//------------------------------// // Chapter 1 (Revised 15 October 2014) // Story: Suddenly... Ponies! // by Liquidfirest0rm //------------------------------// “I simply can’t believe that we’re going to spend a whole week in Las Pegasus, all expenses paid.” Rarity said, getting a dreamy look in her eyes as she imagined all of the different luxuries she would partake in over the next week. “I can’t believe that the Wonderbolts are going to be performing there that weekend!” Rainbow Dash said while doing small loops in the air. The six friends were currently gathered in Twilight’s library. The Princess had given them all a week long trip, all expenses paid, as a reward for their defeat of Discord. Twilight currently had her nose buried in a book while the other five were standing around talking, or doing last minute checks on their baggage to make sure nothing was forgotten. An intricate spell diagram had been drawn on the floor in the center of the main room. Instead of taking the train, Twilight had offered to use a long range, mass teleport spell that was in one of her books. The diagram on the floor was to be used for the spell that she was currently quadruple checking. Closing the book and setting it on the table, she turned around to face her friends. “Alright, I’m ready. If you all would move into the center circle of the diagram, we can be on our way.” The six ponies and their luggage were slowly moved into the center of the circle, making sure not to disturb any of the carefully drawn lines. Once they were all in the center, Twilight used her magic to levitate a small bag over. She poured out the glittering powder, finishing up the lines that had been left open as a walkway. Once she was finished, she set the bag down beside the book she had been reading earlier. “Alright, everyone ready?” She received nods from each of her friends in response. “OK. Here goes…” She started charging magic in her horn, the aura surrounding it growing brighter every second. Soon it became too bright to look directly at without causing pain. Leaning her head down, she directed the magic towards the powder. A glow began to spread slowly outwards across the lines of the diagram. Dash flicked her tail in impatience, not noticing that on its way back towards her, it brushed across two of the lines, making a connection between the two. They all continued to watch as the light finished making its way across the diagram. The instant the glow connected on the other side, the light flared up, seeming to create a wall of light around them. Twilight released the last bit of magic and there was a bright flash. When the flash went away, the six ponies and their belongings were nowhere to be seen, leaving just the empty library with a spell diagram in the middle of the floor. “Aww yeah! Wait till you see this!” Brandon hollered into his mic. He had just gotten a triple kill as the final three kills in the game of Team Deathmatch he was playing. He and his friends were pulling another late night gaming session. He picked up the can of Mountain Dew that was sitting on the floor beside his feet and downed the rest of it in one gulp. “Hey guys, I’m grabbing a drink real quick. I’ll be right back.” He took off his headset and set it beside the controller on the couch next to him. Standing up, he stretched before making his way across the room to his kitchen. Tossing the empty can into the trash, he made his way to the fridge, running a hand through his short brown hair before opening it and grabbing a new can. Opening it, he took a drink as he made his way back to the couch. Hearing the countdown timer start ticking away the last few seconds, he hurriedly sat down, putting his can on the floor before throwing his headset back on just in time for the match to start. The game was on one of his favorite maps. He picked his usual class as the game started, when suddenly he heard the sound of something heavy slamming into the floor above him, followed by several smaller thumps. Jerking his headset off and tossing it on the couch, along with his controller, he stood staring at the ceiling listening for any further sounds. He’d had his home broken into before, but the new alarm system hadn’t tripped. Making his way over to the front door, he verified that the alarm system was indeed still armed. His attention was drawn back to the ceiling again, as he heard the sounds of one, no two people walking around, and what sounded like voices. Grabbing the bat from beside the door, he quietly made his way over to the stairs. Even if he couldn’t take on the intruders, he could still use it to break out one of the windows and set off the alarm. Slowly making his way up the stairs, he could now make out what sounded like four people walking around and definitely could make out two female sounding voices. They were still too muffled to make out anything coherent, but their pitch sounded way too high to be male. Standing outside of one of the spare guest bedrooms, he could still hear the numerous footsteps, though the talking had stopped. Slowly grabbing hold of the doorknob, he turned it as quietly as he could, and gently started pushing the door open. He hadn’t opened the door an inch when the hinges on the door let out a creak, causing all activity inside the room to immediately cease. Silently cursing himself, he decided that surprise was probably his best option. Readying himself, he threw the door open and jumped into the room with his bat ready. “Alright mother fu-” His sentence died in his throat as he took in the site before him, his arms falling to his sides and the bat dropping to the floor at his feet. A bloodcurdling shriek was the last thing he heard before feeling an immense pain in the side of his head and his vision going dark as he was knocked unconscious.