An Earth Pony's Tale

by thebiscuitbrigade

Answers and Apologies

"Alright, let's make sure I've got everything."

Twilight's voice was slightly raspy as she telepathically flicked through the scattered set of notes she'd been making. Sitting down on a cushion at the small dinner table, she pulled up her first note sheet. "You were in a forest near your home, with a stone your father had found, when a cyclone whipped up, correct?"

On the other side of the table on another cushion sat Dawn, feeling rather un-coordinated as she struggled to get her four limbs in a comfortable position. After a moments hesitation, she nodded in response.

"And when you grabbed the stone, that was…" Twilight paused, warily. "…that was when it happened, right?"

Dawn nodded again, trembling a little as she recalled the sensation from the night before. Realising her anxiety, Twilight waited for the earth pony to settle back down before continuing.

"The stone…" she began, softly, picking up a quill and a fresh sheet of paper. "You said it had markings on it."

"Yeah," replied Dawn, finally summoning up the nerve to speak again. "There were a unicorn, a pegasus, and a…" - she fumbled as she tried to find the right words - "…a pony-pony."

Twilight looked up. "You mean an earth pony?"

"Well, it didn't have a horn or wings or anything like that," muttered Dawn uncertainly. "Are those… earth ponies?"

It was Twilight's turn to nod this time, and Dawn shuffled uncomfortably. "Why are they called earth ponies?"

"Um…" said Twilight, caught off guard by the question. "…well, earth ponies tend to have a special connection with the ground, so… I guess someone thought it was a good name for them." She smiled awkwardly as she finished, realising how insubstantial her explanation had sounded.

"Oh…" said Dawn, slumping down on her cushion. "They aren't… like me then?"

Twilight looked confused for a moment, but as she made the connection her eyes widened. "You mean…"

"I just thought…" began Dawn quietly, "…that since they were earth ponies and I was from Earth that…"

She trailed off slowly. "…Never mind. I was just being stupid."

Twilight, who had been busy scrawling down a hurried note, stopped suddenly. She turned to look at Dawn, who was looking down at the floor again, and sighed.

"You weren't being stupid," she said, firmly but kindly. "It was a perfectly reasonable thing to ask. I'd have probably done the same thing if the situation was reversed."

"But…" began Dawn, stuttering slightly. "…but you said before that this was all supposed to be impossible anyway, right?"

"Dawn, if you think something is important, you can tell me about it," replied Twilight, comfortingly. "You shouldn't have to worry about getting something wrong."

"I guess," Dawn murmured, still sounding uncertain. "It's just… there's so much I don't understand about all this."

"I know," said Twilight, in an understanding tone. "That's why I need you to talk to me - so we can both work out what's happening."

Dawn looked up to see Twilight smiling at her warmly, and sighed. "Alright. I'll try…"

Twilight nodded before turning back to her notes. "Do you still have the stone?"

Dawn's mind raced as she thought back to last night. She remembered holding the stone as the wind whipped around her, and yet she couldn't remember holding it when she fell to the ground again. She stared down at her front hooves, and sighed.

"I think… it's still in the forest." she replied. "When it happened, I was so scared, and I just wanted to get away… I didn't think to…"

She trailed off again, and Twilight quickly made to say something. She didn't seem to be able to find the words, however, and a moment later she had turned back to her papers and begun writing again.

Dawn, meanwhile, shuffled slightly as she tried to distract herself from how hopeless the situation seemed to be. Without thinking, she lifted her hoof up to her neck, and in an instant found her locket hanging around it. She let out a small sigh of relief - she'd have never forgiven herself if she'd lost that in the forest. It swung around as she bumped her hoof against it, and her sense of relief faded instantly as she realised that she wouldn't even be able to open it by herself now.

"Twilight," she mumbled, her voice shaky and unsure. "Why is this happening to me?"

Twilight looked up, her quill falling back to the table. Dawn moved to meet her gaze and was taken aback by how worried she looked.

"I'm not sure yet," she admitted, reluctantly. "I've got theories and ideas, but I don't know for sure if any of then are true without further research."

"Please Twilight," Dawn pleaded, her wide eyes shimmering. "You must know something by now, even if…"

She paused, and when she spoke again her voice had dropped down to a whisper. "…even if you don't think I'll like it."

Twilight bit her lip, and Dawn recognised the look on her face instantly - it was the same look she'd given her father the evening before, when she was trying to convince him nothing was wrong.

"Dawn," she began apprehensively. "Are you absolutely sure about this?"

For the briefest of moments, Dawn hesitated, and then, slowly, she nodded her head. As she did so, Twilight took a deep breath, before letting out a long sigh.

"OK then." she said, trying to sound confident but unable to hide her nervousness. "Here's what I know at the moment."

Her horn lit up, and the pile of papers by her side floated up into the air. Gradually, each individual sheet was laid out in front of her, positioned so Dawn could read every note Twilight had made.

"I've done some reading into long distance teleportation," began Twilight, pointing at a sheet of paper on Dawn's far left. "There's a record of a pony attempting to teleport from Manehatten to Las Pegasus, but it needed three additional unicorns to get enough magical energy to make the journey, and he didn't even manage to get to the right destination - he ended up in Vanhoover instead. The experiment was never repeated after that."

She moved her hoof to the next sheet of paper, lying right in front of Dawn. "Last night though, you somehow managed to travel an unimaginable distance, apparently unaided-"

"But it wasn't me!" interrupted Dawn. "I mean, it couldn't be me. I don't know anything about magic, or Equestria, or any of this."

"I know you don't," said Twilight. "That's why it's so confusing. Every theory I've come across suggests it would take at least twenty unicorns to even consider moving anything out of Equestria, and even if they did there'd be no way of telling where in the universe it'd end up."

"Then how did I get here?" said Dawn, perplexed. "If it's meant to be impossible, how did it happen to me?"

Twilight took another deep breath, and then slowly pointed at the last sheet of paper on the table. Dawn stared at it, and gasped as she saw a frantically sketched drawing of her emerald green stone.

She looked back at Twilight, aghast. "You think the stone did all of this?"

"It's the only other variable that remains unaccounted for," said Twilight, cautiously. "I've no idea what the stone was supposed to do, but for whatever reason it seems to be the reason you're here in one piece."

She paused, yawning heavily before continuing. "From what you've told me about those carvings, I'd hypothesise the stone originally came from Equestria. When you teleported, you could have theoretically ended up anywhere in the universe, and yet you somehow ended exactly where the stone originally came from. There's no way that could have happened purely by chance."

Dawn blinked as she struggled to take everything in, and as she tried to compose herself she suddenly realised the implications of what Twilight had said.

"You can't send me back then,' she said faintly, her voice wavering erratically. "You'd need the stone in order to get me back to the right place, and I lost it-"

"Dawn, it's OK," interrupted Twilight, determined not to let the situation get out of hoof. "We know the stone is still in the forest somewhere. We just need to find it again."

Dawn clenched her eyes shut again as she tried to stop them from watering. Opening them again, she turned back to Twilight. "What if we can't find it?"

"We will find it," said Twilight insistently. "I said I'd work out how to get you home, and I will."

She gave Dawn with a sympathetic smile, and Dawn felt the tiniest amount of confidence bubble up from somewhere inside her. Closing her eyes again, she took a long deep breath as she attempted to regain her focus.

"But why did I turn into a pony?" she whispered, opening her eyes and trying to remain as calm as she could. "Was that the stone as well?"

"It's certainly possible," said Twilight, yawning again. "Perhaps there was some enchantment it that prompted the transformation. Until we find the stone, though, I can't say for sure."

Her head fell slightly as she finished speaking, the effects of her near sleepless night finally catching up with her. As she looked back at Dawn, her tired expression became all the more obvious.

"I know it's not want you wanted to hear," she said wearily. "But I am going to fix this. Trust me."

Her tone was sincere, and despite her own doubts Dawn found herself nodding. She sank back onto the cushion, the tension in her body slowly draining away.

"So," she said softly, staring down at the floor. "What happens now?"

She waited patiently for an answer that never came, and she jerked her head up in confusion. "Twilight?"

As she looked back over the table, the reason for the lack of reply became obvious. Twilight sat with her eyes closed and her head bowed, breathing rhythmically in and out as she finally succumbed to sleep.

Dawn briefly considered waking her up again, but having seen how tired she'd seemed earlier she couldn't bring herself to do it. She looked around the library nervously, trying to find some clue as to what she was supposed to do now. In the silence, she heard clattering noises from behind her, and as she turned around she remembered the library's other inhabitant, busy in what she could only assume was the kitchen.

A small twinge of unease surfaced as she remembered their first meeting an hour earlier, but devoid of any other options Dawn forced herself to stand up and proceed towards the source of the noise. As she made her way through the doorway, she stopped and stared in mild disbelief as she found Spike washing up the teacups she and Twilight had been using earlier, standing up on a small stool in order to reach the sink.

She took a deep breath before speaking. "H-Hello?"

Her voice was barely louder than a whisper, but it was enough to attract Spike's attention. He turned quickly, and as he saw Dawn in the doorway, his eyes widened.

"What is it?"

Dawn fought the urge to step backwards in fear. She wasn't sure if Spike was still angry with her - in the few instances where he'd wandered into the library Dawn had purposely avoided making eye contact. She looked up at him, trembling but keeping all four hooves on the ground.

"It's Twilight." she began, faintly. "She fell asleep in the library, and I wasn't sure if she was OK."

"Oh," said Spike, almost lazily. "Don't worry about that. Twilight pulls off these kind of all-nighters every week or so. She'll be fine when she wakes up."

"O… OK." replied Dawn, still shaking slightly. "I'll just… go then."

She began to turn back around, but before she could head back into the library Spike suddenly called out. "Wait…"

Dawn paused before looking back. As she turned her head she saw Spike hop down from the stool, his expression looking remorseful.

"I… heard what you talking about with Twilight," he began, uncertainly. "When I saw you in her bed I thought you'd replaced her somehow. I didn't think you were…" - he hesitated, unsure of the right words - "…you know."

He moved forwards, clasping his claws together nervously. "I'm sorry I yelled at you before. I guess I was just kinda… scared."

His eyes widened again. "I meant worried. For Twilight, I mean. I wasn't scared, but Twilight was missing and I was thought something had happened to her, so I was worried. Not scared."

He laughed nervously as he finished, but it faded as he saw Dawn's confused expression and he came to a stop just in front of her.

"So…" he said, awkwardly. "Can you forgive me?"

Dawn looked down at Spike. The angry figure from earlier had disappeared, and in his place stood a small child shuffling his feet and wearing a guilty look on his face. Suddenly, her fear had evaporated, and as she stared back she realised she was no longer shaking.

"I guess so," she said softly. "Thank you."

Spike smiled. "Hey, no problem. Consider it my duty as a noble dragon."

Dawn's jaw dropped. "You're a dragon?"

"Yep." replied Spike, sounding rather pleased with himself. "Spike the noble dragon of Ponyville, at your service."

Dawn fell back onto her haunches in amazement - ponies were one thing, but dragons were something else. "Oh boy."

Spike looked confused. "Do they not have dragons where you come from?"

Dawn shook her head. "Not outside of stories…"

"Wow…" said Spike. "You must be from really far away…"

Dawn tensed slightly at the remark, and Spike gasped in realisation. "I mean… oh jeez… I'm sorry."

"It's OK." Dawn replied wearily. "Don't worry about it."

She glanced back towards the entrance to the library, in the vain hope that Twilight would rushing through it any moment with some magical solution to everything. As the doorway remained empty, her head dipped down until she was staring at the floor.

Spike looked concerned. "Dawn, I'm sure it'll be OK. Twilight's the smartest pony I know. She'll find a way to get you home."

"I know." Dawn replied, not taking her eyes off the floor. "I just wish it didn't look so hopeless, that's all."

"You've got nothing to worry about." said Spike, earnestly. "Twilight Sparkle is not the sort of pony to give up on a problem, believe me."

He smiled enthusiastically, and as Dawn looked up she found herself beginning to believe him. "Really?"

"Really," Spike nodded. "One time, there was this unicorn who tried to take over Ponyville, and she banished Twilight into the forest, but then Twilight came back and defeated her in a magic duel in front of everypony."

Dawn had no idea what a magic duel entailed, but Spike's description made it sound suitably epic. "Wow."

"That's nothing," said Spike, beginning to get carried away. "There was the time when Snips and Snails brought an Ursa Minor into town…"

---

"…and then, she picked it up and floated it all the way back to the Everfree Forest. All by herself!"

Spike had leapt back up onto the nearby stool, frantically waving his arms to punctuate each dramatic moment. Dawn sat and watched him from below, gradually becoming caught up in his seemingly boundless energy.

"And then…" continued Spike, standing up on tiptoes in order to gain every single inch of height possible. "…everyone in the crowd cheered, and Twilight was worried because she didn't think they would like her any more, but they all said it was amazing!"

He jumped down from the stool again, raising his arms in a flourish. "And that's how Twilight defeated an Ursa Minor and saved Ponyville single hoofedly."

He grinned, and Dawn found herself grinning too - Spike's enthusiasm was clearly infectious. "That is amazing…"

"I know, right?" said Spike. "Trust me, once Twilight's got herself rested, she'll have you home in no time."

Dawn remained silent, unsure of how to react, and Spike frowned. "Are you OK?"

"I think so," Dawn replied. "Better than I was before, anyway."

"That's good," said Spike, stepping forward slightly. "Listen, you can tell me if I'm talking too much. Twilight always does."

"You're not," said Dawn, truthfully. "It's nice to have someone to talk to."

"Oh..." said Spike, sounding more than a little surprised. "Well, what do you want to talk about?"

Dawn opened her mouth to reply before she realised that she had no idea what she wanted to say - so many questions were forming and colliding in her mind that she could barely process them. Eventually however, she found one that was suitable.

"Spike…" she asked nervously. "Can you tell me more about… here?"

Spike looked confused. "You mean Ponyville?"

"Is that what this place is called?"

Spike looked momentarily stunned. "I'd have thought Twilight would have mentioned that."

"We were so busy talking about how I got here that I never got to find out exactly where here is." explained Dawn, her tone mildly apologetic. "I mean, I know that there are ponies, and some can fly and some can do magic, but I don't know anything else other than that."

"Oh…" said Spike, rubbing the back of his head in thought. "Well, Ponyville's alright, really. You'll have to go to Sugarcube Corner at some point - Pinkie's been working on these new edible party hats made of wafers or something, and…"

"Is it safe?"

"Well, they haven't been properly tested yet, but…"

"I meant Ponyville…" Dawn interrupted, sounding anxious. "Is Ponyville… safe?"

Spike looked at Dawn. "Well…I guess so. I mean, we get the occasional disaster every so often, but we get it sorted most of the time." He realised his mistake as soon as he saw Dawn's worried expression. "I mean… uh… nothing bad's going to happen to you in Ponyville. I promise."

Dawn opened her mouth to reply, but her response never came, as at that moment the loudest voice she'd ever heard suddenly erupted from outside. "Citizens of Ponyville!"

The noise was enough to knock both her and Spike off balance, and while she managed to remain upright Spike wasn't quite so lucky. Her eyes darted towards the sink, where several of Spike's teacups had fallen down, smashing violently as they hit the floor below. From behind her, she could hear the crashing sounds of books and scrolls tumbling down from their bookshelves.

Slowly, Dawn realised she was shaking again. The voice - a unmistakably male one - had been spoken with almost no emotion whatsoever, but she couldn't help but notice the contemptuous sneer that pervaded it.

Without warning, the voice boomed again, reverberating around the room. "This is an announcement from an appointed representative of the Equestrian Royal Constabulary. Your presence is required at the Ponyville Town Hall immediately. Attendance is mandatory for all citizens - those who do not comply risk full inspection according to the Statutes of Equestria. Please proceed to the Town Hall at once."

As the announcement finished, the sound resonated in Dawn's eardrums, and she was unable to block it from her mind. Still trembling, she spoke into the unnatural silence.

"Spike…" she said, her voice jittery. "Is that n-normal?"

"No, it isn't." came another voice from behind - one that Dawn recognised instantly. Turning her head, she saw Twilight standing in the doorway, looking simultaneously shocked, exhausted, and frustrated.

"Twilight?" Dawn asked, still in mild shock. "What's happening?"

"That's what I want to know." replied Twilight, frowning. "If the Constabulary are involved, something very serious must be going on."

Dawn's face fell. "Something like… me?"

She saw Twilight's face shift uncomfortably, and realised the truth. "Oh no."

"Dawn…" began Twilight, determined to keep the situation under control. "…this isn't necessarily a bad thing. It may be somepony who can help you get home."

Dawn shook her head frantically. "It didn't sound like it to me, Twilight."

"Me neither." came Spike's voice from behind her, as he pulled himself back to his feet. "Sounded more like Discord to me."

"Spike!" Twilight snapped. "It was not Discord. I'd recognise that voice anywhere."

"I didn't say it was Discord." replied Spike, sounding slightly put out. "I'm just saying it sounded an awful lot like him…"

"Who he sounds like…" interrupted Twilight irritably. "…is not important right now. The point is that he's from the Royal Constabulary and he's called a meeting, so we need to get there and find out why he's here."

"We?" Dawn gulped. "I have to go there too?"

Twilight turned back to Dawn, and her annoyed expression shifted to an empathetic one. "Dawn, I know this isn't ideal…"

"I can't do it, Twilight." said Dawn, her tone verging on panic. "Why can't we just stay behind?"

Twilight shook her head. "This meeting is for all citizens of Ponyville. Whoever this pony is, he'll at least be expecting me and Spike to show up. If we don't, it'll look like we've something to hide."

She placed a hoof on Dawn's shoulder. "You can either stay here in the library on your own, or come to the meeting with us. It's up to you to choose which you think is the better option." She paused briefly, letting the choices sink in. "But if you come with us, we can make sure that you're kept safe."

Dawn blinked as she realised what Twilight was saying, and her head fell. "I'm really scared, Twilight…"

"We won't let anything happen to you," said Twilight, determinedly. "Right, Spike?"

"Right," echoed Spike, marching next to Twilight and standing to attention. "Nothing's going to get past this dragon."

Twilight rolled her eyes, and for a moment Dawn felt like laughing, but the sneering voice continued to drone in her head, and she shuddered again. She breathed in deeply, trying to steady herself.

Finally, after several moments of hesitation, she whispered her answer. "Alright."

Twilight gave a small nod in acknowledgement. "We need to get going right away - if we're late, it might look suspicious. Stay close to me and Spike, and we'll make sure you're OK."

She turned around, Spike strolling up beside her. "Are you ready?"

Dawn steeled herself, and then slowly replied. "Ready."

Twilight nodded again, and then slowly set off towards the front door, Spike pacing alongside her. After taking another deep breath, Dawn began to follow. Her four legs felt heavy, and she couldn't tell whether it was disorientation or fear that was preventing her from keeping up with Twilight.

As Twilight reached the front door of the library, it swung open for her, illuminated by the purple aura of her magic. She stepped outside onto the grass, before looking backwards toward Dawn, who was now standing in the doorway looking more nervous than ever.

She was almost paralysed with fear as she saw the scene before her. It felt as if monsters were lurking behind every building and within every shadow, waiting to strike as soon as she stepped outside. She shook her head, trying to keep those thoughts hidden, and tried to focus on Twilight and Spike standing in front of her, willing her onward and smiling encouragingly.

With what felt like an astronomical amount of effort, she lifted her front leg and stepped forward. After a shuddery pause, she took another step, and then another one after that, and soon she was beside Twilight, standing outside in the Ponyville sunshine. A few seconds later, the trio were moving forward again, beginning their journey towards the Town Hall.

Author's Note:

I probably should use this space to type up some interesting author's notes, but for now I just want say that it's incredibly satisfying to see this chapter finished. There were an awful lot of things I needed to do and it wasn't always easy to keep going, but I'm glad I did. Now I've just got to get started on the next one...

Special thanks go to horizon, both for his story feedback and for his advice on motivation. It was very much appreciated.

Comments

[Noakwolf]

Oh my god I love this.

[Cold Spike]

Cute story so far, and we have a plot maybe weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee MOAR!

[horizon]

Holy smokes, this updated! Great to see you're still working on it!

I just referred someone here, actually, to that room description in Chapter 2 (which still ranks among the best room descriptions I've seen in ponyfic — yes, I'm serious about that).

[DJ Discharge]

Hmmmmm interesting...i cant wait to see what happens!

[Sky Hooves]

Where is the update? I WANT A UPDATE!

[PegaSeraph]

Is this story dead?
I hope not because it is one of the best HIE's on this side...

[sinewystatue382]

hay do more chapters