Chase has a strange dream about Discord and is brought into Equestria.
Chase is an everyday guy simply living out his days. Until one night he receives a visit from a creature calling himself Discord in a dream. Told he will aid him in spreading chaos throughout the world, Chase passes it off as just another strange dream.
That same day, Chase is brought into the world of Equestria by the strange creature. What adventures await the young man as he looks for a way back home?
Note: Any questions, comments or concerns? Comment below or message me and I'll try to address them.
A lone man was standing in the middle of a garden, the full moon illuminating the landscape. A statue stood erect in front of him. "Where am I?" the man thought to himself. The sound of laughter could be heard all around him. "Hello? Who's there?!"
"Hello Chase, I've been expecting you." The statue before him began to move. Its body was serpent like, but features such as its horse-like head and misfitting limbs made it appear as a mash-up of different creatures. Chase stood frozen in place at the spectacle. He could not believe what he was seeing before him. "You're the quiet type I see. That's too bad. I was hoping to have a little more fun with you." It stepped down from the pedestal that once held it. "You see Chase, I know you. Oh yes, do I know you," a wicked grin appeared on the creatures face as he looked into its glowing yellow eyes. "It's almost time you see. This world needs a healthy dose of chaos, and you're going to help me do it."
Chase stepped back out of fear of this strange being. "I...what? This doesn't make any sense. What are you?"
"Make sense? Oh, what fun is there in making sense? I am the spirit of chaos and disharmony, Discord." it snapped its fingers and with a flash of light appeared standing beside Chase. "And you, Chase, need to wake up."
"Wake up? What do you mean by that?" Chase asked.
"You're going to be late for school sleepy head, wake up!" Chase felt the impact of a pillow meet with his face. He opened his eyes to see his assailant, a young brunette standing over him with a pillow in her hand. "Wake up Chase! You're going to be late for school again."
Chase merely sighed and rolled on his side. "Five more minutes."
The young girl put on a discontent face, then began to smile. "Alright, you asked for it." She raised the pillow high above her head and brought it down, striking him across the head once more. She continued her assault on Chase until he finally groaned and retaliated with his own pillow.
"Fine I'm up you little..." he mumbled to himself. He looked over to the clock that sat on a dresser beside his bed. 8:15 am the clock showed. Chase stared at the clock as his brain tried to process what he was seeing. All in one instant, he suddenly realized what was happening. "Oh god I'm gonna be late!" he said as he jumped out of bed. "Why didn't you wake me up sooner Rose?"
Rose threw her pillow at the young man as she walked out of the room. "Just get ready. You haven't got all day."
The young, shaggy haired boy quickly rushed over to his drawer to grab a change of clothes. "Now where did I put that shirt..." he searched around for his favorite shirt. "Ah, here we go." Chase pulled out a black t-shirt with an album cover of his favorite band, Blind Guardian. Grabbing a pair of blue jeans, he rushed to the bathroom to ready himself for school.
Chase stepped out of the front door of his home into the cool morning air. He gave his watch a quick glance. "8:22, I have to be there in 3 minutes...I can make it." he thought to himself. He started to run as he heard his someone yelling behind him.
"Chase, come get your damn instrument!"
Chase turned to Rose standing in the doorway holding a black violin shaped case. He quickly rushed back and took the instrument from her hands "Thanks sis, see ya later." he said as he turned to run again.
Rose let out a sigh. "What would he do without me?"
As the school day ended, the cool morning air had gone. It had become slightly warmer from the sun shining in the clear skies above. Chase was walking home when he heard a whimpering sound. He looked around to see the source of the sound, only to find he was alone. Chase's home was in a quiet part of town. The street being a dead end and only one way, it was rare for any traffic to come at all. Chase shrugged and decided to keep going until he heard the sound yet again. "Hello? Is someone out there?" Chase called out.
The whimpering stopped, creating an eerie silence. "H-hello? I'm stuck in here! Help!" A voice yelled out.
Chase noted that it sounded like the voice of a child. "Where are you? I can't see you anywhere."
"I'm in this well and my leg hurts." The child answered.
He looked around and saw the only well in the area. "Hold on, I'm coming for ya." Chase rushed over to the well. He looked down it, but could see only darkness. Chase looked around hoping to find something to extend his reach, but to no avail. "Is there a rope down there?"
"N-no, but I can reach you if you put your hand out."
"What? I can't see you though. How could I reach you?" he asked the child.
"You'll reach, I'm sure of it!"
"Well it's worth a shot." Chase reached down as far as he could without falling in himself. "OK, grab on."
A familiar laughter rang from the bottom of the well. Instead of the child's voice, Chase heard that of another. "With pleasure." He felt something grab his arm and pull him into the well. A bright light filled his vision as he screamed in shock. He suddenly felt sleepy as the voice told him "Have fun." Chase slowly fell asleep as the laughter continued.
Chase suddenly sat up panicked. He looked to see he was in a bed. Feeling relief wash over him, he lied back down. "Man, Rose is not gonna believe me about this one. That was, like, a dream within a dream...that was Inception crazy." He chuckled to himself as he drifted off in thought.
After a few minutes, he heard a door open and the sounds of steps in the room. Chase sat up to greet his sister. "Hey sis, you won't believe the dream I just ha-" Chase froze as he looked in front of him. Standing in the doorway was a lavender unicorn giving him a very confused stare.
The two stared at each other in silent confusion. Chase could not believe what was standing only a few feet in front of him.
"Umm, hi." the unicorn began nervously. "Can you...understand me?"
Chase had been taken out of his confused state into one of shock as the brightly colored animal before him spoke. "Did you...did you just talk to me?" he said wide eyed.
The unicorn let out a sigh of relief as she stepped closer to Chase. "Hi, my name is Twilight Sparkle."
"I'm Chase," he began calmly. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have something very important to do." Chase proceeded to pick up the fluffy pillow that his head had been resting on. He took a deep breath as he pulled to pillow to his face. "AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" The muffled sounds of his scream filled the room.
Removing the pillow from his face, Chase tossed it back on the bed as he looked back at Twilight, who now looked more confused than before. "Sorry 'bout that. I just realized you're a talking unicorn, so I had to make sure I got that out."
"Well, of course I can talk. Everypony can." she said suspiciously eying Chase who put a hand to his face at hearing everypony. "Now if you don't mind me asking, what are you exactly."
Chase rubbed his temples as he tried to put together words to answer her question. "I'm a human and one that has had a very messed up day at that." He saw that at the mention of him being a human, the unicorn had only grown more confused. "You've never met one of me have you?"
Twilight shook her head. "No I haven't, but I did note you had some similarities to monkeys." she said smiling.
Some of us more than others, Chase though to himself as he let out a small laugh. "Anyways, thanks. I guess." Chase began. "Where am I exactly?"
"The Ponyville library." Twilight answered. "Applejack brought you here when she found you lying in her field."
"Uh, Ponyville?" Chase had never heard the name before, but that didn't stop him from thinking it was ridiculous. "Where is that exactly?"
"A few hours southwest of Canterlot, we're a pretty small community to say the least."
"Canterlot?" Chase asked. Wait a minute, canter? Like a hor-...oh I hate this place already. "Could you possibly point me to a phone? I need to make a call."
The lavender unicorn looked curiously at him. "Phone? What's that?"
"You don't know what a phone is? Surely someone in this town has one, or at least knows where I could find one."
"I suppose they may. Although I'm surprised I've never heard of this phone, it couldn't hurt to see if the girls know something." she said as Twilight began to walk back towards the door. "Feel free to head downstairs and make yourself comfortable, I'm going to go find my friends and see if they can't lend a hoof."
Chase sat on a couch on the ground floor as he looked at the book filled shelves around him. He was surprised at just how many there were. It was not long before he heard a knock at the door. He was unsure if he should open it, since it wasn't his place and all.
Then he recalled the fact that Twilight said this was a library. Surely if someone needed to check out a book he could deal with that much, or at the least have someone to talk to while he waited for her. Content with his reasoning, he stood up and headed to the door. Turning the handle and opening it, he was greeted by the sound of a scream and a cyan blur. Everything suddenly went black.
"Are you alright Chase?" a familiar voice asked him. His vision was fuzzy as he started to sit up. He immediately put a hand up as he realized his cheek hurt a lot. Standing beside him was the blurry outline of Twilight and something of a cyan color beside her. "I hope you're happy Dash, he could have been seriously hurt."
"Well it's not my fault that he's like that. I saw some weird thing answering the door and made sure I wasn't eaten or killed. How was I supposed to know he's not dangerous?" the cyan blur answered.
Chase's vision returned to normal as the cyan blur came into focus. "Wait...you're a pony...with...wings?" Chase shook his head in disbelief.
"I'm a pegasus, thank you." she corrected him with a hint of annoyance in her voice. "I'm Rainbow Dash, best flier in all of Equestria." she said spreading her feathery wings proudly. Twilight nudged her slightly and her look changed from one of pride to guilt. "And, I um...sorry about that whole thing."
What the hell kind of place am I in. A pegasus and a unicorn? What's next, dragons? "It's fine, I guess." Chase turned his attention to Twilight. "So about that phone?"
Twilight shook her head. "I asked the girls if they knew anything about it, and none of them have even heard of one before."
Just my luck, I wake up in the one town without knowledge of a ph-...what a minute. "Twilight, when you say girls, what exactly to you mean by that"
Twilight looked at him curiously. "What do you mean?"
"You said you've never seen a human like me before right?" she nodded. "So then who are these girls you mentioned?"
"Oh, they're ponies. Just like me and Dash here." she replied.
"Wait, so you mean there's more than just you two ponies in this town?"
"Of course there are, what else were you expecting?"
Chase sat silent for a moment as he contemplated his situation. He wasn't just in some random town, he was in town completely populated by talking ponies. "Can I ask a favor of you?"
Twilight hesitated for a moment. "I suppose, what do you need?"
A/N: I'm adding the tags "Romance" and "Sad" for future reference. I didn't incorporate them into this chapter however...or did I? Guess you'll have to read and find out.
A Melody of Memories - Part 1
Hours passed by as the three talked in Twilights library. Despite being thrown into a world where ponies are the dominant species and his kind doesn't even exist, he thought he was taking it pretty well. During his talk, he discovered many things about this new world. Like how the sun and moon were actually controlled by these two princesses, and how pegasi "Is pegasi the plural? I think it's pegasi" control the weather all over the land of Equestria. Whenever the cyan pegasus spoke it always seemed to be about flying or the Wonderbolts, which was a stunt flying team that reminded Chase of the air shows that happened back home.
Twilight looked over to the door. "I wonder what's taking Spike so long?" She had a look of concern on her face as she spoke.
"Friend of yours?" Chase asked. Great, more ponies...that's what'll make this day better.
Twilight nodded. "He's my assistant here at the library. I sent him out a few hours ago to go pick up some things with Fluttershy, but they should be here by now."
With precision timing the wooden door opened. In the doorway was a cream colored pegasus with a smooth pink mane, standing beside her was a small pile of paper bags being carried by something Chase couldn't quite make out from behind everything it was carrying. Whatever was carrying the pile of goods was stumbling around, clearly unable to hold everything.
The new pegasus stood completely still. Her gaze fixed solely on Chase who could see she was immensely frightened. She let out a quiet yelp and jumped, causing her to bump into the creature beside her. The bags came crashing down with a heavy thud. From the fallen pile something shuffled around until it finally emerged. It was a small creature that looked a lot like a large lizard. With purple scales and a bumpy green crest on its head.
"Geez Fluttershy, what gives?" it shook its head as it emerged from the pile. It turned towards Chase to see him sitting alongside Twilight and Rainbow Dash. With a confused look on his face the creature turned to Twilight. "What's that thing?"
"Spike!" Twilight gave him a cold look. "That's no way to treat a guest. This is Chase, he's a...what did you call it again?"
"Human." he responded
"Right," she began. "Anyway, he's a friend so no need to be so worried."
As Twilight spoke the last words, the nervous pegasus that was hiding behind Spike looked up from behind him cautiously as she looked at Chase.
"Umm...hi." Chase greeted the awkwardly as he stood up. He walked over to her and knelt down beside her extending a hand. "I'm Chase."
The nervous pegasus recoiled at the sudden extension of his hand, then seemed to calm down slightly. She mumbled a few words in response.
"Sorry, I didn't catch that."
She mumbled the words again, but it was little more than a whisper.
"Um, could you speak up a bit? I didn't catch it that time either."
This time Chase was certain that she didn't actually say anything, but instead let out a small squeak as she turned her head away.
"It's ok." Twilight reassured him. "She's usually like that around strangers."
Chase turned his own attention to the lizard-like creature beside him. Considering my luck, he's probably a dragon... "Are you a dragon?"
Spike looked at him suspiciously and nodded. "Yeah." Called it!
It wasn't long before everyone was engaged in conversation once more. Rainbow Dash left not too long in saying she needed to get some practice in today. Fluttershy, who had once been scared of him was now immensely curious, now began asking more questions than Twilight. The small dragon, Spike, was stuck working and organizing the books in the library.
"So what kind of things do humans like to do?" Fluttershy asked intently.
"Well, we like all sorts of things I guess." Chase thought to himself for a moment. "A lot of people like music I guess..." Music. I feel like that should remind me of something... His eyes widened as he suddenly realized something. "Where's my violin!?" He stood up and began frantically looking around him.
"Violin? Was that what was in that black case you had?" As Twilight spoke the words Chase immediately looked over at her. "I was going to give it back when you woke up, but it totally slipped my mind." She stood up and walked upstairs. She returned shortly after with a familiar case levitating in front of her. Wait, levitating?...why am even surprised anymore. The case was placed carefully on the ground in front of Chase as he hastily opened it. He sighed in relief seeing that it was perfectly safe.
"Thank god. I don't think I could go on without this." he said beginning to close the case.
"Hey Chase, do you think you could play a song?" Fluttershy asked. "I mean, if you want to." she turned away timidly.
Chase looked at her in surprise. He wasn't really expecting a sudden request. But what the heck, why not? He smiled at Fluttershy and nodded as he reopened the case and removed the violin that lied within. He pulled it out revealing the masterly crafted instrument. The violin seemed absolutely flawless. There was not a single scratch, not a single chip or dent. Chase raised it up to his shoulder and placed the the bow along the strings.
He closed his eyes as he played the first note, the beautiful melody began to ring throughout the room. While he played, visions of his past memories began to wash through his mind.
It was a bright summer day as Chase was sitting in the backseat of his parents car. It was his eighth birthday today! He had been waiting all month for today, because his said parents they had a special surprise for him. Chase and his older sister were both at poking each other playfully to pass the time.
In the passenger seat, their mother turned and looked at them. "Settle down you two, we're almost there."
On command, the two returned to their positions trying to make themselves appear as innocent as possible. "Yes mommy." Chase said with a big grin on his face.
His mother was a beautiful woman in her early thirties. Her blonde flowing hair seemed to shine as the sunlight began to reflect off it. She responded to his comment with a smile as she turned back to her husband in the driver seat. "Should we tell them."
Chase's father contemplated for a moment as he decided what he should do. "I dunno, have you two been behaving?" he said teasing the two.
Both Chase and Rose perked up at hearing this. "We have been!" they said simultaneously.
Both of their parents chuckled when the father spoke up again. "Well since you've been so good lately, I guess we can tell you." The two parents turned to each other and nodded. "We're getting you a puppy!"
Chase was suddenly became ecstatic. He had been asking for a puppy for what felt like forever, and now it was finally going to happen. Overcome with sheer joy he lunged forward to try and hug them, only to be stopped by the seat belt he was wearing. Everyone started to laugh.
Chase, nine years old, stood in front of a headstone. It read "Gale & Melony. Dear friends and beloved parents. Taken away before your time, you will be dearly missed." His elder sister stood beside him silently as the sun was setting behind them. The cloudy winter day was bitter cold as they stood. Chase placed a bouquet of flowers on the grave of his parents as tears began to fall. He turned to his sister and asked "Why did they have to go away?"
Rose turned her head away from Chase, but he could see she was crying too. Instead of words, she replied by kneeling down and giving her little brother a hug. The two remained like that with the only sound being Chase's sobbing as he cried. I don't remember how long we stayed like that. I think it was almost thirty minutes, maybe an hour. Hard to tell after so long.
As the final notes played out, Chase returned to reality and looked up. His eyes were met with the sight if Fluttershy and Twilight nearly in tears. Chase let out a slight chuckle. "I guess I did pretty good, there's no need for crying though." he joked.
Twilight also laughed a bit as she rubbed her eyes. "Yeah, then why are you crying to?"
Chase suddenly realized that he too had been shedding tears. Must've got too into the song. I didn't even notice. His thoughts were short lived as a sound of applause was heard from the doorway. Everyone turned to see who it was. Chase was suddenly awestruck by what he saw. In the doorway was a pure white unicorn with a flowing purple mane. She too had tears in her eyes as she continued to clap.
"That was...that was absolutely beautiful." she said wiping away tears. The unicorn shook her head as she instantly seemed to regain her composure. "S-sorry to interrupt, but I was passing by when I heard the most beautiful sounds in all of Equestria. I simply had to investigate."
She approached Chase while looking him over. "I simply must know your name young...I must apologize, but I don't believe I've ever met someone quite like you."
Chase was still awestruck by the appearance and demeanor of the unicorn. Did I just...NO! It must be the music still thinking, yeah that's it. "Um, my name's human and I'm a Chase. " he said nervously. "I mean, my name's Chase and I'm a human!" he quickly corrected himself. Smooth...
The unicorn giggled as she extended a hoof in greeting. "Rarity." Chase wasn't quite sure how to shake a hoof, but he managed to do so albeit somewhat awkwardly.
Chase's music playing was easily the topic of the evening as they began to talk once more. He went on to explain as much as he could about music.I'm not telling them about Soulja Boy, no one needs to know about Soulja Boy. It wasn't long before someone had to ask that question.
"So why did you start playing the violin?" Twilight inquired.
Chase knew it was a reasonable question, but still a painful one nonetheless. "It was...my parents who got me started." he began in a melancholy tone. "They said if I worked hard enough they'd get me the puppy I'd been asking for. When everything happened, I.." Chase's mind slowly drifted off as the memories came back into his mind once again.
The three ponies looked at each other in worry. "It's ok dear, you don't have to say it if you don't want to." Rarity gave a reassuring smile as spoke.
"Thanks." he replied wiping away tears that had formed in his eyes.
"It's really getting late now." Twilight said as she gestured to a wooden clock on the wall. The hands showed it was 12:03 AM. "We should consider sleeping soon. Do you have a place to stay Chase?"
"I'd really like to get home, but seeing as I have no idea where that is from here I guess not."
Rarity spoke up. "Why don't you stay the night at my house? I've a spare room that you could use."
Chase looked at her in utter surprise. "Really? I mean, I don't want to be a bother."
"Nonsense dear, you may come to my home and rest as long as you need."
The group made their separate ways as they said goodnight to each other. Chase followed Rarity to her home. It was very late, so there were no other ponies outside at the moment. Thank god! That would have been weird... Her home was rather nice in appearance, located beside what appeared to be a large carnival tent. The inside of the house was pretty much what he was expecting. Everything was in perfect order. Not a spec of dust, dirt or anything else one could consider unclean. She gave him a very brief tour of the house when they finally arrived at a bedroom.
"This is the guest room. Feel free to make yourself at home while you are here." Chase nodded in acceptance. "Goodnight dear, I'll see what I can do about getting you back home in the morning." Then came something Chase had not been prepared for. Rarity reach up and gave him a hug before she made her way to her room. That just happened didn't it?
As she was walking away Chase quickly said "I-if there's anything I can do for you, please don't hesitate to ask."
Rarity stopped and turned around. She though for a moment. "Well, there is something you can do." No way, is sh- "I'd like to hear another song, if that's no trouble." oh...that's totally where I thought this was going.
Chase removed the violin from the case once more. "With pleasure."
This bed is way too comfortable. What do they make this out of, clouds? Heh, that's just silly. I mean honestly, who would sleep on a cloud anyways?...do I smell pancakes? Chase opened his eyes to see the streaks of sunlight that had made their way through the curtains. The fine linen sheets over him were still relatively neat as he stood up beside the bed and stretched out. He shook his head trying to rid himself of morning fatigue as he began to follow the smell of food. Chase arrived in the kitchen to find Rarity humming to herself, kitchen utensils floating about doing their various tasks with grace and precision.
"Morning." Chase said rubbing his eyes.
Rarity turned to him and smiled. "Good morning. Did you sleep well darling?" Chase nodded as she started to giggle. He gave her a confused look. "Judging by your mane, I guess you did."
A small hand-held mirror on the counter rose into the air and slowly floated towards Chase. He looked to see his hair was, indeed, a mess. Seeing this, he hastily began to pat his hair down in an attempt to tame the wilderness that had become his hair. He looked into the mirror again and saw his struggles were in vain, as his hair had become even worse in his attempt to fix it. Chase sighed as he shrugged and took a seat at the table next to him. Rarity gave him a skeptical look.
"No, no, no this simply won't do. I simply cannot allow you to remain with such a disaster." She began as the frying pan in front of her flipped a pancake on to a plate. "We must hurry up and eat so I can deal with this...catastrophe of a mane."
Chase sat in a salon chair as he observed the brightly colored room around him. He could see more chairs, industrial sized hair dryers, and various bottles of shampoo neatly arranged on shelves. She would have her own beauty parlor. I don't see why she's going through all this trouble. A brush would work just as well.
The door opened as Rarity walked through. Oh...my...god...what is sh- Carrying a basket containing various bottles and hair cutting utensils, she walked in the room and placed them next to the chair.
"Uh, Rarity. I thought you were just gonna fix up my hair."
"Oh but I am darling!" her horn glowed as a pair of safety glasses floated up to her eyes. "Now hold still, this will take my utmost concentration." I'm going to die in here aren't I?...
Chase sat in Rarity's living room as she was upstairs getting ready to head to Twilight's. His arms were crossed while he had a bemused look on his face. Chase did not approve of his new haircut. Haircut? This is much more than just a "haircut," this is complete and total hair genocide. His hair had been cut shorter than before, barely reaching past his ears. It had been dyed pitch black with a single wide streak of white on the left side. I look like I belong in a Goth band. "It's all the rage!" she says...
After several minutes of waiting Chase began to get impatient. Standing up, he decided to explore the room he was in. The fireplace in front of him was not lit, but he noticed that there were some framed pictures above it. Walking over to investigate, he picked up one of them. It was a picture of Rarity with a small filly. She had a white coat like Rarity, but her mane was a light pink and purple. Why is everything in this world so...adorable? He placed the picture down and noticed another that had more than just the two. Picking it up Chase saw that there was a younger looking Rarity, an even younger version of the filly he saw in the other picture, and two other ponies. One was a unicorn mare with an almost identical look to Rarity. The other was a brown earth pony stallion. The picture was taken in a park with the four of them laughing and smiling together. Hallmark in a nutshell. Chase could hear Rarity's hoof-steps coming down the stairs. He quickly put the picture back and walked over to meet her.
"So Rarity, you never did tell me why we're headed back to Twilight's."
"Oh, right. Well you see Twilight is quite the expert when it comes to magic. If you are from another world, I assume the best way to get back would be through a spell." Makes sense...I guess. "On that note, I've made up something to get you there without being seen."
Chase shot her a confused glance. "Why can't I be seen?"
"No offence dear, but your appearance may...startle some of the local ponies." Right, they're all ponies...how do you forget a detail like that?
"Ok, so what's the plan?"
I hate ponies...I hate this place. Being pulled by Rarity's magic, behind her was a large present box. Inside was Chase, sitting cross-legged in what little space he had. He was given a small pair of holes to look through. The range of vision was incredibly narrow, and all he could see is Rarity and occasionally the closely passing pony. "Couldn't you have found a bigger box?" Chase asked.
"Hush down, we are trying to get you there without being noticed after all." Chase simply sighed in annoyance as he shifted uncomfortably in the box.
After a few minutes. Chase could see that tree that doubled as the local library and as Twilight's home. Thank god. Almost there and no incidents. No sooner did the thought cross his mind when Rarity stopped. What gives? A pink pony suddenly began bouncing over and hopped in place next to Rarity. Oh what fresh hell is this?
"Hiya Rarity! What's in the box?" the pink pony gasped loudly. "Is it a present?! Is it somepony's birthday? We should throw a party! So who's party is it?!"
Rarity hesitated for a moment. "It's no ones birthday Pinkie dear. I'm simply bringing this box of, umm...materials to Twilight's. She's practising...dress making magic!" she gave the pink pony a nervous smile. No one would ever believe a lie like tha-
"Okie dokie lokie!" As quickly as she arrived, the odd pony bounced away. That seriously worked? I guess things are going my way...hey what's poking my leg?
"Hi!"
The top of the box suddenly flew open as Chase jumped out. The back of his legs got caught on the edge, causing him and the box to go tumbling over. He landed on the ground with a thud, followed by a pink pony rolling out of the box and landing perfectly on her hooves directly over Chase. He opened his eyes to be met with two big blue eyes staring at him mere inches from his face.
"Hi! I'm Pinkie Pie. You look silly, I like you!" the pink pony said with a huge smile on her face. Chase glanced around quickly to see that dozens of passersby had stopped and were looking at him. Think Chase, how do we fix this? A moment of awkward silence passed as Pinkie continued to stare at him smiling.
A crowd had now gathered around Chase and Pinkie as he remained motionless. Many of them began to whisper to each o- Hey, Chaos. We gotta have a little chat.
I'm sorry, what? How did you-
Never mind that. I've got a bigger bone to pick with you. Seriously dude, I'm not liking this. Like, not at all.
It's a story. Not everything goes well...in fact things will mess up all the time. For comedic value really.
No I get that. It's just...I don't like THIS!
What are you talking about?
MY HAIR! Do you know what you did to it?! I want my old hair back!
Fine, then you leave me no choice. Me and the other characters are officially on strike until you fix this!
Other characters?
Yeah, you know. Everyone from [spoilers] to [spoilers]. We've all decided that this is totally lame, and needs to be rectified immediately.
What? Even [spoilers]?!
Especially [spoilers].
Fine, gather everyone up. Time for an emergency meeting.
*2 hours and a lot of spoilers later*
Alright. I've spoken with the cast and I've decided to make a few concessions.
1. Chases hair will be returned to normal. Damn right it will.
2. Chase will get an "easy out" for the current situation. Woohoo!
3. Rarity will not- HI!
Oh no, it's the pink one again...
Pinkie Pie what are you doing here?
Well I saw everyone was in here so I thought I'd come and say hi. *Gasp* Is this a party?!
No. No.
Oh...can we-
Also no.
Aww, but why not?
I have a story to get back to writing. All those people waiting to read the next chapter...can you imagine how sad they are having to wait?
You have a story?! Am I in it?
Yes. You're actually one of the characters being mentioned right away.
Oh wowie that sounds cool! Can I read it?
Sure, why not.
Wait, Pinkie you're in the story. Why would you-
*Grabs Chase and pulls him aside* Listen, when Pinkie wants something, it's best if everyone just plays along.
Why? She's just a pony.
Just trust me on this. You don't want to make Pinkie mad.
Oh...so about my hair.
Right! Almost forgot!
Chase sat in Rarity's living room as she was upstairs getting ready to head to Twilight's. Chase enjoyed the little "beauty session" with Rarity. His hair was now silky smooth, and exactly the same color as before. Yep. Nothing wrong with this picture. Completely content with his hair, he never once complained about it again.
Did you really have to word it like that? It almost makes me feel like I sounded needy.
That's because you are. Which is odd, because I totally didn't design you like that.
Hey, don't talk to me like I'm some kind of fictional character...oh, right.
Now if you two don't mind, I'd like to get back to writing the actual story part of the story.
A crowd had now gathered around Chase and Pinkie as he remained motionless. Many of them began to whisper to each other. Come on Chase, there's got to be something you can do.
"I've never seen you in Ponyville before, which means..." she gasped at her realization as she suddenly bounced off towards the massive present box. From behind it, she pulled out a small colorful cart. That was so not there a second ago. Pressing a red button on the side, the cart suddenly sprang to life as a multitude of colorful flags and instruments appeared.
As music began to play, Pinkie began to sing. "Welcome, welcome, welcome a fine welcome to you." Is she...singing? ""Welcome, welcome, welcome I say how do you do?" Chase looked around and noticed that everyone's attention was solely on her. This may be my chance. I'll have time to feel bad about ditching Rarity later. ""Welcome, welcome, welcome I say hip hip hurray!" Chase slowly crawled behind the crowd. ""Welcome, welcome, welcome to Ponyville today!" Chase ran at full speed towards the tree as the song came to it's close.
"Where did that thing go?" he could hear someone say as he hurled himself inside.
Chase sighed as he leaned back against the closed door. "Made it." he said to himself. Looking around, he didn't see any sign of Twilight or Spike. Now here could they have gone? Chase walked around and began looking for them. It wasn't long before he heard a crashing sound towards the back of the library. He headed towards the door on the other side of the room and looked inside. There was Twilight, standing in a large and elaborate circle that had been drawn on the ground. There was a small pile of ashes on the ground in front of her. "Err...did I come at a bad time?"
Twilight looked up in surprise. "Oh hello Chase. You actually came at a good time as it so happens. I've been working on a spell that should take you back to your world." she said proudly.
"That's great!" Chase said surprised. Caution, however, got the better of him. "Have you actually tested it at all? I mean I don't know how magic works, but I'm guessing you need to make sure it works before you actually do it on a live subject."
Twilight's gave a nervous laugh as she brushed the pile of ashes out of sight. "Well, um." she began, clearing her throat. "I'm certain this spell will work fine. The object being transferred simply needs to be from that world is all."
Chase thought for a moment and came to an idea. He reached into his pocket and pulled out his wallet. "This is from my world. You could try it with this first."
Twilight sighed with relief. "Good idea, this will help verify my theory." ...I was so about to be dead. Chase walked up and placed the wallet in the circle in front of Twilight, then they both stepped back what he guessed was a safe distance from it. "Alright, let's get this started." This should be interesting. The most magic I've seen so far is that whole levitating thing they do.
The horn on Twilight's head began to glow a soft purple hue. Her face was showing very deep concentration and effort being put into it as her horn began to glow brighter and brighter. Eventually, the light had grown so much that Chase was having a difficult time looking at it, but his curiosity was too great for him to look away. Twilight bent her head down as she placed the tip of her horn on the edge of the circle. The light from her horn disappeared as the lines began to glow the same color. As the circle became fully engulfed in the purple light, the wallet lifted off the ground and disappeared in a flash of light.
"It worked!" Twilight said enthusiastically as she began hopping around the room gleefully. Well I'll be damned, it actually did. She stopped hopping around and went back to her position at the edge of the circle. "Now we can get you home." she said smiling.
Chase nodded as he stepped into the middle of the circle. Finally! All these ponies would have driven me crazy if I had stayed any longer. he paused his thoughts for a moment. That Rarity one was nice though. Oh well, I'm better of in my own world anyways. "Whenever you're ready Twilight."
Twilight's horn glowed just like it did before. As the circle began to glow, Chase felt an unusual breeze suddenly begin to flow around him. It was warm, like what one would expect on a nice summer day. He suddenly felt himself lifted off the ground as there was a sudden flash of light. His vision went black.
I'm home. Thank god. Chase lifted his hand to rub his eyes from the strain caused by the light. "Ow" he said as he felt something hard hit him. His eyes slowly opened as he tried to make out what had hit him. This is...a hoof. Why did a hoof- Chase's eyes suddenly widened as he saw Twilight's, who was still in front of him, expression. Looking at the hoof in front of him, he realized something.
Chase cleared his throat. "Twilight." he asked.
"Y-yes?" she said shocked.
"Two things. One, why do I have hooves?" he said as straight faced as possible.
"I-I don't know."
"I see. Well in that case, the second thing is," Chase took a deep breath. "Pillow, now!"
A/N: If you find a random wallet, please message me. I'm sure Chase would like to have it back. Also, GET THIS MAN A PILLOW STAT!!!
Twilight stood dumbfounded as she looked at Chase. The circle around him had completely disappeared, leaving behind slight burn marks in the wooden floor.
"But...how...why...I don't...understand." Twilight managed to say.
Chase sighed. Of course this would happen. I just have the best luck. "So, how bad is it?"
Twilight shook her head and quickly tried to regain her composure. "I-It's not bad, but I mean, It should have worked. This...this is just, surprising."
"Surprising? I've been turned into a pony. Surprising is definitely not the word I'd use to describe the situation."
"Well, you see..." she began shuffling her hoof on the ground. "There's more to it than that."
Chase gave Twilight a suspicious look. "What do you mean by more?..."
Twilight began to look around as she spotted a mirror. Using her magic, she levitated the tall vanity mirror over to him. As the it landed gently in front of him, he saw his new form staring back at him. Before him stood a pony with a dark brown coat, and a red mane with a single glowing highlight in it.
Chases gaze was fixed on the horn that adorned his head. "I'm a...unicorn?" Twilight gestured him to look back. Turning around, he saw a pair of wings folded neatly on his sides. "With wings?" Well if you're going to be a pony, might as well have all the cool pony things. "So what am I exactly, a Pegacorn or a Unisus?"
Twilight giggled a little at the comment. "Actually, it's called an Alicorn. There's only a handful in all of Equestria, most of them are members of the Royal family as well." I'm like pony royalty?...I can dig it.
"So, what do we do now that the spell didn't work AND I'm an Alicorn thingy."
Twilight sat down as she pondered the question. "Well the spell should have worked, but maybe something was missing. As for your change, I'll have to contact Princess Celestia. She knows far more than I when it comes to magic."
"Celestia, she's the sun raising one right?"
She nodded. "Yes, she's also been my teacher ever since I was a young filly. I'll just go get Spike and we'll-" Her words were cut off by the sound of a crash in the main room. "What in Equestria was that?"
The two quickly rushed over to find Pinkie Pie and Rarity had fallen over in front of a wooden door that had been knocked off one of its hinges.
"Pinkie!" Rarity yelled. "You can't come in here, there's no-" she stopped as she looked up at Twilight and the strange Alicorn. A look of embarrassment crossed her face as she blushed. "Why hello Twilight. Did we drop in at a, um...bad time?"
What does she mean by "bad time?"... Chase looked up from Rarity and immediately to Twilight standing next to him. Her face blushed as she gave an angry took towards the white mare in front of her. Chase immediately put a hoof to his face.
"No Rarity, it wasn't. But breaking through my door at any time is usually considered a bad time." she scolded Rarity. "Now, what is so important that you two came crashing in like this?"
Pinkie immediately jumped up and began talking far faster than anyone could hope to understand. Rarity stood up and put a hoof in her mouth. "She has been going on about seeing some strange creature fall out of the package I was bringing here."
"But I DID see it. He was all like, tall and sitting inside your box. Then when we fell out I was all like Hi! and then he was all like Hi!" Pinkie began frantically. "Then I sang my super duper welcome song, and then POOF! He was gone."
Rarity rolled her eyes. "Pinkie dear, I insist that you stop eating so many sweets. It's starting to cause you to see things." she turned her attention back to Chase. "We have a guest here after all, there is no need to bother him with such nonsense."
Pinkie looked and finally noticed him standing there, giving an awkward smile in response. "Hmm..." Pinkie said as she approached the stranger. Her expression becoming serious, she began to walk around him as she inspected him closely. What is she doing? Am I about the be eaten or something? He looked over at Twilight who merely gave him a shrug saying that she had no idea what was going on. She finally stopped after making a full lap around him and stood mere inches from his face and looking directly into his eyes. The two looked at each other as Chase tried to maintain his awkward smile.
"Aha!" Pinkie suddenly said. "I knew it!" Without warning, the pink pony suddenly began bouncing around yelling, "I found him, I found him!"
The three others in the room were all greatly confused, Rarity even more so. "Pinkie," she began. "What in the name of Celestia are you talking about?"
Bouncing over by Rarity, she had a huge grin on her face. "I never forget a face, even if it changed." Yeah that made a whole lot of sense. "This is the one I was telling you I saw a few minutes ago."
Rarity looked at Chase, still awkwardly smiling, and over to Twilight. She simply nodded. "C-Chase." she said in shock. "Is it...how is it...you're..."
"Yeah, I'm a pony.' he looked over to Pinkie. "The result of a failed spell, no less."
"Failed?" Rarity gave him a quizzical look. "Chase dear, do you see the significance of being what you are now?"
Chase shrugged. "Not really. I've got a horn and wings, so that makes me special or something right?"
Rarity gave a look of amazement at his response, as she was about to speak Twilight broke in. "Alicorns are among the most powerful beings in all of Equestria, the world even! To be one will likely cause more attention to be brought to you than if you remained human." Lovely. That's exactly what I wanted to hear...
"So what do I do?"
"Well first, we write a letter to Princess Celestia to explain the situation." she began. "We'll want to await her response. I'll go find Spike." Without another word she disappeared in a a blink of purple light. Moments later she reappeared with the baby dragon beside her who quickly ran over to a desk containing papers and a quill. Twilight cleared her throat as she began to say what needed to be written down.
Dear Princess Celestia,
An unusual situation has occurred here in Ponyville that requires your immediate attention. After meeting with a being from a different world called a "human," I attempted to send him back only to have a completely different effect. The spell instead turned him into an Alicorn. Knowing how important this is, I am writing you for advice on how to handle this situation.
Your faithful student, Twilight Sparkle.
As Spike finished this letter, he spat out green flames that immediately burnt the letter into a puff of smoke. "Umm," Chase said confused. "Weren't you supposed to send that letter?"
"That's how I send-" within moments, Spike let out a belch as a stream of green flames came out as well as a rolled up scroll with a gold seal adorning a neatly tied ribbon. Well that was the second, no, third weirdest thing I've seen today...it's been a rough day.
Without hesitation, Twilight levitated the letter over to her and began reading the contents.
Dear Twilight Sparkle,
I thank you for bringing this news to my attention. I will arrange transportation for the two of you to come to Canterlot tomorrow at noon. Please make sure he is taken care of until this time.
Yours truly, Princess Celestia
Twilight sighed in relief. "At least we know the situation is under control." She turned to Rarity. "Rarity, would you mind watching after him again tonight?"
"Uuuhhgg." Chase groaned. "Do you really need me to do this?" He was standing atop a large colorful pedestal wearing a very elegant dress. Rarity had been taking measurements and placing pins in certain areas as she wrote down notes on a small clipboard that had been floating beside her.
"Please dear, I need to concentrate." she said as another needle went into the dress. "There!" she stepped back. "That should do it. Thanks again dear, no one else was available today and a model was necessary to make this." She used her magic to lift the dress off of him. It's...finally...over!
Chase stepped down as he wobbled mildly. "Heh, still getting used to the whole four legged thing."
Rarity giggled. "Is there anything you need dear?"
Chase looked out a nearby window. It was already nighttime. The dress making had taken hours. "No, I think I'll be going to bed now." he yawned. "It's getting pretty late."
"Alright, if you need me I'll be here. I have to finish this order for tomorrow, so I may be up for quite some time."
Chase gave a concerned look. "Really? Are you sure you don't need me for anything else?"
Rarity quickly shook her head. "Goodness no. You've a meeting with the princess tomorrow, I couldn't possibly ask you to stay up so late for me."
Chase thought to himself for a moment. "You know, if we worked on it together we'd be able to get it done much faster." he began. "Think about it, two people- I mean ponies are far more efficient than one."
"But-" Chase put a hoof up to silence her, wobbling slightly as his balance was suddenly thrown off. Chase blushed as they both laughed.
"Well, it's decided then." Chase said. "I'm helping you one way or the other."
Rarity let out a light sigh as she smiled. "Thank you, Chase."
It won't take as long I said. It'll be faster I said. Maybe I should have told myself I was an idiot... It was now only half an hour before Chase had to meet Twilight. Four hours of sleep. Who would have thought those stupid dresses took so long to make? Chase shook his head as he focused on the mirror in front of him. Right, still a...Pegacorn. Chase looked at the toothbrush that had been laid out on side of the sink for him, then at his hooves. "How the heck am I supposed to do this?"
Chase stepped out of the bathroom. "That was so much more complicated than it should have been." Walking past Rarity's room, he could see she was still asleep.
"Who're you calling a marshmallow?...." he heard her say softly. She dreams about marshmallows? Weird...
Chase dragged himself out through the front door as he made his way towards the library. His eyes weighed heavily on him as he struggled to stay awake. He saw a few passersby noticed him and began whispering to each other, but Chase was far too tired to care. He simply walked forward dragging his hooves along.
Chase was suddenly startled as he collided face first with something. What the-? He looked in front of him to see he had run into a door. The door to the library in fact. Whatever, at least I'm here. Chase simply opened the door and walked in as he saw Twilight putting a few things in a pack. "Hey Twilight." he said groggily.
"Hi Chase, ready for your meeting with the-" Twilight stop as she got a good look at him. "You look awful! Are you feeling alright?"
"I'll be fine. A quick bite to eat and I'm sure I'll be back on my feet- er, hooves in no time."
"Well it is almost noon. I'll have Spike make us up a quick bite to eat." she looked around for the small dragon before finally yelling, "Spike!"
Spike came walking down the stairs moments later, a blanket in hand and rubbing his eye. "You called?"
"Spike, I thought I told you to wake up almost two hours ago." He just shrugged. "Ugh, never mind. Can you make me and Chase up something to eat real quick? We're headed off to Canterlot shortly." The baby dragon gave Twilight a thumbs up as he yawned and headed for the kitchen. A few minutes later Spike came back with two plates with a sandwich on them. Well at least the food here has been pretty normal so far. Twilight levitated the sandwich over to her as she ate it floating mid air. Spike placed the other on a nearby desk.
Chase walked up to the plate, looked his hooves, then back to the sandwich. Looks like we're doing this the ol' fashioned way. Chase sat down by the desk and began taking bites out of the sandwich, simply leaving it on the plate as he did. He suddenly heard Twilight nearly spit up her food as she began laughing at the scene.
"Chase," she began. "what in Equestria are you doing?" Chase responded by holding his hooves up with a bemused look on his face as he swallowed down another bite of the sandwich. Twilight shot him a confused look. "You do know you can pick it up right?"
Now it was Chase's turn to be confused. "I don't know any magic remember?" She held up her own hooves in a mocking manner. I don't get it...
Twilight rolled her eyes as she walked over to the plate and picked it up with a hoof. Chase looked with a degree of astonishment. "What...how...you...hooves?!"
She placed the plate back down and took a step back. "Now you try." Chase reached out a hoof and tried picking up the plate, but found that no matter how hard he tried they would not grip it.
After failing several times, he turned to Twilight with a look of frustration. "You used magic didn't you?"
She shook her head. "No, I just picked it up." She picked the plate up again. "Like this." ...I quit!
Without a second thought, Chase simply dove in and ate the remainder of the sandwich in a frenzy of gnashing and snarls. Twilight stared in shock as Spike began laughing hysterically. Chase put a smile on his face as he gulped down the last bit of the sandwich. "I think I'm gonna do just fine here."
There was a knock on the door. Twilight opened it be met with a large white pegasus in golden armour. His stature gave him a very intimidating presence as he stood nearly a foot over her. "Miss Sparkle," he began as he gave a polite bow. "we're here to bring you and one guest to Canterlot." Twilight nodded and levitated a saddlebag full of books onto her back. She and Chase stepped outside to see a finely made white and gold chariot being pulled by two other pegasi that looked identical to one that had knocked on the door. Chase noted that the pegasi were giving him a suspicious look as he walked towards the chariot. Just keep cool. They're just bringing us to see the princess, not to beat the high holy hell out of us. Just...stay...calm. He took a deep breath as he tried to give his most reassuring smile. This seemed to work as they turned their attention away from him. Twilight stepped up onto the chariot first and sat down. Chase was about to follow in suit as he was stopped by a familiar voice.
"Chase, wait for me!" it called out. He looked around to see Rarity running towards them wearing a pack much like the one Twilight held, but with the symbol that was on her flank stitched onto the side. I'll have to remember to ask about those tattoos, or whatever they are. She slowed to a stop by him gasping for air.
One of the pegasi walked over to her with a very serious look on his face. "I'm sorry Miss Rarity, but we have strict orders to only bring these two. I'm afraid you cannot come along."
Still exhausted, she nodded. "I-I know," she said breathing heavily. "I just have something I need to give to Chase."
Chase gave her a confused look as Rarity used her magic to bring out a violin case. "My violin!" he said surprised. "I can't believe I nearly forgot it. Of all the dumb things for me to do...thanks Rarity." Chase picked up the instrument and placed it on the chariot.
Rarity shuffled her hoof on the ground in front of her for a moment. "There is one more thing." she said as her pack opened again.
This time, she pulled a red scarf out with her mouth. The material felt remarkably soft and light as she wrapped it carefully around his neck. "I didn't have time to thank you properly for your help last night, so I made you this for your trip." Rarity's expression changed from her usual calm demeanor to one of sadness as her eyes began to water. "I know that you probably won't be coming back, so I wanted to give you something to remember me by."
"What? I...oh, right." Chase recalled the reason he was going to meet the princess in the first place. "Thanks Rarity. We've only known each other for a bit over two days and yet you've done so much for me. I don't even know what to say...I-"
Rarity put a hoof up to his mouth and paused him. She leaned in and gave him a kiss on the cheek, leaving a slight bit of lipstick behind in the process. With that she smiled at him and walked away. Chase stood in the shock as she left, raising a hoof to his cheek. Did...that just, happen?
"IwantdownIwantdownIwantdown." Chase had been repeating this phrase since the chariot had left. Frozen in place as he held on tightly to the railing, he continued his rambling with his eyes shut tight. "IwantdownIwantdownIwantdown."
Twilight sighed in annoyance. "It's fine Chase, these are pegasi of the royal guard, some of the strongest fliers in all of Equestria. There's no need to worry about falling." What Twilight had neglected to tell Chase was that the chariots were more often used for aerial transportation rather than ground.
Chase glared at her angrily. "Read my lips unicorn woman! I...do....not...FLY!"
Rolling her eyes, she brought a hoof to her face. "Alright, so you don't like flying. I get it, but we're up here now and there's not much you can do except enjoy the view."
"Enjoy the view?! We're miles from the ground a-" Chase stopped himself as he looked out in front of him. It was truly a sight to behold. The gentle flowing plains that expanded further than the eye could see, the calm, glistening river that seemed to flow off into eternity, and to top it all off a rainbow was stretched across the sky before him. His grip from the railing loosened. This is...beautiful. I guess Twilight was right about the view at least. His mind immediately returned to the lavender unicorn next to him. Almost on instinct, his fears suddenly welled up inside him once again. "Y-yep, view was nice. Now can I get down already?"
Twilight gave him a look of curiosity. "You seemed fine for a second, what happened?"
"N-nothing happened. I looked and that's it."
Twilight paused as she tried to piece something together in her mind. "I think there's more to this fear of flying than I'm realizing." she began. "There must be a reason to it beyond just the fear of falling?"
Chase remained silent.
"Oh sweet merciful heavens we're here!" Chase shouted as the chariot landed gently before the large castle gates.
"Thank Celestia that's over." she said stepping down from the chariot.
Another pair of the royal guards walked up to Twilight and Chase. "The Princess is expecting you two. This way please." Like the guard before, he spoke in a commanding tone and had a strong presence about him. They still all look exactly the same...
The steel gate opened wide, allowing them to follow the cobblestone path that led to the massive castle. The castle was built into the mountainside, made of white stone with golden spires. I'm beginning to see a trend here. The scene before him was almost too colorful to bear. Ponies of all types were going about their duties within the castle grounds, many of which were tending to the many plants and flowers that adorned the courtyard. As the two followed the guards, Chase noticed a few of the workers look at him curiously. He simply pretended not to see them and continued on his way.
The inside of the castle was almost as brightly decorated as the outside. Beautiful stain glass windows depicting different ponies lit up the long hallway before them. A flowing red carpet stretched to the opposite end. Two more guards stood at attention beside the large door on the far side of the hallway. As they walked, Chase inspected each window. They seemed to depict heroic deeds performed by ponies, likely throughout their history. It was one in particular that caught his attention. The window itself was barren except for one image. A pair of blue cat-like eyes. As he observed he stopped. There's something off about that one. Chase saw that the others had not noticed him stopping and decided to walk up to the window. As he approached them they seemed to glow brighter the closer he got. It's almost seems like they're...watching me?
"Indeed we are." Chase heard a voice from within his mind. The room around him suddenly seemed to fade out as darkness filled the room around him. The window was filled with a black smoke that began seeping out towards Chase. "We have been watching you for sometime now."
"W-who are you?" He attempted to step back, but found his body would not move.
"Hmph." the voice scoffed. "You're supposed to be our opponent?" The smoke whisked around him as a cold chill began to enter him. "What possible purpose could you have in all this? The other human has already far exceeded you."
Chase was utterly confused by the strange words, but one thing he did point out was the mention of another human. "You mean, there's another human? Here. In Equestria?" Chase wasn't sure, but it was as though he could "feel" the presence smile.
"You were not aware?" the voice did not sound surprised, but rather uninterested. "How quaint. It seems you are not a threat to us at all, let alone of any use. Such a shame, humans usually have so much potential."
It's starting to sound like my English teacher... "Potential? Potential for what?"
"It matters not, anymore. You will not succeed. Go back to your little ponies, we are done speaking with you."
"W-wait, what?" Chase felt himself become suddenly dizzy as he fell unconscious.
"Chase!" he could hear a voice call out. "Chase are you alright?"
He opened his eyes to see a panicked lavender unicorn standing over him. "T-twilight?"
"Oh thank Celestia!" Twilight immediate hugged Chase. "What happened? You just suddenly fell unconscious."
"I-I guess I'm just still tired from last night." he said awkwardly as he rubbed the back of his head. It's probably best to keep what just happened quiet for now.
"Oh? And what exactly kept you two up so long?" Chase heard someone say. Their voice was warm and soothing, but also had a certain power to it. He around to see he was in a much larger room. From the other side of the room his eyes were barraged with a mass of brightness. Sitting on a raised golden throne was a large white alicorn. Her mane was composed of several soothing colors, and seemed to be constantly flowing despite being inside. The look on her face, however, was very serious.
Twilight's face became flustered. "P-princess, we didn't-" Celestia's sudden giggling caused her to stop. She made a gesture to her guards who began to exit the room.
"I'm sorry Twilight, I simply couldn't resist making a little joke." Twilight gave a bemused look in response, but merely shrugged it off.
"Princess, I'd like you to meet Chase." she said gesturing to him. "As you can see, this is the one I was speaking about."
Err, better not seem like a jerk in front of her. Chase gave a polite bow to the princess. "G-greetings princess Celestia."
Celestia gave him a warm smile. "There's no need to be so formal here. Technically, you don't even have to call me princess, being from a different universe." Both Twilight and Chase were surprised by her reaction. Celestia never did enjoy formalities, but Twilight had never heard her give permission to anypony except herself to not use titles while within the castle. "Now Twilight," she began again. "Would you mind giving me a full explanation of what happened?"
Twilight smiled. "Of course princess!" She went on to explain as much as possible, in a excruciating amount of detail. I could've done it in a sentence or two. I have to say though, gotta appreciate her attention to detail. She even knew what key my song was in? Not bad.
As Twilight finished her explanation, Celestia nodded. "I see, in that case it should be well within my abilities to send you back home." she gave Chase a look over. "In your human form, of course."
Twilight’s expression went from thoughtful to just plain giddy as she heard this. "You mean you're going to twin cast princess?" Twin cast? I don't like that there's a special name for this...
"There's no need to worry Chase, I've performed twin casting many times over." How did she?...you're in my head aren't you? Celestia simply gave him a smile.
Chase could see that Twilight was nearly ready to burst with excitement. "The princess and her sister are the only two who can successfully perform a twin cast." She began to explain to Chase. "It basically means she's casting two spells as one to enhance it's effects."
Chase gave her a confused look. "Why can only the princesses do it?" he looked around the room. "Speaking of which, where is the other one?"
"My sister, Luna, is currently asleep. She is in charge of duties at night. As such, our sleep schedules reflect one another." Celestia told him. "As for the spell, it requires a large amount of magical energy as well as concentration to do so." she gave Twilight a warm grin. "My student here is also capable of it, but she has yet to do so successfully." Twilight pawed at the ground sheepishly as she received the complement.
"Now then," Celestia's voice became stern. "shall we proceed with the spell?" Chase nodded. "Very well, please come forward."
Chase walked towards Celestia until he received a gesture to stop. Speaking a few unintelligible words, much like Twilight when she performed the spell, her horn began to glow a golden hue. The area around Chase began to glow as he was gently lifted off the ground. Within moments, a largely decorated golden circle appeared around him and began to glow brighter and brighter. Chase noticed an foreboding feeling all around him. Something doesn't feel right... The air around him swirled like before, but became far more violent. A flash of light took over the entire room. His vision went black.
In the darkness, there was something he could see. A pair of eyes that spewed flames. Chase could almost make out it's appearance, but it used the darkness as a cover. Revealing only small features of it's head. It was wearing armor of a sort that seemed to glisten from the light made by the flames.
"You cannot leave." the voice spoke out in a booming tone. Nothing about this voice made Chase comfortable. It's very presence felt unnatural to him, which was unnerving.
Chase mustered up the courage to speak. "W-why can't I leave?"
"Because," the voice bellowed in it's dark tone. "it is about to begin."
Chase shook his head as his vision returned to him. This has been happening a lot lately. Looking down, he could see his hands. Hands? Alright! Hey wait, what's that? Chase looked at the back of his right hand. A strange black symbol had appeared, looking much like a pair of crossed blades. Well this is new.
"Discord!?" Twilight yelled out is surprise. Chase saw that the throne before him no longer had the princess he knew, but an unusual being he had met once before. The creature sat there, with a triumphant look on his face. He completely ignored Twilight who appeared to be in a state of shock, fixing his gaze solely on Chase. Chase could hear the sound of the guards attempting to open the door behind them.
"Well now, " Discord began. "it looks the last one has finally entered the game." Snapping his fingers, there was a brief flash of light as he appeared beside Chase. He lifted Chases hand and inspected it for a moment. What the hell is he doing? "Oh, you got a fun one. Not my personal favorite, but an interesting one to say the least." He snapped his fingers again, returning to his seat on the throne.
"What the hell are you talking about?" Chase said in a frustrated tone. "First I get turned to a pony for a day, then as I get turned back I have this crazy fire eyed demon thing tell me I'm stuck here. Now to top it all off I have some Mr. Potato head of animals telling me I'm in some stupid game? Why can't I just go home?"
Discord gave a small laugh in response. "You really don't know yet do you? That just makes this all the more fun. What's a game without a little bit of mystery after all."
A wave of anger swept over Chase as his attitude grew more serious. "What if I don't want to play your stupid game?" Chase took a step towards him. "What if I just want to come up there and smack you around until I get to leave?"
Discord gave him a devious smile. "Because, you're already playing." He pointed down towards Chase. Looking down, he saw the mark on his hand had begun to glow red. "You may be the last to start, but you already show so much promise."
I should really calm down. This guy is just trying to get under my skin. Chase tried to calm himself, but he just couldn't. The mark grew brighter with each passing moment.
"Now then, as for the game I suppose I should tell you something to get you started, but I'm going to tell you my way. So listen closely." his wicked grin grew larger. "From countless worlds the battle unfolds, revealing chaos in its purest forms. Find your place among them an-" his words were suddenly cut off someone yelling behind them.
"That's it! The door comes down!" The wooden door suddenly exploded in a hail of splinters across the room. Standing in the doorway were a dozen royal guards, and another pony who easily stood out. Nearly a foot taller than the bulky guards around her, a dark blue alicorn stood there as a blue aura faded from her horn. Her mane had a translucent texture in appearance and seemed to sparkle like the night sky. She wore a pitch black breastplate that bore a white crescent moon. And does she ever look pissed. The alicorn and the guards rushed forward into the room and expertly filled the space between Chase and Discord. "Discord!" the alicorn called out. "Surrender and release our sister this instant!" The guards each pointed their spears at the draconequus while the alicorn took a battle ready stance.
Discord sighed. "Why if it isn't Celly's little sister. Did you really have to interrupt us Luna? Chase and I were just getting to the good stuff."
She huffed in response. "If thou shall not release our sister, then you will have to fight us." A swirl of magical energy began to fill around her horn. A burst of black lightning shot out and Discord disappeared from his spot. The throne was blown to pieces as chunks of gold flew everywhere.
"You know, normally I'm not one to get into a fight," Luna and her guards looked up to see Discord hovering in the air above them. "But today's a special day, so I'll have a bit of fun with you."
"Stay back, we will deal with this one." Luna took off with a might beat of her wings as she eyed Discord who was merely grinning from ear to ear. "We shall take this battle elsewhere Discord, there is no reason to involve others."
"Fine, let's just hurry this up. I wouldn't want to miss the show." Discord snapped his fingers and the two suddenly disappeared from their sight altogether.
The land around them was already a desolate wasteland. The land was covered in jagged rocks as they hovered above the wastes below. The sky was filled with dark clouds that rang out in thunderous cries. Surrounded by mountains that made a natural arena, the two glared into each others eyes. Each sizing the other up.
"Now doesn't this bring back old memories." Discord grinned. "A shame your sister isn't here as well. It would be just like old times."
Luna knew this area well. This is where their battle with Discord took place over a thousand years ago. It was here that Discord was trapped in stone after a battle of cataclysmic proportions took place. She recalled what the land looked like before the battle. It was a small town, the one he proclaimed 'Capitol of Chaos.' This is where everything began, and she was determined to end it here again.
"Discord," Luna bellowed in her royal Canterlot voice. "We will give thee one last chance of surrender. We suggest thou take it."
Discord burst out into laughter. "And why would I want to do that? If I recall correctly, it took you and your sister just to seal me away. Even that took the elements of harmony," he smiled as the air around him began to slowly distort. "which you no longer have."
Luna could feel an immense amount of energy coming from him, it was as though reality itself was beginning to twist and turn. She did not back down, not in the slightest. Her entire body became engulfed in an aura of dark energy as she began to slowly build up for an attack. "Prepare thyself Discord, we will show no mercy." her voice rang out causing the very earth below them to shake.
Discord laughed lightly. "Time for round two..."
In the castle throne room, the guards were left alone with Chase and Twilight now that Luna had left for a personal duel. A strange feeling began to fill the air around them. One of the guards noticed that shadows seemed to be flickering and moving on their own as the taste of blood and bile began to fill his mouth. He turned to see Twilight was still stunned in fear. Not because of Discord however, but because of something before her. Chase's body was now immersed in a black smoke. The mark on his hand shone brightly as he seemed to levitate off the ground slightly. His left eye was glowing red and seemed to be the source of this black smoke as it streamed out. The guard, with years of the best training that could be found in all of Equestria, dropped his spear at the sight of him. Chase's very presence filled him with fear as he became a mumbling wreck.
"I..." Chase's voice was distorted, twisted in a way the seemed to echo after itself. "I will destroy it. I will destroy everything." Chase made eyed the guards and they looked in shock. "But first," he smiled. A portion of the smoke began to take a solid shape. In each hand appeared a sword of incredible size. Each were easily as large as one of the royal guards. "I'm going to kill you."
A/N: A key note is this (and future) chapters will be color coded sentences. You'll notice that some italic words have been written in different colors. This is to represent different characters thoughts when from a perspective other than Chase's.
"Return to stone Discord!" Luna shouted her battle cry as a bolt of black lightning shot out from her horn towards Discord. She saw him disappear as she felt something smash into her from above. Luna went hurdling into the jagged rocks below. Many of the rocks simply shattered on impact, sending up a cloud of dirt and shards of stone. Looking up she saw Discord casually floating in the air above her with a smug look on his face. He was easily thrice his normal size, the air around him twisting and turning as his chaotic energies flowed freely around him.
"My, my quite the temper princess. Did Celestia teach you nothing about manners since your little lunar vacation?"
Luna's rage increased as she heard his comment. "Fine then, forget being turned to stone." she said while channeling energy into her wings. Discord looked down curiously. "Just die!" Luna released the energy and ascended at a blinding speed, impaling Discords body with her horn.
Discord screamed in pain as the horn pierced his scales. He immediately grabbed her and sunk his teeth into her exposed side. Luna yelled out as a shock wave of magic forced Discord to release her and be sent flying back into a mountainside. Seeing an opportunity, she let out another bolt of lightning towards him. All that she saw was a huge explosion as the mountain itself began to crumble. Unable to see Discord behind the clouds of smoke and dust, she took a moment to heal her wounds. I mustn't take long. There's no telling when he- Her thoughts were interrupted when the sight of dozens of small bolts of fire began headed towards her. Damned draconequus! Luna's horn glowed as she cast another spell, encasing her in a barrier of ice. She could see the impact of the flames meet with the barrier and simply fade off as steam. She released the barrier sending shards of ice in all directions.
"You'll have to do better than that princess." Luna heard from beneath her. Oh for the love of... As if sensing her annoyance Discord sent a blaze of fire straight up, singeing her fur and many of her feathers as she tried to pull away. The flames, however, did not feel hot. In fact, they felt cold despite still appearing to react like normal fire. She shrugged off the pain and sent energy into both her hooves and wings. Charging straight down in hopes her hooves would make contact, Discords body twisted as she flew past him into the ground. The impact shook the as the ground beneath crumbled, creating a massive crater that went a dozen feet into the ground.
I can't keep this up forever. I have to end this now. "Discord!" she shouted. "We end this now!" Magic slowly began to build at her horn, becoming brighter with each passing moment.
"We're done already? A little disappointing if you ask me." Discord sighed. "Oh well, might as well finish this with some flare then." His eyes began to glow with a black tint as the distorted energies began to gather in front of him. "Now Luna, let's see what our little princess of the night can really do."
Twilight was confused beyond belief. She could only watch as Chase's form became enveloped in smoke. W-what's going on? What happened to Celestia? Where did Luna go? What is he? These questions swirled in her mind as she heard one of the guards shout out. Without warning he thrust forward, aiming his spear directly at Chase's neck. "Wait, don't hurt him!" she shouted out. Chase didn't even move. Twilight saw the spear clearly make contact with him, only to see the guards face turn to one of pure terror. He dropped the spear as he fell to the ground, trembling madly as he tried to crawl away. What is he... Twilight looked at the spear that had fallen, the end had been shattered to pieces. A distorted laugh could be heard from Chase as he lifted his sword above him. Twilight could see something odd about the sword. It almost appeared to be pulsing, much like a heartbeat.
"Die pest!" Chase shouted as he brought the sword down, impaling the poor guard on the ground. His head jerked back in pain, spewing out a jet of blood before becoming motionless.
"C-Chase, why would you..." It was too much for Twilight to bear as she became nauseous at the sight.
He ignored her words as he began laughing yet again. "Come now, it this all the royal guard has to offer?"
The looks of fear turned to anger on their faces as they saw their comrade killed before them. With a mighty roar they all readied their spears and prepared to attack.
Chase crossed his swords in front of him. "Now then, who's next?"
Luna stood up again. Bloodied and bruised, her body was at its limit. Discord snapped his fingers and appeared behind her. "Now princess, is there really any need for all this excessive violence?" he asked her with a smug grin on his face. "Why, I don't even remember why we're fighting."
Luna bucked behind her at empty air as Discord flashed away again, causing her to fall flat. Panting heavily, she struggled to stand up. "Give *pant* us back our sister."
Discord began to laugh hysterically. How dare he insult us like this. "Y-you didn't actually think I had her did you?" Wiping a tear from his eye, he managed to stop his laughing for a moment. "Oh now this is just priceless. I have to say princess, you really had me going for a minute."
Luna retook her battle stance, albeit a painful one. "What are you talking about Discord? Where is our sister!?"
Discord merely shrugged. "How would I know, I didn't take her anywhere. I just took advantage of her disappearing to have a word with the boy."
She recalled the odd creature standing in the throne room. "What does the human have to do with all this?"
"Everything, my dear. He's got quite the role to play before the end of our little game." Discord seemed to take pleasure in talking about this. "In fact, he may even be the star player at this rate." What game could he be talking about...wait, it can't be! Luna's surprised look seemed to tip off Discord to her revelation. "It looks like we have a winner!" he sent random streams of confetti everywhere as he teleported beside Luna. "It is indeed that time again princess. You didn't think it was all over last time did you? The cycle must always go on." Luna merely sat down with a defeated look on her face. "Oh don't look so down. Look at it this way, at least you get to run Equestria for a while."
Luna's face immediately contorted back into rage as she headbutt Discord in the face. "Heed our words Discord," she said with a newly found energy. "we will break the cycle once more, and we will have our sister back!"
"Well if you're going to be that way, then I think I'll just take my leave." Discord rubbed his snout with a bemused look on his face. "Arrivederci!" With a snap of his fingers he disappeared from sight, leaving Luna alone in the barren wasteland.
"For Equestria!" the guards shouted in unison. Three of the guards lunge forward with their spears, aiming with trained precision for the area they assumed his heart would be. Chase lifted one of the swords and used the flat of the blade to block all three, causing them to shatter on impact. The guards didn't even flinch as the same three drew their swords and rolled forward in an attempt to surround him. At the same time, three more guards lunged with spears, hoping to cover their comrades approach. They were expertly trained, better than anyone else in Equestria.
Unfortunately for them, Chase isn't from Equestria. Rather than block this set of spears, he jumped in the air making them narrowly miss their target. "Pathetic." he scoffed. As Chase landed he plunged his sword into the ground. A set of massive black spikes rose up from the ground and impaled the three guards who had rolled forward, causing spurts of blood to fly in all directions as they retracted back into the ground without a trace. Chase withdrew his sword and rushed into the group of guards, throwing a kick into the chest of a guard in front of him. The guard was sent flying back into the wall with a heavy thud as he fell to the floor unconscious.
Seeing that Chase now stood in the center of the seven standing guards, they threw down their spears and began to draw their blades to better suit close range combat. Chase merely took advantage of their weaponless state as he gave a full force upwards kick into one standing in front of him. He then took the sword in his left hand and threw it directly upwards into him, impaling the guard to the ceiling above them as blood began to drip down. The guards now had their swords drawn, but the one to Chase's left was clearly trembling in fear. With the sword in his right hand, Chase spun around and cut at the pony's neck. The guard did his best to block the attack, only to have his sword shatter to pieces. There was sound much like a wet sponge being torn in half as the guards head sailed through the air. Blood began to spew out in all directions as the now headless body collapsed. As another guard attempted to slash at him the sword that was on the ceiling came down, body and all. The sword pierced through him as his dead friend landed with a splash in the pool of blood.
Twilight was on the verge on vomiting. Tears filled her eyes as she watched the horror unfold before her. Her mind was a complete blank, filled only with terror and disgust as she watched blood fly in all directions. I-I have to do something... Rising to her hooves, she shook her head. Twilight found her resolve and charged forward. As she approached Chase withdrew the sword from the two impaled bodies. He raised his foot as he stomped the ground with devastating force. The impact cause a shock wave of air that pushed everything back from him, sending the relatively light unicorn flying back uncontrollably. I can't even get close to help. More tears began to stream down her face. A-am I going to die here too?
Chase began to laugh maniacally. "What's the matter everypony, you seem upset that your friends are all dead." he began as a wicked grin appeared across his face. "Let's remedy that, shall we?" The black smoke that surrounded him began to flow out towards the bodies of the fallen guards, washing over them and slowly seeping into their wounds. In unison, the once dead bodies all opened their eyes and began to stand once again. The wounds on their body closing as blood rushed into them. The guard that had been decapitated had his head roll to him as it seamlessly reattached to his neck. Their eyes all glowed red as a devious smile went across their faces. Without a word they lunged at their comrades, one being slain as he merely looked on in horror. The black smoke overtook his body as well, making him like the others.
Twilight saw one of the changed guards look in her direction. She backed away slowly, hoping he would ignore her. P-please don't... The guard suddenly took off towards her. Twilight ran away as fast as she could, headed towards the doorway. Her hope shrank when she saw what was filling it. A cloud of black smoke and spikes that protruded from the ground. Wait, I have an idea! Quickly turning right, she darted directly towards the stone wall. The guard was close behind her, swinging his sword madly. Just a little closer...now! Just as she was about to hit the wall, she used her magic to teleport behind the guard and run in the opposite direction. The guard ran into the wall with a thud as he fell to the ground. Her victory against the guard was short lived as she looked at the battle scene. There were only two guards remaining. One was unconscious against the wall while the other, beaten and exhausted, was doing everything he could to fend off the mass of mad ponies that swarmed around him.
The ponies that surrounded the lone guard. slowly began to back away as Chase walked towards him. The guard had a fierce look in his eyes as he stared angrily at Chase. "Come and get me you bastard!" Chase responded by throwing his sword forward. The guard ducked slightly and the sword became stuck horizontally in the wall only inches above him. The guard gave him a smug smile. "Ha, you missed." He was still tired, but seeing something go his way gave him a second wind of energy. As the guard prepared to rush him, Chase moved forward at a blinding speed. The guard, taken by surprise, was now completely taken aback as he looked into Chase's glowing eye. Chase suddenly kicked the guard upwards, sending him straight into the sword above. With a sickening sound the sword cut through the body with ease, rending the body in two halves and spilling his organs and blood over the unconscious guard. He slowly began to wake.
I have to help him! Twilight charged towards Chase once again as he raised his sword to finish off the last guard. This time, however, she used her magic to give her a huge acceleration boost, closing the distance between them in no time at all. Just as Twilight had reached him, he unleashed a vicious spinning kick that sent her fly back across the room. As she landed on her side, Twilight heard the last guard let out a terrified scream. Then silence.
Looking up, she saw that all of the guards were standing again. All of them with glowing red eyes and a murderers smile. They all stood at attention as Chase made his way towards Twilight. She blinked, only once, and immediately he was standing before her. She looked up into his eyes, seeing that one glowed fiercely as the other remained its usual green appearance. "Chase, p-please." she managed to say. "Why do you have to be like this? What happened to you?"
He began to laugh at the question. "Chase? That fool was weak. Without me, he would never survive." he gave Twilight a smile that sent shivers down her spine. "I am known as Wrath. I would have expected you to know this element of magic."
"H-how did you..." she was stunned that this thing knew something like that about her.
"It matters not how I know it," Wrath lifted a sword above his head. "Just that you will be dieing today element."
Twilight cowered in fear as she sensed her end coming near. She closed her eyes and merely waited for the deed to be done...but it never came. She dared peek up to see Wrath knelt down before her, his sword plunged in the ground merely inches beside her. He was immobilized, struggling with some unknown force. "C-chase?"
"Twilight, I-I can't hold it back for long." she could hear his normal voice again. "You have to do something."
She quickly felt herself go into a panic. "But, w-what do I-"
Chase quickly interrupted her. "Buck me!"
"You want me to what!?" Twilight gave him a perplexed and frightened look. "I would never do something like that!"
Chase quickly caught on to what she was thinking. "No you stupid purple unicorn, kick me in the face and knock me o-" Twilight quickly reared back and bucked him full force in the face. Sorry Chase... He blacked out.
"No!" Chase awoke with a start, his body trembling with emotion. He sighed a breath of relief. It was just a dream...where am I? Looking around him, Chase noticed he was in an unfamiliar place. A dark, dusty room with a steel door and a single barred window which was the only source of light. The cobblestone walls that formed it were cracked and covered with small markings scratched into them. Am I in...jail? As he stood up, Chase felt a stinging sensation on his right cheek. "Uuhg," he groaned. "feels like I got hit by a bus."
Shaking his head, he walked over to the window. It was placed only slightly higher than his height. Chase grabbed the bars with his hands. "Let's get a better look at where I am." Pulled himself up, he saw that he was hundreds of feet above the ground. He lowered himself down and sighed. "Less than a week in a world full of talking ponies and I get thrown in jail." This is Costa Rica all over again.
"You've never even been to Costa Rica, idiot." A cold voice spoke out. Chase looked around trying to find the source. It sounded familiar, cold and emotionless.
"How did you...who are you?" he could see the room was clearly empty apart from himself.
"You know full well who I am bearer." The voice answered him. Chase merely stood in the middle of the room with a confused look on his face. "I see, so you don't have any knowledge whatsoever do you?" He just shook his head, now assuming whatever it was could see him. "Great, I get stuck with some moron who doesn't even know what he is. How you managed to pull back is beyond me." The voice gave an annoyed sigh. "This is going to be a long cycle."
"Wait, cycle? What are you talking about?" He waited for a response, but nothing came. "What the heck is going on?"
Time passed as Chase simply sat down against a wall. Whatever had spoken to him before was now long gone, or at least he hoped it was. From what he guessed it had been a few hours at least. Since he had awoken, the only sound that rang out was the occasional bird from outside. He spent his time is quiet contemplation on the strange mark that had appeared on the back of his right hand. A pair of crossed blades. Simple in design, yet even as nothing more than a red outline they still seemed brutal. You know, this kind of reminds me of those tattoo things that ponies here seem to have. I wonder what it means. Better yet, where did it come from. Chase's mind was filled with questions, questions that needed answers. But for now, all he could do is simply wait.
The silence was broken by the sound of steps coming from the other side of the door. He could hear that there was talking between multiple individuals, but they were still too quiet to make out. Until, of course, one had mentioned his name. This is either really good, or really bad. Chase sighed and shrugged. At least something's happening. The talking stopped just outside the door. A loud thud came from the door as it opened slowly, giving way to princess Luna, Twilight, and a four familiar royal guards. They still all look the same. How does that even make any sense?
The alicorn stepped into the room, gesturing Twilight to follow suit. As the guards attempted to enter, however, she shook her head. "Please wait outside while we speak with him. We shall be fine." The guards nodded and stepped back, but not before shooting Chase a fierce glare. Geez what's their problem?...oh, right. The heavy door closed, leaving the three of them alone in the room.
Chase merely sat with his and Luna's eyes locked. She did not seem angry, nor did she seem particularly pleased. Her expression was a serious one, one that seemed more distressed than anything. The tension in the room was immense. Complete and utter silence had filled the air around them.
Minutes would pass with only the quiet stare, neither knowing how to begin. Luna was barely able to let a sound slip from her mouth before Chase could interrupt her. "So, um...I'm guessing we both have questions." A bit taken back by his interruption, she simply nodded. "I guess I'll start then." Chase made sure his focused gaze did not leave Luna's eyes. "What the heck is going on?"
Luna let out a short sigh. "Are you aware of what you are?" Chase gave the princess a confused look. Seeing it as an obvious no, she continued. "I see, then would you mind presenting your, um..." Luna made a gesture towards her own hoof.
"You mean my hand?" he said raising it. Luna nodded.
Chase stood up and walked over to Luna, extending the hand with the symbol on it. With one look at the mark, Luna's expression further worsened. "It would seem that Wrath is in fact part of this cycle."
"Cycle?" Chase asked her. "Wait, does this have something to do with that game Discord mentioned?"
Luna cringed slightly when she heard the name. "The draconequus treats the matter lightly, as it can only benefit him in the long run."
"I've been meaning to ask you about that princess," the young unicorn finally spoke up. "I thought Discord was supposed to be sealed away again. How did he get out?"
Luna sighed as she sat down, knowing it would be a long conversation. "It seems that I will have to explain a few things in detail for this to make any sense." Chase and Twilight both sat down, patiently awaiting her story. "The cycle, as I have been referring to, is actually called the Cycle of Balance..."
Chaos is neither good, nor is it evil. It merely exists because harmony exists. This world only abides by one law, balance. For every good, there is evil. For every day, there is a night. The same relationship exists between chaos and harmony. Without one, the other simply cannot exist.
In this world, harmony has taken precedence over chaos. The Elements of Harmony have been used multiple times within a relatively short time of their existence. This act has caused a huge fluctuation in the balance between chaos and harmony. When the scales have been tipped in such a way, chaos must push back in order to correct the balance. To do this, the Elements of Chaos are created.
The Elements only purpose are to fight one another, until only one remains. Each of them gifted with powers from an unknown force, the beings are taken over as they destroy each other. No one knows why they must fight, only that they must. When only one remains, it is said that balance will be restored. The means by which this is done is beyond the knowledge of anypony in Equestria today.
Neither the first nor likely the last Cycle of Balance to happen, it has continued on since untold millenia before pony-kind. The last time being just before Discord was originally sealed in stone. The event nearly destroyed Equestria as a whole.
"So you're saying I'm one of these Elements of Chaos?"
Luna nodded. "That is correct. You are the element of Wrath, to be precise. The element that was formed as the antithesis to kindness."
"Right, then why did the other princess disappear? How is she mixed in with all of this?"
Luna frowned. "Celestia has been removed from this realm. The last time the Cycle occurred, we had taken it upon ourselves to try and stop it. As a result, she was taken away so that there is no way we could combine our powers again."
Twilight was also upset from her mentor suddenly disappearing, but curiosity still got the best of her. "What exactly was it who took her away?"
"I don't know." she said shaking her head. "Whatever decides these cycles is the one behind all this. Though who or what it is, I just don't know."
Chase scratched the back of his head as his mind tried to process everything. "Yeah, I'm lost. And I don't even know where to begin asking about what I'm supposed to do now."
"Princess," Twilight began. "didn't you say that the element takes over the host so they just fight?"
Luna looked at her quizzically. "I did, what of of it?"
Twilight extended her hoof towards Chase. "Well, look at him. He may have been taken over before, but he seems perfectly fine now."
"This was something I noticed as well Twilight." Luna put a hoof to her chin. "Though I do not understand why. In any case, that doesn't change the fact that he exists as he does now. As such, in my sisters absence it falls upon me to decide the fate of this one."
Chase tensed up slightly. He was getting a bad feeling about what might happen next. "Generally, I would have you executed for your crimes." The alicorn gave him an intense look, causing a chill to run up his spine. Oh god. I'm going to die aren't I? "However," she began. "It should also be noted that though several guards were killed, they did not remain as such." Luna's expression calmed down slightly. "As a result, it is as though these crimes were never committed in the first place."
Chase exhaled in relief. "However," There's more? "As an Element of Chaos, and one of the most dangerous at that, I cannot allow you to simply leave unchecked." Luna looked over to Twilight. "Tomorrow, Chase shall return to Ponyville. Where he will live under the watchful eyes of the Elements of Harmony," Well that's not so bad... "Under the guise of a pony." Dammit!
Is it too much to ask of this world for some consistency? I mean seriously, for the last few days I haven't stayed in one form for what seems like more than a few minutes. I blame all these damn ponies...
For over an hour Luna had attempted to change him into a normal earth pony. Despite her best efforts, however, his pony form would always be that of an alicorn. His coat was Though quite discontent with the results, the princess of the night had decided it was at least better than being seen as a human. The three now stand outside the castle gates, a pegasus chariot prepared to return Chase and Twilight to Ponyville.
"Alright then, lets review what I've told you before you leave. First, who are you?"
"I'm your nephew, err...every something?" Chase answered back to Luna a bit lost.
She sighed. "It's Eventide. You may not want to forget it since that's what you're going to be referred to as from now on. Next question, why are you staying in Ponyville?"
"I'm staying in Ponyville to, umm...study. Yeah that's it!"
"Study magic, specifically." she stated clearly. "Last question, where are you from?"
Oh, what was that north county's name... "Canada?" Both Twilight and Luna looked at him confused. "No wait, that's the one from my world...ok I forget."
The blue alicorn rolled her eyes. "The country is Frostmane, it's quite far north of Equestria so you're not likely to run into anypony from there." Luna turned to one of the pegasus guards and nodded. Giving her a salute, he went over and said a few words to the guards pulling the chariot. "I suppose it's time you two head back. Do be careful you two." Twilight and Chase nodded as they stepped on the chariot. "Oh, and before I forget," Luna gestured to a guard who brought over a black case as well as a finely sewn red scarf. "I believe these are yours mister Eventide."
The dark brown alicorn brought a hoof to his forehead. "Oh man, that makes three times I've forgotten my stuff. I swear I'm going to lose my own shoes on-" Chase paused for a moment as recalled a fact. "Right, I don't even wear shoes anymore...I'd still lose them." Luna chuckled as she levitated the scarf to him, wrapping it snugly around his neck. "And, Luna...thanks. For not killing me and all." he said awkwardly.
She smiled in return. "Do not worry about it, I may yet." The sad part is, I have no idea if she's kidding...
The chariot started moving after the initial tug nearly knocked Chase off balance. They slowly began to pick up speed. Wait a minute, are we- "Nonononononono!" It was too late now as the chariot lifted off the ground.
Luna remained and watched as they flew off into the horizon. Her smiling face turned to one of concern. "I hope you're right Tia, for everypony's sake..."
As the chariot slowed to a stop in front of the library, Twilight and Chase hopped out. Not forgetting you this time ol' buddy. Making sure to grab his violin case, he nodded appreciatively to the guards pulling the chariot. They scoffed and turned their heads as they went on their way. ...I suddenly don't feel so bad for killing them anymore. He turned to head inside and was instead met with a pair of familiar big blue eyes. Oh god she's back.
"Hi Chase!" she said as the pink earth pony bounced. "I knew you'd come back. I had that gut feeling. Ooo, I haven't told you about my Pinkie sense yet! Wellsometimeswhencertainthings...."
Her voice slowly started to fade out, along with all other sound. He shook his head in confusion, but to no avail. All sound seemed to disappear. "Chase, kill this one." A voice rang out in his head. What the- wait...you're the one from when I was in the prison. "I am, but that's not important. This one needs to go." Why would I want to do that? I know she's weird and all, but kill her? "Don't question me, just do it." I'm not doing it. "Damn humans..."
"And then I said oatmeal, are you crazy?" Just as quickly as it had left, the sounds of the world around him returned.
Twilight noticed his odd expression as Pinkie had been talking. "Alright Pinkie that's enough for now. I think Chase is a bit tired from the trip."
The normally energetic Pinkie Pie seemed to deflate almost instantly. "Oh, I see..." Her mane had suddenly become flat as her expression darkened.
Chase was completely taken back by the sudden change in demeanor, but felt guilty more than anything. "Err, maybe we can hang out another time if you're not busy."
Her mane re-inflated almost instantaneously as the usual bright smile appeared across her face. "We can throw a party! It'll be Chase's welcome back even though you really didn't leave party!'
He smiled awkwardly. "Y-yeah that sounds cool. Oh, wait-" Chase recalled his new name. "It'll have to be a party for uhh...Eventide! That's my new name while I'm here."
"Okie dokey lokie, Eventide." With that, she turned around and began merrily skipping and humming a cheery tune to herself.
What in the name of all things magical and pony-like was that?! D-did I just have a stroke or something?
Inside the library was a mess. A few books had been scattered about and a small pile of ice cream tubs had been gathered in the middle of the room. "Ooohhh" The sound of pain came from the young dragon huddled in a ball beside the large pile.
"Spike, what were you thinking?!" the lavender unicorn began scolding him. "Just look at this place! And did you eat all of the ice cream we had?!"
Spike merely rolled over in pain. "Make it stop," he said with some difficulty. "It hurts...it hurts soooo bad."
Twilight rolled her eyes as she trotted over the huddled dragon. "I'd ask you if you've learned you lesson, but we both know you're going to do this again the first chance you get." She sighed. "Come on, lets get you upstairs..." Twilight levitated a blanket over to him and wrapped the dragon in it, then lifted him onto her back. "I'll be right back." With the Spike still groaning, she headed up the flight up stairs and disappeared out of sight.
I'll admit. Of all things I thought she would be, motherly was not at the top of the list. Hell it wasn't even on the list. His thoughts were interrupted by the front door suddenly opening. Standing in the doorway was a smiling white unicorn, one that Chase knew quite well.
When she saw Chase, her eyes widened with surprise. "Chase? What are you doing here? I thought you were heading back to your world."
He let out a slight chuckle. "Well it's kind of a long story, but long story short I'm going to be here a lot longer than I thought."
Rarity moved into the room, making to close the door behind her. "You'll have to tell me all about it yet. I'm dying to know what sorts of things happened while you were with the princess."
Chase wasn't really fond of the idea of recalling everything. He could barely remember all the details as it was. Thankfully, as if to answer his concerns, Twilight could be heard making her way back down the stairs. "I think I can take care of that for him."
With the precise detail, minus the more gruesome ones, Twilight went on to explain the events that took place the previous day. Rarity was surprising unphased by what she had heard. If I didn't know any better, I'd say she almost looks annoyed with Twilight for some reason.
When she had finished her explanation, Rarity had only one question to ask. "I see, well then what do you plan to do with him for the rest of the day dear?"
Twilight thought to herself as she decided on an answer. "Since he's supposed to be here to study magic, I figured I should teach him a few spells. It will probably help him with his situation and help keep up appearances at the same time."
Chase smiled at the thought of learning magic. Now that can only be cool. "I'm down for that. I mean who doesn't want to learn magic?"
Rarity raised a hoof in objection. "As much as I agree with you, I think Chase should take the day off. After such a traumatizing ordeal he must have at least some time to relax."
Twilight nodded, though it was hesitantly. "I suppose you do have a point. After that whole thing maybe I could use a rest too." she sighed. "I will have to look after Spike today anyways since he's not feeling well."
Aww, I actually wanted to learn something for once. Oh well, I can't argue with also wanting to chill out for a while. "So then what's the plan?"
"Perhaps you and I could spend the day together? Since you're staying here you will likely wish to see all of Ponyville now." Chase nodded agreeably. "Then it's settled. Chase, I mean, Eventide and I shall be going on a date today."
"That sounds n-..." Chase stopped his own words. Did she just say..."Date?"
"Why of course dear, that is unless you don't want to..." Rarity suddenly put on the saddest puppy dog eyes he had ever seen. Oh god, my poor heart.
He shook his head furiously. "N-no I'd love to. I just...wasn't expecting it all of a sudden."
Twilight stood in place with a slight blush on her face. She cleared her throat. "I-I guess I should go check on Spike then." she said awkwardly. "Have a good time you two"
A date with Rarity? This is an unexpected yet pleasant turn of events. "Yeah, real cute kid. Now before you make an idiot of both of us why don't you do your job and let me kill this one." Oh no, you again? What possible issue could you have with Rarity? "It's not about issues, it's about killing her like you should." Man, you are just all about about killing today aren't you? "Don't be such a moron. Just kill her and be done with it." No. "I sai-" No. "Fine! Don't come crying to me for help then..."
"Chase, are you alright dear?"
He snapped back into reality and shook his head. "Y-yeah. I'm just uh...still in shock over how lucky I am!" Worst lie ever...well only partially a lie I guess.
Rarity smiled as she nuzzled the brown alicorn. "Aww, how sweet of you. Shall we be on our way then dear?"
In Sugarcube Corner ponies were sitting at tables, eating and chatting amongst each other. Chase was met with a barrage of colors from the various pastries and decor. Kinda looks like a bakery that got hit by a truck full of rainbows. Along with Rarity the two approached the counter. Standing behind it was a light blue earth pony, her mane was two tones of pink and she seemed a bit huskier than some of the other mares. Regardless, she seemed to have a certain sense of maturity about her.
"Why hello there miss Rarity, it's been a while since I've last seen you here." she smiled kindly at the stranger alicorn that stood next to Rarity. "And who might be your dashing young friend here?"
"Chas-" Rarity nudged his side. Oh, right. "er, Eventide. I came to Ponyville to study magic under Twilight yesterday, but I'm taking a tour of the town with Rarity for the day." Looking over to her, Chase could see Rarity had a bright smile on her face. Yet something seems off. Almost like the expression is...empty? Nah that can't right.
"I see," the earth pony began. "in that case, welcome to Ponyville mister Eventide. I'm missus Cake, and my husband mister Cake is in the back. Now what can I get you two today?"
"Hmm..." As she began reading the menu on the counter, Rarity put a hoof up to her chin in contemplation. "What would you say best suits a first date?" Chase blushed slightly. She does not beat around the bush with that does she?
"Here one day and already you've won over miss Rarity. You must have been quite the mare-killer back home." Mrs. Cake's giggled slightly. "It may be out of season, but our Hearts and Hooves special should do the trick. It comes with a banana split sundae and a pair of our butter cream chocolate cupcakes." Chase was practically watering at the mouth just at the sound of it.
Rarity's eyes were wide with excitement as she nodded. "Why that sounds absolutely delightful! How much?"
The pony behind the counter waved her hoof to the side. "Nonsense dear, you've been a huge help to this business and a dear friend for far too long for me to charge you on your first date." As Rarity thanked her for the kind offer, Ms. Cake trotted off into the kitchen. It didn't take long before she returned with the sugary treats.
The two took a seat across from each other at a cozy little wooden table. Chase eyed the banana split before him. It was a particularly large bowl filled significantly higher than the bowl with three different kinds of nut filled ice cream. A perfectly cut banana surrounded the sides if the ice cream, all topped with some whipped cream and a single cherry. Without hesitation, he reached out a hoof to pick up a spoon that had been nicely laid out on the tray. As he made contact, he felt his happiness shatter as the sad reality that was...well, reality. Why can't I hold this damn spoon?! His clumsy hoof knocked back the spoon as he desperately tried again and again to pick it up. Looking up, he saw Rarity was in a fit of giggles at the event. Curse you hooves...
Rarity picked a another spoon and scooped out a small portion of ice cream, her eyes locked with his with a sultry stare. "How about we try it this way." Bringing the spoon up to Chase's mouth, he hesitantly accepted and ate it. I'm being fed now? Not sure if I like this. Scooping another helping of ice cream, Rarity took a bite of it this time. However, she did not break eye contact with Chase. Slowly, she pulled the spoon from her mouth as her lips curved around its silver edges. The captivating unicorn gently licked her lips as she plunged the spoon into the frozen treat once more. I need more ice cream and a cold shower...
The two took their time with the dessert as they savored each and every bite. Next were the cupcakes. I think I can get this one. Chase placed his hooves on either side of the cupcake in question and applied just enough pressure to lift it up without crushing it. "Aha! No cupcake is safe from Cha- Eventide." he laughed slightly as he corrected himself. Chase took a bite of the cupcake and was immediately amazed by the taste. The sweet butter cream icing blended perfectly with the soft, chocolate pastry. Across the table, Rarity had picked hers up with a single hood. Figur- hey what's that touching my leg? He looked down to see Rarity's tail had gently wrapped around it. Oh good god they can do tail things...
Chase noticed that as he ate his cupcake, Rarity had slightly different plans for hers. She kept that suggestive look in her eyes as the mare slowly licked the icing off the cupcake. Chase didn't really have much choice but to stop eating and stare. This is...new. Starting at the edges, she circled her tongue around as the coat of icing slowly disappeared in a spiral pattern.
What happened next Chase was less than prepared for. She took the remaining cupcake, and placed the entire things in her mouth slowly before biting down and swallowing. I...words...missing... Chase noticed something was off as he looked around. Am I...taller? Everything seemed to be slightly lower than he remembered. Rarity was giggling slightly. What the... "OH GOD I'M FLYING!" Without his knowing, Chase's new wings had lifted him from the chair. Gravity soon took over as his wings suddenly tucked against his sides, causing him to land flat on the chair beneath him. Well at least I wasn't too high. He heard a slight cracking sound. Oh no...
I need to do this everyday for the rest of my pony existence. The new couple were now walking around Ponyville as Rarity showed him the sights. Or at least what he noticed when he wasn't gawking her like an idiot. As she spoke, explaining various things about the small town, Chase was practically deaf to the world as he simply nodded at everything she said. It wasn't until an orange earth pony wearing a cowboy hat greeted them that he shook out of his stupor.
"A fine howdy to ya Rarity. Who's yer new friend 'ere." Her accent had a thick southern tone to it. Did we just hit pony Texas?
"A fine, er, howdy to you too Applejack." Rarity seemed to strain while saying the sentence. "This is Eventide, Luna's nephew. He's staying in Ponyville to study magic with Twilight."
Applejack was a bit surprised at the news. "Well I'll be, the princess's nephew ya say?" The orange earth pony tipped her hat politely. "Pleasure to make yer acquaintance yer highness. Name's Applejack."
Yer highness? That just don' sit right wit' me...oh god even my thoughts are sounding countryish from listening to her. "Just Eventide is fine." he smiled awkwardly, trying to keep up his facade.
Applejack nodded. "Alrighty then. If you ever need any apples, Sweet Apple Acres has the best in all Equestria."
"Sweet Apple Acres?" Chase gave a mildly confused look not having heard about the farm before.
The pony shot a confused glance right back at him. "You've never heard of Sweet Apple Acres, the most famous orchard this side o' Las Pegasus?" Las...Pegasus? I swear that had to be a joke. Chase shrugged. "Well now that just ain't right. Have Rarity bring you on over one day and I'll give ya a tour. Everypony needs ta see it at least once. Especially since apple buckin' season starts tomorrow."
"You do what to apples?"
Rarity and Applejack both facehoofed. "Ah guess even royalty is gonna make them kinda jokes once in a while." The country pony just rolled her eyes. "Tell ya what, come on by tomorrow. We'll show ya how we harvest the apples 'round here." Applejack put a hoof to her chin as a thought came to her. "Ya know, we could always use an extra set o' hooves ta help out with the work. Since yer new ta town and all I imagine ya haven't got yerself a job yet." Right, money is a thing I like having. Chase shook his head. "Well how 'bout I come pick ya up tomorrow and w-"
"Most certainly not!" Rarity interrupted the mare. Both Applejack and Chase looked at her rather surprised. "Chase does not need to be working in such a dirty work environment. Come darling, let's head home."
Rarity began to walk away, leaving a dumbfounded Applejack frozen in place. Chase hesitated to follow her, but nodded apologetically to the country pony and proceeded behind her. The hell just happened?
Applejack was furious, but more so confused than anything. "What in tarnations has gotten into that girl?...and who the buck is Chase?"
The walk back to Rarity's home was a silent one. Most of the day had been spent already, and Chase was getting a little worn out from so much walking. Especially with four legs. I've never had to consciously think about how I take each step before. He could tell she was still fuming over the seemingly random outburst towards Applejack.
When they arrived at her home, Rarity let out a sigh of frustration. "I apologize if I seemed a little harsh back there," she began. "but I'm sure you noticed what she was trying to do as well."
Chase was a bit unsure of what she meant. "What, you mean offer me a job at her farm?"
The white mare shook her head. "I'm surprised you couldn't tell, but I suppose you haven't had much interaction with ponies since you got here so I understand." Chase just looked at her blankly. "Applejack was clearly trying to win you over out of jealously."
He raised an eyebrow skeptically. "Really? I mean, it was just a job offer."
"That's just her way of getting you to trust her. Think about it, of all the ponies she could have asked she chose a random stranger that she just met? Don't you find that just a touch unusual dear?"
"Never thought of it that way. I guess that is kind of...odd." As Chase was finishing his sentence, he noticed himself feeling somewhat sleepy. He let out a yawn. "Wow, I'm beat from today. I think I'm just gonna go and plop down on the bed upstairs."
Rarity walked up and gave him a deep, passionate kiss. "Sweet dreams darling." Yeah because I'll be able to sleep after that just happened.
Chase headed up the stairs, but stopped halfway. He turned around and almost on impulse said three words he'd never expect himself to say. "I love you."
Rarity smiled. "I love you too, Chase." He proceeded up the remaining steps with a wide smile on his face. Best...day...ever! After he was upstairs, a wicked grin spread across her face. "Oh how I know you love me so..."
Chase was exhausted. His body practically couldn't move, even if he wanted it to. As his motionless body lay rested on the bed, his mind was restless. Why am I so tired? We didn't do that much today. Am I feeling some kind of aftereffect from that whole transforming and killing everyone thing? Despite his fatigue, he was almost happy for the moment of respite. Chase hadn't thought too much on the whole incident, there had been far too many distractions since then. I wonder if that Wrath guy can hear me? There was no response. Oh well, maybe that's a good thing. While he let his mind wander, he noticed something felt unusual. Like a new, yet familiar presence had entered his mind.
"Why hello again, Chase. Enjoying a little nap are we?" Though he had only heard it a handful of times, the voice was practically engraved into his mind. Discord... "How kind of you to remember me. So how fares your new life here, are you enjoying the scenery?" Leave me alone already. I'm trying to relax. "Such a poor attitude, and to think I even came to give you a little bit of information that could help you. Without that night princess interrupting us this time." Chase sighed. Alright, what did you want to say. "Pay close attention, I don't plan on trying to say it again after this." Discord began. "From countless worlds the battle unfolds, revealing chaos in its purest forms. Find your place among them and know whom isn't right. For one does not belong here, and their destiny is great. Darkness shall befall the land, if you are too late." Huh? What does that even mean!? That's got to be the most obscure riddle ever made...hello?...oh dammit he left!
Uhg, why does my head hurt so bad? Why do I feel all squished and wet?...W-why can't I move?
"Good morning, Chase." A sultry voice practically rang out in sing-song. He felt as though his very being was being pulled towards the source. "I had a wonderful idea for today. I though we could just...'hang out'." The voice said giggling slightly at her own words. The sounds of a strange buzzing could be heard, as well as the occasional clicking noise.
Chase slowly started to open his weary eyes. What is she talking abo-Why am I upside down!? Standing in front of him was Rarity, however she and the rest of the strange dark room were flipped from his perspective. "H-hey, what gives." The chestnut alicorn breathed heavily as he tried to speak. His entire body felt weak and was almost entirely numb.
The unicorn place a hoof over his lips. "Hush now darling, we wouldn't want you to pass out from exhaustion." Pulling her hoof away, she leaned herself close to him. "Just let me take care of everything."
His mind was mostly in a daze, feeling as though it were still being drained. So...tired...No! I have to figure this out. What's going on here? Chase shook his head and looked to see what suspended him above the ground. The entirety of his body was encased in a strange green gelatin, leaving only part of his neck and head exposed. "W-what...is..."
"You're wondering what all this is?" she interrupted. Chase nodded. "Why, it's for you dearest."
"For...me?"
"Oh poor little Chasey wasey, how hard it must be to have had to deal with all these burdens. I saw how much it was bothering you, so I decided to take it upon myself to relieve you of your woes. I'll take care of those mean old elements of chaos for you." Rarity grinned as she brushed his mane with her hoof. "Just be at ease and leave everything to your little Rarity."
In the corner of the room, Chase noticed several pairs of glowing green eyes. What the heck are those? Try as he might, words would no longer leave his mouth. He was just too weak. Dammit, what is even going on? Why is Rarity acting like this? I'm so lost right now!
Rarity, seeing his state of weakness, turned towards whatever lurked in the shadows."Well then, it seems he's practically empty. I suppose you can have the leftovers." Three odd insect-like creatures began to approach Chase, razor sharp teeth bared at their future meal. Each were pitch black with jagged horns and a set of clear wings, resembling that of a pony, but only in basic shape. Everything about them seemed to be a twisted mockery of the ponies he had seen thus far. "Do try not to make a mess, we wouldn't want to stain the carpet now would we?" Rarity turned to walk away, ensured her of her triumph. "This day, has been just perfect..."
Oh hell, I'm going to die here? Wrath, if there was ever a time to want to get all stabby-stabby this is definitely it! There was no response. Come on! We're both going to die here if you don't do something. At least speak you stupid spirit thing! "I'm stupid? Look who's gone and gotten themselves caught in a jelly cocoon!" I figured I'd get you eventually. Alright, so start killing. "Nope." W-what? But we're going to die! "Oh no, you seem to have the wrong idea. I won't let you die, but no one said anything about not letting you suffer greatly. I'm going to let these stupid insects eat away at you until I feel you've suffered enough for your insolence earlier." Insolence? "This whole thing could have been avoided had you just killed her when I said, but you had to go and be mister self-righteous and say no." ...You didn't even tell me why. "And why should I have to? I'm the Element of Wrath, you should just be doing what I say from the start worm! So I'm just going to let them nibble away at you until I'm able to take full control." Why would I listen to something that just wants to run around and kill thing? I- "You should stop talking to me." Why? "Because they're eating you know." I don't feel anyt- Oh god the pain!
One of the insects had taken a bite out of his left ear, leaving a small piece missing altogether. The pain coursed through him, causing him writhe and whimper as much as his body would let him. His sight had been reduced to a mere blur, barely able to see the creatures that stood in front of him. Fear gripped him tightly as the reality of the situation hit him. Even if he didn't die, it would be worse than anything he'd ever experienced. Being eaten alive, being taken over by Wrath for good, betrayed by the one he thought he had feelings for. His eyes began to water up as he recalled the time they spent over the past few days. She were unlike anyone he ever met back home. So kind and stunning. Despite being a stranger from another world, she still chose to care for him. "R-...Rarity..."
She laughed at his attempt to call out to her. "Still able to talk? Not bad for a human. Too bad it won't do you much good. I-"
A loud crash interrupted her, splinters of wood were flung across the room. The source of the destruction stood in the doorway. Horn glowing a bright blue, a white unicorn with a very rustled mane was breathing heavily as she stared into the room with a fierce look of anger. "Stay away from my stallion you disgusting insects!" But that looks like...Rarity?!
"What?! But how could you have escaped?" The Rarity that had captured Chase shook her head. "It doesn't matter anyhow. You three, take care of her."
Licking their lips, the trio of bug-ponies quickly began to close the gap between them and their next meal. Using her magic, the newcomer lifted several rolls of fabric and sent them flying at her attackers. In moments they found themselves tangled in an assortment of brightly colored cloth, unable to move beyond squirming.
"You dare stand against me? Foalish unicorn, what chance do you have against someone such as I?" A green flame surrounded her, as her form began to change. Now standing as tall as one of the princesses, the pony that once resembled Rarity was now much like the smaller insect-like ponies that had been tied up.
"Please, I'm not in the mood for any more of your little antics. Release Chase, and I might consider not destroying you like you did to that monstrosity of a mane."
Chrysalis laughed at her threat. "Come now, there is no need to be so unladylike like. Besides what do you, a half-wit fashion designer, hope to achieve against Chrysalis, queen of the changelings and element of deceit?"
"You come into my home, foal-nap me, try to kill Chase," Rarity huffed angrily. "and worst of all, insult my dresses." Her eyes narrowed, focusing her rage directly into the eyes her opponent. "It. Is. On."
Rarity, head lowered, began her charge at the changeling queen before her. With simply a flash of green light, Chrysalis found herself behind the infuriated unicorn. "Is that the best you can do? This is going to be even easier than I thought." she mocked the mare in an almost singsong voice.
Rarity halted her charge and stomped the ground with her hind legs, sending the other end of a wooden floorboard straight to the chin of her opponent. Chrysalis was dazed from the sudden impact. "Oh dear, some of these floorboards are rather loose. I've been meaning to fix that, but for you I might make an exception." Shaking her head, the changelings expression became more serious. Maybe I shouldn't have made that last comment... Her horn glowing a faded green, Chrysalis fired a small beam at Rarity. Out of surprise she managed to jump to the side and avoid it, the ground where the shot impacted was covered by a small pile of green gelatin. While Chrysalis fired off several more, Rarity was forced to run around in a mad dash to avoid them.
Chrysalis took aim as the pony ran around. "I've got you this time little foal." The changeling fired a well aimed slime blast at Rarity, who suddenly felt her hoof hit something as she fell flat on the ground. The shot went right over her head and into a vanity mirror that was against the wall. "Wait no-!" Chrysalis's attack came right back at her, hitting her square in the face. A few muffled words came through as the confused changeling began shaking her head around furiously to remove the gelatin.
Rarity, surprised at her luck, stood up brushing down her mane with her hoof slightly. "Well that went far better than expected. Now I just need to get Chase out of here." She quickly ran over to his gelatin encase body. He was awake, but only just. Blood was still dripping from his right ear, his eyes were watered and dazed, and his breathing was barely audible. "C-Chase?" Rarity look at him shocked at his condition. "This is just horrible. What did she do to you?" He was completely unresponsive. Chase merely hung upside down as little more than a corpse now. Trying her best to fight off tears, she grabbed the sides of the cocoon and started pulling it down. After some struggling the base came off with a squelch and landed on the floor, sending the slime across the floor as it popped like a jelly filled balloon on impact. "It's alright Chase, I'm going to get you out of here and to a hospital. Then we ca-" Without warning, Rarity felt herself being flung across the room as a table made hit her square it the side.
"I've had enough of your silly games. I'm going to destroy you and finish off this sad excuse for a human." Chrysalis had managed to remove most of her own slime from her face, though bits could still be seen dripping from her mane. Making her horn glow once again a green bubble appeared around the beaten and sprawled out Rarity. Raising it off the ground, Rarity was sent flying through the door and into the next room with a loud crash as she let out a deafening scream. With a cocky expression, Chrysalis began heading towards her when she heard a painful groan and something touch her hoof. Looking down, she saw Chase barely able to reach out in protest. "You're still awake? No matter, just be still while I turn your friend into dust."
In the living room, Rarity was in a less than fabulous condition. Having crashed into the back of the couch and practically tearing it apart on impact, he body had been beaten up almost beyond use. Blood trickled from her forehead as the cut throbbed painfully. Her adrenaline was causing her heart to beat a mile a minute, but she was utterly confused by everything happening. Rarity did her best to stand up again, only to feel the impact of a hoof knock her down. The changeling queen stood above her with an angry expression. "You've been an awfully energetic little thing, but I'm afraid that's all over now. Any last words?" Rarity knew that she had to think up something now or this would definitely be it. The idea that hit her next struck her as crazy beyond all reason, but it was the best she had. "Well? Aren't you going to ple-" From seemingly nowhere a pillow struck Chrysalis's face, catching her by surprise as it interrupted her. "A pillow? Re-" The desperate unicorn used her magic to throw pillow after pillow at the bemused queen. "Stop tha-. Cut it-. Will yo-. Thi-. That's it!" Chrysalis's horn glowed as beams of light shot out all over the room, vaporizing ever pillow in sight as feather filled the air. "You insolent little foal! I-" She looked and saw that Rarity was no longer in front of her. "Where did she go?" There was a loud chomping sound as the changeling felt pain in her hind leg. She looked to see Rarity had gone and bit her as hard as possible. "You! Get off me! I demand you cease this pointless struggle at once!" Chrysalis started shaking her legs madly as the unicorn held on with all her might. Finally, she bucked as hard as possible and sent Rarity flying up. This is it, I'll only get one shot. Using what magic she could she made the fabric from the fly off and wrap around Chrysalis legs, binding them together as tight as she could. "What the?" Using the upwards momentum, Rarity turned her body upside down and pushed off the ceiling with all her might. With a resounding thud she landed her hooves right on the changelings face, knocking her to the ground.
Standing on the unconscious and now tied up body of her opponent, Rarity wiped her hooves on her and hopped off. "Well that was quite the workout. I think I may need a day at the spa after this." Her adrenaline now wearing off, she felt her body begin to collapse. "Or maybe...a few at the hospital." She shook her head and stood proudly. "No! I have to make sure Chase it fine." Rarity walked back into the room to see Chase writhing around on the ground in pain. She started to rush over to him. "It's alright dear, it's over now." No sooner did she say that did he suddenly feel herself being tackled from her side. Her body pinned down by one of the smaller changelings who managed to free themselves.
"You should really pay attention to everything in a fight miss Rarity." Chrysalis walked back in the room alongside the two other changelings she brought with her. "Oh I'm sorry, did you think that it was over back there? You must thing yourself something special if you thought a silly trick like that would keep me down." The queen approached Rarity as she struggled to get free of her henchman's grasp. Despite her best effort, she was simply too tired after all she'd been through. "I'll admit you made it more interesting than I expected, but your luck seems to have run dry." Chrysalis stared at the confined mare with a malicious look in her eyes. "You should have simply accepted defeat when this all began. Now you're going to pay for your insolence." The horn on her head began to glow as it had before, but much brighter this time. Rarity closed her eyes, knowing what would come next. I'm sorry Chase. I...I couldn't help you. I gave it my all, but it still wasn't enough in the end.
In the room was a loud bang and Rarity flinched slightly. Some crashing and a squelching sound suddenly caught her attention as she felt herself being let go of. She opened her eyes as her body shuddered in fear. The smaller changelings had been torn to pieces, their green blood practically painting the walls around her. On the other side of the room was Chrysalis, on the ground shaking in fear, and something else standing over. Easily taller than the changeling queen a massive pony with a smokey grey coat, dark leathery wings and two twisted horns stared down at the changeling beneath him. "Y-you...you wouldn't kill me. I-I can help you! Together we could beat the other elements, together w-" The creature took its heavy hoof and drove it straight through the chest of the changeling, tearing out its heart as green blood and bile began spurting from the wound.
With the heart in its hoof, it turned to Rarity. She was clearly petrified by the gory scene before her as her eyes were locked on the stranger. Casually, it tossed the heart towards the unicorn. "Get it?" It's voice was cold, yet calm. Sending chills up her spine with every word spoken. "She's a changeling, so I took that out. Ironic, right?"
Rarity looked at the heart beating on the ground in front of her and back at the creature. "I..." Without another word, the mare passed out.
"I don't think she got it Chase." You just threw a heart at her after she tried to save me. The hell did you think would happen? Wait, why did you finally decide to come out? "I was getting bored just sitting in your head and watching. All this violence and I, the element of Wrath, had to sit in the mind of an idiot and do nothing? Not a chance." Well...thanks. "Oh shut up, it wasn't for you. I just really hate deceits big mouth. Speaking of which..." Wrath turned around and saw the body of his victim slowly falling apart like grains of sands that floated off into nothingness. What's going on? The body looks like it's disappearing. "That's what happens when an element dies. They get taken away." Taken away? Where to? "Don't know, don't care. That's just how it is."
A loud crash came from the other side of the house. "Rarity! Are you alright?! Where are you?"
The light in the cave was dim. What little light there was would glimmer as he walked by. The only sounds to be heard was the clanking metal he took with every step. In the shadows sat someone cloaked in black. They mysteriously hidden one sat silently as the sturdy pony approached. “It would seem an element has been slain.” There was no response to his words. “I suppose you would already know that. After all, you're like the rest of us.” He stretched out his legs. Several bones made faint cracking sounds as he let out a sigh of relief. “I think I'll go out for a walk. I could use some fresh air. Want me to say hello for you?” The figure simply sat in silence. "Didn't think so. Try not to do anything exciting for a change while I'm gone." The pony walked away without another word.
Sitting alone once again, one word can be made out by the figure. “Chase...”
You'll never escape because you don't want to. You're afraid of it, afraid of him. I've shown you what he really is. Now you understand what he'll do to you. You say you trust him? How naive of you, child. He will turn on everyone he knows. Even you. Don't worry, I'll make sure he can never hurt you...
“No!” The pale mare shouted sitting up with a start. She winced in pain as her chest suddenly felt like it had been hit by a hammer. Panting heavily and in a cold sweat she took the time to observe her surroundings. It was dark. Really dark. The soft sheets on the bed where she sat were ruffled from constant fidgeting. She could make out a few chairs close to her, a set of curtains that hand from a nearby wall, and a crack of light coming from under a door in front of her. She was sure she'd been here before, but everything seemed so...hazy. The mare shook her head and laid it back on the comfortable pillow beneath her. Her eyes were heavy and she didn't much feel like moving around. “Maybe just a few more minutes.” She yawned, “Hours...”
“You knew the whole time didn't you?” Being trapped within his own mind was rather awkward for Chase, but it's not like he had a choice. His alternate self remained silent as they walked along the dirt road towards Canterlot. Chase could see the palace off in the distance, nestled on the side of a mountain lit by the nearly full moon. Night had long since covered Equestria and it felt like they'd been walking for hours. Although he wouldn't speak, Chase knew Wrath had something on his mind. Probably because I am his mind right now. “Not gonna talk huh?”
Wrath sighed. “Not interested.”
Chase was surprised he finally spoke. “Took you long enough.” He poked at Wrath. “Now why are we leaving Ponyville? Luna told us to stay put there.”
“Do you really think I care what some princess wants me to do? I'm leaving that town one way or the other.” Despite his obvious displeased tone something else clued Chase in to how Wrath felt. It was difficult for him to pinpoint, but it seemed like he could feel the emotions of his body's co-owner. “And before you ask we're not going back.”
“I...” He hesitated for a moment. “I guess I can agree on not going back.”
It was now the smokey grey pony’s turn to be surprised. “You agree? You mean we actually agree on something? Either you've finally turned to full chaos or have some stupid reason of your own.”
“Well it's kinda...”
“Good grief it's her isn't it?” Chase remained silent. The pony laughed. “You really are an idiot aren't you? You took an interest in the fake one and look where it got you. Think that prissy mare will be any better?” No response. “Well kid let me tell you a little something about love. It's useless. You'll drop your guard and get hit when you least expect it. You got to experience a classic example of it today and nothing good came of it. Well except killing Deceit, but that was a lucky outcome on your part thanks to my power, nothing else.” Chase could feel a string being pulled when he mentioned the word love. He'd expected a being that embodies anger and vengeance to find no value in it at all, but his feelings were different. Almost as if... A sudden thought came to him.
