A Cog in the Machine

by ManlyDerp

Chapter 10: To Be Heard... Part 1 of ???

…

…

…

“… I dig my hole, you build a wall.”

…

“… I dig my hole, you build a wall.”

…

“… One day that wall is gonna fall~

“Gon’ build that city on a hill.”

...

“… Gon’ build that city on a hill.”

…

“…Some day those tears are gonna spill~

“So build that wall and build it strong ‘cause we’ll be there before too long.

“… Gon’ build that wall up to the sky…”

Within a land of perpetual white, a young girl continues to weep

***^***

…

…

…

... Okay… it’s time for me to finally admit something about myself… something so horrific yet such an integral part of who I am as a pony that I’ve refused to even acknowledge it until now.

I really don’t want to say it… but I need to get this secret off my chest right now if I’m to move forward and become a better mare. It's holding me back… but I can’t let this secret control me anymore!

And that secret…

Is the fact…

That I’m… I’m…

… Wow… this is going to be harder than I thought.

… But I can’t back down now. I need to do this for myself.

Okay… deep breath…

-Inhale-

I’m…

I’m…

… an out of control party animal.

There! I said it! Shocking, I know! I, Vinyl Prudence Scratch; the friendless DJ star who has poor table manners and a habit of being impulsive, am not perfect! There’s your plot twist for today, folks. You can go home now.

…

… Anyways, I have a partying problem. I seriously need help. I don’t really drink, even though I try to, but regardless of what I do during the party I still wake up the next morning in a weird situation! Only rarely do I actually remember what happens! I’ve woken everywhere from Cloudsdale to Prince Blueblood’s couch… I even woke up at the bottom of a well once!

I’ve woken up in weird situations so many times that I’ve made up a little game for it. It’s nothing special, just a point tracking game. Using some guidelines, I tally up the stuff that’s going on around me and see if I’ve broken my ‘high score’ or not.

Now you’d think the whole waking up dead thing would be number one (or waking up on fire in Tartarus… whatever your definition of ‘incredibly weird’ is), but, newsflash, its only number two on my score sheet!

Number one is reserved for this one time I woke up in a fancy hotel in Neighpon dressed up like a schoolfilly and decked out with, like, ten katanas. None of them looked used, thank goodness, but they did still have price tags on them. Octy was still my friend at the time and somehow she got roped into the ‘party’ as well, although she was dressed up like a schoolcolt instead of a filly and instead of swords she had scythes. The room we wound up in was a wreck, with scratch marks everywhere (all of which were caused by Octy’s ‘toys’, not mine), and the only other thing worth mentioning is the fact that the five heads of the diamond dog yakuza were bound and tied to chairs in that very same room.

… My one wish in the entire world is to one day be able to remember what happened that night in its entirety. I can only imagine that it was really freaking sweet.

‘I can take a look into your mind and tell you what exactly transpired myself, Vinyl… if you want, that is.’

…

…

… So, anyhow, I think it’s only fitting to rate my current situation like I did those. Speaking honestly, I think it’s safe to say that we may have a new champion here.

‘… So was that a yes or a no?’

…

…

… Let’s see now. Waking up underwater? That’s worth fifty points.

‘Bard…’

Discovered that my knees were bending the wrong way? That’s worth ten points.

‘Ms. Scratch…’

Started the ‘morning’ by panicking and flailing around for a bit? Humph, nothing special there. Five points.

‘Vinyl, Scratch…’

Learned that my hooves were now claws? That’s a new one… twenty points seems appropriate.

‘Quit ignoring me!’

Breathed fire when I broke the water’s surface? … Hmmmm… ten points, no question.

‘… This point system of yours is nonsensical, bard.’

…

…

-Sigh-

…Waking up with the disembodied voice of an ancient crazy (and crazy ancient) archmage in my head? Five points.

‘A normal pony would have placed that higher.’

“Shut the ever-loving feather up, Starswirl!”

The voice that echoed throughout the innards of my mind huffed angrily in response.

‘There’s no need to shout,’ Starswirl tried to argue.

“There’s plenty of reason to shout, bitch!”

‘There’s also no need to be so hostile towards me! I’m only trying to help you here, you ungrateful little filly!’

“Yeah, some help you’ve been!” I retorted viciously. “All you’ve done so far is give me a freaking migraine! Stop talking to me already and just leave me alone. Let the dead stay dead, I always say!”

‘You’ve never said anything like that in your entire life! I should know… I looked at it myself! Besides, need I remind you that you were dead as well not even thirty minutes ago? You’re welcome, by the way.’

My left eye twitched.

“A-are you seriously trying to get a thank you out of me?!”

‘Well… yes. That seems like a common gesture one would give to another if the other, well, resurrected them… wouldn’t you agree?’

“… In any other situation, yes, I would have to agree… but!”

I could tell from her little grunts that Starswirl just winced as a result of my words. She knows what’s about to come… good.

I continued my assault. “But, my dear Swirly, that train of thought brings me to my final mark on my score card; the last little point that completely and utterly destroys my old high score and any chance you had for me being grateful!

“Because, after all… waking up in the belly of a sea serpent?! WELL THAT’S FREAKING PRICELESS!!”

Priceless!

Priceless.

Price…

The sound of my words reverberating off the cavernous (and moist) walls of the sea serpent’s inner gut. What I can only describe as ‘slime’ continued to leak from the ceiling as my words began to die down. The sounds of the serpent’s groans and the sound of the sea splashing against his torso picked up once more as I was once again made fearfully aware of how much trouble I was actually in. As I sat back down on the squishy ‘floor’ of my new hellhole, my eyes glanced over the green lake of stomach acid that lied before me. Bubbles grew and popped along its surface and each burst sphere caused this already nasty environment to become just a tad more unbearable as a toxic stank was released into the already dwindling air supply.

I growled angrily at the sight of it all.

Starswirl laughed nervously.

‘At least he’s not underwater,’ she tried to add cheerfully. ‘At least you haven’t drowned yet!’

“…”

‘…’

The old mare finally sighed.

‘Vinyl… I’m truly sorry. I really should have considered asking you how you died before ever attempting to revive you. If I had known that the seaponies killed you by drowning you I would have never resurrected you in the first place! A young, tasty looking, unguarded dead pony corpse at the bottom of the sea? Of course someserpent is going to eat it!’

Wham!

‘... I don’t know if you heard that or not, but if you did, please take heart in the fact that it was me facedesking over my own stupidity. I even went through the trouble of conjuring up a desk just for the occasion!

‘… Are we even now?’

In the face of Starswirl’s actually sincere sounding apology, I continued to pout crossly with my new wimpy arms crossed over each other to further highlight said anger. Attempting to distract myself with something, I opted to stare into my makeshift campfire, which I had created earlier by combining a bunch of random, undigested junk into a nice and neat little pile… and then proceeded to breathe fire on them.

With my blue firebreath.

Which I totally have now.

For reals.

‘… Speaking of fire breathing,’ my tormentor began to ask. ‘How’s the new body treating you? Any issues? Pains? I didn’t accidentally put one bone where it wasn’t supposed to be again, did I?’

At the question (or more specifically at the using of the word ‘again’), I decided to stand up and give myself another once over… just to be safe.

Let’s see; stubby little legs, massive tail, white scales instead of white fur, fangs instead of teeth, dark blue spines, light blue belly, no magic horn on my forehead, and, of course, claws… it’s safe to say that I’m no longer a unicorn.

Not even a pony.

Instead… I’m now a dragon.

I’m… a dragon.

…

DJ Dr4g0n… hehe, I’d be lying if I said that wasn’t somewhat cool.

… But…

“Oh, it’s working just fine,” I finally answered while running a claw through my thankfully still intact mane. “I can’t even hear the seaponies’ song now, and I think these scales were what saved me from the stomach acid I woke up in… but why in Celestia’s good name did you make me a baby dragon?!”

I stomped my (admittedly adorable) new stubby clawed foot down on the soggy ground to emphasize my ire. Starswirl turned me into the spitting image of Cogy! It’s like I’m a little filly again, complete with a blank flank!

‘Oh don’t fret,’ Starswirl replied, reading my thoughts (I really hate it when she does that). ‘Your cutie mark isn’t gone forever. It has simply been transfigured into an artificial greed flame that I can use to keep tabs on you and to also speak to you as we are doing right now... it also gives me access to your mind and memories in the same fashion as it does with a normal draconic.’

“Yeah, I’ve been meaning to talk to you about that. I want you… to stay the hell out of my mind!”

‘Fine fine… There was nothing of interest in here anyways.’

“Hey!”

‘I’m only speaking the truth!’ Starswirl snapped. ‘Be grateful I’m speaking to you at all! Lyssa has graced me with the opportunity to speak to you in her place, because you are my creation, so do not squander this gift by directing your frustration at me.’

“Well can you freaking help me then?!” I tried to demand. “Can you convince this guy to spit me out or something?!”

‘Well… no. I lack the power to speak to any other draconic besides you. Only Lyssa can do that and even then, for her to whisper into his ear, the serpent’s greed flame would need to be burning…’

“Well then you’re useless,” I stated bluntly, finally having enough. “Just shut up already so I can die in peace… again.”

It seemed Starswirl finally had enough of me herself, and began to yell for (in my opinion) no good reason.

‘Oh by Lyssa’s scales why are you still so angry at me?! I apologized for my folly! Get over it already!’

“…”

I narrowed my eyes.

“… Hell… no.”

‘Bu-’

“Hell, freaking, no.” I proclaimed proudly. “I’m never going to forgive you, Starswirl. Never. I’m not just talking about the whole stuck in a monster’s belly thing, or the surprise species transformation, or even the age regression… seriously a baby dragon? Seriously? Screw you…

“… I’m getting off track. Like I was saying… no, I’m never going to forgive you simply because of one thing you did, Swirly. Just one, simple, little, thing.”

‘… And what, dare I ask, is that?’

“…”

-Sniff-

“Y-you tricked me into thinking I could actually make a difference,” I answered with tears in my eyes. Lifting up my shades (which I mercifully now had again) I wiped these small droplets away with a clenched fist. “T-the truth is I can’t do jack, can I?”

‘I… don’t believe I ever said you stood a chance here, bard. This isn’t something you can blame me for.’

“Yes it is!” I barked. “You wanted me to save Cogy, and I wanted to save my friend… but I can’t even do that now! Can’t use magic, can’t get out of this belly… and even if I did… even if I did save Cogy from herself, there would have been more sea serpents like this one and even more seaponies to deal with. W-we… we were all meant to die in the end… so why did I ever think that things would work out for me…”

‘…’

Starswirl remained quiet after that. I thought at first that she was finally acknowledging my wish for peace and quiet…

… But then she replied to me.

Replied to me… in my voice.

In DJ Pon-3’s voice.

‘I’ll save that ship by myself if I have to~!’

“W-what?”

‘I’ll make sure Cogy never listens to Lyssa again~’

“… Stop that.”

‘I, won’t, die this time. I’ll live on instead~’

“I said stop it!”

‘No.’

“Bu-”

‘Hell, freaking, no… I believe that is how you said it, is it not? Well… whatever. Look here, bard; these were the words you spewed at me in my own home, back when you were trying to ‘save’ your little friend from me. By my perspective that event took place yesterday, but from yours it only happened a half hour ago… what has changed between now and then? What has sapped away that strength you once held?’

“…” Curled up into a ball, with my chin resting on my knees, I asked “Why do you even care?”

‘I care, bard, because, like it or not, we are partners now. You being useless does Lyssa and I no good… and it certainly doesn’t help Cogwill at all either, wouldn’t you agree?’

“… Stop trying to use her like some kind of ‘bait’ for me. It’s… just not right.”

‘Would you prefer I use Octavia instead then?’

“Don’t you dare!”

‘Fine, I won’t, only if you pick your stupid self up again and move forward.’

“Leave me alone! I can’t do anything in here!”

‘Oh, but that’s you thinking with your silly little pony head. Your silly little negativity spewing pony head. At least pretend that your words were true and maybe, just maybe, you’ll start to actually try to follow through on your empty promises.’

“… They weren’t empty.”

‘I’m sorry, what was that? I’m afraid I don’t speak quitter.’

“I… I said that I wasn’t lying when I said those things,” I muttered weakly, unsure myself.

‘Really now? From what I’ve seen so far, bard, I find that highly unlikely.’

“B-but… but I really did mean what I said,” I repeated, more for my own sake then Starswirl’s. “I-I want to make a difference! I don’t want to lose another friend…”

‘Then I’ll ask you again, what has changed?’

“…”

‘You were already fully aware of what you were up against when you made those vows; you threw your whole heart into your words… now that you’ve been given the chance, you instantly crumble under the pressure! Why?’

“… J-just… just take the stupid answer out of my mind or something.”

‘I want to hear it from the pony’s mouth. At least give me that.’

“… I-I… I-I-I’m…”

…

…

I tightened my hold on myself as I began to shake.

“... I-I’m scared, alright?! I’m so freakishly scared right now…

“I’m scared of dying again,

“Of feeling pain,

“Of being tortured,

“Of losing another friend,

“Of being left alone,

“O-of being useless…

“O-o-of… of…”

-Sniff-

“… Of failing.”

‘… Ah. I see. So doing nothing will result in a happy ending for you, is that it? No guilt, no pain, no blame… must be nice to live in a dream.’

“S-shut up… Starswirl.”

‘Nothing ventured, nothing lost. Am I right?’

“I said shu-”

‘I’m going to play you like a lyre now, okay?’

“… W-what?”

‘Like a harp… I’m going to play your heart like one. Just thought I would give you a heads up. Only seemed fair.’

I placed my claws over my new fin shaped ‘ears’. “I don’t want to hear it.”

‘Oh no! You have defeated my ability to speak into your mind by covering up your ears! Whatever shall I do?’

“…”

‘Now… let us begin. Do you know who else ‘didn’t do anything’, Vinyl?’

“…”

‘Oh sure, please keep up that little act of yours. I can tell that you’re listening. Now… do you know who else did nothing while others suffered? A man named Spectrum Apple. Do you know who that is?’

“…”

‘Thought so. Vinyl… Spectrum Apple is a farmer in a little town called Horseton. He’s from your time era, so don’t fret; I’m not giving you a history lesson on top of an emotional whipping. Lord knows you dread history lessons… along with every other subject in school… but I digress.’

“…”

‘Hehe… How do you know about this pony, oh wise and powerful Starswirl? Well I’m glad you asked, my faithful student! There is a dragon, named Norbert, who rests within a hole in the mountain south of the village. His eyes see far and wide and, thus, so do mine. Mr. Spectrum is a hard working member of the apple family, whose ancestors were famous farmers even in my time. Now… care to guess why I’m telling you this?’

“…”

‘Oh, so very very close, but I’m afraid you are incorrect. Bard… Mr. Spectrum, along with all of Horseton, were greeted with the arrival of two ponies and their unusual machine. I now know these two, as do you, as the Flim Flam brothers.’

My ears perked.

‘Interested now, are we? Well, those two ‘fine’ brothers tried to sell apple cider to that town no less than a week ago.’

“… W-was… was Cogy in their machine at the time?”

‘Yes… she was… and Mr. Spectrum knew.’

My eyes widened.

‘Granted, he didn’t know it was a baby dragon right away, but it was one of his hypotheses. Through Norbert’s ears, I heard his many educated guesses, and a baby dragon was one of them.

‘Yet… Spectrum chose to do nothing and instead focused on preserving his own way of life… how does that make you feel, Vinyl? Someone else suffered because one person didn’t want to get involved. Personally, I don’t have any strong feelings what so ever on the subject… but you do though, don’t you?’

“… I… I…”

…

Lifting my claws up, I used these new ‘fingers’ of mine to take off my shades. Once they were in front of me, I simply stared into the purple lenses and reflected on happier days… days where the world actually made sense to me and where the hardest thing I ever had to deal with was my crippling friendlexia. No fighting, no pain, no soul searching, no tears… no friends… only wild parties and sweet music.

… Was the really only yesterday? It feels like a lifetime ago…

“… T-two days ago, Starswirl, I never knew evil ponies existed. I thought ponies were these, like, perfect little creatures. We could be jerks, like how our ancestors used to call nonponies ‘talkers’, but that was about it.

“But… then I learned about the Flim Flam brothers from Cogy, then my own experience with them, and then Captain Grey threatened to throw two kids overboard because they weren’t listening to him… and, finally, I met you.”

‘Hey!’

“I’m just speaking my mind! Sorry if I speak the truth by accident!”

‘…’

I began to rotate my shades around in my grip as I gathered my thoughts. “… What I’m trying to say though… is that my whole world view has been shattered so many times within the last twenty four hours that it’s not even funny. I didn’t think ponies could be evil, I didn’t think Heaven and Hell were actual places or that there were other gods besides Celestia and Luna! Hell… I didn’t even think aliens were real until one of my only friends turned out to be one!”

‘… So, you’re saying that the reason you’re weak is because you can’t handle change? Is that it?’

I stopped playing with my shades.

“N-no, it’s not like that at all,” I started to argue… but I then cut myself off when I realized that I don’t actually understand what’s wrong with me either!

I made a vow to save lives, even though I’m just a DJ.

I swore to become a better mare, even though I haven’t the foggiest of ideas where I would even begin on that goal.

I spat in a god’s face for a friend, even though I’ve only known her for a day!

I… don’t know how to feel.

E-everything… everything is just moving so quickly… too quickly.

And that scares the crap out of me.

…

“… Change,” I finally answered, returning my shades to my empty forehead. “I-I’m afraid of change, Starswirl,”

From the resulting silence, it was easy to imagine a look of confusion on the cobalt unicorn’s face.

I decided to elaborate. “I-I’m scared of change. I wanted to change, but now I’m scared by how fast everything has already changed. I’m no longer the same, my friend is no longer the same in my eyes, and even you have changed in the small amount of time I’ve known you! From a friend to a bitch…”

‘…’

“… That speedy change scares me more than the killer seaponies and the demonic sea serpents… even though both are pretty bucking scary in their own rights. That’s my ultimate fear, Starswirl; I’m afraid that all these changes are going to reveal something about myself that I don’t want to see. Like… something wrong or evil that will make it harder for me to like myself…

“… H-heh… I guess I just want the same thing Cogy wants; the ability to like yourself despite your… ‘quirks’. Hers being the whole dragon thing… and mine about being a lousy friend at times… okay most of the time. So, I guess what I’m trying to say is the less light shed on my own faults the better. I don’t want to get to the point where I hate what I see in the mirror.”

‘…’

“There… that’s my answer, Starswirl. I tried to save the day, saw what it actually entitled… and chose to break down because there was nothing I could actually do. Now I’m just wallowing in self-pity… please leave me alone, Swirly. I want to take what little time I have left here on this planet to repent and maybe increase my chances of entering Heaven this time around… I really hope I don’t get the same Gate Keeper.”

‘… You’re thinking too far ahead, bard. Your sense of self, your spiritual karma levels, the possibility of death… these are the things you worry about after you actually do something productive, not before.’

I scowled at her for this… despite that being impossible due to the distance between us. Why can’t Starswirl just leave me alone?!

‘Now’s not the time to be afraid of the future,’ she went on, possibly ignoring my thoughts for once. ‘Now’s the time to actually do something both for yourself and for others such as myself and your friend.

‘Something… like, say… escape this serpent’s belly and continue your ‘quest’?’

...

…

… WHAT?!

At the sudden suggestion I jumped to my feet… only to then plop down to all fours. I’ll bother with learning how to walk on two legs later.

“Y-you have a way out of here?!” I shouted happily… but then I thought about it a little longer.

“… There’s an actual way out of here… and you’ve been hogging it to yourself this whole time while I’ve been pouring my heart out for you?! What, the, hell?!”

‘If you want to view it that way… yes. I did just that.’ Starswirl admitted in her usual ‘high and mighty’ fashion. ‘I withheld information from you, like I’ve done multiple times already, simply because I didn’t want to release uncooperative deadweight into the wild. I’ll tell you how to leave… but I need a new vow from you, Vinyl; one where you promise to move forward no matter what.

‘In my time… vows were something to be treasured; something to hold on to and to always uphold. You did many things to anger me thus far, bard… but your callous disrespect of something I hold near and dear was what truly sent me over the edge. Thus, I want a real vow out of you this time to replace the ludicrous ones you made using Puddinghead’s promise. If these new vows turn out to be as empty as the last ones… well… you quit on me and I’ll quit on you… seems fair, wouldn’t you agree?’

“… You… just want me to actually try?”

‘Correct. Success or failure… I care not for the outcome at this point. What I hate most are ponies who refuse to even try; who are held back by fear or moral dilemmas when what they wish to accomplish can benefit more people than they could possibly imagine. So, that said, what I’m truly asking from you, Vinyl… is to have a little courage. At least try and maybe… you’ll accomplish your goal instead of mine. Who’s to say what will happen? Lyssa can’t see what’s to come anymore, so the future is in your hooves now… or claws, as it were.

‘Now then… what will you do, filly? Cry… or fight?’

“…”

I looked down at my claw…

… Then clenched it.

“… Can you promise me that I’ll at least make it back to the ship?”

‘Hmmm… I believe I can promise you that much at least… but understand this, bard; I cannot guarantee your safety. As long as your greed flame burns like it’s doing now, I promise to give you my guidance to at least the point where you are reunited with Cogwill. Getting to that point and what happens afterwards… well, that all depends on you.

‘But, nothing ventured, nothing gained. Am I right?’

“…”

My fist shook with the force of my slowly growing resolve. I’m still scared… so unbelievably scared… but…

“… Nothing ventured, nothing gained. I… I have to at least try!”

Starswirl’s tone of voice suggested that a big old grin was now plastered to her ancient face.

‘That’s what I wanted to hear! I still hate you with a fiery passion, bard, but what kind of teacher would I be if I didn’t crack a smile whenever my student showed progress? Now, with all this mushy friendship junk out of the way… stick your claw into your azure campfire and let’s get moving!’

“…”

My eyebrow rose.

“… Wha?”

‘… I said stick your claw into your campfire so that we can proceed… what part of that didn’t you understand?’

“Oh… the burning my claw off part! Seriously! The hell?!”

‘…’

Starswirl chuckled.

‘… Ohohoho, I see. You haven’t noticed it yet, have you Vinyl…’

“Noticed what?” I asked, thoroughly confused… well more so than usual, at least.

‘Haven’t you noticed how cold it is in that belly… despite you being so close… to a burning fire?’

… Wha? What’s that supposed to mea-

!!!

Oh my Celestia, wait! T-that… that could mean…!

With both my curiosity and sense of hope peaked, I turned to face my blue flame campfire. Shakily, I moved my claw closer to the open flame… and discovered that, although it’s been giving me light, it hasn’t been giving me heat! It’s not fire!

‘Direct your attention to your back.’

Assured now that Starswirl was telling me useful things for once, I complied and looked at my new spiny back. I followed the dark blue spines all the way from my shoulder blades to the tip of my tail… where my unicorn horn now was?!

The dots were finally starting to connect in my head. “I… don’t have wings, but I do have a horn for a tail… which… which means…”

Again, Starswirl laughed.

‘I didn’t change you into a baby dragon, Vinyl… I turned you into a magic using landwyrm! The two look similar, don’t they? You even share the title of ‘dragoness’ with them. I often got baby dragons and young landwyrms mixed up in life but now I can easily identify the two down to a subatomic level! Perfect for transfiguration!’

“…”

For what felt like the first time in a long time, a smile creased my lips.

“I… I can use my magic again?!”

‘Yes, you can… may I get a ‘thank you’ now?’

I beamed happily.

“Hell no!”

‘…’

“Sorry, but I’m sticking by my morals! Now… let me guess…”

Burning with newfound confidence, my fear all but gone, I shot my claw forward into the bright blue flame and felt… power.

My power.

Pulling it back, I watched as my claw was engulfed in the bright blue glow of familiar magic. Scanning my eyes around, I found a piece of debris, concentrated on it…

… T-twink… twink… twinkletwinkletwinkl…

… And watched it get carried away with cerulean colored telekinesis! I’m back, baby!

‘Now you’re getting it. Horntail equals prepubescent atmosphere magic filter, claws equal twin magic mediums… simple concepts to grasp, even for you, yes?’

“Shut up, Starswirl… I-I’m not going to lose my arms like those landwyrms from the bar did, am I?”

‘Unless you somehow manage to use the equivalent of thirty years’ worth of scale and bone deteriorating magic on them during the course of my spell’s lifespan… no.’

Phew…

‘Are you ready now, bard?’

Huh? “R-ready for what?”

‘Are you ready to leave? You’re going to need to wink out of here.’

“What?! B-b-but…”

‘But I suck royal flank at that spell~!’ My voice was once again imitated. ‘That’s what you were going to say, correct? Ha! Need I remind you who actually invented that spell, Vinyl?’

“Um… actually… yes.”

‘… It was me you stupid little… ugh! Nevermind. Just charge your claws up with enough magic and I’ll aid you on the aiming, okay?’

“… Okay, but I have your word that you’re going to help me… right?”

‘Only if you promise to move forward and to never cower like this again.’

“… I can’t promise all of that.”

‘And I can’t promise your survival… seems fair, no?’

“… Starswirl…”

Looking down at my twin glowing claws, I chuckled weakly as I slid my shades back down over my eyes.

“I really freaking hate you,” I replied with a smile.

There was no need to guess… I knew for a fact that Starswirl smiled as well as she said…

‘And I hate you too, Vinyl. I hate you too.’

Pop!

With a burst of powerful magic, the world around me faded from view.

And thus I formed an alliance with my greatest enemy… as well as my greatest ally

...

That’s when the true trials began

Chapter 10, To be Heard…

---

…

…

“… Gon’ build that wall up to the sky.”

…

“… Gon’ build that wall up to the sky.”

…

“… Someday your bird is gonna fly~

“Gon’ build that wall until it’s done.”

…

“… Gon’ build that wall until it’s done.”

…

“… But now you’ve got nowhere to run~

“So build that wall and build it strong ‘cause we’ll be there before too long.

“… I dig my hole, you build a wall…”

Repetition is the girl’s only remaining friend

It keeps her whole

It keeps her sane

It keeps her compliant to the whims of others

A compliant pawn

A compliant hostage

A compliant…

“RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAARRRR!!!!!”

Shinkshink!!

SMASH!

“RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAARRRR!!!!!”

Snap!

…

…

Crunchcrunch…

…

… Cog

***^***

Shwoooossshhh…

The sound of waves crashing against stone.

Sheeeeesss…

The sound of a steady stream of rain striking the surrounding water.

Crack!

The sound of thunder…

Crack!

… And the sound of giants fighting to the bitter death.

“Starswirl… w-what the hell am I looking at here?” I asked slowly and plainly, fearing that even the slightest hiccup would spell my doom in this unfriendly environment. After the teleport spell, I found myself underwater… again. One frantic swim to the surface rewarded me with the scene I was fearfully watching right now.

This wasn’t the S.S. Luna Returner.

This wasn’t anywhere near the ship!

Instead… I was now at the mouth of a giant valley.

A giant valley… with an equally giant castle looming in the distance.

Massive walls flanked it at both sides, stretching high up into the sky. At its foot lied at least a mile’s worth of water, rocks….

… And warfare.

In the distance, I could make out tiny specks taking on giant sea serpents… and sea serpents biting and clawing at other sea serpents. I can only assume that the giant I was once a resident of not too long ago is somewhere in that scuffle…

The water around my body bobbed and churned with the force of these colossi clashing, and the sheer force was enough to not only make it incredibly hard to stay above water, but it also dislodged and set ancient boats and ship pieces floating out to sea. I held on to a jagged rock for dear life, under the shadow of a cliff face, and fought desperately with what little strength I had left to avoid getting swept away.

“Am… am I in hell again?!” I asked, seriously fearing that this was the proper answer to my earlier question.

‘Are your eyes melting from the heat?’ Starswirl asked in return.

“Well… no.”

‘Are you being boiled alive?’

“No… the waters actually pretty cold.”

‘Is it so cold that your new toes are becoming icicles and falling off as a result?’

“Thankfully no…”

‘Are there piranhas?’

“… No.”

‘Then no, you’re not in Tartarus. Bard… I’m afraid I must welcome you to Moon Canyon… or, as it’s more commonly known in your modern time, The Captain’s Graveyard. It seems as though the serpent has unwittingly brought you to the foot of the seaponies’ kingdom… this is quite counterproductive towards both our goals.’

“T-the seaponies kingdom?! So, those specks in the distance… a-are those seaponies?!”

‘I can only assume… or they are baby sea serpents trying to awaken their dormant greed flames through bloody combat. Both are quite possible answers.’

“W-what?! But, aren’t…?”

‘Bard! Quick! Become somepony competent and act natural!’

“Wha?”

“Hey dude! Why are you chilling back here by yourself for?”

… Oh sweet Celestia, no.

Shaking in a manner that would have made a leaf super jealous, I turned my head and came face to scaly face with an orange, a white, and a yellow colored serpent. All were about Cogy’s (thus my new) age, all were boys… and all were obviously curious about the new arrival to their neck of the woods.

The three boys were beaming toothy grins at me.

I hid myself behind my glasses.

I don’t think even being in hell was this terrifying!

“Aren’t you going to join the fun?” The white one asked good-naturedly. His voice cracked as he did.

“Yeah!” The orange one chirped right before doing a backflip, his tail almost hitting my face. It didn’t, thankfully, but I still winced as the cold water struck my cheek. “Isn’t this just the coolest thing ever?!”

“Umm…” I replied numbly as rain continued to fall.

‘They can’t see your bottom half,’ Starswirl whispered… something I’m not quite sure she actually needed to do. ‘They think you’re one of them. Play along… if they discover that you’re a landwyrm, or a ‘worm’ as they call it, they’ll kill you on the spot in order to make a meal of your horn. They believe it will increase their powers, thus its a highly sought after delicacy.’

With a quick gulp, I followed Starswirl’s advice. “Um… y-yeah! Totally can’t wait, dude! J-just have to… um… s-stretch first! That’s all! H-hehehe…”

The three of them stared at me. I started sweating, but thanks to the earlier drenching my face was thankfully too wet for them to tell.

The yellow one finally added in to the conversation. “Aw let’s just ignore her, fellas. More seaponies for us to beat up! Let’s try to collect skulls! Ah bet our flames will wake up if we do that!”

The other two shouted their agreements into the sky right before zooming off with a war cry of “Greed Flame Awakeners, Skull Collectors, yah~!”

I didn’t make any sudden moves as I watched them swim away. Once their forms disappeared within the torrent of rain water, I took a well-earned breath.

‘That was close.’

“You’re telling me! But… w-why are the sea serpents fighting the seaponies? Aren’t they on the same side?”

‘Yes, they are… but from the looks of it a civil war has broken out here. Sea serpents are fighting their own kind as well as seaponies in front of the latter’s kingdom… this is too bizarre to ignore. If you were anypony else, Vinyl, I would be asking you to investigate this in my stead. But since you are, well, you, I might as well try to gather information from the serpents’ minds through their burning greed flames instead. With all this bloodshed I’m sure someserpent’s flame is burning.’

“O-okay,” I replied, for once not expending any energy by being cocky and instead using it to keep my head above the deep sea water. “So… what am I supposed to do then? H-how do I get back to the ship from here?”

‘Well… first of all I’m going to need to figure out where you are. The Moon Valley is an ever moving location, as impossible as that sounds, thus I don’t know from what direction the ship is coming from. Would you kindly take a look up at the sky for me? Try to locate the sun behind all those naturally made clouds.’

With my new fangs chattering madly from the cold, I nodded my head in agreement and doggy paddled out to the edge of my shady shelter. Once I was far away enough I cranked my head skywards and tilted my shades down in order to protect my eyes from the rain water. Looking back and forth, I scanned the skies until my eyes fell upon an open circle of clouds above the distant castle. Staring at it for a few seconds caused my new dragon-ish eyes to zoom in, granting me a better look and helping me see past the rain.

… They also made me feel sick to my stomach. T-this just ain’t natural! How does Cogy put up with these freaky things? The same can be said about claws… they’re just way too weird for me!

Give me hooves any day of the week thank you very much.

… Anyways, back to my sky gazing. With my eyes zeroed in to the location, I was able to spot the sun…

… I was also able to spot something quite strange and, frankly, horrifying… which was quite a feat considering my current surroundings!

Starswirl hummed to herself casually despite my inner distress. ‘Hmmmm… if the sun is there, that must mean that the castle is to the north of your location… the ship should be directly south of you, Vinyl. I don’t believe swimming there is an option, but let us gather more Intel and maybe we can form a pla-’

“S-starswirl…” I suddenly said, interrupting the mare’s words. “W-why… why is the sun blue here?”

‘… What?’

I continued to stare into the blue sun, whose rays were cutting through the cloud cover. Lifting up my shades, I confirmed that they weren’t the cause of this weird coloration.

‘… I… only see the normal sun on my side, bard.’

“I’m not lying,’ I snapped, defending myself.

‘No… I know you’re not. If you were I would be able to tell right away because, if you haven’t noticed, I’m currently in your head right now so trust me when I say that I would know. You honestly see a blue sun… but I can’t see it… quickly scan the battlefield, bard. Tell me about anything else unusual you see.’

“Why?”

‘Just do it… this could be important.’

“O-okay… ”

With my eyes still zoomed in, I drew my gaze downwards until I was looking out over the combat arena. My eyes jumped back and forth, avoiding scenes where carnage looked to be about to happen. I can’t afford to lose my lunch right now and I’m not ready to see, well, that.

Finally, as I swept my vision back and forth, I started noticing … things.

Balls of light… that’s the only way I can properly describe them. I don’t know where they’re coming from, but I can see where they’re going; to the blue sun, as well as through the front gates of the distant waterlogged castle.

“What are those things?” I asked, almost in a whisper. Out of all the strange things I’ve seen today… this might be number three.

‘I… I have a hypothesis… but I’ll explain it to you once you’re in a more desirable position. Finding discreet dry land should be our number one priorit-’

Swirly then caused me to jump (which was impressive as I was swimming at the time) by gasping loudly. My already fragile nerves threatened to snap completely as a result. Before I could bitch at her for almost giving me a heart attack, the archmage in my head started barking out orders in a hurried fashion.

‘Vinyl! Quickly bring your unoccupied claw forward and ignite it! Then dunk it under the water equally as quickly!’

Wha-

‘Just do it!’

W-well, she hasn’t steered me wrong so far. With a quick “Fwoosh!” (just like how I remember seeing Cogy doing it) I did as commanded and dunked the glowing claw underwater. Just as it made a splash…

“Hey, dude!”

… The orange baby serpent from earlier reappeared behind me. As I turned to look at him, a quick glance downwards granted me the sight of my still glowing blue claw under the water. Starswirl made me do that for insurance… I could freaking kiss her right now if I didn’t hate her with a passion.

“I forgot to ask you…” the carrot colored kid inquired as he drew ever closer, entering my shelter and briefly shaking the rainwater off his scales “… where did you score those sweet shades from?!”

…

…

-Sniff-

In the face of something relatively normal happening to me for once today, I fought back the urge to cry tears of joy.

“Oh, these sweet thangs?” I replied with an honest smile, working my way into a familiar, and happy, groove. My words flew naturally off my tongue as I repeated a story I always loved sharing. “I got these from my great grandmother! Now there was a classy mare! They’re almost like a family heirloom!”

With the flick of my new index claw, I used telekinesis to take the glasses off my face and to also rotate them around. This act caused Starswirl to go into a fit and scream about something… but I chose to ignore her. Come on… got to have a little fun, right?

“Twin amethyst gemstones for the glass and stainless steel frames!” I continued, gloating proudly. “Almost one of a kind! Pretty sweet, am I righ- OW!”

Before I could finish, I felt a sharp tugging sensation on my tail. Bursting up from out of the water, the yellow kid of the trio made an appearance…

… With my horn in his grip, tail included.

The orange one grinned evily.

“Thought so,” he remarked just as menacingly as he got up in my face. “I knew I smelled magic! Got anything to say for yourself, worm?”

…

…

-Gulp-

I smiled sheepishly.

“W-would you believe that it’s just a birth defect?”

‘You just used magic in front of them,’ Starswirl deadpanned. ‘Bard… Lyssadamnit.’

“Yo! Sour Peal!” The yellow one roared as the protective, water proof third skin peeled its way back off his eyelids. “Give the signal!”

From somewhere behind my field of vision, I heard the voice of the white serpent screaming at the top of his lungs.

“DAD! THERE’S A WORM OVER HERE!”

For a moment… there was silence. Nothing moved, no one spoke. The world… was quiet.

…

And then… the world quaked with the force of a mighty roar.

The harbinger of my end had arrived.

“RRRRRRROOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRR!!!!” Said harbinger bellowed as a flash of lightning illuminated his massive body in ominous shadow form.

‘Vinyl you stupid showboating imbecile! RUN!’

You don’t have to tell me twice! Turning my head, I leaned backwards…

WHAM!

… And then head-butted the yellow serpent in his noggin, causing him to let go of me. Ow… shaking off the pain, I took note that the orange kid was suddenly foaming at the mouth.

‘DUCK!’

“Ah!”

Sploosh!

Diving underwater, I obeyed Starswirl just in time to dodge the kid’s aqua breath. The freezing water around me turned boiling hot for the briefest of seconds as I held my breath and tried to swim away…

...!!!

I didn’t get far though, as I quickly discovered that the white kid was now back and had grabbed onto my leg! I tried to kick him off with my other clawed foot, but he remained successful at dragging me further down into the abyss. D-damn it, he’s trying to drown me!

‘Rock!’ Starswirl screamed inside my head.

“MMM?!” I replied, still holding my breath. Rock? Wha-

… Oh! I get it! My claw is still glowing! If I can just find something…!

Jackpot!

Letting go of the magic grip I still had on my shades, I reached around the side of an underwater mountain, found and gripped a large rock, brought it over the serpent’s head…

Wham!

…And then simply let gravity take its course. With the extra weight on his back and after losing his grip from the shock of it all, the kid was sent slowly hurtling towards the empty black chasm below us. I didn’t look back as I swam my way towards the surface.

Splash!

“GASP!” Oh sweet sweet air! Let us never part ways like that again, my love.

“There she is!”

Eep!

‘Get to dry land!’

Once again I complied with Starswirl and dragged myself up on to a lone rock in the middle of nowhere. It was probably just my imagination. but I think the rain picked up ten fold as I desperately tried to catch my breath.

With a mini-army of sea serpents, both new and old, looming ever closer, I brought my shades flying back to my face as I quickly asked “N-now what?!”

‘Abandoned boat! To your left! Use it to move towards the castle!’

“WHAT?!”

‘It’s your only hope of making it through this alive! You can’t swim away now, the adult serpent would be able to get you on the open sea… but I can tell that further in the water is too shallow and that there are too many rocks! He’d have to slow down!’

“W-what about the kids then?!”

‘They’ll still be able to chase you, but they won’t if you can cross the boundary line into seapony territory!’

“But then I’ll have to worry about the seaponies!”

‘Damn it Vinyl! There’s no time for this! Get moving!'

Sploosh!

At the sound of an aqua breath burst narrowly missing my head, I decided to stop arguing with Starswirl and chose to comply instead. Jumping down, I landed on all fours into an abandoned lifeboat and then proceeded to hold on for dear life as I funneled my magic into the vessel in the form of a come-to-life spell.

Sploosh!

And with that I was off, just in time to dodge another blast. My cheeks were stung with a few drops from the attack, but it was (hopefully) nothing to worry about. My saving grace rocketed forward towards the castle, powered through the simple wish of getting me the heck out of here!

‘Stand, damn it!’ Starswirl directed. ‘My vision is limited to the altitude encompassing your eyelevel and you’re too short to see over the edge… I can’t help you like this!’

“Hey don’t yell at me! It’s not my fault I’m now a freaking munchkin! It’s yours!”

‘Just do it, bard! You’re a biped now, start acting like one.’

“… Damn it, Starswirl.”

Unsteadily, I stood up on my back (and now only) legs as I ‘surfed’ on the powered craft. Leaning to the side, the boat followed my mental instructions (more like ‘suggestions’) as I narrowly dodged a jagged rock. The water within this thing splashed against my ankles, sending chills up my body with each strike.

‘Shield your right flank!’

Not sparing the command a thought, I encased a stone in my blue aura with the wave of a claw. With the clenching of my fist, I brought the item towards my right side…

Shinkshink!

… Just in time to block a baby serpent’s assault! He had launched himself at me from out of the water, attempted to slice me with his claws but instead hit the rock, and went splashing back into the sea. With mane whipping in the wind, I turned my head and through my shades counted at least twelve new serpents on my tail. Damn it, t-they’re multiplying!

‘The worst has yet to come! The adult is firing!’

Son of a Starswirl!

‘Hey!’

From all the way back at the entrance to this moon shaped canyon, the giant adult serpent from earlier fired his gigantic water breath attack at me! I pushed more magic into my boat, resulting in a speed boost.

SPLOOSH!

Dodged it! Great!

‘Not great! Look forward!’

“RRRRRRRRRRRRRROOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRR!!!!!”

OH COME ON!

Leaning to the left this time, my self-propelled vehicle made a shift just in time to dodge a second adult sea serpent’s fangs. Lightning flashed as I turned my head, revealing even more serpent's were now chasing me! Crap crap crap!

‘Don’t lose your concentration now!’

“Easy for you to say, Mrs. Backseat Trotter!"

Waving my right claw all around me and using my left to hang on to the mental ‘reins’ of the boat, I used the boulder from earlier as a rotating shield as I tried to both attack and defend against the sea serpents’ assault. I-I don’t know how much longer I can keep all this magic up! I’m already feeling weak…

‘Bard!’

“W-what now?!”

‘Move to the right! If you stay on your current course…’

SMASH!!

‘… You’ll hit an underwater rock and get sent flying.’

Too little too late! The slanted thing, hidden under the waves, acted as a ramp as it sent my speeding lifeboat sailing into the wide, dark cloud covered yonder. I braced myself for the mental recoil as I collided into the back of an adult sea serpent’s head, thus ending my spells and turning my only salvation into a rain of splinters. “Oomph!” The titan who I landed on, who was currently in battle with a group of seaponies, titled his head backwards and caught sight of me hanging off his dark green scales out of the corner of his eye…

“Shoo be do~”

SHINK!!

… But that was all he ever saw of me, as the moment he took his eyes off the seaponies was the same moment they began to sing and the same moment a thin, water-crafted blade came shooting up out of the sea…

And took his head clean off.

Red blood gushed out the stump where the monster’s head used to be, transforming the once horrific creature into an even more horrific fountain of blood and gore. A splash of red covered my vision as my shades became coated in the carnage. O-oh Celestia… I-I-I…

‘Don’t you dare break down on me now, bard! Lyssa and I still need you. There’s another craft to your right! Make use of it before the seaponies spot you!’

H-he… h-he just…

‘Yes he died. He is with Lyssa now. MOVE.’

“She’s over here!”

At the sound of the children catching up, I did my best to turn off my emotions and run on autopilot. He… he just… n-no. Can’t think about it. Don’t think about it. Just keep moving… just keep moving…

Lifting up my shades so I could see again, I quickly located the second boat and made use of it. It was of the same make as the last one… but this one had the skeleton of a pony in it…

Splash!

… Which I quickly threw out. Don’t think about it… don’t think at all. Just go.

Twinkletwinkletwinkle!!

Reigniting my claws, I pushed forward while taking my boulder with me. I soon found a purpose for it as my boat rammed into a seapony and sent it flying into the air. Too focused to spare the creature a glance, I quickly used the makeshift weapon to knock the monster to the side, successfully preventing it from entering the vessel.

Shink!

The sound of the seapony’s trident imbedding itself into the haul of my ship. I paid it no mind as I sped along.

I soon found a use for it as well though, as I used it to block a new seapony’s trident thrust. I held the shaft in my right, glowing claw as my magic continued to hold the boulder. In conjunction, the two weapons helped me push the seapony into the tip of an underwater mountain. The living eyesore crashed into this ‘wall’ and once again I was given free pass to keep moving forward.

As I drew closer to the castle, the number of balls of light around me began to multiply. I didn’t think about them at all, not even when I saw three of them exit the closed mouth of a sea serpent and enter the giant doors of the castle. Don’t think… think and you’re dead…. Go, go, go, go.

CRASH!

Another undersea rock ended this ship’s life as well, but this time I landed at the foot of the castle’s entrance. Flying through the air, I didn’t even have to think about as I used my quickly depleting magic reserves to correct myself in midair, resulting in me landing on my feet…

… In front of an army of seaponies.

‘The entrance is slightly ajar! Wink to it and enter!’

Don’t think about it… don’t think… think and you’re dead. With my mantra deeply rooted into my subconscious; I dropped my trident, quickly sparked my glowing claws with a gust from my mouth…

Pop!

… And then appeared behind the thirty or so seaponies. I coughed up black smoke from my lungs and wiped away black dust from my eyes as I stumbled forward.

Returning to all fours, as this is how I’m most used to walking, I ran inside the massive twin doors and then used the last of my magic to close them. Due to the size and weight of the monstrosities, I found myself crumpling to the water soaked floor once I managed to fully shut them. On the other side, I heard the screams and scratches of the seaponies at the door… but somehow the gates refused to open for them. Yet again, I chose not to think about it as I turned around, confirmed that the entrance I found myself in was empty…

… And then proceeded to vomit all over the floor. Tears mixed in with the filth just before I collapsed on my side and silently passed out

***^***

I don’t know how long I was out for, nor how I woke up. Starswirl… was gone. After that assault she suddenly stopped talking to me. M-maybe something in this castle is blocking communication? Is that possible? I doubt she would simply just abandon me. After all I… I’m too important of a pawn for her to just ignore me.

Well, whatever the case, it means I’m now just as alone in my mind as I am in this dark blue castle. There’s no guards here… anywhere. They must all be fighting outside… fighting in that civil war.

… I don’t want to think about. W-what I saw out there… nopony should ever have to experience something like that. Nopony should ever have to see something like that either! H-he… that sea serpent just died in front of me!

… He died because of me…

… Oh Celestia this is messed up. I-I did what I had to in order to survive! It wasn’t my fault…

… I… shouldn’t think about this anymore.

Yeah… I need to move forward. I need to find a way out of here… and a way back to Cogy. She’s… the whole reason I’m even here, after all. I can’t imagine what’s going on in her head right now if my own feels like it’s about to burst…

Splashsplash

With my mind made up and with my claws wading through the water that covered the floor, I journeyed further into the empty castle. It looks like this place is flooded… but with the way those seaponies at the door simply stood there on mini carpets of water, it could be speculated that this ‘flooding’ was done intentionally.

I mean… seaponies, duh. It would make sense that they would try to make this place easier for themselves to ‘walk’ through.

… Speaking of walking, I should probably take this time to learn how to do that.

Walking on all fours just doesn’t feel right anymore. With my back legs bent the way they are, walking like this just isn’t very efficient unless I was super tired or something. Well, this new tail of mine is pretty heavy… maybe walking on two legs will be easier?

Steadying myself on the wet, almost cave-like walls of the castle, I stood up tall (well, still slightly below my normal point of view, but tall nonetheless) on my back legs. Slowly, I used the wall to secure myself as I took a few steps forward. Ugh, I’m tiny again like a little filly and now I have to learn how to walk again like a foal. When all this is over, I need to find a bar and get wasted like a mare. Screw the repercussions; I think I’ve more than earned a drink...

…

After about ten minutes, I felt confident enough to take a few steps without the aid of the wall. Good, got that sorted… now let’s see what secrets this place holds.

The entrance I found myself in looked rather simple, containing only two curved staircases (which both led to the same floor) and only two additional doors besides the massive entrance. It must get bigger towards the back end or something… One door was on the same level as me and the other was upstairs. Not feeling up for going upstairs right away, I tried the one on my floor first. Although the water level made it hard to open, I eventually managed to do it. I had to stand on my tippy toes, which gave me embarrassing flashbacks to the last time I was this short, but I pushed on regardless.

What was on the other side was… odd. It was completely empty outside of a dresser and a dusty old mirror. There was nothing else, not even a bed to distinguish it as a bedroom. Weird…

My glowing claws became the only light source as I ventured into the room. The open door helped a bit as it allowed the light from the strangely lit candles to flood into the area. Those candles show that at least somepony was here at some point, and recently too… but so far I haven’t seen anyone… again, weird.

Shouldn’t look a gift pig in the snout, I guess.

First I searched the dresser. Its top was bare… but what about the drawers? Opening the first one I found… nothing. Same with the second. With the third one, however… I found nothing as well. Well that was a bust. That just leaves this scale garnished mirror.

I already know what I look like now, but I guess I should still check for any injuries. My body hurts so much… who knows what’s from the transformation and what’s an actual proble-

…!!!

Oh… oh Celestia, no…

I…

… I…

…

… I totally forgot about the blood.

The blood that now covered me.

Unable to fight the urge that now welled up within me; I ran into one of the room’s corners and upchucked on the wet floor. H-horrible…

-Sniff-

J-just horrible. When will this nightmare end? I just want things t-to go back to normal…

… -Sob-

I… I have to move forward.

…

Sighing, I attempted to steel my emotions yet again as I returned to the mirror. Trying to look at myself, yet not focus on the details, I cupped my claws and used the water on the ground (while avoiding the water in the corner) to clean myself off. Yuck… t-this crap was even in my mane… -Sniff-

With the dark task finally done, I dunked my shades underwater as well. It looks like the rainwater did nothing to cleanse them... Once they were clean enough, I brought them back to my face…

Splash!

And then proceeded to drop them to the floor as something finally clicked in my mind.

In the reflection… my pupils are red.

“W-what?” I asked myself as I put my claws on the mirror. My eyes are now slit like a dragon’s, I saw that coming… b-but I didn’t think a color change was in my future as well! W-why would Starswirl do this to me?! Is it permanent? Oh please tell me this isn’t permanent! Red eyes are soooo uncool! They make guards jumpy and ponies paranoid of you! They think you’re dabbling in dark magic or some crap! I… I want my magenta eye’s bac-

As if responding to my wish, my eyes suddenly went from slit red to slit magenta. I blinked in reply, and my reflection did the same.

…

I closed my eyes, and concentrated.

“… Red.”

I opened them, and they were now red.

“… Purple.”

I closed them, opened them… and they were now magenta.

“… Red, Purple, Red, Purple, Red~, Purple~, Re-… ow.”

After giving myself a self-induced headache by rapidly blinking my eyes, I looked at my red irises in the mirror with new interest. Okay… whatever the hay these things are, they’re kinda tight… but what’s it for?

… Does it have something to do with those glowing orbs and the blue sun?

While we’re on the subject of that… what the hell is up with that?! The last time I saw a blue sun it was back in… -gasp-, H-heaven!

Oh my gosh! Did my being brought back from the dead break the sun?!

… No… no wait… that wouldn’t make any sense at all! I don’t even know what the hell was up with the blue sun in Heaven in the first place! Thinking that it was my fault for something like that is just ridiculous.

Like… Donut Joe finally taking an interest in good music ridiculous!

Ha!

Or like Octy preferring her current nickname over her old one of Tavi ridiculous!

Ha!

Or like Celestia’s long lost sister returning after 1000 years of exile ridiculous!

Ha!

… Oh, wait…

… W-well… like Cogy turning out to be an alien ridiculous!

H-… oh…

… Like seaponies being real ridicu-

…

… Like the spirit of disharmony breaking out of his statue ridi-

…

… L-lik-

Oh sweet Celestia I did break the sun, didn’t I?! OhcrapohcrapohcrapohcrapohcrapIcan’tgobacktopriso-

SLAP!

… I’m starting to really like claws. I’m always accidentally punching myself in the face whenever I try to slap myself with hooves!

“Ow…” still hurts all the same, it seems. “Okay… I’m getting way too freaking paranoid over, well, everything at this point to think straight. Let’s ignore the sun for now… for all you know, filly, it’s just these weird new eyes of yours playing tricks on you. Maybe the orbs are like the same way or something. Just figments of my imagination...”

… Wait… didn’t I see some orbs entering this castle earlier? Does that mean I can…?

Deciding to test them out, I confirmed that my eyes were red in the mirror before picking up my shades and exiting the room. Looking forward, I watched the giant front door for movement. Eventually… a little orb of light, about the size of my new body, phased through the door and went up the stairs before phasing through the top floor’s only doorway. Soon, another ball appeared… and another… and then a third one. All three orbs followed the same path to the top floor. Curiosity eventually ensnared me so I took a step forward and put my claw out there in the middle of their path…

The ball that phased through my arm lacked a texture… but it was way colder than even the freaking water outside was! Yowch! T-they’re like giant ice balls!

… Oh! Wait! I forgot what I was going to test out!

Closing my eyes, I willed them to turn purple. Once I opened them, I found myself alone again. A quick switch back to red returned the orbs to my field of vision. Hmmm… I don’t know a whole lot about landwyrms; I don’t even know where they come from! Maybe… maybe this is some kind of power they possess?

I wonder what it means…

… Well I’ve got nothing better to do. I can’t leave now and, sadly, I can’t really move forward without Starswirl’s help. She actually knows what’s going on, unlike me. I really don’t want to stumble around in the dark…

I might as well see where these things are going… the information might help me in some way… somehow.

Yeah… I’m really grasping at straws here, but I’m running out of choices so what else can you do? When you’re given the options to either sit at the bottom of a well or to climb the walls… well you could dig a hole but that’s kinda lame.

I’m sick of being lame today.

Okay… let’s make some progress.

With my mind finally made up (again), I headed up the stairway and approached the doorway the spheres were using. I’ll admit my claw shook when I reached for the handle… but a quick deep breath righted me out and allowed me to push forward.

… Didn’t stop my mind from playing tricks on me when I did finally touch the handle though. Made me feel a magic charge run up my arm… but, again, it must have just been my imagination. Once open, the portal led me to a massive hallway filled with many doors, but I chose to ignore them all as I continued to follow the orbs.

Again… let’s make some progress. I’m done being lame.

… I hope.

Snap!

…

Tick… tock… tick… tock…

From DJ… to Dragon…

***^***

“FWOOSH!!!”

…

Shinkshink!!

…

CRUNCH!!!

…

“Grrrrrrr…”

“… By Ambrosine, Dragon… you have become a bigger problem than I had originally perceived you to be.”

“Grrrrrr…”

SLASH!!!

“…”

Crunchcrunchcrunch…

“… But no matter how many of my corpses you nourish yourself with, in the end all your struggling is futile.”

“… Grrrrrr…”

“… -Sigh-. You… are nothing more than a beast now. To speak to you is to waste words… and to continue to fight is to waste the opportunity to flee… why don’t you simply abandon the element user protected in your grip and use those massive wings of yours to escap-”

SHINK!

“… -Sigh-. Again… words are meaningless, yet spout them I do. We are at a stalemate, you and I… but time is the ultimate divider in the end. It is working against you, Little Cog.”

“RRRRRRRRRRRRROOOOOAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!”

“Indeed… it is working against myself as well. Fighting a war on two fronts… something I foresaw but was unable to properly prepare for… I look forward to seeing how things play out in the en- … Gasp!”

“… Grrrrr…”

“… Hehe… interesting… no one has dared to set foot into Mother’s Domain for centuries… who… hehe… I bid you farewell then, my ‘friend’! I’ll be seeing you again real soon. Don’t miss your future Princess too much~”

Pop!

“… RRRRRRRRRRRRRROOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAARRRR!!!!”

Shinkshink!!

CRUNCH!!

SLASH!

…

…

…

“…Some day those tears are gonna spill~”

~To be Continued~

Author's Note:

Let's give a round of applause for this story's newest editor: Thardoc! He's already helped me in doing a little editing for every chapter up until this point, and he's the one who edited THIS chapter AND part two, to which I am very grateful! Give him and Aiovas some cheer, would you kindly? Same goes to Acidic Din who, despite having been unable to provide his services, still deserves some cheer ^_^

Other people deserving of a shout out:
TalonMach5! He sent some of you people my way through his story The Book of Water: The Marriage of the Slave King! Part two of his Slave King Saga, its a series that I've been meaning to dive into for some time now here. It looks like its bristling with love! How about you go check him out, gentlereaders ?
And...
Seven Fates! Being the writer of Displaced (the very first HiE story I ever read), hearing that he liked A Cog of the Machine, and has gone out of his way to promote it all over the Human in Equestria group, filled my heart with the feels. Check him and his latest baby, When a Pony Calls (another story I need to get around to reading ) out!

Have a good day now,
-Derply

P.S. Oh! And lets not forget to yet again thank More Dakka for the awesome art!

Comments

[oldtimeydude]

Hell, it's about time an update happened!

[factorydash]

YES NEW CHAPTER!!!
Oh I've been waiting for this moment for so long!
FINALLYYY!!

[Silent Strike]

You know, for just a second there, starswril channeled the doctor.
Cool.

[lunafangirl]

Don’t think… think and you’re dead….

Doctor who reference?

[ManlyDerp]

2870611
*Bats eyes suggestively... blinking, one could say* Mmmmmaaaaaayyyybbbbbeeee~

[Pinklestia]

Here be baby dragons! Actually Vinyl is like 21 years now, right?

[ManlyDerp]

3657964
If Dragon Quest has proven anything about equestrian dragons it's that their puberty system makes no freaking sense