Ha! I didn't wait four months this time. Bet you didn't expect that! BAM! New chapter!
This chapter was a lot of fun to write. I might not have stuck perfectly to the lore of the show, but then again, who cares? Also, if you've been reading since part 1, and haven't gone back again, I uncensored words so there might be some profanity here and there.
Anyway, thanks to all of you who have been reading this and reviewing and such.
Enough useless author notes, read on!
Unicorns have it easy. They don't have to write with their damn mouths. And say what you will about hooves, but these things can't grab pencils. I've tried one hoof and two hooves, but to no avail. I miss hands. They make things so much easier.
The creaking of the front door echoes throughout the cottage. I turn and look and see and exhausted looking Fluttershy come through the door. The pencil still in my mouth, I ask her how the events transpired: "How wuf ba parry?"
A long pause. She looked over at me. "…What?"
I spit the pencil onto the desk. "How was the party?" I reiterate.
"Oh," she started, "It was fine."
Really? "No trouble with Gilda?"
"No," she started, thinking about it momentarily. "But Rainbow Dash had to confront her."
"For being nothing but an egotistic and arrogant…" I started but chose some nicer language to finish it off. "…bully?"
"Yeah," she responded. "Although it sounded a bit nicer the way she put it…"
"It probably was," I admitted. "I don't have the patience for those types of peop… er-creatures. They never change their ways." Especially from somebody who has dealt with those types of people every day. I was still curious about the party though. "The party afterward was still all right?"
"I guess…" she told me. "It was fun and games after that."
"Well," I started, accidentally hitting the pencil and knocking it off the table and sighed. I finished my thought: "I'm glad that you had a good time."
"What have you been doing since I've been gone?" she asked me.
"Writing," I told her. Be honest with yourself. "Well, attempting to write…"
"Oh," she paused. "What are you writing?"
Nothing legible, as evidenced by the multiple pieces of paper on the floor. "Oh, just anything that comes to mind. Nothing important," I made a list. "Doodles, ideas, stories and such."
"Looks…" she started, noticing the horrible scrawl among the several pieces of paper. "…interesting."
"Don't be modest, Fluttershy. I can barely read any of this." I told her. That just sounds weird. Quickly, I added the justification: "I… haven't been writing for years." I don't understand how anyone here except unicorns can write legibly.
Fluttershy kept the questions coming. "What made you stop?"
What sounds believable, but not outrageous? I thought momentarily, then spoke. "I… never really needed to write after my initial education. Boredom just set in for too long. I figured that now would be the best time to get reacquainted," I explained. I'm not sure how long I can continue to deceive anyone else here. I'm starting to feel guilty.
"Oh," she replied. "Well, I don't want to interrupt you…"
I sat up and pushed the paper and pencils aside. "Oh, you weren't. That's enough for today anyway."
She yawned, most likely beat from the festivities. I don't blame her. I'd be too. Anything social would drain a person unless you feed off that energy. So, unless you're Rainbow Dash, anyone would have had enough at a party. Or maybe that's the introvert in me.
"Look," I told her. "You've had a pretty busy day. Animals, Gilda, the party and all." I put my hoof on her shoulder. "Why don't you get some sleep?"
"Ok," she seemed all right with the idea, but addressed something important. "But I still need to straighten up the cottage…"
…
Right, I told her that I'd do that while she was at the party. Curse my procrastinating and inability to focus on important things.
"No," I told her. "I told you that I'd do that. Just get some rest." I can't believe I forgot to do that. Now I have to do it even quieter! Which is quite the task considering that there are so many things in this cottage that make a ton of noise if dropped or misplaced. I should have done it earlier. "Sorry for getting caught up in some… silly thing."
She yawned again and stretched her legs before walking off with some heartwarming words.
"If it makes you happy," she started, walking around and out of view now, and finished, "it's OK."
…
That small reassurance felt nice. She really does care about the wellbeing of her friends.
There I am, casually throwing that word "friends" around like I belong with these others. It takes time to become close friends with someone, you can't just thrust someone into a group and expect to all get along right away, but maybe this land is different. Maybe I'm too accustomed to my world. They all disappear at some point, making it feel like it's optional.
Everything about this world is so damn confusing. Friendships save the world, magic, and this whole weather thing about ponies controlling weather that I recently thought about confounds me. Why the hell am I here? Tormentor won't be specific. But I should be loving it here, it's every fan's dream come true, so why am I so negative? I'm just homesick is all…
Well, enough thinking, let's straighten up the cottage; starting with that desk full of papers and pencils. Looking at it now, I realize the magnitude of how much of a mess I just made. Jesus, I must have gone through twenty pieces of paper in the span of a few hours. Most of these were just tiny mistakes. I scowled. Damn perfectionist mindset. It's okay to make mistakes. I've wired myself to think it's not right when clearly that just affirms that there's something wrong with me. I sighed as I scooped up some paper and threw it out. At least I'm getting better at picking things up. Day one and I was a mess. Time sure does fly. It's been a few weeks and I'm slowly getting accustomed to this new body. Now it's just the small things I wish I could do.
Say, now that I think about it, how the hell did I cook those cinnamon rolls with Pinkie? That required so much precision and a lot of ingredients, not to mention I had to slice the dough up.
…
I'll chalk it up to adrenaline and luck. Tasty and sweet luck.
…
Run! Fucking run! Go faster!
I turn to look and they're catching up.
Why am I so slow?! It's like trying to run in glue! The more energy I exert, the slower I get. What hell am I currently living in?
At the end of the forest, I see Fluttershy looking off into the distance.
"…!" I try to scream with all my might, but I can't. No sound escapes and I slowly sense the darkness consume me. "Fl…!" I try once again, my voice choking the first syllable out, but not even being able to breathe.
I lose feeling everywhere when everything goes black. Laughing and chanting slowly fills the room.
"…you can't protect them…"
"…they hate you…"
"…you're powerless…"
"…fear consumes you…"
"…meaningless existence…"
The volume increases and the words echo to an unbearable extent. The feeling comes back, but only to torture me. My mind feels like it wants to explode.
Then, everything stops.
…
A dark voice rings through the air:
"You've been warned…"
Light suddenly appears as I feel myself falling endlessly. The faces of these inhabitants with glowing red eyes laugh demonically as I fall to my never-ending demise. Fluttershy appears as the final face, at first showing innocence, but an evil smile slowly encircles her face and her bone-chilling words to me resonate deeply.
"I should have let you die in that forest…"
I gasp for air and shoot up from the couch. The sun shines into the living room, the morning already here. To the right of me, Fluttershy looks concerningly.
"Zenith," she said, one hoof on the cushion, "Are you okay?"
I take a few deep breaths and gather my thoughts. Sure, I've had nightmares like that before, with the endless pits and inability to scream, but definitely not to this caliber.
"I don't know," I said, wondering about these things in my dream just now. I admit openly, "I've never had a nightmare that extreme before."
"A nightmare?" she asked. "What was it about?"
There is no way in hell that I'm telling her what just happened. At least not right now. I trust her, but this is just too damn dark and worrisome for her right now.
"I'd… rather not talk about it right now. It's…" I contemplated describing it but decided against it. "Maybe later."
Her head drooped slightly. "Oh," she said, a sad look on her face.
"Sorry," I said. "It's just kinda… personal."
She nodded slightly. "I understand," she told me. "But if you need somepony to talk to…"
"You will always be the first I turn to," I interrupted her, putting my hoof on her shoulder.
She smiled.
"Besides, I can't stand anyone else in this town," I remarked dryly. "Save for your friends…"
That got a laugh out of her.
"They're your friends too…" she told me.
"Please, all I've done is worry everyone here, intrude myself in others' affairs, and nearly died." I shake my head. "Doesn't sound like a good friend to me…"
She looked at me. "Don't be too hard on yourself," she spoke. "Things could have gone better, but everything's okay for now. I heard you made amends with Applejack."
It wasn't what I originally planned to do, but at that moment, it felt right to just swallow my pride and admit my wrongdoings. In fact, now that I think about it, my initial plan was really fucking stupid. How would I have done it? Hey, both of you need to go to this party or the world goes to hell reeeeal quick. That certainly would have left a whole lot more questions than answers. Considering that my backup plan was impromptu, it's a miracle how everything transpired perfectly.
"Indeed," I acknowledged, finally getting up off the couch. "It went better than I could have possibly imagined."
"Really?" she inquired, with an intrigued tone. "How?"
"Well," I sheepishly admit, "I thought that I'd probably have been beaten to a pulp and mailed back to my homeland. But I managed to make amends with Twilight beforehand, and we both somehow were able to reason with her, apologize, and convince her to come."
"Sounds like…" she started, stifled by her attempt to carry a heavy bag of carrots. I quickly get up and assist her. She continues, "…it was a productive day."
"Absolutely."
…
"I still wish… that you could have made it to the party…" she told me.
Was the party that big of a deal? Was Gilda really that much of a bitch?
"Believe me," I told her, "I would have loved to just enjoy a night without any problems, but," I paused, as we both put the bag down in the kitchen, "Gilda and I would have just ruined the night."
"I don't think that would have happened…"
"Regardless of my absence," I said, adding a bit of comfort to this next remark, "I don't think Gilda will be coming to Ponyville anytime soon." She'll have some time to think about what she did.
"I guess…" she remarked, now looking around for another small chore to do. "I was still a bit nervous to see her at the party."
I can relate. There have been plenty of times that I didn't want to face any adversaries in my younger days, but it had to be done.
"That's OK," I told her. "You just need to be a little more prepared to defend yourself."
She looked away from me, letting out a small sigh.
"I promise you, the next time someone confronts you, you'll be ready."
That got a small smile from her.
Three knocks prompt both of us to look towards the front door, to which I wander over and open it.
…
No one.
…
"Hello?" I call out to the empty space in front of me, looking around for anybody.
Hmph. I close the door. Damn pranksters. The nerve of them to- my thoughts were interrupted by a crinkle of paper. I look down and pick up this brightly colored advertisement. They must have slid it under or maybe it fell off the door.
ASTONISHING ILLUSIONS! MIND-BOGGLING TRICKS! AMAZING MAGIC EVERY TIME!
Oh, these. I've had enough of these stupid things.
"What is it?" Fluttershy asked me.
"Oh, just some ad for a magic show," I dismissively remark. "I'm serious. One of these days, I'm going to send a very strongly worded letter to-" I started, cut off by the most important part that I seemingly glanced over.
PERFORMED BY THE GREAT AND POWERFUL TRIXIE!
"Oh, goddamn it…" I mutter under my breath.
Will I ever get a break?
There are so many ponies in this crowd. Must be fans of magic. Hell, count me in.
But for now, I don't understand unicorns. Can't they do everything she can do? It's all just smoke and mirrors to me. Then again, this world does thrive on actual magic. Does she really possess a stronger one? Probably not a "Twilight-Sparkle-tier" magic; no one rivals that.
At least not yet…
"Come one, come all!" her voice rang through loudspeakers out to the crowd. "Come and witness the amazing magic of the Great and Powerful Trixie!"
I can do without the amplification, thank you. I have enough of a headache already.
I sighed. I should have just stayed at the cottage with Fluttershy. But part of me wanted to see Trixie perform. Call me whatever you like, but I think she possesses quite some talent. She is, however, right now, an egotistic braggart.
…
That didn't sound like me at all. Let's try that again.
She's a bitch for right now…
Much better. Skewed as my definition of better may be…
Her voice echoed loudly again. "Watch in awe as the Great and Powerful Trixie performs the most spectacular feats of magic ever witnessed by pony eyes!" Followed by a grand entrance to top things off.
I clapped my hooves together. Regardless of her attitude right now, she's just performing and I like what I'm seeing.
"Come on, Zenith!" a baby dragon's voice came from my left. "You can't possibly think what she's doing is 'amazing' and 'spectacular', can you?"
"I wouldn't be a good judge for that," I told him, "I never really have seen any magic until I met your friends."
Both Twilight and Spike looked confused.
"It… was an earth pony predominant society," I made up. "Just the way things were over there. It was rare to find a unicorn of that caliber."
Vague as that was, they bought it. Spike spoke up again, "But you have to admit that she's being a little over the top right now."
Oh, I concur, Spike.
"I suppose," Twilight began, then asked something about this new face in town, "but there's nothing wrong with being talented, is there?"
"I don't think so," I remarked. I think talent should be displayed properly for many to see. Keyword: properly.
"Nothin' at all," Applejack added. "Cep'n when someone goes around showin' it off like a school filly with fancy new ribbons."
"She… does have a point," I agreed. "You can be talented and humble." I looked right to the unicorn that exemplified those traits perfectly. "Like Twilight here…"
She blushed slightly. "Well," she began, "I certainly don't think I'm the best…"
I let out a small laugh. "Don't sell yourself short," I told her. "I think that you have a lot of potential and skill." I looked over to the loudmouth on stage and pointed at her. "She's all talk and just a below-average illusionist."
"But how can you be so sure?" she asked me.
"I can't."
"Someone's got to put her in her place before I go crazy!" Spike yelled.
"Hm…" I began, lost in thought about how I was going to prove that she was just exacerbating her talents. I honestly don't know. I'd rather not let an Ursa minor or major into this town, and I don't want to get one-uped by Trixie. What the hell should I do to prevent this from happening?
…
Then, I got an idea.
An awful idea.
A wonderful, awful idea.
"I've got it," I told them. This is seriously a stupid idea, but it just might work. "All I need is for you to summon a smoke cloud when I give you a signal. Can you do that?"
Twilight nodded in compliance, albeit still wary to my plan. "But what's the signal?"
I'll rattle off some bullshit speech, then just use a code word. "When I say 'vanish', wait three seconds, then summon it," I told her, "Got it?"
"Okay…" she lingered, still hesitant.
"Move to the back of the crowd," I added. "You'll draw less suspicion as well."
"What are you planning to do?" she worryingly asked me. "You're not going to do anything violent, are you?"
"Oh no, nothing hurtful," I assured her. "Just an ego bruiser."
All this time, I hadn't realized Rainbow Dash, Spike, and Rarity had been heckling from the crowd, which means my cue was rapidly approaching. My plan still in the beta stage, I rehearse it quickly to myself.
"Who is so ignorant as to challenge the Great and Powerful Trixie?"
There it is. Let's go.
"I am."
"You?" she said in disbelief.
…
"You're joking, right?" she added.
Honestly, yes, but what I'm doing might shut you up. "In all seriousness, Trixie," I cleared my throat, "I just want to show you one trick, if I may."
"Please," she grinned, a sinister look in her eyes. "Enlighten the Great And Powerful Trixie."
I matched her expression as I climbed onto the stage. Oh, I will.
Okay, time to bullshit everyone. "In this trick, I will make myself and one item disappear. It will be up to you to figure out what it is."
"A basic trick for one such as me," she said, yawning. "But seeing you fail this should be interesting."
I cleared my throat. "Watch closely," I told the crowd, "as something big or small before your very eyes will vanish!" I added emphasis to the last word so Twilight could hear it from the back.
…
Three… Two… One…
I inhaled sharply on the last second, close my eyes momentarily, and listen for the poof of a smoke cloud. Right on time. I open my eyes and see my target item right in front of me. I could hear a soft coughing and saw her eyes closed, I made this my opportunity. I snatch this Lightweight, colorful, and to top it off, stylish as hell item. Once in my hooves, I dart around her stage, head for the back and run off into the distance back to the cottage.
I could hear a commotion from behind her stage, but I couldn't tell if they were impressed or confused. Either way, I got what I came for.
…
Trixie's hat.
…
I can't believe that worked. I run past a few more ponies before ducking behind a tree.
"THE GREAT AND POWERFUL TRIXIE ORDERS YOU TO COME BACK AT ONCE, YOU THIEF!" I heard echoing in the distance.
I donned this new cap upon me and smile.
You want this so bad? Come and get it.
…
Come on, Fluttershy. Let me in.
I knock four more times and finally, she opens the door, rightfully looking confused. "Back so soon?"
"Yep," I quickly rattle off.
"New hat?"
"You… could say that."
"Where'd you get it?" her questions getting slower every time, and her eyes full of suspicion.
"It was… a gift," I lied. I know I'm already too caught up now.
"Wait," she said, finally seeing through my lies. Looking at the advertisement on the desk and seeing a picture of Trixie with her trademark attire on as the banner, she put two and two together. "You didn't…"
I grinned. "I did."
"But… why?"
"Just a spontaneous decision."
She looked down at the floor, then back up at me and sighed. "I'll never get why you do things, Zenith…"
"Nobody ever does," I say with a massive smile encircling my face. "And don't worry, I'll give this back."
"You'd better," a voice behind me said, a hint of anger in her tone.
Uh oh.
I turn around. A purple unicorn, eyes obviously frustrated, glares me down.
"Zenith," she began. "What were you thinking?!"
"I was thinking I could borrow this for a bit."
"You can't just steal somepony's property! That was by far…" she added.
"…the dumbest, most infantile thing ever conceived?" I finish her sentence, adding some sass to my previous remarks, "And I've never felt better about anything I've done."
Twilight took a deep breath. "I'll never understand you."
Smiling again, I reposition the hat. "Nobody has yet to figure me out."
"What are you planning to do with this hat?" she asked me.
…
"Nothing."
…
"What?"
"You heard me. Nothing. I'm just doing this to prevent an ur-" I started but caught myself in the nick of time. Foreseeing the future is a dangerous, yet wildly helpful tool. "-to prevent her from showing off and embarrassing anyone."
Twilight shook her head. "But now she's on a raving search for the thief that stole her hat!"
"I never said this plan was foolproof."
"It was hardly a plan at all!"
"Well, excuse me for thinking on the spot! I didn't see you coming up with ideas!"
"There was nothing wrong with her just yet! Why did you act so rash?"
"Look, I got her to stop her show, right? Consider that a gift!"
"Her show was at least tolerable until you jumped to conclusions!"
"I would have let her finish if your other friends hadn't complained! I saved them from embarrassment!"
"Explain."
"Trixie would have called them out and made an example of them; it's what she would do. If I failed, so what?! I have no dignity anyway!"
"Why must you throw yourself on the line at every adversary?"
"Because you are your friends are more important than I am!"
…
I continued. "If I left right now, nothing would change. You are your other friends hold unique roles in this land. I do not."
…
"My actions do not influence outcomes of this land."
…
"But you are right. This was stupid." What in the fuck was I thinking? "All I did was cause more problems than solutions. And now," I sighed. "I must pay the consequences."
I turn around, head down, out the door, and into the world. Great idea, and way to involve yourself in nobody's business. You should get an award. The "I'm-a-disaster-in-every-aspect" award. Or the "Every-synonym-for-'idiot'-describes-you-perfectly" award. Or the…
Agh! Something suddenly hit from the side, what felt like a rock, knocking the hat clean off my head and me to my side. Looking over, I see the face of the pony who was seemingly on a manhunt for me.
"The Great and Powerful Trixie finally has what she came for!" she said out loud. "But she still feels unsatisfied."
…
"Thanks to you, I'm now a laughing stock in this town! I won't be able to show my face in this town for a long time!" All because of that hat.
"Good," I choked out. "Your attitude could use an adjustment too."
"Trixie contemplates using a number of spells on you, but why can't she use them all on you? You deserve to have my wrath bestowed upon you, don't you think?"
"Bite me."
"When I'm through with you, you'll wish you never messed with the Great and Powerful Trixie!" I heard her yell while charging up a spell.
Incoming pain in three… two… one. I winced, closing my eyes.
…
What the…?
A purple shield covered the attack.
"Trixie," the familiar voice said. "You have what's yours, now leave."
"Why should Trixie listen to you?"
"Because she's more powerful than you will ever be," I told her, trying to stand upright.
"Trixie has a hard time believing that," she said. "And it's not your fight anyway."
"It is when I stand up for my friends," she told her. "His logic may have been twisted, but he recognized his wrongdoings."
"He's made me a laughing stock in your town, he deserves to pay!"
"With an ego like yours," Twilight began, "it was only a matter of time."
Whoa… Goddamn, Twilight.
Trixie stopped the spell casting and gave one final speech. "Trixie will have her revenge! And she will make sure you all pay the price!"
And with that, she ran off into the distance.
…
And now to right my second wrongs.
"Thanks," I told Twilight. "I deserved every bit of pain from her."
"As much as I disagree with what you did to her, violence is never an option."
And it wasn't a moment too soon. "Still, I owe you an apology. I'm sorry for not telling you my plan and the ramifications that could have happened."
"It's ok," she told me. "I'm just glad that you learned a lesson from this."
"Indeed."
"I'll be sure to put that in my report for Princess Celestia today."
"By all means."
"How's your back?" she asked me.
Damn, Trixie did a number on it. "Hurts like hell."
"I'm sure Fluttershy can help you take care of it."
"Oh," I told her. "Fluttershy will probably be… irked when sees this."
"Rightfully so."
…
"You know, I think Fluttershy really cares about you," she told me.
"Which is why I feel bad that I get myself into situations like this," I reply.
I hope she wasn't implying anything…
"You have a good evening, Zenith."
"And to you as well, Twilight."
I walked back to the cottage and tried to pretend that my back didn't hurt. I've already had enough ponies worried about me today, so one less would be helpful. Each step a twinge of pain sends a shock through me.
…
Ow. Ow. Ow. Ow.
…
One day. Just one easy day is all I want.
Welp. That was quite an ordeal. What in the hell did Zenith do in this one? I don't know, I just love that hat.
Fun fact: I had seven different ideas for this chapter, but settled on this one purely because it was ridiculous.
Coming up... Sleeping dragons and frustrated ponies. Smoke fills the skies and this giant must be relocated. But how will these ponies move something a thousand times their sizes? Find out next time.
