“They-they did it?” I spluttered, unable to believe it. “They saved the Empire? That’s wonderful!”
It was as though my heart was as light as a balloon! I felt giddy, joyful, like Scrooge when he had his second chance at life! They’d done it!
I felt like I could hug everyone there, but I settled on Eagle Eye, who was nearest. She looked a little embarrassed, but grinned and patted me on the back all the same, before gently prying me off. The others were in high spirits too. Sure Shot and Rock Solid exchanged a high-five. Brutus sent a jet of smoke into the air from his mouth, like a geyser. Apollo and Rolling Stone started some kind of victory ballad, the griffin’s cultured voice a surprisingly fitting accompaniment to the buffalo’s rumbling tones. Only the princesses, Ironmane, and Cornelius remained still, but all with big smiles on their face.
At last, Ironmane called everyone to order, and we fell silent.
“Yes, yes, there is much to celebrate about,” he said, “but let us not get carried away. We have business to attend to. Now that the Empire has returned, it is important that we reopen contact with it, and reestablish ties between it and the rest of Equestria. We have much ground to make up, after 1,000 years.”
“So, what does this mean for us?” I asked.
“Once Twilight and her friends have returned,” said Princess Celestia, “we will set out to visit the Empire. Not all at once, of course. In pairs or threes, I believe, to give them time to prepare. Luna, Ironmane, and I shall arrive first. Then, I think, you and Cornelius, David, right afterwards.”
I looked at the old donkey, who gave me an encouraging smile.
“Followed, a few weeks or so later, by Rock Solid and Brutus-”
“I think I’ll fly,” said Brutus. “I doubt the trains have a car big enough for a dragon my size. Besides,” he added, ironically, “wouldn’t that be a lovely ride, sitting with skittish ponies worried I might eat them?”
“I can easily tell them I’m your tamer,” said Rock Solid, the corners of his mouth twitching. “That’ll put their minds at ease.”
Brutus chuckled, and Celestia continued,
“Then Rolling Stone and Apollo-”
“Capital!” said Apollo, while Rolling Stone nodded his approval.
“Leaving Eagle Eye with Sure Shot.”
“Fine by moi,” said Sure Shot, twitching his fedora.
“Sounds good to me,” said Eagle Eye.
“Now all that’s left is to await the return of Twilight Sparkle and friends,” said Luna. “I estimate a day or two, at the least. It should not take them too long.”
(Good, because waiting for them has been torture enough already…)
“Very well, then,” said Ironmane. “You are all dismissed.”
The other council members dispersed, and I followed, still in a daze. First the return of Trixie, now this! If I knew my pinkest friend at all, chances were something as exciting as this was a great reason to throw a party!
***
I was anxious and excited all of the next day. Any moment now, I’d hear news that the girls and Spike had arrived, and I wanted to be the first to see them. Of course, it was difficult to concentrate on my speech that way. Technically, it was done, but I still had to send it to the princesses for proofreading, and I wanted to be sure it was presentable before that.
As the afternoon wore on, there came a knock at my door.
“Come in,” I said.
Minister Ironmane entered, and I sat up, at attention.
“At ease, David,” he said. “There’s something I require your assistance for.”
“Anything, Minister.”
“As I have my own speech to prepare, could you accompany me to the library to copy out some notes for me?”
“Er, sure.”
“Good. Follow me, then.”
The two of us left the suite together. Now, if this had been back when I’d still mistrusted Ironmane, and him me, I might have thought differently about this request. However, I felt that we were long past such petty misconceptions. Anything to keep me busy was welcome.
That’s when I saw her.
As we were heading through one of the castle’s many corridors, I nearly bumped into Twilight! My heart leaped in my chest at the sight of her, and I very nearly grabbed her up in a hug, but stopped at her expression. She looked glum, dejected.
“Twilight?”
She looked up, and a small smile appeared for the briefest of moments.
“Oh! Hello, Dave, Minister.”
Her voice was not at all its usual genial self. Even Ironmane looked faintly troubled.
“Is everything all right, Miss Sparkle?” he asked.
“Of course,” said Twilight. “Please excuse me. I need to speak with Princess Celestia.”
She started off on her way again, the two of us watching her go.
“Twi!” I called. “Why don’t we meet up later? Dinner, maybe? I have some things to take care of!”
“Sure, that sounds great,” came Twilight’s hollow reply.
Her tone unnerved me. What on Earth could have gone wrong? Unfortunately, there was no time to question it, so all we could do was move on. Hopefully she’d be in better spirits when we met up again.
***
There were certain volumes in the library nopony could check out. As it turned out, Ironmane wanted to copy down information from such books, and needed me to write what he needed out. It was tedious work, and he was a bit stricter about penmanship (despite most Equestrians writing by mouth anyway) and thoroughness than Twilight, but the good news was that it kept my mind focused away from Twilight and the dour look on her face. Had something happened? Was the return of the Empire marred with, dare I say it, tragedy? No, I couldn’t think like that. I had to keep focused.
At last, as it was drawing near sunset, Ironmane looked at the library’s wall clock and said,
“I believe that will do, David. Thank you for your time. You may go meet up with Twilight and her friends. As it is so late, we shall set out for the Empire first thing tomorrow.”
“Much obliged, Minister.”
Politely as I could, I got up and left the library, but as soon as I was out of earshot, I broke into a run. Hopefully, they were still nearby. I hadn’t really thought about where we could meet, when I really should have. Hindsight was such a pain sometimes.
However, no sooner did I reach the castle courtyard then I stumbled upon a wonderful sight: the seven of them together, celebrating over something. Twilight was looking much happier now, which warmed my heart.
They were here.
“Girls! Spike!”
My voice came out much stronger than when I tried to call out to them when they left. At the sound of it, the seven of them looked up, and upon seeing me, their faces lit up anew.
In a twinkling, my arms were full of pudgy pink pony as Pinkie launched herself at me, her forelegs wrapping around me. The force of it sent me onto my rear, allowing the others to crowd around me and add themselves into what soon became a group hug.Their collective bodies provided an immense comfort from the cold air, as they all crowded me, nuzzling and hugging me. As Spike was much smaller, he hugged me around the leg.
“You’re all right,” I gasped, Pinkie nestled deep against me. “You’re all right.”
“So are you,” replied Pinkie, in a similar gasp. “So are you.”
“But I was never- You know what, never mind.”
“‘Course we’re all right,” said Rainbow. “You didn’t think we’d screw up, did you?”
“No, no!” I said, hurriedly. “I was just...you know...you all leaving so quickly, and off on such a dangerous mission…”
“It’s all right, sugarcube,” said Applejack. “Only natural to feel worried.”
“Heaven knows what it must have been like for you, darling,” said Rarity.
“We’ve really missed you, Dave,” said Fluttershy.
“I’ve missed you all too,” I said. “But enough about me. I wanna hear what happened! It must have been epic!”
“It was!” said Pinkie, letting go of me at last, as the others backed away again. “I wish you could’ve been there to see it, Davie!”
“Well, we all saw the after-effects of whatever it was that went on,” I said. “Those lights shone all the way out here! How did you do it? Did you use that Crystal Heart thing? I read about it when I was doing research for the council.”
I looked at Twilight, who looked pleased at my having done that kind of research. In her mind, I could see her tallying another point under the heading, ‘Usefulness of Books’.
“All in good time, Dave,” she said. “Let’s go find someplace to eat, first. We can talk there.”
“Good idea.”
I got up, and the eight of us left the courtyard toward the main thoroughfare of Canterlot. I felt like I was home again already.
***
“Spike?! You jumped out of a castle window with the Crystal Heart?”
We had put together two tables at an outdoor cafe, and the girls had regaled me with their escapades. Pinkie and Rainbow, naturally, spiced it up with onomatopoeia, and Pinkie went off on tangents about flugelhorns and jousting and crystal sheep. Thankfully, the others were there to fill in the gaps, and when they got to the end, I was flabbergasted, a slice of pizza half-raised to my mouth.
“No need to act so surprised,” said Spike, shining his knuckles on his chest scales. “I’m just a heroic dragon at heart.”
Twilight rolled her eyes smilingly.
“Of course you are, buddy,” I said, grinning. “And did your brother really throw Cadence at him when he was falling?” I added to Twilight.
“Like a javelin,” said Applejack, looking like she was trying not to laugh. “We saw it.”
“Quite the display of strength, I must say,” said Rarity, “though I wouldn’t fancy having it happen to me.”
“Well, that’s one way of getting things done, I guess,” I said, taking a bite. “Still, to think Celestia told you that you were supposed to do it all on your own, when it was really some lesson about self-sacrifice. I can’t decide if that’s clever or messed up.”
Twilight looked slightly irritated, most likely at the very idea of calling anything Her Highness did ‘messed up’, but she relaxed again.
“I’m just glad it’s over,” she said. “If I had to go through something like that again…”
“So, what’s on your agenda, big guy?” Rainbow asked. “More egghead-y stuff?”
“Pretty much,” I said. “I’ve still got work to do for the council. We’re actually going to head out to the Empire tomorrow.”
“Wonderful!” said Twilight. “Imagine how much of a difference it’ll make to open up liaisons between the Empire and humankind!”
“And now you’ll get to see the Empire too!” said Fluttershy, before saying, hurriedly, “N-Not that I think you haven’t been away from home long enough already!”
“It’s all right, Fluttershy,” I said. “I’m actually pretty eager to see it for myself, though I can’t wait to be able to go back to Ponyville, either. Speaking of which, Pinkie?”
Pinkie looked up from a slice of pizza she’d been digging into.
“Yeah-huh?”
“It might take a little more time for me to find a free day for us to do whatever you want. I don’t know how long this stuff for the Empire could take.”
“It’s all right, Davie,” said Pinkie, a smile on her sauce-splattered face. “It gives me even more time to plan, and it’ll be super-fun!”
I smiled back at her. This was what I’d missed most of all: Pinkie’s company. Heck, the company of all of my friends. Don’t get me wrong, the council members were pleasant in their ways, but I’d been sorely lacking in real contact with my Ponyville friends.
“Man, what a crazy week,” said Rainbow. “Can’t wait to get home and chillax again. Eh, no offense, Dave,” she added, catching my eye.
“I just hope all of my animal friends are doing all right,” fretted Fluttershy. “I always leave them a little extra food before going out, just in case I’m out longer than expected, but I’m wondering if it was enough this time. I wasn’t planning on being gone a whole week. I hope the sitter I hired is still seeing them.”
“I’m sure they’re perfectly fine, darling,” said Rarity, reassuringly. “But I’ll bet there’s dust in my poor boutique by this point! Ugh!”
The others rolled their eyes at this, including me. When we noticed, we all broke into a laugh. When dinner was over and paid for, we were able to exchange actual goodbyes this time, compounded by an extra hug from Pinkie, who used the moment to check if I had stuffed any garlic knots in the pockets of my pants for some reason. I really hope Lyra and Bon Bon don’t find out about this, but come on, diets still allow cheat days, right?
“I’ll see you all at home,” I said.
“Safe travels, darling!” said Rarity.
“See ya when ya get back, sugarcube,” said Applejack.
“We’ll be waiting!” said Pinkie.
However, as they were turning to leave, Twilight stopped and turned to me, letting the others move on ahead.
“Oh! Dave! I almost forgot!”
“Hmm?”
“Did you ever get to talk with Princess Celestia?”
“About what?”
“The humans, of course! Isn’t that why you wanted to come to Canterlot in the first place?”
A sudden wave of nervousness passed through me. If Princess Celestia had wanted to spare the feelings of her subjects by keeping the truth of that last meeting from them, how would her personal protege take it? Twilight had already proven how seriously she took even the simplest things, like the mere prospect of a test. How would she react to knowing a human had treated her teacher like a common cart horse?
Finally, I said, with my fingers crossed behind my back,“There wasn’t really much to say. They just had a disagreement, and went their separate ways.” , which was as big of an oversimplification as I could think of.
Twilight looked faintly disappointed, but it passed after a moment or two.
“Oh well,” she said. “I guess some mysteries don’t have to have complex answers. At least you had the courage to ask, Dave. That’s what matters.”
“Er, yeah,” I said.
I watched the girls off, and as they left, I could have sworn Rarity started singing, the others joining in not too long afterwards. Though I couldn’t distinguish the words, the sound of their voices in musical harmony warmed my heart. With a twinge of regret at seeing them leave again, I turned and headed back toward the castle.
Heading back to my room, I picked up my speech and flipped through it again. It seemed as good as it was ever gonna be, so it was now or never.
“Guard!”
The door opened, and a unicorn guard stood in the doorway, saluting.
“You called, Councilstallion David?”
“Yes. Could you deliver this to Princess Celestia or Princess Luna? It’s my speech, and I’d like it to be proofread.”
I held out my speech, and he took it in his magic.
“Of course, sir.”
“Thank you.”
With that, he departed. Hopefully, there weren’t any glaring mistakes that had missed my notice. It wouldn’t be the first time it happened to me. Still, this was what proofreading was for. I went to get ready for bed, feeling satisfied.
***
I had another odd dream that night. Twilight was trapped in a steel-barred cage, while the enormous form of a shadowy Bon Bon loomed over her, laughing malevolently. Then, the wall burst open, and Spike came flying in on the back of a pink jumbo jet. Spike, however, looked older and taller, and had a very ‘heroic’ air about him. In one claw, he was holding a diamond shaped like a carrot, light pouring from its many facets. As each ray of light hit Bon Bon, it burnt a hole in her, until she looked more like Swiss cheese than anything. At last, with another burst of light from the crystal carrot, she was gone, the cage burst open, and Twilight, now carrying a pizza box, was free. She beamed up at Spike, who stood tall and proud above a multitude of ponies chanting his name, while Pinkie trumpeted on a flugelhorn.
Well, why not? A part of me had the feeling Spike deserved a little glory now and then, being the close friend and helper of Celestia’s student. From there, my dreams were a bit more normal, and a lot more peaceful than they had been in days.
***
I was up early the next morning, so early that the sun was just barely rising. Unfortunately, by the time I was ready to go, bringing my saddlebag with me, Celestia, Luna, and Ironmane had already gone, so I didn’t get to see the princess of the sun actually do her stuff. I headed down to the train station to meet with the other councilmembers, who were already assembled and waiting to see Cornelius and me off, bundled up against the cold. Yet again, Brutus, the only one not bundled up, looked too big to be allowed. I wondered how it would look for other ponies to see a dragon flying alongside a train.
“Does anypony know how long the train ride’s supposed to last?” I asked.
“Several hours,” said Cornelius. “You could catch up on your sleep if you want. It’s what I plan to do,” he added, with a wheezy chuckle.
“Heh, not a bad idea,” I said. “I could use a bit more rest, after spending so much time working on my speech. I wanted to make sure it’s perfect, before the princesses reviewed it.”
“Don’t we all?” asked Brutus. “I have to make it clear to my people that the crystals of the Empire are not for eating. It’s tempting, believe me, but even I know not to eat infrastructure.”
At that moment, there was a sharp whistle, and a train started pulling into the station.
“That’s us, David,” said Cornelius. “By putting space between visits, it gives them time to receive us at the Empire without overwhelming them.”
“That’s smart, I suppose,” I said, then turned to the others, grinning. “I'll see you guys later. It's been great, however hectic this last week has been.”
They nodded their acknowledgement, friendly smiles on their faces, and Cornelius and I stepped onto the mercifully warm train. As soon as we found seats for ourselves, the old donkey settled back and started snoring. He was out like a light even before the train started moving.
Well, when in Rome… I lay back myself, closed my eyes, and started to doze off. Hopefully, somepony would come along to wake us up when we finally arrived.
I felt like I was out for barely a minute before a sharp voice snapped me back to consciousness.
“Aha! I knew it was only a matter of time before you showed yourself!”
I looked up, bleary-eyed. A pegasus stallion was stomping towards me, looking extremely miffed. He had a handsome but haughty face, a light-gray coat and a neatly-combed black mane and tail. His cutie mark was a little hard to make out, like a silver dome or something. Come to think of it, it looked kind of like aluminum foil, but maybe that was just me.
“Can I help you, sir?” I asked, politely, while stifling a yawn.
“Don’t give me that false humility!” snapped the pegasus. “I know what you are!”
“What I am?” I asked, perplexed by his attitude. “Well, I’m a human, yeah.”
“I would not be joking if I were you,” said the pegasus, coldly. “I knew there was something about you ever since you invaded Cloudsdale-”
“Invaded?” I asked, stung. “Now, wait a second-”
“-but I never thought it would come to this. You, sir, sit on a throne of lies!”
What the heck was this guy talking about?!
“It’s all explained on this!”
He was brandishing a piece of paper in his wing, waving it so close to my face that he was in danger of giving me a paper cut on my upper lip. Close to, I could see that it was a sheet of notebook paper, with writing on both sides, the edge slightly torn. What in the world did that have to do with me?...
“I don’t understand,” I said, staring at the paper.
“Oh, I think you do,” said the pegasus, coldly.
He transferred the paper to his hoof and started reading,
“To whom it may concern…”
But...but...you can't stop it there!
Great chapter; the dream made me laugh. It will be interesting to see how things were in the Empire in the immediate aftermath of its liberation.
Oh no! The letter at the beginning!!!
*shock and awe shit .gif*
5940120 embracedisruption.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/Shock-and-Awe.gif
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OH I have a feeling who this is!
Nope, nothing wrong at all about that dream, perfectly explainable from the selections of information given in the chapter, combined with a random scaleing and rotation function.
To whome it may concern? Is that Daves notepad from when he first arrived so long ago?
Evil cliffhanger.
5940204 media.giphy.com/media/n02dH2yBWJ6QU/giphy.gif
Least we'll finally be able to see the rest of the notebook page. This oughtta be interesting!
Oh man! That ending, his letter from the beginning of the story finally re-surfaces! Though it looks to be in the wrong hooves at the moment, I could only imagine how other ponies would think reading it and how David will react having his lost page back with the answers he seek. How on earth did that Pegasus find it anyway?
By the way loved the dream part, very funny.
Please, please, PLEASE! Tell me you're working on the next chapter asap! You can't end it like this and it felt too short a chapter as well!
Either way keep up the good work!
With a cliffhanger like that I really hope we don't have to wait a whole month or so.
That's just cruel!
5939819
No idea what Dave had to eat but whatever it was, that was one freaky dream... or Luna was having way too much fun making stuff up in his head.
And with that closing scene, everyone madly jumps back to chapter 1 to find out what that hasty letter could have been.
I smell a red herring.
Talk about being eaten out of house and home...
Ah, the Missing Page from the onset of it all. This should prove rather entertaining.
5940877
5942921
You mean, like a distraction?
5945551
You'll see...
You'll all see...
I just knew Pinkie would be the first one to hug Dave.
Things are shaping out to be very interesting. Just when I thought Dave was going back to Ponyville, he's now off on a train ride to the place where his friends just were. And what's more, he has found the missing notebook page that he (and we) pretty much forgot all about! I wonder what could possibly be written on it to make that pegasus pony act so aggressively.
What could Dave have possibly written?
Will it change how we, the readers, see him? Never mind that, how will his friends treat him if they ever found out? And more importantly, what will Dave's stay in Equestria be like now that he knows what Equestria originally was to him? How will this change his perspective and will it ultimately mean anything?
So many questions from just five simple words, and the very first words that began this whole story. . . .
Great chapter, Blazewing! This chapter has set up the next in a way that leaves me craving, and I just know it's going to be something amazing! Thank you for writing this story! Dave is such a good character and I care what happens to him. Kept it up and see you next time.
~Happy Writing!
Oh boy... "To whom it may concern..." this can only go well.
I didn't know Dave was a Stick to your Guns fan..
5950101 I'm afraid I'm not sure what you mean
5950774 it's a song, I'm sorry I thought you were quoting..
i.imgur.com/7j512mQ.jpg
On another note, when can I get an update on those 9 'o Clock feels that got pushed back an hour?
5951638 Really, my update schedule depends on when my editor can find a free day to look over the next chapter. However, I wouldn't have gotten this far without him helping me out.
The first page. I almost forgot about that.
Just caught up on this and cliffhangers so I sir must ask for MOAR!!!!
5951709 hey blazewing I wonder if this fic would ever reach season 5? As of now your story takes place during the start of season 3, right? Do you see it lasting that long?
5962591 I don't think even I could go that far from where I've started. XD That's a tall order.
5962639 lol yea it would be, and I would enjoy every moment of it. I do love your work.
Well. Finally got around to read this here story of yours and I must say, even though it is nothing much in the department of adventure, it takes a hold of you that you won't miss for the world. Up until now I loved it and lo and behold caught it redhoofed as the most important part is about to strike down our lone adventurer of humankind in this pastel colored pony world. The suspense is killing me. Hoping for an update soon.
Dragon san
“Wonderful!” said Twilight. “Imagine how much of a difference it’ll make to open up liaisons between the Empire and humankind!”
Since the empire has been gone for 1000 years it might be possible that some Crystal ponies have actually seen a human before.
5962358
So no, not a brony. At least not at the beginning. If he's ever able to go to the human world and remember his time in Equestria, he may find himself with a whole new appreciation of it. (Though I wonder if his version of the episodes would reflect the reality as he's experienced it, or if they'd be the same as what we've seen...)
Is this story actually going to go anywhere? I've read this far and...stuff just happens around him. He never really engages in any sort of meaningful way, he never really seems to develop any further, the story doesn't seem to have any kind of point other than somewhat rehashing episodes from the show. I know this is flagged as slice of life, but there just doesn't seem to be any sort of point or end goal in sight. :/
I think I might have said something like, "Twi, something did happen. But that's Princess Celestia's story to tell. She may tell you one day. And when that day comes, I trust that you know me well enough to know that what the human she refers to did is something I would never do, or think acceptable to do." But then, Dave's not me.
Now how did this loon get ahold of that? In any case, that whole thing has long since been rendered moot, hasn't it?