This would have been uploaded last week, but it was too short, so I made it at least 1,000 words longer yesterday night and tonight (without authoor's note, it has 3,350 words). Man, I am so fuking tired that I don't care that I mispelled fucking or mispeled. Normally it'd bug the shit outta me lol. If you guys find any inconsistencies (I think that's the right word) in the story, don't make a review about it; PM me. If you want to tell me something, PM me. It annoys me, okay? Just putting that out there. I love reviews, though, don't get me wrong :)
Oh yeah forgot to mention—when I was typing up this chapter I saw that it had some 'point of view inconsistencies,' meaning the story (as a whole) is written in first person but I typed the first part of this chapter in an omniscient point of view. It's a minor inconsistency, but I still wanted to alert future readers, because as of right now, my character is unconsious, so how would he know what's going on in Ponyville? It doesn't make sense, I know, but it smooths out later.
The air was very thin. The sky—in much contrast to when the beacon was flashed—was now trying to rid itself of clouds as dusk approached. The cool, gentle wind helped the sky in its effort, but it made for an eerie twilight as it whistled softly through the air.
"We've searched high and low, Princess, but we were unsuccessful in our attempt to locate Discord," one of the pegasus guards was saying. "My squad of elite flyers flew around the entire vicinity of Ponyville and even beyond the outskirts, landed, and walked the ground, but still no sign."
"No! No, no, no, no! We must find that…that thing before it does something; before it strikes! Do you realize how imperative it is that we find it?" Princess Celestia was extremely distraught about the whole situation. Everypony did not understand why she was so upset about the entire situation, since they thought it was only Discord. To all of the oblivious ponies, Discord was defeated once with the Elements of Harmony so he shouldn't be much of a threat, right?
Just then, with a graceful swoosh and several back-flapping of the wings to slow down their speed, down come Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy as graceful as gazelles. Rainbow Dash obviously had to make her landing a little more flamboyant as she skid to a halt, not letting one piece of the disturbed dust touch her mane. Fluttershy, on the other hand, was just grateful to be out of the sky and quickly folded her wings.
"Princess, me and Fluttershy flew over what the pegasi guards flew over and then some." Rainbow Dash said. "But first we walked all over Ponyville, looked in every nook and cranny in every single house, then we flew up and got an aerial view of the town. Nothing. After that is when we searched with your pegasi guards over the outskirts of Ponyville. Nothing. That's when your guards decided to head back and told us to be careful if we decide to search more, so we did. We went all the way to the Everfree Forest and scanned the edge for several minutes. Princess, I think whatever that was out here earlier, demon or Discord, is gone."
The look on Princess Celestia's face suggested that she might burst into tears at any given moment or go so insane and demolish everything in her sight. The look was contorting her face; it was like someone who was demented from impatience—where they just couldn't wait any longer or they'd explode, someone who had lost everything and had nothing to live for; they didn't know what to do, where to go or who to look to; a look of pure ignorance. Then… after several uneasy breaths…slowly she calmed herself down and relaxed her face and everything else enough to speak.
With a normal, calm and easy Princess Celestia voice that hadn't been heard in ages, the Princess said "Okay…okay…I suppose you must be…right…if you and my guards have looked around that much. But we must be on ourguard at all times, should it return. I just can't lose another precious friend, okay Rainbow Dash?" Just then, remembering a long haired human boy she had just met today, Celestia quickly asked, "By the way, where is your friend? The one not from around here?"
A look of terror spread across both Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash's face. "Ohmygosh! Fluttershy, we forgot all about Dalton! That's the second time he's fainted today! Sorry, Princess, hate to leave on such short notice. Gotta fly!"
It was back. I was sure it would never leave me. Tossing and turning in my unconscious mind like a row boat on the angry ocean, I didn't know what it wanted with me or what it would do with me. It just kept reiterating the phrase "Misfortune will show those who are not really friends!" in that hiss-like voice it had.
"You shall do my bidding, boy!" it had said earlier. What had it meant by that? What was it going to do inside my head anyway? Was it going to take over my mind and force me to do everything it wanted me to do against my own will?
"You shall do my bidding, Dalton!" What? That seemed a little bit out of character. And how does it know my name anyway?
"…bidding, Dalton are you alright?" Now it's asking me I'm alright? What is this thing, some kind of troll? It had never asked me anything, let alone mention my name; it just kept saying the same two phrases over and over and over again with its static-like, hissy, and evil—
And that is when my soul forsook my body. No, I was not dead, but to the ponies it appeared that I was dead. But I could open my eyes without moving my eyelids, walk without moving a muscle, and I had the most amazing omniscient point of view that so many others wished to have. How this happened, you ask? I blame the hiss.
Once I 'opened' my eyes I see that I'm lying down on a bed somewhere indoors. I see books and bookshelves everywhere I look. Must be Twilight's library. I see two ponies in the building that look extremely worried. One kept talking about how the radiation from the beacon might have poisoned him. The other just thought he was tired and couldn't keep up with "all of us four legged ponies." After their conversation, the one pony walked off toward my body, placed her ear to my chest to listen, and then lifted her head up with the frightening news.
"Twilight, you'd better get over here! Dalton's stopped breathing!" I saw Applejack scream frantically. " And if his hearts stops a-pumping, too, then that'll be the end of him!"
"What- What happened?! He was perfectly fine just a minute ago! How in Equestria could he just stop breathing like this?" Twilight was definitely confused, but if there was anypony in Equestria to save my life, it had to be her.
"I dunno, sugarcube, but you'd better do something mighty quick or else Dalton'll be a goner before anypony will even get to know the poor boy!"
Twilight replied, "Well, there is this one spell that I've been working on for an extremely long time with test dummies such as withered flowers or rotten fruit, but I can't guarantee it will work for Dalton; I don't even know if it will work at all. It's a spell made for reviving dead beings, but Dalton isn't technically dead, so—"
"Twilight." Applejack said very soft and calmly. "If you think that spell is worth trying to save our friend here, then give it a shot. Either way just please don't let this young feller here die on his second day in Equestria!"
"Well…" Twilight thought it over and over. When she couldn't come to a conclusion, she looked over at my pale, limp body and the horrible realization came to her. "Dalton!" Then the room was completed illuminated and in a flash, a whirl, and a swish of red and white light, my body was lifted off of the ground with some mysterious force and the magic engulfed my body, coursing through my veins and reenergizing my entire being. My soul returned to my body and I felt the change; it felt good. It felt really good. Not only was I more relaxed than I have been in years, I felt no remnants of the pain from the past. It was a miracle. I no longer felt the stolidity that was caused from all the depression and pain from loving Rainbow Dash; I had a fresh start. Now I could do whatever I wanted to do, whenever I want to do it, and not have to worry about my emotionlessness get in the way! Now I know that I will have a truly perfect time here in Equestria.
After all of the lights and magic show had ceased, my body slowly descended to the bed. The room still had that feel of magic in the air—a sort of a tingly feeling—since the spell that was cast was so powerful. Twilight and Applejack walked over to my bedside and, much to their relief, listened to my breathing and the sound of my heart. Then, with just a moment of hesitation, Applejack asked if I was okay.
No response. The magic that was cast on me was so powerful that it prevented me from doing anything physical for one, maybe two minutes? I couldn't even move my mouth to let them know that I'm happy to be alive, for once.
Twilight asked this time, but a little more desperate. "Dalton, please, please tell us that you're okay!" I wish I could…
"Yeah, little feller don't quit on us now! *sniff* It's only yer second day here! Don't you wanna go around and meet all the other ponies 'round here? 'Cuz I'm sure they'd love to meet you."
And without a moment's notice, a cyan streak came crashing through the front door and landed right next to Applejack and Twilight. The cyan streak was apparently Rainbow Dash that had been on her way here to check up on me, and then increased her pace tenfold when she saw all the flashing lights.
"Twilight, what the hay were you doing here?" Rainbow Dash asked, referring to the spell Twilight cast to save my life. "Whatever crazy spell you were practicing here, the light from the magic could be seen all the way from Town Hall! It's a wonder you didn't blind yourself or Applejack or—"
"That there 'crazy spell' saved Dalton's life!" Applejack interrupted forcefully, an then went off on Rainbow Dash. "If it weren't fer Twilight, Dalton here would be dead on only his second day in Equestria! Yeah, you heard me right: dead! Not a muscle would be movin' and not a brain cell sizzling'. Now how would you like it if your new friend—the one you were going to show the ropes, the ponies around town, your tricks, and everything else—was dead before you even got a chance to know the feller?"
Twilight muttered so softly that you could hardly hear her. "We… we're not sure if I saved him, Rainbow Dash. The only action Dalton has been doing is breathing; we're not sure if he's in a coma or unconscious or if I failed…"
"If my new friend was dead, I wouldn't like it, Applejack!" Rainbow Dash said, as if Twilight had said nothing. "I wouldn't like it at all! I would probably cry for him if he was dead, the same I would for any of my other friends…He means as much to me now as everyone else in Ponyville means to me, and that's why you have to try one more time to save him. You just have to." There was a sense of longing in her voice when she said that, and it made me so happy that it brought a smile to my face knowing she cared that deeply.
Twilight looked over at me and said in response to Rainbow Dash, "We won't have to, Rainbow Dash! Dalton made it! Come over here and take a look."
Rainbow Dash started flying from where she had been standing (after the argument started, she walked away from my body) and flew up and over to the bed where I was laying on. I sensed her presence—I could feel movement and breezes and tell when voices are nearing me—and wanted to open my eyes to see her again, but I still could not. I could only smile, smile, smile.
When Rainbow Dash saw me smiling she gasped with awe, so relieved and grateful that her friend was still alive. She also saw me trying to open my eyes, which by the way is an amazing struggle after having using magic as an anesthetic, so she ran her hoof down my cheek and said to just give the magic time to wear off. I gave up trying and eventually went to sleep, bored and tired from struggle.
In about two to three days the magic finally wore off and I was back to my normal self again, even more so since the hiss hadn't been speaking up since before Twilight had saved me. Before the magic wore off, though, I finally decided I would open my eyes when all of the Mane Six came to visit one morning. I remember I could hear Fluttershy playing games with her animals, Rarity's teapot hissing with sssssteam, Pinkie Pie was disobeying the fourth wall concept, as usual, and Rainbow Dash was sitting right next to me, reading me a story by a well known pony author. I had told her much earlier that Ray Bradbury was my favorite author and why, so she tried to find an author that wrote as close to him as possible. She did very well, but I could tell that she wasn't enjoying the book because as she kept reading her voice became more and more monotonous. I was smiling the whole time, not because I enjoyed the book, but because it was funny that she wasn't, yet she kept reading. I eventually opened my eyes and blinked them a million times to get her attention. When she asked if I wanted her to stop reading, ever so gently I shook my head Yes. Then I think I heard her say something under her breath that sounded like "Thank Celestia!"
The next week or so showed no signs of whatever appeared in Ponyville. Princess Celestia had soldiers stationed in the Canterlot Sculpture Gardens where Discord's statue was, just in case. Rainbow Dash showed me around Ponyville so that I could find my way next time I wanted to leave for a friend's house. Rainbow also introduced me to Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy, to which I was very grateful for since we never got to properly meet each other after, ya know. Pinkie was extremely nuts, asking me tons of questions about me, like usual. I still haven't gotten that party, though; I really hope I do. If I don't then I would be very disappointed…
Fluttershy was more mellow and just quietly talked to me and asked me practical and real questions like "What is it like on where you come from?" or "Do you like it here?" "I hope you're all right after what happened with the fainting and all…is there anything I could do to help?" I like Fluttershy. She has the personality that more people need on Earth, minus the shyness.
After meeting Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy I went and spent the rest of the day with Rainbow Dash, like I do everyday. We went back to her sky house to kick back and have a good time, since we had been up and about all week introducing me to ponies, woodland creatures, and the routes of Ponyville. I went to her living room and grabbed my laptop and turned it on. Oh, please work! Please, please, please, please, please, please…
"Yes! It works!" I exclaim in victory and delight.
Rainbow Dash, who was in the kitchen making herself a sammich, must have heard me because after she made her sammich she came hovering into the living room and sat down on the sofa next to me and said "What works?" Then she took a bite of her sammich.
"My laptop!" I reply with satisfaction as I click on the Desktop App (I have a Windows 8 laptop) and click on the folder labeled TWGI. "I was afraid that when I teleported here (or fell on you) that my stuff all got messed up as if a thousand EMP's were detonated, or my stuff just got broken. But I guess I don't have to worry anymore, now that it works. Holy crap, this is so awesome! Now you can see the videos that my band has made. Here, take a look."
"Okay, but what are EMP's?" Rainbow Dash asked inquisitively.
"Never mind." I said as I scrolled the folder, looking for the perfect video. Not too long but shows just the right amount of talent.
I tilted the screen back and shifted the computer so that the screen could be seen by both of us clearly. I clicked on "Alex's Epic Solo" because why the hell not? I told her who was who in the band: the long haired guitarist was Ben, one of my best friends, the keyboard player was Alex—the one who goofed off the most—and the other guitar player was Tyler.
I skipped the first minute of the video because it wasn't Lampshade, the song that I wanted to show her. Plus it was just (barely) a minute of us improvising and mostly goofing off. Once Tyler stopped shouting "Schlumpy!" I counted off Lampshade and the song was off. And if you read one of the previous chapters, you know how Lampshade goes.
"What is he trying to do with that?" Rainbow Dash asked as Ben was bombing his solo.
"He's adjusting the volume on his amplifier...during the middle of his solo," I replied. "It's not the first time he's done that and I'm sure it won't be the last." That is, if I ever go home—which I won't.
We talked long enough to miss the interval between Ben's solo and Tyler's solo. Tyler never had a 'set' solo that he always played, like everyone else did, so he improvised. He was usually bad at improvising at fast tempos, but this time he was pretty good. Rainbow Dash didn't comment on Tyler's solo or Tyler at all, she just kept watching the video.
"Now this next part pay close attention to; this is Alex's solo, one of my favorite parts of Lampshade." I said excitedly as I hit the splash cymbal the second time. Then Alex played his solo perfectly for the first time again. I remember that day…I remember not knowing what he was playing other than it sounded awesome.
As he played through his solo in less than fifteen seconds, I remembered all of the good and the bad times we shared during practices: all those times he and Ben would goof off and want to do 'take a break,' all those times they left junk and crap on the floor that I had to clean up, and all those times that we planned to make a cover of a song but never really did. There are upsides to the band, but I won't burden you with them.
When Alex finished his solo, there was another small interval between solos, then it was my solo. I played my solo, fills and all, and then the video ended. I asked Rainbow Dash what she had thought of the video to which she replied,
"I thought it was awesome! That keyboard player—Alex, was it?—really has some skill! You were really great on your solo, too! The way you went around the whole drum set like that! Ba da ba da ba da crash! That was so fast haha!"
Blushing a bit, I said "Heh, thanks. I've gotten much better on the drums—especially on the tom fills and double bass—and I wish I could show you but—" Just then the doorbell rang. "Why in the hell would you have a door bell on a sky house?"
"In case someone was at the door. Duh." Rainbow Dash said candidly, then went to the door to answer it. Surprising enough, it was Derpy with a letter for me. "Wow, Dalton you've grown pretty popular already! Oh wait never mind it's from Twilight. She wants us to meet her at the park as soon as possible. Wonder why?"
"I don't know. I just hope it just doesn't involve any 'official business' shit or something like that… I don't want to die twice in two weeks."
"Hahaha me neither!" Rainbow Dash said as she grabbed me a cloud to ride on down to the waiting ground.
If you're wondering what 'Schlumpy' refers to, it's just a band joke that refers to a video that I made a while ago with Ben. I randomly interrupted him while he was talking and said "You dirty schlump!" Anyway, if you guys want 3,000 word+ chapters, then expect at least two weeks until I upload it, unless I have an extended weeekend. I can do a 2,000 word+ chapter pretty easily in about two days, but 3-4000? Nope. (NOTE: I don't like writing 2,000 word chapters b/c they're too short, so don't expect to see them :P)