Shining Armor slowly awoke, his body aching. Never in his life had he felt so tired. Groaning in pain, he opened his eyes to see that he was still in Canterlot, lying on his side in the middle of the road. What had happened?
With a grunt, he tried to pull himself up. To his horror, he found that he couldn’t. His legs simply refused to move. He tried to just roll over into a position where he could take proper stock of the situation, but he couldn’t.
Was something wrong with him? Was he badly injured? In a moment of panic he tried to summon up a spell, but found he couldn’t do that either. He was completely helpless.
It was not a particularly calming realization.
Still, he hadn’t become captain of the guard with impulsive thinking. After taking a minute to calm his nerves, he tried to take account of his condition as best he could while lying on his side.
First, his body was sore, but not in pain, so he wasn’t injured. Also, his magic was completely gone. Not just weakened or restrained like he had experienced before, but flat out gone. He couldn’t even summon up an aura around his horn.
On the bright side, this explained why he couldn’t move: magic exhaustion. When a pony’s body ran dangerously low on magic, it would begin shutting down less important muscles and systems to conserve whatever magic remained.
Since if he was completely drained he’d be dead, a little weakness or temporary loss of bladder control was the price to pay for one’s magic to be so thoroughly spent. And the fact that he couldn’t smell urine was a good sign that he wasn’t in THAT much trouble.
He tried to move again, this time just slowly moving his hoof. It sapped his strength, but he could move it. With a sigh, he resigned himself to his fate.
For whatever reason, his magic had been drained to the point he could barely move. Until he regained enough, he was stuck here. He just hoped that the princesses were better off and were trying to address whatever had caused this while he laid here.
Useless.
Again.
Dr. Blake took a deep breath as she made her way up to the podium. Not that she was nervous, mind you. She was just coming to terms with how monumental an occasion this was.
It was quite possibly the largest gathering of the scientific community in human history. Biologists, Chemists, Cytologists; you name it, there were dozens of experts for the field gathered for this event.
And Dr. Blake was the one chosen to be at the head of it all.
The opening ceremonies were nearly complete, all that was left to do was give her final two cents and the word for the research to begin.
Thanking the last speaker as she was handed the microphone, she arranged her papers, took one last deep breath, and began her speech.
“Good afternoon, everyone. My name is Rebecca Blake, and I will be serving as the head of the project,” she began.
“I am aware that not all of you have been properly briefed as to what it is we have been gathered here for, given the sudden nature of this event,” she said, looking toward the crowd. “So, before we begin our research proper, I feel it prudent to bring you all up to speed.”
“Approximately 84 hours ago, an enormous flash of light was reported to have been seen in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, one thousand kilometers away from the nearest inhabited island. Seconds later, the light vanished entirely, eliminating the possibility that it was due to nuclear weaponry. Global satellites, however, soon revealed that a large landmass had appeared where the light had been,” she said.
This got many in the crowd to begin muttering among themselves. Dr. Blake heard a few in front row mention something along the lines of ‘inconceivable.’ She raised her hand for silence, and continued.
“What’s more, this island seems to have had no impact on the surrounding sea, as its sudden appearance did not result in a massive tsunami, an earthquake, or some other natural result of a landmass appearing in the middle of the ocean,” she said.
More muttering began, this time much more noticeable. Dr. Blake raised her hand again and waited for the crowd to quiet down once more.
“Naturally, this caught the attention of various government bodies. Nearby military vessels were sent to investigate,” she said, glancing toward the various gathered politicians eyeing her.
“The island they discovered was inhabited, or at least at one point was. Numerous cities and towns were discovered across the island’s length. No sign of human activity was discovered, but photographic evidence thus far suggests that the various buildings had not been abandoned for more than a few days,” she said.
“Far more interesting, however, was the discovery of life forms seemingly out of ancient mythology. Though it may sound ludicrous, it was confirmed that the island was inhabited by…”(Dr. Blake paused, bracing herself,) “unicorns.”
Surprisingly, the crowd remained silent. Either due disbelief, or waiting for her to start laughing, she wasn’t sure.
“This proved to only be the tip of the iceberg. There were later reports of pegasi, gryphons…“ Dr. Blake’s voice was drowned out as the crowd suddenly exploded into noise.
The ride back home was a silent one.
For about ten seconds.
“So… what exactly are you planning on doing with it?” asked John.
“Well, we have an open pen in the stables, so we’ll put him there till we can do better,” said Diane.
“Better?” asked John.
“Come on now, Sweetie. Even if he’s not intelligent, he clearly deserves something better than an old barn,” answered Diane.
“A barn I built myself a few years ago…” John grumbled.
“Oh, hush!” said Diane with a wave of her hand, “You know very well that’s not true! And don’t act like you don’t know what I mean.”
“And you know we’re not building anything just because you want to give the unicorn special treatment,” said John.
“I never said that,” said Diane, “I just figured we should see if we can give him a little more than just moldy hay and dirt for a bed. A little more than just his coat to keep him warm when it gets cold. Let him have something better than hay and oats to eat.”
“If you say so honey. Just don’t ask me to get out my hammer and nails again,” said John.
“Even I were going to plan such a thing, I’d just hire a carpenter again. We do have a budget for taking care of him,” said Diane.
“How does that even work?” asked John, “‘Oh, hey! So you volunteered to take care of this weird unicorn thing! Here, take this money, and we’ll let you decide what’s best for it!’ Really, what’s stopping us from just taking the money and…“
John’s voice faltered as Diane glared at him.
“You’re not actually considering-”
“I’m not. I’m just saying how this ‘plan’ seems a bit too slapped together and much too trusting of the average citizen.” John explained.
Diane sighed.
“I agree,” she said, “But you need to realize, John, that no one knows what we’re supposed to do in this situation. From what I heard, there’s an entire nation of seemingly abandoned cities where these ponies come from. We don’t even know whether these ponies are some crippled population or abandoned pets.”
“All the more reason why this seems like a poor decision,” John said.
“I’m not a politician John. I can’t pretend to know how those people think. And don’t forget that there are several million of these ponies that need taken care of. A bit much for the government to ‘take charge of’,” said Diane.
“I just want to know WHY we have to take care of them in the first place,” said John.
Diane glared at him again.
“John…” she started.
“I’m not saying we should just let them die-” John said.
“Yes you are!” snapped Diane, “You SAW how they can’t even stand up on their own. Word has it that the land they came from is full of nothing but dead grass and trees. Face it John, either we somehow take responsibility for several million aliens we know nothing about, or we leave them to die.”
John sighed.
“The point I’m trying to make that we don’t know HOW to take care of them. How do we know what they’re supposed to eat? How do we know how long they typically live? Are we supposed to just find out through trial and error?” he asked.
“If you think you can figure out how to talk to one and ask, then no,” Diane said with a knowing grin.
John didn’t have a response to that.
“Exactly,” said Diane with a nod, “Besides, we’re not on our own here. They gave us an address to a private website set up to help us, and the rest of the world, figure out what works and what doesn’t. And I for one am convinced that they are, in fact, intelligent beings. Mark my words, our unicorn friend is going to be making every effort to help us as well.”
“What gives you that idea?” John asked.
“Have you looked into his eyes, John?” asked Diane, “He showed so much more going on in his head than food…”
What I wouldn’t do for a hay burger right now…
It wasn’t that Shining was starving. He’d been provided enough hay to keep his stomach happy, but it was incredibly dull, even for raw unprepared hay. Less than a day of the stuff left him longing for something tastier.
Celestia, please do not let this be the only thing I get to eat for the rest of my life… he prayed.
The carriage he was in hit a small bump in the road. At least, he figured it was some kind of carriage. It was really a small metal box on wheels connected to some kind of machine.
From the noise it made and the burning smell, Shining figured said machine was some kind of mini-train. It was certainly an effective contraption, as the countryside zoomed past as speeds he’d never imagined possible for a self-moving vehicle so small.
Then again, this wasn’t the first mind-blowing clape machine he had ridden in. That flying one that had taken him out of Equestria had shocked him that the huge thing not only actually flew, but flew at speeds that were probably greater than the average pegasus royal guard.
And the clapes built it without a shred of magic.
In some ways, it was a bit of a relief. Their new ‘masters’ were not only intelligent, but resourceful. At least they had become the pets of a race that could do such mind-blowing things as opposed to, say, diamond dogs.
But then again, it was also frightening. Hay, they might have been able to conquer Equestria if this was what was available to their general populace. Shining didn’t want to think about what would have happened if the clapes had come as an invading force.
Or hadn’t they?
Shining shook his head again.
Come on Shining, get over it. You’re not going to be able to sleep if you’re constantly worrying that your new caretakers are planning to eat you. Think about something else…
The first thing that came to his mind was Cadance. It was not a particularly cheerful thought.
Oh, Cadance… Are you OK? Is the crystal heart still protecting you? Are you slowly dying as the freezing wind and snow blows over the empire? Have the clapes even discovered the empire hidden in the arctic north? Are you in a similar mess as I am?
I miss you already Cadance…
…
Oh, and Twili too. Almost forgot about her again…
…
And our parents…
…
Celestia, I’m a horrible pony…
It took ten minutes to quiet the gathered scientists down. It took another ten to convince the more skeptical that this wasn’t some kind of hoax. Finally the crowd was silent, and Dr. Blake continued her speech.
“As I was saying, we have discovered numerous creatures out of ancient mythology. The truly bizarre thing, however, was that all life on the island, including that of its more ‘natural’ wildlife, was completely immobile. Nothing found on the island seems to be capable of holding its own weight. This is even more curious, as the various creatures were found not only in the wilds, but in the cities in such numbers that it almost seems as if these multicolored equines could be the founders of this mysterious society.”
The crowd remained silent. Not by choice, as they had called in a few armed soldiers to ensure that no one would waste time pointing out how impossible this all was. Still, Dr. Blake was certain she heard a snort from somewhere.
“Whether this is true or not, the society in question appears to think very highly of these equine life forms, as many statues, stained glass windows, and much more have been found built in their images. As such, the first contact group gathered up as many of the weakened equines as they could and provided food and supplies as best they could with their limited resources.”
“However, eight hours after the event began, matters became even more impossible. All flora on the island began to die. The trees, the grass, everything. In a matter of two hours, the entire island had become completely devoid of plant life,” she said.
“For the time being, the various world leaders have agreed to have the various life forms of the island exported into their counties to provide them with food and shelter until the cause for this phenomenon has been identified,” she said.
What Dr. Blake did not say was the debate over which creatures went where. Apparently, it still wasn’t settled yet, even though hundreds of thousands of them had already been flown to the US and Australia.
“Which brings me to why we are all here,” she said. “To be quite blunt, no one has any idea what on earth is going on. How did this island appear out of nowhere? What happened to its ecosystem? What was this civilization? All these questions, as well as countless others, need to be answered.”
“And we have been gathered here to find those answers. We need this society researched and its tomes translated. We need the zoology analyzed and properly categorized. We need to know how this island, which has already been a source of countless seeming impossible phenomenon, came about and what this all implies for the future. The entire world is depending on us to get results.”
“This is beyond a doubt the greatest challenge many of us will face in our lifetimes. I wish you all the best of luck. Everyone, welcome to Project Genesis.”
With those oh so encouraging words, the crowd began to break apart, as the various scholars made their way to their designated departments. They all had a lot of work to do.
Finally, the car pulled up to their humble home.
When Diane had first asked to move out to the country, John had made every effort to choose the perfect home that was large enough for a family of four, but small enough to be affordable. Far enough from the city to get some fresh air, but close enough that John didn’t have to drive for two hours to get to work every morning.
Naturally, John never found the perfect house.
The one he DID choose was a bit further from the city than he liked, but not painfully so. Otherwise, he probably couldn’t have done better. His wife and kids were happy, and he wasn’t miserable.
And then he was talked into building a stable.
Ok, admittedly he really just called an expert and helped the guy hammer in a few nails, but no one needed to know that. He had a reputation to keep up, after all.
Then again, how much of that reputation would he keep when word got out he brought home a unicorn?
Maybe he could just-
“John,” said Diane, “I’d hate to interrupt your deep and important internal argument, but could you give me a hand here?”
With a cough, he turned back toward his wife to see that she was opening the trailer that held their newest acquisition.
The smell that greeted them inside wasn’t helping things.
“Err… right. Sorry dear,” he said.
As the side of Shining’s transport was opened, he got a good look what he presumed to be his new home. And what he saw came as a bit of a surprise.
It’s… just a normal house.
If Shining didn’t know better, he would have said that he’d been led into the middle of Ponyville. Considering that these clapes had small personal trains, he’d been expecting something a little more…. flashy.
But no, here he was, looking at what seemed to be a straightforward two-story home, complete with dull yellow paint. It was so comfortably familiar it was almost creepy.
Shining shook his head. He had more important things to worry about right now. As he watched, his new owner and a female clape made their way into the metal chariot, and knelt down next to him.
Shining still wasn’t entirely sure how he felt about the male clape that had ‘purchased’ him. On one hoof, it seemed to always be eyeing him with suspicion and disdain. On the other hoof, it seemed to be taking extra care as it reached under him to help him up.
Maybe it was just as uncertain about this situation as he was? Maybe it was just trying show a tough face for the crowd? Or maybe it just wanted its meat to be-
Ok, seriously, stop that Shining. Just be patient. You’ll figure this… guy… out in time.
The clape female, however, seemed much easier to read. It had a cheerful look in its eye that suggested it was struggling not to hug him. Not that Shining was against hugs, but there was a time and place for such things, and this was not it.
And it was degrading to be reminded he had been reduced to a pet.
With grunts all around, the three of them rose up, and made their way out of the vehicle. As he walked, Shining noted that they were definitely out in the country. There was nothing but green fields wherever he looked, broken only by the occasional building or fence.
One of which he noticed was some kind of barn near his new home. Or, he realized, what would be his new home next to the clapes’ house, as they seemed to be leading him to it.
Guess sleeping in a bed was too much to hope for…
That’s when he noticed two smaller clapes making their way over to the three of them.
“YAY! WE GOT A UNICORN!” Sarah yelled with joy as she ran out to meet her parents.
Katherine followed behind her younger sister. She was much more in control, but was also bearing a huge smile on her face.
“Easy girls, let’s get him into the barn and cleaned up before you start hugging him,” said John as they made their way across the front yard.
“You mean it’s a boy unicorn?” asked Sarah.
“Looks like it, Sarah,” said Katherine as she tried to get a good look the equine. “And not a shred of pink on it.”
“Aw…” moaned Sarah, not bothering to hide her disappointment.
“Sarah…” said Diane, “Remember what we talked about earlier today?”
“If we want to get a magical pony at all, we have to let dad… Oh! Right!” said Sarah.
John chose to ignore the clear sign that his family had conspired behind his back. Again.
After a few minutes, they managed to guide the unicorn into the barn, and laid him on the floor outside the pens.
“Whew, he’s not as heavy as he looks, but that was still tiring,” said Diane.
“So, now what?” Asked John.
“First thing first, Katherine and Sarah are going to give him a bath,” said Diane, “If his smell is any indication, he’ll need a proper scrubbing. In the meantime, I’m going to sign into that pony care website and see if anyone’s discovered anything useful yet. John, you can go inside and watch some football.”
John just raised an eyebrow. There wasn’t a game on tonight, let alone right this minute.
“I did say you didn’t have to do anything. If you’d rather help us set a pen up for him…” said Diane.
“No thanks. I’ll go… watch some football…” said John as he headed out of the barn.
He wished his wife would stop playing these games with him. They could get really annoying at times.
Diane turned to address her children.
“Ok girls, I’ll leave him into your capable hands. Remember, we don’t know much about him, so don’t push him if he starts showing discomfort. I’ll be back in few minutes,” said Diane before she left as well.
With her parents out of the way, Sarah decided that this was the perfect time to start squealing with joy.
“EEEEEEE!!!!! We have a unicorn! We’re going to brush its mane, give it sugar cubes, ride it- EEEE!!! I’m going to ride a magical unicorn!”
Katherine just rolled her eyes at her younger sister’s excitement. This was part of something that would likely go down in human history, and all Sarah cared about was a pony ride.
“Maybe later, Sarah. We have to give him a bath first,” said Katherine.
“Oh yeah,” said Sarah.
The eight-year old and the seventeen year old took one look at each other, and proceeded to perform one of their family’s most ancient and sacred rituals for deciding who got to work the hose.
“Rock, Paper, Scissors, Shoot!”
“Darn,” said Katherine.
Giggling with delight, Sarah set off to turn on the water, while Katherine got out the soap, sponges, and brushes. With no one blocking her view or squealing with glee, she finally got to get a good look at the unicorn, who seemed to be observing his surroundings.
He really did seem to be right out a fairy tale. Clear white coat, dark blue mane with lighter stripes, and a spiral horn coming out of its forehead. He wasn’t a particularly large equine, just an inch or two smaller than a regular full grown pony stallion. This was probably why the creatures were referred to as ponies in general rather than horses.
Not to mention his smaller muzzle, thicker legs, and overall body structure suggested he had more in common with the smaller breed of equines than the larger.
There were two things about the unicorn, however, that stood out to Katherine. The first was his eyes, which were not only massive, but seemed to shine with understanding. Katherine had followed the news about these ponies more closely than her mother, and she had to agree; the creature in front of her was much more intelligent than the two horses currently grazing in their yard.
The other thing was the brand on its flanks: A blue shield with a purple star, with three smaller stars above it. Upon closer inspection, however, Katherine notice that it wasn’t a brand. The hair itself was a different color than the rest of his coat.
“So… why does he have a tattoo on his butt?”
Katherine turned to see her sister was back with the hose.
“It’s not a tattoo Sarah. The hair is just colored differently,” said Katherine.
“Oh. Why is it colored differently?” asked Sarah.
Katherine just looked at her sister.
“Oh, right. Magic unicorn,” said Sarah.
“I wouldn’t say magic, Sarah. Other than the horn and colors, he seems like a normal pony stallion to me,” said Katherine.
“Wait… how do we even know he’s a boy?” asked Sarah
Katherine glanced under the unicorn’s body. “Yep, definitely a guy. Though I guess it’s kind of hard to notice since….”
Katherine stopped as she noticed the unicorn was looking at her.
Katherine looked back, a bit surprised, before he turned away.
He had been blushing.