Crimson Bonds

by Dumakey93

Arc of Stars (Chapter 3)

"Where am I?" I asked into the dark sky. I looked around me and saw only the stars and the outline of Ponyville's borders. I checked myself for any injuries, and found that I was unscathed from the beatings earlier. Somepony had healed my wounds, but why? After all that I have done to them, why have they healed me? I was still a bit dizzy, so I kept low on my stomach and pondered some more. If I got out here, who broke me out of prison? I didn't want anypony finding me, so I ran towards the Everfree forest. I heard hoofsteps behind me and rolled to my right, quickly shifting my body towards them. I couldn't make out their faces in the darkness, but I did see a purple spark in the corner of my eye.

"Twilight? Why are you, why did you...what is going on here?"

The figure said nothing, and advanced towards me. Backing away slowly, I planned to use my combat skills to subdue it. I shifted my weight and made a b-line towards the figure. Getting closer, I noticed that it had a strange dark hat, like something out of an Indiana Jones movie. I was about one meter away from it when I heard more ponies approaching. With increasing desperation, I asked, "Why are you helping me, who are you! Answer me!" There was still no response, as the ponies stopped behind me.

A pegasus flew in front of me, and stared in my face for a few moments. I raised and eyebrow and asked, "May I help you? No, seriously, would any of you care to-"
"We think you are innocent, and we would like to help you redeem yourself."

The hatted figure stepped forward and spoke, " The mare you were just talking to is Spitfire. She is one of a few willing to help you out."
"Yeah, well, who are the rest of these ponies? Or is it too soon to say?"
"Nah, we'll introduce ourselves soon, so follow me, or, maybe not..."
"Are you really going to knock me out? I swear, I'm lucky I'm not in a c-"

A sharp pain hit me in the back of my neck

"Really? Really? Whate..."

I slowly lost consciousness.

I awoke in a hut, where an indefinite amount of filled jars lined the walls. Is Zecora in on this? That could explain how I am healed and refreshed, or it could be the extra "sleep" I've been getting. I sniffed the air, and it smelled like honey, chocolate, and evergreen trees. "Weird, it smells just like home..."

It was at this moment that I realized that the ponies were watching me talk to myself. "Umm....hi?" The hut was lit by a single candle, and I still wanted to know the ponies I was saved by.

A voice uttered out, "Alright, it's time to reveal our identities." The candle from before suddenly burst out into hundreds of mini-candles and lit the hut.

The first pony that I saw, was Mare Do Well. It obviously had to be one of the Mane ponies, but I couldn't put my hoof on it. The second was Spitfire, who was staring at me intently. She motioned for me to keep looking around the room. The next pony was Twilight Sparkle, who was averting her eyes trying not to look at me.

"Hey mister, would you like a muffin?" I could recognize that voice anywhere,
"No thanks Derpy, I just don't feel up to it at the moment."
At that point, a brown stallion said, "I apologize for my assistant here, she sometimes can be a handful."
"It's quite alright Doctor, quite alright..."
"Eeyup. Seems like you were in a bit of a bind there."
"Yes I was Big Mac...thanks..."

I saw a yellow pegasus gliding away from me. "Fluttershy, please, sit down. I would really appreciate it."
"Um...okay...if that's alright...um.." She stammered, but eventually sat down.

Mare Do Well suddenly stood up, "Where is Lyra? I thought she'd be here by now."
Dr. Whooves responded, "She will be here shortly, she's covering our trail. Don't worry, I've got a tracker on her."
"That's good, Futtershy, where is Zecora?"
"She's...out looking for new healing methods and potions."

Rarity chimed in,"Speaking of Zecora, she really needs to clean her...place..."
"I think it is a fine home, not that I'm an expert in fashion or anything." I responded.

The door opened, as Zecora and Lyra trotted in,
"We have the plants, alright, now, let's get some potion together."
Mare Do Well responded back, "There's no need to, he's awake now."
"Aww, and I wanted to try a new potion too..."

So, the ponies and I all greeted one another, and sat down again. "This is it? All of you fought off royal guards and Celestia? That's impressive..."
Mare Do Well took off her disguise and let me look at her. "Luna??!!! Well, no wonder, you know a lot of things regarding Celestia. Wait...is she behind this??"
Luna responded, "No, but she is being controlled by Discord, like you were. That's why she's been so paranoid and irrational lately. She's been suppressing Discord's control. Ever since the remaining Mane Six defeated him, he somehow escaped. It was probably because Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash were..."
"Killed by me, yeah, I kinda got that down."
"We have been searching for a way to revive them and bring Equestria back to its normal self. We need your help to somehow subdue Celestia and remove Discord. We then have to destroy Discord as a team, so that things will turn back to normal."
"Well, I guess I have no other choice but to save Equestria from Discord's clutches. When do we begin?"

Dr. Whooves stepped up and said, "You have a hidden power within you, and the only way to release it, is to become a pony yourself."
I was somewhat shocked, so I said nothing while I tried to sort out my feelings. "Will I be able to return home?"
"Yes, but you might still be a pony."
"So, in all seriousness, I will become a talking animal?"
"Yes...are you alright with that?"
"If it means saving Equestria and resurrecting Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie, then yes."

"Alrighty, if you trust him enough to let 'em do this, I'm in too..."

The door opened and Applejack walked in. Big Mac was agape and steam came out of his nostrils.
"I thought I told you to stay at the farm!"
"Well, I didn't and I don't regret coming here! I wanted to see if he was a good person or not, is that too much to ask?"
"No it's not, sorry sis..."

"Well, did you invite all of Ponyville or something, because this is a lot of people, err, ponies..."

Luna gathered herself, Twilight, Rarity, and Lyra in a semi-circle around me. All of them sent a magical cloud towards me. As I inhaled it, I became weak, and blacked out.

Comments

[Gypsy]

Conspiracy! INTRIGUE! murder most foul, REDEMPTION! muffins...