Chapter 19
Unlike the timberwolves Andrew had met previously, the ones before him now were perfectly content with keeping their distance from him. He counted six of them in total. However, that was assuming there weren't any in hiding waiting for a moment to strike, which if anything, he was expecting.
"Keep an eye out, last time we ran into these, they tried attacking from behind." Andrew stated.
"Last time? Us?" Dash said through gritted teeth, trying not to make too much noise. "What are you... Oh no way," she gasped in sudden realization. "Is that what was bothering Twilight during the party the other day? You guys ran into timberwolves!?"
"Yup," Andrew confirmed with a nod of his head, eyes still glued ahead. "I killed the one that tried to ambush us, and after they saw how easily I did that, they left us alone. After that was all done, Twilight threw a fit because I killed one of them."
"You killed a timberwolf!?" Rainbow said in a tone that resembled more shocked awe than horrified.
Much to Rainbow's surprise, the human began to walk towards the wolves even as they growled threateningly. Some of them tilted their heads, confused by the unfazed biped.
Unknown to both the pegasus and human, however, was the fact that the timberwolves could see the capability and willingness for violence in Andrew's eyes. The biped was small and lacked both claws and fangs. It had no right to be as threatening as it was. The pony stayed close to the biped as it came within a few yards of the pack.
If it was only the pony, they wouldn't hesitate at the chance to tear it to shreds. But this... thing... It was an unknown. It's eyes didn't lie, couldn't lie, there was danger there, and the alpha knew it, and so did her pack. But she couldn't show weakness in front of them, lest one of them see that as a sign that a change in leadership was due. She would stand her ground as necessary.
As they neared the pack, all but one wolf backed away and to the side.
Andrew silently stopped in front of the creature, just a few feet between them. With a faint, confident smile, he stared at those glowing yellow eyes just as he had done before with the other alpha. Just like last time, this alpha stared back.
Andrew felt a tinge of déjà vu at the situation, but was snapped from his contemplation when the wolf began growling.
As a precaution, he set up a barrier in front of himself, just in case the she-wolf decided to be less than compliant. The animal sniffed the air cautiously, examining scent of the alien creature she had never seen before.
Not having the keen senses of most animals, Andrew made due with simply continuing to stare at the timberwolf. He tried his best to exude as much confidence and possible, as—though he wasn't sure about the validity of the saying—he had read that predators could sense your confidence just as much as your fear. Though, as far as he was concerned, he would have to make an effort to appear less confident, as he knew damn well what he was capable of.
It seemed the wolf could tell as well, as—almost imperceptibly—it pulled its head back.
The timberwolf snorted and turned her head down and to the side, surprising both human and pegasus alike. This settled it for Andrew, something like this definitely wouldn't happen on Earth. There was something going on with the animals in Equestria, and he needed to find out what. The animals in the cottage running away from him was strange, but he could chalk that up to him being something that they've never seen before, regardless of their slightly higher intelligence. Then there was both of these timberwolf alphas. The way that they looked at him was too... observing, more so than simply assessing a threat.
Even Keth, as well as the griffon chef from his first day here had given him similar looks. It was like they were looking at him, but seeing something more.
His train of thought was derailed when the crunching of leaves made him aware of the timberwolf as it turned its back to him and walked away. The other wolves silently followed suit, giving the human a wide berth as they joined their leader.
"Woah," Rainbow said from the sidelines as the timberwolves disappeared past the thick treeline. "That. Was. Awesome!" She exclaimed gleefully as she flew around Andrew once and hovered in place.
Before the human could reply, Dash continued with, "That may not have been as cool as what happened on mount Dragonshy, but that was more suspenseful than the latest Daring Do book!"
"Daring Do?" Andrew asked.
"Yeah, It's about a mare that travels Equestria in search of lost temples and ancient artifacts."
"So basically the equestrian version of our Indiana Jones?"
"Inda-what?"
"Pretty much Daring Do, but a man instead of a mare."
The pegasus brought a hoof to her chin in thought. "Huh, I wonder what other stories we have in common."
"Probably more than anyone but Twilight cares to count."
Dash laughed at that. "I bet! So, care to tell me what you just did? She just—"
"She?" Andrew asked. "I kinda assumed it was female, but how can you tell for sure? Is it the eyelashes?"
"What? No, you can tell because of..." She twirled a hood in the air. "Ya know, the way they are?"
Andrew stared blankly at the informative reply. "The way they are?"
She waved the topic away. "Never mind that, how did you get her to abandon her own territory?"
Andrew gave her a quizzical look.
"You really don't smell that?" Dash asked the human.
Andrew sniffed the air experimentally, but didn't sense anything out of the ordinary, the air seemed pretty normal, fresh even, seeing as he was in the middle of a forest. "No," he replied, "I'm guessing you're talking about..."
"Yyeeaah," She replied. "Sooo, does that mean you're not gonna... ya know, mark over their territory now, are ya?"
Andrew raised a brow at that. "What? No! Humans don’t.” He rolled his eyes. “Anyways, I really don't know what's up with the animals here, they seem to act weird around me, different from animals on earth. I need to talk to Twilight later to see if she knows why. I can't tell if it's just because they might be smarter than animals on my world, or if it's something else."
"Then you wanna head back now?" Dash suggested as she looked to the sky. She looked back down at him with a glint in her eye. "In fact, we're pretty far out.” Her wings twitched, flaring out slightly, “we can race back to the library if you're up for it. I've been wondering how fast somepony without wings could be." She made a few loops around the human as she waited for a response.
Andrew grinned as he slowly rose into the air. Whereas back on Earth he would normally sway to and fro from the almost zero-gravity form of levitation, he had learned to stay afloat without looking like some sort of drunk superman.
"That's more like it!" Rainbow beamed as they rose above the treeline. They both turned to face the way they came. They had walked for quite a while, and Ponyville quite a distance away, only the rough layout of the town visible to Andrew. He wondered how much clearer it looked in Rainbow's pegasus eyes.
"Alright," Rainbow started as she began flying back turned and flew in the direction opposite the town, Andrew following behind, "overshooting and winning is better than slowing down and losing, so let's stay a decent height above the town and just make a U-turn if we have to."
"Ok." Andrew replied.
"And no using your powers on me!" Rainbow exclaimed. "That would just be cheating!"
"Of course." Andrew agreed.
"Then get ready." Dash warned as she turned again and tucked in her fore legs and narrowed her eyes. "Normally, we would take off from the ground, but we'll have to make due with a mid-air start."
"Fine by me." The human replied, taking his place several paces to her left. "Ready when you are."
"On the count of three then." Dash stated as she began counting down, adding a dramatic pause before finally shouting, "THREE!"
"And you didn't think to so much as ask him where he was going?!" Twilight scolded Spike, Celestia at her side.
"The guards said he was heading towards the Everfree!" Spike said defensively. "And what was I supposed to do? I didn't think it would be that big of a deal. I figured you guys must have been talking about something really important if you had to set up a silencing spell, so I didn't think you wanted any interruptions. Besides, what was I supposed to do? Knock?" Spike crossed his arms.
"It's alright Twilight," Celestia said with a sigh. "We can wait until he comes back."
"Then it looks like you won't have to wait very long," Spike commented, looking behind the mares in front of him and towards one of the windows.
"It's not my fault you have to go through the trouble of flapping your wings to fly."
"But that isn't fair!" Rainbow protested. "I have to actually put effort into going as fast as I do! I have to work my flank off for this! You don't even need to learn a spell, you just lean forward and 'boom', you accelerate so fast that by the time I manage to match and pass your speed, you're already so far ahead there isn't anything I can do!”
"But you had that rainbow explosion thing." Andrew shot back, "that seemed like it made you just as fast as me, faster even, since you would have probably overshot me after a few seconds."
"Yeah, a few seconds I clearly didn't have!"
"Then maybe next time we should go for a farther finish line, that should give you enough time to reach your top speed and give you enough time to catch up to and overtake me."
"You better believe there'll be a next time."
The door opened, and the human and pegasus entered only to pause at the sight of the solar alicorn.
Dash was quick to greet her ruler and give a quick bow, while Andrew greeted Spike.
"Andrew," Celestia started, "we were just looking for you. I trust that the Everfree posed no trouble during your outing?"
"More like the other way around, princess." Dash commented, drawing attention to herself. "We ran into a pack of timberwolves, apparently for the second time in Andrew's case, and instead of flying around them he just walked right up to their alpha and stared her out of her own territory!"
Celestia raised a brow at the information. and shared a quick look with Twilight.
"Is... is that all that happened?" Twilight asked, sounding worried.
"Pretty much," Dash confirmed, "he said that killing a timberwolf is what made you so bummed out the other day, and he thought it would do the same with me."
"It wouldn't?"
"Childhood friends with a griffon, remember?" Dash replied, as if stating the obvious. "I would go out with her when she went hunting for a bite to eat, it stopped bothering me after a while."
"Oh..." Twilight replied simply.
"Any news on Chrysalis?" Andrew asked the alicorn, changing the subject.
"Yes, actually." Celestia replied. "One of my guards informed me that Chrysalis recently left surgery in stable condition. She has been placed in a mild magically induced coma for the time being. She only went through the most important operations first, and there are still several more that she needs, but her body is under enough stress as it is. She is in postoperative care and being closely monitored for any post-surgery complications"
Andrew tsked and muttered a curse unknown to the equines, though its meaning was not hard to guess.
Celestia added, "If anything changes, for better or worse, you and Twilight will be the first to know."
Andrew nodded, "What about the summit?" He asked. "Keth wasn't at the mountain when we left the hospital."
"It ended shortly after you left," Celestia clarified. "Most of what was discussed would be of no interest to you, but I can still give you a summary if you wish."
"No, that's fine." Andrew replied. After a sigh he asked, "So what now?"
"Now, I need to head back to Canterlot. There is a lot of paperwork that needs to be taken care of relating to you and Chrysalis. As for your stay in Ponyville, after much discussion with Twilight, we have decided to cease further study into your powers."
"What?" Andrew and Spike said simultaneously, then shared a look.
"Why?" Andrew asked. "What if the secret to why I'm here has something to do with them?"
"I'm gonna have to agree with Andrew on this one, princess." Spike concurred. "His powers are the only thing that we have to go on, wouldn't it help everypony involved if we can at least find out how it works?"
"Your reasoning is sound, Spike." Celestia said with a nod. "But therein lies the problem. Twilight told me of your experiment last night, and how you discovered that his powers don’t appear to leave any trace after being used. That is only one of the difficulties of studying his abilities. Equestria has never seen such a magically resistant creature before, and the dozens of analyzing spells I can think of off the top of my head can do nothing when their target is all but invisible to them.”
"Maybe on his world, things might be different,” Twilight began. “Their entire society is built around technology and science devoid of any magic whatsoever. No doubt they would have a far easier time with this than us.”
“So, that’s it?” Spike asked incredulously, “You’re not even going to try and find a way through this?”
Twilight flinched at the comment, and Celestia replied with, “This is the decision we have come to after a very lengthy discussion. At the moment, at least, we simply are not equipped to study Andrew’s abilities beyond that which we can see.” She sighed, and continued with, “And from what we can see,” she looked to Andrew, “it seems to just be normal telekinesis, albeit with a wider variety of uses in the hands of a skilled user.”
“But-” Spike started, but was interrupted by Andrew.
“It’s fine Spike, thanks” the human said, appreciating the dragon coming to his defense. “If there’s not much they can do then what am I supposed to do about it?” He shrugged and said, “I’m just happy to be alive.”
"Huh? Whaddya mean by that?" Dash asked, having been relatively quiet up until then.
Andrew held a hand up and shook his head, "I'll explain later."
The pegasus frowned at the response, but otherwise went silent again.
Spike looked at the human with a frown on his face. “Are you really ok with this? This could mean you might never find out where your powers came from.”
“No,” Andrew replied, “I’m not ok with it, but it’s just like they said, magic and me just don’t mix, and if magic is the only thing that can help... I guess I’ll just have to move on.”
“Then… what happens now?” The drake asked.
“Now,” Celestia started, “I must take my leave.” She looked towards Andrew, "You are more than welcome to stay in Ponyville for as long as you wish. I will send a letter at a later date summoning you to Canterlot to sign various legal documents before they are notarized, and your legal status will be made public knowledge throughout Equestria by the end of next week. While Chrysalis recovers, and in the absence of any experimenting, I implore you to continue acclimating yourself to Equestria."
After exchanging farewells, the alicorn trotted over to the door. Before opening it she spoke without turning around, "Andrew."
"Yeah?" He replied.
"I know it might be difficult," she started, "but take walks through Ponyville, eat out, make friends. While you are more than confident when it comes to your powers, your social skills leave much to be desired. You are no Fluttershy, but you can't expect to interact with the myriad of species you are no doubt going to encounter on your journeys if you don't leave your comfort zone every now and then."
Before the human could reply, Celestia's horn glowed yellow, and with a flash and a pop, a bulging, clinking brown pouch appeared in the air off to the side. The pouch was gently set down next to the windowsill. "Please enjoy yourself Andrew, and don't do so alone." She made to finally leave, but paused, then actually turned her head to look at the human with a frown. "And... perhaps keep your walks through the woods less... enthusiastic?
With that, the alicorn turned back around and opened the door with her magic and finally exited, closing it behind herself.
There was a long moment of silence before Rainbow broke it with a laugh.
"Ha! The princess just called you shy!" She exclaimed between chuckles. "And now that I think about it, she's totally right."
Twilight said, "Now that you mention it, he hasn't actually left the library except when he's had to. Not until today, anyways."
Andrew stayed quiet, he couldn't exactly deny what Celestia said. Hoping to instead change the topic, he levitated the coin purse across the room and into his hand, the weight of the pouch much heavier than he anticipated when he released his telekinetic hold.
"Wow..." Spike uttered as Andrew pulled out a single gold 'bit'.
Andrew turned it over in his palm, examining the coin. "Umm, I have no idea how much these are worth," he said.
Twilight trotted towards him and he lowered the pouch so the unicorn could look into it, Rainbow doing the same.
He saw the pegasus's eyes go wide and she gulped. "What?" He asked. "How much is it?"
"Enough for a week of nonstop partying is how much it is." Dash exclaimed.
He looked to Twilight.
"Um, yeah, I suppose Rainbow is right." The purple unicorn's horn glowed and the pouch closed itself. "If you want to go out today, though, I'd like to take some time to teach you how to count our currency."
Andrew nodded. "I was thinking of maybe eating out, is there a restaurant around here that serves meat?"
"There is." Twilight replied happily.
"Awesome!" Rainbow exclaimed. "Where are we eating?"
Twilight replied with, "Actually, I was thinking it might be better for Andrew to go out alone for a change." Twilight either ignored or didn't notice the pegasus's dumbfounded expression as she looked back to Andrew and said, "Here, let me show you how to count bits, then I can give you directions to the restaurant."
Rainbow looked pleadingly to spike, who only shrugged and gave the mare a sheepish smile.
"Alright, guess I'm heading to Fluttershy's then," Rainbow said, exchanging quick goodbyes before heading out the front door.
"Alright," Twilight began, Andrew paying close attention as the mare pulled out several bits from both his coin pouch, and her saddlebag slung across the couch, "bits come in six denominations—"
It was just beginning to grow dark now as Andrew seated himself by the window in The Hay Burger. Quite a few ponies had turned their heads at his entering the building, and he couldn't help but think that was what Twilight had meant when she told him to not worry about going alone.
The pony at the entrance simply told him to take a seat where he pleased, and he would be waited shortly. It proved true, as not a minute passed before a waiter approached his table by the window.
"Good evening sir." The crème colored, blue maned stallion greeted the human in a dignified tone. "My name is Savoir Fare," the stallion lowered his head in a slight bow, "I will be your waiter this evening."
Andrew glanced around, he was definitely in a regular diner, but this waiter acted like he was in a five star restaurant. He greeted the waiter back, trying his best to not sound awkward.
The waiter looked around, as if looking for something. "Will it just be you sir?" He asked curiously.
"Yeah, just me." He replied over the door chime that went off as a group of ponies entered the diner, some of which he recognized from the party the other day, the rest he was unfamiliar with. Just as they looked his way, the waiter caught his attention as he spoke.
"Excuse me sir, but rumor has it that you are an omnivore, is that correct?"
"It is."
"I see." Savoir took out two menu's, one purple and the other red, "Would the gentlecolt prefer the normal menu or—"
"Both menus are fine." Andrew said before the waiter could finish. "And some water please."
"Right away sir." The waiter said with a bow as he left both menus on the table and walked off.
Pretending to not notice the group of mares that were trotting in his direction, he opened the red menu and perused its selection of meals. At the top of the first page was a deeply emboldened disclaimer stating that all served meat came from 'donors'. How one could 'donate' meat, he wasn't sure.
"Um, excuse me."
He looked up from menu to meet the gaze of the mare that lead the group of four. She was one of the few ponies whose name he had actually remembered from the party. She was the sole teacher of Ponyville if he recalled correctly, a bright, deep red coated mare named Cheerilee. To her left was a mare he didn't recognize with a pale yellow coat and two toned red mane. On her right were two mares, one had a light raspberry coat with a blond mane, and the other was pale magenta with a green mane. He recognized neither.
"Hey," he said. "Cheerilee right?"
"Yes, I'm surprised you remember me with all the ponies you met the other day.” She gestured to her left with a hoof, "this here is Roseluck," she then pointed to the ponies on her right, "Lily, and Daisy." They each greeted him as their names were called. "Do you mind if we sit with you?"
Twilight was right, he didn't have to wait long at all before someone asked to sit with him. He wondered if it had something to do with how friendly ponies seemed to be in general.
"Uh, no, sure." He scooted himself to the window as Cheerilee sat next to him while the other three mares took the other side, seemingly not bothered by the cramped space.
"So," Cheerilee started, not wasting any time "What are you doing eating out all by yourself?"
Andrew shrugged and said, "It was recommended that I 'go out more', but not with Twilight or her friends. Something about getting me out of my comfort zone.”
At that moment, the waiter arrived well prepared, holding four extra menus and water, which he proceeded to pass out. Cheerilee was the only one who didn't reject hers however, as Lily, Daisy, and Roseluck immediately ordered a lily sandwich, daisy salad, and rose pie, respectively.
"I'll have the beef burger with a side of french fries," Andrew said, not bothering to adapt the local 'prench'.
"Excellent choices." The waiter commented as he finished scribbling on his notepad and left.
"See, I told you he was a meat eater, that's five bits!" Daisy unsuccessfully tried to whisper to Lily.
"Does that bother you?" Andrew asked.
"Not at all," Cheerilee answered, "Why, you'd be hard pressed to find a more open minded place in all of Equestria than Ponyville."
"You hear that Daisy?" Lily said, "Maybe try to not scream 'monster' at ponies when they pop out of hospital windows."
"Hey," Daisy started, "at least I wasn't the one who fainted the second I saw him for the first time."
"Oh yeah?" lily shot back, "I bet you fainted right after!"
"Who's to say? You? Doubt you saw much with your face in the mud."
"Actually," Rose said, "Daisy fell right on top of you after you fainted."
Both glared at Rose, and lily said, "You probably fainted too!"
Rose grinned smugly and shrugged, "Who's to say?"
After a moment, the three shared a laugh.
"Sorry about those three, they can be a bit much at times," Cheerilee said to the human as the other side of the table was engulfed in laughter.
"It's fine," Andrew replied with a smile. "They kind of remind me of me and my friends back when..." He trailed off.
"What?" Cheerilee asked.
"Nothing," Andrew said with a wave of his hand. "Forget it."
"Al-Alright the—" Cheerilee was interrupted by an Enthusiastic fall of a hoof on the table.
"SO!" Daisy exclaimed, drawing all eyes on her. She looked intently at the human, a smile adorning her face, and asked, "What have you been up to the past few days?"
Andrew couldn't help but chuckle. "Well," he began, "Not much, but the Everfree is an exciting place."
"I'm sure you can guess what happened after the ursa minor roared." Cheerilee stated sarcastically.
Andrew eyed the skittish mares across the table and rolled his eyes. "They fell to the ground like bowling pins, didn't they."
"And I had to drag them to safety." The teacher proclaimed.
They continued to share stories for a long while, well after they had received their meals. Andrew was caught off guard by a burst of steam when he grabbed his plate, emanating from the corner of the disk. The waiter went on to explain that the corners of the plate were enchanted to mask both the scent and sight of the plate's contents from all but him. It made sense at least, he was wondering how the mares would handle eating with him if all they would probably focus on is the dead animal he was consuming. Though it was a slight hassle having to avoid touching the edge of the plate, the occasional bout of sizzling smoke only proved to amuse the rest of the table..
"Timbawurf shimbawurf," Daisy said through a mouthful of... daisies. After a forceful bump from both sides, she swallowed her food and continued, "I'd like to see you try and stare down an Ursa Minor!" She took another bite from her salad.
"Says the mare that fainted from the sight of three fillies in a timberwolf costume last nightmare night." Rose quipped.
Daisy then proceeded to choke.
"And that was only an Ursa Minor." Cheerilee added. "Ursa Minors are just adolescents, when they grow to be Ursa Majors, they can easily rival most long lived dragons in size.
It was Andrew's turn to choke, and when he finally hacked and coughed the food out and into the right pipe, he looked at the school teacher with a shocked expression. "How many other animals in Equestria can get bigger than a house?"
Cheerilee stared back at him for a moment before looking up and to the side in thought. "Hmm, a dozen off the top of my head."
Andrew slumped slightly in his chair, he was beginning to feel smaller and smaller as the day went on.
"Bye Andrew, thanks again for treating us!" Cheerilee called out as he opened the front door to the library.
"No problem!" Andrew called out behind him, giving one last farewell before closing the door.
"See," Twilight said from the table at the corner of the living room. "I told you he would be fine."
"Yeah, I guess so," Spike admitted from his corner of the crouch, slitted pupils raised above the comic he was reading.
"Any news on Chrysalis while I was gone? Andrew asked.
At that, Twilight closed the book she was reading and frowned, shaking her head. "Sorry, no."
The human sighed and got a glass of water from the kitchen before seating himself on the other side of the couch.
"So how was it?" Twilight asked.
"Besides the awkwardness of a group of talking animals coming up to your table and asking to eat with you while another talking animal serves you animal meat, pretty ok I would say."
Twilight rolled her eyes. "Alright then, just keep in mind you're free to go out whenever you want, you don't have to stay cooped up in here all the time."
Spike coughed and uttered under his breath, "Look who's talking."
Twilight shot daggers at her assistant but, resigning herself to the truth in those words, she sighed and turned her head, lifting a book from one of the small shelves behind her and levitating it over to Andrew.
He grabbed the book from the air, a sizzle of smoke marking the point of contact before Twilight cut off her magic and suggested, "You might want to read that book, it'll probably explain a lot."
Andrew turned the book over to its cover, the entire binding was blood red with an illustration of two bright orange, slitted pupils on the cover. It was titled, the predator's sight, and other interesting beast of prey traits.
"I'll be sure to do that." Andrew nodded, interest already piqued.
"Speaking of research," Spike started, closing his comic book and looking at the human, "do you mind looking that way for a second?" He pointed to Twilight on the other side of the room with a claw.
"Umm, ok?" Andrew replied skeptically as he did as instructed, now facing an equally confused Twilight. It was only a moment later that he saw Twilight tilt her head in confusion before going wide eyed and opening her mouth.
"OW!" Andrew cried out as he reflexively clutched the back of his head and turned back around to see the comic book now resting on the couch. He glared at Spike and shouted, "What was that for!?"
Spike on the other hand, was looking at him scrupulously.
"Spike!" Twilight gasped, "Why would you—"
"Ah hah!" Spike shouted, interrupting the mare.
"What?" Twilight asked, still visibly angry. "Don't tell me you had a reason to..." she paused, then her expression softened. "Ohhhhhh," she met Andrews gaze, "that... shouldn't have been able to—"
"Hit me," the human finished, "I'm supposed to have a barrier protecting me."
"It started two days ago," Spike began, "Sometimes when you were reading, I noticed that you would sometimes levitate your book. When your back was turned, I would throw stuff like paper clips at you since—"
"You what!?" Twilight exclaimed.
Spike winced, and gave a sheepish smile, "I... uh, I thought it was cool how anything I threw would just bounce off of thin air! I would pick them up after!" Twilight didn't seem like his reasoning, but she rolled her eyes and motioned for him to continue. "Anyways, I noticed how sometimes, they would actually hit him, he would scratch at the spot and everything. After awhile, I figured out that his barrier is only up when he's using his powers!" Before anyone could reply, he asked Andrew, "Did you use your powers right after you got hit just now?"
"No," Andrew replied, "Why?"
"Did you feel the second book?" Spike asked.
"What second book?"
Spike snapped his claws, "Now we're getting somewhere." He hopped down to the floor and picked up the second comic that was lying at Andrew's feet. "I threw this one right after the first, but it bounced off of your barrier, which you claim you didn't consciously create."
"So it was passive, yeah, we've been over this before." Andrew said.
"Yeah, but we thought it would always be on, but it seems like it's only passive when you’re using your powers actively for whatever else, or, in this case, when you feel threatened, even subconsciously."
"Huh," Andrew mused, rubbing his chin, "That's... actually really good to know, thanks."
Spike puffed out his chest in pride, "You're welcome!"
"I can't exactly praise your methods," Twilight began, "but he's right, Spike, this is a pretty good find. We thought that Andrew's dermal barrier became passive as a sign of his body getting more and more used to its new abilities."
"Which would explain why the doctor's couldn't get a needle in me when I was unconscious." Andrew stated.
"Precisely." the mare confirmed. "You technically 'died' only moments before, that shock is probably what triggered this new self defense trait, but it only seems to occur when your body acknowledges danger of some sort, or maybe even general unease. If you want, we could-"
"No." Andrew stated, holding up a hand. "I appreciate the offer, but I think I can handle this by myself." He always was good with his powers, and this particular ability didn't seem particularly complicated. He would try to figure out how to improve it later on.
Twilight didn't bother to ask again, only nodding. "Ok, if you ever change your mind, feel free to ask."
It was beginning to get late now, marked by the now quickly setting sun as the light bleeding through the curtains slowly faded. Andrew spent the rest of the night reading the book Twilight had given him. Within its pages were the answers to many of his questions.
"Whaddya mean 'what do I see'?" Spike asked quizzically from the couch across from Andrew. His claws still glistening from washing the dishes of the breakfast they had just eaten.
"He's a baby dragon, Andrew." Twilight stated as she sifted through the bookshelves. "He isn't going to see much of anything. Maybe give him a few more years when he hits his growth spurt."
"Then what about those animals at Fluttershy's?" Andrew asked. "I'm pretty sure I saw a baby animal or two."
"Yes, prey animals." Twilight confirmed. "Animals whose very survival depends upon being able to see and sense danger all the time. Spike is a dragon, and while dragon culture does have frequent in-fighting for territory and possessions, those instincts don't really kick in until adolescence, same goes with their beast's sight."
"The book called it predator's sight." Andrew corrected.
"And there are dozens of books that call it dozens of names, and it annoys me to no end."
"So that's what was happening at the cottage? Same with the timberwolves?"
The mare let out a sigh as she gave up in her search and trotted over to the couch next to spike, laying down next to him.
"Honestly, I'm not sure what to make of it all," she admitted. "Not even Celestia herself, with all her magical power, would register as anything but a pony in the eyes of a hedgehog. You on the other hoof... I mean..." she frowned, gesturing toward him. "No offence, but you have no claws, no fangs, you're not exactly muscular... you don't exactly seem all that threatening."
Andrew raised a brow, "Gee, thanks."
Twilight gave a sheepish smile, "Sorry," her expression grew serious. "It's just... the only thing that can explain it is your powers, but if that isn't it, then it can only be not who you are, but what you are."
"I mean, I guess that makes sense," Andrew shrugged. "Ya know, with humans being the top predators of my world and all that."
Twilight shrugged in turn, "It’s probable?"
Before another word was said, Spike let out a loud belch of green flames, and instinctively snatched the letter through the flames, wasting no time in reading it. He looked up and met Andrew's gaze. "It's Chrysalis," he said, "It says she's awake now.”
Twilight's ears perked up at the news, and she looked towards Andrew.
He nodded and said, "Yeah, let's go."
Twilight turned to Spike and said, "Go get Applejack, Rarity, and Pinkie, I'll get Rainbow and Fluttershy.
"Got it." Spike said he rushed out the door.
"I'm guessing you want to head towards the hospital now?"
He nodded.
"Ok then, we'll meet you there then," she said as they walked out the front door and she flipped the sign to 'closed'.
Parting ways, Andrew headed towards Ponyville General Hospital. This time, he chose to simply walk at a brisk pace instead of flying. Any friendly hellos he might have received were probably turned away at the sight of the serious expression he bore. He seemed to know the streets of Ponyville better than he thought, as before he knew it, he was already entering the building.
"Mr. Detmer, over here please!" The receptionist mare called out to him. "I was told you might be coming," she reached under her desk and grabbed something before holding it out for him to take.
It was a laminated VIP guest pass on a orange lanyard. He grabbed it and placed it over his neck, muttering a thanks.
She told him the room number, as well as the directions to get to it. He set off right away, and as he was coming up on the last corner, he paused when he heard yelling.
"You heard what she said!" A masculine voice yelled from around the corner as Andrew cautiously approached. "She doesn't want your help, so just leave her to rot!"
"Shiny, how could you say something so cruel!?" Cadence shot back. "She's just lost her family, her children!"
"And what do you think would have happened to us, to Equestria, if she would have had her way!? Equestria would be overrun with those abominations! Do you have any idea what it's like to not be in control of your own body!? I loved her, Cadence. I loved that... thing. How would you feel if you were brainwashed into loving a monster that looked exactly like me!?"
"Shining, please," Cadence pleaded, "You're blinded by your hatred, it's our fault that she's all alone, we kil—"
"They attacked US!" Shining hollered. "We did what we had to do to protect Canterlot, who knows how many innocent ponies she's killed in the past, or how many would have died if she succeeded. She's a monster, a parasite, Cadence, simple as that."
Andrew couldn't hear what was said next, if anything, but what he hid hear was the strike of a hoof against flesh.
Immediately after, he heard the sound of hoofsteps approaching him, and he pulled back from the wall to appear as if he was only just arriving.
Cadence paid him no mind as she trotted past him, tears streaking down her cheeks. After a moment, he rounded the corner to see the stallion in question, who could only be Shining Armor, Twilight's older brother. He was facing away from him rubbing his cheek with a hoof when he sighed and turned around. Meeting Andrew's eye, Shining trotted a few paces over to him.
"I can't even begin to imagine what could have possessed you to want to protect this..." he glanced toward the partially open door at his side, "thing. But you've just made the biggest mistake of your life. Chrysalis is a cold-blooded monster that only cares about herself."
Andrew scowled. "Well, maybe monsters should stick together then," he said, before walking past Shining without another word and entering the room, closing the door behind him.
He immediately noticed the bed on the right side of the room, as well as its sole occupant. Chrysalis's body was covered in bandages, every limb, her midsection, chest , and part of her muzzle. A green eye was looking back at him.
He looked away.
"Hmmm," Chrysalis mused. "What's wrong? Does the sight of this broken body upset you?" He met her eyes again, the contracting of her pupil standing out against the prominent green of her irises. "I see... You've been in my place before, haven't you?"
Before he could ask how she could tell, she answered his unspoken question.
"The way you flare with a tinge of anger as your eyes scan the room, the way you look at me not with pity, but with shame, shame directed at yourself." Chrysalis grinned, one of her fangs revealing itself through her lips. "Am I correct in my assumption?"
He stood silently, mouth open, and brows furrowed in shocked amazement. once again, she answered his next question before he had the chance to vocalize it.
"No, I can't read your mind, only your emotions. But I find that with most ponies, that tends to be enough." She continued her grin for a moment, only to let it fade. "Why are you here?"
"Because I… I was worried about you." Andrew replied.
Chrysalis's expression didn't change as she asked, "Andrew? Correct?"
"Yeah. Andrew Detmer." He answered, taking a seat next to the bed.
"Andrew Detmer," She began. "If we can expect to be in eachother's company for the foreseeable future, there is one thing above all else that you should know."
"What’s that?" Andrew asked.
"That you cannot lie to me," She stated. "It doesn't matter how small or white the lie is, I will know. Whether you are lying to my face, or merely concealing the whole truth. Now, I ask again, why are you here. You don't expect me to believe that you genuinely care about me do you? So what is it?" She scowled, "It isn't any kind of affection, of course. You didn't actually care about the money either, so it's not greed. So, pray tell, to what do I owe your decision?"
Andrew stayed quiet. Unfortunately, his silence seemed to speak loud enough for the Changeling.
"You’re atoning for something," She stated flatly. "You're reeking guilt." She eyed him wearily. "Once again, your silence speaks volumes. I assume you're trying to atone for the lives you took just before getting here?" She scanned his face for a response. "Perhaps not. Perhaps something a bit more personal? Ahhh, there it is. The guilt flared just then. You did something to someone clo—"
"I killed my best friend." Andrew admitted through gritted teeth, interrupting the queen. When he first stepped through that door, he wasn’t expect to essentially have his mind read like an open book, but he didn’t come here only to get scared away.
"Oh." Chrysalis said. "Your words are adamant, but your emotions are all over the place. An accident, I presume?"
"I... I don't know." Andrew sighed, slumping in his chair. "My father had just convinced me that the only two people I had a connection with weren't actually my friends. I got into a fight with him, it was the first time I used my powers on another person on purpose, though he didn't actually notice.” He wasn’t exactly sure why he was going into such detail with the changeling, but given what had been gleamed so far without so much as a peep from him, he may as well lay his cards on the table now. “After that, I flew up into a storm cloud to.. to get away from it all. That's when Steve showed up, he said something about knowing where I was, something about hearing me calling him, I don't know. I told him to get away, that I didn't want him there. I was angry, really angry, with my father, him, everything. Right when I felt like I couldn't get any angrier, there was a bright flash of lightning.... The funeral was a few days later."
Chrysalis snorted. "So, what then? Am I nothing more than some way of atoning for your killing your friend? A life taken, a life protected? If so, what of all the other dozens of your victims? I think the self punishment to be rather lacking, let alone selfish.”
"And I don't care what you think," Andrew shot back.
The changeling huffed. "Fair enough, I suppose."
"What about you?" Andrew asked.
"Hmm? What about me?"
"All the books I found on changelings said you were some sort of parasitic bug monster, but you don't really seem all that different from a regular pony."
"That is quite the unpopular opinion you have."
Andrew shrugged.
"If you're expecting a life story, I'm sorry to disappoint you, but there isn't much to speak of. It was pure survival from the day I hatched to the day it all became for naught."
"...I'm... I'm sorry about Thorax."
"No you're not."
"... I'm still sorry though."
Chrysalis, narrowed her eyes slightly. "...Thanks."
It was nearly a minute of silence before the door opened, human and changeling alike turning to eye the newcomer.
Chrysalis scowled.
"Well, well, well," the queen seethed, "if it isn't the very mare that ruined my perfect day."
"Chrysalis, I-" Twilight started, only to be interrupted.
"Don't waste your breath, Twilight," Chrysalis started. "I don't want your apologies. Besides, It was my carelessness that threw you off in the first place. I made you suspicious of me, and you acted accordingly. You have no reason to feel so much guilt." She snarled, "That is a burden for Cadenza to bear."
Twilight winced. "Even still," she started, "we feel horrible about what happened."
"We?" Chrysalis inquired.
"My friends and I," Twilight clarified. "I brought them over too. If it's ok with you, they'd like to-"
"No." Chrysalis stated flatly.
"Huh?"
"Look Twilight, let's get one thing straight," Chrysalis began. "I don't like you, your friends, or what you all represent. I'm not here to be your friend, I'm not here for you all to grovel for forgiveness while at the same time drowning me with your pity and regret!"
Twilight frowned, her mouth opened, as if to say something, but closed immediately.
"It's not going to work," Chrysalis seethed. "Don't try to empathize with me, pony. You can't possibly understand."
Andrew got up to leave, he had been dead silent since Twilight had arrived, and the awkwardness was beginning to be too much for him.
"No, you stay." Chrysalis said in a commanding tone. "Twilight was just leaving."
Andrew awkwardly seated himself again as Twilight wordlessly trotted over to the door, head hung low. She looked back at the Changeling and said, "If there's ever anything you need, even if it's only a place to stay after you get better, you're welcome to come to the library."
"I will want for nothing." Chrysalis stated simply.
Twilight stayed silent as she left the room and closed the door behind her.
"You didn't have to be so... ya know..." Andrew trailed off.
"Yes I did." Chrysalis replied. "I'm only going to be here for as long I need to be, I'm here to recover, then leave. I'm not some project for that unicorn to use for one her friendship lessons, or whatever it is that Celestia has the that unicorn doing."
"Where did you learn about that?" Andrew asked.
"I overheard one of the doctors mention Twilight, and I pressed him for more information. But enough about that Unicorn, I have questions for you."
"You know she was only trying to help, right?" Andrew said.
The Changeling's eyes narrowed. "I don't want their help, I will no more accept the element's help than I will Cadenza's magic."
"Then what about Celestia? Aren't you technically accepting her help since she's paying me extra to protect you?"
"That's different," Chrysalis said. "You are the one doing the work, and you aren't motivated by greed, far from it in fact, you don't seem to be interested in money since your primary need for it is no longer..." She trailed off. "Anyways, the only reason you're here is out of some selfish desire to atone for the life of a friend that you may or may not have ended by protecting the life of another. A noble cause, I suppose, if it weren't for the fact that you took the lives of many others." She grinned, looking at his silent, stoic expression. "I can see how hard you're trying to suppress your anger. If you want to say something, say it."
Andrew was silent for a long moment before asking bluntly, "Have you ever killed anyone?"
Chrysalis looked at him, her expression softening. "So that's what it's about. What was it that you told Shining? Something like, 'maybe monsters should stick together’— oh there's no need to be so embarrassed, I thought it was rather amusing. To answer your question, yes, I have taken a few pony lives, though I didn't really have much of a choice, unless I wanted to have a pony run around town raving about Changelings and endangering my entire hive. Of course, I am capable of altering a pony's short term memory to some extent using my venom, but the risk is too great when factoring in the possibility of different ponies having different mental resistances. The elasticity of the minds of young colts and fillies make them a non-issue, but adults are simply too much trouble, unless you inject more venom than necessary, which may be dangerous." She paused her ramble and narrowed her eyes. "What confuses you?"
Andrew, not expecting the question, had to clear his throat as he replied, "It's just, none of the books on changelings said anything about that."
"Of course they won't say anything useful," Chrysalis said. "Those books were written by ponies who have probably never even seen a Changeling first-hoof. Anyways, what of it? Did you just want to verify whether or not I was as bad as..." The Changeling fell silent, before chuckling softly.
"What?" Andrew asked, not understanding what was so funny.
"And you don't even realize it..." Chrysalis snickered softly. "You're truly a fascinating creature, human," She started, looking into his eyes. "At the summit, I listened to the atrocities you've committed, and yes indeed, what I see very much confirms it. But what I and I alone can feel, is so much more.”
Andrew leaned his head back while maintaining eye contact with Chrysalis, a confused expression painted on his face. "What are you talking about?" He asked.
"Your emotions." She stated, as if it was supposed to be obvious, although, considering what she was, it may very well be for her.
"What about them?" Andrew asked, not sure what to expect as an answer.
"To be frank, they are all over the place," Chrysalis said. "I don't know what it is about you in particular, or perhaps it might just be an aspect of your species as a whole." She looked him up and down, "The emotions you give off are far more dense than any other species I've encountered."
"How so?" The human asked.
"Well, I suppose you can think of it like this: If there are several ponies in the room, and they are all glowing, you outshine them so much that it's genuinely annoying, and actively gets in the way of my trying to read the emotions of others. Of course, that also means that it's easier to sense your emotions, but that's where things get rather curious. There's nothing strange about being mostly happy, a little bored, and even a tiny bit sad at the same time, sapient minds are just that complicated. You, however, practically ooze a particularly strong mix of multiple emotions, as if you can't decide what you want to feel. Hiding one's emotions is one thing, but by all rights you should be having a mental breakdown right now."
"Gee, thanks," Andrew scoffed.
"See, you're even stable enough for sarcastic comebacks."
"Honestly, I have no idea what you're talking about, I feel fine." Andrew stated.
"Apparently so." Chrysalis admitted. "But that only raises the question of ‘is this wild free for all of emotions normal for humans, or is it just you.’ Sure, you've been through quite a bit over the past few days and months, and no doubt that is playing a part, but even so..." The changeling grinned, "Well, enough of that, you plan on leaving Ponyville soon, correct?"
Andrew shrugged, "I'm still not sure. What about you, any idea how long it'll take you to recover?"
"Well, I'm a changeling, my body's ability to shapeshift also affects it's ability to heal, so likely far sooner than the doctors expect, but that's assuming I have a steady supply a love. I won't accept Cadences magic, but luckily, there is some office romance going on in this building, so I should be able to leech off of that."
"Is it really that easy?" Andrew questioned.
"Hardly," Chrysalis said, "Leeching off of ambient love is far less efficient than being on the receiving end of the source, and it grows harder still with distance. The energy Cadence gave me wasn't actual love, the only reason it seems to work as a substitute is because of love being so ingrained into her as an alicorn. It will last a few days at most. If I didn't need it to repair my body, I could easily ration it for weeks." The Changeling yawned.
"Tired?" Andrew asked.
"Yes," Chrysalis answered before closing her eyes and resting her face on the pillow. "As much as I enjoyed our little chat, I don't think I can remain lucid for much longer what with all the spells and medications I must be under."
"Oh, alright. Want me to come back tomorrow?"
"That won't be necessary. I expect to be on all fours next time we meet, for now, I need to focus on leaching as much love as I can. The sooner I can heal my body, the sooner I can leave this blasted hospital.”
"Ok then," Andrew replied as he got up to leave. "Bye."
He received no answer however, as it seemed the Changeling had already fallen asleep. He was quick to leave the room, and made his way to the lobby, where Twilight was likely waiting with her friends.
Chrysalis was going to be fine, but there was still one other major problem, or rather, decision, that he needed to make. Once Chrysalis was recovered, and all the necessary paperwork was finished regarding him and the changeling, he would likely want to leave Ponyville soon after.
But where to go first?
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Probably the closest to Chronicle 2 we're ever getting.
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Here is a link to the full script of the rejected Chronicle 2 movie, written by the the creator of Chronicle, Max Landis.
https://www.docdroid.net/n1bYe0C/martyr-2.pdf
This is the sequel we deserved, but Hollywood thought it was "too dark". I don't care, THIS is as close to a sequel as we are getting, as this was made by the original creator.
I just watched Chronicle so I could read this -- holy shit, Andrew is fucked up. What makes it worse is I knew someone who looks, sounds AND acts like him... he snapped and threw a desk at someone.
Anyway, while I am going to read this, I am a bit weary as to how you'll make him likeable. Crossing my fingers that he'll have a good character arc...
trouble
that I have a
3:30
and you shiny are a dick did we get the obvious out of the way yet.
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Thanks, fixed. As for Shining... I think that being mentally enslaved by the person that locked your wife in a dungeon is a pretty good reason to hate someone.
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That's not normal? I just had a 'nightmare' (it did feature magic and zombies) last night with Gandolf and the wizard who must not be named engaged in a fight on a purple rug in a grand hall somewhere. Voldemort won and Gandolf was slicing at his throat with a melon knife.
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.....
*whispers* thank you.
I sorta want 'im to find some gryphon or whatever to explain what they see when they see Andy there. Gilda's probably brave enough, maybe her? I dunno.
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Lol, that actually bugs me as well. I do know the difference between sapience/sentience, that was just a typo that I never caught until now, thank you.
... Those plates for eating meat must be really annoying.
>.> Too bad Chryssie won't just drain Heartbutt.
So, I just realized Andrew is still a virgin. A teenage, most likely pent up virgin. I wonder how long it'll take before he caves and starts seeing ponies in a... different way (or maybe just Chrysalis -- changelings are hot). Already the mares are all over him, so it's not too much of a stretch.
I read little on this site anymore... This is one of the few I still come back for.
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Nope, not nearly good enough as an artist
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https://derpibooru.org/253115?q=larson+you+magnificent+bastard%2C+ts&sd=desc&sf=created_at
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I've noticed that sleeping during the day allows me to remember twentt times as many dreams than if I sleep at night. For some reason.
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HOLY SHIT! IT'S WORM!
It almost seems like a Parahumans Online rip-off!
8363232 It's even less of a stretch with the possibility of Chrysalis being able to shapeshift into a human female. After all, if changelings can shapeshift into rocks and other non-pony creatures, then who's to say that she can't turn into a human too?
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Luckily, Chrysalis has never seen a human female before. So I doubt she would be able to create a perfect replica of human female genitalia without any actual references. Even his memories wouldn't be enough: I doubt he ever got a good look. Not to mention how horrendous human memory is when it comes to details. Might as well just bite the rope and go all in with bug or pone puss puss.
Well, there are lots of places he could visit(that is, if they don't know about his 'first impression'... not that it was a bad one). I would say maybe Canterlot or the Crystal Empire to at least be with someone else to show him around(the obvious being the princesses). He can visit Cloudsdale as well, being able to fly 'n stuff, but I see no reason on why he would want to go there, or at the other two options.
He seems very well acquainted with the Everfree, so I could see him just exploring the forest, but that being the only reason unless he wants to research more on the animal behavior on a personal level.
As for the other places like Griffonstone or Yakyakistan, I'm not sure if he would be fine visiting a run-down town or a snowy village ruled by a loud(and sometimes snobbish) yak prince.
I get that Hellsing reference.
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THANKS MOM