//------------------------------//
// Chapter 3 
// Story: Parade Coverage 
// by McPoodle 
//------------------------------//


Parade Coverage

Chapter 3





“We’re Knights of the Round Table, we dance whene’er we’re able,” sang Pinkie Pie as the white light around the six ponies faded. “We do routines and chorus scenes with hoofwork impec...impec...I can never get that last part to sound right! Hey, why do I get the sudden feeling like we’re being watched?”

“Uh, maybe because we are, Sugarcube,” answered Applejack warily, looking up at the bandstand right next to them that reached up and up and up...and was filled to capacity with creatures the likes of which she had never seen before.

“We’ve got more problems than that,” Rainbow Dash reported. “Twilight’s fainted!”

“She hasn’t fainted,” Rarity insisted, making her way to the center of the group, where the purple unicorn was lying unconscious on the ground. “The spell simply drained her, that’s all.”

“Well maybe because she managed to take us a bit further than she intended,” said Applejack.

“Oh my!” exclaimed Fluttershy, shrinking under the onslaught of so many curious eyes.

Pinkie Pie’s eyes meanwhile had been growing bigger and bigger as she took in the motionless crowd. “They’re real!” she finally exclaimed, in a voice so tiny that only Fluttershy heard it.

The creatures in the stands meanwhile began to regain their composure, barking to each other in confusion using a language incomprehensible to most of the conscious ponies.

Rainbow Dash flew up a few pony-heights to get her bearings—this had the effect of silencing the crowd once more. “I don’t see anything that makes sense around here!” she exclaimed.

“What do we do?” asked Fluttershy.

“We need to go someplace safe where we can wake Twilight up,” Applejack declared. “And then we’re gettin’ out of here. Got any ideas, Rainbow?”

The pegasus slowly turned around in a circle in mid-air, one hoof shading her eyes. “There,” she finally concluded, pointing at a building on the other side of the street from the bandstand. “It’s got a lot of a trees around it and a brook, but I see another building past that, so it’s not really much for hiding.”

Applejack looked in the direction indicated. “It’s open air and not fenced, so it’s good enough for me.” She slipped her head under Twilight Sparkle’s barrel and slid it down until it was resting across her withers. “Follow me,” she told the others, “and don’t look back.”

Led by Applejack, the others hopped down from the float and, as quickly as they dared, crossed the street. The scattering of humans who were standing between then and their destination quickly made way to let them through. The ponies then walked past the building, which had the general shape and color of a brick, and was temporarily decorated with the image of a large red rose. In front of the building was a larger-than-life statue of a naked creature in a sitting posture. His chin was resting in one upturned paw in a pose of deep thought. Other statues littered the grounds.

“This is a museum!” realized Rarity. By comparing the form of the creature in the sitting statue with her memory of the ones in the stands, she reached another conclusion: “And those creatures wear clothes, every one of them!” Some more thought led to her grand conclusion: “That means that they have absolutely no excuse for their atrocious fashion sense!” Turning to face the crowd as the others disappeared into a bush, she bellowed, “Don’t you know that brown never goes with that shade of red?! And in winter—what were you thinking?!”

From the bush, an orange hoof reached out to snatch Rarity out of sight.

Continuing through the shrubs and to the shore of the creek, Applejack projected a front of false confidence. Rainbow Dash had the enviable ability of being able to turn off the unnerving questions of where they were and what those things might want to do to them while she handled the current crisis. Rarity was on the verge of a mental breakdown, but she spent a good deal of her life in that precise spot, so this wasn’t so hard for her. Fluttershy was comforted by the fact that she was now somewhere that at least looked like the natural, non-civilized world. Twilight was still in La-La Land.

And Pinkie Pie was in the entirely uncharacteristic position of having absolutely no idea what was happening, and actually caring about this fact.