//------------------------------// // Chapter 3: The "Monster" Visiting Ponyville (Re-written) // Story: The Ones From Beyond // by Lordvessel //------------------------------// A young and still learning princess awakes as the morning sun rises. Her perceived plans involve a plethora of activities and errands, chiefest of which would be a morning outing of breakfast with those she considers to be her closest friends. But her plans have been known to deviate due to circumstances in the past, and today, her change of plans would just so happen to make history.............................................. Twilight's eyes slowly sprung open from her previous night's slumber. Her gaze was met by one of the large windows near her bed stand, giving her a full view of yet another beautiful morning greeting the outside world. Though blinded slightly by the rising sun, the wake up felt rather pleasant. She stirred for a second before surveying the inner confines of her room. Yet another day where she woke within her new castle. The very thought of that still felt somewhat strange to her, but she was grateful to have it, especially since her previous abode had been decimated in the fight with Tirek some months back. The wounds from that loss hadn't quite healed, but with time, Twilight was confident she could move on. Lifting herself up from the bed, Twilight found it odd that she was already awake as she wasn't really known for being up this early. However, she quickly regained memory of the previous day, and instantly knew why she was roused. Twilight had promised to meet up with her friends for an early breakfast and had cast a unique awakening spell just for the occasion as It was less disturbing than a traditional alarm clock. Twilight let out a yawn and proceeded to step out of bed, stretching out her wings and abdomen to release tension from the hours of stillness accumulated from her sleep. Her thoughts immediately turned to Spike, who was sleeping in his tiny bed within Twilight's own room. While Spike technically had his own room, he had yet to warm up to the vastness of the castle, and wasn't quite comfortable sleeping on his own. Twilight didn't mind, as she knew losing their previous home had been just as hard for him as it had been for her. "He always looks so sweet when he's sleeping" Twilight thought to herself. Twilight walked over to his tiny bed and nudged him softly. "Spike? Spike, time to wake up." she said in a sisterly tone. Spike's emerald eyes awoke to the sound of her voice, but all she got for a reply was a disgruntled moan. "Twilight?" he griped with tired eyes, "Do you have any idea what time it is? Let me sleep in for just another hour or two." "Come on Spike, we don't want to be late for breakfast with the others. We said we'd be there, remember? That happens to include you." "Wait...we did?" Spike questioned. Spike's expression changed from annoyed to contemplative as he tried to recall the events from the day prior. 'Oh...yeah....Oh! Yeah! I was wanting to talk with Rarity....about.....something important." He claimed timidly as he jumped out of bed and went to grab his things. "Of course you did." Twilight thought, rolling her eyes and smiling to herself. She walked over to her nightstand to grab the saddlebag she packed last night. In it were two books that she wanted to dedicate time towards reading later today. The books were "Common Traits among Distinguished Unicorns" and "Sentient Creatures, The Good and The Bad", and she had a good idea on where she wanted to read them. "Hey Spike, that new gazebo outside of town is supposed to be open to the public later today, right? You want to go check it out?" Spike gave her a cock-eyed look, a clear indicator that he didn't find that prospect nearly as enjoyable as she did. "Yeah, that sounds really fun, sitting at a gazebo." he said sarcastically. "Hey now, be nice, I'm sure the ponies who set it up worked really hard on it, I even heard that the flower trio is planting a garden to go along with it." "Those drama queens? Even more reason to stay away." "Spike? Come on now." "Okay, okay, if you want to check it out so badly, I suppose I'll tag along." Spike relented. Twilight smiled with a nod of content, and the two of them departed from the room and exited their home. As they stepped outside, the morning itself felt positively serene. Dew clung to the blades of grass, a sunny day with a cool breeze had set in, and cloud coverage was the optimal amount with the weather pegasi clearing some of the old clouds from yesterday to make way for the new ones. As they continued walking towards the cafe to meet up with the others, they saw several ponies at the marketplace ready to open up their kiosks for the day, exchanging greetings with the two as they passed by. Upon passing the scroll and ink stand Twilight frequented, she suddenly remembered one of her errands she needed to tend to. "Ooh! I almost forgot." said Twilight, "I need to stop by the market after breakfast so I can pick up some more ink, I've been meaning to do it for a while now. You don't mind, do you?" "Of course not. After all how are you supposed write letters to the princess without it?" "You make a good point." After a short walk through town, the two found themselves at the entrance of the cafe. Another pleasant surprise was the fact that all her friends were already present, gathered around a table waiting for their arrival. "Hey guys!" Twilight greeted gleefully. Each of them turned to see the lavender pair approaching, and greeted the two in kind. When they reached the table and took their seats, Spike decided to sit next to Rarity while Twilight found a spot next to Applejack. Twilight noticed that there were no menus laid out on the table, leaving her to figure that the waiter hadn't gotten around to taking their orders yet. "We're not late are we?" Twilight asked. "Oh nonsense, darling." Rarity insisted. "The timing of your arrival is practically impeccable." "Well that's good to hear." Twilight said. "So, Twi', how was gettin' out of bed this early, bet Spike took it well?" Applejack teased. "It took some adjusting but I think I managed." Twilight explained. "The spell I looked up worked like a charm. Spike on the other hoof might have done better with maybe an hour or two of beauty sleep." The group began to chuckle lightly as Spike did his best to look like he just shrugged it off. "Now, now, there's no need to tease on my little Spikey-Wikey." Rarity cooed in Spike's defense, "Besides, the cafe has finally introduced their new Sunrise Surprise Special today, and I was just eager to invite you all to try it out." "I hope it's delicious!" squealed Pinkie Pie. "But what is it?" "A surprise if I had to reckon'." Applejack claimed. "I just hope the waiter gets here soon, I'm hungry." retorted Rainbow Dash. "Oh, I just love mornings like these." Fluttershy said with cheer in her voice, "They're always so peaceful. Makes a great time for sharing breakfast with friends." However, as Fluttershy finished that statement the morning serenity was abruptly ended by something not so peaceful. In the distance a trio of distinctly recognizable voices screamed from afar. Seconds later, and the origin of the commotion rounded a nearby corner and came running straight towards them. The group simultaneously sighed with utter annoyance. "So much for peaceful." said Applejack. "I'll handle this." said Twilight in an irritated tone. As she got up from the table and approached the trio, the three mares came to a skidding stop. "PRINCESS TWILIGHT!" the three screamed in sync. "What is it this time girls, somepony step on a petunia?" Twilight asked in an unamused fashion. Without so much as a hint of hesitation, the trio laid into the Princess of Friendship all at once, each one of them practically screaming their encounter to her. The culmination of high pitched panic from the three left Twilight unable to comprehend what any of them were saying. "Hey! Hey! One at a time!" Twilight screamed before continuing with a calmer tone in her voice. "*cough*......Please." "There was a monster at the gazebo! We headed there this morning to plant the new garden to go with it and that's when we saw it sleeping on the bench!" Lily babbled. "It was big, ugly, hairy, and green!" Daisy shrieked. "It carried with it some wooden metal thing! I don't know what it was, but we weren't ready to find out. We ran as fast as we could before it could chase us!" Rose explained. Now Twilight knew that these three could faint over the littlest things, but monster sightings were a very serious claim these days. With the Bugbear incident during Matilda and Cranky's wedding still fresh in everypony's minds and the multiple creatures that escaped Tartarus, it was very plausible that Ponyville faced yet another threat. This new monster may very well endanger the ponies in town, and Twilight and her friends would be there to meet it before it could bring any harm. "Looks like breakfast is going to have to wait girls, we need to head to the gazebo as quickly as possible! If another creature left Tartarus, it could be a Tirek situation all over again, and we can't let that happen." The rest of the group wholeheartedly agreed, some more eager than others. "Well alright!" cheered Rainbow Dash, "That's one way to start the morning. Let's go kick some monster flank!" "Oh fiddle, I was looking forward to that Sunrise Special, but I suppose this matter takes more precedence." said Rarity. "Fraid' so, Rarity. C'mon girls, let's go rustle up that critter!" hollered Applejack "Whoohoo!" cheered Pinkie, "Catching a monster that could possibly destroy the entire town with its unknown capabilities! Sounds like a fun time to me!" "Oh, I hope that nopony gets hurt." said Fluttershy. "Hey, don't forget about me!" yelled Spike as he hopped on Twilight's back. The six were primed and ready, and proceeded towards the edge of town where the gazebo laid, leaving the flower trio to make of things as they would. "I hope they can handle this." Lily said. "They'll take care of that creature, no sweat." Daisy claimed. "They are the elements of harmony after all." "They've saved Equestria so many times. What's one monster compared to that?" Rose insisted. Tim had been fully attent for nearly half an hour, and during that whole time his mind was plagued with worried thoughts. Since his abrupt wake-up call he had not seen any of the native inhabitants. That last encounter ended with three of the tiny equines running away whilst screaming in terror. Suffice to say, his strategy for contact was off to a very poor start. "So much for a good first impression. But it ain't like I tried to scare em', they just got one look at me and bolted!" he argued with himself. Despite this, Tim had no intention of changing his plans. He continued to survey his surroundings, waiting for another chance at an encounter with the hopes that it would end on better terms. He also noted that like the forest, this small village was very pleasant to the eyes. Growing up in a world that was decimated by decades of war left human society as a makeshift shamble of its former self. Most structures were built either from the remnants of buildings that had remained intact or assembled from scratch with whatever was available. To see this sort of pristine and orderly quality was somewhat breathtaking to Tim. "Living in such a nice place must be a blessing. I hope that's a sign that these natives are peaceful, I'd hate to hurt one of these little fellas out of defense, Like Sarge' always said, it only leads to problems down the line." Suddenly, the moment he'd been waiting for had finally arrived. Rounding the building to his front emerged six of these small equine creatures, colored pink, orange, cyan, lavender, white, and yellow. Also present was one reptilian looking creature he had yet to see, riding on the back of the lavender equine. This would have been the ideal time to speak out and attempt communication. But Tim suddenly found himself speechless and nerve-racked. Doubts began to emerge on how effective he'd be in his negotiations, and that was if they were here to negotiate at all. "Aw shit, I do hope these guys speak a language I can understand. What if they're violent? What if they're here to arrest me, or kill me for scarin' them other three off?! I got no clue what these things are capable of! What the hell do I even say!? 'Hi I'm an alien and I come in peace?!' God damn, this was a stupid idea! I can't do this!" He saw that the group was advancing closer. Tim took a quick moment and collected his thoughts. "Okay, calm down and pull your shit together Tim! You're gonna have to do this one way or the other. If you can shoot mutie' freaks back home with no sweat, you can at least talk to these things, and if they ain't here to talk and came to fight, you can take em'. I hope." Tim had a few options for his defense. Primarily it came down to his AKM, with a fully loaded magazine and two others on back-up. He also had the knife on his belt, and if it really came down to it, he had a comprehensive knowledge on hand-to-hand combat. "Ninety rounds, a knife, and my two bare hands. Enough to take these 6 down if necessary, but probably not enough to take on the whole town. Oh, god I hope they're friendly." The main six finally got close enough to get a good view of the monster. The group were shocked by the utter strangeness of the creature that was before them. Sitting on the gazebo bench was a large bipedal creature, wearing a greenish yellow camouflage coat and a ball cap of all things. It had pale cream-colored skin, with a dirty blonde beard on its face. His waste sported a belt covered with pouches and a backpack at his rear. The strangest quality; or more accurately the strangest item he possessed, was some sort of device sitting on its lap, which looked like various scraps of metal and wood had been slapped together. "What is that thing?" asked Spike. "I don't know." Twilight answered. "This certainly isn't like any monster I've ever seen. Fluttershy, do you have any idea what it is?" "Not a clue I'm afraid. I've studied multiple animals and monsters as an animal caretaker, but I've never seen or heard of anything that looks like that." stated Fluttershy. "Whatever it is, it looks dangerous, when it attacks, get ready!" announced Twilight "Alright girls, you heard her, let's give this thing a flank kicking!" yelled Rainbow Dash. Tim was still sitting there, a little relieved and surprised that they spoke his own native language. "Oh thank God, they speak English. That'll make talking with th-wait a minute, FLANK KICKIN'!?" Tim's feeling of relief immediately dissipated as he started paying a little more attention. He noticed that five of the six had taken up defensive stances, as if they were ready to attack. The exception of them was the yellow one, who seemed to take a step back. Fearing he might start a fight if he so much as moved, he became stiff as a rock. With a delicate situation on the verge of turning ugly, he attempted to think of a way out of this. "OKAY, OKAY, OKAY! Just play it cool Tim, show em' you don't mean harm, just.....just.....just don't do anything! Just sit here and don't move! Maybe they'll stand down? God I hope they stand down." Twilight and her friends were prepared to take whatever this monster would dish out on them. But thirty seconds had passed and they all seemed a little confused, as it wasn't attacking them, or moving for that matter. In fact, it did absolutely nothing but sit there rather awkwardly. "Uh, Twi', what in the hay is it doin'?" asked Applejack "I.........have no clue, I feel it should have done something by now." said Twilight. "Did we win?" Pinkie asked. "I hardly doubt it." Rarity argued. "Though I do say that on a second glance it's not nearly as threatening as I was expecting." "You can say that again." Pinkie added. "Not many monster-like qualities. No claws, no fangs, no tail with a sharp stinger." "Uh, Pinkie, you just described a manticore." Fluttershy said. "Yeah, yeah, that's right, I ain't here to start trouble. I'm cool, you horses have no reason to fear me." Tim chimed in his head, hopeful that things were on the verge of turning around. "I bet it's tricking us into letting our guard down! Come on, let's attack while it's taking its time!" said Rainbow Dash. "ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME!" Before any of the others could argue on the rashness of that action, Rainbow already made her decision, charging towards him in flight. Tim panicked and was about to grab his rifle, when Fluttershy flew directly in front of Rainbow, blocking her path. "RAINBOW!" Fluttershy scolded loudly, preventing her from getting any closer. "Fluttershy! What are you doing?!" Rainbow asked. "It hasn't done anything, Dash. Maybe it's just lost." Fluttershy argued. Fluttershy then flew gently towards Tim, who at the moment was in the midst of reaching for his gun. When Fluttershy landed in front of him, he looked down to see her smiling. "Okay, guess that's a good sign" Tim thought to himself. He slowly retreated his hands away from his weapon. "Seems like you're a long way from wherever you call home, but you don't mean any harm to us, do you little guy?" Fluttershy said with a soothing tone. "Little!? Fluttershy he's taller than all of us!" Rainbow Dash yelled out from behind her. Tim wouldn't disagree on that one, he was a whopping three feet taller than any of them. But he understood that this one, this "Fluttershy", might be his only ticket towards a peaceful resolution with the local inhabitants. As he looked down at her smiling face, he couldn't help but smile back. "He's smiling back?" said Rarity Tim then answered Fluttershy's query with a simple shake of the head. "Is.......is it sapient?" said Twilight excitedly. He gave Fluttershy a light pat on the head. Fluttershy chuckled lightly. "Well, aren't you sweet." she said. As soon as he laid a hand on Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash was up in his face sporting an angry expression on her own. "Hey! Don't touch her!" she yelled, pushing her friend out of the way and started shoving him with her hooves on his chest in an act of intimidation. "Rainbow Dash! That was completely uncalled for!" said Fluttershy in an angry tone. "Fluttershy, this thing might be dangerous, he could have been trying to suck out your brain or something!" Tim snickered at the ridiculous claim, along with her trying to be intimidating. "Did that thing just laugh?" Applejack asked. "Wonder what it finds so funny?" Pinkie inquired. "Probably the outlandish claim Rainbow Dash made. Seriously Rainbow, brain sucking?" Rarity teased. "Y-you never know!" Dash said defensively. Rainbow Dash then returned to taking out her frustrations back on the creature in question, pride mixed with the already pent up distrust that fueled her next set of accusations. "You think I'm funny, huh!? You looking for trouble, bub!?" she said. Tim got up from his seat and stood, the difference in size and mass becoming immediately noticeable. The gesture was far more effective in intimidation than anything Rainbow could muster at that moment, as even she took a slight step back. But nothing could have prepared them for what happened next as Tim cleared his throat. "Actually, I was lookin' for help." Tim answered.