Chapter 21

The ball flew gracefully through the air as Applebloom smacked it with one of her front hooves, it whistled past Dave’s fingers as he lunged to intercept it

“GOAL!” Spike cheered as the ball passed between two tall trees and Dave fell to the ground

“Handball no fair” Dave panted as he stood up

“We don’t have hands” Sweetie Belle giggled

“Well… I…but…” Dave looked around at the smiling ponies “Whatever” he groaned in defeat as he walked to collect the ball “Why did I choose to be the goalkeeper?”

The ball had bounced behind some bushes before rolling next to the lake, Dave jogged over just in time to stop the ball from entering the water

“Gottcha” He whispered victoriously as he wiped the muddy ball on the grass before picking it up, the reflection in the pool had his arms crossed and was smiling

“Is everything ok?” It asked

Dave threw the ball back over to the camp and heard them all begin another game happily amongst themselves “Yeah until I came here” Dave frowned irritably

“Oh come on are you still uncomfortable having me around?” the reflection threw a stone on its side of the pool but the splash occurred on both sides

“Well yes seeing as you dropped into my body without permission” Dave looked over his shoulder to make sure nopony was watching him “When are you going?”

The reflection looked up at its sky “When the time is right” it shivered as the sunlight shone on its face “Well done with Celestia by the way”

“You finally see how amazing she is?” Dave knelt down to the water

“No I was congratulating on how you managed to get rid of her in an exceedingly painful way” the reflection looked back with a sinister look “You shaved a few days of my waiting time”

“What the hell are you on about? What waiting time?” Dave poked the water and ripples spread across the surface

The reflection laughed loudly “Oh you don’t know do you?” it looked at the sun in a victorious glare “She saw”

Dave took a step back from the lake “Your lying, how would you know is she did?”

The reflection shook back to normal but the voice persisted “I will tell you later”

Dave ran to the water and punched it “Now!” he shouted quietly at the lake before standing up cautiously “Was she spying on me?”

He looked around for any glimpse of Celestia or any of her guards, he slowly walked back to the camp still scanning the area

Spike watched Dave reappear from behind the bushes, his face pale “Dave are you alright? You look like you’ve seen a ghost”

Dave rubbed his face in his hands “Yeah I’m fine just a bit tired” he looked at the setting sun, it was duller than normal and the moon that replaced it shone brighter

Spike also noticed the changing of the glowing spheres “Huh I guess Celestia has had a tough day by the looks of things”

Dave quickly set about lighting a small campfire outside the two neighbouring tents “Alright who wants marshmallows?” he asked applying a fake tone of happiness ‘What if that thing is right?’ he thought to himself as he pulled out a large bag of spongy marshmallows

Spike cut open the bag using one of his claws and picked up some sticks they gathered earlier “So does anypony here want to play a game?”

Scootaloo bounced up and down on her flank “Oh Oh I know one!” she screamed excitedly as she was passed a marshmallow on a stick and held it above the flickering flames “I say we play truth or dare!”

The young children all agreed excitedly as Scootaloo tapped her chin “ok Applebloom… Truth or dare?”

Applebloom chewed her marshmallow eager to respond “Truth” she nodded

Scootaloo grinned, “Have you ever… called Miss Cherilee ‘mom’ at anytime?”

Applebloom squirmed under everypony’s gaze “well… um… once” she hid her embarrassment behind another marshmallow as everypony laughed, except Dave

Spike managed to stop sniggering in time to have his go “Ok, Sweetie Belle truth or dare?

“Truth” the eager little unicorn answered

Spike scratched his scales “Have you ever done something naughty and you didn’t get caught?”

“Well…” Sweetie Belle gently placed another marshmallow into the fire “there was this one time I accidentally spilt dye onto one of Rarity’s dresses and she thought it was opalescence”

Applebloom finally recovered from her embarrassment after laughing at Sweetie Belle’s confession “Spike, Truth or Dare?”

Spike stood up “I choose dare, I’m not afraid” he stated confidentially

Applebloom passed him a small stone “if ya eat gems then it means ya can eat this”

Spike rolled the dirty rock in his claws “This is so tasteless and dirty” he groaned

“So ya have eaten one before?” Applebloom and the other two fillies giggled loudly

“Wait no I meant to say… I mean,” Spike groaned loudly as he threw the stone into his mouth and it crunched loudly “Yuck” he shivered at the texture as he held his tongue out in disgust

The three fillies all laughed again as they continued to roast their marshmallows over the gentle flames, Dave sat staring deep into the burning twigs as his marshmallow turned black and began to slowly melt down the stick

Sweetie Belle managed to contain her laughter to look at Dave “Ok Dave, truth or dare?” the laughter subsided from the others as they all turned to look at his blank face

Spike poked Dave with his stick “Dave hello?”

Dave snapped back to reality as his marshmallow finally drooled around his fingers, throwing his stick onto the fire he licked the white glop from his fingers

“Sorry what were you saying?” Dave asked the group as he picked up a clean stick

“Truth or dare?” Sweetie Belle asked again and all the heads turned to Dave

Dave pondered as he stuck another marshmallow onto his stick and held it above the fire “I choose truth… got nothing to hide have I?”

Sweetie Belle’s smile drooped to curiosity as she shuffled closer to the fire “When you stayed at Rarity‘s after saving me and Applebloom…” Dave nodded as he placed his warm marshmallow into his mouth “what were you and Rarity doing?”

Dave gasped at the question causing him to choke on his marshmallow, he wheezed for a moment before managing to swallow

“Well like we said… she was taking my clothes off so I was more comfortable” Dave avoided the strange look he got from Spike “umm… she also threw them away I think, that was annoying”

Dave took his heated marshmallow off the stick before throwing it into his mouth, he threw his stick onto the fire before yawning loudly

“I am going to sleep now so don’t be too long before you all go to bed as well” Dave waited for them all to nod before making his way inside the tent “Ahh I am going to have to work fast when I get back” he muttered to himself as he crawled into his sleeping bag, the faint light from the fire outside casting the tent in dim, orange glow

Dave rolled onto his side, shutting his eyes and allowing sleep to gradually claim him “Do you want to talk now?” Dave opened his eyes as the voice in his head spoke calmly

Dave rubbed his eyes “No because Spike will be here in a minute so it may look a little weird talking to myself” he rested his head again

“He can’t read minds or invade dreams can he?” the voice almost had a hint of concern

“No I don’t think so” Dave sighed until he felt a tapping on his shoulder

“Then get up” the voice growled as opened his eyes to darkness

Meanwhile…

Celestia sat tapping her hoof on her bedroom floor, awaiting the faint popping noise that symbolised a letter from Dave

She paced around her room biting her bottom lip “I shouldn’t have sent that letter,” she groaned under her breath “No it was the right decision and I am sticking with it”

She paced over to her bed and relaxed across it, the window open allowing in a cool breeze which was refreshing from the heat of the summer night

As Celestia laid across her grand bed she laid her head down on the pillow that once housed her bracelet, the very thought brought back feelings of guilt and anger

“I should go get the bracelet back, Dave gave it to me not her” She grabbed her pillow tight with her hooves “But it’s obvious who he should be with”

Celestia raised her head to look at the bright moon as another breeze swept her curtains aside “Oh Celestia who are so foolish, they always did prefer Luna, you were to busy thinking of everypony else”

Celestia’s horn glowed as she slammed her window shut and the curtains fell back into place, she would rather have a bad night sleep than to bathe in the moon’s glow

The princess continued to flow her magic throughout the room as she levitated over her large brown book and a large scroll, as she unravelled the scroll and opened the book she sat up on her bed and began to read to herself

“Why do I need this anymore?” she pondered as she allowed the book to float downwards “I should return this to the library” As Celestia got to her hooves something made her stop

She thought back to when she saw Dave kiss Luna “Why would he string me along if he liked Luna? Why would he string Luna along if he liked me?”

The white alicorn sat on the edge of her bed as she brought over a clean piece of parchment, she wrote down some instructions before rolling up the scroll

“Guard!” she called out and one of the golden armoured guards stepped into her room

“Yes your majesty?” he saluted

“Can you send for Strong Shield? I have some orders for him” Celestia levitated her royal attire over to her as she carefully placed them on

The guard nodded and left the room, a few short minutes later and there was a knock at the door, Strong Shield stepped in saluting “What are your orders your majesty?”

Celestia levitated over the scroll to him and he unravelled the orders and read them to himself, he raised an eyebrow as he read them

“Your majesty I do not understand, why would you order this?” Strong Shield looked up from the orders to the glaring princess

“In all the time you have served me you have never questioned my orders” she tilted her head “If you are not feeling well I may have to relieve you of your duties”

Strong Shield tensed as he felt the threat hit him “I will follow these orders, I just wondered why you would ask something so foolish”

Celestia took a pace towards the sergeant her hooves landing heavily on the floor, her gaze would have made most ponies cower but Strong Shield met her gaze with a frown as if he was containing his emotions

“Don’t forget your place” Celestia glared down at the weaker being “You are only useful until Shining Armour returns, when he does you are of little value, so I suggest that you don’t talk down to me”

Strong Shield’s eyes never strayed from Celestia’s “I apologise your majesty but I am still rather confused about the orders”

“It says it plain and simply on the scroll” Celestia turned her back to him as she strolled back over to the window “When Dave arrives at the castle and tries to see me” She turned her head to look over her shoulder at the guard “stop him, by any means necessary”

Strong Shield slowly saluted “As you wish… your majesty” he turned and left the room shutting the door behind him

Celesta let out a deep sigh as her legs almost buckled beneath her “That silly guard” she muttered as she removed her attire again and set it aside “why is it that he seems to be more loyal to his duty of training guards than to following my orders?”

Celestia had almost caved in and confessed everything to him during their short staring competition, she had leaned in the vast time Strong Shield has been around is that if he says he will do something he would give his last breath to make sure it is done

“Oh Dave I’m so sorry” She sighed sadly to herself as she fell to her bed

Meanwhile…

Dave turned around frantically in the darkness, it was not cold and it was not warm, there was nothing just the black emptiness

“Now…” the voice echoed around him as Dave began to panic “why don’t you take a seat?”

As Dave turned, he saw two high backed, leather chairs one facing him the other facing away a small table sat between them

“WHERE THE HELL AM I?” Dave yelled at the chairs

Heard something move in the chair that had its back to him “This is your mind, don’t mind the emptiness it’s just spiritual not physical”

Dave slowly advanced towards the empty chair, the voice now quietened and only seemed to be coming from the occupied space

“Who the hell are you?” Dave asked as he sat in the chair, it didn’t feel like it was actually their and that Dave was just floating

The source of the voice was a copy of Dave, just with the same glaring eyes “Well I am many things” it picked up a teapot from the table and poured some tea into two large cups “Would you like a cup of tea?”

Dave took a cup, it did not feel like it was their either “Two things” Dave took a sip of the tasteless drink “Number one why the tea? And number two can you stop looking like me because it is a bit freaky?”

The doppelganger chuckled “Well I thought the tea would remind you of your true home” it took a sip and somehow seemed to enjoy the taste “Doesn’t everyone British drink tea?”

“That’s a stereotype,” Dave growled

“Is it now… and the answer to your other question is…” the fake Dave smiled “Yes… I shall take on a form more true to my natural state” it chucked before its face turned blank and its body began to swell

Dave nervously inched his chair back as red cracks appeared along the swollen mass’s body as it suddenly burst sending small bits of flesh into the black expanse

All that remained was a black cloud with streaks of red slashed across it’s humanoid shape “Is this better?” it’s blank face grew a dark red mouth that stretched across from one side of it’s head to the other

“Umm… I guess” Dave looked down at his tea to see one of the fake eyes looking back at him “But the transformation was kinda disgusting”

“Well that is what will happen in real life if I left your body too quickly” it picked up a sugar lump from the table and stirred it into its tea using what used to be a middle finger

Dave almost threw up at the sight but managed to hold it down “And just who the hell are you?”

“Well I haven’t had a name in so long I thought I would make a new one” it threw the finger aside and sipped the tea “For now you can call me… Odio”

“Odio right…” Dave placed his tea on the table as he sat back into his chair as he rubbed his forehead

“Now…” Odio’s blood red mouth turned to a large grin that spread around to the back of his black foggy head “Any questions?”