Mercer sat up from the gel surface of the table and breathed in deeply then exhaled; once, twice, three times, then, satisfied that he didn't have any loose components or buzzing connectors, slowly and carefully tried speaking.
"Sooooooo... how's it sound? Am I ready for the next 'Legion's Got Zero Talent'?"
Albrecht looked up at the ceiling in consideration and frowned. "Close... but I think you've picked up a low harmonic. Sounds like there's a hum every now and then."
Mercer sighed and hung his head slightly. "Great, that will take a while to find and fix. Dang Mahou Shoujo cowgirls..." He chuckled with a shake of his head then turned to the occupant of the table next to him. Well, most of him anyway.
Darian and Alphonse had done a quick x-ray scan of Jax's head, torso, and arms and had found a number of material flaws introduced to the titanium bone by Pinkie's explosion. They'd opted to put him in a completely new body rather than simply reconnect him with a set of hips and legs just to be on the safe side. Right now he was just a brain case held aloft in Darian's hand, the other holding the temporary generator keeping him conscious, while Alphonse worked to connect the dangling spinal bundles hanging from the case to the inside of his new body's head.
Mercer snickered and said, "Alas poor Jax, I knew him well."
Darian and Alphonse half laughed, half groaned at the tired joke before carrying on with their work. The pristine new body crossed its arms but made no other movement beyond that. Mercer snickered again as he realized that Alphonse had made the connections for Jax's hearing and a few other bits but hadn't gotten around to the mouth yet. It was the perfect opportunity to get in some jabs and jokes. He tried to think of the best ones given the circumstances but his heart just wasn't in it. There were other, more pressing things weighing down his mind.
"Would this be a bad time to address the elephant in the room? Actually, scratch that, more like the blue whale in the room. Elephant doesn't come close in scale to what we're dealing with now."
Alphonse paused for briefly before making one last adjustment and pulling his hands out of the empty skull. Darian disconnected the portable generator and placed the case containing Jax's crystalline brain into the empty head. There was an audible click and the new body came to life fully. Jax reached up and twisted a small dial on the back of his new head, causing the multiple layers of joints and sections to close down into an unbroken skull. He looked up and fixed Mercer with a long stare.
"Well, what do you want us to say? We're kind of screwed. Really, unquestionably screwed. What more can be said besides that?"
Alphonse and Darian winced slightly as they put away the tools they'd been using and looked back at him.
"Let's be honest, does anyone think we're still in our own universe?" Jax continued, looking around with a raised eyeridge. None of them had anything to say in reply. "I mean, I put the chances of this being another world in ours at roughly... let's see, you carry the one, divide by the root... yeah, zero. Particularly after I got blown in half by a thing of sprinkles." The others winced more noticeably this time.
They'd all reviewed the footage from the multiple cameras set into every Legionnaire's head and then watched them again to make sure they weren't seeing things. Jax's footage had clinched it by showing the actual sprinkles inside the bottle as it began glowing. They'd even been able to read the label on it to add insult to injury.
"Worse, last time I checked we'd written off the possibility that jumpgate wormholes connected to anything other than our own space and time. That means we don't even have a theoretical basis to start from for finding a way back. Face it, we're lost without a clue in so many ways right now."
"While we're on the topic of going back I'm gonna play devil's advocate for a second. Do we need to go back?" noted Alphonse.
Jax shook his head and held up a finger. "Unfortunately Al, I can think of two good reasons. First, this is a world that has no experience with us, we have no inherent right to living here unlike back home, and as you just made clear we have too many preconceptions about it. That's trouble waiting to happen. Second, and more important," he said as he raised another finger, " Mom and Dad are still on our Earth. If a week ago you'd asked me if I thought they were at risk there I would have called you paranoid. Now I'm trying not to imagine how far the bastards are willing to go. I can guarantee that as soon as the evacuation order went out any of us nearby made a beeline to them. We might not have expected this but we drilled for it like mad. I'm just not sure where they'd have gone from there, particularly with that damn ship in orbit." He growled along with the others at the mention of the phantom enemy. "All of that means we have to go back to protect our family and make sure this can never happen again," Jax finished as he got up off the table and began stretching his new body.
Mercer considered that for a second then pointed at him and said, "You're right of course but you also brought up something else we need to talk about. How in fucking hell did they get a hold of our tech to make that damn thing? We lost our our second best advantage over them in the space of a day. How? We went above and beyond the call of paranoia with tracking every crystal that went planetside!"
His three doubles shared a look then turned to him and shrugged in unison. Mercer gave a smaller, more tired shrug in kind and said, "Just one more thing to figure out I guess. Just hope the guys back home figure it out faster than we do. Whatever else our situation might be, at least we don't have to worry about being hunted down by-"
"Don't go jinxing us you moron!" Darian said loudly as he smacked Mercer upside the head with a loud metallic ring. "You'd think we'd all have learned by now..."
"Hey, you all need more time to discuss our remarkable ability to tempt fate or are you ready to get back to work?"
The four of them turned to find Jamison peaking around the open doorway to the repair shop with a mildly annoyed expression.
"Sure, what's first on the list?" asked Alphonse. "A distraction sounds pretty good right now."
Jamison stepped into the shop and walked over to a terminal set into the wall. A screen next to it blinked to life, showing an overhead view of the ship and the surrounding trees. He pressed a button and the scene shifted into a wash of white and black. Two points of white, one much larger and brighter than the other, were approaching down the road they'd crashed near to.
"Well have I got the distraction for you. We just finished getting the rest of the sensor arrays up and they spotted this almost immediately. They're headed this way and will get here in a few minutes."
Mercer squinted at the screen and said, "So, vehicle in front and something smaller following behind it more slowly. Do we have an idea who-... oh... we all know who that is right?"
Jamison snorted and said, "Yeah, I think it's safe to say that's Big Mac or Granny in the lead and Applebloom following behind after being told not to. Anyone want to debate that?"
With a small chorus of tired chuckles they all shook their heads. Jamison jerked with a single silent laugh and glanced at the screen in amusement. "You know, I'm kinda hoping I'm wrong. Actually, no, I'm really hoping I'm wrong. That would make this all seem a little less creepy and unnerving and more sane," he said sardonically.
The others all smirked and nodded. Mercer noticed they all looked rather tired which was a very rare occurrence for them. They didn't need sleep and couldn't feel physical exhaustion. But in situations way outside the expected they'd noticed they would still show the symptoms of mental fatigue after awhile. Whether it was real or a remembered response from before they woke up in their new bodies they weren't sure. That wasn't as important as the fact that it had a real effect on them and said volumes about how well they were taking their current situation.
"Speaking of which, how's the meeting with Liam going? Heard anything from Will?" asked Darian.
Jamison blew a pathetic raspberry, artificial lips and their covering making the act almost a lost cause. "Last I heard from Will was a quick text. They were heading to the main conference room to see our founding or something. His exact words were 'things are looking up but Applejack wants to kill us'."
The other four all tilted their heads in confusion. "Uhhhhh... any idea why?"
Jamison grunted and sheepishly said, "She may or may not have overheard the original plan to scuttle the ship in the middle of the orchard."
The others groaned with various displays of facepalming and head shaking. "Great, sounds like we've made a wonderful first impression," Darian said resignedly. "Any other ways we've cocked this up?"
Jamison shrugged and said, "I'm certain we'll find out soon enough but for now we're going to try to avoid making it worse. Which brings us back around to our approaching guests."
Alphonse stood and said, "Say no more, we got it."
"Thanks Al, I appreciate-"
"Mercer, Darian, you two grab a tazer rifle and pistol each and tag along."
Jamison gave him a half-lidded stare. "Appreciation retracted. How does this fit in with 'avoid making it worse'? Didn't we just try this with less than fantastic results?"
Alphonse winked at him. "Simple. They're going to stay back down the corridor, nice and out of sight. I'll be the one to peacefully meet them. No weapons, just talking," he said as he picked up a folding chair lying with a couple others against the wall and began walking toward the door.
Jamison cocked an eyeridge at him. "So why bring them along and armed at all?" he asked.
Alphonse looked over his shoulder at him. "Because I don't know how they're going to react when I tell them Applejack is inside with the rest of the Mane- our guests. I've had enough surprises for one day. The first one nearly ended us and the second could have killed Jax. Plus I still don't trust my eyes, not with something this crazy. But all that doesn't matter really, not right now. You know why?" He waited a second or two for Jamison to hike an eyebrow at him.
"Right now, I don't care who it is, no one's hurting another of us."
Jamison winced softly, first at the near slip of the tongue and then at the declaration. He watched him silently for a few seconds then nodded. "This is one hell of a mess we're in on every possible level, isn't it?"
Alphonse cracked a small smile, just barely noticeable beneath the fabric shroud covering his mouth. "Yeah, it really is. Wish me luck with the 'Apple family'."
"Good luck," Jamison said tiredly as Mercer and Darian each placed a hand on his shoulder as they followed Alphonse out. After they left and the sounds of their steps diminished into nothing he turned and stepped over to Jax. The pilot had returned to stretching out his new body. Without saying a thing Jamison sat down and took a hold of one of his feet and began working the joint around. "Hope things are going well with Liam and Will. We need a win here soon. Also some sanity and a thousand explanations would be nice as well."
Jax snickered then gave Jamison his other foot to work and said, "Those last two? Don't go making any bets on it unless you're itching to burn money. The first one though? Knowing those two the girls are probably too confused or embarrassed right now to think anything bad about us."
Sunset Shimmer looked about in surprise and awe as they stepped through an open doorway into a far more extensively decorated hallway than any they'd been down so far. It was airy and open by comparison to some of the stairways and rooms they'd walked through or past while following Will and Liam. In a way it reminded her of castle in Canterlot. The floor was a mix of of more of the strange patterned metal Liam had used in his lifespan watch with copper highlights that formed mirrored arcing trails across it. Down the center a wide but thin crimson carpet extended out until it slid down into a tiny recess in the floor on either side. The walls were a golden cream color like sand, broken at regular intervals by pillars made of cherry colored tree trunks whose surfaces were lacquered and polished till they gleamed. At the top of each and hanging from one trunk to the next down the hall was a large fabric sheet of a pale light blue hue that bowed gracefully down in the middle before sweeping back up at the ends. All of it was illuminated by a half ring of bright, warm golden light emanating from a collar around the top of each of the trunks.
Beside her Rarity inhaled sharply and froze. She heard a small squeal of joy escape from her the fashionista as she slowly turned around, taking in each part separately and as a piece of the whole. The others were all making similar sounds as they appraised the display. Even Applejack let out a soft whistle having been at least somewhat impressed.
"Come on, there will be plenty of time to look around later," Liam called over his shoulder with a wave of his hand.
"Darling, why didn't you do something similar for the rest of the ship? This is gorgeous! And you simply must tell me what this metal is you've used in the floor. I noticed you had something similar for your, um, watch and it gave me some wonderful ideas for bracelets and highlights."
Liam paused and looked back at her with a sly smile. The same smile that nagged at the back of Sunset's mind every time she saw it. "You mentioned 'couture' as part of your future business a little bit ago. I'm guessing you're a fan of design?"
"Yeah, Rarity's a bit of a fashion nut. Really good at it, but she'll talk your ear off for hours when she finds some new style somewhere. Also, if she asks you to model for her? Run," Dash said distractedly as she slowly moseyed through the hallway with her hands cupped behind her head.
Rarity gave her an annoyed glance then coughed lightly and said, "She's exaggerating, I assure you. I am simply passionate about the subject."
Liam nodded, again with that strange look on his face that Sunset couldn't quite place. He'd had a lot of those since he'd encountered their group and she wondered yet again what was going on in his mind. She thought she had a pretty good idea but wasn't certain. She and her friends all had experience dealing with things from other dimensions or universes, whichever it was, but from what he'd said this was completely new and foreign to him. That had to be off-putting. Not to mention their own first encounters had been much less stressful by comparison.
Well, as easy as going from four legs to two legs and a set of crazy fleshy claws can get at any rate, she thought with a mental laugh. He had to be a bit out of sorts from having his universe suddenly expanded like this.
"I'll keep that in mind. It's not really something we're big on but I can appreciate the design process. It's kind of our entire way of life. Literally. As for the metal... I think you're going to have trouble finding it elsewhere," he said as he looked down at one of the silvery sections beside the carpeted aisle.
"Expensive?" Rarity asked with resignation.
Liam looked at the ceiling in consideration. "Depends. What's the going rate for meteoric metal here?"
Twilight stopped in her tracks and slowly looked back up at him.
"This is... all this is from a meteor? It's not made to look this way?" she said as she slowly looked at the long hallway dominated by the pattern plating.
Sunset glanced around again, impressed at the collection. Didn't Luna give out stones like these that she pulled down to Equis back before she was banished? They must have had to search a long time to find this much.
"Asteroid actually, we got it from the source instead of off the ground. Plus you can't get structures like this other than by letting the metal cool slowly over millions of years so we'd never be able to fake them. Most of this came from our home of Psyche though there are some highlight sections with good mineral inclusions that came other asteroid bases. The trees are from our habitats. Each of the matching column halves came from a tree collected from each of them. They're a variety of cherry that took to the lower gravity surprisingly well and grew much more than they would have on Earth. We thought it was a good metaphor for us as a whole. We both thrived and grew larger than we could have otherwise by leaving our planet."
Sunset's eyes widened as everyone else also came to a stop. Rarity did a couple more turns, looking again at each of the features he'd mentioned as she did. "Oh myyyyyy..." she said breathlessly into the stillness.
"Dude, we're standing on space rock? From actual space?" asked Rainbow Dash as she bent down to inspect the floor under her.
"Yeah, the genuine article. Widmanstatten- er, geometric patterns like that are easy to come by in our daily hauls so we spent some time looking for the ones with the best striations. Think we did a pretty good job too," he said as he slowly turned with his hands on his hips. Sunset noticed he seemed almost surprised at the praise they were giving the hallway.
"Oh man, that's awesome!" she declared as she ran a hand over the polished surface.
"You really are from-" a small wavering voice said just behind Sunset. She turned to find Twilight staring at Liam, her hands hanging loosely by her sides.
"Twilight?" she asked. She stepped over to her friend and laid a hand on her shoulder. "Twilight, what is it?"
"They're actually... this is an actual spaceship. They have a spaceship..." Sunset's eyes widened as tears began to form in the corners of Twilight's eyes.
"Twilight?"
Twilight blinked, seemingly only now noticing Sunset next to her. She shook her head , dislodging the tears and smiled hugely. "It's incredible! I have to ask them about everything they've seen later!"
"Twilight, why were you-"
"Everything okay? You both looked a little out of sorts for a moment there," Liam's voice called over her question.
The others had all walked over together to join them while they were talking, though Sunset noticed that her friends were still sticking together and apart from Liam and Will. Or at least all of them except Pinkie Pie who was discreetly squinting at Will's face. Will seemed to notice something because he'd glance over only for Pinkie to inexplicably be looking at anything other than him than without any apparent movement then suddenly be looking at him again when his attention moved away again. Liam didn't seem to notice any of it and was instead focused squarely on them. Sunset realized he looked a lot more concerned now than he had before and she once more wondered what all those weird expressions of his had been about if this was getting a different reaction.
"I just... it kind of hit home for me. I guess I didn't pay enough attention to when you were talking about planets and-and-... it's just incredible."
Liam blinked in surprise then smiled warmly at her. "Thanks."
"For what?"
"For reminding me why we decided to leave home. That sense of wonder. It's been gone late-... it's good to see it again."
"I- um, you're welcome?" Twilight replied uncertainly.
Liam gave a quick, casual thumbs up and turned around to look over the hall again which a much brighter smile.
Sunset also noticed another pair with similar expressions. Fluttershy and Pinkie were smiling hugely at the exchange between them and Sunset knew immediately she was going to have to have a talk with them about their "hobby" before they did something everyone would regret, especially when Twilight was still talking with Timber by phone about every other day. That would have to come later though because she was eager to press on with the tour. Not only because she was growing more and more curious about just who these "people" really were and how they'd come here, but also because she needed to check on what was going on with Twilight as well. Her reaction had been unexpected and concerning.
It felt a little too much like when she tried hiding her Midnight Sparkle fears. I thought we were past that...
"So... movies?" she asked, trying to get everyone back on track.
Liam jumped up as if he'd completely forgotten the reason he'd brought them here. "Right! The conference hall is at the end of the corridor."
Pinkie scratched her head and said "Hall? I thought you said we were going to a conference room. I've never heard of a conference hall before. Is it like a long conference room that everyone shouts down or that you can sit in the back and go to sleep without anyone noticing if the presentation is boring? I wish we had some classrooms like that at CHS. Or is it a hall full of conference rooms? That kind of makes more sense but why would you need that many-"
"Pinkie!" shouted Applejack.
"Yesssssssss?" the avatar of energy incarnate replied with a huge smile.
"How 'bout we just go to it 'stead of sitting around here gawking at the decorations?"
"Ohhh, that does sound faster!" she said then went bouncing down the hallway in the direction they'd originally been heading.
"Sorry about that, Pinkie can be a tad... excitable at times," Rarity said as she waved her hand in the air, trying to find an explanation for the unexplainable.
"She's really nice though and the most helpful person you'll meet, I promise," Fluttershy said sheepishly.
Liam waved both of them off with a lopsided grin while trying to hide a fit of laughter. Sunset was very familiar with that expression at least. Anyone who spent any amount of time around Pinkie was. "It's fine, these halls are usually just filled with politicians and the like. It's a welcome change of pace."
"My, you do move in high circles don't you?" asked Rarity with interest.
"More than I care to remember. Leader of a nation remember?"
"Ah, yes well, it's just..." Rarity floundered until Liam laughed heartily.
"I know, at first glance it's not what you'd expect from me, right?" he inquired with a smirk. Rarity smoothed out her skirt in embarrassment, not wanting to admit he'd been right on the mark. "It's fine, no worries. I dove into that world by necessity when we came home rather than by interest or desire. Still, it gave us an excuse to build this beauty," he said while laying a hand on one of the pillars. "This ship is the diplomatic heart of the Legion, a mobile presidential residence and embassy. It's the reason for the discontinuity with the hallways. The dignitaries we allow on board pass through here from the entry ramp at the front of the ship," he said as he pointed back behind them and away from the direction they'd been heading, "to the conference hall so it's the decorated part of the ship. I'll warn you now, be prepared to see a lot of over-hyped and insincere gifts, plaques, and-" He paused with a frown then breathed in deeply and slowly exhaled. "Like I said, I never wanted to be in politics. But I was the only flesh and blood human among all of us and got a better reception than the others most of the time."
"Yer the only human among y'all," mumbled Applejack.
Liam turned the frown on her for a moment and Sunset swore she saw the corner of his mouth twitch minutely. But then the moment passed and his face returned to a more neutral position.
"Thank you Applejack. That saved me the trouble of showing the recordings from the Ethiopian delegation's response to Will standing in for me."
"Sure, if it gets this over with and y'all out of here faster then Ah'm happy ta help."
Sunset groaned mentally as the two locked eyes for a moment. Liam was the first to break away, turning with a small sigh and gesturing for them to follow him. Everyone fell in quickly except for Applejack who hung back a pace or two. Sunset pinched the bridge of her nose and glowered at her for a moment then started after them.
"Sooooo... any idea what that's about?"
Sunset caught her foot on the floor in her surprise at the voice coming from directly behind her. She hopped once then regained her balance and wheeled around to find Will hunched over enough that his glowing blue eyes were level with hers.
"Will! How do you keep doing that?!" she hissed at him. He shrugged and started forward, motioning towards her friends and their guide with a small nod of his head. The two caught back up with the rest as they passed the second to last set of cheery tree pillars and took up a place to the outside of the bunch.
"To answer your question, rubberized toes and decades of practice. Mind answering that question now?"
"What?"
"Applejack?" he asked again with a small flick of a long metal finger towards her scowling friend. She'd taken up position on the opposite side of the group from them, next to Pinkie Pie. Thankfully, that meant she was distracted enough by the constant volume of questions, giggles, and other excited noises that she didn't seem to hear their conversation.
"So have you put on any parties here?"
Sunset shook her head in exasperation with a soft groan. Will quirked a eyebrow- No, that's not right. He doesn't have any actual eyebrows, just that kinda different colored ridge over his eye. Whatever he called it, he'd raised it and it was clear he was waiting from some form of response.
"Honestly, I've got no idea. I know she's always bragged about how good the harvest from the Fall section is and how many competitions the apples from it have won. It's probably from losing that point of pride?" No point in telling them they're going to be hard hit by losing the produce from this part of the orchard. Applejack will tell them if she wants to... or more likely is forced to for some reason because she sure isn't 'wanting' anything related to them other than them leaving.
Will stood straight up again, his head rising clear over hers, and glanced over at AJ. He narrowed his eyes for a moment and grimaced. "You're sure that's it?"
"Have you ever seen an alien?"
Sunset tilted her eyes up at him. "Pretty sure. Why?"
"It's... let me put it this way. I've been to a lot of places and seen a lot of different expressions while sticking by Liam. The one she's got? It's something more personal. Lost pride makes you sullen and irritable but it doesn't make someone lash out violently, not unless the source of that pride was the center of your life. Does that sound like Applejack?"
Sunset shook her head. "No, that's not her. If she has a center it's definitely her family."
"Hmmmmm... I didn't think so."
She glanced up at the Legionnaire towering over her at her side. "Think you know her that well already?"
Again, a tiny twitch. "She reminds me of someone I knew back from our world. Headstrong and stubborn and blunt but also even-tempered and steady."
Sunset watched him for a moment longer then nodded. "Yeah, that's what she's usually like." Will wasn't lying when Pinkie asked him about how they were familiar with humans and Liam explained the connection between them. So why does every other talk leave me feeling like I'm missing half the conversation?
"So what's up with probing people in their-...what? That's what people from space do in every story!"
"Granny..."
"Ah know, ya don't need ta say it," Granny said softly as the old truck bounced over branches and limbs strewn over the roadway. The closer they got the worse it became and now Big Mac was having to weave around entire uprooted trees. When they'd first entered the orchard the tree tops had hidden the hulking object from sight. Now it was close enough to rise over them.
"Dang thing's gotta be six or seven stories tall," Big Mac said half in awe, half in anger. "Don't know how we're gonna get it outta the orchard."
"Just worry 'bout finding yer sister and her friends, ya hear me?" she told him sharply.
Big Mac grunted. "Sorry Granny."
Granny huffed and looked forward again just in time to see a huge tree blocking the entire road appear in the headlights. Big Mac slammed on the breaks and the truck ground to a halt a few yards away from it.
"Well, looks like we're walkin' from here. Come on, I can see a light. Hopefully that's the girls."
"Eyup."
Granny disentangled herself from the locked seat belt after a few seconds and a curse or two then gingerly climbed out and stretched her back. She had a few new aches from the rough ride over and felt a few joints pop painfully, requiring her to steady herself against the truck. "Big Mac, don't git old. It ain't worth it."
Big Mac walked around and offered a hand to help her but she waved him off and smiled at him. "Don't go thinkin' that means Ah can't handle a rough spell. These old bones still got some sinew left on 'em. Now grab the gun and let's git goin' before that changes."
He nodded and reached back and pulled the gun and box of shells from the bed then pulled out two and slotted them into the barrels with a loud click. He took the lead in cautiously stalking through the trees, Granny following close behind. Brilliant white light spilled through the orchard, casting harsh shadows everywhere as they walked around debris and rock. Then the treeline ended suddenly at one of the aisles and they got their first close look at the thing. Glistening silver metal marred by black streaks and muddy trails. Along its length ran a midline band dotted with long windows in alternating triangles. Nearly blocking out all of it was a brilliant light pouring out of an opening with a broken and busted ramp leading up to it.
"They must'a gone in. Otherwise we'd have found 'em by now," Big Mac said with a low undercurrent of annoyance.
"Yeah and we are too. When we find her Ah'm gonna tan her hide fer rushin' into things without thinkin' again," Granny said, her own form of agreement.
They cautiously walked forward over the broken ground. About halfway to the opening Granny's foot caught on a branch hidden in the shadows. "Goddammit! All this light and Ah still can't see a damn- ah shoot," she said, switching gears as a high pitched squeak cut through her griping. Big Mac shouldered the shotgun and trained it on the opening about twenty yards from them.
A dark figure stepped up to the edge of the ramp and pulled something large out from behind it. Big Mac stepped forward a hair, ready to fire, then paused and lowered the gun slightly in confusion as the stranger unfolded it into a chair. It placed it down backwards then sat with it's arms crossed over the back. The three of them stayed like that for nearly a minute, not moving, not speaking.
"So... sorry about the crash. We're still not sure what happened to drop us here but we're working on that. I promise we'll do whatever we can to help you fix up the orchard. Applejack and the girls are inside meeting with our leader to get an idea of where we all go from here. She wanted an explanation of why all this happened and I'm really hoping she's satisfied with whatever we can tell her. That said, things happened so fast we weren't sure how to deal with it all and so now we're winging it," it called out with, waving a hand in a wishy-washy manner.
Big Mac slowly lowered the shotgun as his face scrunched up in confusion to match Granny Smith's while the monologue continued.
"Just who in tarnation are ya?" she shouted at him.
"You know, I can answer that but I think it might be best if I took you to see your granddaughter. And speaking of granddaughters...," he said as he sat up straighter and cupped his hands in front of his shadowed face. "You can come out now! Your sister's fine! She's a little... miffed at us over the orchard but I'm hoping you can forgive us for that. We didn't plan to end up here at all."
"What are you talkin' about sisters- APPLEBLOOM!" Granny yelled as she spun around in sudden understanding. Sure enough, there was her youngest grandchild, peering out from around one of the larger trees with her jaw hanging down to the ground.
"How'd ya know I was here?" she shouted fearfully as Granny marched quickly over to her. She let out a small squeal of fright as the guard at the top of the ramp reached up and flipped back a visor none of them had noticed, revealing a set of glowing blue lights where its eyes should have been. Granny stepped between her and the line of sight of those glowing orbs.
"Infrared visor. You hid pretty well but you didn't know to also hide your heat. You three can stop worrying, I'm not armed and I'm definitely not looking for a fight. Not after what your sister did."
Granny's hand shot out to grab a hold of her granddaughter as she tried to rush forward.
"What happened to mah sister?!"
The figure tilted it's head a little. "More like what happened to Mercer, a friend of mine, and the answer to that is 'she did'. They came here to check things out and we made the mistake of startling them. She threw him clear across the loading bay here," he said as he tossed a thumb over his shoulder into the lit space. "He's just lucky we're fairly resilient or she could have done a lot more damage." He stood up from the folding chair and began pulling it back inside. "We're trying to not make the same mistake again and be a little more diplomatic and open this time around. So whenever you feel up to it I'll take you to see them. It's your farm too so you should be part of the discussion as well."
Big Mac backed up to them slowly, never quite completely taking his eyes off the entrance or the strange person stowing the chair off to the side of it. "Whaddya think Granny?" he asked as he reached them.
Granny pursed her lips in thought then looked down at Applebloom. "Ah think this one's in a mess o' trouble for starters!" she said, causing the young girl to look up at her anxiously. "But that can come later after we find Applejack," she noted more softly. "Fer now, yer sticking behind us and out o' trouble, you got that?" Applebloom nodded vigorously then looked at Big Mac as he added another question.
"Can we trust 'im?"
Granny narrowed her eyes for a few moments then slowly nodded her head. "Ah don't think we've got a choice. But he admitted to messin' up and getting whupped by yer sister so Ah'm hopin' he was bein' sincere when he mentioned bein' diplomatic."
"What about the gun?"
Granny glanced down at it and grimaced. "If we're really believin' him then someone took a punch from Applejack and doesn't seem to be any worse fer wear from it. Keep it with ya but Ah'm afraid it ain't going to do us much good."
Big Mac considered this for a moment then sighed deeply and extracted the shells from the shotgun. He placed them in his pocket then stepped around to place a hand on Applebloom's shoulder. "Ya stick behind us, ya hear? No arguin' or disobeyin' this time got it?"
Applebloom nodded with a small gulp then stood up straighter. "Ah got it. Promise."
Big Mac watched her for a moment then nodded in satisfaction. The three walked back across the small clearing then paused for a moment at the base of the ramp as the stranger started walking down it to them. As he got closer Granny's eyes opened wider and wider as the details of his appearance became clearer and clearer.
"Ferget who ya are! Ah shoulda asked what are ya?"
The glowing eyed stranger stopped as he reached them and said, "I'll explain on the way so you're caught up with the girls. But for now, what we are is sorry for what has happened your home. We'll do what we can to help you fix it again, I promise you that."
Granny was surprised by the conviction behind the words and felt the corner of her mouth inch up a bit. "Ah'll be holdin' y'all ta that, ya can count on that. Now where'd ya say that pigheaded granddaughter 'o mine ran off to?"
She felt her brow arch in surprise as what she previously took for a featureless face suddenly shifted slightly into a clear grin under the thing's odd skin. "Right this way ma'am."