//------------------------------// // "Reasonably Concerned." // Story: Coffee vs. Equestria // by aegishailstorm //------------------------------// "What happened?" Lucas repeated in confusion. He looked up at John, then at his companions. Then down at his hands. Which were now fur covered stumps." The group was completely silent. He looked down at his new hooves again. One moment, he had been opening a book which he had grabbed off a nearby shelve, and the next, he was half his original height. Botkin just sat there. He could feel his ears twitching slightly. " Opps." Princess Celestia chuckled nervously, she levitated the book which Lucas had just been holding to her side. Brandon raised his hand. " How did-" The princess opened the book for a moment, and closed it again. " It was an enchanted book, you'll be fine Mister Botkin." "What- Huh?" John looked at the others. " Yes, I'm pretty sure that Lucas Botkin just transformed into an alicorn. Lucas?" The creature on the ground looked up at him. " Yeah?" "How does it feel?" He tried flexing his new wings. " I can't feel my fingers." He replied, trying to sound a disconcerned as possible. He looked to his side. And was relived to find that his Glock was still there. "Um... Could I have a mirror?" Matt Best fished one out of his plate carrier and tossed it to Lucas. He prodded at it, "How am I supposed to open it with these?" John knelt down and propped it open for him. "Holy-" He rubbed his eyes. " Well... It's not normal, but I imagined worse. This isn't actually that bad." He tapped the horn on top of his head and furrowed his brows. " Wait, isn't Ian waiting outside?" The team exchanged looks. "Yes, yes he is." Brandon said. " Ok, Mike, Matt, Scott, Donut, John and me 'll stay with Lucas. BRCC, you go and greet Gun Jesus." They went their separate ways. "This isn't permanent. Right?" Botkin bounded to all fours. And stumbled leftward slightly. Celestia caught him with her magic. " Try walking, slowly." John Lovell insisted, pausing for a moment to stare down at his watch. Whilst Lucas attempted to relearn his basic skills of motion, Evan and the BRCC team greeted Ian. " Oh, you guys have no idea how glad I am to see humans!" He cried out. "Matt Best and Logan squinted at him in confusion." Long day?" He furiously shook his head up and down. " I've got a tale for you, actually. Or, is it a fable? Being that it was mostly animals, or does that not apply to griffons? Ah, whatever. Lead the way Evan!" He calmly fixed his coat. And proceeded into the castle after Evan. It looked even more marvelous then it did from a far, and was exponentially more preferable than the Griffonic one which he had spent the better part of his day in. As with the other humans, he marveled at the castle. He hadn't heard of, nor seen any ponies up until this point in his journey. He and the others stepped into the library just in time for Ian to meet Celestia, Luna, and a ponified Lucas Botkin. His eyes widened. " Fascinating." Was the first word out of Ian's mouth. " Glowing unicorns with wings, this is the darnest thing I've seen all day." He walked up to Luna and examined her mane. " How does it float in mid air?" He asked her, she took a step back. " I don't know. I would presume it's magic, the same goes for my sister, he turned around to stare at Celestia. "Is that real gold?" He examined her necklace. She smiled, " Why yes, it is. Hello Ian, my name is Princess Celestia, that is Princess Luna, and that... Is Lucas Botkin. He had a run in with an enchanted book. " Ian furrowed his eyebrows as he approached the grey alicorn. " Well, this is certainty unexpected. How's life Botkin?" The ponified marksman looked up at him. "Good, great actually. According to Celestia over there, I can manipulate things the same way I could with hands thanks to this horn on my head. " Ian nodded, "I take it those wings are functional as well?" "As far as we know. We've witnessed other's, so I'm assuming he can as well." Mike responded. " Ian took a seat. " So anyway, it all started when I met this griffon on the road leading out of Point Liberty..." He paused for a moment to stare out into space. Brandon walked up and shook him. " Hey! Man, c'mon, you can sleep latter. Tell us!" He sat back up. "Alright, where was I? Ah yes, I met this griffon on a dirt road. I don't recall their name, but they got a few of their friends to fly me all the way to their capital city. Griffonstone, I got to meet their leader, learned a bit about their culture, busted out, and flew back here on that balloon I commandeered. The moral of the story is a simple one, don't trust griffons that both look and act like they're the main antagonist in a Disney film. " He clasped his hands together in satisfaction. "That's all?" Scott asked him. "Yep." Ian replied with a chuckle, "So, what were you guys doing while I was off meeting magical bird/ lion hybrids?" John looked out the window and put his hands in his pockets. " Well, we've got quite the story to tell you." They all sat down alongside Ian." Brandon and a few other's readjusted their battle belts. Lucas awkward slumped back on his hindquarters. "Who'll start first?" Brandon Herrera asked, Matt Best raised a finger. " I'll go first. It was actually Brandon over here that called for us. For some reason, the portal to this world popped up on our ranch, and no where else. We came back here because we were curious. And because this place is much cooler than earth. Ok, that's not entirely the case, but it certainly isn't lacking adventure." " Well, it was all cherries and berries for us until some SOB's decided to ambush me out in the woods." Angry chimed in, frowning at the group. " "You know Ian, here a good life lesson for you. Don't ever try to lynch a Drill Sargent!" "I'll take that under consideration, but how does that apply to me?" Meanwhile in Griffonstone...