Limelight, Pon-Efluff p2


                                            >Three months since /Pon-E/ General started on /mlp/

                                            >Two months since I went pony for the first time, I got lucky and was in the first wave of Pon-E deliveries

                                            >and now... I was starting to run out

                                            >”Afternoon, Fleetwood, you waiting here long?”

                                            “Normal names in public, Sam.”

                                            >Sam rolled his eyes at me

                                            > we’d not known each other before using Pon-E

                                            >now? Well, Pon-E is more fun in groups, so we’d ended up organising in the thread

                                            >There was five of us in Atlanta that we knew of, and now we’d pooled to re-order Pon-E

                                            >By the logic of being the largest pony, I was put in charge.

                                            >Of course, they’d pick the earth pony to do the work….bucking lazy pegasi

                                            >at least the walkover wasn’t too bad, the sun is shining, and Sam isn’t being as frustrating as usual.

                                            >”So what’s the sketch? We just walk in, collect our illegal drugs, and walk out like nothing happened?

                                            >Taking a moment to answer, I double-check my phone.

                                            “Well, the email said it should have been delivered yesterday so we can collect then take it back to my place. Dad’s been a little off the past few days, but he won’t notice.”

                                            >”Faust bless the US postal service, you take the lead’ non.”

                                            >The two of us head into the DHL to grab our package. It shouldn’t take more than thirty minutes.

                                            >I was down to my last dose of Pon-E, and the others were out entirely.


                                            >I was worried; Anon had been acting strangely for the past few months

                                            >Suddenly, he’d started going out more, heading to parties almost every other day and joining a local football team

                                            >I wanted to be proud. Finally, my boy was going out and engaging with people, but something felt wrong.

                                            >Holding my head in my hands, I weighed my options.

                                            >Either I was right, and drugs were involved, my concern was warranted then I could get him the help he needed

                                            >or

                                            >I was wrong. Anon and I had never seen eye to eye.

                                            >Despite my best efforts, we just couldn’t connect.

                                            >I’d spent my youth taking buses or trains all over Nottinghamshire to catch concerts

                                            >and….well, drugs were familiar to me

                                            >Anon? He spent most of his school life shut away in his room playing worlds of Warcrafting or something like that.

                                            >Then a sudden change, surely I wasn’t paranoid to suspect outside involvement?

                                            >He’d gone out saying it’d take a few hours.

                                            >This was my chance to make sure it would be worth it for peace of mind, and he’d never know if there was nothing.

                                            >The stairs creaked as I climbed them, painfully aware that this was a massive violation of my son’s privacy

                                            >still, he was my son.

                                            >I wasn’t going to remain inactive and let drug use ruin his life.

                                            >I’d not been there when I was needed before, and I was not going to fail my son like that

                                            >It must have been a few years since I went into Anon’s room

                                            >Pushing open the door revealed several bizarre posters on the walls

                                            >Why are they all horses?

                                            >With my brow furrowed in confusion, I started to look around the room

                                            >More horse-related things caught my eye, including framed artwork sitting on his desk?

                                            >God, these horses were weird, bright garish colours, five of them in total

                                            >two had wings? Were those pegasuses? Pegasi?

                                            >and that one in the back was a unicorn?

                                            >It took a surprising effort to divert my attention away from the artwork

                                            >Rummaging through his desk revealed everything I’d been expecting

                                            >His first phone with the screen smashed to hell

                                            >bundles of cables that I couldn’t even begin to identify

                                            >Just as I was about to close the draw, my hand brushed against something inexpertly hidden

                                            >it was just taped to the underside of the inside of the draw

                                            >one soft tug and a small resealable opaque bag plopped onto my hand

                                            >my heart sank as I gently pulled it out of the draw

                                            >Shaking the contents out onto the palm of my hand

                                            >1 Pon?

                                            “What the hell is this supposed to be?”

                                            >I was expecting something I recognised

                                            >Christ, I must be getting old if the drugs are this different

                                            >It had some kind of clear gel inside from what I could tell

                                            >I guessed it was probably a hallucinogen?

                                            >An old itch started up in the back of my mind. Surely it couldn’t hurt?

                                            >If a twenty-year-old was doing it, it wouldn’t be that strong

                                            >Anon had said he’d be out for a few hours, so…


                                            >Sam trot-

                                            >Sam walked alongside me as I shook my head

                                            >Fucking slip-ups with my words were happening more often

                                            >Still, our little resupply run was successful.

                                            >between the both of us, we had nearly two hundred and fifty dosages of Pon-E in our bags.

                                            >and after a particularly tense bus ride with a cop standing opposite us the entire way, we were at the doors to my house

                                            “I’ll let us in. My old man should be around so just act normal”

                                            >”Like I’m not normal?”

                                            >I deadpan at Sam

                                            “Really? The feather brain that names himself Super Sabre wants to start talking about being normal?”

                                            >as expected, Sam wilts under my gaze

                                            >I still can’t believe that he’d named himself after an aircraft

                                            >or the fact the ass had gotten a cutiemark before me

                                            >Fishing through my pockets for the keys, I stop

                                            >I swore I just hear someone’s voice from inside the house?

                                            >”You hear that?”

                                            >evidently Sam had heard something too

                                            >it was faint

                                            >if I was a pony, I’d be able to make it out, I was certain

                                            >Fucking human ears are like wearing earmuffs

                                            >I had to resort to pressing my ear against the door like some sort of cartoonish burglar

                                            >Straining to hear, I could make out something

                                            >It was definitely dad’s stereo system. The subtle crackle of vinyl was unmistakable

                                            >”WOOO!”

                                            >However, the girlish whooping? that was odd

                                            >The sound of a bass guitar and drumset fills the air before giving way to what I think was a keyboard.

                                            >”An Ill wind comes arising, Across the cities of the plains”

                                            >She was singing?

                                            >a strange woman had broken into my house, raided dad’s vinyl and was singing with the stereo at max volume.

                                            >was she trying to get caught?

                                            >where the hell was dad?

                                            “I’m gonna let us in, stay behind me sam”

                                            >The click of the door unlocking was masked by the unknown woman hitting an admittedly impressive high note

                                            >“Anon, you’ve not got the whole EP strength going right now, shouldn’t I take point?”

                                            >I only held up a hand as we slunk from the door towards Dad’s study

                                            >”You sometimes drive me crazy, but I worry about you!”

                                            >She was still singing, thankfully unaware we were even in the house

                                            >Sam and I stopped at the doorway to the study

                                            >I held up three fingers

                                            >”Cruising under your radar”

                                            >two fingers

                                            >”Watching from the satellites”

                                            >one finger

                                            >”Take a page from the red book”

                                            >as I put my last finger down, we stormed around the corner.

                                            >only to see a bright pink pony with a mane like she’d been electrocuted holding my dad’s decorative mic.

                                            “What the fuck”

                                            >”What the fuck”

                                            >”Hi Anon!”


                                            >The bright pink pony is looking at us, smiling wide enough she could probably win a pinkie pie look-alike contest

                                            >Feeling a headache approaching, I rub my temples

                                            “Why the fuck are you in my house, you’re lucky we haven’t called the cops”

                                            >We can’t call them because we’re literally drug mules right now but still, she doesn’t know that

                                            >The side-eyed glance from Sam suggests he realises I’m bluffing

                                            >”What? Cops? Why would you call them?”

                                            “You’re not supposed to be here, this is my families house, and last I checked I don’t recognise you”

                                            >She just giggles and waves a hoof at me

                                            >”Oh don’t be silly, of course you know me!”

                                            “I really don’t, Sam go to the kitchen, under the sink. I think we’ve got duct tape.”

                                            >The pony starts to bounce up and down to the music as it continues to play

                                            >”Why’d you want duct tape? Not like I’m hurting Anypony.”

                                            “You broke into my house.”

                                            >Again, she bursts into a bout of giggles, collapsing to the floor as she pounds it with a hoof

                                            >”Oh this is gold! You don’t even recognise me, boy howdy. These must be strong.”

                                            >Before I could even say anything, she practically bounces on her hooves over to the cabinet

                                            >with an ease I didn’t expect, she bumps a hoof into the door, swinging it open to reveal my dad’s vinyl collection

                                            >”Let’s turn this into a game then! You guess who I am, I’ll give you a hint!”

                                            “Sam, get that fucking tape!”

                                            >The pink pony slides an unmarked vinyl out of the rack, swapping it with the one on the turntable with an ease that would make Pon-3 jealous

                                            >if she was real...then again, Lunanon turned into Luna, so it’s possible I suppose

                                            >The pony plops her plot down beside the turntable and looks at me, her smile still all the same

                                            >an eerie silence falls over the room as the vinyl crackles softly before the sound of a children’s toy fills the room

                                            “Wait…”

                                            >to confirm my suspicions, an acoustic guitar starts up moments later

                                            >”Come on Anon, use that noggin”

                                            “Why the fuck would you play this tra….”

                                            >I had a dosage of Pon-E upstairs

                                            >this mare knew dad’s vinyl collection like the back of her hand

                                            >she knew this track

                                            >as I realise who she is, the mare bursts into laughter

                                            >”it’s a shame this is all a trip”


                                            >Sam returns, duct tape and scissors in hand

                                            >”What’d I miss?”

                                            “That’s my dad, and evidently she thinks this is all a drug trip”

                                            >Sam, helpful as ever, bursts into laughter, joining the mare on the floor

                                            >I should have got Lily to come with. At least she’d be useful.

                                            “So, we were out for what? About an hour? So she’s like this for another eleven…”

                                            >Well, that could be worse

                                            >At least dad didn’t have to head into work today

                                            >With a sigh, I pull out my phone

                                            >time to let the others know that we’re gonna likely be getting a new member

                                            >”So then, what’re you gonna call yourself? Can’t just use a boring human name”

                                            >oh, for fucks sake Sam!

                                            >The mare rolls onto her stomach and looks up at him, visibly thinking

                                            >I can’t help but notice that she’s more expressive than most of the other ponies i’ve met

                                            >”Limelight!”

                                            >well shit, she’s named herself now.

                                            > Wasn’t it that the thread warned about naming yourself?

                                            >admittedly that nugget of wisdom came a bit late for us in the first wave but still

                                            >Sam and Limelight start talking to each other as I take the opportunity to turn the music off

                                            >her reaction is immediate

                                            >A panicked scream from behind me before Limelight plows into me

                                            >”putitbackputitbackputitback”

                                            “W-what?”

                                            >Sam stands back shocked as she tackled me, ears splayed as she clamps her hooves over them

                                            >”PUT THE MUSIC BACK”

                                            >Faced with the prospect of an earth pony having a meltdown within bucking distance of my chest I reach for the turntable

                                            >by the time the album starts from the top, she’s covered in sweat, her chest rising and falling as she hyperventilates.

                                            >Slowly, she starts to calm down

                                            >Despite my reservations, I pull her into a hug, stroking her sweat-soaked mane as the meltdown comes to an end

                                            >”what the fuck was that?”

                                            >Limelight starts to rock herself in my arms, shuddering

                                            >”don’t wanna talk about it”

                                            “Can you call Lily? I think Limelight is gonna need some help cleaning herself up, and I am not willing to do that”

                                            >Sam shudders before heading for the door to make the call


                                            >By the time Lily arrived, Limelight had calmed down enough that she seemed “normal”

                                            >I was slumped in dad’s armchair, watching as she bounced across the room, pulling vinyl’s and swapping them out to create a constant stream of music.

                                            >”Sam, you can let me in, what’s the deal? You call me at work, use the other names and then say I need to get here as soon as possible?”

                                            “Let her in Sam, let’s get this over with”

                                            >”I was gonna”

                                            >Sam protests as I hear the door’s lock clunk open and a rustle of plastic bags

                                            >As Lily steps into the room, she immediately drew Limelight’s attention

                                            >”Hi!”

                                            >The pink mare bounced over, hugging Lily’s leg with her forelegs

                                            >”Anon, who is this?”

                                            “My dad”

                                            >”What”

                                            >Lily looked at me like I was mad, as Sam groaned

                                            >”he took Anon’s last Pon-E, then had some kind of panic attack and well look at her”

                                            > Limelight’s coat was still damp with sweat, the remains of white foam around her neck.

                                            >”So your dad turned into a mare?”

                                            >I just nodded, trying not to think about the implications of the situation

                                            “She needs a bath, and both of me and sam are men”

                                            >”Fucking rule three, why did we write that bloody thing”

                                            >Rule 3, regardless of your human gender, pony gender takes precedent when pony.

                                            >women wash mares

                                            >Men wash stallions

                                            >Sam and I shrug, prompting a sigh from Lily as she scooped up Limelight and headed for the stairs.

                                            >”So...what now?”

                                            “Fuck knows, when dad’s back to normal I’ll ask him to come with us to our next get together.”

                                            >The two of us sit in silence, the record finishing moments after Limelight left

                                            >upstairs we could hear her singing something along with the occasional shriek from Lily

                                            >”She’s gonna be soaking wet, calling it.”

                                            “Lily being unable to bathe a mare without getting soaked by them? By Celestia as if that every fucking happens”


                                            >After twenty minutes, the joyful singing got louder

                                            >A squeaky clean limelight trotted into the room, her ears twitching before she bolted and started another album playing

                                            >Lily entered shortly after, absolutely soaking wet

                                            >”Do not comment, I know you both are going to”

                                            >We didn’t comment.

                                            >We just laughed instead

                                            >Lily glared at us hard enough I was half expecting one of us to burst into flames

                                            >thank Faust she didn’t have her horn right now

                                            >Lily’s glare softened as she looked behind me at something

                                            >”look at limelight”

                                            >I turned to look, the pink mare sat on her flank, gently bobbing her head along to the music

                                            >as we watched she intensified, her ears joining in her movement as a guitar solo intensified.

                                            >it was cute, despite the building dread about how the hell I’d handle this discussion when dad was back to normal

                                            >”Hey limelight”

                                            >The mare looked at Sam, still bobbing side to side

                                            >”You wanna come meet other ponies sometime?”

                                            >”Hay yeah! That sounds fun!”

                                            “Well that settles it then, next time we get our little gang together, you can come too.”

                                            >Somehow I knew that that next meeting would be important, although I didn’t know why.