MLP – United We Stand: The First Reunion
Chapter 3:
- Art of Deceit -
An MLP fanfic, by Reculverin_Alchemist.
You would probably ask me how I am doing. Or how was the previous day. Or what I am. Or even my favourite fruit juice. No, I don’t ignore personal questions, I answer all of those! It helps to give me reliability with customers! How do I deceive the customers into paying for fake stuff? Simply! I give them a sample, they use it, go back happier, and I give more of it for bits! I have my compass though. One - I don’t sell false cures to ponies needing urgent care. There, I turn into Docpony Vitrolic, and genuinely give them a treatment! Two, I don’t give false cures to fix real problems, I only give false cures to help them take their worries off themselves! Three, no ‘cure’ has any persistent negative effects. I am a doctor pony, not a poison pony, and I have some standards!
Ehh… I guess that it wasn’t my best day… I mean, four days ago, it wasn’t. My foreleg was broken when I tried to convince a pony to buy a cure to help them take their focus off anger, and I cannot help myself in that state, except for rolling my eyes at my pushing of a fake not working out. Leathery wings or my other hooves can’t handle tools alone to put my leg into shape, and my muzzle just cannot reach my foreleg either.
What I have, Vitrolic Medicine… gone off with that stupid idea to be a bit pushier… the customer was a lost cause, yet I still held on that! Everypony knows that batties cannot take much punishment, unlike Fallacy! Especially not me!
My own father, Darkblade, watched over me with an incredulous sigh drawing on his fanged muzzle. Big? Check. Cool castle north of Canterlot? Check! Believed to be a pony vampire? Check! But that’s not what he truly is! He is my parent, just like Nightwing! They two wield a curse though, that makes their batty instincts uncontrollable near fruits. This is probably why they wanted to raise me in a way that avoids their downfalls - to not lose myself near those sweet apples.
I probably should first say where are we? Yep, it’s a gray hospital, hoof-drawn ponies from the filly hooves decorating the walls, the wooden, rough beds that are not comfortable in any way (as I really needed to clench my muzzle and eyes just to sleep!) and a lot of light from lamp posts! Baltimare is just a type of a town I don’t really like for lack of darkness. We, batponies, like it dark, because our screeches (we just call it screes shortly, because we simply can shorten it) can help us in navigating castles or caves or other dark places!
I am a mare with a desaturated dark blue coat and a salmon coloured mane. A stroke of purple is a bit awkward though (I really want to get rid of it, though there’s nothing anypony can do about that), but I can live with that. An… I guess two curvy lines seeming like a thread used to stitch something and two thingys one puts on wound to close it- anyway to not trap myself into overthinking, that sign is my cutie mark - my mother interprets it as if I was destined to be a doctor, my father instead believed I was just perfect for deceiving ponies for their own sake. I just want to make my parents proud there!
- “Oh Vitrolic, tell me… did you try being pushy a bit too much about the stallions again?” - He asked me, letting a beleaguered sigh out like a concerned batfather, wondering what happened back there.
- “Um, Bladey, I kinda… yep… got pushy there.” - I couldn’t try dishonesty on him though, he always beats me at that. - “But at least Fallacy got me here.”
My dad just smiled and patted me on my head, messing my mane up… hey, it took like a good while to get it jagged! And he just undid it in like a moment! But I was still giggling, as I knew my dad would be chill with me.
A nursing pony with a white coat and a red cross as a cutie mark approached me, and put a spoonful of a boring meal in my mouth. I braved it out, but I wouldn’t want to eat it much again after I’m back!
- “H-how long will it regrooow?” I whined a little, impatient.
- “As we said, you might need to take a month of rest until a bone realigns and mends. Just be lucky it wasn’t pulverised by a stallion, those are unmendable without serious magic.”
I made another whine with my nostrils, wishing that it was just a scare, but alas it still wasn’t. I decided to look at my dad. “D-do you think I can tell Fallie our stories?”
- “Sure thing, Vitrolic! Just make sure you don’t get carried away with those.”
And then Darky left me on my own for some time. I don’t know how much passed, maybe a quarter of day? But then a lemon-ish pony arrived soon after, waving to me.
- “Hello, Vitrolic! You have Flask’s deepest wishes of recovery! Though he says you shouldn’t be too pushy.”
- “H-hey, that’s my job to do it, otherwise how would I gain enough bits to support you on a bad day?” - I made a rebuttal on the latter statement, because hey, I do myself, I am an independent mare, not a somepony always needing help!
- “Yea, riiight, Vitrolic.” - She then uncorked the vial with light-purple liquid and smeared it on my broken leg, with me making some whines of pain. She’s a bit too rough with her hoof massages! - “Sorry! It has to be that way!”
- “Fallie, b-but it huuuurts!” - I yelped again, trying to get her attention to that.
- “Oh, sorry. I think I got carried off too much, didn’t I?” - She made it a bit softer, but it still hurt. But at the same time, I felt like the bone’s going to mend a lot faster?
- “Y-yea… anyway, Fally, care to listen to my family’s story?” - I asked her, with my eyes staring into her pleadingly. At first she wanted to leave me be, but with a bit more, she broke down into a groan and a sigh.
- “Fiine, Vitrolic. Just don't tangle your logic too much.” - She… gave me hooves up for my storytelling? I smiled, and decided to tell my parents’ backstory first.
“Twenty six years ago, Sylvena.
My dad, Nightblade, was at first just an unicorn with cream fur and emerald mane. Also, he was called Royal Blade, coming from Celestia’s royal guard! (Now he has no horn, but darker cream batty wings!) He also had his mare, Wingguard, then a pegasus with waxy mane and azure fur. Her cutie mark was a shield with a pair of wings sprouting from it, his was a blade with a golden edge and brass hilt. So they were about to investigate the Sylvenan castle, north of Baltimare, under rumors that there were ponies missing. And the perpetrator called Blood Call. You know, a big, meany pony… actually no, he’s the one of nicer ones, it’s just he was one of more or less… cursed ponies. When a curse strikes, the batpony goes feral and looks for any fruit to drain. No, it’s not blood they’re looking for, but the ponies were kinda scared of them anyway!
My parents ventured into the valley where the so-called Blood Call’s big, spooky castle is placed, and bucked the door wide open. A lot of bats flew out of it, and Wingguard had to cover her husstallion’s eyes, because there were so many!”
Obviously, Fallie had to interrupt my storytelling, as she caught something, like… I didn’t give any amount of the bats. - “Okay? I’m just going to ask - how many, exactly?” - She would ask me.
And then I would follow up with a shrug, because frankly? I don’t know how many of them appeared, my parents didn’t say how many there were at all! Maybe just with time, some details just are forgotten or uncountable? Regardless, I would be back to storytelling.
“There were a lot of bats, like it took a good while for it to clean up! They were at the large corridor, bulky stone columns to the sides, and a massive throne on which a stallion baticorn was sitting on. It had golden ornaments, red fabric and marble base, with a bronze chalice to the right.
- “Hmmph. Ponykind. Always getting into my way. We’re not evil because some other species have fangs and drain you, make no mistake. And I desperately needed some… ponies to repopulate our species.” - The pony looked at the adventurers - would-be my parents.
- “Well, talk about that, but you’re still by Celestia’s name a villain to defeat and ponies to get freed from your tight grip! En garde, bat!” - My father pulled a sword, which got pinned into a wall. - “What-”
- “I could have left you out alone if you didn’t try threatening me. No matter what, I still have hope that with a curse you’ll understand our hardship. You understand that?” My would-be dad tried pulling the sword off, yet it kept slipping off his telekinetic grip. Yes, Blood Call was a great magic user, a baticorn, yet instead of hurting ponies, he settled on tricking them. Then Wingguard yelped as she got carried off towards a nearby room, the one with two chain cuffs. (Fallacy: Wait, why would the curse giver settle merely on them?) I wonder about it myself! Anyway, he was about to cast a spell on her, before Royal attempted to cleave them, only to be stopped midair!
- “W-why w-won’t you accept it and let us arrest you?”
- “Because I, Blood Call, am locking you in your new cursed bodies. Watch, unicorn, it won’t be painful for her. And it won’t certainly be long before both of you give in and bite the apples near you like a starving bat, heheh.” - As the Bloodie put one hoof from each pony on the chain cuff, he channeled the spell and fired it, causing both of them to turn into batpones, losing feathers and horns! And they did bite the apple, both of them shocked to learn they became a batpony family!
It took four or five years until I was born, but they weren’t able to get rid of the curse ever since. No wonder that when I was born, my first name I got was Hope Spot! Because they really hoped I didn’t share a curse. And yes, I was unique in that way I didn’t share it. Obviously we were hiding in a cave, because my parents weren’t sure if they’d be able to return! (Fallacy: Uh, why wouldn’t they? I always thought that batponies are legal citizens of Equestria?)
Weeell, no Fally, at that time they weren’t. But my curiosity, when I was an older filly, about six or seven years old, got the better of me… and spared us from hiding forever?
- “Okay, I still wonder why you were hiding in the caves.” - Fally seemed a bit too curious about that.
- “Didn’t I answer that with the fact Blood Call tried to rebuild his family with questionable means? But… if it wasn’t for that, how would I screeeee?” - I decided to just do that softly as a demonstration of my ability. My ears picked up on every single edge of the room, of course, some cracks in the wall being heard by me.
- “Oh, right. You’d be a pegasus or unicorn should that not happen, yes?”
- “Basically, Fally!” - Yep, she’s often right, and sometimes she’s repeating herself or digging herself deep into her own lies if she wants to prove something ‘wrong’.
It was just a little darker to me, but she did seem to be nearly blind in darkness. - “Eh… it’s getting dark,Vitrolic, mind if I leave now and visit you tomorrow instead?”
- “B-but what about the cutie mark story?”
- “Heard that already like five times.”
- “B-but I bet you didn’t hear it from me, only from Trachea!”
- “Oh, right, that changeling. Hmm, maybe I’ll stay a bit longer for your recount.” - I breathed out a scree of relief, hoping she’d stay until I’m finished with everything.
So, like I said, it was sixteen years ago, when I decided to sneakily fly from the cave to Uncle Bloodie. I mean, he’s not my real uncle, but he caused me indirectly, so I called him as such? The castle held no scare for a filly like me… well, maybe a bit, but still none! I knocked on the door, with it being opened with a loud creak. And a hug from the baticorn.
- “You know, Hope Spot, you might need a real Cutie Mark soon, and with that a different name.” I scrunched, as my mane was all messy again, but chuckled from his treatment. He had told me many stories about his adventures and stumbling into the castle and getting cursed inside it. He clearly blamed Celestia for it, but held no serious grudge against her ever since I first flew to him and resisted the ‘curse’.
- “Yea, Uncley, I know?” - I had no success at finding any in caves or in the castle, or even in the wild. He did lead me to some room to the right soon after, pulling a map of the region, and putting me on the seat.
- “I know you’re sane enough to avoid negative attention. So your uncle will ask one thing. Fly to Sylvena proper, the village Unicorns and Earth Ponies inhabit. And try to get a cutie mark. It’s for your sake, not for mine, not for your parents. Maybe as an added bonus I can possibly get out of hiding and prove I’m not the crazy vampiric pony they portray me as?” - I looked at the map, where our dot was, where the road was, and where the other dot Bloodie was pointing at telekinetically.
- “All right, Uncley! Wish me luck!” I screed cutely, as I flew out of the castle, and into the village of Sylvena. It had a lot of Earth Ponies and Unicorns, bustling with life. Though I had to avoid guards, they seemed to be nice to each other.
That’s when I saw the pony break the foreleg… in the exact same place I had broken it. I swooped down, them noticing and trying to run away. - “G-guards! F-filly vampire p-ponyyy!” - They didn’t go too far, so I rolled my head. But the stallion in need can’t escape me.
- “Yeeeee! I feed on heelping!” - I don’t know how I pulled that off, but I had found two pieces of wood and a roll of cloth from somewhere and started making a splint for their leg. The unicorn, terrified and confused, looked at me, trying to knock me away, but I was too small for him to find when he aimed it! And so, I made a splint and… well, my flanks just flashed! I had an orange cross and two red lines on them! I was so taken with joy that I jumped a lot and forgot that the guards cornered me with their pokey pokes!
- “Ahem… do we arrest them? They just helped an unicorn.”
- “I don’t know, sir. They seem to be happy, and harmless. Despite being a bat.”
- “Also, don’t bats usually target fruit stands?”
- “Good point, Halberd Axe.” - The guard picked me up, and put me in a carriage.
- “Normally you’d be arrested for being a vampire pony, but… we saw your prowess with the aid, almost like a real nurse pony would. You’ll stand a trial, but we’ll make sure you’ll be released as soon as possible.” - I was confused. Why arrested? Why a trial? Then we arrived in a tower, and they led me… somewhere to the medical section.- “Take a look. If that’s your talent, I’m pretty sure you’ll soon learn ‘bout all the tools we have. Also, just in case.” - The guards left me an apple to bite into and a book - the one that I used to learn after that. But first, I fiddled with the tools. They strangely felt… nice in touch. But what interested me most were varieties of potions used to lessen the pain. Or make the pony less unwilling for a surgery… whatever.
The guards decided to close off the bay for the night soon enough, under the guise to keep me safe. I didn’t question much, but I decided to use the time to observe all the tools, before I fell asleep, draining the apple off its juice.
The day later, the trial was held, but in my absence. The guard just put me on them and sneaked me away, with a warning he whispered to me.
- “Whatever you do, don’t give yourself to Sylvenaponies until your species name is officially clear.” - I nodded and, after the pony gave me a book I hadn't begun yet, I flew back to my family. They were proud of me, doubly so because I got my cutie mark, though they were really, really worried about me. Nightwing in particular thought of my new name as Vitrolic Medicine, and I took it. The years that passed had my parents split in visions on how to train me. My father taught me that not every disease required a real cure - some sort of a fake could work too to cure some diseases, warmed with a friendly word. My mother instead taught me that there’s a fine line between helping and angering a pony. Uncley Blood? He helped me understand the art of tricking a pony! And me? Well, I had learned how to do proper aid and charming ponies into being helped!
Like nine years ago I spotted an injured… pony-shaped thing. This creature was called Trachea. She needed my aid, but then a big mean dragon shot after me, clamping and biting, and even flaming in the general direction of me. At first I decided to go to the thing, which grabbed me, and showed me its fangs, keen to do something… and I didn’t know yet what, so the panic set in and I had flailed my legs about, trying to set myself free from them… yet obviously she was stronger than me.
- “You’re mine now, prey… hsss… whaat…?”
Then they dropped me down and looked at the dragon, instead opting to fight the dragon, and I was really baffled. Why was I a prey to them? What did I do to make them think so? And yet, they fought the dragon instead with ever stronger ferocity the more it was hurt. I barely understood that, but the dragon was defeated, and the threatening thing laid on the ground, really injured! I didn’t have a conscience to leave them be, so I began trying to patch them, and they looked at me, confused and annoyed that I showed her some compassion. But I mean, why wouldn’t I? After all, I wouldn’t be saved if not for them!
- “Hsss… why you… helping… need no help… hss…” - I continued anyway, after which it grabbed me once more… and then something clicked! She actually let me go with a scoff. - “Hmmph. I’ll find different prey.”
She turned out to protect me often in situations where I got into trouble. Too bad a year ago she got caught by the royal guard for draining a lot of ponies prior to the arrest. She sorta was my closest friend… no, second closest to you. You had been in sorta similar situation as me - not exactly accepted by society, yet doing it against all the odds. So this makes it six years, when I met you in a Baltimare. Ah, you and your gambling… you did invite me to the game of Appleossan poker like an innocent mare. In fact, you needed me as a fluke.”
- “Well… sort of. Remember the moment when a cheats-stallion got angry at you and nearly beat you down until you were about to be a cheap skelepony costume after a time?” - I would recall the situation from before, much to my lemony friend’s confused glare!
- “Unh… Vitrolic, we… you’re strange sometimes with your speech. Like… I don’t get why you make it seem like a joke!”
- “Well, because unlike you or Flask, I had a relatively calm life? I mean, I heard from you that Flask lost his only parent and is living in some hut somewhere near ruins of… uhh…”
- “Revenville?” - She would respond to me, as I kinda froze up here. I know that the unicorn friend lived somewhere, but Revenville alwaaays slipped from my memory. So, I nodded and continued telling a story.
- “Yeah, that! So, in the middle of them beating you up, I asked them cunningly. ‘Ummm… kind stallion, need a medicine to keep your anger at bay?’ They answered ‘NO! Well… actually, yes. That mare got me so angry I almost choked the life out of her.’ So I fed them the ‘medicine’ and… well, it worked like a charm! They backed off, and sighed, leaving you be!”
- “S-stop making a cheap joke about that, Vitrolic! I could've died there if your gambit failed, you understand that, right?” - She would roll her eyes… well, I probably could prove my ability to convince ponies, right? She is a silly pony, thinks everypony can see through other ponies… because she does.
- “Uhm, but it didn’t fail?” - I looked at the night sky, and back at my foreleg.
- “Yeah, lucky me I guess. I’ll go now, just catch some rest and your leg is going to be better.” - Then Fallacy started heading towards the door. - “Good night, batty!”
- “May Luna take you under-”
- “There’s only Nightmare Moon, silly filly! Luna was corrupted and then sealed by her sister Celestia, Vitrolic!” - That goodbye always made me wonder if Luna would ever come back… but I still hoped so, as I let out a soft grumble.
- “Aaaw… good night then.” - I decided to rest and sleep, preparing for the very day I could give them a live action take of my own tricks! And I also wished for the day Fallacy stops calling Luna the Nightmare Moon. That’s just a silly name for her! It’s not like she has given me any nightmares so far!
The next day, lazily stretching up, I noticed the foreleg didn’t hurt at all. I already missed hanging from the tail though, it always makes me sleep better after an exhausting day or night. I started trotting off, only for a nursing pony to notice and try putting me back in. - “Nonono, you have to rest, young mare. You still have to, your bone-” - She looked at my own leg curiously. - “-wait, how did- when did- what did-!?”
I simply screed a bit innocently, as I was in an awkward grip, the Earth Pony still holding me by shoulder pits. She let me go soon after, still confused. “Hmmph… so not a month.” I jolted out soon after, with a mare trying to protest my vigor, but I know better than stopping! I just had to find Fallie to thank her and follow up on my thoughts from yesterday to show Fallie how do I trick a pony?
So I went out of the nursery and into the streets, where I started to look for the lemony pony again. I think I had bumped into some ponies though in a rush.
- “Watch it, batty!”
- “Watch where you’re galloping, stupid mare!”
All the buildings just seemed… too samey, like… there were no details in them, like cracks and rough edges in caves or a lot of echoes in castles. Even the edges felt a bit too rounded to me. As I was internally complaining about the city, I had bumped into her too, but that caused me to fall, as I kinda was pushed on a stray wheel that I tripped on.
- “Geeh! Sorry!” - I looked from below at my friend, clearly not amused. She waited until I got up, and sure enough I did, with my face showing that I really was too impatient to wait.
- “Vitrolic, did you daydream again? I mean, you might need to get those under control soon, because you bumped into me, and Earth Ponies cannot be easily moved.”
- “I-uhhhn… yea?” - Mayyybe a tad bit too daydreamish for my own safety, but at least I didn’t sprawl helplessly, asking for trouble. Yeah, it happens way too often, especially near the stallions.
- “You might really need to stop thinking and watch the road from time to time. After all, whopony knows what would happen to you next? Like the misadventure with my father? Of course, I had a bail out of the arrest card-”
- “Umm… I thought you were sentenced and had to serve the time?”
I think I broke Fallie, as she blankly looked at me… and I was proven wrong on that thankfully, as she was asking me by then. - “Wait, when did you hear that?”
- “Oh, me? When we first met, silly filly!” - She seemed to be still confused, denying it.
- “First time speeches don’t count though, they could be made upon pressure.”
- “Your first one wasn’t?” - I still remember the time she told me how she learned those tricks from the dungeons. And she seemed to sigh.
- “Even I am not infallible, Vitro… I guess I simplified that part of my story to the bartender a bit.” - She chuckled heartily, and so did I. It is always nice to have a friend like her, as it kills the boredom from an otherwise bland town.
- “I know? But also you didn’t seem to be punished much by that?” - I recalled the one I helped could use her tips for living in the cell. - “Maybe you could tell my other friend how to live in the dungeon?”
- “Honestly… not everypony has to use my ways to live in the cells, because if everypony did, how could I hold a monopoly on breaking ponies logic into fallacies?” - She appeared to be rather unwilling to share her ways, but for me… honestly, it’s fine. It’s not like I could share my ways with everypony, just my closest friend!
- “I see. Mind if I show something to you?” - I decided to change the topic to something I am an expert at - making ponies happy by conning them into curing themselves!
- “Sure, but it better doesn’t involve a really sick pony being cheated there.” - As she spoke, I made sure to look for anypony that looked slightly sick… you know, coughing, sneezy, all those things.
Well, here he was, a juvenile Earth Pony stallion who had been coughing, lavender coat and white mane. Probably also learning stuff, since he had saddlebags full of books… or so I thought. Well, he wasn’t carrying any, just some hollowed covers! But I can cure the laziness, just she waits!
So I approached him, and with a sweet voice, I spoke out, trying to reach him. - “Aaaaaw, a poor little colt having some little cold? How cooould I help with that?”
He clearly seemed to glare at me, as if I wasn’t really needed, but umm… that’s just juveniles doing that, I guess, to focus away from their problems?
- “C-can you all stop trying to care for me? I am not troubled!” - That would be let with a scrunch and trying to sound angry… I still don’t know how to be angry, after all, nopony ever tried to do so on me? At most, well… they would likely pass it off. - “And stop acting! I-I’m just a bit s-sick!” - Then he would realise and sigh, defeated by cute and batty me! - “All right, okay, I’m sick.”
I was ready to make sure he wouldn’t try to skip another day, so I decided to quickly sneak in a motivational letter to a package that also had some syrup on it, and gave the package to him.
- “Aaaand here, hopefully you do see the receipt inside the package. Also, have a nice day!” - I waved at him, as he begrudgingly put my ‘medicine’ in his saddlebag and left the area. For me? That’s just my job to make sure mares and stallions don’t feel bad! But now I feel a bit bad for Trachea, seeing how she’s still in Canterlot and needing some… help breaking out? Like a buyout or something? So, I decided to ask Fallie something.
- “Fally, do you have enough bits for the buyout? I think it was like three… four hundred bits.” - And then she shook her head. Aw come ON! How much did she lose gambling again that Flasky or I, or even Firey had to bail her out again?
- “Nope, three fifty bits.” - Well, at least she had no unlucky spree now. Then… well, something happened and there was a screaming pegasus, that went crying. So… I decided to investigate that… and nope, they weren’t acting, they indeed were trying to reach their muzzle to their wing to soften the pain here! So, at that point, all the fakes went out of the window, and the genuine help I decided to offer! Even without my saddlebag, I would try reaching for Fallies to see if she had anything! While she was slightly leering at me for un-permitted shuffling about, she did at least understand that I was looking for anything to splint the thing that was broken…
…unh, in some ways there were more than one broken thing, as slightly tapping both a left wing and right upper foreleg was met with pain of that stallion. Calm now Vitro and do the job… calm down…
As I made a splint from some cloth Fallie had and some stray branches (I had to break some of them from the trees, drawing a bit of ire… but in the name of medicine!), the pegasus would start calming down and look at me wondering when I’ll be done. And I was done, soon enough, so I decided to call Fallie and have us two carry them to the same hospital in Baltimare as I landed in, putting him on the bed and avoiding any more pain.
- “Broken leg and a wing, but shouldn’t be too much now. Maaybe a time off from flying, but I think mister would know about this after all!”
The nurse would come as soon as I spoke to them, a bit confused on how I managed to do that.
- “A cutie mark in medicine, silly mare!” - I would respond in kin, but she had more questions.
- “But then… but then why did you land here with a broken foreleg, then?” - The nurse had… slightly valid question? Because Fallie could’ve come with me to Flasky’s place, but then I would probably sneak an aphrodisiac in his soup… and I blushed a bit from my train of thoughts of what could’ve happened next… Trachea would be happy to be fed… but not now, silly Vitro.
- “Because nopony can help themselves if they have no means to do that, silly nurse!” - In some sense, she had conceded that, as I was right here. Without Flasky, it would’ve been at least a month without galloping or doing anything seriously without using the wings instead… and I can’t fly non-stop!
As I was rewarded for helping, I went back to Fallie and decided to mix our money together. Exactly… four hundred bits! Trachey will be freed now!
- “Also, minus ten bits for a pair of scarves that you used up to stabilise the stranger pony with.” - Or not now, as she immediately goes into the shop and buys them, so… we’re left with three ninety? - “Or not, I had ten more bits than I thought I had. Well, let’s go, let your friend free.”
My hopes weren’t dashed, as I immediately decided to tackle-hug Fallie, her cuddling back to me. - “Fallie, you’re the best pony… t-thank you…” - As we continued cuddling, we were met… with a stallion… I thought it was Flask, but Fallie didn’t let go, so I flailed my hooved legs helplessly now. - “Let me cheeeeeeeeck them out!”
- “Nope, it’s not Flask.” - Disappointed again, I wished for him to at least come from his hut once a week. Oh well, I guess it should change soon, once he visits Baltimare…? If he visits it at least?
- “I really wish he would go with us from time to time, though?” - I replied back, as he really does miss out on all the fun otherwise, but Fallie just rolls her eyes, like I was just wishfully thinking.
- “Look, Vitro. As much as I’m concerned about him, he has an actual job to do - making potions, one of which he gave to you. We can just move on to Trachea, but first… you mentioned about your… friend being locked up in Canterlot, right? How am I going to be sure that they’re your Trachea and not for example yet another ordinary lovesucker? After all, you… didn’t share those details” - And then my eyes went wide - of bucking course I forgot to say details about my friend!
- “I thiiink that I know… red- maybe ruby-like eyes and carapace about… I think between flanks and shoulders? And a jagged mane, of course.” - Still not used to naming… her anatomy, I think, because I’m far too familiar with a pony one. And yet, she did nod.
- “Well, this leaves a map, which I do have, of course, a week or two of trotting to Canterlot, and maybe a week or two of supplies… which are back at my home.” - She would then lead our way back to her home…
And after a quarter of an hour passed, we arrived at the cobbled, little darker street where the home was. It was quite fancy, unlike the rest of them. Maybe from outside it didn’t stand out, but inside, I gazed at all the things she had in awe. Like… that was a lot of them - cards, and what not… and she always had a new thing to show to me, even a dice or a card or whatever.
- “Found the other cheater yesterday night, when you were sound and asleep, tried to scam me into an insurance for you for two-fifty, so I decided… naturally, to dissect a lie. And what she said? She wanted to duel me at cards. So obviously, stacking odds against me, as a dealer has an advantage. They always have one - they can peek at their cards, and then say they play it fairly. Or sneak another set of the cards. And yet, either they were bad at their scamming job or they didn’t know how to cheat, as I did dissect their behaviour in cold fallacies. First one. She always started with an ace. Knowing I had another one, I waited until the second ace was used… to even the field. Second one, she always seemed to use sevens, and even claim they best everything. Since I didn’t have any cards higher than eights in that game, obviously, I sacrificed all the cards except for two eights to save the ace. And she actually started celebrating her victory… but not so fast. So, I had called an ace in the exact same moment as she did. And she thought I was cheating, since she thought I already had lost an ace. And I did not. Alas, when…”
I wasn’t paying attention to the rest of her story, as I decided to look about, and dig my fangs in a nearby apple in the basket, suckling the juices from this one dry, smirking innocuously as I did. Of course, after her telling the story, she arrived, and looked blankly.
- “Maybe I overdid my story here… whoopsie, should’ve been making sure you’d listen!” - She would giggle a bit, and so would I, given I don’t necessarily try listening to all the things, just to the ones I need to. - “But for real, it’ll take some time trotting to the mountainous city, so let’s pack the supplies now.” - So we did, shortly after Fallie made a remark for it. I was packing waterskin, dried fruits… because even while fresh apples do work, they rot away far too quickly to be practical. And Fallie packed up the small bales of hay, waterskins and dry loaves, I guess also for longer journeys. We cannot digest grain or hay, but she can, that’s a difference. She also had to pick up some of her ‘tools’ to do some fun with, with me staring at her confused.
- “I thought we were only to pay it for the guards, Fallie?” - She would shake her head.
- “Nope, maybe to also get some bits back from that whole ordeal in that place. After all, I… I just don’t really recognise what Trachea is.” - Silly Fally, but she’s right, she cannot know what I don’t know… mostly, and it’s about my friends. So… after a bit of making sure we were ready to go into Canterlot, we went out of the front door and started trotting our way out, setting up camps for the nights that would come, with me resting on a branch and her on the ground, like how we sleep usually. Probably nothing eventful would happen on our way… but she always said to watch my rears… because what, some stallion would sneak on me? Ah, silly Fallie and her even sillier ideas. But then, after four days of trotting, she was proven right. So… we were ambushed by a stray group of big meanie Graybeasts… I mean, I made that name up, but really, they were gray, acted like wolves and were a bit bigger than me… and yet Fallie had little trouble defending us from them… unlike me, who promptly collapsed out of fright and fainted.
So when I woke up, Fallie was panting, with cuts across her thighs… and well… there was a burning pain on my fores… bitten. I quickly used up the scarves to block the thighs from bleeding after treating them with water, then cleaned the bite from my upper foreleg. Couldn’t do much for myself, and it still hurt like Luna forsaken and b-bleeding, but I could manage it. After all, it didn’t bleed that much.
- “Anf… we need to gait away before those wake up and begin chasing up. I think we’d better hire a chariot back home to Baltimare once we’re done, because that… was kind of embarrassing. A mistake to be exact, to try going on our own.”
While I was a magnet for trouble, and Fallie was just a big, tough mare that protected me sometimes, neither of us had anything to say against the wilderness, I guess? So, we quickly started gaiting away, with us getting in the old… shack. Totally not a complete ruin, a fine place for me even if creeping the Earthie a bit.
- “Vitrolic, a-are you not s-scared of t-the random s-shacks out of n-nowhere?” - I broke a sweat, although I was more worried about her than the building. Living in abandoned places or caves taught me that the superstitions about ruins… are simply silly.
- “And why would I? It’s not like there’s anything to meet us other than cover from the outside?” - I would quickly rebuke, but it would make Fallie a bit more uneasy. To make things a bit worse though… we miscalculated the food amount. I think we were about to run on empty for a few days. Not bad for her, since she still can graze, but not exactly good for me, as I don’t know how to forage! Flasky did try to teach me how to do it, but alas, he simply couldn’t, I kept picking poisonous herbs with no use! Or the Poison Joke and then rubbing it on him… of course I would also be affected, but him speaking with the voice of a mare was always funny to hear about… if I wasn’t constantly hiccuping along his mare voice grumbling and getting us two a cure for that one. Sweet Luna, that… was the funniest thing ever… if she watches us from the moon, of course!
- “Ungh, we still have to clean up the rubbish inside that shack if we’re to spend the day in hope of us avoiding those beasts, and then going on further on.” - Fallacy would then interrupt my daydreaming, as I would shake my head quite violently, scree a bit and get on moving the rubbish into the corner. In all, there was a hay bed, it clearly needed quite a replacement for the hay, a wooden beam that I don’t really trust, some pictures of some ponies, overtaken by moisture, since I don’t really recognise what they are, then there was a wardrobe that had all the clothing… only one of those would work for covering my wound, as I rip out a piece suitable to do that from a half-rotten dress, and cover the dried bite mark with the piece that was sturdy enough. Here was also a shallow log for sitting… and I really hope we wouldn’t have to spend more than one day living here. It’s not even about it being spooky at all, it’s about my tummy, and the fact it would demand food.
Looking out of the window, those Graybeasts were already awake now and, as some of saliva built up in my throat from the fear, I let out a hearty gulp. We cannot fight them in our current state, though.
- “Fallie, Grays outside, what do we do?” - She would then move the ruined things to block the doorway and the window… hopefully they don’t notice us. The cycling would continue for a fair bit, while Fallacy would fiddle with the dice and cards.
- “Well, that’s great. At least you would appreciate that I had an unplanned help for the boredom!” - She would already be shuffling them, inviting me to play indirectly… and what else could we do anyway? Sit here silently or listen to our stories endlessly?
- “Aaaand you mean cards, right? You’re shuffling them, maybe I’ll try that once again? I’ll beat you to it, just you wait!” - While hopeful, I lacked experience that she had to beat her… well, if luck wasn’t a concern to us. - “And if I win, you check out the hatch I just saw under the…” - I took a minute, as I clearly did see some cuts in wood, but… the question was - where? And I found that one. - “Under a counter we just put in front of the door!”
She nodded, understanding, as she smiled heartily to me, but then added a fair condition. - “If I win, you scout that first. And no screeing to help yourself with.” - Maybe not that fair, but she didn’t scree and wasn’t able to locate things with that, so… good enough. And yet, I predictably lost the game, after wasting a ‘good opportunity’, as she spoke about the Princess situation.
- “I really was holding back, and you somehow still lost. Well, I think you shouldn’t have used an ace as a second card in a tri-card battle, because only third card wins.”
- “But-but…” - I wasn’t sure why I made such a blunder… I guess I’m not a good player, and I grumbled, as in saying to myself - good job, Vitro, you made a mistake that made you lose. - “Grrrnf, FINE! I’ll do it, then.” - At least I’m fair enough to do my job, and while screeing helps, in twilight we still see just as correctly as in full light… because we don’t really see well enough in sunlight, I guess?
Helping myself with wings, I lifted the hatch up, as howling came closer to our place, seemingly everywhere! And quickly screamed like a little filly when I saw a pony bones. I mean… it would’ve been a fine scare for Nightmare Night, but it’s way out of the season! Still, I think I disturbed Fallie enough to come in… and make a statement calmly.
- “Calm down, Vitro, it’s just bones, not a giant oversized rat or something.” - As she said so, I slowly was encouraged into booping the bony skull… and… nothing happened, so I calmed down.
- “H-heh, I never had seen a skelepony before… I mean, in anatomy books, yea, but…” - my ears pick up on the door being broken from the outside, and the hatch closing up, trapping us in the darkness.
- “Okay… you can scree, I can see nothing.” - Fallie let a sigh, and I let out a sad scree, still picking up on some surroundings… and here was nothing to light a basement? Come on, Vitro, is there even anything here other than bones, boxes and barrels? There… there was nothing here!
- “Can’t pick up anything to light up for you… so this means… we’re in a pickle?”
- “Not any pickle, I’m afraid.” - She would dash my hopes for if that was just gonna be a moment and it’s over. Because the howling and scratching isn’t stopping. And since we can’t see each other, we settled on sitting down. - “Ya un ah’s dun it.” She would speak in… umm… was it her native tongue? - “Alas, we’re in a big pickle… and here’s nopony going to free us… so what’s the plan here?” - She would ask me, after which, I screed, confused while letting a movement with my shoulders, to signal a shrug. I had no idea what to do here… and I’m afraid that not even her statement is a good metaphor to our situation.
We’re in a veeeeeery big pickle, Fallie…
…and either we try to break out, or hope they go away.