The sun was shining exceptionally bright as it began its downward arc toward the horizon. Ponies were rushing back and forth through the surprisingly crowded Ponyville marketplace, running their individual evening errands before settling back in their homes. No matter their rush, however, they took extra care to avoid passing within arm’s reach of the gargantuan foreigner that sat on a relatively tiny bench just outside of the delicatessen Sugarcube Corner.
Adopting looks of either fear or disgust, they each hurried on their ways past in one direction or the other. The bodyguard couldn’t help but let out a disappointed sigh, not a single citizen of the town having the courage to engage him in friendly banter.
Odd, he thought, normally I wouldn’t even think twice about being feared. Perhaps it has something to do with how trusting these equines have been so far.
He was pulled from his thoughts by his sister’s giggle, “Have some ice cream!” The girl appeared around the corner with surprising speed, two cones stacked four scoops high with different flavors of ice cream in her hands. She offered one to the quiet brute, already biting into her own.
“How’d you get this?” Butler, despite his intimidating appearance, was all for enjoying the little things. He took his cone with what may have been a genuine smile.
“I helped the owners move some stuff. They gave me some dessert as payment,” Juliet explained happily. Her smile quickly faded as she asked, “Do you think we’ll be able to go home, Butler?” She took a seat beside him on the cramped bench.
The older sibling took a ridiculously large bite from his cone and grunted in response. Seeing his sister’s annoyed expression, he elaborated, “I’m certain Artemis will think of some way to fix his device. We simply must wait…”
Although, if things keep going the way they are… he mused, reflecting on his charge’s recent string of odd behavior. This world is doing things to us. I can feel it.
“Yeah, you’re right!” Juliet cheered, a warm smile stretching back across her face.
Butler considered how quickly her attitude had changed in the matter of minutes. He asked, “What do you think of the fairies?” He looked down at his side where his Sig Sauer was usually holstered. The gun had been cast away from him after his encounter with a dwarf’s means of passing gas, and he felt oddly naked without it.
His sister took another bite of ice cream. “I like them. They might hate humans, but they seem like lawful people to me. …Except for the ugly one, of course.” The girl thought back to her short-lived battle against the two fairy officers. It was obvious they’d been going easy on her the entire fight; they could’ve taken her down at almost any time if they’d been willing to hurt her in the process.
“Yes, Mr. Diggums seems like just the type of creature that Artemis Sr. would have employed.”
“Do you think Artemis has said anything to Twilight about why he came here?”
“The young master is also chess master, Juliet. He thrives on knowing more than his opponents. I doubt any of these ponies will know what he wants until he’s already obtained it.” As he said those very words, sadness filled his gut. He knew it was true, but he wanted to believe that maybe this adventure could be diplomatic and trusting.
Juliet stopped to think about that for a moment. She knew it was true just as much as the next person, though she wouldn’t enjoy admitting it. “And the fairies? What do you think they’ll do when they find out?” A certain phrase Captain Short had used earlier echoed in her ears.
“It’s obvious from the way they speak that they care about the earth—or lack thereof, it seems—enough to hate humans for trashing it. Captain Short said herself that she doesn’t trust us and that she doesn’t want us to ‘drain this world’ like we did ours.”
So what will the fairies do if they learn Artemis is trying to manipulate this world’s residents? Will they stop him at any cost to keep it untainted? The bodyguard’s mind began to swim wildly. Countless scenarios played out in his head, either ending in the death of his charge or the corruption of the pony world. He imagined the pastel colors of the world around him fading into a depressing grayscale scheme. Can I sit back and watch as he ruins a world? I could never hurt Artemis, but could I let him destroy this Eden?
“There’s something wrong here, Juliet!” Butler snapped, his hand reaching for the spot where his pistol was usually holstered. His sister shot to attention as he explained, “Not only is Artemis acting odd, but I’m beginning to question my loyalty to him. I’ve never done that.”
His sister relaxed with a scoff, “You’re just being smart, bro. You have every right to question his schemes.” Dismissing the sudden burst of urgency, she resumed eating her ice cream.
“I woul’n’t casht t’e man off sho quick’y, Mud Gir’.”
A knot tightened in Butler’s stomach, the voice all-too-familiar by this point even through the muffling. Almost like a mole, the dwarf burst from the ground, practically rocketing from the hole he’d opened. A foul smell filled the air for a few moments before returning to normal. The few ponies unlucky enough to be passing by at the time were either sent to the ground by the force of the earth opening or the scent disabling them.
“Mr. Diggums?” Butler half-choked at his own memory of the first time he truly encountered dwarf powers.
Mulch quickly re-hinged his jaw and cheered, “Yep!” Without wasting a second, he pulled several objects from his shirt pockets, one of them igniting a fire in the brute’s gut.
Juliet’s eyes opened wide with surprise. “Is that…?”
“One SIG 226, straight from the home of the purple pony!” Without even considering that Butler might be a little sour from their meeting despite his words otherwise, the dwarf handed the signature pistol back to its rightful owner. “I also snagged the fried LEP helmet and most of the concealed weapons they managed to find on your person.” Right on cue, he pulled the headgear and a few of the larger weapons from the hole he emerged from.
As he went through the list of the things he’d taken on his second trip into Twilight Sparkle’s library home, he surrendered all of the bodyguard’s equipment in exchange for a promise of peace. It wasn’t until he pulled out the two golden cubes that the humans intervened.
“What are those objects, exactly?” asked Butler, still confused from their speculation earlier that day.
Mulch held them both up and sighed, “This is the Book of the People, the fairy bible, or simply the Book. In this is written all of the People’s secrets and laws. In most cases, they’re supposed to disintegrate if someone other than the owner touches them without the owner’s express permission.” He looked at Butler expectantly.
He wasn’t disappointed as the brute inquired, “So why didn’t they?”
“I dunno,” the dwarf replied bluntly. He scowled at the golden objects and sighed, “I can tell you one thing, though: this isn’t what the Book’s supposed to look like.” Upon noticing the humans’ confusion, he explained, “It’s usually hexagonal with a couple hinges and a red gem on the front. These things won’t even open!”
“Whaddya think it means?” Juliet asked, biting into her ice cream once more. One scoop down, three to go.
The thief shrugged and chuckled, “I dunno, but I’m sure Julius and Holly will wanna know more.” He handed off the very last of Butler’s concealed weaponry, put the helmet on, and stuffed the Books in his pocket. He laughed, “Y’think your Mud Boy can fix this thing without flinching?” With that, his jaw unhinged and he was back in the dirt, headed God knows where.
“He sure is generous for a thief, don’t you think?” the younger sibling mused.
Yes. A little too generous, I’m afraid. Even the fairies are changing, aren’t they? Why wouldn’t the commander attempt to arrest a wanted criminal, even if he wouldn’t be able to jail him? Why wouldn’t the captain do the same? Why am I questioning Artemis, and why is Juliet acting more like a normal child? Butler’s mind raced back and forth through the past few hours, noting every single difference between their first encounter with the fairies and the time spent in the hospital. Why are a thief and genius being generous and irrational?
“Juliet, I want you to stay here.”
In mid-bite, the girl moaned, “What’s that supposed to mean? Where else would I go?”
“When Artemis and I go to meet this Princess Celestia, I want you to stay here,” Butler explained, his tone serious and commanding.
The younger sibling scoffed, “You know I can’t do that. If something happens to you, it’s my job to--”
The elder brother roared, “If something happens to me, then you can’t hope to handle it!” He took a deep breath and sighed, “I’m asking you not as a Butler, but as a brother, to please stay here.” He looked her square in the eyes, driving his seriousness home.
Juliet smiled an empty smile and whispered, “Okay, bro. I’ll stay here. Just promise you’ll bring Artemis back when you come.”
There was an unspoken understanding that washed over both of them. Juliet understood her brother’s concerns, and Butler understood his sister’s worries. Things were happening to them. Something about the world of ponies was changing the way they thought and acted. Anyone, even a Butler, would have every right to be concerned.
…
The smell of metal filled the air of the surprisingly-well-stocked hardware store just on the outskirts of the Ponyville marketplace. Sitting at a workbench with a plethora of tools by his side, Artemis was busy disassembling and repairing the shorted-out LEPrecon helmet that had been entrusted to his care. Had he so chosen, he could have rigged it to explode upon its next activation and simply eliminated the fairies from the equation. As it were, however, he had found a way to manipulate the fairies into his wealth-acquiring schemes.
In all the legends of fairies and magic that he’d researched, they all made mention of a wealth of gold at the fairies’ disposal. If the Equestrian adventure didn’t pan out as he hoped it would, perhaps he could make a quick fortune by holding the officers and dwarf for ransom. And even if their ‘Council’ wouldn’t pay a ransom fee, he could always patent the technology in the guns and helmets and outshine any other tech company on Earth.
Or maybe the fairies would even help him acquire the gold in exchange for a portion of it, although that seemed highly unlikely.
‘Don’t think you can just drain this place like you did your world,’ she’d said. I was in the restroom, but I still heard her. They would never stand aside and let me get away with what I have planned. If diplomacy with the princess fails, I’ll have no choice but to take action. I will restore my family’s fortune, and then I can resume my—!
The boy’s thoughts were cut off by a quick zap to his palm. The current from a particularly pesky circuit danced up the length of the screwdriver he’d been holding and left a nice scorch mark as a sign of its rebellion. It was almost as if the helmet didn’t want to be fixed, with as much trouble as it was giving him.
It shocked me. Normally I would be angry, but that means I’m doing something right! There’s a new current running through it, but the blasted machine still doesn’t have power. I have to find the spot where the circuit breaks and fix it, he stared at his hand before continuing, no matter the cost. I must know what the state of Fowl Manor is and whether Mother is well.
“Excuse me sir,” the boy called to the muscular stallion behind the nearby counter, “but do you happen to have any spare copper wire lying about?”
The buck grunted, “Whatcha see is whatcha get, fella,” as he waved a hoof around the tiny shop.
It’s surprisingly well-stocked for such a minuscule building. It has everything I could ever hope for in the way of tools, it seems. It’s quite a shame it only has tools and none of the miscellaneous junk that accompanies most repair jobs. I suppose a monopoly on the demand would be too much to handle for a tiny shack like this.
“Very well then,” the boy’s eyes scanned the shop over at least three times before he finally decided that they most definitely did not offer what he needed. “Do you know of any place in town where I can find some?”
Placing a hoof to his muzzle, the stallion said, “You could probably try Mr. Breezy’s Fan Shop. It’s just a few doors down before you get to Sugarcube Corner.” With a smile contradictory to his prior bluntness, he returned to his work.
“Thank you. Would you be bothered if I left my machine here for the time being?”
“Not at all, fella. Be my guest.”
’Fella,’ ‘whatcha,’ was this man raised in a barn? Artemis’s expression fell blank as he considered what he was referring to. On second thought, never mind. A fan shop, he said. Certainly a pony that manufactures fans will own quite a length of copper wire. He might even be willing to part with some for free.
Stepping out of the small tool shop and into the afternoon air of Ponyville, the boy couldn’t help but admire the beauty of the world drenched in a descending sunlight. It was almost like a work of art, only it was real. Despite being perpetually serious and cold, even he could appreciate a work of art.
It took roughly a minute for him to reach his destination. The second the door opened, a gust of chilled air poured from the store. A loud whirring immediately filled his ears, followed by a very cheery, “Hello! Welcome to Mr. Breezy’s Fan Shop! I’m Mr. Breezy!”
I’ll never begin to understand how someone that simply stands behind a counter all day listening to the incessant roar of machines could possibly enjoy their job so much. No matter.
“My name is Artemis Fowl, and I’m here to ask if you have any copper wire you’d be willing to part with.” The boy wasted no time in getting to the point. After all, he was more than interested in getting communications with Earth back up and running.
The stallion with an oddly-Irish accent chuckled, “Some copper wire, huh? I’m sure I can scrounge some up from somewhere. About how much are you looking for, Mr. Fowl?” The green vest and beret mixed with his orange mane and tail only drove home the Irish feel. Even his customer had to admit how uncanny it was.
Artemis answered, “Somewhere in the range of two feet would be acceptable.”
“Coming right up!” In the blink of an eye, the stallion vanished to a room at the rear of the building.
Between the fact that fairies exist and the fact that I’m certain he just teleported, I can’t decide which I find less believable. Still more things make no sense in this world. Why did we survive our fall the other day? Why did Butler so suddenly question my decision to meet with Celestia? Why are my emotions beginning to overpower logical reasoning?
“Perhaps it’s because logic has no place in this world of ponies. I simply must thank you, Mr. Fowl. You’re doing more for me than you can possibly imagine, and we haven’t even met yet!”
Get out of my head! A sharp pain drilled through the boy’s temples, sending him to his knees in pain. He clutched at the bandages wrapped around the crown of his skull, silently begging the pain to go away. As suddenly as it began, the sensation vanished, along with any memory of the ominous voice that had called to him.
All that remained as a sign of the exchange was the sweat drenching his brow.
He wiped away the out-of-place perspiration with a coat sleeve so as not to arouse the store owner’s suspicion. Taking a calming breath, he whispered to the air, “Get a grip, Artemis. You’re just stressed about your machine’s battery ticking out…”
The shop owner blinked into existence with the required length of wire sealed in a plastic bag held firmly in his muzzle. Setting it gently on the counter next to his register, he chuckled, “That’ll be fifty bits!”
Artemis’s expression fell, unprepared to actually pay the man for his services. He sighed, “I’m afraid I don’t have any money at the moment, sir. Perhaps you can open a tab for me?” Without waiting for a hopeful response, the boy reached for the wire.
Mr. Breezy’s hoof landed on the bag first. He barked, “Sorry kid, no dough, no go.”
“Surely we can work out some sort of arrangement?”
“Nuh-uh. I’ve already been scammed once today by those fellas in the jumpsuits, it ain’t happening again.” A stern expression washed over the stallion’s face as if to say ‘give up or get out.’
Lowering his hand and forgetting the wire, the boy locked onto the thought of ‘those fellas’ scamming the store owner. “What do you mean by ‘scammed,’ Mr. Breezy?” Artemis asked, almost too curious for his own good.
“The gruff fella walked in, grabbed something from one of my shelves, and walked right out! When I tried to say something, the lady sang a little song and followed him!” A scowl covered the pony’s face at the thought of being robbed right under his nose. “The weird thing is I didn’t even feel like going after them…”
The fairies stole something? Why didn’t they just ask Mr. Diggums to do it? Why would they dirty their hands with such an impure act? I wonder what they’re planning to do with—what else does this store sell?—a fan.
“Are you certain you can’t simply loan me the wire? I assure you on my family’s name that I shall repay you as soon as possible.” Swearing on the family name was a big deal for the Fowl family, considering their extensive history in the criminal business.
A smile slowly stretched across the stallion’s face as he removed his hoof from the bag of wire. As the potential customer reached for it with a shocked expression, Mr. Breezy cheered, “Nope!” and snatched it up in his muzzle once more.
The boy was almost literally speechless. He couldn’t begin to imagine what had possessed a member of such a peaceful race of creatures to pull a dirty trick like that. Just as he finally found the words to call the shop owner out with, another voice cut him off.
Familiar and cocky, the voice laughed, “Mulch Diggums to the rescue!” Turning the corner and entering the building in one swift step, the dwarf held up a small satchel of jingling items. “Fifty bits, you say?” Opening the first pouch and pulling out a smaller one, he tossed it right at the stallion, who swiftly let go of the wire and caught the bits.
“You’re quite generous this evening, Mr. Diggums. Had a change of heart, have we?” Artemis gratefully picked up the bag of wire as Mr. Breezy nodded in confirmation of the transaction’s closure. Not wasting another moment in the business-minded pony’s shop, the pair of humanoids exited into the red-orange light of the Equestrian evening.
The dwarf simply chuckled, “What can I say; this place is rubbing off on me! First your troll’s weapons and now those bits, I’m just a modern Robin Hood!” He pulled the overloaded LEP helmet from his head and sighed, “I know you’re working on the other one, but four ears are better than two.”
“Ah, so that’s your game. Buy my materials and I’ll fix the item you could have killed me with. Very well, Mr. Diggums, I’ll do it. Or I’ll try, at least.” Artemis hesitantly took the equipment in his hands, wary of any sort of trap set by the fairy convict.
“Appreciate it, Mud Boy!” Mulch laughed. “If you’ll excuse me, I’ve got to go see my nemesis now!”
With that, the dirt-burrowing creature was doing just that, swallowed by the soft earth. Artemis couldn’t help but admire how high-spirited the creature was despite being trapped in an entirely foreign world. In fact, the dwarf was even in the presence of two officers that would most certainly not hesitate to incapacitate him. Yet, despite the high-spirits, Artemis couldn’t help but hear a thin layer of sadness in the fairy’s voice.
Does it really matter, though? Why should I care? The boy began the short walk back to the hardware store where his workbench was hopefully still intact. I’ll admit it is my fault we’re in this mess, but look around! This world is perfect! Ignoring the shop owner that raised my hopes and slashed them expertly, everything here seems to be in perfect peace and harmony…
“Perfect peace and harmony?” Artemis muttered under his breath.
But that’s not possible, is it? How can there not be conflict? How can these ponies not fight for everything like humans do? What holds this place together? There’s always balance to the scale, and it seems this world is tipped in favor of peace! How does that cancel out? Where’s the sense in a world being so consumed by love and friendship that there are hardly any quarrels?
“Sense?” he mumbled, his steps getting smaller and slower.
The voice had told me ‘Where’s the fun in making sense?’ So…where is the fun? If anything can be said about this place, it’s that there is never a dull moment. Even the colors pop with life when you look at them. Compare that to the world of humans, and what do you have?
“I see you’re starting to understand!”
Stop! Artemis’s head began to throb, his vision blurring. Sweat began to pour down his face. What are you? Who are you?
“Oh, you wish to know more about me? All in due time, Mr. Fowl. I’m certain dear Celly will be more than honored to explain things to you…”
The voice faded away, and once more the boy was left drenched in sweat without a single memory of what had just happened. When he regained his sense, he found himself leaning against the doorframe of the hardware store’s entrance. Not certain how he arrived there, he wiped the sweat away and returned to his workbench.
I must meet Princess Celestia. But…we need to leave this place as soon as possible!
A knot of dread filled the boy’s gut for some reason he couldn’t begin to imagine. As he continued pulling apart and prodding the two helmets, he couldn’t help but wonder just what the state of Fowl Manor was. As he worked, a nagging voice in the back of his head urged him to hurry and set things right.
So he worked in silence, never once looking up from the bench. He had to get this done. The sake of every humanoid in the town rested on this one simple repair job; he could just feel it.
…
The birds sang out happily as they darted from tree to tree, resting in the shade of the apple orchards on the outskirts of southern Ponyville. The way the light of sunset reflected off of each individual apple added a sense of peace to the atmosphere of the unbelievable world. As the two LEP officers relaxed in the shade of a particularly sweet-smelling apple tree, the many animals native to the area sang out in perfect harmony with their individual calls.
Commander Root was sitting upright against the base of the tree while staring off toward the horizon on the other side of town. A massive mountain stretched upward, a pristine town resting just on the side of it. A seemingly endless waterfall poured down the cliff face around the city. Even the world-weary officer couldn’t help but wonder just how such a beautiful creation of nature was possible.
While her superior officer stared off at the scenery, Captain Short kept her eyes trained on the small town they’d just left. The sheer vibrancy of the colors of the buildings and landmarks sent a shiver down her spine. The world of ponies was so beautiful and untainted that she couldn’t begin to understand how it had remained so peaceful.
The two kept to themselves, simply admiring the world around them. It wasn’t until the animals began to settle in for the evening that either dared to disturb the peace.
“Are you certain,” Julius began with a sigh, “that you performed the Ritual?”
Holly groaned, “For the tenth time, Commander, yes! It was the first thing I did after the cleanup crew left town.” All evening she’d been hounded by her superior officer’s nagging and questioning of her honesty. “What’s your excuse?” she finished with a scoff.
Root chuckled emptily, “If we were back in Haven, I’d have your badge for that comment.” The commander pulled his Neutrino 2000 from its holster, a copper wire wrapped all around the battery pack. “If it wasn’t the Mud Boy’s device keeping us from shielding then what was it?”
“I don’t know, sir. A better question I’d like to ask is how Diggums isn’t completely toasted right now.” The female officer pulled her own gun out, admiring her handiwork in patching it neatly with copper wire. “Do you think that pony minds how we stole his fan?”
“You used the Mesmer, right?”
“Yeah, but it didn’t work on Artemis, so there’s no guarantee.”
“There haven’t been any officers on our case so far, so I’ll say we’re okay.”
Holly struggled to her feet, having been comfortable against the raw earth, and sighed, “Mulch should be completely fried by now. We were in the open for God knows how long before we woke up, after all.” She began to stretch, almost expecting trouble after such a relaxing evening.
“That’s true. Maybe we used all of our magic repairing any sun damage while we were asleep,” the commander offered his opinion as he stood to join Holly.
The captain mumbled, “So why aren’t we burnt now?”
“Good point.”
“Isn’t it though?”
“Wow!” a mocking voice rang out, sending a family of squirrels darting from the officers’ tree to any number of adjacent ones. “You guys sure know how to party!”
Commander Root gripped his gun, placing a finger gently on the trigger. He groaned, “What do you want, Diggums? Can’t you see we don’t care what you’ve stolen this time?” He turned and aimed, his sights locked on to the approaching dwarf’s head.
Instinctively, having gotten used to being arrested, the thief lifted his hands up by his head, palms facing forward. “No need to shoot, Commander! I bring gifts!” Mulch chuckled nervously. Slowly reaching one hand into a front pocket, he pulled out the two glowing golden cubes. The gun aimed at him lowered almost immediately.
Holly gasped, “Are those the Books? What happened to them?”
“The Book? That’s the Book?” the commander asked, his brow furrowing in confusion.
Mulch relaxed his body, the gun no longer an immediate threat to him. With a deep sigh he explained, “These are the Books that Artemis pilfered from your pockets while we were out. Notice how they aren’t dust on the ground.” He handed the cubes to Julius, who passed one to Holly and immediately pocketed the other one.
“So why aren’t they?” asked Captain Short as she followed her superior’s lead.
“You two went into that fan shop, didn’t you?”
“Yeah, so what,” Root spat, thinking they were getting off topic.
“Think it’s weird you didn’t feel the effects of the Rule of Dwelling for the few seconds you were in there?” The dwarf grinned, obviously starting to understand things better than the other foreigners.
Holly placed a hand to her chin in contemplation. After a moment she sighed, “Now that you mention it, yeah. What’s that about?” Her tone carried worry and confusion, just as her expression showed fear.
Diggums tittered, “The Book ain’t got power in this place. Simple as that.” With a laugh, he turned back to the other side of the officers’ tree and hoisted a decent-sized bag from his tunnel.
“What do you mean it doesn’t have power? The Book always has power!” Commander Root, having devoted his life to upholding the laws of the People, felt almost disgusted at the thought of their law book being void.
The female officer’s eyes opened wide as she began to understand what Mulch was saying. She gasped, “Because we aren’t on Earth, the laws of nature don’t apply here! Without the laws of nature, the laws of the People are pretty much meaningless!” Taking a second to collect her thoughts, she added, “And with the People’s laws goes our powers!”
“Correctamundo!” Mulch laughed. He explained, “I did a little reading—unbelievable, I’m sure—and found that this world is built on peace and love. So not all of our powers are gone, just the ones that can be used to disrupt the harmony of the world.”
“Shielding and Mesmer?” the captain spat, not entirely sure she understood what was so dangerous about the two most basic powers.
Commander Root actually laughed, “It’s not nice to be sneaky or to trick people, Holly!”
Holly nodded in understanding, seeing where the logic was coming from. In a world where they haven’t been witness to a single non-Earthling argument and everything seems perfectly calm, such trivial ‘pranks’ would be considered evil. She didn’t like the idea of her powers being called bad, but she could at least understand why they were so.
Mulch’s laughter slowly died, devolving into a sigh. “Most of King Frond’s rules are null and void, along with the curses they cause. In theory, if the world only disabled the curses, I’d get my magic back.” He added with a huff, “Stupid pony world...”
“So we’re basically humans that can heal people now?” Holly grimaced at the comparison, but she saw it as disturbingly accurate.
“Pretty much,” the dwarf replied with a shrug.
Root growled, “Mud Men…” Taking the time to check the immediate area for any present humans, he chuckled, “You forget we actually care for the world’s resources, be it Earth or here.”
“Which reminds me,” Mulch’s expression fell into a sorrowful frown, “there’s the matter of Mr. Fowl to deal with.”
Captain Short shouted, “We’ve got to stop him from ruining this world!” A determined glint in her eyes added a sense of urgency to her words.
“That’s not what I meant, but sure,” the dwarf chuckled. “No, he collapsed in the fan shop and started clawing at his head, then recovered like nothing even happened. I was about to walk in and give him the other LEP helmet when he screamed and fell.”
The two officers shared uncertain looks before the superior asked, “Do you have any idea what happened?”
“No. But I felt something…weird…coming from him when I handed him the helmet. It almost felt…evil. But it wasn’t a ‘manipulate and corrupt everything’ evil, more like an ‘insane’ evil.” Mulch shuddered, the residual feeling of his exchange with the boy making his skin crawl.
Commander Root grunted dismissively, “It’s not our problem. He gets the helmets working and we get Foaly to help us power his machine. We’re good to go.”
“Except we’re not,” Captain Short snapped. “Not only do the Mud Boy and his servants know about the People, but they more than likely plan on sucking this world dry of its purity! We can’t let that--!”
The captain was cut off in mid-sentence by a burst of sound from somewhere toward the center of the nearby town. The voice of the genius in question echoed from wall to wall, reaching even into the apple orchards. The sudden burst of noise sent birds flying from their nests and other critters scurrying in dismay.
“Eureka!”
Artemis’s voice boomed over the immediate area, a victorious and somewhat-relieved tone layering the meaning. Despite its sheer randomness, the fairies knew exactly why the boy was so happy. With that in mind, all three of them took off toward the source of the voice, excited by the potential the cheer contained.
…
Despite the sudden burst of sound, not many residents of the small town actually bothered to investigate. In fact, it seemed the only creatures that cared were the foreigners. While a random outburst of noise may have been uncommon on Earth, there never really was a quiet day in Equestria. To further dilute any pony’s curiosity, the cheer had originated from the hardware store, where anyone would be able to put together an ingenious contraption and summon a proud roar.
But, despite the lack of curiosity from most of the town, one pony in particular was interested in learning what had been so exciting. With pen and paper in tow, Twilight Sparkle hurried from her library home over to where the human genius waited with a buzzing helmet in his hands.
Even though she had one of the shortest trips, she was the last one to arrive to the party. All six humanoids stood together in a small group within the crowded store, noises calling from the mechanical marvel. The purple unicorn hastily scribbled down the basic gist of everything she heard during the entire exchange.
Between bursts of static, a gruff voice could be heard coming from the machine. “Com…Cap…read…This…gency…picking up…eign readings…magical radia…”
“That’s Foaly alright!” Commander Root cheered, the voice lifting yet another burden from his shoulders. “Good work, Mud Boy!”
Ignoring the apparently-derogatory term for ‘human,’ Artemis simply agreed, “It is fine work. Considering my lack of knowledge on the specifics of fairy technology, I was able to—”
The helmet burst to life with sound. The centaur whinnied, “You guys…hear me?! Why didn’t you say…thing earlier?!” While the static still interfered with a word or two, the majority of the message could be understood.
The commander took action immediately with an annoyed groan. “This is some quality equipment we’ve got, Foaly! It can’t even handle being blasted to a whole new world!” He added quickly, “And no, I’m not raising your budget!”
Captain Short laughed, “It’s so good to hear your voice again!”
“I wish I could say the same, Holly…” the techy’s voice adopted a somber, almost hopeless tone. “I’m getting mixed readings from my com… One minute I’m receiving…feed from Fowl Manor, and the next I’m in some weird castle town.” The static interfered less and less as time passed.
Root couldn’t miss his chance, “Are you telling me you’re getting interference? Your machines are getting interference?” For once, his friend couldn’t give some smug response.
Foaly growled, “This isn’t a time for jokes, Commander! The more time that passes, the less…my readings change. I’m stopping more and more on the castle town, and each time there’s more horse-like creatures staring up…at my cameras.”
Artemis’s eyes opened wide. He snapped, “Mr. Foaly, can you describe what the horses look like?” For some weird reason, a knot of dread tightened in his gut.
The horseman whinnied, “They’re comparatively tiny, roughly a meter tall. Instead of normal coat shades, they look almost like crayon drawings…” The clacking of his keyboard filled the store before he sighed, “They have huge eyes and somewhat-humanlike faces. They aren’t normal horses.”
A sudden understanding fell over the group of foreigners like a waterfall. Foaly the centaur, the technological genius working for the LEP, was somehow in the middle of a crowd of ponies.
Artemis’s head began to throb, his vision blurring once more. “The games are about to begin, Mr. Fowl. You might want to see this.”
He couldn’t stop himself from stumbling toward the door of the store. He released his grip on the helmet, it being caught by the now-alert commander. As the boy slowly advanced toward the door, a sharp pain ran through his body. Clutching his head, he picked up the pace until he was running.
“The real question is not what happened to the horseman, but what will happen to you foreigners. Someone so rooted in logic can’t hope to understand the intricacies of what I have in store!”
He burst from the store, his head burning almost unbearably. Almost instinctively, his eyes locked on to the mountainside town in the distance. A bright ball of golden light flashed in and out of existence.
Butler and Juliet were the first ones to follow the obviously-plagued boy, their eyes automatically drawn to the same exact spot. Following close behind with the helmet in tow, the fairies joined them in awe, staring at the distortion in space. Even Twilight couldn’t hold back her awe at seeing the bright glow of inter-dimensional travel from so far away.
“Foaly the centaur meets Celly the alicorn. I wonder who’ll make the first move.”
The golden glow exploded with a shockwave of sound, sending the earth itself trembling. Where it had been flashing in and out of existence appeared a large, solid cube of black, wires running in and out of it from all sides. Sparks flew to and fro as the box plummeted toward the city below it, landing right in the dead center. The impact could be heard almost as if the onlookers were just beside it.
The box’s crash, however, didn’t seem to have any sort of impact zone accompanying it.
“He’ll have to come out eventually. Just like you, eh, Arty? Can I call you Arty?”
Holly and Julius shared looks of utter fear, while Butler and Juliet each placed calming hands on the still-sickly genius. Mulch couldn’t help but smile at the unsettling circumstances brought on by the sudden happening.
“Arrivederci, Arty!”
The pain suddenly melted away, Artemis regaining control of his body. He had just enough time to mumble a single word before he was on the ground in a sweat-soaked heap.
“…Help…”