The Apple That Fell On The Tree
Two hours earlier…
Lieutenant Commander Geordi LaForge beamed down into the heart of the city of Canterlot to set up additional cloaked sensors around the city. With his holo-camo suit rendering himself invisible, he was able to walk about the city with the locals blissfully unaware of his presence.
He set up sensors next to several shops within the heart of the city. Each unit was equipped with its own personal cloak to mask their presence. After setting up several units along the city streets, he made his way over to the palace.
He scouted the area for optimal positions to place the sensors in order to deliver the best results without also being discovered. Looking up at the castle, he could see the towers sticking up high into the air. That would definitely provide the best possible range, but between the number of locals moving in and out of the palace and the number of guards stationed throughout would make it too challenging to avoid detection.
Instead, Geordi opted to setup a few sensors around the palace gardens first and come back with a strategy for setting up more sensors in the towers later. He made his over into the gardens carrying his equipment in a large cloaked bag.
The palace gardens were vast. There were areas containing thousands of different types of flowers blooming in so many different colors that it would often take many visitors' breaths away. A labyrinth in the middle of the gardens would also often take many ponies' breaths away, though for an entirely different reason. Just outside the exit of the labyrinth, Geordi spotted an elder pony resting on a bench, panting and clutching his chest.
Another area was comprised of an ornate statue garden. Many different statues of historical ponies and mythical creatures were spread out with plaques in front of them explaining who or what each statue depicted. Just beyond that was a long stone brick fence surrounding the gardens. Lining the fence were tall apple trees, whose bright red apples suggested they were perfect for eating.
Geordi decided to place a sensor unit up one of the apple trees and made his way over to them. He climbed up one of the trees, which was no easy feat inside the holo-camo suit. Pulling the equipment out, he began setting up the device.
This was the most difficult part of the installation as the device, once taken out of its bag, would not be cloaked until it could be powered on. Geordi hoped the branches of the tree would be enough to prevent anyone spotting the device while he completed the installation. He took a second look around to be sure there was no one nearby. He spotted a small group of ponies over by an empty stone pedestal in the statue garden.
“Just stay over there, and I’ll be done in no time,” he thought aloud.
He positioned the tripod stand into the first main split in the tree trunk and fired two peons into the wood to lock it in place. Carefully attaching the main unit to the stand, he then positioned the sensors facing outward toward the castle. Switching the unit on, the device gave a small whirring sound indicating he had installed it successfully. Flipping the switch for the camouflage cloak on the device, he watched it blend before his eyes into the background until he could no longer see anything but the tree.
Breathing in a sigh of relief now that the danger of being spotted was finally over, Geordi gazed down to find his footing and start climbing back down the tree. Before he could move however, he had to stop in his tracks. The very ponies he spotted earlier in the garden appeared to be walking straight towards him.
“Have I been seen?” he thought nervously, watching them head straight in his direction. He watched as they walked right up to the very tree he was squatting in. A white horned pony used her power to spread a blanket over the ground. A second started pulling out sandwiches.
“Just great,” he thought. “Of all the trees in all the garden, you had to pick mine to have a picnic under.”
Geordi's comm badge was set to be inaudible to anyone but himself. Tapping it, he whispered, “LaForge to Enterprise, unable to return to rendezvous point. Locals nearby are preventing me from moving. Requesting direct beam-out.”
Captain Picard, on the bridge of the Enterprise looked over to Lieutenant Commander Data. “Mr. Data, lock on to Commander LaForge. Can we beam him out of there without giving away his position?”
Data quickly assessed the situation from his terminal and responded. “No sir. At his proximity to the indigenous life forms, they would immediately become aware of his presence, followed by his sudden disappearance into the matter stream.”
Responding to Lieutenant Commander LaForge, Picard said, “I’m sorry Geordi, you’ll just have to wait until you can get to a more secluded area. We cannot beam you out in your current situation.”
“Acknowledged,” Geordi said. “LaForge out.” He sighed silently, settling himself into a seated position on one of the larger branches. He would have to wait for the ponies below him to finish their lunches.
After a while, an orange pony with what would seem like a tattoo of apples on her flank starting standing up. “Finally,” he thought. “I was starting to get a cramp up here.”
He overheard the orange pony talking to her friends.
“That were some great sandwiches and salad there Twi, Fluttershy. How ‘bout I rustle us up some apples for dessert?”
“Eat your apples while you pack up and leave!” Geordi thought, the cramp in his leg began to pulsate. “Just hurry up already!”
He watched as the orange pony headed, not for her bag, but right up to the very apple tree he was sitting in. Turning away from the tree, the pony readied herself to kick down a few apples from it. Realizing what the pony was about to do, Geordi gripped one of the branches tightly just as the pony kicked hard against the tree.
The sensor, which was lodged firmly into the trunk, stayed completely in place. Geordi, however, did not luck out so well. The branch he gripped broke as the kick landed against the trunk. He plummeted right towards one of the ponies; a yellow pony with wings, who was feeding a small rabbit, and didn’t even look up as he fell right onto the top of her head.
* * *
Tears started forming in Fluttershy’s eyes as she squeaked softly in pain. Her tears quickly turned into a flood of sobs. The other ponies knew something had just landed on Fluttershy, but they couldn't see what it was.
Geordi opened his eyes. Quickly realizing the situation he was in, he scrambled up as fast as he could and tried to get away from the scene. However, he failed to realize that one of Pinkie Pie’s cupcakes had squished into the back of his suit. The ponies watched as a squished cupcake suddenly got up from the sheet on the ground and started bouncing in mid-air away from them.
Upon seeing Fluttershy cry out in pain, Rainbow Dash became enraged and charged straight at the flying cupcake. “Oh no you don’t, Discord!” she shouted, tackling the cupcake to the ground. “You will pay for making Fluttershy cry!”
But the cupcake said nothing. Geordi realized he must be partly visible and struggled to reach his communicator for help.
Rainbow started thrashing at the invisible being she had tackled. Biting something that felt like a bag of sorts, she tugged and gnawed at it with her teeth until it finally popped off. Dropping the suit’s hood to the floor along with her jaw, Rainbow Dash stared at this strange head she had never seen before floating in the air before her. It definitely was not Discord.
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry!” Geordi yelled as three more ponies arrived staring down at him angrily . “I didn’t mean to hurt your friend. You just surprised me when you kicked the tree I was in, and I fell.” Geordi said, figuring the truth might need a little embellishing in order to minimize the damage he had caused.
As Rainbow Dash continued to pin him to the ground with her hoof, Twilight spoke to the creature before her. “What are you? And why can’t we see the rest of you?” Her voice was both stiff and demanding, with a tone of authority that almost sounded to Geordi like Captain Picard.
“I’m… from out-of-town,” he frantically thought. “I was enjoying some apples from the tree when you kicked me down suddenly. I can make myself unseen so as not to disturb anybody.”
“Anybody?” said Applejack, looking quizzically at the stranger.
Geordi realized there must be a small gap in the universal translator’s interpretation. Thinking back, he remembered one of them say ‘pony’ instead of ‘body’. “Any pony?” he restated, hoping that would work.
Applejack seemed to realize something in her head. “Then I rekon it’s as much my fault as yours you landed on top ‘a poor Fluttershy.” Her cheeks got a little red with embarrassment. “But you should ‘a told us you were up there. Heck we might ’a even invited you to join us!”
“But something about this isn’t right,” Twilight spoke just as stern and angry as before. “There’s no reason to hide yourself in the palace gardens unless you’re up to no good. There are plenty of apple trees and places to buy apples that aren’t in the palace garden. And why were you hiding in a tree that’s right by Discord’s statue?”
Geordi was searching for ideas, but the name ‘Discord’ threw his train of thought. “Discord? Who is that?” he asked.
“How could anypony not know who Discord is?” said Rainbow Dash confused. “He’s only one of the biggest villains in all of Equestria!”
“I, uh… I’m just not from around here.”
Rarity just caught up to them after first tending to Fluttershy. “I’ve gotten the poor girl to calm down a bit, but I don’t like the way she looks,” she said worryingly. “Something is definitely wrong. We need to get her to the hospital right away.”
Twilight’s expression softened a little but she continued to gaze at the creature before her.
“Let’s get her to the hospital,” she said. “But we’re taking the stranger with us! Rainbow, fly up to the hospital and tell them we’re bringing in an emergency patient.”
Rainbow Dash soared off at once up to the castle.
“Applejack, Pinkie Pie, you two will escort our ‘guest’.”
“Can do!” said Applejack.
Pinkie Pie, the bubbliest and most vocal pony in Equestria, merely nodded with a stiff grunt, keeping her eyes on the stranger. She was not happy that this creature hurt one of her friends.
“Rarity and I will use our magic to float Fluttershy carefully up to the hospital,” said Twilight.
Geordi was amazed at this pony’s authoritative command and could almost swear he saw the captain in pony-form standing before him. He reminded himself to never let the captain in on that particular thought!
The orange pony prodded him with her snout from behind, pushing him toward the hospital. He followed obediently as they transported the injured pony to the hospital.
As they made their way through the gardens and up towards the castle, Geordi felt he had better say something. “Would it be alright if I turned off my-err... made my whole self visible? A floating head might disturb other people,” he said.
“Please do!” Applejack replied. “I'm a bit disturbed myself! But what are ‘people’? You say some funny words, mister.”
“Ponies. Sorry. My kind are called people the way yours are called ponies.”
Applejack seemed to understand. She said, “Ah, and what exactly are you ‘people’ anyways? I ain’t never seen your kind in Canterlot before or even Ponyville where we come from.”
Geordi tried to tell them as much of nothing as he could. The most he could answer without giving away too much, the better. Switching off his holo-camo suit he said, “We come from a great distance away. I had traveled here just recently.”
They were able to see Geordi properly now. He was taller than each pony, but that was only because he stood on two legs instead of four. He was smaller in stature and was wearing clothes that Rarity nearly fainted just from the sight of. The de-cloaked suit was dark maroon when visible and was made of a material similar in look and feel to a bio-hazard suit.
“What is that horrid thing you’re wearing?” she quietly whispered, because she really didn’t want to know the answer.
In addition to the suit, the ponies also noticed the strange item that covered his eyes with small amounts of light flashing from the sides.
“What’s that doo-hickey on your face?” said Pinkie Pie curiously. While still upset with the stranger, she couldn’t help but let her sense of wonder get the better of her.
Geordi had been asked this question many times before. He always kept a few preset responses ready. Which he went with depended on who was asking the question. In this case, he decided to go with, “They're sort of like glasses to help me see, only my eyes are really bad, so they’re much stronger than regular glasses.”
Despite the oddity of the look of his visor to the ponies, that answer seemed to help them accept it without further inquiry.
When they reached the hospital, the staff had a stretcher waiting for Fluttershy. She wasn’t looking well at all. Her face looked very pale and her eyes were in a daze. She wasn’t talking nor crying anymore. Her injury appeared to be serious. Her head had swollen around the wound, and the skin had split open slightly causing bleeding that was beginning to stain her soft pink mane and yellow fur. Geordi realized that the doctors might not be advanced enough to help her the way Dr. Crusher could.
They rushed Fluttershy into surgery. The Unicorn doctor took an x-ray with his magic. The doctor and the nurse were looking back and forth from Fluttershy to the X-Ray as they discussed what needed to be done.
In the waiting room, everypony was anxiously waiting to hear the doctor's prognosis. When he emerged from the operating room, he held a tight poker face that was unreadable. It almost resembled someone trying to hold back a laugh. As he looked into each of the ponies' and Geordi's faces, he finally said, "I'm very sorry..."