//------------------------------// // First Encounter // Story: The Strongest There Is // by Onomonopia //------------------------------// Banner had to admit, despite everything that had happen to him as the Hulk and with the Avengers; this purple horse surprised him greatly. He sat up and the horse stumbled backwards, uncertainty in its eyes. It was afraid of him. Smart horse. Banner looked up at its head and found that it wasn't a horse, but instead it was a unicorn. It had an odd purple mane with a magenta strip down the center of it. Since it was half turned away from him, he saw that it had an odd marking on its flank. Some sort of star perhaps? "Amazing, I've never seen a unicorn like this before. I wonder if this world is full of them?" Banner mused out loud. He watched as the unicorn’s eye widened in shock and it gazed at him in an expression of interest. "Incredible," the unicorn whispered in a female's voice as it got closer. Both Banners’ eyes widened in shock and he slowly approached the unicorn. "You can talk," they both said at the same time. The unicorn backed away again, while Banner stood up to his full height and began to ponder out loud. "I never seen a horse of any kind like you before. Not only are you amazingly different than any other horse or unicorn that I’ve seen before, but you are also capable of human speech and seem to comprehend what I'm saying. Your intellect must be far beyond any other horse that I've ever seen." The horse seemed to take some offense to what Banner was saying and stepped forward with a huff. "Actually, I'm a pony not a horse. Second, I have a name. I'm Twilight Sparkle, apprentice to her majesty Princess Celestia, and I am an Element of Magic," Twilight said with some indignation. Banner realized that he had probably just offended the first talking horse...er, pony that he had ever met. "I'm terribly sorry, Miss Sparkle, where are my manners? I'm Doctor Bruce Banner," he introduced himself, holding out a hand. Twilight looked at it for a moment before reaching up with her hoof and shaking it. "Well you seem friendly enough. So, you're a doctor, huh? Never seen you working at the hospital," she said, causing Banner to correct her. "No, Doctor as in a scientist. I'm a scientist," he explained. "A scientist?" Twilight asked in growing interest, her eyes starting to shine. "As in, you love to learn and study?" "Well, I suppose those are some of the things scientists do...so yes." Twilight let a huge smile cross her face. Another...thing that loved to learn? It was too good to be true! "So, what are you? And why are you wearing that?" she asked, looking up and down at him. Banner looked down and turned red with embarrassment, realizing his torn pants had almost come off. "Well, I am a homo sapien or a human being. I come from a planet called Earth, where other beings like me are the sentient creatures. As to why I'm dressed like this...the fabric's cheap and rips. This isn't the first time I've wound up like this," he explained with an embarrassed smile. Twilight was paying attention to every word, but a few questions still nagged at her. "How did you get here? You're the first...human I've ever seen before. Nothing in the books on mythology even mention you." Banner rubbed the back of his head, trying to think of a way to explain to her how he had arrived. He decided to go with the truth. "I fell from space and crashed into the forest," he said in a joking tone. Twilight raised an eyebrow at him. "Hold on. You, fell from space and crashed landed in the forest, without so much as a scratch on you. Is that what you're telling me?" she asked in a dry voice. "Well...yes." Twilight looked at him seriously for a minute before she burst out laughing. "That's funny, Doctor Banner. Glad to see you have a sense of humor." Banner chuckled with her, glad to see that she had believed he was telling a joke, even though what he said was mostly truth. After she finished giggling to herself, Twilight looked around at the forest. "So why are you here at this time of night? Shouldn't you be inside?" "Well, I was actually planning to sleep here," Banner replied. Twilight's jaw hit the ground. "What? Sleep in the Everfree forest? Are you crazy?" she asked him in disbelief. "Would you be surprised if I said yes?" he said in a joking tone, but Twilight was serious now. "The forest is filled with enough dangerous creatures during the day! Who knows how many deadly things come out at night! You were lucky I was the first thing to find you. If a timberwolf or a manticore had discovered you sleeping there, you would've been done for!" Twilight explained with wide eyes. "I'm not afraid of anything this forest has to throw at me," Banner said in a serious tone. If anything, the creatures of the forest should be afraid of him--or to be more precise, what was inside of him. Twilight shook her head and continued to speak. "I can't allow you to sleep in such a dangerous area. You can spend the night at my home," she told him. Banner's eyes widened and he tried to refuse. "Oh nonono, I couldn't impose myself on you. It would be too much trouble," he lied. In reality, he was afraid of what would happen if he got...angry while he was in the pony's house. He had a history of destroying structures while he was angry. "No back talk. You will spend the night. I refuse to let somepony be forced to sleep outside in the Everfree forest," Twilight said sternly. Banner tried one last time to dissuade her. "But...I'd just be too much trouble. Besides, it's a nice night out. I'm sure I'll be perfectly fine out here." Twilight wasn't having any of it and looked him in the eyes with a stern look. "I insist." Banner knew that when someone like her said, 'I insist,' that there was no arguing with them. So with a sigh, he gave in. Twilight clapped her hooves in delight and indicated for him to follow her. As the two began walking, Twilight was thinking about what to ask the human. Twilight was naturally very curious about this human, although she hadn't told him the whole truth. While humans weren't mentioned in the book of mythology, some still speculated that humans could exist. She knew one mare in particular that would be thrilled by Banner's arrival. Twilight also wanted to see what he knew and if he could teach her anything. "So what are you doing up at this time of night?" Banner asked, interrupting her train of thought. "Well, I was in my home studying, when I saw an incredible green meteor heading for the Everfree forest. But when I got to the crater, I found that the meteor must have disintegrated in the atmosphere. I was heading back home when found you lying under a tree. I have to admit, you really surprised me," she said with a smile. "Not as much as you surprised me. I've never seen a horse--pony like you before...And the fact that you can speak my language just makes it that much better," Banner replied, returning Twilight's smile. Twilight looked at him in confusion for a moment. "You mean you have ponies on your world to?" "We call them horses, but they are nothing like you. They can't talk for one thing and are nowhere near as intelligent." Twilight took interest in that statement, wondering why the horses on Banner's world wouldn't be as smart as the one's here. Her thoughts were interrupted by a deep howling. Fear shot through her body as she started to look around the forest. "Timberwolves," she whispered in fear. The moment she said this, five odd looking wolves burst through the trees surrounding Twilight and Banner. While Twilight looked at them in fear, Banner was taking a more scientific approach. "Unbelievable! These wolves have somehow developed some sort of exoskeleton made entirely of wood. Was there some sort of natural disaster that forced them to adapt? Or maybe it was--" "Banner, I know you'd like to study them, but trust me when I say we are in danger. These wolves are vicious and will try to eat us," Twilight whispered in fear, watching as the Timberwolves circled her. Banner wasn't sure what to do. He wasn't particularly afraid of the wolves, but what he was afraid of is what would happen if Twilight was there when the other guy came out. Would the Hulk be able to tell she was a friend? Probably not. Banner did have one idea, however. "Don't worry, I've got this," he whispered to Twilight, before walking straight up to one of the wolves and offering it his arm. Twilight looked at him in disbelief and tried to motion for him to back up. The Timberwolf looked at him in confusion, before sniffing his arm. The moment his scent hit the wolfs nose, it growled and drew back, not liking its prey. Something about Banner smelled...dangerous. It turned to the other wolves and shook it's head. The pack turned away from the two and headed off into the woods. Banner waved goodbye to the wolves as Twilight stared at where the wolves had left in shock. She slowly looked at Banner who had a huge grin on his face. "How did you do that?" Twilight asked, eyeing Banner cautiously. Banner laughed at the look on her face and smiled. "My body gives off a certain radiation that makes predators stay away from me. It's essentially telling them that I'm dangerous to eat," Banner explained, pointing at his skin. In reality, the wolves had sensed his gamma poisoning and knew that he would be a lethal meal to eat. And that was if they could eat him without his other half tearing them apart. "Shall we be on our way?" Banner asked, giving a small bow to let Twilight pass. Twilight smiled and walked past him. An uneventful walk followed and soon Banner found himself in the quiet town of Ponyville. He glanced around at all the cozy-looking homes, imagining what would happen if the Hulk were to be let loose here. Banner and Twilight walked down the deserted streets until they came across a massive tree in the center of town. "Is this where you live?" Banner asked in wonderment. Twilight gave him a look. "Don't like it?" She asked with some emotion. Banner smiled. "Are you kidding? What beats sleeping under a tree? Sleeping in one," he replied and opened the door to the tree house. When Twilight flicked on the lights, Banner had to admit that he was stunned. It wasn't just a home; it was a library and on the shelves were an incredible number of books. Just thinking of all the knowledge of this world stored on these shelves made him feel like a kid in a candy store. Twilight had a smile on her face when she saw Banner's reaction. "I thought you'd like it. Wait here while I get you a sleeping bag." Twilight headed upstairs, leaving Banner to look around. The library was as impressive as it was big. He looked at the books on the shelves and found the strangest titles on them: 'Daring Doo and the Valley of the Lost?' and, 'Gnomes: Are They Real?' Not only were these odd book titles, but they were also not alphabetized as well. Banner turned around when he heard Twilight come back down the stairs, sleeping bag in tow. Much to Banner's surprise, he found that Twilight was somehow levitating the bag with some sort of magic. "Alright, you can sleep down here for tonight," Twilight told Banner, dropping the bag at his feet. "You didn't tell me you could use magic," Banner said with a smile. "Well you didn't tell me you were predator proof," Twilight retaliated with a smirk. Banner gave her the point and stretched out on the sleeping bag. Twilight turned off the lights and headed upstairs. Banner lay on his back staring at the ceiling, recounting everything that had happened to him today: Battled a swarm of aliens bent on destroying the Earth? Check. Fall through space in a battle to the death? Also check. Met a talking pony? Wow. Even if it had happened, Banner still couldn't believe it. He was in a land with what he assumed were magical, talking ponies. Sure it wasn't the strangest thing that had happened to him, but it was definitely up there. With all the things that had happened, Banner was unable to sleep. So he walked over to one of the bookshelves and picked out a book called 'A History of Equestria.' He sat down by the window so that he could read in the moonlight. Banner flipped it open and began to read, just skimming at first, but growing more and more interested with each page. Apparently the ruler of the ponies was called Celestia, the pony Twilight had mentioned earlier, and she was an alicorn, a combination of a pegasus and a unicorn. That told Banner that there were also pegasi in this new world. He read on to find that Celestia had been alive for thousands of years and had a sister that at one time tried to over throw her rule. 'So even these peaceful ponies have problems, huh.' Banner thought to himself. He sat by the window and read the book cover to cover in the span of a few hours. Banner could devour books when he felt like it, and he had nothing better to do. He continued to read through all the different books that Twilight had, until he was well caught up on the history of Equestria and what its current state was. Banner was surprised that for such intelligent creatures, they had no electricity or self moving vehicles. It was almost as though they were trapped in time. He looked out the window at the now rising sun that was apparently raised by Celestia herself. A new day was dawning, huh? "I have to admit, I've liked this world so far. It seems...nice. Maybe this will be the place where I will finally find peace," he mused to himself with a smile. Then he shook his head. 'I can't think like that,' he decided. The best way to protect the ponies from the Hulk would be to leave. He knew that Twilight wanted to ask him some questions, but for her safety he should go. Banner quietly stood up and tip toed to the door. He checked to make sure that Twilight hadn't heard him and then he opened the door. Standing at the door with hoof raised to knock was an orange pony.