//------------------------------// // Arrival // Story: The Mixer Chronicles // by Mixer //------------------------------// Book One: Arrival I remembered waking up, confused and alone, rain pattering against me. The last memory I had was of running an experiment in my lab, and then a sudden power surge. I opened my eyes and took in my surroundings. I appeared to be in a field, or perhaps a park of some kind. I got up, shaking the wetness from my coat; I hated the rain, especially when if felt so thick. "Wait, that’s not rain, it’s...chocolate milk?" I said aloud. I sat down and looked around again, this time looking farther than my immediate surroundings. I was in a park, I could see a dirt path some ways off a few benches dotted here and there; there was a small village in the distance, perhaps I was in a frontier settlement? Then I looked up into the sky and saw the source of the strange precipitation: puffy pink clouds. This place was clearly not anywhere I was familiar with, let alone the impossible weather. "And why are those buildings flying!?" I cried, seeing some of the buildings in the village begin to levitate, ignoring gravity like it were simply a nagging old mare. What kind of a place was this? Pink clouds, chocolate rain, flying buildings. There was no way that I was actually in such a place; I had to have been knocked unconscious by the surge. And now I was dreaming of a strange land with cotton candy clouds, yes, that’s it... Then why does this all seem to real? I needed to find somepony before I went insane, even if it was just a figment of my imagination. So I got up and started walking toward the levitating town, seeing no place that seemed remotely normal in this strange area and hoping to find some relief from this madness. After a few minutes of walking I could see something transpiring a ways off, six ponies and... "What is that?" I whispered. It had the head of a pony but the rest of it looked like some mash up of other things; a dragon, a lion, and other strange parts forming an amalgamation of many animals, which formed one strange being. There was no way, not even in my wildest dreams that I could conjure up something that strange. It seemed that nothing in this land was normal, and it was in fact very real. I got closer to hear what was going on, and try to get some piece of information that might hold together my wearing sanity. "Discord!" one of the ponies called, a lavender unicorn. "Stop this now!" So that strange being was named Discord. A fitting name for something so disjointed, but not much to go on. "But this is so much fun," the creature replied. "You can't tell me you don't like some of the changes I've made." So it wasn't always like this here, all full of impossibilities; Discord was causing all these strange phenomena. I decided to stay clear until I can find out more about this place and what exactly I had stumbled onto. I crept away from the confrontation and continued on towards the chaotic little town, though chaotic would be putting it mildly. The roads were soap, not dirt; there appeared to be some strange rabbit creatures on tall spindly legs running about, and then there were the ever-present pink clouds, which began to look more and more like cotton candy. After a few moments of running around the town, avoiding panicking ponies and stampeding critters, something strange happened; day spontaneously gave way to a moonless night. Using magic for illumination to see where I was going, I was barely able to avoid hitting a lamp post. I continued on my way until I arrived at a large tree that appeared to be a library. Just the place of learning I need to gather more information, and more importantly, perhaps find out why I was in this impossible place. Seeing no one around, I let myself in. The inside was not extravagantly detailed, like some libraries I had seen, but it was wall to wall books, at least up to the second story, if not higher in some places, though, there was no real distinction between floors. I called out to see if anypony was around, but I got no response. Shrugging, I quickly scanned the bottom few shelves of books for anything on Discord or on this land. Seeing nothing on Discord, I settled on a book I found on the history of “Equestria." Well now I knew what to call this crazy place, but things were only getting worse outside, so I couldn’t stay and indulge my curiosity, nor ease me. The sun had replaced the moon once again, thought I had a feeling that it could change at any moment, which did nothing for my nerves. The creature Discord was now sitting on a throne amidst a scene of chaos; the ground itself was now a checkerboard pattern, and they were things that made my mind bend. The six ponies from before were nowhere to be seen. Against my better judgment, and what little sanity I had left. I decided to confront this Discord and see what information I could get, curiosity being something I could hold onto. Who knew, maybe I could help fix the whole impossibility situation. I warily approached Discord and he gave a great laugh. “Ha ha ha, what do we have here? Some brave pony attempting to stop me? Ha!” I waited until his laughter died down, taking some time to get a good look at all his different features.. It took awhile, and thus I was able to study him a great deal. “Stop you? Why stop something as interesting as this? Chocolate rain, nice; soap roads are faster than dirt. And floating buildings, cool,” I said, now essentially trying more than anything to avoid angering him. “Hmm, now that’s a surprise. Somepony enjoying the chaos? That’s something you don’t see every day,” with a quick snap of his fingers, Discord changed day to night again. “Or every night,” Discord chuckled. With another snap of his fingers day returned and he began scrutinizing me. “One problem I can see with all this,” I said, trying to comprehend the power he just displayed, and doing a rather poor job. “Oh, and what would that be my little friend,” Discord appearing behind me and putting an arm around me and resting a taloned claw on my shoulder. “There’s nopony around that likes what you’re doing.” “Well it’s not my fault if they don’t enjoy chaos as much as me. So what are you going to do about it Mixer?” “Wait how do you...” “Know your name? I’m Discord, the embodiment of chaos. What don’t I know. Well,” Discord said, “take your best shot.” He waved his hand and painted a bullseye on his serpentine body. I hesitated; I had no doubt that this creature could withstand any attacks I put forth, and do far worse back to me. “What’s wrong? Don’t have the nerve to try?” he asked in a mocking tone. I wasn’t about to get caught in an obvious trap, so I took option C, “Well, I can’t see this ending well. So I don’t think I will.” I quickly turned to leave but did not get more than two steps before I was stopped by Discord’s voice. “That’s not how this game works. You see, when I say take your best shot, you take your best shot. That, or I’ll just have to punish you for not playing.” Drat, now I was caught between a rock and a hard place. “Well, it wouldn’t be my best shot if I wasn’t prepared, now would it,” I said, hoping my incredulous luck would hold. Discord gave a grunt. “Well played. You have half an hour before I start causing more chaos.” “Deal,” I replied, knowing that half an hour wasn’t enough to prepare any kind of potion potent enough to boost my magic, though I doubt I would be able to make something that powerful without a time constraint. Seeing no other option, I went off to hash something together. I had very little time and no ingredients, so I hurried to a nearby forest to see what herbs I could find. After a few minutes of looking I found something that had potential: poison joke. "Well it's worth a try," I said to myself. Without proper tools I had to improvise. As a mortar and pestle, I had to settle for a nearby rock and another, flatter rock. Grand, I know, but beggars can’t be choosers. I carefully plucked some of the wonky blue flowers with my magic, careful not to get any of their transformative oils on me. After a few minutes of mashing the petals between my fabulous pair of rocks I had a slightly clumpy blue paste. Not exactly the consistency I would have liked, but I didn’t have proper tools or enough time to grind it more thoroughly, not if I was actually going to make something out of it. I proceeded to make a potion with my bluish paste that I would somehow trick Discord into drinking. Just how would I get him to drink a potion that would likely have bits of flower petals in it? I hadn’t quite gotten that far yet, I was lucky enough to have a plan at all. With little time left I finished mixing the potion, though it was kind of cloudy. I took my potion, put it in a bottle I found in somepony’s trash, and hoped that Discord wouldn’t notice the slight smell to it. “Well, well, well, you’re back, and with a minute to spare,” Discord addressed me as I approached. “Yes, I’m back, but not to fight,” I said, a little winded from the run. “Oh?” Discord asked raising an eyebrow. “So that means I get to cause more chaos. Yay,” he said, rubbing his claw and paw together. “You didn’t let me finish. I didn’t come to fight, true; I came here to make peace," I began, words springing forth of their own will. "After all, how could I stop you, the embodiment of chaos, in half an hours preparation? So, I brought you this,” I pulled out the Poison Joke potion, really hoping that he would buy my bluff. “This little beauty is better than chocolate rain. Just try it.” I said levitating the bottle his way, sweating more than a little. “Better than... Well, you sure are full of surprises. First you say you enjoy the chaos, then you want to stop me, now you want to make peace! Ha ha, most ponies would call you crazy. I like that,” he said, taking the bottle in his claw and uncorking it. He drank the potion from the bottom up in one, bending my mind twice over. There was a pause, then Discord started to convulse and shift around as if in pain or discomfort. Suddenly he grew still, then burst out laughing flowers. “Oh, that was a good try,” Discord said as he wiped a tear from his eye. “Poison joke! How did you know it was my favorite?”He snapped his fingers and the ground turned into an even more garish checkerboard pattern. “Go home Mixer; you can’t stop Discord.” I was already running away before he could finish. At this point I trying to think of a way to stall for more time, and barring that, what life might be like as a shrub, as it was just as likely that Discord could turn me into one. As I reached the edge of Ponyville, thinking that a shrub would be a mild punishment, I heard Discord’s cries from the center of town. “Nooooooooooooooo…” was the piercing protest. And all of a sudden, all things that had been chaotic returned to normal. I pinched myself to make sure I was not hallucinating, or perhaps that I was in fact dreaming, and that I would soon wake up from this crazy nightmare. After a few painful pinches, and one slap in the face, I determined that what I was experiencing was in fact real. Curious what could have stopped something as powerful as Discord, I debated whether that was something I would want to get tangled up with. Not wanting to have a repeat of my engagement with Discord, I carefully crept back to see what had happened. I came upon the six ponies I had seen earlier, standing before a statue of Discord in a rather awkward position, laying on the ground. Five of them wore ornate necklaces that matched their cutie marks, while the sixth, the purple unicorn from before now had a crown of sorts that matched her cutie mark. I briefly wondered if they could be royalty, and took a deep breath to compose myself before stepping out into the open. “What happened?” I asked as I approached. One of them, a buttery yellow pegasus jumped slightly, but they all turned to face me. “And just who are you?” asked a cyan pegasus. Much to my surprise she was sporting a prismatic mane, complete with each color of the rainbow. I wondered if such coloration was natural or not. I made a small bow, hoping that if they weren’t royalty, they wouldn’t be offended by the gesture, and if they were, that they would be satisfied with it. “My name is Mixer. But, you have me at a disadvantage Miss...?” “You’re not from around here are ya?” an orange earth pony asked in an accent that was common among the more far flung settlements. I hesitated, not knowing how much to hide, or how much to tell them. “No, suffice to say that I’m not.” A pink earth pony mare giggled, “Oh course he’s not from around here, otherwise we’d already be friends.” Her tone and demeanor were somewhat unsettling, seeing as how her hair looked like it had been styled by a candy machine, and she sounded like a foal on the tail end of a sugar rush. “Allow me to introduce us,” the purple unicorn said, stepping ahead of the group. “My name is Twilight Sparkle, these are my friends, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Applejack, Rarity, and Fluttershy,” she said, gesturing to each of them in turn. Rainbow Dash was the cyan pegasus, Pinkie Pie was, well, obviously the pink mare, Applejack was the orange earth pony, and Fluttershy was the pegasus that had jumped when I first arrived. Rarity was the only one who had yet to speak, and she was a unicorn with a pure white coat and a styled purple mane, no doubt the product of careful grooming. I took another bow, “It is a pleasure to meet you your highness.” Twilight seemed to blush a little and Rainbow Dash let out a snicker. “Ah think ya got the wrong idea mister. That’s crown’s not fer royalty,” Applejack said. “Pardon?” I said, confused. “That’s her Element,” the orange mare explained. “Element?” “I’d love to stay and have some proper introductions, but shouldn’t we be getting back to the princess?” Rarity asked, her tone almost as elegant as her mane. If any of them seemed like royalty, it was her. “It was nice meeting you Mixer, but we have to go,” Twilight said, getting back to her friends. “Likewise Miss Sparkle. But, uh, is there anywhere around where I can stay? I don’t have any accommodations at the moment, and I could use some time and space to think.” “I guess you could stay at the library, at least until we get back,” she said, turning to leave with her companions. “Thank you for your gracious hospitality,” I called after them as they left, taking the statue of Discord with them. -- After the six ponies left, I found the library, though this time with little difficulty. In broad daylight I could see that the library was built into a tree. What an odd place, but then again, I had seen far stranger in this land just a few hours prior. I went inside, assuming that nopony was there, and was surprised to see a small reptilian creature picking up some books. “Uh, who are you?” the creature asked me. “Who, or what, are you?” I countered. “My name’s Spike, and I’m a dragon. Why? haven’t you ever seen a baby dragon before?” It took a few seconds to register the word “dragon”. “Come again? Did you say, dragon?” “Yeah. Are you alright?” Finally giving up, I let out a sigh, “Aside from the multiple near-mental breakdowns today, I suppose so.” “Okay... So, why are you here?” he asked. “I was directed here by a Miss Twilight Sparkle. She told me I could stay here until she returned.” “Oh. So you’re a friend of Twilight’s?” “Well, I don’t think friend is the correct word. Acquaintances maybe. In any event, she told me I could stay here.” Spike shrugged, “Alright.” After an almost awkwardly long pause I asked, “Do you run this place? All by yourself?” He gave a little chuckle, “No, Twilight runs the library. I’m her assistant.” “Oh... I apologize if I might have left a mess, I came in here during the... chaotic, events earlier.” He gave another shrug, “I didn’t even notice anything out of place.” I watched for a few seconds as he placed a few more books in spots on the shelves. I couldn’t help but stare at what I assumed was the only living dragon specimen in existence. I had seen illustrations of dragons, and a few bones in museums, but there hadn’t been a living dragon in almost five centuries. I was so deep in thought that I almost didn’t register that he was talking to me. “Hello? Are you sure you’re alright?” “Oh, sorry... It’s just... Oh, how to I explain this. You’re the first, and only, living dragon in known existence.” He looked at me like I had grown a second, and possibly a third horn. “What are you talking about? Are you sure you didn’t hit your head or something? Or spend the last few years under a rock?” Well, I couldn’t really fault him, with all the things I’d seen in my roughly three hours in “Equestia” I had seen so many things I had thought were impossible. What was one more. “Well, I have absolutely no clue if I hit my head or not, I kind of just woke up in a park with chocolate milk raining on me. And as for living under a rock, I’d say the royal palace is about as far from a rock as a pony can get,” I replied. Now it was his turn to look surprised. “You live in a palace? Does that mean you’re a prince or something?” he asked, his eyes lighting up somewhat. “No, nothing so fanciful. I’m simply the royal chemist. I make most of the potions and other mixtures the palace needs.” “A whatnow?” he asked, looking confused once again. “A chemist. You know, mixing elements, compounds, the occasional bang. Stuff like that. Surely you have chemists here?” He shook his head, “There’s a zebra who does something like that in the Everfree Forest, but she’s more of a witchdoctor than a... whatever-it-is.” I let out a sigh. I appeared that the rather simplistic architecture was an indication of their technology. It had to be if they use such an archaic term as “witchdoctor”. “Then, maybe I should read a few things, get brushed up on Equestria,” I said, looking for the book I had seen before. “If you’re not from Equestria, then where are you from?” Spike asked, grabbing a couple of books. “I’m... not sure I should say. Hay, I don’t even know if the name would mean anything to you.” “What, is it some kind of secret?” he asked, giving me a curious look. “Are you some kind of secret agent or something?” “First of all, no, I’m not a spy, I don’t have an eye for espionage, and even if I did, I have no way of contacting my homeland. Secondly, in the case that it might become sensitive information, I’d rather not say yet.” “You mean you can’t get home?” I hesitated. With all the insanity going on, I hadn’t really thought much about the fact that I was in fact, stranded in this land with no way of contacting the king, or anypony else. I mean, sure, I could do some short distance teleportation, a few meters or so, but I had a feeling that I was far beyond that. “I don’t think so. I don’t even know where home is from here. I don’t even know exactly where here is.” Spike seemed to ponder this for a moment, “Why don’t you just start looking over these books, I’m sure you’ll find what you want to know in there a lot better than I could tell you.” And so, I did as the little dragon instructed and took the small stack of books and began to read them in a corner of the room. -- It was a few hours later when Twilight finally arrived at the library. As it turned out, she and the other ponies that had been with here were given medals for bravery. Most likely for defeating Discord. Thankfully, it did give me some time to learn about Equestria, at least enough to have a working knowledge. Twilight trotted upstairs with her medal, returning a few minutes later with a quill and a blank scroll. “I hope you’ve been making yourself comfortable,” she said, sitting down at a desk against the wall. “As much as I felt comfortable with, yes.” She looked slightly confused, but returned to her what she was doing at the desk. “Did Spike give you any trouble?” Deciding not to give her the same confusion I gave poor Spike, I replied, “No, not at all.” It was then that my stomach decided it was time to remind me of its existence, letting out a low grumble. “Hungry?” I gave a sheepish grin, “Well, to tell the truth, I haven’t had anything to eat since this morning. By this time, it was well into the afternoon. “I’ll have spike make something for us. Then maybe we can talk a little. I understand you’re not from Equestria?” I was a little taken aback, “H-how did you know?” “Spike left me a note. He said I might want to talk to you, but I thought I would give you some time to settle in before bombarding you with questions.” “That’s very kind of you Miss Sparkle. But it’s well within your right, given the generous hospitality you have shown me.” “Nonsense. Spike!” she called, beckoning her assistant. Spike soon scampered out of what I assumed was the kitchen wearing a pink apron. It was kind of comical, but I thought it rude, impolite, and in general unwise to laugh. Even if Spike was only a baby dragon, I had no doubt he still could breath fire, even if he seemed agreeable enough. “Can you get us a couple daisy sandwiches please?” “Sure thing Twilight,” he replied returning to the kitchen. “Thank you again for your hospitality. It’s not often a pony would be so generous to a complete stranger.” Twilight’s face grew slightly puzzled again, Why?” “Well, in the city, you mostly have family to look after you, otherwise everypony is independent. Though everypony does tend to rely on other ponies, no matter how much they would like to say otherwise.” “That sounds... difficult,” she said, clearly trying to find a word that wouldn’t sound insulting. “It can be, but most ponies find somewhere to fit in. The whole city is kind of like a well oiled machine that way. Everypony has their place, whether they know it or not.” “Interesting...” she said, scribbling down something on the scroll. A few seconds later Spike returned with the sandwiches. It took all my restraint to keep from grabbing one off the tray en route and making it disappear. Twilight got up from the desk and sat by a small table that was set in the center of the library near a couch. Spike set the plate down on the table and retreated back to the kitchen. “Come on over,” Twilight said with a giggle. “By the way you’re eyeing those sandwiches you seem pretty hungry.” I complied, walking over to the table and taking a seat, grabbing a sandwich with my magic en route and bringing it to my mouth as I sat down. It was in no way the same as a home-cooked three course banquet, but to me, it tasted like the best thing in the world. I’m sure a mildly soft rock would taste good at that point. I hungrily devoured the sandwich without further ceremony. “I think we’re going to need some more sandwiches,” Twilight mused. “Sorry,” I apologized, “I usually don’t eat like a starving animal.” “It’s quite alright. You should see Pinkie Pie eat cake.” I ate the other sandwiches in a similar fashion, stopping only when there were no more. “Feel better?” Twilight asked, watching as Spike brought her a sandwich of her own. I nodded, wiping the crumbs from my mouth. She took a bite of her sandwich then set it back down, taking up her scroll and quill in its place. “So, I hope you don’t mind if I ask you a few questions...” -- Twilight put me through a battery of questions, ranging from what my home was like, to what kind of foods we ate. It was the most extensive list of questions I could have been asked, and I answered most of them fully, only avoiding certain sensitive bits of information. It took a couple hours for her to finally exhaust her list, and by then the sun had gone down, casting the outside in shadow. “I hate to sound rude, but I should be going; if there is any place to stay for the night, I should probably find it soon,” I said, standing up and stretching. “But it’s dark outside. You can’t just go stumbling around in the dark.” “I don’t have to worry much about the dark,” I said, my horn letting of a soft glow that illuminated a few feet in front of me. “Could you even pay for someplace to stay?” “No, I suppose not,” I confessed, “You don’t happen to have any, uh, bits was it?” “I do, but you can stay here for the night, no need to go searching for someplace in the dark.” “Oh no, I couldn’t. You’ve already been so kind to me already. I don’t want to take advantage of your hospitality.” “It’s not taking advantage of my hospitality. Really, it’s alright.” “Very well. I meant no disrespect. I am truly grateful that you’ve been so kind.” “Spike, can you get a spare pillow and blanket for our guest,” Twilight called to her assistant. I watched as Spike ran upstairs to fetch the requested items. “Where were you intending for me to stay?” I inquired. Twilight rolled up her scroll and put it on the desk, “We don’t have another bed, but I hope you don’t mind sleeping on the couch. It shouldn’t be too bad with a pillow and blanket.” “Thank you. I have fallen asleep in less comfortable positions. Working late nights leads to the occasional night asleep at the desk.” Spike came down the stairs in short order carrying a bundled up blanket and a small pillow. I took them from him and thanked him, setting up the couch to serve as a temporary bed. Spike headed back up the stairs with a yawn and Twilight followed after him a minute later, carrying some things from her desk. “If you need anything, feel free to help yourself. There fridge is well stocked and the bathroom is upstairs on the left,” she said, nearing the top of the stairs. “Goodnight.” “Goodnight, and thank you once again,” I called up to her as she reached the second story and disappeared from view. I laid down on the couch and pulled the blanket over me. If the surroundings were any indication, the nights could get cold, especially with no apparent heating system, though I can understand a lack of heat inside of a tree. It took me several minutes to calm my mind enough to sleep, but I could not help but worry if I would be able to return home or if I would be stuck here.