Chapter 2: Human and Pony Show
In Ponyville’s library, a certain librarian was doing a bit too much studying... again...
“Twilight, shouldn’t you take a break? You’ve been studying for hours.”
The bookish, purple unicorn looked up from her studies to stare at her assistant.
“I would Spike, but I’ve been seriously falling behind lately. Just a few more minutes.”
Spike sighed and began furrowing his brow, “You said that two hours ago, come on Twi’, at least come outside for lunch.”
As if on cue, her stomach let out a low growl causing her to blush. “Fine, we can go to that cafe down the street. Just let me get cleaned up.”
Spike nodded his agreement and the unicorn trotted up the stairs and into the bathroom. She stared at her reflection in the mirror, she was a bit of a mess. Her mane was crooked and uneven while her eyes were accentuated by small bags underneath them. She splashed some water on her face and began telekinetically brushing her mane with her favorite brush. After a few minutes she looked perfectly normal again and headed downstairs to see Spike waiting for her impatiently.
“Why do you always take so long in there?” Spike groaned.
Twilight raised a brow curiously, “I was in there for five minutes...”
Spike merely rolled his eyes before walking to the door, “Ready Twi’?”
She nodded before leading him out the door. On their way to the cafe they saw a large group of ponies flocking in the direction of the Everfree.
Spike turned to Twilight, “What’s up with them?”
Twilight shrugged, “Let’s go find out.”
They began trotting along in the direction everypony was headed, eventually a large crowd caught their eyes. Everypony was standing still gawking at whatever sight they beheld. Twilight could barely hear the shouting of a familiar pony over the crowd.
She sighed loudly before muttering, “Not again...”
As she pushed herself through the crowd she was able to make out a few words from the pony shouting over the rest, still not enough to go on though so she continued through the crowd. When she finally made her way to the front of the crowd she couldn’t help but stare at the sight before her. A familiar, light blue unicorn stood in the center of the crowd along with three strange creatures she had never seen before. They seemed to resemble hairless diamond dogs. One wore a shroud of black, another wore black pants with a white T-shirt along with a black fedora, while the last wore a red shirt with a fleur de lis stamp and white shorts.
“Behold! I, the Great and Powerful Trixie, have done what was thought impossible. I have summoned beings from another world. Now which of you can claim that you have done that!” She released a loud laugh. “Now where is that lavender filly? I have something wonderful to show her!”
One of the creatures was holding its head with its claw-like appendage, while another was glaring pointedly at her. The other... was possibly the most frightening of the three... standing silently, grinning ear-to-ear. One could only imagine the thoughts that crossed its mind.
Then, the shrouded one spoke “Will somepony shut her up already?” The creature spoke removing its claw-like appendage from over its face.
The hatted creature just shook its head in shame, “She’s been like this for hours... I just wanted to meet the ponyfolk but this...” it said gesturing towards Trixie, “This is torture!”
...and the final one, the final merely laughed before speaking, “Not the most awkward way I’ve ever been introduced, try pantsless and drunk!”
“Humans! You are ruining the Great and Powerful Trixie’s achievement! Quit talking already!” Trixie threw at the large monsters.
“We have names... which we’ve already told you... Now start using them or I’ll let Satin hug you all he wants... and we both know how much he wants to...” The creature threatened as he pulled on the rim of his hat.
The shrouded creature chuckled “Unless you want him to hug you again.”
The creature that had threatened Trixie smirked, “No, we’re in public. She doesn’t want the ponyfolk to know how much she loves it. Ain’t that right ice queen?”
Trixie pulled her hat over her face for a moment before yelling, “YOU AREN’T HELPING!”
Twilight turned back to the crowd, the ponies all trying to contain their laughter. She merely smiled at the antics of these strange creatures. She heard a soft plop as Spike fell from her back, rolling on the ground in laughter. The creature with the hat began scanning the crowd before its eyes fell on her. It began nudging its compatriots and whispering, all seemed to smile a bit.
The ever smiling one kneeled down and whispered into Trixie’s ear and pointed in my general direction and I could see the smile grow on her face.
“Ohhh Twilight,” She spoke loudly over the crowd, “I don’t believe you can top this.” She said as she flourished her fore hooves and threw back her cape.
The hooded one shook its head “Oh sweet Celestia, just shut up already. Twilight you don’t need to do a thing to pass her up.”
The creature in the hat nodded, “The idiot has a point Twi’.”
Twilight was clearly confused by the situation, some creatures Trixie had summoned were... sticking up for her? She had to make sense of this situation and this crowd wasn’t helping. She threw Spike over her back and began to make her way to the center of the spectacle.
When she got close to Trixie, the blue unicorn was smiling like she had won some non-existent contest. She wasn’t smiling for long. The purple magic enveloped the entire group and teleported them all back to her living room.
“What in Equestria do you think you’re doing!?” Twilight let loose on Trixie. For once, Trixie looked taken back, if only for a second.
“The Great and Powerful Trixie believes she is finally proving herself for the magician she is!”
“By summoning creatures from another world!? Not only have you just ruined their chances at a normal life, but you have also ripped them from their homes!?” Twilight relented as she felt something touch her shoulder.
“Calm down, anger doesn’t solve much.” The creature smiled down at her, tilting his hat up a bit.
“And might I add that we never really liked our lives in our own world in the first place.” the hooded creature pointed out.
“For the love of Luna, Dex... stop being such a Bozarth!” The other creature commented before turning back to Twilight, “We don’t hate our home, we just like it here better! We haven’t been properly introduced, call me Kronos.” It said holding out its claw. The creature was tall, about as tall as the princesses she guessed and it was a bit on the heavy side. It had a short black mane and hazel brown eyes. Judging from its voice, she surmised it to be male.
“As Tyler had stated someponies call me Dex, others call me Sean, but these two call me Bozarth.” The hooded creature said, this one had short brown mane and was a bit shorter than the first; Twilight assumed it was male from the sound of its voice, and had hazel green eyes.
The last one was significantly hairier than the other two. His chestnut brown mane framed his face as well as a bit above his mouth, he was also physically the largest of the group. He held out his claw and said, “The name is Tim, but you can call me Satin. It’s a pleasure to meetcha.” He said with an eerie smile.
Twilight’s anger had been completely derailed by these creatures friendliness. “Oh... well... It COULD have been disastrous.”
Kronos held a level gaze with her, “Did it turn out disastrously? I like to believe that we’re relatively tame compared to some of our species.”
Twilight’s eyes narrowed, “Your species? What’s wrong with your species?”
“Nothing, just like with every species, every race, there are good people and bad people, personally I like to believe we fit into the prior category.” Kronos merely shrugged.
Twilight let out an audible sigh, “...Well fine, let’s find out how to send you guys home before Trixie gets in trouble for bringing you all here.” She turned and began walking to a separate part of the library.
Kronos’ eyes grew wide, “B-but I don’t want to go...”
Twilight finally managed to kill Satin’s smile, “Seconded, this place seems waaaaaaaaaaay more fun!”
Sean looked away for a moment, “Excuse me, but I too wish to stay, for many reasons.”
“I thought you believed in friendship and its magic...” Kronos said, before muttering something under his breath.
“And there are no specific rules against summoning, young Twilight!” responded Trixie defensively.
Twilight held a hoof to her head as she winced, “It’s not specifically against the law... but it’s not encouraged! Only some bullheaded pony would ever do it!” She said as she tried to put her point across.
Trixie opened her mouth to respond but Kronos beat her to it, “Are you saying she’s not bullheaded?”
Sean chuckled, though he was in tears. “Are you serious?”
Kronos turned to Dex before gesturing towards him with a claw, “Y’see? Bozarth’s legitimately crying because he wants to stay, are you really going to turn away willing visitors?”
Satin busted out laughing, immediately breaking all the tension in the room, “Ha, ha, ha! Bozarth has feelings! What a bitch!”
Kronos fell to the floor clutching his stomach, laughing a tad more than he should have, given the situation. He began trying to speak, eventually he managed to gasp out, “Sorry, I’m not laughing at you Bozarth, that was just a fantastic tension breaker!”
“Of course I have feelings, I hid my emotions because I was afraid to be judged, thats one of the reasons I want to stay here, more people are cruel in our world than here, I can put up these two because they’re my friends” Sean said putting out a reason to stay.
“You give me too little credit! I can be cruel! I promise!” Tim said still laughing like an idiot.
“You wouldn’t happen to have a mute spell by any chance do ya?” Sean asked Twilight.
Twilight looked between the three friends, a look between shock and confusion, and maybe a bit of pity on her face. She turned to Trixie for a moment and her features hardened.
“I don't understand WHY I am doing this, but I won't tell Celestia that you did something so.. so... Idiotic! As long as you keep these three in check!” With that she turned and began searching through her books, choosing to ignore the new species and the problems they bring, if only for a little longer. Of course she could always just teleport them out of town and tell them to get out, but she knew nothing about them. Who knows what kind of trouble they could get into if left alone? Especially the big one, thankfully he seemed like the only one in the group who would cause trouble. Bozarth, or... Sean, or... Why do these creatures have so many names?! He seemed emotional, and complacent. Surely he wouldn't cause any harm. Although he may need somepony to watch him for different reasons.
Kronos seemed... Hard to pin, he didn't seem like he would cause trouble but he was obviously far more willing to cause it then the small boy. Small, that seems like a hypocritical thought, these creatures stood at least half of a meter over her on average, the largest, Satin was almost one meter...No he was one meter higher than her.
Kronos breathed a sigh of relief before smiling warmly, “Thank you Twilight, now if you’ll excuse me, I have a pompous pony to love and tolerate.”
With that Kronos sat down behind Trixie, leaning against her back and extending his arms over her shoulders, hugging her warmly. She seemed to grow a bit flustered but didn’t say anything in protest.
Sean sat down, placing his knees to his chest and put the hood of his shroud over his head, hiding his face.
Satin kneeled down to Twilight’s height and placed a claw on his cheek, “You aren’t going to keep us hidden forever, better Celestia find out about us now, rather then wait till we do something inevitably stupid.”
Kronos merely shrugged, “Might as well.”
“Yeah, you may as well get it over with” Sean said from underneath his hood.
Trixie raised a hoof to her chin before muttering, “A royal audience to the Great and Powerful Trixie’s accomplishments?” She smiled widely before speaking up a bit, “Trixie approves!”
Twilight looked between the three newcomers and her so-called “Rival” with no small amount of confusion.
“You....Really think it would be best?” She said sullenly as she focused back on the large human in front of her.
“I do. Yeah, I mean she is kinda your princess, so not telling her may get us all in trouble. And while I'm used to it, I would rather not see you or Trix over here get busted.”
“Trix?” An indignant grunt from behind was all Trixie could squeeze in at Satin’s comment.
“But Satin... Trix are for kids!” Kronos stated, grinning widely.
Twilight blinked a bit in surprise, “Well okay then, Spike take a note please.”
She turned to see Spike looking over Sean curiously, keeping a bit away from him.
“Spike!” Twilight nearly shouted.
“Huh, what? Oh sorry!” Spike rubbed his neck awkwardly before pulling some writing utensils from a nearby desk.
“Good, are you ready?” Twilight asked innocently as she strode about on her metaphorical high-horse.
“Yea Twi, anytime.” Spike responded, Quill and parchment in hand.
“Dear Princess Celestia, I regret to inform you that this letter is not, in fact a friendship report. Whereas I would normally take the time to detail important lessons that I have learned in this letter; that will not be the case at all. It has come to my attention that three uninvited visitors from another world have arrived through the assistance of a...” She looked at Trixie a moment and let out a small sigh. “Rather powerful unicorn. They do not appear to be dangerous, and have expressed an interest in staying here, in Ponyville. If possible I would like for you to come and visit these three and see if they could be accepted as residents here, or perhaps in Canterlot. I will have more detailed information on the three in tonight’s report. Your Faithful Student, Twilight Sparkle.” She looked to Spike as he finished writing the words.
After a moment he looked to Twilight, who nodded anxiously at him. He inhaled deeply and breathed his regular green fire onto the parchment which disintegrated into a green flaming smoke cloud that traveled out a nearby open window and into the midday sun.
Trixie smiled haughtily, “Trixie would have referred to herself as Great and powerful, but ‘rather powerful’ will just have to do.”
This earned a few exasperated sighs and a collective glare from the rest of the room.
“Well.... That’s that then.” Satin said as he stood from his kneeling position. Which he apparently did too fast as he immediately cupped his head as he stood. “Woo, lightheaded, hold up.” He said with a laugh as Twilight began looking nervous about how Celestia would react.
Sean stood and dusted himself off before looking over at Satin “You aright there, Tim?”
He turned and winked at Dex, “Look, I may have just sealed our fates. Always get dizzy when I do that.”
Kronos slowly looked up from the ever-flustered Trixie, “Yeah, because sealing people’s fates is something you do on a regular basis...”
Satin just shrugged in response, “Happens?” He responded with an upward inflection.
Sean shook his head “Me and my weird friends.”
Kronos shrugged before returning to stroking Trixie’s mane.
An unsure smile was still on Satin’s face, “So what happens now Twilight? Want us to just wait around here for judgement, or what?” He said as he scratched his head nervously.
“Sounds good to me.” Kronos said, barely stifling a yawn.
“I’m alright with sitting around for awhile” Sean said sticking his claws in his pockets.
Kronos placed his saddlebag between himself and Trixie and began searching through it before retrieving a small black item. Placing it next to him with a smile before returning to his search. He stopped searching, a look of utter horror displayed on his face as he replaced the item and closed the bag. He remained silent and began to hug Trixie tight.
Satin rolled his eyes as he pulled something from his pocket, pulled a white string off it, and threw it at Kronos, “We can share but if you break em’ or give them back to me with nasty earwax I will end you.”
Sean looked at Kronos “Or,” he tossed him a black string “You can have my extra pair.”
Kronos’ eyes shone with joy as he threw Tim back his string, “Thanks Bozarth! If you were a pony I’d offer you a hug, but sorry, no such luck.”
He pulled the item back from his saddlebag and began tapping at it, placing an end of the string into it while he placed a bit from the other end into one of his ears. He soon began to hum a familiar tune, though she couldn’t recall where she’d heard it before.
Satin must have noticed her interest and her confusion, “Don’t mind him, he can be anti-social at times. Here lemme show you what these are.” He began to mess with the shiny metal object.
Kronos merely rolled his eyes,” Yeah, because you’re one to talk oh Lord of the Cloth!”
“Ignore him, these” he showed her the object, it seemed to be made of glass and metal, “are music players. Lemme show ya some music from Earth.” He began messing with the music box for a second before laughing, “Here we go, something very suitable for this situation. Here Comes the Sun by the Beatles.” He leaned down and put the white ends into her ears.
The light plucking of stringed instruments began to play into her ears, soon the melody began to pick up and a higher pitched voice began to sing. It was... rather enjoyable, very happy and upbeat. As the song was roughly half over by her estimate, a bright flash filled the room, before Twilight could see the cause she heard Kronos chuckle, “Hey, what d’ya know, here comes the sun! Beautiful timing!”
Satin stood up quickly, accidentally yanking the earbuds out of Twilight’s ears. Earning a loud, “OW!” out of the startled unicorn.
Sean shielded his eyes, “Woah.”
As the light receded Twilight was able to make out the figure of her mentor, Princess Celestia.
Kronos stood up, briefly dusting himself off and placing the string into his pants before gripping his hat with a claw, flourishing his arm to the side, ending in front of his stomach as he bowed. As he rose Twilight could see that all of the earlier silliness was gone from his face, making him appear oddly serious for the creature. “Princess.”
Sean quickly bowed “My liege.”
Satin’s nervous smile became a bit askew as he touched the top of his head with one of his claws and started making circles in the air as he bowed.
She began to gracefully move in between Satin and Twilight never taking her eyes off of the newcomers her calm, low voice uttered only a few syllables, “And what are you?”
Satin’s smile didn’t leave his face but you could still see the uncertainty in his eyes, “Humans!” He nervously shouted out, “Ummm... humans, Princess. Mammals from a world called Earth.”
Kronos coughed lightly, “Sorry, he’s a bit nervous as you can probably understand. But yes, we’re humans.”
Satin returned to scratching the back of his head and looking down, “Sorry Princess, I’ve never been in the company of royalty before. Please forgive my... rudeness.” He said as tactfully as he could manage.
The room fell silent for a moment as Celestia considered the new creatures. “Humans... I can’t say I have ever really heard of anything like you, no mentions in any of the books in Canterlot’s rather... Extensive libraries. Where do you come from again?” She appeared curious about the creatures, but she also seemed rather wary of them, except for Tim, who she seemed to stare at with a small smile rather than caution.
“Earth, there’s nothing written about us?” Kronos asked as he threw a questioning glance towards Trixie.
She returned the glance with an indignant stare. “The Great and Powerful Trixie is a magician! And a good magician, NEVER reveals her secrets!”
Kronos sighed briefly, “You mind if we talk about this over tea? I’m quite thirsty, and tea is delicious.”
Sean looked over to Kronos, “Tea?”
“What, you don’t like tea?” Kronos placed his claw upon his face and muttered, “Bozarth...”
“I never said I didn’t like tea, but it’s definitely not my beverage of choice.” Sean said with a shrug.
“That’s... the best plan I’ve heard all day.” Satin said as he rubbed his claws together.
Spike rose his claw as if he was going to say something but Celestia cut him off, “That sounds lovely.”
Spike groaned as he trudged to the kitchen to perform the task, grumbling under his breath along the way.