The stage was set and the combatants were ready. It was truly going to be a fight of the century. Both sides had a lot at stake, but Daze's side had more to lose. Chrysalis would lose her safety, Trixie would lose her ally, and Daze…might lose his life. He knew that this was a serious fight and both sides had (seemingly) just causes. This was a battle of power and wills. The matchup was Rarity and Twilight against Trixie and Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie and Applejack against Black Daze.
The three mares fighting Black Daze charged first. However, Daze did not charge back. He knew he had to fight this out by thinking and out smarting them. Applejack and Rainbow Dash were enraged, so they would be easy to exploit and take down. Pinkie Pie on the other hand…He'd just avoid her for now if at all possible.
Meanwhile, Trixie took her magician's hat off to reveal her horn. It began to glow a bright blue as a beam of magic shot out towards Twilight. Twilight countered with her own beam of magic and the two beams collided with a thunderous noise. The beams met at the middle, not moving from either side…Trixie had gotten stronger, much stronger. She wanted a day where she could take down that mare named Twilight and now was her chance. Twilight wasn't liking how hard it was for her to overcome Trixie this time. Was she really just as great and powerful as she boasted?
Rainbow Dash struck first, with a right hoof. It was easy to dodge for Black Daze and He countered by side-stepping, taking hold of her arm, pulling her close and bashing their heads together. Daze, being the bigger and stronger one in this case, was nearly unscathed. Rainbow Dash on the other hand got a splitting headache and her eyes rolled around for a bit before she shook it off and prepared another attack. Just then, two strong legs hit him in the back and Daze threw Rainbow Dash to the side before falling over. It was Applejack! She snuck around behind when Daze was up close and personal with Rainbow Dash! That sneaky little…She had quite the leg muscles too, as that really hurt Daze. He'd have to mind her in the future. For now, Daze got up and immediately dodged some of Pinkie Pie's spinning punches and upside-down kicks. Geez, how agile was this pony? It's like she's spring-loaded!
Daze had to think of more ways to fight these mares if he was to win. At least Trixie was handling the magic users. He really didn't want to deal with magic right now.
Speaking of Trixie, she was locked in magic combat with Twilight Sparkle. The magic beams weren't favoring either side, a bad sign for Twilight. Somehow, after all those years of being Celestia's most faithful student, she didn't quite surpass Trixie. At least Trixie wasn't surpassing her, either. Trixie was disappointed in herself as well, why wasn't she able to surpass Twilight! It made no sense after all her preparation. She concentrated her very hardest and finally got her magic to begin slowly move to the right towards Twilight. This was PREPOSTEROUS to Twilight. Her rival from long ago was actually beating her! What was she to do?
Black Daze was getting highly annoyed with these ponies. They were hitting him left and right and although he occasionally got a good hit in, such as kicking Applejack down when she tried leaping on him, but generally, he was not faring well. He underestimated these ponies…again.
"CONFOUND THESE PONIES!" He growled.
Daze took a left hoof from Applejack, then a back-hoof from Rainbow Dash. They were ganging up on him and Pinkie went over to Rarity for some odd reason. Applejack and Rainbow Dash were hitting him left and right. He could feel himself getting closer and closer to passing out. This was humiliating. He was going to end this now. In order to beat them, he had to becomethe monster they feared.
And so, with that, his pupils shrunk to menacingly thin slits. His teeth became longer and more pointy, as they always did when he was particularly enraged. His tounge hung out of his mouth, and smoke started streaming slowly from his nostrils.
"I've had it with you two…" Daze hissed in a considerably more threatening voice.
And with that he sprang up and held Applejack in one hand and Rainbow Dash in the other. He let out a thunderous roar which was louder than the one used on Applejack earlier by a great deal. This scared Twilight and Trixie out of their magic fight, Pinkie Pie and Rarity out of their conversation, and the four youngsters in a nearby bush out of their wits.
"Rainbow Dash! Nooo!" Scootaloo said, on the verge of tears. Was her hero at her last stand?
"Oh no…" Applebloom whispered, watching as her sister was dangling helplessly in Black Daze's grasp. She was afraid of what Daze might do to her sister. And even though daze was completely infuriated, he most assuredly would NOT kill Applejack. It was against the compassionate voice in his head.
Rarity noticed this change and said to Pinkie, "Uhmm….Pinkie Pie, are you SURE this was a good Idea?"
Pinkie Pie replied with a smile. "Aw, come one Rarity, he can't be THAT bad!" She said casually.
"NOW KISS!" He said with sadistic rage as he bashed their heads together. Applejack and Rainbow's heads hit each other with a *CONK* sound before they were tossed to the floor. Everypony was speechless, especially Trixie. She didn't know what to think after what just happened. Daze could really get angry! She'd never seen anypony display that amount of fury. Daze was so infuriated that his eyes changed, he got stronger, and he had two ponies on their backs within 6 seconds. She felt a surge of confidence with her newfound ally. If he could do that, then surely they'd win, right?
"It appears that your 'friends' are helpless against the raw might of Black Daze, Twilight." She said with a spiteful smirk.
"GIRLS! Are you ok?" Twilight said as she galloped over to her fallen friends. She only got grunts and groans as responses.
Applejack got up first, dusted herself off, and said in a confident tone. "We're fine, at least I am. I'm gonna rope this monster in." She said before galloping over to her saddle pack. Rainbow Dash got up next, her eyes spinning from the impact still. She shook it off and spoke.
"Ohhhh this monster is gonna get it now! No more miss nice mare!" Rainbow Dash threatened. Black Daze was having none of their attitude, however.
"BRING IT ONNN!" He roared, with blue fire shooting from his mouth at "onnn."
"It looks like the fight is not over yet, Trixie." Twilight Sparkle said to the magician.
"Very well then, finish what we started?" Trixie said with another smirk.
Twilight, not wanting to risk losing to Trixie in another magic beam fight, responded by casting a temporary paralyzation spell on Trixie. Trixie, not expecting it, was hit and fell to the floor.
"Ooooh you dirty rotten CHEATER! When I get out of here you are going to GET IT!" She yelled before her mouth froze as well. The spell Twilight cast lasts 3 minutes, so Twilight had 3 minutes to gain the upper hand in the fight. She planned to make every second count.
"NOW EVERYPONY, TAKE DOWN THE MONSTER!" She shouted.
"IT'S BLACK DAZE, WOMAN!" Black Daze yelled back.
Rarity stepped in first, firing a magic bolt at him. Daze side-stepped and deliberately shot a white hot fireball next to her. It didn't hurt her, but she could feel the intense heat waves and knew that he was not to be trifled with by magic.
"IF YOU DARE USE ANY OF THAT STUPID MAGIC ON ME, I'LL ROAST YOU ALIVE!" Daze furiously shouted. He hated magic. He HATEDit. It gave him trouble his whole life. His elementary school bully would use magic to trip him or spill his lunches. In the Everfree forest, Unicorn campers would use magic on him. Mostly they were paralyzation spells. And magic looked so….girly. Anyway, he just hated it.
The next to step in was the duo of Twilight and Pinkie Pie. Twilight whispered something into Pinkie Pie's ear….then something happened to Pinkie…
…something that made Daze's blood run cold…(despite being part dragon, he was still warm-blooded)
Her pupils shrunk greatly and turned in opposite directions, her poofy pink mane deflated to be completely straight. She got the most sadistic smile he had ever seen in his life. Suddenly she struck a strange fighting pose that was not nearly as crazy as that pony looked just then. Twilight lunged forward and attempted to buck him. Daze grabbed her by the left hind leg and threw her overhead to a tree off the side of the dirt road. Then Pinkie Pie kicked Daze in the jaw. Hard. What on earth did Twilight tell her? He didn't have time to think as Pinkie landed another hoof on the top of his head. This was serious! He had to fight. Now.
Black Daze stared into the eyes of his opponent. Those cold, sadistic, unmoving eyes. She shot a right hoof to his forehead, but Daze blocked. He immediately dodged another hit, then another, then another. This pony was harder than all the other ones combined.
"Why are you so dang CREEPY!" Daze asked, blocking a kick.
Pinkie Pie said nothing.
"Why are you fighting me?" He questioned again.
Again, no response.
"What did Twilight tell you!" He shouted out of desperation, he failed to block a kick and it hit his gut with tremendous force. Daze flew back and hit the same tree he threw Twilight at, crashing into Twilight in the process.
"Mmmph! MMMMMPH!" Twilight said, muffled by Daze's large body.
Daze got up, no he's not THAT cruel as to try and crush a pony to death. Then Twilight said something that surprised him.
"Thanks for…not killing me when it would've been so easy... Why didn't you?" She asked.
"As wronged as I have been, I cannot kill." Daze said calmly.
"Wronged? You mean you have morals? And we're hunting you because you're a danger to Ponyville!" Twilight responded.
"Danger to Ponyville! Woman, I've lived out here for eight long years and have NO intention of attacking whatsoever. I even used to live there."
"Wait…usedto live there? What happened then?" Twilight asked, her curiosity was piqued.
Before Daze could answer, a bolt of magic hit Twilight, causing her to fall down and freeze completely.
"That's for about 3 minutes ago, neighsayer." Trixie said coldly. She got her revenge, and now, she had no interest in the fight anymore.
"WHAT DID YOU DO TO HER!" Daze shouted, thinking that she killed Twilight just as she started to listen.
"TWILIGHT! …Wait…why does he care if Twilight's down?" Spike questioned.
"Perhaps we had him all wrong…" Sweetie Belle followed up with.
"After doing that to Rainbow Dash? No way we have him wrong! He's a monster!" Scootaloo responded.
"I'm…not sure what to think at this point…" Applebloom said sadly.
"Well then let's just see how this plays out." Spike said. All four of them continued to watch. Trixie then responded to Daze's question.
"Oh just a little paralyzation spell is all, she'll be back on her feet in a few minutes so don't worry. You have bigger problems though…" Trixie said pointing to the three angry mares facing him...well, at least Pinkie Pie seemedto be angry. It was hard to tell with those cold…creepy eyes… Rarity was in the fetal position in a corner, not daring to get up and fight.
"Aren't you going to help me?" Daze questioned. "That Pink one is quite a handful."
"I have no real quarrels over the others, so no. I'm sure your power will be more than sufficient to win this." Trixie responded.
"Fine then…" Black Daze responded. He went up to the three mares preparing to attack.
"Hey! Can we like…not fight? I'm pretty sick of this." Daze said, attempting to reason.
"Ya teamed up with Trixie, bashed our heads together, and almost hit Rainbow Dash and Rarity with a fireball and ya expect us to just DROP IT!" Applejack responded. Rainbow Dash nodded. Pinkie Pie didn't say anything. Again.
Daze thought for a minute, "Well…when you put it that way…Yeah. I'm sorry that I become sort of a sour-puss when ponies attack me." Daze responded sarcastically.
"And so we're sorry that we defend our friends when they're attacked back!" Rainbow Dash retorted.
"Fine, attack me. See if I care. It's not my fault if you need to be hospitalized afterwards." Daze shot back and stood there stoically. Waiting to see what they'd do.
The three ponies didn't move for a second. He really didn't want to fight them, and was willing to end all the violence then and there. Perhaps he wasn't as bad as they thought…Applejack considered walking away until Rainbow Dash called out to Black Daze.
"I'm sorry…but we can't just leave this alone. I'm going to end this. Now. And Applejack and Pinkie Pie are going to help me. You are going down." She said calmly, seemingly holding back tears. "It's our job as the Elements of Harmony to protect Ponyville from monsters like you!" And with that she flew at Daze readying a punch. Applejack followed up with her lasso and Pinkie walked towards Daze at a slow pace.
Daze just stood there. He didn't have the drive to fight back. He was just going to take the hits and let his primordial rage take over when he had taken enough. Rainbow Dash hit his chin with a solid punch first, Daze didn't move a muscle. It really didn't hurt him much and he still didn't want to fight back. Next, Applejack gave a strong buck to his front legs, and that made Daze keel over. He still didn't want to fight back, however. It wasn't going to be long though, he felt the rage building inside of him. Rainbow Dash and Applejack simultaneously struck him in the jaw, and then ganged up on him, trampling him while he was down. Then Pinkie Pie showed up and pulled two knifes seemingly out of nowhere; then attempted to slice off his hands. However, since he was armored with scales on his arms, they landed with a *clink* and broke. Daze was almost ready to fight back now, he could feel his rage building up even more and more. The three mares continued to beat him down until he started to bleed.
"Wha…What are they doing? They are going to KILL him if they go on like this…" Spike lamented.
"I think he's ok, I mean, he didn't wanna fight anyway…" Sweetie Belle followed up with.
"Why don't they just stop! He's down already!" Applebloom said, tears rolling down her cheeks.
"I say serves him right." Scootaloo said, earning her a slap from Sweetie Belle. "OW! Okay okay you're right he doesn't deserve this." Scootaloo corrected herself.
Black Daze had finally reached his limit, he closed his eyes and let his rage take over from there. The three mare's beat down was interrupted when his fist shot up and knocked them all back. They saw the change in his eyes again, they had menacing smaller slits and again, smoke billowed from his nostrils. His ears were folded back and his teeth were considerably more threatening now that they had grown a little bit larger. He threw his head back and roared again, Scaring everypony except Pinkie Pie, who only stood there. There was no change in her expression.
Daze charged forward and unleashed an amazing combo of martial arts on Applejack. Over the years, he had developed his own form of martial arts which used one's own body weight and momentum to strike with incredible speed and force. It started off somewhat slow, but after a few seconds, the hits became faster and harder to block. Applejack simply didn't stand a chance as she was knocked to the ground with a black eye and many bruises. Then, he flew up into the air where he met Rainbow Dash. She attempted to give him a good kick to the jaw, but it was foiled as Daze grabbed her leg and used it to throw her back to the ground. Then he flew down in pursuit, grabbed her and threw her against another tree.
Trixie was spectating the entire fight, enjoying Black Daze winning after such a seemingly hopeless situation. She loved the fact that Daze was a capable fighter. It sort of…turned her on in a weird sort of sense and found herself somewhat attracted to Daze. It was a weak crush, but a crush nonetheless. She liked the strong bad boys she figured.
Meanwhile, Daze gave Rainbow Dash a scratch on her back from is claws. It started to bleed, which then Daze somewhat regained control of himself. Look what he had done, He took down Applejack and Rainbow Dash to the point where they were beaten and helpless on the ground! He couldn't do it anymore, although he knew he had to do it, he was positively disguisted with himself. He had nearly killed two of his attackers…
…But wait…Where was Pinkie…?
Black Daze looked around, Pinkie Pie was nowhere to be found. He began to get rather worried, with a mare as unstable and deranged as she was at that moment, She could be anywhere… He began to call out for her.
"Pinkie…come out, come out wherever you a-"
*SLICE*
"HNNNGH!" Was all Daze managed to get out before he looked down and saw a knife plunged through his stomach. He gasped and fell over, then saw her face. Pinkie Pie had the same expression as before, then brought the knife over her head. There was a small puddle of blood forming from under Black Daze.
It was then Trixie noticed that Daze was down and panicked. Pinkie Pie was going to kill her friend if she didn't do something now! She felt a strange energy surge through her, it made her eyes glow white and it caused strong winds to sweep through the area. She leapt in front of Black Daze and kicked Pinkie Pie back. She was ready to unleash pure magic hell if Pinkie tried to hurt her guardian. At least, that was the role he seemed to play in Trixie's eyes.
Twilight's paralyzation spell finally wore off and she saw the scene before her. Applejack was on the ground, bruised and shaking. Rainbow Dash was bleeding from her back wound and was looking at what was happening in the middle of the road in shock and awe. Twilight saw Pinkie about to attack Trixie who was…defending a wounded and close to death Black Daze. Twilight knew she had to end this now before anypony was killed.
"PINKIE STOP!" She yelled at the top of her lungs.
Pinkie Pie immediately turned and faced her friend with those menacing eyes, which then turned back to normal and her mane poofed back into place.
"What is it Twi? I thought you said to….oh…" Pinkie said, realizing what she had just done.
Trixie's rage continued building as she began summoning lightning bolts from the sky that hit the areas around them. Twilight saw this and was shocked! Trixie really was as great and powerful as she said she was.
"Trixie calm down! We're sorry!" Twilight said, desperate to calm Trixie down.
Trixie's eyes stopped glowing, and she backed off from the scene, tears cascading from her eyes. She knew Daze needed medical attention immediately. She picked his nearly lifeless body up with her magic and said.
"Sorry? This is all your guy's fault! I'm going to take him someplace where he can heal. This isn't over, next time, you're all going to be sorry!" And with that she ran off, crying for her severely injured partner.
Rainbow Dash and Applejack began to cry too, regretting the decision to fight Daze even though he didn't want to. Pinkie was just as sad as they were, and Rarity just sat in her corner, apparently in deep thought.
"Well girls, I don't want to say I told you so but…" She said to her friends.
"I know, we should've listened. He didn't deserve what we did to him…" Twilight agreed.
"But Twilight, me an' Rainbow are in pretty sad shape here, we should head to a doctor ourselves…" Applejack said.
"Yeah, this scar might get infected if it isn't patched up soon…" Rainbow Dash agreed.
"I'll carry you, Applejack. Rarity, you take Rainbow Dash. It's time we headed back to Ponyville…" Twilight said, then levitated Applejack up high and walked off towards Ponyville. Rarity picked up Rainbow Dash and followed behind, and Pinkie followed Rarity.
In the bushes, the four youngsters were speechless. Black Daze almost died because of their older counterparts, Trixie showed her true power, and Pinkie Pie stabbed somepony. Well, Pony-Dragon. But still, it was a lot to take in.
"Sooo…what now?" Applebloom asked Spike sadly.
"Now, we better hurry home." Spike answered. The CMC agreed and high-tailed back to Ponyville.
Back on the dirt road, Rainbow Dash asked Twilight a question.
"Soooo….what now?"
Twilight thought for a bit. "I don't know Rainbow Dash, I just don't know. It was our fault this happened and sooner or later, Princess Celestia is going to hear about this. After that, who knows? We're just going to have to prepare for the best or the worst…"
Rainbow Dash understood. Celestia would most definitely know about this, since she was the supreme ruler of Equestria. No major fight goes on without her knowing about it. Especially if it involved her most faithful student.
The walk went on without another word…
Meanwhile, at Ponyville Hospital…
"This creature needs urgent care, NOW!" Trixie demanded, presenting the doctors with Black Daze.
Now if you're a doctor, you can imagine how confusing this is. You are presented with a cloak wearing unicorn offering you a strange dragon pony hybrid that you know nothing about. You can clearly see the care is needed, but without bits, it just isn't going to fly.
"We can patch that up, but it's going to cost you." A nurse said.
Trixie tossed a bag of bits hidden in her cloak. "Here. Now fix him!" She demanded.
The doctors shrugged. They were doctors after all, and so they took Daze off to patch up his severe wound. The nurse walked up to Trixie, picked up the bag of bits, and said to her.
"Thank you. We can't guarantee when he'll be better, so check on him tomorrow." The nurse said to Trixie.
"That's fine. And doc?" Trixie said to the doctor.
"Yes?"
"Try to avoid anypony seeing him. I don't think they'd be as…understanding as you are."
"Will do, and although his appearance is rather…unsettling, we are doctors. Our job is to take anypony that's hurt and make them feel better. So your friend will be alright…He is your friend right?" The doctor asked.
Trixie thought for a while. He was strong, and nice to her, well nice for Dazeanyway. He may have scared the bejabbers out of her, but at least he didn't seemingly mean to. He was…misunderstood is all.
"…yes, he's my friend." Trixie responded almost proudly.
"That's what I thought. Now go home and get some rest, you look tired." The doctor said to Trixie.
Trixie knew the doctor was right. It was time to go. She headed out the door back to the Everfree forest. On the way, she passed Twilight and co, then shot them all a dirty look. Twilight and her friends just kept walking, not wanting to face her just yet…
Applejack and Rainbow Dash were presented to the doctors. Not knowing the connection between them and Daze, they took them in and Twilight gave them the bits necessary to cover their medical costs. There was no dialogue, no questioning, no nothing. Twilight, Pinkie Pie and Rarity went home and went to bed. At the houses, Spike was already in bed, but not asleep. Twilight thought he was though. Sweetie Belle had taken Opal back, (much to the dismay of Big Mac, since he liked having a cat to talk to) put her in her cat bed, and went off to bed herself. Applebloom went to her bed as well, but there was nobody to scold her, since Granny Smith was still asleep. Scootaloo, being an orphan that lived by herself in her former parent's house, crawled into her bed, and dreamt about Rainbow Dash again.
Everypony had laid down for a quiet night's rest.
…Except for Trixie…
She ran back to the camp and saw Chrysalis. She greeted her with a concerned tone.
"Oh goodness, what happened to you! Your mane is messed up and your hat is gone. Where's Daze?"
"Daze is…in the hospital…the monster hunt, it was…" Trixie was cut off by Chrysalis's distorted voice.
"You mean the one we heard about earlier? What did they do to him! They won't get away with this! Will he be alright?" She ranted.
"Calm down, Daze is in good care now. And he showed those mares not to mess with him. He was stabbed, simply and so we are going to check on him tomorrow." Then she said, "But can you go looking like….yourself?"
"I'm a Changeling, remember? Queen of the Changelings. Well…former queen that is. I can be anypony I want." Chrysalis responded.
"Good deal, so shall we get some rest?" Trixie said.
"Indeed. Oh and by the way, did you two…bond at all?" Chrysalis asked.
"I guess you could say that…." Trixie responded.
Now everypony had settled down for the night. Tomorrow, Daze wakes up in a hospital for the first time. How will he fare?
The next day…
"Twilight Sparkle, I'm very disappointed in you. You should've thought things through more instead of relying on a mere hunch." A booming voice said to Twilight, who only cowered in the corner.
The voice came from Princess Celestia of course, She was the Ruler of Equestria who was the goddess of the Daytime. Her sister, Princess Luna, ruled the night of course. But we'll meet her later. For now, Twilight was being scolded by her mentor.
"I'm sorry Princess Celestia, we all are. We are ready to accept any punishment you might give us…" Twilight said weakly.
"Hmmm…" Princess Celestia thought. She was no punisher for sure, she preferred to rule with love and benevolence. But for an action like this, a small punishment was in order.
"Twilight Sparkle, as punishment for assaulting this poor creature, you and your friends are now on a mandatory mission to befriend it. Effective Immediately." And with that She Teleported Twilight, Rarity, and Pinkie Pie to the hospital he was being held at.
"Oh boy, this will end well…" Twilight said to herself.
"Um…Twilight? Why are we here, darling?" Rarity asked.
"Basically, Princess Celestia says we haveto make friends with Black Daze now. Effective Immediately." She answered, recalling the words of her mentor.
"I can already tell this isn't going to end well." Rarity sulked.
"That's what I was thinking, but it's Celestia." Twilight responded.
"OH! I love making friends! This'll be easy as pie!" Pinkie exclaimed.
"Pinkie Pie, you stabbed him. You're the reason he's here in the first place so why in EQUESTRIA do you think he'll become your friend that easily?" Rarity said, narrowing her eyes.
"Oh…yeah…" Pinkie replied, looking down. Suddenly, she had a realization! "I've got it! An apology cake makes EVERYTHING better!" And with that Pinkie Pie was gone off to Sugarcube corner.
Twilight and Rarity sighed. It was going to be a loooong day.
Meanwhile, in Black Daze's room…
Black Daze was awoken from his slumber by a hoof tapping his nose. He awoke to see Chrysalis looking at him. He let out a long groan and spoke in a tired growl.
"What…What happened?" He asked. "And that's the second morning I've woken up to your face."
Chrysalis blushed at his compliment (at least she assumed it was a compliment)
"Why Dazey, you're in the hospital. Trixie is here with me. You were badly injured last night and so she carried you to the hospital all by herself. Wasn't that sweet of her?"
"Hospital for whaaa…owwwhhh…" He tried to roll over but felt a sharp pain in his stomach. He looked down and saw the bandages wrapped around his middle. Suddenly, he remembered everything. The fight, Pinkie, and (vaguely) Trixie carrying him off with magic. Although he didn't like magic, he was okay with its use here.
"Well I'm glad you did that for me, I honestly thank you. But I could've healed on my own, you know."
Trixie lowered her eyelids. "With Pinkie Pie about to stab you again, I doubt that, honey."
"Grrr…" Black daze grunted. Then he remembered something.
"Say…how DID you get into this hospital anyway, Chrissy?" He asked.
"Oh I simply turned into another mare. Watch!" She then transformed into a gorgeous Pegasus with a golden and purple coat and luxurious looking wings. Her hooves were dainty and thin, her figure, perfectly feminine, and her eyes were the best part. They were azure blue and glimmered in the light. Daze found this unicorn…completely intoxicating. Had he not known it was Chrysalis and he wasn't part dragon, he would SO hit on her.
"That's…nice…" Was all he could say.
"What's the matter Dazey, cat got your tounge? Reeowr." She purred as she put her snout to Daze's.
"Alright that's enough, I think he gets it. Anyway, as far as the doctor's know, I'm your friend and Chrissy here is your marefriend." Trixie said, interrupting Chrysalis's fun.
"Marefriend? What? Oh nevermind." Daze said, remembering that he liked Chrysalis in this form.
Just then a doctor appeared in the room. "Mister Daze, you have more visitors." And with that she ushered them in. It was Twilight, Rarity, and Pinkie Pie. The latter of which was carrying a large cake in her arms.
"Well you three sure have some nerve showing your faces here." Trixie scoffed.
"Uhm…we're not interrupting anything...are we?" Twilight asked meekly.
"Not yet." Chrysalis cooed in her disguised form. Trixie only rolled her eyes.
"And who might you be?" Twilight said to the gorgeous mare.
"I'm Stargazer, Dazey here is my boyfriend, and I came here as soon as I heard what happened to by wookum snookums!" She responded, squishing both of Daze's cheeks with her hooves.
"Hey!" Daze said, unamused by her pet names. Chrysalis was determined to keep up her charade though.
"Oh what's the matter, honey-bunny! Did these mares here have anything to do with your hospitalization?" She said in the same seductive tone she always had. Pinkie Pie lowered her head in shame. Then remembered what she came here for.
"Oh that reminds me! I brought Daze here something!" She then pulled out the Apology cake. It had black icing with red words that said "I'm sorry I stabbed you, love Pinkie Pie :D" written on it. Everypony, even Daze face-hoofed at the inappropriateness of her grasp of the situation.
"Pinkie, you're doing it wrong." Twilight said to her pink friend.
"You are just as bad as Dazey is at handling delicate situations…" Stargazer said hopelessly.
Well it still is a cake, and so It should taste good, right? Here comes the train! zoom zoom!" Pinkie Pie sang, trying to feed Daze a bite of apology cake. Daze refused to open his mouth, however.
"Aw come on, cake's good and therefore, good for you. Open wiii-iide!" She continued.
It was then Daze spoke. His pupils narrowed.
"Two things, Pinkie. One, I don't appreciate people calling me 'Dazey' especially ones I barely know. And SECOND! I am being fed intravaneously because my stomach is ruptured and it will be like that for the next few hours until the doctors can stitch it back together. Now, whose fault is that?"
Pinkie Pie's hair deflated, out of sadness this time. "…mine…" she said weakly before sadly walking out.
"And you two!" Daze called out, pointing to Rarity and Twilight. "You two shouldn't be here either. I want to be left alone right now. After I'm all patched up, MAYBE I'll consider talking to you. Until then, buzz off." He said harshly.
Twilight and Rarity just looked at each other and sighed. There wasn't anything they could do now but do as he said. They would have to try again later though, and surely Rainbow Dash and Applejack would need some convincing. But it was an assignment from the princess, and you can't ignore those…They were going to get Fluttershy, surely she would be able to get him to open up.
3 hours later…
Black Daze's operation was finished. His stomach was back to normal and he came out of the hospital alive and kicking. Well, not literally kicking but you get the idea. He knew what his first order of business was…
Get the heck out of here!
And so with Trixie and 'Stargazer' by his side, he took off with his wings. 'Stargazer' picked up Trixie and followed close behind. It wasn't long before they reached their camp and landed.
Daze cracked his neck and took a seat on the sitting log.
"Man, it feels good to be back. That hospital was really creeping me out." He said triumphantly. Chrysalis reverted back to her original form and said to Daze.
"And what of the mares that wanted to apologize?" She asked.
"Screw them, it's their fault for judging me. As far as I'm concerned, they can go live in a rusty trailer in the middle of the woods. No offense, Trix."
"None taken. And is my nickname now'Trix?'" She asked.
"You bet your plot it is. Where's the food stock we have, I'm starving." Daze replied.
"Actually, we saved you that 'apology' cake Pinkie Pie made for you. Why don't you eat that?" Trixie snickered.
"Whoa whoa whoa! Why would you save that cake? I'm not going to eat it." Daze said plainly.
"Oh yes you are, because as inappropriate as it was, she was sincere about making it. Now take a bite, Dazey!" Chrysalis demanded, using her magic to cut him a slice of cake and holding it to him.
Black Daze thought about this for a minute. He probably was going to have to eat it sooner or later. And Chrysalis had a point. He almost (almost) felt bad for telling Pinkie Pie off so harshly. TRYING her cake was the least he could do. Black Daze never had cake before and so he cautiously took a bite.
A few seconds later, he loved it! He never knew cake was this good! But he couldn't show that outright, that wasn't 'in character' for him.
"It's…good." He said before finishing the slice with one bite.
"It looks like it's REALLY good to me." Trixie joked. Black Daze rolled his eyes.
"Very funny. You all may have some if you want; I'm going to go take a bath." He proposed. Then, he took off.
Trixie raised her eyebrows at this. Chrysalis saw this and whispered "It's not that exciting, all he does is jump in the water and shake himself dry."
"That would explain the mess his mane is always in, he simply never brushes it." Trixie said shaking her head.
"Want to pull a joke on him next time he falls asleep, Trix?" Chrysalis asked Trixie
"You bet your plot I do! Trixie whispered with a smirk.
Meanwhile at Twilight's library…
"Spike, have you seen Fluttershy around town by any chance?" Twilight asked her assistant, who recently got back from doing his morning rounds in town.
"Yeah, I saw her outside her cottage, playing with Angel the Rabbit. So how'd the monster hunt go?" Spike asked in a humorless tone.
Twilight sighed. "We were wrong, he wasn't a monster, Pinkie Pie almost killed him, but it was all my fault. Now Celestia says we have to befriend him as punishment." She sadly hung her head.
Spike didn't expect Twilight to tell the truth so easily. He thought for a minute.
"And how is that going?"
"Terrible. He doesn't even want to talk to us. He didn't even accept Pinkie's apology cake."
"Gee, I can't imagine why."
"Yeah yeah I know. We're going to send Fluttershy to try and get him to open up. Her compassionate demeanor hasn't failed before."
"I should go too, Twilight, I'm a dragon too, and we should be able to talk to each other as equals, right?"
"Go ahead and try, Spike."
"Thanks Twilight! I'll be sure to not let you down!"
"Oh and Spike!"
"Uh-huh?"
"Make sure to tell Fluttershy it's Princess Celestia's orders if she refuses to go, alright?"
"Will do Twilight!"
And with that, Spike went to go pay Fluttershy a visit.
Fluttershy's Cottage…
Fluttershy was deeply concerned. She had no idea if her friends were okay. She hadn't seen Rainbow Dash or Applejack yet, and Rarity and Pinkie Pie looked very sad all day. She only saw Twilight once, but she didn't see her, because she was too busy moping in the corner of her library when Fluttershy passed by her window. She feared the worst, naturally and was put in a depression. She saw Spike approaching her and gave him her best smile. She liked Spike, he was a baby dragon, but she liked baby things. It was full grown dragons she was scared of.
"Hey Fluttershy, I have a job you and I are going to do."
"And what would that be, Spike?" She said in her gentle voice.
"Well you see…" Spike began to explain the situation, how he and the Cutie Mark Crusaders snuck off to spectate the fight between Black Daze and her friends. How Daze was merely misunderstood, and how Pinkie stabbed him. Fluttershy's face got increasingly more solemn as he told the entire story. As he finished, Fluttershy spoke in a barely audible whisper.
"…it...it's all my fault…"
"Excuse me, what?" Spike asked.
"It's all my fault! If I had only gone none of this would've happened! Oh I'm so frusturated I could just scream! *gaaaaaaaaaaaaaasp* …raaaaaahhhh…."
Spike thought that THAT was the weakest scream he had EVER heard…but if it calmed Fluttershy down, who was he to judge.
"Well, I can understand your frustration, but what's done is done. And by Princess Celestia's orders, we have to try and befriend him." Spike said logically. "And it was their fault for attacking him in the first place."
"…you're right Spike. Let's go befriend that *gulp* ….dragon…" Fluttershy said nervously.
"Technically only half dragon."
"Whatever."
And with that, they headed off to the hospital…unaware that Daze was deep in the Everfree forest by now.
Speaking of Black Daze, let's see how he's doing shall we? :D
Black Daze had just finished 'bathing' in the usual way he did. He then decided to take a nice nap. Baths can really relax oneself, can't they?
But over in nearby bushes, two mares had devious plans.
"Is he asleep yet?" Trixie whispered.
"I think so…" Chrysalis responded.
"Good, now let's go do it!" Trixie proclaimed.
"Right behind you, Trix." Chrysalis responded.
They approached Daze's sleeping body with care, surely if they woke him up, he'd be very grouchy. Trixie then pulled out the item used for the prank.
A brush.
Chrysalis and Trixie then got to work on his mane…
Meanwhile at Ponyville Hospital…
"What do you mean he's not there?" Spike asked in surprise.
"He checked out about an hour ago, then went off towards the Everfree Forest." The doctor responded.
Spike remembered where he and the CMC hid out, then he remembered where Trixie ran off to. If he followed that general path, perhaps he would find Black Daze.
"Alright then, come on Fluttershy, let's go."
"O-okay Spike, lead the way…" Fluttershy responded.
When they exited the hospital, they met Rainbow Dash and Applejack, who had checked out a half hour ago since they didn't have Daze's slightly accelerated regenerative powers.
"Hey Spike, hi Fluttershy, where are you two headed off to?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"Rainbow Dash! Applejack! You're alive!" Fluttershy squealed with joy then gave her friends a hug.
"Yeah, why wouldn't we be?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"It's gonna take a lot more than a dragon-pony to stop us." Applejack followed up with.
"Well thanks to you, Rainbow, and Pinkie Pie, we all have to befriend him. And that's what me and Spike are about to go do." Fluttershy scolded, and began to walk off with Spike.
"Fluttershy!" Applejack called out.
"Yes?" Fluttershy responded.
"Be…careful. He can get a little…temperamental." Applejack warned.
"I know." Fluttershy responded. Then she walked off into the Everfree forest.
"She's being unusually brave considering the circumstances…" Rainbow Dash pointed out.
"Maybe it's because she feels safe around Spike?" Applejack guessed wildly.
"I dunno…" Rainbow dash said finally.
Meanwhile, where Black Daze is located…
Black Daze woke up from a very nice nap. He had a brand new rest-of-the-day ahead of him and was ready to take it on like a champ. He noticed something was...different…about his hair. He couldn't quite put his claw on it though…
Just then, he looked at his reflection in the water.
"CHRISSY!" He roared.
"Coming Dazey~" She sang, as if expecting him.
"What in BLAZES did you do to my mane!" He shouted accusingly.
"Why I don't know what you're talking about? It looks fine to me…" She said casually.
"Don't you play stupid with me, woman! YOU know something about this. You and/or Trixie made my mane all….POOFY!" He accused. They had brushed his mane while he slept. They brushed it into a style similar to Pinkie Pie. It bothered him to no end, mainly because he liked his mane wild. It made him feel awesome in a way.
"Oh Dazey…you're so adowabow when you're upset." Trixie teased.
"Hush your mouth, woman!" Daze shot back. And they both started to laugh. Daze was being so entertaining.
Black Daze had enough of this. He dove back in the water and re-wetted his hair. Then he breached the surface and shook his hair back to normal.
"Aww, you're no fun, Dazey." Chrysalis said with a smirk.
"I'm mad at you, go away." Daze said honestly.
"You wouldn't be mad at this face now would you?" She asked then transformed into Stargazer. Daze was mesmerized for a minute, then remembered he was supposed to be mad.
"Don't try that on me! I'm completely immune." He boasted.
"Your lips say no but your eyes say yeesss~" 'Stargazer' teased.
"You know what? Fine, I'll just go somewhere and sulk. That sound peachy to you?" Black Daze retorted.
"That's ok, be back by dinner time."
"Grrrr…" he growled and walked off to the dirt path. He didn't know why, but he was actually somewhat comforted by Chrysalis. And he was much more attracted to her in her 'Stargazer' form. God, how he loved that form. He couldn't just admit it to her though. What would she think of him? And Trixie? Good gravy, she was annoying; but in the somewhat cute sort of way. She also carried him to the hospital, so she cared about him to some degree. It was then he really started to consider a relationship with one (or perhaps both) of them. He sort of liked them though. It wasn't like he was in LOVE with them or anything…
His train of thought was interrupted when a yellow Pegasus and a purple dragon walked up to him. He didn't look up to see them, he only heard them.
"Uhm…excuse me. Are you Mr. Daze by any chance?" The Pegasus asked.
"What's it to ya?" He responded bluntly.
"Oh, where are my manners. I'm Fluttershy. And this is Spike."
"Hiya! I'm a dragon too!" Spike said in a friendly tone.
It was then Daze looked up. He thought this Pegasus was adorable, but he knew by her demeanor that she was extremely timid. That would not fare well since he was…Black Daze.
Then he looked at the dragon next to her. Spike didn't look very old. In fact, he looked younger than Daze was when he was…Dazer. But if he was a full dragon, then age rules might not be the same.
Then he looked at the duo in front of him at an overview. They were both nice, they weren't scared of him, and neither of them had wronged him before. Crap. He couldn't just brush them off. He had to be nice back…as much as he wasn't in the mood to.
"What brings you two out here?" He asked them
"Well you see…" Fluttershy began.
"We came to get to know you." Spike finished for her.
Daze really wasn't in the mood for this, but he had to think of something. Then an Idea occurred to him.
"Look, I'm really not in the mood right now. Could you come back later perhaps?" He asked. If he couldn't scare them off or tell them to buzz off, then perhaps letting them off nicely would not affect his subconscious.
"Oh that's too bad, maybe it can be a picnic!" Fluttershy suggested.
"Yeah! A picnic in the Everfree forest! Whaddaya say, Black Daze?" Spike asked.
Eh, what the heck. He thought. "Sure, meet here at 7pm sharp. I should be in a better mood by then."
"Okay, thanks for being so nice, Mr. Daze. See you at 7!" Fluttershy then walked off.
"Bye Daze! You're totally awesome!" Spike called back, following Fluttershy.
Black Daze gave a quick wave, then flew back to camp.
"There's a change in plans for dinner, everypony."
"And what, pray tell, would that change be?" Chrysalis asked.
"A picnic!" Trixie exclaimed.
"At 7pm with Fluttershy." Daze continued.
"Who's that?" Chrysalis asked. She didn't remember Fluttershy from the royal wedding.
"You'll see soon enough." Daze assured.
To becontinued…
Author's note: Well here you go, you bastards :D this so far has been my favorite chapter to write! I sort of got a little more ballsy with adding internet jokes I think, but still. I hope it's a pleasant addition :P Hope to hear from you soon!
Special thanks to anyone who helped write this. You know who you are ;P
Peace out!
-Jex