//------------------------------// // Chapter 1: Arrival // Story: The 5th Layer: Equestria has Visitors // by MaxKodan //------------------------------// 5th Layer: Equestria has Visitors Chapter 1: Arrival Max Kodan As Twilight stared out the window of the library, a lone cloud floated across the otherwise clear sky. Before it reached the halfway point in the window frame, a tiny figure darted out from behind a building and vaporized it. From this distance it was impossible to tell if it was Rainbow Dash, but whoever it was was surely part of an organized team. Dash had really outdone herself this time around, and on such short notice, too. But hey, when the Princess says that you have visitors, on the way, you prepared the place. “Hey, Spike...” The unicorn turned in place and scanned the main room for her assistant. She found him high up on a ladder, dusting a top shelf. The baby dragon craned his neck around to look at her. “Yeah?” The ladder wobbled dangerously, but he steadied it before he fell. “Can you get me the letter the Princess sent yesterday?” A trouble look crossed her face. She wanted to see it again, in case she had missed something important. “Again?” He climbed down the ladder carefully and, at the last rung reached for the floor tentatively a few times before he found it. He stepped firmly and detached himself from it, turning and heading towards a large cabinet across the room. “You must’ve read it like...a million times last night.” He opened the cabinet doors and started fishing through the pile of scrolls to find the one he was looking for. Finally, he pulled it free and held it up. “It’s not like it’s got anything different written in it. Not like it can change it’s words around or something like tha-” He stopped mid sentence and, in fact, froze in place. He shifted a wide eyed gaze up at the scroll in his hands. When it jumped into the air, he shouted and jumped backwards. Twilight rolled her eyes and magic’d it over to herself, opening it up and peeking at it’s contents. My Dearest Student Twilight Sparkle, I apologize for the sudden correspondence, but I request that you prepare for the arrival of a small group of visitors. They are to be treated as royal guests. They will need to talk to you and your friends once they have settled. I have already informed the Mayor of their coming, and proper housing has been supplied for them. They will be leaving on the first train in the morning. I again apologize for the suddenness of all of this, but I trust that you will be prepared in time. I will give you more information when I can, but I am currently very busy with affairs in Canterlot. Your Mentor and Princess, And her teacher’s signature was scrawled quickly beneath it. The haste with which the note was penned bothered Twilight Sparkle in a way the contents and the possible message from the guests did. What kind of troubles could leave her such a small amount of time to write a note of such apparent urgency? “Come on, Twilight. Let’s get out of here and go check on how the others are doing. It’ll get your mind off of all this weirdness.” Spike walked up to his friend with open arms. When the scroll rolled up and moved towards him, however, he flinched back. Tentatively reaching out, he poked at it with one claw. Twilight simple shoved it into his hands, so he shook it off and put it away just in time to catch up to his employer as she walked out the door. Twilight walked briskly down the street, Spike relaxing in place on her back. He held up a short checklist and a quill, looking it over closely before speaking. “Hey, so where should we go first? I’m thinking we should check on Applejack first. She’s supposed to be bringing some welcoming food. Then we’ll go around to everyone else, then we’ll end up at Pinkie Pie’s, where we can wait until the party starts. Does that sound good to you, Twilight?” A few moments later, when he heard no response, he pressed. “...Twilight? You there?” He drew his attention away from the list, and only then did he notice that they had slowed down. When he looked back at his ride’s head, he noticed she was watching a tree at the roadside rather intently. When he turned to check it out, it was easy to figure out why. Just under the lowest branches of the tree, a bright orange pegasus flapped his wings so hard that he railed his head on the branch he was under. With a disgruntled and hurt cry, he crashed back to the ground. Then he stood up, flapped his wings, and repeated the process. Several times. “Um...Do you need help with...erm...anything?” Twilight slowed more and cocked her head to the side. “No! No, I got it. I just gotta-” He hit a different branch this time. “Ack! Just gotta get used to this who-Oof! This whole flying thing...” He again pushed himself straight up and past the first branch. “Ha!” Naturally, he hit the next one and toppled to the ground, half conscious. “Ok, I got it this time...” He didn’t. The pony and the dragon pup just looked at eachother, shrugged, and moved on. It didn’t take them all that long to reach their destination. The gate to Sweet Apple Acres stood before them. After a moment to admire the craftsmanship, Twilight headed through, her rider using the list he had as an excuse to stay on her back. As she trekked the path to the farmhouse where Applejack would be, the unicorn found herself lost in thought. A pegasus who didn’t know how to fly? Or rather, one who was just learning how? It was strange to say the least. Thinking back, Twilight wished she’d paid more attention to the stranger’s cutie mark. The thought flashed through her head that he might have been one of the visitors that Celestia had been talking about, but that was totally impossible. “Watch yourself there, sugarcube!” Twilight snapped out of her daze just in time to stop herself from running face first into Applejack. She let out a light gasp and took a few sudden steps backwards, accidentally tilting herself in such a way that Spike fell off of her back, landing with a light thud on the ground. This seemed to wake him up (He must have been asleep, since otherwise one might think he’d, you know, point out the opposing traffic). He murmered something, then stood up and stretched. “Ah! Sorry, Applejack.” She looked around. They were still on the path, and they hadn’t reached the farmhouse yet. “We were just on our way to check on you. Where are you going?” She examined her friend and realized that, aside from her trademark hat, the apple farmer was carrying two sacks full of all sorts of foodstuffs slung over her back. “You didn’t hear?” She tilted her head and blinked. “They’re here early! They arrived just a few minutes ago, apparently. Come on, the party’s already started!” She called out as she galloped off. Twilight stood there, processing this for a moment. On the surface, it sounded innocent enough. The guests were early. The only question that remained was how. The first train should be leaving the station in Canterlot about now, so how had they gotten here already? A special train? The princess hadn’t mentioned that. She was snapped out of her thoughts by Spike crawling onto her back. “Well, I guess that’ll save us some runaround, anyway. Giddyup, eh?” Spike’s comment drew a less than happy glare from Twilight. With a buck, the dragon went flying. After once again landing with a thump, he raised and rubbed his sore backside. “Alright, I guess I could use the exercise...” ----- Even as the pair approached, they could see that the party had already started. Someone was playing music, and even from here they could hear Pinkie Pie’s voice shouting out in greeting to everyone individually, then everyone as a group, then everyone individually once again. Just as the unicorn reached the door and was about to open it, it was flung open. In the doorframe stood the ever ecstatic pink pony, grinning ear to ear. “Hey guys, yoooooou’re late!” “We’re not late, Pinkie Pie. The party started 6 hours before it was supposed to.” She raised her eyebrows a little bit, still curious as to just how this was all in the least bit possible. Still, a party was a party, and it was time to meet the guests of honor. The party was more chaotic inside than it appeared from the outside, and that was saying something to be sure. Ponies were everywhere, to the point that many of them were eyeing the door in hopes of extending the party grounds outside. The shop, after all, wasn’t all that large. Twilight pushed through the crowd, shouldering a few people out of the way and getting shouldered a few times in return. She was going to be upset about it, but hey, all’s fair in love, war, and a Pinkie Pie party. Every pony for themselves. Over against one of the walls she caught a glimpse of white, and she headed towards it. It was Rarity. The other unicorn of the Mane 6 had been keeping to the walls in hopes of not being crushed in the throng. Upon questioning, she released what information she knew about their visitors. “I haven’t caught their names yet, but they’re around here somewhere. There was a...a dark blue unicorn, and I believe a periwinkle earth pony. Very stylish mane, I simply MUST remember to ask where she got it done.” She showed no signs of halting the chatter, so Twilight excused herself and slunk back into the crowd. More searching yielded nothing. So instead, she headed once more for the door. Spike was lost in the crowd. And, finally, after a long struggle, she broke away and gasped for breath in the outside air. Only a few moments of sweet, sweet relief were afforded her however. From just inside the door, someone gasped. “Hey! We can go- I mean the party’s moved outside now!” Someone exclaimed. Twilight groaned and covered her head as most of the inhabitants spilled out into the yard and the street. Twilight struggled to her feet, panting from the near death experience. Just as she took in a deep breath: “There you are Twilight! Don’tcha wanna meet the new arrivals? Come on inside, they’re waiting!” She groaned and collapsed again with the effort. ----- Once they were inside and the element of magic had composed herself, she looked around to realize that most everypony had run for the door when they had the chance. The only ones left inside were the Mane 6, Spike, and two other ponies that, going by the description Rarity had given, were the messengers the Princess had sent. Finally, things could start getting a bit civil. “Hi there!” Twilight began warmly, beaming at the newcomers. “I’m so glad we could meet you, and I hope you’re having a good time so far!” She extended a hoof to the periwinkle earth pony. Rarity was indeed right. Her mane was spectacularly done up. It was striking, but it was far from over the top. Despite the warm greetings, the pony held back, eyeing both the hoof as well as the one attached to it suspiciously. “I didn’t know we were...expected. I was also not expecting such an...enthusiastic welcome.” “Hey, hey now! Don’t be so stingy!” The unknown unicorn grinned and pushed his way in front and shook Twilight’s hoof eagerly. He bowed his head a bit before introducing himself. “Call me...er...Beta. Beta Max. This is...Alpha Centauri.” The lighter pony tilted her head oddly at this. “Aah, right. So we were told you had some kind of-” “No! Um, er...” Everyone had taken a step back from Alpha at the sudden interruption. “I think what my friend means,” Beta cut in coolly, smiling gently around the room, “is that we’re short one. Our friend is supposed to be here. His name is Gamma. Gamma Ray.” He sighed and shook his head. Twilight noted that he still hadn’t let her hoof go. She tugged and pulled a couple of times until she got it free. “What does he look like?” This time Rainbow Dash spoke up. With a moment of thought, Twilight realized that she may already know the answer. She proved to be correct. “He’s an orange pegasus. Probably a bit confused or lost looking.” He sat and thought for a moment. “He’s a bit air-headed like that sometimes. That’d be why he didn’t show up on time, I’d bet.” “I think I might know where he is.” Twilight turned towards the door, but even as she did she noticed that someone else was there. Naturally, it was the missing ‘Gamma’. He stood in the doorway with a triumphant grin on his face. He was floating several inches above the ground. “I DID IT!” ~~~To Be Continued~~~