A/N: This takes place between Season 3 and 4, but will not contain much of the Season 4 plot. No, not that type of plot... >:(
A/N2: This WILL contain some Season 4 spoilers from the latest episode at the time the chapter is written, currently being everything up to S4 E8: Rarity takes Manehatten. Anyway, enough with my talking, enjoy!
"And that is why most of the species in Equestria get along in harmony," Cheerilee finished.
"That was a kind of weird story, Sweetie Belle, wasn't it?" Scootaloo whispered to the white filly sitting next to her.
"Yeah, it was a bit strange," Sweetie Belle whispered back. "Hey, Scootaloo, so you think we could get a cutie mark in story-telling?"
"Yeah, we haven't tried that yet," Scootaloo replied, "I bet that's what our cutie marks will be!"
Cheerilee cleared her throat and announced "Now, it's time for me to set you homework!"
"Aaaaaaaawwwwww," the class complained.
"But you said we weren't gonna get any homework today!" Silver Spoon argued.
"Yeah," Snails said.
Cheerilee raised her voice and hastily interrupted "Quieten down class, this will be fun homework!"
"My father will hear about this..." Diamond Tiara muttered angrily.
"You will make up a new creature and write a story about it, if it were to live in Equestria!" Cheerilee continued.
"Yay!" the class cheered
"This is the perfect chance for us to get our cutie marks in writing!" Sweetie Belle whispered to Scootaloo.
"Yeah, let's make this the best story ever!" Scootaloo replied enthusiastically.
"Now, class dismissed!" Cheerilee announced.
The class rushed out, and Apple Bloom came up from behind Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo, who were in deep conversation, discussing what their creature would look like.
"So, is the Cutie Mark Crusader sleepover still on?" Apple Bloom asked.
"Sure!" Sweetie Belle replied enthusiastically, "We're staying with Rarity, but she doesn't know that yet..."
"Okay, ah'm just gonna check with Applejack that ah can go," Apple Bloom said.
Apple Bloom bounced up to Applejack who was carrying a basket full of apples to the village centre.
"Hey Applejack, can ah go to Rarity's for the Cutie Mark Crusader sleepover?" Apple Bloom asked pleadingly.
"Err, okay, I don't see why not," Applejack said. Secretly she was having a mini celebration inside her mind. An evening without the filly getting into trouble! At least, not trouble that she would have to deal with...
"Thanks!" Apple Bloom said happily, before beginning to bounce back to her friends.
"Wait one second!" Applejack demanded.
Apple Bloom turned around hesitantly.
"Umm, does Rarity know that you are having a sleepover at her house?" Applejack asked quietly.
"No!" Apple Bloom replied, then bounced off towards her friends.
Applejack chuckled to herself. Rarity was going to have a tough night.
~~~~~
Rarity heard knocking at the door, and went to open it. As she began using her magic to open the door, three fillies burst through, and landed in a pile on the floor.
Sweetie Belle bounced up quickly.
"Are you ready for the Cutie Mark Crusader sleepover?" she asked.
Rarity opened her mouth to speak, but was cut off by Sweetie Belle.
"Thanks, you're the best sister ever!" Sweetie Belle told Rarity.
They all rushed into the kitchen and sat around the table. Scootaloo took out a piece of paper and they started brain-storming ideas down.
Rarity moved closer to see what they were doing.
"So, what are you doing now?" Rarity asked curiously.
"Oh, we're doing our homework. We have to write a story about a new creature, which could live in Equestria," Sweetie Belle explained.
"And our creature is going to be awesome!!!" Scootaloo said.
Rarity smiled to herself. "Is it fashionable?" she asked.
Sweetie Belle looked back in disbelief. "Rarity, no!" she said in annoyance.
Rarity grinned smugly then put on an apologetic expression. "I was just joking," she said. "However," She smiled smugly and continued. "I don't think that I can have three fillies in my house tonight, so, the sleepover is cancelled... Unless of course, you listen and do what you're told."
Sweetie Belle glared at Rarity then smiled and started writing. "Fine, it can wear clothes, so it helps your Boutique, when it buys clothes here." she replied.
Rarity considered this for a moment, then smiled. "Okay, that'll be satisfactory." she decided.
Scootaloo frowned. "Why does it have to wear clothes?" she complained. "We, have to give it an actual reason for wearing clothes, we can't tell Cheerilee that it wears clothes because Rarity blackmailed us."
"I don't know, maybe it has no fur or something," Sweetie Belle replied.
"But, what does it look like?" Rarity asked, irritated by the fillies lack of concentration.
"Um, it looks like a chicken?" Apple Bloom suggested.
"Like Scootaloo?" Sweetie Belle said innocently.
"I told you to keep quiet about that joke," Scootaloo muttered angrily.
The other two fillies giggled.
"A chicken?" Rarity said. "Chickens don't have fur, so that won't work." "How about a..."
Rarity thought for a moment. What animals had fur, and could be useful?
"How about a gorilla, that would be intimidating, especially if it had no fur." she suggested hopefully.
"Nah, we want it tah be helpful, not scary," Apple Bloom said.
"How about a giant monkey?" Scootaloo said.
"You mean an ape?" Rarity asked.
"Yeah, that would be helpful. It can pick things up with those finger things." Scootaloo said happily.
"How do you know about apes?" Sweetie Belle asked. "You hardly ever pay attention in lessons."
"Oh, I heard Lyra talking about these things called humans, supposedly they are intelligent apes."
"How come ah've never seen one?" Apple Bloom asked suspiciously.
"Um, maybe because they don't exist?" Scootaloo said.
"Oh, ah knew that..." Apple Bloom said hastily.
"So we can do our story about 'humans' then?" Sweetie Belle asked.
"I suppose so..." Rarity said.
"Can we go round and ask Lyra about humans?" Sweetie Belle asked.
"Okay," Rarity said reluctantly. "But make sure you're back soon, it's getting late."
"Okay!" The fillies said happily, and they bounced out of the door and towards Lyra and Bon Bon's apartment.
Rarity sighed. "Now I've got some peace for an hour or so..." she said quietly to herself.
~~~~~
As Lyra went to answer the knocking at the door, she wondered who it could be. Bon Bon was out drinking with some other mares, and said that she would be back late. Maybe it was cancelled? She opened the door, and for the second time that day, three fillies fell on a pile on the doorstep.
Lyra quickly bent down to help them up. "Are you alright!" she asked worriedly.
"Yeah," Scootaloo replied, and the two other fillies nodded in reassurance.
Lyra paused then asked "May I ask why you are here?"
"Oh, we wanted to know about humans, for our school project, and Scootaloo said that you knew lots about them." Sweetie Belle replied cheerfully.
Lyra's eyes widened slightly, and a wide grin formed on her face. She started talking at a frantic pace, similar to Rainbow Dash talking about the Wonderbolts or Daring Do. She was obviously very passionate about them. "Really, didyoucomeheresowecantalkabouthumans? Humansarereallyinteresting, theyhavethesehandswhicharereallyhelpful, andlookreallyawesome. Andtheyarereallytall, muchtallerthanuouorme, maybetallerthanoneoftheprincesses!"
The three fillies just looked back at her in confusion.
"What?" Apple Bloom asked.
Lyra blushed and looked a little sheepish.
"I am really fascinated by humans, so I kind of get like that, when I find somepony who wants to talk about them. Not many ponies do though, and find me irritating or weird..." she explained.
"Oh, then you're lucky we'd like to learn about humans then." Sweetie Belle said happily.
"First, I'll tell you the main myth about humans, which is the most well known and popular," Lyra told them.
"Once, years ago, before the Discordian Era, Equus was very different. Equestria hadn't yet been discovered by ponies, and all of the species which currently inhabit Equus, lived on a massive island called Apuris. Ponies, griffons, zebra, minotaur, other animals, even Diamond Dogs, dragons and draconequi all lived in harmony. Then one day, out of the centre of the island, came tall bipedal, monkey-like creatures which started chopping down the trees on the island, and making small shelters. The leaders of the other races confronted the human leader, and tried to reason with the creatures. The human leader, picked up a log, and attempted to attack the griffon leader, but the other races managed to stop it. After a few minutes, the entire island was locked in conflict, humans attacking everything. After an hour of fighting, the air turned cold, and a snowstorm appeared out of nowhere. Out of the falling snow, massive Windigos were formed, and they threatened to destroy all of Equus, as there was so much fighting and hatred for them to feed on. The humans, fled to the centre of the island, and nopony ever saw a human again, and the Windigos disappeared," Lyra finished. "At least, that's how the legend goes."
"So are human a very violent species?" Sweetie Belle asked curiously.
"Yes," Lyra replied. "If they came back to Equus, they may have evolved so much, that we couldn't defend ourselves, and they might even be able to stop Windigos, it would mean disaster for Equus..."
"Were humans intelligent?" Apple Bloom asked.
"They displayed signs of basic intelligence, but not particularly, although they appeared to speak basic Equestrian." Lyra replied.
"Does anypony know what happened to humans?" Scootaloo asked.
"Well, there are many theories on that, but I believe that they returned to the land which they came from, and have been living there since."
"So you believe that the myth was true?" Sweetie Belle questioned.
"Why, yes," Lyra replied. "They fascinate me extremely, so I hope that they really are out there, and maybe, one day, I could travel to their land and see a human..."
"Anyway, thanks for the information Lyra!" Apple Bloom said happily.
"It's fine, you are welcome at any time!" Lyra responded enthusiastically. She loved to see people as interested as her about humans, especially ponies so young.
The three fillies clambered off the floor, and headed back towards Rarity's Boutique.
~~~~~
Rainbow Dash was just finishing the final book in the Daring Do series for the forty-seventh time in a row, still enjoying every moment of the stories. She wished that there were more books, but A.K.Yearling; the author of the series, hadn't published a book for ages. As she finished the final chapter, she got up and walked towards an open book, and picked up a quill.
As there hadn't been any books yet, Rainbow Dash had decided to write a fan fiction about Daring Do, so it would ease her cravings for more Daring Do adventure. 'Rainbow Dash and Daring Do managed to lift the final ring off the stone contraption, and the temple started to collapse. Everypony apart from Ahuitzotl and his minions escaped the temple just before it collapsed. Ahuitzotl lifted his head from out of the rubble and screeched "Curse you Daring Do!" Rainbow Dash and her friends said farewell to Daring Do, and left her to write up her most recent adventure. A month later, Rainbow Dash received a package. Curiously, she opened it, and was overjoyed to find a copy of the latest Daring Do book, which displayed a picture if her flying alongside her idol on the front cover. '
Rainbow Dash put down her quill, and reread the final chapter with satisfaction and pride. "Well Rainbow Dash," she said to herself. "Time to upload this to FiRMfiction!" She sat on her bed whilst her machine, a gift from Twilight, slowly uploaded the story onto the magical database.
As she sat, she fantasised about how awesome it would be if her story's events actually happened. Then a brilliant idea came to her, there was probably a spell on this in Twilight's library. She quickly grabbed her book, and zoomed out of her house down toward Twilight's library.
~~~~~
As a knock came at the door, Rarity rushed towards it, taking a glance out of the window as she walked. She noticed it was the three fillies and opened the door to let them in.
As they hopped inside, a loud crashing noise sounded from Twilight's library. Rarity squinted to get a better view of what was happening, before dismissing it as another of Twilight's magical experiment going wrong again. She sighed, then closed the door, and turned around to see that the three fillies were already writing.
"Did you find out much about humans?" Rarity asked curiously.
"Oh, yeah," Scootaloo replied. "Apparently they're fairly violent and not particularly intelligent."
Rarity's eyes widened in shock. "And you have to write about something like that living in Equestria?"
"Oh, in our story, they live on the Everfree, so we're safe." Sweetie Belle quickly explained.
"What a relief..." Rarity murmured. "It wouldn't do to have creatures so cruel and brutal galloping around Equestria."
"Rarity, I don't think humans gallop, they only have two legs..." Sweetie Belle corrected.
"Ah think you're taking this too seriously Rarity," Apple Bloom said. "This is just a short story after all..."
"I suppose you're right girls," Rarity admitted.
A few minutes later Sweetie Belle cried out "Finished!"
Rarity walked in and took a glance at it. "Don't you think it's quite long?" she asked. "It looks alright, but you'd better give it to Twilight so she can check it for grammar errors..."
"Okay!" the fillies said cheerfully, and they ran off towards Twilight's tree-library.
~~~~~
Rainbow Dash crashed into the side of Twilight's library, the impact knocking Spike off a ladder, and disrupting several books, causing them to fall off their shelves.
"Ugh," she groaned. "Sorry Twilight."
Twilight Sparkle looked angrily down at the Pegasus on her floor. "Why do you have to keep crashing into my library?" she asked angrily.
"I said I was sorry Twilight," Rainbow Dash said apologetically. "But I needed to be quick, so I can quickly do some research before the library closes."
Twilight blinked. "Are you feeling alright Dash?" she asked worriedly. "You just said that you wanted to do some research..."
"Yeah, I, er, read something about a type of magic," she lied.
"Oh, it's good that you're interested about magic!" she said happily. "Now what would you like me to find for you?"
"Oh, I can find it on my own," she said.
Twilight frowned. Rainbow Dash was acting suspiciously, she was probably playing a prank or something. "Okay, I'll leave you to it..."
Twilight walked out of the room, and Rainbow Dash clambered off the floor, and started frantically searching for a book about turning books into reality.
~~~~~
Ten minutes later, Rainbow Dash had found the book she was looking for. After discarding "A Thousand Magical Ways to Get a Dragon Slave", and "The World of Sarcasm, What it is, and How to Understand It" she finally found "Dark Magic, the Slightly Evil Magic which can have Dire Consequences...". She flipped it open, and flicked to the index. She looked under 'F' and found "Fiction into Reality, Pg 3678", She turned to page 3678, and quickly copied her spell onto a piece of paper.
~~~~~
It was 5:50pm at Heathrow Airport, UK. I was just about to board the flight to Russia, leaving at 6:30pm, and was waiting patiently for the boarding calls. As I sat, I worked on my Sudoku grid, something I was bringing to the conference meeting in Russia, for passing the time in between discussions, as my phone was dangerously low on charge.
As I progressed slightly further, I realised I had made a mistake. My eyes widened as I realised I had messed up the entire grid. Okay, I admit it. I'm a perfectionist. As I made sure that I had made a mistake, I quickly tore out the offending page, and put it in the trash can next to me.
Suddenly a voice echoed around the airport. "Gate 3 is now boarding. I repeat Gate 3 is now boarding." I quickly put my Sudoku book in my bag, and followed the signs directing me to Gate 3. As I reached the Gate, I groaned. The queue was already at least fifty people long, so I quickly joined, so I wouldn't have to wait longer still.
~~~~~
The three fillies entered Twilight's library.
"Twilight, we have a book for you to proof-read!" Sweetie Belle called out.
"Just a minute!" Twilight shouted from upstairs.
A few seconds later, Twilight Sparkle came down the stairs, and looked down at the book, the fillies had out on the table.
"Nice to see that you're writing!" Twilight said enthusiastically. "But I have to deal with some stuff upstairs now, would you mind just leaving this here, for me to read later?"
"Sure!" Scootaloo said. "That means we have more time for crusading!"
"Okay, see you tomorrow girls!" Twilight said cheerfully, as the Cutie Mark Crusaders, ran off towards their clubhouse.
Twilight heard a sound from behind her, and looked around. Rainbow Dash had came down from upstairs, holding a piece of paper with writing on it.
She put a book down on the table and said "Twilight, do you mind using this spell on my book?" Rainbow Dash asked hopefully.
"Fine, what does it do?" Twilight said grumpily. She was irritated with Rainbow Dash at the moment.
"Oh, it just changes the front cover," she lied.
"Okay," Twilight said. Her horn began to glow purple, and she put a look if concentration on her face.
Rainbow Dash looked at the book, which was going to become reality, very very soon... And then realised there was a book underneath it.
"Twilight, STOP!" she said quickly, but she was too late, as she cast the spell, and it enveloped both the books in a flash of light.
"Why do I need to stop, Rainbow Dash?" Twilight asked suspiciously.
"Um sorry Twilight but that wasn't a change cover spell I gave you..." Rainbow Dash said sadly.
"I suspected as much, what did it do?" Twilight asked angrily.
"Um, it was kind of a spell to make my book come to life..." Rainbow Dash said sheepishly.
"What?" Twilight said in disbelief, a rising worry and anger in her voice. "I thought this was a prank or something, but this is serious Dash! Why did you do it?"
"Um, I wasn't thinking straight this morning..." Rainbow Dash said still sad.
Twilight took in a deep breath, and calmed herself down. "But, this is just a book about you meeting Daring Do, right?" she asked quickly.
"Yes..." Rainbow Dash said quietly.
"Phew, I thought I was going to have to report this to the Princess or something..." Twilight shuddered. "But, it'll all be fine now! Nothing to worry about, and you'll get to have adventures with Daring Do!"
"Oh, kind of, except there was another book underneath..." Rainbow Dash trailed off.
Twilight eyes widened again, and she quickly ripped open the book which the Crusaders had given her. 'violent human', 'lives in the Everfree'. She froze in shock before calming herself down again. " Now we've definitely got to report this to the Princess." Twilight said anxiously. "A dangerous creature is loose in Equestria..."
Twilight quickly rushed upstairs and pulled out a case out of her drawer.
She took out the Elements of Harmony carefully, and ran back downstairs, levitating the Elements behind her.
"Spike, write a letter about the events which have occurred, requesting her assistance, also maybe some members info the Royal Guard." Twilight ordered.
"Rainbow Dash, quickly gather the others and meet me at the front of the Everfree in 5 minutes, we'll have a talk about this later..." Twilight said.
"You got it!" Rainbow Dash said, and she quickly flew out of the hole she made earlier.
Twilight quickly packed some books, expecting any sort of situation with the human. She quickly packed them in her saddlebag, and sprinted off towards the front of the Everfree forest .
~~~~~
As I reached the front of the queue, I showed my passport to the security guard.
"And you are John Knox?" he asked neutrally.
"Yes," I replied.
"Okay, you are free to go through," he said. He handed me back my passport, and let me through.
I walked along the tunnel leading up to the plane, and boarded.
"We hope you enjoy your flight, sir." the hostess said.
"I'm sure I will..." I told her cheerfully, and I walked down to my seat.
As I sat down into my comfy chair, I put my headphones in, and closed my eyes. I was going to spend the majority of my flight listening to relaxing music. Flights always made me nervous.
The remaining passengers boarded, and we took off a few minutes later.
~~~~~
About half an hour later, I woke up to the flashing sound of sirens, warning the passengers about something.
"Can I please have your attention, we have slight problems with our engines, so we will be attempting to make an emergency landing onto the sea, please remain calm, and get ready to evacuate the plane."
I instantly went into a panic, like the majority of the rest of the plane. The plane lurched, and suddenly I felt as if we were falling through the sky. As we reached terminal velocity, I saw the sea coming closer and closer...
The last thing I saw was a bright flashing light, and the feeling of floating.
~~~~~
Twilight smiled in relief, as she saw her friends approach nervously.
"Is it true?" Rarity inquired. "Is that dreadful human really out in the forest?"
"Unfortunately, yes..." Twilight replied, and a Rarity gasped melodramatically.
"This truly is the worst possible THING!" she screamed.
"Stay calm Rarity," Applejack said. "We can teach this human a lesson for attacking Equestria..."
"That is the plan of action," Twilight said carefully. "We have to restrain the human, and secure it in the Canterlot dungeons, if we have to, we will use the Elements to stop it, and seal it in stone..."
A loud whooshing noise came from behind them, and they turned around in surprise to see all three Princesses, Shining Armour, and the entire Royal Guard.
"We acted immediately, my faithful student," Princess Celestia said to Twilight. "It was fortunate that you informed me so quickly..."
"Is this all necessary?" Twilight asked.
"Yes," Princess Celestia replied gravely. "We don't know what it is capable of,"
"Okay then, at least we have support," Twilight said.
The large group of ponies started walking into the Everfree forest.
~~~~~
I woke up, still dazed from the aeroplane incident. As I looked up, I realised what must have happened. The plane must have crashed, and I washed up in this forest. I stood up and began walking in a straight line. I need to find someone to talk to, to find out where I am...
As I walked, I heard a clopping noise from my left.
Ah, horses, that means that there might be people too... I ran left and entered a clearing. As I looked around I froze. At least two-hundred horses were staring back at me. It took me a second to register that some were wearing armour, some had wings, and some had horns. I still tried to process what was happening, before they suddenly all charged at me. I swore, and ran for my life in the opposite direction...