//------------------------------// // Town Welcomes // Story: MIB: Mares in Black // by Blazing Shadows //------------------------------// MIB: MARES IN BLACK Chapter 2 Author's Note: Thank you for all the likes, comments, and views, everypony! Be warned of two things, though! One: Not all chapters are as long as the others. Two: My update schedule will not be on a schedule. In other words, my update times will vary. I got a research paper to do and a house to help remodel, so I may not have as much time as I want. Well, that's all for now. Enjoy the chapter! The last thing J could remember was being pulled at the speed of light through a blinding tunnel of swirling mass, unable to move on his own will. He simply let the vortex do its job of taking him to whatever dimension K and Mad Max had been taken to. In slightly under five seconds, J was spit out of the vortex onto a grassy meadow. However, the landing wasn't as soft as he had expected it to be. Traveling faster than the speed of light only moments before didn't give him much time to slow down completely. He slammed into the meadow, pushing up some earth on the way. Rubbing his head and sides, unable to move for the first couple of minutes after impact, he finally mustered the strength to push himself up. By that time, he was already dizzy, nauseous, and aching all over. "Damn!...And I thought getting kicked in the balls hurt like hell!" J looked around, trying to take in his surroundings, but found his vision to still be a bit distorted. So, he began walking around, trying to get the feeling back in his legs. After a few moments comprised of a couple of stumbles and falls, he managed to clear his vision. "Ugh....Wh-...What the hell?!" It was as if he had stepped into a cartoon. The meadow he had plowed into was a shade of green that no worldy color could pull off. The flowers' colors were unlike anything he had ever seen. Even the bees that buzzed around them seemed out of place. "Where in the hell are we?!" "I don't know, slick," replied an all-too-familiar voice, "But it looks like we've already adapted to it." J turned around to question his partner, but jumped back in shock upon seeing him. "K-K! You're a cartoon!" "So are you." J looked down at his hands, hoping that his partner was pulling his leg. But, just like him, he had indeed been transformed into an animated version of himself. And, even though he was wearing a black suit, the colors still seemed too bright for him. "Oh man...I look ridiculous, K!" "No time to worry about your looks. We gotta find Mad Max." J glanced around the meadow as if Max was going to show himself to them. The truth in the matter was that he didn't want to explore the cartoon world and wanted to find Max and get back home as easily and quickly as possible...Unfortunately, though, it was not going to be that simple. "MAX! Where you at, man?! Just turn yourself in, and I promise we won't hurt you!" "Slick, let me tell you two things. One: I give the orders on whether or not we hurt them. Two: I know you wanna get out of here, but we're gonna have to go find him, and you know it." The younger agent sighed in defeat, once again fighting a battle he couldn't win. Having lost the argument, he turned to the senior agent with a willing face. "Okay...But how do we even know where to start." "Well, he wants to hold this dimension hostage. So, he'll want to get rid of the highest power around here...The ruler." "And how will we know who or what that is?" "We'll have to find out." "How?" "Find the nearest town...and ask somebody." MIBMIBMIBMIBMIBMIBMIBMIBMIBMIBMIBMIBMIBMIBMIBMIBMIBMIBMIBMIB "Pinkie Pie, what's going on?" "My Pinkie senses are telling me that I'm going to be throwing a party soon, because somepony new is arriving!" "Really? But I didn't see your body move." "Silly Twilight. Not all of my Pinkie senses involve moving my body." "Really? Then what just happened?" "My heart rate dropped and my vision blurred at the same time!" "What?! Pinkie, that's dangerous!" "No, it isn't. I trust my Pinkie senses completely. They would never put me in-" The pink mare known as Pinkie Pie fell to the ground, making a squeak-like noise as she fainted. The violet unicorn known as Twilight Sparkle thought about calling the hospital, but instead returned to her book, knowing the pink mare to have recovered from much worser incidents than this (most of them sugar-related). Still, Twilight was interested as to who exactly would be arriving in Ponyville....However, she wasn't gonna have to wait long to find out. "These buildings are even brighter than the damn flowers, K!" "Slick, watch your language. For all we know, swearing could be outlawed in this dimension and punished by immediate exectution." "What?” “It could happen.” “Only on The Hub!” yelled Pinkie Pie, who awoke from her slumber upon hearing the words. “Pinkie Pie!” exclaimed Twilight Sparkle as she grabbed the pink mare and drug her under the picnic table with her. “K, did you hear something?” “No, why?” “Because I don’t think we’re alone in this town....” “Isn’t that the whole point? I mean, we are here to ask around about the ruler of this land.” “Can you just let me have my hero moments, K?” “Do I ever let you have any moments whatsoever?” “Stop answering everything I say with a question!” “Why?” “Because...GAH! You know what?! Let’s split up! I’ll take the left side of town and you take the right! That sound okay?!” “Whatever you say, birthday boy.” Twilight clamped one hoof over Pinkie Pie’s mouth and held on to her body with the other, knowing the word “birthday” would trigger her party senses, causing her to jump out of her hiding place and start talking about the party she’d plan on throwing. “Pinkie Pie,” Twilight whispered, “If I let go of you, do you promise to stay down here with me and not approach the aliens?” The pink mare nodded and crossed her heart with her hoof, followed by flapping her arms and sticking her hoof up to her eye, signaling a Pinkie Promise. Twilight knew she was serious by this, so she let go of her and continued monitoring the “visitors.” “What do you think those things are, Twilight?” “I don’t know, but they mentioned wanting to find out about our ruler...Oh no. What if they’re after the Princess?!” “If they are, we gotta warn her!” “Alright, when I say ‘Go,’ we’ll make a run for the library.” “Wait, wait! Can we do it on three?” “Wh-What difference does it make?!” “I like three. It rhymes with a lot of words. Me, be, we, key, pea, body-” Twilight responded by clamping her hoof over the hyperactive mare’s mouth again, this time with annoyance clearly showing in her eyes. “Pinkie, there are a lot of words that rhyme with go, too! So, either way, it doesn’t matter!” Twilight looked back to see if the aliens had gone. When seeing that the coast was clear, she turned back to Pinkie, withdrawing her hoof in the process, and gave the signal. “Go!” The two mares dashed out from under the table with speeds that would’ve made Rainbow Dash proud. They reached the library without being spotted by anypony and quickly made their way inside. “SPIKE! Come down here quick!” A purple-and-green baby dragon waddled downstairs, eager to hear what his caretaker had to tell him. “Take a note, Spike. This could be the most important letter we’ve ever written.” “Sure thing, Twilight.” “Dearest Princess Celestia, I am writing to report that I have discovered two strange creatures in Ponyville. They stand on two legs, wear black suits and sunglasses, and are able to speak in our language. One appears to be far younger than the other. Whether or not they are related is unknown. They spoke of wanting to find you, as if it were urgent. I do not wish to invoke fear in you, but I write this letter to you as a warning for you to remain alert and keep an eye out for them. I will write to you again when I gather more information. Your faithful student, Twilight Sparkle.” The baby dragon rolled up the letter and breathed fire on it, causing it to evaporate and fly out the window. “It’s on its way!” “Good. Now, Pinkie Pie, we have to go back out there and warn the other townsponies about these creatures. They could be dangerous.” “But, Twilight, didn’t they say that they were just wanting to ask around?” “Yes! About where the Princess is! Don’t you see? When they find out where the Princess is, they could go after her! We don’t want that to happen!” “Twilight,” interrupted Spike, “You sound like you’re taking this a bit too far. I mean, did they even say they were gonna harm the Princess?” “Well...no...But I’m not gonna take that chance, Spike! She’s my mentor, and it’s my duty to make sure she stays safe!” As if the heavens were sending instructions to tell her what to do next, Spike burped up a letter, which he then read out loud. “My Dearest Twilight, I am unable to write you back at the moment. I am probably attending to some royal duties. Please be patient and I will get back to you as soon as I can. Yours truly, Princess Celestia.” “Wh...WHAT?! What’s that supposed to mean?!” “It must be her answering service when she’s not around.” “But she’s never done that!...Something’s not right...” MIBMIBMIBMIBMIBMIBMIBMIBMIBMIBMIBMIBMIBMIBMIBMIBMIBMIBMIBMIB Portals have a funny way of doing things...Just because it sends more than one being or object to the same dimension doesn’t mean they will necessarily end up in the same location. This was exactly the case with Mad Max, whose careful study of inter-dimensional transport had allowed him to travel to his desired location: inside the Canterlot Royal Castle. After gracefully landing inside the castle (achieved due to his extensive knowledge of the travel process), Max immediately went to work at disarming Celestia’s Royal Guards...by pointing a rather puny laser gun at Celestia’s head. “HE’S DRAWN A WEAPON AND AIMING IT AT THE PRINCESS! EVERYPONY, HOLD YOUR POSITIONS!” The guards (and Celestia herself) had never seen such a creature before, let alone a weapon like the one it was holding. Even though Celestia was the most powerful creature in the land, even she did not want to take the chance of using her magic on the creature, lest its weapon or any hidden powers it possessed result in the death of anyone in the palace. “Now, Princess, I want you to calmly get up and come down here to me! As for your guards, I want them all to drop their weapons and lock themselves in a closet!” “Forgive me, but we do not have a closet,” said Celestia, who had since stood up and began gracefully walking down the steps of her throne in accordance with Max’s demands. “...Oh. Well, do you have a dungeon?” “What kind of a ruler do you take me to be, creature?...I mean, we do have one, but it is more of an unnecessary feature built into the castle than a purposeful room.” “Excellent.” After the guards finished filing into the dungeon and the Princess had placed a powerful locking spell on the door (per Mad Max’s instructions), she and the mad scientist returned to the throne room, Max still holding her at gunpoint. “Well, now that you have me held hostage, what do you plan on doing next, creature?” “Enough of this ‘creature’ nonsense, Princess Celestia. You may call me ‘Mad Max.’ Everyone else does.” “Okay then. So, getting back to what you are doing here...” “Why, beginning Phase Three of my master plan, of course!” “Which is?” “Ugh, I don’t wanna explain it again! Especially not to a woman!...Er, mare!” “If you are going to insult me, at least look me in the eyes when you do so.” “I can do whatever I want to, thank you very much! Now, shut up! I’m getting headaches from all of this!” "All of what?" "All of this nonsense! First, I have to explain my plan to K and his partner. Then, I have to come here, disarm some ponies, and hold a pony princess at gunpoint. But, I can't seem to keep my cool because she won't SHUT UP AND LEAVE ME ALONE!!" “Never thought you would be uttering any sentences like those, did you?” “...You know, if I didn’t need you, I would’ve killed you already.” “Why do you need me, exactly?” “BECAUSE, my dear, I have read up on your world in my lab back in my dimension! And, even though it involved spending dozens upon dozens of hours watching the cartoon, chatting with bronies online, and reading and editing Wikipedia, I managed to obtain every bit of knowledge possible on what to do once I got here!” “Do you require any specefic medication, sir?” “NO!...No, I’m fine...” “Well, would you mind explaining to me what Phase Three of your plan is?” “Ah, yes! Phase One was to acquire the nuclear weaponry I needed to hold a dimension hostage and to acquire the means to get to said dimension...” “Did you not hear me? I just wanted to know about Phase Thr-” “PHASE TWO...was to travel to said dimension, take care of anyone that stood in my way, and get you under my power! Which brings me to Phase Three...” “About time...” “...where I use you as bait to lure the Elements of Harmony here!” “For what reason, exactly?” “Oh, you’ll see in time, my dear...You’ll all see...” “Yeah, you really need to learn how to treat a lady.” “YOU’RE A HORSE! You don’t have the brain and intellect I possess!” “Do NOT mock me, Mad Max! For I am-“ “You are what, Princess Celestia?” said Max while cocking his weapon and aiming it directly at her head. “I...am sorry. Please continue.” “That’s what I thought. Now, get a quill ready. It’s time to write a letter to summon the Elements!” For all of Equestria’s sake, Twilight, I hope my automatic answering service has made you aware something is wrong... MIBMIBMIBMIBMIBMIBMIBMIBMIBMIBMIBMIBMIBMIBMIBMIBMIBMIBMIBMIB “Oh, come on, Twilight! Pretty please with sprinkles and sugar and hot sauce and strawberries and sugar on top!” “Pinkie, for the last time, no! I’m not letting you throw a couple of aliens that wanna kill Princess Celestia a party!” “Twilight, you’re being ridiculous! You don’t even know if they wanna hurt the Princess!” “Rainbow Dash, for once, ignore Pinkie’s senses and listen to my senses...Wait, when did you get here?!” “I noticed you two walking nervously around town, so I decided to see what was up. I fly down to hear you two talking about throwing aliens a party...Not exactly what I was expecting to hear.” “Rainbow, like I said, we’re not throwing them a party! We’re gonna negotiate with them and try to get them to leave. If not,...” “What? What are you gonna do?” “Well,...I’ll fight them!” This caused the cyan blue pegasus known as Rainbow Dash to fall on the ground in tears, laughing and rolling around on the ground. “Rainbow, that’s not funny! I’m serious” “Yeah, Twilight! I’m sure you’ll put up a heck of a fight! HA HA HA HA!” “Fine...Looks like I’m on my own here.” With that, Twilight dashed out from behind the corner, leaving the two mares behind, and slowly approached the younger alien, Agent J, from behind. “Um,...hello?” The younger being spun around as if expecting her. Its facial expression, however, changed when it saw just who it was that spoke to him. “What the-...K! K, get over here! This place has got talking ponies, man!” “Um,..yes, I am indeed a talking pony...Why? Does that bother you?” “Oh, um,...no...No, it’s just...Where I come from,..ponies don’t usually talk.” “Really? Well, where do you come from?” “I, uh,..I come from a planet called Earth...And I’m a creature called a human.” “Oh, is that what you are? I’ve read about those. They’re said to be incredibly skilled, but posess average intelligence.” “Heh...Yeah, that sounds about right...So, anyways, down to business. Can you tell me just why nobody around here is answering their door?” “Well, um,...sir, is it?” “Yeah. I’m pretty sure I can prove I’m a male, a’ight?” The unicorn blushed at the human’s comment. “Well, then, um,...and don’t take this the wrong way, but...they’re probably scared of you...” “Oh, is that all? Well, then, that’s completely understandable.” Twilight was surprised to hear the male human’s understanding. However, she remained cautious, still not knowing the alien’s true purpose. “Well, then, little pony, I’d like to-” “Excuse me, sir, but I do have a name.” “Oh...Well, then, I’d be delighted to hear it.” “Twilight Sparkle.” “What a nice name. My name is Agent J.” “Agent?.” “Yes. I work for a top-secret organization that monitors alien activity on Earth.” “....Interesting...And how do you spell your name?” “J?” “Yeah.” “J.” “Oh...Heh...How silly of me.” “Listen, Twilight, I may be a being of average intelligence, but even I have sense enough to know that you’re nervous being near me. Is something bothering you about my presence?” Twilight’s eye shot open, knowing she had been caught but not expecting him to be so observant of her emotions. However, she then grew slightly irritated at his question. “I’m nervous around you because I overheard you talking about our Princess!” “Huh?....Oh, you mean your ruler’s a princess? Well, ain’t that cute?” “Cute?...There’s nothing cute about you threatening our leader!” “What? Okay, first off, we’re not here to threaten nobody! Okay? We’re looking for an intergalactic criminal who wants to take over your...dimension. Second, I didn’t choose to come here! If it weren’t for my partner, I would’ve been at home celebrating my birthday!” At this point, Pinkie Pie couldn’t help herself. She jumped out from her and Rainbow Dash’s hiding spot, pulled her famous party cannon seemingly out of thin air, and shot out a blast of confetti. “HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!” Unfortunately, J hadn’t expected a loud noise like the party cannon. The shock scared him enough to make him jump back in fright, slip on some wet grass left from the rain the weather pegasi had granted the town just a few hours before, and fall backwards into a nearby fruit stand (abandoned, of course, due to the ponies’ fear of the new visitors). J toppled back into one of the crates and hit his head on the side, getting knocked out cold in the process. “Well,” said Pinkie Pie, “He sure was surprised...” End of Chapter 2! Author’s Other Note: Forgive me if this chapter isn’t as good as the last. I have a habit of typing the first thing that comes to my head. But, hey, if it works, give me your approving comments and likes! If not, give me your disapproving comments and likes! Win, win! See you next chapter!.....P.S. I just became aware of the "Author's Notes" section you can use on the site, but I think I'll just stick with my way for now. See ya!