Chapter 11
You were surprised when woke up. Those wolf things no doubt did a number on you, and that with the previous damage from the Ursa Minor and what you did to yourself getting here could have easily done you in. Yet here you were, alive.
Not that being alive felt so great at the moment. To say it hurt would be…inaccurate. It hurt to move, hurt to breathe. Not as much as you thought it should, just kind of a constant, dull ache. Maybe your nerves were completely shot? But regardless, you were alive. So there was that.
Taking a look around, you were in what looked to be a tree. Now that you thought about it, Zecora’s place was also a tree. But this had wall-to-wall books, with a staircase leading upwards carved into the far side. There were branches and leaves outside the windows and the faint twitter of birds in what you believed to be the morning sun. You shifted slightly and felt a familiar tingle run from your foot to your gut.
You were in another god-damned circle.
Had the cult somehow escaped and found you? If they had you, then they had Amber, and OHGODWHEREWAS-
Approaching voices snapped you to the present. They were close. With little in the way of options, you played dead. Given how you felt, it was easy. You left one eye cracked open to see what was happening as the door opened.
Six ponies entered the room, and your heart sank. The cultists, you could handle. You had left with reasonably good standing with them, and could probably bullshit some reason to buy time. But Pony Team Six? Likely not. And, true to your current streak of luck, they were exactly who walked in.
They didn’t look happy. Bad sign.
Although, they seemed to be having an…argument? Good sign? Maybe?
“I just don’t get why we can’t just get rid of it and be done already!” Pride Pony snarled.
Yeehaw nodded.
“As much as Ah like savin’ the world ‘gain, I got the harvest ta think about.”
“And my orders have simply been piling up.” Prissy whined.
“DO YOU KNOW HOW MANY BIRTHDAY PARTIES I HAVE TO MAKE UP FOR ‘CAUSE OF THIS!?” Bouncy screamed, shaking Purple like a ragdoll.
“Um…one?” Wimpy answered. “And I don’t need a party if it’s too much trouble…”
“It’s the principle!” Bouncy replied.
“I know girls, but we need to know why it resisted the Elements before we try again. I’m worried it did something to them, or they could be broken, or maybe it’s too powerful for them or-“ this went on for a few minutes, with Purple becoming more frantic and coming with increasingly ridiculous scenarios.
A new face appeared. You hadn’t seen it immediately because it was much smaller than the ponies (which was saying something) and was hidden behind Purple. It looked like a purple, bipedal lizard of some kind. It rested a claw on Purple’s leg.
“Chill. It’s not doing anything right now.”
“Yeah, those Timberwolves really did a number on it.” Yeehaw added.
“Is it even still alive?” Pride Pony wondered.
All eyes turned to you. You tried your best to melt into the floor. Sadly, it didn’t work.
Lizzie cautiously walked up next to your circle.
“Careful, don’t break the circle.” Purple warned “It’s the only thing keeping in contained.
Yeah you wish. You thought. That’d be the broken bones.
The lizard nodded and reached over the circle and poked your arm. It felt like a light jab from a pencil, and you managed to not react. It poked again with the same result. If you could just manage to keep up the façade, maybe-
-POW-
The stupid salamander punched you in the side! Exactly where you should be punched the least. Agony bloomed across your chest like a wildfire, and you couldn’t contain yourself any longer.
“GAH! FUCK!” you screamed, sending Lizzie scrambling across the room in a panic as you writhed in pain on the floor.
The pain subsided after a moment and you blinked through the tears that had formed. Pony Team Six had huddled up together, each taking your reaction differently. Purple was cautious, energy pulsing on her horn. Pride was ready to brawl her wings outstretched. Yeehaw had got some rope from…somewhere and was twirling it around her head. Prissy’s horn was also glowing, but she looked less confident about all this. Bouncy was, well bouncing, with a grin that genuinely made you uncomfortable. Lizzie was staring you down bravely from behind Purple’s legs. Wimpy looked ready to faint.
“Don’t…don’t you move!” Purple finally choked out, sounding far less confident than she’d likely wanted to. ‘N-not that you can, that circle is ten times stronger than the one you were summoned with. At a fraction of the size!” She sounded a little prideful of that.
“Trust me, moving’s the last thing I want to do right now.” You moaned.
“Oh, well…good.” The group relaxed. Slightly.
There was a long pause. It was…awkward. No one seemed to know what to do.
You decided to break the ice with the most important question on your mind.
“Where is Amber?”
Purple’s face darkened.
“Recovering. And out of your reach.”
“Yeah!” Pride Pony added “And we’re gonna undo whatever weird mind-stuff you did to her!”
“Is…Is she going to be alright?”
That seemed to surprise her. She looked to her companions, who shrugged.
“Um…yes…?”
There was another pause. Suddenly, you started laughing. And crying. Sure, it sent wave after wave of pain throughout your body, but it was nothing compared to the wave of relief that flooded over you. It overwhelmed your senses, driving you to act like some deranged lunatic on the floor.
But it didn’t matter.
Amber was going to be okay.
Your outburst had, unsurprisingly, confused the hell out of the ponies and lizard thing. They formed a small huddle, whispering to themselves and occasionally casting suspicious glances in your direction. As you managed to reel yourself in, Purple approached you.
“Why do you care what happens to her?” she asked you bluntly.
“Because she’s my friend. The only one I’ve got here.” You immediately replied. “She got hurt because of me.”
That seemed to surprise them, as they looked at each other in shock. More whispering.
“You…w-want to make…friends…?” Wimpy squeaked from the back.
“I mean, I’m not against the idea.”
“The why tha hay didn’t ya jus’ say so in the beginning!?” Yeehaw growled.
You raised an eyebrow.
“Well considering our relationship started off so gloriously with you trying to flatten me with weaponized rainbows, I didn’t think making friends was very high on your priority list.”
Suddenly, Pride Pony was in your face.
“Because you’re demon! Why would you want to be friends!?” she shrieked.
If you could raise your arms, you would have facepalmed.
“Oh fuck, I almost forgot about…I’m not a demon.” You groaned.
Prissy laughed nervously.
“Oh of course you are, I mean…just look at you!”
You glared at her.
“Okay, rude. What’s that supposed to mean?”
She coughed and looked away instead of replying.
“What she means is those crazy ponies were tryin’ ta summon a demon ta overthrow tha Princesses! And well…here you are!” Yeehaw piped up. “Ah ain’t seen anythin’ like ya ‘fore, an’ ya popped right outta a magic circle!”
“Like popcorn!” Bouncy interjected “But eeeevilllll…”
“And just because they were trying for something, that means they got it?” you retorted.
None of them seemed to know how to respond to that. So, you continued.
“And even if I am a demon, which I’m not, why do you assume I have some malicious plot? Regardless of what I am, I’ve been ripped across time and space to a completely alien world with magical talking horses, bipedal cave dogs, giant sparkly bears, and wolves made out of scrap wood. The only reason I have to stay here is to make sure Amber’s okay. That’s it.”
“Well…the original circle did have a few inaccuracies…not to mention the inefficient mana use…it could have resulted in a faulty summon, and pulled a random creature from a random plane of existence…” Purple half-murmured as she rubbed her chin.
“And aren’t demons supposed to be, like, suuuuper-duper-extra-special-tough?” Bouncy chimed in as appeared next to you in a lab coat. She pulled a stethoscope from a pocket and placed it on your forehead. “But all these bones are crumpled up like used cupcake wrappers!”
The others murmured to themselves, becoming increasingly unsure of the situation.
“Are you all seriously buying this?” Pride Pony complained, “It’s obviously lying to try and trick us! As soon as we let our guard down, then WHAM! ” she stomped a hoof to punctuate her point.
There was a long silence as the group weighed their options.
“I believe him.” Wimpy finally said.
“I- what-…WHY!?” P.P. demanded.
“It doesn’t make sense. Why would he risk coming to us? He can barely move because he’s so injured. How could he possibly gain anything from coming straight to us when he’s so vulnerable?” the yellow pony responded calmly as she stepped between you and the raging Pegasus.
“For Amber.” You answered. “Besides, I didn’t even know you all were here. I just knew there was a town with a hospital here. Amber needed professional help, and that’s it. How can I plan to trick you if I didn’t even know you were here?”
Pride Pony opened her mouth to retort but couldn’t seem to come up with anything. Instead, she crossed her forelegs and began brooding. Which, on a small blue horse, looked adorable.
Purple cleared her throat.
“There’s just one thing I don’t understand.” She inquired “When we found you, you and ‘Amber’ were already bandaged. By somepony who knew what they were doing, by the looks of it.”
She looked you up and down.
“Not you, obviously.”
“Rude. But accurate. Your point?”
“I just want to know who helped you before you got here.”
You thought for a moment. Yeah, it would be simple enough to tell them about Zecora, but would she get in trouble?
“Why does it matter? Are you going to punish them or something for aiding and abetting a wanted fugitive?”
Purple looked horrified for a moment.
“N-No! I just want to get an idea of what happened, is all.”
She seemed sincere enough. You decided to give her what she wanted and told her about the Ursa Minor, Zecora, and the events leading you here. The group listened with…mixed expressions. Pride Pony was still fuming in the corner, and Prissy and Yeehaw still looked to be doubtful. Purple listed with reserved attention, while Bouncy, Wimpy, and Lizzie seemed to be enraptured.
“And the next thing I knew, I woke up here on the cold, hard, floor.” You finished “Seriously would it have killed you to put a pillow or something here?”
“Well, we didn’t think about it…” Wimpy mumbled. “We can find you one…”
“Not that you deserve it!” Pride Pony yelled from across the room, earning a surprisingly intense death glare from Wimpy. The rainbow horse immediately shrunk away and mumbled something that could have been an apology of some kind. Maybe you should rethink calling the dainty Pegasus ‘Wimpy.’
“Hey, uh, can I ask something?” Lizzie asked.
“Shoot.”
“Why’d you leave Zecora’s? Seemed like you were safe there.”
“I was worried about Amber. Zecora said she was stable, but I couldn’t risk something happening to make her worse. And since I couldn’t be left for too long, she wasn’t willing to make the trip.”
“But didn’t you say she left frequently?” Prissy chimed in. “Including when you escaped.”
“Not for long. About a half-hour at most. Long enough to slip out, but not long enough for a predator to try something.”
“But then why would you take the risk of taking her yourself?” Wimpy questioned “Two wounded creatures would draw in all kinds of predators. Why not wait until you were strong enough to not hurt yourself walking?”
You sighed and mentally rubbed the bridge of your nose.
“Look, I was worried, desperate, and on some kind of homemade morphine. Critical thought wasn’t exactly happening at that point.”
“…Fair enough.” Purple shrugged.
“I just hope Zecora isn’t too worried about us.” You said, “Maybe someone should go and-“
The door flew open with a SLAM! and revealed an incredibly pissed-off zebra, her crystal-blue eyes resembling pinpricks of thinly veiled rage.
She addressed the room with a disturbing calm.
“If that idiot lives, he earned quite the bill. That’s what he gets for leaving my goodwill.”
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Imma explode in emotion and joy.
You made mane 6 sociopaths
Hu... no, Common logic scored 1, Pony 0.
10517389
They start to show empathy after they get to know him.
Adult humans are not "cute" looking, and very different species from ponies. It is quite expected that they are unable to show any empathy towards him, especially if they think him to be a demon. (that changes after they realize he is a person)
The situation would be very different if reversed: G4 ponies are especially "cute" by human standards at instinctual level. Most humans would empathize at first sight with them. That would clash with human xenophobia instincts: humans are wired to hate/fear any thinking creature which is different from them, because they are competition for resources.
10517389
Nah, made 'em worried.
Also, the zebra is not in joy, do not try to play coy.
Beautyful chapter
Badass Zebra is badass
Anon is so fucked up he will be spending the next weeks/months in a hospital... Unless Zecora kill him first for almost getting himself killed
Yes. Very happy with Zecora. Hope we see more of her. Also hope he's OK as well obviously.... but more zecora.
Looking forward to the next chapter.
Well, at least they didnt immediately put him on Ice.
As for Lizzie, thats going to be confusing for gender assignment?
10517469
Does it matter?
Seem pretty good so far!
Por favor continue nunca vi nada igual ao que você fez antes, parabéns.
( preguiça de escrever em inglês, descupa)
Equestria on Anon...
First Alien contact and than this...
Alright, now to start the timer from peaceful to out of hand chaos starting..... NOW!
I would start a timer for, Rainbow Dash apologizes for being an accusatory prick, but I'm running out of clocks for that one.
Fun fact! Morphine is named after Morpheus, the Greek God of Dreams. Therefor, Luna is responsible for the underground morphine trade in Equestria.
10517469
Lizzie is short for Lizard, referring to Spike. Considering that Spike is actually voiced by a woman, there is reason enough that the MC wouldn't know the proper gender assignment.
Rainbow Dash! That term is very offensive! Please refer to them as mortally challenged.
I almost want to complain about how stupid the main 6 are being about the whole demon thing, but then I remember the actual TV show and the fact that they act this dumb all the damn time. I swear it feels like 90% of the conflicts from the TV show all stemmed from the main characters being idiots.
10517601
My theory is the Mane 6 actually represent the spectrum of mental illness.
Lol
10517601
It's almost as if you're watching a show meant for children under the age of 13.
Nevermind the fact that many conflicts throughout all forms of media usually involve a character being stupid as the initial trigger.
But noooo....
Welp, he’s definitely f-f-f-f-fuuuuuuuuuucked.
I swear, Zecora is the only horse...zebra, with some good sense !
I actually love your portrait of the mane 6. If Celestia said he was a demon, never in one hundred years they would think otherwise.
Bill?
And how, exactly, do you expect him to pay it?
Also, will he be compensated for the punch and potentially broken ribs from Spike?
10517666
He hasn't yet, but if he did, do you think Zacora might give him a discount on his bill?
The 6 in this story are assholes. The guy was broken to high hell and they didn't even have the compassion to help him.
Why is it that when I read these stories where essentially the MC is, in one way or another, placed against the friendship is magic ponies I get sudden aggression deep in my chest as if I need to assert my radically different human nature? An instinctual reaction perhaps?
Welp, give me Doomguy's life because I'd sure like to go that route than have this Zecora pissed at me. She sounds absolutely terrifying.
10517850
Agreed.
10517791
Money and currency are not the only ways to pay someone.
We may be looking at a future where Anon will be doing various annoying tasks for Zecora, not that he doesn't deserve it. Being responsible means taking actions and accepting the consequence of those actions.
Even when on home-brew morphine.
Friendship (Attempted murder on an innocent person) Is Magic!
10517882
But what did he do that he needs to take responsibility for? The only one who got hurt was himself--all he essentially did was disregard his Doctor's orders.
Solid chapter. I love it!
If not for Anon fucked bonestructure integraty he would be like:
But now he can just lay there and wait for all the future snu-snus to come... Poor Anon...
Communication is happening!!!
Zecora made this chapter.
Good old RD sticking to her preconceptions in the face of undeniable evidence.
To be fair, the standard demon is a hairless creature, humans are demonic because we described ourselves when making them up. Mostly because we hate ourselves...
At least they're not on the run anymore. For better or worse...
Keep going! ;)
10517430
OBJECTION!!
Elephants find humans to be "cute".
But you're spot on with everything else.
10518143
Elephants are weird.
10518179
Yes.
Whoopsies. Mistakes maaaaay have been made...
Zecora...is Pissed......that's 1st........
& Run For your Lives!!!
10517943
"My Little Mindwipe! Murder Is Magic!"
Doesn't Zecora have any means of protection at all for her home? Living that long in the Everfree it is literally impossible to convince me that she lacked a means of protecting her home for a length of time where she can't actively be doing something.
10517626
ADHD
OCD
Anxiety
Narcissism
Erm... Aspergers? (based on a complete lack of social tact)
... Applejack?
Help me out here a little bit. I can't think of good ones for Rainbow and AJ.
10519262
I would say Fluttershy has anxiety, Rainbow Dash suffers from Depression, Twilight suffers from OCD, Pinkie suffers from hallucination and psychology, Applejack struggles with stress, and Rarity struggles with imperfection and Bipolar Disorder.
10519262
I think Rainbow suffers from feelings of inferiority.
Applejack is a workaholic.
Rarity might have histrionic personality disorder.
10519334
While suffering from psychology is an interestingly meta idea, I think you meant psychosis.
Edit: oops, double comment, sorry.
10519471
You are forgetting that Pinkie requires meta explanations as she is the very definition of meta. Pinkamena meme is not true Pinkamena. It was just Pinkie having an emotional breakdown and existential crisis for stupid reasons.
10519478
I know she does. I personally believe she's seen behind the veil of reality and truly understands it and thus operates on a different level than anyone else :)
I was actually referring to this line of yours:
You don't suffer from "psychology". Psychology is the discipline, not any of the illnesses.
10517968
Zecora spent a lot of time, effort, and resources healing a broken man and mare.
Instead of doing whatever she had planned that week, Zecora instead decided to help two strangers near death's door. She likely used a lot of herbs to disinfect wounds and prevent infection, not to forget the materials used to make the homebrew morphine.
Zecora did all this, and the only thing she asked in return was for our guy to wait until they were healthy enough to move around without help.
Buuuut, he went against Zecroa's reasonable request and foolishly rushed into a forest at night with big predators roaming about.
If I was a doctor and my patient, that I had spent time and sweat keeping alive, just ran off into a place where they would die and waste my goodwill...
I would be mighty pissed too.
10519483
Besides seeming to have multiple possible diagnosis all at once, she seemed to actually suffer from personality shifts in the gummy birthday episode. It wasn't exactly MPD, so I can't think of what to call it other than that.