Well, this sure took a turn for the worse.
There was good news, and bad news.
Good news? We had a lead on where to go, and possibly a way out of here if we could get this "Twilight" pony to cooperate. Bad news? We had NO IDEA where this library was. Also, I just thought of something, how were we going to explain our predicament to her? I'm envisioning this like the roles are opposite. It would be pretty weird if someone came up to you and says "I know I look like one of you, but in fact I am not. I'm basically an alien." Sounds like something from a really cheesy movie. I was trying to figure out how to properly phrase my words in the back of my head.
As we walked by, we were getting many weird looks. Many ponies couldn't take their eyes off our weapons that we were carrying. I'll admit, what gives us away back in New York is the fact that were green. That's what sparks most of the suspicion upon us, that and the fact we carried around shells wherever we went. It felt weird not wearing one for once. I've had that thing ever since I was born, you know. Anyways, we fit in pretty well here in Ponyville. The name was pretty redundant, now that I thought about it. I wondered if there's a town full of nothing but pigs somewhere around here named "Swineton" or something.
Mikey would enjoy that for more than one reason.
We spent a long time walking and meagerly chatting amongst ourselves. Actually, most of us, anyways. Raphael was still pretty upset with me and refuses to even give me a second glance.
I hope we'd find the library soon. If we didn't want to cast suspicion, we need to ditch our weapons somewhere. Speaking of the ponies we passed, I tried to inspect some of them. The whole "butt tattoo" thing was really confusing to me. I saw a lively orange pony at a carrot stand. Guess what her tattoo was? Yep, carrots. Maybe my previous assumption that these tattoo's depict someponies job was wrong. Is it just hobbies instead? A mixture of the two? I can see that when it comes to us. I'd consider training and our weapons to be hobbies. Although I'd call it more as a way of life instead.
That was another question I should've asked Pinkie Pie. But with the amount of time, it wasn't at the top of the list of things I wanted answered.
I felt really bad for Donnie in all this. The guy looked absolutely depressed. His beloved machine has failed him, and potentially put his brothers in danger. For a moment, I thought he was starting to get better, but I guess I had thought wrong. Donnie's inventions hardly ever fail, and they actually got us out of a lot of jams back home. The guy is a genius, but in his mind, he's probably thinking otherwise.
This town was indeed small, but it took us another hour to find the library. Apparently, we had passed it MULTIPLE times. Turns out the library was hidden in some huge oak tree, hence the name "Golden Oak Library". Pretty bad sign placement if you walk passed it ten times and STILL can't find it.
The oak tree was massive, and it stuck out like a sore thumb...hoof...whatever. For some reason, I couldn't help but notice the fact that there was a porch specifically for sky gazing right near the top. I could tell by the large telescope. This is a weird place...
Raph, being tired of walking, and this place already, literally barged inside. Well, he tried. The door appeared to be locked. He swiftly bounced off and landed on his back, his hooves in the air. "Dammit!" He grunted. Mikey bursted into laughter as Donnie helped him up. "Who locks a public library!?"
Good question.
Suddenly, the bolts on door started to shake and rattle noisily. Someone was unbolting the door. Not a moment later, the door inched open, showing a smiling purple unicorn. She furrowed her brow at the sight of us, but soon remembered her manners and continued to smile politely. "Oh! Hello boys! What can I do for you?"
"Are you Ms. Twilight?" I asked, raising an eyebrow of my own. Mikey leaned over in my ear.
"Hm, she isn't sparkly like I thought she would be..." Mikey stated quietly. I hoped the lady didn't hear him.
"Yep! Twilight Sparkle is my name." She said smartly.
"I stand corrected." Mikey uttered again. Ok, now he's talking too much. I swiftly elbowed him in his side, making him jump and let out a small "URK". Twilight didn't seem to take notice. She sure was a sight. Her body was a lovely lavender hue, and her mane was even darker with rosy highlights. Quite a weird color setup if you ask me. But hey, I've been in this place long enough to admit that she is not the craziest looking pony I've seen today. She actually looked like something you would see in a children's cartoon.
"Just who the heck locks a public library!?" Raph shot at her, making her raise a hoof as if she was about to depart back inside. Donnie did me a favor and shushed him. Sometimes, I feel like Donnie is easier to get along with than Raph, and that says something since he's the second youngest.
"Well, if you would like a book, I usually like to know beforehoof. Did you boys want to check something out?" She questioned me, another smile piercing her face. Mikey looked like he was about to say something, but he didn't. Thank God. A few of my brothers were confused by the term 'beforehoof', but after a minute of thinking they quickly understood.
"Well, we heard you're the smartest pony around here. So we wanted to come talk to you, if that's alright." I asked kindly, giving her a smile. Twilight blushed and looked at the ground, hesitating for just a moment.
"Who told you that?" She asked.
"Some crazy lady named Kinky." Raph spoke up. I rolled my eyes.
"Oh..." Twilight muttered, a little confused. "Well, anyways, sure! Come on in!" And with that, her horn glowed a bright purple, enveloping the door with the same...glow as it slowly began to open. She trotted inside, humming a little tune to herself as she walked over to her shelves.
Mikey and Raphael were more than eager to go inside. But Donnie and I looked at each other in amazement. Did that unicorn use magic? Does that mean we can too? That's a question I'd rather know now than later. I know I needed to be cool, but I could use magic, that'd be freakin' sweet!
We quickly introduced ourselves as we inspected the library. I'll admit, there were a lot of books, but I expected more. There was a staircase possibly leading to another study room or something upstairs. To my right, there was a kitchen. But...this is a library! I don't even...
Twilight brought out a few cups of tea. There were a few chairs scattered around the library. Enough for each of us, I guess. All four of us looked at the cups, and then back to our hooves, and then back and forth again. Twilight furrowed her brow once again as she took a seat. "Is everything alright?" She asked, to which I replied for everyone.
"Yeah..." I couldn't help but stare at my own hooves. How the heck do we pick things up with these? Other ponies didn't seem to have much trouble. I didn't realize that I had accidenly lied to Twilight until about a half second later. Twilight effortlessly picked up the cup and took a large sip as we all took notes.
Mikey was brave. Not knowing how to do it, he still have to give it a shot. He put one hoof on the handle, while the other was on the other side of the cup. Balancing the cup between his hooves, he slowly lifted it up. It was actually working for a second. That was until he tried to tip it so that he could actually drink it. Twilight looked at him, bewildered as the cup slipped from his nonexistent grip and landed on his chair, the floor, and most importantly, his crotch.
"HOTHOTHOT!!" He shouted, standing up and beginning to try to manually wipe the hot tea off of his lower area.
Twilight was speechless at what she had just seen. And I felt myself turn a little red, embarrassed for Mikey's sake. Mikey proceeded to run around the library, and down the hall to the restroom to clean himself up, screaming the whole time.
"How much sugar did ya put in there? We all know Mikey's already has a hyperactive personali-tea." Donnie grinned.
Groans. Groans all around.
"Oh come on!"
***
Soon after, when Mikey's mess was fully cleaned up, and his crotched had stopped sizzling, we all took a seat and tried this again. Twilight must think we're all absolutely crazy. I don't really blame her for that. If anything, we are. We're freaking ponies. In a pony world. Please tell me I had just lost my mind.
"Forget how to drink?" Twilight smiled as she sat back down. Mikey rubbed the back of his neck, embarrassed and turning a bright crimson.
"Something like that."
"Twilight, we have urgent matters that we need to speak to you about." Her ears perked up just slightly. She was already looking a little interested. Her plum colored eyes stared into my own. "We're...not from around here."
"Oh. I take it you met Pinkie then, if that's the case?" Twilight replied. Raph smashed his hooves together in realization.
"That was her name! God she was annoying!" Raph seethed. Dammit, can't we stay on topic for more than ten seconds?
"Anyways, what I meant was..." Ugh, how do I phrase this without sounding crazy? "We're not from this world." Twilight stared at me intently for a good minute or so, trying to detect any hint of this being some sort of weird joke. I don't think she was very convinced, as she took another sip of her tea. Now I think she's just showing off with those hooves of hers.
"Oh really? Look, I know I may be a little gullible. And I've never seen or heard of those...weapons you harbor. But how am I supposed to believe this?" She stared at Donnie now, eying his bo staff. I think she was a little put off by the fact that we actually had weapons, rather than being confused about them. Don't worry, attacking this lady, yeah...that'd be the thing I'd least want to do.
"Look, you have to believe us! We're turtles, not poni-!" Mikey beckoned to her, but I quickly placed a hoof over his mouth. There was no way we could tell her that we were turtles. Giant mutated turtles don't exist in New York, and they sure as shell don't exist here. She'd think we were absolutely bonkers and kick us out on the spot.
Twilight arched a brow. "We're humans. We come from Earth. We were brought here after Donnie's portal machine malfunctioned." I said as calmly and as seriously as I could. This was not a joke. Donnie looked at the ground, once again reminded of his feeble mistake. I took my hoof off Mikey's mouth.
"Portal machine?" Twilight repeated. I could tell that she wasn't buying it.
"Yes! Look, I know it may sound crazy, but you have to believe us!" I was starting to get a little desperate. If this pony was the only one who could help us, and she wasn't believing us, then we were unbelievably screwed...
Twilight looked at all of us, one by one. I prayed that my brothers were taking this just as seriously as I am. And to my shock, they were. Raph was staring at her something fierce, while Donnie and Mikey had an apologetic look in their eyes. Was she going to help us or not? The suspension was killing me.
"...What do you need me to do?" She asked, looking directly at Donnie, who was more than excited to get started.
"First off, how accustomed are you 'ponies' to technology?" Donnie asked back. Hm, good question. I was sure it would be a good idea to let Twilight and Donnie make another Tele-Portal. I was just hoping that it wouldn't be that difficult of a job.
"Not much. Everything around here is mainly done by hoof." Donnie smacked his head in frustration.
"Well, this is going to be damn near impossible. We need to make another portal..." The rest of my brothers, including me, sighed. Great. I had a feeling that this was going to take a little while. "I don't even have my blueprints..."
Twilight raised a hoof. "Well, we do have electricity. We harness them from the storm clouds, although we never use them for meaningful purposes. Does that help?"
Donnie swiftly nodded, burying his head in his hooves. This is going to be insanely rough for him, I just know it. I just hoped that that we were actually able to leave. I don't want to stay here forever. Mikey ran at Twilight, making her yelp in fear as he dropped down on his knees. With big, and almost wet eyes, he pleaded to her. He had his hooves clasped together as if he was begging like a dog.
"Do YOU have pizza?" He choked. Twilight, once again, arched an eyebrow. Oh God, not this again. Sure, I was hungry for some pizza as well, but Mikey just took his addiction to a whole new level. I hoped he wasn't going to do this to every single pony we came across...
"What's 'pizza'?" Twilight breathed, looking at me. Not wanting to explain, I simply shrugged.
Mikey said nothing as he started to stare straight ahead at the wall, as if he was in a shock trance. His face was devoid of emotion as his brain seemed to go dead on the spot. He didn't scream or sigh. He just kept staring with his mouth hanging limply. "I...I..."
Twilight poked his cheek, to which Mikey barely acknowledged. "Is...is he okay?"
"Yeah. He'll be fine. Just let 'em have his moment." Raph waved, trying not to laugh at him. He eventually failed as his small scoffs began to escalate into full blown chuckles.
Mikey replied by curling into the fetal position on the floor. He began to slowly rock himself as he proceeded to sob his eyes out.
I wonder about that kid...
***
Twilight Sparkle and Donnie got along together quite well. I could barely understand either of them half the time due to the fact that they both spoke with long and eloquent science words. I was a little confused when I tried to listen in. Raph and Mikey looked immensely bored, so I tried to think of something they could do, which was hard given the circumstances. My youngest brother was still moping due to his pizza-withdrawal. But I'm sure he'll get over it quickly.
"Twilight, Donnie? Do you guys need us to get anything?" I asked. I really didn't like just standing around, and I would much rather do something productive at a time like this. Donnie and Twilight couldn't do ALL the work.
"Well, we'll need some tools." She said, eying a blueprint that her and Donnie had been constructing. "I'm sure my friend Applejack has some in her barn." Applejack? These ponies had really weird names. Remembering my own, I guess I was in no condition to say anything.
"And where is this Applejack? I'd love to pay her a visit..." Raph sighed, rolling his eyes. Everypony ignored him. Wait, everypony? Oh no, it's spreading...
"She lives on Sweet Apple Acres. The apple orchard?" Something in my mind clicked. I waspretty sure I passed a trail that read exactly that. I had a good idea where it was, as we passed it many a times while trying to get to the library.
"I think I know where that is...come on guys." I motioned to Raph and Mikey, who both reluctantly got out of their seats. "Leave your weapons here."
"No way!" Raph shouted, holding onto this sais tightly. "I'm not lettin' these babies out of my sight!" Mikey sighed at Raph, and set both of his nunchaku down on the table nearest Donnie. I did the exact same with my swords, following my own example.
"You don't have a choice. We can't walk around town with foreign weapons." I argued with him. He started to growl at little bit at me as a rebuttal. One of these days, he's going to cause me to snap. And I prayed that day doesn't come any time soon. I had a duty and a reputation to uphold. Was...was Raphael trying to sabotage me mentally? That would be smart, but I didn't think he had it in him. No offense, but he's not clever like that.
"He's right. You're lucky no one called the authorities on your way here." Twilight spoke up, not even taking a single look at us. Raph looked at Twilight with an grimace, before chucking his sais on the table recklessly, almost hitting Donnie in the head.
"Whatever. Let's go find What's-her-face." He grumbled, heading towards the door. Mikey and I bid Twilight and Donnie a farewell as we trotted out the door. Well, Mikey flew. He's actually starting to get the hang of it, which almost scares me a little bit. I was glad he couldn't fly back in New York. How horrifying would that be? A giant mutated turtle FLYING at you, whipping around nunchaku and shouting a war cry.
Reminds me of one of the video games I saw Mikey play a long time ago.
I'd still be scared shell-less.
"So..." Mikey started. Now was a good time to talk to him.
"Mikey, you need to stop obsessing over pizza. That is not the mission at hand." I deadpanned. I noticed Raph give him a tiny nod as well. Mikey slouched a little bit in midair, reminiscing on the days back in the sewer. He was going to be one sad pon- I mean...turtle when we got back. His flatscreen destroyed, I thought I saw his video game system go flying, so THAT'S probably broken. I was sure there's a few cracks or something in his half-pipe.
"As a wise man once said," Mikey closed his eyes and held up a hoof, trying his best to act as scholarly as he possibly could. "Ideas are just like pizza, they are made to be tossed around!"
"What does-"
"So, say that that quote is correct. The lack of pizza, equals a lack of ideas. The lack of ideas means the longer we stay here. The longer we stay here, the longer we have to go without pizza." Mikey rested a hoof on my shoulder nonchalantly. I didn't approve, so I stepped away from him, almost causing him to lose his balance and tumble from his spot in the air. "It's a vicious life cycle dude!"
Can't argue with that logic.
Actually, no. I don't think it's that. I beleive what just came out of his mouth was so mind-numbing that I didn't even want to bother. Raph looked ready to punch Mikey out of the sky, but somehow, he controlled himself. Maybe Raph is actually trying after all. Although he still refused to talk to me directly.
"Raph, do you still have a problem with me?" I couldn't help but ask. I knew sooner or later I was really going to need his help, and I need to get on his good side, should anything happen. He grumbled to himself lowly, to the point where I couldn't even hear what he was saying. I sighed, well I couldn't say I didn't try.
A little while longer and all three of us were wandering up the winding trail to the farm. The farther we moved, the more and more apple trees we passed by. The more apples I saw, the more my stomach growled. That reminded me, we haven't had a thing to eat since arriving there, or to drink for that matter. None of us could drink Twilight's tea anyways. The most I could have done with these hooves was nudge things. It felt more like they're just useless nubs more than actual appendages, sometimes. I've been attempting to use magic a little bit on the way there. Twilight made it look childishly easy. I focused, even closing my eyes slightly just to help. But nothing happened. That's odd. It should be easy! Master Splinter told me everything about focus and concentration, and how they help you unlock the deeper things inside of you. I've proved myself in other situations this way, so why wasn't it working? I'll talk to Twilight later, when she's not hard at work with Donnie.
After about ten more minutes of walking, we finally reached the farmhouse. It was extremely noisy, as many of the farm animals were having a fit inside of it. The smell wasn't very pleasant either, it reminded me of manure. But all it took was another step towards the trees for my nose to be gifted with fruity goodness. My mind was a little bit conflicted.
As we approached the farm, Mikey covered his nose immaturely. "Gah! It smells terrible!" He exclaimed. Raphael didn't seem to be phased by the scent.
"Smells like your room..." He muttered, loud enough for Mikey to hear. He gave Raph a genuine smile.
"Smells like your mom, dude!" Mikey pointed at Raph with the hoof that wasn't covering his nose, laughing like crazy. Raph rolled his eyes and sighed at him. I knew for certain that it was going to be an insanely long day.
Near moments after Mikey's lame comeback, the whole farm went dead silent. The wind seemed to stop blowing, the animals didn't make a sound...uh oh. Whenever time seems to slow, you knew nothing good was ever going to happen. Wait...but who would attack us? We're freaking ponies!
"Howdy!" A feminine voice drawled from behind us. Mikey jumped, doing a double take and tumbling down to the hard dirt below. Raph and I didn't move an inch at the sudden noise.
Behind us was an orange mare. Or at least, I thought so. That's what they called female ponies, right? Mares? Hm, oh well. She had a blonde mane, hung together like a ponytail. Her tail was the exact same way, and it almost touched the ground. She had large dimples, and a few freckles on each side of her face. For some reason, she was wearing a large Stetson hat. Her butt tattoo? Three bright red apples. Well, I knew she worked at an apple orchard. So I was right? It does depict your job. Ugh, trying to figure these tattoos out was going to hurt my head sooner or later.
"Uh, hey there." I stated as Mikey finally picked himself off the ground. I expected him to try to fly back into the air, and was prepared to yell at him, but he stayed grounded.
"Ah've never see y'all 'round 'ere before. My name is Applejack, what can I do ya fer?" I was about to cut to the chase, but Raph couldn't contain his laughter. He held onto his chest for dear life as he exploded into a fit of giggles and chuckles. I glared at him angrily, but he didn't seem to care. Applejack was just as displeased as I was.
Raph rested a hoof on Applejack's shoulder. "So we got'a country girl on our hands?"
"Hoof." Mikey corrected. Good boy.
"Whateva." He laughed as Applejack took a step away from him, letting out a grunt. "I like ya tattoo." Applejack narrowed her eyes when she realized he was talking about the tattoo on her butt. She knew that he was being sarcastic. You know what? This mare looks tough. I was going to let HER handle this. You know, for science.
"Tattoo? Ya mean mah cutie mark?" She glanced over at her own tattoo. Wait, cutie mark? Was that was they're called? She took a deep breathe, and I hoped that Raph had enough sense not to make fun of her mark anymore than he already has. I thought wrong. Again.
"Wanna hear a funny joke? Why did Applejack cross the road?" Applejack glared at him. "To get to the other cider!" Raphael erupted into laughter, bringing a hoof to his chest as he bellowed. The farmer gritted her teeth, but she remained passive. "Oh! She's getting mad! She must hate me to the core!"
No one laughed except for Raph, who was pretty much dying at this point. Mikey knew better. Applejack, however, had had enough. With a cranky sigh, she reared up to where Raphael was facing away from her. She slowly kicked her hind legs off the ground, and with a force of which I've NEVER seen before, she kicked him. Far. When I say "far". I meant it. He went flying.
"I'm the only one here with wings and he still flies better than I do..." I heard Mikey grumble, watching as his brother went soaring through the sky. With a mighty "THUD", Raph slammed into the ground, clutching his chest the whole time. His torso now had two hoof-sized marks on it, and it had already began to redden.
"Nopony makes fun'a me like that and gits away with it!" She hollered with country pride. Wow, that was impressive. I guess working on a farm does come with it's advantages. Raph's a pretty big gu- er, pony, yet she still managed to send him gliding like that...and she did it so effortlessly! I held back the urge to grin at the amount of justice that has taken place there.
Raph spat and got his bearings before standing back up, rearing his head down low. Oh boy. "Hah! You really think that would hurt? You may be a girl, but I won't hesitate to kick your butt!" He threatened.
Well, time to step in again. Mikey thought the exact same thing. We grabbed him and held him back before he could charge at the apple farmer. "Stop it! This isn't what we're here for!"
"Does it look like I care? I'll beat the living shell out of her!"
Applejack tilted her head at his remark. Right. Shells. They didn't, nor have ever had one. Applejack delightedly kicked her hoof through the dirt. "Bring it, city boy!"
"ENOUGH!" I shouted, louder than actually intended. Everyone stopped what they were doing almost immediately. Raph grunted and shook us out of his grasp, giving me the death stare. He angrily trotted down the hill towards town. I was sure he's going back to the library. Good. It'll give him a good chance to cool down.
"Is he always like that?" She asked, turning back to Mikey. He nodded happily.
"Yep. I remember just a few nights ago I ate his last slice of piz-"
No. No more pizza talk. I rudely interrupted him.
"Applejack, we're Twilight's friends. We...don't belong here, and we're trying to get home. Would you mind if we borrowed some of your tools?" I said, bluntly. With the way I phrased it, she had no reason to think we were crazy like Twilight first did. She closed her eyes and shrugged. I've never noticed, but she has gorgeous, emerald colored eyes.
"Sure, lemme just git those fer ya."