutes the fort was in ruins and it’s protectors taken prisoner. They actually raised a flag on the snow pile that used to be the fort. A white sheet with a cupcake painted on it. It was.. refreshing, to see kids being able to play with each other.
Rarity and me left the battlefield when the prisoners started a riot, pouncing their guards and rubbing snow in their faces. I watched them with an amused smile as we wandered towards a rather spiffing looking building.

“Carousel Boutique.” she declared proudly, “Home to the finest dressmaker in all of Equestria, me.” she cooed, putting a hoof on her chest and closing her eyes. Like she was basking in praise.

I rolled my eyes.. eye, but then I looked down at my duster, it looked better than new. “I won’t argue against that.” I smiled at her. “You did an amazing job on my duster.” I was taken aback as she let out a squee.

She grabbed my hoof again and nearly dragged me to the Boutique, she pulled the door open with her ‘magic’ and showed me inside. At first glance you would brand it a clothes store, but on the second I noticed that all the clothes, dresses, suits. The latest fashion and the more posh styles of the higher classes. I could see why she had a bit of an ego. Thankfully it was warm in here, pleasant and homey. I took a deep breath, the shop smelled of warm milk chocolate. Making me feel all warm and fuzzy inside, or in other words. It made me feel weird. It didn’t take long until she put a cup of it in my hoof, it was steaming, even had a marshmallow floating in the middle.

“Thank you.” I said, sipping at the hot liquid. Soon the cold from the wind washed away, making me feel warmer and fuzzier.

“Sweetie Belle~” she called out in a sing song voice, “He’s here.” I could’ve sworn I heard something shatter on the second floor, the noise made Rarity twitch and sigh. “If you’ll excuse me, I spent much time on your gift. I need to get back on schedule.”

“Of course.” I nodded, “I would pay you, had I the funds.”

She looked like I had suggested burning all her clothes, “No, no! It’s a gift, gifts are free.” she said before trotting into another room and closing the door behind her. I turned my head as I heard the soft clopping of hooves on wood. Spotting the white little filly standing at the bottom of the stairs. She smiled a little nervously at me.

After a few seconds of silence she trotted over to me and reached up, putting her hooves around my chest best she could. “Thank you.” she said in an incredibly soft voice. I put a hoof around her, it covered most of her back, and held her close. Smiling down at the filly burying her face in my chest I could swear I felt something break inside of me. I stroked her mane, parting the hug. Her smile had no nervosity left as she looked up at me like I was a hero.

“Want to see my room?” she asked, looking at me expectantly.

“Yeah, sure.” I nodded, and she lit up like fireworks. Wrapping her hooves around mine and dragged me to the stairs. I chuckled, letting her lead me up the stairs. She was innocent, truly innocent.

~In a way, this place is amazing.~

“I have to agree.” I mumbled, thankfully Sweetie Belle didn’t hear me. She was busy dragging me into her room, and after a quick look around the room I came to the conclusion I would probably be playing with dolls shortly...

Comments

[Medium-Chan]

This shits so cash bro. Keep it up

[jmlop0]

A update?Thank you wonderful lord for gracing the author and his stories presectent readers of this story.Now,to refresh myself with what happened last chapter.Also good chapter mate!

[Boolyboo]

YEAH!! FINALY!! AN UPDATE!!

You sir are a boss

[the_sane_maniac]

horny sheet AN UPDATE!?!

MY PRAYERS TO THE DARK GODS HAVE BEEN ANSWERED!!!

[Shadowstep]

1269380>>1269406>>1269437>>1269450
Wow, people still remain faithful. I should start a cult or something.

Oh, and Omega? Your comment cracked me up, big time.

[the_sane_maniac]

Good to know that I still have the gift

Also nurgle, khorne, tzeentch and slaanesh wants you to write more on this awesome fic

[BoogaBingBangBow]

Holy shit an update. Awesome

[Drawdex]

It updated....

YYYYEEEEEEEAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Shadowstep]

1269490
Well, I can't argue against the will of Khorne.

[Shadowstep]

1269559
That's very kind of you, I shall rewrite the whole thing to suit your taste for humans!

[Kurohitsugi]

I'm glad this is back.

[the_sane_maniac]

1269656 good decision
25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m65hrlyZ471rte7amo1_500.jpg

[Sparklight]

Update?
dl.dropbox.com/u/31471793/FiMFiction/emoticons/misc_Pinkie_loool.png

I doubt I’d get hit by some sort of spell if I showed any sign of further hostility, so I adopted a calm look.

Are you sure that came out right? I think you might mean:
I'd probably get hit by some sort of defensive spell if I showed any further sign of hostility, so I adopted a calm look.

[Shadowstep]

1270558
Good catch, thank you

[suggested123]

Moar

[Rawnblade22]

Is this story still being updated?

[Shadowstep]

1868685 Not.. really, sometimes it might happen that I slap out a new chapter. But I wouldn't hold my breath.

[M-Tails-P]

Dead.

[Dredgen]

1870840 Lies.

[Americanwastelander]

Great story.

[Outcasted]

OH MER. GOD!!
How much longer must I wait?!

[Base-Delta-Zero]

And then, story was ded. The end.

[AmlpfanREADER]

7771290
IMFAO