//------------------------------// // Unicorn comes to Town // Story: Equestria Ninjas: A New Generation // by Wildcard25 //------------------------------// Sunny sulked still dismal from her presentation at the Canterlogic Showcase to end in failure, and be made a fool of really brought her down. And now her only friend had just gave her an ultimatum about giving up her idea for Pony Unity or he stops being her friend. She noticed one laughing foal chasing another around a corner and down the block. They stop to stare at a Canterlogic anti-pegasus poster, rear up with a playful growl, and dart back past Sunny to resume their game. She can only gaze brokenheartedly after them and sit down on a nearby curb to ponder the utter shambles that this day has become. “I wish you were here, Dad.” she said with her voice breaking. After a moment, her dismal mood was interrupted by the growing sound of galloping hooves; a pony raced by before stopping for only a moment to catch his breath, and is gone again with a panicked cry. Another barrels past, screaming at the top of her lungs, and now Sunny snapped back to reality. “What the...” she wondered, as a stampede of ponies were coming her way, “What’s going on? What’s happening?” a stallion just collided with Sunny knocking her to the ground as he made his escape. The Ninja girls watching from atop were just as concerned, “Looks like trouble.” Lita suspected. “But from what?” Zink wondered. “Look!” Zanna motioned by the bridge. They saw approaching was an immense shadow topped by a mad tangle of tentacle-like projections. One mare shrieks and flees before its approach, and a bird standing in the thoroughfare cheeps in fright and keels over. The proprietor of an ice cream stand and a customer are next to freak out, followed by a trolley conductor who yanks the car’s brake lever as hard as she can to trigger a screeching, sparking deceleration. Sunny’s head begins to clear as the shadow casts itself over her, and she looks up and pulls in a lung-bursting gasp of purest shock. Her blurry vision slowly started clearing up as she saw looking down at her was a pinkish-violet unicorn mare with a bright blue mane, worn in untidy waves and much longer on the right side of her head than on the left. Her eyes and brows were purple, and her horn was medium blue, fading nearly to white at the tip. The unicorn bore a grin on her face before speaking to Sunny. “Hi, new friend! My name's Izzy.” The Ninjas looked down in shock, as Zanna spoke, “Girls, that's a...” “No doubt about it.” Mushroom agreed. The tip of Izzy's horn catches the sunlight in the briefest twinkle, after which Sunny slowly stands to gape at the appendage, “Y…y-y-y… (beaming) …unicorn!” Sunny announced in joy. Unfortunately the other ponies in town snapped out of their stupor and screamed in panic. Vendors hastily close up shop, and one pony dived into a manhole for shelter, the cover knocked away during his plunge and then settling itself back in place. Izzy looked around unaware of what was going on, “Ooh! Is everypony playing hide-and-seek? I see you!” she called out to a stallion trying to hide behind Sunny’s smoothie stand; he screams in terror at being spotted. “It’s a unicorn!” he jumped over the railing, sending up a very loud and very visible splash when he hit the water. The Ninja Girls looked around in disbelief, “You've got to be kidding me.” Zink said. “She's not even doing anything wrong!” Lita added. “Plus with a face like hers it doesn't scream threatening.” Zanna added. Hitch and Sprout emerge from the sheriff's office to survey the rapidly spreading chaos, “Hey, what’s going on?” Hitch asked, before gasping sharply upon seeing Izzy and was focused on her horn, “UNICORN ATTAAAAACK!!” Sprout cried out and tried to dart back into the building, only to run flat into the now-closed front door and knock himself unconscious. Zink who saw that laughed to herself, but stopped remembering the situation. On the wall next to the building door was a red button protected by a transparent panel in the manner of a fire alarm pull. The Sheriff drives a hoof through the panel and hits the button; tilt up to an alarm bell placed above this as it begins to shrill. “Oh, jeez.” Mushroom gasped knowing things just got worse. Hitch began calling out to the pony citizens, “THIS IS NOT A DRILL!! I REPEAT, THIS IS NOT A DRILL!!” He stalked resolutely into the fray, while Sprout comes to and bolts away with a yell. Hitch gasped spotting a colt rooted to the sidewalk with fear, “A vulnerable young pony!” he began galloping over and with a nimble leap over a cluster of barrels brings him to the scene so he can snatch the youth up in a rolling tackle, “Gotcha!” “Wow, that was pretty good.” Lita admitted. Hitch then passed the colt off to a nearby mare, “Your son is safe now, ma’am.” he galloped away. “This isn’t my kid!” The mare called back. “You're welcome!” Hitch called back as the Ninja Girls face palmed. Hitch once again began giving out orders, “Man the Splatter-Pult! Activate the unicorn traps!” he saw a wadded paper ball lands nearby, “Pick up that litter!” One resident is quick to scoop it up. Now sections of the roadbed slide open to expose target panels, marked as for the one in the Unicorn Entrapment Device demonstration. Sunny gasped as the memory of their operation surges through her brain knowing the unicorn was in trouble. Speaking of Unicorn, Izzy was trotting over to the railing looking out at the sea, “Wow... Is that the sea?” She paid no mind to the target popping up directly in her path, “I've never seen the sea!” Sunny charged up and rammed her broadside an instant before the device goes off and the heavy walls snap upward to block both from view. Sunny just managed to stop Izzy from being caught, and the alarm and red strobe on the empty trap are going off. Sunny heaves Izzy back from the spot.. “I've gotta get you out of here!” she galloped along a side street, Izzy following. Mushroom spoke to her sister, “What do we do now, Lita?” “We follow!” she answered, as the four tailed the two ponies. Izzy laughed as she followed Sunny, “Earth ponies are serious about games.” “They’re not playing! They’re terrified!” Sunny answered. “Oh, no! Of what?” Izzy asked in concern. “You! You’re a unicorn! Earth ponies hate unicorns!” Sunny explained. “Really?” Izzy asked in confusion, “That seems a little harsh.” Emerging onto the main road, they slam on the brakes with frightened yelps and thus barely avoid being nailed by a barrage from a pair of Splat-a-Pults at the top of an adjoining hill. Green gobbets decorate the street as Toots and Sweets were working the artillery by means of cranks, with Phyllis directing them and wearing an Anti-Mindreading Hat. “Let’s go!” Sunny ordered, as they head for an alley across the street, but are forced to change plans when one shot misses them by a hair, knocking over a barrel and spooking the pony who had been hiding behind it. The fleeing mares take cover behind a stopped, abandoned trolley for a moment. “We have that unicorn now!” Phyllis called, only for ninja stars to fly by nailing the splat-a-pults severing the catapults from the devices, “What?!” Sunny and Izzy peeked out, and saw the Ninja Girls standing a top a roof before landing down on the ground. Lita pointed at Phyllis, Toots, and Sweets, announcing, “Leave the unicorn alone!” Toots and Sweets screamed in shock, “Those ponies are standing on two legs!” “It's those ninja pony freaks I was told about!” Phyllis gasped, “This calls for help!” Lita and her sisters ran to Sunny and Izzy, as the unicorn spoke, “Thank you, new friends.” “Don't mention it.” Zanna replied. “Are you real ninjas?” Sunny gasped. “Save the Q&A for later.” Zink replied. “We got to get out of here.” Lita added. “Follow me!” Sunny ordered leading the group off. They raced past the shoreline. Sunny, and the ninjas nimbly bob and weave past all the targets on the sidewalk, while a happily humming Izzy bounces after her as if playing hopscotch followed Zanna. They made their way back only to see the same Hoof Bots from before forming a blockade, “These things?” Zink groaned. “Oh, this is bad.” Sunny feared remembering how they ganged up on her during the presentation. “Don't worry, leave them to us.” Lita said, as the girls raced in and fought the Hoof Bots. Lita cut some down with her sword, as Mushroom bashed some of them together. Zanna swung her Chikiri Mace around nailing two, as Zink used her bo-staf spear to pierce through more of them. “These things are weak sauce.” Zanna said. “They better hope these come with warranties.” Mushroom added. Sunny watched the ninjas feeling in awe at how they fought just as her dad told her about them. She then gasped remembering Izzy and saw her walking right up to a movie theater marquee, while Hitch and Sprout emerge from the Sheriff's station. “Ooh, I haven't seen this one yet.” Izzy said, only to be contained in a unicorn trap. The ninjas hearing that looked back seeing Izzy contained in one of the traps, “No!” Zanna gasped. Hitch stepped out to address the ponies, “Alright, citizens, calm down. The threat has been neutralized; the unicorn has been captured. You may now cheer.” Which the locals do in force as they peek out from hiding places high and low. Sunny glances uneasily at the display and takes a tentative step toward the trap. “Sunny!” Hitch called sternly. Sunny froze briefly, as the ninjas went to her side, as Zink spoke to her, “Don't listen to him. He tried to make you pick between your friendship and what you believe in. That's not being a friend, is it?” Sunny was surprised and realized she and the other ninjas had to have heard all that she and Hitch discussed. Sunny gathered up the nerve and continued her approach. “What are you doing?” Hitch asked seeing she wasn't stopping. Now only a few feet away, she eyes a glowing red button set into one wall, “Don’t even think about it!” Sunny's expression hardened, as the ninjas smirked. The earth pony inches a hoof ever closer toward the control. “Don’t—don’t you dare. No, no, no, no, no, no! Sunny!” Sunny pressed the button making the trap dismantle itself in a blink to leave Izzy completely unharmed. “So, your name’s Sunny?” Izzy asked her. “We'll get on first name basis later.” Mushroom told her. The other ponies resumed panicking and ran to evacuate with some managing to trap themselves by failing to mind their step. Sunny pulls Izzy off the target on which she is still standing, and Lita spoke, “We gotta go. This place is too noisy to talk.” “Come with me!” Sunny ordered, as they ran for it. “Bye! It was nice to meet you all!” Izzy called back to the other ponies. Hitch knowing exactly where they were headed spoke to Sprout, “Deputy, to the lighthouse!” Sprout looked uneasily not wanting to go where the unicorn and ninjas were, “Um…” He took one step to his right, planting himself on a trigger plate and got crated up, “Oh, no! I appear to be trapped!” he answered woodenly from inside. “You gotta be kidding me.” Hitch groaned under his breath. After escaping the chaos in Maretime Bay, Sunny, Izzy, and the Ninjas ran to the lighthouse, “This is where you live?” Zink asked Sunny. “Yeah.” “Why didn't we think to look here?” Zanna asked, as the group went inside. As Sunny closed the door the picture of herself and Argyle slipped out of level, but straightened it out and then got to work closing the window curtains not wanting anyone to see inside. As she scrambled to keep everything inside hidden, the ninjas took notice of all the artifacts and research piled around. “Wow, is all this yours?” Lita asked. “It's my dads actually.” Sunny replied. “Well, this is some impressive research. Based off all this it's how our sensei remembered Equestria.” Mushroom admitted. “Great, but now that we're alone. Could I get some names here?” Sunny asked. “Yeah, who are you guys?” Izzy asked eager to know. “My name is Hamato Lita. Hamato is my surname,” the albino one began before motioning to her sibs, “And these are my sisters, Zink, Zanna, and Mushroom.” “Hey.” Zink greeted. “Sup?” Zanna greeted. “Hi.” Mushroom greeted. “Wait, your name's Mushroom?” Sunny asked the one sister. “Wouldn't have been my first pick.” Mushroom admitted. “Are you Earth Ponies like Sunny?” Izzy asked curiously while circling them. “Well, somewhat, but not exactly.” Lita confessed. “I never met a pony who can stand on their back hooves,” Izzy marveled, before looking at their hands, “And what're those?” “They're called hands.” Zink answered. “Wow.” Izzy marveled. “My dad told me about ponies like you,” Sunny gasped, “Are you four... mutants?” “Actually, yes.” Zanna confirmed. “And you're ninjas! Wow!” Sunny beamed, before looking towards Izzy remembering how it was her appearance that started the uproar in Maretime Bay. As Sunny stared at Izzy, the unicorn approached gazing back and spoke ominously, “Do earth ponies also like staring contests?” She scrunched up her face in concentration and leans in to fix Sunny with the most intense point-blank gaze she can make while humming a single note all the while. It didn't last long before she blinked and backed off. “Ah! You win. I blinked.” She continued to look around the place. Sunny spoke to herself, “There’s a unicorn and four mutant ninja ponies in my house. This is so cool!” She spoke excitedly, before switching to worry, “Wait, no, it’s bad. Very, very bad. What have I done?” “You saved an innocent pony's life, Sunny.” Lita calmly told her. “Yeah, everyone in town were total idiots to think a pony like her was dangerous.” Zink motioned to Izzy who was checking out a telescope. She was peering through the eyepiece; seeing Sunny on the other side. “Woooow. I’ve never seen an earth pony before, let alone mutant ponies,” she walked over to Sunny and the ninjas, “We look exactly the same! Except for this, of course.” she pointed to her horn. She inclined her head toward Sunny and the ninjas, who ducks to stay well clear of it. “Whoa, hey!” Sunny nudged it aside, “Be careful where you point that thing.” “Why?” Izzy asked. “Well, it looks sharp,” Zanna said, “I don't want it poking my eye out.” Sunny continued, “And I, uh, um, sorta don’t want to get zapped with a wayward laser beam,” she laughed weakly, “But of course, you know that already. You’ve probably been reading my mind this whole time.” “Were unicorns able to do that?” Zanna asked her sisters who were just as confused having never heard that was a common ability among unicorns. Sunny continued to observe Izzy's horn, “Isn’t it supposed to glow, by the way, or does that only happen when you levitate stuff?” “Well, actually—“ Izzy sheepishly chuckled. “Wait! Don’t answer that yet,” Sunny galloped to kitchen, “Let me get my notebook!” She pivots to stand behind its central island countertop, before laying a journal on it. She opened it and flipped through the pages, “Okay, wow, okay. A Hundred Forty-Two Questions for a Unicorn. Don't worry girls. I have a special section of questions for all of you too.” “Oh, joy.” Zink answered dryly. Sunny turned back to Izzy, “Question 1: Where do you live?” “Bridlewood.” she answered. “I knew it!” Sunny cheered. “Bridlewood?” Mushroom wondered. “Must've been a new town established long after our sensei's times.” Lita suspected. Sunny continued questioning Izzy, “Do unicorns really live in trees? Do they eat pizza? If so, what toppings do they like? If not, why not?” Zanna whispered to her sibs, “I hope she asks us that pizza question too.” “Can you actually fry pony brains with a single horn zap?”” Sunny continued, before she knocked a can off the table, “Can you make this float?” The can rolled to a stop at Izzy’s hooves. The ninjas were eager to see a unicorn use their magic, as Izzy answered Sunny, “No…but I can do this!” She flipped it into the air, and kept it aloft by bouncing one end off the tip of her horn so that it always remained upright. The last strike sent it tumbling end-over-end to the floor, its contents being baked beans splatting down to the hardwood and cushioning the now-empty can when it hits. “Ta-daaaaa!” Izzy declared dramatically. Zanna applauded, while her sisters looked confused, and Sunny's face fell at the demonstration, “Wait. You don't have any magic?”” “How's that possible?” Lita asked. “Sunny Starscout!” Came Hitch's voice on a megaphone, resulting in a feedback squeal making him groan in discomfort, “That hurt.” Back inside, the girls heard that, “Oh, great. The sheriff!” Zink grumbles. “Sunny Starscout I know you're in there with that unicorn and those four ninja outlaws. Come out with your hooves up and surrender.” Hitch continued. Sprout who was wearing an anti-mind reading helmet spoke up, “Yeah. You're completely surrounded!” but as it turned out it was just the two outside. Zanna who peered through the window noticed this, “He's such a bluff.” "And outlaws?" Zink asked sounding insulted, "It's not like we actually did anything wrong here!" Hitch spoke to Sprout, “Will you let me do my job?" This made Sprout pout, “You're under arrest." he called out. "This is bad," Sunny worried, "We need to leave. Now!" "Run from those stallions?" Zink asked rhetorically. She gently opened the window and called out to him, "I don't think so, pal! The unicorn has a name, Izzy. And she and Sunny stay with us!" Hitch growled from their refusal to come quietly, "Sunny, you and those outlaws better come out of there right now or else!" Zink called back, “Or else what? You didn't stand a chance against us last night when you tried to arrest us. And attacked you viciously? We hardly had to fight you at all! And we didn't even have to lay a hand on your cowardly deputy!” Sprout looked miffed. "Uh, how sneaky are you?" Sunny asked the whole group. "We're ninjas, Sunny. We know the art of invisibility." Zanna smirked. "Great! How about you Izzy?" Sunny asked the unicorn. Izzy suggested, "Uh, medium sneaky?" Sunny grinned, "I can work with that. Ok, I'll distract them." Izzy brushes it off, "Oh, relax. I'll talk to them." As she makes her way to the door, Sunny shouted, "What? N-No! NO!" Lita shouted along, "Izzy, come back here!" Izzy stepped outside to talk to the boys, "Hi guys!" Zink groaned, "Oh this will be fun." "Now, I know what your thinking- " Izzy began. "AAH! She's on to reading our minds,” Sprout yelled in Hitch's face and runs away like a coward, "Quick before she fries our brains!" Sprout yells. "This might be our only chance," Lita began, "Lets make a run for it before Hitch sees us!" "Right!" Sunny and the others agreed. "What are you doing? Where are you going?" Hitch yelled at the fleeing Sprout. "To get reinforcements!" Sprout yelled back. The ninjas quietly made a run for it out the front door and Sunny pushed Izzy quickly, "Go! Go! Go! Go!" Lita whispered. "Hurry! Move it!” Mushroom whispered along. "We have reinforcements?" Hitch questioned. When he looked back, he saw they were gone, "OH! COME ON!"