//------------------------------// // The Arrival Part 2 // Story: How Do You Shoot a Gun With Hooves? // by defender2222 //------------------------------// "Apples, scooters, doll, tree house, rose petals...I think that's it!" Pinkie grinned as she hopped along behind Beckett and Castle like a kangaroo on a coffee kick. "That is every word I know! Now, every number I know! 1...17...2,304...0...1,243,540..." The two partners had the looks of war prisoners being led on a death march. Their heads were lowered to the ground as they half-walked, half-stumbled down the lane, their brains slowly being reduced to mush by the constant spray of words. "She's raping my ear, Beckett," Castle complained weakly. "Can't you arrest her for that?" "If I could arrest people for being annoying you would have gotten the chair years ago, Castle." Beckett tried to make her snarky comeback sound tough and biting but her worn-down state left it little more than a puttering comment that trailed off at the last word. Part of her was wondering if the electrical shock hadn't killed her and she was in some strange hell where Satan was a pink hyperactive pony. Of course…Beckett doubted Hell looked so…nice. If it weren't for the motor-mouth pony that was spewing nonsense behind them and the fact that they found themselves in strange new bodies, Beckett might have actually enjoyed the walk. The sky was crystal clear, the weather was nice and warm without being overly hot, and the scenery was lovely: it was rustic without being wild, with groupings of trees dotting the horizon and a field full of windswept grass and wildflowers. Even the dirt path was hard-packed and dust-free, which was odd but Beckett really didn't have a leg to stand on when it came to odd, since said legs had hooves at the end. They had passed several ponies, each one sharing similarities to Beckett and Castle's new form. It seemed as if nearly every color of the rainbow was represented by the smattering of ponies, each with their own tramp-stamp. "You notice that the population is divided into thirds?" Beckett whispered. "There are regular ponies like me... the horned ponies like you-" "I think the proper term is unicorn, but feel free to call me a horny pony." Beckett rolled her eyes. "And I am pretty sure I saw some flying pony." "Pegasi," Castle stated. His face twisted a bit in thought. "Pegasuses? Pegas? What is the proper plural for pegasus?" He tapped his chin in annoyance. "I should know this… but it isn't often that I have to write about Nikki Heat fighting off an army of pegasuses…ooo, what if-" "No Castle" "But-" "No!" "71...22...4, 8, 15, 16, 23, 42… oh, we're here!" Pinkie pointed her hoof at a massive tree that lay directly before them. Beckett and Castle's jaws dropped at the sight of the tree, as most of it seemed to have been converted into a breathtaking structure. It was like something out of a fairytale; Snow White or Sleeping Beauty would have been perfectly at home in such a building. "Come on, let's go!" Pinkie stopped hopping and raced ahead, Beckett and Castle looking at each other and wondering if they shouldn't take the opportunity to make an escape. "Come on sillies! Let's go!" Against their better judgment the two transformed-Manhattanites followed after the chatter box. Pinkie Pie didn't even bother to knock on the door, choosing to instead merely burst in with a squeal and an explosion of confetti. "Hey Pinkie Pie," a dark purple unicorn said, trotting up towards them. Beckett would have wagered, based on her own assumptions about her age, that the dark pony was maybe a year or two younger than her; there was youthfulness to her face even if she held herself with maturity. "Uh, Pinkie… I asked you to deliver a message to Mr. Castle and Miss. Beckett…you didn't have to-" "Surprise!" Pinkie screamed with glee. Castle and Beckett cringed away, trying to retreat only to find the door slammed shut behind them. "See, you thought it was a bluff, or a double bluff, or a triple bluff but really it wasn't a bluff on you but on Twilight AND you! What's a bigger surprise than a party that is a surprise to even the people holding it!?" From seemingly nowhere Pinkie pulled out 20 multi-colored balloons, letting them float to the ceiling as she began to drag out cakes and cookies and punch that she had hid around the library. "Is she always like this?" Castle asked nervously. "No, she's actually a bit calmer today," the purple unicorn said dryly. "Sorry about this, I wanted our first meeting to be a bit more…down to earth. I think Pinkie forgets that not everyone is as young of heart as her." Beckett watched as the pink pony bounced around, jabbering to several other ponies (including one wearing, of all things, a giant cowboy hat). Beckett decided she needed some answers before she cracked. "Right, Miss…" "Oh! I'm sorry about that…I'm Twilight Sparkle. But you can just call me Twilight…we're pretty informal around here…" Pinkie slammed several party hats onto their heads before darting away. "Not by my choice, mind you…" Twilight said, her smile faltering as she looked at the green hat. Beckett got the feeling that, when it came to Pinkie Pie, such attempts at formality…and sanity…were attempted in vain. "Anyway, I am really sorry about this but I guess it is for the best. We all have been waiting to meet you. We've been watching your house, waiting for you to show up…" "Wow, that sounds very…stalkerish." Twilight's eyes went wide and she hurried to wave off Castle's comment. "No, no no no! I merely meant that we were waiting and…watching…and…" Twilight lowered her head and sighed. "Let's…just meet the rest of my friends, ok?" "Castle, stop picking on the talking pony," Beckett muttered. Castle merely shrugged and trotted after Twilight, who had seemingly perked up once she had come closer to her friends. Beckett was willing to bet that Twilight functioned best when surrounded by others; Beckett was the same way, despite how much she tried to give off the illusion of wanting to be forever by herself. "Twilight, I'm sorry about my partner…he has a bad case of…Pinkie Pie-itis." "Ah," Twilight said sagely, sharing a secret smile with Beckett while Castle grumbled. "Alright Miss Beckett…" "Kate," Beckett said. As disturbing and strange as this was, something within her felt a connection to the purple unicorn and, for reasons she honestly couldn't explain, made her want to treat this pony with a touch of kindness and not her usual gruff, aloof attitude. "Kate," Twilight said, rolling it about her tongue. "You can call me Richard, or Ric if you want or Castle if you prefer," Castle piped up. "Please don't call me Mr. Castle." "Because Mr. Castle is your father?" Twilight said drolly, remembering the old joke. "Well, actually because being called Mr. Castle makes me feel like I am surrounded by Alexis’ friends-“ Castle grew quiet, his steps faltering for a moment as he thought of Alexis. What would she think when she came downstairs in the morning and found him gone. Or…worse? Would he ever see his daughter again? Was he trapped here, worlds apart from her? Who would help her out when she had a problem? Who would be there to comfort her when she was blue? Hell…who would do that for HIM? Suddenly the whole talking pony thing wasn't that fun. Twilight and Beckett didn't notice Castle's fallen features, as they were too focused on meeting Twilight's friends. "Please ta meet ya! Name’s Applejack!" the orange pony with the big cowboy hat said, holding out her hoof. Beckett stared at it for a moment before bringing her hoof up, pressing it to Applejack’s and 'shaking' it. "Twilight says you two folks are from out of town. Where ya'll from?" "Uh…I don't know if you've heard of it…" Beckett said vaguely. "Well, try us," Applejack said. "Ponyville ain't that well known, so we know what it's like for folks not to know about ya home town!" Beckett, deciding to just go with it, stated, "Manhattan." "Man…oh, you mean Manehattan!" a white pony with purple/blue hair said with a voice that would have been suited for an episode of Masterpiece Theater. "Oh, how wonderful to meet two ponies from such a wondrous and upscale town!" The white pony frowned a touch. "Though, maybe the reason no one says they know of it is because of your pronunciation. It is MANE, not MAN, Katherine." "Right…" Beckett muttered, inwardly groaning as she realized they were most likely in for a lot of horse puns. "Excuse Rarity, Kate," Applejack said, giving the white pony a cold look. "You'll never meet a pony that wants everything just so quite like Rarity." Rarity sniffed in displeasure. "Some of us prefer to talk properly, Applejack." Castle, who had snapped out of his funk, leaned in towards Beckett, whispering, "Now I feel weird not speaking with a random accent. Is it too late for me to be Scottish?" Castle chuckled at his own joke, only to let out a yelp when he saw that Rarity was now standing right next to him, flashing him a flirty grin. "Well, hello there," Rarity said with a flutter of her eyelashes. "…eep." Beckett rolled her eyes but held off on any snarky comments; Castle was, for once, not flirting with a woman that showed interest in him. Twilight, meanwhile, had been working to get a pale yellow pony to come out from her hiding spot. The poor thing was shivering and trembling and Beckett instantly went to her, speaking softly as she would to a child or a nervous witness. "Hi there…my name is Kate." "H…hello," the quiet pony said, her voice so soft Beckett could barely hear it. "It's ok, Fluttershy…it's ok," Twilight said gently. Fluttershy merely tried to return to hiding behind the couch, causing Twilight to let out a sigh. "Sorry…she has-" "It's ok." Beckett trotted over to Fluttershy and lowered her head, continuing to speak in slow, patient tones. "Fluttershy…that is a very pretty name." "Thank you, Miss B…Kate," Fluttershy said softly. "Now, you don't need to be scared of me or my partner. I'm a detective, and that means I'm a good per…pony." Beckett forced herself not to think of the officers that had proven themselves to be corrupt, like Royce or the men that had killed her mother. Seeing that Fluttershy was beginning to trust her, Beckett decided to continue coaxing her out. She thanked God that Castle was being distracted by Rarity, as Beckett doubted the shy pony could handle a dose of Castle (though, the pony was friends with Pinkie Pie….). "What do you do for a living, Fluttershy?" Beckett asked, backing up to give the pony room to leave her hiding spot. Smiling, Fluttershy instantly warmed up to the topic. "Oh, I take care of the animals. The mayor pays me to monitor and care for all the wild creatures…any time there is a poor little grizzly bear with an injured paw or a sad mountain lion with a chipped tooth I help them out and make sure they are cared for." Beckett raised an eyebrow at the ‘poor little grizzly bear’ line but didn’t question it. For all she knew grizzly bears had the right to vote in this world. "Fluttershy is really good at her job," Twilight added, joining the conversation. "Well…everyone is good at their jobs," Fluttershy said humbly. "Twilight is the best librarian we've ever had…and Applejack runs an entire farm by herself…well, her and her brother." Rarity used her hoof to poof up her hair; it was a move Castle had seen his ex do many times…normally right before she got a judge to get her more of his money. "I for one am a fashion designer…maybe you've heard of some of my work? Fluttershy here even modeled several of my pieces a while back." Castle looked at the quiet pony and did not see 'supermodel'. Of course, he hadn't thought that Rina would be a supermodel… A memory of the awkward, skittish girl who used to watch High School Musical with his daughter and stammer when he asked her about her day flashed in his mind and instantly Castle decided that, much like Rina, Fluttershy would have him in her corner if she needed him. "What about you, Richard?" Rarity practically purred. Castle shuddered; she didn't sound British…she sounded like his MOTHER. "Ah…I'm a writer." "Anything we would have heard of?" Twilight asked. Castle opened his mouth, only to scowl. Of course they wouldn't know of his books…he hadn't written them here. For the first time in years…he wasn't famous. He glared at Beckett as she began to snort. "No," Castle finally ground out. "Unless you've heard of Nikki Heat." Twilight frowned, her horn glowing as she yanked a book from the shelf. "Nikki? Do you mean Filly Heat?" Castle and Beckett stared at the book: it was an exact copy of HEAT WAVE, except instead of a silhouette of a woman it had a silhouette of a pony with a glowing horn. He flipped it over and, sure enough, there was a picture of him…or his pony self…staring back at him. "Shut the front door," Beckett muttered. "I am, I am," a blue pony with rainbow colored hair complained, flying into the library after slamming said door shut. "See Twilight, this is why I always prefer coming through the window! No one asks me to slow down and shut things when I go through the window!" "I ask you to shut the window all the time, you just don't listen." "Whatever," the brash pony said. "These the new arrivals?" Twilight nodded. "Richard, Kate, I'd like you to meet my friend Rainbow Dash." Castle tilted his head to the side. "Huh…a little on the nose, don't you think?" "Well, it's better than your names!" Pinkie said brightly. "I mean, you aren't made of a castle and you don't look like a castle and you don't live in a castle…you should have been named Richard Bookybook or Writerdude or something like that." Pinkie leapt onto Beckett, bouncing on the detective's back. "And what the heck is a Beckett? I've never heard of a Beckett! Is it like a bucket? Was that your name, Kate Bucket, and you changed it to Beckett to be hip? I thought of doing that, but I like the way Pinkie Pie sounds…listen! Pinkie Pie, Pinkie Pie, Pinkie Pie, Pinkie Pie…" "Oh ponyfeathers, she's stuck in a loop!" Applejack said in a panic. "On it!" Twilight said, using her magic to lift Pinkie up and deposit her in the upstairs' bedroom, shutting the door and silencing the chatterbox. "She'll be better in a few minutes. Till then, we can help you guys get settled in." Beckett, suddenly remembering the insanity of the moment, shook her head and stared at Twilight. "Listen…it's nice to meet you all but this is all very confusing. I mean…you act like you know us and yet…" "Well, we don't know you," Rarity said, delicately eating a cupcake Pinkie had left behind. "But we know of you." "Of us?" "The P-princess sent Twilight a letter, letting her know to expect you," Fluttershy said softly. Castle and Beckett shared a look. "Uh…what Princess?" Judging from the shocked faces…that wasn’t the right thing to say.