Look from the Other Side
Lockheart
Dreams… I never dreamed much before… or remembered them. One of the two… and now I’m in Equestria.
I slowly got up as I stared at the hallway of mirrors. I couldn’t place a finger on why I knew it was a dream… but I could just tell it was. Glancing into the mirrors I could see myself… versions of myself to be exact. The changeling form stood right next to both of my alicorn disguises as I could see them glaring back at me in hatred.
I turned my back on the mirrors only to see another mirror holding my human form… except the mirror was cracked as the image was distorted as if someone took a really bad picture and left it out in the sun to long. The cracks in the mirror didn't help either.
I looked at my own body tired of this game and strangely enough I couldn’t see it as some sort of darkness covered it. I rolled my eyes at the less than subtle meaning that didn’t make much sense to me. Either it meant the darkness in my own heart, the darkness from what ever brought me giving me my villain package… or the standard “humans are jerk” bit since I’m in the land of magically happy ponies who have friendship solve all their problems.
"He he he he." A voice chuckled down the hallway as bubbles drifted towards me.
With my cynicism intact and without much else to do I walked down the hallway of mirrors to find the brat. I hated the hallway of mirrors as each one showed a different version of me. Diamond dog, bat pony, dragon… if you could name it then it was in the hallway as all of the mirrors were intact, but the human one.
“So what is this?” I said out loud to either myself or for the dream itself “Some hidden insight or question about my own being? Some subtle play that is supposed to make me ask who I am or what I’ve done?”
Walking down the hallway as I really didn’t give a dam. I was alive and I was still me so what else really mattered? I was already turned into a bug who pretended to be a horse when I used to be a human. At this point I'm happy I still have my sanity intact as all of my memories were still mine.
More bubbles started to appear in the hallway as I walked through them. The sound of a child's chuckling voice grew along with my anger. Was this another game? Another cruel prank with some twisted or pointless reason other than to give someone a few laughs?
A new mirror now stood in front of me showing me… the place I lived in… the life I had just a few days ago. The computer was left on as the screen just showed some sort of bad static. The room was empty as no one seemed to have checked on my disappearance... or had anything happened since I was gone? Heck that old monster show with the summer camp had them spend months in another world only have gone missing for just a few hours or possibly a single day?
I tried to calm myself down "I could still go back home."
“Why would you ever want to go back?” Whispered Discord’s voice “Just one soul out of countless millions each struggling for their own slice of life, but here… you could have immortality.”
The mirror beside it showed me stuck as a my pain in the butt gray alicorn disguise, but the mirror me was grinning as I blew out the candles that were shaped into the number two hundred and I’ll admit… the offer was tempting.
A third mirror appeared as I glared back at it in hatred. I stood in front of six ponies as each of them had a cutie mark as I stood against them beaten and battered in my changeling form hissing. The six Elements of Harmony rose above their heads as the broken pieces started to spin and reform just like they did during the season one two part episode.
The stallion with a cutie mark of a flaming shield said “I’m sorry it has to be this way, but it our only way home.”
The changeling version of me spat at the ground and hissed I hatred “Fuck You Maxwell.”
The Elements of Harmony created their killer rainbow of doom as it crashed into the changeling version of me before he exploded. I wasn’t turned to stone or sealed onto something leaving some obscure mark on the ground or something. instead I just blew up like Sombra in the Crystal Empire. I smashed my fist/hoof into the mirror breaking it.
“I’ll skip that future.” I bitterly replied.
Dying wasn’t in my plan… even if I was a given a villain card.
The mirror shattered as a small filly on some pink plush animal looked up at me. The vanilla coat filly yawned as her wings stretched out. Her… purple… light purple… wisteria mane had a small horn popping out of it as a cutie mark of an old digital error sign was on her flank. One of those red triangles with an exclamation mark inside it.
Her eyes opened up revealing blue eyes filled with joy as she stared at me and said in a voice filled with innocence “Hi Mister Glitch!”
I just stared at her “What?”
She hopped down from her large plush animal and stood in front of me as she barely came up to my chin “My name is Erroria.”
******
Celestia
Celestia walked down the stairs as the cold stone floor echoed every hoof steps. Not a single speck of light was allowed down in this area and a part of me hated what I was doing right now. The dungeons of Canterlot Castle hadn’t been used since… honestly she couldn’t remember the last time it had been officially used. The last time she had came down to the dungeons was for a surprise birthday party for somepony sixty years ago.
If anything it was more like an old attic or basement than an actual dungeon. The fact that it was being used to detain a pony bothered her, but it had to be done. The prisoner knew about Discord and more importantly he knew that the monster that attacked Canterlot was going after Discord.
“Princess Celestia!” shouted one of the guards snapping to attention.
Celestia give one of her practiced smiles at the mare as her over enthusiastic shout echoed throughout the room. The mare blushed in embarrassment at her own outburst. Then again this was probably the most exciting thing she had done all year. Guarding the dungeon was mostly cleaning it out and using it as storage from time to time. Most new recruits were giving the job to teach them patience… or to punish a troublemaker by having them stand around all day doing nothing.
Celestia spoke calmly trying not to raise my voice “How… is he.”
She didn’t feel like calling him a prisoner… but the sad fact was he was a prisoner until we had a better idea on who he was. It was properly also safe to say he was the very same pony who caused this morning’s incident as the crazed pink alicorn so he wasn’t completely innocent.
The guard scuffed her hoof across the ground and shivered “Freaky… I mean! It’s… well freaky. The cell is burnt. It changed the items inside… but it hasn’t woken up.”
Celestia couldn’t help but sigh in sorrow. Just how bad must they think the strange pony be to not even call him a pony? Instead they called him an it just because he was placed in a cell until they had a better idea what to do.
Walking over to the cell and Celestia paused for a moment as she couldn’t believe what was happening. Green flames danced across the pony’s body that was locked in the jail cell. A few would spark off hitting the surrounding cell transforming it. The stone wall now had random sections keeping the overall design… but different parts.
Candy Cane bars rested right beside golden and steel bars. The scent of gingerbread came from a section of the wall as another green spark struck a brick turning it into water as it came splashing down onto the ground. The strangest part was that the pony’s body was affected from each green flame that raced across the body. If anything it… he looked like an offspring of Discord himself than an actual pony. The worst part of it all was that his body twitched in pain as Celestia could feel the traces of Discord’s chaotic magic mixed with his own strange brand.
She focused on the spells she would need to protect myself and tried to wake up the prisoner. Already the four guards in the dungeon crept closer to her. Either they were a bit to egger to do their job or they simply watch out of sheer curiously.
The strange pony jumped up in shock and then stared at me in fear. He had the same eyes from the fake alicorn that fled from the royal guards yesterday. Celestia focused on the next part as she cast the next spell. It was a complicated spell that was meant to help restore the intended target back to their original form. One spell that was made during Discord reign over Equestria before Celestia and her sister found the Elements of Harmony and finally put a stop to his madness and turning him into stone.
The magic struck the strange pony as he closed his eyes. Then to her own horror she could hear the bones readjusting themselves as each crack made the ponies winch in pain. This was the first clue that something was very wrong. Just like a species copy spell or a wing spell it should have been over in an instant.
The spell shouldn’t have caused so much pain as the strange pony was trying to scream in pain only for his voice to be lost during the transformation. Various parts of his body shifted back into a pony form before one final burst of green fire consumed him.
Celestia covered her eyes for a brief moment before staring at the new creature in front of her. It wasn’t a pony. The black caprice now stood instead of the soft coat of fur he should have had. Holes adorned his legs, but if they were natural or made from some previous injury she did not know. Two bug like wings rested across his side like a pegasus's wings, but he had a sharp jagged horn like a unicorn resting on top of his head. The only thing similar to a pony was the green mane and tail that rested on his body. Celestia could help but stare as she had never seen a creature like him before. The guards who were watching him now backed away in fear as the creature’s new green eyes stared back at first in confusion, but quickly switched to hatred.
He hissed “What did you do to me?”
The guards now held out their spears in fear as the creature’s sharp teeth was bared at them. Celestia could feel the hatred being cast off it.
She shook her head. Him. She could feel the hatred being cast off him.
Celestia spoke trying not to show any emotion “Who are you?”
He hissed “Don’t you mean what am I?" each word grew more acidic with each passing second. "What freak of nature stands before you?” He started growling “How will you kill me?”
Each word seemed to echo in her head as Celestia was about to say something until one of the guards shouted “Go back to Tartarus demon bug!”
She glanced back at the guards and then at the creature’s horn. It glowed, but it wasn’t casting any magic. Instead she could feel the now subtly pull as it tried to draw everything in. The guards radiated fear and hatred and he was growing more furious with each passing second.
“Leave us.” Celestia spoke out loud.
One of the guards shouted “But Princess!”
She smiled honestly now “I can take care of this. Please don’t speak about what you have seen… and try to get the doctors in here. Apparently our new guest still is suffering from the magic from the maze.” She sighed loudly for them all to hear “Apparently I might be a little rusty at the spell so you may want to grab some of the old book from the library. Tell Overdue I’ll need the ones in the far back. He’ll understand.”
The ponies left as the creature... as he stood before her and stared at her in confusion. As soon as it was just the two of them he suddenly became a lot less hostile and more… confused and frightened. If his body language was anything close to a pony’s then he would have just “deflated” as he seemed to be smaller than before.
With one last spell cast on herself Celestia replied “Are you alright?”
“uh…” His personality seemed to suddenly change “What just happened?”
She smiled as she let her curiosity and positive emotions run wild “That’s what I would like to know starting with your name.”
He rubbed the back of his head with as he chuckled nervously “Lockheart…”
His horn still flickered yet he was more at ease than she would have expected a normal pony to be. Of course she was starting to get a feel for what was happening. He seemed to be copying her state of mind… or he had some sort of empathic connection to those around him as he seemed to relax as if nothing was strange about his situation. Celestia actually felt a little guilty casting the spell to enhance the emotions she was casting off to get him like this.
Lockheart glanced at the floor in guilt “Please don’t tell me I accidently made you lose some precious statue. I just grabbed the first one I could find.”
Celestia chuckled more to help ease the mood, but mostly to try to remove the guilt from her own mind as she replied “I’m just happy that whatever that creature was it didn’t get what it was looking for.”
She made a mental note to keep her own emotions in check. If he suddenly felt guilty over a small moment of guilt like that… than who knows how much of his personality was being affected by the very emotions floating about in the room. Surely enough he chuckled in the same exact way she did as he had switched for painful guilt to happy laughter.
She took a deep breath trying to focus on trying to trust him “So Lockheart. Why are you here?”
“To get help.” He spoke right away and blinked “I mean… lost in the woods. Suddenly stripped away from home. Not much to tell.”
He glanced away from her as she could tell he hadn’t mean to say all of it. Was he naturally empathic or was this a side effect from Discord? What kind of creature was he? Did he have the same abilities like a unicorn or pegasi or did his race have their own “spin” on it like the difference between a pegasi and a griffin.
Celestia decided to go further “Is this your natural form?”
His body stiffened for a moment before shaking… or shivering in disgust. Right away the green flames danced across his body consuming his previous form before replacing it with a new one. The black chitin body was now replaced with dark fur. The insect wings were now pegasi wings as the horn… it instead of a regular unicorn’s horn it resembled the previously jagged chipped horn. His green eyes and hair remained the same, but they now had a more pony like quality but still somehow retrain it’s otherworldly look, but most of all his teeth seemed to have stayed the same leaving him a set of sharp teeth instead of the normal flat pony teeth.
Instantly Lockheart's demeanor changed as he snapped back “Of course not! I’m just skilled with magic and illusions. Tried a few alterations under my belt… I mean just look at me. I’m not exactly normal.”
He grinned revealing his sharp pointed teeth that ha more of a predatory smile than the gentle smile her ponies carried. His horn stopped glowing as he seemed more in control of himself than he was before. More importantly Celestia could tell he was lying or holding something back. Celestia focused on the spell again trying to put out more trust and more emotions to help “calm” him down.
This time Lockheart stared at her as a hint of malice filled his voice “What are you doing?”
Before she could answer the guards from before came running down shouting “Seriously it’s the freakiest thing I’ve ever seen!”
The four prison guards along with four more royal guards members and two doctors came rushing down all with weapons ready only to stop when they saw Celestia and Lockheart’s new form. He face hoofed and muttered in annoyance as she cut off her spell. Honestly she wasn’t expecting them back so soon.
Celestia smiled “Personally I would have called him unique.”
“Ha. Ha.” Lockheart replied bitterly “It’s not every day you see an grown idiot without a cutie mark.”
The guards stared at him in confusion. Surely enough his flank was bare as he actually seemed annoyed that they would comment on it. The royal guards shook their heads in a combination of annoyance and embarrassment while the prison guards tried to explain what they had seen.
Celestia decided to keep the information contained for now “I have managed to remove most of the foreign magic that’s altered his form, but a second opinion wouldn’t hurt.”
Now the prison guards looked guilty as one of the royal guard pony opened up the cell. Lockheart sighed as he let the two unicorn doctors poke and prod him checking for any signs of injury or for anything out of the ordinary. Celestia couldn’t help but watch both in concern that they would find out he’s different… or that they wouldn’t notice.
Something was off about him. Even if the current form was his "natural" form it was different from most ponies she had seen before.
His wings snapped back as he shouted “Ow! Warn me next time!”
“Sorry.” The unicorn muttered as she inspected the feather she plucked straight out of his wing.
The fact it didn’t fall apart or transform into something else meant the feather wasn’t part of an illusion spell. That of course only brought up the question about what the previous form was… or if it was just a byproduct from Celestia’s own attempt to restore him to normal when it failed or some cruel prank left by Discord.
The other unicorn replied “Now this may sting a little.”
Lockheart flinched as his teeth grinded against each other as the second unicorn checked to see if his horn was alright. The other unicorns winced as the doctor wasn’t to gentle in her checkup.
After a few more minutes the rest of the guards started to relax as Lockheart would sometimes snap back shouting when every they plucked a hair or feather from his body or asked questions about his “lack of a cutie mark” which he replied back with some very bitter if not colorful comments oddly without a single swear thrown in it.
Everything seemed alright until it came to the final test. Mostly checking on the magical aura and just to be safe… strength and durability of the horn. Most unicorns feared this part of the check up, but understood the importance. A horn was their main source of controlling and utilizing their magic. A brittle horn could not only be dangerous, but life threatening. Thankfully today they had new medicines and magical remedies to help fix or strengthened a damaged or injured horn.
Of course a completely broken horn… That hadn’t been seen for years and was the unspoken fear of most unicorns. The jagged horn just only raised concerns about it’s over all health since it wasn’t the traditional horn seen. Even more so since he had a horn and wings.
With one resounding hit Lockheart cursed out loud. Everypony jumped back as the eldritch speech frightened them as green flames danced out of his mouth like dragon fire. The eldritch green flames scorched the floor underneath turning it into a patch of dirt as poison joke bloomed right on the spot. Everypony including Lockheart seemed shocked at what just happened as Celestia removed the chaotic flowers from the area and sealed them inside a bag.
Lockheart glanced at the doctor “I take it that’s not normal… because if it is then this is a really strange land. No offense.”
The doctor nodded as she turned to Celestia “Good news is that his body is fine. Unfortunately his magic is still affected by what ever happened inside the hedge maze.” She glanced back at Lockheart “And please try to cut down on the swearing.”
“That’s swearing?” One of the prison guards asked out loud
The doctor rolled her eyes “Unfortunately what was supposed to be a simple swear was… warped by the chaotic magic still affecting him.” She glanced back at Lockheart “So like I said before. Cut down on the swearing. Other than that I’d suggest staying down here for a few days until everything either is fixed… or until you can deal with the side effects unless you feel like walking about outside only to accidently turn Gingerbread Corner into actual Gingerbread.”
Lockheart couldn’t help but smirk for a moment before he frowned at having to be locked up… for his own good. It would also give Celestia more time to find out about him and what his natural abilities were and what was altered by Discord’s magic. She wasn’t happy with the situation… but she was curious about this new pony.
“Now I must ask you all to keep this a secret.” Celestia calmly replied
The doctor nodded “No sense on shouting he’s an alicorn until you finish your checkup.” She glanced at his flank “Even if he’s a blank flank.”
Lockheart groaned “Please keep the alicorn comment to yourself.”
His horn glowed as his black coat became gray and the green hair light blue. A cutie mark appeared on his side of a locket shaped heart with one half black and the other half white with a keyhole in the middle.
The doctor gave a quick look over his body again “Pigment alteration. No flow of magic to the altered area, but descent enough to fool the average pony until you have time to put up a half descent spell to disguise yourself.”
“Half descent?” He shouted back “This isn’t just half descent it’s… Ow!”
The doctor smirked as the gray feather she had pulled from his wing turned black “Half-descent.” She turned to face Celestia and bowed “Please let me know how the rest of his checkup goes Princess.”
As soon as all the other left the room for Celestia and Lockheart to be alone he muttered “Who was that crazy mare?”
Celestia couldn’t help but smile “Thinking of asking her on a date?”
He glanced at her in confusion before staring at the wall in annoyance properly thinking it was the last thing he would ever do. Still it was nice to know he was at least similar to her ponies. She couldn’t help but feel a grin tug at the edge of her mouth. Besides it might be a little bit of fun sticking them together in the same room again. After all it was important to limit the knowledge before she could get a better grasp on the situation.
“And what about my...” Lockheart spoke softly as he stared at her. “Those who came with me?”
Celestia couldn’t help but wonder if he thought she might do something to them. She shook her head “Their fine. Miss… Valkyrie is out training while Stardust is meeting with her parents this afternoon. Is there something you want me to say to them?”
Lockheart chuckled bitterly “Not exactly… Just tell Valkyrie that I’m being treated. That some old spell from Loki kicked up and I’ve having to recover for now. She’ll understand.”
Celestia paused for a second “Loki?”
He grinned “Someone from back home. Mostly I don’t want her to think it’s her fault that I’m stuck here. At least one of us should still be able to enjoy ourselves in Canterlot. Besides with Discord locked away that smoke monster shouldn’t come back anytime soon.”
“Alright, but only after you answer one question.” Celestia replied trying to figure out how many knew about Discord.
Lockheart’s grin grew revealing his sharp pointed teeth “How did I know about Discord?” Celestia nodded “Because I know… and he kind of told me.” He leaned against the wall “Heck. I’m willing to bet all my bits that any other pony lost in that maze also heard his voice during that time.”
Celestia focused on Lockheart as she replied “The truth.”
Lockheart flinched “Because I simply know. Just in the same way you're little dreams let you get a general idea of certain threats. Enough to know… but not to fully understand. I know you sister Luna was banished by you. That before Sombra’s defeat he took the crystal kingdom. I know that on the thousandth year Nightmare Moon shall return along with a few other bits.”
Celestia could tell he was holding back. He properly was keeping it to himself until he had something to trade for. She had seen similar behavior shown in the jails of other kingdoms. The only question was what he wanted and more importantly who else knew about it.
She brought herself up to full height making an imposing figure as she spoke “What do you want?”
Lockheart shrugged “Magic. I’ll say my bit and you teach me some tricks. I’ll say what I know and then I go free with the others…” he rolled his eyes “If they want to leave of course… Deal?”
Celestia couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow “Tricks?”
Lockheart chuckled as if it was all some sort of twisted joke “Why not? Either way you’ll find out. I can say it and get something out of the deal or somepony will find out about me and beat me up just to give you what I know. So I might as well get a few tricks out of it.” He sighed “I mean I can barely levitate a book. Besides don’t you teach some ponies who are special in some way or catch your eye? As for when I leave… I’ll let Miss Valkyrie decide for now. Deal?”
Lockheart held out a hoof. Celestia nodded as she accepted the deal. She needed to know how many knew about Discord… and if there was some way to help ensure her sister turning back into Luna instead of Nightmare Moon, but most of all Lockheart’s smile also made her want to keep an eye on him. It was the same one she had seen worn by many of her enemies worn by those who fought both her and her sister during Equestria's founding.
She didn’t trust it.
******
Steel Halberd.
Steel glanced at his new temporary recruit. He didn’t understand the full story, but he knew enough. This was one of the strange ponies that tried to help Celestia against the smoke monster. From what he could gather she wasn’t from Equestria… and it stood out.
His first thoughts were that she was griffin trained. The armor didn’t seem to bother her as it weighed far too much for a common pegasi. If anything it would have been given to the earth pony recruits to strengthen their muscles until they were given a real and much lighter suit of armor. Her body was fit… too fit in some cases making a few of the other guards stare at her during the rare few time she was out of it.
Back in the old days of the Three Tribes Valkyrie she would have been considered the ideal image of the perfect mare as it almost seemed like she had been sculpted instead of naturally born. Needless to say a couple of the stallions used cold water for their showers now after seeing her without her armor covering up most of her body.
Of course what really got Steel Halberd was that Valkyrie was able to do all the same training they did while wearing that armor that would have counted as a steel coffin on any normal pegasi.
He couldn’t help but shiver at the thought. Still it made the second part all the more… annoying. Apparently she suffered memory loss. She had the movements, the strength, and most of the skill… but at the same time she lacked the proper basics. She put herself in bad stances as she tripped over her own hooves. She could barely keep track of aerial maneuvers. In some ways it was like she was fresh out of boot camp.
Though when anypony got close… that’s when her freaky griffin training kicked in. Sudden turns to avoid attacks before bringing down her hooves (as the armored gauntlets would have done serious damage) and managed to counter attack ponies easily in the air… when she let her body react instead of trying to act.
In some ways he could understand her frustration. She knew what she could do, but it was like somepony suddenly gave her four left feet as she stumbled around. After the first few days he began to truly understand just how dangerous she could be as he watched her gather clouds into a thunderstorm formation that required three ponies just to make. He also began to think this was why the princess asked him to look out for her.
“Good.” He replied with a small hint of surprise “Now strike those targets in the field.”
No sooner had he finished the thunderbolts flew. Each bolt destroying the dummies they struck. These weren’t the average straw dummies, but wooden ones built to take a blow. Her aim was a little bit off, but five out of ten dummies had been destroyed as scorch marks rested beside the surviving dummies.
Normally that would be considered a good score since the purpose was to hit them one at a time or one per pony. Instead he saw that small smirk on her face. Before he thought it was joy or excitement since griffins did like to fight, but he knew it was more than that. It was that she found a new skill and wanted to improve upon it.
He cleared his throat “Alright… that’s enough. Let’s practice rain since the target practice needs a quick wash.”
Valkyrie hit her head against the cloud muttering. For a pony who seemed excessively skilled at violence she wasn’t that adept at normal skills like rain. She struggled trying to get the right… Grip? Grasp? Kick?
Steel rubbed his head trying to figure it out. Just about every pegasi he knew could make a rain cloud rain… even the ground bound pegasi bakers on baker’s street who hadn’t stepped on a cloud for years. Was this one of those cultural things or did they just not teach it where she came from? Boston sounded like a very strange if not a slightly frightening griffin city.
Only when a small trickle dropped from the cloud like a leaky faucet did he flew up to help her. None of the other ponies went to assist mostly because she frightened them as every skill she had seemed to revolve around fighting. It was properly another reason why Celestia assigned him to help her as he was one of the few who didn’t let her frightening skill frighten him away.
Steel landed on the cloud “No… it’s right here.” He pointed at the sweet spot in the cloud as she stared at it in confusion. “Here… Just a good push… and there’s the water.”
The cloud started to rain a little as it lightened up. Valkyrie move and tried to strike the sweet spot only to miss it shooting a lightning bolt out of the cloud as it tore through another target. She face hoofed as he sighed out loud. This time he directed her hoof finding the exact spot and had her push down. Her body seemed to shiver as the cloud started to rain.
Her eyes were clenched shut for a moment before she opened them and blinked. She pushed the spot again and again making it rain more as she searched the cloud for other sweet spots trying to get a feel for it. It was clumsy like a filly just learning, but she wasn’t casting down lightning bolts which was an improvement.
Steel rubbed the back of his head “I’m kind of surprised you haven’t run into sweet spots before.”
“It just rains when it does.” She replied before catching herself “I mean… it’s more like the Everfree forest clouds.”
Now Steel shivered as it might have explained a few things. She kept acting as if the clouds would fall apart any moment unless she was using it to attack something. Apparently she wasn’t used to stable clouds, but the voice at the back of his head told him it was more than that. Like how she kept playing with her armor or how she kept her flank covered.
That had to have been the biggest surprise of them all. A blank flank adult. She didn’t seem to mind until everypony stared at the bare spot. It was properly the biggest sign for her growing up in a griffin city. Griffins didn’t have cutie marks so growing up without one might not have seemed like a big deal. It did tug his heart a little bit seeing that she had yet to find her special talent.
She was skilled. Frighteningly skilled to a degree most guards ponies would envy or even give up a leg for. Yet she didn’t have a cutie mark in fighting. All that combat training and reflexes… all of her training was just built around combat.
Steel couldn't even imagine what her life must have been like. What would it be like never finding your special talent and being forced to do something else? To live as a blank flank… not like a donkey or a griffin… but to know you have a special talent… a destiny and never know it? To be forced into a life you did not want? He rubbed his own cutie mark just thinking about it. Two halberds crossed together.
He didn’t fully know what his cutie mark meant, but he knew the feeling of it. To protect. It’s why he joined the royal guard. Why he fought and trained despite the fact an all-powerful alicorn protected most of Equestria.
He took a deep breath “Now… try striking one of the targets without destroying it.”
Valkyrie nodded as she struck the cloud firing off three bolts at the target. The first took out the “legs” as the second tore through the chest leaving the last one ripping apart the head. She huffed in annoyance and tried again. Steel couldn’t help feel worried that now he was training a pegasi who seemed to know only how to use lethal force.
Steel sighed “Take ten. Clean yourself off. We’ll meet again tomorrow.”
“I’m sure I can do better!” She quickly shouted in desperation.
He couldn’t help but shiver. Better? That was kind of the problem. None of the soldiers including himself had been able to destroy the testing dummies set out for her. If anything she needed to do worse just to make them not feel incompetent!
Steel took in another deep breath “I have to check up with medical. A few other ponies are getting out and hopefully we can start finishing up damage control. Hopefully we can get back to organizing search parties and focus on finding the creature or stopping the new rise in bandit attacks.”
Valkyrie scuffed her hoof against the cloud as she looked away from him “Sorry… I…” She sighed “Tell… everypony I hope their doing well.” She glanced back at the remaining dummies “I’m just going to try to get some more practice in…”
“SHOWERS!” Steel shouted out in his best drill Sargent voice “NOW!”
She snapped to attention and bolted to the shower room. He couldn’t help but smirk as he was happy seeing the nervous mare. It was one of the reasons why it made it so difficult to teach her. She shouldn’t be out fighting. It… it just felt wrong.
She flapped down from the cloud as already some of the other recruits raced to grab it. One thing she had a talent for was building with clouds. Already he could hear the bolts crashing against the few remaining training dummies along with the few curses of the new recruits. The clouds were better than the ones they could make even if they couldn’t use them as well as her.
“Maybe building is her special talent” He spoke out loud to himself before shaking his head “Get you're head in the game Steel Halberd! Remedy Cross!”
The blue coat and red mane unicorn sighed “Please… Just call me Remedy.” Her cutie mark was of a red cross
He simply nodded. Three days ago he wouldn’t have spoken to her. Heck he never really got along with doctors… and nopony really got along with her. Still they were the only two besides the princess who even had a picture on what was going on.
Remedy shook her head “Tests normal. A few elevated magical reflexes, but nothing that couldn’t be explained by simple or specialized training. In fact I would expect far more internal bruising or light scaring than what I’ve found so far.”
Steel resisted the urge to face hoof “What about her friend? Or have you heard anything else about Stardust?”
Remedy shrugged “Nothing to comment on. Less on Stardust since her arrest.”
“It wasn’t an arrest.” He repeated Celestia knew how many times.
Remedy rolled her eyes “So she just happened to knock herself out in a restricted room.”
This was why nopony liked being near Remedy Cross. Ask her what she thinks and she’ll pick the worst possible thing or just analyze it before moving it. It was kind of a shame really. She did have that tall Canterlot build and she either worked out or had a good personal fitness trainer. Even her cutie mark of a red cross seemed to complement her…
Steel felt like bashing his head against the wall! Already trying to get past Valkyrie’s well-toned body just to focus on another mare’s while trying to talk about Valkyrie.
Remedy smirked “You know it’s rude to think of another mare while talking to one.”
Steel groaned as it brought the second thing that started to annoy him. Apparently to those who survived her cold rebuttals, and bleak outlook on life. She liked to taunt or tease ponies. Remedy chuckled… which she had never done before in all the years he had seen her. (One too many since each visit brought him to her medical ward)
She quickly stiffened up and coughed “Sorry.”
“For laughing?” he replied out loud.
She frowned “Yes. The Princess…” She looked extra frustrated “Has… been trying to get me to ‘open up’ or how she puts it.”
Steel blinked in disbelief. Open up? All it took was three days being constantly near Celestia to get a stiff pony like the dreaded Ms Cross to open up? Maybe in Celestia’s free time she could teach the nobles how not to be stiff jerks and then fly on magical rainbows ending all despites across Celestia by simply waving at them.
At this point he wouldn’t be surprised if it actually worked consider what had happened during the last few days.
He shook his trying to get rid of the image “So how is… Lockheart?”
Remedy shrugged “A mystery. Celestia brings me in during the second half. I try to go over the basics. He tries to do them while Celestia finishes her royal duties.”
She paused for a moment. Steel waited for her to finish her deep thoughts about the subject. It wasn’t everyday somepony was picked to be taught by the Princess. Even then being taught to do… regular tricks was kind of off… like Valkyrie’s skills kind of off. Seriously Levitation? Fillies learn that before even earning their cutie marks! It’s like the unspoken magic spell that every unicorn knew!
Remedy just scowled “Obviously he must have blackmailed her.”
Steel couldn’t help but face hoof at the absurdity of it all “So the unknown alic-“
“Winged unicorn!” She practically shouted “No confirmation of earth pony ability or check off by the Princess!”
Steel rolled his eyes “Alright a 'Winged Unicorn' comes out of the blue. Hides whatever the monster that burst into Canterlot was looking for… is blackmailing Celestia who can raise the sun and is older than Canterlot itself! Just what could this ‘blackmail’ be?”
Remedy put a hoof to her chin muttering “That’s what I intend to find out.”
Valkyrie was a mystery to Steel Halberd and he could live with that. Remedy on the other hoof just had to find out. There was no mystery that went unsolved or no theory left unsaid that explained everything. The very fact this Lockheart character kept throwing her off must mean he’s either an alicorn or about to become one right after he makes Remedy’s head exploded in sheer frustration.
“Don’t look at me like that.” She snapped back “It’s more than that.”
Steel sighed “Well let’s go with what we know. Valkyrie just destroyed most of the practice dummies that’s survived everything a full squad of pegasi could attack. Her reflexes are quickly improving or returning to normal… kind of hard to judge by her body and current level of skill. Other than that apparently the weather is closer to the Everfree forest than Equestria.”
Remedy nodded “Lockheart’s skill in illusions is growing and he just reveled he’s unique talent is emotion magic.” She paused for a moment “Or that he has a knack for emotion magic since he doesn’t have a cutie mark.”
Steel couldn’t help but shiver as he whispered “Mind mage?”
Remedy was about to say something before she paused “Not exactly… From how he described it. It’s more like he feeds off emotion.”
Steel couldn’t tell which bothered him more. A unicorn skilled in messing with a pony's mind or one that was some sort of emotion vampire like the ones from his old childhood books like Iron Blade and the Thousand Ghouls of Death.
“Nothing like that.” She replied in annoyance “More like using the emotion around to jumpstart his spells. Surely you’ve heard about the research and theory about emotion and magic. There have been many instances of sudden boosts when concerning love.”
Steel waved his hooves “First off! Not a unicorn! Second of all! No fancy business in my group. That stuff only happens in sappy romance novels!”
Remedy nodded but didn’t seem to be convinced “Still this 'cheat' has let him build up a rather impressive magical reserve despite it’s flaws.” Steel glanced at her “I’m convinced the Princess has already found some of them as she tests them while I’m in the room with him.”
Steel tried not to snort. Princess Celestia playing pranks? That seemed even more farfetched that Lockheart blackmailing her.
She shook her head “Anyway from what I can tell Midguard… is either someplace he’s made up or nowhere near Equestria. He’s lack of talent is more likely from a lack of teacher since all his skills seem self-taught. His talent in illusions properly stems from his constant use in the subject.”
“But no cutie mark.” Steel firmly asked.
Remedy nodded “No cutie mark. Just like the bandit your group captured.”
Steel frowned as this was one of the things that worried him. Not having a cutie mark… a Blank Flank was for fillies. Just getting a cutie mark usually was a sign that they weren’t fillies anymore, but adults… well growing up to be adults at least. Of course some towns have legal age having a cutie mark.
A blank flank adult was just unheard of really. Two blank flank adults was something you would read one of those gossip magazines that talked about moon ponies abducting griffins or something. Twelve? That just spelled trouble.
Three reports had come in. Four mark less bandits including the one locked away. Seven near the Everfree forest and three having solved a town’s manticore problem. As for the rumors? More blank flank rumors seemed to be coming in along with an increase in sales of clothing in those areas. Something was happening and Steel Halberd knew a lack of knowledge was a deadly thing. It was the kind of thing that cost lives.
He sighed trying not to think Valkyrie was in the same category as the trash locked away in a cell. The earth pony couldn’t put up a proper fight when he wasn’t attacking helpless traders. His so called “friends” ditched him without a thought. They were more like rats than actual ponies. It made his blood boil just thinking about it.
“But their ponies.” He tried to say calmly “I mean not magically transformed animals like in the old fairy tales.”
Remedy smiled. The smile grew across her face making it extra creepy. Kind of like the old tale of the Grinch who tried to stop Heart’s Warming Eve.
“No…” She slowly replied as the grin grew three sizes larger that time “No they are not. They are ponies. Down to their flesh, blood and bone.” She glanced back at the infirmary “but what if the others are not?”
Steel grabbed his aching head “Say that again, but in basic Equestrian.”
“Different cities speak different stories and these two come from different lands.” She replied calmly “So what if… their not the only ones? What if? Somepony out there is… is one like in the old fairy tales.”
Steel shook his head “So what? I should check the rat in the cell to see if he’s actually a rat?”
“Of course not.” She replied as if that was the dumbest thing he could possibly say “You should get a unicorn to check.”
Steel glanced at Remedy Cross trying to make sure she wasn’t pulling her leg or making some weird joke at his expense. Instead he saw the light in her eyes with that “cut it open and poke around” stare she had whenever she held a knife near somepony she was about to operate on. For the pony in the jail cell… if he’s lucky he’s actually a rat. Unlike the other two blank flanks he didn’t have the Princess’s protection and… technically he’s already injured.
“Dear Celestia he’s going to die.” Steel spoke under his breath.
Remedy continued to smile as she was bringing a frightening amount of medical tools into her saddle bag “Of course he’s not going to die. Earth ponies tend to be quite sturdy.”
Not one word in that sentence convinced him that she wouldn’t try to do it anyway. Heck she’ll properly complain that he was a weakling or a push over if he actually kicked the bucket. She’d properly berate him for dying while he was dying. If he survived the he would properly never attack a trader much less try to shop lift for the rest of his life.
Remedy Cross was now humming a tune. The same tune most foals learn when figuring out how all the bones connected to each other. The same cheery tune had a less happy melody when hummed by her. Valkyrie could be frightening at times. Remedy Cross was just frightening. Already a few words of praise and thankful relief came from the infirmary as they knew Doctor Cross was leaving for the day.
******
Remedy Cross
Remedy hummed to herself as she walked into the next appointment on her schedule. She opened up the door as Lockheart and the Princess sat in the small room. The Princess’s smile seemed to turn into a frown as Remedy tried to figure out what the foreign pony did to her.
Princess Celestia softly replied in the same tone a mother would scold a foal in public “Is it true you tortured an innocent pony?”
Remedy sighed “I didn’t torture the prisoner. The report did state that the prisoner in question was a convicted criminal.”
Really it was all in the report. Mr. Brass Balls...obviously a fake name… had harmed caravan traders, killed both ponies and griffins, and tried to escape the prison he was placed in before his hearing could be made.
It wasn’t her fault that he was a whiner. It certainly wasn’t her fault if he moved during the procedure. She didn’t mind the comments or poorly made insults he threw out her, but the screaming just got on her nerves. Besides he was returned back to the jail cell in one piece… for the most part.
Lockheart seemed to glance at the report on the table “Did you really?”
Remedy smiled “Of course not. She was already a female.” Celestia glanced back at Remedy obviously not happy. “If you check the reports did state her unusual condition and how she snapped at anyone who tried to undress her. Properly to hid her gender from the other criminals in her group.”
Celestia glanced back at the report as Lockheart seemed caught up in between embarrassment… and amusement.
Remedy took a deep breath “Besides I double checked with a medical spell to confirm that she was female. Which came back positive.”
Thanks to some alteration tips, medical background knowledge, and a magic feather stuffed full of reality warping chaos magic. Honestly it was the prisoner’s fault if you think about it. All she did was run a few tests. He just made it personal.
“So far from the correlation reports more “blank flanks” seem to be appearing in the surrounding area where Miss Valkery and Lockheart had appeared.” Remedy calmly replied “It may be possible whatever brought them there gathered a large selection of other blank flank stallions and mares, but for what purpose I do now know.”
Celestia stared at Remedy in disappointment “And what did your research find?”
Remedy stood proudly “The magical oddities in her aura seem to suggest a number of things. For one thing her magical connection places her closer to a mule than an actual earth pony. Almost as if somepony grabbed a template of an Earth Pony and forgot to color it in right.”
Lockheart shook his head “Wait… she’s a fake?”
Remedy nodded “Properly an imperfect cast. Without a proper model to base it on or to fix the mistakes the culprit in question tried to fill in some of the blanks. More muscle to make up for the lack of magic. Enhanced bone strength and tougher skin like a minotaur. In truth a donkey is closer to a earth pony than she is.Thankfully the Royal Guards were able to catch two more criminals to test my theory on.”
Two that were completely silent and refused to be away from the guards when in her sight. Honestly what did they think she was going to do to them?
“Did they have… memory loss?” Lockheart hesitantly replied.
Remedy nodded “For whatever reason the ones with “missing gaps” had normal magical auras. The rest of the details should be in the report.”
Remedy studied Lockheart’s reaction. He seemed to be watching her as he waited for something else… but then again it could be just curiosity. After seeing nothing was going too happened he refocused on the magic lesson Celestia seemed to have given him as he focused at the block of granite.
Celestia on the other hoof seemed displeased “Please watch over Lockheart for the lessons for today. I have something I need to check on.”
Celestia left the room which hadn’t happened before. She was always in the room to keep an eye on Lockheart. A part of her wished to believe Celestia was giving her an “okay” to find more information about Lockheart while having plausible deniability… but Celestia was properly just checking on the new prisoners for a more detail check of her reports.
Green flames danced across the stone only for it to collapse into a pile of dust… gold dust. Instead of shouting for joy or gathering it up like some crook Lockheart instead face hoofed and muttered something in the spidery language as green flames shot out of his mouth transforming the gold dust into a glass vase with a single rose in it.
“Language.” Remedy spoke out loud only for Lockheart to face hoof again “What sort of magic were you casting?”
Lockheart groaned “The spell was turning the block into a sphere. The burst of fire from my mouth? That was swearing.”
Remedy nodded as she understood about Lockheart’s strange quirk. Still chaos magic was a dangerous thing if left un-supervised. It was one of the main reasons why Celestia was around when he tried casting new spells just in case the chaos magic was mixed into it.
A simple light spell could turn into a fire ball or drop the tempter in the room to below freezing levels and most of all the same spell with chaos magic would never cast the same results.
“And the flames?” She couldn’t help but ask. Green flames normally didn’t accompany spells. “On the first spell?”
Lockheart shrugged “Alteration spell. Why green flames appear? Magic.”
Remedy now felt like banging her head against the wall. That was his answer for most questions he didn’t want to answer. Magic. Like that word just summed up all explanations ever needed. Canterlot had thousands of books on the subject of magic itself… and he reduces it all to a single word without any meaning behind it.
Remedy pulled out her standard needle as it hovered near him “Now I’m going to need a blood sample.”
Lockheart flinched as the needle went into his foreleg. His muscles tightened as his entire foreleg went rigged until the needle was removed and she applied the bandage to the tiny wound.
He sighed in relief “Done?”
Remedy nodded “This should suffice for now.”
Hopefully it would last longer than the last batch. She could still feel the faint tingle of chaotic magic dancing about in its cage. Another reason why he was such a strange pony. The chaotic magic should have dissipated from or consumed his own magical aura. Instead it seemed to adapt itself into mixing it together.
Ponies had one magical aura. They kept their own brand of magic. Comparing magic would be like comparing cutie marks and you never ran into a pony with two different cutie marks on them. Which brought to question how his magic even worked in the first place?
Was his winged form some sort of spell gone wrong or was it some other pony’s attempt to craft an alicorn. Judging from how he had a hard time using his wings and… that he simply used alteration magic to clean them. Broken feathers, dirt, and any other “flaw” would be burnt away as the wing would recreate itself in much the same way a unicorn could recast a wing spell on themselves.
His natural magic seemed more selective if not otherworldly. It took the useful traits of those around it and then shifted it into its own means. Regular magic used to jump start spells and more powerful forms are then taken, stored, and used to further enhance his magical reserves.
Alterations always included the green flames because chaos magic was the best form of magic for altering objects or reality in general. The chaotic flame curse seemed to be a side effect or something.
He may have been an experiment that was still in the “Testing stage” so to speak. Of course his lack of skill in levitation may even suggest him being an earth pony who had been altered to be given a unicorn horn and wings.
Remedy put away the vial of blood as her eyes scanned the room only for Lockheart to say “None of her feathers fell.”
She couldn’t help but frown “I don’t…”
Lockheart rolled his eyes “None of Celestia’s feathers are around here, nor her hair or anything else you could bag.”
Remedy tried not to let her emotion show. If Lockheart was some sort of magical step/experiment towards perfecting an alicorn transformation spell than cross checking and comparing it to a flesh and blood alicorn was necessary to check for differences. Of course nopony just walks up and ask if they could pluck feathers or draw blood from a Princess. Much less the very princess who had control over the sun… leaving such academic testing left in the dust.
Lockheart on the other hoof pulled out a book from his saddle bag as his hooves shifted into draconic fingers to turn the pages. All the while he scanned the book as intently as a student right before their class’s final for the semester. Too bad it was “Unicorn Magic For Fillies”. Then again levitation is one of the easiest if not most versatile abilities in a unicorn’s selection of spells. Most unicorns have a hard time not using the spell at least twice a day as levitation to a unicorn was like flight to a pegasus.
Remedy sighed as she prepared the next intro for her “teaching” as she lifted up a tennis ball from her saddle bags “Now let’s focus again. This is a ball…” I place it on the table “now pick it up.”
Lockheart rolled his eyes as he tried to focus on his horn again. The magic shimmered for a moment before just shinning as nothing happened. Kind of like a foal trying to figure it out.
She shook her head in slight annoyance for watching him cast a high level alteration spell with ease… only to fumble with a basic spell most foals learn before earning their cutie marks “Alright. Let’s try this again. Pick it up without magic.” He nodded and then paused for a second. Either he was overthinking it… or he didn’t know how to. “And no transformation magic either.”
He huffed as Remedy hid her grin. His hooves moved to touch it… only to knock it back. As it slowly rolled away his wings moved forth grabbing it before pulling it back to him. It was… odd seeing wings used like that. Certainly Celestia had used her wings in a similar manner… but they were usually smaller gestures.
“Now let’s try that again without wings.” Remedy replied as he flinched “The trick is finding how many ways you can grab it… and then just keep going until you figure out how to grab it with magic.”
“You’ve got to be kidding me.” He moaned
Remedy felt herself frown as she replied “Levitation takes into account many things. Size, weight, shape. Too much on one end tips it over and not enough makes it fall. If you don’t have a basic grasp then you just need to think up a lot of different ways until you get a feel for it again.”
He face hoofed as she smiled “Nopony said magic was easy.”
******
Lockheart
I have no idea how much time has passed. I stared at the cursed tennis ball. First I used my wings. Then a wing and a hoof. Then just a wing. Then two hooves. Then one… then the back hooves… then my mouth. I even tried my tail as I swear she giggled at my attempt with it.
I ran out of ways thinking how to catch it without trying to blow on it before she pulled away the ball for the next portion of the lesson.
Remedy Cross tossed a book at me as I caught it in the air. I like changeling magic. I have thumbs again!
My smirk quickly died as I saw the book as she replied “Is there a problem?”
A Beginners guide to Necromancy.
I can’t tell which is more insane. That I’m being given a book on necromancy… or that a magical pastel pony in a land full friendly unicorns and pegasi based on a TV show for kids… just gave me a book on freaking Necromancy. I’m surprised that they even have a book on Necromancy!
Remedy Cross raised an eyebrow “Did I just cross some sort of taboo?”
I blinked for a few seconds. Opened up the pages and skimmed through it. Death, flesh, mending bones. Necromancy sounding words. Yep it’s a death book.
“Uh…” I tried to find the right words “Just never thought you would… have a book on the subject.”
She simply shrugged “It’s just medicine.”
Medicine? Are we talking about the same subject here? Necromancy tends to have a darker labeling in peaceful societies. Maybe this is one of those peaceful alternative phrasing…
“Application of bone manipulation and flesh rending tends to work well against enemies and grants a more in-depth focus on mending broken bodies in the ward.” She answered out loud as I stared at her “Don’t look at me like that. You tell me another branch of magic that works well for in depth medical knowledge and can help defend one’s self.”
I just simply nod. “Is this normal here in Equestria?”
She sighed in annoyance “Sadly no. Too many saddle rider stories and Role playing game influences have left this field of magic with a bit of disrespect. Undead minions make great use for villain material. That and there aren’t many books on the subject… oh and that’s my book so treat it with respect.”
I nodded again. A unicorn nurse who practices necromancy in her spare time and preformed an invasive procedure on a criminal. Now I know why they call her Doctor Cross instead of Doctor Remedy.
I slowly put away the book in my new saddle bag “No offense… but why did you give it to me? Not that I’m complaining.”
Her horn glowed “Really? Most would be offended.”
I shrugged “Necromancy tends to be interesting an interesting subject. The power to overcome death itself and the attempts to achieve immortality…”
She smiled “Looks like truth spells work on you.”
I chuckle nervously “And I’m shutting up.”
Her horn stopped glowing as I quickly opened up my menu looking for mind protection spells or some sort of mental resistance boost. I do not need mind mages mucking about in my head! I try not to look annoyed as I saw my ‘new level up screen’ as it flickered.
Chaos magic. Apparently it messes with magical menus. Already it looks as if it came from a game with bad coding or some sort of hack or glitch affecting it. The words shifted between letters and symbols as I closed it for now. I could try deciphering it when I wasn’t sitting in a room with a pony watching me like a hawk, but it’s properly safe to say my level up screen has finally died. So much for free power ups.
Her horn still glowed as she said “What is your name?”
I let my own horn glowed as I cast a misdirection spell and muttered a small curse before saying “Princess Celestia.”
She frowned. I smiled. A small model of the Death Star was now resting on the table. Either my misdirection spell worked preventing the truth spell or the chaos magic prevented it from working. Either way I had something to use against it in the future.
“Alright… what’s your perspective on magic in general?” She replied as her horn focused more intently
“Magic.” I replied truthfully trying to fight it back “Magic is magic. It’s a tool or a gift that I didn’t have before and I want to keep.” She stared at me "A skill you can't use is a skill you don't have."
Her horn dimmed for a moment as I stepped up “I have half a bag of tricks and everypony around me seems to have more knowledge about it than me. The one place I’m not having to worry about complications, death threats, fear, or nobles and I’m having to learn from beginner books just to get a basic grasp on it. How about you tell me how I should feel about it?”
“Death threats? Fear? Nobles?” She asked out loud.
I realized my screw up and sunk back into the couch “uh… can we skip that part.”
Her stare increased. It was… odd. Not Celestia level stare that makes you feel guilty like your mom just spotting you next to a broken window. The kind of guilty that gnaws at you making you feel like a lousy person. This new brand just tore into you. Like an integrator just finding out that you actually knew something he didn’t. Something he wanted to know right now as a matter of fact.
Her gaze bore straight on me as she said one simple word “No.”
It didn’t matter that she didn’t scream it or the fact that wasn’t a hint of malice in her voice. It made me shrink back into the couch as I suddenly felt frightened. Very very frightened. I was even more frighten than when I was running from people who were running about and possibly had a good reason to kill me.
So I did the best thing I could do “How many alicorns do you know?”
I deflected.
“The Princess.” She stated back.
No tone. No Emotion. Yet those two words held more weight than someone shouting at the top of their lungs. I just had to play my cards right. That or take a few poker lessons in bluffing.
“And do the nobles look up to her?” I slowly asked back “Do you have little foals playing about pretending to be little alicorns?”
She blinked “Of course. It’s only natural.”
“Which is the problem.” I quickly replied “One Princess. One Alicorn. One ruler. Where does that leave one who looks like an Alicorn… without all the regal bearings?”
She opened her mouth, but I cut her off “On one side that’s the “He’s a fake” which leads to the death threats, and fear because naturally if their impersonating than their up to something bad… real bad if being an alicorn lets them have political power anywhere near Princess’s Celestia’s level or that of a high ranking noble.”
She simply nodded as she jotted it down “And the other side?”
I shook my head “Celestia’s a protector. A powerful individual who can raise the sun and stop evil monsters. I just have half a bag of tricks for my powers and skill. Ponies start to think I can solve their rampaging dragon problem or make some magical solution to fix their plight.”
I sighed out loud closing my eyes and hanging my head. I could feel the quill slowing down. I could also feel her cutting of the magic to her truth spell. I tried not to smile as I got ready to wrap it up.
“So on one hoof I’m a villain.” I replied holding one hoof up “And on the other… I’m one of Celestia’s knights in shining armor able to solve all their problems. So you tell me how you think they react when I tell them their wrong.”
I could feel myself gritting my teeth “Try explaining that you don’t have the answers to their problems? How their hope suddenly falls to bitterness. Try explaining that you just look like an Alicorn. Try explaining you haven’t caused their problems or planning some evil scheme.”
I could feel my rage building up. Being given a changeling body. Being tossed in a crowd of panicking idiots. Finding out everybody has been told a different variation of the same lie… and I’m not even sure the story told to me was the “real story” as the Smoke Monster from Lost seems to have a better idea than me right now!
The air hissed through my teeth as I took a few deep breaths in and out before I spoke “Either way it all leads back to the same ending… Everypony gets mad. Names are thrown out and then I’m running out of town.”
I couldn’t help but chuckle “And now I’m in Canterlot living in a cell as Princess Celestia is trying to teach me magic because I suddenly gained chaos magic. Honestly I don’t wither I should laugh or cry at this turn of events.”
Remedy Cross went silent for a few moments. I grinned as I knew that look. Their faces were close enough to be human for me to get a basic idea… which is kind of funny. I never really was good with empathy or emotions before. Must have been a changeling perk.
“So tell me? With all of that having happened…?” I couldn’t help but twist the metaphorical knife in her as she flinched for a moment “Which side of the two where you on or did you think looking like this didn’t come without any problems attached to it?”
“Read the book. You’re skilled with autonomy and alteration based magic so hopefully it should help widening your variety of magic.” She replied without looking at me “I have to finish the reports for this magic lesson.”
I couldn’t help but smile as I really hope she wrote it all down. Mostly because it would be a great story to use on anyone else I ran across. The only trick of course would be getting them to listen… and having Celestia nearby to cover my back if they didn’t.
Still it’s better than my hide in a village and wait until someone else fixes everything. I even got a small meal out of it… Is it Ironic that Pity has a sweet taste that quickly turns sours or that it doesn’t fill me up as much as I would like?
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How is this not more popular?
Doctor Cross is certainly an interesting character. And I might be getting more insight into this... At least that comment about the ones with memory loss having proper bodies... Valkyrie seems awesome though. Even if her talent for combat pegasus magic terrifies everyone XD
The last half/quarter of the chapter seems better edited than the previous portion. For instance, Celestia's section slips between first and third perspectives at times.
As for Equestria... good question. Maybe someone messing around with experimental magic? Cross has an interesting perspective on it. With the mixed 'types', those with proper forms and those with decent mock ups. Though, rather than asking if they are a rat, they should be asking who made and sent the rats.
Obviously Overkill/Valkyrie just hasn't found the creature she's wanting to kill yet--and when she does, that will be her cutie mark
Remedy: "How do you do that?"
Lockheart: "It's magic"
Remedy: "No. Really! How do you do it?"
Lockheart: s2.quickmeme.com/img/ac/ac0c27270a2fb6a7da5c92d8303a95d556b655bb4d55e54ec7ef75b7c232e0b8.jpg
Looks like Lockheart is the original Trollight Sparkle
I get the feeling that Remedy Cross's mark looks less like this + and more like a lower case T. Nothing against Christians and whatnot but there was a sermon I listened to with my family at this last candle light service. Something about how some details were forgotten and left out of the story of Christ's birth and then it was brought up how the cross, the most recognized symbol of the faith, was a means of slow and agonizing death used widely by the Roman Empire and how that was glossed over and made into the symbol that it stands for today. Kinda what brought up my idea on what her cutie mark really looks like.
Anyway. As for how humans would try to explain it? Well that would be kind of a crap shoot. The ones missing a majority of their human memories could probably blend right in. The ones with mixed memories could come off as crazy or who knows what else. The ones with the majority of human memories intact or entirely for that matter? They might treat this like an actual video game. Hmmm... A thought comes to mind that this seems to be exactly like the start of LogHorizon. I really need to watch that first season again I enjoyed it. Hope they get around to season three sooner rather than later... Oops got off track.
The ponies? Well I guess it will depend on how close to the "starting area" that they happened to be and which group type of non-native-Equestrians happens to have the upper hand in their area. If a group of helpful types are around then they are probably treated fairly well. If a bandit or, gods help us, a raider type group is dominate in a certain area then any stray good ones will probably be treated just as badly. So yeah. They would probably react just as diversely as humans would.
I am glad for this calm period.
It restores some hope for sanity.
You seem to like to confuse "probably" with "properly". Also one instance of "manors" instead of "manner".
decent
mean?
Do not use contractions unless you know that you are using them.
Erroria... Erroria...... Why does this sound familiar?
Also,
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