Part 2: Chapter 17: One Hoof at a Time
The ghost watched with an amused grin the orange mare with the backpack enter the school with her friends. He watched, when he could, all of the ponies that were hurt by others. If the ghost found a bully, he would make sure that they would stop, but he wouldn't use lethal ways to do so. He knew exactly what effect the tales of his life had on students, no matter what the age is. His mane was red, and his eyes glowed in a darker hue.
He sat on a corner of a column, invisible to living, with a full view of all ponies. He unfocused his eyes and waited for movement, but not just any movement. A push, a shove, a punch, anything that was physically done purposely to hurt another did not go unnoticed. His ears twitched left and right as he sifted through the chatter, sifting through the chatter for any verbal insults. But he wasn't alone. Another ghost sat by him, his ears twitching, his eyes unfocused, waiting for movement. His mane was black-turning blue, his eyes glowing galaxy-blue. The two friends from long ago watched over their school like an owl searching for prey.
"Catch anything?" Beta asked
"Not yet."
"Can mutants get cutie marks?"
"Aren't Cutie Marks obtained when a pony discovers what they are naturally good at?" Delta questioned, still focusing on the crowd below which was still growing in number as more ponies came to school.
"Yeah."
"Then I don't….think so. We aren't normal, in the nature sense."
"Why not?"
"We have more than one ability than others. We can use magic even though we are Earth Ponies."
"Were Earth ponies." Beta corrected.
"We still are Earth Ponies, just dead."
"I don't think we are still classified as Earth ponies."
Delta groaned. Beta jumped down from the column and made his way to the west part of the school as the bell began to ring.
"Where are you going?" Delta asked.
"History class; I'm going to see if I can find more information on Cutie Marks and their origins." Beta replied, walking through ponies. Delta nodded his head and followed.
"All right Class, Listen up!" The teacher said as she quieted the class. "Today we will be learning about a legend that began in these school centuries ago, and the real story behind the mutant."
Real story my ass. Scootaloo scowled. The only thing she hated more than History class were lies, especial about those that she knew personally.
"SNAILS! WAKE UP! Don't let me catch you sleeping or else!" The teacher yelled, a yardstick rising behind her.
Snails woke with a start and looked at the teacher with fear in his eyes. "Sorry, Ms. Line." he replied, his voice trembling. His flank was already covered with marks from the beating that happened yesterday. Ms. Golden Line, the history teacher, was known for her bad temper. She repeatedly beat Snails because he could not understand what she had said. His flank was burning in pain from the beating.
Beta jumped into the classroom, still invisible, and landed in Line's papers. He walked off the table, ignoring the teacher who was talking, and went to the back of the room where the books were stored. Looking up at the five foot shelf, he studied the side of the books until he found one titled The History of the Mark. He grabbed the book and pulled it toward him, causing it to tip and fall off the shelf, hitting the ground with a thud.
The teacher looked up, saw that a book had fell, and ignored it, continuing to talk.
Beta ignored the teacher and flipped open the book, searching the contents for a title that could be used to describe what he was searching for.
"Found it yet?" Delta asked, walking up behind him.
"Not yet, where were you?"
"Took a detour, walked through some classes then came here."
Beta nodded then stopped his hoof at a chapter title. " 'How It Works', sounds about right, no?"
Delta read what page number it was on and flipped through the pages until he hit the chapter.
Ms. Line had given the class a couple of sheets to work on and had noticed the book on the floor open and watched it as the pages went by one by one as if it was being used. Annoyed by this interruption, the teacher walked to the back of the room and reached down for the book.
Beta watched as the teacher reached in between him and Delta and grabbed the book. She began lifting it when Beta placed his hoof on the book and pressed down, keeping the book down.
The teacher was bewildered. Why couldn't she lift the book? She heaved and pulled as hard as she could to lift the book.
Beta was now annoyed. He smiled as he let go of the book, laughing as he watched the teacher nearly smack herself with it.
Scootaloo to this chance to poke fun at the teacher. "What's wrong, Golden? Can't lift a book?"
Line's temper flared as she placed the book back where it belonged. "Scootaloo, Come here."
Scootaloo knew she was in trouble, but she didn't care. It would be worth every second of punishment. Besides, she's been worse before. The holes in her wings proved it. "What?" she growled.
Line raised her yardstick and slapped Scoot across the face with it, leaving a red mark on her face. Scootaloo reeled back as she was hit, her wing covering her face. She looked past her wings to see Golden Line raise her stick again, her face full of rage, and closed her eyes, bracing for the pain.
It never came.
"Wake up."
He was sure he heard Beta's voice. His eyes, already adjusted to the dark, noticed Charlie sleeping right beneath him. He pushed himself up over Charlie and out of the bed, replacing his brace and looking around. He took in a breath of air and smelt the sweat drying and smiled. He's only fifteen. You are eighteen, he thought. Yeah, so? We are young, we do stupid things,
"Delta?" Charlie asked as he woke up as well, albeit groggily. He looked at Alpha and his face reddened, his wings opening.
"Why did you wake?"
"I heard Delta tell me to wake up. Why are you?"
"I heard Beta tell me the same."
The two stared at each other, both aware of what they did.
"What?"
"Nothing."
Alpha glared at Charlie. "You always sucked at lying, you know that, right?"
"Fine." Charlie replied shyly. "Next time, be gentler."
"I wasn't that rough!"
"You weren't the one receiving."
Alpha's mouth dropped, his cheeks reddening. "You suggested it! How the fuck was I supposed to know what to do?"
"To be honest, I have never seen you blush before."
Alpha turned around, as if looking for somepony before looking at Charlie. "Do you know what to do?"
Charlie tilted his head left to right. "Well yeah..."
"What was I supposed to do?"
"Well, you know…" His voice trailed off.
Alpha stared at Charlie for a few seconds, before blinking rapidly, shaking his head, and switching his weight to his left side. "Wait what!?"
"Come on." Charlie replied with a smile, gesturing him to the bed. "I'll tell you what to do."
Alpha removed his brace slowly, and hesitantly walked to the side of the bed, and stared at the bed.
"Are you….scared?"
Alpha looked to Charlie. "Scared? No. Confused? Yes. Do I know what to do? Somewhat."
"Well," Charlie replied, pushing himself up on the bed. "I'm already tired, but I have enough energy to try again."
Alpha looked at him before jumping onto the bed. "Are you sure?" He asked, placing a hoof on Charlie's flank.
"Go to my tomb."
Charlie groaned. "You heard that right?"
"Go to Beta's tomb?"
"Yeah."
Charlie nodded. "Come on. "He spoke as Alpha removed his hoof and jumped off the bed him, walking out the door.
"Hey," Alpha said, pulling him back into the room. He leaned forward, kissing him on the muzzle. "We can do it later."
Although it was still dark because the sun hadn't risen yet, ponies were already up and moving around. Charlie and Alpha ignored the glances from others and made their way into Beta's tomb.
The line of Estefanias was huge. There were suits for all the four types of ponies: Alicorn, Pegasus, Unicorn, and Earth pony. Although they were in-active, once Alpha stepped onto the smooth granite floor, one suit, a Pegasus Variant, came to life. It assembled itself and charged, without a wearer, Alpha. However, before it hit him, it disassembled and the pieces of metal flew to his body. Charlie watched in amazement and curiosity as the suit assembled itself on his friend. He noticed that suit was a slight too big for Alpha and his eyes widened as the suit let go of some plating, until it fit Alpha like a glove. Only his mane and tail were uncovered, and they slowly fell back to their original places.
"Whoa." Alpha said; his voice muffled. He turned around. Neither of them could hear the metal scrape against the plates or the ground. He looked through the eyeholes at Charlie. "How do I look?"
"You are glowing." Charlie replied, a smile forming on his lips. "Your eyes, hair, and mane are glowing, along with strides of Sky-Blue light on the armor."
He looked for a mirror, and once he found it, he laughed. The suit didn't feel as if it was a suit, more like just another layer of skin, except it wasn't skin, it was the strongest type of metal he and Beta ever knew.
"Ok!" Charlie said, pumping his legs. "My turn!"
Alpha heard something move behind him, turned around, and almost was hit by the charging suit; another Pegasi variant.
Charlie squealed with glee as he was fitted, for the first time, with his own personal set of Estefania.
"You colts are-" Luna froze as she stared at the two moving, glowing armor suits. She placed one hoof on the floor and an Alicorn Variant came to life. Luna however, turned into Nightmare Moon before the suit came close to her, and watched as it skidded to a halt. It stood, frozen as it examined the armor she wore before nodding and walking back to its original spot, deactivating once it was in place.
"There's one for every single pony in the mountain, including Changelings!"
Chrysalis appeared, teleporting in front of NightMare. "I heard Changelings!" she spoke as she turned around. "Why are you in this form?" She asked NightMare.
Instead of replying, she pushed Chrysalis down to the floor. Once her hoof touched, the Alicorn Variant, originally intended for her, charged behind Chrysalis.
"What was that for!?" Chrysalis cried out, her insect-like wings flapping fast as she began to hover. The back hoof boot from the suit flew forward and encased Chrysalis's back hoof. It did not fit however, and it released itself, before flying back to the suit. The suit stopped, skidding to a halt. It looked at Chrysalis before looking behind itself and running back, to its mannequin
"New Species Detected. Searching Database for reference. Stand by." The suit spoke, the voice sounding almost…human.
"Done. Species Designated as Changeling. Beginning Suit Calibration."
Almost as if it were actually alive, it checked it's mannequin and looked back at Chrysalis multiple times, re-arranging the mannequin to copy a changeling's form. The four watched as it switched parts and added new ones to the mannequin before taking one last look. "Suit Calibration Complete. Beginning Suit Database Re-Calibration."
It deactivated then the disassembled, assembling on the newly formed mannequin. Parts rearranged themselves while others hovered in mid-air, looking for places to go. It acted as if it were given a puzzle to complete. It started with the hooves then moved upwards. After a minute of full relocation, the suit disassembled off the mannequin and assembled itself, without help.
"Suit Re-Calibration Complete." It turned and walked to Chrysalis. "Please do not move while suit is assembling as it will not only take longer to assemble but injury and or death may occur."
It waited for Chrysalis to nod before disassembling on her, each part perfectly fitting on her body. Once covered, it began to glow a dark shade of Turquoise, and the three heard a muffled laugh. "Why did you not tell me about this before?" Chrysalis's voice spoke.
"We didn't know about it until now." Alpha replied.
Charlie was about to reply before the voice spoke. "Teleport to my location."
"Voice and Magic Identification confirmed. Teleporting…"
Alpha and Charlie exchanged glances before teleporting.
Line tugged at the yardstick, trying to move it. She looked back to see it engulfed with a thin semi-transparent layer of red magic. Looking past it, she saw the young mutant glaring at her, his mane, tail, and eyes glowing dark red. Line's rage gave way and she screamed at Beta. "LET GO!"
The mutant didn't respond, but began to become non-transparent so he could be seen by everypony in the room. Scootaloo, still covering behind her wing, spread a few feathers and saw Beta and opened her mouth in disbelief. So it was true, the rumor was real.
"Do you know who I am?" Beta spoke, his voice sounded deep.
"You are Beta, The freak I was talking about." Line replied, letting go of her stick and turning to face him.
"Do you know why I went 'insane'?"
"You were a bully, a freak and a mutant. You were bored so you decided to kill for entertainment."
"Wrong answer." Scootaloo muttered.
"Currently, I am still a threat to Celestia, and I can't blame her, I AM A THREAT." He said, standing up and walking to Line, who, amazingly, stood her ground. "I do kill for entertainment, but that was not the reason I killed so many. However," he continued, Muzzle to Muzzle with Golden Line. "I can still kill even though I am a ghost. Give me one reason why I shouldn't add another tally to the list." He ordered.
Alpha had teleported behind him with Charlie, both encased in armor, but cloaked. Delta disappeared as he bonded with Charlie and took over, cloaking him so Alpha could focus on himself.
"Because I am alive, you are dead. You cannot kill me." Golden line said, her chest out, boasting.
Beta disappeared as he bonded back with Alpha, who uncloaked himself, revealing the glowing armor. She gave a tiny squeal of shock as he gazed upon Alpha. "Wrong Answer." Alpha spoke as he skinned her in front of the class. The rest of the class, some screaming, others frozen in shock…except for two. Scootaloo and Snails were smiling, nodding to the death they were witnessing.
A guard was watching, however, through the window on the right and teleported to Celestia. When he told her what he saw, Celestia instinctively obliterated the Guard in anger.
"What's wrong, Princess?"
Celestia looked to her right and studied her new student; Trixie. "Don your suit for close quarters, flying, and magic combat."
The blue unicorn looked up and grinned, before galloping away to the armory.
Celestia sighed before she standing up from her throne. She informed a nearby guard of the situation, who, at once galloped to the Barracks. She heard shuffling, the orders being shouted and the sound of hundreds of hoofs hitting the floor, all galloping, before she teleported to her room. Telling the guards to leave, she made sure she was alone, before she walking to her bed and tapping her hooves on the ground twice. The table beside her bed rose as it revealed the locker underneath it.
With Eye, Voice, Hoof print, Wing span, Feather width and length, Mane and Tail, and Horn Identification confirmed, the locker hissed open and engulfed the room in a white light.
The Princess of Equestria stood as she lowered the sun, incased in an ancient, long forgotten armor. It glowed white and covered all but her mane and tail. Guards had begun to expand through Ponyville and Manehatten, spreading the news and herding all in the cities inside the Castles nearest to them. Ponies from Ponyville and Cloudsdale poured into the Canterlot Castle, hoping the walls of the Castle would protect them from the imminent threat. To them, this had never happened, not since Beta the Bully went on his rampage, 900 years ago.
Celestia stood in the bright moonlight, looking through her telescope for anything out of the ordinary. She turned west and looked to the Castle's walls and froze.
Two shadows hovered above the walls, the guards unaware of them.
She turned the knob on the side of the telescope, increasing magnification and readied herself.
The two shadows were glinting in the light. Metal. The larger one had one blue and one red eye sockets, its armor glowing; blue and red scattered throughout the armor, with streaks of the same colors in its mane and wavering tail. Beside it was a smaller shadow. This one had one brown and one dark blue eye sockets. Its armor was glowing as well, with green and blue curved lines of light emitting from it. The mane and tail were glowing both brown and green.
The two colt-friends, mutants, bonded with their friends, stared at Celestia and watched her expression change as hundreds of lights began to glow behind them. Hundreds of suits activated, emitting light that lit the clouds above.
The guards on the walls readied themselves against the suits. Trixie walked up beside Celestia, with her own armor glowing.
"Looks like we won't be able to retry it again." Charlie spoke, his voice, serious yet sad, came from within the suit
"One hoof at a time." Alpha replied.
END OF PART 2
Already have began typing Part 3. Let's hope they live.
Happy what ever the fuck doesn't offend you.
And I'll see you guys when I release the next chapter.
See you later.