//------------------------------// // Chapter 1 // Story: Hush Now, Quiet Now // by DBoS //------------------------------// Well, here it is. After more than two weeks of a wait, the official first chapter is out. I want to give some thanks to Crushric for his advice on writing. Thanks to you, I actually have my ending and a few things in between. Anyhow, enjoy the show. ---------------------------------------- Chapter 1 Not a day goes by that there isn't a delicious smell coming from Sugarcube Corner. Something was always baking in Ponyville's premiere cake shop, and this day was no different. Ding! “Whee!” a high voice cried out, and a pink blur raced over to the oven. The oven door swung open, filling the kitchen with the scent of warm chocolate. Pinkie Pie breathed in the aroma and sighed happily. “Perfect,” she muttered as she pulled out the cupcake trays and set them on the counter. Even without the frosting, they looked delicious. However, it took all of Pinkie's willpower – or some variant thereof – to refrain from eating the pastries; they weren't all just for her, after all. Pinkie let in a deep breath as she coated the tops of each cake with the colorful frosting, the scent of the baked confections flooding her nostrils. A thin layer of drool coated her lower lip, and the temptation was too great. 'I'm sure Twilight wouldn't mind if I eat just one little cupcake,’ she mused, licking her lips. 'This is a baker’s dozen, after all.' She then took one of the treats and popped the whole thing into her mouth, pink-and-purple frosting coating around her mouth, which she promptly licked off. It was practically the most delicious thing she had ever tasted, but then again, anything with even the smallest amount of sugar was the most delicious thing she had ever tasted. Pinkie was tempted to take another cupcake once she swallowed the first one down, but she kept strong as she put the cupcakes in a delivery box. Sliding the box into her pink saddlebag, she trotted out through the front door and out into the bright Equestrian sunlight. =+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ “Let’s see,” Twilight Sparkle whispered to herself, her horn aglow with a pinkish-violet aura. All around her, hundreds, if not thousands, of books hovered in the air, the same glow surrounding each cover. One by one, the books lowered in front of her face, and the violet unicorn read the titles of each silently to herself. ‘History of Equestria, Volume 1,’ she read. She didn’t have to think very long before deducting, ‘History, obviously.’ The book then floated over to one of the many bookshelves that lined the main room of the library. Of the many days that Twilight looked forward to, Book Reshelving Day was just one of many. ‘The Epic of Star Swirl the Bearded…that’ll fall under Classic Literature,’ she thought, and another book flew to the appropriate shelf. ‘Donkey Oat-Hay goes in Literature. Robin Hoof, another for Literature. Beastly Bestiary of the Everfree Forest...that's closer to Science.’ One by one, Twilight sorted through her books, each book slipping into their shelves. She was barely halfway through when the door slammed open and a shrill voice called out, “HAPPY BIRTHDAY!” Twilight jumped nearly ten feet in the air and out of her purple coat, and she had lost focus on her magic, sending the books crashing down on top of her. Pinkie Pie tried, and failed, to force back the laughs that threatened to push their way out of her mouth. “Sorry, Twilight,” she apologized, wiping a tear away with her hoof. Said unicorn forced her way out from under the pile and turned to the pink party pony standing in the open doorway. She let out a sigh – not of exasperation, but rather of relief – before saying, “It's fine, Pinkie.” Climbing out of the pile of books, she added, “But my birthday isn’t for another couple of months.” Pinkie's giggle fit halted, and she put a hoof to her chin. “Oh…well, um…” she started, trying to find something else. She looked around the room, but the only thing really out of the ordinary was the pile of books that stood under Twilight. Normally, that meant Twilight was either studying or… Pinkie’s smile grew once more as she cheered, “Well then, HAPPY BOOK RESHELVING DAY!” Twilight could only chuckle; Pinkie could find a day to celebrate, no matter how trivial. She remembered one time when Pinkie threw a party to celebrate a “Three-Months-Since-Gummy’s-Birthday-Party” party. Wait a second… "So, where’s the party going to be?” Twilight asked, raising an eyebrow. Pinkie simply scratched the back of her head as she answered, “Actually, I’m still a little pooped from babysitting the twins yesterday.” At this point, the pink pony reached into her saddlebag and pulled out the box, finishing, “So I thought I’d just bring you a dozen cupcakes in honor of your birthday, or um, Book Reshelving Day.” Pinkie held the box out to Twilight with a large smile on her face. The unicorn happily lifted the box out of Pinkie’s hooves with her magic and popped the lid open. At that moment, the grin on Twilight’s face turned to a look of confusion. “Umm, Pinkie,” she started, looking up at her friend. “You said there were a dozen cupcakes…so where are the other seven?” As if to harden the question, Twilight turned the Box over so that Pinkie could see. Sure enough, there were only five cupcakes topped with purple-and-pink icing, and the only indicator that there were more was the stray icing on the sides of the box. Pinkie stayed silent for a minute as she tried to come up with a good excuse. It didn’t matter, though; Twilight had already noticed the icing on Pinkie’s face. She only shook her head and chuckled, saying, “Oh, Pinkie Pie. You and your sweet tooth.” “Well, I’m sorry,” Pinkie defended. “I just got hungry on the way here, so I thought I’d just take one, but then one turned to two, then to three, so--” “Pinkie!” Twilight called out, quieting the earth pony before her motor-mouth could come into play. “I’m not mad.” She then magically lifted a cupcake out of the box and took a small bite. “In fact, considering these, I might’ve done the same,” she added happily, munching down the confection. “These are delicious.” Pinkie could only flash a giant grin at that; she loved to make her friends smile. Twilight finished the first cupcake, and she was about to take another when she heard a voice say, “Ooh, cupcakes. Don’t mind if I do.” A scaly purple hand reached in and was about to take a pastry, but Twilight lifted the box out of reach. “Spike,” she started sternly, giving the baby dragon an evil look. Spike only sighed and asked in a flat dejected voice, “May I please have a cupcake?” Twilight didn’t answer, but Spike figured that the cupcake that had floated into his hand was an answer enough. Spike grinned as he shoved the entire pastry into his mouth, leaving only a glob of frosting on his snout. Twilight shook her head, showing a small grin, as she moved the box over to Pinkie. “You want another cupcake,” she asked the pink earth pony, “Or are you too full?” Pinkie giggled and replied, “You silly-willy. Of course I'd like another cu--” The words died in her throat as she suddenly erupted into a violent shudder. She shook for about three seconds before falling back on her haunches. Twilight's eyes widened to the size of dinner plates. “Umm...please tell me that wasn't your Pinkie Sense just now.” However she wanted the outcome, the answer was already obvious. Before Pinkie even gave Twilight an answer, Spike was already starting to panic. “Oh, no, no, no,” he muttered, clutched his head tightly. Already, several different scenarios were running through his head. “What is it this time? An earthquake? A meteor shower?” He was running around in circles as fear pounded through his chest. He soon froze where he was, and the pupils of his eyes shrunk down to pinheads as the most horrible thought came to him. “What if the cupcakes are alive...and are plotting to take over Ponyville?” Without a moment's hesitation, Spike lunged for the box, intent on preventing an impending tyranny ruled with a frosting-coated fist. However, before he reached the box, Spike froze in midair and was moved further away from the pastries, courtesy of Twilight's magic. “Spike, I doubt the cupcakes are plotting anything.” Twilight started, glaring sternly at the dragon in her telekinetic grip. “If anything, it's probably nothing really dangerous.” It made sense when she thought about it; the last time Pinkie's sense predicted a “doozy,” as she called it, they had thought it involved the Hydra in the bog, when really, it was just Twilight believing that Pinkie's sixth sense really did exist. Odds were that this would be something similar, to some degree. Twilight then turned to Pinkie, who now wore a worrisome look on her face. “Pinkie, do you know what's going to happen?” Pinkie only shook her head as she replied, “All I know is that going to be something nopony would ever expect.” Twilight only sighed. She should've seen that coming. “Well, do you know where it's going to be, at least?” Pinkie suddenly began shaking in her hooves again as soon as Twilight asked that. By the time she stopped, her eyes were wider than before. “Sugarcube...Corner,” she said simply. “I told ya,” Spike stated matter-of-factly. “Evil cupcakes.” Twilight sighed as she plopped the dragon onto her back. “Come on, Pinkie,” she started, making her way for the door. “Let's go see what’s up.” Without another word from the trio – which is quite strange in Pinkie's case – the two rushed out the door and towards the bakery. =+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Pinkie was the first to charge through the doors of the bakery, and the first thing she noticed was the emptiness. Mr. and Mrs. Cake were nowhere in sight, and there was neither coat nor mane of Pumpkin and Pound. Twilight walked in right after, noticing the vacancy as well. “Mr. and Mrs. Cake?” she called out, looking about the bakery. “Pumpkin? Pound?” Pinkie cried out afterwards. “Where are you?” With each passing second, Pinkie’s fear grew more and more. Was this the doozy – everypony in Ponyville vanishing in the blink of an eye…and the Cakes just happened to be first ones to go? However, all traces of that fear vanished when she heard a familiar voice call out from the pantry. “Psst…Pinkie, Twilight, over here.” A sense of relief washed over both ponies as they noticed a familiar pink hair-do (mane-do?) poke out from the door. Pinkie charged into the pantry and wrapped her front legs around Mrs. Cake’s shoulders, tears forming in the corners of her giant blue eyes. Twilight walked in right after and found Mr. Cake near the back of the pantry, cradling the twins in each arm. The foals both looked as though something scared them to tears, which made a lot of sense, considering the frightened look in Mr. Cake’s eyes. “Oh thank Celestia,” Pinkie Pie started, her voice starting to falter. “I’m so glad you guys are okay. My Pinkie Sense went off and said that there was going to be a doozy here, so Twilight and I came as fast as we could, but when we came in, no one was here, so I thought that the doozy was everyone disappearing like ‘POOF’ and I’d be all alo--” Mrs. Cake shushed the pink pony – possibly to keep her motor-mouth at bay – and said, “It’s okay, dearie. We’re just glad to see you’re alright.” Pinkie smiled as she let Mrs. Cake out of her embrace, wiping away the tears. Twilight chose that moment to speak up. “So what happened? Why are you all hiding in here?” Mr. Cake was the one who answered. “There’s something in Pinkie Pie’s room, and we--” “Ooh! A surprise for me?” Pinkie cheered, now back to her normal chipper self. It was amazing how fast she could rebound, Twilight noted with a sigh. “Perhaps you should start at the beginning,” Twilight requested simply, to which the Cakes agreed. “Alright,” Mr. Cake spoke up. “Not long after Pinkie left for your place, I was busy decorating a three-tiered wedding cake while the missus here was watching Pumpkin and Pound here.” He motioned to the twins still nestled in his arms as Mrs. Cake continued, “Everything was calm and peaceful, until we heard a loud crash upstairs from your room. We didn't know what it was, so my husband and I both went up to check. When we looked inside...” Mrs. Cake trailed off as she swallowed the lump that formed in her throat, to which her husband finished, “Pinkie...there's some kind of...monster in your room.” Pinkie's and Twilight's eyes widened, but they both kept silent as Mr. Cake added, “I don't know what it is, but it doesn't look like any pony I've ever seen.” Like his wife, Mr. Cake had the same fearful look in his eyes, and Pumpkin and Pound looked to be on the verge of tears. Twilight soaked in the information as she looked between the frightened family. She then let out a breath as she told the Cakes, “Don't worry. Pinkie and I will look into this 'monster' situation.” That seemed to calm the twins down as well as the husband and wife. “Are you sure you'll both be okay, Twilight?” Mrs. Cake asked, her voice only quivering slightly. Twilight nodded as she assured her, “If that so-called monster tries anything, Mrs. Cake, I'll take care of things with my magic.” As if to prove her point, her horn flashed a bright violet. Mrs. Cake let out a relieved sigh as Mr. Cake replied, “Okay, but be careful.” Twilight and Pinkie both turned and trotted towards the stairs. It was only when Twilight's hoof reached the first step when she noticed the lack of a certain weight on her back. Twilight turned her head around and was about to call for the baby dragon, but that was unnecessary; Spike was standing in front of the cupcake display cabinet, staring at the pastries with intense malice. He wore a cooking pot on his head like a soldier helmet, and a spatula was held in his right claw like a club. “You're not taking over my town, cupcakes,” he hissed out, holding the spatula threateningly at his side. “Not while Spikey-Wikey's around.” Before he could intimidate the sweet little 'conquerors' any further, a sharp pain erupted at the base of his tail, and he was swung onto Twilight's back. “For crying out loud, Spike,” Twilight snapped, following Pinkie up the stairs. “The cupcakes are not plotting to take over!” As Twilight and Pinkie both disappeared up the stairs, Pound and Pumpkin Cake reached their tiny little hooves out, almost beckoning for their babysitter. “Pinkie.” “Pie.” =+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ The door to Pinkie's room was shut tightly, almost as if the flimsy wood would be enough to hold the creature at bay. Twilight stepped in front of the door and tentatively knocked on it with the front of her hoof. There was no answer. Twilight knocked once more with more force. Again, the same result. A scenario ran through the unicorn's mind. Perhaps the creature wasn't in the room at all? What if it escaped when she and Pinkie were racing to Sugarcube Corner? Twilight shuddered to think of what would happen if a potentially dangerous beast got free and started wreaking havoc on the denizens of Ponyville. It was bad enough that Ponyville had to deal with Discord and Spike, and there was no need to go for a third strike. The second image: maybe the creature was unconscious...or asleep, even? Both were plausible. If it was out cold, they could take the creature to the Everfree Forest, or wherever else it may have resided, and release it in its own habitat, and no one would be hurt in the process. Best Case Solution. However, the best possibility was that there was no monster in the first place. Mr. and Mrs. Cake may have seen something completely different, like maybe Gummy just jumping around with his blanket over his head. Twilight's pounding heart was calmed at the idea. Unfortunately, her pulse sped right back up as her imagination did a 180 turn. What if there was some sort of monster in Pinkie's room, one that was wild, savage...and hungry? It probably knew they were just outside, and was silently waiting to pounce and enjoy its fresh meal. Twilight swallowed the lump that formed in her throat; if that were the case, then they would have to be quick and careful. Twilight's magical aura wrapped around the door handle as she pressed herself against the wall. Pinkie did the same, as did Spike, still wielding his pot helmet and spatula Excalibur. Pinkie glanced over to Twilight, her blue eyes meeting the unicorn's purple ones, and they both nodded in silence. Using her magic, Twilight turned the knob and swung the door open. Nothing leaped out, which was good, Twilight deducted. 'I can rule out lurking predator,' she thought to herself. Even then, however, she wasn't going to take any chances. Ever so slowly, Twilight peered around the doorway, half-expecting to see something glare at her with fierce, predatory eyes, but nothing sprung out. Wait a second. What was that? Out of the corner of her vision, Twilight spotted something poking out from behind Pinkie Pie's bed. She couldn't get a good look, but she could swear it looked like some kind of...leg. She and Pinkie crept closer to the shape by the bed, and already, they were hit with a horrible smell. A sickening combination of sweat, dirt, and vomit penetrated the mares' and dragon's nostrils, and they had to fight down the bile that rose up their throats. Once the feeling of nausea passed, Twilight held her breath as she inched further around the bed. Pinkie and Spike didn't want to get any closer to whatever was making that smell; they were having enough trouble breathing properly just standing where they were. As she rounded the corner, what lay before her was...disturbing, to say the least. This didn't look anything like a pony, nor any of the creatures she had ever encountered. Its body was slender and long, practically void of any fur on its body, save for the thick patch of black on its head. Its legs were strange as well; on the ends of its forelegs, five fleshy digits stuck out from where its hooves should've been, and on its rear legs, the hooves were pointed outward and wrapped in some thick hide. Replacing the withheld breath in her lungs, Twilight moved closer to the monster for a better look. The flesh on the creature's back and right foreleg was cracking and colored a sickly red, and large boils were dotted along its back. When she put her hoof up to the flesh, it felt incredibly warm to the touch. The creature groaned and shifted under her touch. Twilight recoiled, fearing that she had just woken up something savage, only for the beast to calm once again. Twilight let out a sigh before she noticed something on the thing's left forearm. At first glance, it almost looked like a dungeon shackle, except there was some sort of glass screen on the front. Behind the glass, a green light glowed softly, shining down on the floor. It was then that Twilight got a good look at the monster's face. Well, maybe monster wouldn't really be the best word to use anymore. The creature's face looked peaceful, angelic even, despite the fact that it was smudged with something too dark to be mud. She could hear the being breathe softly through its nose – at least, what she assumed was the nose. All in all, the being didn't look anything at all like a monster; was this what scared the Cakes? Twilight flinched and spun around when she heard the window slide open, but she let out a sigh of relief when she saw it was only Spike, now breathing freely. “Man, this place needs some air freshener,” he muttered, sticking his head out of the window to breathe in the fresh air. He then turned around and saw what Twilight was just looking at, and he damn near scrambled out of the open window in fear. “Wh-what is that thing?” he stammered, his eyes shrunk down to pea-size. Before Twilight could answer, Pinkie Pie sped over and stood atop her bed, looking down at the creature. Her eyes held more curiosity than fear as she studied the prone being. After a few moments, she excitedly began, “Maybe it's an alien. It doesn't look anything like a pony, and I know everypony in the world. Well, maybe not the world, but everypony in Ponyville, at least.” She then turned to Twilight and asked her, “Do you know what this thing is, Twilight?” Twilight only shook her head. “If anything, it looks like it's hurt. These burns look awful.” She then turned to Spike and requested, “I need you to get my first aid kit and every bestiary in the library, quickly.” Spike gave a mock salute and sped out the door towards the library. After Spike left, Pinkie said to Twilight, “I have a very important question to ask you.” “Oka--” “Twilight, this is serious business, so I want you to give me your honest answer.” “Alright,” Twilight agreed, a little freaked out by her friend's behavior. “What do you nee--” “The answer you give me could be the difference between good and evil, life and death, salvation and destruction, Heaven and--” She was cut off when Twilight snapped, “Pinkie! What is it?” Pinkie let out a deep breath, unfazed by Twilight's outburst. She then pointed at the prone figure by her bed as she asked, “Do you think it likes parties?” Twilight's could only respond with a facehoof. ------------------------------------------------- Hey, that was actually on my mind, too. Parties are serious business, believe it or not. Well, I hope you enjoyed that chapter, next one's coming along. Also, if anyone can happen to find some MLP/Fallout crossover artwork that's not related to Fallout: Equestria, I'd really appreciate it.