//------------------------------// // Meeting the Locals // Story: Not A Game Anymore (Revamp) // by WurkyWilk358 0w0 //------------------------------// Chapter 3 Crimson and Jet were unable to process the current situation they found themselves in. True, this day was as bizarre as they come, but it just got a little bit more bizarre since there was a pony person standing in front of them with a bright smile. There was an awkward silence in the air as the pink pony woman just kept smiling and waited for them to respond. “Jet, any ideas?” Crimson whispered. “Yeah, let me do the talking and don’t mention earth and or about Black Doom, unless I say so.” Jet whispered back before approaching the pink mare. “Um, forgive us for whispering. We are new to this country and aren't familiar with your kind.” The mare tilted her head. “My kind? I’m kind! My friends are kind too! Are you kind? You look kind!” The mare said. “Heh, she’s funny,” Crimson snorted. “What’s your name?” “I’m Pinkie Pie!” The mare chirped. Jet raised a brow at the name, about comment on how strange it sounded, until he remembered he couldn't exactly remember his own except for his character name.  “Um, well, I’m Jet Stream, and this is my friend Crimson, but you can call him Crim for short,” Jet introduced. “Crim?” Crimson said. “Nice to meet you, Jetty! Crimmy!” Pinkie said. “Crimmy?” Crimson said again. “Jetty?” Jet cringed slightly at the name. “Were you the ones who saved Ponyville?” Pinkie asked. “We heard about it when Mrs. Cake called while we were in Canterlot!” “Jeez, these names,” Crimson said. “And, who are your friends?” “They’re still in Ponyville. I came here after my Pinkie Sense went a little loco!” Pinkie said. “Pinkie sense?” Jet did his best to let these random and childish names enter one ear, before exiting the other. “We took part in helping your town along with our mentor, who unfortunately had to leave. We are now here to try and establish diplomatic relations, and to share information.” Jet spoke formally. “In other less complicated words, we wanna see if everyone’s okay,” Crimson said. “Well, that’s nice of you two!” Pinkie said and hopped towards the town. “C’mon! Everypony’s gonna wanna meet their saviors!” The two mobians just stared at the hopping mare, and followed her. “She’s quite the character,” Crimson said. “Yes, well, make sure to watch what you say and do. First impressions are very important, and one wrong move and we can either be chased off or locked up, and that’s the best case scenario.” Jet moved a hand to rub his neck nervously. Crimson just arched a brow at Jet. “After her first impression? I doubt the other pony folk are as biased as you think.” “She is an oddity, and could be putting up an act. Just stay on your toes and be mindful.” Jet jabbed at the wolf mobian. Crimson just rolled his eyes as they re-entered the town. The townsfolk once again took notice of their presence and stared at the two mobians. Crimson gave some of the ponies friendly waves with a smile. Jet merely nodded at them slightly with a smirk. Crimson noticed some of the ponies waved back in kind, but most of them were still picking up the pieces from the attack. “Black Doom must be as shitty as they come if he wanted to attack this peaceful place,” Crimson said with a slight sneer. Jet quickly stabbed his elbow into Crimson’s side and glared at him. “What did I say about saying that name?” “Ow…sorry. It’s just…” Crimson looked around at the damaged buildings and sad atmosphere of the town. “These people didn’t deserve this.” “I understand that, but bite your tongue. I won’t hesitate to let you fend for yourself if you say something offensive or rude. You’ve been warned,” Jet said with a stern tone. “Okay, okay, jeez,” Crimson said. Pinkie Pie led the two mobians further through town until they arrived at a wondrous sight. Their jaws went a little slack as they gazed up at a castle that looked like it was made of pure crystal. The sun’s light glistened off the building and gave off a sort of divine aura. “Woah…” Crimson said. “This thing’s freaking awesome!” Jet titled his head a bit and rubbed his beak. “Compared to the rest of the town though, it’s kinda an eye sore,” Jet commented. “What was that?” Pinkie said and Crimson slammed his hand on Jet’s beak, silencing him. “He said it’s cool too!” Crimson said with a sheepish grin and Pinkie kept hopping towards the castle as Crimson released Jet’s beak. “And you tell me not to say anything rude.” “Well, it slipped out,” Jet shrugged, but also slapping himself mentally for that mistake. “C’mon, Crimmy! Jetty! The others are waiting!” Pinkie said. “You think we’ll get used to her calling us that?” Crimson asked, suppressing a cringe. “I don’t want to say yes, but if it’s a sign that they are willing to trust us we will have to bear with it,” Jet groaned as the two walked to the door. Pinkie opened the door for them and they were met with the crystal interior of the castle. The inside was just as grand as the outside, and the two friends were admiring all that they saw “Hehehe! Is this your first time being in a castle?” Pinkie giggled. “Is it that obvious?” Crimson said while adjusting his glasses. “I’ve seen many rich individual’s houses, but none can compare to the uniqueness of this castle.” Jet was also equally impressed, thinking only the outside was made of crystals and not the whole thing. “This is the Castle of Friendship! And it’s home to one of my best friends, Twilight Sparkle!” Pinkie said as the turned the corner. “Wow. What is she, a princess?” Crimson joked. “Actually yes! She’s the Princess of Friendship!” Pinkie said, making Jet and Crimson come to a halt. “I feel as though we will need to greatly adjust to these names and titles you use,” Jet said in a polite tone, while internally screaming his head off and cringing with sheer pain. “Please excuse us,” Crimson said and pulled his stiff friend aside away from the pink mare. “Well, this just took an enormous turn.” “Yes it has. We are now faced with royalty, which means we are trending on thin ice.” Jet spoke nervously. “Maybe you should let me do all the talking.” “Do you trust me that little?” Crimson said, only for Jet to cross his arms. “Okay, so I have a history of being salty whenever we played games online with others. But that doesn’t mean I don’t know how to be polite.” Jet arched a brow. “Hey, that guy on Fortnite deserved to be called a shitter bitch.” “Would you rather I talk, or you mess up and we lose our heads?” Jet asked in a serious tone. “All I’m saying is that I’m cool,” Crimson held up his hands. “I won’t say anything unnecessary, alright? You have my word.” “I’ve spoken with royalty in my time as a soldier, and know how to act around them. The only royalty you ever were familiar with was a Burger King drive through.” Jet smirked playfully. “Hey! Don’t disrespect the king!” Crimson snapped. “Haha, and I’ve made my point.” Jet smiled as they followed the pink mare. Pinkie opened the two double doors again and they entered a room with a large table and chairs surrounding it. Off to the side were a group of more mares conversing with one another. One mare had orange fur with a blonde mane and tail tied at the end to make the hair look like a loop. She also had emerald green eyes and was wearing a brown Stetson on her head, a red and white checked shirt with a brown vest and blue jeans that went well with her figure. The next mare had cyan blue fur and a rainbow mane and tail and had a pair of wings with magenta-colored eyes, she was wearing a white tank top and blue jacket and black pants that hugged her athletic curves.  Next to her was a butter-yellow-colored mare with a pink mane and tail. She also had wings with blue eyes wearing a green sweater and blue jeans. There was white furred mare with a curly purple mane and tail. She also had a horn with light blue eyes and was wearing a white button up shirt and a skirt that matched the color of her mane and tail.  Finishing off the group was a mare with lavender fur. Her mane and tail were purple and had a pink streak running through them. She had a horn and magenta eyes wearing a purple skirt with a white under shirt and lavender sweater. On her back was a pair of slightly larger wings, compared to the other two winged mares. “Hi, girls!” Pinkie said, gaining their attention. “Pinkie, there you are!” The white mare said. “You quite literally slipped away as soon as we got off the train!” “Sorry, Rarity, I just went to find these two!” Pinkie said, pointing at Crimson and Jet. “Hello,” Crimson said with a small wave. “Please forgive our unannounced visit.” Jet bowed his head and delivered a quick jab to Crimson’s side, to get him to do the same. “We are at your mercy, your majesty.” “Oh brother, that formality is over the top,” the cyan mare rolled her eyes. “Right?” Crimson snickered. “He’s just worried we’ll lose our heads if we say something stupid.” “Why the hay would ya think that?” The orange mare asked. “For starters, we are foreigners in your country, as well as standing before a noble.” Jet glanced around the room before bowing again. “And from the residents of the town as well as all presence, we seem to be the only carnivore species present. We hope that will not cause you to feel uneasy around us.” “Carnivore?” The yellow mare said nervously. “I’m a wolf, he’s a bird,” Crimson said, then eyed Jet. “But I’m not entirely sure what specific kind of bird he is. Do you?” “I’m about to see if I’m a woodpecker by pecking your head, if you don’t cut it out.” Jet said bitterly. Crimson raised his hands in defiance. “Why don’t we start with names,” Crimson said. “I’m Crimson. Crimson the wolf. This here’s Jet Stream the bird. It’s nice to meet you all.” “And just to clear up the air.” Jet turned to look at the yellow mare, before bowing again. “We also eat plants and vegetables too; I was merely referring to our species.” “That right?” The cyan mare said. “Looks can be deceiving,” Crimson said with a grin. “Don’t let the fangs trick you.” “So we can promise you that none here have ever been, nor shall ever be something we’d ever eat.” Jet stated calmly. “Since you already met Pinkie Pie, I’ll introduce myself as well,” the purple mare said. “My name is Twilight Sparkle, I am the princess of friendship.” “Name’s Applejack, partners,” the mare wearing a stetson said and tipped her hat. “I am Rarity, a pleasure,” the white mare said in a posh tone. “Um…I’m Fluttershy,” Fluttershy whispered behind her mane. “Rainbow Dash, remember it,” the cyan mare said. Crimson and Jet both had to grit their teeth to suppress the level of cringe from the ridiculous names these mares spouted. “It’s nice to meet you all as well,” Crimson said, barely able to hold back his laughter. “Yes; it’s an honor to meet you all.” Jet smiled as best as he could, trying not to smash his head on the wall due to the bizarre names. “So I’m sure you have questions for us.” “Lots,” Rainbow Dash said. “For starters, are you two a Diamond dog and weird griffin hybrids?” “Rainbow! That’s rude!” Twilight snapped. “What? It’s my question,” Rainbow said back. “Dunno what a diamond dog is, save for a griffin, but to answer your question, we’re mobians,” Crimson answered. “What the hay’s a mobian?” Applejack asked. “We are a species of bipedal animals…that’s about it, really. I mean, what is a pony?” Jet had loosen up enough to ask a question himself. “I guess that makes sense?” Rainbow responded. “Um…so you two are literally animals who can walk and talk?” Fluttershy asked. “Do they not see the irony?” Crimson muttered to his friend. “Possibly not, better not to question it,” Jet muttered back before thinking of what to say next. “In a sense I suppose you could say that, but we are fully sentient and intelligent mind you.” Fluttershy then boldly walked up to Jet and stood in front of him. He was at least a head taller than the mare as Crimson looked at her curiously. “Something on your mind?” Crimson asked. “Um…you have nice fur,” Fluttershy said and suddenly reached up to gently pat his head. “Well…thanks?” Crimson shrugged. The bird mobain turned away to cover his beak, as he suppressed a laugh. “I’ve never pet a wolf before,” Fluttershy said, now lightly stroking Crimson’s head. Crimson was about to respond when he felt a moving sensation behind him. Jet glanced over to see Crimson’s tail beginning to wag the more Fluttershy pet Crimson. “Pwahahah!” Jet fell to his knees and burst out laughing, on one hand keeping him propped up, while the other clutched his side. “Hey, do you have a bone or chew toy to give him!?” Jet said between laughs. “Okay, ha ha,” Crimson rolled his eyes. “Oh! I’m so sorry, I got carried away,” Fluttershy said with a flustered blush and stepped back. “It’s no biggie,” Crimson waved his hand and grabbed his tail to make it stop wagging. “May I ask a question?” Rarity said. “Where on Eques did you acquire those clothes?” After calming down from nearly laughing himself to death, Jet stood up and thought quickly. “We got these from our homeland, before we set out on our journey.” “I see, they’re oddly fitting for the two of you,” Rarity said. “But I surmise that they are your only clothes?” “You could say that,” Crimson said. “We sorta arrived here without warning. So we didn’t have much time to pack.” “That won’t do,” Rarity said. “What if I were to make you two new sets of clothing? Free of charge, of course.” “Free? That’s pretty generous of you,” Crimson said. “Surely we can-” “Ah! Say no more,” Rarity interrupted. “It is the least I can do for the two brave souls who faced those awful monsters.” “We may have to accept since I get the feeling our currency isn’t valid here.” Jet added and nudged Crimson to hopefully get the point across. “But we are willing to offer our labor to help pay for the clothes. We didn'’ help your town to gain free stuff.” “Can Ah ask somethin’ that’s kinda obvious?” Applejack asked. “Depends,” Crimson said. “What were them varmints that attacked our home?” Applejack said. “We got a call from our friends while we were in Canterlot and rushed here as fast as we could. Soon as we arrived, there weren’t none around to buck out. All everypony said were you two and somethin’ that looked like a black hedgehog kickin’ serious flank.” The two mobains looked at each other, and knew it would be up to Jet to come up with an answer. “That is why we left our homeland, you see. The ones who attacked are known as the Black Arms, and they attacked our home as well.” The atmosphere turned a little uneasy as the mares became nervous. “Why are they here?” Twilight wondered. “To put it simply? Take over the world and destroy anything and anyone who gets in their way,” Crimson said in a serious tone. “Our mentor was the one who personally faced the Black Arms.” “We believe they are searching for something. When they attacked our home they didn’t stay to concur or enslave us,” Jet added. “So they’re just here to wreck our home?” Rainbow said bitterly. “But why? We haven’t done anything to provoke their attack,” Twilight said. “Like I said, they don’t much care,” Crimson said. “All they care about is getting what they’re after.” “What’s that?” Pinkie wondered. Crimson looked at Jet, wondering if it was okay to reveal the Black Arms goal. “We don’t know yet. They didn’t find whatever it was they were looking for, when they attacked our home. They could be attacking places at random.” Jet added and gave Crimson a look that told him to leave it at that. “Who’s this mentor you mentioned?” Rainbow asked. “He the black hedgehog thing we heard about?” “Yes, he is the one we are meant to be trained by. His name is Shadow.” Jet nodded before continuing before Crimson could add on. “Right now he is trying to follow the enemy to see if we can figure out what they are after.” “And what exactly are they after?” Twilight asked. “Treasure?” Rarity asked. “Destruction?” Rainbow asked. “Hurting others?” Fluttershy asked. “Candy?” Pinkie asked, only for everyone to look at her. “We can’t say for certain,” Crimson said with a half lie. “All we know from our mentor is that they’re here for something bad enough to attack civilians.” “I see…” Twilight said and scratched her chin. “This sounds like a serious situation. Perhaps I should send a letter to Princess Celestia and Luna?” “Sheesh, again with the names…” Crimson whispered to Jet. “I stopped caring, the more I do the more I lose brain cells.” Jet sighed as he pinched the bridge between his nose. “Regarding everything we have said thus far, do you know where we can make camp? As of now we have no currency and will need to find a place to camp out for the night.” Jet asked pulling his pockets out to show they were empty. “Camp? Why would you go out and camp?” Twilight asked. “You both are more than welcome to stay here in the castle.” Both mobians blinked and then looked at each other. “She serious?” Crimson asked while pointing at Twilight. “I think she might be.” Jet added equally confused. “Not that we aren’t grateful or anything, princess, but are you sure about that? You just met us not ten minutes ago.” “But you saved our town,” Twilight said. “Had it not been for your bravery, I shudder to think what would’ve become of Ponyville. Besides, it’s the least we can do.” “Wow, that’s actually pretty considerate of you,” Crimson smiled. “You sure we’re not imposing?” “Not in the slightest!” Twilight said. The two mobians looked at one another again, and took the idea into consideration. “If you’re sure we aren’t going to impose, then we’d be happy to be your guests.” Jet smiled and bowed. “Perfect!” Twilight clapped her hands. “Spike! Spike, come and meet our new guests!” The two friends heard clamoring from the staircase nearby and in walked what could only be described as a bipedal lizard boy wearing a yellow t-shirt and torn jeans. His scales were purple, his underbelly was lime green, and the spines on his head were a darker green that ran down to his tail. “I’m here, Twilight!” The young lizard boy said. “Woah…who or what’s the new guy?” Crimson asked “Oh hi there!” He said and walked up to Crimson and Jet. He stood about as tall as their chests. “I’m Spike! Spike the dragon!” “Oy…ve…” Crimson muttered and suppressed a very obvious cringe. Jet on the other hand didn't seem nearly as annoyed. Instead he moved a hand to gently stroke the young dragon’s head. “Spike huh? That’s a pretty cool name, kid.” “Name’s Crimson, slick, this here’s Jet Stream,” Crimson said. “Cool names!” Spike said. “These two will be staying with us for the time being,” Twilight said. “The girls and I have something to discuss. Would you please show them to their room?” “Sure! Follow me, guys!” Spike said and escorted the two out of the room. “Guess we’ll see you all later,” Crimson said with a friendly wave. “We thank you once again for your hospitality, and promise not to cause you grief.” Jet said, and waved as well before the two mobians followed the dragon. Spike led Crimson and Jet down the halls of the castle with a pep in his step “So, did you guys really drive off those monsters?” Spike said. “Sure did,” Crimson said while reaching behind him and pulled out his Wispon to examine it. “With a little help, of course.” “A little?” Jerk smirked as he playfully poked the wolf companion. “Last I checked, without our mentor, we’d be dead.” “Hey, we kicked some ass back there!” Crimson argued. “Your sword skills and sleight-of-hand with that blaster were badass!” Jet gave Crimson a quick jab to the arm before gesturing to the dragon. “Language! There’s a kid here man.” “Oh please,” Crimson scoffed. “Yo, Spike, how old are you?” “Sixteen, why?” Spike said. “See? He’s fine,” Crimson said. “I don’t care, show respect for our hosts. Do you think they would want him to learn such foul language?” Jet glared at the wolf mobain, like a parent scolding their child. “You really need to loosen up, you know that?” Crimson said. “What’s that thing you’re carrying, Crimson?” Spike asked. “This?” Crimson said. “This is my Wispon. It’s a handy tool that can change forms so I can fight those Black Arms creeps properly.” “What’s it do?” Spike wondered. “For starters, it can blast fire,” Crimson said. “Like a dragon?” Spike said, sounding excited. “Sure, like a dragon,” Crimson chuckled. “That’s so cool!” Spike said, then looked at Jet. “What about you? Do you have one of those Wispon things?” Jet, while hesitant about calling out his weapon, figured there wasn’t any real harm. “No, this is my weapon.” Holding out his hand, Jet’s Quantum Blaster, materialized in his hand. “This is called a Quantum Blaster, or we can call it QB for short.” “Woah! That’s awesome!” Spike said with stars in his eyes. “How did you do that?! What kind of magic spell did you use?!” “Umm, well, I don’t think we used magic just now.” Jet added while now thinking on the question. How did he summon his weapon? The same for Crimson. “I’m not sure why we call our weapons, honestly.” “You don’t?” Spike asked. “Nah, mine just hangs off my back,” Crimson said as he put his Wispon away.  “I see,” Spike nodded in understanding. “What’s your home like?” “Oh, it’s all a bunch of green hills and a few humble little towns here and there,” Crimson said. “It’s also ruled by the humble and wise King Maximillian Acorn and the beautiful and kind Queen Alicia Acorn.” Jet rolled his eyes as he knew his buddy was just talking about the Sonic lore. They continued to walk on until Spike led them to their room. “Well, here’s your room!” Spike said with a chirp. “This room has two beds, so I hope it’s enough.” They opened the door to see an average sized room with two beds on opposite ends. “It’s more than enough, kid,” Crimson said and patted the little dragon’s head. “Yeah, thanks for the help.” Jet moved to pat the dragon’s head as well before he left. When the door closed, the bird mobian took a seat and sighed. “What a day.” “You said it,” Crimson said as he set his Wispon aside and plopped down on the bed on the right. He looked down at his gloved hands and sighed before adjusting his glasses. “This really isn’t a dream, or a game, is it?” Jet was looking at his new leg and feeling it with his hands, as if to confirm it was real. “Yeah, I don’t think it is anymore.” “Um…Jet?” Crimson said hesitantly. “Why did we lie?” Jet sighed and looked at the canine mobian. “Be honest with yourself. Would you believe that we came from some other world, unlike this one, if we had been in their position?” “I mean…no, not really,” Crimson admitted. “But they’re good people, right? I’m sure they’d understand if-” Crimson was cut off when Jet shook his head. “Look, we don’t need to complicate anything with other worlds and stuff. We have a shot at new lives, and are able to walk again. Let’s just enjoy what we have now, and do what we can to keep it,” Jet said sternly, but also caringly. “What about Shadow?” Crimson asked. “He said he’d be back in a week or two.” “We’ll tell him what he needs to say, but honestly I don’t think he’ll have any issues with what we said. Just let me do the talking, okay?” Jet yawned as he laid down and rested his head into the soft pillow. “For now just relax and take it easy.” Crimson could only nod and took off his glasses, and set them on the nightstand. He kicked off his boots and laid on his back with his hands behind his head. “Jet?” Crimson said. “Hmm?” Jet Hummed to let his friend know he was listening. “Do you even wanna go back home?” Crimson asked. There was a brief pause as the question floated around the air. “I don’t know.” Jet rolled over so he was facing Crimson. “As you already know, I don’t have any family on earth, neither do you for that matter. I had no obligation, and hardly any friends.” When he turned to lay on his back, he looked at his hands still grasping what happened.  “Honestly; what I was doing back then was barely living, it was more like I was just existing.” “I know how you feel,” Crimson said. “My neighbors were good people at my apartment, but it felt like there was this wall between us. I wanted to be friends, I just didn’t know how to approach it properly. Does that make sense?” “That wall you mentioned, was you being worried about being a burden to them.” Jet added as he sighed again. “I should know, I felt that way ever since I left the military.” “You know what I’m more worried about than even us being mobians?” Crimson asked, making Jet turn his head towards him. “Our names. Our real names. It’s like…a piece of me was taken and I’m not sure if I’ll get it back.” Crimson frowned as he looked at Jet. “I know I was named after my dad.” “I remember that my name was based on a military term, but I can’t remember which one.” Jet closed his eyes trying to think on it, but nothing came to mind. “Honestly, we shouldn’t let it get to us right now. I’m sure we’ll remember eventually.” “You’re right,” Crimson said. “For now, let’s focus on helping these people and kicking Black Doom back to whatever hole he crawled out of.” Jet chuckled and pulled the covers over himself. “Let’s not get too crazy. First thing’s first, we need to learn about our new home.” He yawned and closed his eyes before falling asleep. Crimson soon felt his eyes get heavy and soon closed. He felt his consciousness slip away into the void of dreams.