Reality is a Blur

by lLoveRainbowDash

Chapter Seventeen – Cherished Relief Part I

Rainbow awoke to the sound of birds chirping outside of the window in the room. She sat up in the bed and stretched.

The door to the room opened slowly. Rainbow looked and saw London grinning.

“You’re finally awake!” he shouted.

“Hey, don’t yell; Percy might still be sleeping,” Rainbow said.

“Oh, sorry,” he whispered, lowering his head.

“Aw, come here, bud!” Rainbow said, opening up for a hug. Just then, they both heard a slight knock on the door. “Come in.”

Percy opened the door, stepping into the room. “Hello, you two, I don’t want to interrupt, but I have some fun little activities planned for you today!”

“Really?!” London asked, jumping up.

“Yup! Go on downstairs and eat your breakfast first! It’s in the kitchen,” Percy said, opening the door wider for London to exit.

“Do you want me to go down there too?” Rainbow asked.

“Yeah, go ahead!”

“Thank you, again,” Rainbow said, smiling at him as she walked out of the room.

“You are welcome. It really sucks how ponies treat you. I wish I could change the laws out here... but I can’t.”

She walked down the stairs and into the kitchen. There was a large table in the center of the room where London was seated. She came and sat down next to him.

“I’m going to eat really fast so I can go play!” London said, stuffing food into his mouth.

“Your stomach will hurt if you keep eating that fast.”

“It will?”

“Yes, slow down!” Rainbow said, ruffling his mane.

They both laughed and began eating. It was pancakes topped with syrup, and a side of hash browns, as Rainbow later found out. There was also orange juice, but she didn’t like it too much.

There wasn’t much talking between the two as they were eating, but they finished not too long after.

“You two all done?” Percy asked once he came down the stairs.

“Yup!” London replied enthusiastically, bouncing up and down.

“Rainbow, is it alright if I let London play in the backyard?” Percy asked.

“I... I don’t think he’s read—”

“Don’t worry, he’ll be fine! And if it makes you feel better...” Percy turned and pressed a button on the far wall. Just then, the wall to Rainbow’s left began to move. It slid along a track, allowing a large window to be seen. Outside of the window was... beautiful.

It was hard to describe. All of the warmest colours of morning daylight came together to blend into an amazing display of beams of light that shown down through branches of a tree. The tree was white with black spots here and there with orange and yellow leaves. Some of the leaves had already fallen to the dark green grass, but the majority was still hanging from the many branches of the tree.

In the back of the yard was a section of bushes that were perfectly trimmed, with vibrant flowers. Every flower seemed to shine with each one having a unique colour.

The grass was perfectly cut and seemed to be watered regularly. Each and every simple movement the air made caused the blades of grass to gleam in the sunlight.

In the middle of the yard was a large section of concrete, as she was told. Percy had called it a patio. It surrounded a large pond of crystal clear water. Inside of the water was fish, many of them, that swam around aimlessly among the rocks and plants.

It was... simply... glorious.

He continued, “You’d be able to see him the whole time.”

Rainbow looked at London, who looked back at her with hopefulness in his eyes. “Y-yeah... he can go play.”

London ran to her and hugged her. “Thank you, Rainbow!”

“No problem. Just be careful!”

“I will!” He ran over to a door next to the large glass wall. Percy held it open, then closed it once London had gone outside.

Percy sat on a chair nearby, watching London play. After a few moments, he spoke, “What are you planning on doing with him?”

“I... I want... I—”

“Sorry, I shouldn’t have asked.”

“It’s... fine. I guess I don’t really know what I’m gonna do.”

They both watched as London chased a butterfly around the yard.

“You know,” Percy thought out loud, “he’s going to be a great stallion in the future. I can just feel it.”

Rainbow smiled. “Yeah, he’s amazing.”

They sat in silence as they watched London look at the fish in the pond. After that, he looked up and saw them through the glass. He jumped up and waved at them. Rainbow waved back before he continued playing.

After a while, something came to Rainbow’s mind. “What is so important about the Pyrathian Kingdom?”

“Well, the city you are in now is the Pyrathian Kingdom, as you well know. It is the capital of South Pyrathia, which is a country just west of Equestria. It’s—”

“Equestria? T-that sounds... strange...” Rainbow interrupted.

“Equestria is run by two princesses, along with six ponies, I believe.”

“Do you know the two princesses?”

“No, I don’t. I’ve only heard of them.”

Rainbow shifted in her seat. “I-I don’t know why, but something about the name Equestria just feels weird.”

“Well, it is a smaller country than Pyrathia at least. A-anyway, as I was saying, the Pyrathian Kingdom is in South Pyrathia, which has been at war with North Pyrathia because of disagreements between the two. Pyrathia used to be one of the biggest countries in the world before the disputes.”

“What were the disagreements?”

“North Pyrathia believes pegasi should be treated like everypony else, but South Pyrathia wants to keep them as slaves. You do know why you’re a slave, don’t you?”

“Yes, I do. I was told by a pony in the wagon train.”

“The first war between the two parts of Pyrathia was because of different ponies wanting different types of leadership. The country split up, but then couldn’t agree on land, so they began war on each other. It was devastating. Pyrathia became a battlefield within a few weeks. T-that massacre... was called the Pyrathian War.”

“Are you okay?” Rainbow asked, noticing Percy reach a hoof to his face.

“Yes... I am fine. A-as I was saying, North Pyrathia won that war because of the pegasi who helped. This led to South Pyrathia despising pegasi, and later passing laws that took away their rights... which led to this war.”

“What’s the name of this war?”

“Pyrathian Civil War. It’s been going on for a week now, actually. North Pyrathia has more supplies, and I doubt South Pyrathia will let pegasi help, so the north will most likely win within a couple months.”

Rainbow nodded, looking back towards the window. “If there is a war right now, why aren’t ponies talking much about it?”

“Oh, they are. Everyday I hear something about it. It’s just not as big of a deal here since the war is far north of us.”

“What will happen when the war’s over?” Rainbow asked.

“If North Pyrathia wins the war, pegasi will no longer be slaves. And, maybe Pyrathia will be a complete country once again.”

They looked back to London, who was now trying to climb the tree.

Percy sighed contently. “Care for a drink?”

Comments

[THERDSTORYWHISPERER]

Great chapter!

[Yami Vizzini]

Finally, a little more context! More, in fact, than Rainbow realizes....

[lLoveRainbowDash]

10026602
Yeah, I added that bit to maybe clear some things up and give you a bit of context. Glad it helped!