I am my own OC

by KittyrinnAiko

Chapter 65: Fate

“Living in the human world did me no harm,” I offered as the others pondered on what to do with Daisy. “Perhaps if you could place her in a good home there?”

“And remove or suppress any troublesome memory I suppose,” Tsuki mused.

“Take her memories?” AJ asked in protest. “How is she supposed to learn anything if she doesn’t know what she did that was wrong?”

“I doubt she understands what she did wrong and losing my memories did me no harm,” Rose offered. “Just the bad ones mind you. The ones no one really wants to remember. In my case, it was all the harsh treatment I’d received on the part of my piers. That and my murder.”

“Murder?” AJ asked in stunned astonishment.

“It’s complicated, I’d imagine,” I offered as if I hadn’t already known. “I’d say suppress so that she has a chance at a happy youth but leave them just under the surface so that perhaps she will remember where she went wrong at the appropriate intervals.”

“But to take her memories?” AJ protested.

“Applejack, the Elements of Harmony did much the same to me,” Mom offered. “And I’m to gather Nova had her memories suppressed as well.”

“It’s been a long time, but I’d say that’s true enough,” I offered. “I don’t recall a lot from when I first arrived in the human world and after a while, I thought that the memories I did retain were but the fantasy of youth. It wasn’t until I came back to Equestria that I understood that it had all been real.”

“A fresh start would seem the kindest thing to do,” Princess Diana offered.

“A chance at rehabilitation,” Prometheus offered. “After all, what good is punishment when it serves no purpose other than as reprisal? Oh, and I know all too well what punishment for the sake of reprisal is like.”

“Well, the way I see it, this fight is over. Heck, it was over before it even began,” AJ offered. “Can’t say aye don’t have mixed feelings about my participation in this little affair, but Princess Luna was the clear winner, and Daisy’s fate is in your hooves.”

“Louise, do we give her a fresh start in another world?” Tsuki asked.

“The alternatives would be Tartarus, frozen in stone, or if you wanted to be extra cruel, place her in one of her own homes,” Princess Diana offered with just a touch of condescension to her tone. “I’m sorry, but after everything that’s been said…”

“I fear that should I add her to my garden she’d be vandalized,” Celestia said softly. “I just can’t see any pony forgiving her any time soon.”

“We forgive for our own sake, not hers,” I offered. “And if she was still an adult I’d say give her an adult’s punishment. It just seems that the Elements of Harmony wanted to make a point here. She’s not an adult. She was not but a wayward filly in an adult's body who was pushing the limits just to see how much she could get away with. Even when faced with the impending punishment for her actions she still had the audacity to say it was not fair and try every angle she could think of to get out of what was coming to her.

“Well, as far as fair goes the only chance she has is to start over somewhere where no pony will know who she was,” I offered in a subdued tone. “And for that matter, the ponies of Equestria will want to know she’s being punished.”

“Sending her far far away might be the best thing to do all around. We could call it banishment. Say she’s been banished and imprisoned in the place she was banished to,” Celestia mused. “I’d imagine the magic of harmony reacted the way it did was because at that moment every pony saw her as a spoiled little brat.”

“Here’s hoping this has been a wake-up call for many here,” Tsuki offered.

“Doubt it,” Prince Prometheus drolled. Daisy had finally quieted down having succumbed to exhaustion. Or so I thought.

“Prometheus, why don’t you take her in yourself. You and Diana,” Princess Louise suggested.

“Moi?” Prometheus asked.

“I kind of have the feeling that your counterpart may be in some small part responsible for Miss Daisy’s wayward ways,” Tsuki suggested. “Adversity and strife do lead to innovation and progress after all.”

“True, but so does a life of social and economic equality along with plenty of opportunities which allow the thinkers to innovate and create. If only the ponies with the wealth were less snobbish and more open to spreading the wealth around,” he offered.

Daisy was too quiet.

What hadn’t occurred to me or any pony else is that her now diminutive size had made it possible for her to turn herself over and make a run for it.

“I’ll be right back,” I announced and walked back towards the audience who was still watching intently. How much had they seen? Did they know that Daisy was now a filly? Granted that at the time of mom’s final assault there’d been a lot of dust, and all that light may well have blinded… Could the harmony magic have blinded them to Daisy’s transformation? To be true, no pony seemed too concerned about the filly who’d run away.

I trotted close to the stands and called out, “did any pony see a filly?”

Several individuals pointed and I was soon in pursuit.

Granted that a pony would think that there could be no way she could get out of the arena… that is until I saw several guards congregating around a grate at the base of a grandstand.

“Any chance we know where that goes?” I asked as I approached.

“Princess… sorry your highness, no,” One of the guards offered.

“Well then, perhaps I’ll go have a look.”

“Sorry, your highness, we really can’t allow that.”

Several of the guards move to block me, not that I can blame them. “Understood,” I offered as I move over to the side of the grandstands. The audience looks down from their heights, and I give the ground a few taps. A moment later I’ve flipped over a large stone that had been covering the canal used to drain rainwater away from the arena.

I dropped down into it moments before they can rush to stop me.

“Princess, please don’t do this. It could be dangerous down there.”

A pony drops in behind me.

“Not without me you don’t,” Scootaloo admonished.

“Scoots, you were here?”

“And miss all the excitement? I wouldn't have missed it for the world.”

“Now let’s not do anything hasty,” cautioned one of the guards.

“Princess Nova,” I heard Shining Armor say as he too joined the group.

“It’s a drainage canal,” I informed him. I looked down at the point where Daisy had entered and spotted hoof tracks in the fine silt. “Looks like she’s gone in the other direction. Have the guard fan out and find the other drains, and I’ll check if she’s gone down any offshoots. No, don’t worry, it’s not like I’m going to be in any danger I can’t get myself out of.”

“Guards,” Shining began. “I doubt very much we are going to talk her out of this, and she’s just saying what I was about to suggest. Let’s fan out find the other drains and see if we can get a bearing on which way she went.”

“Bet you wish you could fit in here too,” I teased. He smiled.

“You know I do. Heck, if I’d have known about these when I was your age.”

“I bet Twilight knows about them. Maybe there is a map?” I offered. “Aunt Tia could send a letter to her.”

“Now why didn’t I think of that,” He replied and galloped off.

I’m pretty sure Princess Celestia and the others hadn’t even realized Daisy had gone. As for myself, I and Scootaloo took that moment to plunge into the twilight darkness of the buried canal.

A moment later I could hear mom and miss Lofty calling for us.

“We’ll be just a bit!” I called back. “It’s just a drainage canal and I can teleport out if I have to!”

“You be careful down there!” mom called back.

No, she didn’t sound happy about it, but that was as good as saying I know you are going to do it anyway so I’m just going to act like I’m OK with it. I’m fairly sure she wasn’t.

“Should we go back?” Scootaloo asked.

“Not just yet. I want to get some idea which way she went,” I offered and continued on.

A short time later we came to a culvert that connected a drainage canal on the other side and channeled all the runoff down a long dark tunnel that ran in both directions.

“Scootaloo, go let them know that there’s a connecting culvert down here, will you?”

“You think I should go back?”

“I’m really only planning on going a short way myself,” I offered. “As I said, I can teleport myself out. I’m not too sure if I can teleport both of us out. Anyway, it looks like it goes under the city. A lost pony might never find their way out.”

“You mean you can’t teleport three of us.”

“Well, there is that.” There is a moment of silence between us. “Listen, my ability to find my way in near-total darkness will be to my advantage, I have Moonie, and I can always light my way with a little fox fire…. Foxfire.

Why had I not thought of it before? After all, wasn’t the foxfire depicted as blazing from the tip of the tail?

“What are you doing?” Scootaloo asked as I lifted the end of my tail. I had to think about it for a bit, to redirect my manna flow to my tail wasn’t exactly the easiest thing to do. “Oh wow,” Scootaloo said softly.

“Look, there’s an old access hatch. Climb on up, and I’m going to follow Daisy’s tracks a bit longer.”

“And if the hatch won’t open?”

“Go back the way you came. If they can get that hatch open the guards can get down here.”

“Right, on it.”

So Scootaloo made for the hatch at the top of a short flight of steps within the culvert, and I continued to follow Daisy’s hoof-prints which now shined in the soft blue glow of my foxfire.

“No good, won’t open!” Scootaloo called. “I’ll go let them know the hatch is here.”

I turned long enough to watch her scamper down the canal we’d come out of. Once she was gone I turned back and continued down the tunnel. Nor did it take long to come to a larger chamber that lead off in multiple directions. Of course, there was one large opening as well. As for Daisy, she didn’t have the advantage of any form of light. Her tracks had gone straight out into the middle and veered to the left after hitting a stream. I quickly scraped stars on the passage wall I’d just come out with of my hooves in multiple spots to make spotting it again easier. Floor, inside walls, and outside the entrance. Once I’d done I followed after Daisy stopping only once I’d determined which path she’d taken. This time I used arrows pointing into the entrance.

I’d only gone a short way when the tunnel started to climb up a long flight of easy risers. Long shallow steps. When I reached the top it opened into a large chamber that looked a bit like an old guard room. Just as an experiment I cast fox fire at a nearby lantern hanging from the wall. It lit up with a soft almost white light that looked a bit like moonlight. Oddly fitting I thought to myself. Daisy’s path through the room had been like a pinball path bumping into things, getting turned around several times, and finally coming to a wall which she followed until she’d found an exit. And here the dust was heavy enough I hardly needed my enchanted fire to follow.

I debated if I should wait but somewhere down one of those corridors was Daisy blindly feeling her way through what looked to be an ever-increasing maze.

“Moonie?”

“I am here.”

“I’m glad,” I offered. She materialized in her toy form and took up her perch on my back.

“If you didn’t want to be alone why send Scootaloo back?”

“She’s a filly.”

“And you aren’t?” she asked as I started down the hall that Daisy had taken.

“I’m a grown woman in a filly’s body,” I offered as I lit another lamp. I could only wonder how long they would burn. Whatever fuel that may have been used would likely have evaporated long ago. There were the wicks though. I imagined that so long as the foxfire didn’t evaporate… how long would the light remain? A few minutes, an hour, longer? Perhaps a day? Human sources varied greatly as to the light of foxfire, but Bioluminescence could last up to 8 weeks when it occurred. I continued on making sure to mark which doors I’d gone through.

When Daisy’s tracks started going across doorways I knew she’d finally slowed down and was starting to think about what she was doing. Small doorways would be passed by, but large doors were ventured into.

“We are in the old mines, aren’t we?”

“That would be a fair assessment,” Moonie offered.

Now I was starting to get concerned. I stopped to think. How far could I go and still teleport out? “Moonie, have I gone too far? Can I still teleport out of here?”

“I think so,” she offered. “You are taking a mighty big risk.”

“I know. I can’t help but ask myself why? After everything she has done, but then again if I turn my back now, would I then be taking that first step to ruination that she took?” Moonie didn’t answer. Perhaps the question was just too abstract for her.

I took a big breath, let it out slowly, and continued on while marking my trail with foxfire lanterns and scratch marks my shoes cutting deep into the stone. Soon the path lead into a grand gallery with columns of crystal where high above hung wrought iron chandeliers suspended between. I attempted to light one only to have the line holding it aloft snap. The crash in the defining silence reverberated forever, or so it seemed. It did at least continue to glow with that ghostly pall from the foxfire.

“Well that’s done it,” Moonie offered. “Hang on, I’m going to try something…”

The next thing I knew I’d been engulfed in black and gold armor complete with night vision and heads up displays. “Moonie?”

“A little something I’ve been working on based on Princess Tsuki’s Iron Man armor.”

“Cool.”

“Also, we are not alone.”

“Daisy?”

“No. Douse the light.”

I doused my tail light as directed and discovered the place was lit by an odd greenish luminescence. “You aren’t projecting a green screen are you?”

“No, it’s from Changeling activities. We picked up a watcher a short time ago. I imagine our… change has them confused.”

“What is a Kitsune but a higher form of Changeling,” I offered with a smirk as I started forward once more. “I think I’ll just do my best to ignore them for now. Seems a strange place for Changelings to be lurking short of a scout looking for a place to set up shop.”

“Indeed. If what you have predicted concerning a possible invasion is to come to pass they would indeed wish to set up a base of operations.”

“And I doubt Idol wouldn't even bother to come all the way down here.”

“And at what point do we give up on Daisy?”

“Are you perhaps asking me why I’m even bothering?” Moonie kept quiet concerning my inquiry. “To be honest, I don’t really know other than the magic of Harmony seems to think she deserves another chance. Assuming that’s what this is all about. Me personally, I’m against indefinite incarceration that doesn’t even allow for the release of death. But then again, who’s to say that isn’t why she’s down here. It would have been so much easier to follow that stream we crossed as it’s bound to lead out at some point. It would need to. No, she’s just blindly going deeper and deeper…”

🏛

Before me opened a large arch that gated a grand cavernous hall with stairs going both up and down. So large was it that even with Moonie's ability we were unable to see the full expanse of it. Daisy had at least stuck to the sides and whether by design or intent had chosen a staircase that lead upwards. As for my thoughts on the place, the first thing that came to mind: for the world is hollow and I have touched the sky. Or at the very least, this lonely mountain was.

“I hope you know what you are doing because we are too deep to safely teleport out now,” Moonie offered as though it was nothing.

“Short of the changelings deliberately trying to block the way back that shouldn't be an issue, and I’d expect the Canterlot Guard should be tracking us by now,” I offered, unfolded my wings, and lifted into the air rather than climb all those steps.

Higher and higher I climbed, and in the stillness, I could hear Daisy slowly making her way up the steps.

“Daisy, stop!” I called out. “You can’t run forever!”

“And why not?!” She shouted back. “And don’t act like you care!”

“But I do care! That’s half the trouble! I care! We all do! We just don’t know how to go forward at this point!”

“Ya, I heard you all talking! Deciding my fate!”

“Did the magic of harmony not show you anything?!” I called up as I continued to climb in lazy spirals.

“Why do you even care!”

“Wish I knew! I mean, why should I care about you?!”

Daisy was still on the move by the sounds of her hoof-steps and by the sound of it pushing herself as fast as that little body could go and still breath.

“I saw every bad decision I ever made. I saw myself slowly sink into ruination.” She’s not shouting now and it sounds like she’s stopped for the moment. “I have done horrible things.”

“This may sound callous, but it’s not all bad,” I called up. “Our getting our hooves on your airship means we’ll have a better chance against the Storm King.”

“How do you know about the Storm King?!” She shouts back.

“I am Kitsune. I know things!”

She’s running again.

The next thing I know I’m avoiding chunks of a falling staircase along with Miss Daisy who is screaming as she zips past.

Dive! Dive! Dive! I think to myself as I plunge after her.

How deep is this pit?

I’m still diving.

Deeper and deeper I go; slowly close the gap.

Why am I doing this? Why am I risking myself for her?

Because I must.

Down and down, faster and faster, and I’m fairly sure Daisy is at terminal velocity.

“Moonie?”

“Yes?”

“Epic music to boost my courage?”

“I can’t see the bottom.” She starts playing a soundtrack anyway.

“At the rate I’m going even when I catch up it’s going to take a while to slow down.”

I’m closing in.

Daisy has passed out.

I’ve got her in my magic, in my front legs, my arms…

“Selena mark that spot!” I shout. I’m looking at what appears to be the night sky. That hole in the ground…

..it’s full of stars.

“I’m mapping it. I’ve mapped our entire journey.” Selena offered. Both I and Daisy are in human form.

Below me a world is approaching at an alarming pace and I instinctively spread my wings.

Do I still have wings?

Yes! And thrusters apparently. And it’s a good thing I’ve got my magic wrapped around Miss Daisy or the heat of entry would have scorched her crisp by now. Or so I imagine. At the very least some nasty wind burns as Daisy is now dressed in a simple nightgown. At least we’ve slowed to a more reasonable speed.

Down below in the Moon’s light I can see lakes, rivers, mountains, forests, roads, villages… up ahead there is a city. That’s when a thought struck me that this is exactly what I’m supposed to do. I need to take her to that place. I need to deliver her safely. Let Equestria think she fell to her doom, and hopefully, I will find my way back.

Road sign along the highway says Welcome to Derry, Maine. The name kind of rings a bell, but it looks like a fairly nice place. I’m not seeing a lot of what I’d expect to see in a place that would be a bad place to leave her, so I drop on down to an all-night diner walk in, set the sleeping child in a booth, and walk out. The hand full of people all looking at me like I’m some kind of demon. Never mind, who cares, this is surely what I’m supposed to do and hopefully, I’ll not have second thoughts after it’s too late. A moment later I’m back in the air and winging my way back to the point I entered this world.

Selena has me pinpointed as I rocket heavenward.

Higher.

Higher.

Higher still.

Suddenly I’m in a vast chamber rocketing upwards. I’m a pony again. When I hazard a glance beneath me I see a floor that has vast magical inscriptions and patterns. I just have to trust that I did the right thing.

Up above, well ahead of me I see a dim flickering light. A star that has been brought in to guide me.

It takes a bit longer to get back to the spot I came out at and when I do I see Shining Armor, Luna, and about a dozen Canterlot Royal Guards.

“Better put away the armor,” I say to Selena as I approach. They are looking rather apprehensive, but relax when they see it’s me.

“What were you doing down there!” Mom shouts.

I don’t say anything, I just go in for the hug.

“Nova?” mom presses, her tone a bit softer.

“There’s a portal of some sort down there. She’s gone now,” I offered. Let’s just get out of here.”

“Can I ask what that armor was?” Shining Armor pressed.

“My little Moonie copied Princess Tsuki’s armor,” I explained. “Come on, there are changelings down here.”

“What?” several ponies ask all at the same time.

“Not like Idol can’t deal with it,” I offered and started the long trek back to the surface. The other’s hesitated only for a moment and follow.

Comments

[harts fire]

this is a fitting ending to this story ark.
and Idol is talked about more.

this story is just supper impressive.

[KittyrinnAiko]

10999124
I've one more and then I'm calling it done.

[midnight arrow]

both chapter are really good

[DarkPhoenixx]

Nice chapter.
Happy to see you're back.

[Wagooigi]

Derry, Maine isn't that the setting of IT the Stephan King novel?

[KittyrinnAiko]

11341809
E-yup.

[Kentavritsa]

..it’s full of stars.

is this supposed to be a refference, because I sense "2001 - a space oddisy"

[KittyrinnAiko]

11502480
That's exactly what that is. The bottom of the shaft is a portal to another world, they come in at night and the first thing that came to mind to describe what Nova sees is the line from 2001 A Space Odicy.