//------------------------------//
// Author Notes 
// Story: Foreigner 
// by Salnax 
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	Some of you are probably excited to see this story update. Well, take a look at the name of the chapter. “Author Notes.” I think what that means is pretty clear.
When I started working on Foreigner, it was late 2011. Season 2 had just begun. Names like Chrysalis and Sombra were nonsense words. Alicorn Twilight was still an overused cliché that would never actually appear in the show. We had seen about 30 episodes, compared to the current 65 or so.
In short, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic was a different thing back then.
Why does this matter? Because Foreigner was simply unable to keep up with the times. For the first few months of the story, I had to keep on changing plans in order to stay true to the show’s canon. However, over time, the universe that I created was unable to both remain anywhere near canon, be believable, and still tell the story I wanted to tell.
Here’s one example: Twilight suspecting Terra of being a changeling. When the story began back in 2011, I knew that Twilight would eventually be at odds with Terra, Lyra, and Bon Bon. However, the presence of changelings in canon meant that Twilight would naturally be on the lookout for shapeshifters, a concept that I had thought I introduced to the Pony universe for the first time. I had a choice. I could either ignore canon, ignore who Twilight Sparkle was, or cut off a chunk of the time I was going to use to develop Terra’s relationships. I chose the last option, but it was the least of evils.
This sort of thing happened over and over again. The events of season 3 just made it even worse. So, in the end, I was left with a story that was being compromised by my inability to foresee the show’s direction.
Therefore, after much consideration, I am going to put Foreigner on hold.
Do not worry. I meant what I said about this story eventually being told. I’m just going to wait until things are properly aligned. Preferably, I’d restart work on Foreigner when the last season of Friendship is Magic comes to a close. Then, I could take advantage of the universe’s material instead of fighting against it, revel in ponies instead of putting up with them.
This will, of course, require me to basically reboot the story. I don’t mind. This first version of Foreigner was a great prototype to learn how to write longer tales. I will use this practice to make the second version even better.
Well, this was a bit of a downer. So, how about some behind the scenes footage? 
First, here’s a draft I had for the next chapter. Seeing as this version of events will never happen, I suppose there’s no harm in sharing it with you guys.



Incomplete Chapter
Lyra, Bon Bon, and Terra had only gotten a short distance away from their cell when Twilight Sparkle teleported in front of them, forcing the trio to halt.
‘She can do that?’ thought Terra.
Twilight looked like a mess. Her mane was disheveled, she breathed heavily, and her coat covered in dirt. Her eyes were crossed, and her teeth clenched to create a frightening grimace.
“You three… will stay… here!” she panted.
Meanwhile, Terra could hear a clattering in the distance. The guards from inside the police station were coming outside. And the locals of Ponyville were starting to notice something was amiss. Awakened by the ruckus, they were peering out their windows and doorways.
“Plan?” asked Terra silently.
Lyra gave her a dirty look. “You were the one who blew the wall down!”
Bon Bon quickly interrupted her. “Yes Terra, but we need to get back to our house to do it. And I don’t think we’ll be able to get around Twilight here.”
Terra peered into the distance. The house she had been staying in was a distance away, but not terribly far. They could run over there in a couple of minutes. And they probably had enough of a head start on the guards. Now if only there weren’t that purple unicorn in the way…
“Go,” said Terra.
“What?”
Terra glared at Twilight, trying to put words together. Talking was hard.
“I come. Later. Go.”
And with that, Terra opened her mouth, shooting another beam of light at Twilight Sparkle.
Twilight dodged the beam, which hit the ground behind where’d she been and left a dirty crater. She used her telekinesis to grab onto Terra, lifting her into the air, face towards the sky. Lyra leapt up to grab onto Terra, but she and Bon Bon were also grasped by Twilight’s magic.
This was bad. She could teleport and use powerful telekinesis. And who knew what else?
Of course, the same could be said for Terra.
Terra began to open her mouth again, but it was forced shut by a surge Twilight’s telekinesis. But like Terra expected, this distracted Twilight from her hooves. She thrust them down towards the ground, summoning fire. The force of the flames hitting dirty grassy surface created a cloud of smoke, blinding Twilight. She closed her eyes as she began to hack and wheeze, and the telltale purple glow around the trio of ponies dissipated.
Terra faced Lyra and Bon Bon again, this time with a furious look on her face.
“Go!”
This time, the two mares listened, running off into the distance.
Deciding that Twilight would remain a threat until taken out, Terra turned her attention back towards her. She had been lucky so far. For some reason, her abilities were choosing to fully cooperate with her despite her current form. But as an Earth Pony filly, her physical abilities were compromised.
She had to shift back.
******
Twilight Sparkle cried out in discomfort while she rubbed at her eyes with her front right hoof. Terra obviously wasn’t a changeling, but she was definitely no ordinary Earth Pony. Even she couldn’t shake the ground and summon fire without using her horn, which Terra obviously lacked.
Twilight heard somepony galloping past her. She began to react, but paused when she heard a cracking sound back where Terra had been. As the smoke and dust cleared, her jaw dropped as she saw one of the most bizarre creatures of her life.
It has a mass of tentacles, writhing in a mass like a can of worms, with four legs stretching like vines at 90 degree intervals. Each leg ended with what appeared to be claws as sharp as blades. A liquid dripped under the mass of tentacles, and what appeared to be a gaping mouth was barely visible.
Twilight was bamboozled. THAT was no changeling. Was it Terra? And if it was, what was she?
In a split second, the thing came rushing at her. It pranced on its vine-like limbs like a daddy longlegs, moving at a surprising clip. Twilight barely had a moment to teleport away before it reached her location, whipping one of its legs into the ground. 
Meanwhile, the guards had arrived, and the six of them began trying to form a circle around the strange creature. None of them dared to approach it first. 
The creature, despite its lack of eyes, seemed to be staring at the six guards. At once. It was very disconcerting for them. It suddenly rushed towards one of them, whipping it with one of its long legs. It hit him in the head, knocking him onto the ground and seemingly into unconsciousness. The rest of the guards tried to rush in from behind, but with its opposite leg, the creature summoned more fire, keeping them back. The creature then rushed over the fallen guard, apparently trying to escape. It was stopped, however, when it ran into what appeared to be a wall of purple light. The purple light formed a dome around the guards and the creature, and in the center of the dome was Twilight Sparkle.
“I’ll hold it in place!” she yelled out. “All you have to do is take it down!”
The creature seemed to understand what she said, because it immediately began charging towards Twilight. The guards, however, stood in its way, and were preparing to bring it down.
The guards had initially included two earth ponies, two pegasi, and two unicorns. One of the unicorns was down for the count, but the five still standing were an intimidating group, with the unicorn taking the point and the two pegasi hovering along the flanks with the earth ponies. The creature seemed hesitant to attack them head on, and slowed to a stop some yards away from the force. It began to summon more fire, but one of the pegasi pulled a nearby cloud and began stomping on it, creating a miniature storm. The fire was weakened by the wall of heavy rain, and the creature began to walk back. The five guards slowly followed her, advancing with the cloud in tow in case they needed to summon more rain.
However, as the guards advanced, they began to smell the most noxious odor. One of the earth ponies gagged as they smelled rotting flesh. It had to be coming from the monster!
The monster took advantage of this momentary distraction by rushing forward at the group. Less than ten feet before reaching them, it leaped into the air, flying into a very surprised pegasus and knocking it onto the ground. Not stopping for a moment, and before the guards could turn around, the creature continued rushing towards Twilight Sparkle, who now had nopony to shield her.
Twilight, who had been watching the encounter, realized that she had to move. As she began to turn and gallop, the shield dissipated, apparently impossible to maintain during movement.
******
Terra silently cursed as the purple unicorn teleported away again. Still, this was an opportunity. She quickly dodged into an alleyway, climbing over mounds of rubbish and fences with ease, headed towards where the house was.
Things were beginning to look up. True, the unicorn was a powerful mage, but she seemed tired and ill-suited to combat. And the guards, though they outnumbered her, seemed to be incapable of following her if she climbed over obstacles. It seemed nothing could stop Terra from reaching the house in one piece.
And that’s when Terra was electrocuted by a lightning bolt.
******
It had been a strange morning for Rainbow Dash. She had been taking her ordinary early-day nap on one of her favorite clouds when she heard an explosion inside of town. Roused from her slumber and mildly concerned for her friends, Rainbow lazily flew over to the scene of the event, still lying on the cloud. 
As she got closer, she became more concerned as scenes of wreckage appeared. There was a gaping hole on the side of the police station, and a guard pony was being loaded onto an ambulance cart.
Now actively worried for her town and her friends, Rainbow flew up to get a better look. She soon spotted Twilight Sparkle panting a few blocks away. Rainbow almost rushed over towards her, but in the corner of her eye, saw another few guard ponies futilely trying to catch some… tentacle… thing. Must have been from the Everfree Forest. Two of them were pegasi, but for some reason, they weren’t willing to fly ahead of their comrades.
If Rainbow Dash had been a more cautious and thoughtful pony, she would have asked Twilight what was going on, or would have consulted the guards for advice on what to do next.
Being Rainbow Dash though, she flew over to a cloud directly over the hideous creature and kicked it, summoning a mighty lightning bolt.
******
Terra lied on the ground, legs spread along the ground. She was in so much pain. Some random pony she had seen around town had dropped a lightning bolt on her. Freaking lightning!
Terra smelled something, similar to roast pork. After a moment, she realized it was her own burnt flesh. She smelled delicious.
As she slowly climbed back onto her feet, Terra was hit by a blue blur zooming right out of the sky. She was knocked into a nearby wall, leaving cracks in the wood as she fell to the ground again. 
This was bad. Terra was running out of energy, her senses were beginning to fail her as some of her nervous system had literally been burned off, and to top it off, this blue pegasus that Terra had only occasionally seen in passing was going to kill her.
The best course of action would be to hide. That’s what Terra did the last time she was in a situation like this. The problem was, there was nowhere to hide. All of the ponies would turn her in without a moment’s thought. Except for those two.
Terra felt hooves clattering on the ground. Ponies were beginning to approach her. They seemed to think she was unconscious. If she could only make it the remaining few blocks… 
Well, she had enough energy for one more blast of fire.
******
Rainbow Dash hovered over her fallen opponent. Whatever that thing was, it seemed to be out for the count. She didn’t blame it. Unlike pegasi, lots of ground critters reacted pretty poorly to lightning. And she supposed that last hit probably hurt a bit. Speaking of which, wasn’t that Roseluck’s house? Oh Celestia, she was going to make a fuss…
“Rainbow Dash!” cried a familiar, egghead voice.
Rainbow turned around to see Twilight Sparkle and the team of guards galloping down the street. For some reason, they seemed panicked. 
“Get away from it!” Twilight called out.
“S’alright Twi. That thing is down. ‘sides, if it gets up, I’ll just knock it down again.”
“No, you don’t understand! That thing can-”
Twilight’s voice was drowned out by the sound of rushing flames. Rainbow felt a searing heat behind her, and then all over. She screamed as she was swallowed by flame, and blindly flew into the air, desperately charging into a cloud.
******
One way or another, this was going to end soon. The pegasus had flown off somewhere after she was hit by her fire. The guards were there, but were keeping their distance after the latest attack. And that purple unicorn, “Twit,” appeared exhausted and strangely concerned.
Of course. She probably knew the pegasus. Knows. Knows the pegasus. 
Was she a murderer?
No time to worry now. Ignoring the pain involved, Terra climbed to her feet, hissing at the general area. A few civilians, peeking at the scene from their windows in horror, ducked out of sight. The guards braced themselves, but didn’t advance or retreat. The Purple Unicorn ran off, in the general direction the blue pegasus had gone in.
Her legs felt like they could collapse under her at any moment, and her senses were losing their range and clarity, but soon, Terra was almost at her front doorway. She turned around and faced the guards, who had been following her at a distance the entire time.
Terra considered shooting more fire at them, but she didn’t know if she had the strength to create any more. For that matter, she doubted whether she 





So yeah. That’s what my writing looks like when it’s not ready to be shared with the general public.
Anyhow, here are some things I’m going to change for the next version of Foreigner.
1. It will NOT be a crossover. Mother 3 will still be a major influence, but the way this story has evolved, a crossover is unnecessary.
2. Terra will have a lot more time to develop relationships with other characters.
3. Pinkie Pie will play a somewhat less prominent role, though she will likely be the most important of the Mane 6 with the possible exception of Twilight.
4. The relationship between Twilight and Pinkie will be further explored. The dynamic between these two different characters fascinates me, and I want to explore it.
5. Various details will be changed. For example, Terra will not visit “Nurse Redheart’s clinic.” She will go to the hospital we have since seen clearly.



Terra is an entirely original character, and is a member of a species I made up for the purpose of the story. The species has no proper name. However, it may interest you to know that they naturally communicate using their smaller tentacles via physical contact. Terra’s real name is thus non-phonetic, but can roughly be translated as “Savory Sweet.” This is meant to reflect on the savory taste of flesh, which represents Terra’s darker abilities involving the possession of the dead, and sweetness, which suggests that her true nature is ultimately positive.

I’d like to say more, but I don’t want to spoil the next version of Foreigner. Feel free to ask questions in the comments, and I’ll answer them if possible.

Thanks for your understanding.
Salnax


P.S. I am still open for requests. Ask me to do a random one-shot, and I'll happily write it into existence!