//------------------------------// // Unexpected Discovery // Story: Gordon Freeman's Side Trip To Equestria // by Powerdrainer //------------------------------// Edited by Slayerseba, Clayton the Hunter, and Halusm. Unexpected Discovery <<>><<>><<>> Gordon groaned, actually groaned which surprised him as much as the ponies now surrounding him. Still, that was about the full extent as far as his audible response to the full body tackle he received was. His HEV suit, however, did flash a warning along with the recommendation to seek medical assistance. He was, however, unable to acknowledge the recommendations his suit gave him as, still pressing down on him was the cyan pegasus he'd punched in the gut two chapters ago; doing her best to glare him to death. "Now hold on a moment," the pony Gordon remembered being called Applejack said, taking a step back in surprise. "Did that suit of this fella jus' talk?" "Who cares?" Rainbow Dash growled, pushing down on Gordon with a bit more weight. Gordon, understandably taking objection against this treatment, even though he did deserve part of it, shifted his body enough to upset the balance of the angry pegasus and pushed her off of him. "Oh no you don't!" Rainbow Dash yelled, quickly catching herself. However, before she could pounce on the infuriating human, a purple glow held her in place. "Twilight, what gives?!" She shouted at her scholar friend. "Rainbow Dash. I think you've made your point," Twilight said disapprovingly. "He hit you, and you did the same back to him. And that's the end of this. Instead, we should find out why the map sent us here, and the human as well." "I'm not going to work together with that guy," Rainbow Dash said defiantly, crossing her arms. "Well, regardless it seems we are in this together," Rarity chimed in, giving her friend and Gordon a critical eye. "And although we don't know the reason behind our guest visiting, might I suggest you two keep nice. Or else Pinkie Pie might seem it fit to take care of you." Rainbow Dash visibly shivered at that. Gordon, however, didn't understand the threat implied with this warning. One glance at the pink mare however, made him understand perfectly. The manic glint in her eyes. The just a bit too large, somewhat forced smile splitting her face. Even her mane seemed to lose a bit of its vigor, darkening several tints. But when he blinked all of this had vanished as Pinkie Pie had snuck up behind Rainbow Dash, grabbing her in a hug; although to Gordon it seemed more like a choke hold while Pinkie Pie used her hooves to pull Rainbow Dash's mouth into a smile. "Come on, Dashie. Smile smile smile." Gordon, too, did shiver. And as his eyes locked with those of Rainbow Dash, they both gave a single nod of agreement. "Well, I'm glad that is taken care of," Twilight breathed a sigh of relief, releasing her magical hold over her friend. "Now hold on," Applejack stepped up. "Am Ah the only one here who thinks it strange his suit talks?" All eyes first turned to her as she said that, then shifted to the human who was in the middle of pushing himself back up to his feet. Gordon, having just righted himself suddenly felt himself watched and, looking around, he gave the staring mares a level gaze of his own. Not getting any answers from either side, and not feeling like wasting any more time than he already had, Gordon took a moment to inspect his health monitor; frowning as it showed his physical condition had dropped to seventy three percent. Regardless of how he felt about the prismatic mare, he had to admit, she knew how to throw a punch. Looking back up, he was only mildly surprised to see the ponies still stare at him in wonder and confusion… and the heated glare of Rainbow Dash, regardless of their silent agreement a moment ago. Sensing this wasn't going anywhere, Gordon took the initiative and stepped out of the group, moving towards the depressing looking village with a brisk pace; slightly shaking his head in frustration as he heard the ponies follow him soon after. Although it wasn't unusual for him to work together in pairs or groups (his work almost always demanded as much), Gordon was almost always the one getting his hands dirty with the more laborious tasks while his colleagues stayed back to maintain a containment field, drink their coffee, or, you know, open a portal to some alien world, only for it to blow up in all of their faces. It was a well executed division of labour as far as he was concerned. The ponies now surrounding him once more, however, did not fit into this model. And although one to improvise, especially since Black Mesa, he would be lying to himself by saying these ponies weren't taxing. Still, this was the hand he was dealt so he would have to make the most of it. As they moved for the village Gordon quickly spotted the locals going about their business thanks to his height advantage. Yet as he watched them, he noticed something was… off. Apparently he wasn't the only one thinking so, for as soon as Pinkie Pie saw the ponies herself, she stopped dead in her tracks, eyes narrowing and a deep frown creasing her forehead. "Everypony, stop!" she commanded, and with both speed and stretching of her limbs Gordon knew defied reality, she pulled everyone behind a large boulder; she climbing on top of it and pressing herself flat against the surface to leer towards the village while Twilight, Rarity and Applejack pulled themselves up besides her; Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy flying up and above them while Gordon stood frozen several steps behind, wondering whether or not his eyes had deceived him. "Pinkie Pie, what in Equestria are you doing now?" Twilight asked, looking at her pink friend while Pinkie seemed more focused on the ponies mulling about in the village. "Look!" pinkie Pie instructed. "Wait, this is where the map sent us?" Rainbow Dash asked, displeased. "Looks like the most boring place in Equestria." "It's just an ordinary village with ordinary pony folk," commented Applejack. "It could certainly use a few more architectural flourishes," Rarity remarked as she looked at the bland town. "Or any architectural flourishes." "I think it is lovely," Fluttershy said happily. "I don't like it. I don't like it one bit!" Pinkie Pie said bitterly, frowning. "I know smiles. And those smiles,"— she stared at the ponies in the distance, focusing her friends and Gordon's attention to the now noticeably forced smiles all ponies showed— "They're just not right." Gordon looked at the pink mare, then back at the village, realizing he found himself agreeing with her. "Forget the smiles," Twilight piped up. "Look at their Cutie Marks." Upon her words everyone then focused on the marks displayed on the ponies their flanks, except for Gordon who didn't know what the heck a Cutie Mark was. However, following their gazes, he soon realized they were talking about the images portrayed on their hindquarters. Upon realizing this, he then questioned why such a thing was of such importance to them. And, even more important, why was he staring at pony butts for such an extended duration of time? Realizing this, he quickly turned his attention back to the mares near him; this time studying the various marks they had, and coming to the conclusion that each was vastly different to the other. Not like those of the ponies in town, which were all identical. Could this be the source of their shock and worry? "Okay, that's weird," said Rainbow Dash, and Gordon's hypothesis seemed to be confirmed. Now, if only he knew what to do with this information. Shaking his head, he decided not to waste any more time and pushed forwards to the village; taking the mares by surprise as he strode past them. "Wait, where are you going?" Twilight called out, using her magic to hold him in place. Hearing his radiation meter click in immediate response, Gordon turned around to look at the mare and simply pointed a finger towards the village. Then, without a word, he pulled himself out of the strange energetic, potentially hazardous glow; noting a resisting pull as he did so. Perhaps if the purple mare had used more force, he surmised, he wouldn't have been able to free himself. This was an interesting development. Not only was this creature capable of generating her own anti-gravity field, but she was also capable of using this energy as some kind of containment field. If only he had access to his lab equipment… Shaking his head, Gordon continued moving. Hesitating for a bit, eventually the mares followed one by one; Pinkie Pie being the last, muttering a final ominous warning: "Those smiles are bad news." As they approached the town's ponies all looked up at Gordon with surprise, yet their unusual smiles held strong as they all greeted the mares as they followed close behind. "Welcome." "Welcome." "Welcome." "Welcome." "Welcome." They all said with the same tone of voice. "This must be the most pleasant place in Equestria," Fluttershy remarked as she looked around with a smile of her own. "Welcome," a greyish blue pegasus with white and grey mane greeted as she approached Fluttershy, causing the mare to giggle. Rainbow Dash groaned, placing a hoof on her forehead from the building headache. "Thanks a lot, map," she said, annoyed. "Welcome," a light grey stallion greeted as he approached the group, then he turned to Twilight. "Pardon my forwardness, but are you an alicorn?" Not sure how to reply, Twilight merely gave a large, kinda sheepish smile. "That there is tha Princess of Friendship," said Applejack, introducing her friend who continued to smile. "Well, you've certainly come to the right place for friendship," the stallion said, the noticeable undertone he used causing Gordon to raise an eyebrow, yet the mares either ignored it or didn't catch on the tone of voice. Frowning, Gordon contemplated both options. If they didn't catch on to such an obvious suggestion, either they were surprisingly innocent or slow to catch up. However, considering some other facts, Gordon quickly shot down this possibility. Which also left the other possibility. They simply ignored it. But why? The realisation both shocked Gordon and surprised him he hadn't noticed such an obvious fact. The ponies, all of them were, safe from the odd piece of clothing, completely nude. This realization, not to mention all connected implications to this fact made him shiver in his HEV suit. Why of all places did that inhuman ass send him to a world of sapient nudists. Fur be damned, don't these ponies have some decency? "What brings you to town?" Another stallion asked, his fur snow white, oblivious to the human's sudden discomfort. "We’re...not entirely sure," Twilight answered honestly. "I see. Well, all are welcome in our little village," the stallion replied, and the first stallion stepped aside, only to move closer to Rarity, beaming a large smile at her to the point where she visibly became uncomfortable. "My name is Double Diamond. And this is—" he turned to introduce the stallion who first approached the group "—Party favor." "Hello, Double Diamond. Ah'm Applejack, and this here is Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Twilight Sparkle—" she introduced her friends one by one, then her hoof pointed at Gordon "—and he's… well, Ah'm not entirely sure. He's a human, but we don't know his name. The fella doesn't talk all that much." Gordon cocked his head when the mare mentioned him, looking down on the stallion with level gaze. "And you all have your unique Cutie Marks," Double Diamond noted as he took a closer look, almost pressing his muzzle against the mare's flanks. Again, Gordon felt a strong sense of uncomfortableness. Back where he's come from, he'd be punched in the face if he did something like that. Although, it would seem that this was also a step too far for the mares, as they all glanced nervously at each other while Pinkie Pie covered her mark with her tail. "If you don't mind. Has there been any sort of… trouble here lately?" Twilight asked. "Trouble?" Double Diamond repeated. "Why I don't think we ever had trouble in our little village," he told them, beaming another far too large smile. "It's true, you'll see," Party Favor confirmed with a pleased hum "Perhaps you'd care to speak with our founder, Starlight Glimmer?" Double Diamond suggests, leading the mares and Gordon into town. "I wish all ponies in Equestria were as friendly as these ponies are," said Fluttershy. "I've got my eye on them!" Pinkie Pie stated, looking behind her to see several of the smiling ponies following them. "Something is rotten in… whatever the name of this village is we're in right now?" Party Favor and Double Diamond led the group towards the building at the far end of town, stopping before the closed door and both knocking, almost in tandem, then stepped inside. "Starlight, we have some new visitors," Double Diamond exclaimed. Each taking a spot to the side of the door they'd just entered, Double Diamond and Party Favor smiled broadly as the group of mares and Gordon (the latter having to bend down so he wouldn't knock his head on the door frame) stepped inside in what seemed to be an empty room. Its decor as bland as possible, with faded green, slightly worn curtains hanging in front of the windows. A light brown, and clearly old rug on the floor. A bookcase stood on the side, with only one shelf partially filled with reading materials, while dinner plates and a mug were placed on the shelf below. On the opposite side of the wall stood a lone bench, with a slightly tilted picture frame hanging on the wall above; the image inside displaying the very same mark also seen on the rump of all the ponies in town. An equalisation mark. Stepping inside, the mares all looked around with various levels of expectancy and curiosity. "Be ready to fight!" Rainbow Dash told Applejack. "We don't know what's going to come through that door." She pointed out as she looked at the one closed door besides a staircase leading up. No sooner had she said that, and the door smoothly swung open and a happy looking mare with pink coat, purple and teal mane and tail stepped out. "Welcome," she said. "I'm so pleased to have you here… oh?" she faltered as she saw the large biped, craning her neck to look up at Gordon. "This is Applejack, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, some creature who apparently doesn't talk," Double Diamond introduced the group, pointing at each individual as he did. "And Twilight Sparkle." Her attention brought to the purple mare in the room, Starlight stepped closer to give Twilight a closer, almost scrutinizing look. Twilight, in turn, gave a sheepish smile as she slightly rustled her wings. "Forgive my bluntness, but I'm assuming it is Princess Twilight Sparkle? We don't get many alicorns around here." "Yes, but Twilight is fine," Twilight told her, still smiling sheepishly. "So, how did you hear of our little village?" Starlight asked, pressing in closer to Twilight while sporting a smile bordering on the creepy side. "It's kind of a long story," said Twilight, slightly backing off. "Let's just say we found it on a map." "Technically," Pinkie Pie piped up, popping up from the side while showing her trademark smile. "It's a tree-chest-castle map," only for her frown to return as she remembered there was something wrong with this town, and she slowly slid away to the background with a frown while leering towards Starlight. "Well, however you found us. We're happy to have you," Starlight told them. "We're happy to have anypony who wants to experience true friendship for the first time." "Say, whaat?" Applejack deadpanned while, at the same time, Gordon's eyes narrowed; looking down at Starlight, unable to miss the emphasis when she said pony. Something itched in the back of his mind. A strange and wrong familiarity he couldn't quite place, yet there was a small voice that told him to be on edge. "Oh, indeed. That's what so unique about our village, you see," Starlight said, moving for the picture frame on the wall and pushed it back in proper place. "Around here we don't flaunt our special talents, because we don't have any special talents to flaunt." "Is that why you all have those Cutie Marks?" Twilight asked, slightly alarmed as she pointed at the mark on Starlight's flank. "Perhaps it would be easier to understand if I gave you a tour of the village," Starlight suggested with enthusiasm. The next second, music began to play, and Gordon looked around in shock as Starlight marched outside, rallying all the ponies in town. And all he could do was watch in absolute confusion as the town suddenly began to sing, noticeably making several of his group uncomfortable, while Fluttershy seemed to enjoy herself; bobbing her head side to side to the music. And at the end of this rather strange, not to mention uncomfortable musical intermezzo, it also became abundantly clear to him this whole Cutie Mark business was rather important. Rainbow Dash began to laugh, loudly. "You're kidding, right?" she asked, wiping away a tear before pointing at her own mark. "Give up our Cutie Marks? No way!" "Rainbow Dash, don't be so rude, "Fluttershy told her. "I don't think we should judge them. They all seem perfectly happy with their choice." "Don't believe their smiles, Fluttershy," Pinkie Pie cut in, taking the mare by surprise as she leered first at the yellow pegasus, then the strange smiling ponies. "I'm sorry," Twilight stepped up. "I guess we're all just a little confused by all of this." Gordon found himself agreeing with this as, with an ever growing headache, he found himself very, very confused with the strange, often frustrating creatures of this world. Deciding he didn't want to waste any more time with whatever show they were performing, he quickly scanned his surroundings, and spotting an interesting looking cave a small distance away. Well, interesting compared with the show and dance routine which he just witnessed. So, while the entire town was still preoccupied with Twilight and her friends, he quietly snuck off. It took him almost fifteen minutes, walking at a modest pace, but eventually Gordon left the idiocracy of the village behind him completely as he stepped inside the cave; staring with widened eyes at what he found almost immediately. Glowing brightly with light blue light, a laser like security grid was built into a slight but tall alcove; locked in behind it were numerous and all uniquely shaped marks, all levitating and slightly bobbing in place. And before it, levitating in a vertical stance above a stone pedestal Gordon saw the one thing he wouldn't have expected to show up here. His crowbar. "Well, well, well. And what have we here?" Starlight snarled, and Gordon slowly turned around, staring down at the pony. "It looks like we have another disrupting element in Our Town," and with a burst of her horn, the crowbar flew towards her.