//------------------------------// // Sustenance // Story: Final Fantasy VII: Darkness in Equestria // by Axel IV //------------------------------// Note: Just thought I should clarify that Cloud is in his Advent Children attire along with his sword. Yeah, I wasn't great at describing it in the previous chapter heh. Forgive me! Cloud was horrified. Well, happy but horrified. Not only was his personal customized motorcycle in bad looking condition, but those weird pony creatures were practically abusing it. The massive black bike was laying on its side in the crater, his metal parts singed black from heat. The wheels looked torn, and from what he could see the handlebars were even bent. He had fixed that bike many times before...and hated doing. Now it would be like starting over from scratch to fix it. What a joy. The blue four-legged creature was looking at it closely, sometimes giving it a small kick. Each time, a loud 'ting!' would echo into the forest. There would be a new dent or scratch, and Cloud would only get even more pissed off. Of course, he couldn't do anything. He knew nothing of these strange creatures, and for all he knew they could turn vicious in an instead. Just like the Tonberry's...and THAT made Cloud shiver a little. At this moment, he was crouching behind a bush about ten yards away from the farthest pony. He had managed to be extremely quiet He managed to get a good look at the rest of the "ponies" that had called the others over. From what he saw...two of them were unicorns. Unicorns. Well...somehow that was less surprising to him then the zebra with jewelry. One was purple while the other was white. And they too had strange symbols on their flanks. He noticed a yellow pegasus that looked like it was frightened out of its skin by his bike. Well, at least it wasn't kicking it to death. "What sort of alien device is this?..." The loud blue pegasus asked, walking around it once more, "Some sort of...chariot thing?" "I...don't know...." The purple unicorn said, getting a closer look of Fenrir, "But it looks as if it had taken some damage from the crash. Maybe- "It's an alien spaceship!" The creepy pink pony cried out, hopping without bending its legs (wtf?!), "It must be! What else would it be here for?! There is definitely an alien space soldier coming to visit us! *GASP!* I need to get a party prepared!" "Pinkie!" The purple mare exclaimed, "No! No parties until we find this creature! For all we know, it could be a pony-eating tentacle monster!" "Heh...tentacle monster..." "Shut up, Rainbow Dash! I was being serious!" Well, Cloud learned three things. Fittingly, the pink pony was named Pinkie while the blue pegasus was named Rainbow Dash. Honestly, it was so ridiculous to him that he almost laughed. Him! Laughing! That was a funny thing to think about. The third thing he learned was that these horse creatures were not bloodthirsty. They were just as curious about him as he was about them...So maybe he should come out and see them? They seemed to be peaceful and friendly. What harm could be done?...Still, it was a weird thought for him to actually converse with these weird things. He just wasn't ready to meet these crazy things, and he was sure that they weren't ready for him. Cloud was typically straight forward, but being in an unknown world with creatures that belong in a cartoon was way too much for a man who was used to constant fighting. "So...what do we do with this thing anyway? Use it as bait to lure out the creature?" The orange hat wearing pony asked, "I mean, this could be our best bet to draw it out." "A little risky..." The purple unicorn replied, "We could make it very upset and angry...but who knows what this thing is. It could be some incredible weapon that could destroy all of Equestria!" Every single one of the ponies gasped. Cloud face-palmed. "So...what do we do?..." The yellow pegasus asked, shrinking back, "It's...scary..." "Well...We could always teleport it back to Ponyville. The library's basement is pretty big. We could put it in there for now." The white unicorn suggested, "Besides...this thing looks DREADFUL! I can't bear to look at it!" Cloud's eyebrow twitched a bit at her comment. He designed it himself! But wait....did she say teleport? "Good thinking!" The purple unicorn, whom Cloud dubbed as the leader, exclaimed. "Still...it would take a lot of magical power to move...I could try." Cloud blinked, raising his head above the bush that he hid behind to get a better view. Did she say...magic? So they had that here as well. But something told him that it wasn't in the form of materia... There was a bright purple flash that engulfed the clearing, and it sent out a small gust of air that rattled the leaves in the trees. When the blonde's eyes readjusted themselves, his bike was gone. His jaw practically hit the ground. These strange beings were more powerful than he had originally thought. He had to snap back to reality quickly because they had began to move again. In his direction. He scanned his surroundings as quickly and thoroughly as he could. There was a tree to his right, but it was too far. He would be seen. To his left lay a patch of flowers. He would most likely not be hidden there. He would need to think extremely fast. His hand touched a rock behind the bush, and he immediately grabbed it. Without thinking, and with blinding speed, he thew it straight to his left. *THUNK!* Each of the creatures froze, their eyes widening in surprise and a tinge of fear. He had his window to escape. With enhanced speed from mako, he dashed to the trees on his right, a flaming pain gripping his entire body from the moment. He forgot that he wasn't in top shape, but nonetheless he got back behind cover without being seen or heard. He breathed a sigh of relief as the ponies shrugged it off and kept walking. After that, Cloud had jumped back up into the trees. He was very interested in the location of this library they had spoken of. As far as he knew, Fenrir was the only thing that came to this strange world with him. He had no clue how, but it was here. And he really wouldn't want to leave without it. Ever since he had journeyed a majority of his planet on foot, he began to realize how nice having a set of wheels really was. After a bit of walking, the zebra said goodbye in some of her strange rhymes. She must live in this strange forest. Cloud would have to remember that. Maybe he could reveal himself to her sooner than the others. "So, what happens after this?" The white unicorn asked, "We can't just ignore the fact that something potentially dangerous could be living near Ponyville." "I'll send a letter to Princess Celestia." The leader pony replied, "It's shouldn't be a problem. But I really don't want to put Ponyville into a panic..." "Yeah..." The orange pony spoke up, "But we need to defend ourselves in case of some strange invasion! I'm going to break the news to my family back at the farm! I don't want no mean space alien to eat all our crops!" Cloud blinked. Farm...farm meant food. Food meant sustenance. And he could really use some sustenance right now. He was a bit torn...either he could follow the other creatures back to their town, or he could follow the orange pony back to her farm where he might be able to get some food. After a few seconds of thinking, he was sure that he could probably find the town from the creature's farm. When the hat-wearing mare broke off from her group, Cloud leaped from tree to tree after her, despite the pain. It didn't take as long as he would think to make it to the farm she was talking about. The fields that she owned her bigger than any he had seen, and it was even bigger than the Chocobo farm he was used to going to. He spotted cows in the distance, and what seemed like thousands among thousands of Apple trees. Only hard part was, to get to it he needed to cross a large clearing. He watched as the orange mare had disappeared into the distance, and then he made his move. Clear Skies grunted, yanking her back-hooves out of the deep snow drift. The wind seemed to be cutting right through her big insulated jacket, the weather beating down on her and her team. Early in the morning, she had been instructed to climb up the snowy mountains in order to find the crash site of a meteor that had hit the night before. The Princess had ordered it to be a secret in order to save the public some panic. Apparently, there were two other impacts...but this one was the top secret one. The earth pony hated snow with a passion. The large specs of ice would sting her face, the wind propelling them like bullets. The rest of her group was the same, and it was getting harder and harder to climb up the slopes. She had been told that an entire mountain had been taken out by the meteor, but to get to it she had to cross multiple slopes and such. Cold weather and her didn't mix, and with each step she was starting to dislike Princess Luna even more. "Clear Skies!" A voice yelled behind her, his voice bludgeoning its way through the sharp, icy wind. "Yeah?!" She asked, glancing back. She could only see a few yards away, thanks to the falling snow blanket. "Isn't the Snow Dragon Volcano really close to the crash site?!" "Yes!" She replied, trudging along, "What about it?!" "Do you think that crash would have woken them up?!" Clear Sky froze colder than the snow around her. If that was true...the dangerous dragons would be more than a little upset. They would have to proceed with even more caution, and that just made things much more difficult. "If it did, we have to be even more careful! Those dragon's tempers are the worst!" She called back. Her team was an elite unit of soldiers, but even they couldn't take on an entire dragon flock. If worse came to worse...she didn't want to think about it. At t his rate, all she could do was pray that she and her team would get back home safe and sound. And hopefully warm too. Twilight closed the door to her home gently, her mind cluttered with questions. She had been hoping to find answers, but there had been none. Whatever came out of that meteor...it was just scary to think about. Equestria had always known peace, but could one creature change all of that? There was no way she would just let that happen. Princess Celestia was counting on her, and she was going to defend her friends and town with her life. She sprawled a parchment over her desk, levitating a quill with her magic. She thought for a few seconds, and than proceeded to write her letter: Dear Princess Celestia, As I'm sure you know, last night there was two meteor impacts near our pleasant town of Ponyville. It was very alarming, and at first we thought nothing of it. After further investigation, we found what looked to be tracks leading away from one of the craters. It sounds strange, but I believe that a strange creature may have found a new home in our world. At the second meteor impact in the Everfree Forest, we found what seemed to be a strange mechanical alien device. Concerned that it could be used as a weapon, I teleported away into the basement of my home. If there is a creature, and it proves to be hostile, I will do all in my power to defend against it. However, I'm not sure what I should do. I do not wish to cause panic among the townsponies, and I am seeking your advice for what to do on the matter. Your student, Twilight Sparkle "Spike!" Twilight called, satisfied with her letter, "Get over here! I need you to send a letter to Princess Celestia!" The purple dragon made his way from the kitchen, lumbering over to her. "Is it about that alien creature?! Tell me all about it!" The dragon insisted, looking excited. "Just send the letter...I'll tell you all about it later." The purple unicorn sighed, dumping the letter into his hands. And with a bit of flame, it had been sent. Author's Note: I know you're probably anxious for the moment when the ponies meet Cloud...so am I! But don't put the carriage before the horse! Heh...get it?...Horse?... Nevermind! That will be coming really soon. I hope these chapters don't seem to be going too slow. Until next time!