//------------------------------// // Chapter 4 - Chaos Theory // Story: Fred Walsh: Diverted // by Baguettedood //------------------------------// Chapter 4 – Chaos Theory "Well, that trip through Ponyville didn't turn out as well as I'd hoped, though it does remind me that I'm an intruder to this universe, even though I may not be here by my own accord. At least I got the time from the town's clock tower. "I'm still winging it, but it'd be useful to reunite with Princess Celestia. Of course, since the locals obviously want to avoid me, meaning that any easy way I have is off the table. I have to to to Canterlot to meet the Princess on foot. This walk will surely be fun. *A blur of pink whizzes past the video* "HELLO!" "Quod irrumabo!" "Where did you come from‽" Fred attempted to recover after an eccentric colourful mass interrupted his Vlog. He picked himself up from the ground. "Hi! I'm Pinkie Pie, and I've been following you since you passed through Ponyville,” the pink thing blurted out. "That's not stalker-ish at all," the sane human replied slowly. “Nice to meet you, Pinkie Pie. I'm Fred Walsh.” He tried to remain calm. He examined the path ahead of him, and Canterlot atop the mountain. Fred managed to take one step forward before the eccentric pony halted him. “Where are you going? I haven't given you your party yet!” 'And here I thought that prophet from a while ago loved to exclaim things.' “If you didn't notice from the locals hiding as if I was Potens Daemonium reincarnated, I don't think you'll realise that a party is probably not a good idea.” “Awwwww.” She frowned. “Sorry, but I have to get to Canterlot,” he tried to explain. “Can I come?” “I have no clue on whether or not that's a wise plan, but I doubt it's physically possible to stop you. Fine.” Fred reluctantly agreed. “Yayyyy!” The party pony jumped. 'Now, to count how many seconds until I regret this.' With Pinkie no longer obstructing the human's feet, the party began its journey to Equestria's capital. The two walked, or bounced as if the ground was a trampoline, for a few minutes when Fred realised something. “Wait, every single other pony in Ponyville hid as soon as my perception filter wore off. Why didn't you?” “I saw everypony running from you and thought, 'Ugh, rude!' I already learned to not judge others after I did that with Zecora a few years back,” she replied in a single breath. “What is today's date anyway? If I'm being flung through time and space, crashing into trees,” he massaged his torso, “I should keep a tight rein on the date.” He opened up the date/time settings on the Scavenger Watch. “It's May 24th, Silly! Just last month there were all these changelings and they were like whoosh and before that everypony ate a cake I was delivering. There was also-” Fred cut Pinkie off before her motor-mouth could continue. “Pinkie Pie, you are like the embodiment of chaos theory. Also, I need the year.” “Year one thousand and two. Thanks, but Discord would be the embodiment of chaos theory.” A bug in the watch caused it to be unable to handle dates before the Unix Epoch – January 1st 1970 – properly, so the human opted to use a year with the same calendar, instead of haphazardly choosing the date as he did last time. After a few minutes of maths in his head, he set the date to the 24th of May 2009. “Are we friends yet?” The pink pony broke the silence. “Well, so far nothing's actively running from me and no demons have shown up. Sure, I guess.” Pinkie Pie and Fred Walsh spent the rest of the day conversing and traversing the path to Canterlot. The hyperactive pony somehow managed to summon some sweets to eat as lunch and dinner along the way. By the time they made it to the capital, the sun had set and night taken its place instead. “Why did we go to Canterlot again?” Somehow, Pinkie neglected to ask before following Fred all the way. For the first time he saw, the exhaustion had caused her to stop bouncing, instead resorting to a normal walk. “Catching up on two hundred and six years of history... Or two days, depending on who you ask.” “Okay!” With nothing more, she spontaneously regained her energy and bounced off, leaving Fred on his own. He pressed on toward Canterlot Castle. The darkness prevented most ponies in Canterlot from seeing the human, causing a pleasing lack of citywide panic outbreaks, primarily because they were busy sleeping. Of course, there were some ponies awake. Small shrieks came from them as he passed through. “Halt!” a masculine voice called out as Fred approached the castle walls, at the entry gates. “Halt... That's medieval for stop.” He complied. “Great, now I want to see ye olde hammertime.” 'That'd be aweseome. MC Hammer doing a medieval form of Hammertime.' The voice was accompanied with a body. The pony moved forward. He revealed himself as a unicorn stallion with a blue mane and tail. He wore purple armour with a six-point star crest. “Identify yourself!” 'He looks familiar somehow...' “I'm Fred Walsh of the planet Midgård, nice to be interrogated by you.” “You're trespassing on royal territory, and have disturbed the peace. Please leave or you will be arrested,” the uniquely-armoured unicorn demanded. “Wait, since when did the royal guard start doing things? Last time I saw them, it took sixty just to open a door.” 'Granted, the door was being held shut via a unicorn wearing a magic stealing gem, but still.' The guard stayed silent this time, instead making some kind of gesture. Two more unicorn guards emerged from behind the wall, quickly rushing to Fred. Using their magic, they each grabbed a single arm to drag him down to the dungeons. 'Short temper...'