//------------------------------// // Chapter 2:Mane 6 Roundup! // Story: Running Like Clockwork // by ClockworkShield //------------------------------// When Worlds Collide Chapter 2: Mane 6 Round up! After an hour I arrived at Sweet Apple Acres. I got to tell ya, it’s a lot bigger than the show shows you. Apple trees as far as the eyes can see, rolling along the hills of the estate. A dirt road led up to a large farmhouse with an equally large, if not bigger, barn not far from it. I took a deep breath, taking in the scent of apples in the air. It was beautiful, in a quaint sort of way. As I walked up to the farmhouse, I saw a familiar yellow earth pony with a pink bow almost as big as her head sitting around the barn. “Um, hello?” I said as I approached Applebloom. Applebloom turned around to look at me. “Oh hey there, mister. Welcome ta Sweet Apple Acres, where the best apples in all’a Equestria are grown. You here ta buy somthin’? “No, Applebloom, I’m here to get your sister Applejack for Twilight.” “Oh, ok, lemme jus’—heeeeeeey, waitaminute, how do ya know my name?” Oops. “Oh, uh, Twilight—“ “Are you a filly molester?” My eyes went wide. “WHAT?! Of course not! Why would you think that?” I yelled, astonished by the fact that such a thing existed in this universe, let alone that she would know what the term meant. “Well, since ah don’t know you but you knew mah name, ah thought maybe y’all were stalking me, and that right now you were going to try ta bring me somewhere ta molest me.” Applebloom said matter of factly. I was still shocked at the comment, mostly because how straightforward she was about it, and after staring into space for a few seconds before answering. ...Well damn. Messed up there. “… Ok, now I see how you would go about thinking that. My bad. But I swear to you that I am not, nor have I ever been, or ever will be, a filly molester. I know your name thanks to Twilight. Now can you get your sister for me?” “Ok. Wait right here and ah’ll get her for ya.” The little filly said as she ran into the farmhouse. After about 10 minutes she came walking out, with an orange earth pony with a straw-colored mane and tail, both of which were tied into a ponytail, a trio of apples on her flank, and a Stetson on her head following behind her. “Here he is, Sis.“ Applebloom said, pointing at me. “Thanks, Applebloom” Applejack said, and then turned to me. “Howdy, an’ welcome ta Sweet Apple Acres. What can ah do ya for?” “Hello, Applejack, I’m here to tell you that Twilight wants you to come with me to the library in Ponyville, to help me with a problem I have.” “How did y’all know mah name?” Dammit. “Oh, uh, well, that isn’t important right now. I promise I’ll explain it when we get there, but Twilight does need you.” “Ah dunno, ah’m not sure whether ta trust ya or not.” “Applejack, if I know one thing, its that you are the most honest and trustworthy pony in all of Ponyville, possibly all of Equestria!” I said, feeling my inner brony starting to creep up on me again. Don’t worry, folks, I controlled myself this time. “You know when a pony is lying, so trust me when I say that Twilight needs you at the library and that I need your help.” Applejack just stared at me for a while; probably trying to figure out whether or not I was lying. She then finally spoke “Ok, ah believe you.” I sighed in relief of the response. “Ok, well then finish whatever you were doing and we’ll go get the others.” I said. As we were heading out, Applebloom stopped us. “Hey sis, can ah come along? Ah wanna go meet up with Sweetie Belle an’ Scootaloo for our Cutie Mark Crusaders meetin'.” “Alright sis, if it's ok with our friend here.” I said it was ok and all three of us headed to our next destination – the Carousel Boutique. However, none of us noticed the shadowy figure watching us from behind a tree. --- On the way to the boutique, I decided to fill Applejack in on the situation. As expected, she believed me, despite being a little confused, but Applebloom was a bit more skeptical at my story. “If you’re not’a pony, why do you look like one?” “Good question, Applebloom. I originally thought that I was transformed by whatever brought me here, but now that I think about it, it may be because of how I got here.” I said, now questioning how I got my current appearance. “Whaddya mean?” Applebloom asked. “Well, there is a theory where I’m from where alongside our universe, there is an infinite number of alternate universes as well, each more or less the same except for one difference. There is also a belief where, if there were a huge disturbance, say, two of the same person existing on the same plane of reality, the universe would see it as a problem and would try to correct it, which in the example would be trying to kill the one person that didn’t belong in that universe.” Both Applebloom and Applejack stared at me with eyes wide as saucers to that last comment, probably because they were surprised at how nonchalantly I said it. I decided to ignore it and move on. “Now, while i don't believe that this place is an entire universe on it's own, as if it were there would be a pony version of me existing here, which means the universe would be trying to kill me already since I'm the one that doesn't belong, i do believe that this fits for me." "How'd ya figure?" Well, from what i can gather from my conversation with Twilight, is that a human being has never existed in Equestria. Something like this could cause just as much of a disruption as what i said earlier, what with a race appearing in thin air. As such, in order to keep the balance of your world, the ever-mysterious forces of the universe altered my DNA signature in order to change my form into that of a pony.” The two sisters, although clearly confused, agreed with me since to them it was the conclusion that made any sense. We walked for about 15 minutes when we heard a familiar voice called from the sky. “Applejack! Look out!” Applejack looked up and then jumped out of the way, with Applebloom in tow. I, however, didn’t give up on how my current appearance came to be, and as a result was too focused on other possible theories on my appearance, and by the time I looked up to see the owner of the voice, I was immediately faced with a cyan pegasus with a rainbow colored mane an tail crashing into me. We both rolled down the hillside and immediately crashed into a nearby tree. As I groggily got up, I was suddenly pissed at the trichromatic-maned mare for the stunt she pulled. “Ow. Come on Rainbow Dash, you need to – ow – be careful when you’re flying. I think my jaw is dislocated now thanks to your little stunt” I said, irritated and in pain. “Hey! It isn’t my fault! I was flying when – wait, who are you? How do you know my name?” Rainbow Dash said in defense. DAMMIT! “Uh, that’s isn’t important right now. Now that I think about it, I’m glad I – er – “ran” into you, Rainbow.” “Really?” “Yeah you see, I’m –“ “An alien!” Applebloom said. Both Rainbow Dash and me looked to see Applebloom and Applejack walking up to us. “I’m not an alien, I’m from another universe! There is a distinct difference.” I snapped at Applebloom, immediately fixing my sudden outburst with a firm sorry. “Anyways, Twilight asked me to round up her friends. We were just on our way to Carousel Boutique to get Rarity. You coming?” Rainbow stared me down for a while, then smiled. “Ok, I’ll come with. But only cause my friend needs me.” Rainbow Dash said. I smiled at Rainbow Dash. “As expected from the Element of Loyalty, as well as the best flyer in Equestria. Which reminds me, care to explain why you crashed into me like that?” “Oh yeah, almost forgot about that.” Rainbow Dash said as she straightened herself. “Well, I was trying out my routine for the Wonderbolts next time I saw them, when all of a sudden this black pony comes out of nowhere and attacks me! I tried to lose him through a few tricks, but he still caught up! Then, he rams right into me and just takes off! I wanted to chase him and clean his clock, but as soon as I started chasing him my wings got heavy and I started falling. That’s when I saw you guys and tried to tell ya to look out, and – well, you know the rest.” “Well, I think I know what might’ve caused you to fall.” I said, pointing to her left wing. There was some sort of black sludge of the tip of her feathers. “Ugh, what is this stuff?” Rainbow Dash said in disgust. “Hold still, let me take a look at it.” I said, holding her wing open to get a better look at it. It was a bit weird looking: the tar looked wet, yet it was completely dry, no dripping or anything like that. It was only on a couple of her feathers, but for some reason I had the feeling that the weird sludge had a menacing aura around it. It actually made my horn tingle (which is not as good a feeling as it sounds, by the way). “Hmm, from what I can tell, that pony, whoever he was, put this sludge on ya when he rammed ya, and it might have caused ya to fall out of the sky. I wished I had a jar or something, I can get a sample to keep till I had the proper equipment to examine this properly.” I looked up and saw that they were looking at me funny, then I noticed the awkward moment I was making and corrected myself. ”Er, anyways, we better get going.” The other ponies agreed and we started walking. However, after we started walking I noticed Rainbow was having trouble. “You okay back there Dash?” “Yeah, its just that my wings are heavy again. It’s making it hard to move.” “Hmmm…” I made sure my expression was stern. Why? Rainbow Dash looked so cute like this~~! ... Shut up. “Whelp, guess the only thing left to do is to carry you. Applejack, help me get her on.” Applejack and I were able to get Rainbow Dash onto my back, but not without much difficulty from the reluctant pegasus, and the four of us walked the rest of the way to the boutique. --- We arrived at the Carousel Boutique at around noon. Again, it’s a lot bigger than they show it on TV. The enormous 3-story house/dress store towered over us. The various decor of the estate was as elegant as its owner. I won’t go into detail, as many of you already know what the place looks like. What I will tell you, though, is that as we were walking up to the front entrance of this lovely abode, I noticed a rather large, crude boulder to the left of the path with a sign on it, written in bold, yet elegant letters: NO ONE IS TO EVER TALK ABOUT THIS BOULDER. EVER. I tried to restrain myself and refrain from laughing at the memory of greedy Rarity, much to no avail as the Apple sisters and Rainbow Dash, who was still on my back, were giving me looks as to ask ‘why are you laughing?’ We walked up to the front door and Applejack knocked. The door opened soon afterwards and a little alabaster unicorn filly with pink and light purple hair poked her head out of the door. “Hello?” Sweetie Belle said. Before anyone could answer, I spoke up. “Hello, Sweetie Belle. Is Rarity home?” I said. The little filly looked at me for a second, and then asked, “How do you know my name?” OH COME ON!!! “Oh, well, y’see—“ I began, but was interrupted by the little unicorn. “Are you a filly molester?” Oh, man, like, déjà vu`, amirite? Me, Applejack and Rainbow Dash were in complete shock at what we just heard. Before any of us were able to scold her for the accusation, Applebloom spoke up. “Don’t worry Sweetie Belle, he ain’t a filly molester, he just know’s your name through Twilight. I accused him a’ the same thing earlier today.” “Applebloom!” Applejack said, scolding her sister. The little earth pony filly lowered her head in shame. That was my cue to intervene. “Don’t worry about it Applejack.” I said. “Although I was… surprised to hear her call me that, she gave me a perfectly reasonable explanation as to why she assumed such. From there we agreed that I was the one at fault. I would appreciate that you don’t punish her for the assumption.” The orange cowpony stared at me for a while, as if she wanted to say something, but instead she just nodded her head and forgot about it. “Good.” I declared, ”Now, Sweetie Belle, as I was saying, is Rarity home? Twilight wanted me to gather her friends for something important.” “Ok. Come in.” Sweetie Belle exclaimed before turning tail and walking back inside. We followed in to the shop area of the building, which was just as elegant as the outside. The walls were painted in complementing shades of violet and light blue, and were adorned with golden decorations. Pony mannequins (ponyquins, maybe?) were seen scattered around the room; each dressed in an impressively fashionable gown or suit, two of which were positioned out of the bay windows on each side of the entrance. I took in a deep breath and got a whiff of the scent of the area: the sweet scent of perfume heavily masking the distinct smell of hard work, which can be easily unnoticed by anyone else. I then noticed that Rainbow Dash was still on my back, and I let her off. “JEEZ!. I thought pegasi were light.” I said jokingly. Here is a tip, if by the off chance you meet a pegasus like Rainbow Dash, do not, I repeat DO NOT crack a weight joke. What happens is along the lines of a very hard punch to the face. Now, it must have been extra painful considering I have glasses on (don’t worry, they didn’t break), but that is beside the point. As I was rubbing my face trying to get rid of the imprint my glasses made as they got pushed into my skull from the punch, I hear a familiar elegant voice made by an equally elegant alabaster pony. “Hello, darling, and welcome to the Carousel Boutique, where everything is-“ Rarity stared, but was cut off. By me. Yeah, I know, not at all like me, but I just carried a pegasus on my back for a good mile and a half to the boutique, and on top of that said pegasus punched me right on the nose, which I was still rubbing. “Chic, unique, and magnifique, yeah, yeah, we know, Rarity. “ I blurted out. “Well, I never!” Rarity said “You have some nerve to give me that sort of attitude and-*Gasp*- heavens, what happened to your mane?!” “My mane? What is wrong with my mane?” I said, now looking for a mirror. I found the closest mirror and ran towards it. I got one good look at my mane and was shocked. Remember when Twilight first met Rainbow Dash, and what her mane looked like after that? Mine was similar, except now it was all muddy and had twigs sticking out of it. I was honestly in shock that I walked all the way to the boutique like this. “Oh.” Was all I could muster. Actually, now that i think about it, I'm just glad she didn't notice i knew her name. Rarity walked up beside me. ”Don’t worry, darling, I’ll just give you a nice haircut.” She then grabbed me and brought me to a chair. She sat me down and then got to work on my hair. 15 minutes (and about 50 different hairstyles) later, Rarity decided on just giving me a plain pushback style. “Oh that is simply a marvelous look for you, darling. Now, if I may ask, why is it that you have come to visit me?” Rarity said. Suddenly remembering our purpose here, I quickly chimed in. “Oh, right. We are here because I need help. But before I go any further, I must ask you… do you have any jars?” “Jars? Why do you need jars?” I pointed at Dash’s wing, who weakly opened it to show the gunk. “MY WORD!” Rarity exclaimed, ”Why in Equestria would you want to even keep that?!” “Well, I want to examine it more. Get a sample, if you will.” “Why would you want to examine it?!” Rarity said in disgust. “Ugh, I don’t have time for explanations! We still need to go and get Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie, and then get back to the –“ I started, but was cut off. “Oh, Fluttershy? She’s here” Rarity said. “She is?” “Yes. She was here when you guys arrived. She must still be in the kitchen, where I left—“ It was then we heard a loud crash and then a scream from the kitchen. Fluttershy’s scream. Without thinking, I ran to where the kitchen was (thank you, show detail!) to see what the problem was. I ran into the kitchen, where I immediately tripped over the chair that was right in front of the door. After I found my bearings, I looked at the situation. I first saw Fluttershy, who was cowering under the table, with a shadow-colored pegasus with long hair walking towards her. No time to think. I jumped in front of the assaulter and took a defensive pose. “Stay away from Fluttershy!” I said. At this point the others had entered the kitchen and saw the figure, Dash immediately in shock upon seeing the figure. The shadowy pony suddenly lunged towards me. It hit me square in the chest and the force flung me across the room and into the wall behind me. I immediately got up and rammed into the pegasus, sending him flying across the room. As he got up I clocked him with a right punch, then turned around and bucked him. I tried to continue it with another punch but he grabbed my forleg and spun me around like I was a rag doll. The long haired shadow pegasus then flung me into the cabinets. I got back up and immediately charged at him, barraging him with a fury of punches, until I finally knocked him to the floor. He laid on the floor for a few seconds, then got back up. I braced myself for another attack, but it never came. The shadowy pony turned around and ran out the back door, which, until he crashed through it, had been closed the whole time. After a few seconds of silence, Applejack finally spoke up. “What in tarnation was that all about?” I turned to look at Applejack. “I’m guessing it was the pony who attacked Rainbow Dash earlier and forced her to use me as an emergency landing pad.” I said, chuckling as Rainbow Dash gave me a glare, as to say ‘I said I’m sorry, ok?!’ “Well, darling,” Rarity said, turning to the cyan pegasus, “Was it the pony who attacked you earlier today?“ “Well…” Rainbow Dash stammered. “Well?” I repeated. “Well, it LOOKED like the pony that attacked me, but the pony that attacked me had a short mane, kinda like mine.” Dash said, brushing her mane for emphasis on her statement. “Great, just great. So, not only do we still have no clue as to who attacked you, he now might have an accomplice alongside him.” I said flatly. “Um, excuse me.” We all turned to the sound of the voice and see Fluttershy, still under the table. Once again, I was the first to run my mouth. “Oh, Sorry Fluttershy, forgot you were still there for a moment. Are you hurt?” “Oh, um… no. I’m fine. I just have one thing I want to ask, though. I mean, if that’s ok with you…” “Its ok. What did you want to ask?” “Um…How Do you know my name?” “I’m sorry, I didn’t hear you. Can you repeat the question?” “How do you know my name?” “Diiiiiiiiidn’t quite catch that. One more time, please?” “How do you know my name?” Fluttershy flutter-shouted. GOD DAMMIT!! "Actually, I remember hearing you saying my name as well earlier, how didyou know it? I don't remember giving it." The alabaster fashionista said. I excused myself and walked out of the room. Once out of the other’s sight, I then proceeded to randomly grunt and curse under my breath in anger, trying my best not to scream due to the fact that, once again, I had failed in trying to not make it look like I’m some creepy stalker, but a being from possibly another universe (which one would you believe?!). When I was done with my mild aneurism, I walked back and apologized for stepping away. That was when I was hit with a sharp pain to my horn and collapsed a bit. “OH GOODNESS! Are you okay darli – what is that on your horn!?” Rarity said, pointing at my horn in disgust. Luckily there was a mirror nearby for me to see. The upper part of my horn was covered in black sludge, the same black sludge that was on dash’s wing. The attacker must’ve put it on me somehow before fleeing. I was only able to look at it for a few seconds before the pain caused me to collapsed to my knees again in agony. The pain was unbearable. I felt like I was being drained of my very life force. I slowly started getting weaker and weaker. I looked at my forelegs and was surprised at what I saw. The muscles in my body were getting smaller, my bones becoming frailer by the second, I saw patches of my coat turning from red to a rusty brown color, and I could’ve sworn I heard the sound of metal twisting. The girls didn’t hesitate at my pain, and started to pull the sludge off of my horn. The process was equally painful, if not more. They might as well have been trying to pull my horn off. After what felt like an eternity, they finally pulled the sludge, and did the same to dash as I recovered from the ordeal. After I recovered I saw a jar on the counter that somehow survived the fight, and without hesitation grabbed it and stuffed the sludge into it. I turned to look at the others, who were still trying to get the sludge off of Rainbow Dash. “One more pull oughta do it.” Applejack said, and with a sharp pull she was able to yank the sludge off of the rainbow haired pegasus’ wing – with a few feathers still attached. I took the sludge from Applejack and placed it in the jar. “There, now that that problem is taken care of, lets go on to the next order of business.” I said, turning to the shy pegasus and the alabaster unicorn. ”I am here because Twilight has asked me to get her friends. Can you guys please come with me?” “You expect me, after all that has happened, to follow you, a pony I do not know, to Twilight’s place for who know what he is asking us to do?” “Pretty much, yeah” “I’m sorry, but whatever your problem is, I’m afraid I can’t take part of it.” I immediately got on my knees (or whatever you call a pony’s knees) and put my forehooves together in a begging motion. “Oh please, Miss Rarity! If it was because of my behavior earlier, I was slightly annoyed as of the events earlier today and I wasn’t paying attention to my manners! In fact, in order to make up for my behavior, I will fix everything that I have broken.” I said. Yeah, I know, humiliating myself yet again. Say what you want, but I don’t want any of the mane six mad at me. I don’t know if I would be able to handle it! Anyways, Rarity was actually taken aback by my sudden change in attitude, and preceded to stare at me for a while (why does everypony do that?). After a few seconds, she spoke up. “Well, since you insist on making such a generous offer, I suppose I can come along and help.” “Thank you, miss Rarity. Now, we just need to get Pinkie Pie and then head on back to Twilight’s place.” And with that, I fixed everything up in the kitchen; Rarity and Applejack told their sisters to go back to the farm and play there till they come and get them, and we all headed towards the last stop on this seemingly long gathering: Sugarcube Corner. --- “So, darling, what you are telling me is that you are from another universe, and that you somehow were brought here to Ponyville?” Rarity asked me, her eyebrow raised in both curiosity and skepticism. Applejack told the others about my little predicament as we walked down the street towards Sugarcube Corner. The whole thing confused rainbow Dash, Fluttershy seemed concerned (probably for my well being), and Rarity was still a little skeptical. “Yep!” I said cheerfully, adding a little skip in my step. Let me explain: we are going to Sugarcube Corner, the home of my favorite pony, Pinkie Pie. Yes, she is my favorite, and I’m not afraid to say it. Pinkie Pie is best pony. Period. “Well, as ridiculous as it seems, you did rebuild my kitchen and cleaned the mess you made in my house. The least I can do is help you.” “Whelp, were here.” Applejack proclaimed. There it was. Sugarcube corner. I looked upwards at the huge gingerbread house-shaped building. The building was about three stories high, and colered in pink, pink and more pink, with yellow for the walls. The roof looked as if to be made of gingerbread, and the top of the building adorned with a cupcake. The whole thing just screamed ‘come on in! We’ll make sure you eat enough sugar to keep you awake and jittering for a week straight!’ We walked up to the bakery and Rarity knocked on the door. “Pinkie, darling, are you in?” No response. Rarity knocked on the door again, but this time, the door slowly creeps open, revealing the darkened room on the other side. I made my way past Rarity. “Our little friend from earlier must have stopped by for a snack. Wait here, I’ll go first.“ I said. I walked in the building, straining to see if there was anypony in the room. Not 5 seconds passed when the lights flashed on and a particular pink party pony pops up behind me. “SURPRISE!!!!!!!!!!” Pinkie Pie shouts, causing me to promptly jump 5 feet in the air. Well, she wanted to surprise me, and she did a damn good job of it, “Santa Maria!” I yelped as I jumped and ran for cover under the nearest table. Pinkie turns to the others. “He’s very jumpy, isn’t he?” the pink party pony says matter-of-factly. Rarity was the first to speak ”Pinkie, is there any reason why you were waiting in the dark?” “That’s how surprise parties work, silly! You wait in the room with the lights off for the person the surprise party is for!” Pinkie speaks in her usual cheery tone. I got out from under the table and looked around. The place was decorated with streamers and balloons and other various party decorations. All the tables, including the one I was under, were covered with various cakes and pastries. I wonder whom the party was for. I turn to the Pinkie Pie and asked ”Hey, who is this party for?” “It’s for you. Duh!” The energetic pony replied, as if everyone already knew of it. “Wait, how did you know I was here? This is the first time we met.” Suddenly Pinkie Pie inhaled deeply, and then spoke “Well, last night I was up planning parties and new cupcake recipes and try to find new ways to throw parties, and when I was thinking of where to put my party cannon for this one cutecinera party I heard hoof steps outside so I looked outside and saw you looking at the mirrors and I thought ‘wow that pony doesn’t look familiar and if he isn’t familiar he must not be from Ponyville and if he isn’t from Ponyville that means he’s new!’ so I started planning a welcoming party and spent all day to prepare for it and when I finished the decorations I saw you guys and panicked because I still had to send out the invitations, but since you were already here I thought id give you the surprise already and then I hid and you came in and I jumped out and surprised you!” I blinked a few times; trying to process the new info, then promptly shook my head. “Well, I’m sorry, Pinkie, but we might have to put the party on hold.” I said. When she sat on the floor and started to pout, I continued. “I’m sorry Pinkie, but right now Twilight sent me to get her friends to help me with something important. Trust me, I want to have a party just as bad as you do, I know you throw the best parties, but right now we don’t have time.” She still pouted a bit. “I promise that after you guys help me we’ll have a party." She suddenly looked up at me. “Pinkie Promise?” “Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye!” I said, going through the motions of the Pinkie Promise. She smiled and said, ”Well, ok. Let’s go!” and with that, finally, we head towards the library.