Flight Path Troubles {Sunsetverse}
Celestia sighed as she worked her way through yet another large pile of forms and papers. The problem with absolute power was absolute responsibility. While she was shifting more and more of that over to Luna as time went on and she reacquainted herself with the modern world, this still left Celestia with the bulk of the work. Many had suggested that she dictated more to her loyal subjects, let them handle the work instead of having her micro manage. What those ponies failed to realize was that she did have a huge support network: the rest of the government. These pony sized stacks of forms, reports, and proposals was the end result of every previous level being unable to resolve something, or feeling that something needs to be brought to her attention. Half of the papers were just reports on daily, weekly, or even monthly records and occurrences. Another large group was diplomatic reports; they were all short so Celestia knew they weren't urgent, as she had personally recently handles the most recent CIS problem. Another group would be petitions or requests she would have to read carefully through before making a decision upon. Finally, there were the odd ones out: incident reports, ridiculous requests (like this one asking for banana pudding rain), love letters (she always made a point of writing back personally to let the pony down gently), and letters that were crayon drawings from children (she had a collection of them dating back to the inventions of crayons). Quite frankly, she was a little sick and tired of all these forms, documents, and letters. So naturally, that's when a new letter from Spike arrived.
Resisting the urge to scream in frustration at more paperwork, she opened the letter and started reading. Looking through it three times to make sure she understood everything correctly, she called out "Golden Dawn, attend me."
Almost instantly a green pegasus mare clad in gleaming golden armor, more elaborate and full than that of the royal guard, came through the window and bowed at her hooves. "You called for me your majesty?" the captain of the Solar Guard asked.
"Yes, I have an important mission. I need you to select your two fastest knights and get an extra large chariot. You are going to be sending them on a long range high speed emergency transport and escort mission with a two day time window." Celestia explained.
"I understand. Who will they be escorting?" Golden Dawn asked. While many might jump at such an opportunity to accept such a prestigious sounding mission for themselves, Dawn knew that she lacked the speed and endurance to qualify herself. She was Captain of the Knights of the Sun not because she was its greatest warrior, she was no pushover but she certainly wasn't the best, but instead for her tactical and evaluation abilities. Depending on the specifics, she already had five potential teams in mind. Six if it would require a more combat ready escort and there was some wiggle room on the time,
"My student, Sunset Shimmer, the other remaining Bearers, and the ponies from the other reality." Celestia replied easily, knowing that her knight would only ask if she genuinely needed to know. "They need to get to Mt. Cragheart before midnight two days hence and find a hidden artifact, or they shall be stranded in our world for almost two years."
"I see." Golden Dawn nodded. Two teams then. "So, how likely is an attack?"
"...I am not sure." Celestia admitted. "Though I see little reason for anypony to attack them in this venture, I still want whomever you send to be on alert."
"Understood." Dawn said with a bow. "I will deploy Fortune and Pansy right away." Fortune was her fastest flier by far, and and expert scout as well. Fregrant Pansy, descended of the famous founder of Equestria, was unlike her ancestor quite aggressive. In addition Lady Pansy was an expert tracker and field medic with a long history of search and rescue operations in dangerous terrain. The two of them had the speed to reach their destination well within the time limit, and the navigational abilities to help find the artifact. While neither was a contender for beings combat exert by Solar Guard standards, that was like saying a ten yard long dragon was 'small' by dragon standards. The two of them would be perfect for the task.
Celestia nodded, trusting that her Captain had made the perfect choice. "Very well. I shall leave it in your capable hooves. Now, I have to get back to my other duties." She looked at the stack of papers, and signed.
Golden Dawn frowned. "I wish I could help you face such a foe my lady."
"Sadly, it is not to be." Celestia said. "To avoid corrupt politicians as plagues other nations, you must eliminate the incentive for corruption. If the top is incorruptible, watching, and answers to none-"
"-then none can feel safe in defiance." Golden Dawn finished. She sighed. "Equestria has gotten a bit too big to allow that to always work."
"Actually it's gotten big enough for it to work better than ever." Celestia argued. "Now there is a lot more oversight, layers, and redundancy that corruption gets rooted out all the quicker. No more barons with nopony to answer to for hundreds of miles you see."
"So you say." Golden Dawn politely agreed and, realizing she had been dismissed, turned and flew out the window. Even if she didn't completely agree with her princess's reasoning, she was tactful enough not to press the issue. Celestia did have the wisdom of the ages on her side after all. But sometimes Dawn could not help but wonder if, perhaps, that also blinded her to when things became outdated. Still, that was for another time. Right now, she had a team to dispatch.
****************
"Okay, seriously, nopony has seen Masquerade since she left this morning?" Sunset asked, the rest of the group assembled in the library.
“Don’t ye worry,” Quickfix grinned. “Ah’ll just build a drone to find her. Ah just need some parts, a fuel source, some bean bags, a telescope, and some DNA of hers. Maybe some of her mane.”
"Okay, stopping you right there." Sunset said. "We only have one telescope, and it is Twilight's. I am not crazy enough to mess with her stargazing...Fiddlesticks, can you find her and bring her here?"
“On it!” Fiddlesticks saluted and ran out of the building.
“3, 2, 1,” Quickfix counted.
“Got her!” Fiddlesticks came back. On her back was none other than Masquerade...hogtied quite nicely with Fiddlesticks’ rope.
"...how?" Masquerade asked. "Just...how? And why is everypony here? Have we got something?"
"Yes we do." Sunset said, beaming with pride. "And now that everypony is here, I can explain what's going on, and how we can get everypony back home safe and sound!"
“Am I going to need to bring a pillow or something?” Lightning grumbled. “Cause it already sounds like a snorefest waiting to happen.”
"...it involves a mystical artifact hidden in a mountain." Sunset summarized. "Basically, we have until midnight two days from now to find the hidden world mirror to get you girls through, get our girls back, and get back to our own world. So a bit of a tight schedule. As such I asked Princess Celestia for help on the matter."
“Then everythin’s alright then,” Quickfix smirked. “Can’t go wrong with her majesty, May She Rule Eternal.” The other foreigners put a hoof over their heart at the last bit.
"Aaaand going to need to make sure everyone of your guys is clear that alicorn worship is illegal here." Sunset pointed out. "Celestia will probably be sending Knights of the Sun, her personal unit of knights, for this. They are not going to tolerate that stuff. I can understand that you guys worship her in your world and that's just fine. The problem is I have no idea how understanding the knights sworn to uphold Celestia's laws will be. I have no authority over the Solar Guard, so the best I can do is vouch and plead if things go bad. So please, keep it down. I don't want to have to try pushing my luck trying to convince a pair of elite warriors to listen to a bookworm."
Lightning rolled her eyes. “I’ll keep it down, princess. I know when to shut my mouth.” Fiddlesticks snorted in amusement, gaining an irate look from Lightning.
“...Ah make no promises,” Quickfix smirked. “But ah’ll keep it down for the soldiers. Not cause the laws, just ‘cause ye look like our own friend and ah trust ye.”
Sunset smiled and nodded. "Not a princess, but thanks guys...Fiddlesticks, you okay? You didn't say anything."
“....Ah’m okay,” Fiddlesticks lightly scuffed the ground.
"No you're not." Masquerade said, dropping a wing over her. ”Also, you need to work on your knots. But mostly, you need to be honest with your feelings. You're an Apple right? The entire family sucks at lying. So come on, tell the truth. Is this really bothering you that much?"
“Ah…” Fiddlesticks sighed. “Ah just met y’all, partied with mah dead aunt who’s not so dead, and now…..Now it’s all comin’ to an end. Ah might not see y’all again.”
"We'll move our end of the portal somewhere easier to get to." Mask assured her. "And those things open on a schedule. How often does it open Sunset?"
"About six days every two years. The bad news is it opened several days ago, hence the small time limit." Sunset smiled at Fiddlesticks. "Hey, look at it this way. Two years from now we can meet up, chat, and learn what crazy things have happened. And we won't have the stress of 'how do we get back' hanging over our heads, so we can just spend more time hanging out and relaxing. Maybe hit the spa."
“Ah’d like that,” Fiddlesticks smiled. She started happily bouncing around Sunset. “Maybe ah could even teach ya a few things, like square dancin’, fiddling, oooh! How about a rodeo?!!”
"Ah got rodeos covered." AJ said. "And ah'm more than happy ta take ya to one next time."
"And I already know how to square dance...mostly." Sunset said. "Still not that good at grand squares, but I've got the other stuff down no problem."
"As for fiddling...none of us can do that so hey, something we can all learn." Mask finished off, breaking out into a large grin.
“YES!” Fiddlesticks pulled the three locals into a hug. “Yer the best interdimensional friends a pony can have.”
"Arguable." Sunset said, smiling. "But definitely up there. So, everypony, I have some spare saddlebags. Take the time to fill them with any supplies you think you'll need. We probably only have an hour or two at most before the sky carriage arrives."
“Got it,” Fiddlesticks said, letting them all go. She pulled off her hat and started pulling things out of it. “So, how much do ya want in the bags?”
"...Fiddlesticks, do you need to use the bags?" Sunset asked pointedly. "The carriage is going to be a little cramped with five of us in it. If you can save space by using your hat instead, that would be for the best."
“Oh, right.” Fiddlesticks blushed in embarrassment, while putting her stuff back in. Quickfix trotted over and started loading in some of the local supplies she had...borrowed. Yes, that’s the word.
"And Quickfix, no science experiments. Only the essentials, we are on a time limit." Sunset noted casually,
“That’s like asking a fish to not breath in water,” Lightning pointed out.
"Yes we'll I for one am not interested in being cooped up in a small space with one of her gadgets." Mask said. "I like my current compliment of body parts."
“Ye say that now,” Quickfix gave her a wicked grin. “But ye’ll be thankin’ me fer the new wing soon enough.”
“Now Quickfix,” Fiddlesticks chided. “She ain’t lost her wing.”
“Yet,” Quickfix chuckled, before Fiddlesticks swatted her with her hat. “Jokin’...but still, it’s an option.”
"Yeah I have enough artificial body parts thank you very much." Mask noted, tapping her gems. "I'd rather not need any more, thank you very much."
“So ye say,” Quickfix said, receiving a new series of swats from Fiddlesticks. “Quit it.”
“So….,” Lightning scuffed the ground. She didn’t have anything really to pack. “What now? I mean, are we just going to sit around until they arrive?”
Applejack rolled her eyes as she set down her own saddlebag, full of apple based food for the trip, and stretched a bit. "Ah doubt it'll take too long. They'll want ta get here right quick with the schedule we got. So, where are we all going exactly."
"Mt. Cragheart." Sunset reapplied. "Which is located way up north, near the border to Shetland and only a bit south of the frozen wastes."
Masquerade blinked. "Um...isn't that really freaking far away?"
"Um, yes. I estimate it will take about...thirteen hours to get us all there." Sunset admitted. "Maybe less if we have top quality pegasi. So once we get there we'll have roughly a day and a half left to find the portal, get through, find our friends, and get back."
“Pfft, that’s it?” Lightning scoffed. “That’s plenty of time. We’ll find this portal faster than you can say ‘I’m epic’.”
"I hope so. We have no idea where the other end of that portal is." Mask pointed out. "For all we know, it might not even connect to the right continent. In which case we are bucked."
“Then we’ll fight our way out,” Quickfix huffed. The other two nodded.
There was a knock on the door. "Hello? You girls on there?" came the voice of Dr. Pie. "And if so may I come in?"
Lightning trotted on over and opened the door. “Hi, shorty! How’re ya doin’?”
Dr. Pie glared fiercely at Fiddlesticks. "I had to cancel my day trip to Canterlot and hurry back here as fast as I could. And do you know why?"
“Ya ran out of party hats?” Fiddlesticks offered. “Happened to me once before.”
"Please, I'm a professional, I don't 'run out' of any party supplies. Ever. I'm a Master of Ceremonies after all. No, I'm here for a very important, super ultra serious reason." Dr. Pie then dramatically pointed a hoof at the other party pony. "You totally broke dibs and threw a party before me!"
Fiddlesticks smiled. “Well sorry to rain on yer parade, Pinkie, but that’s how the haybale rolls. Kin come before dibs.”
"Nothing tops dibs." Dr. Pie argued. "That's the whole point of dibs! If something tops dibs, then it's not dibs anymore! You can't go breaking the laws of physics like that! It could shatter the whole party time continuum!"
“But ya called dibs on parties, not shindigs.” Fiddlesticks pointed out. “Therefore, ah broke nothin’.”
Dr. Pie's mood immediately brightened. "Oh few." she said, whipping some sweat from her brow. "For a second there I was worried that you'd accidentally doomed the universe to destruction. But as long as it was just a shindig we're in the clear."
Applejack leaned in close to Sunset and whispered "Any idea if that actually could've happened?"
"Not a chance, I don't care how powerful party-mancy is." Sunset assured her quietly.
"So, now that that's put of the way, we have to wait for the Solar Guard to get here cause we've got to get going." Mask said. "We're kind of on a tight schedule."
"I gotcha." Dr. Pie said nodding. "So, when you guys come back, I can totally throw that party I've been planning since yesterday!" Noticing the looks on several of their faces, she frowned. "Uh, girl's, what's wrong?"
Fiddlesticks picked up Dr. Pie, pulled her into a hug, and started bawling. “Ah won’t be coming back! Ah’m gonna miss that party and mah new friends! AH’m sorry!”
Dr. Pie's mane deflated, audibly. "What? But you just got here, like, yesterday! Why do you have to go already?! There are so many options left for us to have fun! Parties! Games! Long backstory expositions resulting in deeper character bonding! Showing off your platypus to a zoologist convention to watch them all freak out!"
“Ah know!” Fiddlesticks weeped.
“Quit yer bawlin’,” Quickfix huffed. “Ye’ll be back in a couple of years.”
"Literally." Mask added. “Plus, we'll be moving the mirror to someplace more accessible. So next time it won't be such a pain to meet up."
"Oh." Pinkie said, her mane slightly, but not fully, reinflating. "So I just have to wait...two years then. That's...that's not too long."
Fiddlesticks sniffled. “Yeah...that’s true. We’ll just have to plan fer the biggest dimension party ever!”
"Yeah that would be great." Dr. Pie said, adjusting her (prop) glasses and smoothing out her lab coat. "I...guess I should be going then. I'll see you all later then." She then calmly walked out the front door, closing it behind her.
Fiddlesticks drooped. “Now ah am the sad...again.”
Quickfix rolled her eyes and put a foreleg over her friend. “And ye will be happy when ye come back, no harm.”
“Yeah,” Lightning said. “Come on. The ponies back home are going to love these stories. Just imagine Apple Bloom’s face when she hears about another awesometacular adventure. Remember that?”
“Ah do like readin’ her bedtime stories,” Fiddlesticks nodded, smiling. “She’ll love this one.”
"Yeah. And nothing too scary happened either...except maybe the yeti, but you can edit that out. And a few of the nastier death traps. Really, that whole dungeon was very tedious and kills any narrative flow. You should probably just skip it." Mask suggested.
“Ah loved that part,” Quickfix put in. “Remember when ah caved in that knight's skull? We didn’t even know they weren’t organic bein’s inside! The rush was amazin’!”
"Well not so much skull as helmet." Sunset reminded her. "And we were still in a lot of trouble before those pterodactyls came back. But moving on, everypony was there, we don't need to talk about it. Anyway, since it'll be a long flight I'm inviting, and advising, you all to grab some reading material to keep entertained. And also suggesting that everypony uses the bathroom before we leave."
“Got any Wizarding World?” Lightning asked.
"Sorry, never heard of it." Sunset said. "It might not exist here. Um, what's it about, maybe I can offer something similar?"
Lightning paused for a minute. “No Wizarding World?....How about Daring Do? You’ve got to have her?”
"Yes, the whole series so far." Sunset said. "Me and Twilight are huge fans. Got any in particular you like?"
“Yes!” Lightning hoof-pumped. “One Daring Do and the Staff of Starswirl, please.”
"Coming right up." Sunset said, floating over the book. "My personal favorite. Twilight prefers the Blue Ruby one herself."
“Eh, the Blue Ruby’s alright.” Lightning shrugged. “It’s always great to see Colonel Lech in action, but it was kind of boring overall. Now The Staff of Starswirl is just pure epic. The villain is just so good, the pacing is awesome, it just works. What I wouldn’t give to go on an adventure with her.”
"Yeah well she's fictional so that's that." Sunset noted. "Anyway Twilight finds this one's historical inaccuracies way too much to stomache. Personally, I just find it fun, screw accuracy."
“I know right...wait fictional?” Lightning blinked in confusion. “But they’re non-fictional adventures based. Come on, any fan worth their salt knows that. Maybe they’re edited a little here and there though, but that’s more to how much you can really print to the general public.”
Sunset looked flabbergasted. "What is with your dimension and having fictional characters be real? I mean first Fluffle Puff, now Darring Do? Seriously, what is with this?"
“Hey, Fluffle Puff was Discord’s doing remember.” Lightning pointed out. “He was just randomly making monsters to attack us and ‘poof’ there’s Fluffle. Shockingly, she makes for a good pinball attack.” She chuckled.
All the locals looked at her in horror. "You used Fluffle, childhood icon of millions for generations, as ammo?" Mask asked, shock clearly written on her face.
“No,” Lightning pointed at Sunset. “That was our Sunset’s idea. Discord just conjured up ten major daemons to attack us and Fluffle Puff. He was just mocking us, thinking we’d be torn to shreds so...Sunset grabbed Fluffle and lobbed him at their heads. Somehow, Fluffle bounced off all of them, knocked them unconscious, and not a scratch on her. Discord took off after that.”
"Of course it worked, it's Fluffle Puff." Sunset said. "She's done sillier things in her books and had them work out."
"And on that note I call upstairs bathroom." Mask said, zipping up the steps.
“Ah still thought it was all too silly,” Quickfix snorted as she tinkered with some of the mechanical scraps of her mech squirrel. “Ah was lookin’ forward to that fight.”
“Yer always lookin’ forward to a scrap, Quicky.” Fiddlesticks rolled her eyes.
"Yes we'll if anypony else wants to grab a book, now is the time. Bathroom checks? We've also got one downstairs. Once we're off we can't go stopping for random bathroom breaks." Sunset explained as she levitated a book of her own off the shelves for the trip.
“Then ah best go and take care of that now,” Quickfix reverently put her stuff down and quickly took off downstairs. “Wouldn’t have this problem if ah was a robot.”
“Yer not turnin’ yerself into a robot,” Fiddlesticks called after her. “We don’t need a robot apocalypse.”
“Yeah, yeah.” Quickfix called back.
"Seriously, does she ever think through on what she does with tech?" Sunset asked, shaking her head. "It's like she's more concerned with if she can do it than if she should do it."
“BECAUSE SCIENCE!” Quickfix shouted, as if that answered everything.
"That answers nothing." Sunset pointed out. "Science is just a methodology and a body of knowledge. It has no end goal or higher meaning. That's just...how you do experiments and test stuff. Ugh, never mind. Applejack, Fiddlesticks, do either of you want a book?"
Fiddlesticks pulled out three random books from out of her hat. “Got plenty. Want one, cuz?”
"Nah." AJ said, shaking her head. "Ah'm good. Not too big on readin' anyways."
“Ya sure?” Fiddlesticks smirked. “Ah got some gossip columns with yer name on it~...No seriously, ah do. Other ya kind of left a few when she visited a while ago.”
"Ah don't do gossip." AJ grumbled. "It ain't right poker into somepony else's business."
Fiddlesticks blinked a few times. “Right, sorry. Shouldn’t compare ya to our Applejack.”
“What’s there to compare?” Lightning said. “She’s country and actually tolerable. I mean,” Lightning did her best impression of a noblemare. “‘Ugh, you brutish pegasus. Be careful where you fly. My dress is worth more than you can make in a year.’” She stuck out her tongue.
“She ain’t all bad,” Fiddlesticks piped up, her ears splayed backwards.
"Sounds pretty bad ta me." AJ snorted. "Ma's from the city and she don't act like that, so other me's got no darn excuse. Specially after leavin' Bloom."
“Which is why I our Bloom says she doesn’t have a sister,” Lightning pointed out.
“That hurt AJ more than you think it did,” Fiddlesticks snorted.
"The she shouldn't have left." AJ retorted.
“It was complicated,” Fiddlesticks said. “That’s what she said….Ya’d have to talk with her yerself to understand.”
"And on that note I hope the carriage arrives soon so we can have a chance for that chat." Masquerade said as she glided down. "Bathroom is free if anypony else wants it. Also, grabbed my own book to read so I'm good there." she said, holding up a small book in her wings.
“Done,” Quickfix trotted upstairs. “Nice bathroom ah might add, but ah think ye could improve it.”
“No,” Lightning glared at her. “I almost died that one time I used your bathroom. Almost died!”
“Well stuff like that happens,” Quickfix shrugged.
"Bathrooms should not be lethal." Mask pointed out. "Well, maybe at a rest stop, but that's more of a lack of cleaning than anything else."
“Everything’s lethal when it comes to Quickfix,” Lightning said.
“Only some of the time,” Quickfix pointed out. “It works most of the time, ah assure ye.”
"As fascinating as Quickfix's crazy is, I think our ride is here." .sunset interrupted, point out of the hole in the wall as a bulky sky coach was coming in for a landing, two elaborately armored pegasi pulling it.
“Thank Celestia,” Lightning muttered. “We can finally get going. There are warlock butts to kick, or whatever sent those things.”
Coming in for a landing, the two knights looked quite alert. "Okay, what attacked you and caused the damage here? And is it still an active threat?" the one on the left asked, her coat was of pale blue feathers and her mane and tail were sunshine yellow.
“That was me,” Quickfix chuckled. “Don’t ye worry none. Just a ‘kink’ in a mech.”
"Mech?" the knight asked, seeking clarification. She would probably look more confused if her visor wasn't covering most of her face.
"A mechanical golem." Sunset quickly explained. "The situation was dealt with. I assume you two are our escort."
"Yes mam." the other knight, white feathers with a blood red mane, responded with a quick salute. "Knights of the Sun Fortune and Pansy. We are here to provide escort, protection, and search aid for the duration of the mission."
Lightning growled, bearing her fangs and glaring at Pansy.
Quickfix slapped her upside. “No, bad Lightning. Bad.”
“Buck you, Quickfix.” Lightning rubbed the sore spot, but still kept an offensive kind of stance.
"I'm sorry, is there a problem fangs?" Pansy asked, head tilted to the side in a way that sugested wry amusement.
“I don’t know, herb, you tell me.” Lightning huffed.
“It’s a pegasus thing,” Quickfix rubbed her head.
"Then your fangs are dumb." Pansy shot back. "Seriously, I'm a Knight of the Sun. You don't go casually threatening us, and that's without me having backup right here."
“Did you...You bleating herb!” Lightning growled. “At least I wasn’t named after a blasted traitor. We ‘fangs’ know better than that!”
"Traitor? Is she talking smack about my ancestral line?" Pansy asked.
"I think the little fury fang is." Fortune said.
“Your...ancestor?” Lightning stared at her in shock….before lunging fangs bared. Quickfix and Fiddlesticks quickly pulled her back. “Let me go. One bite and it’d be over. Mock a predator species, will you?”
"Kid, do you know what I was before I was a Knight of the Sun?" Pansy asked, shaking her head ruefully. "Knight of the Jaguar. I used to kill apex predators bare hoofed just to get a knighthood. Pointy teeth aren't really scary to the most bad flank knights ever."
"Fregrant, don't tease the kid." Fortune chided. "She's from another reality, you can't expect her to behave properly."
“Behave properly!” Lightning struggled in the others holds. “HA! I come from a race of bad flank warriors that ate dragons! You….you’re descended from a poisoning traitor.”
"Lightning, just stop and think." Sunset groaned, facehoofing. "Our Clover the Clever's aren't even the same gender. Ever think there might be other differences between the founders? So stop trying to commit suicide via knight and calm the buck down."
Lightning huffed and the others shakingly let go. She snorted. “Yeah...you’re right.”
“Dang nabbit, Lightnin’.” Fiddlesticks huffed. “Stop rushin’ into things ‘fore thinkin’.”
“You’re one to talk,” Quickfix rolled her eyes.
“Says miss ‘why not’.” Fiddlesticks smirked.
“Touche,” Quickfix chuckled and shrugged. “Now Lightnin’, what do ye say?”
“....I’m sorry,” LIghtning huffed. “You’re not a bleating traitorous dog. I was wrong to think that.”
“And?” Fiddlesticks added.
“....And I shouldn’t think myself higher on the food-chain.” Lightning added.
"Apology accepted." Pansy said, smiling. "Lucky for you, otherwise I might have gotten my clan in on this, as you did technically insult all of us." Seeing the locals pale a bit, she chuckled. "Kidding, just kidding. I'd just have killed her."
"Bloody jaguars." Fortune mumbled. "Anyway, coach is ready. Why don't you all get settled in and we'll be on our way in a jiff?"
“Ah call crossbow!” Fiddlesticks chuckled as she bounced outside.
“Ye always call crossbow!” Quickfix snorted.
"Middle seat." AJ said, pulling out a pair of blinders. "Ain't no way Ah'm lookin' out no window."
"You really need to do something about that heights thing." Mask noted. "And window seat!"
Lightning walked by Pansy. “I so could’ve taken you, herb.”
Pansy just smirked, flicked a wing, and a rock about five paces away split in two. "Sure you could."
Lightning stared at the rock in shock for a few seconds. “Whoa...I mean,” she pulled herself together. Lightning arced across her wings. “I’ll keep that in mind, but they don’t call me ‘Lightning’ for nothing you know. I could shock you...Like a thunderstorm.”
Fiddlesticks groaned and stuck her head out the window. “That reference was bad and you should feel bad.”
"Also, how would lightning hurt? It would roll right off my feathers." Pansy pointed out.
"Wait." Fortune said, wearing the biggest grin. "Are fangs not immune to a few hundred thousand volts? That's adorable!"
Lightning’s eye twitched. “Of course we are. How the bloody Tartarus do you think we survived in the clouds and look-” she pointed at her wings which were still charging. “Do I look like the kind of mare with a death wish?”
"You were growling at a solar knight." Sunset pointed out, sticking her head out the window as well. "Also, you snooze you lose. Middle back is your seat, the rest of us already grabbed ours."
“Argh,” Lightning growled. “Then I’ll sit up top.” She jumped on top of the carriage.
“We can switch,” Fiddlesticks piped up.
“Don’t,” Quickfix piped up. “She lost fair and square.”
“But ya know that she’s gonna be sittin’ up there all her lonesome,” Fiddlesticks shot back.
"Well if she's staying up there it's not with my favorite book ready to be blown away." Sunset grumbled. "You hear that Dust? You want to read that book, you do it in here!"
Lightning growled. “Fine. Switch.”
“‘Kay,” Fiddlesticks hopped on back to the middle seat as Lightning took hers. Lightning grumbled as she took her own seat and opened the book up.
"Alright then, everypony set? Next stop, Cragheart!" Fortune said. And with that the carriage shot off, traveling at over half the speed of sound.
****************
"...you take one down, pass it around, seventy two bottles of cider on the wall." AJ sang half heatedly, trying to kill time at this point. The flight had been going on for five hours and she was quite bored, and running out of ways to keep her mind off the fact that she was flying.
Masquerade, who had finished her short book a good while ago, was trying to catch a nap. "AJ, please just stop. I want a nice quiet nap, is that too much to ask?"
“Why the buck is that song here?” Lightning groaned. “Why the heavenly buck did two universes have to invent the same stupid song? Is there some sort of sick cosmic joke going on?”
"I figured that out a long time ago." Sunset muttered, reading her own book and trying to tune everything else out. "Of course it's a sick joke. The universe makes things match in the most annoying way possible, and switch things up to cause as much conflict as possible."
"I'm sure there is more to it than that." Mask countered.
"-sixty nine bottles of cider-"
"Then again I could be wrong." Mask admitted with a shrug.
“Ugh,” Lightning flexed her wings. “I’m going to go grab a snack.”
“Ah don’t need pigeon feathers flappin’ in my face,” Quickfix piped up as she laid back in her seat, tryin’ to snooze the trip away.
“I hate pigeons,” Lightning stuck out her tongue. “They taste awful.”
“But ye eat ‘em as comfort food,” Quickfix piped up. “Figure that one out, why don’t ye.”
"Let the knights know you're flapping out." Sunset replied. "They'll probably be willing to slow down a bit and...did nopony pack snacks or something? I have some granola bars if you're just hungry for a snack."
“Fine,” Lightning said. “But nothing really beats fresh blood running down your throat and prey thrashing about in your mouth-”
“And annoyin’ pegasi tryin’ to get a reaction out of us,” Quickfix mocked. “Like ah haven’t heard it all before.”
Lightning shrugged. “Couldn’t hurt to try.” She held out a hoof and Fiddlesticks threw her a bag of chips. She quickly opened them up and started munching on them. “So….are we there yet?”
Sunset paled in terror. Sticking her head out the window she shouted "Fly faster! Lightning started doing the whole bloody 'are we there yet' deal."
"Oh bloody Tartarus." Fortune groaned. "How bad it look to be?"
"Rainbow Dash clone with less impulse control." was Sunset's honest reply.
"...right then. Hold on loves, we're going to be kicking it up a bit. Everything should be just ducky and we'll get there right in a jiff. Just expect some jiggling back there." Fortune explained as she and Pansy proceeded to break the sound barrier just slightly. The carriage proceeded to shake like maracas.
“Wha-hoo!” Fiddlesticks cheered.
“Come on,” Lightning rattled on. “I’m not that annoying?”
"Standard policy." Pansy called back. "Don't want the package getting damaged because it annoyed us. Anyway we won't be able to keep this up too much longer, but it will be long enough to shave about two hours off the trip. We should be arriving in three more hours basically. Just have to put up with some turbulence for half an hour for it."
Suddenly, the carriage stopped shaking, becoming stable. "Well what do ya know. A wild tailwind, that'll keep things stable. How...fortunate." Fortune said with a huge grin.
"Yeah yeah, I get it. Your good luck kicked in. Happy smiles all around." Pansy said exasperated.
Fiddlesticks popped up onto the carriage with suction cup shoes. “This calls for good luck cookies!” She held out a tray to Fortune. “Ah made ‘em myself.”
"They don't have macadamia nuts do they? I'm allergic." Pansy asked.
“Nope,” Fiddlesticks shook her head.
"Yes we'll we can't exactly eat while flying." Fortune pointed out. "So why don't you be a dear and just hold on to them until we land? Thanks love."
“Awww~ Not even one?” Fiddlesticks gave the mare her best ‘puppy dog pout’.
"Sorry love, choking hazard. We'll be plenty hungry when we get there and bloody Tartarus what are you doing out here?!" Fortune shouted in sudden realization. "Get back in your seat right now."
“Ya sure?” Fiddlesticks asked. “Ya could use a bit more company.”
"Look, as fast as we are going its just not safe." Pansy explained. "So get back in there right now. Your safety is our top priority."
“Fine,” Fiddlesticks sighed and walked back inside. “...Anypony else want a good luck cookie?” Quickfix quickly grabbed two in her magic and plopped them in her mouth.
Sunset on the other hoof smacked Fiddlesticks lightly on the nose with a rolled up magazine. "Bad Fiddlesticks. Don't do something like that again. You almost gave me a heart attack. I'm way too young to have a second one of those."
"Wait, second one?" AJ asked, finally interrupting her song at forty six bottles, to express her concern. "When the hay did you have your first one?"
"It was a minor one." Sunset insisted. "Just a bit of chest pain and dizziness from...stuff."
"Stuff?" Mask asked, cocking am eyebrow.
"Yes," Sunset said, shooting a significant glance at the guests and the knights, "stuff."
Fiddlesticks wrapped Sunset up in a hug and bawled her eyes out. “Ah’m sorry. Ah don’t want ya to have a heart attack and die!”
"Hearts attack?!" Pansy shouted back.
"No no! Just an expression! No medical emergencies here!" Mask called forward. "No need to panic! We'll let you know if there is a problem!"
"Got it!" Fortune called back, glad that such was the case. Medical emergencies far from civilization weren't good at all.
"Fiddlesticks calm down, it's alright." Sunset reassured her. "I was...mostly exaggerating. I was just really worried about you because I care about you."
Fiddlesticks sniffed. “Really?”
"Of course. We're friends right?" Sunset said, smiling. "Heck I even gave you some of my makeup to impress that boy you like with."
“Yeah….” Fiddlesticks smiled and wiped away her tears. “Yer so gonna be the best mare. Ah promise ya that.”
"Hopefully your Sunset isn't too jealous of that." Sunset said with a rueful smile. "So if you're feeling better, I'd like to get back to reading."
Fiddlesticks nodded. “Sorry. Ah tend to go a little overboard sometimes.”
“Sometimes?” Lightning quirked an eyebrow.
“A lot,” Fiddlesticks admitted.
"It's fine." Sunset said, lightly disengaging from the hug. "There is nothing wrong with being emotional."
“Can ah get just one trip without somethin’ happenin?” Quickfix grumbled, tryin’ to sleep. “Geez.”
Mask nodded in agreement. "I hear that. A little quiet would be nice for a nap."
“But that’s boring,” Lightning groaned. “Where’s a dragon when you need one?"
"Spike's running the library with Owlowicious." Sunset answered smugly.
“....Nopony likes a smart mouth,” Lightning glared at her and stuck her hoof up.
"Sure they do." Mask argued sleepily. "Otherwise wisecracking heroes wouldn't be so popular."
“...I prefer the no nonsense pyromaniac Sunset,” Lightning snorted. “At least she’s not so smart mouth.”
“She is,” Quickfix said. “But she’s usually sayin’ it as she’s tryin’ to burn yer hide.”
Lightning chuckled. “Yeah, yeah, but she hasn’t yet.”
“The hospital staff would beg to differ,” Quickfix pointed out. Lightning just rolled her eyes.
"Speaking of fire, I have a present for everypony." Sunset spoke up, horn glowing.
“Should’ve packed my fireproof shield,” Quickfix muttered.
"I'm not going to set anypony on fire!" Sunset snapped, levitating out a set of six small brass pendants, each about the size of a bit with intricate patterns etched on them. "These are talismans of fire protection. They make the wearer resistant to fire. They're temporary, only lasting a day or two, but they should come in handy if we run into that spirit like the prophecy predicted."
“Well count my chickens before fox season,” Fiddlesticks grinned. She snatched hers up. “That’s awesome! Yer the best, Sunset.”
"I know, I try." Sunset said as she floated the remaining talismans to the others. "Well, not really the best. In fact I'm pretty far from it. Why was I saying I was earlier? Oh no my ego is out of control again I-" Sunset was interrupted when Mask's wing lightly bopped her in the face. "Thank you I needed that. But yeah I figured you guys would like them. Plus when you get back it should help keep the other me from torching you."
“Thanks,” Lightning grabbed hers. “I mean, I could totally do it myself, but firebending was never my thing. I prefer lightning.”
"Fire what?" Sunset asked.
“Pegasi can bend the elements,” Lightning said. “Some can bend heat and those that are skilled enough can control fire. Hay, Spitfire can actually light her body on fire with the heat coming from her own self and fight that way.”
Sunset looked at Mask, who just shrugged. "I uh, I'm not sure if our pegasi can do that quite the same."
Lightning smirked. “Yeah, cause we’re awesome like that.”
“Same for the cold,” Quickfix spoke up. “Pegasi up North learned how to conjure up ice weapons by freezing the air around them and forming shields and stuff. Then ye got wind and lightning benders.”
"Huh....you know aside from looks I figured our Pegasi were the same." Sunset admitted.
"Well," Mask admitted "you can do elemental tricks and stuff, but that's not my thing so I don't know a lot. I'm an actor, not a flyer...a serious flyer."
“Yeah,” Lightning leaned back in her seat. “Not all of us can be champions.” She smugly grinned.
"...you do know I've save the whole freaking world twice right?" Mask asked. "I think that qualifies as "champion material"."
“Well so has Coco,” Lightning quipped. “And she’s a scaredy cat.”
“Hey,” Fiddlesticks glared at her.
“No offense,” Lightning grinned. “She’s one of my besties after all.”
"Wait, Coco? The only Coco I know is Hot Coco, from up in Canterlot." Sunset said. "Well, the only one I know personally. I mean there's two famous Cocos as well but anyway, what's your friend's full name?"
“Coco Pommel,” Quickfix spoke up. “Daughter of Upper Crust, Captain of the Mimus Brigade and she’s Rarity’s assistant. She’s also the bearer of the Element of Selflessness.”
Sunset and Masquerade's jaws dropped as they stared in shock. Applejack just looked confused at her friends. "What's smackin' you two upside the head like a surprise mackerel?"
"It's Coco Pommel!" was Sunset's response, before she facehoofed. "Right, none of you guys are into fashion...wait Mask how did you know who she was?"
"She started off with, and still does, top quality costume design for Bridalway." Mask replied. "The rising star of the fashion world."
"And she does perfume and jewelry." Sunset added in. "She even does some modeling work. She's considered a quadruple threat in the fashion world. Business, design, modeling, accessories. She's only been on the scene for two years and she's been making waves."
“She’s famous here?” Fiddlesticks whistled. “Good fer her.”
“Huh,” Lightning hummed over the thought. “Weird. Coco never really was one for attention. Hay, I’ve seen her scared by her own shadow.”
“She’s still trainin’ over in our world for all that,” Quickfix explained. “It’s why she went to Rarity. Miss Rarity’s kind of one of the most well known dressmakers in the country and is kind of the most powerful one to boot. Her mom wanted Coco to be a soldier, but……..Coco’s a bit too innocent for that kind of stuff. She’s just a kid after all.”
"Still asking for her autograph." Sunset chimed in, grinning happily. "Don't care if it's not our version, it's close enough." One could almost swear her eyes were sparkling with joy...wait, they actually were twinkling with joy.
“Just don’t rush her,” Lightning said. “She’s shy. Kind of weird since her mom is one of the toughest soldiers in Equestria and a military family, but eh, stuff happens. She scares really easily.”
"Right, approach like Fluttershy." Mask said with a nod. "Still, gotta feel weird hearing your friend is an idol in this world huh?"
“Not really,” Fiddlesticks shook her head. “Coco’s got talent, but she ain’t one to brag. Bein’ an Element bearers already gotten her a bit of attention and she’s….gotten used to it.”
“She’s stopped fainting that’s for sure,” Lightning chuckled. “Okay, she hasn’t stopped but...okay so she still does it often.”
“‘Course Rarity usually will rough ye up if ye do,” Quickfix said. “Miss Rarity kind of sees Coco as a little sister, so yeah, she ain’t a pony ye want to get on their bad side.”
"Yeah, our Rarity will mess you up if you tangle with her little sister." Sunset said, nodding. "I can only imagine how much tougher your Rarity is if she's a diamond dog alpha."
“Ye’d have to be,” Quickfix smirked. “Unicorns aren’t known for brawn, but that’s the only thing a Diamond Dog will respect. So, Rarity has to be tougher than the lot of them, even in close combat. That and she’s a killer with her diamonds. She can literally send a swarm of them anywhere she wants. Cuts ye up nicely.”
"...our Rarity could probably do the same thing easily, scarily enough." Sunset admitted. "Note to self, never piss her off enough that she'd do that."
"And on that cheerful note, ah believe ah was on sixty two bottles left." AJ said, before taking a deep breath.
Quickfix grabbed AJ’s hat and pulled it over the country mare’s mouth. “No! Bad Pony! No more bottle songs.”
"Thank you." Mask mumbled. "Seriously, should have brought at least a small book like I did to kill a couple of hours."
“Or sleep,” Lightning huffed. “I don’t think it’d hurt to have a few hours of my life back, you know, without any bucking singing!”
Shuffling her hat back up, AJ frowned. "Well fine. Ah could use a nap myself." She then lay back and rapidly fell asleep.
"...okay that's not fair." Mask groaned. "I had to get up early for me, and she can just go right to sleep. I ought to..." Any other details were lost as she finally drifted off to sleep, ten carriage finally quiet enough for her.
“....This is the song that never ends~” Fiddlesticks started up on her fiddle. The two other visitors covered their ears and groaned. “It goes on and on my friend~”
"My revenge shall be swift and terrible for all to see." Mask muttered in her sleep. "The very foundation of the world shall wrap to hear of it, and the sky's set ablaze and shattered by the sheer magnitude of my rage."
“That’s a lot of revenge,” Lightning muttered.
“Yeah….how about this one?” Fiddlesticks started up another verse. “Ah know a song that gets on everyponies nerves~”
The sky shook with peals of thunder and flashes of lightning.
“The world is a party pooper,” Fiddlesticks crossed her forelegs and pouted.
"That doesn't sound like natural thunder." Sunset said. Sticking her head out for a few seconds, she pulled it back in and calmly asked. "Lightning Dust, I'm not a weather expert, but I do believe that there should be no such thing as a tornado made out of lightning and fire right?"
“That sounds awesome and should totally be a thing,” Lightning said. “But naturally? Nope……..I’m guessing one for those is headed right towards us, isn’t it?”
"Yep. Thing also reaks of dark magic. Meaning some warlock is trying to kill us." Sunset noted calmly.
“Same old, same old.” Lightning yawned. “You beat one warlock trick, you’ve beaten them all. Think we can outrun it, or a little action is in order?”
"Hold that thought." Sunset said and leaned out again. "Hey, can we outrun the thing, or are we going to have to fight or what?"
"It's tracking us and it's faster than us. Not sure what we can do about it though. If it was just lightning or just a tornado sure, no problem. But neither of us are weather experts, and adding fire on top is just overkill." Pansy explained. "Hope one of you guys has a clever plan."
"I think we got something, just keep going!" Sunset urged back before turning to Lightning. "So, how would you like to use your temporary fire resistance to fly into and dispell that fire lightning tornado before it kills us?"
“I’d love it,” Lightning smirked. She extended her wings. “You so owe me for saving your flank though, but I’m reasonable. One of my more awesome traits.”
"I gave you a fire protection talisman. I don't think I owe you that much." Sunset snarked.
“Well….your face!” With that said, Lightning took off.
Quickfix blinked a few times. “Is that like her default insult, or is she just that stupid?” She pondered to herself.
"You shouldn't call your friends stupid." Sunset chided. "Also, I'm amazed these two can sleep through this."
Outside, Lightning race towards the tornado. She had to admit, it was a bit more intimidating than she gave it credit for. Not as scary as her father, but that was a given. There wasn’t much scarier than him. Still, this could easily go wrong for her. She’d admit that. So she’d need to carefully-
Lightning inwardly laughed at that thought. She’d have to tackle it her own way. All she had to do was twist in the opposite direction around it and no tornado. With that in mind, the mare took off and started circling the tornado opposite of the way it was spinning. She got in close, but doing her best to avoid getting a serious injury. This wasn’t her first rogue tornado. Okay, it was her first fire and lightning one, but still, same principle. She sped up maneuvering it away from everypony else, becoming nothing but a lightning shaped blur. Slowly but surely, the tornado started to become undone. With a final flourish, the creation was no more.
“That’s it?” Lightning put her hooves on her hips and barked in laughter. “You are the lamest warlock in history.” She sped back to the carriage, flying right into her seat. “Easy, peasy.”
"We're just lucky we had a fireproof pegasus, otherwise well..." Sunset trailed off. "But seriously, thanks."
“No problemo,” Lightning shrugged. “It’s not like it was a real threat or anything. I bet our buds over in my world are kicking way more awesome baddies butts right now.”
"I hope not, our girls aren't exactly fighters." Sunset pointed out.
“Whatevs,” Lightning said. “But whoever this warlock is, he’s weak as paper. Can’t even send a proper minion or daemon.”
Three more great explosions happened. Sighing Sunset looked outside. "Yep. We got three more. My guess is the warlock's plan B is to spam it at us."
“I hate spam,” Lightning stuck out her tongue. “Tastes disgusting. Oh this guy is so gonna get bucked in crotch, or teeth if it’s a she...nah I’ll buck ‘him’ in the teeth two after the crotch.” She sped outside, flying quick to one tornado to finish it off and moving to another. It took a bit of time with each, but nothing really substantial. The third went down quick as the other two. “Stop while you’re behind, jerk.” Again, she sped on inside. “Let’s hope he takes the hint.”
The response was seven tornadoes.
“....Fiddlesticks?” Lightning spoke up.
“Yeah?”
“Meet your new singing buddy,” Lightning huffed. “‘Cause he’s gonna be singing in the heavenly choir in a little bit.” She took off, taking care of the seven with ease. Panting, she flew back inside. “There, no more tornados.”
"...and no new tornadoes." Sunset said with a sigh of relief. "I guess they ran out of stamina after tornado number...first one, then three, yeah eleven double elemental tornadoes. That's not a small number. I'm honestly impressed you could handle all that."
“I’m a future wonderbolt, remember?” Lightning patted her chest in pride. “I have to be as awesome as I can.”
"Still, that's no minor warlock." Sunset pointed out. "We're talking about a dark magic heavyweight. Stuff like that is not something just any warlock could hope to pull off."
“Aww yeah,” Lightning hoof pumped. “Now we’re talking. Bring on the heavyweights!”
“Right on!” Quickfix cheered. “Gonna split some skulls soon!”
“Or we could just sing?” Fiddlesticks put in. “Ah mean, a song could lift anypony’s spirits.”
“When has a song turned a warlock nice?” LIghtning shot back.
“...Could happen,” Fiddlesticks huffed.
"I doubt they're going to keep attacking." Sunset said, shaking her head. "We can defeat that super tornado thing, and just throwing that out again and again shows they didn't have a stronger option. Still, never heard of a weather magic warlock that powerful."
“Could be a druid,” Quickifx piped up.
"Our. Druids. Don't. Work. That. Way." Sunset enunciated each word for emphesis. "And really, a deer warlock? Do you know how crazy that sounds?"
“There are the Shadow Deer,” Lightning spoke. The rest of the others shivered. Fiddlesticks quickly glanced around in fear.
“Please don’t be them,” she spoke fearfully.
Susnet just looked confused. "The bloody Tartarus is a Shadow Deer?"
“Well back before Equestria was founded, the deer were the supreme rulers of the world.” Quickfix explained. “Of course, they got a bit greedy with their powers and strength and, well, went tinkerin’ in stuff they shouldn’t have. They created Tirek ‘cause of it and he pretty much wrecked their civilization. Some of the deer took off and formed their own group that specialized in dark magic, in case something like that happens again. Then Discord thought it would be hilarious to screw over their minds and well…”
“They thrive now solely on the pain of others,” Lightning said. “Their souls need to feed on the pain of another being to keep from being destroyed by the realm of darkness. They’re pretty sick all around.”
Sunset looked disturbed. "Aaaand I'm going back to my book now."
“Don’t worry,” Lightning grinned. “I could so take on an army of Shadow Deer. Those chumps have nothing on me.” She flexed her wings and puffed out her chest.
"Yes well no fighting any deer you find here. Poor things have a hard enough time as is." Sunset replied. "I swear, if it's not one bloody thing with your world it's something worse."
“Well that ain’t a nice thing to say,” Fiddlesticks pouted. “We live there, ya know. Just cause it has a bunch of bad stuff in it, doesn’t make it rotten. Ah mean, ah’m not rotten.”
"Fair enough." Sunset admitted. "But still, your world sounds terrifying compared to this one."
“Terrifyingly epic?” Lightning smirked.
"No, just terrifying." Sunset said. "Our world is a lot less...hardcore."
“Just how it is,” Quickfix shrugged. “The strong survive and that’s what makes Equestria one of the strongest. We’ve survived pretty much anything our world has thrown at us.”
"We haven't needed to do that....well not to that degree." Sunset admitted. "Our world doesn't require us to be that tough to thrive."
“Which is why you lot should take a few tips from us in the epicness department,” Lightning chuckled.
"Yeah but what would we do with it?" Sunset asked, honestly confused.
“Come on,” Lightning said. “You’ve got to have some monsters or nations aiming for you guys.”
"Um, the elk...but we're kind of outpacing them pretty fast. They're rapidly becoming irrelevant in the current global dynamics." Sunset admitted. "They uh, they are kind of unimportant really by this point."
“Bogus,” Lightning huffed. “This is like the most boring world I’ve been to. Top five, definitely.”
"....how many worlds have you been to?" Sunset asked in a flat tone, eyebrow raised.
“This would be my second,” Quickfix admitted. “‘Course, ah was turned into a human durin’ the first time. Don’t know why though.”
“Well, I haven’t been able to travel really, but still, this world is lame.” Lightning said.
"...well I'm sorry we have our shit together." Sunset grumbled. "I'm sorry we aren't miserable with tons of problems so you can be entertained."
The three visitors stared at Sunset in shock.
Lightning growled. “You have your shit together? YOU.....We have our shit together! We’re still standing. Through all of this, we’re still standing. You think we enjoy it? You’re wrong! I’ve lost both my mother and my big sister in wars. My father was wounded in combat and discharged from the military. He takes out every single bout of his anger on me, pushing me farther than I should go. I don’t let that bother me, because it’s all for something. A better Equestria.”
Sunset set her book down. "Well I am a horrible pony. Goodbye world." She then threw herself out of the carriage.
Fiddlesticks quickly roped her back inside and held on to her tight. “NO! NO! NO! Stop it. Don't ya buckin’ dare do that!” She cried into Sunset’s chest. “Don’t ya dare.”
“Geez,” Lightning sighed. “Didn’t think she’d jump.”
“Well maybe ye should keep yer mouth shut for once!” Quickfix slapped Lightning.
"Why shouldn't I jump?" Sunset asked in all seriousness. "I'm a horrible pony the world would be better of without."
“Ya aren’t a horrible pony.” Fiddlesticks whimpered. “Yer my friend. Ya shared yer make-up, we laughed….Didn’t any of that mean somethin’? Any of it? If not….Then ah’ll jump with ya.”
“Oh no you knuckle heads won’t,” Lightning slapped the two of them in the noggin. “Blessed Celestia on high, it’s my own life. I haven’t jumped, so don’t you bucking dare do it.”
“Which doesn’t mean anything really if you’re a pegasus.” Quickfix muttered.
"....sorry. Well this is going to be fun trying to explain this to my therapist." Sunset sighed. "It's been a while since I tried to kill myself."
Fiddlesticks conked her on the noggin. “Don’t ya dare say stuff like that. Yer a good pony. Yer my friend and we’re gonna be besties forever. That’s a promise.”
"Yeah, thanks. Last time Mask talked me out of letting myself get eaten by monsters." Sunset said. "Sorry I tend to quickly spiral down because of...stuff."
“Well don’t,” Lightning snorted. “I don’t let stuff like that get to me. I take it like a champ and press on.”
"I...admit I don't deal with my emotions the best. Hence, therapy. Lots of therapy." Sunset said, doing her best to give a shaky smile.
“Ah think all a pony needs fer that is a real smile,” Fiddlesticks grinned. “That and some friends. So cheer up, Sunny girl. Don’t ya worry about a thing~” She started singing. “Every little things, gonna be alright~”
"No singing." Sunset said. "You know I don't like the musical numbers."
“Oh so sad~” Fiddlesticks pouted, singing regardless. “Ya don’t know what yer missing~ Oh so saaaad~”
Sunset sighed as she started singing in response. "I am quite aware of the wonder of the world~ I just happen to know I don't fit in~ I have done things that are quite wrong~ So can we please just end this song?~"
“Not until ya turn that frown upside down~” Fiddlesticks chuckled. “Upside down~ Oh the bother of a miserable frown~”
Sunset turned away, frowning harder. "I don't deserve to be happy, not with the things I have done~ I don't deserve to spend my days lounging under the sun~ A frown fits best upon my face~ It's not my fault I know my propped place~"
“Oh just shut up and can it~” Lightning spoke up. “Bottle up those feelings and ban it~ Just follow my lead~ That ain’t no easy feat~ You’ll fall, you’ll cry~ Just give it a try~”
"When it comes to ponies, I am the worst~ My emotions feel eternally cursed~ Guilt plagues me day and night~ Nothing feels like it will ever be right~ I have done good in the past~ But the feeling doesn't last~ No matter what I do~ My redemption never rings true~ I don't think I can freely smile~ I haven't felt it in a while~ I know it makes you mad~ But I feel I deserve to be sad~"
“Why do ah have to listen to this~” Quickfix huffed. “We already got the gist~ Yer sad, yer miserable, yer a big dummy~ Just shut up and stop bein’ crummy~ AH’m tryin’ to sleep over here, now ye see~ We’ve all got problems, so just let it be~”
"Works for me~ You all just let me be~" Sunset said nodding.
“........So we still besties?” Fiddlesticks asked, feeling a tad bit unsure of how the song ended.
"Yeah, yeah we are." Sunset said, picking the book back up and reading again. "Just, let me be for a bit. I need some time to calm down and work through it, I'll be fine, really."
“Well...okay.” Fiddlesticks shuffled off. She frowned as she looked down to her hooves. She was never really one to let anyone down and seeing Sunset, who just not a moment ago threw herself out the window, just sitting there kind of….left her with an empty sort of feeling.
“Glad that’s all over,” Quickfix yawned. “Too much drama.”
"Well, yeah, sorry. I tend to generate drama." Sunset admitted. "Let's just...move on."
“...’Kay,” Fiddlesticks lazily plucked at some of the strings on her fiddle. At least her instrument was tuned alright...Didn’t make her any happier though.
“....Are we there yet?” Lightning asked.
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Dang. Who says this world is all sunshine and rainbows? Sunset is carrying enough darkness around to seriously dim all that light.
Still enjoying this and looking forward to more. So, next up the chaos group start their own quest? Seeing more of the Sparkle sisters is always fun.
5850382 Hey she tried to suicide in the series premier. She's not the most stable of ponies.
5850895
True, true. The really disturbing part though is her lack of emotion about it. Both before and after she acts like it's not that big of a deal. I know that there's a feeling of peace about the decision sometimes, but then there's not really caring one way or the other. Damn.
5850895
Refresh my memory, when exactly was that again? I must have skimmed through it.
Anyways, we now know something about Sunsetverse Coco Pommel. All's left now is Maud and maybe Cloud Kicker.
And awh man! If you guys keep this up with the TFS references what will be left for me?
5795360
I hope to see more Rip Van Winkle Pony.
5853781 When she was laying down and waiting for monsters to eat her in the Everfree.
5854642
Hmm......Yeah, totally don't remember that part.
I've always thought Celestia is a bit of a bureaucrat as well, micro-managing Equestria.
There's so much new information in this chapter! Sunsetverse Coco, Element Bending Pegasi, Shadow Deer! I could have used this brain to memorise Physics equations, but nope!
Seriously, though. Thirteen hour ride? I can't even handle a two hour ride! Looks like we're entering the final act of the series. I hope the ending is worth it!
5789410 To answer your stuff...
My Octavia is a comedy character.
Imbicile is actually a TFS Nappa reference.
And a question of my own, what is Orelmo?