INTRODUCE A LITTLE ANARCHY
A/N:Hello, everyone! Just wanted to make a couple of things clear about my current MLP story "Introduce A Little Anarchy..."
One: The names of Silas's friends sounded too... elegant and strange-sounding. So I decided to go with simpler, yet still memorable names. Beretta's new name will be Russell Cooper, and Evelyn's new name will be Cassandra (no last name change). I'll make modifications to the chapters to replace their old names with their new ones.
Two: After serious consideration, I think that aside from the prologue (which I might just delete/modify to fit standards), the whole story's looking in the direction of a T-rating rather than an M-rated one. I've changed that, as well as the genres. Hopefully, there won't be too much confusion about it.
SUBJECT NAME: Silas York
LOCATION: Rarity's Fashion Boutique
OBJECTIVE: Connection to the system.
STATUS: Stable. Subject has begun to adapt to his environment and adjust with interactivity. Reversion in progress...
The day came far too early for Silas.
When the morning sun hit eyes and the distant sound of a rooster hit his ears, he was forced to awaken from his peaceful slumber. He let out an annoyed groan, but slowly opened his eyes to reveal slightly bloodshot schlera. He did not allow himself to get up and out of the bed just yet. After all, who would want to leave the feeling of safety and comfort that a bed would provide? It was just too much to ask someone to immediately jump out of the covers and get ready for the day.
Plus, the fact that he was even in a bed hit him harder than any punch to the face would have done. No longer did the fear of an angry mother or father striking him awake have any power of him. No more did he have to suffer pain and sorrow every day of his life. For the first time in several years, he slept and woke up without fear or apprehension of what was ahead of him. It was a feeling that pushed away all of his worries in the corner and replaced them with a feeling of peace.
Of course, it was only a temporary kindness fate would give him.
Although his new settings were very hospitable, they didn't keep him from remembering the situation he was in. He still didn't know why he was here in the first place or what his "employer" had in store for him. He still didn't know the workings of the world around him or understand the existence of its inhabitants such as the pegasi, the unicorns, and the overall fact that the horses could speak and act with human nature. Above all, he certainly didn't know how he would adapt to this newfound lifestyle that he was given.
Slowly, he allowed himself to slide out of the bed and inspect his surroundings. The room was decorated in a mix of purple. The walls, floor and ceiling were a lighter shade, and the bedsheets were a dark violet color that stood out brilliantly with the other color shades. At the same time, the color of the room was situated in a manner that would not hurt the eyes. The space within the room was wide enough for two people to move around and even play ball in. It was a perfect setting that one could get easily comfortable in, making it no wonder that Silas hadn't bothered to complain much about it when he first came to it.
A large mirror opposite of his bed caught his eye as he continued to look around, and he walked over to check out his own reflection in the mirror. His bedraggled hair was strung out and stuck out everywhere on his head – a rather distracting and annoying sight for him. His coat seemed to be in better condition, his fur still smoothed out and straightened as it had been. Despite him having a good sleep, he could still see mild bags underneath his eyes. Those would hopefully come to pass as the day progressed.
As he continued to stare at his reflection, he thought about what had transpired in the days before. The inhabitants of the town seemed docile and friendly to an extent. The six he had been personally acquainted with proved that much. However, he had been fortunate enough to be introduced to the same situation prior to his death. Everyone, to their own extent, had been friendly and inviting to him. Everyone had liked him for who and what he was. He had been comfortable, living that life.
That is, until everyone decided to drop their facade and turn on him as quickly as one could bat an eyelash.
He knew he had to be more careful. He may have expressed himself too much in their company already in yesterday's party. They would be making their own conclusions already about him, and some of those might be too close to home. There was no way he was going to let a repeat of history happen to him just because greetings and salutations had been warm and inviting. But at the same time, he would have to gain as much information as possible about the town and its residents. It would be a challenge of wit, intelligence, and maybe even luck – but he had made it this far. What could go wrong?
Smirking a little, he turned away from the mirror and walked towards the door, shaking his head violently in order to rid himself of his bedraggled appearance. He pushed open the door, stepped out into the hallway, and closed it shut with a light kick from his back leg. As he walked down the lone hallway leading to the stairwell, his hooves kept making clopping sounds that echoed and reverberated lightly through the walls. This prompted him to turn his eyes to the walls themselves and let them wander for a moment.
He blinked.
And suddenly, the scenery changed from normal and boring to a sight that paralyzed him down to the bone.
No longer was he staring at the blue of Rarity's hallway, but the bright orange hallways that led towards the room he could only call "Death Wing". He saw his body bound to a gurney by belt restraints to restrict his movements. He saw the emotionless and indifferent faces of the ones hauling him off to the room where he would be injected with the three drugs that would end his life. He couldn't run away. He couldn't seek the shelter of his two friends who were awaiting the very same fate he was. All he could do was wait as they prepared to strip away his freedom and silence him forever.
And then, it was all over.
He was back to where he was, standing in the empty hallway.
He wanted out of there. Now.
His legs pushed him forward quickly, and he jogged towards the stairwell to make his way down the steps. His heart was racing, his body slightly quivering with each and ever step that he made. He didn't care if he woke up Rarity. All he cared about was getting out of that hallway, away from the horrible image that had flashed within his head. As long as he was within those confines, his mind would keep screwing with him and remind him just how foolish it was to attempt to forget what had happened.
So wrapped up within his panic, he didn't notice that he had already made it off of the last step and was now turning the corner...
"-and then I said, hot dogs? You must have lost your mind if-"
...only to stop like a deer caught in headlights upon seeing three other unicorns that were sitting at the kitchen table aside from Rarity, who was at the stove.
One of them was a small, white-coated filly that had green eyes and a curly mane just like her sister's. In contrast, however, it had a sort of colonial wig style to it as well as a light-dark purple color scheme. Due to her size and younger visage, Silas could assume right away that she was the younger sister that Rarity had been talking about earlier.
The male unicorn also had a white coat, blue eyes, a brown mane, and thick eyebrows. The female had a pink coat, blue eyes, and a royal purple mane that was in a style that screamed the words "Soccer Mom". The thing that caught his attention the most, however, was the fact that they were actually wearing clothes as opposed to the "free style" that the he and the two younger females were going by. The male had a Hawaiian shirt and a straw hat to match, while the female wore a red-orange shirt with white pants.
This, as well as the fact that all eyes were on him, made him feel increasingly awkward with every second that passed by. Everyone was staring at him, and he couldn't bring himself to say anything under the unwanted attention. He sucked in his lips, turning his face away but keeping his eyes locked on the group in general. If he knew he was going to be regarded in such a manner, he would've never bothered to step foot in the room.
"Oh! Um..."
Sensing his growing discomfort, Rarity decided to pull him out of the fire and break the silence. "Mother, Father, Sweetie Belle..." She began hesitantly, drawing her family's attention to her instead. She motioned towards the silent, red-eyed stallion with one of her hooves. "This is Silas. I'm sorry I neglected to tell you about him straight away, but-"
"Wow, Sis!" The so-called Sweetie Belle cut her off, running to stand right in front of her. What had been an innocent look now converted to one of a sly and knowing demeanor. This made Rarity re-coil a bit, leaning back when the filly leaned forward a little. "I never knew you had a very special somepony of your own!"
If it was a show, the audible sound of glass breaking would've been heard at that moment.
Rarity and Silas's eyes shot open and dilated at the clear implication of a relationship, and both of them didn't hesitate to shoot out their own protests.
"Whoa, whoa, let's not jump to conclusions here!" Silas shouted, raising both of his forehooves up frantically and dismissing his discomfort momentarily. "I mean, I just came in yesterday!"
"Exactly!" Rarity added in readily. "There's nothing like that going on between us, he's just-"
"Oh, Rarity..." Now it was time for the mother to cut in, her head shaking in mirthful disapproval. It was here that he noted her mid-Western accent, which was the same accent that the father was using prior to the entry. "You don't need to be shy about the boyfriends you choose. After all, you are a young lady and know how to make your own decisions. As long as he's not the jerky type who likes to push the mares around..."
"Hey, you!" The father directed his tone towards the shell-shocked Silas, his tone slightly stern. "You better be treating my daughter right and not making her do things she doesn't want to. Kids are okay, but kids you're not ready to take care of is nothing but trouble!"
Another crack in the glass.
These words nearly caused Rarity and Silas's jaws to drop to the ground, their faces of a mixture of shock and embarrassment. They also managed to destroy any chance of coherence the two might have had in their responses, dissolving their words into stammers and stutters. But it was Sweetie Belle's excited statement that took the cake.
"Oooh, oooh! Does this mean I get to be an older sister, too?" She asked eagerly, hopping up and down. "I want to have a little sister, too!"
The glass smashed completely.
"A-all of you...!" Silas's voice was hoarse as he spoke, and he had to resort to covering his face with his hoof in order to keep the redness of his face from showing. He could feel his cheeks heating up, his ears flopping downward, and he would've been glad to say that such a reaction was only out of anger and frustration due to their accusations. But the thought of him and Rarity together in such a manner drove any possibility of that out the window.
"Please!" Rarity pleaded, her own cheeks flushing with embarrassment. Even though she could finally bring herself to speak clearly, she could barely keep herself from looking away from her family. "This is no more than someone I'm housing! He just came into town, and from what he told me, he was homeless and without money! I simply couldn't bring myself to leave him as he was. He's only staying here so that he can get back up on his hooves again, that's all!"
"...so that means I won't get to be a big sister?" Sweetie Belle deflated immediately. "Aw, shucks..." She walked back to her spot at the stable, sitting down and sulking.
"Really?" Both the mother and father turned to look at Silas in order to inspect him, the mother being the one to speak. Her tone was curious. "Now that you mention it, he does look sort of homely looking, like he's been traveling a lot."
"First you embarrass me, and then you follow up with insults..." Silas muttered, taking in a deep breath in order to calm himself. "Is this how you usually greet visitors?" In truth, he really didn't care much. He probably did look homely, but to have someone actually say it to his face was somewhat demeaning to him.
"We're sorry, dear..." The mother cooed, offering a look of sympathy. "You can blame maternal instinct for assuming that you two were a couple. But now that's out of the way, how about we actually get acquainted? Come on, don't be shy!"
With the flush fading away from his face, Silas lowered his hoof and walked to the unoccupied spot. The table was small enough for him to sit down on his haunches, so he didn't have to worry about being unable to reach anything. The morning grogginess began to kick in once again, the brief ordeal having drained him of what little energy he had. When Rarity sat down beside him in the remaining spot that they had to put his own plate beside him, the two looked briefly at each other with equally weary eyes. It wasn't the best way to start off the morning...
"What's your name, dear?" The mother asked him.
"...Silas..." He responded drearily, raising his hoof to his mouth to cover up a yawn. "Nice to meet you- OW!"
Rarity had sharply elbowed him in the side, and he spun his head around to give her an annoyed glare. "Hey, what the hell's your problem?" He asked irritatedly, shrinking back slightly under her own stern stare.
"Don't be rude, you're a guest!" She scolded.
"Oh, it's fine, really!" The mother assured, giving Silas a warm smile. "Mornings aren't the best time of day, and it's a good thing they don't last long. Where are you from, dear?"
Sweetie Belle as well as her father had fallen silent and taken interest into simply listening into the conversation, their eyes mostly on the sleepy-eyed guest. The elder male was more subtle about it, choosing to eat his breakfast in front of him. The filly, however, was making her eavesdropping very obvious by just staring at both her sister and her guest. If anyone noticed, they simply chose not to pay attention to it.
Silas blinked a few times, turning away from Rarity and back to the group in general. The sharp blow to his ribs helped a little, unfortunately. "Would it be plausible to say that in the long time that I've been traveling, I forgot?" He put on a sheepish smile. "I've been out of the home and on the road for years, and I never could stick to one place at any given time. It's just not in my nature."
"Well, that's funny. What exactly made you decide to stay here, of all places?" The elder female questioned."
"Just one of those times I ran out of money..."
Silas was surprised at how easily the lies were slipping from his mouth. He almost felt guilty for doing it. After all, this was the same person who had generously offered him the place to stay in the first place. But what else was he supposed to do? The truth would be unbelievable, and he doubted it would suit well with them if they knew who he really was. There was no choice but to continue handing out false statements while keeping a stone face. They just wouldn't understand any other way.
Unbeknownst to him, Rarity was now regarding him with curiosity, her own mind working out what he said. He claimed to have forgotten where he was from – a sign that where he lived and was raised wasn't memorable. From what she herself was exposed to everyday, most ponies tended to know their homes straight from the heart, even if those very same homes were boring or abysmal. Based from what he said, he was on the road for a year-long period, at the very least.
What could've happened to make him homeless and on the road for so long?
"I hope to get a job here, get some money, and then go on my merry way-" Silas began to say, but was immediately cut off by the voice of the mother once again.
"Moving again? That's no way to live if you're just going to end up bitless again!" She exclaimed, frowning. "Why don't you just stay and settle down, here in Ponyville? I'm pretty sure it's more comfortable than having to spend all your days trekking dirt roads and all that."
"Well..." Silas's ears flattened down once again momentarily, and he averted his eyes away from the female in thought. "I never really thought about it..." That part was another half-truth. Although he could easily find comfort within his current surroundings, he never thought about actually making a life within the town. The residents, despite everything, had thrown him a greeting party, for crying out loud! Who would've done that back in Texas? Who would've taken the time to greet a complete stranger and make them feel welcome? No one would've, and that's why the idea of finally settling down seemed so tempting.
"Just give it some more thought, sweetie." The mother encouraged. "But I do hope that in the end, you decide to stay. You seem to be a nice guy, and I think you'll get used to the coziness in this little town of ours."
"So you think..." Silas thought to himself cynically, but remained silent.
"Sweetie Belle?" The father had directed his own attention towards his fellow eavesdropper, who stared back in curiosity. "You got everything you need?" He put on a grin, reaching out to playfully ruffle up her mane and earning a giggle. "I don't want to come back and see you pouting because you happened to forget something before we leave!"
"Yup!" Sweetie Belle beamed. "Everything plus the few necessities!"
"Good, good..." The father turned towards Rarity, his voice snapping her out of her gazing at Silas. "Hope it's not too much trouble letting Sweetie Belle stay for a week while you've got another in housing, what with your fashion business going on and all."
"No, no, I assure you, it's fine!" The fashionista insisted, raising up a hoof in emphasis. "It's not like I'm looking after two children here. Both Silas and I are adults, so I trust that he won't cause much of a ruckus as Sweetie Belle will." This abruptly made Sweetie Belle fall into a pouting and sulking mood once again. No offense to her..." She added quickly. "But she's prone to clumsiness when it comes to attempting to help me around, and most likely I'll need someone else to help me catch her."
SMACK!
"OW!" Silas immediately hissed, yanking his elbow off of the table when Rarity smacked it again. "For crying out loud, are we going to make this a habit?" He snapped, rubbing the area which had been struck. Even when he was a horse, hooves hurt!
"Only as you making a habit of showing bad manners." Rarity scolded, her eyes closed in an expression of firmness... and haughtiness, as far as Silas was concerned. "I will not have you act that way in front of my parents!"
"So that makes it okay to hit me every time I do something wrong?" Silas growled, abruptly standing up and turning to face her. In response, she allowed herself to stand up in order to meet his annoyed glare evenly with her own.
"Sometimes you have to be rough in order to show that you care about others."
"Oh, really? How about I take my legs and show you just how much I care by kicking you over the horizon?"
In their argument, however, they were unintentionally drawing the idea of a relationship back to the minds of Rarity's family members, who were regarding each other with knowing looks.
"You know, I still think our little dear's shy about telling us who her boyfriends are..." The mother teased, instantly silencing Rarity and Silas and prompting them to produce shocked looks once again.
"From the way they fight, I think they might be already hitched!" The father added cheekily.
"Oooh, this means that I can still have a baby sister!" Sweetie Belle squealed.
This effectively stopped the argument between the two. After regarding each other with shock and horror, their faces immediately turned red, and they quickly averted their eyes away from each other with a "Hmph!" from each individual. In turn, this caused both parents to laugh heartily at their reaction. Sweetie Belle, however, once again fell into a moping mood now that she knew her mom and dad were only kidding this time.
"Well, I'm done eating..." The father stood himself up from his seat and pushed it in, looking over to his wife. "Ready to go, sweetie?"
The woman nodded, her smile a mile wide as she stood up from her seat as well to push it in. "Ready when you are..." As her husband walked over to her side, she turned to look back at the two who were still turned away from each other in embarrassment. "Good-bye and have fun, you three!"
"You too, Mom, Dad!" Sweetie Belle cheered, being the only one to actually return the good-bye. She watched as the two elder ponies trotted out of the room and disappeared from sight. She waited until she heard the front door open and close before turning towards Silas and Rarity and trotting over towards the female.
"So, Sis!" She said eagerly, drawing Rarity's attention once again and ignoring Silas even as he made his way past her and to his untouched plate. "What should we do first? Frog catching, dress making, going out to enjoy the nice summer day-"
"Well, first..." Rarity began, drawing her attention to the uncleared table. "We have to clean this table off, now that all of us are done using it. It's going to be harder, now that someone-" She emphasized this with a glare at Silas as he took a fork and stabbed both of the scrambled eggs with it. "-didn't even bother to touch his food-"
SPLAT!
The next moment, she found the two scrambled eggs making a home on her face, covering both of her eyes.
"And now, miss Rarity..." Silas snickered, a hoof to his mouth in a vain attempt to suppress his laughter. "From this point onward, I deem you with the title of egghead."
He was promptly met with a hoof to his jaw several seconds later.