• Chapter Forty-three: Shattered Throughout •
…
So far, there's been six different ponies, all potential threats, however, one of them is tied up so he may just be on my side... since I am tied up myself.
As of yet, I haven't been able to identify a possible escape route- at least one which doesn't involve my magic, and we all know that that's not going to happen. I mean, seriously! I was raised as a pegasus! Unicorns... they give me the willies. Especially that one from earlier- she freakin' stabilised me!
She is very powerful, I have come to realise, and perhaps the most lethal of all my captors- well... I don't really like the look of that yellow earth pony. She keeps... staring at me.
Anyway, there's also an earth pony with a pink mane cut short. She hasn't really said much, but she looks like she could be the strongest of them all. I know definitely not to mess with her.
And there's two pegasi. They don't look as dangerous as the other ponies, but I know better than to underestimate pegasi. My mum was a pegasus, and my mum was the most heroic pony I ever knew.
I feel scared and confused as of now, and that yellow earth pony is still staring at me.
Forever staring.
The unicorn felt the fine hairs of her coat prickle. It was as though the fur knew that there was a set of amber eyes burning into it. She told herself to avoid the piercing gaze, for if her fur succumbed to the glare of just a pony, then she didn't want to know what'd happen to the rest of her.
She turned to her fellow prisoner; a cedar-brown colt with a spiky mane, pigmented orange. His eyes were coloured a fierce copper, and he wore a cap with a propellor which spun regardless of the nonexistent wind.
Curiosity itched its way to her hooves, drowning away the brief pinprick of recognition. She'd seen many faces in her time, most of which weren't from the foreground. There was nothing special about this colt, she decided, and made her first attempt of communication. "So... how'd you end up in this sticky situation? Did you break in as well?"
He turned to her, his eyes disturbingly wild. "I've... I've lived here all my life! It's my house! Mine! And they came! Yes! They came and lived. Lived with... with me!"
She gulped. Instability was no stranger to her, and this colt- he was absolutely broken. Ensuring that her voice was in a soft and reassuring tone, she continued, "Did they steal your home from you?"
"No!" he shrieked, carrying the 'o' syllable for much longer than necessary. "I- I let her! I want her! I need her! She belongs... with me! Here! And they too - they too - can come!"
The filly frowned, reiterating his words and jigsawing each piece together. There was some 'she', this character being perhaps his fillyfriend by the way he'd placed it. He'd also mentioned a 'they', possibly referring to all the ponies here; the two pegasi, the two earth ponies and that scary unicorn.
But one thing didn't fit. "Why have they tied you up if you let them stay with you?"
This time he didn't answer. Rather, his eyes travelled off into space as though her words had been no more than a distant cry.
A sliver of dribble stretched from the corner of his mouth, like a snake purposefully dangling from a tree, and as the purple filly mumbled a 'Hello?' he chased back his attention, turning to her with not a dab of emotion.
Despite this, she couldn't take him seriously with the string of saliva still hanging from his mouth, and she stifled a snort.
Ignoring her display of amusement, he drawled a simple, "You're made up of blocks."
The corners of the filly's lips gravitated to the ground in a confounded frown. "What?"
"Blocks. Maybe three or four. Before it was millions. Millions of tiny pixels. And now it has simplified."
Before the unicorn could contemplate this newest statement, one of the pegasi - the orange female with a magenta mane - mumbled a swear word no ten-year-old should know. "He's getting worse. Gosh, Sweetie Belle'd better hurry up."
Sweetie Belle? So this is the name of the filly?
Sweetie Belle, the unicorn with supreme magical powers.
Sweetie Belle, the unicorn who uses her magic in unspeakable ways?
Sweetie Belle, the unicorn who watches children sleep?
Sweetie Belle, the unicorn who levitates scissors above ponies' heads?
Sweetie Belle, an imminent threat to death?
Sweetie Belle?
The name didn't seem fitting, but the purple filly wasn't going to question it. Besides, when gambling over races, it was always the pony with the least intimidating name who was generally going to be the winner- not that she'd ever gambled, no, why would you think that? Ha... ha...
Names, she fathomed. They can say so much about a character.
Building enough courage to overcome her minimal self-esteem, she mumbled in a small voice, "Mind I ask, but what are the allotment of syllables and sounds I make to get all of your individual attentions?"
The orange pegasus looked up, her face the visual definition of puzzlement. "What?"
Bad start! Bad start! You idiot!
She gave a small cough, dusting away the internal monologue which persisted in scolding her. "Names, I mean! What are your names? Sorry! I just find names weird, don't mind me... sorry!"
"Oh," croaked the same pegasus, before zooming to the filly's face in a flash. "I'm the one, the only... Scootaloo!" Pause. "The 1st." She gregariously extended her hoof, eagerly waiting for a returned shake.
The purple unicorn just stared at the hoof, not bothering to writhe against her ropes in a fruitless attempt.
Only after a few seconds left hanging, did the Scootaloo-pony realise the ropes restricting even the prisoner's hooves, and the pegasus sheepishly scampered away.
"I'm Rumble," pronounced the other pegasus. His fur was of a pale-grey, juxtaposed by his shaded mane.
His colour-pallet reminded the filly of a thunderstorm with peppery clouds and lightning.
"Babs Seed," piped the darker-coloured, not-as-creepy earth pony, giving a polite dip of the head.
A couple of heartbeats passed.
Babs Seed frowned, a wink of irritation in her eyes as she turned to her fellow earth pony. "Are you going to introduce yourself, or are you going to keep staring like a rude-pony?"
The yellow filly didn't flinch, or blink, or move, or twitch. She just stared, like a praying mantis on a cricket, just stared, like a lizard, lidless and incapable of blinking, stared like a psychopath, stared, stared, stared.
And finally, after an agonising duration of wasted seconds...
"Apple Bloom. And yer' Dinky Doo."
The filly, who'd been trying ever so hard to ignore this single pony, almost choked on her tongue. And she turned, facing the filly's glare, head-on.
Her eyes... they're golden like the sun... blinding...
Her blood seemed to chill, but despite this, Dinky didn't blink. She only breathed. "How do you know my name?"
Apple Bloom was absolutely motionless, however, her air was now tainted by the whiff of antipathy- and much more than before. "Yer' saddlebag. We stole the mushrooms, by the way."
Considering the consequences of her mindless actions, Dinky Doo would pick the mushrooms over the waffles any day from now.
…
There was a breezy's sack being tossed into the cauldron. It was full of pollen, which had been borrowed from a lucky flower somewhere out there in the big, wide world.
The sack was no larger than a pea.
It's funny how the most tiniest, most insignificant of objects have the power to lift curses. Changeling curses.
The flakes of snow were sprinkled next. I bet they were once of beauty, Sweetie Belle figured. They must have been like frosted angels, dancing through the sky before descending upon the earth.
They'd now melted, into droplets of chilly vapour.
Next was the spiderweb, thin and woven like a butterfly net, followed by the Phoenix feather, which was so... alive, more than not like a flickering flame.
The sap was poured in next. The gooey substance reminded Sweetie Belle of blood. Then again, it was a tree's blood.
The Poison Joke came next: a pretty and petite flower, which glowed this vibrant blue. But Sweetie Belle kept her distance. She knew that as alluring the flower was, it's intentions were dispicable.
Finally came the lock of mane, the colour of sunlight kissing the earth's crust. It was gobbled up by the belching liquid which brewed in Zecora's cauldron.
The zebra continued to stir with her long wooden rod, causing the concoction to swirl like water rushing down a drain.
The concoction itself was hissing, like a spitting volcano, and bubbles materialised upon the liquid's surface, coughing themselves to death every now and again.
A sudden awareness struck Sweetie Belle, over the passing time. "How long until it's ready?"
"Patience young filly, please be no prune. Remedies take time, time which shall come soon."
If Zecora hadn't answered, Sweetie Belle would have wondered if the zebra even knew she were there. The zebra was so focused, it was as though her eyes had been trained to see no more than the creation she desired.
More seconds passed, and with an aura of angst did Sweetie Belle stop pacing up and back the room and settle her rump upon the floor. "Did you know?"
Again, Zecora didn't acknowledge the sound of the filly's voice through any body language, however, she gave a low, monotone hum which Sweetie Belle took as a 'do continue.'
"Well," the filly squeaked, cringing as her voice cracked as it did. "You tell my friends to go to a mansion which just happens to be the home of my old best friend. He coincidently appears to be in trouble from the result of Chrysalis, and after a whole load of heartfelt drama and filler, we finally manage to come to a solution. Not only do I save his life, but he gives us a new home to live, a home actually big enough to house all of us- so Rumble doesn't have to sleep on the couch anymore. It all began with you. Did you know this was going to happen? Did you plan this?"
Finally, Zecora looked up, meeting Sweetie Belle's eye with her own, and smirking. "Why of course I had a faint idea. But you chose your fate, true and clear."
Sweetie Belle was still dubious. "But did you know what decisions we were going to make? What we'd chose to be our fate? Hey, that kind of rhymed- kinda... stop rubbing off on me!"
This time Zecora didn't answer. Instead, she retrieved a small vial, dipping it into her creation and retrieving a generous capacity of the medicine. It was now a brilliant hue of royal blue. "I believe it's complete, I'm glad to say. I'm happy to have been of assistance today."
The unicorn filly seemed to have forgotten about their former conversation.
"Thank you!" Levitating the vial from Zecora's hooves, Sweetie Belle dipped her head in a respectful bow. She really didn't know what else to do. Shake hooves? Nod? "I don't know how I could ever repay you!"
"No repayments will be fine. The pleasure is all mine."
Sweetie Belle was grateful, and already cantering in direction of the front door. Before she properly exited, she skidded to an abrupt halt. "Oh, and is there any specific time I need to give it to him?"
"Yes, as the clock strikes precisely midnight." Zecora paused for dramatic effect before giving a good-natured chuckle. "No, he can have it at whatever time feels most right."
Sweetie Belle nodded, smiling at Zecora's rare show of humour, before dispersing for good.
…
"I got the remedy!" Sweetie Belle squealed, hurtling through the front door.
Before she'd taken even two steps was her vision swarmed by the beaming of faces. Her friends must have been waiting for her.
"Really?" Scootaloo cried, attacking Sweetie Belle with a bear-hug.
Sweetie Belle nodded as she broke apart from her excitable pegasus friend.
"Oh, thank Celestia," Babs Seed crooned, sharing a hoof-bump with her unicorn friend. "When can we give it to him?"
"Zecora said at whatever time felt right!"
"How about now?" Apple Bloom grumbled, approaching the mass of energetic fillies. "Ah' swear if ah' have to listen t' that howlin' fer' one more minute..."
Sweetie Belle giggled, cuddling Apple Bloom in spite of the earth pony's prevailing grouchiness. "Loosen up, my good friend. We should be feeling enlightened by this momentous occasion."
Apple Bloom sighed, falling into the embrace. "Ah' suppose ah've been a lil' uptight lately.."
"A little?" Scootaloo snorted, earning a punch from Babs Seed.
Apple Bloom just nodded. "It's just-"
"-Hey guys, you might want to see this." Rumble appeared in the doorway leading to the living room. His facial expression had no other meaning than worry.
…
The very moment that the pristine, white unicorn- Sweetie Belle entered the room, Dinky Doo's stomach did a flip, and her heart pumped vividly against the lung which encased it.
She didn't know what it was about the pony that gave her the shivers. Perhaps it was the fact that they'd had a very traumatic first introduction? Maybe it was because Sweetie Belle was a unicorn, and Dinky Doo had always felt a dislike towards the race, whether she were one or not.
She just found unicorns devious and untrustworthy. They could use their magic for anything; manipulation, hypnosis, teleportation- maybe even invisibility!
Not that Dinky had ever heard of invisibility spells.
But the point was, she hated unicorns, and the fact that Sweetie Belle was a unicorn didn't make her any more tolerable in Dinky Doo's presence.
Fortunately for the golden-maned filly, Sweetie Belle's attention was on the colt, who had fallen asleep beneath the eyes of the pegasus named Rumble.
Momentarily was Sweetie Belle by the chair which occupied the berserk pony. "Button Mash?"
Button Mash? That name... For the second time did Dinky feel a pinprick- stab of recognition, but it was long forgotten by Sweetie Belle's unsettling presence. Far too close for comfort...
"What happened to him? Did he pass out? Is he asleep?" Sweetie Belle turned to Rumble and the others, who'd only just caught up to her. It seemed as though she'd come here in a hurry.
"I don't know," Rumble murmured, avoiding her gaze as he scuffed his hoof upon the floor. "I was just watching them, and he was rambling like usual... and then he just stopped. His voice faded down and he closed his eyes. Everything just turned... off. Like a battery dying."
Sweetie Belle gave an indistinct swear, pressing her hoof upon his chest in the blink of an eye. She took a deep inhale, and for extra concentration did she have a tongue poking out.
Then she exhaled. A long and blessed sigh.
"He's not dead, but his heartbeat's not top-notch either." She removed her hoof. "Now seems like a very appropriate time, d'ya all agree?"
The other foals nodded, one after the other until there were four bobbing heads, eventually joined by Sweetie Belle's own.
"Okay, let's do this." Gulping, the unicorn popped the cap off a glass-tube which she'd seemed to have been levitating for the past few minutes.
From there, she rose a hoof, placing it beneath Button Mash's chin. She lifted his head, so that his jaw flopped open.
Dinky Doo couldn't help but notice the grace and endearment Sweetie Belle embodied in her very action, as though there were something more hiding within it... of intimacy, perhaps?
Could Sweetie Belle be the 'she' he earlier mentioned?
Carrying the vial with a sheet of magic, she brought it above his head. With a supple tilt did a snail of blue fluid rush down into his mouth, sizzling upon his tongue before slinking down his throat.
Every. Last. Drop.
Finally, Sweetie Belle lifted his jaw to securitise it from leaking.
"What now?" asked Scootaloo.
"I suppose we wait?"
"What about the filleh'?" Apple Bloom chimed, turning to Dinky with an all-too-familiar cold stare. "Can we get rid of her now?"
"What?" Sweetie Belle whipped around, her eyes resting on Dinky's for the first time, as though she'd just realised that she were there.
A puny squeak came from Dinky's voice box, as the eyes of green met her's. Her limbs had turned to jelly, if being tied up wasn't bad enough already, and her eyes began to water. She could only cringe from this villain... this tyrant... this monster.
"Hey, hey," Sweetie Belle soothed with an unnaturally melodious voice. It was like tranquilliser, causing the tension in Dinky's muscles to thin. "It's okay, it's okay. I offer my most sincerest of apologies for having frightened you earlier."
Stay on guard! Be strong! Be strong!
But Dinky couldn't. She was pacified, by nothing more than the sweetness of a voice... a voice like a lullaby- like the lullaby. The one of her childhood.
"What is your name?"
Her answer came mechanically. "Dinky Doo."
"Dinky Doo? Well greetings. Now can somepony please explain why she's all tied up?" Sweetie Belle turned to the others, who were diffidently backing away. Some were even blushing.
Sweetie Belle rolled her eyes, and snaked her magic around the ropes which restrained Dinky. They were already loosening. "I understand why we needed to tie up Butten Mash, but we could've treated our guest with a bit more manners!"
Shaken, Dinky stepped from the ropes, still apprehensive as Sweetie Belle smiled down at her: Dinky had always been small for her age. It didn't help her nerves whether she'd been dulcified or not.
"I know that we started on a rough patch, but I hope that it doesn't affect our future relation. We never got a proper introduction, now did we? My name is Sweetie Belle and I am thrilled to meet you, Dinky Doo." Sweetie Belle held out her hoof for a shake, just as Scootaloo had earlier. The only difference was, Dinky had the ability to return the shake.
But she didn't.
Rather, she barrelled into Sweetie Belle, knocking the filly to the ground and pinning her like a photo on a wall. "Are you out of your right mind? You first deceive me with your adept, flashy magic, then order your henchmen to tie me up and keep me hostage, all the while burglarising my mane and watching me sleep with some cannibalistic apparatus!"
"It was a pair of scissors..."
"Then you untie me, woo me with your fancy language and expect the feelings to be mutual?" Stomping her hoof upon the floor (threateningly close Sweetie Belle's head) she exhaled, whirlwinds of steam emerging from her nostrils.
"Of course not!" Sweetie Belle cheeped, her words slurring together as they were shouted at an accelerating rate. "But there's more to the story! You need to listen to me!"
As the shadow of anger in Dinky's eyes morphed into something of malevolence, Sweetie Belle vigorously shook her head.
"Please! If you'd just calm down and talk to me, I can explain the reasons for all of these... casualties..."
"Why, I'll casualty you, you-"
"Hey, hey! Settle now!" Babs Seed was there in a moment's time, slamming into Dinky Doo. This time, it was her pinning the unicorn to the ground. "Sweetie Belle meant no harm! None of us did, now quiet your riot and just relax!"
"Beast! She's a beast!" screeched the unicorn, thrashing like a shark over prey, except this time, she was the prey and these ponies- each and every one of them, were the predators.
There was pain in Babs Seed's eyes. They were infested with it. "Shh..."
"Guys? What's going on?"
With a single voice did every pony looked up, eyes locking upon the colt who sat atop the remaining chair, his eyes wide with bewilderment.
Sweetie Belle's horn lit up with magic, and Dinky felt a sudden heaviness envelope her brain before everything went black.
…
"And then you woke up, and Sweetie Belle put some sleeping spell on Dinky Doo. And then I started explaining this story to you. The end." Scootaloo mimed closing an imaginary book by clapping her hooves together. She then beamed up at Button Mash who'd remained silent throughout the entire story...
Well, at least until she'd mentioned Dinky Doo...
"So how are you feeling?" Sweetie Belle selflessly began.
Button Mash gazed down at the others. Despite having been untied for a while now, he hadn't moved an inch from his chair. "I'm feeling okay, I guess..."
"Well that's wonderful. Do you want to go and test to see whether you can leave the castle now?" Sweetie Belle fidgeted on her hooves, and a smile weaved its way to her lips. "Oh I'm so excited!"
Button Mash looked away. "No thanks."
"What?" Scootaloo shrieked, advancing far too close for comfort, as she did. "Are you crazy?"
"I need to do something first..."
"And what is that?" Babs Seed queried, her face that of concern.
"I need to speak to Dinky."
Scootaloo fainted.
"Now I think you are insane," Rumble muttered as he dragged Scootaloo's limp body from where it haphazardly lay.
Her mouth had gone dry, but it didn't stop Sweetie Belle from swallowing. "I'm not saying that I don't support most of your decisions, but I kinda agree with Scootaloo and Rumble here. Why would you need to talk to her? She attacked me before..."
"She must have had a reason for it. The Dinky I knew would never do that!"
"Wait," Babs Seed gasped, her mouth agape during the period of silence. "You're saying that you... know her?"
Button Mash gave a doleful nod. "A long time ago. I was so young... the memories are all blurred but I think I remember enough." He finally stepped down from the chair, staring at his friends from their level and blinking innocent, puppy-dog eyes. "Just please let me do this."
…
When Dinky awoke, her scenery had changed entirely. It was now some form of dark and musty chamber, with walls of grey stone which stretched infinitely into the sky. If she squinted her eyes, she could just perceive a slit of light, like a star, Celestia knows how high.
She swallowed, all the while shivering from the cold and stale air, alongside the chilled earth beneath her hooves.
It was then that she noticed the two tawny eyes, watching her every movement through the shadows.
She refrained a gasp, but couldn't stop her skin from whitening as though she'd just seen a ghost.
Maybe she had.
But then the pony emerged from the ravenous shadows. First a hoof of deep tan, then two, then a head all the way down to the tip of his tail.
A third dawn of recognition, for the same pony, all in the same day. She backed away, step by step. "Button Mash?"
He blinked, without coming any closer. "You remember me?"
She searched his face for some sign of discordance. Anything that could hint delirium, but whatever had once been there, it had all been annihilated. This was the face of a normal pony. A pony not shattered, with not a peice out of place.
And now that he was all together as one, her familiarity towards him had intensified, as though this whole time, it'd been waiting for this moment. This very moment where each puzzle piece fit. Six years ago.
"I... I think..." she stuttered, her eyes wide and golden. Just like his. "Six years..."
"You do remember!" The pony gave a cheer, galloping over to give her a hug, but she flinched away, sheer terror the controller of her reactions.
Button Mash frowned, realising her discomfort, and back-stepping to his original distance. "I'm sorry... you probably don't remember everything. Do you want to hear the story? Something to prompt your memory?"
Dinky Doo all but nodded.
Button Mash gave his own nod, before clearing his throat as a pony would before beginning a speech. "Six years ago. That was the time when Chrysalis persisted in ruling, but her invasions were more controllable. Like now, she stole ponies because of their beauty, and sucked up the youth which blessed them.
"We two had much in common. We both went to the same school, both had fathers who left us, and both lived by the guardianship of our single mothers. That was until they were captured by Chrysalis because of their beauty."
Dinky gave a sour snort. "Not my mum. They captured her because of her hideosity."
Button Mash looked as though he were going to object, before shaking his head, more to himself than her. "I would have lived with Sweetie Belle and Rarity if they hadn't left on vacation around the same time. You were going to live with me and my mum if something ever happened to yours. Every plan we had just fell apart. We were both homeless, so we went to each other and lived as... I don't know... ally-ponies? Street-ponies? Homeless citizens? Hobos? S-"
"-Please continue."
"Right. Sorry. Anyway, shortly after, our town was evacuated. Chrysalis was to colonise it, and everypony got the message... except for us.
"When the time came for her invasion, we were hiding. Praying. Praying to Celestia that we'd be fine. That the Queen wouldn't find us." Button Mash's ears drooped. "Celestia didn't get our message.
"She found us hiding in the garbage bins. She took us for nothing other than our presence and I never saw you again. The end."
Dinky's eyes had gone glassy, but she wasn't sad. Just shaken as the memories came flooding back in a torrent of treachery. "I... I r-remember. It was the Armageddon of my life."
"I never knew what Chrysalis did to you," Button Mash murmured, averting his gaze from her's. "This whole time... I thought you were dead."
"I... I thought the same about you." Dinky Doo paused, before looking up and waiting until their eyes met once again. "Want to know what the fiend did to me?"
Button Mash gave a silent nod.
"Chrysalis. She's just a devil sent from Tartarus. She likes to play with her prey before eating it. She never kills it. To her it's just a game, and what she did to me is the worst thing she could have done."
Button Mash seemed almost afraid to ask. "What... what did she do?"
Dinky Doo gave a final sob, the tears in her eyes finally running lines down her cheeks. "She turned me into a unicorn."
Button Mash gasped, and his eyes dilated into saucepans, flickering from her back to her head. She was once a pegasus- and one of the best at that. He couldn't believe he hadn't noticed this before.
"Th-they used to say I was more a bird than a pony." She gave a halfhearted laugh. The tears rested upon her chin before dripping to the earth. "And it was my dream... my absolute dream to be a Wonderbolt. I trained, I trained, I trained. Then the witch found me. And she destroyed everything. Y'know, I would've preferred to be an earth pony. But she knew. She knew alright, and she used it to her advantage."
"Shattered dreams..." Button Mash shook his head, his eyes glazing over. "At least she didn't make you a changeling."
Dinky gave a small smile, wiping at her running nose. "Yeah. At least she didn't do that."
There was a pause, before the violet-coloured filly lunged forward with outstretched hooves, besieging him with a hug and burying her face into his fur as the stream of tears turned into a river.
Button Mash returned the hug, his own eyes welling.
It was like that for a long time, just the two of them, looking at each other for comfort, allowing their emotions to slip, before finally they broke apart, and Dinky smiled.
"Th-thanks... I've been holding that in for a while..."
Button Mash returned the smile, before a wave of seriousness dominated his air. "Now you need to forgive Sweetie Belle."
"What?" Dinky screeched, recoiling. "But... but no! She's been nothing but a rival! An enemy! And she's a unicorn!"
"You're a unicorn."
"There's a difference! How can you even trust her?"
"How can you judge her when you haven't heard her side of the story?"
Dinky paused, running a once-over through her mind before finally surrendering. "Okay fine. Do try and sway my opinion. Convince me otherwise, I'm listening."
"I never told you what Chrysalis did to me." Button Mash looked down, his face grim, as the story wasn't his aspiration. "Well, she cursed me into this mansion. I cannot leave its borderlines, and I've spent six years just chillin' here, pondering the meaning of life."
"This whole time I thought the castle was abandoned," Dinky whispered. She remembered passing it by in the woods. She remembered townsfolk, saying it was haunted. She remembered fearing it.
Button Mash continued. "Chrysalis also gave me this odd disorder. You must have seen me conking out earlier. Well, that was the doings of Chrysalis's magic. Anyway, Sweetie Belle and her friends eventually arrived into the picture, and there's a whole story behind that, but it'd take too much time to explain.
"Anyway, just yesterday did Sweetie Belle find a cure which would lift the curses which plague me. There were seven ingredients we needed to find, so we all went out on this massive scavenger hunt."
Dinky Doo raised an unconvinced eyebrow. "I'm not getting how this has anything to do with Sweetie Belle manipulating me."
"I was just getting to that. Zecora - this zebra who's really into paranoia - told Sweetie Belle that there was some kind of time limit to it, although I'm not sure what she meant by that, so naturally, everypony was really rushed.
"There was a final ingredient needed to power this brew, and this final ingredient was a lock of golden mane. When they saw you, they thought it was fate. I don't know, maybe it is, but that is why you woke up to Sweetie Belle hovering above your head with a pair of scissors, and that is why she was being really brash about it."
Dinky sighed, lowering her head. Her hair swept over her face, and even from there could she see the one section cut shorter than the rest.
"Are you convinced?"
"I suppose."
Button Mash could still sense the doubt in her tone. "Dinky, I have a feeling that there is more to your dislike towards Sweetie Belle than her being a unicorn. Is there?"
"I... suppose..."
"Do you want to share it with me?"
Dinky sighed, solemnly gazing up. "That spell she used. The manipulative one- the one she used to paralyse me on the spot. It was the same spell the changelings used on my mother when she was captured. It reminded me so much of that day... also the fact that Sweetie Belle's magic is green... just like a changelings'."
"Dinky," Button Mash spoke, looking her straight in the eye, giving her every reason to believe that he was being genuine. "I know Sweetie Belle, and if there's anything I can tell you, it's that she is nothing, I repeat nothing like a changeling."
"You really think so?" Dinky's voice had gone hoarse from all the weeping.
Button Mash gave a stern nod. "I know so. Now do you think you're ready to come out and see if the remedy really works on me?"
Dinky Doo smiled, the first true smile she'd had in a very long time. "Absolutely."
Button Mash returned the grin, before retrieving a small device from nowhere and pressing down on a single red button.
Dinky gasped as the floor shifted beneath her, and was further astonished as she felt herself being lifted up. The floor was rising, causing the speck of light on the roof to magnify with each passing second.
It was like an elevator.
"Are you two okay?"
Sweetie Belle was the first face Dinky saw when she reached the top, but instead of cowering away like she would on any other day, she gave a firm nod, exchanging a smile with Button Mash.
"Better than ever."
…
Just one step...
"Okay, time for the moment of truth! Can Button Mash escape the bounds of his curse, or will he forever be trapped by the borderlines of this castle? Does anypony know, cause I don't!"
Sweetie Belle rolled her eyes, trying to hide the smile which twitched upon her lips. "There's really no need for the commentary, Scootaloo."
"It sets the scene! It's totally necessary," Scootaloo responded, blinking as the sunset caught her vision.
Just one step...
Dinky watched each pony, quietly standing at the back, but enjoying their company nevertheless.
Button Mash was one step away.
Just one step...
She hoped it'd work, she truly did. Otherwise, all of this drama wouldn't be worth it, and she'd forever feel guilty. Her mane wasn't exactly a gold anyway, it was more of a platinum blonde...
Just one step...
"How are you feeling?" Babs Seed asked Button Mash, smiling despite the fifty percent chance of success and the fifty percent chance of failure.
"Nervous." The colt responded. "And excited... nervecited?"
"I like that word," Scootaloo chirped.
Just one step...
"Are you ready?" Sweetie Belle asked, mockingly batting at his shoulder. "Or is there yet another thing you need to do?"
"Actually, yes." Button Mash spoke, smirking as her playful expression went into that of exasperation.
That was when he kissed her.
Directly on the lips.
Sweetie Belle's expression changed again, this time into shock, and Dinky smiled.
So Sweetie Belle's the 'she' he was talking about. I knew it!
As they broke apart, Button Mash avoided her lingering gaze, but there was no denying the grin which was spread across his face. "Okay now I'm ready."
"Ah hem, yes, on three!" Sweetie Belle croaked, her cheeks the most rosiest of pinks. Her voice didn't sound so melodious now!
Everypony joined in on the chant.
"Three..."
Just one step...
"Two..."
One step...
"One..."
Step...
"Zero!"
Seven pairs hooves crossed the boundaries.
Dinky's own hooves of pastel purple, alongside the flamboyant ones of Scootaloo's. Next was the silvery hooves belonging to Rumble, and Babs Seed's, which were the colour of dark, rich gold. Next came Apple Bloom's, which were a light yellow, and Sweetie Belle's, as white as a glowing moon.
And finally, came two hooves, unmistakably brown, like the bark of a growing tree.
"It worked!" The outcries came.
The ponies danced around and cheered, all the while chanting Button Mash's name and laughing at their accomplishment.
He was free! He was free!
Yet, Dinky still felt as though something were wrong. She stopped prancing around, for just a second to look around and examine her scenery.
That was when she noticed the ever so familiar eyes, golden like the setting sun, burning into hers.
Dinky made note of the pony's grimace, alongside her ears which were tucked back, like a dog snarling at an intruder.
Eventually Apple Bloom looked away, but Dinky's stare continued to dig deep into the pony's cream fur.
Why do you hate me so much?
I can't write romance. *cries*
And for anyone confused, Button Mash and Dinky love each other, but it's totally platonic (nothing will ever beat Buttonbelle). In my universe, their parents, Derpy and Love Tap were good friends, so they kinda grew up together and they're basically siblings.
Also, I'm going to try and update at least once a fortnight, or once a month. Something around there.
Oh well, hope you enjoy the chapter! Finally I have my mane 7 of the CMC. From the very beginning I wanted them to be kinda parallel to the older ponies:
Rainbow Dash: Scootaloo
Fluttershy: Dinky Doo
Rarity: Sweetie Belle
Pinkie Pie: Butten Mash
Sunset Shimmer: Babs Seed (both reformed villains)
Applejack: either Apple Bloom (for obvious reasons) or Rumble (since he's kinda like her)
Twilight Sparkle: either Apple Bloom (since she's the leader) or Rumble (since I characterise him as more nerdy at times. Also, I prefer Twidash over Appledash)
That was my idea anyway. I have one more story to tell in the CMC perspective, and I'm trying to decide on whether to make the next chapter a CMC chapter or a chapter revolving around the older ponies. Tell me what you think in the reviews!
Anyways, thank you for reading and stay tuned for the next chapter!
Peace out.