• Published 1st Mar 2020
  • 2,289 Views, 55 Comments

A Trip to Remember - Allegrano_Melody



Discord has a mission, and Celestia is not going to like it. Discord decides to send the young versions of the Main 6 to a particular school of magic.

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Chapter 6: New Life

Author's Note:

Apologize for the lateness of this chapter, I have been busy with the family stuff and that having no internet for a lot of it. Thank you rich for being there and helping me with edits and changes to my story. I will be posting more regularly now.

Canterlot

In the royal gardens, a kirin colt lay on his back atop a red and white checked blanket. With his eyes fixed on the distant blue skies, he basked in the gentle warmth of the sun as a gentle breeze whispered through the leaves.

He closed his eyes. Try as he might, he could not dispel the feeling of unease. There was no rest, no respite for him.

His eyes snapped open. Aetherdal sighed. "Angel, Solomon, why couldn't you trust me with the truth?" The puffy cumulus clouds above did not answer.

Unseeing, his eyes turned back to the memory that denied him his rest. No matter how hard he tried, he could not clear it from his mind.

It all had started with a familiar voice. "Aetherdal, open your eyes."

Aetherdal had replied, "Nuh-uh. Don't wanna." He had turned away from the disturbance.

With a hint of annoyance, the voice had huffed. "You're sleeping in your dream. Seriously, how can you even do that?"

Dream or not, the impact on the floor had been cold and hard. Aetherdal had reluctantly opened his eyes, only to wish that he had kept them shut. The anger that the unfamiliar face had radiated had been terrifying.

Shocked, Aetherdal had choked out, "Angel?"

The filly had replied, "No, it's a ventriloquist. Of course, it's me. Who else would be speaking to you with my voice?"

"Seriously, Angel. A little teasing is one thing, but this is . . . Wait. Why are you even in my dream?"

Another familiar voice had answered from behind. "She's not the only one here."

Aetherdal had spun around to face another colt. He stood and held his arms in the sign of a cross. "Stay back! I have garlic, and I'm not afraid to use it."

The leather-winged colt had rolled his eyes. "It's me, Solomon. I'm a thestral, dammit, not a vampire."

"Prove it."

Solomon had snatched the clove of garlic that had been dangling from Aetherdal's hand, chewed the bulb, and swallowed. "Satisfied?" he had asked.

Angel had pinched her nose shut with one hand and had waved with the other. "Wonderful. The smell that gets you coming and going."

Solomon had walked between the two and smacked them both in the backs of their heads.

"Enough joking around," Angel had said. "There is much we must discuss, and we don't have much time until you wake for real."

All hints of mirth had drained from Aetherdal's face when he had seen the funeral expression that Angel had worn.

Angel had led the Colts to a shady spot under an elm tree. Once all had been seated, she had said, "The story you are about to hear is real. We had hoped to keep you out of it, but that choice has been taken away from us. The first thing you need to know is that the world of magic is real, and both Solomon and I are from that world. I am a witch, and he is a wizard."

Aetherdal had rolled his eyes. "Go ahead and pull the other one."

Solomon had added, "We're serious. There's a war going on, and the other side thinks you're our secret weapon."

Angel had continued, "Our world was supposed to be a secret from yours. You had forced us to erase your memory each time you stumbled on it."

Aetherdal had frowned. "So, I wasn't going barmy. Those weren't yours to take."

Angel had shrugged. "It seemed kinder than killing you."

"You were a real trouper," Solomon had added. "If only you could use magic, we'd have been proud to add you to our team."

"What now?" Aetherdal had asked. "Are you going to erase my memories again?"

Shaking her head, Angel had replied, "No. The rules have changed, and so have we."

Aetherdal had deadpanned, "Could you say that again? You're a little horse."

"This is serious. We were brought here to help this world, and they, in turn, will help ours."

As one, both Solomon and Aetherdal had said, "Wait, what?" They had then looked at each other, pointed, and said, "Jinx!"

Exasperated, Angel had replied, "This is serious! We've been brought here by a powerful wizard named Discord. We're part of a true prophecy that involves six friends from this world. Let me show you a local program."

With a wave of her hand, a viewscreen had appeared in front of them. The colts had watched for a moment before Solomon had said, "'My Little Human'? That doesn't make any sense."

Puzzled, Aetherdal had added, "It's a cartoon for little girls. What does that have to do with us?"

Angel had said, "Look at the characters."

"That's our college study group!" Aetherdal had exclaimed.

Solomon had laughed. "We're toons." He had then pointed at Aetherdal's character.

Aetherdal had huffed. "I'm not fat; I'm just drawn that way."

Angel had sighed. "The worst part of it is half the folks here are humares."

Solomon had quipped, "Are those good humares, or is that ice cream?"

"Humares are adult fans of the show," Angel had replied. "The good news for us is that they are less likely to care about traditional gender roles."

Aetherdal had asked, "What do you mean?"

"Haven't you noticed how everyone treats you like you have 'special needs'?"

"Hey!" Solomon had exclaimed. "I'm still recuperating."

Aetherdal had added, "Now that you mention it, they don't let me do anything even remotely dangerous without an adult present."

"We're considered children now. The real problem comes when we reach a majority," Angel had said. "To be blunt, you two are stepping stones to some woman's career advancement."

Solomon had frowned. "Now that you mention it, Rainbow Dash had said that I could help her graduate from trainee to full Wonderbolt. Fluttershy also said that with my help, she could become a real veterinarian."

"Twilight and I are just friends," Aetherdal had insisted. Looking away, he had continued. "I do have to admit; I'm getting tired of being challenged to a duel every day."

"You two are husbands on the hoof. All of the higher positions require a mare in a relationship that can produce children. It's their attempt at eugenics." The colt had shied away from the anger radiating from Angel.

"Are you telling me that Rainbow and Fluttershy just want me for my body?" Solomon had asked. "I feel used." With more than a hint of sadness, he had added, "They were so nice to me. I thought we were friends."

Aetherdal had replied, "Maybe you are. I know Twilight is my friend."

"Open up your eyes!" Angel had exclaimed. "You are just a means to her ends."

Aetherdal had glared at her. "You haven't seen her when we're alone. It's the only time she can be herself. In public, I'm the only thing keeping her out of forced marriage. She may act like she's trying to seduce me, but that's all for show. If not for me, she'd have forced to marry a noble by year's end."

"I'll trust your judgment," Angel had grudgingly admitted. "As for you, Solomon, we can see if the girls care about you."

"What do you have in mind, Angel?" Solomon had asked as he edged closer.

"See what they do when you tell them you're already in a herd. I'm sure Aetherdal can cover you if you need to bail out."

Grumpily, Aetherdal had replied, "Of course, I have you covered. I'm still annoyed that you couldn't trust me." He had sighed. "I guess we all have secrets we need to keep."

With more than a hint of sadness, Solomon had replied, "It was either that or your life, Aetherdal."

Angel had then held him close and said, "I'll make it up to you; I promise. There's one more thing you need to do, though."

"What's that?" Aetherdal had asked.

"Wake up."

Aetherdal's eyes had shot wide open. The early morning sunshine had given the hospital room's ceiling a warm glow. He had turned to the spot of warmth to his side, only to find Twilight's head resting on the mattress as she slumbered in the chair next to his bed. Aetherdal had sighed as he went back to sleep.


Cloudsdale

The sensation of being sandwiched between two fillies had gone from comforting to confining. Solomon carefully worked his way free. One way or another, he would uncover the truth.

Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy both woke with a start. Where there had been a colt between them, there was now a pillow. They tumbled out of bed, frantically searching. The breathed a sigh of relief when they spotted Solomon sitting next to the window. Softly, they walked over and took their places at his sides.

"Morning. . . " Rainbow yawned. "Solomon."

Solomon deadpanned, "Morning."

With concern, Fluttershy hugged him gently. "What's wrong, Solomon?"

"I'm beginning to remember. I don't belong here; I belong with my herd."

"Herd?" exclaimed Rainbow Dash. "Where are they? We've got to get you there, stat!"

Fluttershy added, "They must be worried sick! We'll call a sky chariot! I should have enough bits saved up."

Solomon sighed. "It's not that easy. One of them is in Ponyville, and the other is in Canterlot."

Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash looked like each other, aghast. Rainbow asked, "So, your parents aren't living together?"

Shaking his head, Solomon replied, "They aren't living, period. It's just me and Angel and Aetherdal." His shoulders slumped. "We thought we'd conquer the world together. A fat lot of good that did."

"What happened?" asked Rainbow Dash.

"The folks that attacked me broke us apart."

Rainbow's eyes narrowed. "Wait a minute. You've been with us all this time. How do you know where they are?"

"My magic lets me visit their dreams. Angel is in Sweet Apple Acres with the Apple family, and Aetherdal is in a hospital in Canterlot with someone named Twilight Sparkle."

"That's amazing," said Fluttershy. "I thought you just had pegasus magic."

As she dragged Solomon by the hand, Rainbow Dash said, "Change of plans, Fluttershy. I know a filly who can help us."

Hastily, Fluttershy dumped Solomon's meager belongings into a valise and followed her friends.

"Where are we going?" asked Solomon as they reached the edge of the cloud.

"Ponyville. It's an easy glide."

Rainbow leaped, taking Solomon with her.

The thestral screamed, "Wait! I don't know how to fly!"