Self Reflection and Hay Burgers
Why does my life have to be so complicated? The easy answer is that everypony seems to have an issue with me, but that's just being conceded. I know fully well that blaming all my problems on other ponies is just the lazy way of dealing with problems. I just can't stand being looked down upon, especially by a unicorn or in this case, an alicorn princess. What she did was out of line without question, but I suppose that jumping off the side of a mountain wasn't my best idea.
The air rushed around my body, whipping my mane and tail about furiously. I had to squint to see properly, a few tears forming the corner of my eyes. I turned my head at the apex of my jump, looking backwards at Princess Twilight and her guard. They stared with wide eyes seemingly unable to process my actions. My momentum slowed for a moment as I stopped rising and began to drop, taking the time to wave at them like an idiot before my mind reminding me of the gravity of the situation. I face-hoofed at my own stupid joke.
Turning my head back to face the more immediate problem, I looked below at the trees and ground far below. A direct landing might actually hurt at this altitude, as my spell's reduction of weight would have little affect on the force of impact. I considered the trees that rose fifty or so feet into the air before angling myself while calculating my trajectory. I reached up to my collar and turned it, sliding my hoof on it until I felt the familiar zebra rune etched into a small ruby. I struck it smartly with my hoof and shivered as its magic passed through my body.
My heartbeat quickened as my breathing pattern fall into a slow controlled state. I felt the blood pumping faster through my veins, my heartbeat seeming to reach behind my ears. My body was now experiencing an extreme metabolic rate, processing everything I had eaten within the last few days into energy. The increased heart rate served to allow my muscles to perform faster and more efficient for a set amount of time.
I fell faster through the air, still squinting to make out the tree tops through the wind. Bending my knees, I readied myself for the correct moment, the adrenaline in my bloodstream slowing my perspective down to a crawl. The branches reached up towards me, and then I kicked off the side of the tree about five feet from the top with a rather large crunch of broken wood. The kick propelled me forward as a blue and silver cannonball, just over the tops of the oaks down the mountain. Canterlot's highest towers were just visible past the end of the forest, which were a few miles away.
I knew it wasn't safe to travel this fast around the forest; so I looked for a tree branch small enough to be able to grapple, but big enough to withstand the force I would exert upon it. This is made more difficult by the ridiculous speed I was traveling. I looked further ahead, then picked out a branch that I hoped would be adequate. I bent my hooves as I came closer, then hooked around it and hung on the best I could. I circled the branch vertically many times, my fur heating up and ripping as I spun.
After spinning fast enough to make me lose my lunch if I had eaten today, I slowed to an acceptable speed and let go of the branch in a swinging motion. I landed on my front legs and lost my balance, face planting into the base of another tree trunk. I definitely have had better days. I stood up and groaned before checking behind me, looking up and around for signs of the purple princess pursuit. I felt the magic of my weight reduction spell fade and returned to making my way to Canterlot while I still had the benefits of my other spell.
I bounded forward kicking off the ground hard towards the outer city walls. I jumped high into the air, alternating my legs with each landing. I was still about a half mile off from the city wall when I heard shouting mid jump. I came to a stop after I landed and turned to hide behind a large tree.
I heard the nearby flutter of wings, and then cautiously peeked around the tree trunk. One of the pegasus guards from earlier, the one I had ridden like a flying wagon, was headed towards me. His speed was slow enough so he could turn and look around—without risking face to tree interaction. His head was facing to my left and started to turn back the other way. I moved back and started counting the seconds, listening carefully to gauge his proximity.
I took in a deep breath, closed my eyes and listened while counting quietly to myself.
"Three," I whispered as the wind pick up.
"Two," I continued, raising my right fore-hoof and tensing my lower legs.
"One." I stepped smoothly into the open and brought my hoof forward to meet a very surprised pegasus. My hoof struck the air a foot in front of him, vibrating the magical currents around him. I leaped backward to watch the frantically flapping feathered pony fly past me, followed by the familiar sound of metal hitting something hard. I turned to see the guard lying on the floor, sprawled in a heap and most likely unconscious. I really hope he doesn't have a concussion after all the beating his brain has taken today.
"Storm, where did you go?" called a voice from above. I dodged behind the tree that had been my cover just moments ago and held myself still against its rough bark. More flapping came, then the sound of hooves meeting dirt.
"Storm!" they called out again, evidently spotting their companion. I peeked around the tree, just enough to see the second guard from our earlier meeting, bend down and trying to shake the pegasus named Storm awake.
He'll be fine I think, he just bumped his head a bit more than is recommended. I turned to sneak off in the other direction—when a powerful purple pony with a sour expression on her face stopped me dead in my tracks.
"Um, hi there, Princess Twilight, I was just lea-" her horned began glowing, her eyes narrowing at me seriously,"-okay, not leaving then."
"Azure, I'm afraid that you're going to have to come with me," she said, as her horned brightened.
Well this sucks, I really didn't want to fight Twilight, and this all could have been avoided, if I'd made it to Canterlot faster. I'm not looking forward to having to deal with this mess later, but when a pony casts magic at me, I take it seriously.
"I was hoping it wouldn't come to this Princess Twilight," I said honestly. I took a deep breath, and then studied the magical aura emanating from her horn. It looked like a teleportation spell, the magical vibrations familiar to my sapphires. She probably was going to teleport me to a jail cell. Or possibly she would teleport in a bunch more royal guard. I didn't want to deal with either possibility, so I was left with one option.
I moved quickly towards Twilight, trying to reach her before she registered what I might be trying to do. I struck forward with my right fore-hoof as lightly as I could, and managed to knock it against her horn. The shock rumbled through the bone and into the base of her head, the magical aura around her horn failing almost immediately. The facial expressions she wore after my attack made me wonder what sensations it caused.
"What did you do?' She demanded as she squinted in concentration as a few sparks fizzled her horn.
"None of your business really," I repeated, trying to sound cocky. I hadn't planned on attacking royalty today, even if she hadn't given me much of a choice. "Now I'll be seeing you some other time Princess," I hollered back at her as I galloped away. I ignored the sound of her strained cry of exasperation and didn't look back until I had reached Canterlot. She either didn't follow me, or I had outrun her, maybe she wasn't the best flier?
---
I panted heavily, arriving at the entrance to the city that had served as my home for most of my life. The sight of the familiar shops and sense of order made me smile, despite whatever predicament I would be in later. I have a list of ponies to speak with, -my inner monologue was interrupted by a baby dragon inside my stomach- but food would come first apparently.
I trotted forward looking at road signs, and then turned onto a busy street. The smell of different foods filled my nostrils and doubled my hunger. I practically ran down the road, darting between the high class Canterlot ponies. They gave me looks of disgust as I passed by, most likely noticing my dirty coat and the zebra mask still tied behind my back. The smell of grease and salt wafted over from a street corner on my left. The sign above it announced Grillby's Haystack.
"Heya, blue, long time no see," called a familiar voice from behind the counter. I stepped into the restaurant, the sun no longer obscuring my vision.
"Hey, Burger," I called back looking at the orange stallion, his red mane tucked underneath his Grillby's hat. He smiled at me while pulling out a pad and pen into his hooves.
"Would you like a side of fries with that?" he said completing our ritual. We looked at each other with a straight face, for about two seconds, before busting out into a fit of laughter. "Where in the bucking blue blazes have you been buddy?" he managed, after we had stopped rolling around like foals.
"I've got some stories to tell you, trust me you old grease pony," I responded. "But before that, I need a double hay-burger with extra pickles, along with a large side of your hot fries," I dictated with vital importance.
"Coming right up, good sir," he jested at me as he gathered ingredients and prepared his cooking equipment. My eyes rolled, and I laughed at his teasing.
"Just hurry it up you old fart, I'm withering away over here," I said as I banged my hoof on the counter. This was only a small exaggeration though, since the use of my metabolizing spell earlier had left me drained and desperately hungry. The adrenaline had prolonged the hunger for a time, but now I could feel the toll it had taken on me. I had never used that particular magic for this length of time after all—only briefly during its initial testing.
"Here you go, Azure, just the way you like it!" He proclaimed as he set the plate down in front of me. I smiled broadly at him, and then looked down at my plate. I admired his hoofwork for along as I could manage—about three seconds—before I shoveled the hay-burger down my gullet like a starved canine. He filled a glass with some fizzy cider and slid it across the counter. I gratefully caught the glass and chased the masterpiece burger down with ice cold bliss. I lowered the glass, banging it a little on the counter, then let out an appreciative groan patting my belly.
"You are a master smith my friend, and the kitchen is your forge," I said in as magnificent as voice as I could manage in my condition. He chuckled at me as he refilled my cider, before pouring himself a glass.
Raising his glass forward he announced, "To the Princesses!" We clinked out glasses together before we both chugged down the golden liquid.
Princesses huh, I'm sure I'll be having more than my fair share of them today. I finished off the cider, then reached for my bit pouch in my saddlebag.
"Not today blue, it's on the house buddy," he assured me with a smile. I reached my hoof up and he knocked his against it with a thud.
"We need to go out tomorrow, so I can buy you some drinks in return" I said while looking out at the bustling crowds outside. He laughed in response and went about cleaning up the dishes. I pulled my notepad out of my saddlebag and looked it over. Four ponies were listed on the paper, but only one by name. I read them again in order: My brother, Princess Luna, librarian, jeweler.
I looked back at Bacon fries, "I'll catch you tomorrow bud, I've got a few things to do first," I said. I got up from my stool and walked out of the Burger joint, only to find four royal unicorn guards and a rather irritable Princess Twilight, standing in front of me.
"I hope you have time on your busy schedule to answer all of my questions first," she said smugly.
Stats
Page generated in 0.016 seconds
Total duration
594 users online
926,909 hits today, 2,782,760 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
The story seems interesting so far, it's a little early to tell though...
The cover art is horrifying though.
Gonna wait and see what becomes of this fic.
~Crystalline Electrostatic~
18:7_7/25/2016
Seriously? Having an alicorn Princess under his tracks, and the idiot chooses visiting Canterlot of all cities, without at least bothering with a disguise?
Leagaly twlight is the one who deserves jail time she had no evidence of a crime or him being a threat so abusing her power her guard attacked with what looked like intent to kill fired and jail for them
Velocity of impact is only very minimally affected by weight anyway. A 15 pound pony would smash into the ground with nearly the same force as a 150 pound pony... or at least having reached very nearly the same terminal velocity. Air drag probably doesn't account for that much of a difference.
Yeah, knocking out the Royal Guard wasn't the smartest idea, since Twi's going to use that as leverage to try and arrest him more than anything else she could, such as simply being a Princess and having the power to unilaterally arrest anypony she wants to.
Interesting chase scene, though Azure will probably be feeling that one in the morning. I get the feeling he wants to show off even as he should be keeping what he's picked up secret, but it's just going to keep Twilight chasing after him more and more.
Because you feel the need to jump off a cliff instead of interacting with another pony.
Ya don't say?
*fifty
Like a blue and silver cannonball? Or did I miss something?
I... okay.
"Hello 911? I just witnessed the murder of English!"
It sounded much better in your head, then.
It sounds like he's about to have a bad time.
Nicknames deserve punctuation, too.
Now that is something Twilight would do right there.
8177525 Fixed. It's amazing that after all these reads, there are still mistakes that I miss. This being rather old writing for me doesn't help.
You did say that this is some of your earlier work, but it bears repeating that there's still a hefty amount of mistakes in this chapter. Jack caught a few, but there many more. You'll likely get that from me a lot if I keep seeing them—sorry.
That aside, I like what you're doing with Azure's character. It's clear he has no genuine respect for Twilight (yet?), and given her actions thus far, I can understand that, but attacking her probably wasn't the smartest idea. The fact that he wants nothing to do with royalty he isn't familiar with shows that he's definitely rebellious, but his talk about Luna thus far makes it clear that he isn't just a 'f*** the government' kind of character.
Even though he's been gone for a while, it's good to see he still has his contacts and has other things on his mind than just the bare essentials—shown by his ritual with his buddy instead of just demanding food. I also like the fact that he wasn't able to just get away with his actions scot-free. I haven't caught the clear 'adventure' part of this story just yet, but I'm guessing this is still setup, so I'll give it a few chapters to see when that begins. You've still got my attention.
8224755
I hope the little grammar pony in your head gets less angry as the chapters go on, but yeah, sorry
I'm glad you're able to see into Azure's personality through his actions, as the story isn't heavy on internal thought or narration. And yes, the first three chapters are more or less setup, but I think you'll figure that out soon enough.
Boop, the second.
One does not simply oust Twilight Sparkle at Magic with such a vague explanation! Rawr! I mean, there isn't a problem with the occasional ousting itself, but you left it too vague and only minorly fixed the solution by having Twilight still catch Azure. A scene break would have been far better than a chapter break here specifically because of this. Instead, it just feels like the bad kind of cliff hanger.
How did his parents come up with a name like 'Burger'?
8564829
Some mysteries will never be solved