My Little Pony: Origins.
Chapter Twenty Five.
Statues.
February 18th 2015, Ponyville, Equestria. 12:45 pm.
"And that's everything that happened right up until I sat on that bridge." David said as Starlight wiped away the last of the dried blood from his cheek.
"That's... Alot to take in." Starlight replied, throwing the wipe into a neary trash can.
"Yeah... It's been a crazy few days to say the least." He replied, looking down at his hands as Starlight stuck a bandaid on where the dried blood had been.
"So... You and the Empress aye?" Starlight nudged David in the shoulder and winked.
"Yeah yeah..." David replied, pushing Starlight's leg away, "So... You work at one of these... I'll be honest, I thought they all closed down decades ago." He responded, rubbing the spot where the bandaid had been placed.
"It's the last one anywhere apparently." The mare answered, placing the medical kit back onto the shelf.
"You know, I've been sitting here for the past hour or so telling you my life story, but what about you?" David responded, rubbing his imaginary facial hair.
"Not much to tell really." Starlight shrugged, "Grew up in a small snowy town, got married, had some kids, kids flew the nest, took this job because the house felt empty." Starlight continued, cleaning her hooves in a sink, "Anyway, you must be hungry. I make a killer pizza." She smiled at David as her hooves were dried in a towel.
"Thanks for the offer but I better be going, or Dusty is gonna think I bailed on her." David replied, looking at the clock that hung above the doorway.
"Oh, I understand. Allow me to show you out." Starlight smiled as she opened the door. The pair walked back towards the locked front door, David felt a chill travel down his spine as he walked past a small stage, briefly, he turned his eyes towards the stage before quickly looking forward again as a second chill ran down his spine.
The door unlocked with a dull clunk, Starlight pulled on the handle, letting the large door swing open. Starlight stood on the doorstep as David turned around to look at her.
"Thanks for helping me." David weakly smiled, "See you around maybe?" He added before waving.
"I'll hold you to that." Starlight smiled as she closed the door. After locking the door, she looked up at the stage, "As you were!"
"Shining, please tell me I misheard that?!" Twilight shouted in a hushed tone.
"You heard me." Shining said smugly, "I roughed him up a little." He added, taking a drink from a mug of ale, "That'll teach him to mess with my marriage." Placing the mug down, Shining smiled, savoring the taste.
"No, no, no, this is bad, really bad." Twilight began to hyperventilate, "Do you know how much this could affect Earth and Equestria relations?" She began to blow into a paper bag, "Think about it, a Royal Prince attacking an ordinary human? How would that look on the royal family?" She added between hush breaths.
"As if anyone on Earth would believe him, have you seen how he dresses, they'd just think of him as a pill popping homeless person and send him to the nearest mental ward." Shining took another sip, "Trust me, this'll all blow over."
"Well here we are." Cadence smiled as she unhitched herself from Shooting Star's trailer.
"So, this is the Castle of Friendship?" Shooting Star gazed up at the large crystal structure as she put bricks under the wheels, "To be honest, I expected it to be smaller." She continued, wiping her hooves on her coat.
"Wait until you see my palace." Cadence smirked, "Come on, I'll introduce you to everyone." Cadence trotted up the steps, Shooting Star following close behind. Cadence opened the door and heard Twilight and Shining talking.
"No Shining, this will not blow over, i've got to report this to Celestia!" Twilight shouted, "Do you know what this could mean for Equestria?" She added, rubbing her forehead.
"Um, what's going on here?" Cadence asked, Shining and Twilight both looked at her.
"He can tell you, I'm going out." Twilight furiously made her way to the front door.
"Where are you going?!" Shining shouted.
"To clean up your mess!" Twilight rebutted, slamming the door behind her.
As David went to walk away, he felt the need to look back at the now locked door. He slowly turned around just as Starlight's tail disappeared into the inky darkness of the entrance. Turning on his heel, he made his way towards the town centre. Soon enough, he found himself in a large park. He placed his hands into his pockets as he sat down on a bench overlooking a fountain, birds gently chirped in the trees as he leaned back, looking up towards the winter sky. Letting out a sigh, David looked back down at the fountain, noting the statues placed around the park. Most of the statues were pretty mundane but clearly well kept, one statue however, stood out the most. Despite it being at the far end of the park, he could tell it was larger than the others and was overgrown with vines and other vegetation. Lifting himself off the bench, he made a b-line straight for the large statue. The ice on the ground crunching under his large boots.
David came to a stop a few feet from the statue, he looked it up and down. The first thing he noticed was that instead of having a single pony or other creature, it had three. One being what appeared to be a child, no, a filly clearly distressed, the other was a centaur looking like it was cowering in fear. The last creature being some kind of pony-insect hybrid, perhaps no bigger than Celestia lunging out towards them with a look of attack on its face. He knelt down to get a closer look at the overgrown plaque affixed to the base the statue was mounted on.
"Tirek, Chrysalis, Cozy Glow." A voice behind him spoke out, startled, he turned around to see Twilight standing behind him, sorrow in her eyes, "They were once living creatures, turned to stone as a last resort." She continued.
"What did they do to get this as a punishment?" He replied, looking back at the statue.
"They were able to divide us ponies by spreading fear and mistrust between the earth ponies, pegasus and unicorns Allowing them to take over Equestria with the aid of Grogar's bewitching bell." She placed her hoof on the base of the statue, wiping away dirt from the plaque.
"Bewitching Bell?" David looked down at her as she stood back upright, "Who's Grogar?" He asked some more
"Grogar was the ancient ruler of Equestria, long before the three pony tribes first united. He was known in legend as the 'Father of Monsters'. The bell was the source of his power, he would use it to drain the magic from creatures, and add it to his own magic, making him stronger. It is believed that if he were to have taken the magic of every creature on this planet, he'd have been able to take over the universe." Twilight solemnly explained.
"So, where ever happened to Grogar?" David asked, placing a hand on the statue, feeling the cold rock.
"Honestly, I don't know. It's possible that without his magic, he simply faded from this reality." Twilight looked up at David.
"So, how exactly did they managed to take over with Grogar's bell, surely it would only work with him right?" David pondered.
"To be quite honest, I'm not sure. But a friend of mine, Discord, said that they had managed to figure out the spell, they gave themselves what was left of Grogar's magic, before stealing Discord's. They made their way to Canterlot, stealing the magic from the Pillars of Equestria on the way. They then attacked Canterlot castle, blasting the castle to ruin. I barely escaped while Discord, the Princess and my friends stayed behind to hold them off. But they were overwhelmed just as i left.."
"How were they overwhelmed, after the Princess, like gods or something?" David responded, looking down at Twilight.
"They stripped the Princess of their magic, just like Discord as soon as they attacked. I would have been next, had it not been for Rarity using the rubble of the throne room as a shield. Honestly, i wish it had been me." Twilight continued as the pair walked over to a nearby bench. "Discord and the Princesses later caused a distraction, allowing my friends to escape and later find me in the Crystal Empire." Twilight soon explained the final confrontation between her and her friends and the three villains, and how six of her students helped reunite the races of Equestria against the threat, and how the Princesses and Discord turned them to stone.
"So, are they doomed to remain in this state for the rest of time?" David responded, looking perplexed, both hands on his legs.
"I hope to one day free them from this statue, even if only one of them accepts the hoof of friendship." She looked down, a lone tear escaping her eye. "Look, Mr Wyne, I'm sorry for what my brother did to you. It was most uncalled for." She looked up at the human. David leaned over, wiping away the tear from her cheek.
"It's water under the bridge." He smiled, "To be completely honest, I deserved it." He added, causing Twilight to let out a small chuckle.
"Come on then." Twilight smiled, getting off the bench. "Let's go back to my castle and smooth things over with Shining."
"So, what was all that about?" Cadence asked Shining, awkwardly smiling as he poured another bottle of ale into his mug.
"Nothing for you to worry about babe." Shining respond, taking a drink from the mug as he walked past Cadence, "Cadence." He added, then walked past the second mare, "Cadence." He again said, he walked forward before stopping, nearly choking on his drink, "Wait..." He turned around, rubbing his eyes in the process, "Wow, this ale is strong stuff, because I'm seeing double." He walked forward, intending to kiss Cadence.
"Stay away from me you drunk blaggard." The second Cadence shouted in annoyance.
"Come on babe, don't act like that, now give me a big kiss." He responded, moving closer.
"I said back off!" Second Cadence roared, before punching Shining square in the face.
"Shooting Star!" Cadence shouted, kneeling down to check Shining's pulse, "Was that really necessary?" She added as Shining yet out dazed moans, "Lucky for you, he isn't knocked out, just dazed."
"Cadence! You're back!" Spike shouted happily before looking down at Shining Armour as he stumbled back onto his hooves, rubbing his jaw in the process. "Whoa, I didn't know you had an identical twin, Cadence." The tall drake added, shaking the other mare's hoof.
"About that Spike, she isn't my twin, nor my sister. She's Shooting Star, my daughter." Cadence smiled, wrapping a wing around Shooting Star's side.
"What!" Shining and Spike said in unison, "How is that possible? You told us all she was dead." Shining asked, rubbing his sore head.
"It's quite a long story, if i'm completely honest, i'll explain all in good time, now. Do you know where David is?"
"Yeah..." Shining rubbed the back of his head, "About that."
"So, you're telling me that Discord thought Fluttershy wanted a normal afternoon tea and nearly caused himself to fade from existence?" David asked Twilight in bemusement as they walked up the steps to her castle.
"Mhmm." Twilight replied as she opened the door to the castle, "We're back!" She shouted before pausing, "Why are there two Cadences?" She asked, David fell to his knees in shock as both Cadences ran over to him.
"David, this is Shooting Star, our daughter. Don't ask me how, but I found her." Cadence smiled, tear forming at the edges of her eyes, "I found our baby all grown up."
"No way!" Twilight's jaw dropped, she quickly shook Shooting Star's hoof before asking her a bunch of questions, "Are you a time traveller or are you from an alternative universe?
"I don't believe so? On both counts." Shooting Star raised her hoof nervously, "Could we, ya know, get some privacy please?" Shooting added, Twilight quickly nodded, shooing away Spike and Shining Armour.
Shooting Star turned back to face both her parents and smiled. She quickly trotted over and sat in front of her father, tears in her eyes.
"Is-Is it really you?" David stuttered, trying his best not to cry.
"Yes dad, it's really me." Her voice cracked. David placed a hand on her chin and smiled before embracing her, "Oh dad!" She cried, tears flowing freely by this point. David pulled Cadence into the embrace, all three now freely crying.
To Be Continued.