//------------------------------// // Chapter 1 // Story: Order-naries // by CTVulpin //------------------------------// It was a beautiful day, just as planned. The only clouds in the sky had been carefully arranged to break up the endless blue of the sky without imposing on the sun's light. Twilight Sparkle was walking down the main street of Ponyville, heading toward the Carousel Boutique to meet up with Rarity for lunch. Lunch was actually going to be hosted by Applejack at Sweet Apple Acres, but since Spike had disappeared about an hour ago, Twilight figured she could check the most likely place he'd go and meet up with one of her friends at the same time. Since Spike would do any chore Rarity asked of him, Twilight took a quick look around the outside of the Boutique to see if he was trying his claws at caring for the bushes. He was nowhere to be seen, so she went inside. The bell tinkled as the door opened and Rarity called out from another room, "One minute please, I'll be right with you." Twilight waited, looking over the outfits Rarity had on display, until the white unicorn came down the stairs. "Oh, hello Twilight," Rarity said, surprised, "What brings you here?" "I'm looking for Spike," Twilight said, "I was wondering if he came here." "Oh, I see," Rarity said, "He did come by to see me. He was getting underhoof, so I sent him off to fetch some things. He'll probably be back in a few hours." "Ok," Twilight said, "So, are you still going to Applejack's lunch?" "Of course I am," Rarity declared with a toss of her mane, "I wouldn't miss it. Just give me a moment and I'll walk with you." She trotted into the back of the boutique and returned with a pair of small saddlebags on her back. As she joined Twilight, the purple unicorn caught a whiff of fresh greens. "Are you bringing food?" Twilight asked, a little surprised, "I thought AJ was providing everything." "Well, yes," Rarity said, averting her eyes, "But knowing her, everything will be apples in some form or another. Not that there's anything wrong with apples of course," she added quickly. "I get it," Twilight said with a smile, "Pinkie's definitely going to bring something anyway. Shall we go?" Rarity nodded and the two turned to leave. Before they took a single step toward the door, the sound of a loud bang ripped through the air followed a few seconds later by the thud of something landing just outside the building. "What in the world was that?" Twilight exclaimed. "I don't know," Rarity replied, "The first one sounded sort of like the Sonic Rainboom, but that second sound…" The two ponies hurried outside and found a large green gemstone half-buried in a small crater in the ground. "Looks like this is the culprit," Rarity said, lifting the stone out with her magic. She looked it over and smiled. "Why, what a perfect emerald," she said appreciatively, "I simply must find some way to show it off properly." She ran back into the boutique. "What about lunch?" Twilight called after her. "Yes, yes," Rarity said, coming back out, "I can't create a masterpiece on an empty stomach. I've just put it away for now. Let's go." The two friends began making their way toward Sweet Apple Acres. "I wonder where that gem came from," Twilight mused as they walked. A shadow fell over her and Rarity and the two looked up to see Rainbow Dash pulling a cloud through the air. "Rainbow Dash!" Twilight called out. Dash released the cloud and looked down. "Hey girls," she called back, "Don't mind me. That blast knocked some the clouds out of position. I'll have them fixed in a jiffy." "Did you cause that blast?" Rarity asked. "Nope," Rainbow said, grabbing the cloud again, "There's no point doing a Sonic Rainboom if I don't have an audience, and I'd never do one over Fluttershy's cottage. Not without warning her first that is." "Over Fluttershy's?" Rarity asked, worried, "Did… did you see what happened?" "Nah, I was looking the other way at the time," Dash said, "It sounded like it came from somewhere around Fluttershy's place or the Everfree Forest though." "We'll go check it out Rainbow," Twilight said, "sorry to disturb your work." "Puh-lease," the blue Pegasus said, "I'll have this fixed up in fifteen seconds, flat." She zoomed away with the cloud in tow as Twilight shook her head in amusement for a moment. "This is strange," Twilight said as she and Rarity resumed their walk, "A sonic boom unrelated to Rainbow, and then a big emerald lands at your doorstep Rarity. I wonder if they're connected?" She looked around as they walked through Ponyville. Many ponies had come out of their houses and shops when the blast had occurred, and most were returning to their normal activities since nothing else had happened. So far as Twilight could see, there were no other craters or gemstones anywhere. I guess Rarity's emerald was the only one, she thought, But that still doesn't explain where it came from. If only someone had seen what caused that- her thoughts were interrupted by a shout. She and Rarity, and everypony else nearby, stopped what they were doing and turned to look. A pale yellow pegasus pony was galloping down the road toward them, yelling for help. "Fluttershy!" Twilight exclaimed, trotting toward the oncoming pegasus. Fluttershy skid to a stop in front of Twlight and took a minute to catch her breath. "What's wrong?" Twilight asked. "Something horrible has happened," Fluttershy said in her quiet voice, "I was checking on my chickens before heading to Applejack's, when all of a sudden there was this big boom right over my head. I looked up and saw four ponies falling out of the sky. They almost landed right on top of me! I think they're alive, but they're unconscious." Rarity and Twilight looked at each other. "Well," Twilight said, "looks like Rainbow's guess was right. Rarity, would you mind telling Applejack that I'll be late to lunch?" Rarity nodded and galloped off. "Fluttershy," Twilight continued, "go get the doctor. I'll run ahead to your place in case they wake up before you get back." "Right," Fluttershy said. She ran off as Twilight headed in the direction of Fluttershy's house. I wonder what happened? She thought as she galloped, mid-air collision? That wouldn't create so much noise unless somepony was trying a Sonic Rainboom. That's assuming they were all pegasi. Fluttershy didn't say what kind of ponies they were, so maybe they're unicorns caught in a failed spell… Her thoughts continued in this vein until she reached Fluttershy's place and saw the ponies lying in a heap just outside the chicken pen. She trotted over to take a closer look. Two of them were male unicorns, one dark grey with a red and orange mane that looked like fire and the other golden yellow with brown mane. The other two were a female pegasus that matched the second unicorn's coloring and a female Earth pony of pale brown body and mud-brown mane. Twilight did her best to untangle them from each other and lay them in a row, and then sat back and waited. A couple minutes later she heard the sound of hooves approaching and turned to see Pinkie Pie coming down the road at her signature bouncy canter. "What are you doing here Pinkie?" Twilight asked when the pink pony drew near. "Hi Twilight," Pinkie said, "I heard from Fluttershy that some new ponies just showed up and you know what that means for me, right?" "Right," Twilight said with a small smile, "However, these four aren't in any shape for a party right now." She pointed to the unconscious ponies. Pinkie walked over and looked at each one in turn. "Oh dear," she said, shaking her head, "This won't do at all! It's too nice a day to be sleeping right now, especially since there's going to be a party." Before Twilight could react, Pinkie ran inside Fluttershy's house, re-emerged with a pitcher of water in her mouth, and tossed its contents onto the ponies. The grey unicorn started to stir, so Pinkie dropped the pitcher and ran over to put her face close to his. "Uh, Pinkie," Twilight said, "Are you sure that's a good idea?" "Sure," Pinkie replied, "You can't feel bad waking up to this face." She gave Twilight a broad, cutesy grin and then turned it on the unicorn. His eyes slowly blinked open, and then widened in surprise as he registered the sight of Pinkie Pie grinning in his face. He closed his eyes quickly and groaned, "Ah, skvetch. I've fallen back into Sugar Land, haven't I?" "No silly!" Pinkie said, "You're in Ponyville! Sugar Land sounds like a fun place though. Have you been there before? What's it like?" The unicorn opened one eye and regarded Pinkie for a few seconds before speaking again. "You're serious," he said flatly, "Wonderful." He opened his other eye, turned his head, and spotted Twilight. "Small purple unicorn," he muttered, "Good. Sensible creatures, usually. Feh." With great effort, he picked himself up, trying to stand on only his rear legs. With a yelp, he lost his balance and fell forward onto his face. "Gravity feels normal," he said after spitting out some dust, "My center of gravity must be off. Why would that…" he trailed off as he looked himself over, his expression growing ever more disconcerted until he lay there as still as a statue, staring at his front hooves like he'd never seen them before. "Are… you ok?" Twilight asked, concerned. "I have hooves. Again. Fantastic" the strange unicorn said with growing sarcasm. Twilight and Pinkie, unsure of how to respond, simply stared at him. With a sigh, the unicorn stood up properly and began to pace, muttering to himself. The yellow unicorn stirred, rolled himself on his belly and raised his head with a moan. "Ash," he asked, "what are you complaining about over there? Where are…" he trailed off as he opened his eyes and looked at the grey unicorn. "No way," he said, "Seriously?" "Seriously," the first unicorn said, "check out the girls if you aren't convinced." He pointed to the two female ponies, who were just now starting to awaken. The earth pony's eyes opened first, and her mouth dropped open as she caught sight of the other ponies around her. The pegasus coughed a couple times as she came to, and then looked around in confusion. "Um… ok," she said. "Good morning," the grey Unicorn said, trotting over and helping the pegasus to her feet while the yellow unicorn helped the earth pony. "Let's get some privacy and collect our bearings, shall we?" he finished, casting a glance at Twilight and Pinkie. The other three nodded slowly and followed him as he trotted away, somewhat clumsily, toward the Everfree Forest. "Now what was that about?" Pinkie asked. "I don't know," Twilight said, "But I'm going to find out." She ran to catch up with the ponies and said, "Excuse me." The grey unicorn glared at her and lashed out with a back hoof in her direction. He missed by a mile, but Twilight came to a stop and let them run off. "Fine then," she said grumpily, "I'm only trying to help here." She walked back toward Pinkie Pie and saw Fluttershy galloping up the road followed by Nurse Redheart. "Oh dear, where did they go?" Fluttershy asked when she arrived. "They woke up and ran off," Twilight explained, pointing in the direction the strange ponies had gone. "How did they seem?" Redheart asked. "Confused and a bit unsteady," Twilight said, "I don't think they got very far; one of them said something about needing privacy." "After taking a fall like Fluttershy described, the last thing they need is to be alone," the nurse said, "We've got to find them." She ran off in the direction Twilight had indicated, with Twilight and Fluttershy just a few steps behind. A few yards short of the entrance to Everfree, they heard pony voices off to their right and slowed to a stop. As they approached the bushes the voices seemed to be coming from, an ethereal blue glow appeared from behind the bushes for a few seconds, faded away, and then came back again briefly. "Well, that's just not fair," the grey unicorn's voice said when the glow faded again, "you still have your powers while I'm stuck with next to nothing." Redheart, Twilight, and Fluttershy exchanged a glance and moved cautiously to peer around the bushes. The matching unicorn and Pegasus were sitting next to each other in a clearing facing the grey unicorn, who looked mildly put-out, while the earth pony sat off to the side with her back to Twilight's group. "This is hardly an ideal substitute for our full power Ash," the yellow unicorn said, "We have to be in physical contact with each other, and we only seem to have access to Element Wheel. Besides, you wound up with a horn this time; that must count for something." "Good point," the unicorn called Ash said, standing up, "Ok then, here are the facts: The Gems and Tau'rin are somewhere in this world, of course, we have no clues to their location and-" he stopped suddenly upon spotting the ponies in the bushes. "And clearly the concept of privacy is not respected around here," he finished with narrowed eyes. The other three turned to see what Ash was looking at. "Don't be so harsh," the earth pony said, turning back toward the unicorn, "We did just fall out of the sky after all." Ash sighed and addressed Twilight and company, "Ok, I appreciate the concern and all ladies, but believe me, we've gone through worse; a simple fall's not going to kill us. Come on Team, we better get searching." He marched off and the others fell into line behind him; they were headed straight into the Forest. "Where do you think you're going?" Nurse Redheart demanded, stepping out from behind the bush. Ash stopped suddenly with a surprised look on his face. "That… is a very good question," he said in a low voice. He looked over his shoulder and regarded the ponies for a moment. "One's liable to get lost wandering about in unfamiliar lands," he said at last. The yellow pegasus's stomach growled suddenly. "Ah," she said, giggle a little, "Food would be good too." "Really?" Pinkie Pie practically exploded out of the bush, leaping over the startled ponies in front of it. "You should join Twilight and me and everyone else for lunch then!" she declared with unbridled enthusiasm. Ash and his companions just stared at the pink pony. "I don't think Applejack would mind,' Fluttershy said, "I'm sure she's made enough that four more ponies won't make a difference." "I am a little hungry," the earth pony said, giving Ash a glance. The grey unicorn returned it and sighed. "Fine," he said, "lead the way."