Chapter 13: The Pact
Chapter 13
The Pact
“Faster! Even Fluttershy can out-wing you!” yelled Rainbow Dash, hovering in the air.
A very tired dragon gave the pegasus an irritated look and began flapping his wings again. Sadly, no matter how hard he strained them, he remained glued to the ground.
The sun was at its highest point in the sky, casting warm autumn rays of light around the randomly scattered clouds. The cyan mare had made sure that the conditions would be perfect for the dragon’s first flight, although all the preparations seemed in vain at that point.
“This is no use,” he said weakly, puffing smoke from his nostrils.
“Come on Spike, don’t give up now! Learning to fly takes a lot of time and practice,” Twilight said from aside.
“That means I can do it some other time too. So, see ya guys later!” he retorted, heading back towards the library.
He didn’t take more than two steps before bumping straight into a blue magic wall and falling onto his haunches.
“You ain’t going anywhere dude, not until I see your feet off that ground,” I told him, dissipating the barrier I summoned.
“But,” his voice quavered. He held his snout from the pain of the impact, darting his pleading eyes from me to Twilight.
“Any ‘but’ I want to hear is yours taking off into the sky,” said the polychromatic pegasus, crossing her hooves.
“This is my first day! How do you expect me to fly during my first try?” Spike complained.
“And you will remain grounded for a long time with that attitude,” I said with a sarcastically scolding tone.
The training continued for a couple of more hours, after which even Rainbow Dash’s determination started to slowly fade away. We were definitely not going to see Spike in the air very soon. The blue pegasus called it a day, giving the dragon the task of building up more muscle mass around the back and chest. Twilight had done the math the previous day and according to her, his wing’s surface was large enough to displace the minimum volume of air so that he could fly. What he needed was power and technique, Rainbow Dash insisting on in particular. As good of a flier as she was, it was next to impossible to show Spike a technique that might work for him, as the body and aerodynamics of a pegasus were quite different from the ones of a dragon.
“I’ll sleep till the next session!” Spike mewed, sprawled on the ground, panting from the recent effort.
“That’s in a week, Spike . . .”
“Exactly, Twi’.”
As I watched the two of them talk, I suddenly remembered a small detail I’d overlooked the entire day. “Well, time for me to go, see you guys later!” I said, preparing for an emergency teleportation.
Unfortunately, Twilight caught up with my plans and right as I was about to vanish in a blue cloud of smoke, the protective energy field around me dissipated along with my channeled magic, courtesy of Twilight’s anti-magic spell.
“And where do you think you’re going?” she asked as she turned to face me. I could definitely see a hint of anger in her face.
“Uhh . . . home? I got uhmm- stuff to do,” I responded, pulling my best innocent smile.
“Sure you do, they’re called magic lessons, which start right about now. You haven’t worked on your spells in weeks; you’re by far the tardiest student I’ve ever had.”
“Come on, I managed to defeat Discord, don’t I get points for that? And also, I think I’m your first and only student.”
“Exactly. And with Discord, you got lucky. Also, I’ve told you not to learn spells from that book,” Twilight said as we made our way back into the library, followed by Spike who was dragging his feet, wings flopped down.
We went into the main room and as we walked my eyes strayed away, trapped into the rhythmic swaying of the cute mare’s tail and . . . cutie mark. She started levitating all kinds of books at the table where we usually sat during my magic lessons while Spike went straight into his room, crashing onto his round bed and falling asleep instantly. The door to his room was engulfed in a purple haze and closed itself, all while the unicorn was going through some books about advanced magic.
“So, how did you do it?” she suddenly asked, dropping the book in front of her.
“Do what?” I instantly raised my eyes to hers.
“That illusion spell that you used to distract Discord, I’ve been meaning to ask you about it for a while.”
“It’s just a simple spell from Star Swirl’s book,” I said, grinning innocently. “I learned it in my free time; thought I might impress you with it,” I added, color invading my cheeks.
‘Well, I actually am impressed. It . . . moved; that’s not how it was supposed to react,” the mare said, going through another of her advanced books.
“You mean like this?” I asked smirking, blue wisps around my horn.
Twilight jumped when she felt a shadow clone nuzzling her mane from behind. Hastily turning her head, her eyes widened at the striking similarity between the stallion behind her and me.
“It- he- how did you?” she stammered, her cheeks flushed.
Twilight brought a hoof up to the clone’s face, touching it gently. I immediately felt a warm sensation right on my own face. The clone silently puffed in a cloud of blue smoke, and the astonished mare turned to me, noticing I was holding my hoof over my cheek.
“Did you . . . feel anything when Discord destroyed that clone back then?” she asked in a low voice.
“Yes,” I whispered, flashbacks from the fight going through my head. “I feel whatever it feels, even the pain. It wasn’t that bad though, adrenaline must have helped. Plus, the pain was short-lived; as soon as the clone dies the spell is broken.”
Memories flashed through my mind. Sneaking up behind Discord as my clone fearlessly charged toward the chaotic spirit. That feeling of dread as his clawed hand swung toward my image. The single instant of overwhelming pain, of my body being ripped apart, only to have it fade away mere seconds later. Sometimes I wished the memory had gone with it.
“Did it-”
“Yes it did, but not for long,” I interrupted her, knowing what the question might be. “Anyway, I think it’s time for some magic lessons, isn’t it?”
“Oh, all right then.”
Twilight brought up a book and started reciting something about magical multitasking, but I couldn’t follow for too long. I then spent the following couple of hours practicing several basic spells while trying to cast others simultaneously. The effort was substantially greater the more spells I had to keep active at any time, and if they were different ones as well, things got even harder.
“Why is this so hard?” I moaned, collapsing my head on the table.
“Well I guess that’s about if for today. Until next time, I want you to practice and get to ten simultaneous objects in the air or three different spells at once, one of which should be basic levitation,” Twilight concluded my homework, placing all the books back from where they came.
“Anything else, miss Teacher?” I asked, my tone dripping with sarcasm.
“Ohh, and catch up on your reading of Magic for Novices. I want you to finish that by the end of the week.”
“Uhh, I was joking, you realise that?”
“I wasn’t,” Twilight rebutted, throwing me a deadpan look.
Her face broke into a smile after a few moments, holding back a giggle.
“It’ll be fine, Blink. Once you get the basics right you can focus on more advanced spells. Now if you would excuse me, I have a sleepover to organize, me and the girls haven’t got together in a while. Also, I think I’m gonna tell them about you.”
“Wow, isn’t that a little . . . soon?”
“No. It will be all right, I’ll have a lot of time to explain. Don’t worry, they will understand, I hope.”
“Can I stay with you guys to-“
“No,” she interrupted me while we were heading towards the door. I sighed, but then decided on pulling the best puppy-eyes face I could muster.
“I know, I want to spend time with you as well, but I don’t want to neglect my friends either. I promise we’ll go out together some other time,” she said, blushing slightly.
“Okay then, have fun!” I wished her, leaning forward and giving her a quick peck on the cheek.
In turn, she grabbed my neck with her forehooves and hugged me tightly for a few moments, after which she returned my peck. The unicorn mare then mumbled something along the lines of “good night” all while her blush had started competing with Celestia’s own sun . . . if it went supernova.
The library’s door closed, the slam bringing me back to reality and my heart back into normal rhythm.
“Why do you always do that?” I asked looking down, pressing a hoof against my chest.
“HI THERE!” a high-pitched voice rang through my ears and triggered a defensive reaction from my brain.
“Please don’t hurt me! I didn’t- ohh it’s you . . .”
“Well of course it’s me, silly willy Blinky. Whatcha doing here?” Pinkie Pie asked, bouncing in front of me with the ease of an astronaut on the moon.
“Just finished some magic lessons with Twilight. How about you? How did you manage to sneak up on me like that?” I asked her, still recovering from the shock she gave me moments before.
“I didn’t sneak up,” she answered, grinning innocently. “You were daydreaming and then talking to yourself and I was passing by and saw you so I thought I might say hi before going to Twilight’s slumber party!” the cheerful pony said in a single breath.
“Okay then, don’t let me hold you. Have fun!” I said, honestly tired from the lessons I had that day with the unicorn.
I started heading towards my home, glancing behind every now and then to notice Twilight’s friends arriving one by one at the library for the get-together. After a rather short walk, I stopped by the lake in front of my small wooden house, glancing at the beginning of a wonderful autumn sunset.
*** *** ***
“There we go, am I a bad-ass carpenter or what?” I asked Raven as I gently placed a rudimentary beach-like chaise longue on the bank of the lake.
The sun was setting behind the Everfree Forest and I was getting ready to spend a relaxing couple of hours enjoying the view and practicing some magic. I laid down on my back over the result of several hours of work: a simple long chair made out of wood planks which I assembled in Kazooie’s barn, using mostly my magic. The piece proved to be sturdy enough to hold my weight so I relaxed in it, letting out a deep sigh.
Raven was settling on top of the headrest and we both silently enjoyed the beautiful view of the Equestrian twilight. I yawned and shifted a little in the chair, my eyelids blinking slower and slower, pulling closer to each other. The view slowly faded away as I succumbed to the tug of slumber.
A firm pull on my ear woke me up to a darker, colder setting.
“What is it Rave- woow.”
My jaw hung as I basked in the lake’s view, amazed by the stunning view. The sun had set and the moon took its place, casting an icy reflection on the surface of the still water. Everywhere around, thousands of fireflies gently danced in the air, all the way to the forest nearby. One of them landed on top of my muzzle and I crossed my eyes to look at it. The insect flew away after a few moments and a smile formed on my face as I watched the beautiful twinkling light of the meadow join its friends. I felt delighted that Equestria had them as well.
“Okay, time for some late night magic practice,” I eagerly said to myself and started focusing on a particular spell I wanted to perfect.
I closed my eyes in concentration and after a few moments I reopened them, only to be greeted by two midnight blue stallions facing me.
“I wonder who these two bad-asses are . . . whoops, it’s just me, hehe,” I snorted a laugh, drawing the most disinterested looks from my shadow clones. “You guys don’t have a lot of sense of humor, do you?” I asked the two ponies in front of me, provoking no reaction whatsoever.
I gave up, concluding that they are indeed mindless clones, and concentrated on ordering them to canter around the lake. I wanted to test the limits of the spell, see how long I could maintain it and what I could make them do.
The spell was a channeling one, meaning that I had to focus permanently on the two clones in order to keep them moving. Somehow, it felt much easier than the last time I performed the spell, even with two simultaneous shadow clones. After a while, I found myself able to close my eyes and still be able to maintain the spell. A few laps later, my mind started wandering (something to do with a purple mare) and as a result, one of the illusions tripped and tumbled into the lake with a great splash.
My eyes shot open and I felt that I couldn’t breathe all of a sudden. With the corner of my vision I caught sight of one of my doppelgangers standing still on the lake’s bank, watching something agitating in the water. Putting two and two together, I stopped thinking about the drowning sensation and soon enough, a puff of smoke came out of the place where the clone had fallen into the water.
“Damn you,” I blurted between coughs, trying to get fresh air, “stupid clone, guess they need permanent attention after all . . .”
I looked at the other one and decided to order it to go into the woods.
“Let’s see how you can navigate without me seeing the path.”
I watched the clone disappear into the woods and then I relaxed, continuing to enjoy the fireflies’ spectacle that was still occurring. My horn was gently radiating its usual blue light and I could still feel and control the illusion. Somehow, with my eyes closed I could almost see what the clone was seeing. I knew my plan was working, the main reason being I hadn't felt a sudden pain in my head which would have been caused by the clone hitting a tree or something.
The puppet I see, but where could your master be?
The barely audible whisper startled me and I immediately looked towards the forest, all the while starting to guide the clone back to me.
“Guess that’s enough practice for one day, right?” I looked towards Raven, who was oddly silent, gazing at the forest.
"And there the conjurer is, surely you must be his?" the same voice, this time closer and clearer.
I froze in place and slowly turned my head towards the source of the voice. I saw the second illusion bursting into a cloud of blue smoke several meters away, the magic channeling interrupted by my scare. Through the smoke came a creature that I was sure on the moment was not a pony. The air around crackled as I charged magic all around me in preparation of a possible battle.
“Rest assured pony of blue, as I’m not here to harm you,” the silhouette spoke with a strange female accent.
As the smoke completely dissipated, the moon’s silvery light revealed a strange gray pony with black stripes and a large black and white Mohawk-styled mane. I quickly relaxed, the build-up energy around me dissipating in the night’s cold air.
“Zecora, I assume,” I said in a tentative voice.
“That is indeed my name, blue one. The story of Midnight Blink I have heard gave me quite the stun. For what you have done I must thank you; the ponies I love are out of harm's way and this is the way I hope they stay,” continued the zebra.
“That’s okay, glad I was of help. Anyway, what brings you here if I may ask?”
“I was out to catch some of these fireflies for a brew with effects untold, and then I found the product of your spell lingering around my household,” she explained, taking a look at the lake and the pack of twinkling insects hovering around it. “I followed it to you; impressive magic you possess, blue one, it goes along with your special tattoo.”
I raised an eyebrow, trying to figure out what she had meant with that, but then I noticed her taking a quick glance over my flank as to emphasize her words.
“Ohh, you mean my cutie mark? Yes, it’s kind of a long story, I won’t bore you with it. Please, carry on. Don’t mind me,” I said, smiling meekly at the shaman zebra.
"There's no need for that chore, as I've already procured the ingredients, and don't need any more,” she responded, pointing towards a jar that was sticking out of one of the pouches on her back. "Midnight, it was nice meeting and I'll leave your training to you. For now, I must bid you adieu," Zecora said, heading back towards the forest.
"So that's how a zebra looks around here," I thought, taking in all the details of the shaman as she turned to leave: her weird hair style, her longer neck and face, pointier ears and the surprisingly large . . . cutie mark's canvas. It was larger than hers, but still attractive. I adverted my eyes, felling a little bit bad for looking her up like that.
“The puppets of magic your soul will mirror, that is, if you keep your mind clearer,” she spoke in her usual mysterious tone as she headed out.
“Wha- what does that mean?” I asked, but the zebra kept her path and soon faded away beyond the tree line.
I stood in place for a few moments, trying to figure out what she meant by that. I then cast another shadow clone and looked at it, thinking.
“You’re supposed to mirror my soul?” I inquired, receiving the expected reaction.
The illusion did not move at all and carried on staring nowhere in particular, his eyes unfocused and blurry. I turned back to the lake, forgetting about the clone and hoping that it would dispel without my uninterrupted concentration.
Raven was still sitting on top of my makeshift chaise longue, but started cawing as soon as I re-approached the lake, looking behind me.
“Yes Raven, they go *puff* when I don’t maintain the spell. It’s just an illusion, don’t worry.”
My feathered companion then started flapping her wings, crying out for my attention. Twilight’s image sprung into my mind all of a sudden and without a reason, my pulse went up a little. I ignored that random thought and tended to the annoying bird.
“Ohh come on, it’s gone. I’m not focusing on it anymore, see-”
My words were cut short when I looked back and noticed the clone was still there. Not only that, but he was now facing the other away, gazing at the library in the distance. I slowly approached it, trying to visualize the magical forces between us. Without a doubt the spell was still active, and I felt the smallest amount of magic linking us.
“It will mirror my soul, if I keep my mind clear,” I mumbled, recalling the shaman’s words.
Once I reached the stallion that was my image, I looked at his face reluctantly. I didn’t want to reinforce the magic link and turn him into a mindless pony again so I just sat there, staring at what he was looking. Soon enough, images of a certain purple mare returned to me. The feeling was like nothing I had ever experienced before, as I felt like I was in someone else’s mind; someone quite familiar.
“I . . . think we love her,” an equally familiar voice made itself heard.
I slowly turned towards the clone that had just spoken and noticed he was smiling, a relaxing and content expression on his face. I opened my mouth for some sort of a reaction but no words came out.
The mirror of your soul . . .
“I think- I think we do . . .” I told him and watched as the illusion dispelled in its characteristic way.
“Note to self, Raven,” I started as I headed back inside my home, the bird nestled comfortably between my shoulder blades, “never conjure shadow clones near Twilight again. Don’t want any ‘L’ bombs being dropped yet, especially by someone who isn’t me . . . sort of.”
*** *** ***
“Straighten those shoulders, I wanna see you do five full rotations this time before springing up!” yelled Rainbow Dash as she creased the clear skies above Ponyville, picking up speed.
“Will do!” a younger voice responded right from behind her.
“And don’t let your flank drag down this time, keep it up like you do around that Featherweight colt,” the blue pegasus continued with a smirk.
“I don’t-”
“Just do it Scoots, updraft’s right ahead!” ordered Rainbow Dash, banking to the side to give her follower room.
The blushing teenage mare fixed her gaze and tilted her wings sharply, starting to roll. As she rolled faster and faster her wings closed around her body, making her pierce the air like an arrow. After what she thought to be the required number of rolls, Scootaloo waited to be aligned with the horizon and snapped her wings open right as she entered an updraft.
Her joints and muscles tensed and pulled, her wings lifting her whole body upwards with blazing speed. After a few moments, she finally stopped accelerating and began hovering in place, breathing heavy.
“Great job kid, you did it. In fact, that was six rolls!”
“Sweet! Can’t wait to show Feath- I mean the other Cutie Mark Crusaders!”
“Ahh zip it, I wasn’t born yesterday. I still don’t get it why you’re so chicken about it and don’t ask him out already,” Rainbow teased. “Anyway, soon enough you’ll be doing way cooler tricks like the Speeding Carousel, or even a Rainboom?”
Scootaloo’s eyes shot open at hearing her role model’s signature move, and her wing beat sped up a bit, as she could barely hold her excitement.
“Neaaa that takes time, kiddo. But you’re getting there. Also, there’s one more-”
“Well look what we have here, did you find a job at the flying kindergarten, dweeb?” a mocking voice came from above the two pegasi.
Rainbow Dash turned, only to be greeted by a gryphon’s scornful look.
“Gilda . . . what are you doing here?” she hissed at her former friend.
“Been around Canterlot with business, decided to check up on you. I see you still have the same lame-ass life as before,” she answered with a laugh. “And who’s this one? You’re training foals to be as lame as you?” Gilda sneered as she flew towards Scootaloo.
She ran a claw under her chin, at which the orange filly slapped her talons with her fore hoof.
“Don’t you touch her, Gilda!” snapped Rainbow as she sped towards the gryphon.
The avian didn't flinch, instead ducking to the side and grabbing the charging pegasus by the throat. Gilda grinned maliciously as she brought her face closer to Rainbow Dash.
“Or what, dweeb?” she snarled between her beak. “Let me make you feel what I felt when you and your pink fat friend played those pranks on me.”
“Let her go!" yelled Scootaloo. She pumped her wings as hard as she could, driving herself toward the gryphon and slamming herself into the feathered attacker.
All she managed to do was upset her even more, and with a quickly executed turn, Gilda spun around and kicked the orange filly straight into the chest with a paw. Scootaloo was thrown away, coughing as the air in her lungs got knocked out. The orange pony began to panic when she realised she was off balance and in free fall. Concentrating hard, she managed to straighten her wings and glided down towards Ponyville. As stubborn as she was, Scootaloo knew that the situation was serious and decided to do the right thing.
“Hold on Dash, I’ll get help!” she called back to her trainer as she rushed towards the town’s library. If there was anypony who could help, it would be Twilight.
*** *** ***
“So that’s pretty much how it went,” Twilight smiled happily as she finished telling the story of how things unfold during the slumber party.
“Well, I can say that was better than expected, and it didn’t ruin your get-together either,” I mused, thinking about all her friend’s reactions upon finding out about my origin. “I kinda knew Fluttershy would be more interested about the animals back in my world than anything else, but damn it Twilight, why did you have to mention to Rarity that our kind wears clothes ALL the time?”
“Oh, come on, I’m sure she will just want to have a short talk about your fashion trends. Or a couple . . . but still, it’s a chance for you to get to know my friends better, and for them to get to know you. It’s strange that since you got here you spent most of the time with me and Spike. You should get to know other ponies as well, not only me and Kazooie’s family.”
“Guess so,” I agreed, while levitating a cup of warm tea and taking a sip, not without spilling some on the table. “Damn it, think I still need more practice with small objects . . . Anyway, you say you don’t like spending time with me?” I asked the purple mare in a rather accusatory tone, looking straight into her eyes while shifting closer to her on the couch.
“It’s not that, but making friends with other ponies is a natural and uhh- healthy thing to do,” she stammered a little, blood invading her cheeks.
“Maybe . . . but can I do this with other ponies?” I asked in a full-on cheesy low voice, slowly closing the gap between us.
As I leaned forward for a kiss, I gently closed my eyes with the same timing as hers, the inevitable and eagerly awaited touch of our lips just moments away. My heart still fluttered, the thought about feeling her in such an intimate way giving it the run of its life. Time felt like it froze in place, and the only sound that I could hear in the whole world was-
A succession of loud, rapid knocks at the door filled the room, shattering that illusion of serenity and happiness and one of the only close moments I could share with the otherwise extremely busy mare. I opened my eyes and noticed the look of disappointment on her face, as she quickly apologized and stood up to go answer the door.
I overdramatically raised my hooves in the air, muffling curses and protests to what felt like the un-fairest of lives, wondering if I would ever get some proper quality time with her.
“Misfortune smiles upon my love life, of that I am sure!” I mumbled, squinting my eyes suspiciously at nothing in particular.
It wasn’t until my ears picked up the words ‘help’ and ‘attacked’ that I sprung up from the couch and went to the door to see what was all the fuss about. I noticed Twilight was speaking with a young pegasus mare with an orange coat and purple-ish mane. Something seemed very familiar about her but the cutie mark on her flank –a long feather– was unknown to me. She seemed scared and very agitated though, so at least it was a good reason for her ruining the moment.
“Blink, Rainbow Dash is in trouble,” Twilight turned to me as I reached the library’s entrance.
“She’s above the bridge over the town’s river. Please do something to help her before Gilda hurts her!” the orange filly pleaded with a panicked look in her eyes.
“Gilda? Oh come on . . . Okay, I’ll go see what this is all about,” I said, trotting out of the library. “At least hopefully I’ll get some sort of action,” I mumbled to myself as I went into the square near the library and headed towards the bridge, still irritated about the earlier interruption.
“Blink wait!” Twilight’s voice came from behind, yet I headed it not.
As I got closer and closer to the point described by that young orange pegasus, I noticed the unmistakable form of Rainbow Dash, apparently struggling in the grip of a much larger brown and white flying creature.
“So that’s what a gryphon looks like . . .”
Further studying of this species had to wait though, and I rushed towards the ground point which was right under their aerial position. They seemed to be in a verbal standoff, although Rainbow Dash was in a delicate position, having claws wrapped around her neck, as she tried to loosen the grip with her otherwise flimsy forehooves.
All of a sudden, the gryphon raised her talons at the cyan pegasus and my heart froze in place as I feared for the worst. I panicked, going into a complete blockage as I saw the sharp talons slicing through the air, the whole image playing in front of my eyes in slow motion. The gryphon’s claw stopped probably inches from its target, surrounded in a purple haze. Twilight had followed me closely and reacted just in time. I darted my eyes from her to the scene above us, feeling a pang in my chest as I realised that if it wasn’t for her, the colored pegasus would have probably been seriously, if not fatally injured.
Rage filled my head and clouded my judgment. A friend of mine was threatened by that gryphon and the only thing I could think of at that time was how to punish her as swiftly and harsh as possible. I focused my magic on Gilda, engulfing her body in a shining blue aura and slowly dragging her down to the ground, while releasing Rainbow Dash from her grip.
“Oh, this will be good; you can’t fight your own battles so you call your pathetic friends, RD?” the gryphon hissed, struggling in my grip.
I gritted my teeth, trying to vent my anger somehow. When she was just a couple of feet from the surface I couldn’t contain myself anymore and slammed her against the ground.
“Careful what you say about me, featherbrain,” I threatened her, releasing the grip and stepping closer.
The gryphon spat and coughed at the ground, her bloodshot eyes filled with rage. “You stupid mammal, do you even know who I am?”
She got onto her paws and swung her claws at me in a fit of fury. I had enough time to react though, creating a burst of high-pressured air between us that hurled her away from me. The gryphon struck the ground hard and tumbled, coming to rest in a heap several meters from where she landed. She recovered quickly, scrambling up and glaring at me. I pawed at the ground and glared back.
Predator's instinct taking over her, Gilda began to circle me, eyeing me like I was her prey.
“Blink, stop it!” I heard Twilight’s distinctive voice yelling somewhere behind me. The sound unfortunately was muffled by adrenaline and the sight of a mad gryphon staring me down.
“I’ll stop it when she does-”
Gilda pounced, my eyes widening at the speed of the jump. With a reflex I never I knew I had, I displaced a large volume of air in front of me, compacting and using it like a sledgehammer to smash Gilda with. The gryphon took a full blow to her side, the rush of the moment making me use more force than it would have been necessary. She flew in the air spinning and landed in the river, which was at least twenty feet away.
My breathing was fast and heavy, and I hurried back to where the others were. Of course, Twilight was the first to talk.
“Blink, you shouldn’t have attacked her like that,” she said in an almost scolding way, looking out for the gryphon.
She was about to go after her, but then we saw the gryphon dragging herself out a long way down the river, having been carried out by the cold stream. She shook the water from her wings then looked at us. I could feel the hate emanating from her at that point but to my surprise, and Twilight’s relief, she took flight, heading away from us.
“Dash! Are you all right?” the orange pegasus asked, genuine concern in her voice. “You shouldn’t have done that for me.”
Rainbow Dash was gaping at the distant sky, still shaken up by the recent encounter with her old friend. She then turned to the younger flier, showing a nervous smile.
“I’m fine Scoots. I told you I wouldn’t let anything happen to you.”
So she’s Scootaloo . . . glad she got her cutie mark after all.
“But, you’re hurt . . .”
I turned to the blue pegasus and noticed the fur on her neck was dribbled with small patches of blood, where the talons sunk into her skin. Twilight was already applying magical first aid, closing the wounds.
“Thanks Twilight. Knew I can always count on an egghead like you for help,” she thanked, feeling up her neck, surprised that she was almost completely healed. She then turned to me, seemingly angry all of a sudden.
“And you, what’s your problem anyway? I could have dealt with her myself,” she said, poking a hoof on my chest.
Surprised, I darted my eyes from her to Twilight, the latter mare giving me an ‘I told you so’ look.
“Listen, I . . .”
“You what? Do you think you can come to our world and become the big shot over the night, save the town and be the hero?”
Her words hurt me more than I expected. I was aware that Rainbow Dash was competitive, but this was a little bit over the top. Her irritation on the other hoof was quite perceptible so I decided to give in, swallowing my pride.
“I’m- I’m sorry. I just wanted to help, I apologize,” I said in a genuine humble manner.
“Pff, whatever . . .”
The pegasus then took flight, followed by her orange apprentice, their shapes quickly fading between a bank of clouds.
“Blink, we need to talk,” came a voice that snapped me from my thinking. “In the library.”
Ohh good, now she’s mad at me too.
A short trot later and we were back at her place, nervousness picking at my heart. I spent the whole walk back with my eyes on my hooves as I could almost feel the anger radiating off Twilight, visible in her stride.
“Blink, what you did today wasn’t right, even if she was threatening Rainbow Dash. You should have stopped at immobilizing her. Just because we possess magic powers, that doesn’t mean we can judge and punish other ponies on the spot. There are others that have that authority,” Twilight explained, pacing around as if she was scolding a foal.
“I might have gone a little overboard, but she was aggressive, you saw that yourself,” I tried to excuse myself, without convincing the purple mare though.
“That isn’t a reason to treat her like you treated Discord. That was different, and unavoidable. Gilda wasn’t. I just hope there won’t be any repercussions following this, the relations between ponies and gryphons are shaky as they are. I’ll have to write to Celestia about the incident, though,” she said in a low voice, heading towards a desk, grabbing a scroll and a quill.
“I’m sorry,” I said again, my eyes begging for forgiveness.
“I know you are. It’s all right, don’t worry. You stood up for my friend and I appreciate that; next time though please use less force, or no force at all. You’re still not in full control of your magical abilities and you could have killed her. Rainbow Dash is also pretty mad at you but that’s how she is, give her time and she’ll forget about it.”
“Okay then. So uhm-” I started, pawing sheepishly at the floor.
“I’ll see you on your next magic lessons; I need to write this letter,” she quickly dismissed me, the quill already beginning to scribble something on the parchment.
I felt a little bit hurt from that but did as she wished and left the library, heading back home. I spent the rest of the day sitting around inside doing nothing, a hint of guilt still lingering from what happened that day. Raven was probably out for a fly so I was alone with my thoughts. The night came quickly and I fell asleep thinking about how I could fix things with Twilight and Rainbow Dash. Proud as she was, I hoped that after a talk with her, the rainbow-maned pegasus would understand my intentions and forgive me. I didn’t want to lose a friend like that, even if we didn’t talk that much to each other.
Twilight was a different matter though. I had strong feelings for her and to see her disappointed like that made me feel terrible about myself. Going to sleep knowing things are not all right between you and the ones you care about is very hard, especially if one of them is the one you love.
*** *** ***
The morning came all too quick and with it, a loud series of knocks from the door that woke me up out of my restless sleep. I was beginning to hate those wake-ups.
I dragged my half-asleep self to the front door and opened it, only to be greeted by a familiar guard pony, surrounded by his whole squad. The un-armed unicorn from the group winked at me. It was the same team that was sent from Canterlot to bring me in on the false charges of foalnaping the day before Discord attacked.
The leader grabbed a pair of hoof cuffs from his satchel, and the unicorn floated a magic suppressing collar in the air.
“You probably know the drill boy, surrender peacefully and you won’t be harmed,” he said with a smirk on his face.
“Let me guess, that stupid gryphon pressed charges?” I asked sarcastically, rolling my eyes.
“Actually we don’t know why you are detained, but the orders come straight from the Royal Court,” the leader said between the cuffs in his mouth. He then placed them in front of me and I looked at them hesitantly. “Look, we know what happened last time, but we were just following orders. I know you broke out of detention and saved Ponyville and for that I’m grateful, my parents live here. The charges were dropped when the official report came that you were under the control of that wretched Discord fellow, but this time we have to get you straight to the Castle, under the Princess’s clear orders. So please, mister Midnight, come with us willingly,” he said, pointing towards the cuffs.
I stood there for a moment, thinking about what possibly I could have done to be brought straight to the Princess. Even if I was accused of assaulting Gilda, that would clearly not be a matter for the Royal Court. Whatever the reasons were, I didn’t plan on making another scene. I promised Twilight I would be temperate and logic about things.
“Okay, you win. You can cuff me yourself; I don’t know how those things work.”
I sighed, while the officer locked the surprisingly effective restraints around my front hooves, telling me to follow him outside.
“No collar,” he uttered towards the unicorn, “I’ll stay in the cage with him.”
Disappointment showed on the unicorn guard’s face and he placed that awful tool back in his saddle bag. The head officer and I got in the waiting carriage and we took off, the whole thing pulled by four large pegasi stallions.
The journey was short and gave me time to contemplate on whatever the hell I had done to deserve imprisonment for the second time. My mind came out blank every time, although it was slightly amusing to imagine that I was called for a strictly classified mission to save the kingdom from imminent danger.
The other stallion woke me from my daydream when he pulled something from his satchel.
“I’ll have to put this on your horn,” he said, presenting me a silver jewel-like object that could fit around my horn. “It’s a variant of that collar, but only suppresses your magic. I have to do this so it won’t seem that I broke protocols. You understand.”
I nodded in agreement while he placed the inhibitor on my horn. Immediately I felt like my energy had left my entire body and a great emptiness filled my stomach.
“Side effects from that fancy equipment; don’t worry, all unicorns feel strange with that thing on,” the officer explained, noticing the look of sickness on my face.
A strong shake of the cage signaled that we reached our destination. My mouth hung in amazement when I saw the view from the landing platform. We touched down on one of the Castle’s towers. From up there I could see the whole city of Canterlot stretching along the mountain, basking in the early light of the morning sun.
“Come on, sightseeing will have to wait,” the officer ordered, pulling at my chains.
I followed him inside the tower, flanked by six armed guards that were waiting for us. Two of them were unicorns and I noticed they each had a long dagger on either side of the armor plate covering their flanks. Security seemed much higher than the last time I visited the Castle.
“Captain, you’re late,” the deep voice of a stallion filled the corridor as we reached a large pair of doors.
“I’m sorry, General. The flight took longer than expected,” my escort said, saluting with a perfect posture.
“Okay then, hurry up, colt; the Princess is waiting.”
The stallion who had spoken was a large earth pony, probably bigger than Big Macintosh. He was wearing a full blue uniform with a lot of medal-like markings, but I could still notice his coat was a dark shade of gray. His short blue mane was showing a fair number of white strands and a deep scar ran along his right cheek.
He looked at me from above in a defying manner, then turned and nodded at the guards. The golden armored stallions opened the large doors with their magic and the General moved sideways signaling me to get in. I advanced, taking small steps as the chains around my forelegs limited my mobility. The large stallion didn’t follow me and when I turned back I noticed the sheer size of the room I had just stepped into. It was very tall, large thick columns on its side, spaced away by high windows with paintings on it. At the end of the room, around one hundred feet away from the entrance, I saw the distinct shape of the white Princess of the sun.
Two guards approached and escorted me to the Princess, who was sitting on a large throne. To her side was another, yet empty, most probably her sister’s. Her neutral expression and official façade made me a little nervous.
“Unshackle him,” she ordered, not breaking eye contact.
My bindings were removed, along with the magic inhibitor by a mix of magic auras.
“Midnight Blink, you do know why you are here, do you not?” she asked with a cold, official voice, like we have never met in our lives.
“Uhm- I . . . don’t?” I stammered.
“You are here to be trialed for the attack on Gilda Razorclaw. This attack took place yesterday at midday, in Ponyville.”
“Look, it wasn-”
“Alongside the assault charges,” she continued with a louder tone, reducing me to silence, “you have drawn upon yourself charges of plotting against the kingdom’s well-being and breaking the non-aggression pact with the Griffin Lands.”
“Hold up, where did that came from?” I asked, getting scared.
“Gilda Razorclaw of the royal clan is the official ambassador of the Griffin Lands; by attacking her you’ve put great stress on the relations between our kingdoms in a time of great political unrest.”
I froze. My heart started beating like every beat would be its last.
Damn it . . . I fucked up big time.
“I was defending Rainbow Dash. She was- that gryphon had her claws around her neck and- and I just-”
I began shaking, trying with all my might to compose myself and think of a way out of that situation.
“She sent word about the incident back to the gryphon King,” Celestia continued, toning her voice down. “I am so sorry Blink, but I have to judge you by the laws written in the pact. Relationships between us have been less than neutral for a while now. That agreement is all we have that keeps a potential conflict at bay. I can’t risk the lives of my little ponies, I just can’t.”
She then looked at me not like judge would look at a defendant, but like a friend would look at another friend. Her eyes softened and she let out an imperceptible sigh.
“I- I understand,” I barely uttered, staring into the floor.
The room fell into a deathly silence. Mere seconds flew by like hours and I never lost hope that somehow, Celestia would forgive me for my actions and never pass whatever sentence that pact invoked. I kept hoping, but then she took a deep breath.
“Midnight Blink, the court finds you guilty of the attack held against a high gryphon official. Under the laws stated in the non-aggression pact between Equestria and the Griffin Lands, signed two hundred and forty years ago at HoofRidge, I sentence you to lifetime banishment from the Equestrian kingdom, taking effect the next day.”
The world came down crashing for me, my hind legs giving way. I slumped down on my flank on the palace’s cold floor, shutting my eyes in anger, regret and sorrow.
Only one thought was torturing my mind: Twilight. I would never see her again.
End of chapter 13
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I apologize for the delay on this one, RL uni work crowded up on me. As a compensation, the next chapter will be released in less time that the usual time frame you've gotten used to with this story.
Special thanks to Sparklight, saved my flank with editing ! Also huge thanks to CosmicAfro and 'I brained my damage' for the help and all !
Hope you guys in the US are safe and will be enjoying this chapter in the warmth and coziness of your untouched homes !
Please leave your comments on this chapter/fic, I really appreciate your opinions ! [edit: or better yet, don't. Wait for the next one :)) ]
Cya soon ! ;)
..... Well damn.
Uuuugh, loved all but the last part. It seems rather unlikely that the individual that saved all of Equestria would get bitch smacked like this, and not only that, but it's just so wrong. I still like the story, but that cliffhanger is bullshit man, sorry. Hoping you do something to fix that fucked up situation, I feel like there has plenty of drama in Blink and Twi's period in this story to give some reprise from stuff like this.
1551904 I understand how you feel. That's why the next chapter will be released sooner.
Take in consideration though, this is the same alicorn who banished her sister to eternal imprisonment on the moon. I promise though, the next chapter will reveal more.
1551918
Yeah, and I will be looking forward to the next chapter for sure and the resolution of this incident. And taking it into consideration, I would think that one could argue that to go many, many different ways looking at a single decision made 1,000+ years ago. I just feel that something so petty shouldn't be able to make ripples this big. Just annoying to have something so petty make this large of an impact. Plus, you've definitely painted Gilda as a huge bitch in this story, so guessing somehow that is going to come into play as well. Guess one can only sit and wait for the next chapter!
Hehe, if Gilda is the ambassador I can't imagine how the rest must be.
In any case, he just needs to go and threaten/torture her to fix the problem.
And if that doesn't work, a duel(or murder).
when i was lying in my bed here, contently doing a marathon run of this story, i saw a new chapter! With the intentions of handsomely claiming the first post, I bravely barged in, ready to whine on anyone that got here ahead of me... but it was for naught. Too late, I stumbled in upon this page, not even bothering to read the story, just scrolling down in haste. There, to my great sorrow and dismay, I saw some things. I saw some posts... My years of training, wasted in a few seconds. My childhood spent having the importance of speed drilled into my brain, wasted. For a brief yet glorious time, I had a dream. A dream to claim first post. But upon this sad happening, my entire reason for existence crumbled. For what was my purpose to be, if all the moments in my life leading up to this moment were in vain?
...
....
..
HAH GOTCHA!!! LOL U WERE THINKING I GOTS TOO MANY FEELS and imploded the very fabric of everything, ever, causing the destruction of all time. Even time forwards, and backwards. And sideways, for that matter. but nope! i trolled you ALL!!
...
...
then i said ‘meh’ and got over it.
after now reading this chapter, I am -yet again- amazed at Gildas bitchiness...
Sorry, this chapter fails.
Celestia is carrying an Idiot Ball. Gilda violently assaulted and nearly killed one of the Bearers of the Elements. Blink used no more force than was necessary to kick the fight out of her and stop the assault. The whole premise of the chapter requires that Celestia submit her kingdom and people to petty, arbitrary and unjust laws of an aggressor nation, and that she be so invested in appeasement that she not only lets one of their "ambassadors" commit assault and battery, but banishes the one who stopped the assault.
And perhaps you've forgotten she controls the sun? Any diplomatic arrangements made, Celestia is going to be calling the shots! Getting bullied around by a bunch of gryphons is about as likely as the United States getting bossed around by a tribe of Fiji islanders.
Bullshit
1552207 Do try to remember though, this is not a democratic world. Decisions, wars and agreements are all much like in the spirit of our personal Medieval times. Also, I don't know why people keep forgetting about Celestia's decisions in the past. Banishing Blink is nothing compared to the act of imprisoning your own sister. She did both of those things with the well-being of her subjects in mind.
I do agree, the cliff hanger is pretty . . . upsetting. That is the reason for which, as I said before, the next chapter will be released sooner than normally. Splitting them up like that was a necessary thing to do.
Again, I apologize for any inconveniences caused but I cannot and will not comment on this matter anymore. It will just ruin the story if I explained everything.
1552318
ETA of the next chapter?
1552496 don't want to make any promises, all I can say is that the next one is currently in full production and has been so for the past week. While this one was delayed due to technical difficulties (actually had my first writer's block), I had already started work on the next one :D
Definitely less than a month this time.
1552523
I haven't had writer's block myself. I've just been really, REALLY lazy.
I admit it.
What the buck... a non-aggression pact?
Well if that's the case then Blink shouldn't be banished for long.
Since Gilda drew first blood then technically she would be banished and since she would technically be banished before Blink hit her, the charge should be null and void... technically... technically.
I like that word.
I kinda understand it with the pact thingy, but at the same time, Gilda should face some serious consequences. Celestia could tell the Gryphons all about what happened(Twi informed her after all) and while she may not be able to alter Blink's fate, she could at least say who started everything for petty(depends on G's backstory) reasons.
1552207 "With great power comes great responsibilty" If she attacked the Gryphons, she would be forced to take way too many lifes. Also, if the Gryphons were to attack, many ponies would propably die before Celestia arrives and even then, I don't think she'd be able to take out every Gryphon in a town still full of ponies without hurting said ponies too, or taking out the Gryphons one by one, which would give the others time to kill more ponies/ capture them/ flee. Also, we don't know how big the Gryphon kingdom is and what ressources they possess. So it'd be like a tribe of Fiji islanders with a huge bunker underneath their Island, hiding a far greater population than the one above and possibly several nuclear missiles.
1552679 1552207
This might shed some light: It's from chapter 9, scene before the battle against Discord:
While Equestria may not be a democracy, I always thought it was at least a constitutional monarchy, in which the ruler isn’t above the law. One would assume there was some kind of law in place to protect the citizen’s right to appeal, or at least to a trial and defence. Even the Romans had something like that and they could appeal their judgements directly to Caesar.
Nothing like those 250 year old treaties that let a griffon point a talon at somepony and Celestia has to banish them without trial or appeal. I’m surprised Pinkie wasn’t banished after the party in ‘Griffon the Brush Off’ for ‘assaulting’ Gilda with the hoof buzzer.
That aside, I did like the chapter a lot. Kind of cool how you’re developing the illusion clone ability.
Teh shit hit teh fan
.
...when in doubt get banished and bitch smack the griffin kingdom
Mkay, now have Blink go to the Griffin kingdom and fuck their shit up
well interesting chapter still, is this the first time something like this has happened, or has Celestia Or the griffins had to banish anyone before. Hope to get a bit more info seems to me that if Celestia needs to sacrifice a hero Equestria is not able to stand up against the griffins and would be probably wiped out in a few days since Luna or Celestia can't kill anyone. Anyway will be fun to find out looking forward to it.
This chapter makes absolutely no sense. Gilda, as ambassador to a country, berates and attacks a pony, potentially would have killed her if not for the intervention of Twilight, then Blink drags her away. Gilda then attacks him and he throws her into a river. Witch is textbook defence of self and others from a party wishing to cause harm. And its him that gets in trouble, if Gilda had actually reported that incident, it would have been her that got into trouble, given the fact that there are four ponies as witness to the events and Gilda was on her own, if she had lied it would have been uncovered straight away.
That's the problem I have when a good character gets punished for something while the author tries not to make them seem bad, in this instance, Blink could nto be accused of assault. He may have gotten some form of reprimand, but Gilda would have gotten in far more trouble, especially as she was trusted to represent her race and only bought more conflict.
In short, I am completely unconvinced by the premise for this chapter, and the invariable problems that will follow.
Yeah, no. Not liking this chapter man.
A) Gilda attacked first. So, she should be taking any punishments. Yes, Blink attacked her, but this was in defense of another. So, he was kinda defending Equestrian civilians and soil. So I call bullshit.
B) He just takes that? Really? No spitting out clones, raising hell, unleashing the full power of humanity upon them? Sure, fine, wait till away from Celestia, but then Shit better get real.
1557713 1556914 I'm sorry but I'll have to recall the actual scene: Gilda was immobilized by Twilight, but Blink decided to take matters into his own hooves and punish her right then and there. I would explain the whole situation now, but then why I post the new chapter? People believe that this might be among the last chapters. That is not true.
It's also disappointing to see almost no remarks on the rest of the chapter, which contains important elements for the story as well. It's like I just posted the last part and then marked the whole fic as completed.
This is unfortunately one of the big drawbacks of reading an incomplete story and I can't do anything about that, other than what I am doing already (which is writing the next chapter faster for you guys).
...crap
cdn.smosh.com/sites/default/files/bloguploads/potter-gifs-aint-mad.gif
D:
I'm glad to see you used most of my rhyming suggestions.
That ending...
dl.dropbox.com/u/100264180/Reaction%20Pictures/Ponies/Yourtearsaredelicious.jpg
1551918 Yet, Gilda attacked first, attacking RD, so technically
he was defending a citizen of equestria FROM the griffin
so, that makes GILDA the guilty one of assault on equestria civilians so
this is a bullshit triaI so...
I DEMAND RECTIFICATION OF THIS BULLSHITTERY!
I feel Gilda should at the very least be deported. I don't know what sort of Diplomatic Immunity laws you are creating, but I think there should be at least some retribution. It must be very tough to have such restraint as to not harm any creatures, though I feel Celestia would snap if someone assaulted or killed Twilight. She literally controls an object that could easily turn the surface of the entire planet to glass.
Relevant.
And just so you all smile (sorry about quality).
Kill Everything
Kill Everything...
KILL EVERYTHING, BLINK!
You goofed, Blink!
Well, can wait to see what goes on next! Write on, dear author, write on!
So he's banished, the griffons attack, he comes back and saves the day from his own failure... again
Well time to go on a killing spree can't imagine him going to take this very well seince his talent is death
Well that's a downer.... oh well can't wait for the next chapter! This is gonna be good, I can feel it.
Dun Dun Duuuun...
Ugh.. the cliffhangers.
Sorry, saw this up last week, but didn't make time to read it properly and fully until now.
Well... damn, you just HAD to do that, didn't you? After last few chapters with seemingly happy ending, had to throw in a curveball like this.
Good bit of starting with Spike's flying lessons, then Blink's revelation of his true(?) love for Twilight. Introduction of Zecora and Scoots when Blink's around (and even when he wasn't for Scoots) was pulled off nicely as well, even if they're not the focus of the story. And Gilda... that bitch! I swear, she'd think she could get away with anything, just because she's somebody important in Griffin society. Speaking of which, you didn't keep consistency with spelling Griffin/Gryphon the same way in the story, assuming you'd want to do it based on way the show did it, which I think in accordance with the title, would actually be "Griffon". Anyway, I can almost see her lying her beak off about what happened, just because she has some pull as an ambassador.
Yeah, Blink did screw up by taking things into his own hooves, but it just seems like nopony's going to be happy by this, least of all Twilight. 
Not sure if she's going to be willing to leave with him (since by just the last sentence, he seems unwilling to consider idea that Twilight will go with him, if she must or could), if things don't get resolved quickly. Since it was kinda her fault for reporting the matter in first place to Celestia, even if Gilda had done the same to the Griffon king. Hopefully, what you said in response to someone else at 1552318 means splitting the chapters up; not splitting Blink and Twilight up, as I had thought you meant, when first read it.
Anyway, hope we get the next chapter soon! I wanna see Blink get his shit on eventually (for his fate) and his happy ending, even if may not be resolved right away, this matter with the Griffons and banishment. And not counting this story as being anywhere near done (like some other reviewers), only on Act 2 after all. dl.dropbox.com/u/31471793/FiMFiction/Twilight_Sparkle_lolface.png
1597713 thanks for reading and I'm happy that you enjoyed it. Thanks as well for the review, it's nice to see some people can see the better picture and pay attention to the other details :)
1604074
I always like to be thorough whenever I can when reviewing something I've read, if it's got things I like or can call attention to. Wasn't just cause I saw you did make note of other people who were saying stuff only about the end, which while jarring somewhat, can be understandable, as you did throw kind of a curveball there. Don't doubt this is near the end though, again cause only on Act II and imagine there is a bigger role that'll be explored in more than 2 acts. Not to mention Twilight and Blink's relationship with the latest complication, if it isn't resolved quickly or again, Twilight is willing to leave Equestria with him. Well, will wait to find out!
Hehe, no problem!
1561376
AGREED
Once a chicken. Always a chicken.
Man ... everybody is just a dick in this story aren't they?
And my friends wonder why I like Luna more than Celestia.
Gilda - Diplomatic immunity is my bitch!
MB - Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu!
stop making the pony's so wimpy
lol wut?
okay,not reading this bullshit,if this is how it goes
SHENANIGANS! I CALL SHENANIGANS!!!
Blink, do your duty as Deathbringer and kill the entire government and military of the Griffon Nations. THEN come back to Equestria. After all, a law only counts when it can be enforced.
I like this chapter. Really get's a hold of the audience.
Although I'm disappointed I've not seen much interaction between Alex and the other main six. It's like you're keeping us from all the good stuff. But I can see why. Still, I would like to see more of that, despite the fact that Blinks getting banished.
I assume not for good though. Wouldn't make much sense if romance was involved and the main character just has to be separate for so long.
1560159 You forget, Gilda is a representative of the Griffin Kingdom and RD is a critical component of Equestria's greatest-weapon/last-line-of-defence. That makes her actions nothing less than a blatant act of war against Equestria.