//------------------------------// // Chapter 4–An unexpected visitor // Story: The Little Pony Legend: A New Generation // by MaggiesHeartLove //------------------------------// “Do you have any idea how many violations you broke in there?!” “I’m sure you’re about to tell me,” Sunny sighed stubbornly. She sealed the lid of the ice cream truck where she collected her smoothies. She knew Keith would be furious, but she was too. Not at him, but every pony else, especially Phyllis. “Actually, for once, I can’t! Because there were so many! Not only that, but you swore you wouldn’t do anything insane. You lied straight to my face!” “Technically, compared to all the other times, this ‘wasn’t’ as crazy.” “No, you’re right… it was worse! What do you have to say for yourself this time, huh? You’re lucky I talked Hitch into letting you off the hook, but just this one time! I can’t promise that anymore… this was this last straw, Sunny.” “I was only trying to move things along! You’ve been on the force for almost a year now, and you still haven’t told Hitch the truth!” “What do you want me to do? Walk into the office with my bangs cut off for all Equestria to see?! You saw what happens when a mage strolls six feet into Maretime Bay! Nobody’s ready for the truth! Why can’t you just accept that?!” “Because I refuse to live in a world where you have to hide who you are forever!” The two siblings stood silent for a while till Sunny spoke again. “Keith, you’re an officer. The other Earth folk look up to you. You can help ease the cycle if you’re just honest. Not just with our friends, but yourself.” “Sunny, I took an oath to uphold the law.” “Technically, you already broke a jaw when you joined the force. You took a risk, why can’t you do it again?” “It’s not as simple as you want it to be, Sunny. I know you want things to change, I do too… but sometimes we have to be realistic.” “What about Dad’s stories? Don’t you still believe in them?” Unfortunately, Keith didn’t know how to answer any of those questions. After today… he didn’t know what to believe anymore. Dejected, he walked toward a bench and hung his head, hiding his face in his hands. Sunny, equally dejected, sat beside him. A few foals galloped along, laughing and playing. One said he was a Pegasus coming after the other, roaring and snarling while the second foal just laughed while running. “Keith, I’m sorry. I really am.” “I know one thing I still believe,” Keith spoke quietly. “You’re my sister… if anything splits us apart… I don’t know how I’d go on.” Sunny snuggled closer to her brother, who drew her in for a close, side hug. They stayed like that for a while until they noticed a swarm of ponies and elves running away, screaming in sheer terror. “What the?” Sunny wondered. “What’s going on?” Keith asked. “What’s happening?” But despite Keith’s efforts, the townsfolk just ran passed him and Sunny. One pony bumped straight into Sunny, and Keith squatted down to help her up. A shadow soon looked over them and when they looked up… “Hi, new friends! My name’s Izzy, and this is Katie!” “Sup.” Standing before them was none other than a real live unicorn, currently in her enlarged form, with a mage riding on her back. The unicorn had a pinkish purple coat, blue curly hair with purple hues, and a beautiful horn poking out of her forehead, just like in the pictures Sunny and Keith had seen over the years. The mage looked like an ordinary earth elf, minus the stunning diamond-shaped green jewel on her forehead. Her honey brown hair was cut short, her bangs swept to the side showcasing the jewel. She wore a pair of glasses and a few green diamond-shaped accessories on her hair, the beads matching the ones around the unicorn’s right ankle. Sunny stood up, but Keith stayed in his squatting position. Losing his balance, he landed along his rump, yet his eyes never left their new visitors. He couldn’t stop staring at the mage’s jewel while Sunny couldn’t pry her eyes away from the unicorn’s horn. “What?” Katie asked. “You’re…” Keith stuttered. “Y-Y-You’re… a mage!” “Unicorn!” Sunny shouted excitedly. Sadly, nobody else shared the same sentiment. They all ran and hid, closing their shops and stands, one even ducked through a manhole cover. “Oh, is everybody playing hide-and-seek?” Izzy asked. “I see you!” She noticed a pony by the railing over the ocean. The pony screamed and jumped over, making a loud splashing noise. “Yeah, I don’t think they’re playing,” Katie observed. Hitch, Sprout, James, and Hunk stepped out of the police station, Hunk was over to fix the jammed printer and was snacking on an apple. “Hey, what’s going on?” Hitch asked. He spotted their unexpected, and unwelcome, visitors… even worse, Sunny and Keith right with them, staring in awe. “Unicorn and mage alert!” Hitch shouted. Sprout and Hunk screamed and tried to run back inside. Only their heads smashed against the wall. “Ouch…” Hunk moaned, falling backward. “Urgh…!” James groaned. Hitch pressed a button on the wall and sounded the alarm. “This is not a drill! I repeat this is not a drill!” Hunk quickly recovered, pacing in place with the apple discarded. “Oh no, oh man, oh this is bad, this is very, very bad!” “Get it together soldier!” Hitch ordered. “Hop on!” “Hop on where?” Hunk asked. Hitch quickly shifted into his larger form and hoisted Hunk onto his back. “Wait, wait, wait, wait! I’m not a cop! I’m just here to fix the PRINTEEEEEEEEEER!” Hunk screamed at the top of his lungs while Hitch galloped ahead. Along the way, he spotted a frightened little colt amidst the rushing crowd. Acting fast, Hitch jumped over a barrel of apples, with having snatching a green one, and held on for dear life as Hitch flipped and leapt to grab the colt in one hoof, handing him over to a random mare. “Your son is safe now, ma’am,” Hitch saluted, galloping away. “This isn’t my kid!” The mare proclaimed. “You’re welcome!” Hitch replied. “Sorry!” Hunk yelled out. Hitch started barking orders, while a scared Hunk clung onto his back. “Man the splatter-pult! Activate the underground traps! Pick up that litter!” All around, tiles flipped over revealing the same ‘X’ blocks Sunny witnessed during the Canterlogic demonstration. One step and those would activate the very same trap that encased her. “Wow! Is that the sea?” Izzy asked, marveling the gleaming ocean. “I’ve never seen the sea. Katie, isn’t it beautiful?” Katie was the only one who spotted the ‘X’. Even without knowing exactly what it meant, she knew it was bad news. She tugged Izzy’s mane and got her to turn around, away from the ‘X’. “Um, any chance you guys can fill us in on what’s going on?” Katie asked Sunny and Keith. Though she didn’t know them, she had a gut feeling they could help. After all, they were the only ones not running and screaming. Keith had no time to analyze the situation. All he knew was that he couldn’t just let these two get captured. After all, one of them was much like him… even if she didn’t know it. “We’ve got to get you out of here!” Sunny said. Without thinking, she shifted into her larger form and Keith jumped onto her back. “Come with us if you want to live!” He instructed. Izzy galloped behind them, with Katie holding on tight. “Earth folks are serious about games!” Izzy said. “They’re not playing!” Keith said. “They’re terrified!” “Oh, no! Of what?” “You! Folks here don’t like mages or unicorns! Believe me.” “Really? That seems a little harsh. “I told you coming here was a bad idea, Izzy!” Katie exclaimed, frustrated. “But noooooo… you never listen to me! ‘Let’s go to the Earth Folk town’ you said. ‘It’ll be fun; we’ll make some friends’!” “Hey, that’s a pretty good imitation of me, Kate. Have you been practicing?” The four of them halted when the green goop from the splatter-pult landed before them like gooey, green rain. Keith and Sunny spotted Phyllis, with her anti-mind reading helmet and two other elves. One of them was Iverson, the taller elf working the machines to splatter the unicorn and mage. His eyes caught sight of the group, and he furrowed his gaze with a fierce glare. “Let’s go!” Sunny shouted. Sunny took the lead and the four galloped away, narrowly missing the green balls of fury and avoiding all the large ‘X’ tiles in their way. Izzy merely jumped beside them like a game of hopscotch. Keith looked over his shoulder, making sure they were still behind them. He tugged on Sunny’s mane, making her skit to a halt and the two gasped when they noticed Izzy staring happily at a movie poster about a cyborg elf and his police officer pony partner. “Ooh, I haven’t seen this one yet.” “Izzy, no!” Katie shouted. She desperately turned Izzy around by tugging her mane, only for Izzy to trip and step on the ‘X’ anyway. The two were encased in an iron box, one large enough to accommodate their size. The red alarm on top buzzing, while Katie’s voice was heard inside their prison. “Hey! What is this? I’m pretty sure this counts as assault, people!” Sunny, with Keith still on her back, galloped towards the iron cage. Just then, Hitch, with a motion-sick Hunk on his back, arrived at the scene. “Alright citizens, calm down. The threat has been neutralized, the unicorn and mage have been captured. You may now cheer.” And cheer they did. Everyone stepped out of their hiding places and celebrated the capture of the intruders. Hitch’s eyes went wide when he noticed Sunny slowly approaching the metal box. Even more surprising to see was that Keith wasn’t doing anything to stop her. “Sunny! What are you doing?” Hitch called out. “Keith! Do something!” Keith swallowed hard. He knew this was going to get him in so much trouble, but… he couldn’t just let them do Equestria-knows-what to these poor girls. They didn’t seem dangerous at all, far from it. Actually he was surprised the mage hadn’t done any magic yet. Was she trying not to scare everyone? Mission not accomplished. But still, every fiber of being told him what he had to do. For once, he would be like Sunny and act on impulse. Speaking of whom, Sunny raised her hoof towards the shiny red button that would release the prisoners. “No, don’t you dare!” Hitch warned, but it was too late. “No, no, no, no, no!” Sunny pressed the button and out came Izzy and Katie. “So, your name’s Sunny?” Izzy asked. The townsfolk started running and screaming again, accidentally stepping onto the traps and encased themselves in iron. Sunny and Keith led their new friends away from all the chaos. “Bye!” Izzy called out. “It was nice to meet you all!” “Not really!” Katie shouted back. Hitch really hoped it wouldn’t come to this. But technically, Sunny, and even Keith, violated one of their most sacred laws: Helping the enemy. It tore Hitch inside that he’d have to do this, but he had no choice. It wasn’t long before James and Sprout finally caught up with them. He hopped off Sprout’s back and surveyed the scene. “What happened?” James called out. “WHAT HAPPENED?!?!” “The unicorn and mage escaped our trap!” Hitch sighed. “Keith and Sunny sprung ‘em loose; they’re heading to the lighthouse.” “Why those unicorn, mage-loving traitors!” James growled, clenching his fist. “Oh, man!” Hunk panicked, biting his nails. “What do we do now, Hitch?” Hitch turned toward Sprout and James. “Officer James, Deputy, to the lighthouse!” “Um…” Sprout cringed nervously. Sprout purposely stepped onto one of the ‘X’ tiles, deliberately imprisoning himself. “Oh no! I appear to be trapped.” Taking a note from Sprout, Hunk hopped off of Hitch and pressed his feet on another ‘X’. “Oh darn! I appear to be trapped as well!” “You’ve got to be kidding me!” Hitch shook his head. “MORONS!” James yelled, in frustration. “I’M SURROUNDED BY MORONS!!!”