What if you had the opportunity to go to Equestria and realized, too late, that it wasn't what you dreamed of? That it was nothing more than an elaborate illusion.
What if you had the opportunity to go to Equestria and realized, too late, that it wasn't what you dreamed of? That it was nothing more than an elaborate illusion? I have learned just what Equestria truly is.
The story is being written after season 7, but other characters from future seasons could appear as well.
Coverart is by Ziom05. You can see more of his amazing art here.
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I write this so I can be reminded of who I once was as a man and who I would later become. My name was once Angelo Rojo, but in this world, I am now known as Desert Bat.
It began like any other day In Summerville, South Carolina, I awoke one morning at my house. I had had another dream about a magical land which, at the time, seemed like an amazing fantasy world full of colorful, talking, happy ponies. These ponies in my dreams went on many different adventures and always seemed to focus on six main ponies - they were called Twilight Sparkle, Pinkie Pie, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, and Fluttershy.
Throughout their adventures, many lessons were learned by these ponies; mostly about friendship, but at other times life lessons about moving forward even when mistakes had been made. The dreams always ended in some overly unrealistic happy ending, something I constantly wished and prayed for in my life of constant depression. I could still remember in this dream that a creature known as the Pony of Shadows was stopped and I could recall taking note that it was the one hundred sixty-ninth light dream I had. I had a few longer dreams where they went to a more colorful earth at times and an unrelated dream with an evil broken-horned unicorn, but they all came together in some way.
After reminiscing enough about my dreams, I got out of bed to begin my dull day off from work. When I lived here, I was just a warehouse worker trying to get by since I couldn't find a job with my mass communications degree I got in college. I had instant noodles for breakfast and sat down at the TV to watch the news, still in the clothes I slept in. The news was just as I expected - people my age complaining about how things were run and other mindless conformities they had come to rely upon and mistaken for giving them individuality. I turned off the TV and decided to get dressed and maybe go visit the shopping center.
On my way to the car, I began to think about Equestria again. I couldn't understand why I kept having these dreams and wondered how people would react if I told them of these. Would they have thought me to be merely a sad, hopeless individual trying to cling on to a happy place, fearing to face reality like an adult? No, I believed I could never tell anyone about this, not even to my best friend. I told myself I would take these memories to my grave. I shook my head for a moment to focus in on why I was outside. I was going to the mall. I got into my car and drove, with the radio off and in complete silence.
I walked around aimlessly at the kiosks to pass the time. I had no real intentions of buying anything, I just knew if I didn't get out now to get some fresh air I would be at home doing nothing but playing video games. Most of you would be asking why I didn't try hitting on some of the girls at least? Well despite being told I looked very handsome, I rarely saw anyone in a romantic way, nor cared enough to start.
The last few kiosks were coming up and then I noticed the second-to-last shop was new. After closer inspection, I noticed it was selling all sorts of interesting rocks: colorful crystals, smooth stones, some volcanic rocks, gemstones, and others made with designs in them. One that got my attention was a dark blue rock made into a pendant that was separated from the other merchandise and I didn't see a price either - it had a pearl-white stone shaped like an alicorn embedded into it as well.
"Like what you see, sir?" The saleslady asked, startling me out of my trance. "I have to tell you, of all the things here, that one is one of my favorites and I believe you were meant to have it. It's a charm meant to grant your heart's desire during a shooting star. So, would you like to own it?"
I gave her a very skeptical look - a look she noticed and came off as worried. "Let me guess. This pendant is worth hundreds or something, right?" I placed the pendant down a began to walk away. "No thanks, I'm good."
"Wait, don't go. Please!" The saleslady approached me and placed the pendant in my hand. " This reminded you of Equestria, didn't it?" That got my attention and I could see a smirk on her face at my expression. Did she know of Equestria too? Did she also have the dreams? " I'm going to close my kiosk and take my lunch break, please meet me at the food court" I nodded my head in compliance and went to our intended rendezvous point.
We kind of awkwardly sat at a small table for a few minutes in silence. I didn't notice at first, but the saleslady appeared to be close to my age and very pretty. She had slightly tanned skin, brunet hair, smelled like fresh lavender, and seemed to be in decent shape - probably always went to the gym - but what caught my attention the most was the pendant she wore on her neck. It was a pearl-white stone with a dark blue rock shaped like an alicorn embedded in it.
"I want you to be honest with me, so I know I'm not crazy," she finally addressed to me, " When you look at the pendant I gave you, who do you think of?"
Finally understanding what she wanted, I gave her the response I hoped we both wanted to hear. "Celestia, the pearl-white alicorn princess of Equestria with a flowing mane like an aurora borealis, and the princess that raises the sun."
She had a huge, adorable smile on her face, something I felt I shared at this moment. I finally met someone I could talk to about this. " Okay, and when you look at the pendant I'm wearing, who are you reminded of?"
"I'm reminded of Luna, the dark blue alicorn princess of Equestria with a flowing mane of stars, and the princess that raises the moon. Should I talk about any other pony for you?"
Something I didn't expect suddenly happened then. She got out of her seat and randomly embraced me. I noticed a few elderly women catching glimpses of this and gave an expression that told me they found this cute - they probably mistook us for a couple. My embracer probably realized this was weird and finally released me.
"Sorry," she said with embarrassment, " I didn't mean to make this weird. It's just... nice to actually talk to someone about these dreams I've been having for a while now without the fear of coming off as a sad loser. Oh, by the way, my name's Violet Lavender. I probably should have said that earlier. Sorry, sir."
"It's fine, ma'am, and you can call me Angelo, Angelo Rojo. So what's the deal with these alicorn pendants anyway? Did you make these?"
"Funny story, actually. I just graduated from college a few months ago in agricultural science and, for a graduation gift, my mother bought me these pendants and told me that each one could grant a wish from a shooting star. Just like you, the pendants reminded me of Celestia and Luna from my dreams and I felt compelled to put on the one you see me wearing now.
With a combination of depression from not being able to get a job with my agricultural degree and stress from the dreams I couldn't explain to my parents, I went outside and waited until I found a shooting star. After hours, I finally found one and made my wish. I wanted to find someone who could understand what I was going through.
I waited all night outside, but nobody ever came. My dad found me crying outside and took me back in. He did his best to help me through this and got me a job at this new kiosk in the mall - he hoped that working would help me relax. That's when you came walking by. Something in my head told me to put the other pendant I kept with me on display for you to see, and well... you know the rest. "
"So, I guess your wish came true after all, huh?" I could tell her face grew bright crimson after I said that. She was probably embarrassed and told me more than what she originally intended. The staring went on for a little longer until I thought it got awkward. " So... now wha..." I was interrupted. She spontaneous connected her lips with mine and instead of resisting, I embraced it. It felt as if it went on for a long time, but we eventually stopped. I had a look of surprise on me, no doubt, but I saw Violet's expression change from happy to upsetting.
"I'm so sorry. I don't know what came over me all of a sudden. All these things happening at once and I kind of randomly did..."
I raised my hand up to signal her to stop for a moment, something that didn't seem to calm her in the slightest. "It's fine. You got excited and, to tell the truth, I enjoyed that. It would be amazing if we could hang out more and get to know each other, then maybe we can do something like that again in the future if you're okay with that?"
I suddenly found myself being hugged again. I could only guess she was as socially awkward as I was when it came to expressing my emotions, but I returned her hug, and for the first time, I didn't feel as isolated or different - I felt I finally had someone I could share things with. "By the way, that was my first kiss."
Upon hearing this, Violet's head sprang up a looked at me in surprise. "Really, you never had anyone kiss you before either? Wow. We really have more in common than I thought. So what do you say we get something to eat and start getting to know one another. I gave her a smile and began to hand her pendant back but she refused to accept it. "No. I want you to have this one, Angelo. Something told me I needed to give it to you. Plus, now you can always have a part of me with you." As corny as that line was, we both managed to chuckle about it. From that point on, we would only form a stronger bond.
When I awoke, I was in complete darkness, however, after a brief second, my surroundings became clear as day. While I was confused by the sudden shift with my vision, I was too preoccupied with my environment to care for long. I looked around and noticed stone walls surrounding me, overtaken by vegetation. I could feel I was on a soft bed and on the other side of the room, a door with two torn banners - one with a crescent moon and another with a sun. How did I get here and...where was here?
My attempts to get up and walk around proved to be a greater ordeal than I would have guessed. I tried to holler for anyone to help, but I couldn't hear a sign of anyone approaching. It was then that I realized I didn't feel my hands and my mind started to awake and grow fearful. Was I abducted late at night while I was sleeping? Did a serial killer kidnap me and my girlfriend - doing something to her while leaving me here in his dungeon to rot and lament?
With enough panic and struggle, I got myself out of the king-sized bed. When my feet hit the ground it made the strangest noise, and it felt very difficult to stand. I decided I would get down on my hands and crawl to the door, and, surprisingly, it felt more natural and I reached my destination with little struggle.
As I reached out to grab the door I noticed something horrendous with my hand - it wasn't there. I quickly yelled in fear, wondering how many of my body parts had possibly been removed by this killer and what he did to Violet. I stepped back from the door to calm my nerves and prepare to exit the room when I heard a cracking noise. I looked down to notice a shard from a mirror below me and quickly found the main source. I took a glance at the largest piece to see what else might have happened to me while asleep, but instead of answering my questions, it only raised more. Why did I see a pony in this mirror?
For minutes that felt like an eternity, I thoroughly inspected myself. Judging by the wings I had, I wasn't a pegasus, I was apparently a bat pony with a kind of short light brown bedhead mane, a dark brown coat, brownish orange slit eyes, and a sandy brown bat symbol for, what I remembered it being referred to in my dreams as, a cutie mark.
In shock, I banged my head against the wall to wake up from this and immediately regretted it. I fell to the floor in agony with the knowledge that this wasn't a dream. After shaking that off I tried opening the door with my...hooves and, to my surprise, it was not a difficult task - then again, in all my dreams of the ponies, they never seemed to have trouble using their hooves the same way a human would using his hands.
When I exited the door, I found myself going through an old hallway decorated with armor meant for a pony and large stain glass windows. I had no idea where I was at the time, but I could tell at this point that this place had practically been untouched for many decades until I arrived. Soon I was at the end of the hallway and found myself in a throne room with two empty thrones - one with royal crest of a sun, the other a crescent moon. With the beating of my aching head subduing more by the second, I finally understood where I was - this was the Castle of the Two Sisters. Somehow I had made it to Equestria, but how? It was then that I felt my answer, wrapped around my neck was the pendant given to me by my love.
Three months had passed since I met Violet - the only person that understood me. After our little "awkward" meeting, we decided to get to know each other better. Every moment we had time off, we would spend it together. I thought that would annoy me at first, considering I spent most of my time alone, but with her, it felt special.
We spoke freely about the dreams we had about Equestria: our favorite parts of it, which ponies we liked best, and predicting the next time we would be getting these dreams, since we both seemed to receive about thirteen dreams each Saturday, separated between months - with the occasional special dream about the ponies.
One night I invited Violet over to my house for dinner - it was a few Puerto Rican dishes my father taught me. When she arrived, she had on jeans and a long-sleeved lavender blouse that went down like a mini skirt, along with some stylish cowgirl boots. It may have been January, but it was never too cold in South Carolina, plus she always hoped to get cold so she could hug me for warmth - something I was not against.
After dinner, we sat out on my porch, cuddling as I knew she would, and looking at the stars. Like always, we spent hours looking at them, hoping to find a shooting star and using the pendant she gave me to grant the one wish we agreed upon, to leave this world behind and go see Equestria together. We didn't really believe this was going to happen, it was more of a way for us to relax and spend time with each other. I'm sure she felt the same though, that no matter what came our way, we would be facing it together from now on. Within a year, if things looked like they were still progressing as we were hoping, I was even planning to propose to her. It was then that we finally saw it - a shooting star.
When I departed from the decaying ruins in, what seemed to be the dead of night, I walked straight into what I knew as the Everfree Forest. This location was very familiar to me since I saw it so often in my dreams, so I wasn't as afraid as I could have been at the moment. Given the situation and that the pendant actually granted my wish to see the land I had never personally seen in real life, my only real option was to make it passed this forest and go to the nearest town for some kind of help - Ponyville.
On my little trot, I tried to think more positive. I was sure Violet was safe in Ponyville. That we were just sent to different places, or, if I needed to, I could visit the pony I recalled the most - Twilight Sparkle, the princess of Friendship. I could tell her all about my situation and, knowing her character, she would do everything in her power to help me find the one most precious to me.
All of my hopes felt shattered as I made it to the outside of the forest and gazed at the sky above. One half was daylight, while the other was the night sky. And from a distance, I didn't see Ponyville, or even the friendship castle - just a war-torn battlefield. Before I had the opportunity to question what chain of events made this, my answer was approaching.
Marching from the night side, I saw a faction of ponies wearing bright golden armor - armor that resembled a solider more suitable for representing the daylight. From the daylight side, I saw a faction of ponies in dark colors - armor more suitable for the night.
From behind each faction, I saw something I didn't expect to see, the two sisters donning their evil forms that I had known and feared. Luna was Nightmare Moon - a black alicorn garbed in battle armor, sporting fangs, slit eyes, and wings more demonic than angelic. Celestia was Daybreaker - a fiery psychopath with a flaming mane, battle armor similar to her sisters, fangs, and pupils resembling lightning bolts. Each sister began to use their magic and moved the sun and moon to their side. After the daylight was on Daybreaker's and the night sky on Nightmare Moon's, they signaled their armies to attack.
I kept hidden in the forest's trees as I watched the fiery battle commence, horrified to see this befall on Equestria. " It's sad you know," a sudden voice announced, causing me to jump in fear, that is until I saw who spoke,"every day they change their half's day and night and send a portion of their troops to fight, and not all of them will survive from this."
I couldn't believe who it was. It was Discord, the draconequus - which the best way to describe his appearance would be a chimera resembling a serpent dragon - and the spirit of chaos.
"Discord!" I exclaimed but recalled the words he had spoken. "What happened to Equestria? What's going on here?"
"Huh," the chaotic creature said in confusion, " I don't think we've ever met before, and yet instead of hating me like every pony else, you speak like you personally know me as a friend? I knew I felt a magical disturbance, but this is not what I expected to find."
"I'll explain a little later, but we need to get the elements now and find out who did this to the princesses."
"I'm afraid that's not possible," he spoke sadly.
"What? What do you mean? Weren't they just used to stop the Pony of Shadows? They should be good. I saw it in my dreams about your world. Just go get Twilight and the girls and we'll save the princesses." I began to express in a sudden panic.
" Look closer at the battle, Daybreaker's top general might look familiar to you." Discord sulkily stated.
"Okay, you're starting to scare me and remind me how lost I am in this world. What's going on!"
"The Equestria you saw in your dreams was nothing more than a signal interference with my personal gaze into an alternative Equestria - a more innocent Equestria." He sat down and held me close to his side as if he not only wanted to comfort me but to comfort himself. "Please forgive me, but I'm afraid the Equestria you know and love never had the chance to exist, and it's my fault."
Discord awkwardly held me tightly with his lion paw arm, tears almost running down the cheeks of his goat head, as he spectated the battle between Daybreaker and Nightmare Moon that was still going on. I spent this silence contemplating what to say. I had so many questions for him, but I had to decide the ones that should be asked first. "So," I began, " what did you do to cause this?" I gestured to the battle. " Also you're super powerful, why can't you just change them back to normal?"
He released me from his paw and frustratingly looked me in the eyes. "I don't know who you are, but I now know one hundred percent that you're not from this world for multiple reasons: the first being that you have to ask ridiculous questions like that and the second being you probably think this," he said, pointing to the sisters, " is all I did. I can assure you I wish this was all I did - I would have been able to fix this problem and celebrated with cake. No, I'm afraid it goes back farther than simply tricking the two sisters into their corrupt forms." That statement made me gulp in a panic - something he noticed all too quickly." Tell me, do you recall the pillars of Equestria?"
"Of course. They're the six ponies that kept Equestria safe, with Starswirl the Bearded as their leader - though I kind of think Starswirl's a jerk."
"Same, but that's not important right this moment. Now I'm sure you remember in your dreams what they did to Stygian, the Pony of Shadows before they met the mane six - sending him and themselves to Limbo for a thousand years?" I nodded my head in agreement. "Well, they never sent him to Limbo - just themselves. After witnessing what the pillars did to Tirek, I followed them for a long time - waiting for the right opportunity to get rid of them and allow chaos to finally reign. Their spell for the pony of shadows was the perfect opportunity to do such a thing, and as an added bonus, I could interfere with their plans.
Just before Stygian was being sent off to Limbo, I got him out of the crossfire and replaced who they sent with the one pony that could talk sense into the new ruling tyrant of the Crystal Empire - King Sombra's lover, Radiant Hope. Radiant Hope never managed to warn Celestia and Luna of her love's descent into madness before it was too late, and the Crystal Empire forever became the domain of Sombra.
Sombra discovered what happened to Hope and, by using his own power of the shadows, overpowered Stygian and told him his life would be spared for servitude of the Crystal Empire - Stygian actually felt he was given more respect from Sombra than the pillars ever gave him and eventually won Sombra's trust, becoming his new general and waging war on Equestria out of rage for losing his beloved.
Eventually, the war caused quarrels between the sisters and the nightmare entity corrupted both of their minds - causing not only a national war but a civil war as well. Other factions you might know - such as the Changelings, Dragons, the Storm King's army, and many others - have joined the fray to cause a world war, but to sum it all up, I destroyed harmony in Equestria, and most likely, the whole world."
There were many things I wanted to know, but I was too flabbergasted by this newly acquired knowledge to ask. My energy felt drained as everything within the few hours I'd arrived in Equestria sunk in. If I had realized what I had, if I had never made that wish, then none of this would be happening to me or, possibly, Violet. Now I would never see my loving family, my quiet life, and possibly the woman I wanted to marry ever again. A wish that was supposed to grant my heart's desire only stripped the wealth I had away from me, leaving only this torment and a deepening hatred for the avarice that damned me to this Hell. Tears began to form and I felt a paw on my head, trying to comfort me. "I can't imagine I'll ever be able to truly make up for my past follies, but I promise you if there's anything I can do to help, I will."
As nice as he was acting towards me, I couldn't believe his words, and that mindset only reinforced that I was on my own. In an attempt to avoid the sense of defeat, a desperate plan manifested in me. "The tree of harmony," I shouted out loud. Discord looked like he wanted to tell me something, but I was already lost in thought to listen. Discord said that the mane six couldn't help me, but from his story about the pillars he never mentioned disposing the elements from the tree they planted before. With steely determination and strong disillusion, I backtracked to the castle of the two sisters to see the tree of harmony below it - not even realizing I left Discord behind and caused myself to be all alone.
There it was - the tree of harmony. A crystal tree with six magic stones that could restore balance to this world. "Oh, thank God the tree is still he..." the slots that contained the elements were empty - the elements were gone. "No." I ran up to the tree to inspected every inch of it. "No!" It didn't change anything - the elements were most likely lost forever. "NOOO!" I began hitting the ground with my left forehoof - ignoring the pain I caused it. I yelled out in rage and collapsed to the ground, crying without end. I felt so defeated and weak that I didn't even notice until it was too late, a timberwolf was behind me.
The timberwolf pounced and had me trapped in his mighty wooden claws. I was powerless to stop it. I thought for sure that this was how I would die. To my luck, the timberwolf was knocked on his feet from a mighty swipe of Discord's strong lion paw. He charged it with his mismatched horns and tore at it with his other hand - his taloned hand. The timberwolf fell to pieces and Discord swiped the wooden remains with his fur-tipped serpent tail. "Are you alright." He said, a little irritated." I tried to tell you, I corrupted the elements centuries ago and scattered them throughout the land. You can't rely on them anymore."
Discord extended his taloned hand to help me up, but, at that moment, I let my anger get to me. Instead of excepting his hand in friendship, I used my forehoof to hit him hard in the jaw - so hard that I was positive I moved him back an inch. "Do you realized what you've done!?" I shouted at him with hatred flowing through me. "All this time my love and I were dreaming of coming to a beautiful land full of joy and happiness, and you did nothing but feed us lies?! How dark is your heart? Do you just enjoy ruining everyone's life? Does this amuse you to break everyone and watch a world lose it's innocence? You sent this world to its death. Do you really think that because you're telling me to forgive you and that you're sorry that it can change anything?"
My anger had weakened me and it forced me to sit down and rest for a minute. I examined Discord, expecting him to lash out at me - mentally or physically. He didn't, however. His expression looked tired and broken as if he always expected to be told this and knew he had no reason to defend what he did.
"You're right." He said in a nonaggressive way. " I ruined the world. A few years ago I would still consider this paradise, but that was until I found a certain magic mirror. When I destroyed the magic mirror in this castle above us, its magical essence scattered across the night sky, probably reaching your world as well. One of the essences struck me and I began to have visions," my attention soon became glued to him at the mention of this, "visions of a world where I never helped Stygian, where I was defeated, Celestia defeated Nightmare Moon, the Elements found Twilight Sparkle and her group of friends that would not only keep Equestria safe from creatures like me but forgive them and show them the magic of friendship. I saw a world where I had friends and... mostly helped save the day with them. Most of all, I was loved and accepted by the pony named Fluttershy. She never even had the chance to exist in this world and I still feel like I betrayed her kindness. It was then that I realized I couldn't continue with this. What I once found fun was soon revolting in my eyes. I decided that I would, from now on, try my best to restore Equestria, but on that day Tirek also came back. I once had the power to stop all the evil that ruled this world, but after my fight with Tirek, I lost so much of the power you saw in your visions - the visions we somehow shared. I don't think I'll ever be able to fix Equestria on my own, but ever since I felt those two disturbances and met you, it's been giving me a feeling that I was possibly granted a second chance - maybe not to redeem myself, but to give Equestria the chance to be what it was meant to be."
The next words I would say were words I never thought I would have said after knowing what happened moments ago and his actions in this world. "I...I'm....sorry."
Discord came closer and gave a small smirk my way. "You have no reason to be sorry to me. I must admit, you hit very hard for a pony."
I don't know why, but I began to chuckle a little. "Thanks, I'm not originally a pony and quite surprised I can do as much as I can right now."
"Yes. And I'm sure you'll figure things out more during our journey to find your beloved. Come on, follow me."
I began looking at him with hope. "My beautiful Violet is here, and alive?"
"Of course, I told you I felt two magical disturbances, didn't I? So, I'm guessing from that and your speech, she was the other."
"And...you can find her." I was becoming so joyful, I began to forget about the raging drama we just had.
"Well, yes. I didn't lose that power fighting Tirek. Now come on, we need to travel South. Perhaps one day we can return here and free the alicorn sisters but that's not today. Hopefully reuniting you two will lead us in the right step like I think it will. This is still Equestria after all, and, vision or not, things always seem to eventually work out for it in the end."
I could hear only confidence and determination in his tone. On impulse, I ran to him and gave him a hug and I could feel the rage and hate I so easily had moments ago dissipate, turning into hope and joy. "Thank you, for saving my life and for assisting me in finding my Violet."
"I have a lot to make up for, this is the least I could do. Let's get going." He began to walk and I soon followed.
As terrible as the first few hours being here were, I was happy to gain a friend in a time of need, and I felt confident that one day we could fix this paradise lost.
We trekked through the Everfree Forest in utter silence. After our little...introductions, I could only imagine that neither one of us wanted to start another fight. Regardless of the circumstances, we were in, and that he was responsible for them, he also showed a passion for rectification and attacking each other wouldn't have solved anything. Sounds constantly echoed throughout the forest, and considering I couldn't see any creatures that made the sounds, I finally understood why this place was always considered scary to the ponies in my dreams. I was trembling a little and staying alert for action, any action.
"Are you feeling okay?" Discord's considerate question caused me to unintentionally jump high in the air and into a tall tree. "I guess that answers my question." He said, mostly to himself. "Don't worry, I'll help toughen you up eventually - wouldn't want your girlfriend to see you look pitiful, right? Now get down from that tree. Do you think you can fly down without hurting yourself?"
At first, I thought he was trying to mock me, but then I realized he was genuinely concerned if I could get down. "I don't know, but I guess I'll see if I can at least glide down. It would probably do me good if I learned to fly anyway." After a few moments of flapping my wings for a warm-up, I figured I would begin. "Okay, I'm coming down now. Watch yourself." I leaped into the air and tried to open up my wings, but they didn't release. I was plummeting to the ground at a rapid pace, yelling my lungs out and closing my eyes, bracing myself for a painful impact, but it never came.
As I opened my eyes, I was relieved to discover that Discord had caught me and I hugged him like a happy little foal. " And I guess that answers my other question." He quipped, so as to lighten the mood. "We'll definitely need to work on your flying, little pony. I want your future wife to see just how cool you got because of me when we see her."
His statement caused me to blush a bit. The idea of looking so cool for her and impressing her did sound nice. I also imagined that she probably turned into a pony too. Regardless, I was sure she looked just as pretty as always. I playfully hit Discord's lion arm and he put me down. "Cut it out, Discord, it's a little early to imagine she'll say yes. Oh, and by the way, you don't have to call me a little pony. My name's Angelo - Angelo Rojo."
"Angelo Rojo?" Discord questioned, slowly stroking his goat beard. "That doesn't sound like a pony name. You look like a bat that came out the desert. I feel that Desert Bat would be more suitable. In fact, now that I think about it, it might be a good idea to keep your real name a secret anyway. We wouldn't want a changeling spy to get the upper hand on us in the possible future. That's it, my mind's made up. From now on your name is Desert Bat or some kind of nickname relating to it. Sound good, Des?"
"Uhm..." I couldn't help but blush again. I never had a nickname before, but then, I never had any friends to do that. Regardless of how embarrassed I felt from it, he had a point. It would be wise to keep my real name a secret and used for some kind of secret code in case we ever needed assurance we're who we say we are. Yeah, it sounds good. Desert Bat it is then."
"Splendid. Now come on little Dessie, we still have a long way to go."
As Discord began to walk on, I could help but get completely red from the last nickname. It sounded like something Violet would call me. “Will you please stop with these weird nicknames. It's embarrassing, and sounds like someone will get the wrong idea about us."
After countless hours of traversing through the thick forest, we had found a cave to camp out for a time - I would have said the night, but the side we were on was Daybreaker’s day instead of Nightmare Moon’s night.
I watched as Discord used two sticks to start a fire with the firewood I collected. It was nice to feel useful, especially since the majority of my time here seemed to feature me being rescued. As we both began to sit by the flame, one thing did worry me though. "Are you sure we won't be attracting anyone's attention, like an army?"
"You don't need to worry, if there's one thing all the factions tend to avoid, it’s the Everfree Forest. Gia Everfree hates them for killing her brother while they attempted to escape from the growing war - back when she was just a pony. She'll personally go for them if they set foot in her domain, but the two of us, she doesn't bother with that - she lets the creatures of her expanding forest kingdom take care of that. Though the fire tends to scare off most of those creatures, especially the timberwolves."
All I could do was stare dumbfounded by the continued knew information I received. If I was to survive in this world I would need to keep calm and learn as much as I could. "You seem to know a lot about surviving here. How long have you been in this forest anyway?"
Discord stroked his beard, obviously trying to recall. "I think it's been about three years now - ever since I lost most of my powers in that fight with Tirek. I decided to stay here and at least help any ponies, escaping the war, make it safely out of here. Well, for a long distance anyway - they do hate me, so I mostly give them advice and a safe direction to go."
"But why didn't your powers return to you after you beat Tirek like in the other world?"
"Well, you see, little Dessie, I don't possess the same powers as the six and had to resort to an alternative method of beating him - a method that didn't return the majority of my powers but did ensure he would never return. But it's not all bad, I am still stronger than a unicorn and, if I focus hard enough, I could fight one of the two sisters or a creature equivalent - though I'll completely tire myself out in the process."
"How did he get strong enough to take you on? Didn't he need to take lots of magic in order to get his strength?" Despite wanting to know, I felt I would regret asking that.
"True, he was very weak after his escape from Tartarus, so for a while, he merely collected the magical essence left off the fallen soldiers. Outside of this forest, Equestria is nothing more than a scarred battlefield full of ponies to salvage, so he got strong really fast. Soon he even had enough strength to absorb the top weapon of Nightmare Moon's army - Tantabus.
I was sabotaging the Storm King's armory when I felt the massive magical disturbance. Tirek had managed to steal a large amount of magic from Stygian, the Pony of Shadows before I confronted him. I teleported his meal away and we fought for three days and nights - neither one of us with any signs of letting down. Of course, I eventually got the upper hand and put an end to him, but not before he attempted to drain all my magic. The attempt obviously wasn't fully successful, and Tirek was dead.
After the fight, it was the first time I truly felt vulnerable. In your eyes, I might still be very strong, but until that day, I always felt like a god. All the plans I had to save Equestria fell flat as I attempted to do my usual tactics with this fraction of the power. Eventually, I felt defeated and decided I would remain in the Everfree Forest to help any refugees that wanted my help. There were times when I thought about going to my old house in the distorted dimension. There was also a time I thought of something a little more...depressing, but I guess I felt I deserved to live in this ruined world I created - I shouldn't have the luxury of leaving it behind when no pony else could."
I started to feel a little gloomy about the end of that story. Made me wonder what he expected to happen when I was reunited with Violet, and I meant when - I refused to imagine she was dead, especially since I needed something to fight for at that point. "I still don't get it. What do you think will happen when you reunite me and my love?"
"I don't know." Discord stated, bluntly. "Truthfully, I have no idea if you can do anything to help this violated land. Call me a delusional fool if you want, but all I really have left that's strong enough to do what I was once capable of is faith. I merely have faith that you coming here is a sign that salvation will arrive."
We stared at the fire in silence for a time, until I broke that silence with a yawn. Discord pulled out a brass pocket watch to check the time. "It's about one in the morning. I suggest you get some sleep, Desert Bat. The Everfree Forest is much larger than in your dreams and you'll need your rest if you want to leave safely."
While walking to the cave, exhaustion hit me - I didn't realize how badly I needed to rest. The cave was dark and cool, but I noticed a bed of large leaves - something Discord probably made while I was out getting firewood. I was a bit confused though when I noticed that he only made one bed, and I knew it wasn't for him because it was too small. "Hey, Discord. Where exactly are you going to sleep?"
"I’ll be staying outside the cave, Discord responded. "Sleep has always been optional for me. I think it would be better if I stood to watch and kept the fire going. Besides, I hate my dreams. Sleep as long as you need and then we'll keep going, okay?”
I nodded my head in agreement and began to lay on the comfy bed of leaves - using one leaf as a blanket. Even with everything that happened on my first day here, it didn't take long for me to fall asleep.
I found myself alone in the Everfree Forest - not sure how that came to be and wondering where Discord was. While I walked around to see if he was up ahead, I couldn't help but notice how silent the forest was. The constant sounds of growling predators and screeching birds were now absent, along with any sign that anything resided in the proximity. Fear was normally always present in me during these situations, but, at that moment, I felt strangely calm.
It was as I made it past some thickets when I saw a trail of pink mist. At any other time I wouldn't have thought about following the unknown, but for some reason, I felt like it called for me to follow it. The mist appeared to stretch a longer distance than I expected - taking me on a path I hoped to lead to a sanctuary.
Eventually, the mist led me to a large cavern with glittering gems visible in the depths. While observing the outside of this impressive underground beauty, I noticed another trail of mist, as if it had led another to this very location. I shouted into the cavern but got no response. Suddenly, I heard a voice from within the cave - telling me to help set her free. I could feel unwillingly being drifted away from my surroundings, but not before I heard the most encouraging words. "I need your help to restore Equestria. Free me and the others. The other one is on her way here with some friends to do the same."
My eyes shot open and I lunged myself up in a state of confusion - almost forgetting where I was. Was that just a dream? I thought to myself. Or was that a new vision? What did that voice mean when she spoke of another one? Could she have meant...I should ask Discord about this. He might understand this better.
As I got up, a delicious smell caught my senses which I followed. The wonderful aroma led me outside the cave and, as I expected, it appeared to now be the night. On the ground, I noticed a pile of fresh fruit in a basket - I assumed the fruit was for me. Taking a few out to eat, I noticed Discord by the fire eating what at first looked like a cooked chicken, but after closer inspection, I could tell the tail was as long as a snake. Recalling the creatures in my dreams, I realized he must have killed a cockatrice that passed by - a creature with the head of a chicken and a reptilian body.
"It's nice to see you're up," he said without even looking my way. "You should be sure to eat as many fruits as you can. You'll want your strength up. Unless you feel like trying some cockatrice? I'm pretty sure bat ponies are able to eat meat."
That really did smell good, but because he said he was pretty sure and not that he knew I could eat meat, I didn't want to risk upsetting my new pony stomach. "Um...no thanks. I'll stick with fruit for now." I sat by the fire and enjoyed my breakfast. I could tell I had some apples, but a few fruits I picked up looked completely alien to me. I tried it anyway and was amazed at how juicy and sweet it tasted. I finished my fruit rather quickly, while Discord seemed to be taking his time with his meal. Suddenly the sky changed from night to day, then to what seemed like dusk. "What? What was that about? I thought they had their own sides for day and night."
"Yesterday was just a good day." Discord stated, "The day-night cycles are never very consistent....not anymore. Each sister constantly fights for their time to dominate the whole sky. Though enough about that, did you sleep well?"
Fortune seemed to be going my way, I was given the perfect opportunity to ask what I needed, and so I began. "I'm not sure, to be honest. I was wondering if you could help me understand this dream I had?" Discord nodded in approval. So I told him about the dream in as much detail as I could and he seemed very interested in it, which I took as a good sign."
"Hmmm...everything about it seems like signs of a vision. Though I wonder who, or what was calling you. Hopefully, we'll come across this mist - it sounds like a power that could assist us." We finished eating what we could and then Discord placed a leaf on my back. Before I could ask why the leaf turned into a saddle bag and he stuffed them with the leftover fruits from the basket he left for me. "Just in case you get hungry." I couldn't help but give him a smile and, noticing this, he gave me one back. Who would have thought in such a short time we would already become good friends. "So, while we keep walking, why don't you tell me more about yourself. I told you most of what you need to about me, but I don't know much about you."
It wasn't until he said that I realized I never did tell him much about how I really got here. "I'm sorry, with everything that's happened it wasn't something on my mind. I guess it would be good to talk more about myself - I'm sure we're going to be spending plenty of time together. How about I tell you the events that lead me here? I mean. if you want me to?" With a nod of satisfaction, I told him more about my time on Earth, with Violet, and the story that brought me here as we continued onward.
To my surprise, I had been talking non-stop to Discord about my life, and he seemed interested the whole time. I could only guess that with all the years he probably spent alone, he found it nice to have someone else talk to him for a change. "And I guess that's pretty much how I got here. Next thing I knew I was a bat pony in an Equestria I never knew." Discord lowered his head after that last statement, probably feeling ashamed of what he did and possibly feeling responsible for my situation. I tried to chuckle a bit to lighten the mood, but that seemed to do nothing but make it feel more awkward.
At this point, I figured now would be an okay time to beak the ice on what I thought about him. "Look, Discord, I know I'll never be able to replace that bond you could have had with Fluttershy, but I want you to know I do consider you a friend now." That statement seemed to not put a smile on his face, but a look of surprise.
"Really?" He began with a lamenting aura. "After everything I've done to this world? The fact that I practically trapped you here? You know after our little fight yesterday, I figured you merely wanted to tolerate me to see the only pony you love. I wasn't expecting to ever be considered your friend....and certainly not so soon."
It was upsetting to see him like this, so I placed my hoof on him for comfort. I made sure to look him in the eyes for what I would say next. "Well, when I first arrived, you could have just left me to die out here...and if you didn't assure me Violet was here, I would have gladly accepted that fate, but you've protected me this whole time instead and shown me that you value my well being. Not only that, but you made it clear that you want to undo the evil you have caused. Look...I'm sorry about lashing out at you, even if you feel you deserved that, and, if you want, I would gladly be your friend."
The next thing I knew, I was being picked up and wrapped in a big hug - a few tears hit the top of my mane. "Thank you. I never realized how much I wanted a friend till the day I had a glimpse of the paradise lost, but now that I've been offered...I feel I don't deserve it." He suddenly squeezed tighter and all I could do was tap his back. Discord noticed my struggle and let me go - allowing me to take large breaths of air. "Oh," he said with a nervous chuckle," sorry about that."
My condition was back to normal and I gave him a light smirk. "Don't worry about it. So, bud, do you think we're getting closer to my beauty?"
"To tell the truth, not only do I think we're getting closer, I think she's getting closer to us."
That comment surprised me a bit, but then, I should have thought of the possibility of her wandering around. "That's great news! Which direction, Discord?"
"If we take..." We were suddenly interrupted by multiple howls - all of them heading our way.
"Timberwolves? A pack of timberwolves? Can you even take down a pack? I don't know where to hit them, but I'll help you fight them as best as I can." Large roars could also be heard with the howls now, and I started to feel less confident.
"Not just timber wolves," Discord stated," from the sound of those howls, I would say manticores are also part of this pack?"
This was certainly making me nervous now. "Manticores? You mean those huge lions with bat wings and a scorpion tail?"
"Yes, actually. I must say, I'm impressed, Dessie. You sure know your wildlife." Suddenly, I found myself being coiled in Discord's tail as he climbed a tall tree close to us. "We should be safe up here."
"Won't they just climb the tree to get us?" I worryingly asked.
"The Manticores, normally would, yes...If they were hunting us." I gave Discord a puzzled look, which he responded to. "You see, little Dessie, they are the ones being hunted."
We both looked down and spectated many timber wolfs and manticores running as fast as they could, and then we saw the stragglers - too slow or too tired to keep up. What we saw next, though, was a creature I had mostly forgotten even lived in Everfree - an ursa minor - a giant bear shaped like the cosmos and cub to the dreaded ursa major. It swung its mighty paw at a small pack of timber wolves and reduced them to toothpicks. Then it ran towards a cornered manticore and struck it with a killing blow. Neither one of us made a sound as we watched what was considered an apex predator become devoured like simple prey. Eventually, the ursa minor left and all that was left of its prey was a blood stain on the grass. "Well," I whispered, "that could have been bad for us. When do you think it'll be safe to get back down?"
"Not sure. We're in luck though - most of the time when an ursa minor is roaming this far out, the mother is out looking for her cub." As Discord finished saying that, I noticed a bear behind us - ten times larger than the ursa minor, and with teeth like a saber-tooth cat. I shook Discord furiously to get his attention - it didn't take long. "What's wrong little Dessie, still sca...." It was at that moment Discord subsided that confidence and felt the same level of fear I had. The ursa major's violent roar shook us out of the tree and we ran for our lives. We hoped the thick forest would slow the beast down, but it did little to the creature that was easily gaining on us. To make matters worse, we appeared to be coming up to a cliff.
As we continued running, Discord picked me off the ground and had apparently grabbed hold of a long vine. Without hesitation, he swung off the cliff. We almost made it to the other side when the ursa major narrowly missed us and cut the vine with its razor claws. Discord and I both fell - each holding a side of the vine. The vine caught us on a log protruding from the rocks and we both swung opposite directions and found ourselves tied to it. "You know, Discord," I said with relief," even though we're stuck like this, I'm just glad I'm not a meal for that creature."
"Same here, Dessie." He said, completely out of breath. "Don't worry, by the way. We'll find a way out of this." Right when he finished saying that, the log we were tied to came out of the cliff and we fell to the bottom. Lucky for us the bottom was a flowing river, or so I thought. Discord was able to see what was coming up our way. "Oh no."
Those were the last words I wanted to hear at that moment. I signed internally and asked the obvious question. "Are we about to go over a waterfall?"
"Yep," he said nonchalantly.
I had just cheated death a few seconds ago. During that time, I didn't really see a problem with having another go at it. "Do you think there are sharp rocks at the bottom?"
"Most likely," I heard him say, just as nonchalantly as before.
The adrenaline must have been flowing furiously in me because I could only respond with three determined words. "Bring it on."
By some sort of miracle, we not only made it down the waterfall unscathed, but the sharp rocks at the bottom broke the log we were tied to - freeing us. We managed to swim to the shallows, choking up water from almost drowning. Discord shook himself dry and I soon followed. Both of us were a hot mess, drenched, cold, and I lost my new saddle bag before I could use it, but we couldn't help but laugh about what just happened. "I must say, that was a traumatic experience; even for me." Discord said in a baffled tone.
Despite nearly being killed twice and agreeing with him, his comment only caused me to laugh. "What's the matter, Discord," I playfully asked," never been chased by an ursa major before?" Discord tried to act upset, but he couldn't help but laugh with me. I had never been so scared in my entire life, and we were merely laughing and telling jokes like it wasn't that big of a deal.
We took a few moments to rest and decided it was time to go on. "I can feel she's getting closer. This way." I followed behind again until I noticed Discord stopping. "That's odd?" I heard with worried curiosity. "I can't locate her. I lost the connection."
The sound of that made me panic. "Wait! Are you saying she's..."
Discord placed his paw on my muzzle to keep me quiet. "No! Not that! I'm saying she might have entered someplace with a magical imbalance. Wherever she is...it's too chaotic for even me to get a proper signal."
I'm sure he assumed this would somehow comfort me, but it did the exact opposite. I galloped in front with determination. "Well let's hurry up. We'll keep going the direction we were going and hopefully find wherever she is." Leading the way, we kept going to where I hoped would lead me to Violet.
We ran as fast as we could before I noticed something familiar. "What's wrong, Desert Bat? Don't tell me you're cracking under the pressure already; I was enjoying that strong confidence you had a moment ago."
I signaled Discord to come over to my position and pointed to a trail of pink mist. "Do you see what I see?" He looked at me puzzled and merely shrugged - as if the trail was invisible to him. I didn't have time for this, I needed to make sure my girlfriend was okay. "Never mind. Just follow me. I think I found our way to Violet." Without a word, he let me guide him on.
At full speed, we trod through the thickets and found the end of the trail. "This was the cavern I saw in my dream. I bet she's in there. Come on! Let's go!"
Before I could enter, Discord held me back. "Now hold on. I feel a strong power in this cavern, and I don't think it's very friendly. We need to be on our guard." I gave him a nod and we entered the cavern.
According to Discord, the cavern was pretty dark, with only the dim glowing energy radiating from the crystals giving off just enough light to see - it was times like these that made me glad to be a bat pony. Due to my better vision, I continued to lead the way - making sure we didn't take one wrong step and fall down its dreaded abyss. I could see this cavern's tunnels were massive - as down below were streams flowing steadily down and slowly eroding new paths for future travelers. Tunnels lead everywhere - giving the cavern a stronger impression of a deadly labyrinth.
"Do you think we're getting closer to her," I asked in a whisper.
For a change, it seemed Discord was the one terrified. "We need to hurry up and get out of here. I think we might have trespassed on something dark and twisted."
The fact that it was Discord telling me something in here was twisted meant it had to be a threat, but I wasn't going to abandon my love - not when I was this close. "Not without Violet. You can leave if you want, but I'm not leaving till I find her."
Discord appeared to be struggling with the idea of leaving without me, but, to my relief, he stayed. "You're lucky I care about you." He stated, frustrated. This caused me to grin. "I see you smiling over there, and believe me, this is not the time to be smiling."
We had managed to arrive at a wide open area that appeared to be a hub for many tunnels when suddenly, our focus was stolen by what sounded like a blood-curdling scream. The smile I had carried soon faltered, and we waited a moment to hear if anything else would happen. Eventually, loud echoes of galloping hooves approached, and before we knew it, two ponies had collided into us - unintentionally tackling me down and causing Discord to slam his head on a rock; he didn't appear to be waking up soon. As the other ponies and I got ourselves up, we were then greeted by the source of their fear.
Approaching us was a minotaur that stood as tall as Discord. Its torso was a blood red and legs as black as death - though it seemed to have a pink aura surrounding him. With a wave of his hand, large barriers of mist blocked all the tunnels - leaving us trapped in the central hub and at his mercy. "You dare enter the domain of Taurus, the Barbarous?" He asked in a deep, threatening voice. "I will ensure this becomes your grave."
Suddenly, I heard crying from one of the ponies we encountered and, almost immediately, I noticed this pony bore a striking resemblance to one of the ponies in my dreams, Fluttershy; the only real difference was that this mare was an earth pony and not a pegasus. "Please," the butter-coated mare pleaded, frightened to the core, "we didn’t mean to intrude.”
“Don’t you dare come any closer. “A lavender unicorn mare with a violet mane commanded - her horn aglow with a purple aura. As he slowly approached us, the expression she gave made it clear - there was nothing she could do to stop this beast. It hurt to see there was little I could do to help, but then I realized there was something about this mare that seemed...familiar, and that's when I noticed that her cutie mark where violets and lavender, and around her neck was a pendant similar to mine.
“Violet...is that...really you?”
My question caught her off guard and she looked at me with a hopeful expression. “Angelo?”
Our reunion was cut short as we heard Taurus charging towards us - intending to end us. We didn’t say another word, nor did we yell out - all I could do was get in front and try my best to protect my mare. While closing my eyes and expecting to die, I heard the other mare cowering in fear and she cried out. “Some pony help us!”
All it took was that second when something inside me awoken. A golden aura surrounded me and the barbarous foe no longer frightened me. On instinct, I flew at him and head-butted him in the face. Blood dripped from my forehead, but I had managed to halt his progress to everyone.
Taurus laughed and seemed amused with my defiance. "Seems you have some fight in you, little pony, but it will only last for so long. Submit now, and I will make their deaths quick and painless."
Fear was still in me, not from my adversary, but from the possibility of losing Violet again - I wasn't strong enough to lose her again. "Never. I find no nobility in your actions, you vile beast. I would choose oblivion over losing them."
With another sinister laugh, Taurus gave one final statement before charging once more. "The choice is not yours to decide."
To my relief, I managed to keep him as far away from the others as I could. Taurus swung and charged at me and I managed to dodge his attacks - giving him a few jabs as I did it. How I was going to defeat him was a mystery to me; it was a miracle I was doing this well. After a while, the look of exhaustion was clear on his appearance and my constant jabs were putting a number on him. I flew as fast as I could and decided I would attempt to finish the fight by charging him, however, my overconfidence got the best of me and I was struck hard in the ribs. The impact sent me flying back to my friends and I found myself next to Discord. This was the first time I felt this sort of pain; it was excruciating and I soon began coughing blood. What hurt the worst, though, was seeing Violet look at me so traumatically. "Angelo...please stay with me." Violet held me tightly and, for some unknown reason, a nightshade aura surrounded us. My pain seemed to have faded, but I could hear Taurus approaching and I still felt too weak to continue on. Regardless, I stood up and held my ground.
The creature's approach was obviously more sluggish than before; if I didn't know any better he was ready to collapse himself. "You will never defeat me. I will paint this cave with your blood, bat." Taurus was soon knocked down by a blast of magic from Violet - for some reason, her aura was now a nightshade color instead of purple.
"Posey, look after my boyfriend while I finish this bully off." Too hurt to continue to stand, I fell back to the ground - accompanied by the yellow earth pony, who I now knew way named Posey.
Violet was rushing headlong, blasting the weaken beast with her magic and despite her clear advantage, I still worried about her safety. "Goodness," I heard Posey say in bewilderment, "she's improved on her magic fast for only one day of training." While spectating Violet, surrounded by a nightshade aura, combat Taurus, I couldn't help but smile.
"Thank you, Posey, for watching over her. She's my world and I don't know what I would do without her." I could hear Taurus in agony as Violet continued to blast him.
"I know I'm not very strong, but seeing her come to our village in tears made me feel like I had to do anything to help."
That comment made me smile and think about something she said. Did she just say something about a village? Well, considering how nice she is, I guess there are places where some ponies are still peaceful. I lost my train of thought when I saw Taurus attempting something on Violet while under her blasting spell. Instincts to protect her kicked in and a golden aura surrounded me once more. With my remaining strength, the combined forces of Violet's magic and my attack destroyed the beast once and for all.
Taurus groaned in agony - imploding into a puff of smoke that mysteriously flew to Discord and into his mouth. As the misty barriers dissipated, the only thing left behind by Taurus was a familiar looking pink gem floating above. We began to approach it, but it flew over to Posey instead. "You have awoken the scions of unity and have released me from my prison." The gem announced to her. ( I'll admit, I didn't expect to see a floating talking gem.) "I have been waiting for this day, bearer of kindness." There was a flash of light and when we could see again, we noticed Posey had a necklace with a gemstone shaped like a butterfly.
Nobody spoke as we were all too confused at what had happened. Posey fixated on the necklace she was bestowed, but then she broke that silence established by tearing up. Violet rushed over to comfort her, which I knew she needed. "I thought we were going to...to...." She didn't finish that sentence, but we knew what she was trying to say - I was surprised the rest of us didn't break down as well.
I turned around to give them space when, out of the blue, I felt myself getting punched in the face by Violet. Before I could ask why she did that, she squeezed me into a very constricting hug. "Don't you ever do something that crazy again. I lose you for one day, and when I do find you, you decide to almost get yourself killed to save me." It felt great to finally be embraced by her again; even if it was, perhaps, too tight. "By the way, you make one handsome stud, my hot bat stallion." That statement caused my face to turn as red as a tomato.
There was no way I would let her get away with that. "And you're still the most beautiful creature in all of existence." I saw the blush on her face and kissed her playfully on the cheek; victory. We could see Posey was giggling and probably finding this sappy reunion romantic.
Groans were heard and it seemed Discord had finally awoken. "Ow, that really hurt." He said, snatching his head. It didn't take long for him to notice the mare I was embraced with. "Oh, it seems you found your beloved while I was out of it, Dessie."
That nickname was something I dreaded hearing at the moment because as I faced Violet, I could see a mischievous grin on her. "Dessie? That's so cute. I'm so calling you that from now on."
This statement embarrassed me to no end, and I knew she was enjoying that, "Actually, it's Desert Bat. Discord thought my real name didn't sound, well, pony enough."
"I guess that's only your problem, my little Dessie." I was positive she would call me that from now on.
After everyone had a chuckle from this, Discord's attention was turned to Posey's. He noticed her appearance and the element she was wearing around her neck and was showing signs of joy, but that came crashing down as he saw the lack of wings on the pony. "You're not...Fluttershy, are you?"
It really hurt to see the look of sorrow on him, especially the bit of pity Posey seem to have towards Discord. "I'm...I'm sorry, but my name is Posey." She took a few steps back to give him space, but then, seeing the lamenting expression on his face, she walked to him with a warm expression. "Don't be sad, I'll gladly help you find her if you'd like."
From the tears in his eyes, I could only guess he saw so much of Fluttershy in her; to be honest, with the way he changed the world, I wouldn't have been surprised if this was her incarnation in this universe. "Thank you." He picked up Posey and gave her a hug; I noticed her face turning red from this. For the time being, everything seemed well once again.
All four of us began trekking out of the cave; me leading while Violet lit her horn in the back for everyone else. While Discord was telling the girls about our little adventure getting here, something bothered me; it was what the element itself said. What exactly were the scions of unity? I gazed at my pendant and could see it glowing a golden aura. This made me wonder what secrets this thing still contained.
The cavern's exit was within sight, Discord was telling the girls about our adventure getting here, and I thought things were looking up from here; yeah right. Turns out Discord thought it was smart to tell Violet what he told me about how Equestria got to its current state. As I expected, she tried to kill him; I don't blame her though. Luckily, Posey begged for the violence to stop and let him speak when they made it back to there home; she stood down afterward.
Finally, we were out and I could, once again, feel the cool, fresh air flowing all around. It had gotten dark, but I had begun to learn that it meant little when telling the time. Everyone stood around, looking at each other with awkward stares," So." I started, "Discord told you pretty much everything. Please tell me you're not going to try to kill him again?" Violet gave Discord an angry stare, but then saw the expression I was carrying.
"Ok, fine," She then directed herself to Discord again. "but just remember that I'm only sparing you my wrath because of Posey and Dessie. If I think you're doing something suspicious, I'll make sure you have the same fate as Taurus. Do I make myself clear?"
Discord nervously shook his head in agreement. "I promise you, I will do whatever I can to help you and little Dessie..."
"Also, from now on, only I'm allowed to call him that! Got it?"
"Yes, ma'am." He shook his head rapidly and came over to whisper in my ear. "Your girlfriend's scary, Des."
This put a large smile on my face. She was a bit awkward and shy at times, but when it came to those she loved, it didn't matter how powerful the adversary was - she struck fear in them. "What's the matter, scared of a beautiful mare? No wonder you're still single." All I got for a response was a pout, which caused me to chuckle. Violet was watching our little banter and decided to walk over; nuzzling me lovingly. It felt nice and I did the same for her; I didn't find out till later that she gave Discord a gloat of victory from behind my back.
The three of us noticed Posey, still wearing the element of kindness, talking with some woodland creature - a few bats and rabbits - and then approached us, with a smile that seemed so innocent. "Guess what? These little critters know the direction back to Ponyland." I didn't ask what that was, but by the obvious name, I assumed it was a colony with nice ponies like Posey; probably where Violet ended up too."
"Wow, Posey, that's wonderful. You really are amazing." Yeah, she was definitely sent there, and would probably tell me more about it on the way. Violet trotted closer to me all lovingly and pointed towards Posey. "Alright, lead the way."
Getting to Ponyland took about two hours. Discord and Posey were up front, talking to one another and having a friendly chat. From the joyous expression, I could tell Discord felt this pony was his second chance with Fluttershy, but I was wondering if this happiness would be able to last in him.
Violet spent a majority of the trip explaining to me what happened to her when we got separated. Apparently, my assumption was correct about Ponyland - it was a colony of kind ponies and she woke up on the outskirts of it. Walking for her was confusing like it was for me, but she quickly picked up on it, so she made it inside and was surprised by the sight of all the ponies that she fainted. She told me Posey noticed her and was brought back to her nice cottage to rest. She got to see the village, meet Posey's other friends and was shown what she thought was pure peace. It wasn't until she had a vision about me and the cavern that she began to realize that this world wasn't as peaceful as she thought. This made me wonder, how sheltered from the world were these ponies? Are they just ignoring Equestria's problem - hoping it will go away?
I lost my train of thought when Violet tapped me on the shoulder with her muzzle. "I want to know something. Why are you trusting Discord? How do we know this isn't an act? He admitted to being the harbinger of Equestria's destruction and you act like he's your best friend? You saw what happened when we took down Taurus too, right?" I nodded my head in agreement. "What if he's tricking us into restoring his powers?"
Despite what I believed, I couldn't deny her cautious thinking, but I figured I would try to help her understand my own feelings in this. "I was too focused getting out of the cavern, so I want to know, did Discord tell you what happened when we met?"
She shook her head worryingly. "No, he said you would bring it up when you felt ready."
Somehow I wasn't surprised he wouldn't tell her. "When I first got here, I thought this wish of ours brought me here without you. I thought the pendant only granted the wish for me.
Then I saw that Equestria was in ruins. The sisters battling with their armies to the death. I saw a battlefield with dead soldiers littering the field - half of them the size of a colt or filly. Discord showed up shortly afterward and told me what he did, but I was in denial.
I ran away to find anything that could help, but I soon found myself almost killed by a timberwolf. I was struggling, but I slowly lost hope and was accepting my death, until Discord rescued me.
Discord tried to help me up, but just like you, I wanted to kill him. I attacked and he let me hurt him - he thought he deserved it. Do you recall him trying to fight back when you attacked him?"
She thought about it and to her disgust, she realized he pushed Posey out of the way and made sure her blasts were in less dangerous areas. "No, he just wanted to make sure I didn't accidentally cave us in."
We stopped, and I placed my head on hers for comfort. "I was losing hope that I would never see the only thing that made my loser life worth living for, but Discord told me he sensed your presence. He said that he had faith that us being here was destiny and that somehow we could help restore Equestria, so instead of leaving me to die out in the Everfree Forest, he decided to risk his own life and help navigate me to you." I moved my head and looked Violet in the eyes. "I'm not asking you to trust him, I'm just letting you understand that I'm grateful he reunited me you." While she was blushing from my comment, I leaned over and planted my lips on hers; it had been a while since we last did that.
As we finished, we held on to each other close - not wanting to let go. Ever since we met we never hid from each other; she was the only one I would ever share all my feelings with, and she knew it. "It will take some time, but I promise you I'll try to see who he is and not who he was. But I swear if he ever even thinks about hurting my boyfriend, I'll use my magic to rip off his tes...."
"It's okay," I interrupted, " believe me if he harms this beautiful girlfriend of mine, I'll see if bat ponies drink blood."
My comment managed to give Violet a little chuckle. "Oh, you really are a silly little pony, Dessie. I love you, my hot vampire stallion." She looked at me with her smug face as I tried to hide the embarrassment; I always seemed to unintentionally add more material for her flirty pet names.
"Oh, my." Our attention turned to Posey and Discord spectating our flirting and causing us both to become really embarrassed.
"Well isn't this so cute?" Discord playfully said. "Though I can assure you, Violet, I have no intention of harming your boyfriend. He's become a dear friend of mine and I also value my tes..." Before Discord decided to finish that sentence, he looked at Posey's confused expression and thought it would be best not to bring it up around innocent ears. "Well...you know what I mean. Anyway, we just want you both to see that Ponyland is just up ahead, but please, don't let me interrupt your...moment. Come along, Posey, I need to speak to your empress."
They went on ahead and I could tell by what he said that he had been here before. It made me wonder what his relationship with the ponies really was; Posey never seemed as scared as I thought a pony would be of him.
Looking at Violet, I could tell she was having similar thoughts as me. "So...shall we go on? Might as well see what Discord's doing together. That is what you're wondering, right?" With a nervous chuckle, she lead on and up ahead, I could see Ponyland.
Ponyland was just up ahead like Discord and Posey said. It surprised me that I saw no borders or defense walls; like they wanted the opportunity to be under attack. My expectations rose though when I got closer and felt myself passing through a magic barrier. I saw Discord pass through too, and it raised my suspicions on his relationship with this place. Was this some kind of trick, or was he welcomed here?
As Violet and I ventured further, I could see structures all around with an atmosphere that seemed reminiscent of Ponyvile; the town that I saw most often in my dreams of Equestria. Ponies could be seen playing, enjoying life, acting as if there wasn't a single problem in the world. It bugged me that these ponies seemed to not realize the horrors just outside this happy town, but before I could continue with my annoyed mood, I was brought back to my senses. "Dessie, did you hear me?" Violet playfully asked, which I responded by shaking my head. I was given a sigh in return; she wasn't too surprised with me being lost in thought. " I said come with me. I want you to meet some of Posey's friends."
“That sounds fine,” Discord replied, “you could use some actual time to relax. I shouldn’t take long with my errand, but I’m sure some pony will lead you to the princess’ palace if you get bored.” Discord and Posey went one way while Violet dragged me another way with her magic; for someone that only obtained these powers, she certainly knew how to use them. The two were no longer in my sight, but I decided to trust that Discord could handle whatever he needed to take care of while I was being taken away to wherever she was going.
We arrived at the town square, my eyes rapidly moving from every visible area until we stopped by a flower stand. Three ponies were at the stand, and I recognized them from the false Equestria; I guess they were always destined to be flower ponies though. "Hey girls, remember me?" Judging by the tone, I could tell she was worried about how they would react to seeing her after her abrupt absence.
Before she knew it, however, the three flower ponies piled up on her; giving her a group hug. "Oh, Violet, we were so worried," said the blond-maned pony with a pinkish coat, "the girls and I went over to ask if you wanted to help with our gardening, but when we arrived, we couldn't find you or Posey anywhere."
While struggling to move, Violet managed to pat the worried mare, "There, there, Lilly. I'm sorry for worrying you girls, but I had a clue to find my lost love and I had to search for him."
The three mares curiously looked my way and noticed me as if I was invisible until then. The red maned one waving at me. "Hey there, I'm Rose." I waved back and gave a smile I hoped wasn't too awkward.
“Wow, Violet,” the pony with a light green mane and dark pink coat said, “I didn’t know your boyfriend was a bat pony. There really rare to see.” She then began to whisper in Violet's ear, most likely thinking I wouldn’t hear her, but didn’t realize my bat pony ears could hear everything. What she said, I won’t repeat, but I can tell you I learned things bat ponies could do and it made both Violet and me blush immensely.
“Daisy,” Violet shouted, “I can assure you I am a proper lady and he is a real gentleman.”
The flower ponies began to giggle and tease us. “Well,” Lilly began, “I’m just glad you seem so happy, and that your handsome stallion's a great catch. But, the next time you decide to leave Ponyland, maybe you should ask for a team of well-trained ponies to escort you. You could have been killed out there you know? This is the safest place in this world and outside there is nothing but death."
"Wait," I asked in shock, "so, you're fully aware of the horrors outside this village?" The flower ponies gave me a look that seemed like they assumed I was joking with them.
"Well, duh," a new voice entered," as mayor, it's my job to help these ponies understand how lucky they are to live here and that they need to always be vigilant with the dangers of the outside world; that and to make sure to stay as positive as possible."
I looked back and forward, but I couldn't find the source of the voice. The girls giggled and pointed up, which I then proceeded to do. What I saw was a white pegasus mare with a very fluffy blond mane and a cheerful expression, flying upside-down; on her flank was a cutie mark of three purple balloons, which matched her eyes.
"Surprise!" The mare exclaimed excitedly. "You found me, also named Surprise." Party streamers suddenly flew all around and I couldn't help but smile at her and be reminded of the party pony from my dreams; Pinkie Pie.
"Hey, Surprise" Violet happily spoke. "I'm smiling now, see," She said as she gave the biggest grin for her.
"Oh, that's so great," Surprise shouted as more streamers flew around, "after you and your boyfriend come with me to see the princess, I need to throw you two parties: a glad two lovers were reunited party and a welcome to Ponyland in new pony bodies you never had before because you're from another world and found out you have the power to save the world party."
This pony was very crazy and I had so many questions to ask but considering who the pony was in the other world, I felt there wasn't a point. "Sound's great, Surprise. So take us to see the princess and we'll see what she wants."
"Oki Doki Loki. If it's anything like these dreams I've been having, it might be about the sweet necklace Posey got and where I can find one." She playfully flew upside down, leading us to where we needed to go. We said our goodbyes to the flower ponies and left; I guess Violet only wanted to assure them she was unharmed.
As we progressed toward the princess' location, I couldn’t stop thinking about the way Surprise and Posey was like. Did this world have its own mane six, and could these be the key to start fixing Equestria; not to mention what did she mean we had the power to save the world? Was she referring to these pendants? Were these the scions of unity the element talked about?
The Princess' palace was a sight to behold. The edifice was built into a cliff with two waterfalls on each side. It seemed to had been made of crystal, something I had seen of the Friendship Castle and that of the Crystal Empire. Each side had two colossal pillars that supported the square foundation the cliff was carved into. The only way in was across a stone bridge - wide enough for five ponies to walk across at once. By the entrance were seven crystal statues: two were pegasus ponies holding spears, two were earth ponies wielding shields, two were unicorns in a stance for using magic, and the final statue was a regal alicorn on the top of the entrance - watching those that entered.
Violet and I were looking at the structure in awe and amazement. As we entered the large iron gate that added to the palace's fortification, we noticed that it was opened by a single earth pony - a red stallion in black armor, a spiral-horned helm, and had a cutie mark of a green apple. The pony didn't say a word to us, but we knew who he was. I could only wonder if his sister was somehow in the village - the bearer of the element of honesty.
Surprise stopped and in front of us was a tall elderly pony in an old black cloak. The pony appeared to be a vermilion unicorn with a ruby mane. "Well," Surprise began, "this is where I leave everything to Bright Eyes. She'll be sure to take you to the princess. Well, have fun you two, and, when you get back, I'll have your parties ready." Surprise flew out and we were left with the pony I assumed was named Bright Eyes.
"Hello, young travelers," she said in a wise and regal kind of way. " Allow me to escort you to the princess of the palace. I am known as Bright Eyes. May I ask for your names as well?"
"I'm Violet Lavender. It's a pleasure to meet you, miss. Are you her caretaker?"
I saw a smile on her face when asked that question. "In a way, yes." Her attention left Violet's and went to me. "And what is your name, handsome bat pony?" She said in a playful flirtatious way.
I didn't know why, but I hesitated on what to address myself as. "I'm...Desert Bat." I heard Bright Eyes giggle at my nervous tone, though I would be simply coming off as shy to anyone else.
"Good to hear." She said with a happy expression on her face. "You both match the names Discord told me, so I guess this means we won't have to kill you. This way please." This made Violet and me kind of nervous and question if that was a joke or if the happy vibe I had in Ponyland was to trick any overconfident invader.
The inside of the palace was possibly more impressive than the outside. It too was made out of crystals of blue, purple, and pink. While I was expecting little light in the structure from the lack of openings, the entire kingdom was brightened by these golden orbs that levitated high in the air. The area was wide open and I could see spears, shields, and armor hanging by the walls. While it appeared as decoration, it looked well polished and sharpened - ready for used if necessary. When we passed the corridor, I could see many doors that I could only guess where they led.
After a long trot - not because of the length of the structure, but because Bright Eyes trotted slowly for us to observe everything - we found ourselves in front of a large wooden door. Using her magic, she opened it and directed us to the ruler's throne room. As we approached her I was amazed that it wasn't who I was expecting. It was a normal sized unicorn pony. She was purple with blue eyes, and a mane that consisted of blue, pink and purple. On her throne was a symbol I assumed was her cutie mark. It was a large flower with a pink star, and in the middle was a blue gem, which was surrounded by seven little white stars.
"I present to you," Bright Eyes announced loudly, "Princess Twilight Twinkle, the house of Amore, and princess of Ponyland."
The princess stood up and looked at us with fascination. "So, you two are from another world? That’s really amazing.” She stated enthusiastically. From her stance and her appearance, I couldn’t help but see Twilight Sparkle in her, but I recalled Discord telling me she was already in this universe and Daybreaker's top general, so what part could she possibly play in this? Perhaps she was destined to replace the former bearer.
"Yes, your majesty," Violet stated while bowing to her out of respect. "We had visions of a beautiful and peaceful Equestria and used the pendants you see around our necks to bring us here. Unfortunately, this wasn't exactly the Equestria we saw, and Discord told us what he did to your world. He should be punished and held accountable, your highness. He should..."
I stepped in and covered her mouth with my hooves. She was clearly still angry with him and I didn't feel this was going to help. "My apologies, princess, she's been under a lot of stress since we were separated and may not be in her right mind." Violet pushed me aside and began to look at me, a little annoyed.
"Oh, every pony knows what Discord's done to Equestria for a long time." This caused us both to look at her in surprise. "He came to us a few years ago claiming he was going to help restore Equestria. We thought he was dead until he showed up recently, and with Posey wielding the legendary element of kindness - talk about a welcoming gift. He told us everything he knew about you too, we just wanted some confirmation. I want to know what your plans are now, Desert Bat and Violet, scions of unity?"
"Scions...of...unity? I heard the element talk about waking them. Are you saying that's us?"
"Posey told me about the aura you had while fighting Taurus. I have every book from the castle of the two sisters and it mentions a magic aura that helps the wielders fight in dire situations. It has two elements to represent unity. You, Desert Bat seem to represent the scion of balance, and you, Violet, represent order. You two have brought the element of kindness to us, and now I ask, once again. What is your next course of action?" She gave us an intense glare - not out of desperation, but out of concern for the fate of the world. She saw us as a way for Equestria's salvation.
"In the Equestria that we saw, we had visions of the six bearers of harmony. Posey resembled one of the bearers and Surprise mentioned having visions, so I feel that she's one as well. Posey, along with Violet and me all had the same vision when we found the element of kindness and I feel that will happen again with the others. Discord might be able to help us locate the main area of the elements too if the previous magic from Taurus he absorbed gives him a way of tracking them."
"You intend to simply bring each bearer with you across the world to collect these elements?" We heard Bright Eyes ask. "Do you think, even with an army, that you could make it, or even keep them alive?"
"We have to try something," Violet added. "I feel it's the best option we have right now."
"I'm not saying we shouldn't, but I'm asking if you think you can do it? I saw that look in both your eyes. You both have your doubts, not to mention, you believe my sweet little Twinkle could be an element bearer, right?" We were silent, but that gave her the answer she was looking for. "I'll tell you what, if you can defeat me, we will go forth with your plans, but if you lose, well...I'll let you know afterward."
She stood between us and the princess and we didn't feel like it was right to attack an elderly pony. Violet and I turned back and started to walk away, only for the door to close on us. "Perhaps I misspoke. You will not be allowed to leave unless you two can defeat me." It felt intimidating and she sounded more powerful than I thought possible.
"Why are you doing this?" I asked nervously. " We don't want to hurt you."
"Can you even do such a thing?" Suddenly, she shot a magic beam from her horn. Violet pushed me out of the way in time and we hit the floor."
"Are you out of your mind?" She yelled out. " You could have hurt my Dessie." She charged at the old mare and attempted to blast her back. The attack was easily evaded and Violet got a swift kick in the back. I could hear her scream in pain from the impact.
"You think that hurts? Out there if you let your guard down like that you will die.”
I found myself angry and charged at her, intending to hurt her in any way. I threw a barrage of blows - hoping I would hit with at least one. "Don’t...ever...hurt...my...VIOLET!" I thought I had hit her, but she blocked every blow with one front hoof and used the other to give me an uppercut to the face - sending me flying.
"Never lash out in anger. Your foe will take advantage of that and you will die."
Violet came rushing from behind her in a pit of rage and attempted to strike once again. Bright Eyes twirled around Violet, evading her blow, and sent her flying towards me. We both hit the ground very violently - both too injured to keep fighting for much longer. "Be silent when striking from behind instead of yelling. You're a beautiful mare. Have some class. Now get up you two."
"Enough!" Our attention turned to the princess and we could see she was in tears. "Please, stop it, you're going to kill them. We need them to help restore Equestria."
"Exactly, and they will die in the state that they are if we let them, dear sister." Her words startled us and we both saw an aura surrounding Bright Eyes. She became a pink alicorn with a purple, red, and gold mane, and on her flank was a cutie mark with a crystal heart. "They will not last long enough on their own if they cannot last against me."
I helped Violet up and let her hold onto me for support. Having meeting Twilight Twinkle, I did not even consider she was even in this world. "Princess Cadance? Is that really you?" She had a large grin and gave us a playful wink in response."
"That's princess Mi Amore Cadenza to you, little pony." We saw from behind the throne Discord and the pony that shouted at us. She was a dark burgundy unicorn with a crimson mane. She had a large scar on her right eye and a broken horn. Just from looking at her, you could also see healed wounds from countless battles in the past."
"Tempest Shadow?" I heard Violet say in surprise.
Tempest approached us and looked really happy about being recognized. "I see you heard of me. You're lucky you didn't harm her. She is Mi Amore Cadenza, the house of Amore, rightful ruler of the Crystal Empire and you will treat her with the respect she deserves." She was very intimidating and I actually thought she was going to harm us. I put Violet behind me and looked at her intently.
"You're very brave, stallion, but can you truly protect her?" I thought she was going to attack, but she soon paused from a simple command.
"Fizzy, baby," I heard Cadence say in a flirtatious way, "I think you scared them enough, and I told you I'm more comfortable being called Cadance - not that long royal name. Now come over here, beautiful. I want some love."
"Ye...yes, dear." I saw a strong blush on her face and she trotted to her side - a wing embracing her and being nuzzled lovingly.
Violet and I were a bit surprised, and Discord could only laugh as he finally reunited with us. "Oh, come now. You act like you never saw Cadance and Fizzlepop Berrytwist together before."
"Hey, watch it, goat snake!" We heard Tempest say with a blush on her face as Cadance was still lovingly nuzzling her. "Only Cadance is allowed to call me by my real name."
"We mean no disrespect, miss Tempest." I quickly stated," It's just...from the world we saw, you and Cadance have had little to no interaction. She was married to a unicorn named Shining Armor with a baby and you just ended your position as commander of the Storm King's army."
We could see her broken horn igniting very threatening, and with hatred in her eyes. "Me...working for the Storm King? I got nothing but fifteen years of slavery and a lifetime of scars from him. All I want is to impale him with the horn he ruined and see what happens to his insides when I release my magic."
"There, there. It's okay, Fizzy, dear." Cadance calmly said, gently petting her mane. "Cadance will ensure he gets a slow and painful death, okay?" She gave Tempest a loving peck on the cheek, and she seemed to calm down from that. I felt this was getting more uncomfortable by the minute, plus I was feeling terrible for what happened to Tempest. I could only pray that such a fate wouldn't happen to Violet or me.
"I hate to break the mood you lovers are in," Discord said to Tempest and Cadance, "but I think it would be best if perhaps these two begin real training. We don't know when their next vision will come and I want to ensure they retrieve the remaining elements as soon as possible."
Violet and I were suddenly beginning to feel better. We turned and saw that Princess Twilight had cast a spell that healed us. "I'm sorry for my sister's violent test on you. I hope you're both okay."
"We're feeling much better, thanks to you." I stated, "but she does have a point, princess." Twilight looked startled that I agreed with the unorthodox methods that Cadance used, but I wasn't the only one that thought this.
"He's right, Twilight," Violet stated. "If this was out there we wouldn't have had someone holding back. We would have been killed and the fate of Equestria would fall." She then looked at Discord. "I know you heard my little outburst before the fight, but after getting beaten up and knowing Dessie and I couldn't do anything, I owe you an apology."
Discord was a little baffled at the statement and I had a smile on my face. "Really, I don't deserve an apology. Not after creating this world."
"No!" Violet protested. "You deserve an apology. We have been a burden on you and you kept us safe. We're going to get stronger for you and we will help restore Equestria together." She suddenly gave Discord a hug, which he didn't see coming. "I'm glad Dessie met you, and that you helped bring him back to me."
Discord couldn't help but tear up from the gratitude. "Thank you, Violet."
"Aw, isn't this cute, honey?" I could see Tempest was unamused but nodded her head in agreement. "With that out of the way, let me properly introduce myself to you two." She had our full attention. "I am princess Cadance," she then gestured to Tempest, "and this is who I call Fizzy. She's my personal assistant, bodyguard, and wife."
"Cadance, don't tell them that," Tempest said all flustered and embarrassed. "They don't need to know that."
"Married, wow!" That was all I could say. I can't say I was ever for it back home, but I never cared enough to be against it either. I always said to myself 'It's cool, man, it's their business.' I was still just more surprised how different they were from the versions of them I recalled in my dream.
"So how long have you two been married?" Violet happily asked. She was kind of on the same boat with me on our view, but she also didn't mind asking about it.
"About six months now!" Cadance shouted happily. "Oh, and I can feel the love you two have for each other. Don't you feel their love, Fizzy?"
"Cadance," Tempest said calmly, "as happy as I am that I married you, we're getting off topic. You should remember to stay professional like you were before I walked in. These two need to be prepared for training."
Suddenly it's like everything hit her all at once. "Oh my, you're right, Fizzy. We need to prepare their living arrangements and give them their instructors. Violet Lavender, you'll be training with Twilight and me tomorrow. You're going to learn how to fight and use magic." Violet seemed very happy and I couldn't wait for her to get someone to teach her magic.
"Stallion," I heard Tempest call me, "tomorrow you will be getting intense training from me and Captain Firefly. You're going to learn to fight, fly, and dodge." As she said the last word, her horn sparked. I gulped at that. She then had a slightly different shift in tone with me. "I remember what you did when I approached you both. Your girlfriend is lucky to have someone that is willing to protect her over their own safety - I can relate. I'm going to make sure you can be the stallion you want to be for her."
This made me smile a bit. "Thank you, Tempest. I can tell Cadance sees how much of an angel you really are under all that toughness you have."
This caused Tempest to turn red a little. "Don't say that kind of mushy stuff, Desert Bat. Now go see your lover and enjoy the rest of the day." With that, she walked away with Cadance.
Violet, Discord, and I were left with Twilight Twinkle in the throne room. " You'll have to forgive my sister. She can act really ditzy whenever Tempest is around." We all started laughing at the obvious and things felt relaxing considering what happened moments ago. "Okay you three," Twilight said, "let me show you to your rooms."
Princess Twilight Twinkle had sent us to two separate bedrooms. She told Discord to sleep in one, and, while blushing, said the other was for Violet and me. I could hear Twilight whisper something to Violet while I entered our room. "You're a lucky mare, you know. He was willing to get hurt if it meant keeping you safe. I hope I can find a sweet stallion like him someday."
"Hey, you're the princess," Violet encouraged, "you'll find a strong knight in shining armor before you know it." With that, she walked into the room with me.
"Have a good night, you two," Twilight said outside the door, "and be prepared for a rough day of training. My sister and Tempest are not going to go easy on you two."
As she left, we looked at each other with a bit of concern. "I hope you're alright tomorrow. I'm kind of worried about you."
I didn't get a response and found myself tackled on the bed and given a passionate kiss. "Don't worry so much, sweetie. Your mare will be tough for her brave stallion." She winked at me and we both just laid there in bed - not sure how to turn off the bright orbs.
We stayed in place and remained silent for about five minutes before I finally got annoyed. "Okay, this is getting ridiculous," I groaned, "how do we dim the lights so we can sleep?"
"Hey, Dessie, aren't you able to see in the dark?" Violet questioned. "How does it make a difference for you?"
I couldn't help but laugh at that question. "I can still fell the lights shining in my eyes, babe. While I can see in the dark, the darkness feels better in my eyes."
"That's so cool," she exclaimed, "I wish we were both bat ponies. It would have been fun to see in the dark together,” she began to blush and look away at the next statement, “and I would have loved to wrap you in my wings."
The door suddenly swung open and we saw Discord standing there. "Oh, gag. You two get a little too lovey-dovey sometimes."
"Don't tell me you don't want to be like that with Posey, you old goat-snake." Violet teased. Discord seemed to turn a little red and it caused Violet and me to laugh uncontrollably.
“I don’t see the humor in this.” Discord said, crossing his arms and pouting.
“Okay, okay. I’m sorry, I'll stop now.” Violet announced out of breath. “So, what seems to be the problem, Discord?"
Discord collected himself before speaking up. "Well, if you must know, while I was spy...overhearing you outside the door, I heard you mention that you didn't know how to turn off the bright orbs. I figured I would solve that for you."
I sprang from up ecstatically upon hearing that. "Thanks, dude, that would really help us out. What do we do?" Using his talon, he flicked a switch on the wall and the orbs turned a midnight blue. They were dark enough to be relaxing in my eyes but light enough for someone like Violet to still see if she needed to. "Oh," I said in a little embarrassment, "that makes sense."
"Now goodnight you two. I hope things go well for you both. I'll come by and check on you both during your training." The door closed, leaving me and Violet alone again.
"Well, I guess we should get some sleep, huh? By the way, Dessie, I know it sounds strange, but can I ask for something?"
She looked a little nervous as if she thought I wouldn’t be happy with if she asked. I held out my hoof and gave her a great big smile. "It never upsets me when you ask for something, Violet. What would you like?"
She still kind of shuffled around bashfully, but she eventually asked me. "Well, first, I want to know if I can still call you Angelo in private? As much as I love calling you Dessie, I at least want to call you by your beautiful name,” I nodded my head and she gratefully hugged me. She turned bright crimson and looked away from me again for her next question. "Secondly, can you wrap your wing around me tonight? I missed you so much and with the number of times we almost died since we got here, I really want someone I love to hold me right now. That, and I really want to know how it feels to cuddle with a boyfriend that's seems so warm and fuzzy."
My face turned red from that last comment, but I quickly gave her a peck on the lips, which gave her my answer. That night felt really nice. I felt warm wrapping myself around her, her comfy mane on my face was amazing, and I could feel that she enjoyed every moment of that. "You know, Violet. No matter what happens to us in the future, I want you to know that I will always do what I can to comfort you. I love you, my precious mare." She giggled as I kissed her neck.
“And I love you too, Angelo Rojo.” She got as close to me as she could and I was in bliss. Not only was she comfortable, but I didn’t realize how nice it was to have her use my real name. After that, we both felt sleep take us away.
I had awoken from my slumber but kept my eyes closed and remained in bed, cuddling Violet. I could hear the cute little noises she was making in her sleep and felt the soft warmth she gave off as I had her wrapped fully in my wings.
As I continued to embrace her in bliss, I began to feel the metallic chains to the pendants we still kept on our necks. Ever since she gave me this pendant I always felt some powerful force that connected me to her - something I'm sure she felt as well. After the time spent in Equestria, I started to wonder if the pendants attracted us together. As if they knew we were compatible with one another and chose us to wield its power for such a reason. It was only a theory and I didn't take the thought too seriously, but it still made me wonder.
My train of thought soon shifted over to some giggling. What the heck is that noise? I thought to myself - unwilling to move from my spot to find out. I decided to put my bat pony ears to use and could hear whispers.
"We need to wake them up now, your highness." I heard, who I thought was Tempest, say. "They need every second to train."
I could only guess that Cadance and Tempest were about to wake us up, but Cadance was stalling, for some reason. Being curious, I pretended to still be sleeping and continued to listen in on them.
"I know, but they look so precious all cuddled up like that." It sounded like Cadance was getting all happy about...Violet and me sleeping together? "Can't you see those two getting married someday?" My face turned a shade of red from that question.
"Uh," I heard in a frustrated tone, "yes, Princess Cadance."
"What have I told you about calling me that?" Cadance teased. She then spoke in a mocking high authoritative voice, "I am your wife now, Fizzy. I demand to be treated as that over some royal title given to me by some stupid hierarchy. Besides, it's not like all of Ponyland doesn't know already."
I heard some shy stuttering from Tempest before she could properly respond. "So...sorry, honey. I just want you to be addressed with the utmost respect you deserve." I could hear kissing. "Now, we need to wake them up. If your little sister has to travel with them someday, I want them to be able to protect her."
I decided to stop this facade and pretend to have wakened up, though I kept myself wrapped around Violet while talking. "Good morning, your majesty," they both turned and faced me, "I’m ready for my training."
"Awe, that's so cute. You're trying to keep cuddling your mare while talking to us." I began to wonder if she was taking this situation seriously. That is until her tone began to vastly shift. "It's about time you stopped pretending to be asleep, Angelo Rojo."
Wait I thought. Was she spying on us? How did she know my name?
“Discord told me your name, you silly stallion." She playfully told, chuckling at my nervous expression. "Now then, wake up your girlfriend for me so we can begin the training. Fizzy is right, after all. Every second does count."
There was a big smile on Tempest's face from that compliment. I moved my wings from Violet and she began to groan a little. "Violet, sweetheart, it's time to wake up. We need to start training."
In no time, she sprang up from the bed, ready to take on the world. She noticed Tempest and Cadance in front of us and began to feel embarrassed. "Umm, sorry for oversleeping. It's just been a while since I slept so well."
"Well, bat ponies are known to make really good lovers, and I'm sure your Angelo is really something, Violet" Cadance joked, giving her a wink and turning Violet's face bright red. "But enough of talk, Fizzy and I will escort you to your training grounds. Violet, come with me. Desert Bat, Fizzy will take care of you. Try not to crush him too fast, sweetie."
Cadance and Violet began to leave and I could see a smirk on Tempest after hearing that. "Of course, dear. Have fun today. Love you."
"I love you too, my tough beauty."
They both left leaving me and Tempest alone. "Alright, let's go." I would be lying if I said she didn't intimidate me, so I followed her - without any signs of a protest.
We walked out the palace and I felt the morning sun in my eyes. This surprised me a little because I was getting used to the day and night not being right.
“What’s wrong?” You look stunned.” Tempest asked.
I pointed to the sky to emphasize my point. “It’s actually morning for once.”
Tempest began to laugh at my comment and I guess it did sound ridiculous. “It might not be. The barrier Twilight and Cadance made makes an artificial day-night cycle. It helps make things more....peaceful, don’t you think?” She had a very joyful smile and I couldn’t help but return one to her.
“Yeah. Your home feels very peaceful. It makes me think of the Equestria I saw in my dreams.”
“Train hard then, scion of balance.” It was the first time she addressed me with such a title. “Maybe someday you’ll be able to show me this Equestria. I would love nothing more.”
As we began walking to our destination, I kept Tempest’s words fresh on my mind. I would get stronger and help them make the Equestria I saw.
The walk was a little more than half an hour, but we finally made it to a large orchard full of apples and pears. The orchard was very large and made me wonder how far this barrier stretched across. "Is this Sweet Apple Acres?" I knew the answer, but I had my hopes up.
"Catchy name, but no. This is Pome Orchard Farms. You'll find the tastiest apples and pears here." From the name, I had a feeling I knew who lived here, but I couldn't help but wonder what part this farm played into my training. "Firefly," Tempest shouted out in the Orchard. "we're here now. You ready to teach your new student?"
Within a flash, a pink pegasus pony with an unruly blue mane landed by us. She had a cutie mark with two blue lightning bolts and I felt, from her similar appearance to another pony, that I had possibly found the element of loyalty. "Captain Firefly of the Ponyland Royal Legion reporting for duty, Princess Tempest, Ma'am."
"Firefly," the reluctant princess frustratingly said, "how many times do I have to tell you? Just because I'm married to Princess Cadance now doesn't mean I want to be called a princess. Just call me Commander Tempest, please."
"My apologies, Commander Tempest, ma'am. I just want to treat you with the utmost respect you deserve, ma'am." I couldn't help but laugh internally at the way these two were acting towards one another.
"You two really are something." I chuckled a bit while saying. They both turned to me and let out a small smile - making it clear I didn't disrespect them.
"Now that that's out of the way, have you finished your breakfast?" Firefly gave her a salute as a response, which seemed to be all that was needed. "Good. I guess I'll go see AppleJack for some breakfast as well." I recognized that name and knew I had found the element of honesty too. I was about to follow Tempest again, but that quickly changed. "Why are you following me?" Tempest asked, looking amused. "I'm getting breakfast. You are learning some basic flying from Captain Firefly here. You have these wings, but now you're going to learn how to use them. I'll see you when I'm done."
My stomach began to growl and, as she left, my hunger became more apparent to me. "Attention!" Firefly shout, which got me to focus on her. I walked up to her and awaited further instructions. "You see these trees?" I nodded to her. "Do you see these buckets under the trees?" I nodded again. " Fly up and pick the fruits from each tree and put them in their basket. I'll let you know when you're done."
"That's it?" I responded in a confused manner. "That doesn't sound too bad."
"Are you still standing here? Move!" I did what she told me and opened my wings. I tried to flap them and lift myself up, but I couldn't. "As I thought, the report I got from the commander was that you only flew when your pendant gave you that power. Look at me, rookie. I want you to watch how I move my wings and mimic that. If you do, you'll surely be able to fly.
I watched the way she flexed her wings carefully. For five minutes, I repeatedly watched her do every motion and then I decided to try for myself. To my surprise, I achieved flight. It was really bad, but it was flight and I became extremely joyful. "Hey...look, Firefly. I'm actually flying."
"Good job, my flying lessons always work. I'm awesome like that." Her boasting was very amusing to hear. Even with things so different, it was nice to know no matter what form the elements might take, they seemed to keep their personality. "Now get to picking those apples and pears. You'll improve your flying as you go along your work. If you impress me enough, I'll even treat you to some breakfast. You seem cute enough." I could hear a playful tone coming from her. She was probably hoping I would get all fluttered from that. I thought it would be better to play along.
"Sounds great, captain," I said while picking some pears. "I'm really hungry, and it would be nice to be treated by such a pretty mare."
"Oh, seems you're not falling for that, huh?" She quickly noticed. "Probably a good thing, since I'm already taken." The captain said with pride.
I had finished the pear tree and moved on to an apple tree - my flying slowly improving - when I decided to continue the conversation. "Wow! Congratulations. Who's the lucky pony?"
"Well..." she said a little shyly. "other ponies may not see him the way I do, but I married this adorable egghead named Quibble Pants."
"What!" I exclaimed, causing myself to lose balance and hit the ground. I remembered Quibble being a pony Firefly's counterpart, Rainbow Dash, had been friends with, but I wasn't expecting her to have married him.
"You have a problem with my husband rookie?" Firefly angrily questioned.
"What, no." I quickly shouted in self-defense, "I just didn't know you were already married. I just thought you meant, like...a boyfriend."
"Alright, enough banter! Get back up there and keep picking those apples." I did what she said and flew back up. "Your flying has improved tremendously for being a pony for, what, a week?"
"Wait, how did you..."
"The commander gave me a really detailed document. Now go faster!" I continued to fly faster and I was surprised that I was already making decent progress. It still took everything I had to maintain what I had, but I was improving.
While continuing my task, I noticed a snicker from Firefly. "Am I doing something wired, Captain?"
"No, you're doing good, rookie. I'm just surprised how accurate your girlfriend described you. You're doing all this training just for her, aren't you?" I didn't cease my task, but she got the answer she needed from my smirk. "You remind me of my husband in a way. He's nowhere near as tough as you, but he'll do whatever he can - scared or not - if it means it will help me. I give it a year before she becomes your wife."
That last comment made me lose focus again, but I managed to stay in the air. I could hear Firefly laughing her flank off. "Very funny, ma'am," I said sarcastically, " though, you're not too off on the time. I was planning on proposing to her in a year before all this."
"Oh, I'm really sorry about that." She stated sympathetically. "For what it's worth, from the way she was talking about you, I know she'll say yes. Just don't wait too long to ask that question. In this world, you never know if you'll see tomorrow."
That hit me harder than I thought. I've been thinking about Violet's safety over my own that I didn't even think about how she would feel if I wasn't there anymore. She charged Cadance when I was in trouble. If I was too careless, she could do the very thing I always knew I would do on instinct - sacrifice myself for her. "Thanks, it was worth a lot to hear. When things seem a little more settled, I think I'm going to propose."
"You got guts, rookie. You got guts."
We both shared a smile and I went back to picking the apples. I was in luck though, I had just finished picking apples from the apple tree. "Okay, that's both trees!" I shouted joyfully, flying back down
"Hold up, rookie," the pink mare commanded, "I said I'll let you know when you’re done. Get back up there and pick more trees. The ponies of Ponyland need more food."
I was really hoping that I had finished. My wings were already tired and I knew it would be a challenge to pick the trees, but, I kept my complaints to myself and went back to working anyway.
For a solid hour, I was picking apples and pears. It may not have seemed long, but flying nonstop for that long for the first time, early in the morning, and on an empty stomach, that was very new to me. I was hurting, though I knew complaining wasn’t going to help, so I just endured.
I had just finished picking the last pear from a tree and put it in the bucket when I heard the words I was hoping to hear since the first two trees. “That will do, for now, rookie. You can come down.”
With no grace, whatsoever, I plummeted down to the ground. My wings were sore, but they didn’t feel damaged, and I was positive I could fly after resting for a while. I pulled myself up and tried my best not to seem tired, however, I was pretty sure it wasn't fooling Firefly. "Heh, I think you deserve some breakfast. Follow me and I'll take you to see the owners."
My stomach growled so loud and it amazed me how hungry I was. I did what she said and prayed I would last before we got there.
Through the large orchard, I could see cabins all around. Some of them had designs of pears and others had apples. It seemed the Apple and Pear family was large even in this world. It was amazing how many acres this orchard had. Made me wonder how Cadance kept this colony hidden from the numerous enemies out there. My best guess was that it was far away from the main battlefield that the fiends didn't care to look for it.
We finally arrived at our destination. I could see a large wooden cabin and an enormous red barn to the side, along with a collection of farm animals. As I walked up to the porch, I saw an elderly amber stallion on a rocking chair. "Welcome back, Firefly," he greeted kindly. "Is this the boy Tempest spoke about?”
Firefly stood proudly. "He sure is Grand Pear. He's already shown amazing progress too. He'll be a great soldier in no time, just like your grandson. By the way, are Pear Butter and AJ still here, or did they go to Granny Smith's part of the Orchard to see Violet and Sugar Bell?"
"They're already over at Granny Smith's. They think Sugar Bell might have the baby soon and want to be sure she gets the help she needs. Big Mac might have gotten off duty today to see her too. I'm pretty sure it's just me, Bright Mac and the princess."
"How come Tempest lets you call her a princess?" Firefly shouted "She get's annoyed when I do that. Uh, never mind. I can't understand the commander sometimes." She calmed down really fast after that, and you would almost think the last few seconds didn't happen.
"It's good to hear about Sugar Belle, anyway. I bet you can't wait to be Great Grand Pear." Grand Pear was a little giddy with excitement and it put a smile on my face to see the two families seemed to be doing well together.
"I sure can't wait." He joyfully said. "Now go on inside and have a nice meal. As soon as you're done, Bright Mac's going to help me to see them too."
We walked into what was a cozy looking cabin. From the way the furniture appeared, it was made by the family and had been with them for years. Walking into the kitchen, I could see Tempest talking with Bright Mac and having a few laughs. They noticed us come by and Bright Mac got up to give me a stack of pancakes with eggs, and what I could only assume was some kind of....hay-bacon.
"Well, well, well," Tempest teased, "looks like you finally showed up. Firefly, report his progress to me."
Firefly quickly saluted in response, and I could see she went back to her serious self. "Yes, ma'am."
She went on about how she thought I did during that hour while I began eating. The food was really amazing. Everything tasted so natural and not made on an assembly line like back home. Bright Mac, a large yellow stallion with a red mane and brown Stetson, sat by me with a very humble expression.
“I reckon you’re the pony that sweet mare, Violet, was talking about?” He held out his hoof and I held out mine to...shake it. “I'm Bright Mac.”
“Desert Bat,” I returned.
“Gotta say, you’re a lucky stallion. That mare is very sweet and seems to talk about you a lot. And while she’s nowhere near as pretty as my Buttercup, she is beautiful.”
I couldn’t help but grin. “The fact that everyone keeps saying nice things about her just says it all. She really is something.”
We both had a chuckle at that. "You're telling me. Buttercup already made her an honorary Apple. Let me know when the wedding is, son." I almost choked on some pancake, which caused Bright Mac to burst into laughter. "Easy, kid. Don't die on me. That mare of yours seems like she's going to be really powerful, and I don't want to become her first victim."
"Princess Cadance said she saw it herself," Tempest added, "Violet will become very powerful. She just needs lots of intense training, as do you, Desert. Enjoy your breakfast while you can, because it's still an early morning and that little flying lesson was just a warm-up. You'll become on par with the Ponyland Royal Legion when we're done with you."
She probably expected me to be nervous from that statement, but I found this moment humorous. She saw it on my face and was confused. "It's funny, Tempest. years ago I once thought about joining the military back in my world but decided not to. I didn't like who was in charge and didn't feel the drive I once had at that point. Ponyland feels different, though. Maybe this is my second chance to join a cause greater than my own." I got out of my seat and saluted to her. "I'm at your command, Commander Tempest."
Tempest was amused and I could see Firefly excited as well. "Very good. It's time to make you one tough stallion."
Weeks had passed since my little talk with Tempest, and after that day, I practically trained from morning to night in the large fields of Pome Orchard Farms. It was the most intense training I ever had, and if it weren't for the lovely nights where Violet and I would talk about our day and encourage one another, I would have considered giving up - at last at first. Tempest was true to her words, though, and with Firefly training me with so many flying sessions, it was almost like I was born with wings.
Every day I would have to fly laps, do hundreds of wing-ups, fly while dodging Tempest's magic blasts, fly while fighting Firefly, and fly while fighting Firefly along with avoiding Tempests magic blasts.
I was also taught pegasus-style martial arts. It was hard at first, but I quickly adapted to the style. It kind of reminded me of karate, but along with learning to strike with all four of my hooves, I learned to use my wings for fighting. Another big difference was how a majority of the defensive side of the style involved evasion over blocking.
When Firefly felt I learned everything she could teach me, then came the hardest part - Tempest teaching me her style. Firefly told me she was still learning how to go easy on her opponents and that only one pony had been capable of mastering her style - Cadance.
Firefly had told me I excelled fast in her combat training, but when I first tried my luck with Tempest, it was my fight with Cadance all over again. She did a breakdance-like kick that flung me in the air. As I flew to keep from falling, she maintained her momentum and kicked me down to the ground hard, knocking the wind out of me.
I was in serious pain and surprised I didn't black out. Looking at Tempest, I saw a mare calm and collected. She was unfazed and seemed unconcerned with my current condition. "Get up and fight," she said, sternly, "your opponents won't hesitate to try and kill you if you're down like that for too long."
Despite this horrendous feeling, I fought through the pain and stood. "Good," Tempest said with a proud smile, "you withstood one of my strikes without blacking out on your first attempt. You'll only get better from here."
While I thought I would be able to say thank you, she came up to me, put her hoof on the back of my head and the next thing I knew, I quickly hit the ground, "Never let your guard down," I barely heard her say as I tried to remain conscious. "We'll take a short break. When you regain consciousness, we'll start again." That was the last thing I heard her say before I blacked out.
I was slowly regaining consciousness when I felt a hoof gently brushing my light brown mane. It felt relaxing, caring, it felt so...motherly.
While I was only semi-aware of my surrounding at the moment, I swear I could hear a voice softly speaking to me with guilt and concern. "I'm so sorry I hurt you as much as I did, you sweet little colt," the voice sadly said, "but I have to. You're going to face the Storm King one day. He will do everything in his power to take the life of your lover and I know, if he succeeds, he will make you watch before killing you. Cadance is right about Violet, she won't be capable of mastering my technique, but I can tell that you can. I knew a determined colt like you once. You will not suffer the same fate as he did. You will get stronger, little one."
I felt my forehead being kissed which felt so gentle and loving. I was starting to recognize the voice and as my eyes slowly opened I saw it, Tempest was the one acting so kind to me. She gave me a smile and continued to stroke my mane lovingly. "Nice to see you finally decided to open up your eyes," she said gratefully, "and I hope you heard every word I said to you. We will face the Storm King one day and I will not let history repeat itself. You must be ready, Angelo."
She used my real name. If there's one thing I learned from Cadance and Tempest was when they used my real name, they wanted to make sure I was aware how serious the situation was. I barely saw the Storm King in my dreams and could barely grasp what kind of threat he truly was. I knew what I needed to do, but I hoped I wouldn't regret it. "What did he do?" I asked her with major dread. "I know I shouldn't ask this, but what did the Storm King do to you? I need to know, I need to know what this monster can really do."
I could see the look in her eyes. They were full of sorrow and contempt, but as she looked at me, she could tell that it would motivate me further to ensure he would never accomplish his goal.
"When I was just eight, I watched as he slaughtered my village. Ever pony I grew up with, my friends, my parents...all of them dead. After a failed attempt to stop him, he brought me to the brink of death and imprisoned me. I was to spend the rest of my life in the Klugetown Arena and battle to the death. For fifteen years, I spent every day surviving until...." I could see her tearing up as she continued, "three years ago, when Cadance and Discord saved me. I spent all that time surviving just to spite the Storm King and to deny him the satisfaction of seeing me die...I never even thought I would one day be rescued. It was a miracle."
She gently helped me stand up and, to my surprise, removed the black armor that protected her from shoulder to flank. On her body were nothing but scars. Some minor, while others looked like they were once major lacerations - I couldn't even see her cutie mark because of the scars overlapping it. "This is what his warriors did to me by the time I reached twenty-three." She then pointed to her horn and the scar on her right eye. "This was his personal gift when I was just a filly. You're a full-grown stallion already, so I just need to teach you what I know and I can sleep well knowing that he didn't take another brave soul that just wanted to protect those he loves. I can make sure he never enslaves our kind again," she then gestured to herself, "and not make another monster."
As I saw her wiping the tears away and regaining her composure, I couldn't help but attempt to comfort her. "You're wrong about yourself, Tempest." I found myself abruptly saying. "You're not a monster. You did what you had to stay alive. As for your looks, I hear Cadance always calling you her beauty and she's telling the truth. You are a beautiful mare and," I began to bashfully say, "I think you're really cool, plus... you're a kind, gentle soul deep down."
There was a large smile on Tempest's face, along with the pinkest cheeks I'd ever seen on her. “You certainly know how to flatter a mare. Careful with that gift though,” she said playfully, don’t want Violet or Cadance to get the wrong idea now.”
I was a bit confused at first, but I soon realized it sounded like I was flirting with her and my face turned crimson. "Oh, wait! I didn't mean to say it like that." I quickly said in defense. "I meant it in a way similar to a big sister."
Tempest approached me, giggling happily while doing so, and places her hoof on my cheek. "I know," she teased, "I just always wanted to embarrass some pony like a sibling would." I soon found myself being kissed on the forehead again. "From now on, I'm your big sister and you get to be my little brother. I've grown to like you a lot these past few weeks, Angelo, or should I call you Dessie."
"Uh, I...s...sure, whatever makes you happy." I wasn't sure how to respond to this, but I was enjoying the moment.
During my confusion, Tempest put her armor back on and, soon afterward, ran at me. My reflexes kicked in and I dodged her spin kick. She began to do more kicks and I found myself dodging better than I did before. With the way she fought and the memories of her and Cadance beating me down before, I could now see the similar martial arts back on earth: tae kwon do, capoeira, and judo. I don't know how I suddenly knew this, but I did, and I was making sure she didn't hit me with any of it again.
After a number of attacks, she finally hit me and I hit the ground. "Good, looks like those bat pony instincts are in you after all."
"Wait...w...what do you...mean...by that?" I said, in pain from having the wind knocked out of me again.
"I remember it back in my village. Bat ponies are the most aggressive of ponies and capable of learning combat at far greater speeds than any other. This is how I knew you could learn my technique. I'm going to be a good big sister and make sure you get stronger. Now then, get back up. We have a long way to go before you become a great warrior."
She backed away and gave me enough room to get up. As I did, my instincts kicked in and I maneuvered in a way that dodged her grapple to plunge me down. I knew I wouldn't be able to beat her, but I would attempt to remain conscious for the remainder of the day.
As we approached the castle I could see all my friends walking that way as well. Cadance and Twilight were having a sisterly chat while I could hear that Violet was teasing Discord about the number of tea parties he had been having with Posey while we were all training.
We came within view of them and Violet's expression changed from carefree to worried. She ran to us and she saw the state I was in. I was bruised up, I had scrapes and cuts all over, and, what concerned her the most, I was being carried on Tempest's back.
"Oh my God! Dessie, are you alright? Can you say something, honey?"
I coughed a bit and gave her a big smile. "Everything is all better now that I see you, babe." I got her to blush and giggle a bit, but she still seemed troubled by my condition.
Twilight and Cadance soon arrived as well. Twilight used her magic to lift me up and gently put me on the soft, bushy grass. Before I could thank her, she placed a heart-shaped vial with a cold cyan liquid inside. "Here, drink this." She said in a way that seemed calm, but I could tell she was uncomfortable seeing me so beat up. We had become good friends over the weeks and seeing her friends hurt wasn't something she enjoyed to look at.
Nodding my head in thanks, I drank the liquid - not leaving a single drop. My body started to feel less painful and I soon started to feel better than what I did weeks ago before training. I felt strong and extremely healthy.
Violet lunged at me - giving me all kinds of hugs and nuzzles. "It worked, Twilight," she shouted in glee, "my health potion actually worked."
There was a sense of pride on Twilight upon hearing that. “Well, you had some pony on your mind to motivate you.” She joked.
“Fizzy, dearie,” Cadance spoke in an excited way, “you look so happy.” She gave Tempest a playful grin and started nuzzling her.
“Dessie is such a great pony isn’t he?” Cadance whispered in her ear. Tempest began to turn her head the other way, possibly blushing, but she soon turned back around with a calm composure.
“Indeed, I am really proud of this one. For his first day of training, he was beaten to a pulp and I only managed to knock him out five times.”
“Wow!” Cadance exclaimed in surprise. “That really is impressive. You were right about his kind. Too bad we don’t have any other bat ponies.”
“There's a chance it wouldn’t have made that much of a difference.” The battle-hardened unicorn explained. “Desert Bat still had to put his own will in the training. My father tried to teach his way to bat ponies before. Only a few would keep up with the training before giving up from a lack of focus and motivation. Desert Bat is focused and willing to put his body to its limits without giving up. I can see it in his eyes.”
“I don’t think I like you doing this to Dessie, Tempest.” Violet protested.
“Now Violet,” Discord added, “I don’t really agree with these 'methods' either, but if Des is fine with this we should let him continue. Just be sure to make him more healing potions and I'm sure he'll be fine.”
“It’s okay, Violet,” I assured her “I promise next time I’ll get stronger and come back less beat up.”
“You promise?” She asked me with the biggest, most innocent eyes. “I love you too much to see you hurting yourself just to get stronger for me.”
I smiled at her and planted a kiss on her lips, which she accepted. “I promise you, I will do better for you.”
We hugged each other lovingly for a while until we realized that we were being watched by everyone.
“Awe,” Discord said amusingly, “ I never get tired of watching you two act like this.” Cadance, Twilight, and Tempest shook their heads in agreement as well.
After some embarrassment on our face, mixed with some amusement, we walked over to them and we went to the castle to relax for the day.
For the next few weeks, I trained nonstop with Tempest and got remarkably better as I had promised Violet. I still wasn’t anywhere near as strong or skilled as Tempest, but I was now able to face her without getting any serious injuries.
It was in the final days of these training sessions that, after avoiding a powerful attack she sent my way, I was able to kick her in the side.
After that, she loudly commanded us to stop fighting. I did as she said, a little worried that I did something wrong. Tempest came up to me, but instead of some kind of scolding, she had tears in her eyes and embraced me.
“I’m so proud of you, Dessie.” Tempest said in her sobbing, which, honestly, kind of made me feel a little uncomfortable, “In just several weeks, you’ve not only managed to keep up with me, you managed to hit me. It takes someone who's strong to do something like that to me. I'm so proud of my precious little brother. You are ready now.”
She continued to hug me, and I assumed that the training might have been over. After Tempest released me, she immediately went back to attacking me. "Your training is completed," she proudly stated, " but we still have some time before night. Let's continue to see what else you got."
That following night, we had another one of the multiple parties Surprise had been throwing for us over these weeks. All the ponies of Ponyland were having an amazing time: many were playing pin the tail on the pony, others were dancing on the dance floor, most were enjoying the food, and some were just doing other multiple things that Surprise had planned. A majority of the time at these parties, nobody seemed to know what they were celebrating, they just really wanted an excuse to party whenever they could. My friends and I, on the other hoof, were celebrating on completing the training they wanted Violet and me to deal with and I was ready to go out there with her and the others to find the remaining elements - if they would ever reveal themselves to us that is.
"Hey guys," Surprise happily bounced in with her best friends following along," enjoying the party as much as every pony else is?"
As Surprise asked that usual question, which we always nodded our head happily in response, I noticed for the first time that while she was always with Applejack, Firefly, Twilight Twinkle, and Posey - her best friends that were sort of parallel to the six ponies of the other Equestria and clearly the ones that would have the elements - they only made up five of the elements. There weren't five ponies she called best friends ever present with her. In all my weeks being here, of all the parties Surprise threw, of all the ponies I mingled with, I never saw a pony that appeared to match what would be the element of generosity.
One month had passed since the party with Surprise. During that time, Cadance and Tempest though it was good for us to relax a little, hone our skills without them, and get to know the ponies of Ponyland a little more. At that point, that was definitely the most peaceful month I had ever had since being here.
During the morning we would go out to the orchard and have breakfast with the Apples and Pears. Grand Pear and the rest enjoyed us being over so often that they made us honorary family members. I would spend some time helping Applejack with the harvesting while Violet spent as much time as she could playing with Sugar Belle's foals along with helping around their house.
Big Mac and Sugar Belle had two foals while Violet and I were having our intense training sessions - a unicorn colt and an earth pony filly. The colt had a sandy brown coat with many white freckles and a dark brown mane - because of that, they named him Sand Pear. The Filly, however, she had her father's red coat and mothers bushy purple mane - they decided to name her Sweet Apple.
I remember one morning, while I was storing some apples away, I could hear Violet having so much fun with the foals. It put a smile on my face to hear her enjoying herself and glad that we could have this temporary peace. Of course, I also overheard a conversation between Violet and Sugar Belle.
"You and Big Mac really did make the cutest foals, Sugar Belle. You also make one of the cutest mothers." They were both laughing about the conversation, and I could only guess there was more to the conversation earlier, but I wouldn't know.
"You're too kind, Violet. You know I can't wait to see what your foals will look like." I could hear the surprise on Violet from that. "What's wrong? You don't need to be shocked. I see the love you two share. It's only a matter of time before you get married to that handsome stallion of yours. Oh, I wouldn't be surprised if he proposes to you soon!" Sugar Belle shouted excitedly. "Oh, look at you! You look so cute when you're all embarrassed. You'll make a great wife and mother. You're already the most beautiful mare." I could hear more giggling and I was honestly sure my face turned crimson at that point.
"Getting married to Dessie would be a dream come true. I mean, I wanted him to propose to me by the third month, but don't you think it might still be too soon? We've spent every day together since we met, but it's only been less than six months by now. Besides, when would be the right time when we're trying to save Equestria?"
"Sweetie," Sugar Belle said sympathetically, "it could take decades before Equestria is saved as far as any pony knows. There is never a perfect moment for these things sometimes, but if you both feel ready, you should. I know he'll propose soon." I noticed the tone began to sound teasing and her volume became a whisper. "And just between you and me, you both already act like you're both married anyway. You do sleep with him, right?"
I began to blush from that and I could only imagine what Violet's face was at that moment. "I....we..."
"Hey Desert." I jumped high in the air and yelled in surprise. "Whoa, you okay, sugar cube?
Quickly calming down, I noticed that it was just Applejack and flew back down. "Yeah...I'm good. Why?"
"Well," the farm pony began, scratching the back of her head, "you've just been staring out like you had something on your mind. You want to talk about it?"
"Oh, don't worry I'm..." I don't know why, but I quickly reconsidered that sentence. I guess I really wanted some advice after listing to Violet and Sugar Belle. "Actually I would like to ask you something, but please don't laugh."
Applejack gave me a comforting smile and wrapped her front hoof around me. "Sure thing, Desert. You have my honest word I won't laugh and I'll do my best to help out."
I hesitated for only a moment, and then I asked her. "I've known Violet for almost six months now. We spent everyday together and the longest we spent apart was when we first arrived here. I feel we know everything about each other, but...I don't know if it's too early to still propose to her. I know I want to spend the rest of my life with her, but do you think I'm rushing it if I ask?"
She didn't respond immediately. Applejack gave me a smirk that told me she was both humored and that I had her sympathy. "I don't know if I can give you that answer. My mom and dad, along with Big Mac and Sugar Belle, knew each other since as long as they could remember, so I can't use their experience for your situation."
This made me frown a little, but Applejack soon added more. "You could ask Quibble, though. Firefly didn't really know Quibble till she was a lot older and I'm sure you can learn something from that."
With relief, I gave the farm pony a big hug. "Thanks Applejack, you're a great reliable friend."
We both began to chuckle and I heard the most beautiful voice call out to me. "Dessie, are you ready to go into town, sweetie?"
Applejack gave me an expression that told me I had everything under control. I smiled back and went to Violet. "I sure am, let's go into town, babe."
During the afternoons, when we left the farm, we always made sure to visit Violet's flower pony friends in town. As we approached, I could see them waving at us and signaling us to come on over.
"Violet, Desert Bat," Lilly said with excitement, "it's nice to see that you two could come see us again. It always fills our heart with joy when one of the cutest couples comes here."
We both turned red and we saw the flower ponies gigging at how easy it was to embarrass us. "Very funny, girls." Violet sarcastically said." Is Posey here too, or is she with her 'friend'?"
The three continued to giggle from that question. I felt that I would never understand their fascination with everyone's love life. "Sorry, but she already went back home with Discord. Why? Do you need to ask her something?"
"Yeah, actually, hold on a moment." Violet suddenly turned to me with a worried look. "Dessie, dear, if it's okay with you, I need to discuss something with Posey on my own. It's kind of a mare's talk. Please don't be upset."
I wasn't sure what she needed to talk to Posey about, but I took this as an opportunity to go talk to Quibble. "You don't need to ask for permission, beautiful. I understand completely. Besides, I kind of have to do something personal too. I'll see you back at the castle, if that's okay with you?"
My answer was a passionate kiss on my lips. "I'll see you back at home, you handsome stallion." While I was blushing I quickly gave Violet a kiss of my own to make her feel embarrassed - pretty sure it worked.
"See you, my precious mare." We walked off and I decided to go do what I really wanted to today - to go see Quibble.
I had to walk outside of the main part of the town square, but at last I had arrived at Quibble's library - the Tree of Knowing. It was a large and magnificent tree that clearly shown it survived the passage of time. While parts of it were now hollowed out for shelves, windows, a basement and balcony, this two story library was still full of amazing life. Apparently Princess Twilight used to live here as the librarian, but after her parents' unfortunate death, she had to leave this behind and serve the ponies of Ponyland.
As I opened the golden oak door - something that I found ironic considering the name of another library I remembered being in Ponyville - I saw Quibble shelving a few books. When I first met Quibble, I was surprised that he looked just like he did in my dream. His coat was brownish orange and he had blue eyes, but that was something less interesting than the mane of multiple shades. I had visited the library multiple times before because of Firefly, and it still amazed me that Quibble's mane really was similar to that of a grayscale.
"Hey, Quibble." My appearance caught him off guard and he soon approached me.
"Well, look who we have here. Hey there, Desert Bat, how's it going? Looking for my wife?" Quibble began to shift his eyes in every direction and moved his head to look behind me. "That's odd," I will admit, I was so oblivious back then that I wasn't sure what he was thinking at that moment, "I rarely see you away from Violet. Did you have your first fight or something?"
I gave him a confused look. Did he really think Violet and I agreed on everything? "You do know that we have had arguments before, right?" I could see him shrug and decided to forget it. "Anyway, we both just had to do something important."
"Sorry to say, but Firefly's already gone on patrol."
"It's fine. I was actually hoping to talk to you." I could see his expression become more curios. I was becoming a little embarrassed, but I tried my best to express my situation. "You see... it's a little embarrassing, but...well...I've known Violet for almost six months now, and while I want nothing more than to be with her forever, I don't know if it's still too early to propose. How long did it take for you with Firefly? When do you think would be the right time?"
We stood there staring at each other silently for minutes. I thought that, perhaps, this might have been a bad idea, but just before I could tell him to forget it, I heard Quibble begin to crack up. It soon turned to a chuckle, and then became straight up laughter. I thought I would be embarrassed more, but I found myself laughing as well.
"I hate to tell you, but proposing is not always as romantic as you would think, nor is it always a perfectly timed thing." I was giving him my full attention, which he could tell I was. "When I proposed to her, it wasn't some romantic event, I came by to spectate her training sessions and she was just bragging about how awesome she was. She kept saying that she could easily be on her own forever.
Hearing her say that really upset me, and I knew she was lying. To call her out on it, I walked up to her and asked 'What about me? Don't you want to be with me?' I never saw her so red, or annoyed - and that's impressive with how she can be, am I right? She told me that just because I was her boyfriend for about four months now, it didn't mean she had to rely on me.
When she said that, I told her she was right about that, I then got down on a knee to bow and said, 'Even if you don't need me, I know I need you.' I then asked her to marry me. She was shocked, I can tell you that, and I soon found myself tackled and kissed very aggressively - I could tell that was a yes. It wasn't a very romantic event, and I certainly didn't really plan it at that moment, but I knew I wanted to marry her. It's not really good advice, but all I can say is to think about if this is what you want and, if so, when you feel confident enough, go for it."
"Wait a minute!" I shouted in surprise. "Are you telling me that you proposed to her...from an argument?"
Quibble found himself laughing and walking back to the books to put back on the shelf. "Yeah, pretty much. Though, are you really that surprised? This is Firefly we're talking about, she just loves arguments. Look, you know Violet better than any pony I know. Whatever you do for her will be better than anything any pony else could do. You're practically married to her anyway. At this point you're just making it more official."
Despite being lost for words, I knew he was right about both. Firefly really did love to argue and Violet and I had a relationship at this point that was closer to a married couple. Being stuck here and afraid to be alone probably connected us even more than we thought. "You're right. Thanks for everything, Quibble. I think I now know what to do."
"Hey, us stallions need to stick together. When you're ready, go claim your mare, Desert....or let her claim you. I still wonder which way it was for me and Firefly." We both shared another laugh and said our goodbyes. I already knew what I wanted even before meeting him, but now I felt I had the confidence to say it.
I flew back to the castle rather quickly, but I didn't see Violet waiting for me. Assuming she was still with Discord and Posey, I flew up to a cloud that was hovering above and decided to lay back and try to relax a bit - it didn't really work.
I wonder when Violet's coming back? I thought to myself. Come to think of it, I wonder what she wanted to ask Posey? I didn't get to hear the rest of her conversation with Sugar Belle. Maybe Sugar Belle told her to ask Posey for relationship advice. Uh...I need to stop thinking about this for a bit. Maybe I can look at some of the clouds or something. That, or at least think about how I'll ask her to marry me. I remained lost in though for a very long time.
"Dessie...Dessie? Time to wake up sleepyhead." I found myself slowly waking up. As I did, my eyes were met with the most beautiful mare. She giggled at my drowsy expression and gently brushed my mane with her hooves. "Glad to see you're waking up. How are you, my charming stud?"
Blushing immensely, I got up and brushed myself off and tried to act casual about this. “I’m doing great, babe.” I then decided to change the subject a little. “ I see you’re getting better with your levitation and cloud walking spells,”
Violet began to giggle with excitement. “Yeah, isn’t it great? Now we can spend our free time in the clouds together.” She abruptly kissed me on the lips. It surprised me a little at first, but I didn’t resist - how could I? I thought about how this would be the perfect moment to ask her...the question.
As we separated, I began to gesture in a way that obviously implied I had something to say, but my nerves suddenly got to me - especially after looking into those beautiful sapphire eyes and that cute, curious expression. Why couldn’t I ask her? I had to man up and say it. “Violet...” I began in the most nervous tone. “I...,”
“Des! Violet! Please, come quick!” We both heard our names being yelled desperately. We both observed over the edge it was Discord - by himself.
We both descended down to our friend - our hooves held together during the flight. “What’s wrong, Discord?” I then began to ask what I was hoping was nothing. “Where’s Posey?”
“I...I think....” Discord was trying hard to seem calmer than he was letting on, but Violet and I already saw past this ruse. “They took her!” He shouted; tears running down his face.
“What!” Violet exclaimed, “Who? Why?”
“Discord,” I started, “you weren’t the only one that lived in Everfree, we’re you?” All he could do was shake his head. “What happened?”
Rubbing the tears away, he told us what happened that day. “It was just another day. I escorted Posey just outside the border to play with the more peaceful creatures - she really is cute when she plays with them. As we were finishing up, she hugged me and told me how much she cared for me.”
Aww, I knew she could say it.” Violet said in joy. It lightened the mood for a second because I could see a smile on Discord. However, that smile soon deteriorated.
“As I told her what she meant to me - how I wanted to focus on her and put aside the relationship I could have had with Fluttershy - I felt a dart hit me in the neck.” Violet and I were a little surprised to hear that. “This was the first time in the three years I spent in the Everfree Forest that I had let my guard down. The exact location of my pursuers was a mystery to me, so on instinct, I grabbed Posey and dashed for the barrier as quickly as I could before the dart’s toxins could take effect.”
“But you made it back?” Violet asked in confusion. “ Who did this? How did they get Posey?”
With a sorrowful expression, he continued. “I didn’t make it; not on my own. As I was weakening from the dart, Posey saw we wouldn’t make it and called her animals to help me, while she stayed behind. I could still hear the words she told me before I blacked out - ‘I’m glad I was able to save you, my love.’ When I woke up, I was inside the shield; alone.” Discord soon began to show signs of self-loathing.
“I didn’t save her. I finally found some pony I wanted to give everything for, but I couldn’t do it. I was supposed to be her hero...” we soon saw Discord hit the ground with his lion paw, “but I failed!” He cried out. “I’m a loser! I’ve always been one! I’m so sorry Posey! I just wanted to be someone great for you...someone who could actually deserve to be loved by you!”
He started crying. It wasn’t like the soft tears I had seen in him; this time he looked broken. We wanted to comfort him - to tell him that everything was going to be fine - but we didn’t know how to handle this.”I think I’ve heard enough sorrow, Discord.” Suddenly, we saw Cadance and Tempest coming out of the shadows. For the first time since we met her, Cadance wasn’t acting comical or teasing; she was serious.
“Its true, you have messed up, but sitting here sulking will provide no help for you. We both know what their goal was. I can sense her love; she lives Discord.” She had his full attention. “You and I both know where she is; the valley of the Everfree deer.”
These deer were vaguely familiar to me. I remembered from my dreams that they were the only species - aside from Zecora, the zebra - that welcomed the Everfree as their true home. Though, I couldn’t recall them being too friendly to outsiders until Twilight and her friends showed them the magic of friendship. From what I could tell, they never changed their ways in this universe; at least not yet. While I would consider it foolish to think this from my previous world, here I knew our enemies could be swayed to join us. Here I knew we could befriend them; that they were more than savages.
“We’ll be leaving shortly, I suggest you three pack plenty of supply for this quest.” I had a look of surprise that she was letting us go - a look she quickly read on me. “I don’t believe it was a coincidence that an element of harmony was taken. You two - the scions of unity - are going to be very important. I can feel it.”
Tempest approached Discord, and while I expected a harsher tone, it was very sympathetic. "I know what it's like to feel too weak to protect those you are in love with. Help Desert and Violet prepare and meet us by the outside. I will not allow you to lose her, and I know you are too strong and brave to allow it to happen either." As she walked away with Cadance, Violet and I brought Discord with us to prepare for our next adventure.
