Closet Pony

by DouglasTrotter

November 1st

>>>November 1st, 7:22 am<<<

My watch appeared frozen. Each agonizing second ticked by as the fillies, Sanctuary, Princess Celestia, and myself began our final preparations. Those agonizing seconds became agonizing minutes. When the watch hit five-thirty, we steadied ourselves and continued our the preparations.

Six O'clock came. They came.

The princess assumed her position. The others manned their stations.

"Welcome one and all," Princess Celestia bellowed to the crowd while she moved her mouth to mimic her speaking, "to your delight of Halloween fright this very night! From this princess to all of you, I hope your night is an especially spooky event."

I'd forgotten how many trick-or-treaters there could be in a single wave. It was unbelievable.

One trip to the store and $300 later, the six of us spent the past three days preparing the event, sometimes working late at night. Princess Celestia MC'd the event, thanks in part to that little animiomorphic spell of hers, and, it goes without saying, the princess looked quite the regal part. She had the crown, her neckpiece, an interesting white gown, and a royal looking staff... along with her wings and horn. Whatever. No one cared how she or the others were dressed. It was Halloween.

The whole shindig kicked off because a quartet of ponies popped the question on me at almost the last minute. I wouldn't have been so annoyed if they brought it up a little sooner. This was their first Halloween, so I didn't want to disappoint them even if it cost a little bit more than I would have liked. Props, candy, costumes, makeup, and such doesn't come cheap. Of course, I caved in to their request because the party served a dual purpose.

"So, what do you think, Sanctuary?" I said, visiting Sanctuary's booth in the backyard. Though the mare stayed near her table, you'd know she smiled and smirked underneath her mask. She obtained a small piece of her dream by being able to leave her namesake for two hours, sometimes up to five hours at a time. It's sad that she can't permanently leave it since any longer than that time frame and she starts to get a little on the woozy side. Still, all journeys start with a single step, to be a little philosophical about it all. "Are you enjoying yourself?"

"The sights; the sounds; the smells; it's more than I could have dreamed." Sanctuary said.

The kids came in, the CMCs had their fun, Sanctuary got out for the night, and Princess Celestia got to enjoy some time with the fillies and her daughter. That's what mattered.

When seven-thirty rolled around I looked at the princess, and then tapped my watch. She gave a firm nod to the others at their booths. A little kid with a tiara and a wand strolled through the yard and visited each booth. Princess Celestia gave the little one a quick hug before waving goodbye. With the little princess gone, the gate was shut. A quick snap of Princess Celestia's fingers cleaned up everything and caused her to return to her original form. Like all good things, their first Halloween came to an end. I found myself grateful the little shindig went off without a hitch.

As we went inside I turned off the outside lights, went to the bathroom, came back, and heated up some leftovers. Our little group sat at the table in my house on Earth.

"I know it was unkind to spring it on you at the last minute, but thank you for letting us have this party." Princess Celestia said after we finished our meal. She extended her wing and brought me in close. I returned the gesture in kind with the others coming in for the group hug. Heh, kinda sappy now that I think about it, but it did warm this cold heart of mine. "Time to get you home, Sanctuary. Your power is still growing, and I want you to get some rest."

"A promise is a promise." Sanctuary said.

"No groaning, young lady." Princess Celestia said. She turned toward the fillies. "Do you have something to say to our friend?"

"Thanks for the party!" The trio said.

"Heh, no problem." I said. I looked at the yard. "You're better than a cleaning service."

"It was awesome to get out and about like that, not feeling so cooped up." Scootaloo said.

"Yea, it was great! Ah can't wait ta divy up our spoils, heh heh." Apple Boom said.

"Right, there's a lot of sweet sweets here." Sweetie Belle said.

"Well, we need to get some sleep first, wouldn't you agree, Princess Celestia." I said, giving her a quick smirk. The princess agreed, causing the all-too-common sigh to follow from the three fillies in front of us. "I'll hold onto your stash. It's not going anywhere, I promise."

The yard secured, the house locked down, I had the others hold onto me. As part of my, ugg, training, I teleported the others back to Sanctuary.

Princess Celestia and I made sure the others went to sleep before we placed their treats on the table, the princess illuminating her horn. We needed to be safe rather than sorry, and it seemed our luck continued with no issues being found amongst their "spoils."

With the four ponies nestled in their beds, the two of us made our way to the main garden.

"So, now comes the ultimate question," I said while sitting at the table in Sanctuary's garden, "did 'you' enjoy yourself?"

"More than you'll ever know." Princess Celestia said. She sipped on her drink then placed it back on the table. I nibbled on a small turkey sandwich while the princess ate a banana. " Though small in comparison, that event made me feel like I was home, like I was back in Equestria celebrating my dear sister's Nightmare Night holiday."

The mare wiped away a quick tear before she gazed at the garden.

This place isn't their home. I wondered then, and now, if these little moments only cause pain for Princess Celestia and the others, reminding them of their home. Is it right to remind them they might never get back?

"Want a bite of my sandwich?" I said, shaking myself out of a daze. The princess shook her head in a soft manner. I shrugged. "Suit yourself. It still surprises me to this day you'd eat eggs and cheese, drink milk, and such things, considering, ya know..."

"Some don't eat eggs, drink milk, or consume anything animal related. It's all personal taste. Not to mention that all manner of creatures inhabit Equestria. Though I am a leader of Equestria, who am I to judge an individual's lifestyle." Princess Celestia said. The princess sipped on her drink, and then raised an eyebrow at me. "You don't eat ponies, do you?"

"Only if I'm super, super hunger." I said, making a pathetic growling noise.

"O my. I best prepare myself because you look famished." Princess Celestia said, ending with a polite chuckle. I laughed a little then drank some water. The princess looked at me, "Is everything ok?"

I threw my head back then removed my hand from my forehead, "Gah. I just, just, ugg.... I can't believe I'm an adult."

"Pardon?" Princess Celestia said.

"I guess it's more of a human joke than anything else." I said. I let out quick, loud, almost cackling laugh. "Humans just stumble around in life, all of us trying to play at the idea of being adults. It's why we sometimes call it 'adulting' in certain conversations."

"It's more common than you might think. I've had several of my little ponies realize the same thing, and, as sad as it is to say, there are times where it happens a little sooner than it should. However, we won't talk about such things. Not when such a wonderful event happened tonight." Princess Celestia said. She glanced towards me. "I meant to ask, how is your arm doing? Does it take that long for humans to heal?"

Her question went straight to the point. I placed my drink on the table. I placed my hand on my shoulder and said, "It depends upon the injury, along with other factors. I'm sure my arm is fine."

The princess gave a polite, quiet goodnight. When she left the garden, I looked behind me. I removed the faux arm I had made from an old Halloween prop. Even now as I look at this thing while typing this up, recounting what happened the day I lost my arm, it's so surreal.

I don't like the idea of lying to the princess. A lie doesn't solve a blasted thing. Not to mention all lies carry consequences. The ultimate truth is that I'm worried it'll cause the princess to feel guilty if she learns the truth, thinking she somehow caused this to happen, but there's another truth.

Right now, one can only wonder if karma has exacted her revenge, the toll being paid, or if she's got more in-store.

>>>November 1st, 12:39 pm<<<

"Pardon me, I'm coming in. I've brought some fresh towels." Princess Celestia said after a quick knock on the door. The word "wait" didn't even escape my lips till it opened. When the cherry-red colored door opened, the towels levitating in front of the princess hit the floor. Her eyes widened. Princess Celestia's mouth dropped. I grabbed a towel from the ground. "..."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Ok. Just. Just wait, ok. Before you say anything. I'm ok, I'm -- no. No, no, no. Don't you dare," I sighed as the loud thud came to my ears, "don't tell me. Aww man, come on. Did you really just do that?" I said. The towel slid off my shoulder, exposing what remained of my arm. I picked the towel up then wrapped it around my waist. Well, I wrapped it around my waist the best I could. What happened was the exact reason I should have taken a shower at home, but no, I didn't. I had to ignore my own gut feeling, my own dang warning. I tapped Princess Celestia's hoof with my foot and said, "Are you really..."

"..." Princess Celestia remained motionless on her back.

"Dang it!"

I had caused some royal pain in my butt, quarter-ton horse thing to feint. Heh, by how much she weighed, I'd almost say three-quarter ton horse. Each time I tried to move her, she seemed planted there like someone put glue on her back. Princess Cake Butt needs to lay off the sweets.

There were no other options.

"Hey, I need some help with Princess Celestia." I said after appearing in Sanctuary's main garden. Sanctuary, Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo stopped in their tracks. When they gazed at me, their mouths dropping open, I looked at my missing arm. "O. Crap."

All of them screamed. Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle clutched onto each other, Sanctuary clutching onto them while she screamed. Apple Bloom darted towards the door and zoomed back with the first-aid kit in hand, or hoof, I guess.

Apple Bloom raced forward at top speed. She leapt into the air and plowed into me. She pinned my right arm down, bandages bursting forth from the opened kit.

"Quick. Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo, Sanctuary! Find the arm. We gotta get it on ice. ASAP!" Apple Bloom said as she fumbled with the bandages.

"O for the love of -- do you think I'd be this calm if it just happened?!" I said.

Sanctuary placed Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo down. The bandages fell off my arm as I got to my feet. The pony crept forward, her wings quivering. She kept scanning me. "Now that you mention it. There's no, no, umm."

"Yea, look. I'll explain later. I just need some help with the princess. She kinda collapsed." I said.

All of them held onto me as I teleported to my room. After I finished drying off and putting my clothes on, I pointed towards Princess Riga Mortis still on her back, her hooves pointed straight up with her wings out.

Sanctuary and the others placed the princess into my bed, and then pulled the covers over her. While she rested, I did my best to explain what had happened to the others.

I'd say it took half-an-hour, maybe an hour to explain everything, but, without my watch, and no clock in the dining room, it was hard to gauge the time.

"Geez, and here I thought that Doom guy costume would be the biggest fright I've seen." Sweetie Belle said.

"By fright you mean awesome. I want a costume like that for Nightmare Night when we get back home." Scootaloo said.

"Ahem." I said. The two fillies gave a sheepish grin. "Getting back to the point. Sanctuary, how's your mother doing?"

"She seems ok. At least, I think she's ok." Sanctuary said, giving a quick shrug afterwards. The pony sat down near the others. "My mother may have just been shocked by the whole experience and passed out."

"Surprised the whole moon didn't shake when she hit the floor, heh." I said, letting out a quick laugh.

"And why would the moon do that?" A voice said.

The room went silent. My eyes widened, and my body went cold. I knew my face went white cause it reflected off the eyes that stared at me when I turned around. The raised eyebrow that greeted me didn't help either.

"Are you implying something?" Princess Celestia said. I turned away, whistling an innocent tune. She poked my side with a gentle, yet firm hoof. "Look at me. 'Human.'"

I remained focused. I wasn't about to look at her.

Another firm pressure came to my side, and then my chair levitated into the air. It spun around 180 degrees and dropped to the ground. Princess Celestia leaned in. She gave a grin so devilish it'd make a demon turn tail and run, so, in a squeaky voice, I said, "Umm. Bye!"

Though missing my watch, I snapped my fingers anyways. Not too surprisingly, I appeared way, way, WAY off course: on top of the empire state building.

I calmed down and snapped my fingers.

"How was the trip?" Princess Celestia said. Just my luck I appeared back in the chair, right where I left. The princess raised her head and stood firm, gazing down at me. "I'll have you know that 'path,' as you call it, in the meditation garden, it isn't magically made. Each and every morning I wake up early, gather several heavy rocks, and gallop around the garden to stay in shape. Every. Single. Morning."

The princess didn't glare at me, yet, she kinda did, if there's a word for it.

A few silent moments later, I said "sorry," and then Princess Celestia glided her soft wings across my arm, or rather, she touched what remained of my right arm.

The princess placed a soft hoof on her forehead, shook her head, and sighed.

"Umm, can I say something?" I said. With another raised eyebrow given as a reply, I remained quiet. The princess lowered her eyebrow and continued her examination. She retracted her wing then pulled down the sleeve of my shirt.

"Serves you right for mocking a lady's weight." Sweetie Belle said. She and the others snickered at me.

"Why did you keep this to yourself?" Princess Celestia said, placing the watch on my left arm.

"Sorry." I said.

"I didn't ask for an apology. I asked why you didn't tell us what happened." Princess Celestia said.

"..."

"Were you afraid?" Apple Bloom said.

"Sounds more like you were ashamed, if you ask me." Scootaloo said.

I remained silent, my gaze fixated on my watch.

Those two weren't too far off the mark.

I was afraid. I'm still afraid, but I'm also ashamed of the truth where my curiousness caused this to happen. It happened because that little piece of rope underneath the makeshift bed piqued my interest. Time and again it had been missed till that very night when, upon inspection, it appeared to be the same kind of rope one of those fillies came here with, the dark tan rope tied to their back. Instead of telling the others, my curiosity took hold, and, when my hand neared the rope, my watch began to glow. The dim glow grew brighter and brighter till that small piece of rope constricted around my index finger.

Fear set in immediately. I clenched my hand into a tight fist and pulled back, but the rope pulled even harder. A tug of war ensued. The harder I pulled the harder it pulled. Time didn't exist. Though the battle ended when my arm disappeared into nothingness, the war ended as I pulled back a nub.

It took all I had to calm myself. Deep down I knew my arm wasn't really gone. I knew that much, yet, in a contradictory sense, my arm was gone.

"Did. Did...." Apple Bloom voice trailed off, the filly almost struggling to form the words.

"We will discuss your actions at a later date, however, right now, I am severely disappointed in you." Princess Celestia said. She crept towards the door. The princess stopped, and then glanced over her shoulder. I lowered my head. "It hurts to know that you couldn't trust me or the others, that you couldn't tell any of us the truth about what happened to your arm. Honesty is one of the cornerstones of friendship."

I looked up to see Apple Bloom having slammed her hooves into the dining room table. The filly's tears landed on the marble surface. Her voice cracked as she said, "Princess Celestia. Did, did our friend ruin our chances of getting back home? Are we stuck here?"

"I don't know, Apple Bloom." Princess Celestia said. The door closed behind the princess so softly that it made no sound.

Apple Bloom left the dining room, wiping the tears from her eyes; Sweetie Belle followed Apple Bloom, hanging her head; Scootaloo, after she let out a sigh, followed her friends; Sanctuary, the last one to leave, looked towards me then the door. She looked away, crept towards the door, and then closed it in the same fashion as her mother.

One-by-one the others had left the dining room till I found myself alone.

I lowered my head for the final time. In the quiet moment, I didn't scream. I didn't curse, swear, or yell. My body felt cold while I clutched onto the right sleeve of my shirt. I let go of my shirt sleeve, raised my left hand into the air, and, once I stood up, I snapped my fingers.

No amount of "I'm sorry" or apologizing could undo what I've done. I've failed those ponies as their guardian. Rather, I've failed them as their friend.

>>>November 1st, 11:25 pm<<<

The full moon looked so beautiful in the night sky. One could call it an elegant pearl against a backdrop of brilliant sparkling stones. There are many who would wish they could go see the moon. Right now, I just want to return to it.

I miss the laughter. I miss those quirky, sometimes idiotic jokes. There was no elegant meal to fix, no dinner plan for a group of guests to share amongst themselves. Instead, on the black glass table sat a small, half-burnt turkey sandwich with a small cup of chicken soup. The house was so quiet when dinner time came. Even now, this silence hurts.

"Please leave Sanctuary for the rest of the day," Princess Celestia said to me when I found her in the meditation garden around two-ten. The princess looked away after she said her peace. When I reached out to the ruler of Equestria, I stopped then retracted my hand, a quick snap taking me home.

The damage is done. The princess doesn't want to speak with me, and I doubt she'll want to speak with me for some time. Though it's understandable, it doesn't take away the sting.

Throughout the day, none of the fillies came to the house. Even Sanctuary stayed away. It's all too bitter sweet for her. The previous day was filled with so much happiness, with so much joy. I remember how each of those ponies laughed, smiled, giggled, and beamed with so much joviality it seemed to radiate to everything around them, including the house itself.

When Three O'clock rolled around, I laid down to take a quick nap, but it seems my dreams have now turned into nightmares. These weird, equine-like noises reverberate amongst the darkness whenever I shut my eyes and try to sleep. Not to mention that horrible mist is back. None of it makes sense. The nightmare that attacked us was the blue mist in my dreams. That thing had to be the creature in my dreams, right?

I, I guess I'm just rambling on in my notes. I passed out on the couch after the visit to Princess Celestia, and I tossed and turned till I awoke around six.

Right now it's hard to get to sleep because those weird noises keep haunting my dreams. Not to mention, it'd be nice if this phantom-limb stuff would stop. I don't know why, but I keep getting this odd sensation like something is touching my right hand. It's impossible. There's no way something can be touching my right hand since it's, well, gone. Whatever. I'll try and force myself to get some sleep, nightmares or not.

All I can do right now is hope I can make amends tomorrow, but what can a person say when the words "I'm sorry" aren't enough?

---End Entry---

Author's Note:

Another chapter update that took longer than I would have liked. There was a good chunk I desperately wanted to leave in, but, in the end, that portion had to be cut because it caused the protagonist to go off on a wee bit of a tangent that would have either been cliched, sounded melodramatic, or some combination thereof with said tangent probably making no sense what-so ever.

On a more lighthearted note, every time I kept imagining Princess Celestia staring down the protagonist after he talked about the moon shaking, I thought of the scene between Ms. Kobayashi and Kana when they first met. That almost anime-esk, dead-pan/death glare.

Anyways, hope you all like the chapter. If there's an issue, give me a heads up and I'll do my best to try and fix it.