Blake was fortunate enough to land on both of his feet. However, the millisecond that his shoes touched on the surface of the earth, the orange horse tackled him and pinned him to the ground. Blake tried to resist, but somehow, some way, this horse was much stronger than him. Her green eyes glared at him, as if they were trying to suck his soul right out of his physical body.
“Now Ah’ll ask again, politely. Who are ya, and what’re ya doin’ ‘ere?” the horse asked angrily.
Blake’s mind raced as it tried to find a way to get out of this situation. If he wasn’t able to rely on brute strength on force, he would have to act on quick wits instead. Blake turned his ahead towards a random tree and gasped as if something terrible was there. His plan would rely on the horse’s gullibility to look at the tree he was staring at. It did. And the moment it turned its head, Blake pushed off it and pinned it to the ground.
“How the tides have turned,” Blake mumbled. The horse had rope with her. Perfect. Using the skills he had learned in Boy Scouts, he tied the horse’s hooves together so that she would not be able to escape and chase after him.
“Jus’ wait ‘till I tell Big Macintosh on ya! He’ll be chargin’ like ya were the last jar of Zap Apple Jam in Equestria!”
Blake smiled. It was now time to go, but what if the horse ever needed to eat? It might be hours before someone else found it tied up. Sighing, he climbed another tree, as fast as a monkey would.
“Are ya seriously gonna steal more of muh apples right in front of me?” the horse rhetorically asked, struggling as it attempted to free its hooves.
Blake picked several apples and climbed back down. He kneeled down as he set the handful of apples next the horse’s head, where it would easily be able to bite into the apples if it ever got hungry.
“Now what’s this all ‘bout?” the horse asked confusingly as it stared at the apples placed next to her.
“I’m being gallant.”
“What!? Ya wouldn’t know how ta be gallant if it hit ya in the back of the head!”
Blake narrowed his eyes, becoming increasingly flustered with the orange horse that couldn’t shut its mouth to save its life. He moved in closer that their faces were only inches apart. He said with a cold tone, “Now look here, cowgirl. You don’t know the hell I’ve been through these past few days. If you did, you should consider yourself lucky that I haven’t decided to take your life right here and now. Now where I come from, if you for some reason attack a person, they’ll retaliate and attack back. And did you see those apples I was eating?” Blake waited for a response but the horse gave none.
“Well those things let me survive until the next meal, where I may have to steal again. It may be unethical, but I want to see my life through to the end instead of taking the coward’s way out.” He waited a few moments to let his words sink into the horse’s mind.
“Now I’m gonna have to leave you tied up like this. You know why? Because I don’t trust you, and I would rather not have a knife stuck in my throat the second I turn my back on you, because I’m sure you’re thinking of doing something along those lines.”
The horse opened its mouth to say something, but then it decided otherwise as it closed it instead.
“You have a real good day know, y’hear?” Blake said, standing up to leave. Let’s just add that to my mile-long list of sins I’ve committed in the past week, Blake thought to himself.
<><><><><><><><><><>
Lyra trotted on the trail that led to Sweet Apple Acres. It would be a good place to start looking. The Earthling may have already taken her food, but that doesn’t mean it wouldn’t look for more. Sweet Apple Acres was very grand and could be seen from miles away. It was easily spotted from a large distance away and there was a very good chance that the Earthling had noticed the large apple orchard and decided to scavenge for food there. Lyra was sure that Applejack wouldn’t mind her “visiting” for a while as she continued her search for the alien.
As she continued along the path, she noticed Applejack and her little sister, Apple Bloom, dashing as fast as they could along the dirt path. They certainly seemed in a hurry to get to Ponyville, and Lyra had a vague idea why. Before the two sisters passed by Lyra without noticing her, she called out, “Hey, Applejack! What’s going on?”
The two sisters skidded to a halt in front of Lyra, kicking up a storm of dust behind them.
“Applejack says there’s a scary monster over yonder!” Apple Bloom said, looking scared.
So, Lyra was right. The Earthling did stop by Sweet Apple Acres for a tasty snack. Lyra exploded with excitement, and began to run towards the apple orchard, but Applejack stopped her by sticking her hoof out in front of her.
“Now just where d’ ya think yer goin’?” Applejack asked.
“To see the Earthling of course!” Lyra replied, trying to move forward again but Applejack maintained her posture, not letting Lyra go by.
“An Earthin’? What in tarnation is that?” Applejack asked.
“It’s got two legs, has only hair on top of its head, can grab things easily with its—”
“Well that’s exactly what was over in muh orchard! Wait, how d’ ya know ‘bout all this?” Applejack interrupted, wanting to know how Lyra had gotten all off her information.
“Well… I-uh… um… It’s because…” Lyra stuttered, trying to find an excuse.
“Just spit it out, girl!” Applejack said impatiently.
“The thing broke into my house, stole my food, and attacked me! Okay?” Lyra broke.
“Did ya tell anypony about it?”
“No… I didn’t…” Lyra replied, feeling guilty that she had not said a word about the incident.
“Why not?”
“Because I… um—”
“Ya can explain this when we get over to Twilight.”
Applejack dragged Lyra with her. She resisted but to no avail. Apple Bloom smiled at Lyra, which did not make her feel any better. Her search would just have to be postponed.
<><><><><><><><><><>
“Are you crazy? You didn’t tell this to anypony, and you even lied to your own roommate about the Earthling robbing your food and assaulting you?” Twilight asked furiously. Lyra had never seen Twilight, well actually anypony, get as angry as this.
“Uh… yeah, I kind of did…” Lyra replied, frowning.
Twilight facehoofed. “I don’t understand why you would keep this to yourself like this!”
“Because nopony would believe me, that’s why!”
“Well… I guess you are sort of right… but why were you searching for this thing? Between both yours and Applejack’s stories, this creature sounds very dangerous!”
Lyra was going to tell Twilight what the Earthling had said before it left her house, but Applejack cut in before she could say anything. “The Earthlin’ really doesn’t want to hurt anypony. It just doesn’t trust us,” she said.
Twilight looked at Applejack quizzically. “How could you defend it like that? It stole your apples and tied you up! By the way how did you get out of the rope anyways?”
“Big Mac eventually heard me and got meh untied. But anyway I hafta admit that the Earthin’ really did drive its words into muh heart.”
"What do you mean?” Twilight asked.
“It sound like it’d been hurt. Not hurt as in fur and bone, but hurt emotionally.”
“It sounded similar to me last night. It said that it was sorry that it attacked me, and it would do anything to survive,” Lyra added.
Twilight pondered for a moment. Using her magic, she used a quill to write a quick letter, presumably to the Princess. After she was finished writing, she looked over it and handed it off to Spike. Using a small breath of green fire, he had magically sent off the letter to Celestia. This caused Lyra to wonder how the Earthlings communicated over long distances. She remembered having a recent dream about a large building that orbited aimlessly around the Earthling’s planet. Maybe that building helped the Earthling’s communicate. She also remembered an Earthling in a bulky, white suit fixing something on the building with tools that she had never seen before. The suit to her seemed airtight, which didn’t make sense. She knew that Nightmare Moon was trapped on the moon for a thousand years, so the air must certainly be breathable. So why was that Earthling in a suit? She would just have to add that question to the list she was creating inside her head.
It was only a few minutes before another letter appeared magically in front of Twilight.
“Wow, that was fast,” Twilight said, astonished. She began reading the letter.
“My most faithful student, Twilight Sparkle. It seems as if the disturbances I have been feeling recently have become a reality. As I am attending to other things at the moment, I am dispatching my dearest sister, Princess Luna, and a squad of Royal Guards to Ponyville immediately. When they arrive, I want you to aid in the search of finding the Earthling and interrogating it. Let Luna handle the questions though. And if possible, see if you can gather several pegasus ponies, specifically Rainbow Dash, to help in the search as well. I bid you all luck, and report to me if you are able to track the Earthling down.
“Signed, Princess Celestia.”
The library was silent for several minutes. “Can the Cutie Mark Crusaders help find the monster? We could become CUTIE MARK CRUSADER MONSTER SLAYERS!” Apple Bloom said happily, breaking the silence. She pranced around, punching the air with two hooves as if engaged in mid-combat.
Twilight grinned. “I don’t know. Only if your sister says she’s fine with it.”
Apple Bloom put a pause on her imaginary battle. She glared at her sister with her puppy-dog eyes, something she had been practicing so that she could get what she wanted if ever needed. She had almost perfected it, but it was certainly not as powerful as Fluttershy’s “Stare”.
Applejack was quick to give in. “Oh, alright. But Ah’m gonna keep an eye on ya three the entire time. If that thing outsmarded me, it’ll outsmard you.”
Apple Bloom jumped for joy. “Yay! We’ll get our Cutie Marks this time for sure! Ah’ll get the other girls!” She left Twilight’s library with an enormous smile planted on her face.
After Apple Bloom was gone, Lyra asked, “Twilight?”
Twilight turned her attention to the teal unicorn. “Yes, Lyra?”
“Would it be alright if I helped too? “ Lyra asked.
“I guess so. Do you still have a bone to pick on it?”
Lyra giggled. “No, I just want to meet it.”
Twilight glanced at her, confused. “I still don’t understand. Why are you so obsessed with finding the alien so badly?”
Lyra was about to object Twilight’s argument that she was obsessed with the Earthlings, but she then realized that she really was. Because of recent events, it was now time to reveal her secrets. “I’ve been having dreams about these creatures for years,” she started. “At first I thought they were just funny little fairy tales, but my dreams continued to become more clear and vivid, and I don’t believe that the scenes I were seeing were just a figment of my imagination. I saw Earthling cities that made even Canterlot look like an ant in comparison, literally. I’ve been keeping a journal and—”
“Wait! You’re keeping a journal about all the dreams you’ve been having?” Twilight interrupted.
“Yes…”
“I want to see it, if it’s fine with you.”
“Okay. I never dreamed of the moment that somepony would actually be interested in all my research. It’s like another dream come true!”
“Another dream? What was the other one?”
“An Earthling showing up in Equestria! Duh.”
<><><><><><><><><><>
Twilight glanced through Lyra’s notes that she had taken over the course of several years. Some of the drawings of large city landscapes were absolutely breathtaking in Twilight’s eyes. She wondered why Lyra didn’t have a quill or a paint pallet for a cutie mark instead of a lyre. Although some of the information of the Earthling’s physical features was helpful, Twilight was disappointed that there was a lack information about how an Earthling acts, tendencies, emotional, or any other type of mental background. Based on Lyra’s and Applejack’s encounters with the Earthling, it was cunning and used wits to get out of trouble. It may be difficult to capture the creature, but with the power of Princess Luna, the Royal Guards, and any other ponies that volunteered in Ponyville, it should be done relatively quickly.
“So where d’ ya reckon we should look first?” Applejack asked curiously.
Lyra told Applejack her theory about that the Earthling would most likely be near a river or lake with food sources nearby. It would greatly narrow down their search.
“But what if it decides t’ head on over t’ the Everfree forest?” Applejack asked hypothetically.
“I doubt it would even get close to it. There are many deadly creatures in there. Everypony knows that,” Twilight replied, confused why Applejack would ask a question with suck an obvious answer.
“But this isn’t a pony, Twilight. It doesn’t know that the Everfree is dangerous. However, there may be something in that book he stole that could lead him away from the forest,” Lyra said, hoping that the Earthling wasn’t stupid to go wandering in that forest. She had only been to the Everfree once, because she had lost a bet, and it was the scariest night of her life. But, if they were forced to go into the Everfree, they would be under protection from the Royal Guards. This made Lyra relax a little.
There was a knock on the door. Lyra was about to let Bon-Bon answer it, because she was normally the first one to greet any guess, but she then remembered that Bon-Bon was out gathering ingredients for a batch of caramel apples. Lyra trotted to the door and opened it with her magic. A cyan pegasus with a rainbow mane was waiting outside.
“Hey, Lyra. Is Twilight in here? She told me to come meet her here and—” Rainbow Dash said before being cut off by a purple unicorn.
“Rainbow Dash! We need your help,” Twilight said.
“With what? Maybe it’s performing in front of a crowd of thousands, or battling off an army of Manticores, or saving a baby from falling off the cliff again, or—”
“We need your help with finding an alien,” Twilight said.
Rainbow Dash began chuckling. “An alien? Hahaha, oh Twilight. Have you been reading too many books again?”
“She’s tellin’ the truth, Rainbow,” Applejack said, trying to get the pegasus to stop laughing hysterically.
“She’s got you on this too? I know this is a prank, so I’ll just be heading off now…” Rainbow Dash said. She attempted to fly off bought Twilight caught onto her tail with a magic spell. She wasn’t going anywhere.
Lyra trotted underneath the pegasus that was stuck in mid-air. “We’re all telling the truth, Rainbow Dash. There is an alien in Equestria. And since you’re one of the fastest flyers around, it would be a great help if you go looking for it with us.”
Rainbow Dash stared at the trio of ponies as if they had lost their minds. She was now, however, able to stifle her laughter. “So you guys are actually being serious?” she asked, still skeptical. The three nodded their heads simultaneously. Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes as if she still couldn’t believe them. The only thing that would convince the Earthling was real is that if she actually saw it with her own two eyes. Twilight stopped her spell and let Rainbow Dash fall to the ground.
“When are we going to start searching for this thing?” Rainbow Dash asked.
“As soon as the Princess and the Royal Guards arrive,” Twilight replied.
“Celestia’s coming?”
“No, it’s Princess Luna.”
Rainbow Dash tried to mask her disappointment, but failed. Although after the previous Nightmare Night, it would seem like everypony would like both Princesses equally, but there were still some that were a bit doubtful that the Princess of the Night would still attempt to eat them. Rainbow Dash was one of them, as she had been too busy playing pranks to see the true side of Luna, so she had no idea what Luna was really like.
Just then, a thunderstorm magically appeared, pouring rain down all over the small town of Ponyville. The four ponies then emerged from the safety of the house to greet the princess. Lyra could see the chariot that Luna had ridden in when she had last visited Ponyville being pulled by two pegasi with bat-like wings. There were also a dozen of Celestia’s Royal Guards following the chariot in a semi-circle formation, protecting the rear of the chariot. Luna’s chariot landed in the center of Ponyville, near Twilight’s library. The four ran up to the princess as soon as she had landed.
“GREETINGS, TWILIGHT SPARKLE! ART THOU READY FOR THE SEARCH FOR THE ALIEN?” Luna shouted deeply.
“Luna! Remember what happened the last time you used the Royal Canterlot Voice? Everypony was afraid of you!” Twilight yelled, trying to speak over the loud noises of the thunderstorm.
“Yes, you’re right… sorry,” Luna apologized, lifting out her front right hoof in front of her.
“And what’s with the thunderstorm?” Twilight asked, shaking her hoof with Luna’s. “We’re all soaking wet out here!”
“Tia had told me that there should always be a forewarning before one us arrives at a town besides Canterlot. With Tia, it’s her chariot that radiates as bright as the sun, and with me it’s—”
“Yes, yes, we understand! Could you please stop this storm please? It’s only going to make our search more complicated!”
“Oh, alright.” Using her powerful magic, Luna was able to cast away the storm as quickly as it had appeared. The bright, yellow sun gleamed over the ponies in a ray of sunshine with a warmth that was welcome to the ponies who were now soaking wet. But somehow, Luna remained completely dry, as if a rain drop had never got near her coat or her mane.
“Alright my little ponies,” Luna said. “Here’s the plan.”
<><><><><><><><><><>
Blake’s hard work was completely soiled in a matter of moments. Using the maps that were gratefully located in the book he had borrowed, he found a web of small lakes and ponds with tiny streams that connected in between them. Blake had decided that this would be a perfect place to settle for the time being. He knew that because of recent events, the horses would come looking for him, just as his previous enemies did. He had built at least several different campfires at random points in the valley, to confuse any search parties that would come looking for him. He knew that the smoke from the campfires would attract attention, but that was what he wanted. He had picked a small hill where he would easily be able to overlook all of the campfires, so when he saw a group of horses investigating one, he would know their exact position and be able to retreat away from them.
However, as if by magic, a large thunderstorm literally appeared out of thin air. There was no warning, no thunder booming in the distance to forewarn of the impending danger, it just appeared without explanation. His campfires were completely doused by the heavy rain, and he wished to seek shelter but there was none around. From lessons in school, he knew that lightning strikes at the tallest object in the area where it does, which is why it is dangerous to go near trees while there was lightning around. And that was the problem; the only way to get out of the rain would be to hide under the branches and leaves of a thick tree.
Blake ran to the lowest point in the valley and lied on his stomach. He would just have to wait for the storm to pass by. Fortunately enough, the storm disappeared as quickly as it had arrived. Rays of sunshine hit on his drenched clothes.
As he didn’t want to risk the chance of catching a disease in these water-ridden clothes, so he found a tree with low branches and stripped off his clothing until he was naked. He hung all of his clothing on the tree, including his shoes and socks, placing them on a specific branch so that the clothes would be in the sun rather in the shade for the rest of the day. Hopefully they would dry before nightfall.
It was very awkward and uncomfortable to be out in the open like this without at least something covering his private square. He thought of doing something like Tarzan and have one skinny cloth to cover the area, but he then decided against it. It would really only be embarrassing if someone else could see him, but fortunately the closest human to him was probably millions of light years away.
He went out to search for more wood so that he could rebuild his decoy campfires.
<><><><><><><><><><>
Author’s Note
Well there you go, chapter three is finished and done. I’ve decided that I wouldn’t put an author’s note at the end of every single chapter like I did with the my last fic, as that probably got a bit annoying, so I won’t do that with this one.
However, I would like to know what you think about this fic and any criticism you have so far. Any and all comments are appreciated (unless you’re just trolling, because if you do post a troll comment, I’ll just delete them). I do reply to almost all of my comments, so if there’s anything that confuses you or anything, I’ll be glad to help. I’d also like to know any ideas that you have that I may be able to implement into the future. So anyways, thanks for reading.
Siege, out.