The Discovery of 𝐇𝐢𝐦

by Soaring

𝔻𝕚𝕤𝕔𝕠𝕧𝕖𝕣𝕪

Rainbow Dash had woken up on the wrong side of her cloud bed. Again. 

It was weird. One moment, Rainbow Dash had been sleeping well, snoring all the while. And then, suddenly, she had rooooollllled to the other side of the bed. Then, everything had changed. Feathers? Bent. Back? Screaming. Neck? Snapped like a twig. Rainbow Dash was unsure how it had happened. All she knew was that her future self needed to get Cloudchaser to help her… again. Agh.

Rainbow Dash gritted her teeth. She was flying. Like, right now. An early morning flight; her usual Wonderbolts Approved™ warmup. It was awesome, just like her, but also not awesome, which was not like her. She could barely see right now, and it wasn’t because of some fog. It was that brain fog, because she couldn’t sleep because she woke on the wrong side of her cloud bed. Again. Ugh. 

That’s it! She had it. She was not going to think about the bed again. It stinked, just like her altitude! It was too low. That’s it. Higher, higher, higher. She flapped her wings… and she kept going up because she was pointed up. She smiled.

That’s the early morning flight routine she remembered! It was almost... what was the word that Twilight told her? Ewwphoric? Ehh... close enough. Awesome worked better anyway, and it was way cooler of a word. She chuckled as she felt the cool air hit her face. This. Was. The. Life! Ponies were going to be jealous of her!—well, except the other girls... and Spike. They’re all awesome like her. Also the Wonderbolts… and Derpy.

Rainbow Dash closed her eyes for a moment. It was like everything made sense. Wait, what was she doing?

Oh, right! Flying. Early morning flight routine. Was she gliding or still pumping her wings? Why was she asking that? She knew what she was doing!

With one final pump of her wings, Rainbow Dash started her glide. She dipped down below the clouds, being mindful of her head—she didn’t want to hit the harder part of the cloud, puffing it would get vapor everywhere. She could see the ground, how it was covered with a canopy of trees. There was also this huuuuge mountain that had grown over the edge of the horizon. She could also see this winding path that darted in-between the trees. It went further into the Everfree, even darting where this smoke plume was. It was really, really big, and it was—wait. WAIT.

Rainbow Dash’s eyes widened.

“Sm-oke?” she said, her voice cracking a bit.

This was not normal. Not normal one bit. Sometimes it was normal, because Zecora’s hut would smoke, but it wouldn’t go this high up where she was, and she was pretty sure that Zecora’s hut was not out this far, but she could be misremembering. She had a tendency to do that when she was this tired.

If Zecora’s hut was out this far, it still didn’t seem like it was coming from her hut. This smoke was thick, dark, and spreading wide, mostly due to the gust up at this height. And the times that Zecora’s hut did smoke, it was mostly due to the cauldron being really, really hot. Like burning hot. Scalding. A ‘use of chemicals that you would not seek’ she would say—Rainbow Dash couldn’t rhyme so it definitely was loosely said.

So why was there smoke this far into the Everfree? And why was it this pronounced? 

Rainbow Dash was confused. So, she decided to stop being confused and flew straight into the direction of the smoke.

It took her a few moments, mostly because she wasn’t expecting to have to veer off course of her usual route. Her route was simple: home, the Everfree, Twilight’s Castle, Canterlot (if she was feeling it, but she skipped this most days because she really had no reason to fly all the way over there [except for practice with her fellow Wonderbolts, although that’s an exception to the rule!]), Mayor Mare’s Office (taxes are so uncool, oh and by the way, she lived there too) and home, of course. Sometimes, she veered off that route to see Fluttershy if she was up, and sometimes she went to annoy Rarity on the way back home. Sometimes she also went to see AJ, but that was… how long ago? What day was it again?

Wow, was it really this early? Oh, right, the smoke. Now that she has veered off course, she was going to need to fly more. Whatever. Better to… to sate her curiosity for now t-then to continue flying and w-worrying about her clouds—AUGH.

She growled at her stupid mind as she descended closer to the trees below. They were green and they were puffy. They were large too, and she was not happy that she had to find a spot to land with this many trees around. Timberwolves liked trees. Her wings didn’t; getting leaves out of her feathers was not a pleasant experience.

The only trees Rainbow Dash liked were the trees at AJ’s farm. Those were cool. Great to sleep in. Good view. Nice wind. Awesome. These ones were wild and were just… smoking. Crazy. Not cool. Forest fires.

Rainbow Dash continued flying. She descended lower, and spotted a nice clearing that she could land in. Perfect. She’ll have to walk a bit to see where the smoke was poking out from, but it was better than landing right next to it where there were only trees. Branches, twigs, ack. Nope. Nope! Not one bit. Feathers being bent would be awful. Flying would be out of the question after that.

Shivers. Her body shivered all over the place. She guided herself close to the ground. She did her little tappies, her little hops as she landed, before she stretched those wings and cracked her neck. She furled those speedy pups back to her sides and grinned. Another successful landing.

“Awww yeah!”

Puffing her chest out, Rainbow Dash walked into the forest. The light that guided her was made hidden by the canopy. The path in front of her was filled with roots, twigs, and dirt. The dirt printed her hooves as she took each step into the forest. 

What was she going to see? Whoever this pony was, they’d better have a good reason to camp out here! It was wayyyyyy too early to be setting a campfire this big out here. Like, now that she had gotten closer to the smoke, this was definitely way past Zecora’s hut. Like, how were they—

She paused. The bush rustled, before growling at… something. Was that a timberwolf?

Rainbow Dash stopped. She assumed the position. THE POSITION. That one, her wings unfurled, her legs bracing for impact, and her eyes scouring the brush. 

Rustling there. Rustling here. A bit of hoofsteps pattering against dirt—she heard it all.

Her brows furrowed. She continued to walk forward… sllllooooowwwly, while she kept her eyes peeled, just like her metaphorical bananas. And apples. Can’t forget those, otherwise Pinkie would have her maimed (don't disrespect Applejack like that!)!

She walked for a bit longer. She didn’t know how long since she lost the stopwatch Spitfire gave her from the Wonderbolt Barracks—stupid watch malfunctioned! It wasn’t her fault they weren’t built to sustain a barrel roll into a wingtip corkscrew—Rainbow Dash shook her head and knocked herself back into commission. She blinked away her tired mind and looked ahead. She squinted, trying to get a better view of the forest, but the windiness of the path, the lack of lighting, and the animals that were messing with the bushes were making this harder than she wanted it to be. Not to mention that she was still feeling the brain fog and it was making her see double the brush sometimes, but she sighed and pressed on. She’ll stumble upon the pony soon, right? Then she could tell them off and get back to flying and—

Rainbow Dash froze again. Right in place. 

The smoke was close. She could smell the burning sensation. It burned her nostrils just smelling that smell. That smelly smell. Thankfully it didn’t smell like a dead body, so at least that’s some good news, but… it was intense. Could it be…?

She pressed on, keeping her gaze on the black smoke that filled the forest. It didn’t take her long to find the scene of the crime: a large fire set in a circular ring. Rocks surrounded it, and wood stood in the center. It was burning, quite profusely. Yet… no ponies. Not one. Just a giant fire burning uncontrollably in a forest, yet controlled at the same time in the same forest, if the getup was anything to talk about.

Yeah, there was no way somepony wasn’t behind this. It was too well made, which definitely ruled out any animal in the area. Where was this pony? Were they hiding? Did they hear her before she stumbled upon it? That couldn’t be. She was being quiet! She was channeling her inner Mare Do Well there, which was all her friends combined so she couldn’t have messed it up—

CR-ACK!

A loud branch snapped in two. It wasn’t her. It was loud and it was nearby.

Rainbow Dash, without any further consideration, dove head first into a nearby bush. The brush pinched her wings, her skin, her everything, and she was wincing as she tried to get further into it. It didn’t matter if it hurt now, she’d rather become a shish kebab skewered just right in a bush she called a temporary shelter than be found from whatever just snapped that branch in two! She yelped as a thorn poked her side as she thought all that. Stupid bush. All because she was trying to get her neck out a bit further, so she could get a better view! Also her tail felt cold. She hoped, no, begged Celestia that it wasn’t sticking out—Celestia please make these things a bit easier to hide!—she groaned. 

“What was that?”

A voice that was not Rainbow Dash’s said. She could hear the thing move forward. She couldn’t see it very well, mostly because a piece of the bush she was in was blocking her line of sight, but she could see something moving. It was wearing… something, and it was more lengthy than widthy. Egh.

Was it deformed? Was it a Bighoof? Also why was it wearing clothes? Was this some weird Grand Galloping Gala noble trying to channel their outdoor survival skills while standing only on their hindlegs? What the…

Rainbow Dash squirmed in her bush. She tried blowing the pesky branch out of her vision but that didn’t work, so she mustered a bit of strength to move her foreleg to push it out of the way. There. That’s it. MOOOOVE.

Snap. Snap. Gah! There. She could now seeeeeeeee—

She couldn’t believe her eyes:

“Maybe it was a rabbit or something…”

IT muttered in Equestrian. IT was tall. IT was not a deformed ghost. IT was actually really happy to be burning all that wood IT found. IT was really tall. IT was white, pasty, and looking like a cream filled donut that Pinkie made back at the Sugarcube Corner—well, not exactly, IT was tall. IT had weird hooves—wait, those were hands, and they looked like Discord’s—wow IT looked really strange—Rainbow Dash could imagine Discord being friends with IT—wait, why was she thinking that; oh wow IT was moving again with only two legs, the others were arms—Rainbow Dash was not into anatomy, especially of creatures she didn’t know. 

“You know, I really don’t understand why this part of the forest looks so different! I mean, this is only a few clicks from the campground but… for some reason, the forest looks off. Did I take my meds this morning or did that little twerp in 3C get into my bag again?”

3C? Twerp? Campground? What?

Rainbow Dash quietly observed from her temporary shelter.

IT was moving again, throwing another log onto the fire IT created.

“I really need to stop talking to myself. I’m the only guy in the group who does this! And I’m all alone, out here making this spooky bonfire that Admin Daenery wanted me to make so the kids have something to do other than twiddle their thumbs and throw giant piles of shit at each other! That took so long to clean the latrines out last time—eugh. My hands were smelling like the Charlotte Bobcats' entire history for weeks!”

She was stunned. Her eyes were intently staring at the thing’s arms. IT was casually tossing logs into this bonfire—that’s what IT called it right? She sighed. Well, IT sounded like a deep voiced type of guy, and IT sounded frustrated…

Maybe she could help?

Rainbow Dash evicted that thought out with only her dignity and one thousand bits to her name. Was she dumb? Stupid, even? There’s no way that IT was friendly! Not a ch—

“Wish I had some help right now to get this all done. Maybe I can call Eric over my walkie-talkie to get some more help with this… Egh, maybe not. That dude NEVER moves out of the camp guide quarters! Swear, he’s only there to be on the staff sheet and screw that camp assistant from U of A. What a bum!”

“Who’s Eric—”

Oh no. Oh no-no-no-no! NO. She spoke. Her brain spoke for her. Stupid brain fog. She’s going to die now. She’s going to DIE. And now IT was looking somewhere in her direction. IT nearly dropped the log on ITS leg. 

“Whoa! Is there someone out here? I swear if this is Eric and he’s about to rat me out to his father, I hope he does. The scumbag.” IT kept talking as IT approached the bushes. The ones that included hers. “Man, that guy is the worst. And his father is too. I wouldn’t be surprised if they were taking camp funds all this time. Those children deserve a better experience than what they’re getting! If I was part of the committee, I’d toss those guys out and get some nice well-to-do people who understand this whole thing. The digs would actually be promising. People would rate us five stars on Yelp! It would be great and…”

IT was right over her bush. She could feel ITS presence. She was scared out of her mind. She closed her eyes, imagining herself back home, with her uncomfortable cloud bed, with her Wonderbolts memorabilia, with her… pictures of her friends. She was going to die here, wasn’t she?

Rainbow Dash gritted her teeth. 

“...I hope Eric trips on a lego and gets stabbed by a—”

“GET OUT OF MY WAY!”

“HOLY SHIT!”

She had screamed on the top of her lungs, and was now out of her bush. She could imagine her mane looked like it was full of thorns and probably a nest created by a bird, but she wasn’t going to worry. Her flight back could take care of it, if only IT lets her live. Her heart was beating right out of her chest right now, and her wings were unfurled. She bent a bit low, growling at the thing. 

Meanwhile, IT was on the ground, looking up at her with ITS mouth wide open. Rainbow Dash could see ITS teeth, some were flat but some were sharp. Really sharp. Like a griffon. 

IT ate meat. 

“You—y-you talked?” IT stuttered—wait, stuttered?

Rainbow Dash tilted her head. “Of course, I do! And… and you were about to eat me!”

“Uh… what?!”

She growled and made herself look bigger (she thought so at least). “You knew I was there the entire time, right?”

“N-No…? What are you on about? I was just trying to make a bonfire and… wait. Was that you earlier? The one who was If you can talk, and you’re a horse—”

“Pony, buster. If you’re going to eat me, at least—”

“I’m not going to eat you! Hor—err, ponies are not something I’d eat. Especially ones that talk.” It scratched the back of its head before shaking their head. “This is crazy. Maybe I did take my meds, or maybe I took the wrong meds. My mother’s meds. How did I get her meds? There’s no way—”

“Dude… relax. I—”

“Relax? How can I relax when I just got almost run over by a talking pony emerging from a bush?”

“And how could I relax knowing that you are a deformed ghost that wanted to burn down the Everfree Forest for the sake of divine retribution—”

“Okay, I do have a big nose and I do have two pinkie fingers on my right hand, but that does not mean I’m deformed. I just got scammed by the gene pool!” it said, pointing its two small… fingers on its right hand directly at her. “Also, burn down the Everfree? I thought this was a forest by my campground! Where in the blooming fuck am I?”

“Equestria.”

“Equ—what? I’ve never heard of that.”

“Where are you from… uhh…”

It snorted and let out a little chuckle. “Um… sorry. Name’s Brick. Brick Lancaster. Got it from my father who thought the name was funny. Not sure how he thought that was funny. His sense of humor was more submerged in a riverbed than most.”

That sounded like a guy’s name. It…err—he gave me his… hand. 

She slowly walked up to him and gave him her hoof. “R-Rainbow Dash. D-Don’t wear it out.”

“Gotcha… R-Rainbow Dash.” 

She stared at Brick. Her heart was still beating fast. Now that she could see him more—wow was she wide awake now!—h-he had this hair on his head. It was brown, and his arms were huge. More muscular than her legs! He was tall too, taller than most ponies. Maybe as tall as Celestia. Or Luna. Either or. His eyes were blue just like his leggings—whatever those were—and his shirt was green. Oh, and it had this weird badge thing on it, and it had a large, bold, gold letter on it too. She didn’t know what it was, but it was something.

She… didn’t know what else to say. Her mind was too fixated on discovering something that she never saw before to really make any thoughts connect. Just jumbled ones. Or ones that are short. Like her compared to him. It was…

“So... if you're not from Equestria, Brick, then where are you from?”

Brick paused, before taking in a deep breath. "I'm from a little town out in South Dakota.”

“South Dah-coat-ahhh?”

“Close enough.”

...

“Where’s that at?”

“On a place called Earth.”

“Earth?”

"Yeah. Isn't that where we're at?"

...

Rainbow Dash’s eyes widened as did Brick’s.

“Did I discover an alien?!”