My Little Pony Fan Fiction ❯ My Little Pony: Days of Future Past ❯ Chapter Two ( Chapter 2 )
[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]
Disclaimer: `My Little Pony' belongs to Hasbro and `X-Men' belongs
to Marvel respectfully. No profit is being made out of this
work.
…
Chapter Two
…
The countryside cottage appeared anything but welcoming. It was in
a state of extreme disrepair and was definitely showing its old
age; especially with the abandoned horse stables nearby. Twilight
even wondered whether anyone was still residing in this seemingly
forsaken home. The atmosphere she felt was far too morbid.
“Are you sure this is where she lives?” she asked
Firefly.
“Yes, this is it. I'm positive.” she insisted.
Spike and the other ponies watched patiently while Twilight
approached the door of the boarded up cottage. She pressed her nose
on the doorbell. No reply, since the mechanism was broken. She
tried knocking with her hoof. Faint footsteps followed. Suspense
gripped her as the door creaked open very slightly.
“Yes, what do you want?” an icy female voice from the
darkness groaned.
“Excuse me,” Twilight cleared her throat, “I'm
sorry to disturb you, but I'm looking for somebody by the name of
Megan Williams? Is she around?”
“Who wants to know?” the voice snarled.
“I'm Twilight, from Ponyland. My friends and I have come
because-“
“Yeah-yeah, good joke, kid. Laugh it up, but Megan doesn't
live here. Go away.”
Twilight wasn't entirely pleased with the cold shoulder she was
getting. “Just for the record, I'm a Unicorn pony, not a kid.
And my name IS Twilight.”
“Riiight… a likely tale.”
“I'm not bluffing, you know. We need to talk to Megan,
urgently. It's a matter of life and death.” Twilight pleaded.
“I heard she used to visit Ponyland many times and help the
ponies… that was until several years ago, when she vanished
and never came back. Please, do you know where we can find
her?”
There was doubt for a brief moment… then followed by a faint
snort.
“No, you're only wasting your time. Leave me alone!”
the voice replied reluctantly.
The mysterious and paranoid girl attempted to slam the door shut on
the uninvited guest's face. But Twilight pushed it firmly against
her and resisted. She knew well enough that searching for Megan
wouldn't be as straightforward as she hoped for.
“I'm not finished yet!” Twilight said with absolute
persistence. She refused to be spurned so soon. “There's so
much I need to tell her in too little time! And judging by how
uncivil you are, I'd sense that you're hiding something secret from
me!”
“Leave! I've said it before, there's no Megan living here!
She's gone!” the girl asserted.
Twilight was unable to hold the door for long when it finally
closed. She heard the clicking of locks on the other side. That was
the last straw; if the girl wanted to play hardball, then that was
what she was going to get.
“Open the door now!” Twilight demanded.
Her horn began to glow, summoning her magical energy. Her intent
was to telekinetically swing the door open with sheer force,
overpowering the locks. Instead though, within a flash, she
disappeared out of sight, and then reappeared directly on the other
side of the door. She was now inside the cottage.
“Huh?” Twilight said, surprised that her magic had
teleported her right into the woman's abode quite unintentionally.
It was apparent that she lacked her telekinesis in the World
Beyond. “Is that all I can do now?”
In front of her was the young face of a teenage girl, around
eighteen or nineteen years. She was in a ghastly condition with
dirty slippers and a torn nightgown, not to mention how unhealthily
thin she appeared. She bore blue cerulean eyes and blonde hair that
was messy and uncombed. From these physical characteristics alone,
Twilight could tell right away that she was some nutcase, as if she
had just escaped from some psychiatric ward.
Shocked by the pony standing before her inside her home, the girl
rushed frantically to the storage room to fetch something.
“Hey, relax. It's okay.” Twilight tried to reassure
her. “I'm not here to hurt you.”
She didn't know sooner when her eyes met face-to-face with a
polished double-barreled shotgun, fully loaded. Twilight went
cross-eyed for a second, then her face dropped in severe terror.
The girl cocked the firearm, aiming it at the frightened pony. She
was unafraid to pull the trigger if needed.
“YIKES! Don't point that thing at me!” Twilight
flinched nervously.
“Then GET OUT!” the girl yelled.
She kicked open the door and nudged her head outside, inadvertently
exposing her identity from the sunlight. Spike and the ponies in
the field watched motionless when they saw Twilight being forced at
gunpoint to leave. The girl wasn't going to take `no' for an
answer.
Then from out of the blue…
“MEGAN!” Firefly called out.
Megan stopped what she was doing and glanced sideways to see a
familiar face come rushing towards her. With a blink of an eye, she
recognized Firefly, for she was the first ever pony she encountered
long before who could talk to her, when she was in dire need of
help to save the ponies from the clutches of the evil Tirek. She
was the one who introduced her to Ponyland and its inhabitants.
Those wonderful memories meeting on that faithful day, flying
across the nightly moon in song, suddenly came flooding back to
her.
“F… Firefly?” Megan whispered, lowering her
gun.
Firefly stood perfectly still as Megan slowly reached a hand out to
her. She stroked her mane softly with her delicate fingers and then
moved down to touch her nose. Megan could feel it; the warmth of
her skin and her soft gentle breathing. This was no illusion. It
was real.
“Megan, don't you remember me?” Firefly asked.
Megan sighed, dropping her weapon. “Of course I do.”
she answered as she fell to her knees and broke down in tears.
“It's just been too long since I last saw you!”
Spike and the other ponies approached Megan, seeing their long-lost
friend in heartache. Along with Firefly, they gathered to embrace
Megan affectionately after so many years. She had changed so
dramatically yet little had her friends. It was a happy albeit
unplanned reunion. Twilight, however, still remained inside of the
cottage, astonished that the girl who had moments before threatened
her life, was in fact Megan Williams.
…
The Volcano of Gloom still remained as the residence of Hydia and
her two children, Reeka and Draggle. Despite their unceasing
incompetence, Hydia continued to try ever so hard to teach the
girls how to become a despicable and despising witch like herself,
as it was in the long family heritage. And even though attempts
such as the Smooze had worked to an extent, their schemes had
always been thwarted. It appeared for a while that they couldn't do
anything right.
However, in recent years, Reeka had begun showing better potential
to follow closer in her mother's footsteps. This consequently made
Hydia draw more of her attention towards her, leaving Draggle to
fend on her own and feel neglected. It was unfair and unjustified,
but old habits died hard. Such were the nature of witches to commit
such cruel acts, even amongst themselves.
Yet something else came to pass over time. Unbeknownst to everyone
but herself, Draggle in her mind was gradually drifting apart from
the way of sorcery and witchcraft and shared small interest in
them. And bit-by-bit, hazardous to say, she grew to harbor sympathy
for the ponies, likewise for nature's other admirable creatures. As
she matured, even under the wing of her sadistic and appalling
mother, the question occurred to her in the course of time as to
why she was pressured tremendously to abhor the most pleasant and
charming aspects of life. Surely at first, she despised them far to
the extreme, but was there any reason, any purpose in being so
disgustedly antagonistic? Was her feeling of ambiguity the reason
behind why her magic capabilities were currently dwindling? Perhaps
it was her conscience reaching out to her, telling her that she
didn't have to follow in the footpath of witches after
all…
“DRAGGLE! Get over here!” Hydia ordered. “See
what new spell your sister is conjuring up today!”
“Coming, Mama.” Draggle shut her mouth and immediately
corrected herself. “I mean, Hydia.” she stopped
sweeping the floor with her broom and sped to her mother.
Hydia was about to scream at Draggle for addressing her as `Mama',
something she detested enormously, but forgave her this time for
the common mistake. Besides, she was far too engaged with Reeka by
the cauldron, teaching her how to cook up another evil witch spell
with some raw and fresh ingredients. As usual, Draggle was left to
handle the house chores. Not the most exciting job for one still
young.
Reeka, still chubby as she used to be, was chewing on a millipede
and other revolting creepy crawlies as she stirred the cauldron
with a wooden spoon under Hydia's watch.
“You make me proud, Reeka. You're the best daughter that any
witch could ever ask for!” Hydia said, smiling with glee.
“There's so much devotion and passion within you!” she
patted her loyal daughter on the head, before deviating her eyes
towards Draggle with a scowl. “Why is it that YOU can't be
like her?”
Draggle innocently shrugged, swinging her arms behind her back
casually and thought. “Well, um… maybe that's because
you hardly give me a chance to practice MY magic, and er… I
need help to improve them.”
But her words only fell on deaf ears, for Hydia was distracted
elsewhere; she was ensuring that Reeka wasn't making any mistakes
with her spell that might accidentally cause a massive explosion.
Draggle grumbled, annoyed that nobody was listening to her. Of
course, this wasn't the first time Hydia had done this.
What prevented Draggle from shouting out of frustration was when
she noticed how awfully youthful Hydia appeared today. Her face was
somehow less droopy and her skin was smooth and devoid of wrinkles.
She seemed almost ten to fifteen years younger. What's more, she
was wearing less makeup on her face, revealing more of her natural
beauty. Reeka was far too set on pleasing her mother and commented
nothing about this. Yet it caught Draggle's notice
considerably.
“Um, Hydia…?” she dared to say.
“What is it?” Hydia glared.
“Um, er… I just wanted to say how beautiful you are
today.” Draggle meekly replied.
“Oh… why thank you, Draggle.” said Hydia,
inspecting her physique in the reflection of the cauldron.
“I've been taking more care of my looks lately, you
know.”
“Um… something else that's been bothering me. Something
I've been meaning to ask in a while.” continued Draggle.
“Why do we have to hate the ponies? I mean… I
understand they've been nothing but a nuisance and granted,
everything they do and represent tends to irk us… but why?
Wouldn't it be better maybe to talk to them and try to work out our
differences, you know, work things out? I've been thinking…
what's wrong with just getting along with them?”
By this time, Hydia's face was heating up to a boiling point
already. “Are you questioning the way I've raised you?! Are
you taking pity on those pesky ponies?! Are you defying
me?!”
“N-no, mother, I mean, Hydia!” Draggle cringed in fear.
“I would never mean to defy you. I was only asking
if-”
“Allow me to remind you, Draggle. Your family has forever
loathed the ponies and everything pretty they've brought upon our
world for ages! Straying from our beliefs, our dignity that we
strive for would be nothing but an uncompromising taboo! So I say
this once, do NOT break our tradition! Child or no child of mine,
you wouldn't want to disappoint me if you value your life dearly.
Is that clear?”
The ominous warning from Hydia was enough to render Draggle mute as
she nodded obediently. Hydia snorted and turned away, picking up a
couple of rats and hurling them into the cauldron. She wanted to
pretend her daughter had never asked those bold questions.
“Now then, when you're done sweeping up the floor, you can go
fetch the flume that we'll need later!”
“FLUME?!” Draggle exclaimed, knowing well enough how
painstakingly difficult it was to gather such. “But why me?
Why not send Reeka?”
“Because she's going to become a better witch than me one
day!” she laughed, hugging Reeka with arrogance. “And I
wouldn't want to endanger her life at this point.”
Reeka did nothing but extend her tongue and blow a raspberry at her
skinny sister. “It stinks to be you, Draggle!” she
remarked.
After six years, it was hurtful and embarrassing for Draggle to
witness how much Hydia favored her sister over her. Yet there was
little she could do about it. She could only assume that after
Reeka had reached the top of her ladder of success in becoming a
full villainous witch, there would be time for Hydia to shift more
of her focus and care on Draggle. She could start to set a good
example if she complied in obtaining the flume, even if she dreaded
it immensely.
Draggle gathered her bucket and pickaxe and was about to set off.
But before she could step out through the entrance, she was
abruptly halted by a towering and sinister figure. Its shadow
loomed over her and she staggered back, almost afraid it was going
to devour her.
There in the doorway stood the demonic centaur of darkness himself:
Tirek.
“Good afternoon, Draggle.” he said calmly, arms
crossed. “Might your mother be home today? If it is not too
inconvenient, I wish to have a word with her… now.” He
stared at her piercingly, threatening to pulverize her if she
didn't summon Hydia promptly.
Draggle hesitantly nodded and called out: “Um, Hydia! There's
somebody here to see you! Sounds pretty important!”
Tirek grinned, exposing his sharp teeth.
…
Megan poured herself another glass of Jack Daniel's. She paced
around her living room, after hearing everything about Twilight's
story. She gulped her fourth drink in one go and sat back down on
her armchair. Spike and the ponies awaited her response.
Megan juggled the ice cubes in her glass and said: “So let me
to put this straight. This Princess Celestia, you say, and all her
pals from this Equestria place, as you call it, sent you here from
the future to help save Ponyland from these giant metal men, who'll
apparently wreak havoc and decimate everything that we cherish. And
you need ME to stop THEM from ever wakening and cross-stepping into
other parallel universes?”
Twilight nodded affirmatively.
“HAH!” Megan scoffed, rolling her eyes away adversely.
She was without any doubt tipsy from all the alcohol she consumed.
“That's one heck of a tale you have there,
Twinkie.”
“It's Twilight.”
“Yeah, Twilight, wh-whatever.” Megan shrugged
nonchalantly, sinking into her armchair. “Look, I appreciate
you coming back to see me, honestly. It's great to see you ponies
doing so well after this time. Thanks. But the fact is, I'm just
not buying this story.”
“It's not a story. It's going to happen tomorrow!”
Twilight corrected.
“Well, suppose that was true,” Megan thought, despite a
bit of a headache, “suppose everything you said does happen,
why do you need MY help?”
“Because you can show us the way to Hydia's lair.”
Twilight answered sharply. “Firefly told me about your
encounters with her and the other witches, Reeka and Draggle. She
also told me they once kidnapped you, threatened you to be cooked
alive… that was until you managed to escape, suffice it to
say. The ponies had no idea of your whereabouts until you returned
to them safely.”
Megan knew about that incident all too well. It was a daunting
experience and one that she couldn't forget. She mumbled:
“You don't say…”
“I DO say.” Was Twilight's quick response. “And
if you don't help us to find those witches in time before Tirek
does, then it'll be too late!”
Megan rested in contemplation, settling her glass on the table.
Then without saying another word, she abandoned her armchair and
calmly departed for the stairs, gesturing the ponies to leave her
house.
“I have to get up from this bad dream… I'm sorry. I
can't help you. Not after what's happened.” Megan shook her
head in sorrow. “You guys know the way out. I'll wave goodbye
to you here before I head upstairs and back to bed. I need my
rest.”
Twilight only huffed with impatience. “What's wrong with
you?! Why have you stopped caring so much about us, Ponyland,
yourself?! The Megan Williams I was told about was always a great
leader. The ponies looked up to you as a hero, cheered for you and
shouted your name whenever trouble was afoot. Whatever brought you
to all this?”
Twilight looked around Megan's run-down cottage, which wasn't too
well maintained, truth be told. The ponies continued to watch the
conversation in silence. Spike stepped forward, hoping that he
could help bring Megan back onto her feet.
“Megan, I know it's been long, but please try to understand.
We need you, at least one last time.” he asked kindly.
“Wake up! Don't you see that our lives are in peril?”
Twilight had to remind her. “This is our only chance to
change that!”
“Like I actually give a darn.” Megan moaned. She burped
discreetly and leaned against the wall, still drunk as her eyes
began to drop. She said under her breath: “Can you… can
you just leave now…? I wanna be alone… Twilight, I've
told you… I can't help… and I won't… go back home
with Firefly, Spike and the rest of your silly load of cockheads,
will ya…?”
That did it. Twilight roared in protest and pounced onto Megan with
her hooves, making her slump on the staircase. The ponies were
stunned. Spike begged Twilight not to hurt their moody and
dysfunctional friend.
“WATCH YOUR LANGUAGE, YOU MISERABLE HUNK OF JUNK!”
snapped Twilight uncontrollably with her temper. “I didn't
come here from light years beyond just to lecture you about the
woes of my decaying world! I've lost too many of my friends out
there, good ones! And if you want to sit here cooped up in this
heck hole, not giving a rat's butt about what's going on outside,
then be my guest, go ahead sulking in your own self-pity, because
in the end, we won't stand for you when those murderous machines
come knocking at your doorstep!”
Megan's heart was beating so rapidly that it could have burst. A
harsh tranquility filled the cottage as Twilight calmed herself
down and released her.
“Please lead us, Megan,” Firefly spoke out, “if
you don't, we'll die.”
Megan, still with a callous attitude about the fate of the world,
simply replied: “We all have to sooner or later. It's the
circle of life.”
With that said, she returned upstairs and retired to her bedroom,
slamming the door behind her.
…
The witches had their noses stuck in the ancient book Tirek had
presented them. They read pages of detailed descriptions, accurate
diagrams and old records and reports of giant robots, prone to
destroy anything its master desired. They were equipped with
weaponry so advanced that it left Reeka and Draggle scratching
their heads. They were inconceivable yet also the ultimate tools
for destruction.
Tirek tapped his fingers on the table as the witches continued
reading on their couch. “The Sentinels,” he announced,
“devised long ago by my ancestors, accomplished in every
detail to hunt and kill any designated prey. Calculating, deadly
and utterly emotionless. I firmly believe that this is the key to
ridding us of the ponies for good.”
“So I don't get it.” Reeka said, snatching a black
widow spider crawling on her shoulder and munching on it.
“What does this have to do with us?”
Tirek smiled, delighted that she raised the question.
“Because… according to what's written on the last page
of the book, your dear mother, Hydia, holds the Scepter of
Darkness, an essential artifact that my ancestors passed onto her
before their passing. The Scepter of Darkness is required to open
the sealed gates of the Shadowy Caverns, where the Sentinels have
remained dormant for centuries. Inside there, the Crown of Darkness
sits… and he who wears it commands the Sentinels to do his
every bidding.”
Reeka laughed with ecstasy, bouncing on the couch and clapping her
hands with excitement. Draggle was unsure of how to perceive this.
Hydia remained still.
“Yeah! That sounds wonderful!” Reeka remarked.
“Those Sentinels will teach those icky ponies a lesson or
two! But Hydia… is it true what Tirek says? Do you have that
Scepter of… um, Darkness somewhere?”
Hydia gave a firm nod but was in mood for rejoicing.
“Indeed.” Hydia replied sedately, giving Tirek a stony
stare. “But know this. Your ancestors entrusted me with that
scepter for well-kept reasons. After fulfilling many of their
conquests, they later discovered that the Sentinels, quite
unexpectedly, were acting on their own accord. Soon enough before
it came to be realized, they no longer adhered to the one who
wielded the Crown of Darkness. Fearing much for their own lives,
your ancestors were fortunate enough to render the Sentinels
dormant with the crown in time, and before long, they sealed them
deep underground within the Shadowy Caverns, praying that no man,
good or evil, would ever unearth them. I have protected and
maintained the Scepter of Darkness safely since then I'll say that.
But I have no intentions of handing it over.”
“And why do you say that?” Tirek asked, his fists
clenching.
“Isn't it obvious? Because unleashing the Sentinels would
jeopardize not only the ponies but us as well.” warned Hydia
sternly. “You cannot control them, Tirek. Even with your
vastest armies, your mightiest strength and your darkest magic,
nothing will be able to stop them once they're awake. Even as a
cold and heartless witch like myself for hundreds of years, I'm
wise enough to know that.”
Tirek rose, pounding his fist on the wooden table, splitting it
clean in half. He shouted in an uproar:
“NONSENSE! My ancestors were weak, foolish and ignorant! They
didn't know better!” Tirek claimed, regarding himself far
more intelligent and superior compared to them. “I, however,
will possess every control of those Sentinels! They'll belong to
me! And believe this Hydia, you wretched toad, if you do not
deliver me the Scepter of Darkness now, I won't guarantee that I'll
spare your lives!”
“Your words alone don't frighten us, Tirek!” yelled
Hydia in return. “I could cast a spell right now and
transform you into the tiniest feeble fly if I wanted
to!”
Tirek snarled. He could have very well trampled Hydia under his
hooves; yet little known fact was that he also loved making
surprises, especially when it came to killing. Why waste the fun
when he could take more enjoyment disposing of Hydia and her
daughters later when they least expected it?
“Fair enough, dear Hydia,” Tirek calmed himself rather
uncommonly, “you've made your point across clear. Perhaps I
was a little impulsive with my sudden outburst. My apologies. I
suppose if there's one thing that we can agree on together, it's
not having a war spill out between us. And so for today, I shall
say goodbye and bid you and your daughters farewell. Thank you for
your time.”
He turned and quietly left for the exit, sending his final
words:
“Have a pleasant evening, ladies. I know I will.”
…
A few hours had passed.
A tense Twilight and her group wandered in circles in the grass
field in front of Megan's cottage. She wondered what would be the
next best plan of action. Things weren't leaning towards her favor,
for sure.
“I had a bad feeling we shouldn't have come back.” said
Surprise with a doleful look on her face.
“Cheer up, Surprise.” suggested Posey. “Where's
your optimism?”
“I must find a way to reach Megan.” said Twilight.
“I won't leave without her.”
“Do you truly not know about what happened to Megan?”
Firefly asked her. “Sounds like you have no idea.”
Twilight stopped on her tracks. “Of course I don't because
NOBODY'S TOLD ME!” she snapped, scaring Firefly out of her
skin.
“Twilight... let's calm down.” Applejack requested
peacefully.
“It's not our fault for how Megan is acting now,
Twilight.” Glory spoke. “We swear.”
Twilight sighed with regret. “I'm sorry, Firefly. I didn't
mean to get worked up on you like that. Could you please shed some
light on Megan for me? Sounds like there's a lot of background
information I'm missing here.”
“Um,” hesitated Firefly, “okay, though I'm not
sure if you're going to like it.”
…
Megan observed the ponies from her bedroom window. She saw them
gazing up at her, and shut the curtains fiercely. No question she
had grown a strong stubborn streak… yet how long could her
stubbornness last before misery would sink in again?
Thanks to Twilight's tantrum, her favorite nightgown was now filthy
and stained with mud. She was in desperate need of a new one. She
let out a grumpy groan and marched to her wardrobe, swinging it
open furiously. She browsed through her other gowns inside, pulling
out one after another.
She reached the back of her wardrobe, finding nothing that pleased
her. Though much to her surprise, she accidentally stumbled upon
something familiar: an orange button shirt, a brown leather
sleeveless jacket, a navy blue pair of jeans, a red hair ribbon
tie, and just below, a dusty pair of cowgirl boots. It was her old
cowgirl outfit she wore from the same day she met Firefly and
experienced her first adventure in Ponyland. The sudden flashbacks
rushed to her head again. It was one of the scariest yet blessed
times of her life for certain. What she would do to get back those
precious fond memories…
There was something else there, however. Attached to the button
shirt was an old photograph taken from Megan's first camera, one
she received as a present on her twelfth birthday. In the photo was
Megan herself, posing together with her younger lively siblings:
Danny and Molly. How much she missed them both.
A moment of warmth embraced Megan's heart, as she looked closer at
the photo and remembered the best years she had spending time with
Molly, especially. She wished that she were still with her now. She
missed her so much that… it merely raised the question to
mind:
“What would you ask me to do right now, Molly?”
Stillness. Megan went back to her window and withdrew the curtains,
seeing that the ponies hadn't left yet. She hurried and retrieved
her cowgirl outfit, seizing a pair of scissors from her drawer.
Positioning herself in front of her mirror, she stared at her own
reflection for a short period, asking herself if this was what she
wanted to do, before snipping off a piece of her own hair.
…
“My gosh, that's terrible!” Twilight shook her head in
unbelief, after hearing everything that Firefly had told her.
“No wonder she's become so sour.”
Firefly looked away in pity. “Well, there you go, now you
understand why some of us we're afraid of coming back
here.”
Just then, the door of Megan's cottage opened. All eyes were set on
Megan as she stepped out, dressed in her cowgirl outfit, which by
miracle still fitted her perfectly. She had straightened and
disentangled her hair, and now it appeared in a neat ponytail.
“Megan!” Firefly shouted with elation. “You're
wearing your old clothes!”
Megan wiped the dirt off her sleeves and tidied herself,
straightening up her shirt, jacket and jeans and adjusting her
boots. And with a deep sigh of admittance and a clear voice, she
announced:
“Okay, I've thought about it for a while… and I've
decided to help. But know that I'm not doing this for you… or
Twilight's future friends… I'm doing this for a special
little girl...”
All heads turned to Twilight, who was staring at Megan
soundlessly.
“Good enough for me.” she nodded confidently.
“Let's go and find those witches!”
Spike and the ponies formed a circle, beckoning Megan to join them.
The rainbow in the far distance was beginning to fade. Glory
summoned her magic and within a second, they vanished and were
transported away across the rainbow, the gateway to Ponyland.
…
Author's Note: By the way, that story mentioned about Megan being
kidnapped by the witches isn't of reference to any episode from the
original G1 cartoon. It's an event I threw in solely for the
storyline's sake.
Please leave your comments below. They're much appreciated. Many
thanks.