At the precipice of truth

by The Drifting Bard

chapter 7

Chapter 7: bail out

---

It all seems so clearer looking back on it.
The memory, I mean.

She was always smiling; the radiance of her beauty was just one of the things which made me fall, and her bubbly personality hidden behind a mask of shyness added to the reasons. I could go on. However, this was a specific day in my memory.

It was the day she had died. It was three days after the loss of my job as a sales representative for a company I can’t mention, legal reasons. I could tell she was upset, but she carried on smiling.
But then she got sick, I had never felt so powerless, it was as though I was weighed down by the very earth itself, and the doctors tried everything.
But in the end, they could only make her comfortable. I felt so angry at the world, so angry in fact that I attacked one of the doctors. It didn’t really help my situation. I could see her lying there, she continued to smile. She beckoned me closer.
She slapped me, “promise me you won’t do that again,” she said sternly “it’s my time, and I don’t what your last memory of me to be one of pain” she then kissed me.
I looked at her, on the verge of tears, she smiled as she drifted off, leaving me alone in the world.

“I promise” I whispered ever so quietly, watching as the nurses started to do their jobs. The rest of that month was mostly a blur. Her family blamed me for her death, her father tried to kill me. I understood why though, her family always hated me because I was a musician at heart, with no real stable income until that sales job.

---

The flashes had stopped as I was flung into a dungeon cell.
My head spun for a moment to get a good idea of what I would be calling my new home for a while, taking note of the searing pain on my body flaring up again. I took a deep breath

“excuse me but, I need a-” I was interrupted by a rather grumpy guard.
“Shut up, criminal” was a response I had hoped I wouldn’t hear.
“That’s enough,” a new feminine voice came onto the scene.
“Leave us” the voice ordered the guard away.

I looked down, not wanting to meet the gaze of this voice. “b-but Princess!”
“NOW!” the princess ordered. The guard marched out.
“You must be Trigger Cocktail” the towering white alicorn said with a smile.
I tried my best not to show fear “it’s an honor your highness, may I ask,” she nodded as I finished my sentence “has this something to do with the dragon?”

“I’m sorry but yes, it seems that the dragon in question was hassled previously by a certain rainbow maned mare”
“So I made a situation worse” I looked down
“I’m sorry Princess, but I just wished we could have met under more… desirable circumstances” she looked at me for a moment, scanning my very being.
“What are you?” she asked with a hint of fear.
“That is a good question, Tia” a new voice came from behind the white alicorn, standing beside her. “I don’t want any more trouble” I pleaded. But the duo refused to budge from their inquisitive state. “I’ll tell you everything”
Thus, I did, watching their facial expressions slowly change during the explanation. “…so all in all, im a human trapped in a pony body, I’d prefer to stay that way too… if its okay with you”
I spared them the flashes of memories I had gotten, it was something I had to deal with on my own.

I watched as Celestia unlocked the door, exchanging a look with her sister. “my name is-” she watched my face light up.
“Luna?” suddenly without thinking, I jumped up and hugged her.
“You’re responsible for those beautiful nights I’ve grown accustomed to in Ponyville”
I continued with a grin on my face. Celestia watched as Luna blushed with a smile “I didn’t think any pony enjoyed the night so much” she looked down to the floor.
“You’d be surprised”

“I was” she said with a smile. As we walked along the dungeon I had taken note that not many ponies were even down here. I watched as a ball of fire flew in through the courtyard and materialized into a scroll of some sort. “Oh my, it seems the ponies of Ponyville are quite worried about you,” Celestia spoke with a motherly tone.
“Well then I’d better head there now,” I smiled sheepishly “I don’t want to keep them worried, but…” the princess noticed the bloodied bandages. Before I could say a word, her horn glowed. I was enveloped by a bright light and pain was gone.
I hugged her in thanks.
Looking around, I had noticed Luna smiling at me “so Luna how have you been? Sorry if you were expecting letters” I ran a hoof through my mane nervously “it quite alright, what with the dragon attack and all…”
She looked at me with a glint of worry in her eyes “just promise me you wont do it again” she said, putting a hoof on my shoulder.
“I promise, you know, you remind me of a mare I once knew” smiling as I walked out.

I decided it best to hop onto a train back to ponyville. I fell asleep on the train, Luna’s last words to me echoing in my mind.

Another flash, it was the day I lost my job.

---

I walked through the offices to see that nobody could look me in the eye, I sat down at my desk and powered up the computer. “Excuse me, Mr Wagner wants to see you in his office” I smiled, not knowing what was exactly going to happen. I stood outside my boss’s office. Knocking on the door before entering “you wanted to see me?” I enquired. “Yes,” a low voice uttered “it’s come to my attention that the work you’ve been doing isn’t up to standards recently” he continued.
“I can explain… my girlfriend ha-” I protested, but was interrupted.
“It has been decided that we have to let you go” I looked at him in disbelief, then I snapped.
“You bastard, we need that money, the missus is sick…very sick…”
Security had to escort me out because of my angry protests.

There wasn’t much I could do at this point. I could just hope.

---

The train had stopped, as did the flash.

Looking around, I spotted a large gathering of ponies in the middle of town.
I joined the crowd, taking little to no notice of the whispers and rumors. Watching has the mayor talk about the dragon attack, she called my name.
I froze.

I felt the warm glow of magic surround me, to lift me up to the stage.
Confused, I felt a hoof on my shoulder… they were giving me a hero’s welcome.
“Would you like to say a few words?” the mayor asked, I nodded.
“I was never good at speeches, hell this is the first one,” I chuckled a bit “I know you think I’m some kind of hero, but I sure don’t feel like one” I thanked the crowd of ponies, noticing the pink mane hiding behind a hay bale. After the crowd had dissipated, I walked down to the farm. I was soon pounced on by Applejack. “Ah thought I’d see you again sugarcube” she smiled. After the tumble she let me stand up,

“I smell a party brewing” I chuckled, not long before Pinkie pie suddenly appeared seemingly out of nowhere.