//------------------------------// // Summons // Story: Equestria's Outcasts // by TheFullCrumb //------------------------------// Twilight looked up from the Book of Legends again. "You have a celebration on the eve of the longest day of the year. The Summer Solstice Festival." Hammer nodded. He enjoyed the one he had gone to, even if it had been ruined by Solar Flare appearing. "It's an amazing celebration. Every pony group who comes must bring a food item. From our group, that little one there, Beanstalk, she brought bean dip she had made herself. Never got to taste any of it, but it looked good." Hammer licked his lips. He was actually quite hungry. "While we're on the prospect of food, may we get some? We're pretty hungry." Applejack had walked away when Hammer had mentioned he was hungry, and returned with a cart laden with apple-related goods. "We got apple pies, apple fritters, apple turnovers, caramel apples. We got it all!" Hammer tentatively trotted over, and placed a coin down. "I guess I'll take a pie. By Luna, I'm hungry." Applejack stared at him with a shocked look. "Dun you mean, 'By Celestia?" Hammer shook his head. "Different worlds, Applejack. Luna's the older princess in our world, and by Luna, we serve her with fervour." He broke into singing the Lunar March, the anthem of Airtseuqe. "When black turns into light, when night turns into day, we follow our great leader, Luna, with what she will say. The ponies of Airtseuqe, hold your heads up high, as we watch the moon set, and the sunrise in the sky! For Luna, we will march into the night. For Luna, we will march, even in the morning's light. For Airtseuqe and all the lands around, we hold our heads up high!" "That's an interesting song, Mr. Hammer. What is it, exactly?" He stopped staring at the sky, and returned his gaze to Twilight. "That was the Lunar March, the anthem of Airtseuqe. We sing it at every celebration, and every Airtseuqe pony sings it with happiness. Airtseuqe thrived under Princess Luna. I'm guessing, since Equestria seems to be sort of a polar opposite to our world, you've had prosperity under Princess Celestia, am I wrong?" Twilight nodded, a slight frown crossing her face. "We don't have an anthem. We serve her with all we are, and she takes that as enough." Hammer laughed and smiled. "The Lunar March was created by a pony of Airtseuqe in honor of Luna." A small purple-and-green dragon ran up behind Twilight, waving a letter frantically. "Twilight! You've got a letter from the Princess!" Twilight, grabbing it with her magic, opened the seal, and read it aloud. "To my dearest and faithful student, Twilight Sparkle. I have seen the newcomers as they have revealed themselves. If you may, I would like to speak to the one called Hammer, the inventor. There are matters that I must discuss with him." Twilight put the letter down. "So, less than a day here, and the Princess wants to see you." Hammer shook his mane in amusement. "I wonder what Celestia wants to talk about? Whatever it is, I've got a gut feeling that says it's not good at all." Celestia had sent a royal flying chariot for Hammer, with guards and everything. Unfortunately, it didn't make Hammer feel important; it made him feel like a prisoner of war. Stepping inside the chariot, it WHIZZED off into the distance. Hammer did everything possible to stay inside the chariot, as the speed at which they were traveling was faster than anything he had ever experienced before. They landed at the Royal Castle in Canterlot, where Celestia, in regal glory, was waiting. "You are Hammer? Come with me, we have pressing matters to discuss." They entered Celestia's study, where she offered a chair to Hammer. He declined, and laid down on the couch nearest the door. "So what's so pressing that you pull me away from those I know?" She stared him down. "First, please be more courteous to the ruling party. It will help your cause in the long run." Hammer stared at her. "By Luna, you're strange. I'm familiar with the Princess, to some degree, in Airtseuqe. She was interesting, to say the least." A voice from the other side of the room startled him. "I'm INTERESTING?" A young Princess Luna came out of the dark at the other end of the study, and stood in the light. Hammer smiled. "By the dark of the moon, it's really you, Princess." He got up, and bowed before her. Luna stared quickly at Celestia, perturbed by Hammer's actions. She tapped him on the back. "Are you okay?" Hammer stood up, and looked at her. "Yes, I'm quite well, thank you." The realization of his actions hit him. "Oh, whoops. Sorry. I'm not from Equestria." Luna stared him down. "Apparently. Where ARE you from?" Hammer laid back down on the couch, staring at the ceiling. "I'm from the polar opposite of your world. I come from Airtseuqe, where YOU, Luna, are the older Princess. Celestia was filled with jealousy and hate, and transformed into Solar Flare, the mare of blinding brightness, and burning day. I can see that your world is the exact reverse." Luna stood still, taken aback. "I-I'm the older sister in your world?" Celestia was just as shocked. "And I turned evil and tried to destroy Airtseuqe?" Hammer nodded. "It may come as quite a shock to you all. I also think you're probably wondering about this helmet." Luna noticed the helmet he was wearing, since he just mentioned it. The flag on the badge area gleamed with a bright light, the intensity of Bravery. "What kind of helmet IS that?" Hammer smiled, and stood up. "If I had the Airtseuqe Book of Legends with me, I could probably explain it better. This helmet is one of six legendary elements, which my friends and I used to defeat Solar Flare. They are-" Luna interrupted him. "The Elements of Harmony?" Hammer shook his head. "They are the Elements of Combat. After Solar Flare was banished to the sun for five thousand years, there were wars fought, trying to keep the Griffin Oligarchy, and other countries from destroying the way of life in Airtseuqe. Our world revolves around the fact that we must fight in order to keep living." Hammer stopped, and wondered what his friends were up to. Hermes was having the time of his life, running faster than Rainbow Dash could fly. "Come ON, Dash, keep up! I can't bloody wait all day!" Dash, sweating and breathing heavily, was floating slowly towards him. She began falling out of the sky. Hermes 'zapped' underneath her, and caught her before she hit the ground. "Careful now, mate. You don't want to bugger yourself now, do you?" Dash nodded, and laid down on his back. "How... can... you... run... so... fast...?" She was out of breath, and her pride was hurt. She had been beaten, multiple times, in a race, by an Earth Pony. He was a good deal older than her, so he knew more tricks than she did, but Earth Ponies weren't supposed to move as fast as he did. "That's the fun of it. I'm a, well, rare breed of Earth Pony. In Airtseuqe, I'm called a Zap Pony, in reference to how I appear to 'zap' from one place to another. I learned to control the lightning inside me body, and that allows me to move meself much faster than normal." Dash started snoring on Hermes' back. "You bleeding foal. Tired out already. Well, better get back to Ponyville. They'll be missing us something fierce if we don't get back soon." Deepwood was hanging out with Fluttershy, but the entire time, she had tried, in vain, to keep Fluttershy from interfering in the way of nature. "Fluttershy, non-interference is the best way." Fluttershy merely smiled, and fed her rabbit, Angel. "Oh, no. Without me, these animals wouldn't eat at all. I'm the main reason they're around." Deepwood shook her head, and rubbed her forehead. She had to deal with the fact that Airtseuqe was more natural in the way it worked. "Sorry. In Airtseuqe, everything works by itself. The only time the sun is actually raised using magic is during the Summer Solstice Festival, if my information is correct." Fluttershy gave Deepwood a sideways glance. "You come from a strange world." Hermes came zipping through the gate in front of Fluttershy's home, and stopped quickly. Unfortunately, Dash didn't slow down that well, and knocked him face-first into the dirt. He quickly got up, sputtering, and spitting out dirt. "Bleeding hay, that was tough. She's 'eavier than she looks." Dash moaned. Fluttershy stared quizzically at Hermes. "What happened?" Hermes laughed, and fell over in his mirth. "She couldn't take the fact that I beat 'er every race she tried. I'm guessing her pride was hurt in the process." Fluttershy smiled. "Rainbow is still a great flier. Woohoo!" Dash slowly got to her feet. She was swaying slightly, trying to keep her balance. "You win, Hermes. You're faster." Hermes smiled, but the smile turned to a look of alarm as Dash fell over on the ground, out cold. "Well, THIS is just bleeding fantastic." Fluttershy tried picking up Dash to take her inside, but she was having a small problem lifting her. Deepwood levitated Dash onto her own back, and carried her inside Fluttershy's house. "This world is not normal, if you can consider our world normal. Everything is COMPLETELY opposite, by Luna!"