//------------------------------// // Ticket Master // Story: Just a Walk in Equestria (JaWiE), Volume 1 // by Warden of Monsters //------------------------------// Several days have passed since the return of Princess Luna, and personally I'm a bit nervous. Most of Season 1 was just slice-of-life episodes, all fluff and filler. So I sit in a hammock by the lake outside Ponyville in a pair of swimming trunks, Cubby on my gut as I stroke his head. In my pocket the napkin I got from Celestia is in a plastic baggie... I never really approached Bon Bon so I'm not sure how to go about giving this to her. "Can't waste time," I confide to my cat. "After all after the Gala comes Discord, and a whole mess of trouble... We gotta be ready, prepare for it. I mean I know the Mane 6 can handle things, but we're not supposed to be here, we can't just expect to survive if we're idle... But how are we gonna do it, even with a retired monster-hunter on our side?" Cubby just blinks at me like he's asking why I'm so worried. "Easy for you to say, you're a cat, you never worry about shit," I mutter as I tap him on the nose with a fingertip, earning myself an indignant look with some claws pressing into my thigh. I sigh as I sit up, tilting the hammock so Cubby has to hop out of my lap while I swing my feet under me. I grab my towel from where it dries on a nearby tree branch, and my bag from the ground. "Speaking of preparation, I really ought to start looking into a career," I say as we walk across the grass. "I mean I like the farm, but I prefer more... oh, what's the word... Ah fuck it, I'm not cut out for manual labor my whole life, I like working with my mind.' Cubby just yawn widely. "Oh shut up you mooch," I say with a laugh as I drape my towel across my shoulders, and reach down to scratch his back. I smile when he arches his back into the touch, and I find a nice sheltered place to change into some more typical clothes. Black shorts, white T shirt in case you were wondering. "Maybe I oughta talk with Mayor mare about applying for some land, and I could build a house there... or maybe talk with the Apple family, see if they're willing to part with part of it, like a part close to town where they're not planning to plant trees?" I look over my shoulder to where Cubby is cleaning a paw, and giving me a flat look. Sighing I shoulder my bag again, and lace up my boots before headed to Sweet Apple Acres. I smile when I see Applejack, and Twilight walking the trail towards the barn... with... Spike on Twilight's back looking through apples? I frown to myself, this tickles something in my mind... That's when Spike burps up the letter from Princess Celestia, and my eyes go wide. "...Oh," I say, and turn, running back towards town. Looks like I'll have to start on my own life in my own time. I need to find Bon Bon, now, and start getting some kind of team together to help me monitor Ponyville. I only have so much time left after all. They can handle this one well without me after all. I look all over the place, Cubby having long gone about his own merry way while I'm trying to do my best to help a world worth saving... Wow, I really don't like my own kind much... Shaking myself I spot Octavia Melody, and Vinyl Scratch headed down the street, Vinyl levitating a cello case for her friend. I step over, "Excuse me, have either of you seen Bon Bon, or Lyra Heartstrings?" Most likely if I find one I can find the other fairly easy. Octavia looks up thoughtfully, "I think Lyra is spending the week in Canterlot with some of her friends there. As for a Bon Bon I cannot say for sure..." I nod, and wave a thanks to them as next I head to Bon Bon's house, there's a pretty good chance I can find them there. No such luck however as when I knock there's no reply for several minutes. So getting an idea I summon up an envelope, and a piece of paper. On it I write, "We need to talk." Then slipping the napkins into the envelope with my note I seal the envelope shut, and tack it to her door with a thumb-tack. A rumbling draws my attention overhead as thunder rolls, and with a groan I bolt for the library. I figure Twilight won't mind me hiding out there for a bit, after all she could probably do with one friend who isn't after her spare Gala ticket. I manage to make it inside just before the rain starts. In the back of my head I realize it must be Rainbow's turn to try kissing up to Twilight to get that Gala ticket. After her it'll be Rarity, and when the rain ends it should be Applejack's turn, then Fluttershy should arrive here to try impressing Twilight with some spring cleaning, nevermind that it's summer time. So running a hand over my face I start browsing for a book. I hear the door open while I crack open the first volume of Daring Do, I always did love an adventure story, and adored Indiana Jones movies growing up. I chuckle to myself as I remember how in one movie Jones was supposed to have some big fight scene with a dude with two swords, but the actor playing the guy with the swords had the runs from some bad prunes so they had to cut the scene short... "Oh hello Harley," Fluttershy says as she hovers over to me. "What are you doing here? Are you trying to get the Gala ticket too? Because we were going to clean up, but if you're already here..." I wave a hand with a shake of my head, "Relax Flutters, I'm not the kind of guy into big fancy parties so I really don't care about the ticket anyhow. Just be careful with the cleaning, brain-cases like Twilight have a certain organization to their messes so you might ruin something by accident." Fluttershy puts a hoof to her chin thoughtfully, "I hadn't thought of that... I suppose though she won't mind a little dusting." "And she seemed pretty hungry," I say as I take a seat on the stairs with the book. "Right! Angel, could you please take care of that? I know you make a lovely salad..." I look over in time to see Angel give her a nod, and hop to the kitchen. Shrugging I go back to my book while Fluttershy goes all Snow White on the library. I start humming to myself as I go through the first page. "That's a lovely tune," Fluttershy says, jerking me out of my tunnel-vision. Blinking I look up at her, "Tune?" She nods, and vocalizes a few notes of the tune every Brony knows... I had been humming the MLP theme? I want to smile, and facepalm at the same time. But she seems enchanted by the tune as she goes back to her work, leaving me to my thoughts. As I return my attention to the book I consider actually finding miss Daring Do. I mean her appearance in the show is still a long way off, but she may be just the kind of pony I could use for keeping in touch with what exactly is going on in the rest of Equestria. Pausing in my reading I start making a mental list of ponies that could be very helpful with my plans to make sure everything runs according to Canon. Sweetie Drops... Doctor Whooves... Maybe Trixie after Magical Duel... Zecora for certain... If I could get in touch with Fancy Pants in Canterlot that would be fabulous... Basically anypony that doesn't have any really large time in the spotlight in the show. My mind drifts to Derpy, but really with how prone she is to being... well... Ditzy/Derpy I'm thinking this line of work could be a bit much for her. "Ponies of S.H.I.E.L.D." I mutter quietly to myself with a slight shake of my head. Then Twilight walks in, and I pull myself back to the present. "Oh Fluttershy not you too," Twilight moans. I roll my eyes, and when turns her head to me I shake my head while raising my hands in surrender. "I'm not a part of this, I swear!" That seems to relax her a little, and I smile as I listen to the next scene play out. Daring Do is a rather good author so i check the book out by making a note for her saying I've taken it. Then I see Pinkie yank her outside. "Poor Twilight," I say. Fluttershy looks up at me, "Hm?" "Well your being friends is what saved Equestria, and she didn't have that many friends before coming to Ponyville," I explain. "She's one of those ponies who dedicated themselves to their studies, and-" "PIIIIIIINKIIIIIIIIIIIIEEEEE!" The sudden shout makes Fluttershy, and I jump while the ruckus outside abruptly subsides. Sighing I continue, "She has no idea how to be a good friend Flutters, and now that she has something she wants to share with her new friends she doesn't know how to handle it when there isn't enough to go around... And frankly all of you trying to bribe her like this is just adding to the stress." Fluttershy folds her ears back, "Oh my... You really think so?" I nod sagely, and tuck the book under my arm. "Now I must be off... Try to get your friends to understand, alright? Twilight should be back after nightfall... She needs you all more than you need that ticket." I let Fluttershy chew that over while I step out into a town-wide game of tag, and watch with a smirk. I just head for the park with my book though, and sit on a bench while I start to read. You know, a lot of people throughout my school like liked to give me shit about reading. It's always been an obsessive habit for me so in an age where who has the newest cell phone, and sports reputation gets you up the social ladder... Well to be perfectly honest I stopped caring about such things in highschool, but what I'm getting at is that I love immersing myself in a good book. It's like I can just take a trip into another world, another life. You'd think that actually happening to me would diminish the appeal, but nope! A good book is an excellent retreat for me to completely shut out the world around me... So please don't think any less of me for saying that I never saw the ambush coming. One minute I'm reading a rather epic temple escape, and the next something smelling sickly sweet in a chemical sort of way is pressed to my face with a cloth. So yeah, I will admit I panicked for a moment before the world went black. When I finally come to the world around me is still black, but I know I'm awake... Awake, and trying to figure out what just happened. Something had been pressed to my face... soft... like a cloth... "...Since when the fuck does a world of pastel ponies have Chloroform?!" I try to move, but I'm bound to what i assume is a chair. It feels like one anyhow, but ponies don't really have chairs in my size. It feels like crates, and pulling at the ropes it feels like they're nailed together... and I notice something else... "WHERE THE HELL ARE MY CLOTHES?!" Suddenly the lights come on, and I shut my eyes against the glare. Squinting them open I see Bon Bon glaring at me from beside a floodlamp. "Sorry," she says with a voice laced with venom. "Had to make sure you weren't carrying any hidden weapons. I didn't want to risk you escaping before we had a chance to... chat..." I blink as it slowly dawns on me what's going on. "...Okay, i have no clue what Celestia wrote on that napkin, I swear she only said it would convince you to help me, and can i please get my clothes back?!" My words die in my throat as she pulls a knife, holding it in her fetlock... Which is an ankle for a pony for all you who don't know. Anyways, that's where i draw the line. Time to show this pony I mean business. With a snap of my fingers I turn the crates to Balsa wood, and they collapse under my weight. Bon Bon doesn't have time to react as I wiggle my way out of the ropes, and use a big chunk of the wood to cover myself. snapping my fingers again I try to clothe myself, but all that shows up are a mess of thread hanging off my body. "Okay that's new," I mutter as I look myself over. "Seriously though Bon Bon, or Sweetie Drops... Whatever you wanna be called, what the actual Hell?!" I jump as she points the knife at me, "Make another move, and this is going between your eyes. Now, how do you know my name? How much do you know about me? And how did you convince Celestia to authorize my reactivation?" I blink, "So that's what she did? Okay... In short I'm from another world where Equestria is just a show used to entertain kids. All I know about you is your name, a vague account of a Bugbear, and that you probably have the hots for Lyra Heartstrings." She jumps with a blush, "What the-?! No I don't!" "Denial isn't just a river in Egypt," I say blankly. I see the look of confusion flutter across her face reminding me she doesn't know about Egypt, or the Nile river. Either way she lowers the knife as she says, "I'm not in denial you ape! We're just good friends, and she keeps me up to date on things in Canterlot." "Uh-huh," I mutter. "So... You done with the Bad Cop routine yet? Because I was kinda in the middle of something... How long was I out?" Bon Bon sighs as she slips away into the darkness long enough to turn on some overhead lights. I appear to be in some kind of basement with her, and i spot my clothes over in a corner. Quickly I shuck off the threads, and get my normal clothes back on. "You were out for maybe two hours," she says. "The sun is starting to set." I smile, "So there's still time! Quick, we need to get to the Ponyville Library!" "Why?" "Just hurry up," I say as I head for the door. She gallops after me with a frown as we head up into her house, and out onto the streets. The last signs of the sun are starting to pass over the horizon as we approach the library. "Okay," I say. "We observe through a window somewhere. Twilight should be teleporting into the library shortly where her friends are waiting." "Why is this so important?" She raises an eyebrow at me. Sighing I say, "Because I have a rough knowledge of how the next year is supposed to play out. Everything is still turning out fine from what I saw so to make sure it happens I need to make sure certain events happen a certain way unless you want Equestria to be destroyed four times over." She blinks at that as she peeks in a window, "Okay... So what's supposed to happen here?" Kneeling beside her I say, "You know how Twilight has two tickets to the Grand Galloping Gala? Well she's been stressing about how to share them with her friends all day. So when she shows up in the show she has a meltdown in front of her friends, and they all basically say they're okay with whatever she decides." Bon Bon nods, "Okay... Then what?" "Twilight sends both tickets back," I reply. "She doesn't want them if there isn't enough to share among all her friends. so then Celestia sends a note saying 'why didn't you just say so?' along with seven tickets." Bon Bon raises an eyebrow, "Seven?" "One of them is for Spike... The first season of the show ended with them going to the Gala... So maybe I should have made a pass for that ticket after all, at least so I could be there to observe the situation..." Bon Bon shrugs, and the lights inside click on. I mainly watch Bon Bon as the events inside unfold... I don't think she really believed me until this point, but now that it's unfolding in front of her I think she believes me now. Before long Twilight is filing out of the library with her friends, and their tickets. Nodding slowly Bon Bon turns to me. "Okay... What next?" "Well that was the end of this episode," I tell her softly. "Don't worry, from now to the Gala everything is pretty mundane so we need to use this time to prepare for bigger disasters." "How big are we talking exactly?" "The kind that warp reality itself to start with," I say, thinking of Discord. In the back of my mind I add the reformed Discord to my list of possible agents. "Oh Harley!" I'm jerked to reality once again as Spike jogs up. "Hey, Celestia just sent us some more tickets to the Gala, and asked me to ask you if you wanted one." I blink, and clear my throat, "Uh... Yeah, sure... and tell her I might be bringing guests..." Spike nods, writing down the note, and blowing it to the princess in green fire. Then he takes off after the Mane 6. I share a look with Bon Bon... "Things are starting to get interesting," I mutter.