Author's Note: This chapter is about Hugo's POV so we'll see a glimpse of what his past used to look like before he and his family went broke and how he managed to survive on his own before he and Sweetie Belle are reunited once again and new characters from the show will also be added so we hope that you guys enjoy this story as much as we've worked on it!
We're almost close to the end! Two more chapters to go and then we'll finally end it at the epilogue. I can't believe that quarantine had given me and A Derpy King Boo to write this story and become closer than ever.
Ascending Across Time
Chapter Thirteen
Hugo groaned sharply, struggling to keep his eyes open as he weakly stood up while rubbing his head in the process to figure out what happened. He looked around and noticed that the group of ponies watching had dispersed, soon remembering that he and Daniel were both in a duel and, judging by his current position, he lost to him. The young stallion inhaled sharply, trying to process the fact that he'd lost and Daniel won while also trying to process Sweetie Belle living a life of misery and pain. He didn't want this to happen to her; he loved her.
He felt guilty that he didn't attack him head-on, but Daniel's magic was too strong for him to handle. He sighed in defeat, looking back at Ponyville, biting his lip in the process. Although he'd been here for a week, Hugo had gotten attached to it. It was like his second home and he felt like he belonged.
Growing up, while living in Canada with his parents, people had forgotten that he'd existed whenever his presence was known to others. Coming from a family of wealth at one point, Hugo's parents were rich and could support themselves well. That all changed when they lost all their money following an incident involving a former friend of Hugo's father who had swindled them out of their money, leaving them with a florist shop to get by.
He was glad that his parents had taught him everything they knew, just in case anything happened to them, and that's where his love of gardening came from. Once he was out of Ponyville for good, Hugo knew that he couldn't show his face in town anymore. He felt so dejected that he didn't even get a chance to say goodbye to Sweetie Belle, his one true love and the pony who'd entered his life.
Living in an exiled life would be rather hard for him since he wasn't familiar with the native lands that Equestria had to offer. Wherever he may end up, he doubts that Sweetie Belle will ever find him. How could he be so foolish? Engaging in a duel with Daniel Berkshire has already made him suffer the consequences.
Why didn't he and Sweetie Belle had the chance to run away sooner and live the life that they both wanted? Without having to deal with a jealous fiancè and a sister who wouldn't give him a chance?
Tears threatened to spill from his eyes, though he managed to hold them back, promising himself to remain strong for not only his parents but for Sweetie Belle. Since he didn't see her at the duel, he assumed that she was kept at home to save the embarrassment from Rarity, because she didn't like him to begin with and wanted Daniel to win so he and Sweetie Belle could get married and become wealthier in the alternate world.
He hated Daniel with a burning passion, and if he'd face him now, Hugo knew that Daniel would still win, thanks to his magical advantage. After minutes of walking, he finally made it to a train station and sighed, walking onto the platform. There were many different types of ponies, some were earth ponies, unicorns, and pegasi, all waiting for a train to arrive.
Walking towards the ticket booth, Hugo noticed a peach-colored colt with a light orange mane and blue eyes. He noticed the pony wearing a worker's uniform as he approached the ticket booth.
The pony noticed Hugo and smiled at him, "What can I get for ya, sir?"
The pony seemed very polite, asking Hugo his question very nice and sweet, unaware that this pony had been exiled and was actually a human. Hugo bit his lip nervously, not knowing what to say until he earned a curious look from the worker pony.
"It doesn't look like you're around here," the pony noticed, "where are you from?"
Hugo sighed, knowing that it was wrong to lie to someone he didn't know, but it seemed that he wouldn't believe him anyway. Taking a deep breath, Hugo responded with the same background story that Sweetie Belle had given to Mayor Mare.
"I come from a very small area located outside of Saddle Arabia," Hugo stated, "not safe there. Though, I take a vacation from Ponyville to…" He trailed off towards the end, not familiar with the towns and cities here in Equestria, "You have map, no?"
The pony eyed him with a raised eyebrow, uncertain if the accent Hugo had matched the area he claimed he was from, though he did have to admit that it was something that he'd never heard of.
"Yes," the pony finally answered, "I'll go get a map for you, sir." He looked down underneath the desk and pulled out a map, handing it over to Hugo, "Feel free to look through it. You can keep it if you want."
Hugo nodded, stepping away from the worker pony and opening up the map, scanning through the different villages and places that Equestria had to offer. "Manehattan, Las Pegasus, Baltimare, Chicacolt, Marewaukee…" He paused briefly when his eyes glanced up and spotted someone in the sky, squinting his eyes for a bit until he noticed they were coming closer and realized it was a mail career.
He watched as the female pegasus walked closer to him, and upon noticing her, he noticed that she was a grey Pegasus with a yellow mane that was suffering from esotropia strabismus.
Pulling out a small letter and sack, she looked to Hugo and at him, "Are you Hugo Beaufort?"
Hugo nodded in response, "Oui."
The mail-carrier beamed delightfully and gave Hugo the items, "Sweetie Belle gave me this to give to you. She said it could help you out."
Hugo nodded again and grabbed the letter and sack and peered inside it, noticing that it was filled with bits. He wished that he had a bag to put the items he was carrying in, looking back up towards the mail pony.
"Thank...you," he said in his broken English, watching as the Pegasus nodded and took off, mail scattering everywhere. He sighed for a moment as he held the letter close to him, forgetting that he had to pack.
"Excuse me, good sir," a voice said, "I can see that you are in need of some help."
Hugo shot his sights up and met the pony who was talking, noticing that they were talking to him.
"What is the trouble?" The male unicorn continued.
He had a white coat, blue mane and tail, and a matching colored mustache along with three crowns for a cutie mark. He wore a black tuxedo with a single eyeglass attached to it. Hugo noticed a mare that was standing rather close to the male unicorn. The unicorn mare had a pink and white mane and tail, light purple eyes, and a cutie mark of three fleurs-de-lis.
"Oh...non," Hugo responded carefully, "Not sure where to go, is all." He could tell by the way the two ponies looked that they were important, and he hadn't been around a lot of wealthy people in such a long time. He found it strange but thought that these two could help him out if they wanted to. The stallion looked at the mare sympathetically, his eyes going back to the young colt. He pondered in thought.
"I say, sir," the male unicorn replied, smiling gently at Hugo, "if you don't have anywhere to go, you can always stay here with us? We're on our way back to Canterlot." He motioned to the mare before glancing back towards Hugo.
"Canterlot?" Hugo repeated, pondering over the name of the unfamiliar city, thinking that he might have to start fresh again in a new town, "alright...I pay my ticket first. Merci!" Walking back towards the ticket booth, he once again called out to the peach-colored colt.
"One ticket to Canterlot?" He asked, printing the ticket and offering it to Hugo, "That'll be six bits."
Using the money that Sweetie Belle had given him, he offered the pony his total and once he was finished with paying, Hugo walked back to the stallion and mare, who both waited for the train alongside them.
"You're not from here, are you?" The mare asked, looking at the young stallion with growing intrigue, "Your accent is quite interesting. Are you from Prance?"
Jumping on the similarity in the name, Hugo nodded, "Well, my parents originally from Prance, had me, and moved to small-town located outside of Saddle Arabia."
"You don't have any family waiting for you back home?" The mare pressed, wanting to know more of this strange stallion. She found him to be a rather mysterious fellow, only giving out small answers than others would.
Hugo shook his head slowly, "No, they pass from old age. Don't have an extended family."
The stallion and mare looked at one another with concern, glancing back to his direction with added concern.
"That's awful," admitted the stallion, "I'm sure that your family would've been proud of you if they were here right now." The stallion chuckled nervously, realizing that he'd forgotten to introduce himself, "Oh, where are my manners? My name is Fancy Pants and this is Fleur de Lis, my marefriend."
"Nice meeting you both," Hugo replied, "I am…" He paused for a moment, not sure whether or not to use his real name since he didn't know what they would think of him. Taking a deep breath, he recalled reading a book about flowers and some caught his interest, "...I am Valerian. My parents were gardeners."
"Gardners? I do say, young sir, that's a wonderful profession," Fancy Pants commented with a smile, until they all heard the loud whistle of a train, prompting them to look ahead, "do you need help with carrying everything?"
Hugo nodded sheepishly, allowing Fancy Pants to levitate his items and step inside the train. After they paid their tickets, Hugo sat with his new friends, keeping the letter that Sweetie Belle had given to him close to his heart, along with the bits. He'd wondered how she was able to give him the letter since he's imagining that Daniel is probably keeping an eye on her. He swallowed, shuddering slightly as he didn't want to imagine what the beast was doing to her.
"What's on your mind, Valerian? You seem distracted by something," Fancy Pants noticed, looking at the young colt curiously, "I understand that you don't want to talk about it."
"Actually...I lost mare I love to duel with an enemy from Manehatten," Hugo responded, looking down sadly as he began to tell them what happened. After the story, Fancy Pants frowned, feeling sorry for him as he didn't want to imagine what that'll be like. He'd said that it was overwhelming and put a lot of pressure on him, but he did it because of love and to defend her. "I will defeat him again in future, but now, I want to take a break."
"I see...don't think about it too much. You'll be obsessed with it," he advised, to which Hugo only nodded and bit his lip, narrowing his eyes slightly, glancing outside.
~That Evening~
Using his magic, Fancy Pants opened the door to his mansion and they all stepped inside, everything taking Hugo by surprise. Sure he had lived in his old mansion years before, but this one is very different and impressive. A crystal chandelier hangs from the ceiling, Hugo's eyes widening in amazement.
"C'est impressionnant," Hugo said, walking further inside, and grew surprised when Fleur de Lis spoke French to him and was glad that she understood him perfectly. He sighed in relief, realizing that Prench and French are the same.
"Oui...je suis content que vous l'aimez, monsieur," she said with a smile, earning a huge grin from the young colt.
"I'll show you your room, Valerian," Fancy Pants said, excusing himself and Hugo while Fleur de Lis went to a different area of the mansion, "Dinner will be served shortly. How long are you going to stay here?"
At some point during the train ride, Hugo thought about where he should go, and he decided to settle with Chicacolt, "I stay for a few days, then take a train to Chicacolt. I hope my marefriend will know where I am," Hugo said, looking down briefly, as they walked further to his new room.
"Are you planning on writing a letter to her before you leave?" Fancy Pants asked, stopping at a closed door. Using his magic once again, the door opened and they both stepped inside. He noticed that Hugo was impressed with the room, "How do you like it?" He watched as the stallion placed his items on the bed and told him that he'll provide him with bags when he leaves.
"It is very nice," Hugo answered, "I join you and Mademoiselle Fleur shortly. I need to collect my thoughts." He shifted his eyes towards the letter.
"Take your time, young sir," Fancy Pants advised, walking out of the room, closing the door behind him.
Once he was gone, Hugo swallowed thickly, looking down at the letter. It was beautiful indeed, and he began hesitantly picking it up and started to read it. He could tell that her writing was very lovely, and as soon as the letter opened, his heart wrenched with sadness and grief, reading the letter quietly to himself.
"Dear Hugo, my beloved soldier,
I'm writing to you in regards to our forced separation. Daniel had told everypony on how he won, using his magic against you. What's worse is that Rarity is still supporting him no matter what. This is my first response to you because I'm so sorry that I didn't respond to you before. Rarity had found out about your letters to me when we were living in the alternate world that she kept them from me and when we came back, I confronted her about it. She denied it at first, claiming that she just simply found them and planned on giving them to me until I demanded her the truth. She confessed, telling me that she hid them because I'm not supposed to be seen by a gentleman like you. You're probably using us for money, as well as my love, she claims. But, I'm writing to you not because I love you, I want to keep you safe from Daniel. He's out for a while, so he doesn't know that I'm writing this to you. I'm not saying that we should break up; I'm doing this for your own safety. I love you so much that I wish that I didn't have to write this to you, but I must. I hope that one day we will reunite.
From your songstress, Sweetie Belle."
After reading the letter, a quiet determination appeared on his face, knowing that he had the chance to see Sweetie Belle again and getting married to her in the near future.
He vowed that no one couldn't come between them, no matter how hard they try to separate him and Sweetie Belle. She was far too precious of him to get rid of.
"Do not worry, Mademoiselle Belle. I promise you we shall reunite," he said, his eyes glancing out of the window, and watching the sunset over the horizon.
Translation:
C'est impressionnant - It's impressive
Oui...je suis content que vous l'aimez monsieur - Yes...I'm glad you like it, sir