Severance

by StealBox

Becoming a Land Owner

"...You have got to be shitting me, right..?" I asked the unicorn secretary, in genuine disbelief of what I had just been told.

When the train had arrived in Canterlot about an hour ago, I immediately set out for the castle, fairly certain that that was where I needed to go...

"No, sir," she replied, a cringe forming on her muzzle at my vulgar language, "I'm not."

...So, naturally, I was confused when the gate guards asked me to halt and tell them the nature of the proposal I was bringing to the Solar Court. One short conversation later, and I was directed to the Internal Affairs building... where the secretary gave me the bad news.

"Why do I need to make an appointment a minimum of three days in advance?" I questioned, hoping to find a way to cut through this bureaucratic bullshit.

"Because," she began, tone of voice indicating that she'd had this conversation before, "Mr. Maize is a very busy pony. If he accepted walk-in's, he'd never get any-" Her sentence was interrupted by my front hooves clopping down on the top of her desk.

"I can understand the need for appointments," I ground out, looking down at her, with teeth clenched, as I held myself back from yelling. There were guards in the building, and if I made too much of a scene, they were liable to drag me from the premises. "But why, in the blood soaked depths of Tartarus, do they have to be three. Days. In advance," I reiterated.

"Sir," she started, rising from her seat and unflinchingly meeting my heated gaze, "I have to deal with the Canterlot nobility on a daily basis. You," she continued, eyes narrowing while her voice maintained the same calm and collected tone, "will not be intimidating me." Retaking her seat, she pulled an appointment ledger from a drawer and dropped it harshly onto the desktop. "...Now... you can sign up for an appointment... or I can have you escorted from the building," she finished, bringing her hooves together in the pony version of steepled fingers.

"...Where do I sign?" I resignedly asked, removing my hooves from the desk.

Levitating the provided quill, I signed on the indicated lines, confirming my appointment for two PM on Thursday.

"Now... if that will be all, sir," she said, motioning to the door, clearly telling me to leave. I didn't even bother saying goodbye before walking out into the hallway and shutting the door behind me.

*sigh* What the hell am I supposed to do for three days? I wondered, walking down the tiled hall towards the exit. I guess I'll need to find a place to stay while I'm here. The Canterlot nobility strike me as the type to have vagrancy laws in their city...

*grumble* Comes the sound of my stomach, which refused to be ignored any longer.

...But first, I need something to eat. I haven't had anything since that grass this morning... This goal in mind, I exit the building, passing by the two guards stationed at the door, and begin searching for a place to eat. Speaking of guards, I thought, taking a look around as I walked through the busy streets, I've only seen one patrol group since coming here. Sure, there are guards at every government building, and the castle is just crawling with them... but I assumed there would be more of an active presence on the streets than I'm seeing.

It was about an hour later when I exited the restaurant I'd found in the downtown area. I was eight bits lighter now, and paying the bill for that meal made me realize that I needed to take stock. To that end, I ducked into an alley, the shadows cast by the low sun hiding me from prying eyes.

"What's left after all those train tickets..?" I whispered to myself, taking all of the rolls and loose bits out of my saddlebags. A few minutes of silent counting later, and I quickly replaced all of the bits into the bags, and put them on my back again. In addition to all my savings I had in the tent, I've only got fifteen-hundred and twelve now... *sigh* How can I ration twelve bits across three days, and still have enough to get back to Ponyville..?

After only a few moments of thinking, the answer was obvious.

*sigh* Why did I let myself burn down the fucking tent...

---

I awoke with a full body shiver, as the cold morning air flowed over me. It poured in through the hidden entrance to my little hideaway like an eldritch fog foreshadowing my inevitable demise...

Or at least that's what it felt like.

"Augh..." I groaned, rolling over and inadvertently exposing my warm side to the cold air. Another shiver shot through my body as I forced myself up onto my haunches. "God... why didn't I at least save the blanket..?" I moaned, bringing a hoof to my face to wipe the sleep from my eyes. This was the first time I'd ever woken up cold, at least as far as I could remember. Even during winter in Ponyville I was at least able to cocoon myself inside of the blanket. Here though? I was completely exposed, with nothing but a pillow to lay my head on. Canterlot was fine during the day but, thanks to the increased altitude, it gets a bit chillier at night than I was used to.

...And then there were my actual sleeping arrangements.

I went out of my way to find a good hiding spot, and eventually minecrafted a small space under the line of hedges that formed one of the dead ends inside of the Canterlot hedge maze. However, being underground, I didn't want any worms or bugs coming in through the dirt and crawling all over me while I slept. To that end, I enveloped my hiding place with a thin layer of rubber, which I transfigured from the organic matter in the dirt itself. Rubber, however, isn't exactly the softest thing in the world to sleep on, and I quickly found myself missing my cot during the half hour or so it had taken me to fall asleep last night.

With a groan, I do a bit of stretching to wake myself up before moving over to the hole in the ceiling, using the opportunity to stretch my back muscles as I pull myself up into the leaves. My little crawl space wasn't tall enough for me to rear up at all inside. Just one of the things I didn't think about when I made it.

Well... I have three days to kill, I think to myself, ...I'll probably be spending most of it at the library... "But first things first," I say aloud, pulling myself out of the hedge wall and making my way farther into the maze. "I haven't had a bath for more than a week, and I'm sure I'm desperately in need of one..." Whilst doing my exploring of the maze last night before the sun went down, I managed to find a nice little pond. I setup my hiding place just a few turns away from it, so I could easily find it again.

Once that was all sorted out, I started to eat some grass for breakfast while I dried off, before leaving the maze and starting my search for the library.

---

Well, I thought, walking back out of the internal affairs building, that was a lot less painful than I thought it'd be...

I was now the proud owner of a plot of land on the west side of the White Tail wood, and about fifty kilometers from the west coast. It was a nice location, far enough out of the way to get a good price, but close enough to the existing railway system that laying the tracks down in the future wouldn't be a crippling investment.

As much as I complained about it at the time, being forced to wait three days for my appointment was incredibly fortunate for me. I was still too upset by recent events to really think ahead, and it wasn't until I started doing some research in the Archives that I realized how unprepared I would have been. It took most of my first day just to identify all of the books and reference materials I figured I'd need in order to start really deciding where would be the best, and most affordable, location for this new town. Nothing in Equestria has made me miss computers more than scouring the library shelves for books without knowing which ones I needed.

It was especially annoying because I had to constantly restrain myself from wondering over to the magic section while I was trying to work. On the bright side, I was able to get plenty of practice in with my illusion spells by making myself invisible and silent whenever I went dumpster diving behind one of the bakeries.

With the deed tucked safely away in my saddlebags, I begrudgingly made my way through the city towards the train station.

I wish I could stay for a few more days. I didn't get to read a single magic book while I was here, but I told Star... Emulate, I mean, to come and see me in Ponyville and it's been four days already. I don't know how much preparation they needed, but she could be here any day now, and if I'm not there... who knows what she'll think.

I had exactly one bit to spare after buying my train ticket.

*sigh* Looks like I'll be living off the land again for a while... Maybe Zecora can teach me how to make mushroom stew or something. I suppose I could have considered seeing what the restaurants in Ponyville throw away before resigning myself to foraging, but I've had enough of stale bread for a good while... And I didn't need any reasons to be caught hanging around Sugarcube Corner these days.

The ride down to Ponyville was uneventful as I tried to think of a way to avoid any unnecessary conflict with... well, anypony, but mostly with any of the main six.

I doubt I'd be welcomed back into town by the general populace, especially after that stunt I pulled when I left. With how easily the townsfolk of Ponyville can get spooked, who knows what stories they've woven about that fire. Not to mention me disappearing again right after my lies were called out, because, ya know, that totally wouldn't be seen as suspicious.

As I stared out the window at the scenic view of the valley south of the mountain, the sheer drop to which was only a stones throw from the tracks, I briefly decided to make myself invisible when the train arrived at the station. That way no one would even know I was back in town... but I had to reconsider a moment later.

How will I find Emulate when she gets to town? Or her me if I go invisible? It's just not practical to be combing the streets for her, even if she does use the disguise I'm familiar with... I have no idea when she'll even get here, so how can I make it easier for her to find me..? I didn't need to think about it for very long. *sigh* Dammit. Emulate'll need to be able to ask around for me when she gets to town, which means I'm going to need to make it public knowledge that I'm back.

"*sigh* ...Balls," I sighed, leaning my head against the window. I wasn't looking forward to this.

---

Exiting the train, I stood tall with my face strait as I focused only on what was in front of me. I didn't want to look nervous to be back, I had nothing to fear after all. Even if someone were to try and confront me, I could easily slip way with an illusion or two. Taking a final, calming breath to steady my nerves, I began walking towards my old tree, my course set to take me right through the center of town.

Not ten paces from the train platform, and I could already feel eyes on me. I did my best to ignore them, and to keep my gaze forward, but despite my best efforts I found it wondering, looking for familiar faces. I didn't find any. Yet.

As I walked, any pony's eyes I met would quickly look away. There was a general air of nervous tension to the crowds I moved passed... but that was none of my concern. It seemed I was on the central boulevard, as I could see the Sugarcube Corner up ahead. I couldn't help but look into it's front window as I walked by, and there I saw my first familiar face. It was mister Cake, arranging a few confections in the display case with a smile on his face. Then he saw me. First came the frown, then came the blinds.

None of my concern, I thought to myself, pushing my eyes forward again while keeping the concept of the buildings... pink... occupant, out of my mind. As this, too, was none of my concern. Not any more.

Soon after, I found myself in the market square, where I fully expected to see Applejack, but, fortunately for me, there must have been something special happening today, as it was Mac at the stall instead. There was the barest hint of a downward crease to the corners of his mouth as we saw each other, but other than this he simply ignored my presence, and for this indifference I was deeply grateful, as I proceeded to ignore him in kind.

Nothing else of any note occurred for the rest of my walk, and soon enough I had passed through to the rolling hills that separated my former residence from the town proper. And with this transition I released a sigh of relief as I allowed my neck and shoulders to relax. It was nice having been able to get through town without any trouble.

Now I'll just make a quick stop to see how my old tree's been doing since the fire, then take the scenic route around to the Everfree, and let Zecora know I'm back...

The tree looked about as bad as I figured it would, given how quickly the weather team put the fire out. There was a jagged, blackened circle where the tent used to be, the bark on this half of the tree was charred, and there were no leaves in the branches of the same side.

"Sorry about this, old buddy," I whispered, running a hoof along the blackened bark. "I just wasn't thinking clearly..." Using my magic, I rip two clumps of dirt out of the burnt circle. One I turn into ammonium nitrate, and the other into potassium phosphate, two important fertilizers that I could remember. Once we start building this town of ours, I'll probably never be coming back here again... It'll be for the best if there's no evidence I was even here after that, I reason, sprinkling the two powders into the circle and around the base of the tree. I'm not going to waste time tilling these into the ground, but they're both water soluble, so next time it rains they'll soak right into the soil.

I decided to take the south route around Ponyville and across the train tracks, mainly because I didn't want to have to go past the Sweet Apple Acres and risk being spotted. Unfortunately, this strategy wasn't as fool proof as I'd thought, as, after several minutes of walking, I saw an assortment of different bird species, plus one bat, come flying overhead towards town from the south. Wondering what was the cause of this odd scenario, I walked up the hill blocking my view only to see none other than the main six, not more than a hundred meters away, as they walked towards me through the valley leading from Ghastly Gorge. Thankfully none of them seemed to have noticed me yet, they were all looking at Rainbow Dash as she rode on the back of some small creature, which I couldn't recognize from this distance. Quickly I cast my illusion magic to make myself invisible before walking back down the hill and continuing on my path.

It looks like things are back to normal for them now, as far as I can tell... That'll probably change once they hear the latest town gossip. Soon after, I reached the river that separates Ponyville from the forest. The only bridge across around here is the one in town, so I'll have to wade across... I hope my magic is good enough to keep the water away from the saddlebags. This river wasn't very deep, but it would still go above my back, so I cast a telekinetic bubble around my torso region to protect my papers, and started walking.

It didn't start off too bad, but the pressure on my horn quickly escalated once my barrel started submerging the surface. The water wasn't exactly rushing by, but even this gentle flow was shoving dozens of kilograms of water against my little shield every second.

Shining must be a fuckin' beast if this pathetic display of shielding magic is anything to go by, I thought, as the first beads of sweat started soaking into the fur of my forehead. Luckily the deepest part of the river, which had put my whole barrel and half of my neck underwater, was only a few meters wide, and within seconds the water started getting shallower again. It probably only took me about a minute to fully cross the river, whereupon I cast a quick drying spell on myself before letting down my tiny shield.

I saved my sigh of relief until after checking my bags, but sure enough, none of the ink had started to run on the papers, meaning they had stayed dry, rather than having been dried by my spell.

Well, I thought, putting the documents back into my bags, the only thing between me and Zecora's hut now is some dense forest. The edge of the forest was a few more minutes away, but the thought of walking through the Everfree didn't make me hesitate anymore. I'd gotten pretty used to this forest during my time in Ponyville, mainly due to my woodcutting. It helps that I've always had an uncanny sense of direction. Once I'm inside I'll just need to keep heading north by northeast and I'll find the dirt path soon enough. I was decently confident in my ability to either evade or kill anything that would try to attack me on the way. My illusion magic should keep me out of harms way... and even if it doesn't, I've always wondered what it would look like if I used my transfiguration magic to reduce all of the sodium and potassium ions in a manticores brain to their elemental states.

Many of the dangerous creatures of the Everfree forest are nocturnal, so I didn't cross paths with much of anything on my trek through the woods. I did encounter one cockatrice, but I just made an illusion of myself running off in some direction and it quickly gave chase, leaving me to continue on my way, unnoticed. Soon after that I found the path, and quickly found myself at Zecora's doorstep. I knocked on the door, and could hear some muffled speech from inside. She's probably expressing some surprise at having a visitor, I thought. Upon opening the door her eyes widened, slightly, in surprise when she saw me.

"Why, Cotton Hill, this is a surprise," she said stepping to the side and motioning an invitation to come inside. "I had thought your plans changed, when I saw the smoke rise," she continued while I walked in.

"Yeah," I started, bringing a hoof to the back of my head while trying not to sound like I was embarrassed. "I wasn't really thinking at the time. I let my emotions get the better of me and, well... it was a moment of weakness, and I've been regretting it ever since I calmed down," I explained as she closed the door.

"Mistakes are often made, this I understand," she replied, before her eyes narrowed and her lips bent into a frown. "...But what could drive you to leave such a scorch on the land?"

"friends... don't lie to friends..."

"...I," I started, feeling the tingly sensation in my nose that always precedes the buildup of tears. "...I don't want to talk about it," I said. I've been trying not to think about this... or her. The only way to get over it is to distance myself from it.

I don't know if it was something in my voice, or if she could see some lingering emotion in my eyes, but when I looked up, her disapproving expression had softened into one of understanding.

"I thank you for your honesty," she said, bowing her head slightly. "Now, to what do I owe the pleasure of your company?" I was grateful for her willingness to change the subject, and dove right in.

"Well, you see, the thing is..."

---

I proceeded to explain how my own stupid actions had rendered me even more homeless than I already had been, and if she knew of any relatively safe areas in the forest where I could set up a new place for myself. She, of course, offered to supply me with her creature repellent, but after explaining that It was only going to be temporary, and that I would likely only be using it as a place to sleep for a few days, she pointed me towards the south side of the forest, near froggy bottom bog. The manticores don't hunt near there because of the hydra, and as long as I stayed within the trees and out of the bog itself, I was unlikely to provoke it.

Thanking her for the suggestion, I also asked what plants were safe to eat, as I would be foraging in the forest for most of my stay. Along with this information came a warning to avoid areas that smelt strongly sweet, like honey, as these areas are home to the paraspiders. Their webs emit a sweet scent to attract parasprites, their main staple, but they grow to the size of an average filly, and are not above eating anything that can ensnare. Zecora even saying that she had once seen the shriveled husk of cockatrice in their webs.

Taking this warning to heart, I thanked her again for all of the information and, after cloaking myself in a layer of illusion magic, set off through the woods.

I spent the last few hours of daylight finding a good, easily hidden spot to make an entrance, and then made an underground dwelling, just as I had in Canterlot... except bigger. I wanted room to stretch out this time, as well as space for some hypothetical furnishings, depending on how long it took Emulate to show up.

I chose a spot next to a recognizable cluster of trees. They looked like about a dozen seeds had landed right next to each other, and then all successfully grew, forming a sort of bowl shape in the middle as they all bent away from each other.

This time, I had been smart enough to cast a warming spell before going to sleep, realizing that the waterlogged soils would probably be just as cold as the altitude at Canterlot. In the morning, I spent some time looking around for a decent breakfast before grabbing the saddlebags and making my way back to my old tree. I had decided that this is where I would be waiting, as when Emulate got to town, she would start asking around for me, and given that this had been my only stable location for the last year, they would likely tell her about it.

Likely... I sceptically thought. I did burn this place down, after all... but... it's a good a plan as any. Sitting at the train station all day would either be way too much of a spectacle, or way too draining on my magic, depending on whether I stayed visible or not. And I didn't even know that she would be coming by train. She might just turn into a pegasus and fly.

"Either way, this is as good a plan as any..." I reiterated to myself. *sigh* "Now," I said, resting in the shade of the side of the tree that still had leaves on it. "...The waiting game..."

Comments

[hs0003]

I had to look back early chapters to follow. It has been a while.

[Norken Dark]

Almost lost hope
But in the end it was worth the wait

[StealBox]

5445026

thanks. I figured that after a year since the last chapter most people have lost interest in this story. I know I do after a story hasn't updated in a few months...

[Twilight Kira]

He is still under the spell of discord right? Celestia can fix it... I mean before discord he controller himself, but after that he had become infatuated, irritable and sad almost too easly. I hope you fix that

[StealBox]

5454038

It'll get fixed over time. It's only been about a two and a half weeks since it happened to him, and the first four days of that were spent unconscious. I imagined having a tight control over ones emotion torn away from them would be similar to suffering some sort of emotional trauma, and you don't just get over those overnight. Similarly, it will take Cotton a while to rebuild his mental barriers, as it were.

[Powder_Sniffer]

"...The waiting game..."

...
...
...
I am horrible at this game

[Razzy]

And now we wait for the 'lings.