//------------------------------// // Lessons Begin // Story: Metroid: A Hunter in Equestria // by Cusi //------------------------------// Disclaimer: Samus and Metroid elements belong to Nintendo. My Little Pony belongs to Hasbro/the Hub. I own nothing but the plot. Chapter 4: Lessons Begin Samus Aran's Log, entry 014: I have crashed in a land filled with magical ponies. Absurd as it sounds, they are intelligent beings. They have treated me with openness and kindness, but taking necessary precautions. I have met their rulers, and they seem to keep their kingdom happy. Such level of respect and devotion from their subjects is something I have never seen before. I have been given the task of recollecting data and information about their way of life. I am now the student of one of the ponies. This assignment promises to be an interesting one. OXOXO Samus woke up in her seat. She had no luck in repairing the Medical Bay, or any other system, for that matter. Maybe the boosters could be repaired, but Samus didn't count on it. Without a working fission reactor, the ship could not active its auto-repair system and it would be impossible to fly. She would have to think of another way to fix the systems, or find something that could substitute a fission reactor. The problem was what and where. The good thing was that her arm pained her less and less. She had partial movement of her arm, a feat done by the little healing properties of the Zero Suit, which somewhat accelerated her already fast recovery. She discarded her cast. "Good morning, Samus. Are you ready to start your days as student?" asked Adam. "Shut up." "Just like your academy days." Samus turned her attention to the windshield and saw Twilight eager to start the day. She opened the hatch and exited her ship. "Good to see my new student ready to start her day! I hope my new student does a great job learning about us ponies. The best place for my new student to start her assignment is Ponyville. Ready, new student?" Twilight seemed to enjoy every nanosecond of this; unlike Samus, who would rather search for substitute materials for her ship. Twilight was about to say something else, but was cut off. "Say 'new student' again and I'll break your neck." Samus said in an unnervingly calm voice. "Gee, I'm sorry. I didn't know you had a temper. Anyways, let's get started. As I said before, we should head to Ponyville and introduce you to everypony so they don't freak out when they see you." It made sense; Samus was yet to be officially introduced to this planet's dominant species. Mass panic would surely hinder her tasks. "Makes sense, I guess. Shall we?" they both headed to the small town. They were heading to the town square, where an announcement from the mayor would warn all the ponies of Samus's presence. As they walked, they couldn't help but notice every pony stared at Samus, some with surprise and others with fear, but none of them made a big deal about it, except Lily, who fainted after yelling 'THE HORROR!'. Twilight gave sheepish smiles to any pony that saw them. It wasn't until they reached their destination that they met with the Mayor. "Oh, you must be Samus." the Mayor looked a little nervous, but her voice hid it well. "The princess sent me a letter notifying me about your arrival. I will make the announcement as soon as everypony arrives at the town hall. It is a pleasure to finally meet you officially." she extended her hoof, which Samus gladly shook. It only took about half an hour for the whole town to be present. The Mayor went up to her podium and everypony went silent, but when Twilight and Samus appeared on stage, murmurs were beginning to be heard from the audience. The Mayor kept her calm demeanor, Samus looked unimpressed, and Twilight grew nervous. The Mayor then cleared her throat. "Citizens of Ponyville, as the Mayor of this town, I am pleased to announce we have new resident in town. This is Samus; she is a 'human'." Samus took a step forward so all the citizens could get a better look. "As you can see, she is not from around here. She comes from a far away land, and has been asked by Princess Celestia herself to learn about our way of life. I would like to ask of you that you make her feel at home in our friendly, little town. Now, Samus, would you like to say some words?" The Mayor took step to the side to allow Samus on the podium. Samus took up on her offer. "Thank you, Mayor. As the Mayor said, I am on a mission to learn and report about the life of ponies in this town. I hope this experience is one we can all enjoy." All the ponies began cheering and stomping on the ground with their front hooves. Samus looked at them, not knowing what to do. Twilight approached her and whispered something to her ear. "Uh... That's how we cheer." "You mean like an applause?" Samus whispered back. "A what?" "Forget it." Samus turned to the audience once again "Thank you, thank you. By the way, do any of you know where I can get a fission reactor?" It didn't hurt to ask. Dead silence was her answer. "I guess not. Thank you for your help and hospitality; I hope not to intrude in your peaceful town." With that, she bowed and left the podium, and the ponies dispersed and returned to their activities. Twilight approached Samus and congratulated her on her little speech. The unicorn then levitated a scroll containing a checklist with her magic. "Well, that went a lot better than expected." Twilight checked an item on the list. "Now that the ponies of Ponyville know you, it's time for the next thing in our schedule: a tour around town!" OXOXO "This is Sweet Apple Acres, Applejack's farm." Twilight began "This is where all the apples and some other food products are harvested. It is Ponyville's main food source. You will find all kind of apple treats here. They makes apple pie, apple fritters, sweet apples, caramel apples, apple juice, apple cider, baked apples, apple jam..." "I get it! You pony folks like apples. Let's move on." yelled an annoyed Samus. "Ok, ok. Don't get so angry. Oh, hey! There comes Applejack!" And indeed, the cowgirl pony was heading their way. She was carrying two baskets. "Howdy Twi, Samus! What brings ya to the farm?" "Hello, Applejack. I was just taking Samus on a tour around town. Are you finished for the day?" "Nah, ah just need to buck those trees over there and we're done!" Applejack then proceeded to place the basket under the tree's branches, and with a powerful double kick from her hind legs, struck the tree. The force of the impact made the apples fall in the baskets, and yet the tree suffered no apparent damage. It was a strange method, but it was effective; not a single apple was left in the tree. Samus watched with mild awe as the orange pony worked her way with the rest of the trees; not a single apple fell outside the baskets. "Whew! That's done. Jus' let me take these apples to the barn and ah'll give ya a tour of the farm." "Here, let me help you." offered Samus. She picked a basket with her good arm and used her waist as support. "Thanks, sugarcube." The 2 strong girls carried the apples to the nearby barn, where they deposited them. After they were done, Applejack began the little tour. They headed for a hill, which was covered in apples trees for as far as the eye could see. "These are the apple orchards. We of the Apple family take great pride in our apple growing business. We have been growing apples for as long as we can remember." "Wow. That must be a lot of work." Samus's fascination only grew. "Oh, it is. But we love to harvest apples! Ah got mah cutie mark thanks to them!" Applejack showed her flank. Samus raised her eyebrow at this statement. "Cutie mark?" Samus questioned. Twilight was quick to give a little explanation. "Yes. We ponies have marks in our flanks that show our special talent. Mine is magic, and Applejack's is growing apples." Samus then noticed that the marks she thought were tattoos. So those were their cutie marks, huh? "I'll teach you about them when we reach the library." They continued their tour, Applejack showing them the barns, their house, the pigs' pen; until they arrived at the corn fields, where they spotted Big Mac pulling his plow. "Hey there, Big Mac! You almost done?" greeted Applejack as she waved to her brother. Big Mac turned his attention to them. "Eeyup." he said simply. He then noticed Samus and his expression went from calm and relaxed to apprehensive and tense. His mere gaze was enough to give the message 'What is she doing here? She may be dangerous'. Apparently, only Samus noticed his slight change. "That's mah brother, Big Macintosh. We call him 'Big Mac'. He's the farm most hard-working member." introduced Applejack, oblivious to the tension between farmer and huntress. "And this is Samus. She was sent here by the princess to learn about us pony folk. She's a little hotheaded, but a nice girl." As soon as the hat-wearing pony said this, Big Mac relaxed, and his calm demeanor returned. He bowed his head to Samus, as in acknowledging the introduction. Samus simply waved her hand. The red guy wasn't the biggest talker, that much was obvious, but he seemed nice. He must really trust his sister and the princess, Samus noted. The princess's words echoed in her head; trust really was the base of these ponies' relationships. The tour concluded and they reached the Apple house, where the same old, green elder sat in her rocking chair. Unlike the red stallion's initial reaction, Granny Smith smiled warmly at Samus when she spotted her. "And who's that? Another guest? That's nice... that's nice..." she fell asleep on her chair and began snoring. "That's Granny Smith. She's the most loving pony you'll ever meet; and she's the best apple pie baker in the whole Equestria! But she ain't young no more. She likes to nap a lot." said Applejack as she and her visitors entered the house. "Care for some apple juice?" Samus accepted her offer and Applejack brought a carton with juice. She served them in glasses with straws, and all 3 girls began to drink. "Oh, wow. This is really good!" Samus praised. When you travel in a spaceship for most of your life, fresh juice is not something you can enjoy every day; and this was just delicious! "Ah'm glad ya like it!" "Delicious as always, Applejack." Twilight began "I thank you for your hospitality, but I'm afraid we must go. There's still a lot to show to Samus." "Sure thing, Twi. Ah'll see you two later." Twilight and Samus left the farm and headed to town, directly to their next destination. OXOXO The next noticeable place in town was the Carousel Boutique, Twilight said, where ponies ordered dresses. Which was kind of stupid, Samus thought, since the only pieces of clothing she had seen on ponies were the armor of the guards, the princesses' crowns, and Applejack's hat. How did ponies wear dresses, anyway? They entered the boutique, and a little bell chimed when they did. Samus's question was answered when they entered the shop. Looking around, Samus saw several pony-shaped mannequins (ponnequins?) with dresses on them. Some finished and quite pretty, other looked like they were works on progress. While Samus was never a big fashion enthusiast, she couldn't help but admire some of the designs. Little after they arrived, Rarity came from another room. "Hello. Welcome to the Carou... Oh, Twilight! What a surprise! And Samus, too! Would you like a cup of tea?" Rarity was wearing her red glasses, which made her look a lot more like a true designer. "I'm fine." Twilight answered "What about you, Samus?" "I think I'll take your offer. Let's see what tea tastes like here." "Very well, I shall bring your tea in a minute. Meanwhile, why don't you browse a little and tell me what you like. I may even make a dress for you, Samus! A real challenge." Rarity squealed "And you'll have to let me try something on that hair of yours. Don't take me wrong, but that's probably the dirtiest hair I've ever seen." the comment didn't bother Samus. Gunships weren't precisely known for having showers. "You don't say. The closest I have to a shower is a sterilizing chamber." Samus commented. That comment, however, brought a look of horror to Rarity's face. "NO SHOWERS? HOW CAN YOU LIVE LIKE THAT?" Rarity panicked. Then threw away her glasses and began pushing Samus out of her boutique. "Where are you taking me?" asked a confused Samus. "And dare you ask where? To the spa, of course! I know you are not a pony, but I'm sure they'll make an excellent job with you. Their baths are simply marvelous." Rarity said as she continued to push an unwilling Samus. "Sorry, but I can't right now. I'm busy." "Nonsense. You can never be too busy for a little washing up." "Wait!" Twilight stopped the fashion pony in her tracks. "We still have a lot to do. Why don't you take her later?" "Hmm... Well, tomorrow is my weekly meet up with Fluttershy... Fine, I'll let you go. BUT, you have to promise you'll come with us tomorrow. Both of you." "I don't really think..." "Promise it!" "Fine. We'll go to the spa with you tomorrow." "Oh, great! I'll tell Fluttershy tomorrow. Have a nice day, darlings." Rarity entered her shop, leaving Twilight and Samus to continue their tour. When they began walking, a shadow began following them. With years of experience in combat and ambushes, Samus quickly span around, but saw nothing following them. "Are you ok?" asked a confused Twilight. "Yes. I just thought I saw something... And I didn't drink my tea." OXOXO Both students continued their way to Sugarcube Corner, the town's bakery. When they arrived, they were greeted by Pinkie Pie. The energetic pony invited them inside and offered some treats to her guests. Since Samus had nothing to eat for breakfast, she accepted the offer. Pinkie Pie brought a tray with a mountain of cookies. Samus waited for no one and began eating. "These are good!" said Samus with a full mouth. She swallowed. "Of course they are good! They're Pinkie Pie's Special Cookies. And I can make a lot more sweets, like cakes, pies, cookies, muffins, cupcakes, candy..." Pinkie Pie began rambling again. She got tuned out by Samus, who continued wolfing down her cookies. After a little while, the cookies were gone. Samus noticed Pinkie Pie grinning at her, which made her a little nervous. "More?" "Umm... No thanks." "Okie dokie! I'm glad you liked them. Feel free to come for more if you want!" Pinkie Pie couldn't stop bouncing. "Sure..." "Please, come back later! No, seriously, you need to come at 7:00 pm this afternoon." Samus raised her eyebrow at the weird request. The look on the pink pony's face left no room for negative answers. "I'll try to be here..." Samus backed away slowly. Twilight saw she had finished her cookies. "Samus! We still need to finish the tour. Hurry up, we have to go!" "On it." Samus ran to exit the bakery. Once Samus and Twilight were outside, Pinkie Pie peeked her head. "7:00 pm., don't forget!" yelled Pinkie at the fleeing girls. OXOXO They were heading to the town's hospital. Samus needed to know where to seek medical attention, just in case. As they were walking, Samus couldn't help but express herself. "Your pink friend is crazy." she said flatly. Twilight sighed. "Yeah, she is. But you get used to her." she gave a little chuckle "Just wait until you hear about her 'Pinkie Sense'. Random parts of her body act up, like her tail twitching or her ear flopping, and stuff happens, like something falls on you or you find something. It's really weird." Samus shrugged. "Not really. That kind of makes sense, what with your pony magic and all." "Oh, Pinkie Pie is an earth pony; she doesn't have any magic." Samus's eye twitched a little. "She can't use magic?" "No. Why?" "No reason." A chill traveled Samus's body. They eventually reached the hospital, where Nurse Redheart greeted them. The medical pony gave them a tour of the hospital, showing Samus some of the equipment used. While explaining, the nurse grabbed Samu's injured arm to show the X-ray machine. This, of course, caused pain to the huntress; her arm was better, but not entirely healed yet. "Oh, I'm terribly sorry! I didn't know you arm was injured. Here, let me help you." using the same tool she was about to show, Nurse Redheart quickly found what was wrong with the human arm. "It looks like you have some minor fractures in your arm. It seems it has healed somewhat, but not completely. If you heal as fast as us, then it'll be fine in a few days. I suggest no pressure on it and plenty of rest." "Yeah, I figured." Samus answered; she already knew all of this. "I'm sorry, but that's my job as nurse: I check injuries, no matter how small. Come back in a few days, I'd like to see how that arm of yours fares. Oh, and I don't know if you can take painkillers..." Samus's eyes lit up; pain wasn't nice. "Yes, I can." "Then let me bring you some. I know how frustrating fractured bones can be." the nurse went to fetch some painkillers for the huntress. When the nurse returned, she handed Samus the pills and continued the tour. Samus made a mental note to come check the equipment more profusely some other time; maybe even compare her equipment with the hospital's. The tour finished, and human and unicorn left the hospital. Once outside, Samus stopped suddenly. Twilight turned to ask why, but Samus beat her to it. "We are being followed." Twilight looked around, but saw no one else; they were alone. "Are you sure?" the unicorn sounded uncertain. "Yes. It's probably nothing; if their intention was to attack, they've had plenty of chances. I suggest we continue our way. If something hostile jumps out..." she patted her Paralyzer "...I'll deal with it." Twilight nodded her agreement, and both continued their way. OXOXO Behind the bushes at the entrance of the hospital, three little forms could be seen hiding from the human's searching eyes. They stood one on top of the other two, mimicking the bush's silhouette. "Wow! She's good! We'll never get our ninja cutie marks with her around. It's like she can sense us or something!" complimented/complained an impressed Scootaloo. "Yeah, and you making noise won't help us hide, either." Apple Bloom said. "I still don't know why can't just go and ask her directly." Sweetie Belle complained. "You know, I didn't really think of that." That said, the 3 fillies lost their balance and fell on each other. They grunted a little and rubbed their heads. "Hey, look! No tree sap!" OXOXO The rest of the tour consisted in visiting other shops and noticeable places in town. Their last stop was Ponyville's library, and Twilight's home. They were greeted by Spike, who was cleaning up Twilight's mess. "At last! Do you even know how much of a mess you leave every time?" complained Spike. "Oh, you brought Samus!" "Well, yeah. She is my new student, after all." Twilight beamed with pride. Samus gave an annoyed grunt. "Well, now that we're here, why don't we continue our talk on cutie marks?" "Yeah, that actually piqued my interest." "Good. As I said before, a cutie mark is something that is unique in each pony. It's what makes us special and differentiates us from the rest. A cutie mark will appear when a pony has discovered her or his special talent; and said mark will most likely resemble something related to the pony's special talent." Twilight was talking in a teacher-like voice. Samus actually found it interesting, if a bit silly. Twilight continued "As you saw before, 3 apples make Applejack's cutie mark, meaning her talent is related to apples. Mine is a star, or sparkle, which relates to my ability with magic. A flower cutie mark would mean the pony is adept at taking care of flowers, for example. I assume you humans have no such marks?" "No, we don't. I have to admit having a cutie mark does seem very efficient. You seem proud of them." "Yes, we are! Until now, there hasn't been a pony that openly dislikes her or his cutie mark. And obtaining it fills you with pride and accomplishment." Twilight had a nostalgic look, which was soon replaced with a serious one. "Spike! Could you bring some books on pony anatomy, please? Samus will need to read a lot of these books if she wants to do a good job learning about us. Now..." she turned to the huntress as the dragon made a salute and went to look for the books "...I'll fetch you some books I want you to read. They will be helpful in your studies." "I don't think that'll be possible" said Samus, eying a tome in her hand. "What do you mean?" "I can't read your books." "Excuse me?" "I can't read your books." Samus repeated. "You don't know how to read?" Twilight panicked. How was that even possible? Samus looked like such a promising student, too. "I know how to read. But I can't read your books because they aren't written in any language I know. The only reason I can understand you is because of this translator." She pointed to the device in her ear. "But don't worry, give me a couple of days and that won't be a problem anymore. I'll be able to read as soon as my arm is healed." "How so? You read with your arm?" asked Twilight. Samus grinned and answered with a vague response. "Not exactly, but I am full of surprises. You'll see." "Right. Well, in that case..." the unicorn was interrupted by a knock on her door. "Who could that be?" She went to open the door and invite her visitor in. She was surprised to see 3 little fillies waiting at her doorstep. "Hi, Twilight!" the 3 said in unison. They all had a big grin in their faces. "Hi, girls. What brings you here?" "We're here to ask Samus a favor!" answered Sweetie Belle. The ponies entered and saw Samus. "Samus! Could you do us a favor?" Samus looked mildly surprised at their request. "What kind of favor?" "To let us take you and show you to our whole classroom! Tomorrow is show-and-tell day and we want to show them an alien!" Scootaloo answered. Her energy and excitement were very noticeable. "Hey! That's a great idea! Since Samus can't read my books right now, she can go to school with you girls!" Twilight grinned at Samus, who responded with a death glare. "Oh, hell no!" "Oh, hay yes. I'm the teacher and you're the student. So, as the student, you will go to school tomorrow. It's part of your task. And since you can't read, you shall learn the same way these little fillies learn: by going to school." Twilight's tone left no room for arguing. Unable to counter that argument, Samus could do nothing but comply to her method. "Fine, but be warned: I shall seek revenge." "Revenge will be sought after you attend tomorrow's class at Ponyville's School." Twilight then giggled "Imagine all the things you will learn! I'm sure you will have a lot of fun." "I'm out. I'll be in my ship if anyone needs me." Samus stormed out of the library, but was being followed by a cream-colored, red maned filly. "But ya'll go with us tomorrow, right?" Samus turned to see the speaker, and found pleading puppy eyes in an adorably hopeful filly face. "Yes, I will" She had already said 'yes'; those puppy eyes had nothing to do with her decision. Really. "Great! Ah'll go get you tomorrow morning. Ya won't regret it!" the filly returned to the library. Samus gave a defeated sigh and returned to her ship. First the princess and now her student; what was with them and humiliating Samus? But they shall see. They will see. OXOXO As soon as Samus entered her ship, Adam made himself known. "You have an appointment at 7:00 pm in Sugarcube Corner. I recommend you assist." Samus had a very surprised look on her face. "How do you know that?" "The pink pony, Pinkie Pie, took the trouble to come and inform me about it. She was eager to make sure you would attend." "HOW DID SHE EVEN GET HERE?" Samus began yelling. "I'm unable to answer." "What?" "There were no security breaches and no alarm went off. She simply materialized before my optical sensors and told me you have an appointment at 7:00 pm in 'Sugarcube Corner'. According to this planets time, it is 6:28:62 pm. I suggest you attend this event. I do not recommend angering the pink mare." Samus opened the hatch and left, not saying anything. She made her way to the bakery; not once did her face changed from that 'what-the-hell-just-happened' expression. When she arrived, it was approximately 7 pm, she guessed. When she entered the room, everything was dark. Suddenly, the room lit up and a large group of ponies jumped from their various hiding places. There were the mares from before, the fillies, and whole lot of different ponies gathered. "SURPRISE! WELC..." they all yelled in unison, being led by the crazy pink pony. The sound of glass breaking violently was heard before they could finish screaming their welcoming sentence. They all turned their attention to the broken window; through which Samus could be seen outside, aiming her weapon at the window, breathing heavily, and with a look of fright and surprise in her face. "Perhaps it was too much of a surprise?" said Pinkie Pie with a sheepish smile.