//------------------------------// // Chapter Twelve: The Start of Something New (Symbol) // Story: A Displaced Chaos // by Prince_Zodiac //------------------------------// Chapter Twelve: The Start of Something New “You want me to what?” Symbol was standing in front of Celestia, a bewildered look on his face at the bizarre request the sun monarch had just made. “I would like you to accompany Twilight on her trip to Ponyville. She's going there to oversee that the preparations for the summer sun celebration are all in order before my arrival, and I would like to send you there as an escort and guard.” “Escort and guard? I'm pretty sure Twilight can defend herself Celestia.” “Be that as it may, I'd like you to go anyways. It'll be a good chance for you to get out and be more familiar with our world. And, if Twilight does indeed need your help, then there you'll be.” Symbol thought on this. The logic was sound, and it wasn't like he was doing anything anyways, so he thought, why not? And after a bit of preparation, Symbol was ready to leave. All he had to do, was wait for Twilight. “So… where is she?” Spike asked. “You're guess is as good as mine,” Symbol replied. “Not like Twilight to drag her feet at the request of the princess.” “Well earlier she was talking about the old, “Mare in the Moon,” legend, saying that some sort of evil power was going to return. Maybe that's why she's taking so long?” “Hmmm, maybe… no wait, there she is!” Just as he said, their lavender friend was rounding the corner, several books and bags in her magical grip. “Sorry for taking so long,” Twilight said as she climbed into the carriage. “Couldn't decide what I would need so I decided to bring everything.” “Your whole library?” “Well obviously not. Just what I would need pertaining to Nightmare Moon.” “Twilight do you seriously believe that legend?” “The signs don't lie Symbol, Nightmare Moon is destined to return soon, at least within the year. I just want to be prepared in case that day happens to be today.” With a roll of his eyes, Symbol signaled the royal guards to start pulling the carriage. A nod from the twin white pegasi was all they gave before the trailer took flight, gliding down to the small town in the distance. To say the community of Ponyville was skittish was an understatement. Upon their arrival, several ponies panicked at the mere sight of Symbol, many screaming at the top of their lungs and running in fear, while a few even demanded the guards that had flown them here capture him. Symbol, in his own right, was a little hurt, but he understood why. Ponies where generally a very sheltered race of creatures. If you came from outside their land, or if you held different values and cultures than they did, you were generally viewed as an abomination to be terrified of and attacked. Ironic that the citizens of the land of peace and happiness were so xenophobic. It was a problem Symbol had to deal with when first coming to this world, and Symbol knew all he had to do was be patient and the ponies would eventually accept him. In the meantime, they had a job to do. Twilight began to wander around the quaint little town, looking about and marking things off her checklist. Decorations? Check. Banners welcoming the princess? Check. Everything nice and tidy? Check. Well that's it for the more general objectives,” Twilight said flipping to the next page. “Now to visit more specific ponies for their more specific jobs. First up, a place called Sweet Apple Acres is in charge of the catering. We need to talk to somepony named Applejack.” “Well howdy do!” Twilight yelped at the reply she had not been ready for. In front of her stood an orange mare with a blond mane, light green eyes, and a cowboy hat. “If yer lookin fer Applejack, that’d be me.” “I see. So, how are the food preparations coming along?” “Just fine Ms…” “Twilight.” “Twilight! If ya wanna stay fer brunch we'd be happy ta show ya what we got in stock!” “Oh that's okay, I've got to-” “Oh c’mon Twilight, we've got all day to make sure everything is ready. Why don't we have a little bite to eat before we continue?” Applejack clearly hadn't noticed Symbol before, because she was giving him a queer look now. “Scuse me fer asking but, what sorta critter are you?” “Me? Oh, I'm a human. Name's Symbol, it's a pleasure to meet you,” Symbol said with an extended hand. “Well then, my name's Applejack, nice to meet you too,” the orange mare said, now much calmer knowing Symbol wasn't just some monster. After that, the trio went on to find the appointed weather pony, Rainbow Dash. Judging by the cloud cover, one could assume the mare had yet to do her job. “Cleared skies? Uncheck.” “Hey wait wait wait, I was just about to clear them out!” The outburst came from a blue furred, rainbow maned, pegasus mare with bright pink irises. “I assume you're Rainbow Dash?” Twilight asked. “That's me! Rainbow Dash, fastest flyer in all of Equestriaaaa what the hay are you?” Once again, Symbol had been noticed. And once again, the reaction bordered on suspicion and aggression. “Well, my name's Symbol, and I'm a human.” “A human? What's a human?” “You could say a human is a creature from a very far away land.” “Oh, well uh, nice to meet you. So anyways, I heard you say I wasn't doing my job?” “Well Rainbow Dash,” Twilight began, “the sky needs to be clear by tonight, but I still see clouds. Care to explain?” “Oh, well I was just practicing a few tricks to show the wonderbolts later tonight!” “I see. Well, would the Wonderbolts be very impressed if you failed to do your job?” “I… guess not.” “Then I suggest you get started. With the amount of clouds up there, it'll take you all day to clear it up.” “Hey I can get rid of those clouds in ten seconds flat!” “Really? Prove it.” “You're on!” And off she went, flying full speed towards the objects of her task. With a quiet smirk, Twilight checked off the cleared skies task off her checklist. “Dang Twilight, didn't take you for the manipulative type,” Symbol proclaimed. “Oh trust me, it's no surprise,” Spike responded. “One time, she tricked me into doing both her chores and mine, and all I got was an emerald.” “Ooo, harsh.” “Hey, not my fault you fell for the tricks of a ten year old.” “I was three!” “Still not my fault! Now, the next pony we need to visit is… Rarity. She's in charge of decorating the town hall.” And so off they went. The town hall was a tall, cylindrical building. A deck surrounded the bottom floor, and a balcony wrapped around the second. It was a mostly alabaster white, with wooden planks in formations that looked like structural supports, giving it an appearance as if belonged in a town full of cottages, which Ponyville arguably was. Pink tinted windows lined the structure, and a brown roof with a single spire topped it all off, and Twilight, Symbol, and Spike paused for but a moment to look before heading inside. The interior of the town hall differed vastly from its exterior. The inside wasn't a bundle of offices like one would suspect, but more like a grand theater meant only for the rich. A small stage with a balcony above it sat at the far side of the room, and the walls were lined with more balconies. Pink corners donned every entrance to every outlook, and flags had been hung up above the main area, amongst the grand windows that allowed light to flood in. These flags were donned with multiple designs, the two most prominent ones being a golden one with a unicorn on it, representing the sun, and a blue one with an earth pony on it, representing the moon. One could guess the golden one was meant for Celestia, the unicorn stitched on it most likely depicting the princess’s front half. The earth pony on the moon flag however was anyone's guess. Amongst all this decor were ponies, all busying themselves with hanging up more flags and banners. Directing them all was a white unicorn with an illustrious purple mane. “A little to the left… perfect! Now, let's hang the Apple family's banner on the right side of the stage.” “Excuse me?” Twilight interjected. “Are you Rarity?” “Hmm?” Turning around, the unicorn meet her slightly dark blue eyes with Twilight's purple ones. “Oh yes that would be me darling. How can I help you?” “Well, my name is Twilight Sparkle, and I'm here to oversee that all of the preparations for Celestia's arrival are good and ready before the celebration begins.” “Oh of course darling. Well, as you can see, we're having the banners of the moon and sun hung up front so they stand out from the rest. The others are crests from varying families in Ponyville and-” Symbol stunned out as the two mares talked. Word of his presence must have started spreading around, because, although they still held that first look of surprise upon seeing him, they no longer held such aggressive stares. He looked around the open room, admiring the beauty and creativity in its design. Though, he did have one complaint. “What's with this town and balconies?” Nonetheless, he thought it looked nice. “Hey Spike, what do you-” Symbol turned to see an odd expression on the young drake’s face, one Symbol had never seen him wear. It could be described as a mix of confusion, lust, and some other third thing that Symbol rather not think about in the context of his young friend. “Yo Spike, you doin alright?” Symbol questioned, waving a hand in front of the purple dragon’s face. “She's beautiful,” was all Spike managed to say before collapsing on his back, unconscious. Apparently Spike thought Rarity was quite literally, “drop dead gorgeous.” With a roll of his eyes, Symbol picked him up and slung him over his shoulder, just in time to see Twilight returning. “Finally, I got to talk to a normal pony for once.” “Normal? I'd say all of these ponies are pretty normal.” “What do you mean?” “Well from my experience, earth ponies are usually down to earth, pegasi are prideful and competitive, and unicorns are generally high class.” “I… can't refute you there. I suppose you're right then.” “Which means we're the weird ones.” “What?” “People who think average is weird are generally weird themselves. It's kind of hypocritical.” “I'm not weird!” “If I remember correctly, you at one point started practicing this spell to change your mane to a more rainbow colored design, all so you could look like Celestia when you were six.” “Who told you that?!” “Celestia.” “… okay yes I did do that but I was just a kid then!” “Still pretty weird.” “Ugh, whatever. Okay who's next?” Looking at her list once more, Twilight peered at the name of the next activity leader. “According to my list, a mare named Fluttershy is in charge of coordinating a small flock of songbirds into singing at the celebration.” “Really? Huh, that'd be impressive” “Well , her house is over on the edge of town, shall we- oof!” Without looking, Twilight had managed to collide with another pony, a pink, earth pony mare. Everything about this girl was pink except for her eyes, which were a sky blue. Before Twilight could even apologise, the mare gasped heavily and ran off, leaving behind nothing but a cloud of dust. “Well… that was weird.” “So… on to Fluttershy?” “Yeah, on to Fluttershy.” The walk to the cottage wasn't long, and was actually very pretty. The cottage itself looked less like a building and looked more like something from a fairy tail. It was covered in grass and moss that somehow made it look wondrous, and Symbol could hardly believe the sight before his eyes. “Wow, whoever lives here must be rich!” “I don't think so. According to this, Fluttershy’s home is a licensed nature preserve.” “Really? Well, guess the decor makes sense. So where is she?” “I think she's right there.” Twilight pointed at a creamy yellow mare with a pink mane and tail. Upon hearing the voices of others, she turned around, revealing her light blue/teal colored eyes. “Hello! You're Fluttershy correct?” “Oh, um… y-yes…” “And I understand you're in charge of the music?” “Um… y-yes…” It was quickly becoming evident that Fluttershy was painfully… well, shy. She kept getting quieter and quieter, making It difficult to understand anything she said. “Ugh, where am I?” Spike muttered, waking up. Then, with a loud gasp, the quivering mare turned into an ecstatic pony. A cry of glee erupted from her mouth as she rushed forward, knocked Symbol down, and wrapped her hooves around Spike. “Um… wat?” “Oh you're just so cute and precious!” Fluttershy said snuggling Spike. “I've never seen a baby dragon before! You're just adorable!” “Uh… thanks?” After a few more face nuzzles, Fluttershy realized that someone had been holding Spike when he woke up, and turned to see just who she had knocked down. She nearly screamed. In front of her lay Symbol, a human, which was something she had never seen before. Though his stature was different, the way he stood up reminded her of a standing bear. Still though, he may look scary, but she needed to apologize. “Oh, I'm sorry I knocked you down.” “No problem. I'm just surprised you didn't see me until now.” “Oh, well then I'm sorry for that too.” “Hey no worries! Name's Symbol, first and only human in Equestria.” Symbol extended a hand, which Fluttershy promptly shook. “Um, my name is Fluttershy, and I'm the animal caretaker of Ponyville.” “Well Fluttershy, it's a pleasure to meet you. So, you're organizing some songbirds to sing at the celebration?” “Mhm. Would you like to see them?” “Sure! I've never seen birds organized into a choir before!” “Right this way then Symbol.” Fluttershy lead Symbol around to the side of the house, were some birds had been organized into a quintet of singers. With the motion of her hoof, Fluttershy’s birds began to sing, chirping a beautiful tune to accompany any party. The song made Symbol feel elated, and once it was over, Symbol thanked Fluttershy for the wonderful performance and headed for the place he and Twilight would be staying at overnight. A giant tree in the center of town, that also served as a library. The Golden Oak Library was the only library in town. It was small, but had an incredible design. Somehow the tree had grown incredibly thick, and someone decided to hollow it out and make a library out of it. “Man, the architecture of this world never ceases to amaze me,” Symbol said as he approached the door. He grabbed the knob, and turned it, opening the door to a room full of noise. There were ponies everywhere. Upstairs, downstairs, in the kitchen. They were all over the place, and loud music was blaring out of the speakers on the other side of the main room. Apparently somepony had decided to throw a party in here, Symbol wasn't sure why, and invited the whole town. But even so, the moment he opened the door, all attention was on him. The ponies were still unsure about this strange new creature. Luckily, Symbol knew how to calm their fears. He scanned the crowd, put on his trademark grin, and shouted at the top of his lungs. “PARTY!!!”