Wounds and Weapons

by Zytharros

Some Candy for the Road

Some Candy for the Road

I woke up on the same roof, but doubts still plagued my mind.

I’ll be the first to admit, this was the first time anypony had picked me for a leadership position. I had always been content in a support role, never really questioning helping anyone else out, nor expecting anything in return. I never felt qualified to lead. I was always screwing something up. Leaders don’t screw things up all the time, do they? At least, they’re not supposed to…

It was dawn. The smell of the morning dew was invigorating. So was the chill that came from being coated in the stuff. I stood and shook myself off. Looking at the sky, I puzzled for a moment why the pegasi of Ponyville like myself weren’t organizing the weather. A glint in the sky reminded me that nopony could get to the clouds because of the barrier.
I took a deep breath and smiled. Today nothing was going to get me down. Even seeing Zytharros in the state he was in. Even the impending doom of my klutzy leadersh-

Muffin tops… why did I think of that?

I sulked once again, then shook my head and righted myself. This was no time to be depressed. My team needed me. I took a couple steps, briefly forgetting where I was, and promptly tumbled off the roof, crashing hard into the building beside the one I had slept on.

“Ow…”

I sighed in relief, happy the day started like normal for once. I pulled myself out of a crumpled heap and walked into the house, shaking off the pain of the fall. I looked at Zytharros, sleeping peacefully for the first time in days, surrounded by Sweetie Belle, who slept on his back, Rainbow Dash, who slept by his head, and Boomdrop, who had rested her head on his hip, would wake up to find her head under Sweetie Belle’s tail. This caused a smile to form on my face, to see one of my best friends surrounded by his closest allies.

I looked around, temporarily confused between my two conflicting eyes. I shook my head to orientate my vision, then trotted into the kitchen to get myself a cup of coffee. Cheerilee was already up. She looked nervous as I entered.

“H-hello…” she said.

I could tell she was uncomfortable with my presence, so I tried to be as polite as I could.

“Hi, Cheerilee,” I said, putting on a smile.

“Would you like something?” she asked.

I nodded. “Do you have any muffins?”

I felt really awkward in her house… I scratched an imaginary itch as she got my muffin for me, never taking her eyes off my eye.

I glared at her. “I know I have an odd eye, okay…”

“Well, Bright Eyes…” she started.

Incensed, I turned away. “Forget the muffin.” She had used the single most derogatory thing I had heard in my entire life, and I didn’t need that.

“Wait… Derpy!” she said, calling after me. “Can you at least tell me why you don’t like that name? It seems like a good compromise to…”

I snorted. “I’ve been through that with Zytharros. Its well-meaning teachers like you I have to blame for all the teasing. That name… that… cursed name…” I looked at her, doing my best to express the pain that name caused me. “As a filly, when you have a wonky eye, do you think you’d like a name like Bright Eyes? That put the attention right here-” I indicated my bad eye “-and never let it leave.”

Cheerilee gasped. “I… I didn’t know…”

I sighed. “I know you didn’t. Too many people don’t even bother asking why I find it so offensive.”

“I’m sorry…” she said apologetically. “What should I call you?”

“The name my mother gave me – Derpy Hooves,” I said. “Even Ditzy Doo’s fine. I don’t want to hear Bright Eyes mentioned… ever… again.” I made sure to add a little acid to the last two words to emphasize my point.

“Okay, Derpy,” she said. She handed me the muffin. “You hungry?”

Still a little sore, I took the muffin and tried to smile. I could never express exactly how angry that name made me – even my outburst I had with Zytharros that one time was only about half the anger I felt. I decided to try and follow his example and forget about it. Ponies make honest mistakes, right? Besides, she didn’t know the damage I had suffered at that name. I tossed back the muffin and smiled genuinely this time.

“Thank you,” I replied.

I looked around at everypony sleeping. Rainbow Dash was missing, however. Curious as to where she had gone, I walked outside. I heard running water, so I looked around for a cloud shower. I had heard Rainbow liked to take one every morning. That reminded me - I hadn’t had a bath in weeks. It might be good for me to take a shower, too.

Rainbow came around the corner. “Oh! Hey, Derpy! What’s up?”

I smiled pleasantly. “Did you save any rainwater for me?”

“Oh… no, I didn’t,” she said. “Wait here. I’ll get one for you.”

She raced back to the sky and picked out a choice rain cloud. I was impressed at the quality she selected. It looked like one she would reserve for herself.

“Okay, now stand still…” she warned.

I spread my wings out and smiled as the rain came down. It felt as if all my worries suddenly washed away… Crystal Fist… the fact we needed to save four ponies… the knowledge I was in charge of a group that I had to earn the respect of… it didn’t matter. That single shower really brightened my day. I transformed some of the rain into bubbles, watching them float up and away as I blew them clear of the other raindrops. Bubbles always made me happy… their carefree floating and incredibly delicate nature always absorbed my worries and carried them away.

The water stopped.

“You good?” Dash asked, peering out over the edge of the cloud. “There’s still a little left in here.”

“I’m okay.” I nodded, smiling and shaking my body dry. “Nice work, Rainbow Dash!”

Rainbow and I trotted inside the house. The place was beginning to bustle with activity. Boomdrop and Razortongue were saying their good-mornings to each other. Emerald Thunder, Fluttershy and Sweetie Belle were tending to the sick blue stallion. Rainbow Dash busied herself with Scootaloo and Apple Bloom.

I smiled and cleared my throat. Instantly all eyes were on me… after Zytharros began calling for people to pay attention. He seemed to be able to think today. Our enemy, Crystal Fist, wasn’t hitting him as hard as she had in the past. Maybe she was tired? Anyway, I addressed the assembled crowd standing before me, refocusing on the talk I needed to give.

“Today, we start looking for the remaining bearers of the Elements of Harmony. I know half of you don’t respect me as a leader, and I know I certainly don’t respect myself. I hope I can become the leader Zytharros said I could be, and that I can count on all of you for support. Now, I need to know for sure who’s coming with me. Please speak your name, and if you are. Let’s start over here-” I indicated Razortongue, on the far left side of the room, sweeping my arm left to right “-and go that way.”

“Razortongue, reporting for duty.” She gave me a rather dramatic salute.

“Boomdrop is a go.” A nod from the black and purple pegasus.

“Emerald Thunder, watching Zytharros.” That dopey smile and squeaky voice… Personally, I was a little glad I would be rid of it for a while, at least. That stallion was a stallion of most dramatic contradictions.

“Zytharros, staying back to recover.” The blue once-alicorn-now-Earth-pony nodded to me. “I wish I could help further.”

“Scootaloo!” “Apple Bloom!” “Sweetie Belle!”

“The Cutie Mark Crusaders are a go!” they shouted together, almost as if it had been choreographed.

“Two on the road…” Scootaloo and Apple Bloom said.

“…And one at home base!” Sweetie Belle declared.

“The Cutie Mark Crusaders, in your face!” they shouted again.

The room ascended into uproarious laughter at the cuteness of the cheer. It was so nice to laugh again. It had been ages since I had felt it so genuinely within this group. A smile exploded onto my visage. The laughing lasted for a few minutes before the declarations continued.

“Rainbow Dash, ready for duty!”

“Fluttershy, staying behind to help any way I can!” she said, stomping a hoof in emphasis.

Suddenly, Canuck Chuck busted through the door. “I found a Shadow!”

The doorway exploded as a shadow with a wild mane and tail cackled, pelting the room with all manner of sweets. Canuck Chuck flew into me, knocking me straight into Sweetie Belle and Zytharros. The filly unicorn shrieked, the blue stallion groaned and Canuck Chuck got the wind knocked out of him.

It figured that he, a young colt, would find Pinkie Pie first.

“Who’s ready for sweets!?” an evil-sounding Pinkie Pie shouted. She sprayed the entire inside of Cheerilee’s house with something that looked like a cupcake-firing AK-47.

...Guns are a secret passion of mine. I blame the Ponynet…

She cackled again as our team quickly reacted. Once he got his breath back and snacked on three conveniently-aimed treats, Canuck Chuck swiftly disarmed her of her gun. However, he quickly found himself outmatched by her illogical behaviour… especially her “Infinite Twos” punch.

“I put two and two and two and two…” she cackled hysterically as Canuck Chuck endured a barrage of punches nopony could track. “…two and two and two and two…”

Apple Bloom leapt and head-butted Canuck Chuck out of the way, taking a few hits herself, but eventually passing through the cloud of hooves.

“…through your FACE…” the crazy shadow shouted, giving Apple Bloom a final pound to the back of the head “…then a rear leg through your GUT!”

She kicked Apple Bloom into the ceiling. The poor filly put a massive hole through the roof. The shadowy Pinkie Pie cackled even louder as she turned her attention to the rest of us, shrapnel from the roof crashing down all around us.
And yet, she couldn’t physically hit any of us.

She swung for Boomdrop… missed. She tackled Sweetie Belle… missed. She tried to kick Zytharros… missed again.

We all discovered then what to look for when attacking a Shadow, and Canuck Chuck wasted no time in acting. Canuck Chuck flashed out of the room as Pinkie Pie tried attacking people without her cupcake gun. It was futile. She collapsed on the ground and cried, both in anger and sadness, just as Canuck Chuck arrived with an unconscious Apple Bloom.

It was now or never. I activated the bubble technique and linked Apple Bloom with Pinkie Pie. The shadowy mare froze. Canuck Chuck dropped Apple Bloom. I began hovering a bit as my mind prepared to once again become the battleground for a war that could save a friend’s life. Slowly my vision deteriorated to a point of blackness, then what sounded like a door opening signified a change in scenery.

The purple field opened as if two doors were thrown open. A deep yellow ball, a bright pink ball, and a single black ball materialized. I could tell Apple Bloom was terrified out of her mind. Her ball wasn’t moving.

“Apple Bloom!” I called to her.

“Derpy!” she screamed.

Her ball moved to me as the black ball turned around. As quick as a flash, it struck her hard, sending the ball rolling. I growled.

“Stay away from Apple Bloom!!” I shouted. The young filly had been the only one of the Cutie Mark Crusaders to really get to know me on our journey, and for that she held a special place in my heart.

I struck at the black ball, knocking it back. I discovered something else with that hit – that the one who was supposed to battle the demon inside a friend was the only one who could do significant damage. Unfortunately, I had engaged foolishly in a battle that was never mine.

In short order, I was chased around my own mind, terrified of that blackness.

“Apple Bloom!” I screeched.

She finally stood up. “Derpy! What do I do!? Where am I?”

“You’re in my mind! You need to destroy this black thing chasing me to save Pinkie Pie!” I shouted. “Help me!!”

“How?” she shouted back.

“Will yourself at it!” I said. “Just fight it! Think about Pinkie Pie and her safety! Think what you want to do!”

A few more minutes of running around had me tuckered right out, so I collapsed to the floor of my mind. I folded my forelegs over my eyes and braced for a hit that never came. I heard some young grunting and demonic howling. A couple minutes after I was sure it still wasn’t after me, I peeked out of my admittedly pathetic fortress and looked at the battlefield… and what I saw utterly shocked me.

Apple Bloom was laying waste to the shadow!

Her soul had taken on the shape of a full-grown mare with a bow. She was feeding off her friend’s anguish and furthering her rage with it. It appeared like she was performing her Kung Fu moves she had learned from Rainbow Dash nearly three years prior as part of discovering her cutie mark. I had overheard she was no good at it from Applejack, but that didn’t matter in the soul universe, apparently.

Another swift kick and the black mass flew my way. I quickly made a deft leap towards it and volleyed it back at Apple Bloom. We played keep-up with the ball for a while, toying with the enemy, before Apple Bloom finally eliminated the threat. It exploded into the air.

I immediately recognized the pattern. It would head for Zytharros!

“Oh, no you don’t…” I said menacingly.

I leapt for the slowly-vanishing blob as it attempted to transcend dimensions out of Pinkie Pie’s mind. I captured what I could.

“Apple Bloom! One last hit should shatter it!” I shouted.

She leapt for the apparition, her hooves at the ready to deliver a fatal blow to the evil darkness. Soon, Pinkie Pie leapt up, right alongside her.

“That meanie’s not getting the best of Pinkie Pie again!!” she shouted.

With a loud, unified shriek, both Apple Bloom and Pinkie Pie pierced the heart of the shadow as I held it. The shadow writhed and foamed, misting in disjointed chaos. I closed my eyes as it deflated like a balloon, carrying me around my mental arena at a billion miles an hour, eventually causing me to crash into the ground and roll seven or eight times at high speed. I also bounced off a wall…

I didn’t realize minds had walls. I knew that they had floors from when I tried saving my grandma from death. When I finally let her go I had fallen and hurt myself pretty badly. But walls? When did this wall get built? It looked like the horizon went on forever…

I stood up and shook my head. Soon Apple bloom tapped my flank. I turned and blinked – I could’ve sworn she was on the other side of my mind… but whatever. I joined her and walked to Pinkie Pie’s soul, who hovered in place.

For a second, I forgot what I was supposed to do. It came back to me soon enough. I sent Apple Bloom back without an explanation and nodded to Pinkie Pie.

“You want to get back into control, don’t you?” I asked.

She whined, “That meanie-pants took me out of my own body! I want my body back! I want to make ponies smile again…”

“Then follow me,” I said.

I walked out of my mind onto a plane of pink frosting, spiraling upward to a diamond-encased Pinkie body. Miscellaneous sweet foodstuffs of all sorts rained down the inside of this sphere, and happy faces orbited the cupcakes. Just being in Pinkie’s mind increased my happiness!

This meant the mind had a ceiling as well… Just how high up it went, though, I doubt I would ever find out.

Slowly she ascended the spiral without me. I knew now her soul could find its way back on its own without my help, so I smiled and slowly withdrew to my own mind, pulling myself up and out of the bubble technique. As I did, I watched soul and body meet, eye-to-eye like old friends. They locked lips, and the soul was absorbed back into the body. The crystal shattering was the last thing I observed before fully re-entering my own form in a blaze of white light.

When I came to, I realized every pony there stood at attention around me, especially the unicorns. They had a billion questions in their mind. I realized I had a lot of explaining to do, being a pegasus fully in control of a potentially devastating, intimidating, awe-inspiring, and completely unique type of magic.

The magic

of soul-manipulation.