Bushkeeper

by Odd_Sarge

37 - The Collapse of Innocence

“This whole ‘being left out of conversations’ thing really blows.”

Orange gave Andrew a glare that rang out in ‘go take your problems elsewhere, I’m busy.’ The progress on setting up a new campfire had been momentarily halted by the man’s presence, and it was clear from both the glare and the intimidating earth pony’s posture that meant it was time to go. Sighing, the teenager gave the mare a pat on the nape of her neck and moved on to another portion of the green pasture.

Andrew noted that there was something… off, about the camp within the walls. Foals from all of the herds were out and about enjoying their lack of responsibilities, the unicorns and some earth ponies were busy tending to the field of apple trees, and the pegasi were taking advantage of the clear autumn sky to hone their flying skills and dive-bomb fishing tactics. Everything seemed calm about Andrew, so what seemed to be the problem?

‘That’s just it,’ he realized. There weren’t any problems.

For the moment, there really wasn’t anything too worrisome that required immediate intervention by his hand. It irked him, and he had all the reasons to be paranoid: from giant spiders to cockatrices, and all the way to forest fires and mass migrations of ponies, there just wasn’t anything that required his utmost attention. ‘Now,’ he thought, ‘Now what do I do?’

He glanced at the watch on his wrist. Alongside his clothes, his backpack, and his thermos, it was the only sign of his previous living standards that he had left. Here amongst ponies, he was nothing more than another creature attempting to live out their natural life. His arrival was unprecedented, and his admittance to the ponies’ culture happenstance. What more did he have left to do? Sure, he could work more on his tools—a quick glance to the cave reminded him that he still had yet to inspect some of the deers’ bags—and as such, help bring some technology to the world, but was there any rush?

And the more that he thought about it, the less and less sure he was about the whole situation. He raked his thoughts for an answer, but even then, it didn’t quite satisfy his needs; Harmony was nothing more than an apparition. Was she even real? He felt his leg, still a little sore, but it was almost good as new. The exodus from the burning lands had been real, that much true, but if Harmony was truly more than a spirit and that what she preached was also fact, he was there to bring a better future to the ponies.

“And the deer,” Andrew muttered.

Were they also apart of this so-called plan? They sure seemed intent on staying; it was noon by now, and they still were out and about inspecting the camp and relating themselves to the ponies. Cervines and equines were trotting hoof-in-hoof about the area, never straying too far from each other, and never halting once in their conversations. It was a good sign, all things considered, that the ponies and deer were all getting along. Nice neighbors means nice things are sure to come. Yet, something felt odd about it. It all felt natural, and it had to have been, for the species both shared many common principles. Did he really have such an important role as he thought himself to have? All he had done was lead a few characters to the right positions and let it play out. The connection between the deer and ponies was just the latest act.

The forest fire had been his greatest obstacle, and he had overcome it. How much of it had been accomplished through his will alone? A minor role; he had merely lead them, and only just barely. Their weakened stomachs were filled, that was something major that he had done. But would it not have been only a matter of time before they had discovered the berry grove for themselves? More importantly, where had the name Bushkeeper come from? He had only heard about the term after the ponies’ meeting with his berry surplus. What was a Bushkeeper, anyway? Why did he feel like there was something the ponies knew that he didn’t?

The teenager’s hands balled into fists. Deep down inside, an anger at his whole situation had been suppressed, but now it came free. Sucking in a deep, long breath, he walked as calmly as he could over to where Mint and the great stag sat.

“I’m borrowing this,” Andrew stated loudly as he picked up Mint and dragged her away.

The mare, ever the adorable sight, gave several squawks of protest before she gave up. The stag and her shared one last look—worry in the deer’s eyes, confusion in the unicorn’s—as Andrew pulled the mare up to the crest of the den. The man spared a moment to worry about the structural integrity of the cave, but he had faith in his earth ponies.

He plopped Mint down on the grass. “You. Wait.”

She blinked slowly as Andrew retracted his outstretched hand and slid down the steeper side of the hill. “Andrew?” she called to no response.

“Lemon!”

The stallion and his green friend looked up at Andrew’s sudden approach. “Bushkeeper—?”

“You’re a smart couple. Now… You—” he pointed to Lemon, then up at Mint “—run!”

Lemon complied after a moment, his legs carrying him quickly up the hill.

“You too, Greeny!”

Moving too slowly for Andrew’s taste, the human decide manhandling the stallion would work out better.

He tossed the stallion down beside his mate. Taking a seat himself, Andrew did the best he could to not yell at the trio grounded before him. He stood stock still, arms crossed firmly.

“Now… I’m not angry, but I do know that something’s up. And I just so happen to know that something’s gone wrong with you unicorns.” A bitter, coppery taste filled his mouth. He calmed himself for a moment to prevent any further damage to the inside of his cheek. “I know for a fact that I’m missing something important here, and I know for a fact that I was unconscious for half of the major events that have transpired. Something you unicorns did changed me, and I’m just now beginning to realize things might not be as they seem. Something’s up, and I want to know what.”

Despite the language barrier, the equines all knew they were in trouble. Like the little band of troublemakers they were, the ponies all kept their mouths shut. All except for one.

“Andrew?” Mint spoke softly.

The human’s perception of reality quickly began to crack. Throughout the entirety of Andrew’s adventure, Mint’s speech pattern had been as accented as a foreigner speaking a new language, but as she continued to speak, things grew rapidly out of hand.

“Light.” She licked her lips and continued speaking, her accent gone. “Mint running home, trees, water, you. Mint wait, monsters bad. Andrew, you help; berries. Mint you unicorns. Andrew Bushkeeper? Mint yes. Pegasi bad, you help. Monsters bad, you help. You bad, ponies help.” She shook her head roughly from side to side.

In another unseen feat, a stick appeared out of thin air, surrounded in an aura of blue mist. Her horn lit brightly with magic as she began to carve into the earth before her. She explained herself as Andrew watched on anxiously.

“Writing words help Mint.” Her accent was still mysteriously gone.

Unnerved by the turn of things, the human remained still.

As she continued to write out the English alphabet, she called to her mate and Lemon for help. They each gave a cautious glance to Andrew, then resigned themselves to their delegated task. Magic slipped from their horns and into Mint’s own aura. The mare’s face soured in concentration and stress as the stick in her aura retraced over the already written letters. Each character glowed with a vibrant blue intensity, but Andrew kept his eyes trained on the process. He wasn’t going to miss out on anything. Not this time.

The azure unicorn gave a furious nod, and in reply, the two stallions ceased their efforts. Mint telekinetically smoothed the entire dirt surface, now devoid of grass, leaving a nice template for her to write on. She set the stick down in her magic, and in turn, the soil stopped glowing, but around the mare herself the aura still sat. The moment of reprieve lasted for only a scant few moments.

And then it began.

The stick shot back up in her magic and Mint began to write in perfect English, albeit without punctuation.

“THERE WAS LIGHT FROM THE FOREST AND I RAN AS I RAN I SLOWED TO BREATHE AND YOU WERE THERE THE SOURCE OF LIGHT I KNEW FROM THE WAY YOU STUMBLED UNSURE AND UNCOMFORTABLE OF YOUR SURROUNDINGS I DEPARTED FROM MY HIDING TO MEET YOU EAGER TO HELP YOU PROVIDED FOOD AND LATER TO MY HERD I KNEW YOU WOULD NOT STAY FOR LONG BUT THE POWER”

She wiped the earth clean.

“YOU HELD IN YOUR FORM WAS ENOUGH TO BRING GOOD TO MY HERD I DID NOT EXPECT THE CLOUDMASTERS TO BE PERSUADED BY YOU BUT THAT IS WHEN I LEARNED OF WHAT YOU WERE CAPABLE OF I CHALLENGED YOU AND YOU PERSEVERED I PROVIDED VISIONS AND YOU FOLLOWED BUT THE POWER OF WILLHORNS WAS NOT ENOUGH TO HOLD YOU FOREVER WITH EACH PASSING MOMENT OUR HOLD GREW WEAK AND IT BURST IN THE MOMENT OF BURNING”

Her hoof slid across the dirt far more shakily.

“WE PROVIDED ONE LAST MESSAGE FOR YOU AND YOU FOLLOWED BUT I KNEW YOU WOULD LEARN EVENTUALLY OUR POWER HAS WEAKLY HELD ONTO YOU YOU HAVE SEEN IT WE ONCE WERE ABLE TO SPEAK FREELY AND WHEN THE SPELL SHATTERED YOUR POWER WEAKENED YOU WERE ONCE ABLE TO COMMUNICATE BEYOND THE HERDS BUT I KNOW THAT YOU ARE ABLE TO ACCOMPLISH THIS NO LONGER”

“THIS WAS THE WORST OUTCOME ONE I DID NOT EXPECT BUT YOU HAVE PULLED THROUGH AND COME TO THIS END ALL WE ASK IS THAT YOU CONTINUE TO HOLD YOURSELF AS A FIGURE FOR US ALL YOU REPRESENT OUR HOPES TO GROW YOU REPRESENT THE POWER THAT WILLHORNS HAVE BEEN GROWING FOR MANY MOONS YOU REPRESENT A NEW RISING SUN WE DID NOT MEAN HARM I USED YOU WITHOUT FORESEEING THE CONSEQUENCES”

Sniffing, Mint didn’t even bother to clean the dirt. With tear-filled eyes, the azure unicorn dug into the soft dirt with her hoof.

“PLEASE FORGIVE ME”

Andrew was quiet.

“Mint…”

The mare shied away from the human as he stood slowly.

“Mint… how much of my time here was made by my decision?”

She didn’t reply.

“Oh? So you can’t say anything? I suppose this has something to do with abusing my power or whatever that even means!” He clutched at his head and bent his neck downwards. “Oh my god… oh my god… this has been going…” the teenager looked up at Mint. “This has been going on since the beginning?” His voice grew faint as he too began to tear up. “Mint I can’t… I just can’t believe this. Everything here has been influenced by you? Power? What power?”

He picked up the stick she’d been writing with and pointed to it. “Is this what it’s all been about? Your magic? Is that the power? This place is filled with all this magic, and I’m supposed to believe that that’s what it’s been all about? Because I really do believe that!”

Greeny stood over Andrew as he stomped two steps towards Mint. “No!”

“I wouldn’t hurt a pony…” The teenager stepped back. “Oh my god… did… oh god… did you plant that thought in my head, too? That I wouldn’t hurt ponies? That can’t be right… maybe it’s just to protect your herd… yeah, definitely, right? Y-you wouldn’t control me… I would never hurt you…”

“Andrew…” Her accent was back.

“Please don’t speak, Mint.”

She didn’t.

“Jesus Christ…” Andrew wiped a bead of sweat. “I’m sorry lord… holy Christ why… everything was all fine until the fire… what about the—” he kicked his shoe hard into the dirt. “THIS IS CRAP!”

The camp went dead quiet. All eyes looked up at the scene taking place on the hill, a theatre amongst the plains of green.

“I CANNOT BELIEVE WHAT’S JUST BEEN REVEALED! YOU HURT ME! I HURT, MINT! MY ARMS, MY LEGS, MY MIND! ALL THIS TRAVELING HAS WORN ME DOWN! I’M HERE NOW, IN THE MIDDLE OF SOME PLAIN PLAYING WITH ROCKS! I JUST WANTED TO GO ON A STUPID HIKE WITH MY FRIENDS! I’M JUST A KID, AND YOU PULLED ME INTO A SITUATION WHERE I FELT I WAS IN CONTROL, WHEN ALL THAT WAS REALLY HAPPENING WAS THAT THE ALIEN WAS BEING USED FOR HIS POWER!” Andrew’s arms fell to his sides, his chest heaving.

“I suppose I c-can’t blame you for everything, can I?” He wiped away a glob of snot. “I-I was just stupid for believing that I was in control of my life.”

Pulling her mate off of her, Mint approached Andrew. She visibly shook as the distance closed, until they were not more than a meter away from one another. There, the two stood quietly as they watched each other. Pain wracked over Andrew’s mind and soul. A deep line of regrets surged through Mint.

“Y-you were my best friend, Mint.”

Andrew didn’t have to go far. At the mouth of the den, all of his stuff was waiting for him. He blatantly ignored all the attention the ponies and deer were giving him and quickly gathered up his items. Securing his backpack, he picked up his walking stick and climbed over the eastern wall of the camp. He didn’t know where he was going, but he knew that he wanted to be as far away as possible from the ponies.

However, minutes of stalking in bitter silence quickly grew into morbid self-hatred.

“Stupid, stupid STUPID!” He slammed his foot into a pebble, sending it flying. “RAGH!”

Andrew stopped where the pebble had landed and glared into the forest. The spiders sat in waiting for him, but the human wasn’t afraid. Seeking to vent his anger, he barged into the woods, stick in hand. Now he had a destination, and he wasn’t going to let a couple of giant spiders get in his way. Fortunately for the spiders, they were able to avoid the wrath of the angry teenager, who was far too occupied in understanding the situation he had been thrust into.

As much as he wanted to hate Mint, he couldn’t bring himself to say the words to himself. The two had formed such a powerful bond that it felt wrong to try and break it. For him, that was precisely the problem; what if the connection had been forged, not grown? Everything around him suddenly felt so real, far more real than anything else he had ever experienced in this arduous path of adventure. How long had he been here now? He couldn’t even remember the numbers. Something had numbed his mind, and he just couldn’t believe it was the magic of the ponies.

Magic had caused all of these issues. It was a poison in the sea he swam. No matter where he went, there was nowhere safe for him to exit the water without feeling the cool air of life brush against his tarnished flesh. The power that permeated the very air around him stung to the touch, and he was only just beginning to realize the true potential of the power that had afflicted him. The more he thought about it, the more he correlated it to what he had read straight from Mint. If magic was the power that the unicorns sought, then why was Andrew so easily abusable for mass amounts of power? What was so interesting about him that stood out? He had assumed that his unnatural arrival to the land was the reason for his special attributes, but was that really correct?

Harmony… it was a manifestation by Mint. Created to guide him towards the ponies’ ulterior motives. They were nothing like Andrew had initially believed their motives to be. There was no prancing and feasting of food. There was no playtime to be spent frolicking in fields. There was no adventure to be had. The only that stood true from Harmony’s statements was that Andrew was to help the ponies grow technologically. It was the only fact that stood amongst a crowd of truths turned lies. Nothing had ever been self-evident in his stay here, and it all helped to compound that one single fact; Andrew had been used for power.

He finally reached his desired location; the magical pool. Now, it was the only thing that remained unexplained in the world. Everything else had turned in their cards and shown their hand, but the pool had yet to do any of that. He dimly remembered his first journey to the pool: how it had healed him; how it had molded a path for him; how it had caused him major issues in his understanding of everything around him.

He hopped down into the pit and approached the pool. It sat there, waiting for him to approach. Red bubbled to the surface as he came closer. He scowled at the crimson color and dug his stick into the water. If there was power within him, then now was the time to show what it was really meant for. Though he had never experienced or committed himself to any such feats, he forced his mind into the creation of the spell. He hated the way that these thoughts came to mind, and very well hoped that this was not some otherworldly force telling him what to do.

Immediately nauseous, the human fought the urge to hurl from a sudden expenditure of energy. The crimson swirled up into the staff, pooling at the top tip. He believed that a gust of wind had somehow managed to find its way into the pit, but Andrew quickly noted that it was actually coming from the pool itself. The water swirled in a cyclone, forcing new colors to emerge. Yellow and orange slid up the staff as the liquid became a viscous blend of grey. Then, the staff exploded in a brilliant flash of green. Andrew stumbled backwards, overwhelmed by the force of the explosion. Hot splinters bounced harmlessly off of his skin, and as he stood again, a swirling orb of colors sat above the pool. The pool was now gone, leaving nothing but a hollow crevice in its wake. The rainbow-hued orb of magic bobbed above Andrew, and it was with great uncertainty that he pushed his hand into the mass.

Something warm passed over him, and with fascinated horror, the orb slid into the palm of his hand. It rapidly began to crawl down his arm, his veins pulsing with shimmering light. His body was soon overtaken by the magic, covering him in nothing but pure glowing essence. He almost felt… stronger. With an obvious hum, the rainbow of colors seceded down into his skin, leaving him with a pounding headache. A plethora of thoughts shot through his mind, most passing by too quickly to grasp, but in the hour that he spent writhing on the floor with his hands glued to his head, he knew what exactly Mint had been after.

This was the power they had wanted, and as Andrew stood, he realized just how strong that power was. He knew that he had fallen right where he should not have crossed, but it was too late now. This power was dangerous, and as he stood again, body numb and mind seeking explanation, Andrew felt that he was finally back in control of his life.

Until he something slink from the earth before him. The human shivered and stepped backwards.

There she stood again, her form visible; Harmony in Mint’s form.

Angry, and further confused, he was quick to question the appearance. “What are you?”

She didn’t speak, only staring at him. Harmony spoke, but in the tongue of the ponies. Andrew made no effort to point out the language barrier, and the ghost did nothing in reply. Quite rudely—albeit his anger justified the action—he poked his stick into the ghost. It shimmered again, and this time the pony had something to say about his actions; it spoke again, words garbled, but one word stood audible amongst the chaos.

“...manipulated…”

Andrew glared at the apparition. “Manipulated what?”

It spoke again, but there was no format to the words. Garbled and misaligned, the teenager was left with nothing to work with but the single word.

“So you’re real, huh?” He frowned. “But you sure don’t act like the Harmony I met.”

A familiar string of words erupted from her mouth again, the second sentence repeated, “...manipulated…”

“I…” Andrew shook his head. “I don’t understand. If you’re supposed to be an illusion crafted by Mint, then why are you here? You manipulated me, for god’s sake!”

Surprising the Bushkeeper, the ghost shook its head.

“What do you mean, no?” His brow furrowed even further. “Are you just lying to—”

The ghost spat one angry letter in the pony language, but its form remained neutral.

“I don’t…” he shook his head. “I don’t get it. If I can believe you—and that’s implying that I want to—then what was manipulated?”

Like a beast rising from the grave, the stiff apparition began to move. Harmony made no noise as she trot towards Andrew, and her face gave way to emotion. Anger grazed her lips, as she spoke, but the human could not understand. She stalked closer and closer, and since he had not moved, Andrew was subject to the touch of the being. She sank into his skin, absorbed by the able flesh.

“We were manipulated.” Harmony whispered angrily into his mind. “Words not our own. Our fwafwa taken unwillingly. Thieves they were.” Suddenly, each new sentence began to change, a different voice to it. “A path not our creation. This journey not yours to hold. Great fwafwa exerted, replenished by your soul.”

“Thieves,” A voice chanted. “Thieves,” a new one cried. “Thieves,” Harmony’s voice growled.

Andrew’s chest felt like it had burst as the ghost shot out of his body and before him. The mare fixed him with a harsh stare that sent an electric shock through his body.

“Bring us our power,” she hissed. “Face the willhorns and force them to return the fwafwa they stole. We will restore order before chaos consumes this early world. A reward warrants the return of this land’s lifeforce.” Her face turned soft as she looked behind her towards the previous location of the healing pool. “We must return now, for our battle grows fiercer.”

Warmth left Andrew just as quickly as he had earned it. The rainbow of power drew away from his body in a wavy mist, coalescing into the healing pool of liquid it had initially come from. Once the water had returned to its natural form, Harmony slunk into the liquid power, not bothering to look back at Andrew.

The headache throbbing in the teenager’s mind threatened to tear him apart. Everything he had ever believed to understand had been torn apart twice now. Before him now stood three paths, and he could not tell which one was true; his own path, the path of the gods, or the willhorns’ path. All he knew for certain was that he was experiencing a power struggle between mortals and their gods, and he was right in the middle of them.

Slumping against a rock, Andrew struggled to come to terms with the fact that he now had to return to the ponies and face the fact that he would have to fight his first and best friend over a lie. A lie that she had told him since the beginning. A lie he had been fed by every being around him. He felt disgusting, empty, and deeply disturbed.

Recognizing that he was now truly alone in a vile world of merciless creatures, Andrew began to cry.

Comments

[Bazing]

Well... shit's getting real.

[Mr cold ghost]

Ouch. Poor Andrew.

[stephen51991]

i.imgflip.com/nzed0.jpg

[Lancerlot]

I keep expecting this story to go back to making sense. I don't know why.

[Viper Pit]

i half expect morgan freeman to make a appearence

[Adjier]

This... makes me super sad. Why did you do it, Mist? For power?

I want you to be careful, Mist. A human's spite is a very dangerous thing. Especially when we are vindicated.

[Alondro]

8550513 Any creature reaching even partial sapience can know of spite and vindictiveness. I've seen some of the more intelligent animals do it.

They lack the brains to be very clever about it, but it's there.

[Alondro]

So the unicorns got tired of being jerked around by astral god ponies who shoved them in a world with some sort of 'order' that isn't very orderly at all (and who never bothered to teach them a damn thing themselves but yanked an alien from another dimension over to do the job for them) and decided to find a way to use magic by themselves, and tricked Andrew into being a conduit for them. Now the astral jerks (like usual lousy, thoughtless gods) are ticked off that the ponies did something perfectly understandable in their circumstances, and Discord (or his race) is apparently in the mix somewhere too.

Now because everyone in this world has been stupid for so long, they've pretty much ruined everything.

Have I missed anything?

[mastermenthe]

8561019
you missed the part where harmony is losing some sort of actual battle (with what concequences???), and that the magic of the unicorns is what they already had, the magic they stole was harmony's powers which they shoved into Andrew as a living foci.

[Alondro]

8592771 Nah, I got the battle. That's where the part I noted about Discord or his race comes in. Forces of chaos were outright stated as the enemy, and there's only one thing that fits that particular peculiar mold.

[mastermenthe]

8592814
oh shit, that makes this a "battle" between terraformer-class entities

[Alondro]

8592948 It's beyond even Shadows vs Vorlons!

[Fanliterature101]

Holy shit, the climax!