11-Back in Ponyville

The train rumbled down the tracks as it headed back to Ponyville. Daedalus had been deep in thought nearly an hour now after having departed from Canterlot and the Princesses. They had said their goodbyes in the Castle to avoid drawing unnecessary attention to him.

Both alicorn mares smiled sadly at Daedalus. They were going to miss him and he knew it, just as they knew he would miss them. Their feathers were still in place, over his heart. He had noticed the night before that the feathers were tertiaries, the smallest type of feather on birds and, apparently, alicorns.

Daedalus was curious as to why they would glance at their feathers and blush lightly but he felt it wasn't the time to ask. He smiled to the two mares that had gone from his enemies to his friends. "I really don't want to leave so soon."

They smiled back. Luna stepped forward and spoke. "We don't want you to leave so early, either."

Then she closed the distance and embraced him in a hug with both her hooves and wings. It felt like a warm blanket was wrapping around him and he couldn't help but return the hug. To his slight surprise, Celestia stepped forward and embraced him in much the same way. "There will be plenty of time for us to spend time together, though. After all, we have eternity."

Daedalus laughed at that. "There is truth to that, Celestia. I'll always be here, when you want me to be and even when you don't."

They both laughed at that. Celestia spoke with mirth in her voice. "We'll always want you here, Daedalus."

"Even if ten thousand years were to pass." Luna added, agreeing with her sister.

With a final nuzzle from each, they stepped back. Celestia looked at the sun. "Your train is almost here. You should go else you'll be late."

There was a clear sadness to her voice, one so powerful that Daedalus had to try to cheer her up. "I'll be back, you know."

When the two alicorns looked at him, he continued. "Its not like I can just return to Ponyville and forget this. You are two of the three ponies who know about me. I'll be back to spend more time with you two."

They smiled brightly at him and he returned it. When Daedalus turned to go, Luna called his name. "Daedalus."

He looked at her over his shoulder. "No matter what form you take, will you keep the feathers? It will mean a lot to us."

Celestia nodded her agreement and the virus smiled. He shifted into his pony form, the two feathers now behind his ears. "Of course I will."

They both waved with their wings as he exited the castle and made his way to the train station.

Now, an hour or so later, he sat in a train car on his way to Ponyville. Unlike on the way to Canterlot, the car was near full. Ponies sat around him as he looked out the window at the passing scenery. The white and black feathers sat behind his ears. Luna's feather matched his dark blue mane while Celestia's contrasted nicely with it.

Daedalus had first felt strange wearing feathers behind his ears. He had thought it would draw attention to him. However, nopony commented or even noticed them, so he relaxed. The feathers weren't even viral copies. When he normally shifts, his body consumes whatever he is wearing and remakes it to fit his new form.

Instead of doing that with the feathers, which would entail destroying them, he simply moved them each time he shifted. He felt no desire to consume them. In fact, he hadn't even consumed the DNA he received from Luna, nor the DNA he took from Celestia when he was healing her horn. Both were stored in a genetic state within his body. However, he had not integrated the genes into his own viral code. That would force a mutation and Daedalus didn't know how powerful it would be.

Suffice to say, he planned to make a trip to the Everfree to consume the genes and grow his power. When that would be, he did not know.

First thing I have to do when I get back is to speak with Coal Dust and let her know I'll be back to work tomorrow. Then, I'll head to Fire Brand and rent my room again. I'll head back to the Library and borrow the books and give them a thorough read.

Plan in place, Daedalus leaned against the window and closed his eyes. Lulled by the reverberating noise of the train wheels on the tracks, he allowed himself to fall asleep.

"The train will be stopping at Ponyville Station in ten minutes! Please ensure you take all luggage with you!"

Daedalus woke to the sound of the conductor making his way through the cars and alerting the passengers of the impending stop. Daedalus blinked his eyes open and sat up, noticing the significant distance between Canterlot and the train.

Within fifteen minutes, the train came to a complete stop at the Ponyville Station. About half of the ponies in the train car with the virus stood and exited the train, he along with them. When Daedalus stepped into the light, he looked around and locked eyes with a familiar pony.

"Welcome back, Gene!" Pinkie enthusiastically shouted as she bounced over to the virus.

"Thank you, Pinkie. Its good to see you." He replied, thankful that she remembered to use his disguise's name.

She stopped in front of him and wrapped her hooves around him and pulled him into a hug. Surprised, he hesitated a moment before he returned her affection. "Did you enjoy being in Canterlot?"

He nodded with a smile as they parted and began walking. "I sure did. I can safely say both Princesses are now good friends of mine. I even got a gift from them."

He gestured to his ears and she looked, instantly spotting the feathers. Her smile grew much larger. "Wowee! They gave you tertiary feathers? You must have made a really good impression!"

Daedalus blinked and tilted his head, confused. "I understand that they are tertiary feathers, but why do you assume I made a good impression?"

As they passed through one of Ponyville's parks, she stopped and frowned before suddenly smiling again. "I forgot you don't know pony customs that well. Feathers play an important part in pegasus and, apparently, alicorn culture. Pegasi have three types of feathers, primaries, secondaries, and tertiaries. They'll give them to ponies close to them to show how they feel and each feather has a different meaning behind them, all romantic."

"W-what?" Daedalus asked, confused on two ends. First by the educational tone and mood Pinkie had taken and also by what she was explaining to him.

"Tertiaries aren't that significant and it isn't a way of confessing love or anything. They don't mean anything particularly specific, but do have a meaning." Pinkie continued.

Daedalus had a blank, contemplative look on his face as he asked, "What do they mean then? All three feathers, preferably."

"Well, tertiaries are rather simple. I'm going to use Celestia as an example since she gave you one, okay?" When Daedalus nodded his consent, she continued. "Well, when Celestia gave you her tertiary feather, she was saying that she considers you a good friend. She wants to get to know you well and see if anything develops from that."

"Its a friendship request, then." Daedalus simplified.

Pinkie nodded. "With a little bit of a romantic possibility. Secondaries are a little different. They are the pegasus equivalent of asking somepony to officially be their special somepony. If they were the one asked, it can be used as an acceptance instead. It signifies courtship."

"Primaries?"

"Those are the most important because for pegasi and maybe alicorns, they don't regrow. Once a pegasus loses them, that's it. If Celestia were to give you one of her primaries, it would essentially be a proposal or an acceptance to your proposal. Its signifies that the other pony is somepony you love beyond life and would do anything for, including die." Pinkie finished explaining and Daedalus just shook his head at her.

"Pinkie, how do you know this much about pegasi courtship?" He asked, amazed.

She giggled, the educational tone dropping. "Well, love is just another, deeper kind of friendship. I wanted to learn all about it so I asked Fluttershy how pegasi showed their loved for each other."

Then she gave him a sly look. "So what are you going to do about this?"

"What do you mean?" The virus asked, slightly nervous.

"Are you going to try to form a herd with them? They are obviously both interested otherwise you wouldn't have gotten two feathers." Pinkie asked.

"I don't know. Why do you want to know?" He asked quickly.

"Because I like making ponies happy and if you and them become special someponies then you will all be happy." She said just as quickly. Then, she frowned. "Y-you haven't had a relationship before, have you?"

Daedalus shook his head honestly. "Nope."

"How? You're nice to everypony and so respectful. Mares should have are least been interested back home!" Pinkie exclaimed.

Daedalus glanced around and saw that they were alone in the park for the moment. He directed her over to a bench and they sat. "Pinkie, you know my past. As a virus under the servitude of Mercer, romance wasn't a thing. We focused on staying alive, not being happy."

Pinkie cocked her head in confusion. "What about before?"

He shook his head. "As a kid, I cared about my books more than people. I had plenty of friends, but they were at school. Once I got home, I read and that was it. As a teenager, I took an interest in physics and spent my time ensuring I could attend college and earn degree in it. During college, I never paid attention to my classmates, only on the professor. I simply never had the time or desire to date someone."

Pinkie giggled a little. "You sound a lot like Twilight."

Daedalus cracked a smile. "I suppose I do. You have your answer now, though."

She nodded. "I think you should see where things go, just like the feathers say. If you start to like them, then ask them out. Otherwise, don't worry about it. Like I said, love is a deeper type of friendship. If it feels awkward or strange, it's not working."

Daedalus stood up and quickly hugged the pink mare. "Thanks, Pinkie. I have to admit though, I am severely surprised that you know so much about this stuff."

"Its another way of making ponies happy, which is my special talent." She said simply. "I'm not as good as Princess Cadence though, whose special talent is love itself. If you want real advice, ask her. You might need to tell her the truth, though."

Daedalus nodded with a smile. "I might do that one day, then."

Pinkie waved at him before bouncing in the general direction of Sugarcube Corner. Daedalus turned toward where he knew Hammer and Tongs was. As he started walking out of the park, he thought to himself. Maybe I don't need to worry about what the feathers mean and what might come about. Pinkie is right. I should stop trying to control every aspect of my life and live in the present, not the future.

Daedalus, with one less worry, began smiling as he made his way to his employer. Truly a smart mare, even if she doesn't show it often.

Daedalus entered the Hammer and Tongs to see Coal Dust hammering away at a horseshoe. He gave it an odd look, unsure as to what horseshoes were used for in this world.

Coal must have noticed his questioning look as she answered his unasked inquiry. "The Apple family order these special hoof-protectors so they don't hurt themselves during harvest. A decent order always comes in a month or so before harvest season."

She hit the metal one last time before cooling it and setting it aside. She took off the black apron that protected her front and approached the virus. He smiled at her, facing slightly down, as she smiled back. She reached forward and, surprisingly, pulled him into a hug.

"Glad you're back." She said simply. "I hope you enjoyed Canterlot."

He returned the hug with one foreleg and replied. "I did. I even made two new friends."

They parted and stepped back as she continued to smile. "I heard from Pinkie. She said who they were was a secret, though. Will you share?"

When he shook his head, she sighed. "I figured. It was worth a shot, though."

Daedalus laughed lightly. "That is true."

Coal returned the laugh. "Anything you are willing to share?"

He nodded. "I met Captain Armor."

Her eyes lit up in surprise. "Really? He makes orders for blades sometimes. I haven't met him in pony though. What is he like?"

"A little overconfident but he is certainly skilled and respectful. I wouldn't mind getting to know him as well."

Coal nodded and the two fell into a peaceful silence for a moment. It was broken by Coal Dust as she said, "I'm sure you have things you need to do. Don't worry about working, you can return tomorrow. Does that sound fair?"

"Clearly." He said with a thankful smile.

Coal waved him off. "Go on, make sure you have a room to stay in. I'd hate for my employee to have nowhere to stay because he talked to his boss too much."

He laughed lightly as he nodded and left the building, heading for Green Dragon Tavern.

Daedalus fell back into his bed, ready to sleep. He had done everything he needed to do including borrow the books from Twilight and rent a room in the Tavern again. Surprisingly enough, he had gotten the same room. Fire Brand had been interested in his trip as well, though she didn't ask anything.

The virus closed his eyes after a final glance around the room and allowed himself to fall asleep.

"Take everything out of your account and get out of the country, Mel. Others and I are fighting him but it would be so much easier knowing you're safe."

"Jay, are you sure? I want to try to help you! Maybe Amy can find some way to cure Blacklight. She's got a Master's, after all."

"I know Mel, but it isn't safe. If we can't stop him, he'll spread over the country. The army can't do shit against us, you know this. Blackwatch is failing at every corner and its only a matter of time before they fall completely."

"I-I can't. I don't have the money and Mom and Dad don't work anymore. J-Jay, I'm scared. I don't want you to die."

"It'll be okay. I emptied my account into yours so you'll have enough for a house and for you, Mom, and Dad to live comfortably for years. You'll be safe once you're out of here."

"O-okay, Jay. I trust you and love you. We'll be safe. Mom's always wanted to go to England, right? She might enjoy the move. Will you stay in touch?"

"Honestly? I might not be able to. I don't want to bring any attention to you."

"We'll watch the news, then. Maybe we'll hear about you."

"Keep an eye out for the name Daedalus."

"Daedalus? You always did like Greek mythology. Goodbye. I'll see you soon."

"I hope so, Mel. Stay safe and take care of Mom and Dad. Tell Amy I'm sorry I won't be able to go to her ceremony."

The world shifted and time changed around him as he moved with space, unable to comprehend what was happening.

"Do it!" The dark voice yelled at him.

"I c-can't."

"Yes you fucking can! If you don't, I'll tear you apart starting with your eyes!" The hated voice threatened.

The feeling of warmth sliding around his extended fingers brought a shiver of disgust to the recently-infected man. The girl couldn't even scream as her throat was cut and spine severed.

"Now, eat."

Again, the fabric of existence changed around him, bringing him to another horror.

"I- It- They- Kill- Damn- All!" He screamed, letting his insanity out as he became a maelstrom of death, dozens of innocent people dying all around him in spades. Moments later, he collapsed, sobs wracking his body. His viral hearing could hear his Master speaking from atop a building.

"Looks like the experiment was a success. Daedalus is now under my control."

"Are you sure, Mercer? It looks like he just snapped under the torment." A familiar sound followed the statement as the speaker was killed without warning.

"I'm sure." Mercer said to the now-dead corpse.

The world shifted faster and more fluidly as he began to lose awareness of his surroundings, surrounded only by memories.

"Kill the bitch. Her daughter, too."

"What about the husband?"

"He watche-

The blade bisected the soldier as he stormed the base, tearing soldiers apart single-handedly. Nothing could or would stop him. He desired more. More death. More fear. More pai-

"Please! I have a daughter and two sons! They depend on me!"

"Where are they? I'll be sure to get them out of this hellhole."

"Fifth and West. Apartment 503. Thank yo-ggack!"

The blade pierced his skull as the man laughed, consuming the corp-

"Where's Daddy?" The little girl asked the scary man.

"In a happy place. You'll be joining him soon."

"Really?" A boy asked.

"Yes, really." Three tendrils sprouted from the floor and speared all three children. "Now, specificall-

"Stop!" A familiar voice yelled, cutting though the very fabric of space and time. One final memory came into focus.

Bang! Bang! Bang! "Why won't you die you piece of demon shit!"

Daedalus brought the gun to his chin again and quickly fired four more shots, each passing through his skull cleanly. Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!!

Daedalus snapped awake, instantly reverting to a solid form. He glared at his tendrils as they retracted and formed his arms and legs. He stood on shaky legs and approached the window, throwing it open.

He breathed in the cool, refreshing air as he glared at the world around him. Why? Why do the dreams torture me even now? I've escaped Mercer and the world. I don't kill innocents anymore. I'm not evil. So why do I have these dreams?

Daedalus sighed and lowered his head into the windowsill, not caring if anyone saw him in his base form. He them thought better of it and shifted into Gene Splice after backing away. He returned to his position and stared at the moon. "Who am I kidding? Of course I'm evil. I doubt those dreams will ever end, even if I were to kill Mercer myself."

He stared at the moon, a small memory surfacing. "That was Luna I heard."

He groaned into the night and slammed his muzzle against the wood. "She's likely disgusted by me now. I can expect unicorns busting open my door in the morning to bring me to the dungeons."

As he stared at the wood, he felt something. It was something he had never felt before in his life. It started deep inside his body in a place he couldn't find with his virus and bubbled into his chest and head. There it seemed to pause before continuing into his throat. He opened his mouth to cough and out came-

"Ghosts in my past they haunt me.
All of my sins they plague my mind.
I'm paralyzed with tears in my eyes.

Nothing I do can quell them
But deep in my soul I tell them no!
I'm still ashamed, oh I'm so ashamed.

How can I carry on?
How can I right all my wrongs?
I am torn to my core with regret.

How can I ever atone
For all the things I have done?
Cause I am so burdened down by regret.
I'm filled with regret.

Night after night in torment.
Just when I think I might break free,
I get lost in the pain.

Each day the guilt consumes me.
Part of me feels like I deserve
To remain wracked with pain.

How can I carry on?
How can I right my wrongs?
I am torn to my core with regret.

How can I ever atone
For all the things I have done?
Cause I am so burdened down by regret.
I'm filled with regret,

For all the things I've done,
The pain that I've caused everyone.
I suffer now for my mistakes.
I'll suffer for as long as it takes!

How can I carry on?
How can I right all my wrongs?
I am torn to my core with regret.

How can I ever atone
For all the things I have done?
Cause I am so burdened down by regret.
I'm lost with regret."

His voice echoed into the night and the moon seemed to dim. It was as if Luna had heard his song and been saddened by it.

With a final sigh, Daedalus turned into bed and lied down, refusing to sleep.

Author's Notes:

As always, proofread by Burning Dusk.

This song isn't by me, naturally. It is Regret by Luna Jax.