Cock-a-Doodle-Doo?!

by AppleMLP

Introductions

Chapter 2: Introductions

"Where should we go first?" The Cutie Mark Crusaders and Peep were having trouble deciding where to head to first, as they were too excited to think beforehand.

"What about the clubhouse? It's the closest from here!" Scootaloo offered, to which the others agreed.

"Alright! Let's go!" Sweetie Belle replied, not wanting to waste time.

The CMC and Peep hastily made their way to the clubhouse, across Sweet Apple Acres. It was still quite early in the morning, so the Apple family was not quite in full gear yet. Applejack and Big Macintosh were still in the house, preparing for their day's work.

The CMC trotted up to the front door of the clubhouse, with Peep following not too far behind. For him, this was a miracle, to see an actual building up close like this, since he had only seen them from the inside of the forest. It was like a perfectly lined up assortment of trees, none like in the forest where he lived. He would have to ask about how they did that later on.

Soon enough, they piled into the clubhouse, one by one. It was quite small, but could fit all four of the children inside. Once they were all in, they all sat down, and decided to discuss their current situation.

"So. Ah know you can speak Equestrian, but do ya know about how ponies live?" Applebloom began.

"Like do you know what we eat, what we have to do, and how we all contribute to society?" Sweetie Belle specified.

"Contribute? What does that mean?" Scootaloo questioned, to which Sweetie Belle sighed in disappointment.

"It means to work with a community with a similar goal." Sweetie Belle answered, in a monotone voice.

"Well, sorry dictionary..." Scootaloo responded, slurring her sentence.

"C'mon gals, we're getting off topic! So anyways Peep, do ya?" Applebloom said.

"Well... no... I only spent time in the forest, so I have no idea... Could you maybe teach me...?" Peep answered reluctantly, not wanting to disappoint his new friends.

"Of course we will!" The CMC yelled in unison.

The CMC began their summary of a pony's regular life in Ponyville, and explained each type of pony's usual job. They covered that the pegasi controled the weather, the earth ponies grew the crops, and that the unicorns handled anything related to magic.

After the brief lesson about a pony's life, the CMC and Peep contemplated on their next course of action.

"Where should we go now? As much as I want to show Peep to Rarity, I don't think the ponies in town would react very well to Peep coming in and start talking..." Sweetie Belle said.

"Hm... maybe we should talk to Twilight! She knows everything, so maybe she'll know why Peep can talk! Then she can explain it to everypony!" Scootaloo proposed, to which the other three agreed.

---

The four friends started towards the Ponyville library, where Twilight made her home. Upon seeing the large tree house however, Peep was astonished. He stopped, dead in his tracks, and gazed upon the mystical wonder.

Now, this was actually a tree this time, yet it was somebody's home. This was even more puzzling to Peep than the clubhouse he saw earlier, because this looked just like a normal tree! It was a weird hybrid of both, with windows, a door, and a porch, but the main structure looked exactly the trees back home. It reminded him a bit about the zebra's home, and that made him even more curious. Were they connected somehow? He would have to ask about this as well.

While Peep sat and stared at the library, the door to it opened, and Twilight stepped out.

"Oh hey girls! What are you up to today? And what's with the big chicken there?" Twilight asked, with a confused expression.

What in Equestria is that, Twilight wondered.

"Oh! Twilight! We were actually stopping by to ask you about him just now, but he just stopped walking!" Sweetie Belle answered, while Twilight walked towards them to get a closer look at Peep.

"Where did you find him? And what did you want to know about?" Twilight asked.

Twilight had never seen a chicken that large, and especially not one this young this size, in all her life! She had never even seen one of that size in any of the books she had read on wildlife either, and this new spectacle peaked her interest.

"Ah found him in the Everfree Forest when Ah was goin' to Zecora's..." Applebloom said, trying to recall the events from her memories.

"And we want to know why he can talk!" Scotaloo added, eager to hear an answer.

"What? Girls, that's just absurd... Chickens can't talk, none of them ca-"

"Oh hi! Sorry, didn't see you there! That library is just so hu-"

"Ahhh! He talks!" Twilight yelled.

"I told you so!" Sweetie Belle yelled back.

After recovering from the shock, Twilight recomposed herself, and invited the girls and Peep to come inside, to have a better look at Peep, and if she could find any book on talking chickens.

"Spike! Come down here! I need help to find a book!" Twilight called to the young dragon, who came down in a hurry.

"Which book? The one on Equestrian history? The study on Manticores? Or the book on mu- Hey... What's with the huge chick on the couch? It looks kind of funny..." Spike said, with a similar face to Twilight's when she first saw Peep.

"Why does everyone say that? I mean, I think I look fine! Handsome even!" Peep responded, in a slightly offended tone.

"Whoa! He can talk! That's so cool!" Spike yelled, filled with excitement.

"That's just it Spike! I'm looking for a book with anything about talking chickens! I've heard of Cockatrice, but that's the only being that resembles a chicken that isn't a regular one..." Twilight said, informing Spike.

"Oh... Let me see what I can find..." Spike responded, and took off to search anything related to chickens.

"Alright, while Spike is looking for any books, why don't you tell me what happened up to this point?" Twilight asked.

"Okay, well... It all started when Applebloom came calling..." Sweetie Belle began.

---

The CMC then took turns to tell Twilight of their adventures, while Twilight took vigorous notes, recording every single detail. When they got to the part about meeting and talking to Peep however, Twilight stopped to introduce herself properly to Peep, and apologized for being rude to him earlier. Afterwards, they finished their story, and Twilight decided to ask more precise questions to Peep.

"So... Peep... At what age did you notice that you were different from the others?" Twilight questioned.

"Uh... A couple months after my birth, since all of the other chicks were already maturing..." Peep answered.

"Alright..." Twilight took a couple of notes, and began to question him more. "So, you said that you practiced Equestrian on your own? How long did it take you to perfect the language?"

"About two years, if I recall right... I came close to the edge of the forest every morning to listen in on the ponies and practiced what they said... Took a lot of effort though." Peep answered.

"Two years huh? That's pretty impressive... A normal foal takes at least three or four years! Your brain must develop at a faster rate than a pony's!" Twilight said, now eager to study him more.

After their brief discussion, Spike interrupted the group with a large pile of books, which he could barely carry.

"Well... Here they are!" Spike dropped the pile of books, and spread them out to let the others have a good look at the variation.

"Everything from chicken behaviors, chicken diets, to chicken mythology. Read up!" Spike started his way towards his bed, and yawned.

"I'm gonna take a nap... Good luck everypony..." Spike crawled into his bed, and got into the fetal position. He fell asleep within seconds, and started to snore.

"Well... I guess we should get started then. Why don't you four get started in that section, and I'll start over here." Twilight suggested.

The five worked silently but vigorously, with the exception of Scootaloo, who joined Spike in the world of slumbers, and slept on the couch. They eventually found that they were without any clues, and could not find anything that was relevant to talking chickens of any sort.

"What do we do now Twilight? There's nothing to help us here!" Sweetie Belle complained, in a very annoyed tone.

"Well... If books won't give us the information, maybe somepony can... Come on girls, let's go ask Fluttershy. Maybe she'll know something about this." Twilight stood up, and started towards the door. Applebloom and Sweetie Belle then woke up Scootaloo, and followed Twilight out to Ponyville. Peep was close behind them as well.

---

Twilight, the CMC, and Peep soon came to Fluttershy's cottage, which was again, quite puzzling to Peep.

What's with all these crazy trees?! Peep thought, as he inspected it, to see if anything was different about it.

As he closed in on it, he could see that it was just like the other crazy trees that the ponies lived in, with windows and doors, but the inside was what confused him even more. There were probably more animals in there than he ever saw in his lifetime in the forest! They were everywhere! He became very confused, and decided to ask his new friends, before he went insane.

"Why are there so many animals in there? Did they all break in or something?" Peep asked, which made the ponies giggle.

"No Peep, Fluttershy just likes to take care of animals! She takes care of anything from cute bunnies to ferocious Manticores." Twilight explained, which left Peep in a daze.

"Wow." That was all Peep could utter out, as he tried to image a pony taking care of a Manticore.

Twilight knocked on Fluttershy's door, and waited for a response. When Fluttershy opened the door, Twilight greeted her, and asked her the question that was on everypony's mind at the time.

"Fluttershy, do you know anything about a talking chicken?" Twilight asked, while she slightly titled her head sideways.

"What? That sounds... Silly, Twilight... How could anything like tha-"

"Why does everypony assume that it's silly for a chicken to talk? Is it really that rare?" Peep interrupted, which left Fluttershy completely stunned.

"Uh... Fluttershy? Are ya okay? Ya seem kind of... shocked..." Applebloom said, as she waved her hooves in front of Fluttershy's eyes, to get her attention.

After staying still for a few more seconds, Fluttershy came out of her daze, and recovered quite quickly.

"Th-this is so wonderful! He can talk! Where's he from? What's his name?" Fluttershy asked, to which the group gave her the answers.

After introducing Peep to Fluttershy, the group decided to ask if Fluttershy had heard of such a thing during her time of caring for animals.

"Well... personally I've never seen anything like Peep before, but I've heard of a tale regarding the Princesses and their magic affecting some wild animals... But that's all I've heard about this kind of situation..." Fluttershy answered.

"This is turning out to be an interesting day..." Twilight walked over to Peep, and gave him an investigative look, and turned to look to everypony else. "I'll contact Princess Celestia, and see what she thinks about this."

As soon as she mentioned the Princess, Peep suddenly turned pale, and started to worry about his decision to visit the Equestrians.

"Oh no... Am I in trouble?!" Peep asked.

"No, I'm just going to ask them if they've heard of any talking animals like you before... I have a feeling that they're somehow connected to this..." Twilight responded. "I'll be right back. I have to send her a letter. You stay here with Fluttershy and the girls in the meantime."

With that, Twilight ran out of Fluttershy's cottage, on the course towards her home, where Spike was still sound asleep.

---

"So Peep, what's it like living in the Everfree Forest?" Fluttershy had begun asking Peep numerous questions about his home, which he gladly answered. He enjoyed her company as much and if not, more than the CMC, because of her polite manners. Maybe that's why the other animals like her too...

"Well, we had to move around pretty often, since the timberwolves are always on the move. Besides that, it's pretty peaceful and really comfy once you get used to it." Peep answered.

"It sounds so wonderful there! Can you tell us some stories about living there?" Fluttershy asked excitedly, with Peep peaking her interests.

"Oh! Did you ever see anything cool in the Everfree? Like a huge monster or something? Scootaloo added.

"Well there was this one time with a Ursa Major..."

---

Twilight sprinted as fast as she could to the library, and even managed to bump into a few ponies in the process.

"Oops! Sorry! Coming through!"

She did her best to weave through the crowd, but her athletic abilities proved mediocre at best. After running into a few other ponies towards the library, she finally reached her home.

Now I have to write that letter, and have Spike send it to the Princess, Pronto!

Twilight quickly ran into the library, and picked up a scroll and quill with her magic. She quickly unrolled the scroll, and started to write her letter, that she would send to her dear mentor.

Dear Princess Celestia,

It has come to my attention recently today, that a large baby chick from the Everfree, has the ability to speak in the Equestrian tongue. He is surprisingly fluent, and has made friends with some of the young children from Ponyville. After I was introduced to this baby chick whom the children have decided to name Peep, I went to ask my friend Fluttershy about him. She has told me that there are stories about you and your sister's magic affecting some of the animals in the Everfree. Is this true? And what should I do with Peep?

Your faithful student,

Twilight Sparkle

"Alright. Letter's done, now I just have to send it. Spike! Come down here!" Twilight yelled.

"Murmmph..." Spike stirred in his sleep, unaware of Twilight's urgency.

"Spike..." Twilight started to trot upstairs, as there was no response from Spike.

After she saw that he was asleep in his bed, Twilight trotted over, leaned her head in close to Spike's ears, and decided that he needed a more abrupt waking.

"SPIKE! Wake up NOW!" Twilight yelled, which caused Spike to jump straight out of his bed, and tumble down the stairs.

"What was that for Twilight?! I was having a great dream before you ruined it!" Spike yelled, from the bottom of the stairs.

"You didn't wake up when I called for you, so I decided to make it quick. Point is, I need you to send Princess Celestia an urgent letter! I need her to read this ASAP!" Twilight yelled back, loud enough for Spike to hear it downstairs.

"Alright hold on, I'm coming." Spike walked up the stairs, took the scroll from Twilight's magical grasp, and burned it with his flame, to send the letter to Celestia.

"Thank you Spike, and sorry about the whole waking up thing..." Twilight said, with a tint of shame in her expression.

"It's alright, I'm over it... But what was the letter about?" Spike asked.

"I asked her about Peep, since Princesses' magic may have something to do with him talking. Hopefully she has an explanation, or at least some sort of idea on what to do with him..." Twilight said, pondering about her next action.

"Well, maybe we should stay with Peep until the Princess writes back? We should keep track of him anyways... Who knows what kind of trouble he'll get into with the CMC around?" Spike proposed.

"Good idea Spike. Let's get going!" Twilight responded.

---

With that, the two ran off towards the edge of the Everfree Forest, where their dear friend Fluttershy called home. Twilight was more cautious this time around, and managed to get through without bumping into anypony. They arrived after a few close calls, and walked in Fluttershy's cottage, as Peep was ending one of his stories.

"And then the Ursa Major just ran off." Peep finished.

"Wow! That was awesome!" The CMC yelled in unison.

"That was an interesting story, Peep. And hey Twilight! Peep was just telling us about life in the Everfree. How did it go with the letter?" Fluttershy said.

Twilight and Spike walked in, and took a seat on the couch, along with the CMC.

"Well, I sent the Princess a letter, and I'm just waiting for her to write back. Hopefully she's not too busy with court duty to read the letter." Twilight answered.

As if on cue, Spike belched, and a letter produced itself from the flames.

"Whoa! What was that?!" Peep asked, as he had never seen the process of sending letters by flame.

"That's how I send and receive the letters from Princess Celestia. Anyways, let's see what she wrote back." Twilight responded.

Everypony and creatures alike waited patiently, as Twilight picked up the letter with her magic. She started to read the letter silently, leaving the others waiting in anticipation.

"Well. That's a surprise."

Comments

[PrinceLexmarkThePrinted]

Mh, I really liked this, got send here by Thunder Seethe, who mentioned you in the Prologue of his DayZ-Fic. Anyway, I like your style of writing, very measured and detailed.

I have three little complaints, though:

1. PACE! This fic is interesting and has compelling characters, but narrative-wise it is paced like an ant pushing a brick accross a desert. No offense here, seriously, but it is kinda sad that we hardly get any action to go with your good style. It may appear "rushed" because there is everything and nothing happening at once. Basically, you are not very descriptive while at the same time having stuff happen pretty fast.

2. Repetition of words! You used "Well" a lot in this chapter, practically three times in a row in the beginning (just CTRL+F and enter "Well" and you will see what I mean).

3. Not enough paraphrasing! There are different words for most expressions, what got me to write this, though, was:

"Why does everypony assume that it's silly for a chicken to talk? Is it really that rare?" Peep interrupted, which left Fluttershy completely shocked.

"Uh... Fluttershy? Are ya okay? Ya seem kind of... shocked..." Applebloom said, as she waved her hooves in front of Fluttershy's eyes, to get her attention.

You could have used stunned, flabbergasted, gob-smacked or a billion other words to avoid this repetition here. It makes for a more interesting read if you do.

Still, magnificent job for a first fic. I will keep a close eye on this and you, let's see where this is going.

[yellowest butter]

Is there chicken talk?