//------------------------------// // A Festive Welcome // Story: Falling Through // by CodenameTobias //------------------------------// Stroke looked over the final page of her magic spellbook. Finding no information of value, she threw it into the pile with the others. “Anything?” she asked. “Nothing,” Scythe mumbled, occupied with his book on folklore. It was his job to find any stories on odd creatures appearing out of nowhere, with no such luck. “Nada,” Blitz called down from his spot on a window ledge. He had been preoccupied with a physics textbook, trying to find any possibilities of wormholes and rifts, but came up with nothing but theories. The pile itself was a decent size from the amount they read. They had started their research period sometime after one, and the moon was just coming up over the horizon. According to Stroke's count, she had read through 11 of her magic books, Blitz had read through 17 textbooks total and Scythe had finished 5 books on folklore. Spike had been a lot of help. Reading through a few books himself, but not knowing what the three were looking for, he opted to serve them some drinks while they worked. Stroke rubbed her temple with a hoof, “Spike, what time is it?” The dragon poked his head out of the kitchen, “Around seven-thirty, why?” “I think it's about time we call it quits, there doesn't seem to be anything here about a way home.” Saying that, Stroke levitated her bag from the table where she left it on the day before, looping the strap around her midsection, and allowing the bag to rest on her back. “You don't know that,” Scythe objected, looking up from his book. “Scythe, I think it's safe to say that we at least need a break,” Blitz said, closing his textbook and tossing it onto the pile before rolling off the ledge and landing on his hooves. “How about we take a walk through town to cool off?” Spike's eyes went wide as he ran out of the kitchen and threw himself against the front door, “You guys can't go outside, not yet!” The trio exchanged confused looks. “And why not?” Scythe asked. “Well, uh...” “And what do you mean by 'yet'?” Stroke added. Spike's eyes darted around the room as he thought up an excuse. “You can't go outside because... um... of the... uh, vampires!” “Vampires?” Stroke deadpanned. Spike nodded vigourously, “Yeah, vampires. You saw them in one of the books, right Scythe?” “Well, yeah, but those are just stories.” “And so was Nightmare Moon. If you go outside they'll definitely turn you into one of their vampire minions!” “A-and tell me, d-do these vampires happen to s-sparkle?” Blitz asked with some artificial fear in his voice. Spike nodded again falling for the trap, “Yeah, of course they do!” “Then we have nothing to worry about,” he smiled. “But-” “No 'buts' Spike,” Scythe argued, “we're going outside.” With that he walked over to the door with Blitz and Stroke following, only for it to swing open flattening Spike behind it. “Guys, I'm back!” Twilight called in. Blitz and Scythe struggled to control their laughter while Stroke giggled a bit. “What's so funny?” “And just like that the mightiest of all beasts was flattened!” Scythe roared with laughter. Twilight tilted her head, “Another one of your stories?” “Nope, just being a sarcastic jerk,” Scythe snickered. “Wow, he's being honest for once,” Blitz joked as Scythe gave him a look that read “Really?”. A groan came from behind the door as Twilight closed it slightly to find Spike squished between it and the wall. “Whoops, sorry Spike.” She looked over to the pile of books that had accumulated on the floor as Spike peeled himself from the wall, “I see you did some reading.” “Yeah,” Scythe groaned as he arched his back like a cat, sending a series of pops down his spine, “we were going to take a walk outside for a break, but mister 'Oh So Fierce Beast' here tried to talk us out of it.” “Well, it's gotten too dark anyways, so why don't we go out for some tea instead?” “That does a bit more relaxing,” Stroke agreed. “Uh, yeah. No thanks,” Scythe shook his head, “I'd rather go and see about those vampires Spike was talking about.” With that he walked out the front door. “For the first time since we got here, I think I agree with him,” Blitz said, following his friend. “Well, we tried,” Twilight sighed as a loud “AHA!” came from outside. “I knew it! I knew you ponies were plotting against us!” Scythe exclaimed, running towards town square, “Come on guys, let's go before they get the torches and pitchforks!” “He has no idea where he's going, does he?” Twilight asked. “Doubt it,” Stroke sighed, “we'd better go make sure he doesn't get himself into trouble.” “Um, I think Blitz is one step ahead of us.” Spike pointed at the pegasus flying after Scythe. “Come on,” Twilight said, levitating Spike onto her back, “we should catch up.” With that the two unicorns and dragon took after their friends. Up ahead they found that Scythe hadn't made it too far before being stopped by Blitz. He seemed to be trying to talk some sense into his friend as Twilight and Stroke caught up. “...understand? We will calmly go through town and see what they are actually doing,” Blitz explained in a calm, firm voice. “Fine,” Scythe half-moped as he noticed the others catching up. Stroke had on another look as Twilight spoke up, “So then, how about that walk?” “Yeah, I think we definitely need a cool down,” Blitz agreed, referring to his friends. Twilight nodded and took the lead, taking the group on Scythe's original path to town square. Blitz took notice to the silence of the darkened town. The stars hung in the sky with the moon shining brightly, acting like a second sun over the coat of darkness. They trotted through the streets as crickets chirped, eventually coming to town square. “Well, here we are,” Twilight announced. Scythe squinted into the darkness, “Here for what exactl-” “SURPRISE!” “HOLY MEW'S OFFSPRING!” he yelled, jumping into the air. Strings of lights hung on poles driven into the ground turned on, illuminating town square, revealing large number ponies had gathered in the square. On town hall was a large banner that read “Welcome to Ponyville!”, next to the building was a stage with some DJing equipment that a white unicorn was busy preparing. Scattered around the area were tables covered with foods of all sorts and various games. “Should've guessed,” Blitz muttered to himself, looking over to Stroke. The mare was wide-eyed and looked as if she was about to run away. “You alright?” Stroke nodded slightly, her irises had shrunk a bit, “Y-yeah, I'll be fine.” “Hi there!” Stroke let out an “Eep” as Pinkie Pie materialized in front of her. “Myname'sPinkiePieand-” Seeing Stroke hide her face behind her mane, Scythe stepped forward and shoved a hoof into Pinkie's mouth. “Slow down please... and stop licking my hoof!” With that he removed the extremity as Pinkie gave him a smile. “Sorry, but you taste funny. As I was saying, I'm Pinkie Pie, I saw you three in town earlier today and didn't recognize you which meant you were new to town, so I threw this party for you guys, what do you think?” Scythe surveyed the area before nodding, “It's a party all right.” Seeing Stroke's imitation of Fluttershy, Twilight stepped over to Blitz, “What's wrong with her?” “Stroke has some social anxiety issues, she gets pretty shy in crowds.” “Now let's get you blindfolded and spun up!” Pinkie cheered, reaching around Scythe and grabbing a quivering Stroke before running towards a game. “Well that... happened.” Scythe nodded, “Well it should do her some good to loosen up a bit.” “You might want to consider doing the same,” Blitz remarked, “I get that your not excited about being here, but you could at least lighten up and look at this as a vacation from our usual lives.” “Yeah, yeah,” Scythe muttered, “Come on, let's get something to eat and uh, mingle with the locals.” “I thought I wasn't allowed to do that.” Scythe glared at Blitz, “You know what I mean.” Spike hopped off of Twilight's back, “I could use something to eat too.” Twilight waved them off, “You three do that, I have something to do.” With that they began to make their way through the crowd. Blitz and Scythe greeted some of the locals and made a few conversations as they made their way to the food table. Spike had already finished filling his plate with mountain of food almost as tall as he was and began to move to a nearby table. Blitz and Scythe examined the display, “Quite the spread,” Blitz commented before picking up a cupcake and biting into it. Scythe's eyes went wide with horror as he saw that the baked good was a red-brown. “How could you eat that!?” Blitz looked between him and his cupcake, “What do you mean?” “It's red! It's made with blood!” Blitz raised a brow, “It's red velvet, my favourite.” “Yeah, red with Rai-” “Hey guys!” a familiar voice called over. The pair turned to see Rainbow Dash coming over to greet them, “How are you liking the party?” “Grub's good,” Blitz replied, tossing the remainder of his treat into the air and catching it in his mouth, “and thanks for helping me prove a point.” “What? How?” “By being here.” He looked over to Scythe who rolled his eyes, “Fine, Pinkie's not evil. I still don't trust the cupc... er, those baked goods.” Suddenly, loud techno music began to blare, causing Scythe to jump from how close he was to a nearby speaker. “Aww yeah!” Dash smiled, “Vinyl is finished setting up, you guys want to hit the dance floor?” “WHAT?” Scythe yelled, his ears ringing from the sudden assault, “I CAN'T HEAR YOU!” Blitz and Dash shared a laugh at Scythe's expense, “C'mon Blitz, let's find him somepony to dance with.” “I STILL CAN'T HEAR YOU! SPEAK UP!” “WE'RE GOING TO DANCE, YOU WANT TO COME?” Blitz yelled in his friend's ear. “Um, I think I'll see what Stroke's doing. You two have fun with that,” with that Scythe turned into the crowd and began to search for Stroke. “He's not much of a dancer,” Blitz remarked as his friend left earshot, “in fact neither of them are.” “Alright then, let's see your moves,” Dash teased, leading him to the dance floor. As the song finished, Dash and Blitz made their way off the floor and began to move to a table. “You call that dancing?” she mocked, “It looked like you were having a seizure out there.” “Yeah and you did any better?” Blitz grinned, “Bobbing your head back and forth with some simple movements wouldn't be considered dancing by most.” Taking his seat at the table he continued, “Besides, I'm used to dancing on two legs, so of course I'm going to have moves like Twilight. I only did that well because that song was similar to one I have back home.” Dash took the spot across from him, “Is that so?” Blitz nodded, “Yeah, it's a good song for dancing, but there's a lot of better one's for listening back home.” “So what do you listen to?” “Rock, some techno, a bit of country, anything that sounds good and has lyrics that make sense. We had devices that could store songs, but they didn't come through, so I have no way of showing you them.” “Too bad,” Dash sighed, “I kinda want to hear what you guys listen to.” “Blitz!” The pair looked around to see Twilight and Applejack approaching the table, the prior carrying a long, gift wrapped box in her magic. “Hey Twi', AJ, what's up?” “We were jus' lookin' for you and yer friends,” Applejack explained. “Well Scythe just ran off to find Stroke who got dragged off by Pinkie, so they're around,” Blitz took notice to the package, “What's that?” Twilight levitated the box onto the table in front of him, “This is for you.” Blitz looked at the box before him then to Twilight, “Twilight, you shouldn't have.” “Actually, we all did,” she replied gesturing to Applejack and Rainbow Dash as each nodded, “consider it a welcoming gift.” Blitz looked back at the box. Running a hoof along the paper, he tried to find a tearing point, but with no avail. “A little help?” Twilight activated her horn, ripping the paper away from the box, it was plain and white. Taking the top half of the box in his hooves, Blitz lifted it from the base revealing the contents. Inside the box was a copper coloured, six-string guitar. It was fitted with a black shoulder strap and had some signs of wear due to the paint turning black in spots. “Twilight... you really shouldn't have.” “It was nothing really, I just remembered that you said that you need your music. Go ahead, play something.” Blitz took the guitar from the box and slung the strap over his shoulder, “Twilight, I only know about three songs, and it's been months since I even touched my guitar back home.” “No worries,” Dash assured, “Twilight had this thing enchanted. It'll stay in tune, all you have to do is focus on a song and you should be able to play it. The magic will also fill in the missing instruments.” Blitz positioned his hooves over the strings and neck, doing so sent a pulse through his body and to his head. Shaking off the odd sensation, he strummed three chords in succession causing the notes to resonate from the instrument. “So how about playing something?” Blitz looked at Applejack, “Vinyl has the stage set up, why not show us what you can do?” Blitz grinned, “Alright, all of you stay here, I need to find Scythe.” With that he stood up and slung the guitar onto his back before running into the crowd in search of his friend. Moving through the mass of ponies was difficult for Blitz as he searched for Scythe, “Ugh, if only I could go o-” he looked at his back, “Right.” Unfolding his wings, Blitz took to the air and searched for either of his friends. Spotting them next to a game with Pinkie and Rarity. Earlier... “Dammit, where are you Stroke?” Scythe muttered to himself. Not having the option to fly like Blitz, he was forced to slowly make his way through the crowd and was becoming annoyed with his slow progress. Eventually he made his way through the edge of the mass and looked around, spotting a mare showing off a drawing to what looked like a friend. Trotting over to the pair, he saw that the drawing was that of high detail and in Stroke's style. “Where did you get that?” The mares looked at him. “Over there,” she pointed, “a unicorn's drawing them. Isn't it great?” Scythe smiled, “It is.” He then made his way over to a smaller crowd the mare had pointed to and pushed his way through. The crowd was surrounding Stroke, but she didn't seem to mind. She was busy drawing Rarity, holding her pencil, eraser and sketchbook in her magic. Her eyes were locked on her work, taking care to include every detail. “Hi Scythe!” Pinkie bounced next to him. Scythe jumped, frightened by the mare's sudden appearance. “Oh... Hey Pink. What's Stroke doing?” “When I brought her to a game earlier she was soooo shy and didn't want to play, so I asked her what she had in her bag and she showed me her art stuff and offered to draw me and she did such a good job that a few other ponies wanted her to draw them, so she did and now she's drawing Rarity, can't you see that?” “Actually, I can.” Scythe watched from the edge of the crowd for a minute as Stroke finished the drawing before turning the book to Rarity. The mare smiled at the picture, “My, my Stroke, you are quite the artist.” Stroke blushed lightly and looked at the ground, “It's nothing, really.” “No need to be so modest, dear. With this quality, it's no wonder your special talent's art.” Stroke looked back up at Rarity with a small smile, “Thanks.” “Don't worry,” Scythe laughed, stepping forward from the crowd, “she's always been a great artist.” “It's not just that,” Stroke remarked, looking up and putting her book and tools back into her bag, “the fact that everything here has an outline makes it easier for me pick out the shapes.” “Heh, whatever works,” Scythe remarked, noticing that he himself did in fact have an outline like everyone else. Rarity looked at Scythe with some annoyance, “I think I'm going to find Blitz. I would like to talk with him.” “If that means what I think it does, you best look somewhere else. He's a little preoccupied with Dash at the moment,” Scythe replied smugly. “And what, pray tell, does that mean?” Scythe turned to see Blitz touching down behind him. “Well, you seem to be getting pretty friendly with her.” “It's called making friends,” Blitz said, “I'm not interested in Dash romantically.” Rarity seemed to perk up at this, “Then who would you be interested in?” “Can't say.” “And Dashie's not one for dating,” Pinkie piped up. Scythe then took notice to the instrument on Blitz' back, “Where'd you get the guitar?” “Oh, I see you got our gift,” Rarity remarked. “Do you like it?” Pinkie added. “I love it,” Blitz smiled, “actually, Scythe, what say we show these ponies how we rock back home.” Scythe raised a brow, “What do you have in mind?” “Come with me, I'll tell you on the way to the stage,” he said, gesturing in the direction of the stage, “AJ told me we're expected up there.” A Few Minutes Later... Blitz looked over to the table where his friends had gathered, Fluttershy having just arrived. The air as thick with anticipation as the two stallions stood on stage. Scythe had a microphone set up and Blitz was standing on his hind legs and had a mic of his own, his hooves were on the guitar which was hooked up to an amp. Tapping his mic, Scythe licked his lips and spoke.  “Hello Ponyville!” he shouted with a grin, “Are you ready to rock?” A chorus of cheers came from the crowd as Scythe turned to Blitz who gave him a nod. “As some of you may know, we're not exactly from around here.” “Out of this world even,” Blitz added. A few laughs came from the crowd as Scythe continued, “Here's a song about life where we come from.” Blitz closed his eyes, feeling the magic flowing through the guitar to his mind as he concentrated on the song. “Here goes nothing.” With that he strummed the opening chords, causing the full instrumental to echo through the square. He smiled as he felt his hooves slide along the neck of the guitar and strike the strings, then broke into the opening section of the song. Scythe bobbed his head in sync to the beat, as his cue came up he took a breath and sang, his voice tuned to that of the original vocalist. Some people live out selfish desire Some choose to shout when they speak and they'll be the star Caught in the flame of those deep in fire Seeking out those with a voice, one for tomorrow! (They say we've lost our minds We've just gained control) Search endlessly, fight 'til we're free! Fly past the edge of the sea! No bended knee! No mockery! Somehow we still carry on! (Fear, fear, fear, fear, fear, fear) Silence your fear, we've got to move higher High like the stars in the sky, guiding us all! Battle the will of those who conspire Take back the passion to live, vanish the sorrow! (Destroy their perfect crime, watch the power fold) Search endlessly, fight 'til we're free! Fly past the edge of the sea! No bended knee! No mockery! Somehow we still carry on! Blitz then broke into the solo, striking the chords as he felt the magic flow through his body. The crowd began to stomp along to the song. Scythe smiled as he looked over the square, this was music. As the solo came to a close, he closed his eyes and finished the song. Search endlessly, fight 'til we're free! Fly past the edge of the sea! No bended knee! No mockery! Somehow we still carry on! Carry on! As Blitz played the final chords, there was a moment of silence before the crowd broke into applause. He set the guitar onto his back and trotted over to Scythe and throwing an arm over his friend. “And that's how you rock like a human,” Blitz yelled into his ear, as the crowd was deafening. The pair made their way back to the table, receiving a few comments on their performance along the way. Their friends smiled at them as they took their seats. “That was awesome!” Spike exclaimed. “Well if it weren't for the guitar, there wouldn't be a show,” Blitz explained. “THAT WAS THE MOST FUN I'VE HAD ALL DAY!” Scythe yelled, his ears still ringing from the applause. “Scythe! You're a little loud!” Stroke yelled at him. “OH... I mean, oh, sorry about that,” he replied. “Thanks for the guitar everybo-pony, that's going to take some getting used to,” Blitz muttered. “Well that's yer gift,” Applejack explained, “and Ah have one fer Scythe.” He turned his attention to the mare, who had taken a look of apology, “Ah'm sorry fer hurting you yesterday.” Scythe smiled and shook his head, “It's cool, water under the bridge.” “Well Ah'm still offering to you,” she huffed, “Ah'd like to offer you a job on the farm.” Scythe's eyes widened a bit at this, “Really?” Applejack nodded, “With payment and room and board.” “That's really generous of you, I'll take it.” He then extended a hoof which she took with a shake. “As for you Stroke,” Rarity spoke, “along with staying with me, I'd like to offer you a position at the boutique. I think that your skills could be useful for creating my customers concepts.” Stroke smiled and nodded, “Thank you Rarity, I'd be happy to work with you.” “Marvelous, I'd love to see some designs of what humans wore.” Blitz and Scythe snickered at the thought of passing off cosplay costumes as typical clothes. “Well I'm starved,” Scythe remarked, getting up from his spot and going to the snack table with Twilight, Spike, Stroke and AJ in tow. Pinkie had vanished off to somewhere during the conversation. “So what are you going to do for a job?” Blitz looked at Dash before putting his head back, “Well what's there to do?” “You can always do jobs posted at city hall,” Rarity explained, “the town pays for ponies that are willing to do odd jobs, like helping shops when they are understaffed.” “Odd jobs, yeah I can do that,” Blitz chuckled, “I'm pretty sure I won't be able to get away with calling myself a musician.” “Yeah, enchanted instruments are considered cheating because they don't require actual skill,” Dash agreed. “A novelty,” Blitz summarized. “I doubt that you would do well anyways,” Rarity remarked, “such loud music is enjoyed, but you would surely face criticism.” “I-it was a little loud,” Fluttershy agreed. “Well not all rock is loud. Everyone has their tastes.” “Sometimes you just need some noise,” Dash added. “Heck yeah,” Blitz grinned, giving Dash a brohoof. Rarity narrowed her eyes at the gesture, deciding to make her move. “So Blitz, did you have your eye on a girl back home?” Blitz raised a brow at the question, “No, not really.” “Well what's your type?” “Excuse me?” “Well I'm sure that a brave, handsome, and all round gentlecolt like yourself must surely have your eye on a beautiful mare.” Blitz shook his head, his face took on an agitated look, “I'm not talking about this.” “But surely you must have-” “I said I'm not talking about this.” His voice raised slightly. Dash took notice to Blitz feeling uncomfortable with the questions. “Rare, quit it.” “See Blitz, Rainbow seems to have taken a liking to you.” Blitz felt something within him start to break. “We're friends,” Dash deadpanned. “Now Karmesin, I'm sure that you have your reasons,” he felt as if he was cracking, “but I'm sure that whatever insecurity you have, it shouldn't affect your life in any-” “I SAID I'M NOT TALKING ABOUT THIS!” he screamed. The music that was playing came to an abrupt stop with a needle scratch as all eyes turned to the table. Blitz felt his eyes dart around the square as many gazes bore into him. “I-I...” He stood from his spot and took a couple steps backwards. Dash and Rarity sat there in disbelief at his outburst while Fluttershy hid under the table. “I'm sorry,” he whispered, before turning and running through town, tears lightly streaming from his eyes. Scythe and Stroke ran up to the table. “What the hell was that!?” Scythe asked. “Ugh, Rarity was pushing Blitz to tell her his feelings and I think she crossed a line,” Dash explained. “Yeah, that happens. Come on, we'd better find him.” With that, Scythe, Stroke, Rainbow and Rarity took off as Fluttershy peeked out from under the table. A Few Minutes Later... “He's not in here.” Dash was peering into an upper window of the library. Seeing no movement, it was safe to assume that Blitz had not returned there. “He always does this,” Stroke sighed, “running from his problems.” “Really?” Rarity asked. Stroke nodded, “He doesn't do well when he snaps like that.” Dash returned to the ground, “So where next?” Scythe put a hoof to his head and closed his eyes. “My emo sense tells me he went this way,” he exclaimed, pointing in a direction. “What?” the girls asked in unison. Scythe rolled his eyes, “Familiar sound. Guitar, this way.” He lead the others in the direction of the music, eventually coming to the park. They searched the area, looking for the source of the song. “Up there!” Rarity pointed to a cloud where the pegasus was standing on his hind legs, back turned to them and guitar at the ready. He began to pluck the strings as Scythe and Stroke immediately recognized the song. “Oh it's this one,” Scythe said. “What is it?” “It's a song he listens to when he's upset.” The group listened as the guitar was quickly joined by a section of string instruments, before the drums and bass joined in. Blitz took a deep breath in and sang: I should've known these walls would cave in I should've never left my heart there on the line 'Cause when the shit hit the fan All we ever had ended up lost in the fire And now nothing's saved, nothing's gained Was it all in vain? 'Cause I'm standing in the eye of the storm And everything I've known is blowing away (Blowing away) I'm caught in a hurricane I'm leaving here dead or alive And I know that I'd be willing to feel the pain If it got me to the other side 'Cause it only hurts Hurricane Yeah I can feel it hurt Hurricane Remember how we were, we really were Before this disaster came and tore us apart It was the two of us, that was enough The two of us, so in love Till the wind of lies, The rain of cries and lightning strikes And now we're standing in the eye of the storm And everything is gone, nothing remains (Blowing away) I'm caught in a hurricane I'm leaving here dead or alive And I know that I'd be willing to feel the pain If it got me to the other side 'Cause it only hurts Hurricane Yeah I can feel it hurt Hurricane I never thought it would end I'll never understand How we let it end like this I'm caught in a hurricane I'm leaving here dead or alive And I know that I'd be willing to feel the pain If it got me to the other side 'Cause it only hurts Hurricane Yeah I can feel it hurt Hurricane Hurts Hurricane (Blowing away) Hurts Hurricane As the remainder of the song faded away Scythe called up to his friend, “Hey Blitz.” He jumped slightly at the mention of his name and looked back to see his friends on the ground. He moved the guitar to his back and leapt down from the cloud. “Hey guys,” he mumbled. Rarity stepped forward, “Karmesin, I'm sorry. It wasn't right of me to push you like that.” “It's okay,” he replied, his voice becoming clearer, “I shouldn't have reacted like that. It was wrong of me to lash out.” “I promise I won't do it again, as your friend.” She gave him a smile, which was returned. “You going to be okay?” Stroke asked. Blitz nodded and rubbed the back of his neck, “Yeah. I think I'm going to bed though, don't really want to show my face after what just happened.” “Alright, if you say so,” Dash said, looking concerned. “I'll be fine, I've been through worse,” he smiled, “just tell Twilight I'm at the library. And be sure to tell Pinkie I'm sorry.” With that he took to the air and headed for the library, wanting to be alone with his thoughts. “We'd better head back,” Scythe commented, walking back towards town square with the girls in tow. Canterlot Celestia read over the letter from Twilight again. The idea of beings arriving from another universe was unsettling, but she knew there was a greater force at work. She took a scroll and quill in her magic and began to write her reply, deciding that something had to be done about these “Humans”.