Whose Fault Is It?
Chapter 9: A Frozen Heart
Previous Chapter Next ChapterA/N: Sup, readers? I feel honored you're still reading this, really I do. Finally, some action once again in this chapter. The fun starts here!
For those of you that don't know, Lithuania's human name is Toris and Poland's is Feliks.
WARNING: There will be blood in this one. I dunno if there's enough to really count it as 'gore', but there's enough for some freaky mental images. Just lettin' ya know.
Oh, another thing. At a small request in one of the reviews, there's bits of Spamano friendship fluff towards the end there. Again, if you don't like that, I'm sorry, but I aim to please all my reviewers. :)
Disclaimer: I own absolutely nothing used in this fanfiction besides my OCs.
Enjoy!
The countries and ponies soon dispersed, mostly just to keep an eye on Feliks and to make sure he wouldn't explode from pure happiness. Only Kiku, Dmitri, Toris, and Twilight remained in the Ponyville Library now. The three unicorns were using their magic to repair the damage Alfred had caused, while Toris cleaned the splinters of wood and other small debris. Twilight couldn't stop staring with horror at the scars that crisscrossed Toris' back. The poor olive green Pegasus was trembling almost uncontrollably, and he kept glancing out the windows as though terrified something would suddenly jump up and attack him.
Still, they managed to work together in harmony; Kiku was explaining to Toris about Equestria, and about the way of life for pegasi, unicorns, and earth ponies. Dmitri was talking animatedly to Twilight about vampires, and she listened with interest.
"And one time, Alfred walks up to me and asks why I don't sparkle. I'm confused, so I ask him what he's talking about, right? He hands me this repulsive book –which, interestingly enough, was called Twilight- and I read it like the idiot I was. It was the most disgusting thing I've ever had the misfortune to read, a fost o rusine oribil la vampiri! I walked right back to him and kicked Alfred's-" Kiku cut Dmitri off, sensing a Romanian-style rant coming on.
"I think we're done." He interrupted smoothly, and the four ponies stepped back to admire their handiwork, exhausted but happy that the library was sufficiently repaired. Before any of them could say anything else, there was a loud ka-boom! They all hurried to the window and peered out to see a strange cloud of shimmering pink sparkles and they heard loud, Polish exclamations of glee. Toris sighed.
"That was Feliks." He noted, looking at the cloud with a resigned yet amused look, like he was quite used to this but didn't exactly enjoy it happening. "I'll go see if I can calm him down….I-I'm usually the only one who can…" Toris said quietly yet exasperatedly. He stood upright on his back legs and flapped his wings, or what remained of them anyways. He quickly remembered their state and stopped, lowering his head in embarrassment. "Oh…r-right…" He murmured, before walking slowly out the door with his ears drooped in sadness, closing it softly with a small click behind him.
Twilight stared with a mix of pity, wonder, and fear swirling in her eyes. Kiku, reading the atmosphere and sharing her feelings of pity, walked over to her. Dmitri, being surprisingly sensitive and serious, did the same.
"…Ivan." Kiku said finally. Twilight looked up at him; he had said the name with fear and revulsion, as though Ivan was something disgusting he found at the back of his fridge.
"What about Ivan?" Twilight asked as Dmitri scuffed his hoof against the floor again. Kiku's normally calm, brown eyes were burning with dislike, a frightening look for him.
"Ivan did that to Toris. Ivan gave him those scars and if I had to guess, he's also the one who clipped his wings." Kiku explained fiercely, spitting the words out like it pained him to even think of Ivan. Twilight stared at him in horror, then turned her gaze to the door that Toris had left through.
"…B-But why would he do that? Toris seems so gentle…" Twilight stammered, looking back at the two older unicorns for answers. Dmitri chuckled darkly and Kiku looked away.
"Because that's Ivan's idea of fun. You heard him call Toris his toy, didn't you? That's all other people are to him; playthings. It doesn't matter who you are, as long as Ivan sees you as weaker than him, you're his." Dmitri spat, and Twilight gasped. "You also saw the way he clung to Yao. Yao and Toris are his favorites; he stalks Yao all the time, trying to get him to come out and 'play'." Dmitri tried to make air quotes when he said the word 'play', but he had no fingers.
"He's a beast, Twilight. No one likes him, and not even his own sisters can control him. He'll never have friends because of what he did to Toris, and what he's still doing to Yao. You heard Arthur say that Ivan's mind broke a long time ago; I honestly think it never was there." Kiku hissed. Twilight hung her head.
It was true that when she first came to Ponyville, she didn't think friends were all that important. But now she couldn't imagine her life without them; how could Ivan go his entire life without any friends? If Ivan was as horrible and fearsome as they say he was, even she didn't think she'd be able to be around him for too long. Ivan could be a threat to Equestria if what they were saying was true. They had to control him somehow.
"I grew up around monsters, Twilight. And Ivan is one, the only true one I know." Dmitri said, staring into her eyes with fire and hatred in his.
None of them noticed it had started raining. Nor did they notice the open window. Or the two amethyst eyes watching them, filling with tears.
Ivan turned and ran.
A beast…never have friends…true monster…no one likes him…These whispers circled around in Ivan's skull, tormenting him as he fled Ponyville. Rain poured from the sky onto him, soaking him to the very bone and helping his tears in obscuring his vision. His scarf flew behind him as he thundered, thundered away from Ponyville, away from the library where he heard that horrible conversation. His heart popped out of him again, and was now sitting outside the library, alone and forgotten in the pouring rain.
Ivan ran; he ran and he ran and he ran, far away and deep into the Everfree Forest, carrying those whispers with him. So filled with hatred, so filled with disgust those whispers were, and they would not let him be no matter how hard or far he ran. He finally stopped in a large clearing full of swaying green grass, and beautiful wild flowers in all colors of the rainbow. But Ivan didn't notice.
The ice that surrounded his heart hardened as Ivan's face slowly morphed into a terrible, sadistic grin. Why would he want to have friends anyways? Friends are for the weak who can't do things by themselves. He didn't need friends. He just needed people to become one with Mother Russia.
He really should go back there and make them become one. His grin grew wider as his old aura surrounded him. His pipe would be stained red today; red with the blood of the ponies who insulted him. And afterwards, some vodka. Beating them all into oblivion, his gray coat and his mane dyed scarlet, the warm salty taste on his tongue, the very thought of it made him shiver in excitement.
That's what he'll do then. He'll wreak carnage across this whole country if he has to. But they will take back what they said. And everyone would be friends, because no one would be able to argue.
The still human part of his heart, the small glowing candle light in the middle of all that ice whispered to him.
But Ivan…don't you want friends who are alive?
Ivan ignored it, that grin never leaving his face as he turned back towards Ponyville, howling wind whipping the ends of his scarf back and forth and lightning illuminating his figure as thunder roared its approval of him. He began walking back to Ponyville, taking his slow, sweet time as he thought about all the fun things he would do to the ponies. He's never had a chance to make a horse become one, but it'll have to do for now.
"You fool." A voice said, and Ivan stopped, his pipe appearing in his mouth as he scoured the surrounding forest for the speaker. A figure appeared in front of him, a tall horse-shaped one, but with the pouring rain and wind blowing his mane in his eyes, Ivan couldn't see anything distinguishable about him.
"Get out of my way." Ivan stated coldly, his purple eyes boring into the pony in front of him. The figure shook his head. "Who are you?" Ivan asked instead after a few moments of staring at this strange new pony who dared to refuse him a request. Somehow, a wide grin could be seen through the wind and rain.
"I'm a friend." Those words nearly made Ivan drop his pipe. He stared at the newcomer again, this time with disbelief. Who would want to be his friend? Ivan smiled; maybe his new friend would want to help him make more friends!
"If you are my friend, you will move out of the way, maybe even help me make more friends." Ivan said with a grin, but the stranger shook his head, making Ivan's smile drop just a bit.
"I can't do that." He replied, planting his hooves firmly into the ground as though to fix himself there. Ivan's smile returned, wider this time. As if standing up straight will make him immovable.
"If you will not move, then you will play with me." Ivan laughed before raising his pipe against the night sky and bringing it down upon the stranger's head. Again and again, Ivan smashed the strange pony into a bloody mess of bone and tissue on the grass, laughing the entire time with glee and madness dancing in his eyes. Finally, after he was splattered in so much blood he couldn't tell his coat's original color, Ivan stopped, panting wildly and giggling insanely. "That was fun, da?"
The entire time, the strange made no move to resist Ivan's beating. He never once fought back. That made it a little less fun for Ivan, but he wasn't really complaining. It's a lot more fun when they scream, isn't it? Ivan snorted and began the trek back to Ponyville, taking care to walk on the splattered mess. His head was cocked to the side in almost cat-like playfulness, but that insane grin never left his face.
"You really are a monster." The corpse spoke to him. Ivan stopped, eyes wide, and slowly turned back to the mess. Streams of scarlet blood were beginning to mix with the mud created by the rain, creating wonderful rivers of color that trailed to and from the body. Bone was exposed in some places, smashed in others, all of it bent at horrible, unimaginable angles. Tissue was torn and ripped, hanging out of the pony's torn open stomach. There was no way they would have survived; yet they were talking to him, still.
"…What?" Ivan swallowed, backing away slowly as terror gripped him.
"A monster. This right here is why you will never have friends, Ivan. As soon as someone says no, you kill them. That's all you know how to do, is kill. What place does a monster have in the world?" There was an ominous silence as Ivan's eyes began to fill with tears again. He looked down at his hooves in misery.
"LOOK AT ME, IVAN BRAGINSKI. DO YOU SEE WHAT YOU HAVE DONE?" The voice suddenly roared, making Ivan jump and cower in fear, staring at the bloody pile of bone and skin. The pile he had created. He was a monster. No normal person could do that. No normal person would enjoy it. Ivan felt sick.
"YOU HAVE MURDERED AN INNOCENT PONY, ONE WHO WANTED TO BE FRIENDS WITH A CREATURE LIKE YOU. YOU ARE A TRUE MONSTER, IVAN." Ivan sobbed, shaking his head furiously.
"No…no I'm not…I didn't mean to…" He cried. He looked at his own hooves with horror, seeing the color of blood staining them. He had done this. He had murdered his new friend. NO! Ivan fell to the ground, sobbing as the wind roared and rain battered him constantly. But the voice wasn't done.
"YES YOU DID. AND YOU WERE GOING TO DO IT TO MORE INNOCENT PONIES, YOU BEAST. YOU HAVE NO PLACE HERE."
You're a monster.
Ivan threw his pipe to the side and ran once more, crying and shaking as he made his way farther into the forest where nopony would find him. Where hopefully, he wouldn't be able to hurt anyone ever again. The trees reached towards him like skeletal, black arms, scratching his coat and tearing great rips in his scarf. Frost formed wherever he stepped, blazing a clear white trail through the forest.
Tears blurred his vision, and more than once, Ivan hit a low-hanging tree branch as he ran. He sobbed, gasping for breath as the monster side of him fought to escape. He shook his head, crying and howling in misery as tears, rain, snow, and blood made a puddle under his hooves. He suddenly tripped over a tree root, but he didn't care as he fell face-first into the forest floor, trembling and horrified of himself.
He covered his face with his hooves, crying as the hole in his chest seemed to pulse angrily, making him yelp in pain in addition to sorrow. He threw his head back and screamed in misery, but his yell was unheard through the howling wind and roaring thunder. He curled up on the floor, all alone and terrified, wishing for someone, anyone, to bring him home and take his pain away.
I don't want to be a monster.
But I am.
I'm sorry.
I'm sorry for existing.
Compass Rose watched the whole scene from the shrubbery that lined the edge of the clearing. It was safe from the wind and rain at least, even though it wasn't comfortable. Her lime green eyes watched the big gray pony slaughter the other one, laughing while he did it. She couldn't hear exactly what was going on over the wind and thunder, but the gray one then fell to his knees, his sorrow etched clearly onto his face. He then turned and ran.
Compass Rose watched it all. She said nothing as bone was crushed like crackers, as organs were torn, as blood sprayed from the body like crimson mist. In retrospect, she probably should have done something to help the pony getting killed, but she felt more sympathy for the big gray one with the hole in his chest. He looked so sad once he was done…
Pinkie Pie bounced toward the library, an unconscious Feliks slung over her back and Gummy resting on her head. Poor Feliks had fainted from sheer pony overload. Toris walked beside her, head held low as though he was trying not to be seen. Pinkie Pie looked up at the sky and frowned suspiciously, narrowing her eyes at the clouds. When she suddenly stopped, Toris almost crashed into her but she didn't move.
"W-What are you looking at, Pinkie…?" Toris asked quietly, looking up at the sky as well. He noticed the teams of pegasi trying to eradicate the gathering storm clouds but having no luck, as their efforts to stop the storm seemed to make it rage even more. Most of the ponies were inside at this point, sheltering themselves from the elements of nature.
"There wasn't any rain on schedule today…" Pinkie answered after a moment or two, her eyes never leaving the sky. "And the pegasi teams are trying to get rid of it…" The Pinkie sense suddenly slammed into her, making her shiver almost as bad as Toris. "Something's wrong."
"Hey, w-wait up!" Toris called weakly, galloping after Pinkie, who took off like a bullet towards the library. He knew most of the other countries were already gathered there, but what could Pinkie be talking about? All he really knew was that the pegasi controlled the weather, and the Everfree Forest is the only place where clouds move on their own. He managed to walk into the library not to long after Pinkie Pie, shaking himself like a dog to get rid of the water.
"W-Where did Pinkie Pie go?" He wondered, not seeing the familiar poof of magenta hair anywhere inside the library. But wait, he could see her moving around outside one of the windows, moving around the bushes like she was looking for something. He cautiously put his hooves on the windowsill and poked his head out. "Pinkie? W-What are you doing?"
"I thought I saw something, so I'm looking for it. It looked shiny and important. Ah! Here it is!" She exclaimed with triumph, turning to him and holding something in her mouth. Toris looked at it and backed away, backed all the way into the wall, yelping in fear. "What?"
Most of the other countries and ponies had noticed Toris' strange behavior and were plodding over to him as Pinkie climbed back in the window and shut it behind her.
"Toris? What's wrong?" Kiku asked concernedly. Toris shakily pointed a hoof at the item in Pinkie Pie's mouth. Everypony's gaze traveled towards it and the countries all gasped/sighed/made an 'ew' face.
"T-That's Ivan's! I-It's his heart!" Toris yelled, obviously terrified of the object.
"His heart?" Twilight asked, levitating a pair of tongs and plucking the object out of Pinkie's mouth. As the ponies looked at it, the Mane Six couldn't help but notice it was so…small. It was a sad little thing.
"It pops out of him sometimes, whenever he's feeling a really strong emotion." Kiku explained.
"But why would it be outside the library? A really strong emotion…" Twilight's eyes widened as she realized what that meant. "Oh no, do you think he heard our conversation?" She covered her mouth with her hoof as she realized how Ivan must have felt. Antonio gently put a reassuring hoof on her shoulder and he smiled brightly.
"Don't worry, chica. If he did hear you say bad things about him, you would have been dead right then. But you're alive now, and he's not here, so you don't have to worry, si?" He asked comfortingly.
"He's right, as much as I hate saying that." Lovino grumbled. Pinkie Pie stared at the small heart floating in front of her, lost in thought. How would it feel to have your heart just pop out of your chest? That would be really embarrassing, not to mention kind of weird…Hmm…
"Shouldn't we go and look for Ivan?" She wondered aloud, and everypony quickly shook their heads 'no'. "Well, why not?"
"He's a demon in pony form. I want nothing more to do with him, and if he's decided to run away, it's fine with me because at least he's not here." Kiku snorted, turning away from her. "What's more important is where Gilbert went off to…has anypony seen him at all since Feliks and Toris arrived?" Kiku asked, and again, everypony shook their heads. "Great…"
"Why are you all being so mean?!" Pinkie suddenly shouted, surprising everypony greatly and making them all jump. Pinkie's hair was completely deflated and she was glaring at them, worrying the Mane Six more than it worried the countries. "Poor Ivan is lost all alone out there without friends! How can you just turn your backs on him like that? Aren't you his friends?" She cried.
"…No. We're not his friends. Do you see what happens to his 'friends'?" Kiku asked, pointing a hoof at the still-shaking Toris. "I could really care less about Ivan. Gilbert is the one we're worried about now." He then turned away from her, levitating a piece of parchment and a quill towards him with his magic. "What I'm really worried about is if Germany-san ever finds out we managed to lose his older brother…"
Pinkie Pie looked desperately at her friends for help, but they weren't looking at her, and if they did glance back, it would be with pity. Pinkie sat down heavily on the floor of the library and struggled not to cry.
Pinkie is the only pony who honestly has a 'dark' side, but Pinkamena only appeared whenever she was lonely or angry. She knew what it was like to be judged just by past actions; she was the only one who did. Ivan seemed creepy and big and scary, but she was the only pony who seemed to be able to see past that. How would it feel to have no friends, ever? To have people look at you and flee in terror instead of smiling in welcome?
"I-If you won't go look for him…" Pinkie Pie said slowly, looking up at Ivan's little heart with determination burning in her fierce blue eyes. She suddenly jumped, snatching the heart out of the air and landing with it in her mouth. "…then I will!"
"Pinkie, you can't! Not in this weather, at least." Twilight tried to reason with her friend, but it was no use. Once Pinkie has her mind made up, it's incredibly difficult to stop her.
"Ivan's out there and he's fine." Pinkie pointed out coldly, glaring once more at Twilight.
"Ivan's a lot stronger than you, Pinkie dear. And besides, do you not see what happened to poor Toris? We just don't want that to happen to you." Rarity spoke up, Francis standing calmly by her side. "Francis dear, what do you think?"
"…I think…Ivan is definitely a monster, but if Pinkie Pie wants to give it a shot, she can." He said after a few moments, making Rarity stutter in protest. Francis ignored her for once, staring curiously at Pinkie Pie.
"She could be killed! Francis, what are you thinking?" Rarity asked, horrified that her special somepony would willingly let her friend chase after Ivan in a terrible storm. Francis sighed and took her face in his hooves, gazing fondly into her ice-blue eyes.
"Mademoiselle, I understand your concern for Pinkie. But I'm letting her go because I am a country; I know that sometimes, miracles do happen. Remind me sometime to tell you the story of Beauty and the Beast." He said calmly. "And I think out of all of us, Pinkie has the best chance of surviving."
"I…" Rarity swallowed, looking back into his eyes before taking a few deep breaths and calming down. She turned back to Pinkie Pie. "Oh fine, if you want to get all dirty and get your mane mussed up, you go ahead. But if you do get in trouble, you come straight back here, okay?"
"That's right. Even though we don't agree with you, we're still your friends. We'll be in here if you need us." Fluttershy added softly, and Mathieu smiled at her, nuzzling his nose against hers affectionately. Fluttershy blushed and rested her head on his neck in return. Of course, Francis had to ruin the moment.
"You've grown up so fast, Mathieu!" He sobbed, tackle-hugging the poor Pegasus to the floor. Mathieu squeaked and gave a small 'maple' before pushing the older pony off of him.
Pinkie Pie looked around in awe at her friends, who one by one, smiled at her and hugged her. Her mane popped back to normal as she glowed with happiness, knowing that she still had her friends on her side, even if they weren't right next to her.
A bright light filled the room suddenly, and everypony bowed, knowing what it meant. The towering form of Princess Celestia appeared as it dimmed, and everypony stood up straight as the Princess spread her wings importantly.
"Ponies, I have grave news." She began grimly, and each pony gave an internal groan. With Gilbert missing, Ivan on the loose and angry, and no way to get home, they didn't really think they could take any more bad news.
"Discord's statue has disappeared." The princess finished, making the Mane Six gasp in fear.
"B- But how is that possible? We sealed him in stone!" Twilight panicked, starting to pace around the library. Kiku and Dmitri, being the only ones who knew of Discord and his legacy, groaned and either face-hoofed or turned and smacked their head into the wall repeatedly.
"Asta e doar ceea ce am nevoie…" Dmitri muttered, removing his head from the wall. The princess raised an eyebrow in curiosity, and he took the cue to elaborate further on his statement. "Gilbert's gone missing as well. Not to mention the Ivan problem…"
"Ivan? What about him?" The princess asked and Kiku dropped an ear in embarrassment.
"Well, Ivan is one of the strongest countries of all, and earlier today…we may have made him angry. Ivan is a monster, angry or not, and now we can't find him either…I think it's safe to say we're afraid for our lives, princess."
"Ivan's the one who gave Toris his scars, Princess. I don't think he's a pony we want to mess with." Twilight explained timidly, gesturing towards Toris, who blushed in embarrassment and tried to hide behind Antonio. Celestia's eyes widened when she realized what that meant, but shook her head.
"Discord escaping is our biggest problem at the moment. Luna and I have been doing some history research, and we are ninety percent sure Equestria has a personification as well. Your top priority at this point is to find them and bring them to Canterlot for protection." Celestia ordered, her horn glowing as she summoned the Elements of Harmony and placed them on the Mane Six. "I want you to have these on you at all times, just in case. I've cast a protective spell on them, so Discord can no longer take them using his powers."
"Thank you, princess." Twilight said, bowing low in return. The other Mane Six and the countries bowed as well.
"You must find Equestria, girls. Once she is brought to Canterlot safely, Discord must be stopped once again. Go now, and know that the fate of Equestria rests on the outcome of this mission." Princess Celestia commanded.
"So, you know, no pressure." Dmitri chuckled, and Twilight shot him a scandalizing look, but the Princess smiled. Still, Twilight turned back to the princess and saluted, as did the countries, including Dmitri. Then they all turned and left, running out of the Ponyville Library into the rain.
As they left, Princess Celestia couldn't help but notice that Kiku and Francis had something strange about them. The ability to see another pony's aura was a natural ability for princesses and other royalty, and is what gave her the insight that Twilight could have been an Element of Harmony even before Nightmare Moon's return. That was one of the reasons she took on Twilight Sparkle as her personal student, and why she knew that Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, and Fluttershy were the ones Twilight needed to befriend.
The auras of the countries were very similar to the Elements of Harmony's. Could they be…new Elements?
After mindless hours of searching, in which the weather finally, finally turned from stormy to patchy skies, they had found nothing. The sun weakly peered out from behind gray clouds, but it was enough for them. Feliks had awoken soon after they had started their search, and now he flopped down on the ground in exhaustion.
"Like, we've been searching for like, hours. I'm totally tired." He sighed, propping himself up on his elbows as he flipped his mane over his shoulder. Toris sat down beside him, with the rest of the countries doing the same. They were at Fluttershy's cottage, having searched the entirety of Ponyville and Cloudsdale and finding nothing.
"We can't give up already. Equestria is huge; the only known borders we have are with Gargora and the Dragon Territories." Twilight explained. "Plus the ocean to the north and the island chains on shore." Using her magic, she summoned a map of Equestria for the countries that were paying attention to look at.
"This is Equestria here." She pointed at a large, sun-shaped mass about the size of Mexico on the map. "Over here…" She added, moving her hoof to the east over to another country. "…is Gargora, the Griffon country. And to the southeast is a large cluster of several independent dragon states." She finished, pointing to the country which was about the size of Russia.
"And to the north of Equestria is an ocean with several chains of islands. And beyond that, we don't know. Equestria could be anywhere." She finished, drooping her head in tiredness, but almost immediately she shook it off and stood up straight. There was no way she could give up now, not when she just started! The princess was counting on her!
"I like, know that this is important and all, but can't we like, totally take a nap first?" Feliks whined. Toris shook his head with that same small, resigned smile he always seemed to have whenever Feliks said something. Because the scars on his back still caused him pain when he walked, Toris often had to take small breaks when they were searching.
"Fine, I guess we can take a small break." Twilight finally relented, using her magic to make the map disappear with a small 'poof'.
"Finally!" Lovino huffed, flopping down on the ground. Everypony knew he wasn't really tired, he just wanted attention. Still, Antonio smiled and lied down next to him, cuddling close and making Lovino turn red in the face and jump up. "Bastard, what the f*** are you doing?!"
"Oh come on, Lovi~ Don't you want to cuddle with the boss like you did when you were little?" Antonio teased/pleaded. Lovino stuttered angrily, blushing hard.
"I never-! You know that's a lie, bastard!" Lovino yelled, fluttering his wings in agitation.
"I think you're the liar here, Lovi!" Antonio giggled, and everypony but Lovino giggled too. Lovino sighed, rubbing his temples with his hooves. He could only handle so much fluffiness before he snapped; he was close to edge enough as it was. He just decided, that for once in his life, he would just do what Antonio said. He lied down on the dirt road by Antonio, who immediately snuggled closer. Lovino rolled his eyes, but said nothing, making Antonio glance at him worriedly.
"Lovino…" Antonio started, deciding to talk to Lovino. Something had been eating at his little tomate recently; something was bugging him. "…you know, you can always talk to me about anything, right?" Lovino sighed, making sure that nopony was paying attention to the two anymore. Once satisfied that no one was looking at them or overhearing, he put his head in between his hooves and looked up at the red colt before him with sad, amber eyes.
"It's just that…well, everyone here always talks about love and tolerance. Yet even in this place, Feli gets more attention than me. I'm just sick of always being second place. Even at World Meetings, he's Italy and I'm just Romano. I'm Italy too….I just wish others would see that…" He whispered, hastily wiping away a few tears before Antonio or anypony else could notice. Antonio listened intently; it wasn't often Lovino dropped the mask of aggression and curses and showed his real self; the self that just wanted to be loved, the self that was always pushed to the side.
Antonio wrapped the smaller Pegasus in a gentle hug, which Lovino hesitantly returned.
"You just remember this; I've always liked you more than I've liked Feli, Lovino. So if you ever need something, I'm here, okay?" Antonio murmured quietly into Lovino's ear. Lovino almost started crying again. At least Spain loved him for who he was. Even if it wasn't perfect, it was a start. Lovino settled for a tighter hug and a muttered "…bastard…" Antonio pulled away and chuckled.
"Lovi~ Your face is all red! You look like a little tomato!" He laughed, poking Lovino's cheek just like he used to when Lovi was still little. Lovino pushed his hoof away, but he was smiling. Antonio smiled too. Lovino's was a small smile; but it was enough.
"Guys, we should at least check the Everfree Forest before we officially close down." Dmitri pointed out, prodding Feliks –who was falling asleep- with a hoof. Feliks opened his eyes and glared, but Dmitri brushed it off. Everypony got to their hooves, turning towards the dark forest. Ivan still hadn't appeared, and that's where everypony assumed he would be, so they weren't really looking forward to this. Pinkie Pie was still clutching his heart in her hooves.
"He's right. We can stop at Zecora's and ask to spend the night with her if we don't find anything. But remember ponies, once we step into that forest, we can't turn back. There'll be no backing out from this point on. So if any countries want to go home, now's your chance." Twilight said, moving to the front of the group and lighting up her horn in preparation for the spell. Kiku stepped forward.
"As much as it pains me to leave Equestria now in its hour of need, I must return home and make sure my country can survive without me. I will return as soon as possible." He stated calmly, and Lovino slowly crept forward.
"I…" He swallowed nervously. "I need to go home and…apologize to Feli. I haven't been the best brother to him and that's my fault alone…I need to make things right with him. And…" It looked like this part was physically paining him to say. "I g-guess I'll apologize to the potato bastard too…"
Twilight nodded, understanding both the countries' needs and began to cast the spell, enveloping both ponies in white light. Dmitri watched with an amused grin; he knew that everypony else was wondering who was going to appear. His money was still on Belarus; they'd be able to find Ivan within an hour. When the light died down, Twilight wiped the sweat off her forehead and checked out the two newcomers.
One was a slightly small Earth pony with a dark green coat and a blonde, shaggy mane and tail. There was a white hat on his head, silver dog tags around his neck, and his Cutie Mark was a white plus sign. His face very, very clearly said 'W.T.F.'
The unicorn next to him was about Sweetie Belle's size and was as old as she was too, with a lavender coat and her mane cut in the same way as the older pony next to her, but she had a purple ribbon tied in her mane. Her Cutie Mark was a bouquet of flowers, tied with the same purple ribbon. Her expression was one of polite confusion.
Dmitri, seeing that it was not Belarus, dramatically fell to his knees, raising his arms in the air and shaking his fists at the sky.
"NOOO!" He wailed, and everypony rolled their eyes, with Applejack kicking him roughly. The green pony snarled, pawing at the ground and gently pushing the lavender unicorn filly behind him protectively.
"Who are you?" He growled, and Spain cantered over jovially, completely forgetting what this pony's temperament was.
"Hola, Vash~ And hola to you too, Lili-" Before he could say another word, he found the barrel of a gun shoved in his face. Spain chuckled nervously, going cross-eyed to keep the gun in sight. "Um…lo siento?" Vash, as he was called, was standing on his hind legs and holding the large gun in his forelegs, somehow managing to curl his hoof around the trigger.
"You're not a unicorn! How did you make that appear?" Twilight gasped, almost running over before she remembered the situation Antonio was in. Vash turned his head to glare at her and the little unicorn, Lili, peeked nervously at Twilight.
"Big brother…? I don't think they're going to hurt us…" She said timidly, and Vash sighed, clicking his gun and somehow making it disappear. Twilight and Rarity were very confused; how could an Earth pony do that? Still, Vash quickly looked over Antonio with suspicion before realizing exactly who he was.
"Spain? Is that you?" He finally asked and Spain smiled widely.
"Vash! You're the last person I'd expect to see here." He laughed, making Vash glare at him.
"Don't make me pull out the gun again." He threatened. Twilight and the other Mane Six inched closer to him. Lili seemed friendly enough, but looked to be too shy to approach on her own. Vash was scary, no doubt about it, but not Ivan-scary, just grumpy-scary. Dmitri had gotten back on his hooves.
"I never thought I'd say this, but damn, you look adorable as a pony, Vash." He commented lightly, only to find another gun in his face. "Honestly, is the gun the answer to everything?" He muttered, keeping a wary eye on it. Vash would threaten, but he wouldn't shoot unless he really had to. Vash was the best shot out of all the countries, and most of the time when he did shoot, it missed on purpose. He was the country of neutrality; he wouldn't directly attack another nation.
"He's right, big brother…you are kind of cute…" Lili giggled, and Vash blushed a bit, but he put away the gun. Exactly where he put it, we'll never know, though Twilight is determined to find out.
"Hello there, my name is Fluttershy…" Fluttershy said timidly, standing close to Mathieu who kept a close eye on both her and Vash, making sure he didn't pull out the gun on her. The Mane Six all introduced themselves and stared expectantly at Vash, waiting for him to do the same. He sighed.
"Alright, fine. My name is Vash Zwingli, personification of Switzerland. This is my little sister, Lili Zwingli." He huffed, gently nudging her forward with his nose. She smiled and waved politely. Pinkie Pie gasped, remembering Lovino mentioning Vash once while he was baking in Sugarcube Corner.
"Switzerland? That means you're the country with lots of chocolate!" She squealed, pointing an excited hoof at him and then bouncing in circles excitedly. Ivan's heart was stored safely in her mane for now. Vash sighed and face-hoofed.
"Everyone automatically assumes that one, don't they? Actually, while my chocolate is good, Belgium's is better." He pointed out. That didn't stop Pinkie Pie from bouncing all over the place and giving him a headache. Everypony quickly gave Vash and Lili a brief overview of what was happening so far, and seeing as how they really had nowhere else to go, they had to follow them on their journey.
What the ponies didn't know was that Ivan was closer than they thought.
After the weather had let up and he had stopped crying, Ivan began to dream. He dreamt of sunshine and a lovely field of sunflowers, all of them in full bloom and their faces turned towards the sun. He dreamt of his sisters, how much he missed them, even Belarus. He dreamt of Yao. Though that was probably a hallucination. Because there was no was Yao could be walking toward him right now. Yao went home, didn't he?
Ivan sat up, shaking the grass and dirt from the forest floor out of his coat as Yao kept walking, a bouquet of sunflowers in his mouth. Ivan was so confused right now, but he was welcoming. He wanted to go home and say he was sorry to Yao, but he couldn't. It was a hallucination, an illusion. The illusion stopped in front of Ivan, cocking its head to the side.
"Why were you crying?" It asked. Ivan sniffled a bit, remembering exactly what he had done in vivid detail. Dried blood still matted down patches of his fur and his scarf.
"Because I am a horrible person. I killed somepony…" He replied. Yao blinked.
"You are not a bad person, Ivan. You just never knew how to make real friends. Besides…" Yao handed him the sunflowers, smiling widely at him. "…you may not have friends now, but it's never too late to try, right? You still have your family. You just need to learn how to make friends, aru." And with that, the hallucination hugged Ivan and disappeared, leaving Ivan with a warm feeling inside. Some of the ice around his heart was melting, he could feel it as the little candlelight grew bigger, warming him comfortingly.
Ivan stood up, turning around with a determined look in his eyes. He squared his shoulders and began to walk back towards Ponyville. He had probably been hallucinating from the lack of food and the coldness of the freezing rain, but it had a point.
It was never too late to try.
The group of ponies entered the Everfree forest, Fluttershy and Rarity sticking close to their special someponies and Lili was holding onto Vash's tail with her mouth, following him obediently. Dmitri was explaining something about Dracula to Applejack and Rainbow Dash, who had taken an interest in the mythical being.
"It's a great book, really, it's just that America and his stupid TWILIGHT had to ruin the reputation for vampires everywhere! Don't ever, ever read that book, you'll lose brain cells just by reading the first page." He snorted, and Rainbow Dash laughed. "I'll find you a copy sometime of the original Dracula, you can borrow it if you want to." While most of the ponies were focused on the mission princess Celestia gave them, Pinkie Pie was still concerned with the fate of Ivan.
She had taken his heart out of her mane and was holding it in her mouth again, her head swiveling back and forth, looking intently for its owner. With every step the group took, it seemed to get a little bigger and a little brighter in color. It was odd. Suddenly, the group broke through the line of trees into a beautiful field of swaying, green grass and wildflowers in every color of the rainbow. Lili gasped excitedly, her little eyes growing wide.
"It's beautiful…" She said, gazing out longingly. Toris stumbled over to Twilight, barely managing to keep on his feet.
"C-Can we take another break? I'm sorry…b-but my back is really hurting…" He stammered, flapping his little stubby wings half-heartedly. Twilight nodded, smiling kindly at him and sitting down in the grass.
"Guys? We've got trouble…" Rainbow Dash warned, pointing at something on the other end of the field. Something large and gray.
Ivan was heading towards them.
A/N: Da da dun! So yeah, you like? :3 Switzerland and Liechtenstein won the poll, so here they are!
Oh, what Dmitri says is Romanian for 'a horrible disgrace to all vampires!' and 'that's just what we need…' I'm sorry if the translation is off, I had to use Google to translate.
For those of you who voted for Mexico, Scotland, Austria, or Hungary, I'm preparing a little surprise for you all in the next chapter or two, so be on the look out!
Please review and tell me what you thought! Remember, constructive criticism is always welcome for my stories.
Thank you!