The Quest For The Past (2024)

I was at the library with Vesper and her bitch, reading a book about making homemade cider. The others were doing something at Rainbow's house.

"Why are you even reading that?" Asked Vesper. "It's not like the mutation'll wear off anytime soon."

"'Mutation'll' isn't a word," I replied.

"I don't care."

"It could wear off at any point in time. Plus I can't get cider right now anyway since I'm out of money and can't get more or transmute sh*t into cider without magic, so I may as well learn how to make some myself."

"You'll still need money to buy the ingredients." I stopped reading.

"sh*t." I tried to levitate the book back to the shelf, only to be reminded that my magic was cut off. I sighed. "Can you put this back for me?" I asked, pointing to the book.

"Sure. Bitch!" Watcher flinched. "Put the book back!"

"Yes, Mistress," he whimpered before grabbing the book and running to the shelves.

"Y'know, I've been thinking."

"I did that once," I said. "Now I have no magic for three weeks."

"Very funny."

"Thank you."

"Anyway, I've been thinking of maybe joining the royal guards." I noticed Watcher stop what he was doing to listen to her.

"Why?"

"Well, I'd get to have a lot of fights, save the world, break orders, get disciplined, maim my superiors, go on the run as a fugitive, hide out in Ponyville for a few months, eventually get found, put on trial, sentenced to execution, escape dramatically, re-save the world, get excused for for my offenses, go on to become a higher up, retire at an old age as a war hero, get bored from not fighting, get involved with saving the world again, die dramatically and leave a legacy. It'd be a laugh." There was an awkward silence. "I was kidding." I let out a sigh of relief.

"Thank Realta for that..." Vesper frowned.

"Wha's that supposed ter mean?"

"Your accent's slipping again." She continued waiting for an answer. I rolled my eyes. "I meant that it would be incredibly boring here without you."

"Uh huh..." There were a few seconds of silence.

"So why do you like to hide your accent?"

"I don't really like it."

"Why not?"

"I just... Don't. I mean, sure, it goes really well with my voice and look, but..." She sighed. "I just don't like it."

"Fair enough."

It was a few days later and the five girls, Vesper and I were going to visit Rainbow. We were flying on a Support Circle (being controlled by Vesper).

"So where is she anyway?" I asked.

"Sheee eeez teh Whoo-dar-boo TRAINS ahahahaha," replied Applejack.

"Oh, she got in?"

"EHK."

"Nice."

"What the buck?!" Yelled Vesper. I looked over to her to see a tornado flying towards us extremely fast. Oh sh*t!

"Move!"

"I can't dodge that thing with all of us on here!"

"Then disrupt it with something!"

"Like what?!"

"Use a Shield Cir-! No, uh...! Hit it with a Det-! No, can't use that either..."

"What do I hit it with?!"

"I don't-!" The tornado slammed into us, tearing us off of the Circle which shattered with Vesper's concentration. That was the last I saw of her or the girls before I was spinning around the vortex. I couldn't hear or see through the intense wind and movement. Of course this sh*t happens when I can't use magic!

Suddenly, I was thrown out and falling towards the ground. I had to fight against my gut instinct to summon a Support Circle. If I hang on, Vesper will probably maybe catch me! Unless she was knocked out! I fell for a few more seconds. I really hope she wasn't knocked out! I fell for a while longer. Wow, I'm up really high. How am I even breathing right now?

All of a sudden, Rainbow flew past me, grabbed a cloud and condensed it with gyroscopic flying. I slammed into- BUCK! I slammed into it, breaking my right foreleg and a couple of ribs, before being sprung back upwards into the waiting hooves of a nearby Pegasus. I thanked them as they carried me towards safety.

We touched down at the training academy (it was built onto the side of a mountain, so it was solid ground) and, after thanking the Pegasus again, I limped over to the others who looked like they'd gone through something similar (but with little to no injuries). Rainbow landed near us.

"Are you guys all right?" She asked frantically. The others said their various forms of 'yes' before she turned to me and gasped. "Cloud! Your leg!" I looked down at my broken leg. Damn, worse than I thought... It was bent at a ninety degree angle and was twisted around the wrong way. The part that had twisted around was dark with bruises and bleeding quickly.

"Wow," I said somewhat faintly, "this is gonna suck when the adrenalin wears off..."

"Are-Are you alright?"

"Doesn't look like it..." I realised I felt kind of... Floaty. "I think I'm in shock..." A pale turquoise Pegasus flew over to Rainbow.

"That was-" She started before seeing my leg. "Holy buck! W-What's wrong with his leg?!" Rainbow turned to her, looking very angry.

"His leg is only like that," she snarled, "because you wanted to use a bucking tornado!"

"I don't mean to interrupt you two," I faintly forced out, "but I'm gonna lie down now... And maybe pass out... Would really appreciate some medical attention..." I fell forward into the grass and lost consciousness.

The bed I woke up in wasn't as comfy as the ones in the royal hospital. The cardiac monitor was lower quality too. My right foreleg was completely numb and my chest felt tight and painful. I slowly opened my eyes. Room doesn't look as nice either.

I was in a sort of medical hall. Instead of individual rooms, the beds seemed to be just screened off from each other. My leg was in a cast and my torso was heavily bandaged. From the feel of my forehead, the magic damping ring had somehow managed to stay on during the chaos. One of the runes on it probably has something to do with that. Vesper was sitting in a nearby chair. She stood up as she noticed I was awake.

"So," I croaked, "this has been a generally sh*t month." Vesper smirked.

"For you, maybe," she replied. "How're you feeling?"

"Tight." She raised an eyebrow. "That sounded less suggestive in my head."

"Uh huh."

"Are you and the others okay?"

"Yeah. Last time I saw them, they were dealing with some social problem."

"Oh." There was an awkward silence. "So how long until I can walk again?"

"About ten hours, give or take. But I'm taking you to Rib after, just to be sure."

"Okay." There was more silence. "Any chance of you telling me about your sixteenth birthday?"

"Nope."

"...Okay..."

"I doubt I'll ever tell you it."

"I'll wear you down eventually."

"You tell yourself that."

This chapter was kinda awkward and didn't really have a sense of direction, but that's how the actual episode felt to me for pretty much every character except RD. So I guess it's fitting?