Chapter 2: Picking Up

After the party I was told I would be sleeping in the basement; I carried down my saddlebag and started to unpack; making sure I had everything

'Ink… quills… scrolls… books… watch…!' I rechecked it; an old watch

'Could this be the… no.' I dismissed it and put it away

I finished going through my stuff; it turned out that I wasn't exactly a pony that was complex; the only entertainment I brought was a book or two

'Now I'll have to talk to the other ponies…' this didn't annoy me as much as I expected it to

I trotted up the stairs and bumped into my aunt

"Hey aunt Twilight." I said

"What was that about?" she demanded, "I didn't need a warning; you gave one yourself!"

"I was giving a warning" I held up a hoof, "And she ignored it."

"Is that a reason to attack her?"

"Correction" I gave Twilight a look, "She was the one who flew at me at the speed of sound."

She sighed, "Rainbowdash's a bit…"

"Loyal?" I smirked at that comment

"Yes; she's loyal and not quick to trust." Twilight looked at me approvingly

I wasn't used to getting approved of either; I hope that clears up how my life went for a while

"I was told you had studies to keep up on?" Twilight inquired

"Yeah" I nodded, "StarSwirl the Bearded magic studies."

Twilight led me into the main library room; there she floated over several books

"How to think like StarSwirl" I read, "A reference guide."

"The first one I read" Twilight said, "I need to go and pick up a few things; can I trust you to study while I'm gone?"

I nodded and opened the book; I knew how important these were to get a job; I may have had royal blood but I was nowhere near prince

More like a bard

I learned quite a bit; like there was one spell that StarSwirl never learned how to perform; I didn't think it was going to help me to perform it; just learn the facts

After about an hour or two I heard the door open; I ignored it and kept reading

Once again: I should have known better

A buff Pegasus appeared behind me; his wings were stubs and his coat was burgundy; his eyes were yellow and his cutie mark was… a fob watch

"Are you Black Ink?" he asked; a baritone voice

"That's me" I turned to face him

"Give me the watch" he demanded

"The what-!" the next thing I felt was a hoof connecting with my face

Then I felt a window cracking behind me as I went through it at the speed of sound

I hit the ground hard; I felt a wing snap; I groggily got to my hooves

"I need that watch" he said again, "Hand it over."

I tried to stall for time; if I could get somepony here to talk some sense into this guy…

'JUMP!'

I reacted; throwing myself to the side and a mountain of pony barreled past me at great speeds

'Thanks…' I thought

'Just keep it together; you die then I die.'

I had caught my breath; I tried to unfold my wings but the stabbing pain in one of them kept me from doing so

My vision blurred; it was blood loss that kept me from keeping my head on straight

I felt another hoof connect; it hit my jaw and I felt part of the bone break

Why couldn't I fight right now?

'A broken wing and a broken jaw keep you from concentrating on magic' the voice answered

That gave me an idea; I tipped my head forward; right as the massive pony slammed into me; my sharp horn sank into his flesh

"Black Ink!" I heard Twilight call; then I heard a gasp

I was then launched into the wall of a nearby building; the foundation was no match for my royally kicked butt

I tried to get up; a bit dazed

A rainbow blur slammed into the side of the gargantuan pony that tried to kill me; knocking him over

"You better thank me for that" Rainbowdash then saw my broken jaw, "Oh…"

Twilight and her friends got in the way of the massive pony and formed a line; a defensive barrier

'They're risking themselves for me…?' I thought slowly

'That's what they do' the voice said, 'I can taste the love in the air here.'

'Taste love?' I asked

The voice stayed silent; I turned my attention back to the ponies; the massive one had fled; deciding it wasn't worth it

Twilight came to my side, "Black Ink; are you okay?"

I gave her a bit of a look; trying to get up but I felt something else

A broken hoof

Rainbowdash smiled; when she had slammed into the pony her hoof broke

"We need to get him to the hospital" Twilight said, "He's dying of blood loss."

At that point the shock of what happened settled in; I blacked out

Location: Ponyville Hospital

"He was very lucky" the doctor said, "If that pony had continued to assault him or if he was any later getting here he would have died."

"I can't believe that happened" Twilight shook her head slowly, "I just went out to get some more quills and ink."

"It was a good thing I was there" Rainbowdash smiled, "Otherwise the big guy would still be around."

A nurse rushed into the waiting room, "He's awake."

The doctor looked surprised, "So soon?"

"He wishes to see these two mares." The nurse continued

Rainbowdash and Twilight trotted into my hospital room

"How are you feeling?" Twilight asked

"Like I was just thrown around and beaten on for a while." I answered, "But I'm okay thanks to you guys."

"Ponyville isn't like this most of the time" Twilight noted, "Not unless something's going on."

"Well when something goes wrong I usually get to the bottom of it" I sighed, "Right now I'm in no shape to."

"Well is there anything we can do?"

"Can you get my saddlebags?" I asked, "There are a few things inside; I'll tell you later."

After I got my saddlebags I took a few things out; like a picture of my wall and a small notepad

"Twilight; do you believe in reincarnation?" I asked

The nurse came in, "I'm sorry; but visiting hours are over."

"Can't we stay a little longer?" Rainbowdash asked

"No; he needs his rest." The nurse insisted

"That was the shortest visit I've seen yet."

Twilight and Rainbowdash left the hospital; I waved goodbye then went to sleep

THE NEXT DAY

I opened my eyes; my head throbbed and my mouth was dry; it felt as if my own brain was torn to shreds

'Finally awake I see; so you know why you have your name?' the voice asked

'No; I guess not."I answered, 'it has nothing to do with me now.'

'And what do you plan to do now?' the voice deadpanned

'Heal; then I'm getting to the bottom of this.' I answered

'Sounds like something you would do.'

'What else would I do?' I asked, 'I'm not exactly in the best of shapes.'

The voice remained silent

I rolled over and took a look around; the sun had risen and everything seemed to be in high spirits

Me? I just felt… lost

It was as if I was going for something; then lost my way towards it; seeing all these ponies so happy made me feel as if they weren't missing something

But I was missing something

The door to the room opened; the doctor trotted in

"Hello Black Ink; you seem to be awake." He observed

"I'm feeling a bit off but otherwise nothing worth noting."

Another thing I wasn't used to saying; yet it rolled off my tongue as if I said it often

"You should be able to leave the hospital now" the doctor said, "Take care of yourself."

"Thanks doc" I got up and left

The sun felt good on my face; the lighting shift was okay for my eyes as I took a look around; I took note that nopony gave me a second glance; as if I was now a common sight

'A common sight that nearly got killed mind you; be careful.' I scolded myself

I continued towards the library; my saddlebags bumping against my side

I didn't notice when I ran into a mare that was floating lazily in the air

I tripped and hit my wing; luckily it wasn't the broken wing

"Oh! I'm so sorry!" she said; helping me up

"No problem; I should have seen you."

"Well I should have checked to see where I was flying." She saw my wing and horn, "Are you part of the royal family?"

"I'm not a prince" I said, "I'm just Black Ink."

She shook my hoof, "I'm StarFlight."

I looked around; trying to figure out something to say

"Well…" she paused, "What happened to your wing?"

"I got whaled on by a giant pony yesterday" I answered, "I just got out of the hospital."

Starlight had a light pink mane with a light pink coat; her eyes were a deep yellow and her cutie mark was a star with wings

"I just got here" StarFlight apologized, "How long have you been here?"

"One day or so" I shrugged, "I still don't know all the hot-spots yet."

"Well…" StarFlight looked at me, "Want to find out?"

I smiled, "Why not?"

'Because you're a danger magnet?' the voice deadpanned

'That only happened once' I defended

'And we don't know when it'll happen again.'

'Why waste your time worrying when you can use it for something?' I countered

I then told StarFlight I needed to put my saddlebags away in the library before I could go out and that my aunt should know I was going out

Well when I opened the door Twilight was worried about me, "How are you feeling?"

"Still like I got my flank royally kicked" I shrugged, "But we've gone over that."

I trotted inside and put my saddlebags down; then I grabbed my bits and headed out the door

"Where are you going?" Twilight asked

"I'm off the explore Ponyville" I answered, "Don't worry; I promise not to kill anypony."

"Only maim?" Twilight gave me an amused look

"Only maim." I rolled my eyes and laughed

'When will you open the watch?' the voice asked

'When the time is right' I said; not recognizing my own thought

(Can your thoughts have voices?)

I went out front and decided to go meet up with StarFlight; she would be at the bridge

I trotted off towards the bridge; I didn't remember what day it was until I got there

StarFlight smiled, "Happy Hearts and Hooves day."

"It's Hearts and Hooves day?" I asked

'Get a calendar.'

"You didn't know?" she asked; raising an eyebrow

"I think I have a concussion." I deadpanned

"Well it's Hearts and Hooves day." She rolled her eyes

"Where to first?" I asked"

"You're in charge"

I turned and trotted into town; I hadn't eaten yet so I decided to go out and eat

I trotted into the market and saw an apple cart; my stomach rumbled at the sight of the apple pies

I trotted up and greeted the mare there, "Hello"

Her coat was orange and her mane was blonde; with a red tie at the end; her cutie mark was three apples and she wore a Stetson hat

"What can I do ya for?" she asked

"I'd like to purchase two apple pies please." I said

Another thing I didn't say often: Please

"That'll be eight bits" she said; her southern accent thick as well… molasses

I put the bits on the table; she took them and pushed the pies towards me

I picked them up with my magic; trotting towards the park where I would meet up again with StarFlight

We trotted over to the nearest park table and sat down; across from each other

"So where are you from?" StarFlight asked

"Canterlot" I answered

"I'm from Cloudsdale; I recently got a-" she stopped

"What?" I asked

"Nothing; just a memory." StarFlight shook her head

"Well I hope everything's okay."

"So do you travel often?"

"Not really" I answered, "I was transferred here by my father; he thought I could use an attitude adjustment."

"You seem like a nice pony to me…" she gave me a look

"I've been acting differently lately; after my…" I trailed off; not sure if I should bring up my dreams

"Well let's hope you stay that way." StarFlight smiled

I smiled; maybe I was a little different