(34) Intelligence Saves? Natural Ones
Stostine Swordhand’s POV
Sky Space
It was weird coming back to this sky cube. When I disappeared, there was no warning. I blacked out and, without any input from me, memories came and went on their own.
I couldn’t remember what those lost memories were, only that I forgot something. They were things about me or what I knew about something else but they were gone forever and sometimes replaced with something else. It wasn’t as alarming as it sounded though.
But as I ‘woke up,’ I was standing in the night sky again. Only now, I felt and looked...different.
It was subtle things. My hair, once purely blonde, now had browning roots. And my golden eyes sported a faint greenish hue to them. My childhood’s likeness sneaking back in.
When I came up here with Platick, my robes were missing one of the sleeves. That was from the fight against the Redbrands. I was still missing that sleeve but there were other imperfections now to show that I had them for a while.
That was from my new history too. After my childhood was finished, Sunset instilled with me a reason to leave Openshaw. Specifically, to leave my father. These robes were a farewell gift from Siora; my mentor. She was practically family to me after a while.
But one memory I cherished more than anything else was the one thing I requested; Mom’s face. I had no idea what to expect when I clung to that idea, but now that Sunset gave me my answer, I couldn’t imagine anything else.
I had other memories too, of course. Many that were mundane or even tragic in one form or another. Though, despite not being good memories, there was a sense of sentimentality. As though no matter how much I hated them, they were still mine. Even if they hurt, I could never bear to be rid of them.
As the rest of my consciousness returned, I took in the space around me with a content smile. One that slowly turned to curiosity when I saw that I was not alone.
Lying face down, thirty feet away on the invisible floor, was Platick. His legs were sprawled out behind him and his arms were folded underneath his chin as he stared at the thick cloudscape beneath us.
I couldn’t see his face from here but his muscles were more relaxed than I had ever seen. Like he was at a loss for something.
Too curious to ignore that, I crept up behind him like a child. Even to the point of holding up my arms like a praying mantis as if that would make me any more quiet. I made it maybe seven steps before stumbling. My ‘praying mantis’ stance flailed around while my feet tried steadying themselves on an unseen surface.
I bit my lip and stared up only to meet Platick’s gaze. His head was turned to face me but the rest of his body was in the same position. There was no anxiety towards me.
“Um..." I cleared my throat and tried casually standing up straight. “Hello, Platick. How long have you been here?”
He kept staring with this blank look. As each second passed by, I got this unsettling thought that his fear had come true. That his Player did something to him that might have ruined his entire psyche.
“About twenty minutes,” he finally answered. The lack of emotion failed to make me feel any better.
I slowly walked closer until I was about ten feet away. He never left that relaxed pose. “And...How do you feel?”
He studied my face with no discernable change for several seconds. Although, I nearly spotted the moment he clicked the pieces together. “You can calm down. I’m the same as when we got here. Err.” He finally emoted with this confused, furrowed brow. “Well, no, not the same, but...You get it. I think.”
He shook his head and stared back down at Prima. “I, uh...I got what I asked for.”
What you...Ah. I bit my tongue and nodded along, remembering how he spoke to his Player. “I take it the memories were not what you imagined?”
His head shook methodically to the sides as his chin rubbed along his sleeve. “No. But, that’s not really a fair question, is it?”
My mouth let out this awkward chuckle. “Point taken. Erm. May I sit?” I gestured to the space beside him.
His shoulders gave a low shrug. “Go ahead.”
I briskly walked over and after a second more of hesitating, sat cross-legged beside him. Something had to have happened. He says he’s the same, but he never acted like this.
But I couldn’t bring myself to break the silence. Instead, I kept sitting here, enraptured with the sky above and below as Platick kept staring down. When I wasn’t glimpsing at him, I had my neck craned back to look at what was above us.
If I was honest, it was the most gorgeous, yet ominous sight I or my imagination could ever fathom. The clouds encircled us, revealing only slight glimpses of the world below. The endless starry night sky not hindered by clouds. The stars that seemed closer and more alive than what one would see from ground level.
From up here, the sky wasn’t a simple dark blue with white dots. I could see shades of purples as well as faint oranges and light blues from Hestavar and Tyche, Prima’s two suns. We were so high up that we could see their rays from beyond the planet’s horizon.
It made me wonder if it were possible to see the borders of the other realms from out here. To see the mysterious gloom of the Shadowfell or the miasmic wash of hues drifting from the Feywild.
As I let my mind wander, inventing new creatures and destinations from any different plane, Platick finally spoke up. “...Why do we care?”
“Huh?” I stared down at him. He was staring back.
“Why do we care?” He looked so weak at that moment. Like a child lost in the woods. “We know everything’s fake. The world, the problems, the people. But you care. So does Ravathyra. And now, despite how illogical it feels, I care. Applejack didn’t make me. If anything, she went above and beyond to do everything I asked.
“And I should be jaded.” He sat up. “My made up life sucks because a cowgirl decided that. It wasn’t the murderer who did it; it was AJ. The Master didn’t even have much of a hand in it. But, knowing all of that? I care.”
He sat cross-legged himself, spinning to face me directly. “The second I got back here, I tried putting the pieces together myself. I was an idiot for trying but I still did it. It’s even dumber when you realize the Master needs time to set up those sorts of details.”
“Platick.” I spoke softly. This was something I understood. “You are not an idiot. All of that is natural for someone in your position.”
“Save the pep talk,” he dismissed. “That’s not the point. It was only three minutes before you got in that I remembered none of that matters. None of this is technically real! It’s all fake. But, therein lies my real problem. Why? Why do we care?”
My face contorted into something of tragic humor. “You know you are essentially asking for the meaning of life, right?”
Platick took in a breath, only to hold it as he stared back. “...What?”
“The meaning of life,” I repeated, my smile still present. “What is my purpose? Why are we here? What makes us, us?” I gestured to both of us. “Philosophers have pondered that for lifetimes. And, I am going to be honest, the Master probably took inspiration from their own world.”
Platick kept staring, the focus and anguish in his eyes fading away to a look of disbelief. “Wait, what? Yo-You’re kidding me?”
I started giggling at him. “N-No, not really. Did you not realize that?”
He huffed, resting his face in his hand for a second and then glaring at me as I started laughing harder. “Okay, shut up. I don’t think about philosophy, okay?”
I couldn’t stop, though. “Sorry, sorry! It’s just so obvious!”
“Not to me!” He argued. “Why would anyone try using philosophy on a real problem?”
“That’s kinda the point,” I said, losing my formality as I covered my mouth. Ironically, it made me sound just like Sunset. “You know, for someone who uses logic and theories, you sure overlook a lot of basics. Oh! Maybe that is your character flaw!”
“Stop it,” he begged. “And don’t talk like that, it makes us sound like dolls or something.”
“Well.” I bobbed my head a little. “What would you call us?”
“...Alive,” he admitted. “We can think, act, feel.” He shrugged. “And I’m never calling myself a doll. So we’re alive.”
“Wow.” I grinned. “Maybe Applejack did change you after all. You still seem rude but you’re a little more positive now.”
“What did I just say?” He asked me. “Stop talking like that.”
I held up my hands. “Right. Apologies, I am done. It’ll just be interesting to see how the others react to you.”
“Yeah. Uh, about that,” he spoke with this unsure voice. “I don’t want anyone knowing about this. As in, don’t tell anyone I showed up here.”
“Huh? Why not?” I blinked. “If this is about not trusting them, I do not think you have anything to—” “Not exactly.”
He stood up. “Look. With this specific thing, I trust you.” He watched me stare at him with an interesting look. “Weird coming from me, I know, but I do. And I trust Ravathyra and possibly Thorn. But I don’t know how well they keep secrets.”
I frowned. “Secrets from who? From Ricven?” When Platick failed to deny it, I gave him another look. “Hold on, actually from Ricven?”
“Like I said,” he insisted. “I don’t want anyone knowing. New history or not, I hate not having all the answers. I wanna figure some things out.”
“Such as?” I narrowed my eyes.
“That’s for me to know,” he insisted.
“Fine.” I shrugged, crossing my arms. “Okay. But do not be surprised when Ricven is the first to find out.”
“Alrig—what?!” He glared.
“You heard me.” I gave a devious smirk and stood up myself. “Maybe it is the fact that Sunset is my Player. Maybe it is my own interests. But I want to know how this magic works too. Plus, you need an expert in the arcane.”
“This isn’t arcane.” He glared. “Our world’s magic doesn’t apply here. You know that.”
“Maybe. Still, you cannot figure it out alone,” I tried again. “You need a partner. If that philosophy issue was not proof enough, you at least need someone to bounce ideas off of. Besides, your Player and mine seem to be building that dynamic anyway. Think of it as rehearsal.”
“Rehear—dynamic? You. W-Wha—No!” He finally stammered. “What are you even talking about?! There is no dynamic. There is no we! The only thing our kiddy Players are doing is making a useless rivalry while forcing this patchwork group to work together! We are not a team!”
“I completely agree.” I smirked again. “We’re a duo.”
“Yea—no! No, stop making this a thing! This isn’t a thing! We! Are not a! A-A duo!”
My new life goal, I joked to myself. “Listen. To put it bluntly, you cannot talk to people. You suck at it. Terribly. I can. And I was just given a background that made me all the more experienced in it. And whatever these things you need to figure out are? If they have anything to do with this?”
I gestured to the sky around us. “You will need more than yourself. You will need accounts and perspectives from the others. And if you want to hide the fact you were brought here, it will be even harder to ask for those accounts.”
“Who says I need to have them explain their accounts?” He asked me. “I’ll just listen in whenever you and the others talk about it.”
“And if people want to talk behind closed doors? Or if you are somewhere else entirely like you were during our Players’ break?”
“I don’t need all the accounts. Plus, there’s nothing to talk about bu—” “Face it Platick,” I cut him off.
“You need all the help you can get. And I already know your secret. Can you, in all honesty,” I pushed that word hard, earning a tense glare from Platick. “Say that my help is useless?”
“...” He said nothing, chewing on his lip as he flipped every part of his brain to argue my help as a bad thing. He didn’t give up easily either. We sat there for a full minute with Platick raged for an argument.
Every time his eyes focused on mine, he would try thinking harder as I reveled in his misery. “Admit it, Fortuna.”
He let out a low growl, staring up at the sky. “Applejack! Or Master Story, put us back already!”
“That would be too convenient,” I mocked. “Sorry Platick, looks like you will need to make a decision.”
He let out a heavier groan and looked back up to me. “Fine. Help me, Swordhand.”
I gasped, holding my hand to my chest. “Fortuna, you would ask for my help? Why, I do not know what to sa—” “On second thought? Nope. Nevermind!”
He walked away, rubbing his face. “I should have said nothing. I should have just said nothing! This is doomed to fail. I should’ve—” “I will take this seriously,” I said in defiance.
I walked up and in front of him. “I promise you, Platick, I will listen. I do not need to know what answers you are looking for and I will not press you to do anything. I only want to know what you find out. And in exchange, I will help however you need it. Please. Please, let me help.”
Platick paused again, watching my face extra carefully as I stared right back. I had no idea what he was getting worried about but it had to be something I wasn’t seeing. Regardless of what his Player was like, Platick observed things on a deeper level. He would find answers eventually.
And I want those answers, I told myself. Whatever it takes.
After a few more seconds, Platick gave in. “Alright! Okay, I get it. I’ll let you know if I find anything. But in exchange, I don’t want you questioning me. I have a way of doing things and I’ll do it that way. Get it?”
“Got it.” I nodded. “You are the bo—uhh..."
When I raised my head, I was no longer in the sky. Platick was gone too. Instead, I was back in my private room at Stonehill Inn.
After our Players ended their game, the seven of us went for a well needed rest in beds of our own. And since the town was frozen, Platick and Vareén felt no shame in taking other people’s beds in the interim.
I glanced around, making sure my door was still closed and locked. As was my window with the curtain closed. When I was sure, I let my head fall against my pillow.
I was brought to the sky while lying in bed, too lazy to get out of it. I had plenty of time to sleep but after the fight, I was too drained. Thankfully, Ricven had potions for us to drink, so we weren’t injured anymore.
All except one of us, that is.
I took a deep breath and rolled myself out of bed. Already, I knew what I had to do. I had to figure out where Platick was. If he was with any of the others, he might not be able to ease back into the conversation. People might catch on.
If Vareén or Glemerr are with him, they won’t push the issue. Rava or Ricven on the other hand? Those two gossips will never drop it.
After I finished throwing on a clean set of clothes I swiped from Leanne’s shop, I moved for the door and stepped outside to the taproom.
No matter what it takes, I thought. I will be useful.
Story Spinner’s POV
Sweet Apple Acres, Game Room
Meanwhile
I stared at all the notes I had in front of me. Most were written by myself about Sunset and Applejack’s characters, but there were full pages of notes the magic took too.
It all focused on details I missed or things about my world that needed to be adjusted. It was like I had an assistant. And when Sunset and Applejack were finished and outside Sky-Space, the magic faded but its notes remained.
Only question is what do I do with ‘em? I thought as I straightened the pages out. The interesting thing was everything was in my handwriting and organized the way I would do it. Even if it wasn’t the best method.
“I have a question,” Sunset asked, taking me away from the notes. “Rainbow Dash said when she made Rava’s siblings, they weren’t in Sky-Space anymore. Any idea why?”
“Wait. She didn’t have ta be in there?” AJ took a slow breath. “Woulda been nice ta know earlier.”
“I don’t think it would’ve helped,” I told her. “By that point, we weren’t working out specific moments like you two were. Or, at least, nothing with Ravathyra. We were just deciding facts.”
“So the scenes were what did it,” Sunset determined. “Anything short of that and the magic won’t bring us in the void.”
“Makes as much sense as anything else,” I decreed, setting the notes into a folder to be organized later. “Well. With, uh. With that...What now?”
The two girls shared a look. “Whad’ya mean?” AJ asked.
“I mean, is there anything else we’re doing? I kind of forced you guys into a cliffhanger, and the other girls went off to track what connects to the game outside. I know Twilight said you want to hold off playing tonight, but..."
“We already talked it over,” AJ informed me. “We’re stickin’ ta our choice. Make today about findin’ them links. Then tomorrah, wrap up our search with what’s happenin’ at school. Maybe find out about Principal Celestia.”
That hit me like a lead punch. “...Her kidnapping,” I murmured.
Sunset took a deep breath and slumped forward. “Yeah..."
“No! Nope, none a’ that,” Applejack said, reaching across the table and knocking my DM screen flat against the table while glaring between both of us.. “What’s done is done. No point playin’ some blame game over it. ‘Sides, we all know y’all would never a’ let this happen if ya had any clue about it! What matters is yer helpin’ now. Okay?”
I swallowed my self-loathing as far as it would go and nodded. “Yep. You’re right. I’m sorry. I’ll stay focused. Just let me know if there’s anything else I can do.”
“Organizing the game’s already plenty.” Sunset recovered too. “None of us can do that. Also, sorry to ask, but could you keep quiet about the magic?”
“I assumed that.” I nodded. “I won’t tell anyone outside our group.”
“Well, there’s others who know,” Sunset admitted. “Ms. Cheerilee for example. Principal Celestia and Vice-Principal Luna know too.”
“Oh. Okay, well, that makes me feel a little better,” I recognized. “And you said Ms. Cheerilee would talk to the principals about—this..."
My eyes grew wide as I thought about my words a little longer. Ms. Cheerilee had no idea about Principal Celestia. We only figured it out yesterday. If it was the weekend, maybe Ms. Cheerilee hadn’t made a call yet. Still, she should know about this.
“Um. I just thought of something,” I started, my cracking voice alerting the two girls. “Has anyone talked to Ms. Cheerilee today? About...Anything?”
Again, the two of them shared a look. There was a moment of nothing being said as they waited for each other to speak.
“About that. We talked to her earlier,” Applejack started.
“Right.” Sunset took it from there. “More specifically, she called us. Apparently, her ankle healed up the same time Sildar's wrist did when he had that potion.”
“Wait, really? That's great,"" I celebrated, watching as their expressions did not match mine at all. "Annnnd, why am I the only one glad to hear that?" Curious, I started pulling out my phone.
“Well, we also tried asking her about a few other things that...She said she wanted us to call back later about."
"Uh-huh." I gave them a look as I reached Ms. Cheerilee’s name in my contacts. It was still listed as ‘Clockwork Teacher’ because I was a terrible person.
I hit the call button.
"Well, I guess no time like the present, yeah?" I tried to stay upbeat and positive like I had managed to pull off thus far while putting the call on speaker. It rung a couple times before Ms. Cheerilee answered and then quickly hung up.
“Wha?” I blinked at the phone a few times and stared at it. She. What the...? “She hung up.”
AJ and Sunset frowned. “Maybe she's not ready to tal—”
Just then, I got a call back from her. Except, this time, it was for a video call. Huh. Maybe she wanted to show us her ankle working? The girls did say Ms. Cheerilee was behind them telling me.
I turned around and held the phone away from me so all three of us would be in the shot. Then I pressed ‘Answer.’
Right away, the camera turned on to show Ms. Cheerilee staring back expectantly. I didn’t understand why she wanted to have the video call though. Her hair was unkempt, her eyes bloodshot from lack of sleep, and she didn’t look happy to see us.
“Hello Ms. Cheerilee,” I said stiffly. “Um. I heard you're feeling better! How's your ankle?”
“Oh, just perfect. I'm glad to hear some knight-guy drank a potion to help me." She said with a sarcastically chipper tone. "But seeing as you're already aware of that, that means we can skip to the larger issue for now."
I felt my throat tighten as she gave us all this scowl. "Um. Larger issue?"
"Yes. The one that Applejack and Sunset tried asking about earlier but stopped prematurely."
Confused, I turned to look at the girls. Applejack was hiding her face in her hands while Sunset looked incredibly guilty. "Girls? What's she talking about?"
"What I'm talking about is Principal Celestia. And what they were beating around the bush about asking me."
Quickly, I hit the mute button and turned around to face them. All while having the phone 'slip' from my grip just enough to where the thumb was now over the camera. Then I spoke fast. "We're muted. What's she talking about?"
"Uh, well, that's," Sunset stumbled while Applejack just looked worse.
"Did you tell her?" I asked concernedly.
"Not really," Sunset told me. "We were hoping she'd tell us before we—"
"Story! Girls!" Cheerilee's voice warned us through the speakers.
Crap! I adjusted the phone to spot us again while also unmuting us. "Sorry, it slipped for a second. I'm sorry Ms. Cheerilee, but I wasn't there when you were all talking. Could you tell me what you mean?"
Cheerilee stared me down through the camera. "Mmm-hmm." She wasn't buying my lies. "Focus the camera on Applejack, please Story."
“What?” I looked up at AJ, who resembled a deer in the headlights. Crap. “Uh. Why? Why her? Exactly?”
“Because you’re too good at lying,” she told me directly. “Now put her on.”
Cringing, I passed the phone over to our resident truther.
“Now then,” Ms. Cheerilee began. “Supposedly, nobody knows what happened with Principal Celestia. So, I am very interested in what you were trying to tell me and how you know.”
“Eeyup,” AJ hummed, shaking her head. “We bumbled right inta that one, didn’t we?”
The next ten minutes were spent with us going into a summarized version of what we realized last night. How the game’s magic affected everything outside it and how we needed to keep playing to prevent bigger problems.
Part way through, Ms. Cheerilee shook her head. “Hold on. Pause for a second.” She followed her own command, reviewing a few things. “Not only am I connected to a knight, now you're telling me Principal Celestia's tied to a dwarf? Who's a miner?"
By this point, I had regained my spot in front of the camera. Now I could recognize the true look of disbelief on Ms. Cheerilee’s face.
“It sounds kinda out there, don’t it?“ Applejack was sympathetic. “We are so sorry fer lettin’ this happen. None of us had a clue what was goin’ on with the magic and, if we’d a’ known what we do now, we would never let it turn out like this!”
Ms. Cheerilee took a couple of breaths to try clearing her head. “I. I believe you, Applejack. I know none of you would do this on purpose. That is just a lot to take in right now.”
We watched her camera travel with her until she sat down on her couch and propped her camera against something so she didn’t have to hold it anymore.
“But...Putting that aside for the moment,” Ms. Cheerilee said more for herself. Wow, she really does know about magic, doesn’t she? How else is she waving this off? “Are, uh. Do you know if she's...safe right now?”
“Who? You mean Principal Celestia?”
I moved the camera on me. "I'm the only one that knows that answer. Every time I try telling the girls what's going on, the magic censors it. And, if I'm being honest, I'm worried if I say the truth to someone that can hear me, it'll come true. So I think I should only tell you what the girls know already."
Ms. Cheerilee had this distant look in her eyes as she tried to accept that. "Alright then. In that case, what do the girls know?"
I steeled myself for the worst. "...The Dwarf was kidnapped in the same attack that broke Sildar, your knight's, leg. He was carried off to a secondary location and he will be sold off to someone in ten days. Well, eight days now. It's been two days in the game since the girls learned about the kidnapping."
That distant look in Cheerilee’s focused in moments. “Wait. Sold off?! That’s what’s happening?!”
All of us flinched back as Ms. Cheerilee sank into her chair. She was having a crisis. “Oh dear. Then. Then explains why—And then...! But, wai—Oh no. Oh no, poor Luna.” She covered her mouth with this distant look in her eyes.
Too bad her phone was on speaker from the video call.
“You've spoken to Vice Principal Luna?” Sunset asked. Ms. Cheerilee gave us the same surprised look we gave her before. “Ms. Cheerilee. Did you talk to Vice Principal Luna?”
Ms. Cheerilee continued to look back, not making any sudden moves. She didn’t even lower her arms from her face. Sunset tried again. “Ms. Cheerilee, if you know anything, please! The magic doesn’t let us find out secrets about the game, but if we can find out what happens in the real world, we might be able to use that as hints. It might help save Principal Celestia!”
Ms. Cheerilee reacted to those words. And while it was faint, I saw her eyes darting ever so slightly back and forth. She was staring at each of our faces.
“...” Slowly, Cheerilee lowered her arms. “...First. First, I want a promise. I want you to promise that what I’m about to say won’t go any further than the three of you. Not even the others.”
“Not ta the others?” Applejack balked. “Ms. Cheerilee, wit’ all due respect, do ya really think any of us would go blabbin’ ‘bout the Principals? We would never do—”
“I know that,” Ms Cheerilee said with a newfound demeanor. “But Luna trusted me because she had nowhere else to turn. And I don't want to betray her trust. You can understand that, right?”
Sunset curled her fingers together and tried to calm her breathing. Then, without looking over, she spoke quietly and with a dark tone. “Applejack? If you can’t keep the secret, leave the room.”
“What the? Sunset, what’s gotten inta—” AJ clammed up when Sunset finally looked her in the eye. Since I was between them, I saw the same face Applejack did.
Fierce and driven. One Sunset, trembling from a mixture of fear, rage, and a readiness to act. Like she was gonna lose it if she didn’t get what she wanted right this second.
“...Ah’ll step out.” Without another word, Applejack got up from her seat, took Platick’s character sheet, and marched out the doorway and through the curtain.
Right away, we heard a scuffle, a faint gasp, and then a growl from Applejack.
“And yer comin’ with me,” Applejack proclaimed as Sunset and I could hear a younger voice arguing with Applejack, but the voice was too far for the phone to pick it up.
As that happened, I turned around to find Sunset giving me that same demented stare. As if challenging me.
“...I won’t tell anyone,” I forced my mouth to say. “I can keep secrets. Magic gargling or not.”
“I’d prefer you didn’t,” she said with a calm levelness to her otherwise emotive face.
I was taken aback from that. What did she say?
Then, I narrowed my eyes. Hold on. I caused this, not you. I think I deserve some answers too, you know. “You know how you agreed to owing me ‘so much,’ yeah? Well, I’m cashing it in.”
“Not for this, you aren’t,” she said, but her anger had a small break.
“Oh, yes, for this,” I doubled down. “You know how you said this wasn’t my fault? That means it’s not yours either. So, it’s either both our faults or neither! Either way, I’m staying for this. Besides, I run the games. If there’s something I can prepare for—”
“That’s enough,” Ms. Cheerilee called. “Sunset, I agree with Story. Even if you try to make him leave, I’ll tell him myself later.”
Sunset gave me a side eye for a few more seconds before muttering something incomprehensible and turning back to my phone.
“Now. This doesn’t leave the two of you,” she reminded us. Ms. Cheerilee then took a deep breath, whispering one last apology to Vice Principal Luna before making herself ready.
“Principal Celestia and Vice Principal Luna live together,” Ms. Cheerilee explained. “Usually, Vice Principal Luna stays out late. That’s normal, apparently. But, when she got back some time after midnight, she didn’t find her sister. Instead, she found a note.”
Ms. Cheerilee took another slow breath. “It...It was a ransom note.”
A chill went down my spine as Sunset leaned forward. “What did it say?” She demanded.
But Ms. Cheerilee shook her head. “I don’t know. I only found out when Vice Principal Luna called me last night. I was still awake, trying to figure out whether or not my ankle was actually healed. I wasn’t sure why she was calling me, but...I guess I do now? Does. Did this ‘Sildar,’ know too?”
“Yes,” Sunset answered instantly. “He was there. I'm pretty sure he told us the motive. Right Story?”
"He has a theory," I said, trying to keep my heartbeat level in all of this. My mind was sparking with all the secrets I was learning. "He would have told you it's because of the mine Gundren found."
“Am.” I could about hear Ms. Cheerilee’s heart stop. “Am I going to be kidnapped next?”
“No! No, you are not,” I cut in aggressively, almost taking the phone with me as I tried pacing away. But Sunset grabbed my arm and forced me to stay still. “Ms. Cheerilee, Sildar is fine! Everyone’s characters saved his life. He’s in town, resting in bed. He’s fine, I promise.”
Ms. Cheerilee nodded to herself, taking a few breaths to get away from her own paranoia. “Okay. Well, that’s a relief. Um. Uh, w-well, so that’s what I know. Luna refused to tell me any specifics. All she admitted was that she was supposed to wait for a phone call in the next few days.”
In a few days, I deciphered. King Grol’s waiting for the Field Baron to come for Gundren. That won’t happen until ⟟⌰⊬⊑ days have passed. That’s when King Grol starts bartering. That’s what’ll happen in real life.
“Does Vice Principal Luna at least know Princess Celestia’s safe?” Sunset asked.
I blinked. Princess? “Uh, Sunset? You mean 'principal.'”
She shot me a glare that made me freeze up before looking back at my phone. “Yeah, that’s what I meant. Do we know she’s safe? Unharmed?”
“I don’t know.” Ms. Cheerilee shook her head. “But Luna hasn’t told anyone. She’s too worried they’ll do something if she does.”
That’s when Sunset looked to me. “Story. I don’t need an explanation, just nod ‘yes’ or ‘no.’ Does Gundren get hurt while he’s captured?”
Does he? I took a second. The king wouldn’t have the goblins guard him. They’re not reliable. Possibly same with bugbears? The hobgoblins wouldn't harm him. They want Gundren healthy and in a better condition for a good deal. They might not feed him much. Does that mean...
I shook my head no if at least to make myself stop thinking about it.
Sunset took some solace at that. “Okay. Next, Dark Pit Keep’s not close to Phandalin, is it?”
Again, I shook my head no. Sunset probably already knew that. It took Klarg’s goblins a few days to reach Dark Pit Keep. And Klarg’s cave was a half day’s travel from Phandalin.
“I have a question,” Ms. Cheerilee spoke too. “Does this Gundren have a sister? Or, I guess brother, if the magic doesn’t care about that?”
I nodded yes. Two actually. One is...And the other’s...
My face was more than enough to alert my teacher and new friend. “Story, what happens to them?” Ms. Cheerilee asked.
“Don’t answer that,” Sunset said suddenly, giving me a look. Then she looked to Ms. Cheerilee. “I’m sorry Ms. Cherilee, but we can’t tell you anything else. To be fair, Story shouldn’t have told you what’s going to happen that hasn’t already.”
Ms. Cheerilee looked as if she wanted to resign the thought, but I jumped in. “Wait, I wasn’t? Since when?”
Sunset gave me a sorry look. “We don’t know what happens if you try and warn anyone about the future. Dunamancy builds itself on what is fate3d to happen. If you start talking about what will happen later, who knows what the result may be.”
“Uh, hopefully to prevent it?” I shook my head. “Why would giving someone a warning cause more problems?”
“Because there’s nothing that can be done to stop it.” Sunset told me. “Dunamancy controls fate, remember? You can’t change fate.”
“Can’t change—hold on.” I dragged over a couple of books and leaned my phone against that. In hindsight, I should’ve done that much earlier. “Sunset, the whole point of Dunamancy is messing with fate, isn’t it? We’re already changing fate. Why are we suddenly not allowed to do anything about it?”
“Story.” Sunset took a slow breath, trying to calm herself. “It’s like I said. Dunamancy is not something I know the most about.” She looked like she was about to speak again, but I interrupted.
“But you know enough that we can’t warn people about what’s happening?” I gave her a look. “And if so, why are you only telling us this now?”
“Because I didn’t think we’d be having this conversation,” Sunset shot back, giving me a look in return.
Ms. Cheerilee looked at us through the phone and sighed. “Sunset, Story, it sounds like there’s a lot you need to talk through about this magic. I don’t understand it myself, but if there’s an issue with me hearing about it, it might be best if I step away for now. If it turns out you can talk to me, please do. And, again, I know it’s a large favor, but please don’t tell the others about Celestia and Luna. At least, not until you two come to a decision. Alright?”
We paused our glaring match for a second to promise her we wouldn’t. And then, after an awkward goodbye, Ms. Cheerilee ended the call.
Sunset regained the conversation. “Story, I can’t let you tell anyone about this.”
“Sunset, our principal is confirmed to be in trouble. And our Vice Principal is terrified. If I know what’s going to happen and who else might be in trouble, I should be doing everything I can to tell people.”
"No!" Sunset shouted. "Story, listen to me. Fate is sealed. If you tell anybody, all you're going to do is put people into a panic. Some of them might try going against fate too, and if they do that then that's just going to make things worse!"
"But are you about that?" I asked her. "Is that what happened before back when people used this magic?"
"Ye— Well. I mean, more than likely," she told me. Her words sounded less sure though. "That's why it was made forbidden."
That's when a thought came to my mind. One that made me start getting angry. "No, that's not what you said last night. Last night, you said people got too frivolous using it and the side effects got bad. If it was because fate started snapping back, why didn't you mention it then?"
"That's what I meant by side effects!" She started getting angry. "When pon—people wished for things to happen, obviously other people would try and keep bad things from happening to them. And I know I told you and everyone else that those who weren't a part of the spell can be affected. That's why the only way to fix the problem is to use the Dunamancy and put everything back to normal! We can't tell anyone about what's going to happen because it won't change anything."
I huffed but didn't know how to argue my point. I wanted to tell Ms. Cheerilee about what was going to happen to Vice Principal Luna. I wanted to warn whoever I could about what was still inevitably going to happen. But if I wasn't even sure if it would be safe, I was worried.
So, I did the next best thing. "Alright. Fine. We can't warn people about what will happen. But you told Ms. Cheerilee about what happened to Sildar in the game, yeah? And that was okay?"
Sunset watched me for a second; concerned about where I was going with this. "I mean, sure? But fate had already happened and Ms. Cheerilee knows about the magic. Telling her had no risk."
"Aha! So then, all we gotta do is leave magic out of it, and brign up what has happened already? Then fine! We can just do that!" I scooped up my phone and opened the dial option. I managed to type in 911 and Sunset sat stunned.
"What are you doing?!" She screamed. "I just said you can't warn anybody! All you'll do is make things worse!"
I was already resolute enough to hit the call button. "I'm not warning them about the future. Just what's already happened."
"Already—" Sunset's eyes shot out wide. "Story, you can't be serious! Cheerilee trusted us not to tell anyone!"
"Sunset, you don't expect me to stay silent about this, do you?!" I gave her a disgusted look. "Someone is—" “9-1-1, what is your emergency?”
“Hello? Yes, officer, there’s been a problem.” I got up to walk away from Sunset, but she held onto my shoulder to try and keep me seated..
“Story, give me the phone,” she whispered through gritted teeth.
I gave her a shake of my head and got up. I started taking a few steps towards the door. “I’m trying to call about—” “No! Story, stop!”
I turned around to tell Sunset I made up my mind, but before I realized what she was doing, Sunset pushed my chin straight up with her palm, confusing me and making me lose my balance. At the same time, I felt her swipe my phone and run off.
“Sunset, no!” I reached out for her and caught the collar of her jacket, but she slipped out of it like a snake, leaving me with the thing while she jogged out of the room and started talking.
“Hi officer!” Sunset said in an apologetic voice. “I am so sorry about this! My friend came to pick me up and he overreacted when I wouldn’t wa—”
“You can’t be serious!” I took off after her, pushing through the game room’s curtain and spotting Sunset closing the barn doors, barring them for good measure.
“Sunset!”
And then I stopped when I saw her; wracked with guilt and barely holding it together.
Still, she kept coming up with more lies, answering the police with another lie to dig herself deeper and deeper. “What are you doing? Why are you doing this?” I asked quietly.
“I understand. And again, I am so, so sorry about this,” she said while staring directly at me.
“You need a lot more than sorry,” I told her with a glare.
She gave me a more guilty look but flinched when the officer said something else. “Oh! Talk to him?” She repeated, giving me another look as I caught on.
The officer wants me to prove...No. I started backing up as Sunset walked after me. “No. No, please, don’t make me do this!"
“Not a problem at all,” she said, looking so miserable. “Yeah, he’s right here. One second.” Sunset lowered the phone and put her hand over the speaker. “...Story?”
“Don’t do this,” I whispered. But she was already holding out the phone.
“I am so sorry,” she told me with the saddest look ever as she moved the phone towards my face.
“No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, n—Hello again, officer,” I said in the best awkward, yet upbeat voice I could while taking the phone in my hands. Sunset was too terrified to remember to let go of it so we stood there awkwardly with the phone held by three hands.
“Hello there, sir,” the officer started, sounding a little frustrated. “Is everything your friend said true?”
“Yes. Yes, it is,” I went on, using my theatre lessons for all the wrong reasons. “This is the first time I’m picking her up from her place and I-I completely overreacted! She said she’d be ready to go by the time I got there, she was still asleep. I saw a glass bottle on the floor, it was actually cream soda. And when I couldn’t—I-I ended up call—and she woke up and here, heh, here we are! I promise I will not! Let this happen. Again.” I said strictly while staring at Sunset’s face with visceral hatred.
Sunset shrunk into her shoulders a bit but stayed right in front of me, taking it in.
There was a pause, and a few sighs from the officer before he spoke up. “I feel I should just ask one more time. Are you sure that is everything, son? That there is nothing wrong? You can tell me.”
‘Please no, please no, please no,’ Sunset kept mouthing as I took a second to think it over.
Either I lie to the police right now and I’m stuck with whatever Magical Girl Shimmer has planned. OR. I do the right thing and she gets in serious trouble for hiding it.
I didn’t have time to think. If I spent too long, the officer would definitely think something was wrong. And every moment I spent, Sunset stared with the saddest look I had ever seen. Sadder than when we burst into tears for causing this whole problem in the first place.
It’s either both our faults or neither, I told myself. That was the excuse I used to hear what happened with Vice Principal Luna.
I forced myself to let out a goofy chuckle. “Don’t worry, sir,” I told him with a smile as Sunset watched without breathing. “I’m just an idiot. I’m fine. My friend’s fine. We’re sorry to waste your time. Or, erm, I am! I’ll be more careful from now on.”
I heard the man take a low breath. “Alright then. I’m glad to hear she’s safe. And it’s better to call and it be a false alarm than not and have it be a problem. But be careful from now on, understand?”
“Yes sir, I will,” I told him. Then I watched Sunset take a heavy breath and try to pull her hand away from my phone.
I stopped her. Instead, I kept her with me and shook my head. “Have a great day, officer.”
I ended the call and dropped the phone onto the hay-covered floor while standing there, holding Sunset’s hand in place and staring her down. I gave her the blankest, yet not blank, look I could muster.
“...SO,” I started, letting go of her hand as she only took one step back. “Could you tell me, in a really simple way, why you just had me—”
My paranoia stopped me and I stared down at my phone. Yep. Call ended. Okay, good. “In a real simple way, why you just had me lie to the police, FOR YOU?!”
“No! I-I! I didn’t want—” “No, you did! You wanted me to lie for you!” I cut her off. “I’m pretty sure that’s a crime! I just crimed for you! Why did I do that?!”
“Be-Be. B-Because they wouldn’t have been able to help,” she told me, hysterical in her delivery.
“This is exactly the thing they would’ve been able to help with!” I told her. “This is what the police do!”
“No! I mean, they are literally unable to help!” She tried again. “That's what I've been trying to tell you! The magic changes fate! Fate says Princess Celestia’s going to be kidnapped and then ransomed! And we already knew that!”
“You know! There’s that word again! Princess!” I pointed at her, making her slam her hands over her mouth and step back.
I stomped right after her. “Why do you keep calling the principal a princess?”
“I...Y-You know. You wouldn’t believe me. If I. Told you...” she trailed off. Probably because of how stupid that excuse was now.
“Interesting.” I nodded with a tense stare. “Let’s test that. If I’m willing to lie to the police for you, I must be crazy enough to believe whatever you’re about to tell me. I mean, after all, I’ve been inducted into your magical cult for at least twelve hours! Obviously, I’m in it for the long haul! Try me, Shimmer!”
She kept staring at me while something insane no doubt flowed through her mind. She looked desperate and could benefit from someone talking her down from however miserable she was feeling about the principal, or princess, or whatever.
And I stood here, finally at my own breaking point as she considered her next words very carefully.
So she took one, deep, full-lunged breath to try calming her nerves—it didn’t work—and this was what she thought I needed to hear at that exact moment:
“Okay...The truth is, I’m not human.” Then she spilled every other word at a blinding speed. “I’m a unicorn from a world called Equestria where all the magic we have been dealing with comes from. I registered at the School for Gifted Unicorns where Princess Celestia—my world’s version of Princess Celestia—noticed me and took me on as her pupil. I was so happy that she saw my potential and did everything I could to try and be as good a student as I could for her so that I could one day take her place as—”
I shook my head and pocketed my phone before going back to the game room. “I’m done,” I said, too exhausted to care anymore.
She jogged after me into the room, still rambling. “But as I got older, I got it in my head that she was trying to prepare to take over as princess myself! But I kept screwing up! Princess Celestia tried showing me that I wasn’t mature enough for it! That I wasn’t ready! And I wouldn’t listen! She would keep trying and I threw it all away and I let her down! I let her down and chose that stupid mirror and my made-up destiny over her! I failed her, and now I'm about to fail another Celestia all over again because of the same magic! And I know I screwed this up too! I let this magic get out of hand, but I don’t have any way to reach Equestria because the portal’s not active and the book was destroyed, and I can’t even get a hold of Princess Twilight! And now, THIS world’s Celestia is in trouble, and I need to help her because it's the mirror problem all over again!”
As she spoke, I spilled out the contents in my backpack and gathered up my school supplies and nothing else. I didn’t bother touching any of the D&D stuff. Most of it was stuff the girls bought for me anyway. Backpack too. I didn’t even take the binder with my world’s info in it.
Once I had what was mine, I brushed past Sunset and approached the barn doors. Sunset followed after me, still ranting and shouting behind.
“Come on! Don’t tell me you would turn your back on her!” She shouted, now trying to guilt me of all things. “Principal Celestia’s in danger and we’re the only ones who can save her! You’re a part of this too! I know it sounds crazy, or demented, or unfair, or out of our league, but we need your help! It’s your world that the dunamancy’s coming from! And we still don’t know how to solve it! And do you really think I would let all of this keep going?! If I was able to find out how, I would detach the magic from your game in a heartbeat! We’d be fixing all the problems the right way! But calling the cops?! Story, all that’s going to do is make more people terrified about something that’s destined to happen! Because I let it all happen in the first place!”
I pushed the block off the barn door and pushed it open, revealing the sunlight above and Applejack standing there in complete shock and confusion as I walked out with the sourest look I’ve ever had.
When AJ watched Sunset stepping after me, trying to cut me off from my car, Applejack caught Sunset in her arms to stop her. Thankfully, Applejack heard nearly everything.
I unlocked my car door, tossing my things inside in the passenger seat as Sunset tried one last time.
“You have to help!” Sunset kept shouting, not bothering to fight through Applejack’s grip. “I need your help! I don’t...! I! I can’t disappoint her again! I can’t let another Celestia down! Come on, HELP ME!”
I stood partway in my car, my hand on the top of its door, and finally looked Sunset in the eye. She was in tears. She was crying because I wouldn’t believe her made up sob story.
“You know Sunset?” I said, watching her bite into her lip in an effort to make herself stop crying. “You were right. I don’t believe you. Because if you’re able to lie to the cops and then convince me to lie to the cops? I'll give you one thing, I definitely believe you aren't mature.”
Applejack looked down at Sunset, who was stumbling for words. “Wait. What did y’all do?!”
“I’m going home,” I told them. “I’m going home where I can go back to believing magic, and talking dogs, and unicorns don’t exist! You’re crazy! You need help! And not from me. Goodbye and good luck.”
Sunset muttered to herself, unresponsive as Applejack did her best to hold her up. Meanwhile, I got in my car, closed the door, and started the engine. I saw Applejack take out her phone. Probably to call the others.
As for me, I turned my car around and drove as they watched from my rearview mirror.
I went home and said hi to Mom, who was waiting for me. As well as my little brother with his face buried in a handheld game and that goofy beanie like always. Mom tried to talk but after taking one look at me, she let me trudge up to my room where I could bury my head in my pillow and be alone.
I was done.
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11177403
Not that kinda weight, no. Unfortunately...
Oh heck, this almost hurt more than the previous two chapters.
Frog
Wh......what just happened?
...... So it's a breakdown, then?
......... F
ck
Edit: Also, didn't Miss Cheerilee already get her ankle healed and find out about what the magic did?
Second edit: Yeah, she called them in the chapter One on One. How come that conversation was repeated here?
And now the consequences of manipulating fate itself reveal their faces.
11178431
........ damn.
Very good, I'm always interested in stories were there are actual breakdowns, or consequences for this kind of stress. It just feels more believable. Now comes the interesting part of, how they convince him to come back.