//------------------------------// // Chapter 4: Its Only a Model // Story: My Little Creeper // by benger //------------------------------// My Little Creeper By Benger This was supposed to be a one shot, but then I got a great idea, what if it wasn’t? This fic is essentially a dark comedy, so take it lightly! It doesn’t take itself seriously, so why should you? Chapter 4: Its Only a Model The sun was cresting over the far hills as the group approached the carved path. They stood there in awe, their eyes tracing the back and forth winding of the staircase up the cliff. It mostly followed a natural fault line in the rock, and had obviously seen better times. One by one they began climbing the steep stairs, immediately finding them worn down and slippery from overuse while simultaneously cracked and loose from disrepair. It only took minutes for the first pony the slip; luckily Twilight’s fall backwards was interrupted by Applejack. “Woh Twilight, if you had fallen the other way, well, I don’t need to say it” Applejack grunted under the weight of two ponies Once back on her hooves, Twilight looked over the cliff’s edge, imagining the possible result of her fall “Thanks Applejack, I guess I need to be more careful. Maybe we should slow down” Applejack gave Twilight a critical look. “We’re behind as it is, Ah’ don’t think we can slow down” Rarity, who was behind Applejack took this time to add her opinion “I for one agree with Twilight, somepony is going to actually fall and break something, and of course it doesn’t really help that these stairs are so slippery, or that they seem to be built like somepony made them too tall” Twilight’s face immediately brightened and her heavy breathing stopped “That’s because they’re made for Alicorns” she said. “Legend says that ages ago Celestia and Luna made their home where Canterlot stands today. Before the ponies of Equestria knew them as princesses, they lived at the top of this cliff, secluded from the world. They carved this very staircase for themselves. Over the years ponies began to notice our Princess’s control of Equestria, and for generations they climbed these steps to make pilgrimages, asking for favors and giving gifts to the sisters. Eventually the ponies built a castle in tribute of their Princesses, and city a city sprang up around it. By then this staircase could no longer support Canterlot, so under a royal mandate, hundreds of thousands of carts full of dirt were dumped on the other side of the mountain, creating a gentle sloping path, wide enough that carts could travel it and this staircase fell into disuse.” Twilight exhaled, dizzy from her monologue “So let me get this straight Twi, there’s an easier way up?” Applejack questioned Twilight was surprised by the question and it took her a second to respond “well, the other path is on the other side of the mountain, it would take us a day to get there, and it takes twice as long to climb” Evreypony seemed to deflate from the response. After a little more grumbling, Rainbow Dash flew back around and heckled the group to get a move on. Not wanting to spend another night outdoors, they agreed to continue on. ~~~~ Twilight found an unexpected site when they climbed over the lip of the cliff around mid-morning. Instead of just the gleaming castle city surrounded by pristine walls that she remembered, there was a massive tent city engulfing Canterlot. Eager to find the princess, Twilight urged the group forward, through the tent city. The ponies in residence had recently become refugees. They lived in tents made from any material they could get their hands on; sticks, blankets anything that could provide even a minimal degree of shelter. While some basic necessities seemed to be provided, the ponies generally looked miserable. Food was evidently scarce; many ponies were begging for a slice of bread or just a blade of grass. From the conversations going about they gleaned the reason for the horrid conditions, Canterlot couldn’t support nearly this many ponies “Please” a light green mare pleaded “My children are starving, there must be something left in the stores” “I’m sorry, but the rations for today have all been allocated” the guard stated, seemingly pained at his response Rarity, overhearing the exchange, pulled a scarf out of her saddlebags. “Take this, it should sell for a nice amount, it is a Rarity Original. Hopefully you can feed you foals with the money. The mare graciously said thanked Rarity, and ran off to buy some food ~~~~ As they approached the city gates, a tri of guards blocked their path. The middle guard began speaking in an authoritative voice “By the order of royal princess’s court, refugees must remain outside of the city until proper housing and care can be arranged. Make your way towards the tents and find a suitable spot to build a shel-“ Getting a look at the whole party, the guard halted speaking and his jaw dropped After a few seconds of silence, Dash furrowed her brow in annoyance “Well, Get on with it!” All three guards were shaking, dumbstruck with fear. Finally one managed to eek a few words out. “Mam,” He squeaked to Twilight “There seems to be a maticore behind you” Even before Fluffy saved the group’s lives they had grown accustom to his presence, and Twilight didn’t immediately understand the concern. “Yes, we also have five mares, one stallion, three fillies, and one bunny in our party” “Ahem” coughed Spike Twilights faced reddened “and one baby dragon“ “But you have a manticore” the guard repeated before Twilight’s last statement could sink in. “And a dragon?!” Twilight, skeptical of the guard’s repeated questioning, gave him a curious look before responding. “Well, I wouldn’t say we have him, he kind of just followed us, and Spike, he’s my assistant” The guard looked up at the beast, making eye contact before quickly looking back down at the ground. “Two of the deadliest beasts in Equestria, one responsible for at least the deaths of 25 ponies a year and the other capable of destroying whole cities and you brought them both to Canterlot” Finally understanding the issue, Twilight was unable to hide her opinions on the situation. “Well, Fluffy is a friendly manticore, and Spike is a baby dragon” she said trying to suppress a giggle. “And I’m quite friendly too” Spike added Suddenly, the heads of three fillies popped out of the manticore’s mane. “Ya, Fluffy is a nice Manticore” Apple bloom announced “He even let us ride him up when he flew up the cliff” Scootaloo added “I didn’t even know he could fly!” Sweetie belle said, not wanting to be left out of the conversation The manticore nodded in approval while the guards looked back and forth at the fillies in disbelief. “And he protected us from the green meanies!” Pinke yelled while jumping impossibly high in the air. “He was all RAWR and then jump and SLAM and then the Greene when wosh and then turned around and went zoom but Fluffy went all dodge and then the Greene when SMACK and exploded!” Still skeptical of the group’s story, and thoroughly confused by Pinkie’s “pinkieness” the guards slowly reached for their swords and - FWOMP!!! Fluffy shrugged off Angel and the crusaders. He then leaped over the rest of the group head on into the three guards, pinning them down and knocking the swords out of their mouths. He proceeded to open his mouth in an impressive roar while they were screaming in terror. After a few seconds of squirming, the guards seemed to accept their fate. The rest of the group started walking by when Rainbow dash tapped Fluffy on the shoulder while trying to stifle a chuckle. “Ok, that’s enough, I’m sure they get the idea big guy” The Manticore reluctantly relinquished his prey. ~~~~ Considering that Fluffy had just assaulted three of Celestia’s finest, walking into the city that acted as her majesty’s guard’s garrison town was probably not the brightest plan. Twilight was leading the group through the winding, but familiar streets an dallies of the market district before the guards sprung their trap Twilight was buying a new book that she absolutely needed when Applejack tapped her on the shoulder. “Twi, Ah’ think there are some guards who wanna to speak to us” Twilight spun around, only to be greeted by the single largest group of guards she had ever seen. Unicorn guards surrounded the group in a semicircle with the survivors of Ponyville’s back to a wall while at least a dozen Pegasi were flying overhead. The Unicorns had already cast a containment spell, making it impossible for the group to escape “Hello officers” Twilight said meekly “what seems to be the problem?” The group huddled together, waiting for a response A guard with stripes on his armor stepped into the semicircle and telekinetically pulled out a scroll “Stop right their criminal scum! Nopony breaks the law on my watch! You are all charged with two counts of bringing deadly animals into a populated area, two counts of public endangerment, one count of disturbing the peace, three counts of assault and battery with a deadly animal, three counts of assaulting officers of the law, one count of evading arrest, one count of disregarding a direct order from law enforcement, and the pink one is charged with one count of first degree insanity. Will you surrender or pay with your blood?” Author’s Notes This fic is shaping up to be longer then i intended, this chapter, and the next one was originally supposed to be included in the events of chapter three. Also, please remember to comment! The "My Little Creeper" image is by sonderjen (sonderjen.deviantart.com/) and is used with his permission I do not own My little Pony, any of the characters, or Minecraft. Please support the official releases.