The Town
Thirty minutes ago
After walking through the forest-like area, Twilight, Spike, Applejack, Fluttershy and Pinkie enter the town. However, it looked more like a ghost town since there wasn’t a sign of life… Yet.
“Let me get this straight,” Applejack said. “We’re inside that book, just like the time Spike’s comic book sucked us in?”
“No doubt about it,” Twilight answered.
As the group walked, Applejack looked around the empty streets.
“Ah’ don’t see any civilians here; ah’ wonder where they are.”
“I don’t have a good feeling about this,” Fluttershy said worriedly.
“Don’t worry, Fluttershy,” Pinkie Pie said. “Nopony is going to hurt your pretty head, not so long as Twilight, Applejack, Spike and Auntie Pinkie Pie are here.”
Fluttershy rolled her eyes a bit when Pinkie called herself ‘Auntie Pinkie Pie’.
“I wonder where Rarity and Rainbow are,” Spike said. “I hope nothing bad happened to them.”
“Don’t worry, Spike,” Twilight assured. “We’ll find them.”
“The place sure could use a party,” Pinkie observed. “And cake! There can never be a party without cake!”
Suddenly, a door slam caused the ponies and dragon to turn toward one of the buildings.
“Did you hear that?” Spike asked.
“Somepony closed his or her door,” Twilight pointed out. “This is like the time Zecora arrived for the first time in Ponyville.”
“Maybe we should show the folks here we ain’t dangerous,” Applejack suggested.
“Oooh, I can do that!” Pinkie said.
Before the others can say anything, Pinkie skipped towards one of the houses and knocked on the door.
“Hello?! My name is Pinkie Pie and me and my friends mean no harm!”
She waited for a response, but no one opened the door. Pinkie peered through the window.
“If you want a party, I’m your pony!”
In response, the curtains closed in front of her. She tried various houses, but all ended with the same result. Eventually, she walked back toward her friends.
“Sheesh! Nopony wants to come out!” Pinkie said. “I asked if they wanted a party; I even asked if they want cake. You can’t say no to cake!”
“Maybe they just want to be left alone,” Fluttershy said.
“I’m not sure why they’re scared,” Twilight said. “But we need to go further. We should start at that castle. Let’s go, everypony!”
Everypony walked toward the castle. After a few minutes, they stopped at one of the castle walls.
“I wonder who lives here,” Spike wondered.
“A king?” Pinkie guessed. “A queen? A prince? A princess?”
“Focus, Pinkie!” Twilight said. “We got two problems at the moment: We don’t know if there’ll be a way back to Equestria and we don’t know where Rarity and Rainbow Dash are.”
“Don’t panic, sugar cube,” Applejack said, placing a hoof on Twilight’s shoulder. “There will be a way out just like in Spike’s comic book. But first, we need to find Rainbow and Rarity.”
Suddenly, they heard something like some pony was humming a song.
“Hear that?” Spike asked.
“I hear it, Spike,” Twilight answered.
“I wonder who’s singing that,” Spike wondered.
“It sounds lovely!” Fluttershy said.
“Only one way to find out,” Twilight determined. “We climb over the walls.”
“But how are we going to do that?” Applejack asked.
Twilight thought a bit when suddenly an idea came up.
“Wait here.”
Twilight ran in the direction toward the town. The others waited a few minutes before she finally returned with a ladder, which she placed against the castle wall.
“We’ll use this ladder,” Twilight explained. “Come along.”
One by one, they climbed the ladder while the humming went on. When they reached the top, they hung on as they saw who or what was humming that song. They don’t know what species this creature is but listening to the sound they know it’s a girl. She was completely dressed in rags and wore clogs on her feet. She was washing a staircase in a courtyard while she was surrounded by white doves. She hummed on like she didn’t have a care in the world. The ponies and dragon couldn’t keep their eyes off the creature.
“What is that?” Applejack asked.
“It looks exactly like my Canterlot High friends,” Twilight observed. “Sunset said they’re called humans.”
“So that’s what they’re called,” Spike said.
“I think she looks lovely,” Fluttershy replied. “She sounds lovely, too.”
“Hold on a minute,” Spike spoke. “We don’t even know if it’s dangerous.”
“A girl who washes a staircase and hums a little song is dangerous?” Applejack asked, with narrow eyes. “Really, Spike?”
“Good point there. What do we do?”
“We could…” Twilight began, then stopped.
As she looked toward her friends, she saw one was missing.
“Where’s Pinkie?!”
They looked around to find their friend. Suddenly, Spike, his mouth wide open, pulled Twilight’s mane and pointed toward the direction he was looking. Twilight faced Spike’s direction and her eyes went wide too. They saw Pinkie walk straight toward the human girl, who was still scrubbing the staircase. She sighed a little, grabbed the bucket and splashed the water on it. When she turned around, she was completely surprised.
“Hi!” Pinkie said.
The girl screamed a little and fell to the ground, dropping the bucket. The pink pony came closer to her, excited to meet the strange creature.
“My name’s Pinkie Pie. What’s your name?”
“Pinkie! What are you doing?!” Twilight yelled.
The creature and Pinkie turned to see another pony teleport from the wall to the courtyard. But this pony didn’t come alone.
“Just saying ‘Hi’,” Pinkie said.
“By sneaking up on her?!” Applejack said, falling from the wall to the ground. “Look at what ya did; ya scared the poor thing.”
Fluttershy also flew down to the ground, while Spike held on.
“We’re so sorry, miss,” Fluttershy spoke. “We didn’t mean to scare you. Can you forgive us?”
The human girl slowly stood up; she didn’t expect any of this at all.
“It’s okay, miss,” Twilight spoke softly, trying not to scare her. “We’re not here to hurt you.”
“W-Why, you’re little ponies!” The girl said with a smile.
“Well duh, what did you expect?” Pinkie asked. “Seven tiny little men?”
The ponies and dragon faced Pinkie with a puzzled look.
“Oh my, I never met colorful ponies before,” The girl spoke. “Especially ones that can talk. May I… Touch one of you?
The ponies look at each other until Fluttershy broke the silence.
“Um, sure… I guess.”
The girl reached out her hand, as Fluttershy slowly approached. This creature was still new for ponies who haven’t seen humans yet, especially Fluttershy, as the girl’s hand came close to her. Fluttershy hesitated a little, then brought her muzzle close to the hand. The girl gasped a little when she felt the soft fur of the pony. She began to explore more of the soft fur, till suddenly she caressed Fluttershy behind the ear. The shy pony didn’t know how, but she found it rather… Soothing and relaxing. She closed her eyes, enjoying the feeling.
“You have such soft fur,” The girl said, scratching Fluttershy’s ear. “It feels so nice.”
The little pony was still enjoying the feeling while Applejack, Twilight, Pinkie and Spike faced each other.
“Does it feel that good, Fluttershy?” Applejack asked.
“Oh, it absolutely does,” Fluttershy replied.
“Who are you?” The girl asked.
“Oh, allow me to introduce ourselves,” Twilight replied. “My name is Twilight Sparkle. This is Applejack, Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie.”
“Pleased to meet ya, miss,” Applejack tipped her hat. “Sorry that Pinkie scared the willies out of ya.”
“It’s alright,” The girl replied. “I just didn’t expect magical ponies to come here.”
The girl faced the pony she caressed, the pony herself silently looking back.
“Fluttershy, that’s a lovely name,” The girl said.
Fluttershy silently smiled at the compliment.
“And this is Spike,” Twilight finished.
The girl stopped scratching and petting Fluttershy to see the little dragon.
“Oh, he’s so adorable.”
Spike faced his pony friends with a smirk.
“Well, well, well.”
“What is he?” The girl asked.
“Oh, I’m a ferocious, fire-breathing dragon,” Spike said with pride.
“A dragon?” The girl asked. “That small?”
“Don’t be fooled,” Twilight advised. “He’s just a baby dragon.”
“Way to bring me down, Twilight,” Spike spoke, under his breath.
“It’s so nice to meet you,” The girl replied, with a curtsey. “My name is Snow White.”
“Snow White?” Fluttershy asked. “That’s a lovely name.”
“Thank you. But where do you come from?”
“We’re not exactly from here,” Twilight explained. “We’re residents from Ponyville; Equestria to be exact.”
“I never heard of Equestria or Ponyville before,” Snow White replied. “What have you come to do here?”
“It’s kinda difficult to explain,” Applejack admitted. “You won’t believe us.”
“I’m talking to magical talking ponies from a different land. I’ll believe everything you say.”
“Well, it all started with a book…” Spike began.
Before Spike could go any further, the door atop the stairs opened revealing a familiar blue Pegasus and white unicorn.
“Phew, I’m glad that’s over,” Rainbow said.
The two looked ahead of them and their eyes widen. Twilight, Applejack, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie and Spike had the same reaction. Snow White, on the other hand, couldn’t believe her eyes.
“Dashie!” Pinkie yelled joyfully.
“Rarity!” Spike yelled happily.
The four ponies and dragon rushed toward their missing friends. When Pinkie ran close to Rainbow, she pounced and hugged her. Snow White watched as she slowly followed.
“There’s more of them?” She asked herself.
“I’m so glad to see you, darling!” Rarity cried, hugging Twilight.
“Where have you guys been?” Rainbow asked, hugging the rest of her friends.
“We were in a forest,” Applejack explained. “We saw the castle and town from that spot. We figured you might be there after we separated.”
“You sure are in luck that me and Rarity ended up in this castle,” Rainbow said.
Just then, she eyed Snow White with a look of confusion and wariness.
“Uh… Who is that?”
“Oh, this is our new friend, Snow White,” Twilight said. “She’s a human.”
“Friend?” Rainbow asked. “Human?”
“I know we’ve just met her, but she’s very friendly,” Twilight explained. “I think she made a special bond with Fluttershy.”
Twilight motions toward her shy friend with Snow White where the two are having a polite conversation. Rainbow and Rarity walked with the rest of their friends toward the human girl. Fluttershy was assertive enough to introduce her missing friends to her.
“Snow White, I’d like you to meet my two other friends. Rainbow Dash and Rarity.”
“It’s so nice to meet you,” Snow White said with a smile.
“The pleasure is all ours, darling,” Rarity said. “Though I must say your choice of clothes is a little… How shall I say it nicely?”
“Poor?” Snow White asked.
“I was gonna say ‘in need’, but that’s okay,” Rarity said.
“It’s okay, these are not my regular clothes,” Snow White explained. “My stepmother wants me to wear them.”
“Your stepmother?” Twilight asked.
“The queen.”
Rainbow and Rarity’s eyes became small as pinpricks. The queen, who was chasing them, was Snow White’s stepmother.
“I didn’t know your stepmother had such bad taste in clothes,” Rarity said.
“She wants me to do all the work,” Snow White replied. “Clean the windows, wash the stairs and such while she’s busy with other things.”
“Oh my, she lets you do all the work by yourself?” Fluttershy asked.
“That’s just sick!” Rainbow said.
“Don’t worry, I’m very efficient when it comes to work,” Snow White assured. “I’m sure she means well, somewhere.”
“A hard worker, huh?” Applejack asked. “I like that.”
“Wait a minute, so the queen is your stepmother?” Rainbow asked. “Don’t you have a mother?”
Snow White didn’t answer right away, she just looked at the ground.
“Sadly not,” Snow White finally answered.
“What about a father?” Spike asked.
“Daddy isn’t here anymore,” Snow White answered.
“Oh, you poor thing,” Fluttershy said, placing a hoof on Snow White’s leg. “That must have been devastating.”
“It’s okay,” Snow White replied, petting Fluttershy’s mane.
“So, your stepmother is a queen?” Rarity wondered. “Your parents must have been of royal blood, too. Does this mean…?”
“Yes,” Snow White confirmed. “I’m a princess.”
The girls’ eyes widen toward their new human friend, especially Pinkie. She had the biggest smile on her face.
“A princess, Twilight!” Pinkie yelled. “She’s a princess; just like you! And Celestia and Luna and Cadence and Flu…”
Before Pinkie could go on, Applejack placed a hoof on her mouth to stop her.
“Ah think we get the picture, Pinkie,” Applejack replied.
“Princess… Stepmother…” Twilight thought, then gasped. “Wait a minute! Of course, now I remember! The first sentences of the story!”
The other ponies and dragon nod in unison, they remembered too.
“You’re a princess too?” Snow White asked.
“Yes indeedy!” Pinkie answered. “She’s an Alicorn, with wings AND a horn!”
Pinkie held Twilight’s wings and touched her horn to show Snow White, while Twilight just sighed at Pinkie’s antics.
“Extraordinary,” Snow White said, with wonder.
“So, Snow White, uh… Can I call you Snowy?” Rainbow asked.
Snow White giggled and nodded.
“Aren’t you tired that the queen lets you do all the work?”
Snow White grabbed the empty bucket and walked towards the well.
"Like I said, I'm very efficient with work. But still...I hope someday my wish comes true."
She placed the bucket on the ground and pulled the rope of the well. While she did that, a few white doves land on the well’s stone edge. Another bucket with water emerged from the well, Snow White carefully grabbed it.
“What wish?” Spike asked.
“Spike, you can’t ask that!” Twilight said. “If somepo… Someone tells you his or her wish, it won’t come true.”
“Can’t you give us a hint, Snow White?” Spike asked. “I hope there’s nothing wrong with that.”
“Well… Want to know a secret?” Snow White asked.
The Equestrians looked at each other and nod quickly. They didn’t realize she also spoke to the doves, who also nodded.
“Promise not to tell?” She asked.
The ponies, dragon and doves gave one nod and suddenly, she started to sing.
The ponies looked inside the well, along with the doves.
Suddenly, her voiced echoed in the well.
It made the doves a little scared, while the ponies and dragon flinched back. Then, they came closer.
The ponies and dragon couldn’t help but enjoy the song. None of them knew that a stranger was climbing over the castle wall. He was amazed there were seven creatures he never saw before, but he was more mesmerized by Snow White's voice and beauty.
Then she sang together with her echo, before going further.
“TODAY!” A new voice sang.
Startled, Snow White and the ponies finally acknowledged the stranger, who climbed over the wall. From what the ponies could tell, he was the same species as Snow White. The only difference is that he is a male, a very handsome one too. He wore blue clothing with white sleeves and grey pants. He also wore boots, a red cape and blue hate with a white feather.
“Oh!” Snow White gasped, her hand covering her mouth.
“Hello,” The stranger said, taking his hat off. “Did I frighten you?”
He might be human, but he caught the interest of a certain white unicorn. At the sight of the male human, Rarity couldn’t help but blush. But suddenly, she snapped back to reality when she saw Snow White running from him. The doves had also flown away.
“Snow White?” Rarity asked.
“Where are you going?” Fluttershy asked.
The two ponies followed the princess in rags, while the rest stayed with the male human.
“Wait!” The male pleaded. “Wait, please! Don’t run away.”
“What’s the matter with her?” Rainbow asked her friends. “He just said ‘Hello’.”
Snow White ran into the castle, closing the door. Rarity and Fluttershy opened the door to follow her. Snow White had run up some stairs that led to a balcony with drapes. The two ponies were just in time to catch up to her.
“Whatever’s the matter, darling?” Rarity asked. “The boy didn’t mean to scare you.”
“He just wanted to say ‘hello’,” Fluttershy assured. “Even if he startled us a little.”
“I… I…” Snow White said.
Snow White couldn’t find the right words, so Fluttershy placed a hoof on her back as if to say she understood.
“It’s alright,” Rarity assured. “We’re here for you. Why don’t you go outside and talk to him?
“I don’t know if I can,” Snow White admitted. “What am I going to do? What should I say?”
“Just open your mouth,” Rarity suggested. “Something will come out.”
Snow White was about to say something, but suddenly they heard singing.
Snow White looked outside and saw the male who startled her was singing. She couldn’t help but smile a little. Twilight, Rainbow, Applejack, Pinkie and Spike couldn’t help but watch and stare while the male human sings his heart to the girl on the balcony. They actually enjoyed the singing.
Snow White watched for a few seconds, stepping back inside with her arms around her and a smile on her face. Rarity and Fluttershy heard the song, smiling toward each other.
“By listening to that song, I can tell somebody likes you,” Rarity smirked. “Go outside. You know it’s improper not responding to a gentlecolt who gives his heart to you.”
Snow White thought for a moment, then nodded. She looked at her clothes to see if she wasn’t dirty and made sure her hair was fine.
“Don’t worry, darling,” Rarity assured. “I’m sure he thinks you are beautiful no matter what you wear.”
“I agree with Rarity,” Fluttershy nodded.
Snow White smiled as she slowly went outside. She placed her hands on the balcony, while looking toward the male human. Rarity and Fluttershy joined her, standing on their hind legs and placing their front hooves on the balcony. As they watched and listened to the human, three doves joined the girl and the ponies.
As the male human sings, the other ponies and dragon kept listening while smiling. Suddenly, Twilight’s smile vanished when her eyes focused on one of the castle windows. A woman held the curtains while watching the scenery between Snow White and the male human. She didn’t look very happy, staring at them with a look that could kill. In anger and disgust, she closed the curtains. Twilight gulped in worry, even as she turned her attention back to the male human.
While the male human sung his final sentence, a dove flew to Snow White’s hand and she gave it a kiss on the beak. Rarity had the idea of what she planned to do. Snow White sent the dove towards the man, which landed on his finger. The dove blushed a little and gave a kiss to the man’s lips. Never had the man felt so happy till now, as he looked to the girl he’s fallen in love with. Rarity and Fluttershy followed Snow White, who closed the curtains with a smile on her face. The ponies in the courtyard all said ‘aw’.
“Wow!” Applejack said. “I’ve never seen such romance in all my life.”
“That… Was… Soooo… Cute!” Pinkie yelled.
“Pfft, looks like some mushy stuff to me,” Rainbow remarked, trying to act cool.
“Come now, Dashie,” Pinkie replied. “Don’t you read romance novels?”
“Not even one of them,” Rainbow replied. “I’m more into adventure and action.”
“Oh yeah?” Spike asked, a smirk formed on his face. “How come you asked Twilight if you could borrow a few after you read ‘Trot with the Wind’?”
Rainbow’s eyes went wide hearing that, her cheeks blushing red.
“Be… Because I’m… Trying something new, okay?”
The girls giggled, when the male human turned around and acknowledged the four ponies and dragon. He walks towards them while the ponies stare at him. Kneeling to their level, he spoke one word.
“Hello.”
“Hello.” All the ponies and dragon said, except Pinkie who said:
“Hi!”
“I’ve never seen ponies like you before,” The man replied. “Not even talking ones.”
“That’s because we’re not really from here, sir,” Spike admits.
“We come from Equestria,” Twilight explained. “It sounds strange, I know. But we ended up here because a book Spike found transported us here.”
While the man did not know what the pony meant, he nods just to be polite.
“Have you got names?”
“I’m Twilight Sparkle,” Twilight began, bowing her head. “These are my friends Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash and Spike.”
As Twilight introduced her friends, Fluttershy and Rarity emerged from the door to join their friends.
“And this is Fluttershy and Rarity.”
“My name is Prince Florian,” The man introduced himself. “Pleased to meet you all.”
Suddenly, one of Rarity’s eyes twitched.
“Prince? You-you-you are a Prince?”
“Um, yeah?” The prince said.
All at once, Rarity couldn’t keep her balance as she fell to the ground with a smile and rosy red cheeks. Twilight rolled her eyes at the white unicorn’s display, reminded of an earlier scenario.
“Can I ask you ladies the name of the beautiful girl with the lovely singing voice?” Florian asked.
“Her name is Snow White,” Applejack explained. “We just met her a few minutes ago.”
“Snow White,” The prince said. “What a lovely name.”
“Sounds like somepo… ‘Somebody’ has a bit of a crush,” Applejack replied, with a smirk.
The prince blushed, as he rubbed his neck.
“You’re not the only one,” Pinkie added. “Snow White likes you too; the kiss with the dove thingy is proof.”
“We kinda noticed, Pinkie,” Rainbow said.
“It’s an honor to meet you and your friends, Miss Sparkle,” The prince said with a bow. “I’d like to spend more time with her, but I need to return to my kingdom.”
“The honor is mine, your majesty,” Twilight bowed, along with her friends.
“Please, call me Florian,” The prince insists. “Every friend of Snow White is a friend of mine.”
With that said, the Prince climbed over the wall and jumped to the other side as the ponies and dragon looked on.
“That prince sure is a nice feller,” Applejack said.
“He sure is,” Spike agreed. “Right, Twilight?”
When he turned to Twilight, he saw an uncomfortable look on her face. The other ponies noticed too, including a certain white unicorn just coming back to Earth thanks to Fluttershy.
“Twilight?” Spike asked.
“Darling? Is everything alright?” Rarity asked
“When Florian was singing, I saw a woman looking at him and Snow White through a castle window,” Twilight explained. “I felt something ‘evil’ from her.”
“Wait, did that woman wear a crown?” Rainbow asked.
“How do you know that?”
“Because Rarity and I saw her too. That’s the queen who tried to catch us; she said something about deciding our fate.”
The ponies gasp at this sudden revelation.
“That doesn’t sound good,” Spike said.
“What should we do, Twi?” Applejack asked.
“I don’t know,” Twilight admits. “I don’t even have a clue of how to get back to Equestria; still, it wouldn’t hurt to hang out with Snow White and explore more of this world.”
The ponies nodded. After a few minutes, Snow White appeared along with a bearded man. He was dressed in brown clothing, dark green sleeves and grey gloves. He also wore a hat with a red feather on top and seemed to wear a scabbard with a knife in it.
“There you are, girls,” Snow White said, with a confident smile. “This is Humbert; he’s a huntsman. But don’t worry, he’s very kind.”
“Pleased to meet you,” The man named Humbert said. “I didn’t expect Her Majesty has colorful, talking ponies and a dragon as friends.”
“Nice to meet you too, Humbert,” Twilight replied.
“He’s going to take me to a glade near the forest to pick some wildflowers,” Snow White explained. “Would you like to come along?”
“I’d be glad to,” Fluttershy answered. “I would like to pick some wildflowers, too.”
Rarity suddenly gasp, as a big smile formed.
“Idea! We could have a picnic together!”
“That’s a great idea, Rarity,” Twilight agreed.
“I’ll bake the cupcakes!” Pinkie offered with glee.
After half an hour, the ponies, the dragon, Snow White and Humbert were set to go to the glade. Little did they know, through her window, the wicked queen was watching them.