Slave of Eternity

by Secrets and Lies

1

Author's Note:

Revised December 26th, 2013

Slave of Eternity

Written By:

Secrets and Lies

Edited By:

jackal4563, Rainbow Cyder and Chann

For my friends: the ones who accepted who I was.

(Part 1)

“Humans are amphibians - half spirit and half animal. As spirits they belong to the eternal world, but as animals they inhabit time.” - C.S. Lewis

(1)

A red sun rose into the star hung sky, this was not of Celestia’s doing. The great ball of fire floated far off, an idol to the planet it gave life to. The bloody rays of the sun shimmered off of the sand below. The land, as far as the eye could see, was nothing but drifts of dark pebbles, a desert of blackness. Towering dunes, much like crashing ocean waves, sprawled over the land–the wind whipping sand over their heads. The temperature rose as blistering heat came with the sun; mirages, floating seas of sand, fooled the eye when scanning the wasteland. In the distance, one could see billows of sand clouds, stirred asunder by the ill weather. An eye of a storm surrounded the desert, spinning slowly and watching always. In the hole of the hurricane however, was a calm and assuring sapphire blue. The deep red sun stood low in the east, piercing through the storm and gazing over the troubled planet.

A human, much like yourself, stood high atop a dark dune, observing the morning. Dressed in veils of ivory, cloth hung over him, concealing his identity and protecting him from the harsh gales and piercing sand. The human stood tall, the human stood strong. An white cape hung around him and fluttered in the coming winds, its length impressive for a cloak. His hands and feet were tied in bandages, and on his side he gripped the handle of his blade. The white sword who had met many foes in combat, the one legend’s speak of as, ‘The Prevailer’.

A step was taken and onward he continued. Through the black wasteland he over looked the forever stretching horizons as he proceeded. The blinding rays of red pushed back the shadows of the dunes, creating a lit trail up the sandy mounds. The wanderer climbed the next dune, the highest one for miles around. With each ascending step, his strength wained. He felt like he had been walking for days; however, for some reason, he was no longer sure of how long he had been traveling. A quest with no meaning plagued his mind as he neared the top of the black hill. A gust of wind blew over and down the steep slope as the wanderer dug his toes into the sand, keeping steady. Over the dune and carried by the wind, something flew towards the wanderer. He saw this and grabbed it in midair as it passed by. A light blue cloth, a bow for a dress it appeared to be. It seemed so familiar to the wanderer that he kept it and climbed onward.

He had finally reached the summit of the dune, the treacherous and grueling climb was over. He now looked over a dismal sight, one he thought he would never see. Billows of black smoke blew from the wrecked debris. Great walls of old were now rubble buried in the sand. Slanted towers were sunk in the black sands, weather-torn flags flapped in the brutal winds below. The wanderer did not know what it was he was looking at at first, but then a sign showed itself. Through the dying fires, boulders of rubble and demolished buildings stood a lone and toppled stone baring a familiar emblem. He squinted, seeing if he could make it out from the distance. He removed the mask of clothes from his face, revealing long and flowing brown hair, deep hazel eyes and a well grown out beard that covered his mouth and chin. He was young, but his face was rough, strong and had seen many battles. He only sighed discovering who the emblem belonged to, it was from the Equestrian Kingdoms. This was none other than Canterlot Castle, buried in a black sea of sand.

He tied the blue cloth he caught around his head, keeping his long, unkept and thin hair out of his vision. He looked up into the blue skies to see a shattered moon. Large chunks of the celestial object still floated in orbit around the planet. The wanderer did not remember this, but it, along with the destroyed city of Canterlot, did not surprise him the least. His emotions stayed steady as his eyes continued to hover over the desert landscape. He wondered what could have caused such a disaster.

He heard a noise far behind him. The wanderer slowly turned to see that on a high dune away from him, another human stood. The humanoid bore an outfit similar to the wanderer’s, but instead of it being ivory in color, it was black, blacker than the sands around them. A crimson cape fluttered in the wind behind the figure, who was faced away from the wanderer. The wanderer began to make his way over to the figure to confront it.

As the wanderer made his way up on top of the figure’s dune, he stopped and waited for him to turn around. The figure moved slowly to greet the wanderer, his face resembled the his, but it appeared shaven and its eyes golden yellow. His piercing pupils stood out from the blue skies behind him, making them almost appear glowing. He smiled, showing his jagged teeth, and looked over the wreckage of Canterlot Castle.

He spoke smoothly, “You must be... him...” The wanderer spoke no words, only staring deep into the mimicking creature’s eyes. The sound of their capes flapping, distance fires and wind blowing over the desert filled their ears.

It continued with joy, “Do you like what I’ve done to the place?”

“Who are you,” The wanderer said sternly.

The man licked his cracked, dry lips and replied, “I am God.”

“Cut the bull shit. Who are you?”

The creature rose its hands and replied once again with fierceness, “A humble messenger... but a God among these slaughtered here. You must be... Zachary... I’ve heard so much about you.”

Zack questioned, “What’s happened here?” The messenger took a step near the edge of the dune, overlooking the carnage. He crossed his hands behind his back and eagerly peered over the dead lands.

“Time. War. Desolation. A few words to describe the end of these radiant lands... These fruitful hills. I am a messenger, I am a God, I am whomever you say I am... Now, who are you? Why were you not here to protect these creatures who put so much petty faith in you? Do you really want to know why this happened? Do you want to know what caused this beautiful catastrophe?”

After an unbroken silence, the messenger snickered, “Chaos... Chaos, my good man!” The messenger overflowed with hysterical laughter as Zack stood firm. Zack turned his head to look over the burning sight once more, lost in deep thought.

“The ponies–” The messenger stammered out of laughter, “–the ponies are all dead and it’s all your fault!” Zachary looked down and back up at the messenger who was regaining his composure.

“I don’t remember this, I–... It seems like I haven’t been here in a very long time...” The messenger sobered up and locked eyes with Zack.

The messenger articulated, “You are an idol among the gods; your existence is only to be an instrument to us. Yet we all need you, so we must all fight to claim you. Through you, harmony and disharmony can be achieved. You are a vessel we must travel on to get where we must go.”

“And where might that be?”

He raised his eyes and arms into the air and answered, “To wherever we want, of course!”

A sudden pain shot through Zack’s body. It felt as if an electrical current flowed through his veins, shocking and gripping at his heart. He stepped back and gasped for air. He began to feel lightheaded. Zack couldn’t believe what had happened. He didn’t want to believe, he fought against the truth. He tightened his eyes closed and steadied his wobbling body. The messenger only grinned as he took a few more steps towards the ill Zachary.

Zack stammered, “This... this is a dream... It has to be!”

The messenger calmly challenged, “Well, if it is a dream, go on... wake up.” Zack looked up at the messenger, his facial features slowly contorting into a creature he could no longer identify as himself.

He spoke again, waving his hand in front of Zack’s face, “You know, just, wake up!”

Darkness overcame Zack. He felt as if his body was no more than air and his troubled emotions had washed away. Nothing could be heard except his own heart beat. He floated lifelessly in the void, as still and as silent as he could. He felt as if he had regained his body as he felt his back touch something soft. Zack’s sense of balance was soon restored as he felt that he was lying upon something. Something could be heard in the far off void, still dark and desolate. The faint rustling of branches in a calm breeze. A song bird chirping out to its kin. A gentle flow of a nearby stream. Another noise soon called out to him. A voice he hadn’t heard in a very long time. So long, that distant memories flooded his mind as soon as he recognized the forgotten voice.

“Zachary...” she called out. She sounded not too far away, that maybe he could reach his hand out and touch her. Though he was still in the dark, he did not try to call back to her, for he knew it had to be a trick.

“Zachary...” she said again in a voice so calm and sweet. Light finally entered his eyes. Blinding at first, but slowly adjusting to his new surroundings. Zack found himself in a sun bathed meadow along side a familiar, stony creek. The sun’s rays warmed his cold skin as he lay silently, taking in the strange event occurring. The temperature was no longer like the blistering heat of the desert, but cool like a gentle Summer’s afternoon. He lay on the grass, staring up into the noon skies; it appeared around five in the evening by the light outside.

He slowly turned his head to see who he thought it was. He showed no emotion of surprise as he laid eyes on her, he only smiled as their eyes met once again. The woman who had called out to him smiled back, she too was lying in the grass next to him. Her long, red locks curled around the back of her neck and onto the green earth, shimmering in the afternoon sun. Her freckles speckled the face she adorned, but his eyes were deeply entranced in her cyan iris’.

She spoke softly, “Zachary... it’s been so long... I’ve missed you...”

His heart brimmed with the warmth of happiness as he responded, “Caroline... Where have you been?”

She sighed and replied with a faint smile, “You left me, remember?” Zack’s expression soon changed with the coming memories of why he left her.

He only replied with, “Oh...”

“You moved away to college... you left your little town to never come back. I know you told me that our relationship would never work out, being that we were now hundreds of miles apart... but I couldn’t come to it.”

“I’m sorry,” was all he could muster to say.

“Did you cheat on me?”

“How could I give up all we’ve been through?”

The two of them smiled as they remained in eye contact. Zack could smell the shampoo she used in her velvet hair, the one she knew he liked. Caroline eased her hand across the grass and held it within Zachary’s.

Caroline said, “Just like old times... Down at creek side, lying in the grass with my lover. We use to spend so much time down here, just the two of us. Oh, how I’ve missed it.”

“Me too,” he agreed as he sat up a bit, resting his head on his hand with his elbow in the grass. He looked over the familiar scene in front of him. Their little spot at the old watering hole was just like he remembered it. Zack lowered his eyes then quickly brought them back over to Caroline who was deeply engrossed in Zack’s appearance.

Zachary asked, “Could I perhaps ask you a question, baby?”

“Anything, babe.”

He questioned with hesitance, “I’m not really sure how to put this, but–". He thought for a moment before continuing, "–What’s it like to be a character inside a dream? I’m not sure if you’ll be able to answer that question... but I’m just trying to figure out what’s going on before I forget again or wake up.”

She lay there with a quizzical look on her face, but she soon broke eye contact and looked away across the creek. He followed her eye line over the water where they watched a glowing white pony with a flowing, yellow mane looking back over at them. The animal was a blur to Zack, he couldn’t see any real defined details upon it. Its purple eyes scanned over the two before it faded out to nothingness.

Zack turned back to Caroline and asked, “I’ve seen that pony before, in other dreams in the past. What is it?”

She answered with a cold tone, “Something that has yet to come...”

Zack stood up and pressed, “What’s going on?”

She got up on her feet as well and replied, “Walk with me.” The two calmly began to walk beside the dream creek, making sure that each step was firmly placed so that they wouldn’t accidentally slip into the water.

Zack called out ahead, “So, who are you?” She raised her arms to her sides to keep her balance along the creekside.

She answered back, “I’m you, in a sense.” She turned and continued, “I’m your conscious. Or, if you prefer, your instinct in a somewhat physical form you can comprehend for this time being.”

Zack asked, “So you’re not Caroline? And can’t I just wake up?”

“Nope, I only personify her with your memories. And you could, but you’re not going to.”

“So, back to you being me... then what does that make me... if that makes sense? Does that make sense?”

“You’re still you, but, let’s not go into that rabbit hole just yet. We have little time to talk.”

Zack stopped and asked himself out loud, “How is this even possible, how cou–”

Caroline hushed his lips with her finger and replied, “Let’s just say that in desperate times, I have to directly talk with you. This is a first though, so congratulations. It takes other years of discipline for what you achieved in one dream. Lucidity is a remarkable thing... but seriously, we don’t have much time.”

She turned and shimmied swiftly up a nearby oak tree. Zack remained on the ground, looking up at her still. It felt all too real to Zack for it to be a dream.

She sternly spoke, “Something is happening to you, Zack, and it’s not good. These dreams, these... reoccurring illusions and what not you’ve been seeing, they’ll only get worse over time.”

Zack begged her, “What’s happening to me?”

“I can’t be certain, but I have come to the conclusion that your essence in Equestria isn’t suppose to happen by universal law, it doesn’t make sense. Your essence, your–" she paused to think of a better word. "–existence... is from another dimension, your home dimension where Earth is; yet your physical body is here in Equestria, an entirely different dimension.”

Zack asked, “How do you know this and I don’t? I thought you were apart of me?”

“The conscious does a lot of, 'behind-the-scenes' work that you, yourself, don’t know about. That, and reality’s incomprehensible ideas are made into sense inside the recess‘ of your mind; but now I can chat with you through lucidity, so don’t worry about it.”

“Is this the only time I chat with you?”

“Basically, now shut up.” Zack began to realize how much an ass he really was while watching his conscious swinging from the tree above.

Zack’s conscious continued, “About what I said earlier, about you being from one dimension and existing in another. One from another dimension cannot be in two dimensions at once, your essence can’t decide which it exists in. The universal laws can’t allow it and the wave length you’re producing in this world is harming you, even though you can’t tell. I can sense this high frequency of course, I’m the brain of this operation after all–no pun intended.”

“So... what happens if I don’t do anything?”

“Well, you’ll have more spastic visions, dreams, hallucinations and the sort until your wave length becomes too chaotic. Then... I don’t know? You’ll be producing a lot of energy then, and I mean a lot! So with that expansive energy in such a small window, your mind, you could become, in theory, a black hole.”

“What? So you're saying I could destroy all of Equestria just by existing in it?”

Caroline began to swing her legs off of the high tree branch she sat on and replied, “Again, maybe. You could just ebb out of the universe and not exist in any dimension, therefore making it that you never even existed at all. Maybe you could be transported back to your dimension, or an entirely new one! But! I have my money on the black hole theory.”

“So how do I stop this,” Zack pleaded. Caroline raised her hand, thinking she had the answer, but swiftly brought it back down.

She then replied, “To be honest, I don’t know...” She hopped down from the tree and landed directly in front of Zack. She pressed her face into Zack’s comfort zone, looking over his ill expression intently. She noticed that he appeared very frightened, not of her, but what his mind was racing about.

“Hm," she hummed, "I’ve never physically met you before... but I know everything about you... You’re tall, you know that?”

“I-I’m a little nervous about this whole... inter-dimensional stuff,” stammered Zachary.

“No need to lie about your feelings to me, I know what you’re thinking; I am you after all. I’m terrified as well. You are a gateway for chaos itself. A vehicle in which unknown inter-dimensional destruction inhabits. We both don’t know the answers, that’s why you need to find someone who does know the answer.”

“But who would know? Where would I look,” Zack quivered. Zack felt the earth beneath his feet shake and his balance became unsteady. Caroline held her balance perfectly still as Zack gained composure.

He frantically looked around and asked Caroline, “Wha-what was that? What’s happening now?”

“It was nice talking to you, pal. Maybe we’ll chat again soon.” Caroline then forcefully pushed Zack backwards and into the creek. The cold water conformed around him and the intensity of it all made his body seem inert. He continued to sink deeper and deeper into the bottomless creek. He felt tied down, unable to float upwards to the surface. The water darkened around him as the pressure built up. The last thing he saw was the fading shimmers of white light that reflected above soon turn into blood red light. He felt his lungs fill with the coming water as he let out a scream for help.

Zack shot out of bed in a panic of sweat. His covers, sheets and pillows were soaked in perspiration. He rolled out of bed onto the cold, wooden floor, trying to cool off his body. His chest hit the floor hard, upsetting his already turning stomach. He took a few breaths before realizing he was on the verge of throwing up. He scrambled over the bathroom and hung his head into the shower.

After a few minutes of recuperation, he turned on the sink, cupped his hands full of water and washed his mouth out. He soon reached over to grab a towel to wipe the remaining vomit from his chin and the sweat from his face. He looked himself in the mirror, staring into the poorly lit image of himself. Affixed to his own gaze; existential thoughts pounded his already dazed mind. He began to replay the dream over and over in his mind, making sure he wouldn’t forget it. He wasn’t even sure what all of it was real or just rubbish anymore. He had been having strange dreams since he arrived in Equestria, but nothing in that dream made sense to him at the moment. Zack was locked into his own appearance, staring blankly into his own hazel eyes.

He exited the bathroom and made his way back to his bedroom. He changed out of his sleeping attire for some fresh ones and made his way over to the bedroom window. He unlatched the window and let the nightly breeze roll into his dark room, soothing his musty body. The bright, full moon lit up Ponyville as he hung his head out of the window, overlooking the calm scene. High blots of puffy clouds swirled in the starry skies above; the far off mountain tops shimmered with snow and moonlight. The fright from the nightmare was steadily melting away in his mind as he took in a long breath of fresh air.

A sudden noise caught Zack off guard as he flinched from an abrupt knocking on his front door. He couldn’t see who it was, since his bedroom faced away from the front of the house, so he sealed the window and backed away. He grabbed a moderately dry pillow and made his way downstairs and to the front door. He tossed his pillow on a sofa, marking the place where he would sleep the rest of the night and lit a candle that was on a nearby hallway tea table. He took the candle in hand, drug his feet across the wooden door, unlatched it and pushed it softly open. Zack looked down with a muddled and silent expression. A pink pony sat quietly on his doorstep, awaiting her, 'best-est' friend to answer.

“Zack-eeee! What’cha doing,” She beamed, putting a hoof in her front-most curl and twisting it.

“I was sleeping,” he grumbled.

“It’s four o’clock in the morning! Why are you sleeping on a weekend?” Zack couldn’t believe he was having a conversation like this at this hour.

He replied with the same tone, “I’ve lost control of my life.”

Pinkie hastily pushed an object in front of Zack’s face. Normally, Zack would have moved his head back from the sudden motion, but was too tired to react. Pinkie moved her head around the rounded item and came into Zack’s eye sight with a bright smile.

“I made chocolate pudding,” she stated aloud. Zack pressed his thumb and finger on the bridge of his nose and sighed.

He quietly asked, “I don’t mean to be rude... but this isn’t a good night for me. So if you just stopped by to say, ‘hello,' then I’m locking the door and going back to bed.”

“No-no-no-no-WAIT!” Zack didn’t even budge, knowing that Pinkie would have a good reason for coming to his house at four in the morning, besides delivering an unwanted dessert. Her mood changed to a more serious, scared state as she looked up at Zack, eyes gleaming in the moonlight.

She took a step closer and said, “I... I couldn’t sleep... I was having bad dreams and I thought that I wouldn’t be able to come over, so I was planning to lie to you about making chocolate pudding so I–” He grinned, stepped away from his door and motioned his hand to come inside the house.

“It seems like I wasn’t the only one having bad dreams tonight... come on inside.” She 'squeed' with delight and hopped into his abode. He closed the door behind her and locked it up.

She didn’t even hop three times before turning around and asking Zack, “So! Where are we gonna sleep tonight?” Zack blew out the candle and placed it on a nearby tea table. He then wobbled over and crashed on the couch where his pillow had landed. Pinkie halted in mid-bounce, looking over at her incapacitated friend.

The pony raised an eyebrow and said with astonishment, “Zack?” The human had passed out on the couch and was already in deep sleep. She giggled and responded with a whisper, “Okie dokie lokie!”

She found a place between the cushion and Zack and cuddled up into the nook. She rested her head onto his side and smiled with content. Closing her bright, cerulean eyes, she rested her ear upon his chest and listened to his soft heart beat. The quiet pulse Zack gave was enough to lull the pink pony into a restful night sleep.

Morning came quickly for Zack as he awoke to a smell that filled his nostrils with delight. He found himself contorted into an awkward position. With his body sprawled out onto the floor, the only remaining appendage on the couch was his left foot, which clung on for dear life between the cushions. The covers twisted and tangled around his body in ways that he couldn’t figure out how he ever got into. With minor struggling, he loosened the blankets around him and rocked himself upward onto his feet. A kink in the back of his neck reminded him of how hard and uncomfortable the floor could be sometimes. The alluring smell that floated through his home peaked his senses once more, reminding him of why he even woke up in the first place. He looked over to where a grandfather clock was on the wall and was disappointed at the time of morning it was.

"Ten forty-four already," he mentally said with an audible groan. "I should have just slept in my bed... Now my day’s going to be ruined..." Zack diverted his attention to the kitchen door where a mixture of noises and smells came from. "I guess Pinkie is still here..."

He slowly shuffled his tired body over to the kitchen door where he gently opened it to peek inside. He witnessed Pinkie cooking him a magnificent breakfast consisting of flapjacks, eggs, and muffins. While stirring the pancake mix to a gentle hum, her humming grew into a full fledged song that Zack couldn’t tell if she planned or was making it up as she went along.

“My name is ‘PIN’ to the ‘K’ to the ‘I’ to the ‘E’,

I’m making breakfast for Zac-ha-ry!

Why I do this, why can’t you see,

because it makes me so happy!

His name is ‘Z’ to the ‘A’ to the ‘C’ to the ‘K’,

time to take the muffins out of the tray!

This is going to be such a wonderful day,

Cause Zackie-poo makes me saaaaayyyyyyy!

I’m so ‘H’ to the ‘A’ to the ‘P-P-Y’

because my name is ‘Pinkie Pie’!”

She quickly turned towards the kitchen door when she heard Zack creak it open. Her face beamed with a smile only she could produce at the sight of her friend. He smiled in return, forgetting about how messed up his schedule was for the day. Pinkie was wearing a cooking apron and matching chef’s hat she probably swapped from the Cakes before coming back over. She stopped everything and bounced on over in front of Zack and began to sing an entirely new song.

“Oh-my-goodness, good morning, Zack,

How did you sleep last night?

I made you breakfast, do you like,

You are such a wonderful sight!

Here’s some eggs and here’s some cakes

And the blueberry muffins too!

I can’t wait to eat this meal,

With silly me and only you!

Today we’ll play!

It’ll never end!

Twenty-four hours!

Then start again!

Our play time will always last,

But first we must eat break-fast!

Oh boy!”

She took in a deep breath, about to continue the delightful singing, but Zack scooped her up into his arms and smiled at her giggling.

Pinkie laughed, “Thank you, Zack! I just can’t stop myself sometimes!”

He smiled, “It’s fine, Pinkie.” He let the pink pony flop out of his arms and back onto her hooves. She turned to grab a plate of food with her mouth and placed it on the kitchen table.

Zack took it out of her teeth and replied, “Thank you.” He sat himself down and placed a napkin in his lap. Pinkie wandered over to the table and sat across from him with her plate of breakfast. She sat down and began drowning the flapjacks in maple syrup.

Zack politely asked, “Would you kindly pass the syrup?”

She grinned and replied, “Well of course I can!” She hoofed over the syrup cup to Zack, who lightly tipped the syrup on his pancakes. She added, “Do you know what today is, by the way?”

“Not a clue.”

“Today’s the sixth anniversary that you’ve been in Ponyville, you silly-willy head!”

Zack was a little surprised by that fact. It sure didn’t feel like six years since he arrived to Equestria. After the first year of those crazy adventures and missions he went on, he hadn’t had really any real action in a long time. There was peace in Equestria and Princess Celestia no longer called him to do any missions. He had grown further away from her over the short years, only seeing her at the Grand Galloping Gala or whenever she visited his small house in Ponyville. His years were spent mastering the art of the blacksmithing instead of venturing out all over Equestria like he use to. He didn’t feel any older or looked any older as well, but these thoughts soon faded for a while when he took a bite from his scrambled eggs.

Pinkie, with a mouthful of eggs, spat, “So, what are we going to do first? Well, I mean after breakfast of course! How silly of m–”

She abruptly stopped when Zack raised his finger to signal to finish her food before talking. After drinking some milk, Zack was about to take a bite out of his pancakes before his eyes fell upon a nearby clock that hung on the kitchen wall. The clock read, ‘ten fifty-two’ which reminded him of his morning duties. He sighed and lowered the fork. Pinkie saw this and wondered what was wrong.

She asked with concern, “What’s wrong? Do they taste bad? I knew I shouldn’t have made pancakes with two month old flapjack mix!”

“No it’s–” What Pinkie had said soon sunk into his mind, which suddenly stopped his thinking process. He wiped the milk off of his upper lip with a napkin and continued, “What I mean is, I need to go.”

Pinkie gasped, “Now? I know it’s a late breakfast, but why do you have to leave so soon?”

Zack pushed off of the table and slid his chair back, “I’m really far behind on my work and I need to get supplies from the markets before they close here soon.” He sat up and pushed his chair back in, “I’m sorry for all the trouble with making me breakfast and all, it was really sweet though.”

Pinkie gave a half hearted smile and lied, “That’s fine, don’t worry about the breakfast, it was nothing.” Zack could tell she was lying and saddened by his response, but disregarded it. Her fake smile soon turned to a desperate look towards her friend.

She hastily asked, “Wa-well what about the rest of the day? Can we still get together and play? Or maybe even sit and chat in Whitetail Woods like we use to?”

“No, I can’t. I’d love too, really, I just have to finish forging this wagon chassis for Applejack. It’s going to take all day and night, I probably won’t get any sleep... And after that, I still have to finish forming a few dozen fence posts for Mayor Mare.” Zack began to walk out of the kitchen and up to his room. Pinkie frantically followed behind him, trying to think of ways that could stop him.

Pinkie pleaded, “Well what about tomorrow? The next day? This weekend maybe...”

Zack turned, “I don’t know. My week is pretty full...”

“What about the Summer Sun Celebration? That’s in four days! Won’t you be off work then?” Zack turned and looked over at her in silence. He gave her the answer through the wordless expression he gave her.

Pinkie stated, “But today was my only day off from Sugarcube Corner... I told Carrot Cake I would be taking the day off to come play with you...” Zack sighed with regret. He really wished not to work today, but if he fell behind, he would have to live with Celestia again and away from Ponyville. With a heavy heart, he looked into Pinkie’s eyes, which were beginning to fill with tears.

He dropped to one knee, eye level with the party pony and said, “I really, really wish I could play with you, Pinkie Pie. I want too so bad... I just have work to do and I can’t spend time with you until I’m ahead of schedule. So for now, I can’t do anything about it. Go make some friends. You’re great at that, aren’t you?”

Zack made his way towards the door while tucking his money bag away in his back pocket. He opened the door and as soon as he was about to leave, he turned and waved with a smile on his face. Pinkie nodded a hoof back with a light grin on her face. As he closed the door, the pink pony took a deep breath and hung her head.

She sighed, “...but you’re the only friend I want to be with...”

Comments

[Hadschott]

Yeah!!! it goes on ^^

[Cold Spike]

Greatest reference ever, lmao Rugrats.

[3ternalWait]

For anyone wondering what's Cold Spike talking about:

[Ninjahzzzz]

Am i the only on who thinks that the scene transition picture thingy looks like the poker chip of sauron ?

[RatchetFlash]

sooo long

[Veniyum]

Have to like this story, if not because its generally amazing, then because im also a rough sleeper and have woken like that many times

[Gravity012]

Zack: I need to work so I can live in ponyville!!!
Us: We get to live in the castle and go on adventures if we don't have a job? Count us in!! (XD joking)