Chapter 1
Five Score Divided by Four
A Mother and Daughter’s Paths
Chapter 1
___________________________________________________________
“Almost there!” I grin as the bass comes within range. “Just a little longer and I’ll be able to relax.”
On my name badge it says Ben Smills. I’m a bush pilot, and a damned good one at that, thank you.
You know, it’s not easy getting this kind of job, especially when you’ve got a brain injury that you’ve had since you were seven and pretty much have no eyesight in your right eye due to an operation to help with said brain injury.
But I got here. I worked hard and passed by tests and got my pilot’s license. Then there’s also the fact that I’ve got the best girlfriend in the whole bloody world. Gorgeous, sweet, smart and quick. We moved to Australia about four years ago so I could get my job. She was able to get one here too. It’s a nice country. I'd originally been born here, but my parents have moved to the US when I was still an infant, so I'd grown up in the US, but was still technically an Aussie by birth.
And soon, I’ll be spending the next three weeks with her. No work, no distractions. Just me and her, boyfriend and girlfriend spending our time with each other, in the place we'd both been raised, the good ol’ US.
A few minutes later I land my plane into the hanger, the workmen closing the hanger doors behind as the hatch opens and I take off my helmet.
“So, how’d it go?”
I look down to see several of my fellow pilots grinning from the other side of the hanger.
I grin back, unstrapping and hopping out of the plan and walk towards them. “Delivery done in record time. Though those town’s folk were just happy I came. The kids were sweet, some even gave me some drawings.”
I pull out one crudely drawn picture of a plane flying over a town with smiling faces hovering above the buildings.
One of the guys grins, giving me a thumbs up. “Enjoy your time off, Ben. The boss’ll give you double your usual shifts the moment you get back, knowing him.”
I sigh, both in the knowledge that he was probably right about the boss, but in exasperation about part of how I’d be spending my time off.
“Well, it’s not gonna be relaxing at first,” I say as we all head into the changing room and we all start getting out of uniform. “Remember Damian?”
“Your girlfriend’s brother?” one guy asks, pulling a shirt over his head.
I nodded, sighing as I unzip my one-piece uniform. “Eeyep. Same one. He got in trouble with the police again. Says it was a misunderstanding and the police have confirmed it, but Kelly needs to hang with him for a few days or they’ll keep him in jail for a month.”
One guy whistles. “I feel sorry for Damian. I met your girlfriend, man. Not someone you wanna piss off.”
I chuckle as I button my jeans. “Don’t I know it. I’ll be surprised if there’s anything left of him once she’s done with him. And don’t get me started on his wife.”
Another barks a laugh. “Jeez. If she’s anything like my wife, she’ll be bitching at him about how he’s setting a bad example for the kids for weeks after.”
I nod, slinging my bag over my shoulder and closing my locker. “Still, since we’ll be in the US, we’ll go set sighting once this all blows over. Catch you guys when I get back,” I call, giving a half salute as I walk out, their calls of goodbye and good luck following me.
I catch a cab and get to the airport an hour before my flight. Flights from Australia to the US usually took a day with the airline I was booked with, so I’d get there the day before my birthday, May 2nd. To be more precise, a few hours before my birthday.
Once on the flight I lean back, ready to rest, though feeling a little uneasy. It might sound like an insult to my fellow pilots, but I feel a lot better when I’m the one flying the plane than being in one flown by someone else.
As I close my eyes to try and get some sleep (sleep always makes a flight go faster when I’m not the pilot), I hear a giggle.
Opening one eye, my good eye, I glance to the row of seat right across me. A little girl is playing with some another girl sitting next to her. Both are holding plush toys of what look like horses, with big eyes, only one’s a bright cyan with a rainbow mane and tail. There’s a marking on its flank that looks like a rainbow lightning bolt coming out of a cloud. The wings on its back indicate some kind of Pegasus, though I’d never heard of a Pegasus with that colour scheme before.
The other girl, the one whose giggle caught my attention in the first place, is holding one that’s grey, with a blonde-looking mane and tail. It also had wings, however, unlike the cyan toy, this one has a group of six bubbles on its flank. Not only that, unlike the other one, the grey toy’s eyes don’t match, by which I mean one is facing a direction different from the other.
I’m about to chuckle at how that toy’s eyes are like mine, when I stop. For some reason, both toy’s remind me of those I know, yet I can’t think of who.
I frown, closing my eyes and trying to think, where had I seen a cyan and grey Pegasus before?
Now, normally that would’ve sounded like more stupid question I could’ve asked myself in my life, but it actually caused a tiny pit of worry inside of me that I couldn’t explain.
The more I tried to remember where I knew a grey and cyan Pegasus from, the more it felt like something inside of me was telling me not to think about it, as if I shouldn’t know.
___________________________________________________________
“Mommy, what’s happening?” my daughter cries as I hold her close.
I stare up at the sky, my face pale.
Discord’s here, in Canterlot. That meant the Wonderbolts had failed. Dash was gone.
A small piece of me dies inside. Dash had been one of the only ponies to make me not feel useless. She inspired me to keep trying, to not give up just because others were putting me down.
And I wasn’t giving up now.
My brow frowned in determination, I lifted Dinky up onto my back.
“Mommy?” I hear her voice quivering as much as her body as she wraps her forelegs around my neck.
“I need to get you out of here,” I say, flapping my wings and taking off.
“But what about Sparkler?!” Dinky asks in a panic.
I was less worried about my oldest daughter than her right now. Sparkler was in Ponvyille. Discord wouldn’t have gone there first, not after stopping the Wonderbolts. He’d have gone after Rainbow’s friends, the other Bearers, including Princess Twilight. I just know it.
No. Sparkler would be safe, at least for a while. Discord would be focusing on Canterlot first. It being the heart of the kingdom and the Bearers out of the way, he’d deal with this place first. Ponyville would probably come second.
If Sparkler was still there, by the time he got there, she’d have been smart enough to get out and go into hiding. I had to trust that she was safe, because she wasn’t the one of my children in danger right now. Dinky was.
“Derpy!”
I whirl around at the calling of my voice and look down to see a unicorn is waving up to us. It’s Moon Dancer.
I dive, stopping in front of her and hovering a few inches off the ground. I may have a bad right eye, but that doesn’t mean I’m not a good flier. “What is it?”
Moon Dancer looks paler than usual, and considering her coat is white, that’s not an easy thing for her to do.
She points up and I follow her hoof, before my blood runs cold again. Several pegasi and griffons are flying at Discord, trying to stop him.
He just cackles and knocks some away with his tail, before blasting others with some kind of white light and starts chanting something we can’t make out from here. The three of us stare in horror as those that were hit with his magic turns to white mist right before our eyes.
I feel my lunch trying to come back up. He... had just turned them to mist. He killed them all, just like that. Did... is that what he did to Dash and the other Bearers? To the princesses?
A pit of rage suddenly burns inside me. He took our princesses from us, even one of my best friends since I was little. I want to make him pay. Make him suffer for taking somepony so close to me.
Before I can do more than think it, however, he turns his eyes towards our direction and I freeze.
He’s grinning at me... but his eyes are also looking a little away from me. He mouths two words, sneering. “Dinky Doo.”
All previous thoughts are forgotten as I bolt down the street, Moon Dancer right on my hooves.
Flying’s not an option. That will just make us easier targets. I can’t let him get Dinky, even if it cost me my life, I won’t let him get her. Maybe we can get away and hide. Then, when he leaves for somewhere else we can—
My thoughts and hoofsteps are halt by a scream from behind us. I stop, whirling around, only for me to see Moon Dancer disappearing right before my eyes.
She’s fading into the same white mist I saw Discord throwing at the other ponies and griffins who’d tried to fight him.
At the sound of murmuring, I look up and see a blast of the white magic coming towards me.
Time seems to freeze as I see that blast. It’s too close for me to run away. It’s going to get me and I’m going to fade away, just like Moon Dancer and everypony else.
A stiffening form on my back reminds me that I’m not the only one it’s going to hit.
I need to save Dinky, buy her even a few seconds to get away. It’s all I can do for her now.
I look back at her for a moment, giving a sad smile, then buck, hard, sending her flying away from me, just as the white light hits me.
I feel myself disappearing, my body just turning into nothingness.
“Mommy!”
I turn, seeing Dinky. She landed a few hooves distance from me. Tears are streaming down her face.
Suddenly I can’t see her anymore, my eyes having disappeared with the top of my head. I give her a sad smile. “Run, Dinky!” I shout-sobs. “Run and don’t look back! Mommy loves you!”
“No! Mommy—”
“Dinky, go!” I wail as I feel more and more of my body just disappear. “I don’t want him to get you, too! Find Sparkler! Stay together! Please, for Mommy!”
I hear whimpering, before the sound of her hooves running against the pavements tell me she’s doing as I asked.
I feel better as the rest of me disappears, knowing I might have at least given my youngest child a chance to escape. As I fall into the nothingness around me, I hear Discord’s voice.
"Five score divided by four,
Your memories removed, your body confused!
For your insolence you must pay,
Cast off to a land far, far away!
I've scattered the six, and that's just the start of my tricks,
Your mind shall be weak, your outlook bleak!
Forgetting everything and living like a fool,
You have all lost, now no one can stop my rule!”
It's the last thing I hear before my consciousness fades
___________________________________________________________
I jerk awake, the feeling of a downward motion making me realize the plane’s landing.
I grunt, sitting up and shaking my head. “What kind of dream was that?”
I can’t shake the chills down my back as I think about the dream. It hadn’t felt like a dream at all. I’d really felt like I was disappearing.
I shiver again. The feeling of your limbs just suddenly not being there anymore made my stomach turn.
“Attention passengers, we have arrived in Detroit,” the captain’s voice says over the speakers, snapping me from my thoughts. “The current time is 11:34PM, May 2nd. Please wait until the plane has come to a complete stop before getting out of your seats. Thank you for using Virgin Airways and we hope to see you again.”
A few minutes later I’ve gotten off the plane and out of customs. Waiting for me is Kelly’s sister-in-law, Jenifer, better known as Jenny. She wearing a blue suit that those of her profession are known for.
“Hope I haven’t disrupted any schedule?” I ask as I reach her and give her a hug.
She shakes her head, her long, shoulder-length brown hair bobbing as she did so. “My next case doesn’t start til tomorrow.” Then, in a quieter, angrier voice, “He’d better straighten up or I won’t take his case the next time.”
I chose to not reply. Having a lawyer for his wife would only help Damian out from the law. At home was another issue all together. One I was going to be wise enough to avoid like the plague if I valued my life, which I do.
I follow Jenny out of the airport and she drives me to her house. It’s a nice place, a little out of the way of Detroit. I can understand why she wouldn’t want to live directly in that city. It’s fun to visit, not to live there. On the outskirts is fair better.
Hers and Damian’s house is your average house. Reasonable size, five bedrooms. The house is a yellowish grey. There’s a small garden out front with flowers you don’t see in Australia, so it was refreshing.
I get out the car and follow her inside... only to wince at the volume Kelly is shouting at.
She’s upstairs, but her voice is carrying down, through a closed door mind you, as if she were right in the room.
Jenny sighs and shows me to the shared guest bedroom where Kelly and I would be staying. We planned on heading to Ohio once Kelly was allowed to get away from her brother. Still didn’t understand why the courts were making her stay with him for a little, but I’d stopped questioning things involving Damian a while ago. It was less painful on my brain that way.
Our room was pretty normal. A double bed, bedside table either side, a closet. Wasn’t like we’d been expecting five-star service or anything.
Once I’d unpacked what little I’d brought (Kelly had brought the rest) I head downstairs and, after quickly checking with Jenny, use the computer the browse ideas for the part of our time off that will be just that and not Kelly giving her brother hell for being an idiot.
I grin as I click a link to information about Detroit’s 8 mile. There was no way I was going to be here in Detroit and not, at least once, visit American Jewellery and Loan, the pawn shop from Hardcore Pawn, run by the Gold family.
I hear a slam and knew Kelly had gone into the guest room. Since I was done with my searching, I closed the computer down and went upstairs.
Kelly was lying on the bed, her back to me. Her ear-length blonde hair looks a bit ragged. “Damian, I’d advise you—” she began, her voice aggressive.
“Well, that’s a nice way to welcome your boyfriend.” I smirk as she sits up, whirling around.
Upon seeing it really was me, she gets an apologetic look on her face and looks down, sighing. “Sorry. Damian’s just...”
I shake my head, walking over and sit down on the bed with her, wrapping an arm around her shoulder. “I heard when I came in.” Then I grinned, narrowing my eyes. “I think know how to make you forget all about that.”
She turns to me, her expression asking what I meant, before she gasped as I kissed her, hard. She’s shocked for a few moments, before she returns the kiss just as hard, her tongue pushing into my mouth.
After several moments we pull away, panting.
“We won’t wake your niece and nephew, will we?” I ask, realizing in hindsight that they would hear us.
She gives a predatory grin. “They’re staying over at a friend’s house. Til tomorrow afternoon, it’s just you, me, Jenny and Damian in the house.”
I return the grin, pushing her down onto the bed and hovering over her. “Then let’s have fun as much as possible.”
She nods, pulling me down and we start kissing harder.
___________________________________________________________
I shift as I wake. I blink, for a moment wondering why I’m naked in bed, before I hear a small sigh and turn my head to my left to see Kelly, sound asleep, her back to me.
Now I remember.
I smirk and lean forward, wrapping my arms around her.
She coos, slowly opening her eyes and glancing back.
“Good morning.”
She gives that cute smile of hers. “Morning.”
We stay that way for a little, me holding her, her just enjoying being held.
“Pretty wild last night,” I said, blowing at a bit of her hair.
We’d gone at it till well after midnight. We hadn’t had sex in over a month because we’d been too tired most nights thanks to our jobs.
She giggles. “What about you? If I’d known you were gonna be that rough, I’d have told Jenny to soundproof the room.” Then, for some reason, she frowns. “But that was a weird bit of role play.”
I blink, confused. “Role play?” I didn’t remember us doing any role play.
She pulls a little out of my grip, sitting up, now wearing a frown of confusion. “Yeah. For some reason you started talking about muffins. I thought it was some weird bakery idea and just ran with it.”
I pull back completely and sit up, cocking my head to the side. “Okay, not only do I agree that sounds weird, I don’t remember that happening.”
She raises an eyebrow. “Really?”
I nod.
She frowns. “Weird. And you don’t know why you’d start shouting “Blueberry muffins are my favorite” halfway through?”
I winced. One of the things I both loved and hated about Kelly was how blunt she could be when saying things, sometimes. Then what she said kicks in and I wince again.
“I... really said that?” I asked, really hoping she’s just joshing me.
She nods, then looks at me with concern. “You really don’t remember saying it, or anything bakery or mail related?”
My wince turns into absolute confusion. “Wait. I talked about mail, too?”
She nods, frowning. “I thought you’d changed it to some kind of role play where I was a letter box and you were the postman.”
I cringe. “Well, while I’m glad that one sounds a little more realistic, why don’t I remember it?”
She shakes her head.
I sigh, scratching my neck. Well, I had just gotten off a flight from Australia to Detroit. Maybe I should blame that weirdness, and the fact that I couldn’t remember it, on that.
I push the cover up and start moving to get off the bed, when a confused “Huh?” from Kelly, stops me.
I glance at her. “What?”
She points to my thighs, an annoyed expression covering her features. “I thought you said you’d never get a tattoo.”
I frown. I’ve been terrified of needles since I was little. What was she going on about?
I glance down, before my eyes widen in shock and confusion. On my thighs, as clear as day are a group of six bubbles.
Okay. I am never eating airplane food again.
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Am interesting start. I like that you are using the Derpy from SparkyBrony's story.
You need to go through and fix some of the spelling and grammar mistakes. There are a couple places where you left a word out completely, or used the wrong word.
I look forward to seeing more.
I agree with Phenrys a vary good start and I am really liking it a hole lot.
yes there are a few spelling and grammar mistakes that code use looked at but it is stall a vary good first chapter.
good job A B
Harts Fire
A good start from a storytelling perspective.... I really loved the emotional impact of her fighting for just one more moment for Dinky. Very emotional and powerful.
:sigh: on to the technical perspective... Pacing is too fast, while dust is fast, this is race car fast, need to take your time with the description and talking about what is happening. You also need to work on editing, or get a good editor. This story has fantastic potential, and I love how the characters have been built. Keep it up.
Don't I know it. I'll never be able to fly because I'm color blind and near-sighted. I'm not sure how depth perception would fair, but I won't question it.
call me crazy, but this looks inspired by kanashiipanda.
I really like this scene. The whole thing felt inspiring and it flowed well, despite the grammatical quirks, which I will try to point out in pre reading your latest chapters as you send them to me.
You're not hardcore until after 600h. On an unrelated note, look at the time!
*nsfw*
"I want my muffins slapped! I want my mailbox stuffed!"
Inbox-chan inside joke recieved
6069335 Okay, Crazy. actually, that wasn't inspired by that video at all. I was just really in the moment when i wrote that, i guess.
Only one chapter in, and already lots of fun.
Plane
it's same
sorry but they just bothered me so much. But other than that perfect grammar.
When I saw this story up in the pops all I could say in reaction to it was, no fucking way..
Interesting...
6069335 one of my favorite animations of all time. Remember kids, when friendship fails, violence is always the answer